A Single Dose SARS-CoV-2 Replicon RNA Vaccine Induces Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infected and Uninfected Pigtail Macaques

The ongoing COVID-19 vaccine rollout is critical for reducing SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths worldwide. Unfortunately, massive disparities exist in getting vaccines to vulnerable populations, including people living with HIV. Preliminary studies indicate that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are safe and immunogenic in people living with HIV that are virally suppressed with potent antiretroviral therapy but may be less efficacious in immunocompromised individuals. This raises the concern that COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective in resource poor settings with limited access to antiretroviral therapy. Here, we evaluated the immunogenicity of a single dose COVID-19 replicon RNA vaccine expressing Spike protein (A.1) from SARS-CoV-2 (repRNA-CoV2S) in immunocompromised, SIV infected and immune competent, naïve pigtail macaques. Moderate vaccine-specific cellular Th1 T-cell responses and binding and neutralizing antibodies were induced by repRNA-CoV2S in SIV infected animals and naïve animals. Furthermore, vaccine immunogenicity was elicited even among the animals with the highest SIV viral burden or lowest peripheral CD4 counts prior to immunization. This study provides evidence that a SARS-CoV-2 repRNA vaccine could be employed to induce strong immunity against COVID-19 in HIV infected and other immunocompromised individuals.

The family resemblance metaphor: some unfinished business of interpretive inquiry

The rapidly expanding discipline of interpretive inquiry, especially in its narrative analysis form, has not been fully cognizant of certain crucial epistemological and methodological assumptions that form the ultimate basis of its purpose. Even after abandoning traditional positivist views, the related disciplines within the human sciences that are engaged in interpretive inquiry have still not discovered the core implicit assumptions that militate against a full acceptance of this form of inquiry. This article outlines the locus of these implicit assumptions and then argues that the legitimacy of these enterprises must be grounded in a well-known but heretofore undiscovered perspective, namely, Wittgenstein's notion of a family resemblance. It is argued that this metaphoric phrase is the key to unlocking the real and unique nature of narrative analysis.

Hearing discordant voices: some notes on using Bayes's theorem in interpretive inquiry

The focus of these brief comments is to argue that Bayes's theorem may have conceptual and pedagogical applications for qualitative analysis. We suggest that the theorem is a salient alternative voice for the development of sensitizing concepts. It is also proposed that the theorem is a useful heuristic for raising deep-structure issues such as the nature of qualitative evidence and how such evidence becomes confirming for a given claim.

Renal vasodilatory response to intravenous glycine in the aging rat kidney

Studies were performed in the awake, chronically catheterized male Sprague-Dawley rat to investigate renal hemodynamics in the baseline state and also in response to a large intravenous (IV) amino acid (glycine) load. Studies were performed in young adult rats (age 3 to 4 months), old rats (age 18 months), and senescent rats (age 22 to 24 months). Histologic evaluation of the kidney permitted a correlation between structural and functional changes with aging. Histology showed progressive glomerular damage (sclerosis) with aging. In 18-month-old rats, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was normal, which, considering the level of glomerular injury (only 64% normal glomeruli), must indicate heterogeneity of glomerular function, with some hyperfunctioning glomeruli. By 22 to 24 months of age (at which time approximately 50% mortality has occurred in males of this strain), GFR is substantially reduced, as is renal plasma flow rate (RPF). Severe glomerular damage was observed histologically (only 34% normal glomeruli), indicating widespread heterogeneity of glomerular function. Young adult rats displayed a substantial renal vasodilation in response to acute IV glycine infusion, which resulted in approximately 25% increases in GFR and RPF. The renal vascular responsivity to glycine was diminished at 18 months and was completely absent in 22- to 24-month-old rats. This altered renal vasodilatory response to glycine probably reflects both structural changes associated with aging and also the compensatory vasodilation of intact hyperfunctioning remnant nephrons as other nephrons are lost due to aging.

The mechanisms of proteinuria in aging rats

Aging is associated with the appearance of a selective proteinuria which cannot be attributed to any specific underlying renal disease. The present studies were conducted in conscious, chronically catheterized young (3-4 months), non-proteinuric male rats and old (22-25 months), proteinuric males to determine the mechanism(s) of the proteinuria. Compared with young males, old proteinuric rats had increased blood pressure, reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal plasma flow and heavy proteinuria. Fractional clearance of neutral dextran (D) and anionic dextran sulfate (DS) were both significantly increased at the 36 A molecular radius in old rats; the increase in DS fractional clearance being greater than the increase in D fractional clearance. The proteinuria of aging is therefore due to moderate increases in glomerular permeability and, more importantly, to loss of fixed glomerular polyanion. Striking glomerular morphologic changes were also evident in the old rats including thickening of the glomerular basement membrane and extensive glomerular sclerosis.

Hydrolytic enzyme activities of the nervous system

The activities of five hydrolytic enzymes (acid and alkaline phosphatase, hexosaminidase [N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase], beta-galactosidase, and beta-glucorinidase) were measured in reconstituted homogenates of lyophilized human brain tissue and primary and metastatic tumors. The linearity of reaction, with respect to incubation time, and optimal pH of each enzyme and in tumor tissues were comparable to those in normal brain tissue. Total enzyme activities of hexosaminidase, beta-glucuronidase, and beta-galactosidase were significantly higher in tumors than in normal cerebral white matter. The ratio of hexosaminidase activity to beta-glucuronidase activity was significantly lower for metastatic than for primary tumors or normal white matter. When histological observations do not clearly establish if a brain tumor is primary or metastatic, this ratio may help. Alteration of hydrolytic enzyme activities as demonstrated here may be indicative of "ket enzymes" that are essential for maintaining the metabolic advantages of tumors.

Hydrolytic enzymes in meningiomal subtypes

Estimation of activity of five hydrolytic enzymes was made in foru histologically different types of human meningiomas derived from surgery. The hydrolytic enzymes examined in 13 tumors included four lysosomal enzymes: beta-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (hexosaminidase), beta-galactosidase, and acid phosphatase. The fifth enzyme studied was alkaline phosphatase. The one papillary-type meningioma examined appeared to contain generally greater activities of the lysosomal enzymes than the other tumor types. Alkaline phosphatase was decidedly greater in transitional type meningiomas. The correlation of histological types with alkaline phosphatase activity is discussed with regard to previous observations.

The effect of water vapour on the behaviour of the oxygen electrode in molten nitrates

Water vapour has been deliberately introduced into an oxygen gas electrode in an equimolar NaXO3-KNO3 melt at 300�. When this is done the slope of the line obtained for ECe11 against log[O2-]Total changes from the 2.303RT/2F obtained with dry oxygen to almost exactly 2.303RT/F. On discontinuing the passage of water vapour into the melt, the cell reverts to its original condition within 3 hr. These experimental results are discussed theoretically. The results also yield a value of 3.2 x 10-2 for the equilibrium constant of the reaction O2 + H2O = 2OH-

The behaviour of several oxoanions dissolved in molten alkali-metal nitrates

The behaviour of several oxoanions (HSO4-, HSO3-, NO2-, ClO4-, ClO3-, SO42-, SO32-) dissolved in a molten NaNO3-KNO3 eutectic at 300�C was studied by means of an oxygen electrode. NaHSO4 and NaHSO3 were found to decompose very rapidly to form S2O72- or S2O52-, and water. NO2-, SO42-, and SO32- were found to dissociate to a measurable extent to form O2- and the equilibrium constants were determined for these dissociations. SO42- and SO32- appear to dissociate according to the equations SO42- ←→ SO3 + O2 And SO32- ←→ SO2 + O2 in which SO3 and SO2 remain solvated in the melt under the conditions used. ClO4- was found to be completely stable in the melt, but ClO3- appears to form an adduct with O2-. Tentatively assuming that the reaction is ClO3- + O2-←→ ClO43- we have found the equilibrium constant to be 3.57 x 103.