Vaccine Side Effects Following COVID-19 Vaccination Among the Residents of the UAE-An Observational Study.

COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be very safe in the clinical trials, however, there is less evidence comparing the safety of these vaccines in real-world settings. Therefore, we aim to investigate the nature and severity of the adverse effects reported and the differences based on the type of vaccine received. A survey was conducted among 1,878 adult (≥18 years) COVID-19 vaccine recipients through online survey platforms and telephonic interviews during March to September 2021. The factors potentially associated with the reported side effects like age, gender, ethnicity, comorbidities, and previous COVID-19 infection were analyzed based on the type of vaccine received. Differences in adverse events and the severity were compared between inactivated and mRNA vaccine recipients. The major adverse effects reported by the COVID-19 vaccine recipients were pain at the site of injection, fatigue and drowsiness, and headache followed by joint/muscle pain. The adverse effects were more common among recipients of mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine than among recipients of inactive Sinopharm vaccine with the odds ratio of 1.39 (95% CI 1.14-1.68). The average number of adverse effects reported between individuals who had received Sinopharm and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines was 1.61 ± 2.08 and 2.20 ± 2.58, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p <0.001). Severe adverse effects after COVID-19 vaccinations were rare and 95% of the adverse effects reported after either an inactivated or mRNA vaccine were mild requiring no or home-based treatment. The study found that individuals less than 55 years of age, female gender, with history of one or more comorbid conditions, who had received mRNA Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine, and with history of COVID-19 infections are at higher odds of developing an adverse effect post COVID-19 vaccination compared to the others.

Time-resolved photoluminescence of 6-thienyl-lumazine fluorophores in cellulose acetate nanofibers for detection of mercury ions.

Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements were used to characterize the photophysical properties of 6-thienyllumazine (TLm) fluorophores in cellulose acetate nanofibers (NFs) in the presence and absence of mercuric acetate salts. In solution, excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) from TLm to water molecules was investigated at pH from 2 to 12. The insertion of thienyl group into lumazine introduces cis and trans conformers while keeping the same tautomerization structures. Global and target analyses were employed to resolve the true emission spectra of all prototropic, tautomeric, and rotameric species for TLm in water. The results support the premise that only the cis conformers are related to the ESPT process. However, no ESPT from TLm to a nearby water molecule was observed in NFs. The addition of NFs increases the excited-state lifetime of TLm in the solid state because of combined polarity/confinement effects. The solid-state fluorescence of TLm (in NFs) was quenched by mercuric acetate through different mechanisms-dynamic and static-depending on the applied pressure-atmospheric and vacuum, respectively. The new solid-state sensor is simple, ecofriendly, and instantly fabricated. TLM-loaded NFs can detect mercuric ions at a concentration of 50 picomolar. The formation of non-fluorescent ground-state complex between TLm molecules and mercuric ions inside the pores of NFs was achieved under vacuum condition.

Solubilization of Pyridone-Based Fluorescent Tag by Complexation in Cucurbit[7]uril.

Aimed at further exploring the hosting properties of cucurbit[7]uril (CB7), we have exploited the spectroscopic and photophysical properties of a known fluorescent label as the guest molecule, namely, 3-cyano-6-(2-thienyl)-4-trifluoromethyl pyridine (TFP), in neat solvents. The formation of an inclusion host-guest complex with CB7 was checked by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and the value of binding constant (9.7 × 105 M-1) was extracted from the spectrophotometric data. The modulation of keto-enol equilibrium in TFP by the local environment is governed by the interplay between dimerization through intermolecular hydrogen bonding between individual solute molecules, favoring the enol form, and intermolecular hydrogen bonding between TFP and the surrounding solvents, favoring the keto form. Time-resolved fluorescence results established that the macromolecular CB7 host stabilizes preferentially the neutral enol form over the keto form of TFP. Unprecedentedly, our results reveal a linear dependence of the amplitudes of the extracted decay-associated spectra from the time-resolved fluorescence spectra of TFP on the sum of polarity/polarizability and hydrogen bonding parameters of the local environment, confirming that TFP at micromolar concentration in the CB7 complexes is experiencing a methanol-like environment. The results rationalized the 42-fold enhancement in the solubility of TFP in water media by complexation in CB7.

Effects of brain natriuretic peptide on contraction and intracellular Ca2+ in ventricular myocytes from the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat.

The streptozotocin (STZ)-treated rat is a widely studied experimental model of diabetes mellitus (DM). Its pathophysiology includes hypoinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, cardiac hypertrophy, and a cardiomyopathy that is characterized by the presence of diastolic and/or systolic contractile dysfunction. As part of their endocrine function cardiomyocytes in the heart produce and secrete a family of related peptide hormones called the natriuretic peptides that include A-type natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). ANP and BNP levels are variously augmented in patients with hypertension, cardiac overload, in the ventricles of failing or hypertrophied heart, in cardiac heart failure, in acute myocardial infarction (MI), and in some circumstances in DM. In this article, the effects of BNP on ventricular myocyte contraction and Ca2+ transport in STZ-induced diabetic rats have been investigated. BNP concentration was significantly increased in blood plasma and in atrial muscle in STZ-induced diabetic rats compared to age-matched controls. BNP was 11.9 +/- 0.9 ng/mL in plasma from diabetic rats compared to 6.7 +/- 1.6 ng/mL in controls and 15.8 +/- 2.0 ng/mg protein in diabetic atrial muscle compared to 8.5 +/- 1.0 ng/mg protein in controls. The heart weight to body weight ratio, an indicator of hypertrophy, was significantly increased in diabetic rat heart (4.3 +/- 0.1 mg/g) compared to controls (3.7 +/- 0.04 mg/g). The amplitude of shortening was not significantly altered in diabetic myocytes (10.3 +/- 0.4%) compared to controls (10.9 +/- 0.4%). BNP reduced the amplitude of shortening to a greater extent in diabetic myocytes (8.1 +/- 0.6%) compared to controls (10.1 +/- 0.4%). The time to peak (TPK) shortening was significantly prolonged in diabetic myocytes (254 +/- 8 ms) compared to controls (212 +/- 5 ms) and was not additionally altered by BNP. The time to half relaxation of shortening was also significantly prolonged in diabetic myocytes (131 +/- 8 ms) compared to controls (111 +/- 5 ms). BNP (10(-8) to 10(-6) M) normalized the time to half relaxation of shortening in diabetic myocytes to that of controls. Time to peak (TPK) shortening of Ca2+ was not different between diabetic and control rats. However, BNP (10(-7) M) increases TPK of Ca2+ significantly. The amplitude of the Ca2+ transient was significantly increased in diabetic myocytes (0.42 +/- 0.02 Ratio units [RU]) compared to controls (0.36 +/- 0.02 RU) and was not additionally altered by BNP. BNP may have a protective role in STZ-induced diabetic rat heart.