The wake of the triple epidemic (Tripledemic): does it emphasizes the COVID-19 vaccine as a routine immunization for children? - A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Many countries, including the USA, are currently confronting a triple epidemic in children as COVID-19 cases increase and new strains emerge which urge COVID-19 vaccination for children. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the CDC unanimously approved the inclusion of the COVID-19 vaccine (C19V) in the recommended immunizations. As healthcare professionals (HCPs) and parents are significant players in changing the trend of the triple epidemic by giving the C19V, the present study was done to determine awareness and perception of HCPs and parents on the tripledemic and the need for inclusion of C19V in vaccination schedules for children.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 HCPs and 200 parents to assess their knowledge and perception of tripledemic and the need for the inclusion of C19V.

RESULTS

Noticeably, half of the participants had either recent personal (36.2%) or family (21.8%) exposure to some of the tripledemic like RSV, Flu, or COVID-19. On perceived awareness, 42% were concerned about tripledemic, and 35% thought that regular C19V may prevent or reduce tripledemic. Ironically, 11% were not willing to give C19V to their children. The logistic regression model for positive perception of tripledemic and regular C19V identified significant relationships with education (OR 2.19, CI 1.48-3.81), gender (OR 0.9, CI 01.02-2.63), recent personal or family exposure to any of the tripledemic (OR 0.239, CI 0.87-1.63) and presence of children in the family (OR 0.71, CI 1.4-1.96). The reason for favorable perception was preventing self and family from tripledemic.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings may give insight to the policymakers for a strategic plan to include C19V in the routine schedule to combat the pandemic and tripledemic by improving herd immunity.

Effect of COVID-19 vaccination on influenza-associated respiratory infection (IARI): benefit or backfire

OBJECTIVE

Undoubtfully, COVID-19 vaccine (C19V) has significantly changed the pandemic's trajectory positively. At the same time, reports of transient local and systemic post-vaccination reactions leave a concern about its unknown impact on common ailments. Its effect on IARI is unclear because the present IARI epidemic began immediately after C19V in the previous season.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective observational cohort study among 250 Influenza-associated respiratory infection (IARI) patients by a structured interview questionnaire was conducted with the comparison between 3 groups with 1 dose, 2 doses and 2 doses plus booster dose of C19V. The p<0.05 was considered significant in this study.

RESULTS

Among samples 21.2% received one dose of the C19V, only 3.6% got Flu vaccination, 30% had ≥2 comorbidities such as diabetes (22.8%), hypertension (28.4%) and ionically, 77.2% were on chronic medications. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found between groups with duration of illness, cough, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath and hospital visits. The logistic regression analysis shows that the extended IARI symptoms and hospital visits were significantly high among Group 3 (OR=9.17, 95% CI=3.01-29.0) and the same trend remained significant after adjusting the incidence of comorbidities among samples, the chronic conditions (OR=5.13, 95% CI=1.37-14.91) and flu vaccination status (O=4.96, 95% CI=1.41-16.2). Also, 66.4% of the patients were indecisive about getting vaccinated further.

CONCLUSIONS

It has been challenging to reach any definitive conclusions regarding the effects of C19V on IARI, conducting extensive, substantial population-based studies that integrate clinical and virological data from more than one season is absolutely required, despite the fact that the majority of the reported effects were mild and temporary.

Silver nanoparticles modified ZnO nanocatalysts for effective degradation of ceftiofur sodium under UV-vis light illumination

Light-induced photocatalytic degradation of ceftiofur sodium (CFS) has been assessed in the presence of plasmonic zinc oxide nanostructures (ZnONSTs), like, ZnO nanoparticles, ZnO nanorods (ZnONRs) and ZnO nanoflowers (ZnONFs). Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) loaded ZnO nanostructures (Ag-ZnONSTs) are obtained through seed-assisted chemical reaction followed by chemical reduction of silver. The surface modification of ZnO nanostructures by Ag NPs effectually altered their optical properties. Further, the surface plasmonic effect of Ag NPs facilitates visible light absorption by ZnONSTs and improved the photogenerated electron and hole separation, which makes the ZnONSTs a more active photocatalyst than TiO₂ (P25) nanoparticles. Especially, Ag-ZnONRs showed higher CFS oxidation rate constant (k' = 4.6 × 10^-4 s^-1) when compared to Ag-ZnONFs (k' = 2.8 × 10^-4 s^-1) and Ag-ZnONPs (k' = 2.5 × 10^-4 s^-1), owing to their high aspect ratio (60:1). The unidirectional transport of photogenerated charge carriers on the Ag-ZnONRs may be accountable for the observed high photocatalytic oxidation of CFS. The photocatalytic oxidation of CFS mainly proceeds through ^•OH radicals generated on the Ag-ZnONRs surface under light illumination. In addition, heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate by Ag-ZnONRs accelerates the rate of photocatalytic mineralization of CFS. The quantification of oxidative radicals supports the proposed CFS oxidation mechanism. Stability studies of plasmonic Ag-ZnONSTs strongly suggests that it could be useful to clean large volume of pharmaceutical wastewater under direct solar light irradiation.

Assessment of Effectiveness of Fluconazole and Clotrimazole in Treating Oral Candidiasis Patients: A Comparative Study

Aims:

One of the most common fungal infections infecting humans is Candidiasis. Belonging to the group of opportunistic infections, it often affects individuals with various debilitating diseases. Fluconazole and clotrimazole are two of the commonly used anti-fungal agents for the treatment of oral candidiasis. Hence, we planned this study to evaluate the effectiveness of fluconazole and clotrimazole in the treatment of patients suffering from candidiasis.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 180 participants were enrolled in the present study. All the patients of candidiasis were divided broadly into two study groups. Group I included patients who were treated with fluconazole mouthrinse whereas group II included patients who were treated with clotrimazole mouth paint. Grading of patient discomfort was done as noted from readings given by the patients. Specimen was collection by a swab from the lesional area of the oral cavity from the patients and were incubated in Sabouraud's dextrose agar medium and assessed. All the patients were treated with medication as give to their respective groups. Patients were recalled as assessed. All the readings were recorded and analyzed.

Results:

For group I patients, the fungal eradication was 89.5%, whereas for group II patients, the fungal eradication was 86.7%. No significant results were obtained while comparing the mycological eradiation in patients of the two study groups.

Conclusion:

Approximately similar effectiveness in terms of treatment was noted with fluconazole and clotrimazole in treating patients with candidiasis.

Comparative evaluation of serum and salivary immunoglobulin G and A levels with total serum protein in oral submucous fibrosis patients: A case control study

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to estimate and compare the serum and salivary immunoglobulin G and A (IgG, IgA) levels in various stages of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) patients and relate it to total serum protein (TSP) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The sample for the present study comprised a total of 20 healthy controls, 20 OSMF patients. About 5 ml of blood and 2 ml of saliva were collected. Quantitative analysis of serum and salivary IgG, IgA was done by turbidometric immunoassay. TSP and Hb were estimated by Biuret and cyanmethemoglobin methods, respectively.

RESULTS

Serum and salivary IgA and IgG levels were statistically significantly increased (P < 0.001) in OSMF patients when compared to controls. Also serum and salivary IgG and IgA levels showed significantly increased (P < 0.01) in all the three staging of OSMF when compared to control group. Hb levels and TSP levels were significantly decreased (P < 0.001) in OSMF patients when compared to controls. One-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and unpaired t-test were used for statistical analysis.

CONCLUSION

The elevated levels of IgG and IgA are also in favor of polygammapathy, which are nonspecific and nondiagnostic objective reflections of an underlying disease. Decreased TSP is a result of host response and Hb, acts as an indicator of nutritional status plays an important role. It is also observed from the present study that the severity of OSMF was directly proportional to the estimated elevated levels of the major IgG and IgA. A need is also felt for the knowledge of immunoprofile estimation in etiology and pathogenesis that would prove a great asset in the proper assessment of this condition.

Gene Microarray Analyses of Daboia russelli russelli Daboiatoxin Treatment of THP-1 Human Macrophages Infected with Burkholderia pseudomallei

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis and represents a potential bioterrorism threat. In this study, the transcriptomic responses of B. pseudomallei infection of a human macrophage cell model were investigated using whole-genome microarrays. Gene expression profiles were compared between infected THP-1 human monocytic leukemia cells with or without treatment with Daboia russelli russelli daboiatoxin (DRRDbTx) or ceftazidime (antibiotic control). Microarray analyses of infected and treated cells revealed differential upregulation of various inflammatory genes such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 4 (CXCL4), transcription factor p65 (NF-kB); and several genes involved in immune and stress responses, cell cycle, and lipid metabolism. Moreover, following DRR-DbTx treatment of infected cells, there was enhanced expression of the tolllike receptor 2 (TLR-2) mediated signaling pathway involved in recognition and initiation of acute inflammatory responses. Importantly, we observed that highly inflammatory cytokine gene responses were similar in infected cells exposed to DRR-DbTx or ceftazidime after 24 h. Additionally, there were increased transcripts associated with cell death by caspase activation that can promote host tissue injury. In summary, the transcriptional responses during B. pseudomallei infection of macrophages highlight a broad range of innate immune mechanisms that are activated within 24 h post-infection. These data provide insights into the transcriptomic kinetics following DRR-DbTx treatment of human macrophages infected with B. pseudomallei.

Characterization of 1,5-dimethoxynaphthalene by vibrational spectroscopy (FT-IR and FT-Raman) and density functional theory calculations

In this work, we reported a combined experimental and theoretical study on molecular structure, vibrational spectra and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of 1,5-dimethoxynaphthalene. The optimized molecular structure, atomic charges, vibrational frequencies and natural bond orbital analysis of 1,5-dimethoxynaphthalene have been studied by performing DFT/B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. The FTIR, FT-Raman spectra were recorded in the region of 4000-400 cm(-1) and 3500-50 cm(-1) respectively. The scaled wavenumbers are compared with the experimental values. The difference between the observed and scaled wavenumber values of the most fundamentals is very small. The formation of hydrogen bond was investigated in terms of the charge density by the NBO analysis. Natural Population Analysis (NPA) was used for charge determination in the title molecule. Besides, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), frontier molecular orbitals (FMO) analysis were investigated using theoretical calculations.

Demographic and clinical features of suspected dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, a region afflicted by an internal conflict for more than 30 years-a retrospective analysis

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine the demographic, clinical, and notification data of suspected dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka.

METHODS

The data were collected from bed head tickets of all patients presenting with clinically suspected DF/DHF from October 2009 to September 2010.

RESULTS

A total of 1085 clinically suspected DF/DHF cases were identified, with high numbers occurring during December 2009 to March 2010. The majority of the reported patients were females (n = 550, 50.7%) and approximately three-quarters of the patients (n = 797, 73.5%) were adults. All had fever, but fever spikes were noted in only 129 cases (11.9%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 10.1-13.9%). Over 50% of cases had vomiting (95% CI 47.5-53.5%). Haemorrhages were noted in 266 (24.5%), with gum bleeding in 99 patients (37.2%). Low white blood cell and platelet counts were noted in 27.1% and 85.6% of cases, respectively. Of the 1085 cases, only 24 (2.2%) were screened for dengue IgM/IgG and only 458 cases (42.2%) were notified to the Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka.

CONCLUSIONS

The absence of laboratory diagnosis and poor notification to the Epidemiology Unit were the major drawbacks noted.

Vibrational spectra, NMR and HOMO-LUMO analysis of 9-fluorenone-2-carboxylic acid

The present work deals with the vibrational spectroscopic studies of 9-fluorenone-2-carboxylic acid (9F2CA) by means of quantum chemical calculations. Comprehensive theoretical and experimental FTIR and FT-Raman spectral analysis of 9F2CA have been carried out by using DFT/B3LYP method with 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The equilibrium molecular geometry, harmonic vibrational frequencies, infrared and Raman intensities of 9F2CA have been calculated. Comparison of the calculated vibrational spectra with the experimental data provides reliable assignments of all observed bands in FTIR and FT-Raman spectra, including in the low frequency region. The (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of the molecule were calculated by GIAO method and compared with available experimental data. Complete NBO analysis was also carried out to find out the intramolecular electronic interactions and their stabilization energy. Also, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies were found.

Anxiety- rather than depression-like behavior is associated with adult neurogenesis in a female mouse model of higher trait anxiety- and comorbid depression-like behavior

Adult neurogenesis has been implicated in affective disorders and the action of antidepressants (ADs) although the functional significance of this association is still unclear. The use of animal models closely mimicking human comorbid affective and anxiety disorders seen in the majority of patients should provide relevant novel information. Here, we used a unique genetic mouse model displaying higher trait anxiety (HAB) and comorbid depression-like behavior. We demonstrate that HABs have a lower rate of hippocampal neurogenesis and impaired functional integration of newly born neurons as compared with their normal anxiety/depression-like behavior (NAB) controls. In HABs, chronic treatment with the AD fluoxetine alleviated their higher depression-like behavior and protected them from relapse for 3 but not 7 weeks after discontinuation of the treatment without affecting neurogenesis. Similar to what has been observed in depressed patients, fluoxetine treatment induced anxiogenic-like effects during the early treatment phase in NABs along with a reduction in neurogenesis. On the other hand, treatment with AD drugs with a particularly strong anxiolytic component, namely the neurokinin-1-receptor-antagonist L-822 429 or tianeptine, increased the reduced rate of neurogenesis in HABs up to NAB levels. In addition, challenge-induced hypoactivation of dentate gyrus (DG) neurons in HABs was normalized by all three drugs. Overall, these data suggest that AD-like effects in a psychopathological mouse model are commonly associated with modulation of DG hypoactivity but not neurogenesis, suggesting normalization of hippocampal hypoactivity as a neurobiological marker indicating successful remission. Finally, rather than to higher depression-related behavior, neurogenesis seems to be linked to pathological anxiety.

Molecular structure and vibrational spectra of 3-and 4-amino-2-bromopyridine by density functional methods

In this work, experimental and theoretical study on the molecular structure and the vibrational spectra of 3-amino-2-bromopyridine (Compound I) and 4-amino-2-bromopyridine (Compound II) are presented. The vibrational frequencies of these compounds were obtained theoretically by DFT/B3LYP employing the 6-311G(2df,2p) basis set for optimized geometries and were compared with Fourier Transform Infrared solid phase spectra (FTIR) in the region of 400-4000 cm(-1), FT-Raman spectra in the region of 100-4000 cm(-1) and with solution phase spectra in the region of 400-4000 cm(-1). Complete vibrational assignment, analysis and correlation of the fundamental modes for these compounds have been carried based on the potential energy distribution (PED). The vibrational harmonic frequencies were scaled using scale factors, yielding a good agreement between the experimentally recorded and the theoretically calculated values. Finally the calculated HOMO and LUMO energies are localized on the entire ring and substituents.