ABSTRACT
Objectives: Administration of the third dose of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine was initiated on December 1, 2021, in Japan. However, data on the long-term effects of this third vaccination remain scarce. Here, we examined the levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in those who received the Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine, 6 months after the third vaccination. Method(s): Samples from 40 healthy volunteers were used to measure SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with chemiluminescent assays against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the virus. Result(s): At 445 days after the first dose of BNT162b2, which is 180 days after the third vaccination, the mean anti-RBD IgG level was 159.4 AU/mL (SD 100.1 AU/mL), which was significantly higher than 144 days after the second vaccination, while mean anti-RBD IgM was baseline level (0.4 C.O.I.). The decline in IgG, 180 days after the third vaccination, was 74.1% (SD 16.1%), which was significantly lower than the 88.6% (SD 4.4%) decline observed 144 days after the second vaccination. Furthermore, we revealed that the reduction in IgG from 14 to 180 days after the third vaccination showed a significant inverse correlation with age, and the higher antibody response in younger participants at 14 days after the third vaccination disappeared at longer time points. Conclusion(s): The long-term durability of the IgG titer was significantly higher following the third vaccination compared with the second vaccination, and the reduction in IgG titer after the third vaccination inversely correlated with age.Copyright © 2022 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.
Subject(s)
Azetidines , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Azetidines/adverse effects , Creatinine , Humans , Purines , Pyrazoles , SulfonamidesABSTRACT
According to the Argentinian Wildlife Foundation census on the coast of Buenos Aires province, 80% of the wastes were petrochemicals plastics and microplastics. Since last year, due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of plastics has increased, especially in containers for prepared food and single-use plastics. For this reason, the world market for bioplastics is growing steadily. The aim of this work was to evaluate the biodegradation of injected molded bioplastics in vermicompost using a bacterium isolated with extracellular enzymatic activity for the depolymerization of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Vermicompost (Californian red worm) was sieved through 5 mm opening size. Phylogenetic analysis: the sequence of the 16S rDNA from the isolated Actinomycetes was compared with the EMBL and GenBank databases. The phylogenetic tree was constructed. The morphological characteristics were performed in ISP media and the biochemical tests were carried out according to the Bergeýs manual. Biodegradation analysis: injected molded PHAs samples consisted in rectangular (1.00 ± 0.05 cm width and 3.00 ± 0.05 cm length, thickness: 200 μm) and circular samples (diameter 2 cm, thickness 0.2 cm). Biodegradation by extracellular depolymerase activity was measured at 650 nm by turbidity decrease and by halo formation around colonies (ISP media, 12 days, 30 °C). PHAs surfaces were observed using a microscope. 28 Actinomycetes were isolated with PHAs biodegradation capacity, with different types of growth, colony morphology and extracellular enzyme production. Based on the biodegradation halo area, isolates were classified into three groups: low, medium and high enzymatic activity. From the last group, the one with the highest degradative activity under different environmental conditions was selected. The bacterium was identified as Streptomyces omiyaensis by phylogenetic studies, 16S rDNA sequencing, morphological characterization and biochemical tests and it was determined as GRAS. The strain was deposited in the AGRAL FAUBA culture collection as S. omiyaensis SSM5670. The PHAs samples in vermicompost inoculated with S. omiyaensis SSM5670 showed the deterioration of their surfaces, with the presence of surface irregularities and roughness, until the total biodegradation of the samples. The inoculation of vermicompost with an Actinomycetes isolate with extracellular PHAs degradation activity, would improve the bioplastics degradation, which would be critical given that the global production capacity of bioplastics has been estimated to increase to approximately 2.44 million tonnes in 2022.
ABSTRACT
Objectives An effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is essential to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. In these several months, a number of groups have started to report humoral responses and side effects after BNT162b2 vaccinations. Although these reports demonstrate the safety and efficacy, further studies are warranted to verify these findings. Here we examined the levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Japanese healthy volunteers who underwent BNT162b2 vaccine, to assess the humoral responses and side effects. Methods Forty-one healthy volunteers' samples were used for the measurement of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with chemiluminescent assays against the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the virus. We also measured the side effects of the vaccination. Results Although the levels of IgM varied, all participants were seronegative for IgM and IgG before vaccination, and both IgM and IgG were significantly increased after the vaccinations. We further analyzed the humoral responses in relation to age, and found that the IgG levels for 14 days and 35 days, and IgM levels for 14 days after vaccination showed clear declining trends with age. Commonly reported side effects in the participants were sore arm/pain (90.0%) after the first dose, and generalized weakness/fatigue (70.0%), fever (57.5%), and sore arm/pain (90.0%) after the second dose. Conclusions BNT162b2 vaccination generates sufficient production of IgG especially after the second dose, though the response decreases age-dependently. The high frequencies of generalized weakness/fatigue, fever, and sore arm/pain were not negligible, especially after the second dose. This may be associated with the age characteristics of the population.