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COVID-19 mRNA vaccines were shown to be highly efficacious in preventing the disease in randomized controlled trials; nonetheless, evidence on the real-world effectiveness of this vaccine is limited. check details Study objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of BNT162b2 vaccine in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality.
This historical cohort study included members of a large health provider in Israel that were vaccinated with at least one dose of BNT162b2. The primary outcome was incidence rate of a SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed with rt-PCR, between 7 to 27 days after second dose (protection-period), as compared to days 1 to 7 after the first dose, where no protection by the vaccine is assumed (reference-period).
Data of 1,178,597 individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 were analyzed (mean age 47.7 years [SD=18.1], 48.4% males) of whom 872,454 (74.0%) reached the protection period. Overall, 4514 infections occurred during the reference period compared to 728 during the protection period, yielding a weighted mean daily incidence of 54.8 per 100,000 (95%CI 26.1-115.0 per 100,000) and 5.4 per 100,000 (95%CI 3.5-8.4 per 100,000), respectively. The vaccine effectiveness in preventing infection was 90% (95%CI79%- 95%) and 94% (95%CI88%-97%) against COVID-19. Among immunosuppressed patients, vaccine effectiveness against infection was 71% (95%CI37%-87%). The adjusted hazard ratios for hospitalization in those infected were 0.82 (95%CI0.36-1.88), 0.45 (95%CI0.23-0.90), and 0.56 (95%CI0.36-0.89) in the age groups 16-44, 45-64 and 75 and above, respectively.
The effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine is comparable to the one reported in the phase III clinical trial.
The effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine is comparable to the one reported in the phase III clinical trial.
As the U.S. population ages, the prevalence of disability and functional limitations, and demand for long-term services and supports (LTSS), will increase. This study identified the distribution of older adults across different residential settings, and how their health characteristics have changed over time.
A cross-sectional analysis of older adults residing in traditional housing, community-based residential facilities (CBRF), and nursing facilities using three data sources The Medicare Current Beneficiary, 2008 and 2013; the Health and Retirement Study, 2008 and 2014; and the National Health and Aging Trends Study, 2011 and 2015. We calculated age-standardized prevalence of older adults by setting, functional limitations, and comorbidities, and tested for health characteristics changes relative to the baseline year (2002).
The proportion of older adults in traditional housing increased over time, relative to baseline (p < 0.05), while the proportion of older adults in CBRF was unchanged. The proportion of nursing facility residents declined from 2002 to 2013 in the MCBS (p < 0.05). The prevalence of dementia and functional limitations among traditional housing residents increased, relative to the baseline year in the HRS and MCBS (p < 0.05).
The proportion of older adults residing in traditional housing is increasing, while the nursing facility population is decreasing. This change may not be due to better health; rather, older adults may be relying on non-institutional LTSS.
The proportion of older adults residing in traditional housing is increasing, while the nursing facility population is decreasing. This change may not be due to better health; rather, older adults may be relying on non-institutional LTSS.A brain network comprises a substantial amount of short-range connections with an admixture of long-range connections. The portion of long-range connections in brain networks is observed to be quantitatively dissimilar across species. It is hypothesized that the length of connections is constrained by the spatial embedding of brain networks, yet fundamental principles that underlie the wiring length distribution remain unclear. By quantifying the structural diversity of a brain network using Shannon's entropy, here we show that the wiring length distribution across multiple species-including Drosophila, mouse, macaque, human, and C. elegans-follows the maximum entropy principle (MAP) under the constraints of limited wiring material and the spatial locations of brain areas or neurons. In addition, by considering stochastic axonal growth, we propose a network formation process capable of reproducing wiring length distributions of the 5 species, thereby implementing MAP in a biologically plausible manner. We further develop a generative model incorporating MAP, and show that, for the 5 species, the generated network exhibits high similarity to the real network. Our work indicates that the brain connectivity evolves to be structurally diversified by maximizing entropy to support efficient interareal communication, providing a potential organizational principle of brain networks.In the present study, we have used focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) to perform a study of the synaptic organization of layer III of Brodmann's area 21 in human tissue samples obtained from autopsies and biopsies. We analyzed the synaptic density, 3D spatial distribution, and type (asymmetric/symmetric), as well as the size and shape of each synaptic junction of 4945 synapses that were fully reconstructed in 3D. Significant differences in the mean synaptic density between autopsy and biopsy samples were found (0.49 and 0.66 synapses/μm3, respectively). However, in both types of samples (autopsy and biopsy), the asymmetricsymmetric ratio was similar (937) and most asymmetric synapses were established on dendritic spines (75%), while most symmetric synapses were established on dendritic shafts (85%). We also compared several electron microscopy methods and analysis tools to estimate the synaptic density in the same brain tissue. We have shown that FIB/SEM is much more reliable and robust than the majority of the other commonly used EM techniques. The present work constitutes a detailed description of the synaptic organization of cortical layer III. Further studies on the rest of the cortical layers are necessary to better understand the functional organization of this temporal cortical region.