COVID-19 InfoVaccines: A WHO-supported educational project to promote COVID-19 vaccination information among professionals and the general population.

COVID-19 vaccine uptake varied across countries, in part due to vaccine hesitancy fueled by a lack of trustworthy information. To help health workers provide evidence-based answers to common questions about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, and thereby, assist individuals´ decisions on vaccine acceptance, COVID-19 InfoVaccines, a joint WHO-EU project, was launched in February 2021 to support COVID-19 vaccine rollout in 6 Eastern European countries. COVID-19 InfoVaccines was made available in seven languages and shared on social media networks. A total of 262,592 users accessed COVID-19 InfoVaccines.com between February 11, 2021, and January 31st, 2023. The users were most interested in: general questions; vaccine efficacy and duration of protection; vaccine safety; vaccine co-administration, and dose-interval and interchangeability; though the interest in a specific theme varied in function of the epidemiological situation. A total of 118,510 (45.1%) and 46,644 (17.7%) users scrolled up to 35% and 75% of the COVID-19 InfoVaccines webpage, respectively. The average engagement rate was 71.61%. The users accessed COVID-19 InfoVaccines from 231 countries and territories, but the majority were in Ukraine (N = 38,404; 14.6%), Spain (N = 23,327; 8.9%), and Argentina (N = 21,167; 8.1%). Older Facebook users were more interested in COVID-19 information than younger individuals (X2 p-value < .0001). Two hundred twenty-eight videos were shared on YouTube. The average Click-Through-Rate on Facebook was 7.82%, and that on YouTube was 4.4%, with 60 videos having a Click-Through-Rate >5%, falling in the range of average YouTube video Click-Through-Rate (2% - 10%). As misinformation about vaccines and vaccination spreads easily and can negatively impact health-related decisions, initiatives like COVID-19 InfoVaccines are crucial to facilitate access to reliable information.

Missed Tuberculosis Diagnoses: Analysis of Pediatric Autopsy Data From General Hospitals in Lviv, Ukraine.

We reviewed autopsy data from general hospitals in Lviv, Ukraine to understand pediatric mortality due to tuberculosis (TB). We identified 14 (0.6%) of 2345 autopsied children with unrecognized or untreated TB. More sensitive TB diagnostics for children and improved strategies for identifying which children require TB evaluation are urgently needed.

A different ultrastructural face of ribbon synapses in the rat retina.

Ribbon synapses located exclusively within retinal, cochlear and vestibular connections belong to the most interesting cellular structures but their molecular nature and functions had remained unclear. The study has provided a descriptive morphological analysis of rat eye ribbon synapses using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An original collection of untypical, rarely present in the literature sagittal or tangential sections through the single RIBEYE domain of the particular ribbon have been delivered.

Long-term Treatment with Olanzapine Increases the Number of Sox2 and Doublecortin Expressing Cells in the Adult Subventricular Zone.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Continuously active neurogenic regions in the adult brain are located in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Neurogenesis is modulated by many factors such as growth factors, neurotransmitters and hormones. Neuropsychiatric drugs, especially antidepressants, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics may also affect the origin of neuronal cells. METHOD: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of chronic olanzapine treatment on adult rat neurogenesis at the level of the SVZ. The number of neuroblasts was evaluated using immunohistochemical and fluorescent detection of sex determining region Y-box 2 and doublecortin expressing cells. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The results indicate that olanzapine has proneurogenic effects on the adult rat SVZ, as the mean number of sex determining region Y-box 2 and doublecortin-positive cells increased significantly, while there was a similar tendency in the subgranular zone. Collectively, these results suggest that long-term treatment with olanzapine may stimulate neurogenic stem cell formation in the SVZ which supports adult neurogenesis.