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Background: Though children infected by SARS-CoV-2 generally experience milder symptoms compared to adults, severe cases can occur. Additionally, children can transmit the virus to others. Therefore, the availability of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for children and adolescents is crucial. Method: A single-center, randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted in Funing County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, China. Healthy children and adolescents were divided into two subgroups (6–12 years old or 13–17 years old) and randomly assigned to one of three groups to receive one dose of Ad5-nCoV (3 × 1010 vp/dose). Another group, aged 18–59, received one dose of Ad5-nCoV (5 × 1010 vp/dose) as the control group. At 28, 90, 180, and 360 days post-vaccination, we measured the geometric mean titer (GMT)/concentration (GMC) of neutralizing and binding antibodies against the prototype SARS-CoV-2 strain, as well as serum antibody levels against the BA.4/5 variant. We also evaluated the incidence of adverse events within 28 days post-vaccination. Results: A total of 2413 individuals were screened from 3 June 2021 to 25 July 2021, of whom 2021 eligible participants were enrolled, including 1009 aged 6~17 years in the children and adolescent group and 1012 aged 18–59 years in the adults group. The GMT of anti-wild SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies was 18.6 (95% CI, 16.6–20.9) in children and adolescents and 13.2 (95% CI, 11.6–15.0) in adults on day 28. The incidence of solicited adverse reactions between the adult group (49.4% [124/251]) and the children and adolescent group (46.3% [156/337]) was not statistically significant. The neutralizing antibody levels decreased by a factor of 3.29 from day 28 to day 360 post-vaccination. Conclusions: A single dose of Ad5-nCoV at 3 × 1010 virus particles/dose is safe in children and adolescents, and it elicited significant immune response, which was not only non-inferior but also superior to that in adults aged 18–59 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Tree bark is a useful bioindicator of atmospheric pollution. It is specially suitable for airborne perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) investigation due to persistence of ionic PFASs. The present work firstly systematically studied tree barks as a bioindicator of airborne PFASs. Comparison with the regular active and passive samplers found barks could produce long-term measurement of airborne PFASs, and could record the historical emission of PFASs with retrospective time frame as long as decades. Factors, e.g. tree type, trunk diameter, and sampling depth, can affect PFAS accumulation in barks, and these factors should be kept consistent during sampling. In a study area spatial distribution of airborne PFASs can be obtained by interpolation of bark results, and the concerned region can be located. Properties of the emission sources can be characterized, and the potential sources can be tracked based on the bark results. Their contributions can be further estimated by the source appointment strategies. In the economically and industrially developed study area of the present study, eight cities of southern Jiangsu Province of China, total ionic PFAS concentration of camphor bark samples collected in 34 sites was 0.44–359 ng/g dw (dry weight), dominated by perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs). Two types of possible sources were characterized as with long-chained PFCAs and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) as the main components respectively. The sources were appointed as fluoropolymer manufacturing and textile industries, the important PFAS application fields, and their relative contribution was estimated as 32.5% and 67.5% respectively. The present study can provide useful advice to the method framework of using barks for long-term occurrence investigation, concerned region location, and emission source appointment of airborne PFASs in a study area. Based on the bark results, effective strategies can be further made for PFAS pollution elimination and risk control. [Display omitted] • Barks as a passive sampler of airborne PFASs were firstly studied in detail. • Barks can produce long-term measurement of airborne PFASs. • PFASs in camphor barks of the study area were dominated by PFCAs. • PFAS sources were appointed as fluoropolymer manufacturing and textile coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree bark was used as the passive air sampler to evaluate polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) pollution and possible sources in Southern Jiangsu. The concentrations of PCBs and ΣPBDEs were in the range of 0.58-5.19 ng/g dry weight (dw; mean 1.79 ng/g dw) and 17.9-243 pg/g dw (mean 74.7 pg/g dw), respectively. Tri-PCBs were the major PCB homologs, and technical PCB product Ar1242 was identified as the main source. BDE209 concentrations (4.29-456 ng/g dw) were relatively high, indicating that BDE209 pollution was serious in this region. The deca-BDE commercial mixture was the predominant commercial PBDE product used in this region. A good correlation was found between tree bark and polyurethane foam (PUF) disks in ΣPCB monitoring, suggesting that both of them respond well to the gas-phase PCB monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] First data on PAHs pollution in Southern Jiangsu, China using camphor tree barks. [•] The concentrations and possible sources of PAHs were investigated. [•] Good correlation was found between tree bark and polyurethane foam (PUF) samplers in gas-phase PAHs monitoring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using a backcross inbred line (BIL) population derived from the cross between Koshihikari (Oryza sativa subsp. japonica) and Kasalath (O. sativa subsp. indica), the main-effect QTLs for thousand-grain weight (TGW) and percentage of grains with chalkiness (PGWC) in Nanjing in 2005 and 2006, and the epistatic effect and the QTL × environment interaction (QE) were analyzed. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significantly positive correlation (r = 0.42 in 2005, and r = 0.35 in 2006, P<0.001) between TGW and PGWC in the BIL population. A total of 11 main-effect QTLs for TGW were identified, including 5 common QTLs in both years and 5 QTLs with significant QE effect. There were 8 pairs of epistatic effect for TGW, and 7 pairs of them with significant QE effect. Six main-effect QTLs and 9 epistatic effects for PGWC were identified, and 3 main-effect QTLs and 4 epistatic effects had QE effect. Three main-effect QTLs simultaneously controlled TGW and PGWC, and their alleles from the same parent increased TGW and PGWC. One epistatic effect had similar effects on both traits. Some main-effect QTLs, such as qTGW-3c, qTGW-4a, and qTGW-6b, only controlled TGW and could be used in breeding programs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hen egg yolk lipids from different regions were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry. A total of 15 lipid classes and 346 lipid molecular species were tentatively identified. Principal component analysis showed that the egg lipid profiles varied a certain extent across different production regions. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that the egg lipid compositions from Jiangsu and Chungking were relatively similar, but significantly different to those from Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, and Hainan. Differences in the content of some lipid molecules are obvious, for instance, the concentration of lysophosphatidylcholine (18:1/0:0) in Jiangsu egg and Chungking egg, and phosphatidylinositol (18:0/20:4) in Hainan egg, Changde egg and Jiangxi egg varied significantly from other origins. This study provides a foundation for comprehending the impact of diverse geographical environments on egg lipid profiles. • The lipid profiles of eggs from different origins were analyzed. • 346 molecular species of egg lipids were identified. • Differential markers of various eggs were screened out. • The phospholipid levels of eggs from different origins were significantly different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]