eLife
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Which virological factors mediate overdispersion in the transmissibility of emerging viruses remains a long-standing question in infectious disease epidemiology. ⋯ Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant program, NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair program and the Toronto COVID-19 Action Fund.
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The BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) is being utilised internationally for mass COVID-19 vaccination. Evidence of single-dose protection against symptomatic disease has encouraged some countries to opt for delayed booster doses of BNT162b2, but the effect of this strategy on rates of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unknown. ⋯ Here, we evaluate the effect of first-dose BNT162b2 vaccination on test positivity rates and find a fourfold reduction in asymptomatic infection amongst HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination. These data provide real-world evidence of short-term protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection following a single dose of BNT162b2 vaccine, suggesting that mass first-dose vaccination will reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, as well as the burden of COVID-19 disease.
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Despite the rising prevalence of methadone treatment in pregnant women with opioid use disorder, the effects of methadone on neurobehavioral development remain unclear. We developed a translational mouse model of prenatal methadone exposure (PME) that resembles the typical pattern of opioid use by pregnant women who first use oxycodone then switch to methadone maintenance pharmacotherapy, and subsequently become pregnant while maintained on methadone. We investigated the effects of PME on physical development, sensorimotor behavior, and motor neuron properties using a multidisciplinary approach of physical, biochemical, and behavioral assessments along with brain slice electrophysiology and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. ⋯ PME produced substantial impairments in offspring physical growth, activity in an open field, and sensorimotor milestone acquisition. Furthermore, these behavioral alterations were associated with reduced neuronal density in the motor cortex and a disruption in motor neuron intrinsic properties and local circuit connectivity. The present study adds to the limited body of work examining PME by providing a comprehensive, translationally relevant characterization of how PME disrupts offspring physical and neurobehavioral development.
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It was studied if early suPAR-guided anakinra treatment can prevent severe respiratory failure (SRF) of COVID-19. ⋯ NCT04357366.
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A citizen science approach to research has shown that the improvements in mood and cognition associated with psychedelic microdosing are likely due to a placebo effect.