Safety and immunogenicity of SCB-2019, an adjuvanted, recombinant SARS-CoV-2 trimeric S-protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine in healthy 12-17 year-old adolescents.

We previously demonstrated the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, SCB-2019, in adults in the SPECTRA phase 2/3 efficacy study. We extended the study to include 1278 healthy 12-17-year-old adolescents in Belgium, Colombia, and the Philippines who received either two doses of SCB-2019 or placebo 21 days apart, to assess immunogenicity as neutralizing antibodies against prototype SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern, and safety and reactogenicity as solicited and unsolicited adverse events with a comparator group of young adults (18-25 years). In participants with no evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection SCB-2019 immunogenicity in adolescents was non-inferior to that in young adults; respective geometric mean neutralizing titers (GMT) against prototype SARS-CoV-2 14 days after the second vaccination were 271 IU/mL (95% CI: 211-348) and 144 IU/mL (116-178). Most adolescents (1077, 84.3%) had serologic evidence of prior SAR-CoV-2 exposure at baseline; in these seropositive adolescents neutralizing GMTs increased from 173 IU/mL (135-122) to 982 IU/mL (881-1094) after the second dose. Neutralizing titers against Delta and Omicron BA SARS-CoV-2 variants were also increased, most notably in those with prior exposure. SCB-2019 vaccine was well tolerated with generally mild or moderate, transient solicited and unsolicited adverse events that were comparable in adolescent vaccine and placebo groups except for injection site pain - reported after 20% of SCB-2019 and 7.3% of placebo injections. SCB-2019 vaccine was highly immunogenic against SARS-CoV-2 prototype and variants in adolescents, especially in those with evidence of prior exposure, with comparable immunogenicity to young adults. Clinical trial registration: EudraCT 2020-004272-17; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04672395.

Digital Teacher Competence Frameworks Evolution and Their Use in Ibero-America up to the Year the COVID-19 Pandemic Began: A Systematic Review.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way education was conducted, not only at the time when the face-to-face model was replaced by virtuality but also in the period of return to normality because the digital skills of teachers are not the same as before. Digital competency frameworks allow for assessment and comparisons between individuals and over time, so they can be used to understand the transformation that may have occurred in teachers' digital competencies following the pandemic. This systematic literature review analyzes the competency frameworks that have been used in Ibero-America up to the year 2022, with the purpose of defining a concept foundation as an input on which to build a tool to assess digital competencies. The review was done following the pathway proposed by the PRISMA methodology between 2018 and 2022. Results show that there is no consensus or unification of the frameworks, and that there are five purposes in the research being conducted on digital competencies with publications concentrated on two of them. Interest on digital competence frameworks increased substantially in 2020.

Efficacy of the adjuvanted subunit protein COVID-19 vaccine, SCB-2019: a phase 2 and 3 multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: A range of safe and effective vaccines against SARS CoV 2 are needed to address the COVID 19 pandemic. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine SCB-2019. METHODS: This ongoing phase 2 and 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was done in adults aged 18 years and older who were in good health or with a stable chronic health condition, at 31 sites in five countries (Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, and South Africa). The participants were randomly assigned 1:1 using a centralised internet randomisation system to receive two 0·5 mL intramuscular doses of SCB-2019 (30 µg, adjuvanted with 1·50 mg CpG-1018 and 0·75 mg alum) or placebo (0·9% sodium chloride for injection supplied in 10 mL ampoules) 21 days apart. All study staff and participants were masked, but vaccine administrators were not. Primary endpoints were vaccine efficacy, measured by RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 of any severity with onset from 14 days after the second dose in baseline SARS-CoV-2 seronegative participants (the per-protocol population), and the safety and solicited local and systemic adverse events in the phase 2 subset. This study is registered on EudraCT (2020-004272-17) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04672395). FINDINGS: 30 174 participants were enrolled from March 24, 2021, until the cutoff date of Aug 10, 2021, of whom 30 128 received their first assigned vaccine (n=15 064) or a placebo injection (n=15 064). The per-protocol population consisted of 12 355 baseline SARS-CoV-2-naive participants (6251 vaccinees and 6104 placebo recipients). Most exclusions (13 389 [44·4%]) were because of seropositivity at baseline. There were 207 confirmed per-protocol cases of COVID-19 at 14 days after the second dose, 52 vaccinees versus 155 placebo recipients, and an overall vaccine efficacy against any severity COVID-19 of 67·2% (95·72% CI 54·3-76·8), 83·7% (97·86% CI 55·9-95·4) against moderate-to-severe COVID-19, and 100% (97·86% CI 25·3-100·0) against severe COVID-19. All COVID-19 cases were due to virus variants; vaccine efficacy against any severity COVID-19 due to the three predominant variants was 78·7% (95% CI 57·3-90·4) for delta, 91·8% (44·9-99·8) for gamma, and 58·6% (13·3-81·5) for mu. No safety issues emerged in the follow-up period for the efficacy analysis (median of 82 days [IQR 63-103]). The vaccine elicited higher rates of mainly mild-to-moderate injection site pain than the placebo after the first (35·7% [287 of 803] vs 10·3% [81 of 786]) and second (26·9% [189 of 702] vs 7·4% [52 of 699]) doses, but the rates of other solicited local and systemic adverse events were similar between the groups. INTERPRETATION: Two doses of SCB-2019 vaccine plus CpG and alum provides notable protection against the entire severity spectrum of COVID-19 caused by circulating SAR-CoV-2 viruses, including the predominating delta variant. FUNDING: Clover Biopharmaceuticals and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Platelet-rich plasma, a powerful tool in dermatology.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a platelet concentrate contained in a small volume of plasma, has become a promising option in the last decade to treat different diseases related to the skin due to its high concentration of growth factors. When it is of autologous origin, it decreases the probability of suffering adverse reactions and transfusion-transmitted infections, thus it is an optimal and safe therapy for the patient. PRP has been used in the treatment of several dermatological conditions such as acne, alopecia, and skin ulcers. Its use has also extended to other skin conditions such as melasma, hyperpigmentation, and burns, where it stimulates tissue repair and regeneration. The purpose of this article is to review the management and treatment of different dermatological alterations with PRP. Although there are a variety of studies that support the use of PRP, more research is needed to standardise the protocols for obtaining, processing, and applying it as well as understanding the biological and molecular bases of its functioning.

Envelope-based technique for liquid level sensors using an in-line fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

This paper proposes a sensor interrogation technique based on the analysis of the overall spectrum envelope of an in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure with three different fibers. The interference pattern created by a level sensor of 120 mm was evaluated with both the traditional and the proposed interrogation techniques. The result shows that the technique here proposed improves the sensitivity of the sensor by more than an order of magnitude. Moreover, our new interrogation technique allows the length of an in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer to be extended up to 470 mm while maintaining high linearity and sensitivity.

Revisión de diez años de biopsias de metástasis en el complejo hospitalario metropolitano de la caja de seguro social / Review of 10 years of metastasis biopsies in the Complejo Hospitalario Metropolitano de la Caja de Seguro Social

Se revisaron las biopsias con metaplasia maligna de 724 pacientes, las cuales fueron efectuadas en el Complejo Hospitalario Metropolitano de la Caja de Seguro Social entre los años de 1975 y 1984. Se agruparon las metástasis según la ubicación de la biopsia, el sitio de localización del primario y el diagnóstico histopatológico. Solamente en 134 casos no fue posible establecer la localización del foco primario maligno. Los sitios con mayor incidencia de metástasis fueron el ganglio linfático, el hueso, el peritoneo y el hígado. Predominaron las neoplasias derivadas del tejido epitelial sobre las del tejido mesenquimatoso; y entre ellas, en orden de frecuencia decreciente, el adenocarcinoma, el carcinoma escamoso y el melanoma