2,053 research outputs found
A prospective cohort study comparing the reactogenicity of trivalent influenza vaccine in pregnant and non-pregnant women
Background: Influenza vaccination during pregnancy can prevent serious illness in expectant mothers and provide protection to newborns; however, historically uptake has been limited due to a number of factors, including safety concerns. Symptomatic complaints are common during pregnancy and may be mistakenly associated with reactions to trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). To investigate this, we compared post-vaccination events self-reported by pregnant women to events reported by non-pregnant women receiving TIV.
Methods: A prospective cohort of 1,086 pregnant women and 314 non-pregnant female healthcare workers (HCWs) who received TIV between March-May 2014 were followed-up seven days post-vaccination to assess local and systemic adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs). Women were surveyed by text message regarding perceived reactions to TIV. Those reporting an AEFI completed an interview by telephone or mobile phone to ascertain details. Logistic regression models adjusting for age and residence were used to compare reactions reported by pregnant women and non-pregnant HCWs.
Results: Similar proportions of pregnant women and non-pregnant, female HCWs reported ≥1 reaction following vaccination with TIV (13.0% and 17.3%, respectively; OR = 1.2 [95% CI: 0.8-1.8]). Non-pregnant, female HCWs were more likely to report fever or headache compared to pregnant women (OR: 4.6 [95% CI 2.1-10.3] and OR: 2.2 [95% CI 1.0-4.6], respectively). No other significant differences in reported symptoms were observed. No serious vaccine-associated adverse events were reported, and less than 2% of each group sought medical advice for a reaction.
Conclusions: We found no evidence suggesting pregnant women are more likely to report adverse events following influenza vaccination when compared to non-pregnant female HCWs of similar age, and in some cases, pregnant women reported significantly fewer adverse events. These results further support the safety of TIV administered in pregnant women
Conservation Genetic Resources for Effective Species Survival (ConGRESS): Bridging the divide between conservation research and practice
Policy makers and managers are increasingly called upon to assess the state of biodiversity, and make decisions regarding potential interventions. Genetic tools are well-recognised in the research community as a powerful approach to evaluate species and population status, reveal ecological and demographic processes, and inform nature conservation decisions. The wealth of genetic data and power of genetic methods are rapidly growing, but the consideration of genetic information and concerns in policy and management is limited by the currently low capacity of decision-makers to access and apply genetic resources. Here we describe a freely available, user-friendly online resource for decision-makers at local and national levels (http://congressgenetics.eu), which increases access to current knowledge, facilitates implementation of studies and interpretation of available data, and fosters collaboration between researchers and practitioners. This resource was created in partnership with conservation practitioners across the European Union, and includes a spectrum of taxa, ecosystems and conservation issues. Our goals here are to (1) introduce the rationale and context, (2) describe the specific tools (knowledge summaries, publications database, decision making tool, project planning tool, forum, community directory), and the challenges they help solve, and (3) summarise lessons learned. This article provides an outlook and model for similar efforts to build policy and management capacity. © 2013 Elsevier GmbH.ConGRESS is funded by European Commission grant FP7-ENV-2009-1 244250 (Knowledge Transfer and Uptake of EU Research Results
Wave functions and correlation functions for GKP strings from integrability
We develop a general method of computing the contribution of the vertex
operators to the semi-classical correlation functions of heavy string states,
based on the state-operator correspondence and the integrable structure of the
system. Our method requires only the knowledge of the local behavior of the
saddle point configuration around each vertex insertion point and can be
applied to cases where the precise forms of the vertex operators are not known.
As an important application, we compute the contributions of the vertex
operators to the three-point functions of the large spin limit of the
Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov (GKP) strings in spacetime, left unevaluated
in our previous work [arXiv:1110.3949] which initiated such a study. Combining
with the finite part of the action already computed previously and with the
newly evaluated divergent part of the action, we obtain finite three-point
functions with the expected dependence of the target space boundary coordinates
on the dilatation charge and the spin.Comment: 80 pages, 7 figures, v2: typos and minor errors corrected, a
reference added, v3: typos and a reference corrected, published versio
On holographic three point functions for GKP strings from integrability
Adapting the powerful integrability-based formalism invented previously for
the calculation of gluon scattering amplitudes at strong coupling, we develop a
method for computing the holographic three point functions for the large spin
limit of Gubser-Klebanov- Polyakov (GKP) strings. Although many of the ideas
from the gluon scattering problem can be transplanted with minor modifications,
the fact that the information of the external states is now encoded in the
singularities at the vertex insertion points necessitates several new
techniques. Notably, we develop a new generalized Riemann bilinear identity,
which allows one to express the area integral in terms of appropriate contour
integrals in the presence of such singularities. We also give some general
discussions on how semiclassical vertex operators for heavy string states
should be constructed systematically from the solutions of the Hamilton-Jacobi
equation.Comment: 62 pages;v2 Typos and equation (3.7) corrected. Clarifying remarks
added in Section 4.1. Published version;v3 Minor errors found in version 2
are corrected. For explanation of the revision, see Erratum published in
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m67055235407vx67/?MUD=M
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