COVID-19 response actors navigating multi-dimensional crises in Flanders, Belgium

Funding Information: TK, LWH, TN, SD, KPG, AV, TGV, NV, CV, CG and CVR declare receiving a grant by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO-Research Foundation – Flanders), to conduct social listening of vaccine concerns in Belgium. LWH, NV, TGV, KPG, CG, CVR, SD, and TN declare receiving funds by the Vaccine Confidence Fund to conduct a study on healthcare workers vaccine sentiments and to foster vaccine dialogue in Belgium. HJL reports receiving a grant by MacArthur Foundation to address inequalities in Covid-19 recovery, by J&J to listening to public concerns around Covid-19, from Unicef to carry out social media listening of vaccine concerns in Central and Eastern Europe, and by Merck for research on vaccine hesitancy among health care providers in 15 countries. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted societies globally. Public health institutions were tasked with responding to the pandemic in a dynamic and uncertain context. This paper sheds light on the experiences of COVID-19 response actors as they navigated multi-dimensional crises associated with the pandemic in general and vaccine hesitancy in particular. This research was conducted during the initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Flanders, Belgium. Participants included informants across all levels of the COVID-19 vaccination strategy including but not limited to those producing scientific knowledge, providing policy input, or implementing public health directives locally. ‘Crisis’ was identified as a recurring theme in interviews with informants. The paper highlights multi-dimensional crises experienced by informants such as the: (i) crisis of prioritization, (ii) crisis of communication, (iii) crisis of the changing image of science, (iv) crisis of epistemic agency and autonomy, and (v) crisis of trust.publishersversionpublishe

Doubt at the core: Unspoken vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers.

Funding Information: CG, KP, SD, TK, TN, CVR, LWH report a grant from Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO- Research Foundation – Flanders), to conduct social listening of vaccine concerns in Belgium.publishersversionpublishe

Roles of Tax and HBZ proteins in post-transcriptional control of cellular gene expression

HTLV-1 is a retrovirus capable of inducing severe pathologies such as the adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and the HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/ tropical spastic paraperesis (HAM/TSP). HTLV- 1 is a positive stranded RNA virus encoding typical retroviral genes as well as essential regulatory and accessory genes. Two of them, Tax and HBZ, have been more and more in the spotlights for playing crucial roles in the virus persistence and oncogenicity. The majority of HTLV-1 Tax and HBZ studies have focused on the impact of the oncoproteins on transcriptional events. Con- sequently, little is known in the case of post-transcription, including splicing. Aberrant splicing is common in cancer cells and people living with HTLV-1 display altered splicing patterns. Here, we uncovered potential roles of HTLV-1 Tax and HBZ proteins in the regulation of alternative splicing events (ASEs) upon HTLV-1 infection. By using Jurkat cells inducibly expressing Tax or HBZ, we identi ed Tax and/or HBZ dependent alternative splicing events. Tax and HBZ had globally opposite e ects on splicing (Tax fosters inclusion and HBZ exclusion). However, the shared ASEs triggered by Tax and HBZ are regulated similarly. We also noticed that the viral Tax and HBZ proteins impact di erent set of genes at the transcriptional and splicing level and alternatively spliced genes were enriched for known cancer genes. Next, we investigated AS events in HTLV-1 infected individuals. Interestingly, several ASEs shared between T cells expressing Tax or HBZ and people living with HTLV-1 highlighted genes already known for their role in HTLV-1 leukemogenesis. New targets of HTLV-1 were also discov- ered. Of particular interest, we show that the protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type c gene (PTPRC) encoding CD45, a critical regulator of immune response, is controlled by alternative splicing in Tax and HBZ expressing cells as well as in ATLL patients. We built a comprehensive interactome map of Tax and HBZ with cellular host proteins and identi ed 44 and 111 new protein-protein interactions for Tax and HBZ, respectively. Interestingly, Tax and HBZ interact with RNA binding Proteins having diverse functions on mRNA fate. This may indicate a global regulation of gene expression throughout mRNA life. Finally, we further investigated one partner of Tax in particular, U2AF65, a crucial protein in- volved in alternative splicing. While a precise mechanism on how Tax modulates U2AF65-dependent splicing still needs to be fully determined, our study highlights U2AF65 as a potential major player in HTLV-1 biology.Laboratory of Viral Interactome

Radioiodine treatment in hyperthyroid cats : insights into the characteristics of owners and their cats, and owner motivation and perceptions

ObjectivesRadioiodine (I-131) therapy is the most appropriate treatment option for many hyperthyroid cats, as it is minimally invasive and often curative. Nevertheless, I-131 treatment is not always pursued by owners. Hence, it is important to obtain more insight into owner satisfaction during and after I-131 treatment, and their decision-making process. In this study, we describe the characteristics of owners and their hyperthyroid cats referred for I-131 therapy, and determine owners' motivation and how they experienced the I-131 treatment of their cat. MethodsA survey was sent to owners whose cats underwent I-131 therapy (n = 1071) between 2010 and 2017 at Ghent University. The survey contained 35 questions with tick-box or free-text answer options concerning family situation, pet insurance, previous therapy, comorbidities, motivation for I-131 therapy and owner perception of this treatment. ResultsIn total, 438 owners completed 94% or more of the questionnaire. Over half of the cats (55%) had received previous medical, dietary or surgical treatment. Motivations for changing the initial therapy to I-131 therapy included difficulties in administering medication (31%), insufficient improvement in clinical signs (23%), side effects (16%) and following the referring veterinarian's advice (16%). Almost a fifth of owners (18%) were not informed about the existence of I-131 therapy by their veterinarian and found information on I-131 treatment online or through friends. Hospitalising their cat was very distressing for 17% of owners. Most owners (92%) were satisfied with the treatment. Reasons for dissatisfaction were insufficient communication, iatrogenic hypothyroidism, persistent hyperthyroidism and comorbidities post-treatment. Conclusions and relevanceOur study stresses the importance of communication regarding the possible outcome of I-131 treatment, the importance of managing underlying comorbidities before treatment and anticipating the stress of owners during their cat's hospitalisation period. The results of this study could help in improving client communication when advising on I-131 treatment

Griepvaccinatie bij gezondheidswerkers. Waarom laat u zich wel/niet vaccineren tegen griep?

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