Immunogenicity of a Killed Bivalent (O1 and O139) Whole Cell Oral Cholera Vaccine, Shanchol, in Haiti

Background: Studies of the immunogenicity of the killed bivalent whole cell oral cholera vaccine, Shanchol, have been performed in historically cholera-endemic areas of Asia. There is a need to assess the immunogenicity of the vaccine in Haiti and other populations without historical exposure to Vibrio cholerae. Methodology/Principal Findings We measured immune responses after administration of Shanchol, in 25 adults, 51 older children (6–17 years), and 47 younger children (1–5 years) in Haiti, where cholera was introduced in 2010. A≥4-fold increase in vibriocidal antibody titer against V. cholerae O1 Ogawa was observed in 91% of adults, 74% of older children, and 73% of younger children after two doses of Shanchol; similar responses were observed against the Inaba serotype. A≥2-fold increase in serum O-antigen specific polysaccharide IgA antibody levels against V. cholerae O1 Ogawa was observed in 59% of adults, 45% of older children, and 61% of younger children; similar responses were observed against the Inaba serotype. We compared immune responses in Haitian individuals with age- and blood group-matched individuals from Bangladesh, a historically cholera-endemic area. The geometric mean vibriocidal titers after the first dose of vaccine were lower in Haitian than in Bangladeshi vaccinees. However, the mean vibriocidal titers did not differ between the two groups after the second dose of the vaccine. Conclusions/Significance: A killed bivalent whole cell oral cholera vaccine, Shanchol, is highly immunogenic in Haitian adults and children. A two-dose regimen may be important in Haiti, and other populations lacking previous repeated exposures to V. cholerae

Characterization of the LM5 pectic galactan epitope with synthetic analogues of β-1,4-d-galactotetraose

Plant cell wall glycans are important polymers that are crucial to plant development and serve as an important source of sustainable biomass. The study of polysaccharides in the plant cell wall relies heavily on monoclonal antibodies for localization and visualization of glycans, using e.g. Immunofluorescent microscopy. Here, we describe the detailed epitope mapping of the mab LM5 that is shown to bind to a minimum of three sugar residues at the non-reducing end of linear beta-1,4-linked galactan. The study uses de novo synthetic analogs of galactans combined with carbohydrate microarray and competitive inhibition ELISA for analysis of antibody-carbohydrate interactions

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.</p

Brazilian cave heritage under siege

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Enrollment and follow-up of study participants.

<p>Enrollment and follow-up of study participants.</p

Vibriocidal responses.

<p>Geometric mean titer (+SEM) of vibriocidal responses to <i>V. cholerae</i> O1 Ogawa (A) and Inaba (B) by age group at baseline (day 0) and 7 days after each immunization (day 7 and day 21). Statistically significant differences relative to baseline are indicated (**  =  <0.001).</p

Vibriocidal responses in Haitian versus Bangladeshi vaccinees.

<p>Geometric mean titer (+SEM) of vibriocidal responses to <i>V. cholerae</i> O1 Ogawa and Inaba at baseline (day 0) and 7 days after each immunization (day 7 and day 21) in adults (A and B) and children (C and D). Statistically significant differences across countries at a given day are indicated (*  =  <0.05).</p