Comparison of safety and immunogenicity in the elderly after receiving either Comirnaty or Spikevax monovalent XBB1.5 COVID-19 vaccine.

Background: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants necessitates ongoing evaluation of vaccine performance. This study evaluates and compares the safety and immunogenicity of the Comirnaty and Spikevax monovalent XBB.1.

Superimposed pleural infection in cirrhotic chylothorax.

Chylothorax contains an abundant amount of immunoglobulins and white blood cells, leading to the belief that superimposed pleural infection is unlikely. We report two cases of biochemically confirmed chylothorax due to cirrhosis, complicated by superimposed pleural infection following repeated pleural interventions. These findings highlight the potential for superimposed infection in chylothorax and challenge the belief in the bacteriostatic effect of chyle.

Determination of T cell response against XBB variants in adults who received either monovalent wild-type inactivated whole virus or mRNA vaccine or bivalent WT/BA.4-5 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine as the additional booster.

Objectives: As the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolves more rapidly than vaccines are updated, T cell immunity potentially confers protection against disease progression and death from new variants. In this study, we aimed to assess whether the current boosting vaccination schemes offer sufficient T cell protection against new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Methods: A total of 292 adults who had received the second booster of either monovalent wild-type (WT) vaccines (inactivated virus or mRNA) (Cohort 1) or the second/third booster of bivalent WT/BA.

Pleural fluid biomarkers: a narrative review.

Background And Objective: Pleural fluid is a source from which various biomarkers can be obtained and measured to facilitate the management and prognostication of various conditions. This narrative review aims to summarise a few selected applications of pleural fluid biomarker analysis based on the latest literature.

Methods: A literature search for articles published in English regarding human subjects from the period January 2000 to December 2023 was performed through PubMed.

Systematic multi-trait AAV capsid engineering for efficient gene delivery.

Broadening gene therapy applications requires manufacturable vectors that efficiently transduce target cells in humans and preclinical models. Conventional selections of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid libraries are inefficient at searching the vast sequence space for the small fraction of vectors possessing multiple traits essential for clinical translation. Here, we present Fit4Function, a generalizable machine learning (ML) approach for systematically engineering multi-trait AAV capsids.

An AAV capsid reprogrammed to bind human transferrin receptor mediates brain-wide gene delivery.

Developing vehicles that efficiently deliver genes throughout the human central nervous system (CNS) will broaden the range of treatable genetic diseases. We engineered an adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, BI-hTFR1, that binds human transferrin receptor (TfR1), a protein expressed on the blood-brain barrier. BI-hTFR1 was actively transported across human brain endothelial cells and, relative to AAV9, provided 40 to 50 times greater reporter expression in the CNS of human knockin mice.

Peripheral neuronal activation shapes the microbiome and alters gut physiology.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is innervated by intrinsic neurons of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and extrinsic neurons of the central nervous system and peripheral ganglia. The GI tract also harbors a diverse microbiome, but interactions between the ENS and the microbiome remain poorly understood. Here, we activate choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-expressing or tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-expressing gut-associated neurons in mice to determine effects on intestinal microbial communities and their metabolites as well as on host physiology.

Cross-neutralizing antibody against emerging Omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 in infection-naïve individuals with homologous BNT162b2 or BNT162b2(WT + BA.4/5) bivalent booster vaccination.

Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, different variants and subvariants successively emerged to dominate global virus circulation as a result of immune evasion, replication fitness or both. COVID-19 vaccines continue to be updated in response to the emergence of antigenically divergent viruses, the first being the bivalent RNA vaccines that encodes for both the Wuhan-like and Omicron BA.5 subvariant spike proteins.

An AAV capsid reprogrammed to bind human Transferrin Receptor mediates brain-wide gene delivery.

Developing vehicles that efficiently deliver genes throughout the human central nervous system (CNS) will broaden the range of treatable genetic diseases. We engineered an AAV capsid, BI-hTFR1, that binds human Transferrin Receptor (TfR1), a protein expressed on the blood-brain barrier (BBB). BI-hTFR1 was actively transported across a human brain endothelial cell layer and, relative to AAV9, provided 40-50 times greater reporter expression in the CNS of human knock-in mice.

Comparison of the 12-month impact of COVID-19 and SARS on physiological capacity and health-related quality of life.

Background: Little is known about the differences in medium to long-term recovery on spirometry, 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between COVID-19 and SARS.

Methods: We performed a 12-month prospective study on COVID-19 survivors. The changes in dynamic lung volumes at spirometry (%predicted FEV, %predicted FVC), 6MWD and HRQoL at 1-3, 6 to 12 months were compared against a historical cohort of SARS survivors using the same study protocol.

Spatial atlas of the mouse central nervous system at molecular resolution.

Spatially charting molecular cell types at single-cell resolution across the 3D volume is critical for illustrating the molecular basis of brain anatomy and functions. Single-cell RNA sequencing has profiled molecular cell types in the mouse brain, but cannot capture their spatial organization. Here we used an in situ sequencing method, STARmap PLUS, to profile 1,022 genes in 3D at a voxel size of 194 × 194 × 345 nm, mapping 1.

Targeting AAV vectors to the central nervous system by engineering capsid-receptor interactions that enable crossing of the blood-brain barrier.

Viruses have evolved the ability to bind and enter cells through interactions with a wide variety of cell macromolecules. We engineered peptide-modified adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids that transduce the brain through the introduction of de novo interactions with 2 proteins expressed on the mouse blood-brain barrier (BBB), LY6A or LY6C1. The in vivo tropisms of these capsids are predictable as they are dependent on the cell- and strain-specific expression of their target protein.

Adeno-associated viral vectors for functional intravenous gene transfer throughout the non-human primate brain.

Crossing the blood-brain barrier in primates is a major obstacle for gene delivery to the brain. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) promise robust, non-invasive gene delivery from the bloodstream to the brain. However, unlike in rodents, few neurotropic AAVs efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier in non-human primates.

Transplanting Human Neural Stem Cells with ≈50% Reduction of SOX9 Gene Dosage Promotes Tissue Repair and Functional Recovery from Severe Spinal Cord Injury.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are considered a major cell source for reconstructing damaged neural circuitry and enabling axonal regeneration. However, the microenvironment at the site of spinal cord injury (SCI) and inadequate intrinsic factors limit the therapeutic potential of transplanted NSCs. Here, it is shown that half dose of SOX9 in hPSCs-derived NSCs (hNSCs) results in robust neuronal differentiation bias toward motor neuron lineage.

Risk of air and surface contamination during application of different noninvasive respiratory support for patients with COVID-19.

Objectives: We compared the risk of environmental contamination among patients with COVID-19 who received high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), noninvasive ventilation (NIV), and conventional oxygen therapy (COT) via nasal cannula for respiratory failure.

Methods: Air was sampled from the hospital isolation rooms with 12 air changes/hr where 26 patients with COVID-19 received HFNC (up to 60 l/min, n = 6), NIV (n = 6), or COT (up to 5 l/min of oxygen, n = 14). Surface samples were collected from 16 patients during air sampling.

Omicron BA.1-specific T-cell responses in adults vaccinated with CoronaVac or BNT162b2 in Hong Kong: an observational cohort study.

Background: The primary aim of using vaccines in public health responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern is to reduce incidence of severe disease, for which T-cell responses are essential. There is a paucity of data on vaccine-induced T-cell immunity to omicron (B.1.

Intravenous functional gene transfer throughout the brain of non-human primates using AAV.

Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) promise robust gene delivery to the brain through non-invasive, intravenous delivery. However, unlike in rodents, few neurotropic AAVs efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier in non-human primates (NHPs). Here we describe AAV.

Antiviral therapies for influenza.

Purpose Of Review: The heavily suppressed global influenza activity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is expected to return upon relaxation of travel restriction and nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI). We reviewed the four marketed neuraminidase inhibitors (NAI e.g.

Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema complicating a patient with a lung abscess.

Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema are conditions that carry significant morbidity. They are uncommonly seen as complications of lung abscess formation and prompt recognition and treatment is necessary. We present a 59-year-old male patient who complained of shortness of breath and chest pain for 2 weeks.

Implementation of evidence on management of pleural diseases: insights from a territory-wide survey of clinicians in Hong Kong.

Background: Major advances in management of common pleural diseases have taken place in the past decade. However, pleural diseases are often managed by physicians of diverse training background and research on implementation of new knowledge is scanty. We aim to evaluate the practice pattern in pleural medicine among physicians in Hong Kong, for identification of possible gaps for clinical service improvement.

Plaque-neutralizing antibody to BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 in individuals with three doses of BioNTech or CoronaVac vaccines, natural infection and breakthrough infection.

Background: BA.2.12.