Humor

The viral vector-based COVID-19 vaccine Ad26.COV2.S has been recommended by the WHO since 2021 and has been administered to over 200 million people. Prior studies have shown that Ad26.COV2.S induces durable neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) that increase in coverage of variants over time, even in the absence of boosting or infection. Here, we studied humoral responses following Ad26.COV2.S vaccination in individuals enrolled in the initial Phase 1/2a trial of Ad26.COV2.S in 2020. Through 8 months post vaccination, serum NAb responses increased to variants, including B...

Two SARS-CoV-2 XBB sub-variants, FL.1 and GE.1, have been increasing in prevalence worldwide, but limited information is available about their ability to evade the immune system. FL.1 and GE.1 are emerging Omicron XBB variants possessing additional mutations in the spike RBD raising concerns of increased neutralization escape. In this study, we assessed the neutralizing ability of eleven FDA-approved monoclonal antibody combinations against different Omicron variants, including BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BA.4/5, XBB...

Data on antibody response (AR) after vaccination against SARS-CoV2 in hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation setting (HSCT) were initially scarce, mainly due to the exclusion of such patients from approval studies. Shortly after the worldwide application of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in vulnerable populations such as patients with hematologic malignancies, limited single-center trials, including HSCT patients, were published. However, there was a great heterogeneity between them regarding the type of underlying malignancy, co-current treatment, type of vaccine, method of AR measurement, and time point of AR measurement...

Our goal was to determine the cellular immune response (CIR) in a sample of the Borriana COVID-19 cohort (Spain) to identify associated factors and their relationship with infection, reinfection and sequelae. We conducted a nested case-control study using a randomly selected sample of 225 individuals aged 18 and older, including 36 individuals naïve to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and 189 infected patients. We employed flow-cytometry-based immunoassays for intracellular cytokine staining, using Wuhan and BA...

INTRODUCTION: Angle-closure glaucoma is a common type of glaucoma in Asian populations. However, the role of inflammatory cytokines in angle-closure glaucoma is yet to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the expression of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-12 in the aqueous humor of patients with chronic primary angle-closure glaucoma (CPACG) and elucidate the correlations between IL-4 and IL-12 concentrations in the aqueous humor, the degree of visual field defects, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with CPACG...

Malaria remains a global health challenge, necessitating the development of effective vaccines. The RTS,S vaccination prevents Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria but is ineffective against Plasmodium vivax (Pv) disease. Herein, we evaluated the murine immunogenicity of a recombinant PvCSP incorporating prevalent polymorphisms, adjuvanted with Alhydrogel or Poly I:C. Both formulations induced prolonged IgG responses, with IgG1 dominance by the Alhydrogel group and high titers of all IgG isotypes by the Poly I:C counterpart...

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is considered the cause for porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) outbreaks and hefty losses in pig farming. However, no effective commercial vaccines against PEDV mutant strains are available nowadays. Here, we constructed three native-like trimeric candidate nanovaccines, i.e., spike 1 trimer (S1-Trimer), collagenase equivalent domain trimer (COE-Trimer), and receptor-binding domain trimer (RBD-Trimer) for PEDV based on Trimer-Tag technology. And evaluated its physical properties and immune efficacy...

BACKGROUND: Creativity in nursing education is crucial for developing practical problem-solving skills, and humor is a valuable tool for stress management and fostering a positive learning environment. This study explored the relationship between creativity and humor among nursing students. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 265 convenient undergraduate nursing students aged 20 to 25. The Short Scale of Creative Self (SSCS) and the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS) were used to measure creativity and various aspects of humor...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if levels of the HtrA1 protein in serum or vitreous humor are influenced by genetic risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at the 10q26 locus, age, sex, AMD status, and/or AMD disease severity, and, therefore, to determine the contribution of systemic and ocular HtrA1 to the AMD disease process. METHODS: A custom-made sandwich ELISA assay (SCTM ELISA) for detection of the HtrA1 protein was designed and compared with three commercial assays (R&D Systems, MyBiosource 1 and MyBiosource 2) using 65 serum samples...

This study evaluated the effects of maternal supplementation of a Bacillus-based direct-fed microbial (DFM) on the physiology and growth performance of Bos indicus-influenced cow-calf pairs. On day 0 (~139 d before expected calving date), 72 fall-calving, Brangus crossbred beef heifers (20 to 22 mo of age) pregnant with first offspring were stratified by their initial body weight (BW; 431 ± 31 kg) and body condition score (BCS; 6.0 ± 0.36; scale 1 to 9), and randomly allocated into 1 of 12 bahiagrass pastures (1 ha and 6 heifers per pasture)...

Dengue virus (DENV) represents a significant global health burden, with 50% of the world's population at risk of infection, and there is an urgent need for next-generation vaccines. Virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccines, which mimic the antigenic structure of the virus but lack the viral genome, are an attractive approach. Here, we describe a dengue VLP (DENVLP) vaccine which generates a neutralizing antibody response against all four DENV serotypes in 100% of immunized non-human primates for up to 1 year...

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the most common diseases in the cattle industry worldwide; it is caused by multiple bacterial or viral coinfections, of which Mycoplasma bovis ( M. bovis ) and bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) are the most notable pathogens. Although live vaccines have demonstrated better efficacy against BRD induced by both pathogens, there are no combined live and marker vaccines. Therefore, we developed an attenuated and marker M. bovis -BoHV-1 combined vaccine based on the M...

OBJECTIVES: Demyelination and immunocyte-infiltrated lesions have been found in neuro-Behçet's disease (NBD) pathology. Lacking satisfying laboratory biomarkers in NBD impedes standard clinical diagnostics. We aim to explore the ancillary indicators for NBD diagnosis unveiling its potential etiology. METHODS: 28 NBD with defined diagnosis, 29 patients with neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus, 30 central nervous system idiopathic inflammatory demyelination diseases (CNS-IIDD), 30 CNS infections, 30 cerebrovascular diseases, and 30 noninflammatory neurological diseases (NIND) were retrospectively enrolled...

BACKGROUND: The emergence of drug-resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) has become a significant challenge in the field of infectious diseases, posing an urgent need for the development of highly protective vaccines against this pathogen. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, we identified three immunogenic extracellular loops based on the structure of five candidate antigens using sera from K. pneumoniae infected mice. The sequences of these loops were linked to the C-terminal of an alpha-hemolysin mutant (mHla) from Staphylococcus aureus to generate a heptamer, termed mHla-EpiVac...

BACKGROUND: Immunocompromised patients with impaired humoral immunity are at risk for persistent COVID-19 (pCOVID), a protracted symptomatic disease with active viral replication. OBJECTIVES: To establish a national consensus statement on the diagnosis, treatment, management, isolation, and prevention of pCOVID in adults. SOURCES: We base our suggestions on the available literature, our own experience and clinical reasoning. CONTENT: Literature on the treatment of pCOVID is scarce and consists of few case-reports and case series...

Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) is characterized by the deposition of fibrous pseudoexfoliation material (PEXM) in the eye, and secondary glaucoma associated with this syndrome has a faster and more severe clinical course. The incidence of PEX and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) exhibits ethnic clustering; however, few proteomic studies related to PEX and PEXG have been conducted in Asian populations. Therefore, we aimed to conduct proteomic analysis on the aqueous humor (AH) obtained from Uyghur patients with cataracts, those with PEX and cataracts, and those with PEXG and cataracts to better understand the molecular mechanisms of the disease and identify its potential biomarkers...

Aqueous humor (AQH) is a transparent fluid with characteristics similar to those of the interstitial fluid, which fills the eyeball posterior and anterior chambers and circulates in them from the sites of production to those of drainage. The AQH volume and pressure homeostasis is essential for the trophism of the ocular avascular tissues and their normal structure and function. Different AQH outflow pathways exist, including a main pathway, quite well defined anatomically and referred to as the conventional pathway, and some accessory pathways, more recently described and still not fully morphofunctionally understood, generically referred to as unconventional pathways...

Obesity and type 2 diabetes (DM) are risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes, which disproportionately affect South Asian populations. This study aims to investigate the humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in adult COVID-19 survivors with obesity and DM in Bangladesh. In this cross-sectional study, SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody and T cell responses were investigated in 63 healthy and 75 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 recovered individuals in Bangladesh, during the pre-vaccination first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020...

BACKGROUND: Various cell culture platforms that could display native environmental cue-mimicking stimuli were developed, and effects of environmental cues on cell behaviors were studied with the cell culture platforms. Likewise, various cell culture platforms mimicking native trabecular meshwork (TM) composed of juxtacanalicular, corneoscleral and uveal meshwork located in internal scleral sulcus were used to study effects of environmental cues and/or drug treatments on TM cells and glaucoma development...

The aim of this narrative review is to relate the contribution of European researchers to the complex topic of the host immune system in periodontal disease, focusing on acquired immunity. Other chapters in this volume will address the genetics and autoantibody responses and other forms of immunity to periodontal disease. While the contribution of European authors is the focus, global literature is included in this descriptive narrative for contextual clarity, albeit many with European co-authors. The topic is relatively intense and is thus broken down into sections outlined below, tackled as descriptive narratives to enhance understanding...