<em>Escherichia coli</em>: A Versatile Platform for Recombinant Protein Expression

Among the living organisms, Escherichia coli has been the most common choice employed for recombinant protein expression. In addition to its well-characterized genetics, E. coli is fast growing, relatively cheap, and easy to handle. These fine properties, in conjunction with the success achieved in transforming plasmid DNA into E. coli, as well as the advent of various genetic engineering techniques in the 1970s, have enabled E. coli to be considered as the most favorable host for genetic manipulations. The recent advances in better comprehension of regulatory controls of gene expression and the availability of various novel approaches, which include both intracellular, e.g., through intein-mediated expression and self-cleavages, and extracellular, e.g., through the use of secretion signals, to achieve successful expression of the target proteins in E. coli further support the view that E. coli is the most promising host choice for heterologous protein expression

Post-Covid-19-vaccination adverse events and healthcare utilization among individuals with or without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection

Background: Post-marketing pharmacovigilance data are scant on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines among people with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with ordinary vaccine recipients. We compared the post-vaccination adverse events of special interests (AESI), accident and emergency room (A&E) visit, and hospitalization between these two groups. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a territory-wide public healthcare database with population-based vaccination records in Hong Kong. Results: In total, 3922 vaccine recipients with previous SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and 1,137,583 vaccine recipients without previous SARS‑CoV‑2 infection were included. No significant association was observed between previous SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and AESI or hospitalization. Previous SARS‑CoV‑2 infection was significantly associated with a lower risk of A&E visit (CoronaVac: hazard ratios [HR] = 0.56, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.32–0.99; Comirnaty: HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.47–0.82). Conclusion: No safety signal of Covid-19 vaccination was detected from the comparison between vaccine recipients with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and those without infection

Effectiveness of BNT162b2 after extending the primary series dosing interval in children and adolescents aged 5–17

Extended intervals between the first and second doses of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines may reduce the risk of myocarditis in children and adolescents. However, vaccine effectiveness after this extension remains unclear. To examine this potential variable effectiveness, we conducted a population-based nested case-control study of children and adolescents aged 5–17 years who had received two doses of BNT162b2 in Hong Kong. From January 1 to August 15, 2022, 5396 Covid-19 cases and 202 Covid-19 related hospitalizations were identified and matched with 21,577 and 808 controls, respectively. For vaccine recipients with extended intervals [≥28 days, adjusted odds ratio 0.718, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.619, 0.833] there was a 29.2%-reduced risk of Covid-19 infection compared to those with regular intervals (21–27 days). If the threshold was set at eight weeks, the risk reduction was estimated at 43.5% (aOR 0.565, 95% CI: 0.456, 0.700). In conclusion, longer dosing intervals for children and adolescents should be considered

The effectiveness and safety of mRNA (BNT162b2) and inactivated (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccines among individuals with chronic kidney diseases

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has posed a serious threat to individuals with underlying chronic kidney disease (CKD). People with CKD are immunocompromised and therefore result in poorer outcomes including increased risk of hospitalization and mortality after COVID-19.1 Despite the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, current data on the vaccine efficacy in individuals with CKD are limited to surrogate endpoints such as antibody titers. As a result, a dedicated study is required to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines for the CKD population

Two-dose Covid-19 vaccination and possible arthritis flare among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Hong Kong

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between COVID-19 full vaccination (two completed doses) and possible arthritis flare. Methods: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were identified from population-based electronic medical records with vaccination linkage and categorised into BNT162b2 (mRNA vaccine), CoronaVac (inactive virus vaccine) and non-vaccinated groups. The risk of possible arthritis flare after vaccination was compared using a propensity-weighted cohort study design. We defined possible arthritis flare as hospitalisation and outpatient consultation related to RA or reactive arthritis, based on diagnosis records during the episode. Weekly prescriptions of rheumatic drugs since the launch of COVID-19 vaccination programme were compared to complement the findings from a diagnosis-based analysis. Results: Among 5493 patients with RA (BNT162b2: 653; CoronaVac: 671; non-vaccinated: 4169), propensity-scored weighted Poisson regression showed no significant association between arthritis flare and COVID-19 vaccination ((BNT162b2: adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.86, 95% Confidence Interval 0.73 to 1.01); CoronaVac: 0.87 (0.74 to 1.02)). The distribution of weekly rheumatic drug prescriptions showed no significant differences among the three groups since the launch of the mass vaccination programme (all p values >0.1 from Kruskal-Wallis test). Conclusions: Current evidence does not support that full vaccination of mRNA or inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccines is associated with possible arthritis flare

Comparing self-reported reactogenicity between adolescents and adults following the use of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccine: a prospective cohort study

Objectives: Although clinical data have shown that the BNT162b2 vaccine, which is widely used in many countries, is safe and effective as a protection against the Covid-19 infection, extant research in adverse reactions using real-world data of various socio-demographic characteristics is scant. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study to compare age differences in self-reported reactogenicity of BNT162b2 in Hong Kong. A total of 1,516 participants were intensively followed up for two weeks following both doses of BNT162b2 vaccination, during which their basic demographic, health conditions, and medication information were collected. Results: Results from generalized mixed model showed that compared with adults aged 18 – 59, older adults aged 60 or above had a lower risk of adverse reactions, and adolescents aged 12 – 17 had a moderately higher risk. Conclusions: Results of this study should be informative to parents considering BNT162b2 vaccination for their children in that moderately increased reactogenicity compared with adults is anticipated

Multimorbidity and adverse events of special interest associated with Covid-19 vaccines in Hong Kong

Prior research using electronic health records for Covid-19 vaccine safety monitoring typically focuses on specific disease groups and excludes individuals with multimorbidity, defined as ≥2 chronic conditions. We examine the potential additional risk of adverse events 28 days after the first dose of CoronaVac or Comirnaty imposed by multimorbidity. Using a territory-wide public healthcare database with population-based vaccination records in Hong Kong, we analyze a retrospective cohort of patients with chronic conditions. Thirty adverse events of special interest according to the World Health Organization are examined. In total, 883,416 patients are included and 2,807 (0.3%) develop adverse events. Results suggest vaccinated patients have lower risks of adverse events than unvaccinated individuals, multimorbidity is associated with increased risks regardless of vaccination, and the association of vaccination with adverse events is not modified by multimorbidity. To conclude, we find no evidence that multimorbidity imposes extra risks of adverse events following Covid-19 vaccination

Time to seize the digital evolution: Adoption of blockchain in operations and supply chain management among Malaysian SMEs

Abstract(#br)This study aims to investigate the effects of relative advantage, complexity, upper management support, cost, market dynamics, competitive pressure and regulatory support on blockchain adoption for operations and supply chain management among Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Unlike existing studies that employed linear models with Technology Acceptance Model or United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology that ignores the organisational and environmental factors, we adopted the Technology, Organisation and Environment Framework that covers the technological dimensions of relative advantage and complexity, organisational dimensions of upper management support and cost and environmental dimensions of market dynamics, competitive pressure and regulatory support. Empirical data from 194 SMEs were investigated and ranked using a nonlinear non-compensatory PLS-ANN approach. Competitive pressure, complexity, cost and relative have significant effects on behavioural intention. Market dynamics, regulatory support and upper management support were insignificant predictors. SMEs often lack resources for technological investments but faces same requirements for streamlining business processes to optimise returns and blockchain presents a viable option for SMEs’ sustainability due to its features of immutability, transparency and security that have the potential to revolutionise businesses. This study contributes new knowledge to the literature on factors that affect blockchain adoption and justifications were discussed accordingly

Example-based color transfer for gradient meshes

Editing a photo-realistic gradient mesh is a tough task. Even only editing the colors of an existing gradient mesh can be exhaustive and time-consuming. To facilitate user-friendly color editing, we develop an example-based color transfer method for gradient meshes, which borrows the color characteristics of an example image to a gradient mesh. We start by exploiting the constraints of the gradient mesh, and accordingly propose a linear-operator-based color transfer framework. Our framework operates only on colors and color gradients of the mesh points and preserves the topological structure of the gradient mesh. Bearing the framework in mind, we build our approach on PCA-based color transfer. After relieving the color range problem, we incorporate a fusion-based optimization scheme to improve color similarity between the reference image and the recolored gradient mesh. Finally, a multi-swatch transfer scheme is provided to enable more user control. Our approach is simple, effective, and much faster than color transferring the rastered gradient mesh directly. The experimental results also show that our method can generate pleasing recolored gradient meshes