Humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in people living with HIV.

Purpose: To describe the humoral immune response to COVID-19 vaccines in people living with HIV and identify factors associated with the magnitude of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentrations.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of electronic patient files in a big single HIV center in Munich, Germany. Non-parametric methods were used for descriptive and comparative statistics.

Psychophysiological responses to short-term cooling during a simulated monotonous driving task.

For drivers on monotonous routes, cognitive fatigue causes discomfort and poses an important risk for traffic safety. Countermeasures against this type of fatigue are required and thermal stimulation is one intervention method. Surprisingly, there are hardly studies available to measure the effect of cooling while driving.

VIM-15 and VIM-16, two new VIM-2-like metallo-beta-lactamases in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Bulgaria and Germany.

Two Pseudomonas aeruginosa urine isolates from Bulgaria and Germany produced two new VIM-2 variants. VIM-15 had one amino acid substitution (Tyr218Phe) which caused a significant increase in hydrolytic efficiency. The substitution Ser54Leu, characterizing VIM-16, showed no influence on enzyme activity.

Influence of sample preparation, staining procedure and analysis conditions on bull sperm head morphometry using the morphology analyser integrated visual optical system.

The importance of standardizing the procedures of sample and slide preparation for computer-assisted morphologic analysis has been emphasized in human and veterinary andrology. The purpose of this study was to optimize slide preparation (dilution grade and sperm washing), staining procedures and analysis conditions (colour of light source and objective magnification) for the morphometric analysis of bull spermatozoa using the Hamilton Thorne morphology analyzer integrated visual optical system (IVOS). For experiment 1, one ejaculate was collected from one bull and diluted to 200,000-300,000 spermatozoa/microl.

Production of human cloned antibodies specific for hepatitis D virus-encoded small and large protein.

Cloned antibodies to specific epitopes of hepatitis D virus were produced by transformation with Epstein-Barr virus and subsequent cloning of peripheral blood B lymphocytes from a patient with chronic hepatitis D virus infection. Several stable cloned B cell lines, derived from two parent cultures, produced hepatitis D-virus-specific IgG antibodies. Some cloned IgG antibodies detected hepatitis D virus-associated antigen in hepatitis D virus-infected woodchuck liver tissue sections by indirect immunofluorescence staining and some reacted in an inhibition ELISA test detecting hepatitis D virus antibodies; most cloned IgG lines detected hepatitis D antigen both in immunofluorescence tests and in inhibition ELISA.