Complex temporal climate signals drive the emergence of human water-borne disease

Predominantly occurring in developing parts of the world, Buruli ulcer is a severely disabling mycobacterium infection which often leads to extensive necrosis of the skin. While the exact route of transmission remains uncertain, like many tropical diseases, associations with climate have been previously observed and could help identify the causative agent's ecological niche. In this paper, links between changes in rainfall and outbreaks of Buruli ulcer in French Guiana, an ultraperipheral European territory in the northeast of South America, were identified using a combination of statistical tests based on singular spectrum analysis, empirical mode decomposition and cross-wavelet coherence analysis. From this, it was possible to postulate for the first time that outbreaks of Buruli ulcer can be triggered by combinations of rainfall patterns occurring on a long (i.e., several years) and short (i.e., seasonal) temporal scale, in addition to stochastic events driven by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation that may disrupt or interact with these patterns. Long-term forecasting of rainfall trends further suggests the possibility of an upcoming outbreak of Buruli ulcer in French Guiana

SJS/TEN 2019: From Science to Translation

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are potentially life-threatening, immune-mediated adverse reactions characterized by widespread erythema, epidermal necrosis, and detachment of skin and mucosa. Efforts to grow and develop functional international collaborations and a multidisciplinary interactive network focusing on SJS/TEN as an uncommon but high burden disease will be necessary to improve efforts in prevention, early diagnosis and improved acute and long-term management. SJS/TEN 2019: From Science to Translation was a 1.5-day scientific program held April 26-27, 2019, in Vancouver, Canada. The meeting successfully engaged clinicians, researchers, and patients and conducted many productive discussions on research and patient care needs

SJS/TEN 2019: From science to translation.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are potentially life-threatening, immune-mediated adverse reactions characterized by widespread erythema, epidermal necrosis, and detachment of skin and mucosa. Efforts to grow and develop functional international collaborations and a multidisciplinary interactive network focusing on SJS/TEN as an uncommon but high burden disease will be necessary to improve efforts in prevention, early diagnosis and improved acute and long-term management. SJS/TEN 2019: From Science to Translation was a 1.5-day scientific program held April 26-27, 2019, in Vancouver, Canada. The meeting successfully engaged clinicians, researchers, and patients and conducted many productive discussions on research and patient care needs

7th Drug hypersensitivity meeting: part two

No abstract availabl

CD8+ T cells specific for an immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid epitope display high naive precursor frequency and TCR promiscuity

To better understand primary and recall T cell responses during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is important to examine unmanipulated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T cells. By using peptide-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tetramers for direct ex vivo analysis, we characterized CD8+ T cells specific for SARS-CoV-2 epitopes in COVID-19 patients and unexposed individuals. Unlike CD8+ T cells directed toward subdominant epitopes (B7/N257, A2/S269, and A24/S1,208) CD8+ T cells specific for the immunodominant B7/N105 epitope were detected at high frequencies in pre-pandemic samples and at increased frequencies during acute COVID-19 and convalescence. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells in pre-pandemic samples from children, adults, and elderly individuals predominantly displayed a naive phenotype, indicating a lack of previous cross-reactive exposures. T cell receptor (TCR) analyses revealed diverse TCRαβ repertoires and promiscuous αβ-TCR pairing within B7/N105+CD8+ T cells. Our study demonstrates high naive precursor frequency and TCRαβ diversity within immunodominant B7/N105-specific CD8+ T cells and provides insight into SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell origins and subsequent responses

Robust SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses with common TCR?? motifs toward COVID-19 vaccines in patients with hematological malignancy impacting B cells

Immunocompromised hematology patients are vulnerable to severe COVID-19 and respond poorly to vaccination. Relative deficits in immunity are, however, unclear, especially after 3 vaccine doses. We evaluated immune responses in hematology patients across three COVID-19 vaccination doses. Seropositivity was low after a first dose of BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 (∼26%), increased to 59%–75% after a second dose, and increased to 85% after a third dose. While prototypical antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) and T follicular helper (Tfh) cell responses were elicited in healthy participants, hematology patients showed prolonged ASCs and skewed Tfh2/17 responses. Importantly, vaccine-induced expansions of spike-specific and peptide-HLA tetramer-specific CD4+/CD8+ T cells, together with their T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires, were robust in hematology patients, irrespective of B cell numbers, and comparable to healthy participants. Vaccinated patients with breakthrough infections developed higher antibody responses, while T cell responses were comparable to healthy groups. COVID-19 vaccination induces robust T cell immunity in hematology patients of varying diseases and treatments irrespective of B cell numbers and antibody response

Updates in SJS/TEN: collaboration, innovation, and community

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SJS/TEN) is a predominantly drug-induced disease, with a mortality rate of 15–20%, that engages the expertise of multiple disciplines: dermatology, allergy, immunology, clinical pharmacology, burn surgery, ophthalmology, urogynecology, and psychiatry. SJS/TEN has an incidence of 1–5/million persons per year in the United States, with even higher rates globally. One of the challenges of SJS/TEN has been developing the research infrastructure and coordination to answer questions capable of transforming clinical care and leading to improved patient outcomes. SJS/TEN 2021, the third research meeting of its kind, was held as a virtual meeting on August 28–29, 2021. The meeting brought together 428 international scientists, in addition to a community of 140 SJS/TEN survivors and family members. The goal of the meeting was to brainstorm strategies to support the continued growth of an international SJS/TEN research network, bridging science and the community. The community workshop section of the meeting focused on eight primary themes: mental health, eye care, SJS/TEN in children, non-drug induced SJS/TEN, long-term health complications, new advances in mechanisms and basic science, managing long-term scarring, considerations for skin of color, and COVID-19 vaccines. The meeting featured several important updates and identified areas of unmet research and clinical need that will be highlighted in this white paper

Influence of the operating conditions and the external mass transfer limitations on the synthesis of fatty acid esters using a Candida antarctica lipase

The enzymatic esterification of fatty acids (mainly oleic acid) and ethanol is studied in this work. The reactions are catalyzed by commercial immobilized lipases from Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435) and are carried out in a batch reactor at solvent free conditions. The influence of several important reactions conditions as temperature, initial molar ratio, initial water percentage, and enzyme percentage on the equilibrium conversion and the initial reaction rates is carefully analyzed. A non-linear relationship is established between the initial reaction rates and the enzyme percentage. An optimum value of the initial molar ratio is detected for each enzyme percentage and the effect of inhibition by alcohol is confirmed. Under the studied conditions, it is demonstrated that the influence of the external mass transfer resistance on the reaction rate is not significant. Therefore, the experimental data are appropriated for kinetic modeling purposes.Fil: Trubiano, G.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Borio, Daniel Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Errazu, Alberto Felipe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentin