Publications by authors named "S De Craeye"
Article Synopsis
- Research shows that reusing horticultural substrates, like spent peat from strawberry cultivation, can support a shift toward more sustainable greenhouse practices by maintaining yields similar to virgin media.* -
- Three trials demonstrated that direct reuse of spent growing media didn't degrade physical properties, and strawberry yield remained consistent even after multiple reuses, indicating good biological stability.* -
- The study highlighted that reducing nutrient input through fertigation had limited effects on nutrient retention, revealing that water-only approaches significantly lowered key nutrient levels in the substrate by the end of the cultivation period.*
Background: Nursing home residents, a frail and old population group, respond poorly to primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. A third dose has been shown to boost protection against severe disease and death in this immunosenescent population, but limited data is available on the immune responses it induces.
Methods: In this observational cohort study, peak humoral and cellular immune responses were compared 28 days after the second and third doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in residents and staff members of two Belgian nursing homes.
Fractional dosing of COVID-19 vaccines could accelerate vaccination rates in low-income countries. Dose-finding studies of the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) suggest that a fractional dose induces comparable antibody responses to the full dose in people <55 years. Here, we report the safety and immunogenicity of a fractional dose regimen of the BNT162b2 vaccine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Residents of nursing homes (NHs) are at high risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related disease and death and may respond poorly to vaccination because of old age and frequent comorbid conditions.
Methods: Seventy-eight residents and 106 staff members, naive to infection or previously infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), were recruited in NHs in Belgium before immunization with 2 doses of 30 µg BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine at days 0 and 21. Binding antibodies (Abs) to SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD), spike domains S1 and S2, RBD Ab avidity, and neutralizing Abs against SARS-CoV-2 wild type and B.
Objectives: Assess the performance of five SARS-CoV-2 rapid serological tests (RST) using finger prick (FP) blood on-site to evaluate their usability for exposure assessment in population-based seroprevalence studies.
Study Design: Since cross-reactivity with common cold human coronaviruses occurs, serological testing includes a risk of false-positive results. Therefore, the selected cohort for RST-validation was based on combined immunoassay (presence of specific antibodies) and RT-qPCR (presence of SARS-CoV-2) data.