Ancestral SARS-CoV-2, but not Omicron, replicates less efficiently in primary pediatric nasal epithelial cells

Children typically experience more mild symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) when compared to adults. There is a strong body of evidence that children are also less susceptible to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with the ancestral viral isolate. However, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) has been associated with an increased number of pediatric infections. Whether this is the result of widespread adult vaccination or fundamental changes in the biology of SARS-CoV-2 remain to be determined. Here, we use primary nasal epithelial cells (NECs) from children and adults, differentiated at an air-liquid interface to show that the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 replicates to significantly lower titers in the NECs of children compared to those of adults. This was associated with a heightened antiviral response to SARS-CoV-2 in the NECs of children. Importantly, the Delta variant also replicated to significantly lower titers in the NECs of children. This trend was markedly less pronounced in the case of Omicron. It is also striking to note that, at least in terms of viral RNA, Omicron replicated better in pediatric NECs compared to both Delta and the ancestral virus. Taken together, these data show that the nasal epithelium of children supports lower infection and replication of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, although this may be changing as the virus evolves

Ancestral SARS-CoV-2, but not Omicron, replicates less efficiently in primary pediatric nasal epithelial cells

Children typically experience more mild symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) when compared to adults. There is a strong body of evidence that children are also less susceptible to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with the ancestral viral isolate. However, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) has been associated with an increased number of pediatric infections. Whether this is the result of widespread adult vaccination or fundamental changes in the biology of SARS-CoV-2 remain to be determined. Here, we use primary nasal epithelial cells (NECs) from children and adults, differentiated at an air-liquid interface to show that the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 replicates to significantly lower titers in the NECs of children compared to those of adults. This was associated with a heightened antiviral response to SARS-CoV-2 in the NECs of children. Importantly, the Delta variant also replicated to significantly lower titers in the NECs of children. This trend was markedly less pronounced in the case of Omicron. It is also striking to note that, at least in terms of viral RNA, Omicron replicated better in pediatric NECs compared to both Delta and the ancestral virus. Taken together, these data show that the nasal epithelium of children supports lower infection and replication of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, although this may be changing as the virus evolves.Peer reviewe

The impact of interval timing on decision making

Zeit hat einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf unser tägliches Leben. Grundlegende Prozesse wie unseren Schlaf-Wach-Rhythmus, Nahrungsaufnahme, verschiedene Gedächtnisprozesse sowie Entscheidungsfindung werden vom Faktor Zeit beeinflusst. Das Abschätzen von relativ kurzen Intervallen, im Bereich von wenigen Sekunden bis hin zu ein paar Minuten, steht im Mittelpunkt dieser Arbeit. Dieses sogenannte "Interval timing" liegt vielen kognitiven Fähigkeiten zugrunde und wurde bereits bei vielen Tierarten wie Vögeln, Nagetieren und Primaten nachgewiesen. In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurden daher die Verhaltens- und pharmakologischen Grundlagen von Intervall Schätzung und Entscheidungen im nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL) von Tauben untersucht. Das NCL ist eine Struktur im Taubenhirn, die als funktionelles Äquivalent zum Präfrontalkortex bei Säugetieren gilt. Das Hauptaugenmerk liegt dabei insbesondere auf dem Zusammenspiel von Zeitschätzung und Entscheidungsverhalten

Therapieoptionen bei Vernesselungen durch Quallen an deutschen Küstengewässern

Hintergrund. Vernesselungen durch Quallen gehören zu den häufigsten Verletzungen von Urlaubern an deutschen Küsten und führen regelmäßig zu Konsultationen des regionalen Wasserrettungsdienstes. Ziel der Arbeit. Diese Übersichtsarbeit soll darlegen, für welche Therapieoptionen bei Vernesselungen eine wissenschaftliche Evidenz vorliegt. Methode. Es wurde eine selektive Literaturrecherche in der medizinischen Datenbank „Pubmed“ zu den Stichworten „jellyfish treatment“, „Rasierschaum“, „shaving foam“ und „shaving lather“ durchgeführt. Anhand der Literaturverzeichnisse der gefundenen Veröffentlichungen wurden weitere Literaturstellen ausfindig gemacht und in die Auswertung mit einbezogen. Für die daraus resultierenden Empfehlungen werden die Evidenzgrade und Empfehlungsgrade entsprechend der Evidenzklassifizierung des CEBM angegeben. Ergebnisse. Es konnte experimentell gezeigt werden, dass die Beschwerden von Vernesselungen durch Cyanea capillata durch das Aufbringen von Essig verstärkt werden. Wärme oder Kälte führen zu einer Linderung der Beschwerden. Für die meisten anderen gängigen Behandlungsmethoden liegt keine ausreichende wissenschaftliche Evidenz vor. Diskussion. Nach einer Vernesselung durch Quallen soll das Gewässer verlassen werden. Sichtbare Quallengewebereste müssen mechanisch entfernt werden. Die Vernesselung kann mit lokaler Wärme- oder Kälteapplikation, Rasierschaum, Antihistaminika oder Kortison behandelt werden, nicht jedoch mit Essig. Ein unzureichender Tetanusschutz sollte aufgefrischt werden. Eine Hämolyse kann durch die Applikation von Kalziumkanalblockern oder Antioxidantien behandelt werden

A Local Survey of COVID-19: Vaccine Potential Acceptance Rate among Personnel in a Level 1 Trauma Center without Severe COVID-19 Cases

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) in hospitals are at high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers’ infection risk could be amplified during the ongoing pandemic due to various factors, including continuous exposure to patients and inadequate infection control training. Despite the risk healthcare workers face, vaccine hesitancy remains a global challenge. Differences in acceptance rates have ranged from less than 55% (in Russia) to nearly 90% (in China). In order to improve our knowledge of vaccine acceptance and its variation in rates, an evaluation is warranted. A survey was thus administered to healthcare workers. Methods: This survey aimed to address vaccination acceptance among employees in an urban level 1 trauma hospital. It was conducted through a developed and structured questionnaire that was randomly distributed online among the staff (age ≥18 years) to receive their feedback. Results: Among 285 participants (out of 995 employees), 69% were female, and 83.5% were overaged more than 30 years of age. The two largest groups were nurses (32%) and doctors (22%). The majority of respondents reported that they would “like to be vaccinated” (77.4%) and that they trusted the COVID-19 vaccine (62%). Moreover, 67.8% also reported that they felt the vaccination was effective. They reported that vaccination was a method to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (85.15%) and was a way to protect individuals with weak immune systems (78.2%). More importantly, the participants were concerned about other people (80.1%) and believed the vaccine would protect others. On the other hand, the result showed that the majority of participants (95.3%) chose to be vaccinated once everyone else was vaccinated, “I don’t need to get vaccinated”. Results showed that the majority of participants that chose “I don’t need to get vaccinated” did so after everyone else was vaccinated. Our results show that COVID-19 vaccination intention in a level 1 trauma hospital was associated with older age males who are more confident, and also share a collective responsibility, are less complacent, and have fewer constraints. Conclusion: Acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine is relatively low among healthcare workers (HCWs). Differences in vaccine acceptance have been noted between different categories of HCWs and genders. Therefore, addressing barriers to vaccination acceptance among these HCWs is essential to avoid reluctance to receive the vaccination, but it will be challenging

Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination among Front-Line Health Care Workers: A Nationwide Survey of Emergency Medical Services Personnel from Germany

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel as front-line health care workers (HCW) in Germany. Several studies have shown low willingness for vaccination (e.g., seasonal influenza) among HCWs and EMS personnel. Methods: We created a web-based survey. The questions were closed and standardized. Demographic data were collected (age, sex, federal state, profession). Experience with own COVID-19 infection, or infection in personal environment (family, friends) as well as willingness to vaccinate was queried. Results: The sample includes n = 1296 participants. A willingness to be vaccinated exists in 57%, 27.6% participants were undecided. Our results show a higher propensity to vaccinate among the following groups: male gender, higher medical education level, older age, own burden caused by the pandemic (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Due to the low overall acceptance of vaccination by HCWs, we recommend that the groups with vaccination hesitancy, in particular, be recruited for vaccination through interventions such as continuing education and awareness campaigns

Impact of DST (Daylight Saving Time) on Major Trauma: A European Cohort Study

(1) Background: Approximately 73 countries worldwide implemented a daylight saving time (DST) policy: setting their clocks forward in spring and back in fall. The main purpose of this practice is to save electricity. The aim of the present study was to find out how DST affects the incidence and impact of seriously injured patients. (2) Methods: In a retrospective, multi-center study, we used the data recorded in the TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) between 2003 and 2017 from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We compared the included cases 1 week before and after DST. (3) Results: After DST from standard time to summertime, we found an increased incidence of accidents of motorcyclists up to 51.58%. The result is consistent with other studies. (4) Conclusion: However, our results should be interpreted as a tendency. Other influencing factors, such as time of day and weather conditions, were not considered