COVID-19 vaccines and adverse events of special interest: A multinational Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) cohort study of 99 million vaccinated individuals.

BACKGROUND: The Global COVID Vaccine Safety (GCoVS) Project, established in 2021 under the multinational Global Vaccine Data Network™ (GVDN®), facilitates comprehensive assessment of vaccine safety. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of adverse events of special interest (AESI) following COVID-19 vaccination from 10 sites across eight countries. METHODS: Using a common protocol, this observational cohort study compared observed with expected rates of 13 selected AESI across neurological, haematological, and cardiac outcomes. Expected rates were obtained by participating sites using pre-COVID-19 vaccination healthcare data stratified by age and sex. Observed rates were reported from the same healthcare datasets since COVID-19 vaccination program rollout. AESI occurring up to 42 days following vaccination with mRNA (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) and adenovirus-vector (ChAdOx1) vaccines were included in the primary analysis. Risks were assessed using observed versus expected (OE) ratios with 95 % confidence intervals. Prioritised potential safety signals were those with lower bound of the 95 % confidence interval (LBCI) greater than 1.5. RESULTS: Participants included 99,068,901 vaccinated individuals. In total, 183,559,462 doses of BNT162b2, 36,178,442 doses of mRNA-1273, and 23,093,399 doses of ChAdOx1 were administered across participating sites in the study period. Risk periods following homologous vaccination schedules contributed 23,168,335 person-years of follow-up. OE ratios with LBCI > 1.5 were observed for Guillain-Barré syndrome (2.49, 95 % CI: 2.15, 2.87) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (3.23, 95 % CI: 2.51, 4.09) following the first dose of ChAdOx1 vaccine. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis showed an OE ratio of 3.78 (95 % CI: 1.52, 7.78) following the first dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine. The OE ratios for myocarditis and pericarditis following BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, and ChAdOx1 were significantly increased with LBCIs > 1.5. CONCLUSION: This multi-country analysis confirmed pre-established safety signals for myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Other potential safety signals that require further investigation were identified.

Differential outcome subgroups in children with autism spectrum disorder attending early intervention.

BACKGROUND: The finding of positive outcomes at the group level for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who complete comprehensive early intervention programmes often masks considerable individual variability. We therefore aimed to identify subgroups of children based on their response to intervention and to compare outcome variables between groups at two points in time. METHOD: We used model-based cluster analysis to explore response to intervention using a longitudinal design for 210 children with ASD who had completed an early intervention programme. Children were assessed on entry at time 1 and again at time 2, which was after 12 months or when they exited the programme (whichever came first) using measures of ASD symptoms (Social Communication Questionnaire), cognition (Mullen Scales of Early Learning) and adaptive behaviour (Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales-II). RESULTS: A two-cluster solution was identified, including a high change group who improved consistently more than the low change group across measures, and showed significantly fewer autism symptoms, higher non-verbal and verbal cognition and adaptive behaviour composite scores at time 1. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that children's response to early intervention is not uniform but instead included subgroups characterised by patterns of high and low change. Further research is needed to identify clinically relevant mediators of differential response group membership.

The Emergent Literacy Skills of Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

A high percentage of school-age students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reading comprehension difficulties leading to academic disadvantage. These difficulties may be related to differences in children's emergent literacy development in the preschool years. In this study, we examined the relationship between emergent literacy skills, broader cognitive and language ability, autism severity, and home literacy environment factors in 57 preschoolers with ASD. The children showed strengths in code-related emergent literacy skills such as alphabet knowledge, but significant difficulties with meaning-related emergent literacy skills. There was a significant relationship between meaning-related skills, autism severity, general oral language skills, and nonverbal cognition. Identification of these meaning-related precursors will guide the targets for early intervention to help ensure reading success for students with ASD.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of isoniazid and rifampicin during anti-tuberculosis treatment in Auckland, New Zealand.

SETTING: There is uncertainty as to the optimal therapeutic concentrations of anti-tuberculosis drugs to achieve cure. OBJECTIVE: To characterise the use of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), and identify risk factors and outcomes for those with concentrations below the drug interval. DESIGN: Patients treated for tuberculosis (TB) who had rifampicin (RMP) or isoniazid (INH) concentrations measured between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2012 were studied retrospectively. Matched concentrations and drug dosing time were assessed according to contemporary regional drug intervals (RMP > 6 µmol/l, INH > 7.5 µmol/l) and current international recommendations (RMP > 10 µmol/l, INH > 22 µmol/l). Outcomes were assessed using World Health Organization criteria. RESULTS: Of 865 patients, 121 had concentrations of either or both medications. RMP concentrations were within the regional drug intervals in 106/114 (93%) and INH in 91/100 (91%). Concentrations were within international drug intervals for RMP in 76/114 (67%) and INH in 53/100 (53%). Low weight-based dose was the only statistically significant risk factor for concentrations below the drug interval. Of the 35 patients with low concentrations, 21 were cured, 9 completed treatment and 5 transferred out. There were no relapses during follow-up (mean 66.5 months). CONCLUSION: There were no clinically useful characteristics to guide use of TDM. Many patients had concentrations below international therapeutic intervals, but were successfully treated.

The proportion of minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder in a community-based early intervention programme.

BACKGROUND: Estimates of the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are minimally verbal vary from 25%to 35%. However, there is a lack of consensus in defining minimally verbal and few detailed reports of communication outcomes for these children following intervention. The aim of this study was to explore how minimally verbal children have been defined and to document the proportion of minimally verbal children in a group of children with ASD receiving a community based early intervention programme. METHOD: A longitudinal cohort design was used to examine the proportion of children who met criteria for minimally verbal in 246 children with ASD when they entered and exited an early intervention programme. RESULTS: Overall, 26.3% of the children in this study exited the programme using 'fewer than five spontaneous and functional words' and 36.4% exited not using 'two word phrases' as indicated by direct assessment. However, our findings were mixed depending on measures and definitions used, with parent report indicating that as many as 29.4% of children were not 'naming at least three objects' consistently, and 43.3% not using 'phrases with a noun and verb' consistently at exit. More than half of the children who entered the programme with minimal speech exited the programme with a similar language profile. A small percentage of children (1.2%-4.7%) regressed in their language level over time. CONCLUSIONS: Despite advances in early intervention, and access to services at a younger age, around a quarter of individuals with ASD in this study exited early intervention with significant communication needs. Our findings are considered in relation to the literature and clinical implications, and future research directions are discussed.

Point of sale tobacco displays and smoking among 14-15 year olds in New Zealand: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between exposure to tobacco displays at the point of sale and teenage smoking and susceptibility to the uptake of smoking. DESIGN: The sample comprised a national cross-section of 14-15 year olds with two measures of exposure to tobacco displays at the point of sale and three outcome measures. The outcome measures were susceptibility to smoking initiation, experimenting with smoking or current smoking. RESULTS: Compared with visiting stores less often than weekly, a greater frequency of store visits was related to increased odds of being susceptible to smoking (daily visits, adjusted OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.6 to 2.2) and experimenting with smoking (daily visits, adjusted OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.4 to 3.1). The likelihood of being a current smoker increased with a greater frequency of store visits among students of medium and high socioeconomic status, but not among those of low socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION: Although these findings are cross-sectional in nature, they are consistent with the notion that greater exposure to tobacco displays at the point of sale increases youth smoking, and suggest display bans are needed.

Eukaryotic expression vectors that replicate to low copy number in bacteria: transient expression of the Menkes protein.

A set of low copy number plasmid vectors for mammalian gene expression has been constructed. These vectors are derived from the previously described bacterial low copy number expression vectors, pWSK29 and pWKS30, which are present at six to eight copies per cell. The new plasmids also have the following useful properties: (1) they contain antibiotic resistance markers for the selection of stable mammalian cell lines; (2) they have either constitutive or inducible promoters; (3) a chimeric intron, for enhancing gene expression, is present; (4) they contain unique cloning sites; (5) they have an SV40 polyadenylation signal, and a subset of the vectors have an SV40 origin of replication for episomal replication and transient gene expression. A cDNA encoding the Menkes disease protein was cloned into two of these vectors, and transient expression studies in COS-7 cells showed that both constitutive and inducible expression was possible. This set of expression vectors will provide a useful tool for the manipulation, in Escherichia coli, of mammalian genes or cDNAs that are unstable in the high copy number vectors that are currently available.

Usefulness of color Doppler proximal isovelocity surface area method in quantitating valvular regurgitation.

To define the clinical utility of the color Doppler proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) method for estimating regurgitant stroke volume (SV), 160 regurgitant lesions were evaluated in 104 patients with mitral (MR), aortic (AR), and tricuspid (TR) regurgitation. Regurgitant SV by PISA was calculated as 2 pi R2 x V x (time-velocity integral/peak flow velocity), where R is the radius corresponding to the first blue-red interface velocity of the maximal PISA during the cardiac cycle. The time-velocity integral and peak flow velocity from the continuous-wave Doppler recording of the regurgitant jet were used to correct PISA for phasic variations in regurgitant flow. Fifteen lesions were excluded because of difficulty in tracing the continuous-wave Doppler regurgitant curve. Among 145 remaining regurgitant lesions, PISA was measurable in 50 (78%) of 64 cases of MR and 24 (69%) of 35 cases of TR but in only 12 (26%) of 46 cases of AR (p < 0.001). Regurgitant SV by PISA correlated modestly well with jet area/atrial area in all atrioventricular valve lesions (MR: r = 0.55; TR: r = 0.65; p < 0.001). However, the correlation improved if only central jets were considered (MR: r = 0.70; TR; r = 0.75; p < 0.001). These findings are not unexpected because jet area/atrial area underestimates the true severity of regurgitation in cases of eccentric (wall-impinging) jets. PISA was detected in all severe cases of regurgitation but in only 64% of cases of mild MR, 45% of cases of mild TR, and 6% of cases of mild AR (p < 0.01). The color Doppler PISA method is clinically useful in estimating regurgitant SV in MR and TR, including mild cases, but is less useful in AR.

Decreased carbonic anhydrase III levels in the liver of the mouse mutant 'toxic milk' (tx) due to copper accumulation.

The mouse mutant 'toxic milk' (tx) is characterized by marked hepatic accumulation of copper, similar to that found in patients with the genetic disorder of copper transport, Wilson disease. In addition, lactating tx females produce copper-deficient milk. To characterize further the biochemical basis of this defect, Western blots of tissue extracts from normal and tx mice were probed with various heavy-metal radioisotopes (63Ni. 65Zn and 64Cu). A 30 kDa Ni/Zn-binding polypeptide was found to be markedly decreased in the livers of the tx mice. This protein was isolated from normal adult mice using a procedure based on Ni-chelation chromatography. The amino acid sequences of two CNBr peptides were identical with portions of the mouse skeletal muscle carbonic anhydrase III (CAIII) sequence. Two other peptides sequenced had closely related sequences to that of CAIII, but with two differences in 45 amino acids. These two peptides may be derived from a novel CAIII isoform, which we term CAIIIB to distinguish it from the published form, CAIIIA. We isolated a cDNA clone corresponding to CAIIIA and used this to show that CAIIIA mRNA was also decreased in the mutant liver, but not in muscle. Copper loading of normal mice also decreased hepatic CAIIIA mRNA, suggesting that the decrease in CAIII mRNA in the tx mouse liver is a secondary consequence of the high copper levels in the liver.

Expression of Menkes disease gene in mammary carcinoma cells.

Two P-type ATPases, MNK and WND were recently shown to be defective in the human disorders of copper transport, Menkes disease and Wilson disease respectively. These proteins are important in copper homeostasis but their full physiological function has not been established. This study uses the human breast carcinoma line, PMC42, to investigate copper transport in the mammary gland. Northern blot analysis indicated that both MNK and WND mRNA are expressed in these cells. Western blot analysis with an MNK-specific antibody demonstrated a band of approx. 178 kDa, close to the expected size of 163 kDa. Treatment of PMC42 cells with lactational hormones (oestrogen and progesterone for 3 days followed by dexamethasone, insulin and prolactin for a further 3 days) did not produce an obvious increase in MNK expression as measured by Northern and Western blots. By using indirect immunofluorescence with the MNK antibody, the intracellular distribution of MNK was found to be predominantly perinuclear, consistent with Golgi localization. Punctate staining was also seen in a smaller proportion of cells, suggesting that some MNK is associated with endosomes. Treatment of PMC42 cells with lactational hormones increased the intensity of the perinuclear and punctate fluorescence. Exposure of cells to 100 mM copper resulted in the dispersion of the fluorescence towards the periphery of the cell. The results suggest a role for MNK in the secretion of copper into milk and that PMC42 cells are a valuable model for investigating the detailed cellular function of MNK and WND.

Acute cocaine administration induces ventricular regional wall motion and ultrastructural abnormalities in an anesthetized rabbit model.

Whether acute doses of cocaine can induce left ventricular (LV) regional wall motion abnormalities in animals with otherwise normal coronary arteries is unknown. We studied rabbits receiving constant cocaine infusions (group I: 0.025 to 1.5 mg/kg/min, n = 10), multiple cocaine boluses (group II: 3-5 mg/kg each bolus, n = 10), or saline (group III; n = 8). In group I rabbits, short-axis LV area and diameter increased by 15% to 40% at 60 minutes compared to baseline and to controls (p < 0.01), but percentage of global area fractional shortening was unchanged. Eight rabbits in each of groups I and II, but no controls, developed LV regional wall motion abnormalities as detected by echocardiography: 15 (7 hypokinesis and 8 akinesis or dyskinesis) in the anteroseptal and 2 (hypokinesis) in the posterior LV wall. Among rabbits showing LV wall motion abnormalities, anteroseptal fractional shortening and % area reduction averaged > 20% less (p = 0.03 for area reduction) at 30 minutes versus controls. Only 50% of group I or II rabbits with LV anteroseptal wall motion abnormalities had intraventricular conduction disturbances. Radioactive microsphere flow studies (n = 6) 1 minute after a 4 mg/kg cocaine bolus revealed an equivalent decrease (10% to 20%, average) in septal and LV free wall perfusion (p value not significant). Electron microscopy revealed myocardial cell contraction band necrosis in 3 and sarcoplasmic reticular edema in 7 of 10 cocaine rabbits (unrelated to dose). We conclude that acute cocaine administration in rabbits frequently produces LV anteroseptal wall motion abnormalities even in the absence of differentially decreased perfusion or intraventricular conduction disturbances and produces ultrastructural abnormalities of the myocytes. These findings suggest a direct, nonuniform effect of cocaine on the LV myocardium.

Expression of the Menkes gene homologue in mouse tissues lack of effect of copper on the mRNA levels.

The expression of the homologue of the Menkes disease gene (Mnk) in mice was studied using RNA blots. The highest level of expression of the 8.0 kb mRNA was found in placenta, substantial expression was noted in lung, heart, brain, testis and kidney and gut mucosa, but very low levels were found in spleen and adult liver. In fetal liver, the amount of Mnk mRNA is similar to that found in kidney, however, it declines soon after birth. Results with copper-loaded normal mice and mutant mice with genetic defects in copper transport suggested that Mnk mRNA levels are not regulated by tissue copper concentrations.

Mutations in the murine homologue of the Menkes gene in dappled and blotchy mice.

The murine homologue of the Menkes disease gene (MNK) was isolated from cDNA libraries, using human cDNA clones as probes, and by PCR. The predicted amino acid sequence shows a high level of identity (89.9%) with the human protein, and the predicted functional domains in the human protein are present. Using probes to the mouse Mnk gene, we found that the mottled dappled mutation was caused by alteration in the Mnk locus and lack of expression of Mnk RNA. Tissues of the blotchy mouse contained two larger sizes of MNK mRNA demonstrating a likely defect in RNA splicing. Thus, the mottled locus is homologous to the human MNK locus and dappled and blotchy are allelic mutations in this gene.

Isolation of a partial candidate gene for Menkes disease by positional cloning.

Menkes disease is an X-linked recessive disorder of copper metabolism resulting in death in early infancy. The gene has been mapped to band Xq13 based, in part, on a translocation breakpoint in a female with the disease, which was found to lie within 300 kilobases (kb) of the PGK-1 locus, allowing the isolation of a YAC clone spanning the breakpoint. Phage subclones from the breakpoint region were isolated and used to screen cDNA libraries. cDNA clones were found which detect an 8 kb transcript from normal individuals but show diminished or absent hybridization in Menkes disease patients. Partial sequence of the cDNA shows a unique open reading frame containing putative metal binding motifs which have been found in heavy metal resistance genes in bacteria. This gene is a strong candidate for the Menkes disease gene.

Isolation of a bacterium resembling Pirellula species from primary tissue culture of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon).

During attempts to establish tissue cultures from hepatopancreas, heart, and hemolymph of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), using a medium including penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B, bacterial contamination in the form of a sheet of growth attached to the tissue culture vessel was a persistent problem. Contaminant bacteria were teardrop-shaped cells arranged in rosettes, and electron microscopy revealed buds, crateriform structures, and the absence of a peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall, features characteristic of bacteria in the Planctomyces-Pirellula group, a phylogenetically distinct group of eubacteria. Two strains of contaminant bacteria were isolated in pure culture. Both exhibited morphology and antibiotic resistance consistent with their membership in the Planctomyces-Pirellula group (order Planctomycetales) of eubacteria. Tissue culture media for marine invertebrates may select for such bacteria if high concentrations of cell wall synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics are included.

Analysis of hepatic copper, zinc, metallothionein and metallothionein-Ia mRNA in developing sheep.

The concentrations of zinc, copper, metallothionein and metallothionein-Ia mRNA in sheep livers during development was determined. It was found that early sheep foetuses (30-40 days gestation) had very high concentrations of hepatic zinc (2305 +/- 814 micrograms/g dry mass), and that these levels declined steadily to 644 +/- 304 micrograms/g near to term. The copper concentrations in the foetal livers were not higher than those in the adult. The concentrations of metallothionein and metallothionein-Ia mRNA were also very high in the foetal livers and declined steadily during gestation from 261 +/- 94 molecules/pg RNA to 71 +/- 18 molecules/pg near to term. Metallothionein-Ia mRNA concentrations were closely correlated with hepatic zinc concentrations but not with copper. Metallothionein concentrations also decreased during gestation: e.g. 3044 micrograms/g (wet mass) in one foetus on day 34 of gestation to 862 micrograms/g on day 125. After birth, however, the concentrations of metallothionein declined to less than 100 micrograms/g and this decline occurred despite the presence of significant quantities of mRNA. The ratio of metallothionein/metallothionein-Ia mRNA decreased from 1.3 to 3.2 x 10(5) molecules metallothionein/molecule of metallothionein-Ia mRNA during gestation to between 0.28-0.64 x 10(5) molecules/molecule in the postnatal animals. We conclude that the major function of metallothioneins in the foetal liver is protection of the liver against the potentially toxic accumulation of zinc. In the postnatal sheep there appears to be a decreased synthesis or increased degradation of metallothionein.

Correlation of minimum coronary lumen diameter with left ventricular functional impairment induced by atrial pacing.

To understand whether quantitative measurement of minimal coronary luminal diameter is a better method than percent diameter narrowing for assessing the functional impairment of myocardial contractility produced by coronary artery stenoses, measurements were made from 37 stenotic segments in 27 patients with coronary artery disease and from corresponding segments in 10 subjects without coronary artery narrowing. An assessment of the reliability of the 2 types of measurements was made by correlating them with the physiologic parameters of both segmental wall motion and global ejection fraction response induced by atrial pacing. Digitally acquired coronary angiograms were used to facilitate quantitative analysis. Measurements by edge detection and videodensitometry correlated closely (r = 0.94). Percent diameter narrowing correlated moderately with the change in ejection fraction (r = -0.41) or with the change in segmental wall motion (r = -0.44). The measurement of minimal lumen diameter correlated with the change in global ejection fraction (r = 0.61) and did so even better with the change in segmental wall motion (r = 0.78, p less than 0.05). A minimal lumen diameter of less than or equal to 1.5 mm identified patients likely to have a functional impairment during atrial pacing as assessed by either global ejection fraction or segmental wall motion defects. We conclude that minimal coronary luminal diameter provides a better method than percent diameter narrowing calculations to measure the anatomic severity of coronary artery narrowing.