Summary Background A recombinant adenovirus type-5 vector-based vaccine expressing the glycoprotein of Ebola Zaire Makona variant showed good safety and immunogenicity in a phase 1 trial of healthy ...Chinese adults. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine in healthy adults in Sierra Leone and to determine the optimal dose. Methods We did a single-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical trial at Sierra Leone–China Friendship Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone. We recruited healthy adults aged 18–50 years who were HIV negative, had no history of Ebola virus infection, and had no previous immunisation with other Ebola vaccine candidates. Participants were sequentially enrolled and randomly assigned (2:1:1), by computer-generated block randomisation (block size of eight), to receive the high-dose vaccine (1·6 × 1011 viral particles), low-dose vaccine (8·0 × 1010 viral particles), or placebo (containing only vaccine excipients, with no viral particles). Participants, investigators, and study staff (except two study pharmacists) were masked from treatment allocation. The primary safety outcome was occurrence of solicited adverse reactions within 7 days of vaccination, analysed by intention to treat. The primary immunogenicity outcome was glycoprotein-specific antibody responses at days 14, 28, and 168 after vaccination, analysed in all vaccinated participants who had blood samples drawn for antibody tests. The trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, number PACTR201509001259869, and is completed. Findings During Oct 10–28, 2015, 500 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive the high-dose vaccine (n=250), low-dose vaccine (n=125), or placebo (n=125). 132 (53%) participants in the high-dose group, 60 (48%) in the low-dose group, and 54 (43%) in the placebo group reported at least one solicited adverse reaction within 7 days of vaccination. Most adverse reactions were mild and self-limiting. Solicited injection-site adverse reactions were significantly more frequent in vaccine recipients (65 26% in high-dose group and 31 25% in low-dose group) than in those receiving placebo (17 14%; p=0·0169). Glycoprotein-specific antibody responses were detected from day 14 onwards (geometric mean titre 1251·0 95% CI 976·6–1602·5 in low-dose group and 1728·4 1459·4–2047·0 in high-dose group) and peaked at day 28 (1471·8 1151·0–1881·8 and 2043·1 1762·4–2368·4), but declined quickly in the following months (223·3 148·2–336·4 and 254·2 185·0–349·5 at day 168). Geometric mean titres in the placebo group remained around 6·0–6·8 throughout the study period. Three serious adverse events (malaria, gastroenteritis, and one fatal asthma episode) were reported in the high-dose vaccine group, but none was deemed related to the vaccine. Interpretation The recombinant adenovirus type-5 vector-based Ebola vaccine was safe and highly immunogenic in healthy Sierra Leonean adults, and 8·0 × 1010 viral particles was the optimal dose. Funding Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, and Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology.
Light-weight nanocomposites filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are developed for their significant potentials in electromagnetic shielding and attenuation for wide applications in electronics, ...communication devices, and specific parts in aircrafts and vehicles. Specifically, the introduction of a second phase into/onto CNTs for achieving CNT-based heterostructures has been widely pursued due to the enhancement in either dielectric loss or magnetic loss. In this work, ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) was selected as the phase in multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based composites for enhancing magnetic properties to obtain improved electromagnetic attenuation. A direct comparison between the two-phase heterostructures (Fe3O4/MWCNTs) and polyaniline (PANI) coated Fe3O4/MWCNTs, namely, three-phase heterostructures (PANI/Fe3O4/MWCNTs), was made to investigate the interface influences of Fe3O4 and PANI on the complex permittivity and permeability separately. Compared to PANI/Fe3O4/MWCNTs, Fe3O4/MWCNTs exhibited enhanced magnetic properties coupled with increased dielectric properties. Interfaces between MWCNTs and heterostructures were found to play a role in the corresponding properties. The evaluation of microwave absorption of their wax composites was carried out, and the comparison between Fe3O4/MWCNTs and PANI/Fe3O4/MWCNTs with respect to highly efficient microwave absorption and effective absorption bandwidth was discussed.
Permafrost in Northeast China is highly sensitive to climate warming. Permafrost degradation significantly affects forest and vegetation ecosystems, as well as the safety of engineering projects and ...other man-made infrastructures. However, the permafrost change in the region is still unclear. This study uses metrological data from 258 weather stations, alongside reanalysis data, and other environmental data to investigate permafrost degradation and its related environmental impacts in Northeast China from the 1950s to 2010s. Results show that the total permafrost area decreased from 4.8 × 105 to 3.1 × 105 km2 from the 1950s to the 2010s. The southern limit of permafrost moved 0.1–1.1° northward, and its average elevation rose 160.5 m. During the study period, the degradation of predominantly continuous permafrost, and discontinuous and island permafrost was more pronounced than that of sparsely island permafrost. The south boundary of those three permafrost zones northward by 0–3.4°, 0‒5.5° and 0.4–1.1°, the average altitude raised by 339.2 m, 208.3 m, 67.1 m. The permafrost degradation shows the elevation and latitude zonality. Permafrost degradation is mainly caused by the rising of surface temperatures and the impacts of other environmental factors. The snowfall warming the ground of 1.1–10.2 °C in cold seasons and rainfall cooling on surface conditions in warm seasons, those may result in temporal and spatial differences in permafrost degradation. However, there are lack of researches in the impact of environment factors on soil temperatures, moisture and permafrost degradation.
The dielectric spectroscopy of short carbon fiber/silica composite in the frequency range from 8.2 to 12.4
GHz at temperatures between 30 and 600
°C has been performed. The composite was prepared by ...conventional ceramic processing. The real part of the permittivity increases with increasing temperature, which is attributed to the shortened relaxation time of electron polarization, and the imaginary part also increases which is ascribed to the increasing electrical conductivity of the carbon fibers. The effect of frequency is found in reflection coefficient and absorption coefficient, and the corresponding mechanisms for the effect are proposed. Results indicate that the composite has good electromagnetic interference shielding property. By calculating the microwave-absorption as a single-layer absorber, we find that the reflection loss varies with the changes of thickness and temperature, due to the deviation of impedance matching condition.
•An economic dispatch model of power system containing CSP is proposed.•The potential economic value of CSP integration in power grids is investigated.•A scenario tree approach is applied to ...represent the uncertainty of renewables.•A case study based on three provinces in China is analyzed.
Increasingly, climate neutrality is becoming a consensus among many countries. While this can motivate toward higher proportions of renewable energy, it can also result in significant increases in the volatility of power systems. Concentrating solar power (CSP) combines the features of zero-emissions and dispatching capability, rendering it an ideal technology for sustainable power systems. In comparison with other clean energy generation technologies, CSP remains expensive with a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 0.184 $/kWh in 2018. However, in addition to LCOE, the benefits of integrating CSP for the entire power system are worth considering for a liberalized electricity market. This paper presents the development of a multistage stochastic programming model, in which the uncertainty of variable renewable energy is indicated by a modified scenario tree approach. A case study is demonstrated based on three provinces in China with different generation structures. The results demonstrate the economic value of CSP integration, which increases its investment potential—especially when combined with more variable renewables.
•This study develops a multistage stochastic mixed-integer model for power system.•The scenario trees method is adopted to characterize the uncertainty of renewables.•A modified nested decomposition ...algorithm is proposed to speed up the calculation.•A case study in China is analyzed to test our model.
Renewable energy plays a key role in mitigating climate change and promoting the energy transition. In this context, we address two crucial consequences for planning the electricity transition: (a) substantially more complex uncertainties in variable renewable energy and (b) a requirement to co-ordinate extensive transmission investment with the newly located generating facilities. These features combine to present a major modelling challenge both for countries that have a liberalized electricity market, where long terms plans are needed to support subsidy policies, as well as for those countries which have retained central planning. This paper develops a new multistage stochastic mixed-integer model which uses a new decomposition algorithm based on stochastic dual dynamic integer programming, with a two-phase acceleration method. The scalability of the approach is demonstrated by application to China’s electric power requirements and it performs well in terms of computational tractability and policy insights.
The gut microbiota has been linked to cardiovascular diseases. However, the composition and functional capacity of the gut microbiome in relation to cardiovascular diseases have not been ...systematically examined. Here, we perform a metagenome-wide association study on stools from 218 individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) and 187 healthy controls. The ACVD gut microbiome deviates from the healthy status by increased abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and Streptococcus spp. and, functionally, in the potential for metabolism or transport of several molecules important for cardiovascular health. Although drug treatment represents a confounding factor, ACVD status, and not current drug use, is the major distinguishing feature in this cohort. We identify common themes by comparison with gut microbiome data associated with other cardiometabolic diseases (obesity and type 2 diabetes), with liver cirrhosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Our data represent a comprehensive resource for further investigations on the role of the gut microbiome in promoting or preventing ACVD as well as other related diseases.The gut microbiota may play a role in cardiovascular diseases. Here, the authors perform a metagenome-wide association study on stools from individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and healthy controls, identifying microbial strains and functions associated with the disease.
Ovarian cancer (OC) is a gynecological cancer with high mortality. OC‐derived exosomal circRNAs can regulate angiogenesis. This study aims to explore the role and mechanism of exosomal circRNA ...nuclear factor I X (CircNFIX) derived from OC cells in angiogenesis. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction was employed to evaluate the levels of circNFIX, miR‐518a‐3p, and tripartite motif protein 44 (TRIM44) in OC and adjacent tissues. Exosomes from the ovarian surface epithelial cell (HOSEpiC) and OC cells (SKOV3 or OVCAR3) were isolated by differential centrifugation. Exosomes were cocultured with the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The angiogenesis capacity was analyzed by Tube formation assay. 3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2‐H‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Transwell assays were used to determine the cell viability and migration ability. The dual‐luciferase report, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and RNA pull‐down assays were applied to validate the gene's interaction. CircNFIX and TRIM44 expression were higher and miR‐518a‐3p was lower in OC tissues than in the adjacent tissues. Upregulated circNFIX and TRIM44 were significantly correlated with the tumor size and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage of OC patients. HUVECs treated OC‐derived exosomes had higher proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis capacities than the control group. While OC‐derived exosomal circNFIX silencing restrained HUVECs' proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis, compared with the OC‐derived exosomes group. OC‐derived exosomal circNFIX positively regulated TRIM44 expression by targeting miR‐518a‐3p in HUVECs. OC‐derived exosomal circNFIX promoted angiogenesis by regulating the Janus‐activated kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (JAK/STAT1) pathway via miR‐518a‐3p/TRIM44 axis in HUVECs.
The WUSCHEL-related Homeobox (WOX) genes, which encode plant-specific homeobox (HB) transcription factors, play crucial roles in regulating plant growth and development. However, the functions of WOX ...genes are little known in Eucalyptus, one of the fastest-growing tree resources with considerable widespread cultivation worldwide. A total of nine WOX genes named EgWOX1-EgWOX9 were retrieved and designated from Eucalyptus grandis. From the three divided clades marked as Modern/WUS, Intermediate and Ancient, the largest group Modern/WUS (6 EgWOXs) contains a specific domain with 8 amino acids: TLQLFPLR. The collinearity, cis-regulatory elements, protein-protein interaction network and gene expression analysis reveal that the WUS proteins in E. grandis involve in regulating meristems development and regeneration. Furthermore, by externally adding of truncated peptides isolated from WUS specific domain, the transformation efficiency in E. urophylla x E. grandis DH32-29 was significant enhanced. The transcriptomics data further reveals that the use of small peptides activates metabolism pathways such as starch and sucrose metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis. Peptides isolated from WUS protein can be utilized to enhance the transformation efficiency in Eucalyptus, thereby contributing to the high-efficiency breeding of Eucalyptus.
Imitation Switch (ISWI) chromatin remodelers are known to function in diverse multi‐subunit complexes in yeast and animals. However, the constitution and function of ISWI complexes in Arabidopsis ...thaliana remain unclear. In this study, we identified forkhead‐associated domain 2 (FHA2) as a plant‐specific subunit of an ISWI chromatin‐remodeling complex in Arabidopsis. By in vivo and in vitro analyses, we demonstrated that FHA2 directly binds to RLT1 and RLT2, two redundant subunits of the ISWI complex in Arabidopsis. The stamen filament is shorter in the fha2 and rlt1/2 mutants than in the wild type, whereas their pistil lengths are comparable. The shorter filament, which is due to reduced cell size, results in insufficient pollination and reduced fertility. The rlt1/2 mutant shows an early‐flowering phenotype, whereas the phenotype is not shared by the fha2 mutant. Consistent with the functional specificity of FHA2, our RNA‐seq analysis indicated that the fha2 mutant affects a subset of RLT1/2‐regulated genes that does not include genes involved in the regulation of flowering time. This study demonstrates that FHA2 functions as a previously uncharacterized subunit of the Arabidopsis ISWI complex and is exclusively involved in regulating stamen development and plant fertility.
FHA2 was identified as a plant‐specific subunit of an ISWI chromatin‐remodeling complex. Although the other ISWI subunits regulate both flowering time and floral morphogenesis, FHA2 is exclusively involved in floral morphogenesis. FHA2 and the other ISWI subunits cooperate in regulating the elongation of stamens, thereby contributing to plant fertility.
PDF
