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Patients with blood cancer continue to have a greater risk of inadequate immune responses following three COVID-19 vaccine doses and risk of severe COVID-19 disease. In the context of the CAPTURE study (NCT03226886), we report immune responses in 80 patients with blood cancer who received a fourth dose of BNT162b2. We measured neutralizing antibody titers (NAbTs) using a live virus microneutralization assay against wild-type (WT), Delta, and Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 and T cell responses against WT and Omicron BA.1 using an activation-induced marker (AIM) assay. The proportion of patients with detectable NAb titers and T cell responses after the fourth vaccine dose increased compared with that after the third vaccine dose. Patients who received B cell-depleting therapies within the 12 months before vaccination have the greatest risk of not having detectable NAbT. In addition, we report immune responses in 57 patients with breakthrough infections after vaccination.

Not all patients with cancer, in particular those with hematogic malignancies, develop functional immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) following COVID-19 vaccines. Durability of vaccine-induced immunity after two doses and the impact of a third dose were evaluated in CAPTURE (NCT03226886), a longitudinal prospective cohort study of vaccine responses in patients with cancer. In evaluating 316 patients, at a median of 111 days following two doses of either BNT16b2 or ChadOX, we observed a time-dependant decline in neutralising antibody titres (NAbT) in a proportion of patients, where NAbTs became undetectable against Delta and Beta in 17% and 15% of patients, respectively. Vaccine-induced T cell responses declined in 44% of patients. Patients with breakthrough infections following two vaccines doses were characterised by absent/low NAbT to Delta prior to infection. Administration of the third vaccine dose boosted NAb responses against VOC in the majority of patients with cancer, especially those with solid cancer. In patients with hematologic malignancies who had undetectable NAbT against Delta after two vaccine doses, 54% did not develop NAb against both Beta and Delta following the third dose. Third vaccine dose boosted T cell responses were boosted in patients with both solid and hematologic malignancies. These results provide critical information on vaccine responses in patients with cancer, especially against VOCs and support widespread access to a third COVID-19 vaccination in this patient group.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) antiviral response in a pan-tumor immune monitoring (CAPTURE) (NCT03226886) is a prospective cohort study of COVID-19 immunity in patients with cancer. Here we evaluated 585 patients following administration of two doses of BNT162b2 or AZD1222 vaccines, administered 12 weeks apart. Seroconversion rates after two doses were 85% and 59% in patients with solid and hematological malignancies, respectively. A lower proportion of patients had detectable titers of neutralizing antibodies (NAbT) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOC) versus wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2. Patients with hematological malignancies were more likely to have undetectable NAbT and had lower median NAbT than those with solid cancers against both SARS-CoV-2 WT and VOC. By comparison with individuals without cancer, patients with hematological, but not solid, malignancies had reduced neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses. Seroconversion showed poor concordance with NAbT against VOC. Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection boosted the NAb response including against VOC, and anti-CD20 treatment was associated with undetectable NAbT. Vaccine-induced T cell responses were detected in 80% of patients and were comparable between vaccines or cancer types. Our results have implications for the management of patients with cancer during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

1. The European native oyster, Ostrea edulis, has been in severe decline since the early 1900s across Europe with many fisheries now declared commercially extinct. In light of this broad scale population decline, the UK has listed O. edulis as a threatened species, requiring conservation action under the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). In addition to this designation, in Scotland O. edulis beds is a search feature (SF) and a priority marine feature (PMF) for MPA site selection. These sites are also listed as a feature of conservation importance and included on the OSPAR list of threatened/declining species and habitats.2. Recent studies have identified O. edulis populations with heavily male-skewed sex ratios, which may have contributed to fisheries decline due to reduced levels of fertilization. This species is a protandrous alternating hermaphrodite and individuals may change sex in response to local conditions. This study aimed to assess how sex ratios vary temporally and if this is correlated with temperature, by studying two exploited populations in Loch Ryan, Scotland and Chichester Harbour, England.3. This study suggests that the proportion of male phase oysters is positively correlated with water temperature and that the study population in cooler waters had a more balanced sex ratio overall (the Loch Ryan population was significantly similar to 1:1 for 10 of 13 months, whereas in Chichester only 1 of the 7 months was significantly similar).4. This study provides evidence to suggest that a critical temperature threshold for sex determination exists in O. edulis and for the Loch Ryan population we suggest that this is 16.5°C. However, further work is required to assess how this threshold may change between sites and how future climate change scenarios might affect the sex ratio of native oyster populations.

Introduction: According to established recommendations, the clinical interpretation of body plethysmography examinations is usually based on airways resistance (Raw) and static lung volumes (RV, FRCpleth, TLC). Current body plethysmography graphics displayed on the PFT report use body loops and shutter curves. These are still on the level of Du Bois’s standards in which they have a clear technical orientation. However the crucial relationship between airways resistance and lung volumes is neither presented in a simple form nor shown in comparison to their predicted values. Additional evaluation of parameter and reference tables is required. Methods: An alternative body plethysmography report allows the generation and presentation of the instantaneous relationship between airways resistance and lung volume over the entire breathing cycle. This is achieved by a dedicated resistance-volume (R-V) transformation. The time courses of the primary signals of flow, volume, plethysmography shift volume and occlusion pressure are processed simultaneously and then linked to corresponding absolute lung volumes. Results: All conventional clinical parameters of body plethysmography are presented in one R-V chart. The R-V graph displays the within-breath course of airways resistance dependent upon absolute lung volume. Predicted and abnormal areas of Raw and FRCpleth and the variation of Raw complete this graphic. Conclusion: Plotting airways resistance during quiet tidal breathing and linking to absolute lung volumes is visually diagnostic to changes in chest mechanics and can aid in the interpretation of plethysmography test results above conventional graphics.

Ocean acidification is an escalating environmental issue and associated changes in the ocean carbonate system have implications for many calcifying organisms. The present study followed the growth of Sepia officinalis from early-stage embryos, through hatching, to 7-week-old juveniles. Responses of cuttlefish to elevated pCO2 (hypercapnia) were investigated to test the impacts of near-future and extreme ocean acidification conditions on growth, developmental time, oxygen consumption, and yolk utilization as proxies for individual fitness. We further examined gross morphological characteristics of the internal calcareous cuttlebone to determine whether embryonically secreted shell lamellae are impacted by environmental hypercapnia. Embryonic growth was reduced and hatching delayed under elevated pCO2, both at environmentally relevant levels (0.14 kPa pCO2 similar to predicted ocean conditions in 2100) and extreme conditions (0.40 kPa pCO2). Comparing various metrics from control and intermediate treatments generally showed no significant difference in experimental measurements. Yet, results from the high pCO2 treatment showed significant changes compared with controls and revealed a consistent general trend across the three treatment levels. The proportion of animal mass contributed by the cuttlebone increased in both elevated pCO2 treatments. Gross cuttlebone morphology was affected under such conditions and cuttlebones of hypercapnic individuals were proportionally shorter. Embryonic shell morphology was maintained consistently in all treatments, despite compounding hypercapnia in the perivitelline fluid; however, post-hatching, hypercapnic animals developed denser cuttlebone laminae in shorter cuttlebones. Juvenile cuttlefish in acidified environments thus experience lower growth and yet increased calcification of their internal shell. The results of this study support recent findings that early cuttlefish life stages are more vulnerable towards hypercapnia than juveniles and adults, which may have negative repercussions on the biological fitness of cuttlefish hatchlings in future oceans.

I have just read Dorothy Lepkowsk′a‚s article (A lack of male role models‚ December 2008). I am a 22-year-old male who has just qualified as a teacher. For the final two years of my degree, I specialised in early years and key stage 1.