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1.
Nat Immunol ; 23(3): 380-385, 2022 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35115679

ABSTRACT

Delayed dosing intervals are a strategy to immunize a greater proportion of the population. In an observational study, we compared humoral and cellular responses in health care workers receiving two doses of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine at standard (3- to 6-week) and delayed (8- to 16-week) intervals. In the delayed-interval group, anti-receptor-binding domain antibody titers were significantly enhanced compared to the standard-interval group. The 50% plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50) and PRNT90 titers against wild-type (ancestral) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Alpha, Beta and Delta variants were higher in the delayed-interval group. Spike-specific polyfunctional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing interferon-γ and interleukin-2 were comparable between the two groups. Here, we show that the strategy of delaying second doses of mRNA vaccination may lead to enhanced humoral immune responses, including improved virus neutralization against wild-type and variant SARS-CoV-2 viruses. This finding has potentially important implications as vaccine implementation continues across a greater proportion of the global population.


Subject(s)
BNT162 Vaccine/immunology , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Adult , Cells, Cultured , Female , Humans , Immunity, Humoral , Immunization, Secondary , Interferon-gamma/metabolism , Interleukin-2/metabolism , Male , Middle Aged , Vaccination , Vaccination Hesitancy
2.
Anal Chem ; 96(10): 3994-3998, 2024 Mar 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38349767

ABSTRACT

Analytical chemistry has never yielded such a wealth of experimental data as it does today, and this exponential trend shows no sign of abating. We continually advance the capabilities of our instruments and conceive innovative concepts, all in a concerted effort to naturally push the boundaries of our understanding regarding intricate sample matrices. Spectroscopic imaging, in the broadest sense, is certainly the field where we observe this acceleration even more pronouncedly. Analytical chemistry swiftly grasped the significance of processing acquired data for comprehensive exploration through utilization of chemometrics or machine learning tools. One can assert today that chemometrics undeniably constitutes an integral facet in the advancement of an analytical approach. However, we are now faced with a new challenge, as the experimental data accumulated for certain analytical techniques are so vast and massive that exploring them with such tools has become unfeasible, and this is by no means a computational capacity issue. Analytical chemistry is far from being the sole field affected by this issue, and one could argue that others have grappled with it long before us, such as, for instance, social media, to name just one. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that such a domain, which may initially seem distant from our concerns, can offer novel tools capable of overcoming these barriers, even though we are not necessarily dealing with the same objects. More specifically, we delve into the clustering of over 10 million LIBS spectra acquired as part of an imaging experiment aimed at exploring a singular rock sample. This will serve to demonstrate that an open-source library developed by Meta (formerly known as Facebook) can enable us to conduct a comprehensive exploration of this sample, a feat deemed impossible with conventional data analysis approaches.

3.
Anal Chem ; 96(18): 7038-7046, 2024 May 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38575850

ABSTRACT

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) imaging continues to gain strength as an influential bioanalytical technique, showing intriguing potential in the field of clinical analysis. This is because hyperspectral LIBS imaging allows for rapid, comprehensive elemental analysis, covering elements from major to trace levels consistently year after year. In this study, we estimated the potential of a multivariate spectral data treatment approach based on a so-called convex envelope method to detect exotic elements (whether they are minor or in trace amounts) in biopsy tissues of patients with occupational exposure-related diseases. More precisely, we have developed an approach called Interesting Features Finder (IFF), which initially allowed us to identify unexpected elements without any preconceptions, considering only the set of spectra contained in a LIBS hyperspectral data cube. This task is, in fact, almost impossible with conventional chemometric tools, as it entails identifying a few exotic spectra among several hundred thousand others. Once this detection was performed, a second approach based on correlation was used to locate their distribution in the biopsies. Through this unique data analysis pipeline to processing massive LIBS spectroscopic data, it was possible to detect and locate exotic elements such as tin and rhodium in a patient's tissue section, ultimately leading to a possible reclassification of their lung condition as an occupational disease. This review will thus demonstrate the potential of this new diagnostic tool based on LIBS imaging in addressing the shortcomings of approaches developed thus far. The proposed data processing approach naturally transcends this specific framework and can be leveraged across various domains of analytical chemistry, where the detection of rare events is concealed within extensive data sets.


Subject(s)
Lung Diseases , Humans , Biopsy , Lung Diseases/diagnosis , Lung Diseases/pathology , Occupational Diseases/diagnosis , Occupational Diseases/pathology , Lasers , Spectrum Analysis/methods , Lung/pathology , Lung/chemistry , Lung/diagnostic imaging
4.
Cereb Cortex ; 33(8): 4384-4404, 2023 04 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36130104

ABSTRACT

A fronto-temporal brain network has long been implicated in language comprehension. However, this network's role in language production remains debated. In particular, it remains unclear whether all or only some language regions contribute to production, and which aspects of production these regions support. Across 3 functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments that rely on robust individual-subject analyses, we characterize the language network's response to high-level production demands. We report 3 novel results. First, sentence production, spoken or typed, elicits a strong response throughout the language network. Second, the language network responds to both phrase-structure building and lexical access demands, although the response to phrase-structure building is stronger and more spatially extensive, present in every language region. Finally, contra some proposals, we find no evidence of brain regions-within or outside the language network-that selectively support phrase-structure building in production relative to comprehension. Instead, all language regions respond more strongly during production than comprehension, suggesting that production incurs a greater cost for the language network. Together, these results align with the idea that language comprehension and production draw on the same knowledge representations, which are stored in a distributed manner within the language-selective network and are used to both interpret and generate linguistic utterances.


Subject(s)
Brain Mapping , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Brain Mapping/methods , Language , Brain/physiology , Comprehension/physiology
5.
Mem Cognit ; 52(1): 197-210, 2024 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37721701

ABSTRACT

Proper names are especially prone to retrieval failures and tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs)-a phenomenon wherein a person has a strong feeling of knowing a word but cannot retrieve it. Current research provides mixed evidence regarding whether related names facilitate or compete with target-name retrieval. We examined this question in two experiments using a novel paradigm where participants either read a prime name aloud (Experiment 1) or classified a written prime name as famous or non-famous (Experiment 2) prior to naming a celebrity picture. Successful retrievals decreased with increasing trial number (and was dependent on the number of previously presented similar famous people) in both experiments, revealing a form of accumulating interference between multiple famous names. However, trial number had no effect on TOTs, and within each trial famous prime names increased TOTs only in Experiment 2. These results can be explained within a framework that assumes competition for selection at the point of lexical retrieval, such that successful retrievals decrease after successive retrievals of proper names of depicted faces of semantically similar people. By contrast, the effects of written prime words only occur when prime names are sufficiently processed, and do not provide evidence for competition but may reflect improved retrieval relative to a "don't know" response.


Subject(s)
Mental Recall , Names , Humans , Mental Recall/physiology , Reading , Tongue
6.
Environ Monit Assess ; 196(3): 281, 2024 Feb 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38368304

ABSTRACT

The evaluation of environmental and spatial influence in freshwater systems is crucial for the conservation of aquatic diversity. So, we evaluated communities of Odonata in streams inside and outside sustainable use areas in the Brazilian western Amazon. We predicted that these streams would differ regarding habitat integrity and species α and ß diversity. We also predict that environmental and spatial variables will be important for both suborders, but with more substantial effects on Zygoptera species, considering their nature of forest-specialist. The study was conducted in 35 streams, 19 inside and 16 outside sustainable use areas. The streams outside presented high species richness, abundance, and number of exclusive forest-specialist species from Zygoptera and higher scores of habitat integrity. In contrast, one sustainable use area presented the lowest values of these metrics. Besides, we found that environmental and spatial variables were significantly associated to Zygoptera species composition, but not with Anisoptera, which can be explained by their cosmopolitan nature. Our results indicated that an interplay between environmental and spatial processes determines the structure of the metacommunities of Zygoptera. The less effective dispersal rates and narrow ecological tolerance of Zygoptera species make them more influenced by local conditions and dispersal limitation, and more sensible to habitat modifications. We highlight the importance of improving the local management of the sustainable use areas by environmental agencies, mainly on areas that are losing their capacity to maintain the aquatic fauna, and implementation of social policies toward traditional people.


Subject(s)
Odonata , Humans , Animals , Rivers , Brazil , Environmental Monitoring , Ecosystem , Insecta , Biodiversity
7.
Clin Infect Dis ; 77(2): 229-236, 2023 07 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36975097

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, the primary vaccination series against Coronavirus Disease 2019 is 3 doses followed by boosters. We determined whether a fourth dose booster induced Omicron BA.4/5 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) and T cells in a large multicenter cohort study. METHODS: Serum was collected 4-6 weeks post-third and post-fourth doses of messenger RNA vaccine in 222 SOT recipients. nAbs were measured using a pseudovirus neutralization assay that targeted the Omicron BA.4/5 spike protein. A subset underwent T-cell testing. RESULTS: The median age of the cohort was 63 years (interquartile range [IQR], 50-68) with 61.7% men. BA.4/5 nAb detection increased from 26.6% (59 of 222) post-third dose to 53.6% (119 of 222) post-fourth dose (P < .0001). In patients with breakthrough infection prior to the fourth dose (n = 27), nAbs were detected in 77.8% and median nAb titers were significantly higher compared with those with 4 vaccine doses alone (P < .0001). Factors associated with a low BA.4/5 neutralization response after the fourth dose were older age (odds ratio [OR], 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], .94-.99), mycophenolate use (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, .20-.77) and prednisone use (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, .18-.63), and vaccine type (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, .51-.99), while breakthrough infection prior to the fourth dose (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.3-9.9) was associated with a greater nAb response. Polyfunctional BA.4/5-specific CD4+ T cells significantly increased after 4 doses and were identified in 76.9% of patients at a median frequency of 213/106 cells (IQR, 98-650). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, a booster significantly increases BA.4/5-specific neutralization and polyfunctional CD4+ T-cell responses, suggesting protection from severe disease even with new Omicron variants. However, SOT recipients who are older and on mycophenolate and prednisone need additional preventative strategies.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Organ Transplantation , Male , Humans , Middle Aged , Female , Cohort Studies , Prednisone , SARS-CoV-2 , Antibodies, Neutralizing , Breakthrough Infections , Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use , RNA, Messenger , Transplant Recipients , mRNA Vaccines , Antibodies, Viral
8.
Am J Transplant ; 23(2): 278-283, 2023 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36744606

ABSTRACT

Mutations in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 have allowed Omicron subvariants to escape neutralizing antibodies. The degree to which this occurs in transplant recipients is poorly understood. We measured BA.4/5 cross-neutralizing responses in 75 mostly vaccinated transplant recipients who recovered from BA.1 infection. Sera were collected at 1 and 6 months post-BA.1 infection, and a lentivirus pseudovirus neutralization assay was performed using spike constructs corresponding to BA.1 and BA.4/5. Uninfected immunized transplant recipients and health care worker controls were used for comparison. Following BA.1 infection, the proportion of transplant recipients with neutralizing antibody responses was 88.0% (66/75) against BA.1 and 69.3% (52/75) against BA.4/5 (P = .005). The neutralization level against BA.4/5 was approximately 17-fold lower than that against BA.1 (IQR 10.6- to 45.1-fold lower, P < .0001). BA.4/5 responses declined over time and by ≥0.5 log10 (approximately 3-fold) in almost half of the patients by 6 months. BA.4/5-neutralizing antibody titers in transplant recipients with breakthrough BA.1 infection were similar to those in immunized health care workers but significantly lower than those in uninfected triple-vaccinated transplant recipients. These results provide evidence that transplant recipients are at ongoing risk for BA.4/5 infection despite vaccination and prior Omicron strain infection, and additional mitigation strategies may be required to prevent severe disease in this cohort.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Transplant Recipients , Antibodies, Neutralizing , Biological Assay , Breakthrough Infections , Antibodies, Viral
9.
Mem Cognit ; 51(3): 666-680, 2023 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35230658

ABSTRACT

Hundreds of languages worldwide use a sentence structure known as the "clause chain," in which 20 or more clauses can be stacked to form a sentence. The Papuan language Nungon is among a subset of clause chaining languages that require "switch-reference" suffixes on nonfinal verbs in chains. These suffixes announce whether the subject of each upcoming clause will differ from the subject of the previous clause. We examine two major issues in psycholinguistics: predictive processing in comprehension, and advance planning in production. Whereas previous work on other languages has demonstrated that sentence planning can be incremental, switch-reference marking would seem to prohibit strictly incremental planning, as it requires speakers to plan the next clause before they can finish producing the current one. This suggests an intriguing possibility: planning strategies may be fundamentally different in Nungon. We used a mobile eye-tracker and solar-powered laptops in a remote village in Papua, New Guinea, to track Nungon speakers' gaze in two experiments: comprehension and production. Curiously, during comprehension, fixation data failed to find evidence that switch-reference marking is used for predictive processing. However, during production, we found evidence for advance planning of switch-reference markers, and, by extension, the subjects they presage. We propose that this degree of advance syntactic planning pushes the boundaries of what is known about sentence planning, drawing on data from a novel morpheme type in an understudied language.


Subject(s)
Eye-Tracking Technology , Language , Humans , Papua New Guinea , Psycholinguistics
10.
Ann Intern Med ; 175(2): 226-233, 2022 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34807716

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is more severe in transplant recipients. Variants of concern have supplanted wild-type virus. In transplant recipients, data are limited on 2-dose or 3-dose vaccine immunogenicity against variant viruses. OBJECTIVE: To assess neutralizing antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants in transplant recipients after 2 and 3 vaccine doses. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of a third dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine versus placebo. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04885907). SETTING: Single-center transplant program. PATIENTS: Organ transplant recipients. INTERVENTION: Third dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine versus placebo. MEASUREMENTS: Sera were analyzed for neutralization against wild-type virus and the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants using a surrogate virus neutralization assay and a spike-pseudotyped lentivirus assay. RESULTS: A total of 117 transplant recipients were analyzed (60 in the mRNA-1273 group and 57 in the placebo group). Sera were obtained before and 4 to 6 weeks after the third dose. After 2 doses, the proportion of patients with positive neutralization for all 3 variants was small compared with wild-type virus. After the third dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine, the proportion with a positive neutralization response versus placebo was improved for all 3 variants as measured by both assays. Based on the pseudovirus neutralization assay against the Delta variant, 33 of 60 (55%) patients were positive in the mRNA-1273 group versus 10 of 57 (18%) in the placebo group (difference, 37 [95% CI, 19 to 53] percentage points). The differences were 36 (CI, 17 to 51) percentage points for the Alpha variant and 31 (CI, 15 to 46) percentage points for the Beta variant. In the mRNA-1273 group, lower neutralization values were observed for variants compared with wild-type virus, especially the Beta variant. LIMITATIONS: There is no clear correlate of protection for neutralizing antibody. This was a secondary analysis. CONCLUSION: In organ transplant recipients, a third dose of mRNA vaccine increases neutralizing antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 variants compared with placebo. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Ajmera Transplant Centre.


Subject(s)
2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273/administration & dosage , Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Organ Transplantation , SARS-CoV-2 , Transplant Recipients , 2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273/adverse effects , Aged , COVID-19/virology , Double-Blind Method , Female , Humans , Immunocompromised Host , Male , Middle Aged
11.
Am J Transplant ; 22(8): 2089-2093, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35266606

ABSTRACT

The SARS-CoV-2 virus Omicron variant has now supplanted wild-type virus as the dominant circulating strain globally. Three doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine are recommended for transplant recipients as their primary vaccine series. However, the immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines as they specifically relate to the Omicron variant are not well studied. We analyzed Omicron-specific neutralization in transplant recipients after three-doses of mRNA-1273 vaccine. Neutralization was determined using a SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus assay with constructs for Omicron and Delta variants. A total of 60 transplant patients (kidney, kidney-pancreas, lung, heart, liver) were analyzed 1 month and 3 months after completion of three doses of mRNA-1273. At 1 month, 11/60 (18.3%) patients had detectable neutralizing antibody responses to Omicron (log10 ID50 of 2.38 [range 1.34-3.57]). At 3 months, 8/51 (15.7%) were positive (median log10 ID50 [1.68; range 1.12-3.61; approximate fivefold reduction over time]). The proportion of positive patients was lower for Omicron versus wild-type, and Omicron vs. Delta (p < .001). No demographic variables were found to be significantly associated with Omicron response. Many patients with a positive anti-RBD response still had undetectable Omicron-specific neutralizing antibody. In conclusion, three doses of mRNA vaccine results in poor neutralizing responses against the Omicron variant in transplant patients.


Subject(s)
2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273 , COVID-19 , Transplant Recipients , 2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273/immunology , Antibodies, Neutralizing , Antibodies, Viral , COVID-19/prevention & control , Humans , Neutralization Tests , SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
12.
Sensors (Basel) ; 22(24)2022 Dec 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36560293

ABSTRACT

The recent application of deep learning for structural health monitoring systems for damage detection has potential for improvised structure performance and maintenance for long term durability, and reliable strength. Advancements in electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) techniques have sparked attention among researchers to develop novel monitoring techniques for structural monitoring and evaluation. This study aims to determine the performance of EMI techniques using a piezo sensor to monitor the development of bond strength in reinforced concrete through a pull-out test. The concrete cylindrical samples with embedded steel bars were prepared, cured for 28 days, and a pull-out test was performed to measure the interfacial bond between them. The piezo coupled signatures were obtained for the PZT patch bonded to the steel bar. The damage qualification is performed through the statistical indices, i.e., root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) and correlation coefficient deviation metric (CCDM), were obtained for different displacements recorded for axial pull. Furthermore, this study utilizes a novel Convolutional Neural Network-Long Short-Term Memory (CNN-LSTM)-based hybrid model, an effective regression model to predict the EMI signatures. These results emphasize the efficiency and potential application of the deep learning-based hybrid model in predicting EMI-based structural signatures. The findings of this study have several implications for structural health diagnosis using a deep learning-based model for monitoring and conservation of building heritage.


Subject(s)
Memory, Long-Term , Neural Networks, Computer , Electric Impedance , Records , Steel
13.
J Infect Dis ; 224(11): 1849-1860, 2021 12 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34739078

ABSTRACT

T-cell immunity associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) is poorly understood. To address this, we measured T-cell responses in 50 SOTRs with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. The majority of patients mounted SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T-cell responses against spike (S), nucleocapsid, and membrane proteins; CD8+ T-cell responses were generated to a lesser extent. CD4+ T-cell responses correlated with antibody levels. Severity of disease and mycophenolate dose were moderately associated with lower proportions of antigen-specific T cells. Relative to nontransplant controls, SOTRs had perturbations in both total and antigen-specific T cells, including higher frequencies of total PD-1+ CD4+ T cells. Vaccinated SOTRs (n = 55) mounted significantly lower proportions of S-specific polyfunctional CD4+ T cells after 2 doses, relative to unvaccinated SOTRs with prior coronavirus disease 2019. Together, these results suggest that SOTRs generate robust T-cell responses following natural infection that correlate with disease severity but generate comparatively lower T-cell responses following mRNA vaccination.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Transplant Recipients , Humans , Immunity, Cellular , Organ Transplantation , SARS-CoV-2 , Vaccination
14.
Am J Transplant ; 21(12): 3980-3989, 2021 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34347934

ABSTRACT

Solid organ transplant recipients are at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19. We assessed the immunogenicity of mRNA-1273 vaccine using a combination of antibody testing, surrogate neutralization assays, and T cell assays. Patients were immunized with two doses of vaccine and immunogenicity assessed after each dose using the above tests. CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were assessed in a subset using flow-cytometry. A total of 127 patients were enrolled of which 110 provided serum at all time points. A positive anti-RBD antibody was seen in 5.0% after one dose and 34.5% after two doses. Neutralizing antibody was present in 26.9%. Of note, 28.5% of patients with anti-RBD did not have neutralizing antibody. T cell responses in a sub-cohort of 48 patients showed a positive CD4+ T cell response in 47.9%. Of note, in this sub-cohort, 46.2% of patients with a negative anti-RBD, still had a positive CD4+ T cell response. The vaccine was safe and well-tolerated. In summary, immunogenicity of mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine was modest, but a subset of patients still develop neutralizing antibody and CD4+T- cell responses. Importantly polyfunctional CD4+T cell responses were observed in a significant portion who were antibody negative, further highlighting the importance of vaccination in this patient population. IRB Statement: This study was approved by the University Health Network Research Ethics Board (CAPCR ID 20-6069).


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Organ Transplantation , Antibodies, Neutralizing , Antibodies, Viral , COVID-19 Vaccines , Humans , Immunity, Cellular , Organ Transplantation/adverse effects , SARS-CoV-2
15.
Am J Transplant ; 21(8): 2709-2718, 2021 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33484237

ABSTRACT

The humoral immune response to influenza virus infection is complex and may be different compared to the antibody response elicited by vaccination. We analyzed the breadth of IgG and IgA responses in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients to a diverse collection of 86 influenza antigens elicited by natural influenza A virus (IAV) infection or by vaccination. Antibody levels were quantified using a custom antigen microarray. A total of 120 patients were included: 80 IAV infected (40 A/H1N1 and 40 A/H3N2) and 40 vaccinated. Based on hierarchical clustering analysis, infection with either H1N1 or H3N2 virus showed a more diverse antibody response compared to vaccination. Similarly, H1N1-infected individuals showed a significant IgG response to 27.9% of array antigens and H3N2-infected patients to 43.0% of antigens, whereas vaccination elicited a less broad immune response (7.0% of antigens). Immune responses were not exclusively targeting influenza hemagglutinin (HA) proteins but were also directed against conserved influenza antigens. Serum IgA responses followed a similar profile. This study provides novel data on the breadth of antibody responses to influenza. We also found that the diversity of response is greater in influenza-infected rather than vaccinated patients, providing a potential mechanistic rationale for suboptimal vaccine efficacy in this population.


Subject(s)
Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype , Influenza Vaccines , Influenza, Human , Antibodies, Viral , Humans , Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Transplant Recipients , Vaccination
16.
Am J Transplant ; 21(6): 2246-2253, 2021 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33565711

ABSTRACT

Lung transplant recipients are at high risk for herpes zoster and preventive measures are a significant unmet need. We investigated the safety and immunogenicity of two doses of a recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) in lung transplant recipients (≥50 years). We enrolled 50 patients of which 49 received at least one vaccine dose. Anti-glycoprotein E (gE) antibody levels (n = 43) increased significantly compared to baseline (median optical density [OD] 1.96; interquartile range [IQR]: 1.17-2.89) after the first (median OD 3.41, IQR 2.54-3.81, p < .0001) and second vaccine dose (median OD 3.63, IQR 3.39-3.86, p < .0001). gE-specific polyfunctional CD4+ T cell frequencies (n = 38) also increased from baseline (median 85 per 106 CD4+ T cells; IQR: 46-180) to the first (median 128 per 106 CD4+ T cells; IQR: 82-353; p = .023) and after the second dose (median 361 per 106 CD4+ T cells; IQR: 146-848; p < .0001). Tenderness (83.0%; 95%CI: 69.2-92.4%) and redness (31.9%; 95%CI: 19.1-47.1%) at injection site were common. One rejection episode within 3 weeks of vaccination was observed. This is the first study demonstrating that RZV was safe and elicited significant humoral and cell-mediated immunity in lung transplant recipients. RZV is a new option for the prevention of shingles in this population.


Subject(s)
Herpes Zoster Vaccine , Herpes Zoster , Antibodies, Viral , Herpes Zoster Vaccine/adverse effects , Humans , Lung , Transplant Recipients
17.
Cogn Psychol ; 128: 101397, 2021 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34172262

ABSTRACT

The current study examines how speakers plan sentences in which two words that form hierarchical dependency relationships - arguments and verbs - appear far apart in linear distance, to investigate how linear and hierarchical aspects of sentences simultaneously shape sentence planning processes. The results of six extended picture-word interference experiments suggest that speakers retrieve sentence-final verbs before the articulation of their sentence-initial patient or theme arguments, but not agent arguments, and before retrieving sentence-medial nouns inside modifiers. These results suggest that the time-course of sentence planning reflects hierarchically-defined dependency relationships over and above linear structure.

18.
Transpl Infect Dis ; 23(6): e13743, 2021 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34668283

ABSTRACT

The optimal management of immunosuppression in transplant patients infected with COVID-19 is unknown. We performed an in vitro study to determine the effect of individual immunosuppressive agents on SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell cytokine expression. Convalescent peripheral blood mononuclear cells from eleven non-immunosuppressed patients with COVID-19 were preincubated with clinically relevant concentrations of immunosuppressive drugs (tacrolimus, mycophenolate, sirolimus, prednisone) and then stimulated with a SARS-CoV-2 peptide pool. Supernatants were analyzed by 14-plex high sensitivity T-cell cytokine array. With increasing concentrations of tacrolimus, there was a trend to reduction in the release of IL-2 (p = .0137), and IFN-γ (p = .0147) in response to peptide stimulation. There was also a subsequent trend toward a Th2 phenotype, indicated by lower IFN-γ:IL-13 ratio (p = .0663) and IFNγ:IL-4 ratio (p = .0176). Sirolimus appeared to be associated with a proinflammatory cytokine release, including TNF-α (p = .0027) and IL-1ß (p = .0016), in response to SARS-CoV-2 peptides. In contrast, mycophenolate and prednisone did not influence the SARS-CoV-2-specific cytokine response. These are preliminary findings only, with larger studies required to inform clinical recommendations.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Cytokines , Immunosuppression Therapy , COVID-19/immunology , Cytokines/immunology , Humans , Immunity , Leukocytes, Mononuclear , Mycophenolic Acid , Prednisone , Sirolimus , Tacrolimus
19.
J Infect Dis ; 221(1): 53-62, 2020 01 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31550354

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite annual immunization, solid organ transplant (SOT) patients remain at increased risk for severe influenza infection because of suboptimal vaccine immunogenicity. We aimed to compare the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses of the high-dose (HD) and the standard-dose (SD) trivalent inactivated vaccine. METHODS: We collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells pre- and postimmunization from 60 patients enrolled in a randomized trial of HD versus SD vaccine (30 HD; 30 SD) during the 2016-2017 influenza season. RESULTS: The HD vaccine elicited significantly greater monofunctional and polyfunctional CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses against influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B. For example, median vaccine-elicited influenza-specific polyfunctional CD4+ T cells were higher in recipients of the HD than SD vaccine after stimulation with influenza A/H1N1 (1193 vs 0 per 106 CD4+ T cells; P = .003), A/H3N2 (1154 vs 51; P = .008), and B (1102 vs 0; P = .001). Likewise, vaccine-elicited influenza-specific polyfunctional CD8+ T cells were higher in recipients of the HD than SD vaccine after stimulation with influenza B (367 vs 0; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides novel evidence that HD vaccine elicits greater cellular responses compared with the SD vaccine in SOT recipients, which provides support to preferentially consider use of HD vaccination in the SOT setting.


Subject(s)
Immunity, Cellular/immunology , Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/immunology , Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/immunology , Influenza B virus/immunology , Influenza Vaccines/immunology , Influenza, Human/immunology , CD4 Lymphocyte Count , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Female , Humans , Immunocompromised Host/immunology , Immunogenicity, Vaccine , Influenza Vaccines/administration & dosage , Influenza, Human/virology , Male , Middle Aged , Organ Transplantation , Vaccine Potency
20.
Annu Rev Psychol ; 70: 29-51, 2019 01 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30231000

ABSTRACT

Audience design refers to the situation in which speakers fashion their utterances so as to cater to the needs of their addressees. In this article, a range of audience design effects are reviewed, organized by a novel cognitive framework for understanding audience design effects. Within this framework, feedforward (or one-shot) production is responsible for feedforward audience design effects, or effects based on already known properties of the addressee (e.g., child versus adult status) or the message (e.g., that it includes meanings that might be confusable). Then, a forward modeling approach is described, whereby speakers independently generate communicatively relevant features to predict potential communicative effects. This can explain recurrent processing audience design effects, or effects based on features of the produced utterance itself or on idiosyncratic features of the addressee or communicative situation. Predictions from the framework are delineated.


Subject(s)
Communication , Models, Psychological , Social Behavior , Verbal Behavior , Humans
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