Effectiveness of trivalent influenza vaccines against hospitalizations due to laboratory-confirmed influenza a in the elderly: Comparison of test-negative design with register-based designs.

Introduction: Measuring influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) seasonally is important and has been conducted utilizing several observational study designs. The active test-negative design has been most widely used and the validity of passive register-based studies has been debated. We aimed to explore the potential differences, advantages, and weaknesses of different study designs in estimating influenza vaccine effectiveness.

The effects of laser welding on heterogeneous immunoassay performance in a microfluidic cartridge.

Sealing of a microfluidic cartridge is a challenge, because the cartridge commonly contains heat-sensitive biomolecules that must also be protected from contamination. In addition, the objective is usually to obtain a sealing method suitable for mass production. Laser welding is a rapid technique that can be accomplished with low unit costs.