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Due to waning immunity and protection against infection with SARS-CoV-2, a third dose of a homologous or heterologous COVID-19 vaccine has been proposed by health agencies for individuals who were previously primed with two doses of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine.We did a randomised, open-label, controlled trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of heterologous boost immunisation with an orally administered aerosolised adenovirus type-5 vector-based COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) in Chinese adults (≥18 years old) who had previously received two doses of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-Sinovac CoronaVac. Eligible participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a heterologous booster vaccination with a low dose (1·0 × 10Between Sept 14 and 16, 2021, 420 participants were enrolled: 140 (33%) participants per group. Adverse reactions were reported by 26 (19%) participants in the low dose group and 33 (24%) in the high dose group within 14 days after the booster vaccination, significantly less than the 54 (39%) participants in the CoronaVac group (p0·0001). The low dose group had a serum NAb GMT of 744·4 (95% CI 520·1-1065·6) and the high dose group had a GMT of 714·1 (479·4-1063·7) 14 days after booster dose, significantly higher than the GMT in the CoronaVac group (78·5 [60·5-101·7]; p0·0001).We found that a heterologous booster vaccine with an orally administered aerosolised Ad5-nCoV is safe and highly immunogenic in adults who have previously received two doses of CoronaVac as the primary series vaccination.National Natural Science Foundation of China and Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Program.

The demonstration of batch-to-batch consistency is indispensable for quality control of vaccines. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled trial to evaluate the immunogenicity consistency of a single shot of Ad5-nCoV in healthy adults who had not previously received any COVID-19 vaccine. All eligible participants were randomly assigned equally to receive one of the three consecutive batches of Ad5-nCoV (5 × 1010 viral particles/vial, 0.5 mL). The primary endpoint was geometric mean titers (GMTs) of serum SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific IgG on day 28 post-vaccination. One thousand fifty participants were enrolled, with 350 (33%) participants per group. On day 28 post-vaccination, GMTs in three groups were 78.3 binding antibody units (BAU)/mL (95% CI 70.3–87.3), 82.9 BAU/mL (73.9–92.9), and 78.8 BAU/mL (70.2–88.4), respectively. The two-sided 95% CIs for the GMT ratios between each pair of batches were all between 0.67 and 1.5. The highest incidence of solicited adverse reactions within 7 days post-vaccination was reported by batch 3 recipients (23.1% versus 15.1% in batch 1 recipients and 14.6% in bath 2 recipients; p = 0.0039). None of the serious adverse events were related to vaccination. Immunogenicity consistency between consecutive batches of Ad5-nCoV was well established in adults. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05313646).

AIM: To investigate the correlation of ischemic ophthalmopathy (IO) with lacunar infarction (LI), an ischemic lesions in the cerebrovascular system. METHODS: Totally 204 cases of IO without any nervous system symptom and previously diagnosed LI served as the observational group. All 204 cases without IO, nervous system symptoms and previous LI served as the control group. Age and sex between the two groups matched well. LI was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the results of the two groups were statistically analyzed and compared. RESULTS: IO included 174 eyes of 156 patients with non-arteritis anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), 42 eyes of 36 patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) or branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) and 12 eyes of 12 patients with ocular ischemia syndrome (OIS).The detection rate of LI (72.54%) in IO group was obviously higher than that (15.68%) in the control group (P

BackgroundThe safety and immunogenicity of heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine regimens with one shot of a recombinant adenovirus type-5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine Convidecia has not been reported.MethodsWe conducted a randomized, controlled, observer-blinded trial of heterologous prime-boost immunization with CoronaVac and Convidecia in healthy adults 18-59 years of age. Eligible participants who were primed with one or two doses of CoronaVac were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to receive a booster dose of Convidecia or CoronaVac. Participants were masked to the vaccine received but not to the three-dose or two-dose regimen. The occurrences of adverse reactions within 28 days after the vaccination were documented. The geometric mean titers of neutralizing antibodies against live SARS-CoV-2 virus were measured at 14 and 28 days after the booster vaccination.ResultsBetween May 25 and 26, 2021, a total of 300 participants were enrolled. Participants who received a booster shot with a heterologous dose of Convidecia reported increased frequencies of solicited injection-site reactions than did those received a homogeneous dose of CoronaVac, but frequencies of systemic reactions. The adverse reactions were generally mild to moderate. The heterologous immunization with Convidecia induced higher live viral neutralizing antibodies than did the homogeneous immunization with CoronaVac (197.4[167.7, 232.4] vs. 33.6[28.3, 39.8] and 54.4[37. 9, 78.0] vs. 12.8[9.3, 17.5]) at day 14 in the three- and two-dose regimen cohort, respectively.ConclusionsThe heterologous prime-boost regimen with Convidecia after the priming with CoronaVac was safe and significantly immunogenic than a homogeneous boost with CoronaVac (ClinicalTrials.gov, numberNCT04892459).

Background We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 (Ad5)–vectored coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine with homologous prime-boost regimens in healthy participants aged ≥6 years. Methods In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, participants received vaccine or placebo 56 days apart. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD) and pseudovirus neutralizing antibodies were detected. Adverse events were monitored for 28 days following each vaccination. Results A total of 430 participants were enrolled in the study, with 30 participants aged 18–55 years (MID cohort), 250 aged ≥56 years (OLD cohort), and 150 aged 6–17 years (MIN cohort). Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine induced significant RBD-specific ELISA antibodies that decreased with increasing age, with geometric mean titers (GMTs) of 1037.5 in the MIN cohort, 647.2 in the MID cohort, and 338.0 in the OLD cohort receiving 5 × 1010 viral particles on day 28 following boost vaccination. Pseudovirus neutralizing antibodies showed a similar pattern, with GMTs of 168.0 in the MIN cohort, 76.8 in the MID cohort, and 79.7 in the OLD cohort. A single dose in children and adolescents induced higher antibody responses than that elicited by 2 doses in adults, with GMTs of 1091.6 and 96.6 for ELISA antibody and neutralizing antibody, respectively. Homologous prime-boost vaccination was safe and tolerable. Conclusions Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine with a single dose was safe and induced robust immune responses in children and adolescents aged 6–17 years. A prime-boost regimen needs further exploration for Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine. Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine with a single dose was safe and tolerated, and induced robust immune responses in children and adolescents aged 6-17 years. The boosting effect on immune responses of the homologous prime-boost regime given 56 days apart was limited. Clinical Trials Registration NCT04566770.

Summary Background This is the first randomised controlled trial for assessment of the immunogenicity and safety of a candidate non-replicating adenovirus type-5 (Ad5)-vectored COVID-19 vaccine, aiming to determine an appropriate dose of the candidate vaccine for an efficacy study. Methods This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial of the Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine was done in a single centre in Wuhan, China. Healthy adults aged 18 years or older, who were HIV-negative and previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection-free, were eligible to participate and were randomly assigned to receive the vaccine at a dose of 1 × 1011 viral particles per mL or 5 × 1010 viral particles per mL, or placebo. Investigators allocated participants at a ratio of 2:1:1 to receive a single injection intramuscularly in the arm. The randomisation list (block size 4) was generated by an independent statistician. Participants, investigators, and staff undertaking laboratory analyses were masked to group allocation. The primary endpoints for immunogenicity were the geometric mean titres (GMTs) of specific ELISA antibody responses to the receptor binding domain (RBD) and neutralising antibody responses at day 28. The primary endpoint for safety evaluation was the incidence of adverse reactions within 14 days. All recruited participants who received at least one dose were included in the primary and safety analyses. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04341389. Findings 603 volunteers were recruited and screened for eligibility between April 11 and 16, 2020. 508 eligible participants (50% male; mean age 39·7 years, SD 12·5) consented to participate in the trial and were randomly assigned to receive the vaccine (1 × 1011 viral particles n=253; 5 × 1010 viral particles n=129) or placebo (n=126). In the 1 × 1011 and 5 × 1010 viral particles dose groups, the RBD-specific ELISA antibodies peaked at 656·5 (95% CI 575·2–749·2) and 571·0 (467·6–697·3), with seroconversion rates at 96% (95% CI 93–98) and 97% (92–99), respectively, at day 28. Both doses of the vaccine induced significant neutralising antibody responses to live SARS-CoV-2, with GMTs of 19·5 (95% CI 16·8–22·7) and 18·3 (14·4–23·3) in participants receiving 1 × 1011 and 5 × 1010 viral particles, respectively. Specific interferon γ enzyme-linked immunospot assay responses post vaccination were observed in 227 (90%, 95% CI 85–93) of 253 and 113 (88%, 81–92) of 129 participants in the 1 × 1011 and 5 × 1010 viral particles dose groups, respectively. Solicited adverse reactions were reported by 183 (72%) of 253 and 96 (74%) of 129 participants in the 1 × 1011 and 5 × 1010 viral particles dose groups, respectively. Severe adverse reactions were reported by 24 (9%) participants in the 1 × 1011 viral particles dose group and one (1%) participant in the 5 × 1010 viral particles dose group. No serious adverse reactions were documented. Interpretation The Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine at 5 × 1010 viral particles is safe, and induced significant immune responses in the majority of recipients after a single immunisation. Funding National Key R&D Programme of China, National Science and Technology Major Project, and CanSino Biologics.

Summary Background A vaccine to protect against COVID-19 is urgently needed. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 (Ad5) vectored COVID-19 vaccine expressing the spike glycoprotein of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strain. Methods We did a dose-escalation, single-centre, open-label, non-randomised, phase 1 trial of an Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine in Wuhan, China. Healthy adults aged between 18 and 60 years were sequentially enrolled and allocated to one of three dose groups (5 × 1010, 1 × 1011, and 1·5 × 1011 viral particles) to receive an intramuscular injection of vaccine. The primary outcome was adverse events in the 7 days post-vaccination. Safety was assessed over 28 days post-vaccination. Specific antibodies were measured with ELISA, and the neutralising antibody responses induced by vaccination were detected with SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralisation and pseudovirus neutralisation tests. T-cell responses were assessed by enzyme-linked immunospot and flow-cytometry assays. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04313127. Findings Between March 16 and March 27, 2020, we screened 195 individuals for eligibility. Of them, 108 participants (51% male, 49% female; mean age 36·3 years) were recruited and received the low dose (n=36), middle dose (n=36), or high dose (n=36) of the vaccine. All enrolled participants were included in the analysis. At least one adverse reaction within the first 7 days after the vaccination was reported in 30 (83%) participants in the low dose group, 30 (83%) participants in the middle dose group, and 27 (75%) participants in the high dose group. The most common injection site adverse reaction was pain, which was reported in 58 (54%) vaccine recipients, and the most commonly reported systematic adverse reactions were fever (50 [46%]), fatigue (47 [44%]), headache (42 [39%]), and muscle pain (18 [17%]. Most adverse reactions that were reported in all dose groups were mild or moderate in severity. No serious adverse event was noted within 28 days post-vaccination. ELISA antibodies and neutralising antibodies increased significantly at day 14, and peaked 28 days post-vaccination. Specific T-cell response peaked at day 14 post-vaccination. Interpretation The Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine is tolerable and immunogenic at 28 days post-vaccination. Humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 peaked at day 28 post-vaccination in healthy adults, and rapid specific T-cell responses were noted from day 14 post-vaccination. Our findings suggest that the Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine warrants further investigation. Funding National Key R&D Program of China, National Science and Technology Major Project, and CanSino Biologics.

Background: We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) vectored COVID-19 vaccine expressing the spike glycoprotein of a SARS-Cov-2 strain. This is the first-in-human study of a candidate vaccine against COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a single-center, open-label, dose-escalating clinical trial of Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine. Healthy adults aged between 18-60 years were sequentially enrolled and allocated to receive a single intramuscular injection in one of three dose groups: 5 × 10^10, 1×10^11, and 1·5×10^11 viral particles. Safety was assessed over the next 28 days. Specific antibodies were measured on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the neutralizing antibody responses induced by vaccination were detected by using SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization and pseudovirus neutralization tests. T-cell responses were accessed by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) and flow-cytometry assays. Results: A total of 108 participants were recruited and received low dose, middle dose, or high dose vaccine, with 36 in each dose group. 30(83·3%), 30(83·3%), and 27(75·0%) recipients in the low dose, middle dose, and high dose groups reported at least one adverse reaction within the first 7 days after the vaccination. The most common injection-site adverse reaction was pain, the most commonly reported systematic adverse reactions were fever, fatigue, headache, and muscle pain. A majority of the adverse reactions that were reported in all dose groups were mild or moderate in severity. No serious adverse event was noted within 28 days post-vaccination. Both ELISA antibodies and neutralizing antibodies increased significantly at day 14, and peaked 28 days post-vaccination. Specific T cell response peaked at day 14 post-vaccination. Conclusions: The Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine is tolerable and immunogenic. Humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 peaked at day 28 post-vaccination in health adults, and rapid specific T cell responses were noted since day 14. Trial Registration: The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04313127. Funding Statement: National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFC10841400), National Science and Technology Major Project (2016ZX10004001, 2018ZX09201005), and CanSino Biotechnology Inc. Declaration of Interests: Mr. Gou report being employees of Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology Inc, No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported. Ethics Approval Statement: The protocol and informed consent were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Jiangsu Provincial Center of Disease Control and Prevention. Written informed consents from all participants were obtained before screening. This study was undertaken by Jiangsu Provincial Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practice.

To determine the safety and immunogenicity of a novel recombinant adenovirus type 5 vector based Ebola virus disease vaccine (Ad5-EBOV) in Africans in China.A phase 1, dose-escalation, open-label trial was conducted. 61 healthy Africans were sequentially enrolled, with 31 participants receiving one shot intramuscular injection and 30 participants receiving a double-shot regimen. Primary and secondary end points related to safety and immunogenicity were assessed within 28 d after vaccination. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02401373).Ad5-EBOV is well tolerated and no adverse reaction of grade 3 or above was observed. 53 (86.89%) participants reported at least one adverse reaction within 28 d of vaccination. The most common reaction was fever and the mild pain at injection site, and there were no significant difference between these 2 groups. Ebola glycoprotein-specific antibodies appeared in all 61 participants and antibodies titers peaked after 28 d of vaccination. The geometric mean titres (GMTs) were similar between these 2 groups (1919.01 vs 1684.70 P = 0.5562). The glycoprotein-specific T-cell responses rapidly peaked after 14 d of vaccination and then decreased, however, the percentage of subjects with responses were much higher in the high-dose group (60.00% vs 9.68%, P = 0.0014). Pre-existing Ad5 neutralizing antibodies could significantly dampen the specific humoral immune response and cellular response to the vaccine.The application of Ad5-EBOV demonstrated safe in Africans in China and a specific GP antibody and T-cell response could occur 14 d after the first immunization. This acceptable safety profile provides a reliable basis to proceed with trials in Africa.

A phase-1 clinical trial aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the type-5 adenovirus vector based Ebola vaccine (Ad5-EBOV) was conducted in China. To provide more evidence for the safety evaluation and dose-selection, an exploratory sub-study using a wireless automatic temperature measuring platform was done based on the phase-1 clinical trial. The main aim of the sub-study was to obtain more information about the occurrence of fever and detect the potential associated factors, second was to assess the feasibility of the temperature measuring platform in vaccine clinical trials. Temperature data of 3 treatment groups all presented a rising tendency during the first 6 hours after vaccination, the incidence of elevated temperature and possible associated factors were analyzed. For the incidence of elevated temperature, no marked dose-response relationship was found in 6 hours with wireless thermometers; the information from mercury thermometers showed that the grade-1 fever proportion peaked at 6 hours and there was no difference between groups, while grade-2 fever proportion peaked at 24 hours and was significantly higher in high-dose group than those in the other 2 groups. Significant differences were found between sex groups (males vs. female, incidence rate ratios (IRR) = 2.93 and 7.62 for any-grade, grade-2 fever respectively, P

Summary Background The 2013–15 Ebola virus disease epidemic in west Africa greatly accelerated the development of Ebola vaccine. We aimed to analyse the immune persistence induced by one shot of an adenovirus type-5 vector-based Ebola virus vaccine up to 6 months and the effect of boosting with a homologous vector in healthy adults in China. Methods In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 clinical trial in one site in Jiangsu Province, China, 120 healthy adults aged 18–60 years received an initial dose of intramuscular adenovirus type-5 Ebola virus vaccine of 4·0 × 10 10 viral particles, 1·6 × 10 11 viral particles, or placebo, and were followed up to day 168. Participants were subsequently re-recruited to receive a booster dose of the same vaccine or placebo, in the same dose, at month 6. Women who were pregnant, breastfeeding, or planned to become pregnant during the next month were excluded. Randomisation was conducted by computer-generated block randomisation. Randomisation data were unmasked for interim analysis of the data obtained between days 0–28 but not disclosed to participants or site staff. Safety and immunogenicity analysis were done on the intention-to-treat population. We aimed to assess the safety profile of the experimental vaccine and the immunity responses to a single-dose immunisation or a homologous prime-boost regimen. Primary outcomes were Ebola glycoprotein-specific ELISA antibody responses 28 days post-boost and the occurrences of adverse reactions post-boost. The original trial and the extended booster study were registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, numbers NCT02326194 and NCT02533791, respectively. Findings Between Dec 28, 2014, and Jan 9, 2015, we enrolled 210 volunteers. 90 participants were not randomised due to not meeting inclusion criteria (61), meeting exclusion criteria (4), or withdrawal of consent (25). 120 people were randomly assigned to receive intramuscular Ebola vaccine at 4·0 × 10 10 viral particles (low dose, n=40), Ebola vaccine at 1·6 × 10 11 viral particles (high dose, n=40), or placebo (n=40, in two groups of 20). After prime vaccination, the geometric mean titer (GMT) of ELISA EC 90 peaked at 682·7 (95% CI 424·3–1098·5) in the low-dose vaccine group and 1305·7 (970·1–1757·2) in the high-dose vaccine group at day 28, and then fell gradually through the next a few months to 575·5 (394·8–838·8) in the high-dose vaccine group and 197·9 (107·9–362·7) in the low-dose vaccine group at day 168. No specific response was recorded in the placebo group with a GMT of 5·0. Of the 120 participants involved in the initial trial, ten participants declined to participate, and 110 were included in the boost immunisation: 38 received the low dose, 35 received the high dose, and 37 received the placebo. At day 28 after boost vaccination, the ELISA EC 90 titres rapidly rose to 6110 (95% CI 4705–7935) in the low-dose group and to 11825 (8904–15705) in the high dose group. 78 of 110 participants reported at least one solicited adverse reaction within the first 7 days after booster administration. Both of the groups who received vaccine showed significantly higher incidence of mild or moderate solicited adverse reactions than did the placebo group. Interpretation The adenovirus 5-vectored Ebola vaccine of 1·6 × 10 11 viral particles was highly immunogenic and safe. The lower dose of 4·0 × 10 10 viral particles was also safe, but immunogenicity seemed to be more vulnerable to the pre-existing immunity of adenovirus 5. A homologous priming-boosting regimen with adenovirus type-5 Ebola vaccine at 6 months interval was able to elicit greater antibody responses with longer duration. These results support an immunisation strategy to implement a booster injection for a more durable protection against Ebola virus disease. Funding Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and The National Health and Family Planning Commission, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, and Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology.

Up to now, all tested Ebola virus vaccines have been based on the virus strain from the Zaire outbreak in 1976. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a novel recombinant adenovirus type-5 vector-based Ebola vaccine expressing the glycoprotein of the 2014 epidemic strain.We did this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 clinical trial at one site in Taizhou County, Jiangsu Province, China. Healthy adults (aged 18-60 years) were sequentially enrolled and randomly assigned (2:1), by computer-generated block randomisation (block size of six), to receive placebo, low-dose adenovirus type-5 vector-based Ebola vaccine, or high-dose vaccine. Randomisation was pre-stratified by dose group. All participants, investigators, and laboratory staff were masked to treatment allocation. The primary safety endpoint was occurrence of solicited adverse reactions within 7 days of vaccination. The primary immunogenicity endpoints were glycoprotein-specific antibody titres and T-cell responses at day 28 after the vaccination. Analysis was by intention to treat. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02326194.Between Dec 28, 2014, and Jan 9, 2015, 120 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive placebo (n=40), low-dose vaccine (n=40), or high-dose vaccine. Participants were followed up for 28 days. Overall, 82 (68%) participants reported at least one solicited adverse reaction within 7 days of vaccination (n=19 in the placebo group vs n=27 in the low-dose group vs n=36 in the high-dose group; p=0·0002). The most common reaction was mild pain at the injection site, which was reported in eight (20%) participants in the placebo group, 14 (35%) participants in the low-dose group, and 29 (73%) participants in the high-dose vaccine group (p0·0001). We recorded no statistical differences in other adverse reactions and laboratory tests across groups. Glycoprotein-specific antibody titres were significantly increased in participants in the low-dose and high-dose vaccine groups at both day 14 (geometric mean titre 421·4 [95% CI 249·7-711·3] and 820·5 [598·9-1124·0], respectively; p0·0001) and day 28 (682·7 [424·3-1098·5] and 1305·7 [970·1-1757·2], respectively; p0·0001). T-cell responses peaked at day 14 at a median of 465·0 spot-forming cells (IQR 180·0-1202·5) in participants in the low-dose group and 765·0 cells (400·0-1460·0) in those in the high-dose group. 21 (18%) participants had mild fever (n=9 in the placebo group, n=6 in the low-dose group, and n=6 in the high-dose group). No serious adverse events were recorded.Our findings show that the high-dose vaccine is safe and robustly immunogenic. One shot of the high-dose vaccine could mount glycoprotein-specific humoral and T-cell response against Ebola virus in 14 days.China National Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, and Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology.

The microwave digestion-ICP-AES was used to detect the Cr, Cd, Pb, As, Hg and Ni in cordycepsmilitaris from Shenyang. The method accuracy was proved by the national standard method. The result shows the sequence of heavy metals was Pb>Ni >As > Cd> Cr, and Hg was not detected, as was detected in few sample. All the data showed that cordycepsmilitaris accords with the national standards. The method average recovery is 94.07%-107.58%, and RSD is 0.84%-3.25%. It is a promising analysis method on detection of heavy metals in cordycepsmilitaris.

Botanical insecticides have advantages of wide range of sources, easily made with local materials, low-cost, cost savings, useful and safe to people, animals and crops, etc. The compound of botanical insecticide is an effective way to improve the efficacy of such pesticides. With the development of green agriculture, it will gain more and more attention.

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 × 10 11 viral particles), low-dose vaccine (8·0 × 10 10 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 × 10 10 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.

The fermentation performance of a genome-shuffled strain of Candida versatilis S3-5, isolated for improved tolerance to salt, and wild-type (WT) strain were analysed. The fermentation parameters, such as growth, reducing sugar, ethanol, organic acids and volatile compounds, were detected during soy sauce fermentation process.The results showed that ethanol produced by the genome shuffled strain S3-5 was increasing at a faster rate and to a greater extent than WT. At the end of the fermentation, malic acid, citric acid and succinic acid formed in tricarboxylic acid cycle after S3-5 treatment elevated by 39.20%, 6.85% and 17.09% compared to WT, respectively. Moreover, flavour compounds such as phenethyl acetate, ethyl vanillate, ethyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl myristate, ethyl pentadecanoate, ethyl palmitate and phenylacetaldehyde produced by S3-5 were 2.26, 2.12, 2.87, 34.41, 6.32, 13.64, 2.23 and 78.85 times as compared to WT.S3-5 exhibited enhanced metabolic ability as compared to the wild-type strain, improved conversion of sugars to ethanol, metabolism of organic acid and formation of volatile compounds, especially esters, Moreover, S3-5 might be an ester-flavour type salt-tolerant yeast. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Grid technique is taken as the third generation internet technology and resource management is the core of it. Aiming at the problems of resource management of CEDAGrid (China Earthquake Disaster Alleviation and Simulation Grid) in its preliminary construction, this paper presents a resource management and job scheduling model: ProRMJS to solve these problems. For platform supposed agreeably each computing node can provide computation service, ProRMJS uses “computation pool” to support scheduler, and then the scheduler allocates jobs dynamically according to computing capability and status of each node to ensure the stability of the platform. At the same time, ProRMJS monitors the status of job on each node and sets a time threshold to manage the job scheduling. By estimating the computing capability of each node, ProRMJS allocates jobs on demand to solve the problem of supposing each node can finish the job acquiescently. When calculating the computing capability of each node, ProRMJS allows for the various factors that affect the computing capability and then the efficiency of the platform is improved. Finally the validity of the model is verified by an example.

The entire encoding region for Aspergillus flavus uricase was cloned into pET-32a and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The uricase was expressed in the E. coli cytoplasm in a completely soluble, biologically active form. A scalable process aimed to produce and purify multi-gram quantities of highly pure, recombinant urate oxidase (rUox) from E. coli was developed. The rUox protein was produced in a 30 L fermentor containing 25 L of 2x YT medium and purified to >99% purity using hydrophobic interaction, anion-exchange, and gel filtered chromatography. The final yield of purified rUox from fermentation resulted in approximately 27 g of highly pure, biologically active rUox per kg of cell paste (approximately 238 mg/8.8 g cell paste/L). The results presented here exhibit the ability to generate multi-gram quantities of rUox from E. coli that may be used for the development of pharmaceutics of reducing the hyperuricemia.

The aim of this study was to identify the B cell epitopes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). The truncated HCV NS5B protein NS5B-dc21 was expressed in Escherichia coli and its antigenicity was confirmed by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) using 130 HCV-positive human sera and 15 negative sera. Antibodies specific to NS5B-dc21 protein were purified by affinity chromatography using sepharose-4B coupled with the recombinant protein. A 12-mer phage displayed random peptide library was screened four rounds with the purified antibodies. Three epitopes were identified from the phage library, which correspond to amino acids 2444-2452, 2521-2528, and 2915-2925 of HCV RdRp. These epitopes were then expressed in E. coli as fusion proteins with phage M13 pIII protein. ELISA demonstrated that two of these epitopes (P4 and P34, corresponding to amino acids 2443-2452 and amino acids 2512-2528, respectively) have good reactivity and sensitivity. Mutagenesis study of P4 peptide showed that this epitope, which is derived from a phage displayed library, exhibited higher affinity with HCV serum than the corresponding original HCV sequences.

The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is widely used and results in widespread soil contamination. The white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium has been shown to degrade TNT, using the peroxidase enzyme. In this study, we report peroxidase-independent degradation of TNT by non-ligninolytic P. chrysosporium. Significant disappearance of TNT from highly contaminated soil using P. chrysosporium has been observed. Soil highly contaminated with TNT (2270 ppm [10 mM]) was diluted to 100 ppm (0.44 mM) with malt extract medium. Pregrown (48 hours) mycelial pellets of P. chrysosporium were added in 100 mL malt extract medium and incubated in Gledhill flasks. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was conducted on soil extracts at specific time points to estimate the disappearance of TNT from contaminated soil incubated with P. chrysosporium. When the pregrown mycelial pellets were added, TNT disappeared within 48 hours. The dissolved concentration of 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2Am-DNT) ...

Around the artificially stabilized tidal inlet that connects Kaohsiung Harbor to Taiwan Straight, 203 surficial samples of the sea floor were taken from the nearshore, in the outer harbor, and portions of the inner harbor. The bathymetry of the same area was also surveyed. The sand fraction in each sample was analyzed for the grain-size composition with a custom-built rapid sediment analyzer. A total of twenty-one size-classes were used in the analysis. Three hypothetical sediment sources were assumed to have influenced the spatial grain-size patterns in the study area: the northward and southward littoral drifts, and the sediments exported from the harbor. After reducing the influence of each hypothetical sediment source separately, the data were analyzed using empirical orthogonal (eigen) function (EOF) analysis. The results indicate that the northward long-term littoral drift is the dominant direction of sediment transport in the nearshore of the study area. A conceptual model for four different sediment trapping and bypassing patterns are proposed. (1) Excess bypass (or net outflux): this bypass pattern is characterized by the export of fine-grained sediments (mud and size classes in the very fine sand fraction) from the interior of the harbor. (2) Partial bypass (or partial trapping): this bypass pattern is represented by the size-classes in fine sand fraction. The amount of these grain sizes entering the outer harbor through the inlet is more than the amount exiting at the inlet mouth, resulting in the retention of a portion of these grain sizes. (3) Total bypass (or zero trapping): grain sizes that exhibit this bypass pattern do not come near the mouth of the inlet. These grain sizes include medium and coarse sand fractions. (4) Lag deposits: this group includes the size classes in the very coarse sand fraction, which are largely concentrated in the scour pit immediately seaward of the inlet mouth. In general, surficial sediment grain-size patterns represent a time-averaged response of the substrate to the transport processes over the time scale of at least two seasons. The differential associations of grain-size groups with various topographic features in the study area suggest morpho-textural relationships exist between the sea floor topography and grain size distribution patterns.

This study aimed to enhance and improve the quality and safety of soy sauce. In the present work, the change of biogenic amines, such as histamine, tyramine, cadaverine, spermidine, was examined by the treatment of Candida versatilis and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, and the influence of salt-tolerant yeast on biogenic amines was analysed during the whole fermentation process.The results showed that the content of biogenic amines was elevated after yeast treatment and the content of biogenic amines was influenced by using yeast. The dominating biogenic amine in soy sauce was tyramine. At the end of fermentation, the concentrations of biogenic amines produced by Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and Candida versatilis in the soy mash were 122.71 mg kg(-1) and 69.96 mg kg(-1) .The changes of biogenic amines in high-salt liquid soy mash during fermentation process indicated that a variety of biogenic amines were increased in the fermentation ageing period, which may be due to amino acid decarboxylation to form biogenic amines by yeast decarboxylase. The fermentation period of soy sauce should be longer than 5 months because biogenic amines began to decline after this time period.

To observe the therapeutic effect of vascular endothelial growth factors 165 (VEGF165) gene expressing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in chronic myocardial infarction model by providing enhanced cardioprotection, followed by angiogenic effects in infarcted myocardium.Recombinant adenovirus vector carrying VEGF165 gene (rAd-VFGF165) was constructed. MSCs were harvested through gradient centrifugation, then were cultivated, multiplied and expanded. Recombinant adenoviruses mediated VEGF165 gene were transfected into MSCs, and the MSCs were labelled by DAPI. The left anterior descending branch of rabbits were ligated to establish a myocardial infarction model; and the animals survived for 6 weeks were randomly divided into three groups: VEGF165-expressing MSCs transplanted (Group I), MSCs transplanted (Group II) and dulbecco modified eagles medium injected (Group III). At 4 weeks after cell transplantation, the MSCs were detected by DAPI staining in infarcted region. The cardiac functions were estimated by UCG. The microvascular density in infarcted area were estimated through CD34 immunohistochemical analysis.Four weeks after cell transplantation, ejection fraction, E wave/A wave ratio and capillary density of the infarcted region were most improved in Group I compared with Group II and control group (P0.05). DAPI positive cells were most increased in Group I.The transplantation of VEGF165-expressing MSCs had a better therapeutic effect than the transplantation of simplex MSCs. This combined strategy of MSCs transplantation with vgene therapy could be a useful therapy for the treatment of myocardial infarction.

To construct phage antibody library with predetermined CDR3 and to screen humanized Fab of anti-human integrin alphanubeta(3) monoclonal antibody (mAb) by epitope guided selection.LCDR3 gene of mAb E10 was inserted into human light chain variable region gene library. Hybrid phage antibody library was constructed by cloning E10 chimeric Fd gene and human light chain variable region gene into pComb3. Humanized light chain gene was obtained by screening against human integrin alphanubeta(3). Likewise, humanized Fab were gained by panning human phage antibody library, which was constructed by cloning humanized light chain gene and human heavy chain Fd gene with E10 HCDR3 into pComb3.Three humanized Fab clones was obtained by screening hybrid phage antibody library and human phage antibody library, which contained 2.1x10(6), 2x10(7) colony forming units, respectively. Indirect ELISA and competitive inhibition ELISA analysis demonstrated that three humanized Fab antibody had specific binding activity with human integrin alphanubeta(3). The strongest anti-human integrin alphanubeta(3) reactive D5 clone was sequenced and sequencing analysis showed that the V(kappa) and V(H) were derived from VKIII and VHI, respectively.Humanized Fab of anti-human integrin alphanubeta(3) mAb has been successfully obtained by phage display technology which lays the foundation for further clinical research.

Prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA), a homologue of the Ly-6/Thy-1 family of cell surface antigen, is expressed by a majority of human prostate cancers and is a promising target for prostate cancer immunotherapy. To obtain the specific peptide binding with PSCA for targeted immunotherapy, PSCA gene was obtained by RT-PCR from human prostate cancer cell line DU145 and the transcated PSCA (tPSCA) gene was cloned into vector pQE30 for soluble expression in E. coli. The identity of recombinant tPSCA was confirmed through ELISA and western blot by use of anti-PSCA monoclonal antibody. Then the 12-peptide phage display library was screened with the purified tPSCA protein for its specific binding peptide through 3 rounds panning. For identifying the peptide's specificity, the peptide was coupled with EGFP (enhanced green fluorecent protein) by recombinant DNA technology and the recombinant coupled protein was termed 11-EGFP. The binding specificity with tPSCA of 11-EGFP was further confirmed by ELISA and competitive inhibition experiment. Flow cytometry demonstrated its binding specificity with cell line DU145. In conclusion, a 12-amino-acid peptide which could bind with PSCA specifically was found and it may be a potential tool for targeted immunotherapy of prostate carcinoma.

To construct single chain antibody (scFv) gene of mAb E10 against human integrin alphavbeta3.The VH and VL genes were amplified from hybridoma cells secreting mAb E10 by RT-PCR and connected with the use of linker (Gly4Ser)3 to assemble scFv gene. The scFv gene was cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pTIG-TRX and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3).SDS-PAGE analysis showed the expressed recombinant protein with relative molecular mass (Mr) being 31,000. Western blot confirmed that the protein was labeled with His6. scFv protein was expressed as soluble protein under the condition of a small amount of IPTG induction and culture at lower temperature. The purity of the protein purified through Ni-NTA agarose metal affinity resin column was over 91%. The purified protein could bind to the human integrin alphavbeta3 by ELISA confirmation.scFv against human integrin alphavbeta3 has been successfully constructed and expressed,which lays the foundation for further clinical research.

To establish a simple and convenient assay in vitro for the Hepatitis C virus NS3 serine protease based on the recombinant protease and substrate, and to evaluate its feasibility in screening the enzyme inhibitors.Based on the crystallographic structure of hepatitis C virus (HCV) serine protease, a novel single-chain serine protease was designed, in which the central sequence of cofactor NS4A was linked to the N-terminus of NS3 serine protease domain via a flexible linker GSGS. The fusion gene was obtained by two-step PCR that was carried out with three primers and then cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pQE30, and the recombinant clone was verified by DNA sequencing. The single-chain recombinant protease was expressed when the E.coli was induced with IPTG and the expression conditions were optimized to produce large amount of soluble protease. The recombinant substrate NS5ab that covers the cleavage point NS5A/B was also expressed in E.coli. Both of the protease and substrate were purified by using Ni-NTA agarose metal affinity resin, then they were mixed together in a specific buffer, and the mixture was analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The cleavage system was used to evaluate some compounds for their inhibitory activity on serine protease.The single-chain recombinant protease was over-expressed as soluble protein when the E.coli was induced at a low dosage of IPTG (0.2 mM) and cultured at a low temperature (15 degrees ). The protease was purified by using Ni-NTA agarose metal affinity resin (the purity is over 95 %). The recombinant substrate NS5ab was expressed in an insoluble form and could refold successfully after purification and dialysis. A simple and convenient assay in vitro was established, in which the purified single-chain serine protease could cleave the recombinant substrate NS5ab into two fragments that were visualized by SDS-PAGE. PMSF had an effect on inhibiting activity of serine protease, while EDTA had not.A simple and convenient assay in vitro for hepatitis C virus NS3 serine protease is based on recombinant substrate NS5ab and single-chain serine protease. This assay can be used in screening of enzyme inhibitors.

AIM: To produce the recombinant NS3 protease of hepatitis C virus with enzymatic activity in insect cells. METHODS: The gene of HCV serine proteinase domain which encodes 181 amino acids was inserted into pFastBacHTc and the recombinant plasmid pFBCNS3N was transformed into DH10Bac competent cells for transposition. After the recombinant bacmids had been determined to be correct by both blue-white colonies and PCR analysis, the isolated bacmid DNAs were transfected into Sf9 insect cells. The bacmids DNA was verified to replicate in insect cells and packaged into baculovirus particles via PCR and electronic microscopic analysis. The insect cells infected with recombinant baculovirus were determined by SDS-PAGE and Western-blot assays. The recombinant protein was soluted in N-lauryl sarcosine sodium (NLS) and purifed by metal-chelated-affinity chromatography, then the antigenicity of recombinant protease was determined by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay and its enzymatic activity was detected. RESULTS: The HCV NS3 protease domain was expressed in insect cells at high level and it was partially solved in NLS. Totally 0.2 mg recombinant serine proteinase domain with high purity was obtained by metal-chelated-affinity chromatography from 5 × 107 cells, and both antigenicity and specificity of the protein were evaluated to be high when used as antigen to detect hepatitis C patients' sera in indirect ELISA format. In vitro cleavage assay corroborated its enzymatic activity. CONCLUSION: The recombinant HCV NS3 proteinase expressed by insect cells is a membrane-binding protein with good antigenicity and enzymatic activity.