Awareness and acceptance of anticipated pediatric COVID-19 vaccination in rural South India

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the awareness and acceptance of anticipated COVID-19 pediatric vaccination among parents in rural south India.Methods: Objective questionnaire based online cross-sectional study in out-patient department, school WhatsApp groups and the community between 01 July 2021 to 15 July 2021. Sample size 873. Parents of children less than 18 years of age willing to participate in the study were included. Parents not willing to participate in the study were excluded.Results: 64.6% parents accepted pediatric COVID-19 vaccination; 96.4% felt it beneficial to vaccinate children prior to re-opening of school. 96.68% were positive that vaccination in children shall play a pivotal role in the projected third wave. 35.39% were hesitant and wanted to delay vaccinating their children and 14.14% do not believe in vaccine efficacy. 14.53% parents were weary of giving vaccine to their children due to personal experience of adverse effects they had suffered, and 22.45% parents refused vaccination due to hearsay adverse effects. 17.6% parents felt that post COVID-19 infection, children don’t need vaccination. 38.95% of parents were concerned about interaction of COVID-19 vaccine with other vaccines of immunisation schedule, 19.36% felt that children don’t need specific COVID-19 vaccine since the regular immunisation schedule prevents COVID-19 infection.Conclusions: Parents of rural India are aware of the pandemic and its lasting impact in our society but its effect on children is still beyond their comprehension. Most parents are willing and accept pediatric COVID-19 vaccination, however vaccine hesitancy and misconceptions are significant entities that can derail full coverage of children.

Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope observations of an M2.8 flare: insights into the initiation of a flare-coronal mass ejection event

We present the first observations of a solar flare with the GMRT. An M2.8 flare observed at 1060 MHz with the GMRT on Nov 17 2001 was associated with a prominence eruption observed at 17 GHz by the Nobeyama radioheliograph and the initiation of a fast partial halo CME observed with the LASCO C2 coronograph. Towards the start of the eruption, we find evidence for reconnection above the prominence. Subsequently, we find evidence for rapid growth of a vertical current sheet below the erupting arcade, which is accompanied by the flare and prominence eruption.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Primary Murine CD4⁺ T Cells Fail to Acquire the Ability to Produce Effector Cytokines When Active Ras Is Present during Th1/Th2 Differentiation

Constitutive Ras signaling has been shown to augment IL-2 production, reverse anergy, and functionally replace many aspects of CD28 co-stimulation in CD4+ T cells. These data raise the possibility that introduction of active Ras into primary T cells might result in improved functionality in pathologic situations of T cell dysfunction, such as cancer or chronic viral infection. To test the biologic effects of active Ras in primary T cells, CD4+ T cells from Coxsackie-Adenovirus Receptor Transgenic mice were transduced with an adenovirus encoding active Ras. As expected, active Ras augmented IL-2 production in naive CD4+ T cells. However, when cells were cultured for 4 days under conditions to promote effector cell differentiation, active Ras inhibited the ability of CD4+ T cells to acquire a Th1 or Th2 effector cytokine profile. This differentiation defect was not due to deficient STAT4 or STAT6 activation by IL-12 or IL-4, respectively, nor was it associated with deficient induction of T-bet and GATA-3 expression. Impaired effector cytokine production in active Ras-transduced cells was associated with deficient demethylation of the IL-4 gene locus. Our results indicate that, despite augmenting acute activation of naïve T cells, constitutive Ras signaling inhibits the ability of CD4+ T cells to properly differentiate into Th1/Th2 effector cytokine-producing cells, in part by interfering with epigenetic modification of effector gene loci. Alternative strategies to potentiate Ras pathway signaling in T cells in a more regulated fashion should be considered as a therapeutic approach to improve immune responses in vivo.</p

PYODERMA GANGRENOSUM SECONDARY TO TAKAYASU'S ARTERITIS

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon &amp; noninfectious neutrophilic dermatosis commonly associated with underlying systemic disease in more than 50% of cases. About 20-30% of cases are commenced and aggravated by minor trauma or surgery, a phenomenon named pathergy. PG is associated with many systemic diseases, but association with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) / pulseless disease, which is chronic inflammatory and stenotic disease of large sized arteries is less common. These conditions responded well with systemic corticosteroids. The association of PG with TA has been less reported in the literature so far. KEYWORDS: Pyoderma gangrenosum; Takayasu's arteritis;Pulseless disease

Prospects for GMRT to Observe Radio Waves from UHE Particles Interacting with the Moon

Ultra high energy (UHE) particles of cosmic origin impact the lunar regolith and produce radio signals through Askaryan effect, signals that can be detected by Earth based radio telescopes. We calculate the expected sensitivity for observation of such events at the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), both for UHE cosmic rays (CR) and UHE neutrino interactions. We find that for 30 days of observation time a significant number of detectable events is expected above $10^{20}$ eV for UHECR or neutrino fluxes close to the current limits. Null detection over a period of 30 days will lower the experimental bounds on UHE particle fluxes by magnitudes competitive to both present and future experiments at the very highest energies.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure