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Under the trend of global integration, English, as the most widely used language in the world, is an important carrier of international communication and scientific, technological, and cultural exchanges, and English teaching has also received more attention. English teaching should not only develop students' language skills, but also impart different cultural knowledge, promote students' identification and understanding of different cultures, and effectively communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds. While learning the language, is also learning culture. As an important medium for language learners to learn the language, the selection and application of cultural content in foreign language textbooks have become particularly important. To some extent, it guides the way students think in language and the value orientation of multiculturalism. Therefore, this paper selects the foreign research version of a junior high school English textbook as the research object, attempts to analyze the selection of cultural content in the textbook reading materials, points out the problems in the selection of cultural content in the textbook, and puts forward suggestions for improvement, providing reference basis for the future use and compilation of the textbook.

Background: Irritant, expensive, or toxic desulfurating agents are usually used in the synthesis of isothiocyanates from amines, CS2, and appropriate bases, accompanied by a tedious workup. A more practical and green method has been developed. Methods: Cheap and non-toxic CaO was used as both a base and a desulfurating agent in the synthesis of isothiocyanates. Results: Both alkyl and aryl isothiocyanates are easily synthesized in moderate to high yield from amines, CS2, and CaO under mild conditions. Conclusion: A simple and practical synthetic approach for isothiocyanates from amines, CS2, and CaO was developed. CaO acts as both a base and a desulfurating agent in the reactions, simplifying the reaction system and reducing cost as well as side products. Moderate to high yields were obtained at room temperature in 48 hours which included alkyl and aryl isothiocyanates.

The ZF2001 vaccine, which contains a dimeric form of the receptor-binding domain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and aluminum hydroxide as an adjuvant, was shown to be safe, with an acceptable side-effect profile, and immunogenic in adults in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial to investigate the efficacy and confirm the safety of ZF2001. The trial was performed at 31 clinical centers across Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Ecuador; an additional center in China was included in the safety analysis only. Adult participants (≥18 years of age) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive a total of three 25-μg doses (30 days apart) of ZF2001 or placebo. The primary end point was the occurrence of symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), as confirmed on polymerase-chain-reaction assay, at least 7 days after receipt of the third dose. A key secondary efficacy end point was the occurrence of severe-to-critical Covid-19 (including Covid-19-related death) at least 7 days after receipt of the third dose.Between December 12, 2020, and December 15, 2021, a total of 28,873 participants received at least one dose of ZF2001 or placebo and were included in the safety analysis; 25,193 participants who had completed the three-dose regimen, for whom there were approximately 6 months of follow-up data, were included in the updated primary efficacy analysis that was conducted at the second data cutoff date of December 15, 2021. In the updated analysis, primary end-point cases were reported in 158 of 12,625 participants in the ZF2001 group and in 580 of 12,568 participants in the placebo group, for a vaccine efficacy of 75.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.0 to 79.8). Severe-to-critical Covid-19 occurred in 6 participants in the ZF2001 group and in 43 in the placebo group, for a vaccine efficacy of 87.6% (95% CI, 70.6 to 95.7); Covid-19-related death occurred in 2 and 12 participants, respectively, for a vaccine efficacy of 86.5% (95% CI, 38.9 to 98.5). The incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events was balanced in the two groups, and there were no vaccine-related deaths. Most adverse reactions (98.5%) were of grade 1 or 2.In a large cohort of adults, the ZF2001 vaccine was shown to be safe and effective against symptomatic and severe-to-critical Covid-19 for at least 6 months after full vaccination. (Funded by the National Science and Technology Major Project and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04646590.).

COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the public health and social economy worldwide. A safe, effective, and affordable vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infections/diseases is urgently needed. We have been developing a recombinant vaccine based on a prefusion-stabilized spike trimer of SARS-CoV-2 and formulated with aluminium hydroxide and CpG 7909. The spike protein was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, purified, and prepared as a stable formulation with the dual adjuvant. Immunogenicity studies showed that candidate vaccines elicited robust neutralizing antibody responses and substantial CD4+ T cell responses in both mice and non-human primates. And vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies persisted at high level for at least 6 months. Challenge studies demonstrated that candidate vaccine reduced the viral loads and inflammation in the lungs of SARS-CoV-2 infected golden Syrian hamsters significantly. In addition, the vaccine-induced antibodies showed cross-neutralization activity against B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants. These data suggest candidate vaccine is efficacious in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated pneumonia, thereby justifying ongoing phase I/II clinical studies in China (NCT04982068 and NCT04990544).

Noise pollution has been impacting negatively on living comfort and working environment for a long time. Acoustic treatment on building façade is one of the effective means to tackle this issue. Numerous articles were published over the past decades to address the acoustic related problems of building façade. However, a systematic review of the research development on façade acoustic technology is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the published research articles from seven selected journals, in terms of the annual number of articles, citation counts, co-authorships, research locations, and keywords. The analyses show that interest in façade acoustics increased during the last two decades. Researchers from Europe and areas with a high density of tall buildings made significant contributions to this development. Based on keyword analysis, articles are categorized into three groups. These include sound insulation studies, studies on the effect of façade on street noise, and noise reduction techniques. The surveyed research topics comprise numerical modeling, experimental studies, ISO standard development, and analyses on annoyance level. Potential future directions are presented based on a summary of the limitations of the existing research. This paper offers researchers and engineers an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art of the current façade acoustic research. Additionally, potential future directions are identified based on the findings and limitations of the previous studies.

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are the most serious problem for COVID-19 prophylaxis and treatment. To determine whether the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine strain should be updated following variant emergence like seasonal flu vaccine, the changed degree on antigenicity of SARS-CoV-2 variants and H3N2 flu vaccine strains was compared. The neutralization activities of Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants’ spike protein-immunized sera were analysed against the eight current epidemic variants and 20 possible variants combining the top 10 prevalent RBD mutations based on the Delta variant, which were constructed using pseudotyped viruses. Meanwhile, the neutralization activities of convalescent sera and current inactivated and recombinant protein vaccine-elicited sera were also examined against all possible Delta variants. Eight HA protein-expressing DNAs elicited-animal sera were also tested against eight pseudotyped viruses of H3N2 flu vaccine strains from 2011–2019. Our results indicate that the antigenicity changes of possible Delta variants were mostly within four folds, whereas the antigenicity changes among different H3N2 vaccine strains were approximately 10–100-fold. Structural analysis of the antigenic characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 and H3N2 mutations supports the neutralization results. This study indicates that the antigenicity changes of the current SARS-CoV-2 may not be sufficient to require replacement of the current vaccine strain.

Two novel acrylate monomers with diol group, 2-hydroxyethyl 2-(furan-2-yl(hydroxy)methyl)acrylate and methyl 2-(hydroxy(5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-yl)methyl)acrylate, were synthesized via Baylis-Hillman reaction in moderate yields. The monomer 2-hydroxyethyl 2-(furan-2-yl(hydroxy)methyl)acrylate was obtained from furfural and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA); methyl 2-(hydroxy[5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-yl)methyl)acrylate was prepared from 5-hydroxymethl furfural (HMF) and methyl acrylate. The monomer 2-hydroxyethyl 2-(furan-2-yl(hydroxy)methyl)acrylate reacted with toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-derived or hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)-derived diisocyanate oligomers to obtain the corresponding linear polyurethane oligmers PU-1T and PU-1H. Similarly, the diol methyl 2-(hydroxy(5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-yl)methyl)acrylate reacted with TDI- or HDI-derived diisocyanate oligomers to obtain the corresponding linear polyurethane oligmers PU-2T and PU-2H. The number-average molecular weights of the linear polyurethane oligomers are approximately 300–350 Da. There are furan groups in the linear polyurethane oligomers PU-1T, PU-1H, PU-2T and PU-2H, which makes them capable of undergoing reversible Diels-Alder reaction with 4,4′-bismaleimidodiphenylmethane (BMI) to form the corresponding crosslinked polyurethanes CPU-1T, CPU-1H, CPU-2T and CPU-2H. Pencil hardness of CPU-1T, CPU-1H, CPU-2T and CPU-2H are 3H, 2H, 2H and HB, respectively. Glass transition temperatures of CPU-1T, CPU-1H, CPU-2T and CPU-2H are 104.8, 97.6, 5.1 and 1.2 °C, respectively. TGA analysis shows that Td90 values of the CPUs range from 180 to 250 °C. Furthermore, the reversible crosslinked polyurethanes CPU-1T and CPU-1H can be completely self-healed at 90 °C for 3 h, while CPU-2T and CPU-2H can self-heal at 80 °C for 3 h presumably due to their low glass transition temperatures.

Summary Background Although several COVID-19 vaccines have been developed so far, they will not be sufficient to meet the global demand. Development of a wider range of vaccines, with different mechanisms of action, could help control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 globally. We developed a protein subunit vaccine against COVID-19 using a dimeric form of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as the antigen. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine, ZF2001, and determine the appropriate dose and schedule for an efficacy study. Methods We did two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 and phase 2 trials. Phase 1 was done at two university hospitals in Chongqing and Beijing, China, and phase 2 was done at the Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Xiangtan, China. Healthy adults aged 18–59 years, without a history of SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 infection, an RT-PCR-positive test result for SARS-CoV-2, a history of contact with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, and severe allergies to any component of the vaccine were eligible for enrolment. In phase 1, participants were randomly assigned (2:2:1) to receive three doses of the vaccine (25 μg or 50 μg) or placebo intramuscularly, 30 days apart. In phase 2, participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1:1:1) to receive the vaccine (25 μg or 50 μg) or placebo intramuscularly, 30 days apart, in either a two-dose schedule or a three-dose schedule. Investigators, participants, and the laboratory team were masked to group allocation. For phase 1, the primary outcome was safety, measured by the occurrence of adverse events and serious adverse events. For phase 2, the primary outcome was safety and immunogenicity (the seroconversion rate and the magnitude, in geometric mean titres [GMTs], of SARS-CoV-2-neutralising antibodies). Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat and per-protocol basis. These trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT04445194 and NCT04466085 ) and participant follow-up is ongoing. Findings Between June 22 and July 3, 2020, 50 participants were enrolled into the phase 1 trial and randomly assigned to receive three doses of placebo (n=10), the 25 μg vaccine (n=20), or the 50 μg vaccine (n=20). The mean age of participants was 32·6 (SD 9·4) years. Between July 12 and July 17, 2020, 900 participants were enrolled into the phase 2 trial and randomly assigned to receive two doses of placebo (n=150), 25 μg vaccine (n=150), or 50 μg vaccine (n=150), or three doses of placebo (n=150), 25 μg vaccine (n=150), or 50 μg vaccine (n=150). The mean age of participants was 43·5 (SD 9·2) years. In both phase 1 and phase 2, adverse events reported within 30 days after vaccination were mild or moderate (grade 1 or 2) in most cases (phase 1: six [60%] of ten participants in the placebo group, 14 [70%] of 20 in the 25 μg group, and 18 [90%] of 20 in the 50 μg group; phase 2: 37 [25%] of 150 in the two-dose placebo group, 43 [29%] of 150 in the two-dose 25 μg group, 50 [33%] of 150 in the two-dose 50 μg group, 47 [31%] of 150 in the three-dose placebo group, 72 [48%] of 150 in the three-dose 25 μg group, and 65 [43%] of 150 in the three-dose 50 μg group). In phase 1, two (10%) grade 3 or worse adverse events were reported in the 50 μg group. In phase 2, grade 3 or worse adverse events were reported by 18 participants (four [3%] in the two-dose 25 μg vaccine group, two [1%] in the two-dose 50 μg vaccine group, two [1%] in the three-dose placebo group, four [3%] in the three-dose 25 μg vaccine group, and six [4%] in the three-dose 50 μg vaccine group), and 11 were considered vaccine related (two [1%] in the two-dose 25 μg vaccine group, one [1%] in the two-dose 50 μg vaccine group, one [1%] in the three-dose placebo group, two [1%] in the three-dose 25 μg vaccine group, and five [3%] in the three-dose 50 μg vaccine group); seven participants reported serious adverse events (one [1%] in the two-dose 25 μg vaccine group, one [1%] in the two-dose 50 μg vaccine group, two [1%] in the three-dose placebo group, one [1%] in the three-dose 25 μg vaccine group, and two [1%] in the three-dose 50 μg vaccine group), but none was considered vaccine related. In phase 2, on the two-dose schedule, seroconversion rates of neutralising antibodies 14 days after the second dose were 76% (114 of 150 participants) in the 25 μg group and 72% (108 of 150) in the 50 μg group; on the three-dose schedule, seroconversion rates of neutralising antibodies 14 days after the third dose were 97% (143 of 148 participants) in the 25 μg group and 93% (138 of 148) in the 50 μg group. In the two-dose groups in phase 2, the SARS-CoV-2-neutralising GMTs 14 days after the second dose were 17·7 (95% CI 13·6–23·1) in the 25 μg group and 14·1 (10·8–18·3) in the 50 μg group. In the three-dose groups in phase 2, the SARS-CoV-2-neutralising GMTs 14 days after the third dose were 102·5 (95% CI 81·8–128·5) in the 25 μg group and 69·1 (53·0–90·0) in the 50 μg group. Interpretation The protein subunit vaccine ZF2001 appears to be well tolerated and immunogenic. The safety and immunogenicity data from the phase 1 and 2 trials support the use of the 25 μg dose in a three-dose schedule in an ongoing phase 3 trial for large-scale evaluation of ZF2001's safety and efficacy. Funding National Program on Key Research Project of China, National Science and Technology Major Projects of Drug Discovery, Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical. Translation For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Antibiotics are widely used to treat bacterial infections during the process of vaccine production and storage resulting in antibiotic residues that can cause serious harm. A simple and sensitive method for residue analysis of 40 β-lactam antibiotics was developed and validated for vaccines including inactivated enterovirus 71 vaccine (Vero cells), recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and live attenuated varicella vaccine using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI- MS/MS). Samples were prepared with acetonitrile as the protein precipitant. LC separation was performed on a C18 column. These analytes were determined by LC-MS/MS operating multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) scans in positive mode. The ranges for limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were as follows: 0.02–4 ng/dose (S/N ≥ 3) and 0.04–10 ng/dose in inactivated enterovirus 71 vaccine (Vero cells) and recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), 0.04–16 ng/dose and 0.2–20 ng/dose in live attenuated varicella vaccine. The ranges of recoveries of all antibiotics were 84.5%–108.2% in inactivated enterovirus 71 vaccine (Vero cells), 73%–108% in recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and mostly 68.2%–107.8% in live attenuated varicella vaccine. This method simultaneously offers qualitative and quantitative analysis of multi-antibiotics in vaccines, which improves vaccine safety.

Recently, the emerged and rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC) 501Y.V2 with 10 amino acids in spike protein were found to escape host immunity induced by infection or vaccination. Global concerns have been raised for its potential to affect vaccine efficacy. Here, we evaluated the neutralization activities of two vaccines developed in China against 501Y.V2. One is licensed inactivated vaccine BBIBP-CorV and the other one is recombinant dimeric receptor-binding domain (RBD) vaccine ZF2001. Encouragingly, both vaccines largely preserved neutralizing titres, with slightly reduction, against 501Y.V2 authentic virus compare to their titres against both original SARS-CoV-2 and the currently circulating D614G virus. These data indicated that 501Y.V2 variant will not escape the immunity induced by vaccines targeting whole virus or RBD.

Noise insulation in buildings is an important topic in building acoustics. Existing literature shows a clear lack of simulation tools for the design, analysis, and assessment of the sound insulation performance of building structures, especially when the frequency of interest becomes higher. To tackle this problem, a numerical based Condensed Transfer Function (CTF) method, alongside a piecewise calculation scheme, is adapted to investigate a simplified Double Skin Facade (DSF) system. Embracing a sub-structuring philosophy, the method offers an appealing alternative to existing analyses ones in terms of providing enhanced computational efficiency and enriched physical description of the system. Numerical analyses reveal dominant sound transmission paths into a typical receiving room. Meanwhile, as sound reduction devices, microperforated panels are investigated in two arrangements, triggering different sound absorption behaviors and design principles. The proposed model allows extensions to other building structures.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to infect people globally. The increased COVID-19 cases and no licensed vaccines highlight the need to develop safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multiple vaccines candidates are under pre-clinical or clinical trails with different strengths and weaknesses. Here we developed a pilot scale production of a recombinant subunit vaccine (RBD-Fc Vacc) with the Receptor Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2 S protein fused with the Fc domain of human IgG1. RBD-Fc Vacc induced SARS-CoV-2 specific neutralizing antibodies in non-human primates and mice, and the antibodies induced in macaca fascicularis neutralized three divergent SARS-CoV2 strains, supporting broader neutralizing ability. Three times immunizations protected Macaca fascicularis (20ug or 40ug per dose) and mice (10ug or 20ug per dose) from SARS-CoV-2 infection respectively, including the protection against SARS-CoV-2 adapted virus MASCp6 which contains N501Y mutation, a key residue increasing binding affinity to human and murine ACE2. These data support clinical development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and provide a promising strategy to prevent different stains of SARS-CoV-2 infection. RBD-Fc Vacc is currently being assessed in randomized controlled phase 1/II human clinical trails

Safe and effective vaccines are still urgently needed to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, we developed a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (V-01) containing fusion protein (IFN-PADRE-RBD-Fc dimer) as antigen verified to induce protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in pre-clinical study, which supported progression to Phase I clinical trials in humans. A Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase I clinical trial was initiated at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Gaozhou, China) in February 2021. Healthy adults aged between 18 and 59 years and over 60 years were sequentially enrolled and randomly allocated into three subgroups (1:1:1) either to receive the vaccine (10, 25, and 50 μg) or placebo (V-01: Placebo = 4:1) intramuscularly with a 21-day interval by a sentinel and dose escalation design. The data showed a promising safety profile with approximately 25% vaccine-related overall adverse events (AEs) within 30 days and no grade 3 or worse AEs. Besides, V-01 provoked rapid and strong immune responses, elicited substantially high-titre neutralizing antibodies and anti-RBD IgG peaked at day 35 or 49 after first dose, presented with encouraging immunogenicity at low dose (10 μg) subgroup and elderly participants, which showed great promise to be used as all-aged (18 and above) vaccine against COVID-19. Taken together, our preliminary findings indicate that V-01 is safe and well tolerated, capable of inducing rapid and strong immune responses, and warrants further testing in Phase II/III clinical trials.

SummaryBackgroundA safe and effective coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine is urgently needed to control the ongoing pandemic. Although progress has been made recently with several candidates reporting positive efficacy results, COVID-19 vaccines developed so far cannot meet the global vaccine demand. We developed a protein subunit vaccine against COVID-19, using dimeric form of receptor-binding domain (RBD) as the antigen. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine in humans and determine the appropriate dose and schedule for an efficacy study.MethodsWe did two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 and 2 trials for an RBD-based protein subunit vaccine, ZF2001. In phase 1 study, 50 healthy adults aged 18-59 years were enrolled and randomly allocated to three groups to receive three doses of vaccine (25 μg or 50 μg RBD-dimer, with adjuvant) or placebo (adjuvant-only) intramuscularly, 30 days apart. In phase 2 study, 900 healthy adults aged 18-59 years were enrolled and randomly allocated to six groups to receive vaccine (25 μg or 50 μg RBD-dimer, with adjuvant) or placebo (adjuvant-only) intramuscularly, with the former 3 groups given two doses and the latter 3 groups given three doses, 30 days apart. For phase 1 trial, the primary outcome was safety, as measured by the occurrence of adverse events and serious adverse events. The secondary outcome was immunogenicity as measured by the seroconversion rate and magnitude of antigen-binding antibodies, neutralizing antibodies and T-cell cytokine production. For phase 2 trial, the primary outcome included both safety and immunogenicity. These trials are registered with ClinicaTrials.gov, NCT04445194 and NCT04466085.FindingsBetween June 22 and September 15, 2020, 50 participants were enrolled to the phase 1 study (mean age 32.6 years) and 900 participants were enrolled to phase 2 study (mean age 43.5 years), to receive vaccine or placebo with a two-dose or three-dose schedule. For both trials, local and systemic adverse reactions were absent or mild in most participants. There were no serious adverse events related to vaccine in either trial. After three doses, neutralizing antibodies were detected in all participants receiving either 25 μg or 50 μg dose of vaccine in phase 1 study, and in 97% (the 25 μg group) and 93% (the 50 μg group) of participants, respectively, in phase 2 study. The SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing geometric mean titres (GMTs) were 94.5 for the 25 μg group and 117.8 for the 50 μg group in phase 1, and 102.5 for the 25 μg group and 69.1 for the 50 μg group in phase 2, exceeding the level of a panel of COVID-19 convalescent samples (GMT, 51). Vaccine induced balanced TH1 and TH2 responses. The 50 μg group did not show enhanced immunogenicity compared with the 25 μg group.InterpretationThe protein subunit vaccine ZF2001 is well-tolerated and immunogenic. The safety and immunogenicity data from phase 1 and 2 trials for ZF2001 support the use of 25 μg vaccine dose with three-dose schedule to an ongoing phase 3 large-scale evaluation for safety and efficacy.FundingNational Program on Key Research Project of China, National Science and Technology Major Projects of Drug Discovery, Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical.

In recent years, there have been intensive debates on whether healthy adults acquire new word knowledge through fast mapping (FM) by a different mechanism from explicit encoding (EE). In this study, we focused on this issue and investigated to what extent retention interval, prior knowledge (PK), and lure type modulated memory after FM and EE. Healthy young participants were asked to learn novel word-picture associations through both FM and EE. Half of the pictures were from familiar categories (i.e., high PK) and the other half were from unfamiliar categories (i.e., low PK). After 10 min and 1 wk, the participants were tested by forced-choice (FC) tasks, with lures from different categories (Experiment 1) or from the same categories of the target pictures (Experiment 2). Pseudowords were used to denote names of the novel pictures and baseline performance was controlled for each task. The results showed that in both Experiments 1 and 2, memory performance remained stable after FM, while it declined after EE from 10 min to 1 wk. Moreover, the effect of PK appeared at 10 min after FM while at 1 wk after EE in Experiment 2. PK enhanced memory of word-picture associations when the lures were from the same categories (Experiment 2), rather than from different categories (Experiment 1). These results were largely confirmed in Experiment 3 when encoding condition was manipulated as a between-subjects factor, while lure type as a within-subjects factor. The findings suggest that different from EE, FM facilitates rapid acquisition and consolidation of word-picture knowledge, and highlight that PK plays an important role in this process by enhancing access to detailed information.

Individuals fail to elicit protective antibody after hepatitis B vaccination remain at risk for hepatitis B virus infection. Analysis of the transcriptome of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is essential to elucidate the characteristics of gene expression in non-responders. In this study, we enrolled seven responders who had received three injections and seven non-responders who had six injections of hepatitis B vaccine before. All the participants were then vaccinated with a three-dose boost regimen. Microarray analysis and Luminex assay were applied to examine mRNA expression and Th1/Th2/Th9/Th17/Th22/Treg cytokine and chemokine profiles in non-responders and responders. Differentially expressed genes in PBMCs of non-responders at 5 time points, i.e. pre-vaccination, 3(rd), 7(th), 28(th) day post the first dose vaccination and 7(th) day post the second dose vaccination indicated a dense network trend. Compared with responders, nine coding genes (BPI, DEFA1B, DEFA4, CEACAM8, MMP8, FOLR3, LTF, TCN1 and TKTL1) were significantly up-regulated in non-responders at all 5 time points, which could probably be the characteristic genes in hepatitis B vaccine non-responsiveness. Gene ontology analysis revealed that most of the DEGs were related with immune responses. Validation results of these 9 genes using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were mostly consistent with the results of microarray. Cytokine analysis demonstrated that IL-27 and CXCL12 concentrations in responders were significantly higher than non-responders on the 3(rd) day after the first dose and 7(th) day after the second dose of vaccination, respectively. No significant difference was observed in other cytokine and chemokine signatures between the two groups. In conclusion, our results revealed characteristic transcriptome and cytokine changes in hepatitis B vaccine non-responders after boost immunization.

The tuning of an acoustic resonator, in terms of its Helmholtz frequency and the internal resistance, is investigated for the control of a narrowband noise in an acoustic enclosure. This paper extends our previous work on the resonance control to a more general scenario in which the noise generated may be either close to, far away from, or in-between the resonance frequencies of the enclosure. Based on a theoretical model, energy radiation and dissipation of the resonator and its interaction with the acoustic enclosure are scrutinized. Numerical studies show the possibility of using mistuned resonators to maximize the noise reduction, as well as the tuning level required for different narrow frequency bands of interests. The effects of the internal resistance of the resonators as well as its dominance levels in the energy dissipation process are also demonstrated. Part of the numerical findings are validated through experiments.

Pipelines are widely used in the transportation of water, oil, gas, etc. Leakage in pipelines leads to a great waste of natural resources and sometimes constitutes a public health risk. Due to its wave-like nature, acoustics is one of the most studied technology for leak detection and localization in pipelines. Over the past decades, numerous articles have been published to address leak localization problems with acoustic-based methods. However, a review of the research development on acoustic-based leak localization technology is lacking. Therefore, this paper utilizes bibliometric analysis to systematically examine the published research articles in this field. Analyses showe that investigations on acoustic-based leak localization technology became popular in the last decade. Most existing researches focus on or exploited the cross-correlation based methods. Furthermore, the most frequently investigated research objective is the development of a signal processing algorithm for denoising and extracting leak signals. Other efforts include altering the number of sensors, developing wireless detection systems, etc. Potential future directions are presented based on a summary of the limitations of the existing research. This paper provides an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art in this field to researchers and engineers. Additionally, it identifies prospective research areas based on the findings and limitations of the previous studies.

Background Hepatitis B vaccine is an effective measure to prevent hepatitis B virus infection. Whether chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection decreases humoral and cell-mediated immunity responses to hepatitis B vaccination is still controversial. Methods Patients with chronic HCV infection who were not in treatment and healthy controls, matched at a 1:2 ratio for community, sex, and age (within 5 years), were identified from a community-based screening. All participants received 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine. Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen was tested 1 month after the third vaccine dose and was compared between 2 groups. Spot-forming cells (SFCs) of interferon γ and interleukin 2, 4, 5, and 6 were counted by means of enzyme-linked immunospot, and SFC counts were compared between the 2 groups. Results The rates of nonresponse and low, normal, and high response were 3.80%, 10.13%, 45.57%, and 40.50% respectively, in the HCV group, and the corresponding rates in the healthy control group were 1.26%, 10.13%, 39.24%, and 49.37% (all P > .05). There were no significant differences in SFC counts between the 2 groups for interferon γ or interleukin 2, 4, or 5 (all P > .05). Conclusions This study provided preliminary evidence of the good immunogenicity and safety of hepatitis B vaccination among patients in China with chronic hepatitis C who are not in treatment. Clinical trials registration NCT 02898922.

Funds flow prediction is critical to the stable operation of financial service institutions. In view of the non-stationary characteristics of funds inflow and outflow in financial institutions, this paper introduces the key characteristics of time series analysis, compares AR, MA, ARMA and ARIMA models, and proposes a funds flow prediction model based on ARIMA algorithm. The stationary test, pure randomness test and model order determination of time series are explained in detail. Finally, combined with the error and score of the model, the relatively optimal model is selected to predict the test data. The experimental results show that, for non-stationary time series, the model has smaller prediction error and can effectively predict funds flow.

Leakages from water pipelines cause economic losses and environmental hazards. Despite the damages, it is challenging to avoid leaks throughout the lifetime. However, leak detection and localization, especially in real-time, minimize the damage. Owing to the recent advances, the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based technologies have started to gaining recognition for water network monitoring in real-time, however, a systematic literature review to analyze the existing research trends, technological advances, and future research opportunities are largely missing. This study has based its investigation on three main MEMS-based technologies for real-time monitoring: MEMS sensors wireless networks, MEMS accelerometers, and MEMS hydrophones. Firstly, a scientometric analysis is conducted to 1) retrieve relevant research articles through Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, 2) visualize the publication trends, and 3) analyze the science mapping of influential authors, countries, organization, and top keywords occurrences. Secondly, qualitative discussions are made on research themes and sub-themes within three technologies: 1) MEMS WSNs are classified into static and mobile sensor-based wireless sensor networks. Seven sub-themes are categorized under static sensor-based wireless sensor networks such as PIPETECT, whereas three sub-themes are categorized under mobile sensor-based WSNs such as TriopusNet; 2) MEMS accelerometers are categorized into accelerometers based machine learning models and wireless systems; and 3) MEMS hydrophones are represented under one category. Thirdly, nine research opportunities including automated models, on-field real network-based experimental studies, optimal placement of sensor nodes for energy savings in wireless sensor networks, and a comparative analysis of real-time technologies are revealed. This study enhances the familiarity of early researchers with the application of MEMS-based technologies for leak detection and localization and provides seasoned researchers with a platform for future research development.

International audience; The vibro-acoustic modelling of a panel-cavity system is of prime importance for the building industries, exemplified by the noise insulation of single or double skin façade. The vibro-acoustic analysis of such systems in the mid-to-high frequency range is computational costly and technically challenging due to the complex wavelength composition. In the present paper, the Condensed Transfer Function (CTF) approach is revisited to tackle this problem. It is demonstrated that the calculation efficiency of the CTF method can be greatly increased by properly selecting the Condensation Functions (CFs) and exploiting their physical characteristics. In particular, owing to their spatial wavy features, the complex exponential functions can better match the structural wavelength variations so that the velocity on the plate-cavity interface can be described by using a much reduced CF set as compared with the gate functions which are widely used in the previous works. Numerical results show a piecewise convergence behavior of the calculation which is further exploited for establishing a criterion for the truncation of the CFs. The proposed criterion allows the determination of a sub-set of the CFs for any prescribed frequency band for the calculation of the system response in a progressive and piecewise manner, resulting in a great increase in the computational efficiency.

A novel small molecule 1,3-bis(eugenyl) glycerol diether is synthesized from renewable eugenol and epichlorohydrin in 60% total yield, and its structure is confirmed by 1H–NMR spectrum. Then, this small molecule is utilized to prepare oligomer, linear polymer and the corresponding crosslinked polymer (denoted as P 2 ) by using thiol-ene and thiol-oxidation reactions. The polymer P 2 can form brown film on a glass substrate and can be easily put off from the substrate. Mechanical properties of P 2 show that tensile strength value is about 6 MPa, with elongation at break of around 300%. Glass transition temperature (Tg) of P 2 is −2.76 °C, meaning that P 2 is at rubber state. There are hydroxyl groups in the prepared linear polymer, which further reacts with 1,6-hexanediisocyanate (HDI) to form polyurethane P 4 with crosslinked structures. Compared with P 2 , the polyurethane P 4 forms yellow film on a glass substrate. But the film of P 4 is not so flexible as that of P 2 , presumably because of relatively higher Tg (5.85 °C) of P 4 than P 2 . Due to the existence of dynamic disulfide bonds as well as hydrogen bonds in both P 2 and P 4 , these thermoset resins show repeatable self-healing behavior stimulated by UV irradiation. Furthermore, the polyurethane P 4 exhibits ultrahigh temperature resistance performance, with Td5 = 375 °C and Td10 = 1000 °C according to TGA curve. This work is expected to expand research and potential applications of the renewable resource eugenol in preparation of smart materials.

Sound absorption inside a cylindrical enclosure using micro-perforated panels (MPP) is investigated. Attention is focused on analyzing the effect of backing cavities on the sound absorption capabilities of various MPP configurations both numerically and experimentally. A model is used to analyze the acoustic coupling between the cylindrical acoustic domain enclosed by the MPP and the annular cylindrical acoustic domain forming the air space behind it. It was shown that the sound field in the backing cavity of the MPP plays an important role in determining the energy dissipation efficiency of the MPP construction, and thereby affects the degree of attenuation of the standing waves inside the enclosure. Conventional MPP construction with a backing air layer was shown to only provide limited noise reduction, but fail at certain frequencies associated with the acoustic resonances of the cylindrical acoustic field. The problem can be tackled by adding proper partitions in the baking cavity, as a result of the alteration of the acoustic coupling across the MPP panels.

International audience; Modal-based acoustoelastic formulation is regarded as the cornerstone of vibro-acoustics and has been widely used for coupling analyses of structure-cavity systems. The controversy and the skepticism surrounding the acoustic velocity continuity with the surrounding vibrating structures have been persistent, calling for a systematic investigation and clarification. This fundamental issue of significant relevance is addressed in this paper. Through numerical analyses and comparisons with wave-based exact solution, an oscillating convergence pattern of the calculated acoustic velocity is revealed. Normalization of the results leads to a unified series truncation criterion allowing minimal prediction error, which is verified in three dimensional cases. The paper establishes the fact that the modal based decomposition method definitely allows correct prediction of both the acoustic pressure and the velocity inside an acoustic cavity covered by a flexural structure upon using appropriate series truncation criteria.

Significance Hepatitis A virus (HAV) remains enigmatic, being unusually stable physically. Where the receptor binds and how the virion can be destabilized to release the genome are unknown. We report a potent HAV-specific neutralizing monoclonal antibody, R10, that blocks receptor attachment and interferes with viral uncoating. We have determined high-resolution cryo-EM structures of HAV full particles, empty particles, and full particles complexed with R10 Fab, revealing that R10 binds to the viral surface along the edges of the pentameric building block of the virus, and these interactions are critical for receptor binding and viral uncoating. Our results point to the use of a receptor mimic mechanism to neutralize virus infection, highlighting new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

An azido- and bromo-containing compound derived from naturally occurring ethyl cinnamate was used successfully to prepare block copolymers by a combination of ‘activator generated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization’ (AGET ATRP) and Huisgen “click” reactions in emulsion. First, azido-end poly(methyl methacrylate) and alkyne-end polystyrene were prepared under AGET ATRP conditions, then, poly(methyl methacrylate) block polystyrene (PMMA-b-PS) diblock copolymer was formed by Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. Finally, polystyrene block poly(methyl methacrylate) block polystyrene (PS-b-PMMA-b-PS) triblock copolymer was synthesized via simultaneous AGET ATRP and click reactions, catalyzed by the same copper-based catalyst. The polymers were characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), which confirmed the successful synthesis of the corresponding polymers.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) remains enigmatic, despite some 1.4 million cases worldwide annually1. It differs radically from other picornaviruses, existing in an enveloped form2 and being unusually stable, both genetically and physically3, but has proved difficult to study. We report high-resolution X-ray structures for the mature virus and empty particles. The structures of the two particles are indistinguishable, apart from some disorder on the inside of the empty particle. The full virus contains the small viral protein VP4, while the empty particle harbors only the uncleaved precursor, VP0. The smooth particle surface is devoid of depressions which might correspond to receptor binding sites. Peptide scanning data extends the previously reported VP3 antigenic site4, while structure-based predictions5 suggest further epitopes. HAV contains no pocket factor, can withstand remarkably high temperature and low pH, with empty particles being even more robust than full particles. The virus probably uncoats via a novel mechanism, being built differently to other picornaviruses. It utilizes a VP2 ‘domain swap’ characteristic of insect picorna-like viruses6,7 and structure-based phylogenetic analysis places HAV between typical picornaviruses and the insect viruses. The enigmatic properties of HAV may reflect its position as a link between ‘modern’ picornaviruses and the more ‘primitive’ precursor insect viruses, for instance HAV retains the ability to move from cell-to-cell by transcytosis8,9.

Enterovirus 71 (HEV71) epidemics amongst children and infants result mainly in mild symptoms, however, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, infection can be fatal. At present no therapies are available. We have used structural analysis of the complete virus to guide the design of HEV71 inhibitors. Analysis of complexes with four 3-(-4-pyridyl)-2-imidazolidinone derivatives with varying anti-HEV71 activities, pinpointed key structure-activity correlates. We then identified additional potentially beneficial substitutions, developed methods to reliably triage compounds by quantum mechanics-enhanced ligand docking, and synthesized two candidates. Structural analysis and in vitro assays confirmed the predicted binding modes and their ability to block viral infection. One ligand (IC50 = 25 pM) is an order of magnitude more potent than the best previously reported inhibitor, and is also more soluble. Our approach may be useful in the design of effective drugs for enterovirus infections.

Mid-to-high frequency vibro-acoustic modelling has always been a challenging topic. The previous study shows the promise of a piecewise calculation scheme based on the Condensed Transfer Function (CTF) approach in a frequency range where the modal overlap factor roughly exceeds one. The piecewise scheme has shown its capability in terms of balancing the accuracy, efficiency and the wealth of information for the modeling of lightly coupled vibroacoustic systems. This paper extends the method beyond the weak-coupling assumption. A coupling strength factor is first proposed to quantify and adjust the coupling strength between two sub-systems. Two mutually connected sub-cavities are then used as an example to validate the piecewise scheme in relation to the changes in the coupling strength level, as well as the variations in the coupling strength factor itself. The effect of the coupling strength on the computational error of the piecewise scheme is systematically studied. Finally, the applicability of the piecewise calculation scheme is experimentally validated.