Early Outpatient Treatment for Covid-19 with Convalescent Plasma.

Background: Polyclonal convalescent plasma may be obtained from donors who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The efficacy of this plasma in preventing serious complications in outpatients with recent-onset Covid-19 is uncertain.

Methods: In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of Covid-19 convalescent plasma, as compared with control plasma, in symptomatic adults (≥18 years of age) who had tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, regardless of their risk factors for disease progression or vaccination status.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Early Outpatient COVID-19 Treatment with High-Titer Convalescent Plasma.

Background: The efficacy of polyclonal high titer convalescent plasma to prevent serious complications of COVID-19 in outpatients with recent onset of illness is uncertain.

Methods: This multicenter, double-blind randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 high titer convalescent plasma to placebo control plasma in symptomatic adults ≥18 years positive for SARS-CoV-2 regardless of risk factors for disease progression or vaccine status. Participants with symptom onset within 8 days were enrolled, then transfused within the subsequent day.

Heterogeneous toroidal spiral particles for islet encapsulation.

Transplantable cell encapsulation systems present a promising approach to deliver a therapeutic solution from hormone-producing cells for the treatment of endocrine diseases like type 1 diabetes. However, the development of a broadly effective and safe transplantation system has been challenging. While some current micro-sized capsules have been optimized for adequate nutrient and metabolic transport, they lack the robustness and retrievability for the clinical safety translation that macro-devices may offer.

Intranasal delivery of nanoparticles encapsulating BPI3V proteins induces an early humoral immune response in mice.

Vaccine adjuvants are typically designed to stimulate both systemic and mucosal immune responses. Polymeric nanoparticles have been used as adjuvants in the development of vaccines against a number of viral pathogens and tested in laboratory animals. The objective of the study was to assess if synthetic bovine parainfluenza virus type-3 (BPI3V) peptide motifs and solubilised BPI3V proteins encapsulated in poly (dl-lactic-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) induce specific humoral immune responses in a mouse model following intranasal administration.

Measurement and correction of microscopic head motion during magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used method for non-invasive study of the structure and function of the human brain. Increasing magnetic field strengths enable higher resolution imaging; however, long scan times and high motion sensitivity mean that image quality is often limited by the involuntary motion of the subject. Prospective motion correction is a technique that addresses this problem by tracking head motion and continuously updating the imaging pulse sequence, locking the imaging volume position and orientation relative to the moving brain.

Stereocontrol in organic synthesis using silicon-containing compounds. Studies directed towards the synthesis of ebelactone A.

Several approaches to the synthesis of ebelactone A 2 are described, culminating in the synthesis of the benzenesulfonate of 2-epi-ebelactone A 161. All the approaches were based on three fragments A, B and C, originally defined in general terms in, but eventually used as the aldehyde 72, the allenylsilane 3 and the aldehyde 139, respectively. They were joined, first B with C, and then B+C with A.

Antigen-specific IgA and IgG responses in calves inoculated intranasally with ovalbumin encapsulated in poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres.

The immunogenicity of proteins encapsulated in poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) microspheres has not been investigated to any extent in large animal models. In this study, IgG and IgA responses to ovalbumin (OVA), encapsulated in microspheres was investigated following intranasal inoculation into calves. Scanning electron microscopy and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated a uniform microsphere population with a diameter of < 2.