Background and aim: Vaccination time may provide an opportunity to advance immunogenicity in terms of the immune system's circadian nature. This analytical study was planned to determine the impact of forenoon and afternoon administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to adults on the magnitude of antibody response. Method: A total of 33 healthy adults with no history of COVID-19 infection or any other disease participated in the study. They were allotted a forenoon (900-1200 hours) or afternoon (1200-500 hours) slot for vaccination. They were categorized as a forenoon or afternoon group, with 16 subjects in the forenoon and 17 in the afternoon group. With the consent of the participants, a blood sample was collected before vaccination, 30 days after the first and 30 days after the second dose of vaccination from all the subjects. The antibody titer response was measured using a commercial semi-quantitative assay, SARS-CoV-2 IgG II. Results: The baseline antibody titer against COVID-19 was 51.41 ± 22.22 AU/mL and 53.21 ± 15.67 AU/mL in the forenoon and afternoon groups, respectively, which increased to 15773.00 ± 3231.41 AU/mL and 12970.82 ± 7608.00 AU/mL after 30 days of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the forenoon and afternoon groups, respectively. This further increased to 37007.00 ± 1697.75 AU/mL and 38012.00 ± 14001.16 AU/mL after 30 days of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the forenoon and afternoon groups, respectively. There was no difference in antibody response in subjects with forenoon and afternoon vaccinations. There was no significant difference in antibody titer in males vs. females. The study reported that antibody titers decreased with increasing age and BMI of participants. Conclusion: The time of the day of vaccination does not impact the immune response to COVID-19, but age and BMI are important factors to consider during vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in the adult population.
Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a significant challenge worldwide. Rapid genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 is going on across the globe to detect mutations and genomic modifications in SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we have sequenced twenty-three SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected during the first pandemic from the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. We observed a range of already reported mutations (2-22), including; D614G, L452R, Q613H, Q677H, T1027I in the S gene; S194L in the N gene; Q57H, L106F, T175I in the ORF3. Few unreported mutations such as P309S in the ORF1ab gene; T379I in the N gene; and L52F, V77I in the ORF3a gene were also detected. Phylogenetic genome analysis showed similarity with other SARS-CoV-2 viruses reported from Uttar Pradesh. The observed mutations may be associated with SARS-CoV-2 virus pathogenicity or disease severity.
Introduction Uropathogenic Escherichia coli(UPEC) strains consist of a plethora of putative virulence factors (VFs), which help them to establish infection in the urinary tract. We compared genotypic profiles of Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains associated with community-acquired (CA) urinary tract infection (UTI; n=100) and hospital-acquired (HA) UTI (n=50) in the present study in order to identify specific virulence determinants, if any, associated with either form of UTI and its association with antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates. Materials and methods E. coli strains were analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, phylogroups, and 10 putative virulence-associated genes. The bacterial culture and identification were done using standard conventional methods. Tests for antimicrobial susceptibility and phenotypic detection for extende- spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) were done by using the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method, and results were interpreted as per Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The phylotype (A, B1, B2, and D) of each E. coli isolate was determined by a triplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based phylotyping method. They were further analyzed for the presence of 10 putative virulence genes (VGs), including adhesins papA (P fimbrial structural subunit), papG alleles I, II (P fimbrial adhesin variants), fimH (type 1 fimbriae), toxins hlyA (hemolysin) siderophores chuA (heme-binding protein); yfcV (encodes a major subunit of a putative chaperone-usher fimbria) capsule synthesis specific for group II (K1, K5, K12, etc.) kpsMII; serum resistance-associated traT, and upaH by multiplex PCR. Results HA E. coli isolates were significantly more drug-resistant than CA isolates; carbapenem (80% vs. 16%), ceftazidime (92% vs. 63%). The majority (52%) of E.coli isolates associated with HA UTI belong to commensal phylogroup A and B1, whereas the majority (66%) in CA were from pathotypic phylogroups, i.e., B2 & D. Most of VFs were frequently present amongst CA group except for traT and yfc, kpsMTII, hlyA, chuA, and upaH were significantly associated with CA E.coli isolates while yfc was significantly present in HA E.coli isolates. Though adhesin genes such as papA, papGI, papGII, fimH were frequently found in the CA group, they were not significantly associated. The average virulence score was higher for CA UTI isolates (4.25) than for the HA strains (3.9). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was present in every HA E.coli isolate, and fimH, traT, and yfc genes showed significant association with MDR strains. Conclusion On detailed analysis, we found that HA E. coli isolates had a high frequency of MDR and comparatively reduced VFs content. Thus, it can be assumed that a strain with lesser virulence is able to cause HA UTIs, as compared to CA UTIs, which probably indicates that the host's immune status/general condition can be an important determinant in acquiring infection rather than virulence potential of the pathogen alone.
Dengue infection is endemic in many parts of India, including the state of Uttar Pradesh. This study describes the changing clinical picture of dengue viral infections observed by us in children admitted to a teaching hospital in Lucknow, India. A total of 139 children with suspected dengue were admitted during this period, of which 124 could be tested by dengue IgM capture ELISA and 102 were positive. However, only 80 of these 102 patients could be followed up. Average age was 5.9 (±3.1) years and 87.5% of them were from rural areas. The male:female ratio was 1.6:1. Seizures were observed in 45% cases, altered sensorium in 53.7%, vomiting in 41.2%, haemorrhage in 38.8%, skin rash in 37.5%, abdominal pain in 25%, headache in 18.8% and jaundice in 2% cases. Gastrointestinal tract was the commonest site of bleeding. On examination, edema was present in 47.5% cases, hepatomegaly in 62.5%, splenomegaly in 60.0% and hypotension in 10.0% cases. The investigations revealed a low platelet count of less than 100 000/mm 3 in 60.3% cases. Mean liver enzyme levels were mildly raised. Definitions of WHO criteria for DHF were present in only 18 (22.5%) cases. Mean total duration of fever in survivors was 14.9±7.3 days. The overall fatality rate in hospital was 5.0%. The results indicated a significant proportion of children presented with little-described features of encephalopathy, edema, splenomegaly and prolonged fever rather than the typical dengue presentation. These features were not noted during the past epidemics and in previous years.
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