BackgroundNo clinically proven effective antiviral strategy exists for the epidemic Coronavirus Disease 2019 . MethodsWe conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label multicenter trial involving adult patients with COVID-19. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive conventional therapy plus Umifenovir (Arbidol) (200mg*3/day) or Favipiravir (1600mg*2/first day followed by 600mg*2/day) for 10 days. The primary outcome was clinical recovery rate of Day 7. Latency to relief for pyrexia and cough, the rate of auxiliary oxygen therapy (AOT) or noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NMV) were the secondary outcomes. Safety data were collected for 17 days.

Basic principles of capillary-induced adhesion and roughness-enhanced hydrophobicity are utilized to design three superhydrophobic porous-nanostructure models whose adhesion forces ranged from strong to weak. The design idea is well supported by experimental results, which indicated that adhesive forces may be tailored by modifying structural morphologies to manipulate solid-liquid contact behavior and air-pocket composition in open or sealed systems.National Nature Science Foundation of China [50571085, 20773100, 20620130427, 20773135]; National Basic Research Program of China 973 Program [2007CB935603]; Technology Program of Fujian and Xiamen, China [2007H0031, 3502Z20073004]; Chinese Academy of Science

Background SARS-CoV-2 has caused millions of deaths, and, since Aug 11, 2020, 20 intramuscular COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for use. We aimed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of an aerosolised adenovirus type-5 vector-based COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) in adults without COVID-19 from China. Method This was a randomised, single-centre, open-label, phase 1 trial done in Zhongnan Hospital (Wuhan, China), to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine by aerosol inhalation in adults (≥18 years) seronegative for SARS-CoV-2. Breastfeeding or pregnant women and people with major chronic illnesses or history of allergies were excluded. Participants were enrolled and randomly assigned (1:1:1:1:1) into five groups to be vaccinated via intramuscular injection, aerosol inhalation, or both. Randomisation was stratified by sex and age (18–55 years or ≥56 years) using computer-generated randomisation sequences (block sizes of five). Only laboratory staff were masked to group assignment. The participants in the two aerosol groups received an initial high dose (2 × 10 10 viral particles; HDmu group) or low dose (1 × 10 10 viral particles; LDmu group) of Ad5-nCoV vaccine on day 0, followed by a booster on day 28. The mixed vaccination group received an initial intramuscular (5 × 10 10 viral particles) vaccine on day 0, followed by an aerosolised booster (2 × 10 10 viral particles) vaccine on day 28 (MIX group). The intramuscular groups received one dose (5 × 10 10 viral particles; 1Dim group) or two doses (10 × 10 10 viral particles; 2Dim group) of Ad5-nCoV on day 0. The primary safety outcome was adverse events 7 days after each vaccination, and the primary immunogenicity outcome was anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor IgG antibody and SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody geometric mean titres at day 28 after last vaccination. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04552366. Findings Between Sept 28, 2020, and Sept 30, 2020, 230 individuals were screened for inclusion, of whom 130 (56%) participants were enrolled into the trial and randomly assigned into one of the five groups (26 participants per group). Within 7 days after vaccination, adverse events occurred in 18 (69%) in the HDmu group, 19 (73%) in the LDmu group, 19 (73%) in the MIX group, 19 (73%) in the 1Dim group, and 15 (58%) in the 2Dim group. The most common adverse events reported 7 days after the first or booster vaccine were fever (62 [48%] of 130 participants), fatigue (40 [31%] participants), and headache (46 [35%] participants). More adverse events were reported in participants who received intramuscular vaccination, including participants in the MIX group (49 [63%] of 78 participants), than those who received aerosol vaccine (13 [25%] of 52 participants) after the first vaccine va...

A simple electrochemical and self-assembly method was adopted for the fabrication of superhydrophobic spongelike nanostructured TiO2 surfaces with markedly controllable adhesion. Water adhesion ranging from ultralow (5.0 μN) to very high (76.6 μN) can be tuned through adjusting the nitro cellulose dosage concentrations. The detailed experiments and analyses have indicated that the significant increase of adhesion by introducing nitrocellulose is ascribed to the combination of hydrogen bonding between the nitro groups and the hydroxyl groups at the solid/liquid interfaces and the disruption of the densely packed hydrophobic 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PTES) molecule. A mechanism has been proposed to explain the formation of superhydrophobic TiO2 films with distinct adhesion.

Binary wettability patterned surfaces with extremely high wetting contrasts can be found in nature on living creatures. They offer a versatile platform for microfluidic management. In this work, a facile approach to fabricating erasable and rewritable surface patterns with extreme wettability contrasts (superhydrophilic/superhydrophobic) on a TiO2 nanotube array (TNA) surface through self-assembly and photocatalytic lithography is reported. The multifunctional micropatterned superhydrophobic TNA surface can act as a 2D scaffold for site-selective cell immobilization and reversible protein absorption. Most importantly, such a high-contrast wettability template can be used to construct various well-defined 3D functional patterns, such as calcium phosphate, silver nanoparticles, drugs, and biomolecules in a highly selective manner. The 3D functional patterns would be a versatile platform in a wide range of applications, especially for biomedical devices (e.g., high-throughput molecular sensing, targeted antibacterials, and drug delivery). In a proof-of-concept study, the surface-enhanced Raman scattering and antibacterial performance of the fabricated 3D AgNP@TNA pattern, and the targeted drug delivery for site-specific and high-sensitivity cancer cell assays was investigated.

The main practical application behind the development of chitosan (CH) and O-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) used to preserve postharvest whiteleg shrimp lies with the fact that these polysaccharides represent a renewable source of natural biodegradable polymers and meet with the emergence of more and more food safety problems. Both CMC and CH can be used as food preservatives to extend shrimp shelf life. However, CMC is more convenient due to its solubility. In the future, CMC will be used in the food processing industry because of its soluble, compatible, antimicrobial, and antioxidative characteristics.

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BackgroundCryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are important gastrointestinal protists in humans and animals worldwide. In China, bovine cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are of increasing concern because cattle are important reservoirs of these parasites, which have become potential threats to public health and to large numbers of cattle in recent years.ResultsA total of 1366 fecal samples from the Ningxia Autonomous Region were examined. The overall infection rates for Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis were 1.61% and 2.12%, respectively. Cryptosporidium was only detected in preweaned calves and adults older than 2 years, whereas G. duodenalis was only detected in calves aged less than 11 months. Cryptosporidium spp. were characterized with a PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and DNA sequence analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene. Three Cryptosporidium species were identified: C. parvum (n = 15) and C. bovis (n = 4) in preweaned calves, and C. andersoni (n = 4) in adults aged over 2 years. A DNA sequence analysis of the gp60 gene suggested that the 15 C. parvum isolates all belonged to subtype IIdA15G1. Twenty-nine G. duodenalis isolates were analyzed by DNA sequencing of the triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) and glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) genes. Two G. duodenalis assemblages were identified, assemblages E (n = 15) and B (n = 4, one subtype B1 and three subtype B2) in preweaned calves, and assemblage E (n = 10) in 3–11-month-old calves.ConclusionsThe predominance of C. parvum detected in preweaned calves and the first identified subtype IIdA15G1 in dairy cattle, and the dominant G. duodenalis assemblage E in this study differed considerably from those found in Henan, Heilongjiang, and Shannxi Provinces. Our findings further confirm the dominance of C. parvum IId subtypes in China.