mRNA-Based Vaccines

Increases in the world’s population and population density promote the spread of emerging pathogens. Vaccines are the most cost-effective means of preventing this spread. Traditional methods used to identify and produce new vaccines are not adequate, in most instances, to ensure global protection. New technologies are urgently needed to expedite large scale vaccine development. mRNA-based vaccines promise to meet this need. mRNA-based vaccines exhibit a number of potential advantages relative to conventional vaccines, namely they (1) involve neither infectious elements nor a risk of stable integration into the host cell genome; (2) generate humoral and cell-mediated immunity; (3) are well-tolerated by healthy individuals; and (4) are less expensive and produced more rapidly by processes that are readily standardized and scaled-up, improving responsiveness to large emerging outbreaks. Multiple mRNA vaccine platforms have demonstrated efficacy in preventing infectious diseases and treating several types of cancers in humans as well as animal models. This review describes the factors that contribute to maximizing the production of effective mRNA vaccine transcripts and delivery systems, and the clinical applications are discussed in detail.

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PLATELET CONCENTRATES- PREPARATION PROTOCOLS AND RECENT ADVANCES

10.36106/ijsr/5018085 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 85-87

Author(s):

Prathamesh Fulsundar ◽

Vijaysinh More

Keyword(s):

Tissue Repair ◽

Autologous Blood ◽

Effective Means ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Blood Platelet ◽

Clinical Applications ◽

Prolonged Release ◽

Platelet Concentrates ◽

Platelet Rich Fibrin ◽

Tissue Healing

Autologous blood derivatives are surgical biologic additive that are prepared by manipulation of autologous blood. Platelet rich fibrin is one of the most commonly used blood derivatives in dentistry. Blood derivatives have several advantages such as being 100% autogenous, cost effective, less time consuming, simple to perform and with superior & prolonged release of growth factors. Since inception there has been evolution of various techniques, in-depth research regarding its biological actions, clinical applications. Several modifications have been advocated in the conventional protocol like the advanced PRF, injectable PRF, PRF lysate and Titanium-prepared PRF. Hence, the aim of this article is to review various types and properties of blood derivatives and the advancement in the PRF technology since its inception. Furthermore, platelet concentrates are safe, reliable and cost-effective means to accelerate tissue healing and for improving the efficiency of tissue repair after injury.

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Application Problems and Solutions of Intelligent Airport Service Robots

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202019804030 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 198 ◽

pp. 04030

Author(s):

Dai Yanyan ◽

Chen Meng

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Cloud Computing ◽

Big Data ◽

Large Scale ◽

New Technologies ◽

Effective Means ◽

Third Party ◽

Service Robots ◽

Service Robot ◽

Operation Conditions

With the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing, the “intelligent airport” is considered to be an effective means to solve or alleviate the current industry problems such as large-scale airport business, the large number of operating entities, and the complicated operation conditions. This paper is about the collaboration between universities and enterprises based on the concept of service design. Relying on big data and cloud computing technology, this paper addresses the problems of airport service robots in inquiries, blind spots of security inspection, and full monomer smart navigation diffluence, combined with the basic technology of service robot artificial intelligence and the third-party interface to design solutions to effectively solve the problems of process.

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Variable Porous Electrode Compression for Redox Flow Battery Systems

Batteries ◽

10.3390/batteries4040053 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 53 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Nicholas Gurieff ◽

Victoria Timchenko ◽

Chris Menictas

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Effective Means ◽

Porous Electrode ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Limiting Current ◽

Great Promise ◽

Full Potential ◽

Uniform Compression ◽

Novel Concept

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) offer great promise as a safe, cost effective means of storing electrical energy on a large scale and will certainly have a part to play in the global transition to renewable energy. To unlock the full potential of VRFB systems, however, it is necessary to improve their power density. Unconventional stack design shows encouraging possibilities as a means to that end. Presented here is the novel concept of variable porous electrode compression, which simulations have shown to deliver a one third increase in minimum limiting current density together with a lower pressure drop when compared to standard uniform compression cell designs.

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Interlaboratory Collaboration for Optimized Screening for Urinary Tract Infection

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.01943-15 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 93-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Anne Russcher ◽

Elske Kusters ◽

Ron Wolterbeek ◽

Ed J. Kuijper ◽

Christa M. Cobbaert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Effective Means ◽

Positive Culture ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Objective Evaluation ◽

University Hospital ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Gram Stain ◽

Sample Quality ◽

Positive Culture Result

As the majority of urine samples submitted for culture yields a negative result, rapid screening that accurately predicts culture outcome benefits clinicians by reducing the time to result and improves the efficiency of the microbiological laboratory. Automated urinalysis using the IRIS Diagnostics iQ200 Elite (iQ200) analyzer permits just such a fast and large-scale screening. We aimed to predict and thus to reduce negative cultures with a screening algorithm based on iQ200 urinalysis in a tertiary university hospital. In parallel, we evaluated the performance of the iQ200 screen compared to that of Gram stain for sample quality. We screened 1,442 samples submitted for bacterial culture using the iQ200 analyzer; of these samples, 357 (24.8%) had a positive culture result. We identified the absence of microorganisms in the iQ200 screen as the strongest solitary predictor for a negative culture, with a sensitivity of 90.5% (323/357). The algorithm was further improved by performing logistic regression on leukocyte counts, which gave a cutoff of 65 leukocytes/μl to obtain the desired sensitivity of >95% (95.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 92.5 to 97.0), a negative predictive value of 97.3% (95% CI, 95.7 to 98.3), and an anticipated culture workload reduction of 44% (95% CI, 41 to 46). Concordance between sample quality based on Gram stain and iQ200 screening was only 72%, which was probably a result of interobserver effect in evaluation of the Gram stain. In conclusion, in our setting, screening by iQ200 proved to be a safe and cost-effective means to provide faster culture results, and it has the added benefit of a more objective evaluation of sample quality.

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Screening performance of abbreviated versions of the UPSIT smell test

10.1101/443127 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Theresita Joseph ◽

Stephen D. Auger ◽

Luisa Peress ◽

Daniel Rack ◽

Jack Cuzick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Effective Means ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Data Driven ◽

Screening Performance ◽

Smell Test ◽

Identification Test ◽

Data Driven Approach ◽

Smell Identification ◽

Smell Tests

ABSTRACTBackgroundHyposmia features in several neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) is a widely used screening tool for detecting hyposmia, but is time-consuming and expensive when used on a large scale.MethodsWe assessed shorter subsets of UPSIT items for their ability to detect hyposmia in 891 healthy participants from the PREDICT-PD study. Established shorter tests included Versions A and B of both the 4-item Pocket Smell Test (PST) and 12-item Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT). Using a data-driven approach, we evaluated screening performances of 23,231,378 combinations of 1-7 smell items from the full UPSIT.ResultsPST Versions A and B achieved sensitivity/specificity of 76.8%/64.9% and 86.6%/45.9% respectively, whilst BSIT Versions A and B achieved 83.1%/79.5% and 96.5%/51.8% for detecting hyposmia defined by the longer UPSIT. From the data-driven analysis, two optimised sets of 7 smells surpassed the screening performance of the 12 item BSITs (with validation sensitivity/specificities of 88.2%/85.4% and 100%/53.5%). A set of 4 smells (Menthol, Clove, Gingerbread and Orange) had higher sensitivity for hyposmia than PST-A, -B and even BSIT-A (with validation sensitivity 91.2%). The same 4 smells also featured amongst those most commonly misidentified by 44 individuals with PD compared to 891 PREDICT-PD controls and a screening test using these 4 smells would have identified all hyposmic patients with PD.ConclusionUsing abbreviated smell tests could provide a cost-effective means of screening for hyposmia in large cohorts, allowing more targeted administration of the UPSIT or similar smell tests.

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Nanovaccines against Animal Pathogens: The Latest Findings

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9090988 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 988

Author(s):

Carmen Teresa Celis-Giraldo ◽

Julio López-Abán ◽

Antonio Muro ◽

Manuel Alfonso Patarroyo ◽

Raúl Manzano-Román

Keyword(s):

Vaccine Development ◽

Polymeric Nanoparticles ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Antigen Delivery ◽

Emerging Pathogens ◽

Persistent Infections ◽

Self Assembling ◽

Animal Pathogens ◽

Novel Delivery Systems ◽

Encapsulation Ability

Nowadays, safe and efficacious vaccines represent powerful and cost-effective tools for global health and economic growth. In the veterinary field, these are undoubtedly key tools for improving productivity and fighting zoonoses. However, cases of persistent infections, rapidly evolving pathogens having high variability or emerging/re-emerging pathogens for which no effective vaccines have been developed point out the continuing need for new vaccine alternatives to control outbreaks. Most licensed vaccines have been successfully used for many years now; however, they have intrinsic limitations, such as variable efficacy, adverse effects, and some shortcomings. More effective adjuvants and novel delivery systems may foster real vaccine effectiveness and timely implementation. Emerging vaccine technologies involving nanoparticles such as self-assembling proteins, virus-like particles, liposomes, virosomes, and polymeric nanoparticles offer novel, safe, and high-potential approaches to address many vaccine development-related challenges. Nanotechnology is accelerating the evolution of vaccines because nanomaterials having encapsulation ability and very advantageous properties due to their size and surface area serve as effective vehicles for antigen delivery and immunostimulatory agents. This review discusses the requirements for an effective, broad-coverage-elicited immune response, the main nanoplatforms for producing it, and the latest nanovaccine applications for fighting animal pathogens.

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Recombinant subunit vaccines for soil-transmitted helminths

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s003118201700138x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 144 (14) ◽

pp. 1845-1870 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

JASON B. NOON ◽

RAFFI V. AROIAN

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Gastrointestinal Nematodes ◽

Human Beings ◽

Expression Systems ◽

Subunit Vaccines ◽

The Public ◽

Soil Transmitted Helminths ◽

Minimum Number

SUMMARYSoil-transmitted helminths (STHs) collectively infect one fourth of all human beings, and the majority of livestock in the developing world. These gastrointestinal nematodes are the most important parasites on earth with regard to their prevalence in humans and livestock. Current anthelmintic drugs are losing their efficacies due to increasing drug resistance, particularly in STHs of livestock and drug treatment is often followed by rapid reinfection due to failure of the immune system to develop a protective response. Vaccines against STHs offer what drugs cannot accomplish alone. Because such vaccines would have to be produced on such a large scale, and be cost effective, recombinant subunit vaccines that include a minimum number of proteins produced in relatively simple and inexpensive expression systems are required. Here, we summarize all of the previous studies pertaining to recombinant subunit vaccines for STHs of humans and livestock with the goal of both informing the public of just how critical these parasites are, and to help guide future developments. We also discuss several key areas of vaccine development, which we believe to be critical for developing more potent recombinant subunit vaccines with broad-spectrum protection.

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Renovation of apartment buildings with prefabricated modular panels

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201911103023 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 03023 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kalle Kuusk ◽

Peep Pihelo ◽

Targo Kalamees

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

New Technologies ◽

Housing Stock ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Construction Costs ◽

Apartment Buildings ◽

Time Period ◽

Grant Scheme ◽

Main Barrier ◽

The Cost

New recast of the EPBD requires that that Member States shall establish a long-term strategy facilitating the cost-effective transformation of existing buildings into nearly-zero energy buildings. Lack of fund and lack of awareness is often considered to be the main barrier for the renovation. Experiences with renovation grant scheme in Estonia showed that large scale renovation scheme is a challenge to the construction industry and increased demand creates new problems like labour shortage and increased construction costs. Current renovation rate of apartment buildings in Estonia is approximately 200 buildings (~1%) per year. Demand is higher but current renovation technologies makes it difficult to significantly increase the renovation rate. Achieving the deep renovation goals with current technologies would require expansion of the whole construction sector (designers, contactors, material industry), which is difficult to achieve. Therefore, innovation and new technologies are needed. The prefabrication would be one solution to allow automation of the renovation process and renovate the existing housing stock within a reasonable time period.

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Volunteer Science

Social Psychology Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0190272516675866 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 79 (4) ◽

pp. 376-396 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jason Radford ◽

Andy Pilny ◽

Ashley Reichelmann ◽

Brian Keegan ◽

Brooke Foucault Welles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Effective Means ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Social Psychological ◽

Timely Manner ◽

Online Laboratory ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Large Scale Survey ◽

Online Methods ◽

Psychological Experiments

Experimental research in traditional laboratories comes at a significant logistic and financial cost while drawing data from demographically narrow populations. The growth of online methods of research has resulted in effective means for social psychologists to collect large-scale survey-based data in a cost-effective and timely manner. However, the same advancement has not occurred for social psychologists who rely on experimentation as their primary method of data collection. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of one online laboratory for conducting experiments, Volunteer Science, and report the results of six studies that test canonical behaviors commonly captured in social psychological experiments. Our results show that the online laboratory is capable of performing a variety of studies with large numbers of diverse volunteers. We advocate for the use of the online laboratory as a valid and cost-effective way to perform social psychological experiments with large numbers of diverse subjects.

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Addressing Exploitation in Supply Chains: Is technology a game changer for worker voice?

Anti-Trafficking Review ◽

10.14197/atr.201220144 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 47-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Laurie Berg ◽

Bassina Farbenblum ◽

Angela Kintominas

Keyword(s):

Supply Chains ◽

Working Conditions ◽

Large Scale ◽

New Technologies ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Quality Of Data ◽

Global Brands ◽

Modern Slavery ◽

Supply Chain Governance ◽

Multinational Businesses

Multinational businesses are facing mounting pressure to identify and address risks of exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery in their supply chains. Digital worker reporting tools present unprecedented opportunities for lead firms to reach out directly to hard-to-reach workers for feedback on their working conditions via their mobile phone. These new technologies promise an efficient and cost-effective way to cut through the complexity of global production, gathering unmediated data on working conditions directly from workers at scale. As the market for these tools grows, this paper contextualises their emergence within the broader political economy of supply chain governance. It presents three sets of concerns about their use that must be addressed by businesses, investors, donors and governments that develop or utilise these tools. First, the quality of data gathered by these tools may be inadequate to reliably inform decision-making. Second, global brands may gather large quantities of worker data to identify legal, reputational and financial risks without addressing structural causes of exploitation or delivering outcomes for workers. Third, large scale collection of data from workers creates new risks for workers’ wellbeing and safety.

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