Variants and vaccines impact nasal immunity over three waves of SARS-CoV-2.

Viral variant and host vaccination status impact infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), yet how these factors shift cellular responses in the human nasal mucosa remains uncharacterized. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on nasopharyngeal swabs from vaccinated and unvaccinated adults with acute Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infections and integrated with data from acute infections with ancestral SARS-CoV-2. Patients with Delta and Omicron exhibited greater similarity in nasal cell composition driven by myeloid, T cell and SARS-CoV-2 cell subsets, which was distinct from that of ancestral cases.

Regulation of Paneth cell-specific genes in COVID-19 patients and SARS-CoV-2-infected mice by quantification of mRNA from exfoliated cells in stool samples.

The Paneth cell, a secretory cell of the small intestine, expresses numerous host defense proteins, and is hypothesized to play an important role in host defense against infection. However, studying gene expression in this cell requires invasive procedures. To test the hypothesis that we could observe Paneth cell-specific gene regulation from exfoliated cells in infectious conditions, we obtained stool samples from patients with COVID-19 and uninfected controls.

Protocol for the efficient and inducible generation of CRISPR-Cas9-edited human cortical neurons from the iCas9-iNgn2 hPSCs.

Generation of CRISPR-Cas9-edited cortical neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) enables the study of gene functions and neural disease mechanisms. Here, we present a protocol for developing iCas9-iNgn2 hPSC, an inducible cell line that allows the simultaneous induction of the neuralizing transcription factor Ngn2 and the Cas9 nuclease to rapidly generate edited human cortical neurons. We describe the steps of the protocol from transducing iCas9-iNgn2 with guide RNA-containing lentivirus to producing edited cortical neurons in about 2 weeks.

Hand hygiene compliance of respiratory physiotherapists: An analysis of trends over eight years including the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Background: Respiratory physiotherapists (RPs) are an integral part of healthcare workers delivering care to intubated patients. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of awareness campaigns on hand hygiene (HH) compliance among RPs.

Method: An observational single-center study was conducted between 2015 and 2022 in different ICU types in both adult and paediatric settings.