Third dose vaccine With BNT162b2 and its response on Long COVID after Breakthrough infections

Background: Breakthrough events are not rare after emerging of Delta variant. On the other hand, long COVID is an unsolved issue where sufferers suffer a lot. Some study has shown that COVID-19 vaccine has improved some clinical and libratory parameters in long COVID. But what will be the possible measures against long COVID after the breakthrough event is still a burning question. Method: We have observed the third dose by BNT162b2 in a small group(n=20) who were diagnosed as long COVID after breakthrough infections, in Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh. CRP(C-reactive protein) and Anti S1 RBD IgG responses were measured. Result: All 20 participants in the study received both dosage of ―ChAdOx1-nCoV-19‖ in between February 2021 to April 2021 and had breakthrough infection in the same or following month which led to long COVID syndrome. They all received a third dose of ―BNT162b2‖. A before and after 3rd dose (14 days after) CRP from participants serum was measured. A Wilcoxon matched paired signed rank test revealed significant (P value <0.05) reduction of inflammatory marker (CRP) after receiving the 3rd vaccine dose. Pre and post 3rd dose quantitative anti S1-RBD IgG response was measured and compared that revealed significant boosting effect that clearly correlates with the CRP response. Conclusion: Coverage of vaccines all over the world is still not expected level to control this pandemic. WHO has not recommended the use of a third/booster Background: Breakthrough events are not rare after emerging of Delta variant. On the other hand, long COVID is an unsolved issue where sufferers suffer a lot. Some study has shown that COVID-19 vaccine has improved some clinical and libratory parameters in long COVID. But what will be the possible measures against long COVID after the breakthrough event is still a burning question. Method: We have observed the third dose by BNT162b2 in a small group(n=20) who were diagnosed as long COVID after breakthrough infections, in Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh. CRP(C-reactive protein) and Anti S1 RBD IgG responses were measured. Result: All 20 participants in the study received both dosage of ―ChAdOx1-nCoV-19‖ in between February 2021 to April 2021 and had breakthrough infection in the same or following month which led to long COVID syndrome. They all received a third dose of ―BNT162b2‖. A before and after 3rd dose (14 days after) CRP from participants serum was measured. A Wilcoxon matched paired signed rank test revealed significant (P value <0.05) reduction of inflammatory marker (CRP) after receiving the 3rd vaccine dose. Pre and post 3rd dose quantitative anti S1-RBD IgG response was measured and compared that revealed significant boosting effect that clearly correlates with the CRP response. Conclusion: Coverage of vaccines all over the world is still not expected level to control this pandemic. WHO has not recommended the use of a third/booster

Possibilities of conservative treatment of patients with lymphedema of the extremities (literature review)

The literature review describes various methods for treating patients with lymphedema of the extremities. Statistics show an increase in the incidence and disability of patients with this pathology. However, the possibilities of therapeutic measures in lymphedema are far from perfect.The analysis of literature data showed that the basis of treatment for lymphedema of the extremities is comprehensive conservative therapy with the use of pathogenetically grounded physical, mechanical, and medical methods. In complex schemes of conservative treatment for lymphedema, physiotherapy methods occupy a prominent place. The most common technique among them is regular combined decongestive therapy. This method is recognized by leading experts as the main one in treating patients with lower extremity lymphedema. Commitment of patients to treatment and their social and psychological counseling are of great importance. The choice of the volume and method of surgical intervention requires a difficult and individual assessment of pathological changes developing throughout the course of the disease.Despite certain improvements in treatment methods, lower extremity lymphedema is still an unsolved issue. The experience of most specialists involved in lymphedema treatment demonstrates a reasonable balance between basic conservative and surgical treatment methods. Undoubtedly, results of evaluation of these methods will improve the choice of an optimal technique for treating patients with lymphedema of the extremities.

The Rise and Fading Away of Charisma. Leadership Transition and Managerial Ethics in the Post-Soviet Media Holdings

This paper examines post-communist managerial ethics during the emergence and transition of charismatic leadership in two privately owned media holdings in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. These media holdings were bootstrapped in the 1990s and 2000s by people without management experience and connections. This paper argues that Weberian charismatic leadership was a necessary leadership style to start a private business for people without links to elite networks. However, once firms establish themselves on the market, charisma fades and yields itself to a legal-rational leadership style. In particular, the paper compares and contrasts the managerial ethics issues arising from the loyalty-based leader–follower relations in the charismatic leadership phase and the legal-rational phase of a firm’s development and maturation. While the legal-rational phase brings positive changes to workload management and employees’ rights for vacation and p/maternity leave, task delegation remains an unsolved issue. Ambiguous career advancement criteria of the legal-rational phase replace rapid career progression of junior and middle managers during the charismatic phase. By examining the dynamics of managerial ethics transformation, this study adds to the literature on post-communist leadership, management and governance. Recommendations are provided for privately owned firms on how to advance managerial ethics to attract and retain qualified talent.

Co-editing PINK1 and DJ-1 Genes Via Adeno-Associated Virus-Delivered CRISPR/Cas9 System in Adult Monkey Brain Elicits Classical Parkinsonian Phenotype

Whether direct manipulation of Parkinson’s disease (PD) risk genes in the adult monkey brain can elicit a Parkinsonian phenotype remains an unsolved issue. Here, we used an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9)-delivered CRISPR/Cas9 system to directly co-edit PINK1 and DJ-1 genes in the substantia nigras (SNs) of two monkey groups: an old group and a middle-aged group. After the operation, the old group exhibited all the classic PD symptoms, including bradykinesia, tremor, and postural instability, accompanied by key pathological hallmarks of PD, such as severe nigral dopaminergic neuron loss (>64%) and evident α-synuclein pathology in the gene-edited SN. In contrast, the phenotype of their middle-aged counterparts, which also showed clear PD symptoms and pathological hallmarks, were less severe. In addition to the higher final total PD scores and more severe pathological changes, the old group were also more susceptible to gene editing by showing a faster process of PD progression. These results suggested that both genetic and aging factors played important roles in the development of PD in the monkeys. Taken together, this system can effectively develop a large number of genetically-edited PD monkeys in a short time (6–10 months), and thus provides a practical transgenic monkey model for future PD studies.

Fluorescence umpolung enables light-up sensing of N-acetyltransferases and nerve agents

Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) is a fundamental mechanism that enables the development of numerous fluorophores and probes for bioimaging and sensing. However, the electron-withdrawing targets (EWTs)-induced fluorescence quenching is a long-standing and unsolved issue in ICT fluorophores, and significantly limits the widespread applicability. Here we report a simple and generalizable structural-modification for completely overturning the intramolecular rotation driving energy, and thus fully reversing the ICT fluorophores’ quenching mode into light-up mode. Specifically, the insertion of an indazole unit into ICT scaffold can fully amplify the intramolecular rotation in donor-indazole-π-acceptor fluorophores (fluorescence OFF), whereas efficiently suppressing the rotation in their EWT-substituted system (fluorescence ON). This molecular strategy is generalizable, yielding a palette of chromophores with fluorescence umpolung that spans visible and near-infrared range. This strategy expands the bio-analytical toolboxes and allows exploiting ICT fluorophores for light-up sensing of EWTs including N-acetyltransferases and nerve agents.

An Investigation on Giuseppe Ros’s (1883–1948) Book Collection

Giuseppe Ros, an Italian diplomat in China during the period of the Republic of China (1912–1949), was famed for his book collection, which was very rich but only seen by few. During the years of turmoil in China, Ros’s collection went through great hardship and was lost, remaining an unsolved issue today, it could not be found anymore in its entirety. Nevertheless, according to the diaspora course of the collection, the overview and the storage place of the collection at present can still be speculated at a certain extent of precision. After years of study the author has come up with the conclusion that Ros’s collection can be grouped into five categories: 1) The earlier collection, stored in the National Library in Beijing, made up of books written in foreign languages; 2) A number of Chinese maps of the collection are retained in Dalian Library; 3) Ros’s partial collections stored in Guangzhou, now conserved in Guangzhou and Taiwan; 4) A special section on Hainan historical data is kept in the Sun Yat-sen Library in Guangzhou; 5) Scattered parts of the collection are currently stored outside China. This paper offers an insight on the usually neglected figure of Giuseppe Ros by outlining the main features of his outstanding collection of books.

Chemoselective Electrochemical Oxidation of Secondary Alcohols using a Recyclable Chloride-Based Mediator

Selective anodic oxidation of alcohols in the presence of other functional groups can be accomplished using nitroxyl radical mediators. However, the electrochemical chemoselective oxidation of secondary alcohols in the presence of primary alcohols is an unsolved issue. Herein, we report an electrochemical procedure for the selective oxidation of secondary alcohols using an inexpensive chloride salt that acts as redox mediator and supporting electrolyte. The method is based on the controlled anodic generation of active chlorine species, which selectively oxidize secondary alcohols to the corresponding ketones when primary hydroxyl groups are present. The method has been demonstrated for a variety of substrates. The corresponding ketones were obtained in good to excellent yields. Moreover, the chloride salt can be easily recovered and reutilized by a simple extraction procedure, rendering the method highly sustainable