Background A vaccine against COVID-19 is urgently needed for older adults, in whom morbidity and mortality due to the disease are increased. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a candidate COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, containing inactivated SARS-CoV-2, in adults aged 60 years and older. Methods We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1/2 clinical trial of CoronaVac in healthy adults aged 60 years and older in Renqiu (Hebei, China). Vaccine or placebo was given by intramuscular injection in two doses (days 0 and 28). Phase 1 comprised a dose-escalation study, in which participants were allocated to two blocks: block 1 (3 μg inactivated virus in 0•5 mL of aluminium hydroxide solution per injection) and block 2 (6 μg per injection). Within each block, participants were randomly assigned (2:1) using block randomisation to receive CoronaVac or placebo (aluminium hydroxide solution only). In phase 2, participants were randomly assigned (2:2:2:1) using block randomisation to receive either CoronaVac at 1•5 μg, 3 µg, or 6 µg per dose, or placebo. All participants, investigators, and laboratory staff were masked to treatment allocation. The primary safety endpoint was adverse reactions within 28 days after each injection in all participants who received at least one dose. The primary immunogenicity endpoint was seroconversion rate at 28 days after the second injection (which was assessed in all participants who had received the two doses of vaccine according to their random assignment, had antibody results available, and did not violate the trial protocol). Seroconversion was defined as a change from seronegative at baseline to seropositive for neutralising antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2 (positive cutoff titre 1/8), or a four-fold titre increase if the participant was seropositive at baseline. This study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04383574). Findings Between May 22 and June 1, 2020, 72 participants (24 in each intervention group and 24 in the placebo group; mean age 65•8 years [SD 4•8]) were enrolled in phase 1, and between June 12 and June 15, 2020, 350 participants were enrolled in phase 2 (100 in each intervention group and 50 in the placebo group; mean age 66•6 years [SD 4•7] in 349 participants). In the safety populations from both phases, any adverse reaction within 28 days after injection occurred in 20 (20%) of 100 participants in the 1•5 μg group, 25 (20%) of 125 in the 3 μg group, 27 (22%) of 123 in the 6 μg group, and 15 (21%) of 73 in the placebo group. All adverse reactions were mild or moderate in severity and injection site pain (39 [9%] of 421 participants) was the most frequently reported event. As of Aug 28, 2020, eight serious adverse events, considered unrelated to vaccination, have been reported by seven (2%) participants. In phase 1, seroconversion after the second dose was observed in 24 of 24 participants (100•0% [95% CI 85•8-100•0]) in the 3 μg group and 22 of 23 (95•7% [78•1-99•9]) in the 6 μg group. In phase 2, sero...

We performed a meta-analysis of 2 genome-wide association studies of coronary artery disease comprising 1,515 cases with coronary artery disease and 5,019 controls, followed by de novo replication studies in 15,460 cases and 11,472 controls, all of Chinese Han descent. We successfully identified four new loci for coronary artery disease reaching genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8), which mapped in or near TTC32-WDR35, GUCY1A3, C6orf10-BTNL2 and ATP2B1. We also replicated four loci previously identified in European populations (PHACTR1, TCF21, CDKN2A/B and C12orf51). These findings provide new insights into biological pathways for the susceptibility of coronary artery disease in Chinese Han population.

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Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology has been widely used in forestry surveys in the form of airborne laser scanning (ALS), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and mobile laser scanning (MLS). The acquisition of important basic tree parameters (e.g., diameter at breast height and tree position) in forest inventory did not solve the problem of low measurement efficiency or weak GNSS signal under the canopy. A personal laser scanning (PLS) device combined with SLAM technology provides an effective solution for forest inventory under complex conditions with its light weight and flexible mobility. This study proposes a new method for calculating the volume of a cylinder using point cloud data obtained by a PLS device by fitting to a polygonal cylinder to calculate the diameter of the trunk. The point cloud data of tree trunks of different thickness were modeled using different fitting methods. The rate of correct tree trunk detection was 93.3% and the total deviation of the estimations of tree diameter at breast height (DBH) was -1.26 cm. The root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the estimations of the extracted DBH and the tree position were 1.58 cm and 26 cm, respectively. The survey efficiency of the personal laser scanning (PLS) device was 30m 2 /min for each investigator, compared with 0.91m 2 /min for the field survey. The test demonstrated that the PLS device combined with the SLAM algorithm provides an efficient and convenient solution for forest inventory.

Hypoxia preconditioning enhances the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, the mechanism underlying hypoxia-induced augmentation of the protective effect of MSCs on myocardial infarction (MI) is poorly understood. We show that hypoxia-enhanced survival, mobility, and protection of cocultured cardiomyocytes were paralleled by increased expression of leptin and cell surface receptor CXCR4. The enhanced activities were abolished by either knockdown of leptin with a selective shRNA or by genetic deficiency of leptin or its receptor in MSCs derived, respectively, from ob/ob or db/db mice. To characterize the role of leptin in the regulation of MSC functions by hypoxia and its possible contribution to enhanced therapeutic efficacy, cell therapy using MSCs derived from wild-type, ob/ob, or db/db mice was implemented in mouse models of acute MI. Augmented protection by hypoxia pretreatment was only seen with MSCs from wild-type mice. Parameters that were differentially affected by hypoxia pretreatment included MSC engraftment, c-Kit+ cell recruitment to the infarct, vascular density, infarct size, and long-term contractile function. These data show that leptin signaling is an early and essential step for the enhanced survival, chemotaxis, and therapeutic properties of MSCs conferred by preculture under hypoxia. Leptin may play a physiological role in priming MSCs resident in the bone marrow endosteum for optimal response to systemic signaling molecules and subsequent tissue repair.