There were 18,002 records in the laboratory database of which 17,

There were 18,002 records in the laboratory database of which 17,783 could be matched with the hospital number to the CMS data and included in the analysis. The remaining

219 records were either not within the age range or could not be matched with their hospital number. In the 6M and 18Y groups, NPAs were requested on 2066 (24.8%) and 17,783 (39.4%) admissions (Appendix 7) and were positive in 6.5% (range 4.8–9.9%) and 13.2% (range 9.2–21.5%) during the 6 year period respectively (Appendix 8). Overall 1.6% of admissions in the 6M group and 5.2% in the 18Y group had a positive NPA for influenza (Appendix 7). In both age groups the highest positivity rate was in the 2009/10 period during which time the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1NI) virus (A(H1N1)pdm09) influenza strain circulated but this effect was less marked in the 6M group Rucaparib (Appendix 8). In all HA hospitals the proportion of all admissions, and the proportion of admissions to general wards and intensive care units, that had a CMS diagnosis of influenza was almost double during the 2009/10 period (Appendix 9). Including all children from 0 days to below 18 years, 1993 had both a laboratory positive result and CMS diagnosis (ICD9-CM 487–487.9) of influenza (Table 1). There were an additional 359 children without a CMS diagnosis of influenza but with

a laboratory confirmed result, and 253 with a TGF-beta inhibitor CMS diagnosis of influenza but without laboratory confirmation. This indicates that a CMS diagnosis of influenza under-estimates disease burden relative to the laboratory results despite wide and routine laboratory testing with NPAs in children with fever or respiratory illnesses. Since there appeared to be no obvious age effect (Appendix 3) an overall mean value of 1.05 was used for adjustment factor 1 for all age groups. Of the unless 11,063 children

with a primary-respiratory associated diagnosis, 1490 did not have an NPA sent. Adjustment factor 2 assumed the influenza positive rate in these 1490 children was the same as in the 9573 children that had an NPA sent (Table 1). Again this factor did not appear to vary consistently with age and overall mean value of 1.13 was applied to all age groups (Appendix 3). Adjustment factor 3 was the proportion of all admissions by age group that had a laboratory diagnosis of influenza at PWH (Table 1). This factor varied by age group and a smoothed value excluding the first two months was applied to each monthly age group for the complete HA dataset (Appendix 3). The incidence rates of hospitalisation for influenza per 100,000 person-years based on any CMS influenza diagnosis (CMS flu) for the whole of Hong Kong were lowest in the first two months of life, then peaked between 2 and 6 months, and then declined from about 3 to 4 years of age (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). Similar patterns were observed over the full 6 years of the study.

The above research work has been carried out with the aim of cont

The above research work has been carried out with the aim of controlling the release of Cefditoren Pivoxil with sodium carbonate, carbopol, and sodium alginate. With the use of above mentioned excipients in different concentrations the gastro retentive effect was successful. The tablets were formulated by direct compression. All the physical parameters were in acceptable range as per the pharmacopeal specifications. Formulation F5 (20% carbopol, 6%sodium carbonate and 6% of sodium alginate) showed a good controlled release with better gastro retentive effect which was further confirmed by the swelling index.

Stability studies were performed for the formulation F5 as per the ICH guidelines. EGFR phosphorylation % Drug content at the 60th day was slightly reduced which may be further improved by adding suitable stabilizing agent. However further work is needed to establish regarding stability of the

tablets. All authors have none to declare. “
“Plant have known to serve mankind since ancient era with various biological activity among which antimicrobial activities using plant extracts have been well learn more reported.1 and 2 Such properties in plants are expressed due to the presence of active phytocomponents.3 and 4 With the emergence of multi drug resistant bacteria haunt for novel antibiotics has been upsurge in recent decades especially from natural reservoirs among which plants have been constant explored for antimicrobial agents due the fact that most of the plants are underscore toward isolating and characterization of novel natural products. Traditional out records have been well documented with various plants used as a sole source of herbal medicine against treating various diseases which is being still persist in various developing countries and has been followed by tribal communities in remote areas. Similarly excessive use of synthetic chemicals to improve crop productivity has created huge impact on all forms of life causing bio magnification.5 Hence to address these issues exploitation of plants which are under documented has gained tremendous progress across the globe. Antimicrobial

agents from plant source have given a new ray of hope against multi drug resistant microorganism compared to synthetic drugs which in turn has influenced the industrial funding for natural product-based drug discovery. Keeping these lacunae the present study was designed and executed toward exploiting aromatic herb Callistemon lanceolatus DC. as antibacterial activity. C. lanceolatus DC. belongs to a family Myrtaceae commonly known as crimson bottle brush, an aromatic evergreen shrub. 6 It is a hardy plant grows under a wide range of conditions and cultivated as ornamental plant. It grows to between 1 and 3 m in height and has leaves which are 3–7 cm long and 5–8 mm wide. The leaves are a tea substitute and have a delightfully refreshing flavor and tan dye is obtained.

Depending on the purpose of the analysis, various approaches have

Depending on the purpose of the analysis, various approaches have been suggested to incorporate GSA in the general pipeline of network model development and validation (Kim et al., 2010, Rodriguez-Fernandez and Banga, 2010 and Zi et al., 2008). In this study we sought to develop a GSA procedure which would be applicable to identification of the critical nodes that exhibit the most control over the output signals from cancer-related signalling networks, and therefore could be considered as candidates

for targeting with anti-cancer drugs, or as biological markers of cancer and drug resistance. Below we briefly outline the most Selleckchem INCB018424 popular GSA approaches currently in use, justify the choice of the techniques for our GSA procedure, GSK2118436 describe the proposed algorithm and then highlight its applied aspects. In general, all global SA techniques are designed to allow exploration of the model behaviour in the space of the model input factors. Therefore, at the first stage, they employ various sampling

algorithms for extraction of parameter sets from predefined areas of parameter space. Then for each parameter set the model outputs are calculated, and various SA methods are applied to deduce particular metrics to quantitatively describe model input–output relationships. Thus, one way of classifying the existing GSA implementations would be to characterise them with regard to their choice of (1) the sampling method, (2) the method for sensitivity analysis, (3) the characteristic used to assess the parametric sensitivity. Classical “grid” approaches which would

allow one to systematically cover the parameter space with “n” points on each individual parameter direction, cannot be used in a high-dimensional space, because of the exponential increase in volume associated with adding extra dimensions to a mathematical space that results in a computationally intractable task. That is why special sampling algorithms should be employed to effectively extract the points from a high-dimensional parameter space. The most commonly used sampling methods are pure Monte-Carlo (MC), when points are taken randomly from multi-dimensional distribution (Balsa-Canto Phosphatidylinositol diacylglycerol-lyase et al., 2010 and Yoon and Deisboeck, 2009) and Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) (Jia e al., 2007 and Marino et al., 2008). LHS, a variant of stratified sampling without replacement, ensures better estimation of the mean and the population distribution function compared to pure random MC sampling (Saltelli, 2004). In our GSA implementation, we used Sobol’s low-discrepancy sequence (LDS) as our sampling method (Sobol, 1998). Sobol’s LDS belongs to the class of quasi-random sampling methods, designed to systematically fill the gaps in the parameter space, rather than to select points purely randomly.

3 The objective of the present work was to

3 The objective of the present work was to AZD8055 manufacturer prepare matrix tablets of aceclofenac with PEOs of molecular weights of 7 × 106 and 2 × 106 and to evaluate them for their in vitro and in vivo performance. Aceclofenac was kindly supplied by Ajantha Pharmaceuticals (Mumbai), and PEOs of different grades were supplied by Orchid chemicals, Chennai. Microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH 102), and poly vinyl pyrrolidone 30 (Kollidon 30) were obtained from Signet Chemicals (Mumbai). Acetonitrile was of HPLC grade (Qualigens). All other

chemicals were of analytical or reagent grade and were used as received. A marketed sustained release aceclofenac tablet (Batch No. 35024; Hifenac SR) was obtained from Intas Pharmaceuticals BTK inhibitor Pvt. Ltd. (Ahmedabad) for comparative

study of bioavailability with the formulation developed in the current study. Matrix tablets, each containing 200 mg of aceclofenac, were prepared employing (polyethylene oxides, Polyox 303 and Polyox N60K) in different proportions of drug and polymer as per the formulae shown in Table 1. The drug, polymer, binder and diluents were screened through sieve number #40 (size of aperture 390 μm) and were preblended manually. The glidant and lubricant were added and the blend was mixed again prior to compression. The formulation mixtures were directly compressed by using 8 station rotary tablet press (Cadmach, Ahmedabad). The tablets were round flat type, 12 mm diameter, 3.0 ± 0.5 mm thick, and had a hardness of 6–10 kg/cm.2 Drug release from matrix tablets was studied using 8 station dissolution test apparatus (Lab India, Disso 8000) as per the method mentioned in Indian Pharmacopoeia.4 The dissolution

medium was phosphate buffer of pH 7.5 maintained at 37 ± 0.5 °C and the paddle speed was set at 50 rpm. Samples of 5 ml volume were withdrawn at different time intervals over a period of 24 h. Each sample withdrawn was replaced with an equal amount of fresh dissolution medium. Samples were suitably diluted and assayed at 275 nm for aceclofenac however using an Elico BL 198 double beam UV-spectrophotometer. For comparison, aceclofenac release from Hifenac SR tablets was also studied. The drug release experiments were conducted in triplicate. The bioavailability of the selected sustained release formulation of aceclofenac was compared with a commercial sustained release product (Hifenac SR) in healthy human volunteers. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee for research on human volunteers, AU College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam (Approval No. AUIEC-06/2010). Twelve healthy human subjects (63–80 kg) were randomly divided into two groups. After an overnight fast of 10 h, test group (Formulation F10) and reference group (Hifenac SR) received a single oral dose of tablet equivalent to 200 mg of aceclofenac.

5% biochar-amended soil presented unobvious changes throughout th

5% biochar-amended soil presented unobvious changes throughout the duration, and a gradual decrease in porosity appeared in the 5% biochar-amended soil. Fig. 2g indicates that MWD of soil aggregation PS-341 cost was consistently higher for the biochar-amended soils than the control after incubation of 21 d; however, significant differences between the amended soils and the control were found after incubation of 84 d. An obvious peak that occurred at 21 d was found

for all treated soils. Furthermore, applying biochar to the soil caused a significant increase in the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat). At the end of the incubation, the Ksat values of the amended soils were twice as high as the control soils (Table 2), although there were great variances found at the beginning of the incubation, especially for

the 5% biochar amended buy SB431542 soil (Fig. 2h). After incubation of 21 d, the Ksat stabilized gradually and kept higher consistently for the biochar-amended soils to the end of the incubation. To understand the changes of soil microbial activity after biochar application, the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) contents were determined at 0 d, 21 d, 63 d, and 105 d of incubation. Results indicate that the biochar application significantly increased the MBC at the beginning of incubation, 63 d and 105 d (only in 5% application rate). The differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05), except for the analytical results at 21 d ( Fig. 3). In addition, the highest contents of MBC were found at 21 d for each treated soil, which were 3200 mg kg− 1 for 5% biochar-amended

soil, 1145 mg kg− 1 for 2.5% biochar-amended soil and 1759 mg kg− 1 for the control, respectively. Table 2 shows the soil loss rate under a simulated rainfall intensity of 80 mm h− 1. The highest soil loss rate (1458 ± 50.0 g m− 2) GBA3 occurred in the control soil, and the lowest (532 ± 106 g m− 2) occurred in the amended soil with the highest application rate (5%). The soil loss rate significantly decreased as the biochar application rate increased, indicating that biochar largely ameliorated soil erosion potential in highly weathered soils. The results of this study confirmed the effectiveness of wood biochar in improving the physical and chemical properties of soil that is highly weathered. The results indicated that the improvements in soil characteristics varied with variations in the amount of biochar added to the soil. Incubation results indicated that soil pH, CEC, and BS increased significantly after the addition of biochar, particularly at the application rate of 5%. The high liming potential of the biochar (pH > 9.0) raised the pH of the highly weathered soil. Our results further showed that pH increased significantly with increasing application rates of biochar, reflecting the fact that the liming potential increased with increasing application rates of biochar.

NK cells co-cultured with

NK cells co-cultured with BYL719 supplier autologous SmartDCs were not activated, whereas NK cells co-cultured with SmyleDCs were activated, as modest increased frequencies of IFN-γ (p = 0.161) and TNF-α (p = 0.045) positive NKs were observed ( Fig. S5b and c). We evaluated whether CD8+ T cells obtained from a CMV-seropositive donor could be stimulated in vitro with Conventional DCs or iDCs pulsed with pp65 peptides and result in the expansion of pp65-specific T cells. iDCs produced with donor monocytes and maintained in culture for 7 days were loaded with a pp65 overlapping peptide pool and used to stimulate autologous CD8+ T cells. After 7 days of stimulation, the CD8+ T cell cultures were analyzed for production

of several cytokines ( Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). pp65-antigenic stimulation by

the iDCs was required for high production of IFN-γ (produced by activated CTLs) and, surprisingly, also for high production of IL-13 (a cytokine typically produced by activated Th2 cells). IL-5, a cytokine typically secreted by T effector memory cells, was higher for iDC than for conventional DCs with pp65 antigenic stimulation. Production of TNF-α and IL-8 were also stimulated with antigen, albeit their production by conventional DCs or by iDCs was less dependent on pp65 peptides. Stimulation with conventional DCs or with iDCs loaded with pp65 peptides resulted in a substantial (2- click here to 3-fold) increase in T cell numbers in comparison with the unloaded DCs ( Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). The detection of pp65-reactive CD8+ T cells in the cultures was

performed with tetramers specific to two pp65 epitopes (NLVPMVATV: restricted to HLA-A*0201 and TPRVTGGGAM: restricted to HLA-B*0702) and flow cytometry analyses ( Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). The baseline frequency of CD8+ T cells reactive against these epitopes prior to stimulation was approximately 3%. After stimulation with conventional Etomidate DCs or iDCs pulsed with the peptides, the frequencies increased to 33% (11-fold) for SmyleDC + pp65 and to 20% (6-fold) with SmartDC + pp65. Conventional DCs or iDCs that were not loaded with pp65 antigen did not lead to a noticeable expansion of pp65-reactive T cells. The pp65-reactive T cells that were expanded after the 7 days of stimulation with iDCs pulsed with pp65 antigens were further analyzed for the distribution of T central memory (TCM: CD45RA−/CD62L+) and T effector memory (TEM: CD45RA−/CD62L−) ( Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). Altogether, the data indicated comparable effects of conventional DCs versus iDCs in the stimulation of CTL responses when the antigenic epitopes were provided exogenously as peptides. One particular aspect that seems to favor the stimulation of CTLs by SmyleDCs pulsed with peptides is that these cells did not require maturation with exogenous cytokines to reach the plateau of stimulation and, therefore, seem to be intrinsically more activated than conventional DCs or SmartDCs ( Fig. S6c and d).

The study collected information on vaccine recommendations, and r

The study collected information on vaccine recommendations, and reimbursement and communication policies from 26 countries (Table 1). Exactly half of these had vaccine provision levels above the study “hurdle” rate (2009 data), and 12 (46%) were classified as less developed by the UN. Almost all the countries (92%) recommended vaccination for

two key risk groups in the WHO guidance [3]: the elderly above a defined age and those with chronic conditions. In approximately two-thirds of the countries (65%) reimbursement was available for both of these risk Vemurafenib mw groups, and in nearly three-quarters (74%) wide-scale communication activities were undertaken. When assessed across all 26 countries (Table 2), the existence of local vaccination recommendations did not correlate well with the level of vaccine provision (positive:negative correlation = 1.3:1). Development status correlated to some extent (2.7:1), but vaccine supply Cell Cycle inhibitor correlated most strongly with reimbursement (4.5:1) and communication (5.3:1). Across the sub-group countries, these two policy implementation measures correlated 3.5–4.1 times more strongly with vaccine provision than the presence of an immunization policy alone. This study provides a unique insight into worldwide seasonal influenza vaccine usage. Although the adopted endpoint, dose distribution, may

overestimate vaccine use to an extent (due to wastage and unused returns) it represents a useful surrogate. Unlike vaccine usage data that is collected in a limited number of countries using different methodologies, this study’s results were compiled uniformly on a global basis from a standardized source: the vaccine producers that manufacture the majority of the world’s influenza vaccines (IFPMA IVS members accounted for approximately three-quarters of the global seasonal influenza vaccine production reported by a 2010 WHO survey, with the remainder manufactured by non-IFPMA IVS members

[9]). The study also provides a systematic assessment of the potential effect of development status and immunization policies GPX6 on vaccine provision (with more developed and less developed nations shown on a single chart). This was possible through the use of a novel vaccine supply “hurdle” rate, which was based on a key WHO recommended risk group (the elderly). While this threshold was derived from data from more developed nations, it was deemed applicable in less developed countries also, because although a smaller proportion of the population of these countries was aged ≥65 years old [8], WHO recommendations state that “the appropriate age for general vaccination may be considerably lower in countries with poor living conditions” [3], thereby offsetting the effect of demographic differences.

IMT has not been shown to respond to chemotherapy or radiotherapy

IMT has not been shown to respond to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Alternative treatments are currently being investigated and include both anti-inflammatory agents and anti-tumor necrosis factor-α binding antibodies. Although early results are promising, larger prospective studies are needed. In summary, IMT is a rare benign tumor

that can present in the bladder. A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis as it is often difficult to distinguish from its malignant counterparts. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice and care should be taken to appropriately counsel patients preoperatively regarding potential surgical therapies including the need for possible radical cystectomy and urinary diversion. New therapies are on the horizon; however, larger prospective studies are needed before these can be widely adopted. The authors would like to thank Dr. Da Zhang at the University of Kansas Medical Temsirolimus Center Trametinib research buy for providing valuable expertise in histologic analysis. “
“Tuberculosis can be present in different locations of the genitourinary tract, especially in patients in developing countries. However, the spermatic cord in its lower portion is rarely involved, and tuberculosis in this location can mimic a malignant lesion, which often leads to undue surgery. We discuss this rare disease with a short review of the literature. A 44-year-old patient with no medical history of personal or family tuberculosis showed a 4-cm

painful swelling on the right testicle, which had appeared 3 months earlier. The patient had not lost weight and showed no sign of infection. Testicle ultrasonography revealed

Dipeptidyl peptidase an isoechoic, cylindrical, paratesticular structure, measuring 4 cm in its largest diameter. Routine blood and urine tests were within normal values with no inflammatory signs. Alpha Foetoprotein and beta Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin were normal. No tuberculosis skin test was performed. A surgery was performed, revealing an indurated right spermatic cord caught in a fibrous magma extending from the tail of the epididymis to the superficial inguinal ring (Fig. 1). The fibrous cord was dissected and isolated from all the elements of the spermatic cord, with preservation of the vas deferens and the spermatic vessels. The testes were reinstated in purse. Histology showed on a 4 × 2 × 1 cm specimen, an epithelioid and gigantocellular granulomatous process with foci of caseous necrosis (Fig. 2). A checkup was made afterward revealing no other tuberculous location. The patient was given a 6-month antituberculous treatment: 2 (rifampicin + isoniazid + pyrazinamide + ethambutol) + 4 (rifampicin + isoniazid) with a satisfying uneventful evolution. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is widespread in the world, especially in developing countries and among immunocompromised patients. However, the spermatic cord location is uncommon. The first publication found in the literature was made in 1945.

Because the colon has a long residence time which is up to 5 days

Because the colon has a long residence time which is up to 5 days and is highly responsive to absorption enhancers.9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 Budesonide was obtained from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Nasik. Pectin, chitosan and other materials

used were of AR Grade and were obtained from Loba Chemie. Various crosslinking agents are utilized for crosslinking purpose like glutaraldehyde, genepin, formaldehyde. Crosslinking occurs in between chitosan molecules retarding their water solubility. 25% Glutaraldehyde is utilized for crosslinking of chitosan while spray drying.16, 17 and 18 1 g of chitosan was dissolved in 100 ml 5% dilute acetic acid solution. In it 25 ml of 25% of glutaraldehyde was added. Allowed to crosslink for 15 min. After 15 min very thick gel was formed such that it can’t be passed through the spray drying system. So it was started with 1 ml of glutaraldehyde. Selumetinib supplier 1 g chitosan was dissolved in 100 ml dilute acetic acid solution (5%). 500 mg of budesonide was added to 20 ml of ethanol and

added to the chitosan solution. After proper mixing 1 ml of 25% glutaraldehyde was added and allowed to crosslink for 15 min while stirring. Above solution was kept for stirring and spray dried at conditions given in Table 1. Obtained product was collected, weighed and evaluated for following parameters. Obtained product was weighed and % of yield was calculated by using following formula: %ofyield=AmountofproductobtainedAmountoftotalsolidinspraydryingsolution×100 PF-02341066 solubility dmso 100 mg of microparticles were kept in 100 ml of 0.1 N HCl at 50 rpm on mechanical shaker and observed for solubilization, if any, of microparticles. 100 mg of microparticles were weighed and dispersed into 20 ml of ethanol in a beaker and the beaker was wrapped with aluminum foil. Microparticles were then digested for 24 h in the darkness and then sonicated for 1 h. Sonicated sample was then filtered

by using Whatman filter paper. Filtered sample was then analyzed by using UV spectrophotometer after suitable dilution. From the reading, by using following formula % of entrapment was calculated. %ofentrapment=PracticaldrugcontentTheoreticaldrugcontent×100 Dichloromethane dehalogenase % of drug loading was calculated to find out % of amount of drug present in given weight of microspheres. % of drug loading was calculated by using following formula: %ofloading=DrugcontentWeightofmicrospheres×100 Drug release was checked for 5 h by using USP paddle apparatus. 900 ml of 0.1 N HCl was utilized as a media. Microparticles were weighed such that it becomes equivalent to 9 mg of budesonide. Then microparticles were filled into size 4 capsule. Capsule was then placed into media at 50 rpm and 37 ± 0.5 °C. 5 ml sample was withdrawn at each 1 h and analyzed by UV. If required suitable dilutions were prepared. Dissolution was carried out for 5 h only to check drug release occurring in critical period.19 and 20 Graph was plotted as % of drug release versus time.

Thus, 800 μg of sHZ showed higher adjuvanticity than 200 μg of sH

Thus, 800 μg of sHZ showed higher adjuvanticity than 200 μg of sHZ. This result implied that sHZ enhanced the immunogenicity of SV in a dose-dependent

manner in ferrets. It is reported that the ferret model can evaluate not only the efficacy of vaccine but also the pyrogenicity of immunostimulatory agents like TLR ligands (e.g. TLR7/8 agonist R848) and virion components, and non-pyrogenicity of SV [17] and [18] To evaluate the pyrogenicity of sHZ after the first immunization, ferrets were immunized with saline or SV/sHZ (800 μg), and the body temperatures of ferrets were monitored continuously. The results showed that sHZ did not enhance the body temperature after immunization, selleck chemical and no difference was observed in body temperature between the SV/sHZ

and the saline groups, suggesting that sHZ does not have the potential to induce a pyrogenic reaction in ferrets (Fig. 3). Having observed such potent adjuvanticity without pyrogenicity of sHZ in ferrets, we next evaluated the contribution of sHZ-adjuvanted SB431542 price SV vaccine to its protective efficacy. On day 7 after the second immunization, the ferrets were intranasally infected with B/Osaka/32/2009, and viral titers in nasal cavities were measured daily after infection. On day 2 after infection, each viral titer of two groups SV/sHZ (200 μg) and SV/sHZ (800 μg) was significantly lower than that of the SV group (p < 0.01 and <0.001, respectively) ( Fig. 4A). Each viral titer AUC of SV/sHZ (200 μg and 800 μg) groups was significantly lower than that of the SV group (p < 0.01) ( Fig. 4C). The body temperature found changes of ferrets were monitored from 2 days before to 5 days after infection. Comparing the SV group with the SV/sHZ group showed that the elevations of body temperature were suppressed in all SV/sHZ groups in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 4B). Moreover, body temperature change AUCs of all SV/sHZ groups were lower than that of the SV vaccine group (Fig. 4D). Vaccination is the primary strategy to prevent influenza infection [19]. The efficacy of influenza vaccine in young and healthy adults is estimated to be 70–90%, but that in the elderly is lower at 17–53% [7]. Dose escalation

of antigen has been examined to enhance the efficacy of vaccine for the elderly [20]. However, this is not a realistic approach without improvement of the manufacturing plants or manufacturing systems. As an alternative strategy, the use of adjuvant may help overcome these issues by enhancing the immunogenicity of influenza vaccine. In the present study, sHZ enhanced the immunogenicity of SV and consequently elevated its protective efficacy against virus infection in the ferret model, which has been shown to reflect influenza symptoms and protective immune responses to influenza infection in humans [21]. In particular, SV/sHZ (800 μg) strongly suppressed the viral titer below the detection limit and did not cause pyrogenic reaction after immunization.