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Soc Sci Med 2021 Jun 5;281:114102. Epub 2021 Jun 5.

Centre for Global Health Research, Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada. Electronic address:

Objective: To study the implications of household tobacco and alcohol use on child health and women's welfare using a gender lens in Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, and Nigeria with varied geographical and cultural characteristics in the pattern of tobacco and alcohol use.

Methods: We identified child health and women's welfare outcomes that may be impacted by tobacco and alcohol use, with a focus on the crowding-out effects on household resource allocation. For child health indicators, we focussed on engagement in preventative care, nutrition, and responses to acute illness. Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2021 Jun 10. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

From the Philippine Children's Medical Center, Quezon City, The Philippines Far Eastern University Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Quezon City, The Philippines Medical Center Manila, Manila, The Philippines Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Alabang Muntinlupa City, The Philippines Sanofi Pasteur, France Sanofi Pasteur, Mexico City, Mexico.

Background: Incorporating dengue vaccination into existing childhood vaccination programs could increase vaccine coverage. This study assessed the safety and immunogenicity of concomitant versus sequential administration of the combined tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine and the tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV).

Methods: This phase IIIb, randomized, open-label, multicenter study was conducted in the Philippines in individuals 9-≤60 years of age (NCT02992418). Read More

BMC Pediatr 2021 Jun 11;21(1):274. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.

Background: Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) continues to be a major contributor to infant mortality in the United States. The objective was to analyze time trends in SUID and their association with immunization coverage.

Methods: The number of deaths and live births per year and per state (1992-2015) was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Jun 11;21(1):553. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Background: The global Immunisation Agenda 2030 highlights coverage and equity as a strategic priority goal to reach high equitable immunisation coverage at national levels and in all districts. We estimated inequities in full immunisation coverage associated with socioeconomic, geographic, maternal, child, and place of birth characteristics among children aged 12-23 months in Kenya.

Methods: We analysed full immunisation coverage (1-dose BCG, 3-dose DTP-HepB-Hib (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B), 3-dose polio, 1-dose measles, and 3-dose pneumococcal vaccines) of 3943 children aged 12-23 months from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Read More

Am J Public Health 2021 Jun 10:e1-e8. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

David Robertson is a doctoral candidate in the Program in the History of Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. He is affiliated with the project "Rethinking Science and Public Participation" (PI: Bruno J. Strasser), University of Geneva, Switzerland.

This article explores a tension at the core of the concept of herd immunity that has been overlooked in public and scientific discussions‒namely: how can immunity, a phenomenon of individual biological defenses, be made relevant to populations? How can collectives be considered "immune"? Over the course of more than a century of use of the term, scientists have developed many different understandings of the concept in response to this inherent tension. Originating among veterinary scientists in the United States in the late 19th century, the concept was adopted by British scientists researching human infectious disease by the early 1920s. It soon became a staple concept for epidemiologists interested in disease ecology, helping to articulate the population dynamics of diseases such as diphtheria and influenza. Read More

Eur J Immunol 2021 Jun 9. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Laboratory of Immunobiology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.

Early embryonic hematopoiesis in mammals is defined by three successive waves of hematopoietic progenitors which exhibit a distinct hematopoietic potential and provide continuous support for the development of the embryo and adult organism. Although the functional importance of each of these waves has been analyzed, their spatio-temporal overlap and the lack of wave-specific markers hinders the accurate separation and assessment of their functional roles during early embryogenesis. We have recently shown that TLR2, in combination with c-kit, represents the earliest signature of emerging precursors of the second hematopoietic wave, erythro-myeloid precursors (EMPs). Read More

Ther Adv Vaccines Immunother 2021 25;9:25151355211015842. Epub 2021 May 25.

Research Center of Pediatric Infectious diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine administration is still advocated for children under 7 years of age in Iran. However, there is no recommendation for the administration of a dose of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine to childbearing age/pregnant women in the Iranian vaccination program and it has increased the risk of infection through waning immunity during women's childbearing age life. The study aimed to assess the levels of anti- antibodies in childbearing age women of different ages in Iran. Read More

Med Hypotheses 2021 Jun 1;152:110619. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Suleyman Demirel University School of Medicine, Department of Hematology, Dogu Yerleskesi Cunur, Isparta, Turkey. Electronic address:

Sars Cov-2, the pathogen which belongs to the beta coronavirus family that is responsible for COVID-19, uses Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor, which is responsible for controlling the actions of renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Sars Cov-2 - ACE2 binding leads to a RAS mediated immune response, which targets especially lungs to form ARDS, which in turn, is the most important cause of mortality in COVID-19. CD8 T cell response dominates over CD4 T cell response and natural killer cell dysfunction also leads to CD4 cell dysfunction in COVID-19; this immune dysregulation leads to inappropriate (ARDS) and inadequate (low or quickly waning antibodies) responses to the disease and unfortunately, prepares the patients for re-infections. Read More

Cell Stem Cell 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Department of Dermatology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address:

Stem cells support lifelong maintenance of adult organs, but their specific roles during injury are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that Lgr6 marks a regionally restricted population of epidermal stem cells that interact with nerves and specialize in wound re-epithelialization. Diphtheria toxin-mediated ablation of Lgr6 stem cells delays wound healing, and skin denervation phenocopies this effect. Read More

BMC Med 2021 Jun 8;19(1):138. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Immunisation and Countermeasures, National Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.

Background: Pertussis vaccines containing three or five pertussis antigens are recommended in pregnancy in many countries, but no studies have compared the effect on infants' antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations. The aim of this study was to compare anti-pertussis IgG responses following primary immunization in infants of mothers vaccinated with TdaP-IPV (low dose diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, acellular pertussis [five antigens] and inactivated polio) or TdaP-IPV in pregnancy (three pertussis antigens).

Methods: This multi-centre phase IV randomized clinical trial was conducted in a tertiary referral centre and primary care sites in England. Read More

Clin Exp Pediatr 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

In April 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety licensed a hexavalent combined diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP), inactivated poliovirus (IPV), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugated to tetanus protein, and hepatitis B (HepB) (recombinant DNA) vaccine, DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB (Hexaxim®; Sanofi Pasteur), for use as a three-dose primary series in infants aged 2, 4, and 6 months. The DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB vaccine is highly immunogenic and safe and provides a long-term immune response based on studies performed in a variety of settings in many countries, including Korea. This report summarizes the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Korean Pediatric Society guidelines for the use of this newly introduced hexavalent combination vaccine. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 21;12:645653. Epub 2021 May 21.

Key Lab of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonoses of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.

() is a common zoonotic agent that affects both poultry and humans. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory factor produced during chlamydial infection, while dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful antigen-presenting cells that induce a primary immune response in the host. However, IL-10 and DCs regulatory mechanisms in infection remain elusive. Read More

Vaccine 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

Objective: This scoping review mapped studies using real-world data (RWD) to measure pediatric safety and effectiveness of vaccines administered to pregnant women.

Introduction: In the US, two vaccines are recommended for all pregnant women to prevent illness in the infant: inactivated influenza vaccine (recommended since 2004), and the combined tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine (recommended since 2013). This scoping review maps the studies conducted to date that address questions about pediatric safety and effectiveness of vaccines administered during pregnancy and provides a knowledge base for evaluating the use of RWD to study this issue. Read More

Hear Res 2021 May 23;407:108275. Epub 2021 May 23.

Department of the Affiliated Eye and ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, ENT Institute and Otorhinolaryngology, Fudan University, Room 613, Building 9, No. 83, Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Hearing Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Centre of Cochlear Implant, Shanghai 200031, China; The Institutes of Brain Science and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address:

Loss of hair cells (HCs) accounts for most sensorineural hearing loss, and regeneration of cochlear HCs is considered as the ultimate strategy for restoring hearing. Several lines of evidence have shown that Lgr5+ progenitor cells can spontaneously regenerate new HCs after HC loss at the neonatal stage, and most of which are immature. IHCs are resistant to ototoxic drugs and noise and cannot be ablated efficiently in order to precisely investigate IHC regeneration in existing hearing injury models, and thus we generated a new transgenic mouse model by inserting diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) under the control of the Vglut3 promoter. Read More

Bioorg Chem 2021 May 27;113:105030. Epub 2021 May 27.

School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University, Jiangmen 529020, People's Republic of China; College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

Five new racemic alkyl-benzofuran dimers, (±)-dieupachinins I-M (1-5), were isolated from the root tubers of Eupatorium chinense, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of diphtheria in Guangdong province. The structures of these compounds, especially the first examples of 12,10'-epoxy dimer dieupachinin I (1), 12-nor-dimer dieupachinin J (2), and 12,12'-dinor-dimer dieupachinin K (3), were elucidated by spectroscopic data analysis. Chiral resolution were further carried out on a cellulose column by HPLC, and compounds 2-5 were successfully separated into two enantiomers, respectively. Read More

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2021 Jun 2;7(6):e27590. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Department of Community Medicine, Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.

Background: As a consequence of war and the collapse of the health system in Yemen, which prevented many people from accessing health facilities to obtain primary health care, vaccination coverage was affected, leading to a deadly diphtheria epidemic at the end of 2017.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of diphtheria in Yemen and determine its incidence and case fatality rate.

Methods: Data were obtained from the diphtheria surveillance program 2017-2018, using case definitions of the World Health Organization. Read More

Monoclon Antib Immunodiagn Immunother 2021 Jun 1. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Venom and Biotherapeutics Molecules Laboratory, Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Immunotoxins, as a class of antitumor agents, consist of tumor-selective ligands linked to highly toxic protein molecules. This type of modified antibody has been designed for the therapy of cancers and a few viral infections. In this study, we designed immunotoxin consisting of mouse programmed cell death protein-1 (PD1), which genetically fused to diphtheria toxin (DT) subunit A (DT386). Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2021 May 8;9(5). Epub 2021 May 8.

Department of Physiology, 567 Wilson Road, Room 1104 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

This study examines the relationship of pneumococcal vaccination rates, influenza, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccinations (DTP), polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (tuberculosis) vaccination rates to COVID-19 case and death rates for 51 nations that have high rates of COVID-19 testing and for which nearly complete childhood, at-risk adult and elderly pneumococcal vaccination data were available. The study is unique in a large number of nations examined, the range of vaccine controls, in testing effects of combinations of vaccinations, and in examining the relationship of COVID-19 and vaccination rates to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Analysis of Italian regions and the states of the United States were also performed. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 May 4;18(9). Epub 2021 May 4.

Public Health: Prevention and Psychosocial Health Research, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.

Preventing infectious diseases through vaccination becomes more significant among the growing population of people aging with HIV. Coverage rates for vaccinations and factors associated with vaccination utilization among this population in Germany are unknown. We assessed the coverage of eight recommended vaccinations in a certain time frame in our convenience sample of 903 people living with HIV aged 50 years and older. Read More

Infez Med 2021 Jun;29(2):268-271

Infectious and Tropical Diseases Service, Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Peru; Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru; Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, Chiclayo, Peru.

In Peru, diphtheria infection was eradicated in the last two decades. However, recently, diphtheria pharyngeal infection was confirmed and reported in a 5-year-old boy (index case). We report two more cases of this outbreak (in the index case parents) with confirmed diphtheria infection and tox gene identified by molecular assay, who were in close contact with the index case and never presented any symptoms. Read More

Brief Bioinform 2021 May 31. Epub 2021 May 31.

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Background: Genomic Islands (GIs) are clusters of genes that are mobilized through horizontal gene transfer. GIs play a pivotal role in bacterial evolution as a mechanism of diversification and adaptation to different niches. Therefore, identification and characterization of GIs in bacterial genomes is important for understanding bacterial evolution. Read More

Biol Reprod 2021 May 31. Epub 2021 May 31.

Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical and Regenerative Sciences, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Life Science, Yokohama City University Association of Medical Science, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan.

Spermatogenesis takes place in the seminiferous tubules, starting from the spermatogonial stem cell and maturing into sperm through multiple stages of cell differentiation. Sertoli cells, the main somatic cell constituting the seminiferous tubule, are in close contact with every germ cell and play pivotal roles in the progression of spermatogenesis. In this study, we developed an in vitro Sertoli cell replacement method by combining an organ culture technique and a toxin receptor-mediated cell knockout (Treck) system. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 13;11:688755. Epub 2021 May 13.

The Anticancer Fund, Strombeek-Bever, Belgium.

Vaccines used to prevent infections have long been known to stimulate immune responses to cancer as illustrated by the approval of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to treat bladder cancer since the 1970s. The recent approval of immunotherapies has rejuvenated this research area with reports of anti-tumor responses with existing infectious diseases vaccines used as such, either alone or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Here, we have reviewed and summarized research activities using approved vaccines to treat cancer. Read More

Mediators Inflamm 2021 6;2021:8845966. Epub 2021 May 6.

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC), Dr. Molewaterplein 50, 3015 GE Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Objective: To study airway pathophysiology and the role of dendritic cells (DCs) and IL-17 receptor (IL-17R) signals in a mouse model for CBD.

Methods: Here, we present a CBD mouse model in which mice were exposed to beryllium during three weeks. We also exposed IL-17R-deficient mice and mice in which DCs were depleted. Read More

Vaccine 2021 May 23. Epub 2021 May 23.

RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401, United States; Southern California Evidence Review Center, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, 2001 N Soto Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States.

Background: Understanding the safety of vaccines is critical to inform decisions about vaccination. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review of the safety of vaccines recommended for children, adults, and pregnant women in the United States.

Methods: We searched the literature in November 2020 to update a 2014 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality review by integrating newly available data. Read More

Vaccine 2021 May 25. Epub 2021 May 25.

Dept. of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Franz-Joseph-Strauss-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. Electronic address:

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) results in a loss of humoral immunity and subsequent risk for severe infections. Thus, re-vaccination is required but may fail due to incomplete immune reconstitution. We retrospectively analyzed predictors of immune response to primary vaccination applied according to the EBMT (European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group) recommendations. Read More

Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2021 20;14:2079-2087. Epub 2021 May 20.

Primary Care Unit ASL RM 1, Rome, Italy.

This narrative review is the final output of an initiative of the SIM (Italian Society of Mesotherapy). A narrative review of scientific literature on the efficacy of fractional intradermal vaccination in comparison with full doses has been conducted for the following pathogens: influenza virus, rabies virus, poliovirus (PV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis bacterias (DTP), human papillomavirus (HPV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JE), meningococcus, varicella zoster virus (VZV) and yellow fever virus. The findings suggest that the use of the intradermal route represents a valid strategy in terms of efficacy and efficiency for influenza, rabies and HBV vaccines. Read More

Microb Pathog 2021 May 25;157:105007. Epub 2021 May 25.

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, 608002, Tamilnadu, India. Electronic address:

Screening of halophiles with antimicrobial activity in saltpan soil samples from Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, revealed isolate VE-2 as the most potent, identified as Bacillus firmus strain VE-2 through 16s rRNA gene sequencing. It had an optimum growth condition (OD 3.1) and antimicrobial protein (AMP) production (450 μg/mL) at 37 °C, pH 8, 25% NaCl, and 36 h incubation. Read More

J Prim Care Community Health 2021 Jan-Dec;12:21501327211014071

Howard University College of Pharmacy, Washington, DC, USA.

Vaccine preventable diseases are responsible for a substantial degree of morbidity in the United States as over 18 million annual cases of vaccine preventable disease occur in the U.S. annually. Read More

Neuroreport 2021 Jul;32(10):869-874

Tsumura Kampo Research Laboratories, Tsumura & Co., Ibaraki.

Objective: Recent studies have suggested that ninjin'yoeito (NYT), a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, improves diminished motivation in humans and animals, rendering it a novel therapeutic option for impaired motivation. To better characterize the effect of NYT on motivation, we examined its effect on motivated behaviors in mice.

Methods: Mouse models of neurodegeneration-related apathy, in which striatal dopamine receptor type 2-expressing medium spiny neurons (D2-MSNs) were progressively damaged by diphtheria toxin expression, were chosen. Read More