SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis in Germany and the United Kingdom: Gender-specific results from a longitudinal observational study

BackgroundVaccines offer people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) an effective protection against severe COVID-19 disease courses. However, representative real-world data on the tolerability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in PwMS are limited. We aimed at analysing vaccination reactions (VRs) and MS deterioration following SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations in German and United Kingdom (UK) PwMS, especially regarding gender-specific differences.MethodsThe German Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Registry acquired health data via an online system following the first (X1) and second SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (X2), respectively: sociodemographic and clinical data, vaccines used, VRs, MS deterioration (worsened or new MS symptoms, Germany only) and relapses (Germany only). The frequencies of VRs and MS deterioration were analysed stratified by gender.FindingsFollowing X1 (X2), 2346 (1835) German PwMS and 3796 (683) UK PwMS participated in the study. The most frequent vaccination scheme was two-dose tozinameran for Germany (77·1%, 1424/1847) and two-dose AZD1222 for the UK (61·3%, 419/683). The most common VRs were fatigue, headache and pain (at the injection site) and occurred more often in women compared with men. German PwMS reported VRs more frequently after X2 vs. X1 (65·4% [1201/1835] vs. 61·2% [1435/2346]), while for UK patients it was the opposite (X1 vs. X2: 48·7% [1849/3796] vs. 30·0% [205/683]). MS deterioration occurred in 19·0% (445/2346) of the German PwMS without resulting in gender-specific differences. Fatigue and gait impairment were the most frequent deteriorated MS symptoms.InterpretationFemale PwMS reported experiencing VRs more often than men. Longitudinal data are needed to enable valid statements regarding long-term MS deterioration and long-lasting VRs

Appalachian Coalfield Delegation Position Paper on Sustainable Energy

Appalachian grassroots groups(with support provided by the DataCenter) release a scathing report on the impact of coal mining to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. The Delegation created an historic moment with its powerful stories and diverse outreach. Alliances were forged and the civil society discourse on energy, particularly what is sustainable energy and who gets to define it, has been challenged. Their answer---"it comes from the people!" As most government officials continue to ignore the atrocities of mountain top removal, coal sludge impoundments, and underground injections of sludge, it is up to the people of the Appalachian coal fields to let the world know the harsh realities of an economy built on seemingly cheap electricity

COVID-19 in Multiple Sclerosis: Clinically reported outcomes from the UK Multiple Sclerosis Register

BackgroundIn March 2020, the United Kingdom Multiple Sclerosis Register (UKMSR) established an electronic case return form, designed collaboratively by MS neurologists, to record data about COVID-19 infections in people with MS (pwMS).ObjectivesExamine how hospital admission and mortality are affected by disability, age and disease modifying treatments (DMTs) in people with Multiple Sclerosis with COVID-19.MethodsAnonymised data were submitted by clinical teams. Regression models were tested for predictors of hospitalisation and mortality outcomes. Separate analyzes compared the first and second ‘waves’ of the pandemic.ResultsUnivariable analysis found hospitalisation and mortality were associated with increasing age, male gender, comorbidities, severe disability, and progressive MS; severe disability showed the highest magnitude of association. Being on a DMT was associated with a small, lower risk. Multivariable analysis found only age and male gender were significant. Post hoc analysis demonstrated that factors were significant for hospitalisation but not mortality. In the second wave, hospitalisation and mortality were lower. Separate models of the first and second wave using age and gender found they had a more important role in the second wave.ConclusionsFeatures associated with poor outcome in COVID-19 are similar to other populations and being on a DMT was not found to be associated with adverse outcomes, consistent with smaller studies. Once in hospital, no factors were predictive of mortality. Reassuringly, mortality appears lower in the second wave

Single molecule analysis reveals reversible and irreversible steps during spliceosome activation

The spliceosome is a complex machine composed of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) and accessory proteins that excises introns from pre-mRNAs. After assembly the spliceosome is activated for catalysis by rearrangement of subunits to form an active site. How this rearrangement is coordinated is not well-understood. During activation, U4 must be released to allow U6 conformational change, while Prp19 complex (NTC) recruitment is essential for stabilizing the active site. We used multi-wavelength colocalization single molecule spectroscopy to directly observe the key events in Saccharomyces cerevisiae spliceosome activation. Following binding of the U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP, the spliceosome either reverses assembly by discarding tri-snRNP or proceeds to activation by irreversible U4 loss. The major pathway for NTC recruitment occurs after U4 release. ATP stimulates both the competing U4 release and tri-snRNP discard processes. The data reveal the activation mechanism and show that overall splicing efficiency may be maintained through repeated rounds of disassembly and tri-snRNP reassociation

Implementing NASA's Capability-Driven Approach: Insight into NASA's Processes for Maturing Exploration Systems

NASA is engaged in transforming human spaceflight. The Agency is shifting from an exploration-based program with human activities focused on low Earth orbit (LEO) and targeted robotic missions in deep space to a more sustainable and integrated pioneering approach. Through pioneering, NASA seeks to address national goals to develop the capacity for people to work, learn, operate, live, and thrive safely beyond the Earth for extended periods of time. However, pioneering space involves more than the daunting technical challenges of transportation, maintaining health, and enabling crew productivity for long durations in remote, hostile, and alien environments. This shift also requires a change in operating processes for NASA. The Agency can no longer afford to engineer systems for specific missions and destinations and instead must focus on common capabilities that enable a range of destinations and missions. NASA has codified a capability driven approach, which provides flexible guidance for the development and maturation of common capabilities necessary for human pioneers beyond LEO. This approach has been included in NASA policy and is captured in the Agency's strategic goals. It is currently being implemented across NASA's centers and programs. Throughout 2014, NASA engaged in an Agency-wide process to define and refine exploration-related capabilities and associated gaps, focusing only on those that are critical for human exploration beyond LEO. NASA identified 12 common capabilities ranging from Environmental Control and Life Support Systems to Robotics, and established Agency-wide teams or working groups comprised of subject matter experts that are responsible for the maturation of these exploration capabilities. These teams, called the System Maturation Teams (SMTs) help formulate, guide and resolve performance gaps associated with the identified exploration capabilities. The SMTs are defining performance parameters and goals for each of the 12 capabilities, developing maturation plans and roadmaps for the identified performance gaps, specifying the interfaces between the various capabilities, and ensuring that the capabilities mature and integrate to enable future pioneering missions. By managing system development through the SMTs instead of traditional NASA programs and projects, the Agency is shifting from mission-driven development to a more flexible, capability-driven development. The process NASA uses to establish, integrate, prioritize, and manage the SMTs and associated capabilities is iterative. NASA relies on the Human Exploration and Operation Mission Directorate's SMT Integration Team within Advanced Exploration Systems to coordinate and facilitate the SMT process. The SMT Integration team conducts regular reviews and coordination meetings among the SMTs and has developed a number of tools to help the Agency implement capability driven processes. The SMT Integration team is uniquely positioned to help the Agency coordinate the SMTs and other processes that are making the capability-driven approach a reality. This paper will introduce the SMTs and the 12 key capabilities they represent. The role of the SMTs will be discussed with respect to Agency-wide processes to shift from mission-focused exploration to a capability-driven pioneering approach. Specific examples will be given to highlight systems development and testing within the SMTs. These examples will also show how NASA is using current investments in the International Space Station and future investments to develop and demonstrate capabilities. The paper will conclude by describing next steps and a process for soliciting feedback from the space exploration community to refine NASA's process for developing common exploration capabilities

Development of a β-Lactoglobulin sensor based on SPR for milk allergens detection

A sensitive and label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based sensor was developed in this work for the detection of milk allergens. β-lactoglobulin (BLG) protein was used as the biomarker for cow milk detection. This is to be used directly in final rinse samples of cleaning in-place (CIP) systems of food manufacturers. The affinity assay was optimised and characterised before a standard curve was performed in pure buffer conditions, giving a detection limit of 0.164 µg mL−1 as a direct binding assay. The detection limit can be further enhanced through the use of a sandwich assay and amplification with nanomaterials. However, this was not required here, as the detection limit achieved exceeded the required allergen detection levels of 2 µg mL−1 for β-lactoglobulin. The binding affinities of the polyclonal antibody for BLG, expressed by the dissociation constant (KD), were equal to 2.59 × 10−9 M. The developed SPR-based sensor offers several advantages in terms of label-free detection, real-time measurements, potential on-line system and superior sensitivity when compared to ELISA-based techniques. The method is novel for this application and could be applied to wider food allergen risk management decision(s) in food manufacturing

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles for α-casein detection using surface plasmon resonance as a milk allergen sensor

Food recalls due to undeclared allergens or contamination are costly to the food manufacturing industry worldwide. As the industry strives for better manufacturing efficiencies over a diverse range of food products, there is a need for the development of new analytical techniques to improve monitoring of the presence of unintended food allergens during the food manufacturing process. In particular, the monitoring of wash samples from cleaning in place systems (CIP), used in the cleaning of food processing equipment, would allow for the effective removal of allergen containing ingredients in between food batches. Casein proteins constitute the biggest group of proteins in milk and hence are the most common milk protein allergen in food ingredients. As such, these proteins could present an ideal analyte for cleaning validation. In this work, molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) with high affinity toward bovine α-casein were synthesized using a solid-phase imprinting method. The nanoMIPs were then characterized and incorporated into label free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based sensor. The nanoMIPs demonstrated good binding affinity and selectivity toward α-casein (KD ∼ 10 × 10–9 M). This simple affinity sensor demonstrated the quantitative detection of α-casein achieving a detection limit of 127 ± 97.6 ng mL–1 (0.127 ppm) which is far superior to existing commercially available ELISA kits. Recoveries from spiked CIP wastewater samples were within the acceptable range (87–120%). The reported sensor could allow food manufacturers to adequately monitor and manage food allergen risk in food processing environments while ensuring that the food produced is safe for the consumer

Design of Compliant Mechanisms: Applications to MEMS

Compliant mechanisms are single-piece flexible structures that deliver the desired motion by undergoing elastic deformation as opposed to jointed rigid body motions of conventional mechanisms. Compliance in design leads to jointless, no-assembly (Fig. 1), monolithic mechanical devices and is particularly suited for applications with small range of motions. The compliant windshield wiper shown in Fig. 1 illustrates this paradigm of no-assembly. Conventional flexural mechanisms employ flexural joints that connect relatively rigid links as depicted in Fig. 2. Reduced fatigue life, high stress concentration and difficulty in fabrication are some of the drawbacks of flexural joints. Our focus is on designing compliant mechanisms with distributed compliance which employs flexural links (see Fig. 3) and have no joints (neither pin nor flexural joints) for improved reliability, performance, and ease of manufacture. Distributed compliant mechanisms derive their flexibility due to topology and shape of the material continuum rather than concentrated flexion at few regions. This paper focuses on the unique methodology employed to design jointless mechanisms with distributed compliance. The paper also illustrates a compliant stroke amplification mechanism that was recently designed, fabricated and tested for MEMS application.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44061/1/10470_2004_Article_353448.pd

The Grizzly, April 5, 2001

Three National Greek Organizations Approved by Faculty • Residence Life to Close Clamer Hall in Fall Semester • Five-a-day Challenge for Healthy Eating Presented by Nutrition Expert • Senior Class Gift now up to Individual • Airband Events Raise Money for Cancer Foundation • 35 UC Seniors Named to Who\u27s Who List • Senior Student Church an Ursinus Institution • Opinions: In Faith-based Charities Debate, one Question Remains: What About the Wiccans?; National Greek Organizations not What Campus Needs; Blurring one\u27s Eyes: A Look at Life in Israel; Political Criticism Once Again Shown to Accomplish Nothing • 137 Sculptures Placed on Campus • Women\u27s LAX Starts out Season in Winning Fashion • Men\u27s LAX off to Solid Start • Baseball Team Hovers at .500 Mark • Softball Squad Enjoying Stellar Season • UC Track Excels at Haverford • Gallagher Named Bears Football Coach • Tennis Squads Casualties of Field House Construction Woes • Men\u27s Golf Continues Success; Women\u27s Squad Starts up Well • Dangers of Herbal Supplements • Healthy Body Leads to Higher Self-esteemhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1487/thumbnail.jp