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Background: Heterologous boost vaccination has been proposed as an option to elicit stronger and broader, or longer-lasting immunity. We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of heterologous immunization with a recombinant adenovirus type-5-vectored Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine (Convidecia, hereafter referred to as CV) and a protein-subunit-based COVID-19 vaccine (ZF2001, hereafter referred to as ZF).Methods and Findings: We conducted a randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, in which healthy adults aged 18 years or older, who have received 1 dose of Convidecia, with no history of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, were recruited in Jiangsu, China. Sixty participants were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive either 1 dose of ZF2001 or placebo control (trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV)) administered at 28 days after priming, and received the third injection with ZF2001 at 5 months, referred to as CV/ZF/ZF (D0-D28-M5) and CV/ZF (D0-M5) regimen, respectively. Sixty participants were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive either 1 dose of ZF2001 or TIV administered at 56 days after priming, and received the third injection with ZF2001 at 6 months, referred to as CV/ZF/ZF (D0-D56-M6) and CV/ZF (D0-M6) regimen, respectively. Participants and investigators were masked to the vaccine received but not to the boosting interval. Primary endpoints were the geometric mean titer (GMT) of neutralizing antibodies against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and 7-day solicited adverse reactions. The primary analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population. Between April 7, 2021 and May 6, 2021, 120 eligible participants were randomly assigned to receive ZF2001/ZF2001 (n = 40) or TIV/ZF2001 (n = 20) 28 days and 5 months post priming, and receive ZF2001/ZF2001 (n = 40) or TIV/ZF2001 (n = 20) 56 days and 6 months post priming. Of them, 7 participants did not receive the third injection with ZF2001. A total of 26 participants (21.7%) reported solicited adverse reactions within 7 days post boost vaccinations, and all the reported adverse reactions were mild, with 13 (32.5%) in CV/ZF/ZF (D0-D28-M5) regimen, 7 (35.0%) in CV/ZF (D0- M5) regimen, 4 (10.0%) in CV/ZF/ZF (D0-D56-M6) regimen, and 2 (10.0%) in CV/ZF (D0-M6) regimen, respectively. At 14 days post first boost, GMTs of neutralizing antibodies in recipients receiving ZF2001 at 28 days and 56 days post priming were 18.7 (95% CI 13.7 to 25.5) and 25.9 (17.0 to 39.3), respectively, with geometric mean ratios of 2.0 (1.2 to 3.5) and 3.4 (1.8 to 6.4) compared to TIV. GMTs at 14 days after second boost of neutralizing antibodies increased to 107.2 (73.7 to 155.8) in CV/ZF/ZF (D0-D28-M5) regimen and 141.2 (83.4 to 238.8) in CV/ZF/ZF (D0-D56-M6) regimen. Two-dose schedules of CV/ZF (D0-M5) and CV/ZF (D0-M6) induced antibody levels comparable with that elicited by 3-dose schedules, with GMTs of 90.5 (45.6, 179.8) and 94.1 (44.0, 200.9), respectively. Study limitations include the absence of vaccine effectiveness in a real-world setting and current lack of immune persistence data.Conclusions: Heterologous boosting with ZF2001 following primary vaccination with Convidecia is more immunogenic than a single dose of Convidecia and is not associated with safety concerns. These results support flexibility in cooperating viral vectored and recombinant protein vaccines.Trial Registration: Study on Heterologous Prime-boost of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Ad5 Vector) and RBD-based Protein Subunit Vaccine; ClinicalTrial.gov NCT04833101. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With today's rapid economic growth, the role of agriculture in production and life has come to the forefront. Many problems in China's agricultural economy have seriously constrained the vitality of Chinese agriculture. Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen the study of an agricultural economy, inject new impetus into an agricultural development, develop targeted solutions, and lay a solid foundation for the sustainable development of China's agricultural economy. Therefore, in this paper, based on the theory of sustainable development of an agricultural economy, this paper constructs a sustainable agricultural development index system in Jiangsu province from five aspects of the DPSIR model: driving force, pressure, state, impact and response and uses principal component analysis to make a comprehensive evaluation of the level of sustainable agricultural development in Jiangsu province from 2010 to 2016. The analysis results show that Jiangsu's agricultural economy is overall better and steadily improving, and it has made a huge leap in the seven-year period from 2010 to 2016, showing better sustainability. We found that the state subsystem exposed some social problems after analyzing the subsystem, and if relevant measures are not taken in time to solve the emerged problems, it will affect the other subsystems and the sustainability of the agricultural economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The law of spatial distribution and population transfer of Red-crowned crane in the past 30 years were studied. • The temporal and spatial evolution of land-use in the past 30 years was summarized. • The spatial regression model was used to reveal the effect of land-use change on the distribution of Red-crowned crane. • "Friendly" land-use patterns conducive to habitat conservation of the red-crowned crane were proposed. The coastal area of northern Jiangsu (CNJ) is the largest silt coastal zone along the western Pacific Coast. This area is a newly established world natural heritage site and is also the largest winter habitat for the red-crowned crane in the world. However, rapid economic development in the study area has led to great changes in the types and intensities of land-use, which has had an effect on the distribution of wintering red-crowned cranes. In this paper, we first analyzed land-use change and determined the spatiotemporal evolution of land-use types and intensities in the study area. Then, the distribution of the red-crowned cranes was analyzed over various years. Finally, a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was adopted to study the spatial differences in the effects of land-use types and intensity changes on the distribution of the cranes. The results showed that salt marsh (p<0.01), salt field (p<0.05) and paddy field (p<0.05) were positively correlated with red-crowned cranes. Dry land (p<0.05), construction land (p<0.01) and aquaculture pond (p<0.05) were negatively correlated with red-crowned cranes. There was a strongly negative correlation between land-use intensity and the red-crowned cranes (p<0.01). These positive and negative factors had significant spatial heterogeneity. Given these differences and the current local economic and land policies, we proposed the concrete countermeasures for red-crowned crane habitat protection and established a "friendly" land-use pattern that is beneficial for the protection of the crane population and restoration of its habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-ingestion of microplastics poses a global threat to ecosystems, yet studies within nature reserves, crucial habitats for birds, remain scarce despite the well-documented ingestion of microplastics by avian species. Located in Jiangsu Province, China, the Yancheng Wetland Rare Birds Nature Reserve is home to diverse bird species, including many rare ones. This study aimed to assess the abundance and characteristics of microplastics in common bird species within the reserve, investigate microplastic enrichment across different species, and establish links between birds' habitat types and microplastic ingestion. Microplastics were extracted from the feces of 110 birds, with 84 particles identified from 37.27% of samples. Among 8 species studied, the average microplastic abundance ranged from 0.97 ± 0.47 to 43.43 ± 61.98 items per gram of feces, or 1.5 ± 0.87 to 3.4 ± 1.50 items per individual. The Swan goose (Anser cygnoides) exhibited the highest microplastic abundance per gram of feces, while the black-billed gull (Larus saundersi) had the highest abundance per individual. The predominant form of ingested microplastics among birds in the reserve was fibers, with polyethylene being the most common polymer type. Significant variations in plastic exposure were observed among species and between aquatic and terrestrial birds. This study represents the first quantitative assessment of microplastic concentrations in birds within the reserve, filling a crucial gap in research and providing insights for assessing microplastic pollution and guiding bird conservation efforts in aquatic and terrestrial environments. [Display omitted] • Microplastics ingested by birds were assessed by faecal samples. 2) Microplastics were enriched in guano from the Nature Reserve. 3) Habitat was strongly correlated with microplastics ingested by birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]