Immunogenicity and safety of a quadrivalent meningococcal tetanus toxoid-conjugate vaccine (MenACYW-TT) in adults 56 years of age and older: a Phase II randomized study.

MenACYW-TT is an investigational quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine intended for the prevention of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by serogroups A, C, W, and Y in individuals aged 6 weeks and above. This Phase II, randomized, open-label, multicenter, exploratory study assessed the safety and immunogenicity of MenACYW-TT compared with a quadrivalent meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4) in 301 healthy adults aged ≥56 y in the US (NCT01732627). Participants were randomized 2:1 to receive MenACYW-TT or MPSV4. Serum bactericidal assays using human (hSBA) or baby rabbit (rSBA) complement were used to measure functional antibodies against meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y at baseline and 30 d post-vaccination. Safety data were collected up to 30 d post-vaccination. Proportions of study participants with hSBA titers ≥1:8 against serogroups A, C, W, and Y were increased at Day 30 compared with baseline in both vaccine groups. The proportions of participants with hSBA titers ≥1:8 after MenACYW-TT vaccination were comparable to those after MPSV4 vaccination for serogroups A and C (A: 93.8% vs. 85.1%; C: 74.9% vs. 62.8%) and distinctly higher than after MPSV4 for serogroups W and Y (W: 79.5% vs. 60.6%; Y: 80.5% vs. 59.6%). Proportions of participants with rSBA titers ≥1:8 were comparable between vaccine groups for all four serogroups. The reactogenicity profiles of both vaccines were similar. Most unsolicited adverse events (AEs) were of Grade 1 or Grade 2 intensity, and no serious AEs were reported. The MenACYW-TT conjugate vaccine was well tolerated and immunogenic in adults aged ≥56 y.

Isotope analyses to explore diet and mobility in a medieval Muslim population at Tauste (NE Spain).

The Islamic necropolis discovered in Tauste (Zaragoza, Spain) is the only evidence that a large Muslim community lived in the area between the 8th and 10th centuries. A multi-isotope approach has been used to investigate the mobility and diet of this medieval Muslim population living in a shifting frontier region. Thirty-one individuals were analyzed to determine δ15N, δ13C, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr composition. A combination of strontium and oxygen isotope analysis indicated that most individuals were of local origin although three females and two males were non-local. The non-local males would be from a warmer zone whereas two of the females would be from a more mountainous geographical region and the third from a geologically-different area. The extremely high δ15N baseline at Tauste was due to bedrock composition (gypsum and salt). High individual δ15N values were related to the manuring effect and consumption of fish. Adult males were the most privileged members of society in the medieval Muslim world and, as isotope data reflected, consumed more animal proteins than females and young males.

Búsqueda intencionada y reclasificación de muertes maternas en México: el efecto en la distribución de las causas / Intentional search and reclassification of maternal deaths in Mexico: The effect on the distribution of causes

Objetivo. Corregir la mala clasificación y mejorar la calidad de la información sobre la mortalidad materna en México. Material y métodos. A través de los registros clínicos y autopsias verbales, se estudiaron todas las defunciones certificadas como maternas y una selección de defunciones de mujeres en edad fértil, cuyas causas fueron consideradas como sospechosas de encubrir una muerte materna; todas ocurridas durante 2011 en México. Resultados. La búsqueda intencionada y reclasificación de muertes maternas permitió rescatar más de 100 muertes que no habían sido registradas ni codificadas inicialmente como maternas y se ratificaron o rectificaron las causas anotadas en los certificados de defunción. Este procedimiento también permitió reclasificar como muertes maternas 297 defunciones de la base preliminar del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Conclusiones. La Búsqueda Intencionada y Reclasificación de Muertes Maternas es un procedimiento muy útil para mejorar la calidad de la información sobre la mortalidad materna.

Objective. To correct the misclassification and improve the quality of information on maternal mortality in Mexico. Materials and methods. Using clinical records and verbal autopsies, we studied all deaths certified as maternal deaths as well as a selection of deaths of women of childbearing age whose causes were considered as suspected of hiding a maternal death, all of which occurred during 2011 within Mexico. Results. The deliberate search of maternal deaths and reclassification allowed the rescue of just over 100 deaths that were not originally registered or coded as maternal and confirmed or corrected the causes of death recorded on death certificates as confirmed maternal deaths. This procedure also allowed the reclassification of 297 maternal deaths of women in the groundwork of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. Conclusions. International Search and Reclassification of Maternal Deaths is a very useful procedure for improving the classification of cases that were not classified as maternal deaths and the effect was greater with the coding of indirect obstetric deaths.

[Intentional search and reclassification of maternal deaths in Mexico: The effect on the distribution of causes]. / Búsqueda intencionada y reclasificación de muertes maternas en México: el efecto en la distribución de las causas.

OBJECTIVE: To correct the misclassification and improve the quality of information on maternal mortality in Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using clinical records and verbal autopsies, we studied all deaths certified as maternal deaths as well as a selection of deaths of women of childbearing age whose causes were considered as suspected of hiding a maternal death, all of which occurred during 2011 within Mexico. RESULTS: The deliberate search of maternal deaths and reclassification allowed the rescue of just over 100 deaths that were not originally registered or coded as maternal and confirmed or corrected the causes of death recorded on death certificates as confirmed maternal deaths. This procedure also allowed the reclassification of 297 maternal deaths of women in the groundwork of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. CONCLUSIONS: International Search and Reclassification of Maternal Deaths is a very useful procedure for improving the classification of cases that were not classified as maternal deaths and the effect was greater with the coding of indirect obstetric deaths.

Safety and immunogenicity of a meningococcal (Groups A, C, Y, W-135) polysaccharide diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine in healthy children aged 2 to 10 years in Chile.

Immune responses to meningococcal conjugate (Menactra; MCV-4) and plain polysaccharide (Menomune-A/C/Y/W-135; PSV-4) vaccines against serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135 were assessed in 220 of 1037 Chilean children aged 2 to 10 years participating in a comparative safety trial. Both vaccines were generally well tolerated. Geometric mean serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) titers 28 days postvaccination were comparable in both groups for all four serogroups. Seroconversion was evident in > 97% of MCV-4 and > 90% of PSV-4 vaccinees who tested seronegative at baseline. Menactra safely induced broad and robust immune responses against serogroups A, C, Y and W-135 in this population.