Comparison between Neutralization Capacity of Antibodies Elicited by COVID-19 Natural Infection and Vaccination in Indonesia: A Prospective Cohort.

BACKGROUND: To fight the COVID-19 pandemic, immunity against SARS-CoV-2 should be achieved not only through natural infection but also by vaccination. The effect of COVID-19 vaccination on previously infected persons is debatable. METHODS: A prospective cohort was undergone to collect sera from unvaccinated survivors and vaccinated persons-with and without COVID-19 pre-infection. The sera were analyzed for the anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) titers by ELISA and for the capacity to neutralize the pseudovirus of the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain by luciferase assays. RESULTS: Neither the antibody titers nor the neutralization capacity was significantly different between the three groups. However, the correlation between the antibody titers and the percentage of viral neutralization derived from sera of unvaccinated survivors was higher than that from vaccinated persons with pre-infection and vaccinated naïve individuals (Spearman correlation coefficient (r) = -0.8558; 95% CI, -0.9259 to -0.7288), p < 0.0001 vs. -0.7855; 95% CI, -0.8877 to -0.6096, p < 0.0001 and -0.581; 95% CI, -0.7679 to -0.3028, p = 0.0002, respectively), indicating the capacity to neutralize the virus is most superior by infection alone. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccines induce anti-RBD titers as high as the natural infection with lower neutralization capacity, and it does not boost immunity in pre-infected persons.

The Oral Administration of Honey Recovers the Function of the Small Intestine for Digestion and Absorption of Nutrients in a Rat Model of Total Parenteral Nutrition.

The oral administration of pure monosaccharides is effective for improving intestinal function such as nutrient digestion and absorption. However, day-to-day diets tend not to include high purity monosaccharides for intestinal health. Honey possesses large amounts of monosaccharides including glucose and fructose in the same ratio. In this study, we have evaluated the nutritional properties of honey and examined the effects of its oral ingestion on the recovery of intestinal function in the total parenteral nutrition (TPN) rat model. It was observed that honey remarkably recovered the function of the small intestine including the villous morphology, nutrient digestion, and absorption capabilities. In particular, the expression of disaccharidase was significantly enhanced by the ingestion of honey after TPN treatment. Therefore, oral intake of honey is effective in recovering and maintaining small intestinal functions and can potentially be used as a supplement for promoting small intestinal function recovery.

The Amount and Concentration of Drain Amylase Together Predict Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula after Gastric Cancer Surgery More Accurately than the Concentration Alone.

INTRODUCTION: The drain amylase concentration (dAmy-C) is a useful marker for predicting pancreatic fistula after gastric cancer surgery. However, dAmy-C might be reduced in cases of high drainage volume. Therefore, we hypothesized that we could accurately assess the amount of amylase leaked from the pancreas by multiplying dAmy-C by the daily drainage volume. In this study, we investigated the clinical utility of the amount of drain amylase (A-dAmy: concentration × volume) for predicting pancreatic fistula. We investigated the clinical utility of the combination of dAmy-C and A-dAmy for predicting pancreatic fistula. METHODS: We investigated patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer at Yodogawa Christian Hospital between 2012 and 2020. The optimal cutoff levels of dAmy-C and A-dAmy on postoperative day 1 for predicting Clavien-Dindo (CD) grade II or higher pancreatic fistula was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We calculate the positive predictive value and negative predictive value for predicting pancreatic fistula using these cutoff levels. RESULTS: A total of 448 patients were eligible for analysis. Twenty-two patients experienced CD grade II or higher pancreatic fistula. ROC curves identified 1,615 IU/L as the optimal cutoff level of dAmy-C, predicting pancreatic fistula. When the simple cutoff level of dAmy-C was 1,600 IU/L, the positive predictive value for was 22.8%, and the negative predictive value was 99.7%. ROC curves identified 177.52 IU as the optimal cutoff level of A-dAmy predicting pancreatic fistula. When the simple cutoff level of A-dAmy was 177 IU, the positive predictive value was 21.2%, and the negative predictive value was 99.7%. Using these two cutoff levels together, the positive predictive value was 34.4%, and the negative predictive value was 99.7%. CONCLUSION: A-dAmy could predict and exclude pancreatic fistula after gastrectomy as with dAmy-C. The combination of dAmy-C and A-dAmy predict pancreatic fistula more accurately than dAmy-C alone.