During the last two decades, there has been broad interest in RNA-based technologies for the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. Preclinical and clinical trials have shown that mRNA vaccines provide a safe and long-lasting immune response in animal models and humans. In this review, we summarize current research progress on mRNA vaccines, which have the potential to be quick-manufactured and to become powerful tools against infectious disease and we highlight the bright future of their design and applications.

The surge of patients in the pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 may overwhelm the medical systems of many countries. Mask-wearing and handwashing can slow the spread of the virus, but currently, masks are in shortage in many countries, and timely handwashing is often impossible. In this study, the efficacy of three types of masks and instant hand wiping was evaluated using the avian influenza virus to mock the coronavirus. Virus quantification was performed using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Previous studies on mask-wearing were reviewed. The results showed that instant hand wiping using a wet towel soaked in water containing 1.00% soap powder, 0.05% active chlorine, or 0.25% active chlorine from sodium hypochlorite removed 98.36%, 96.62%, and 99.98% of the virus from hands, respectively. N95 masks, medical masks, and homemade masks made of four-layer kitchen paper and one-layer cloth could block 99.98%, 97.14%, and 95.15% of the virus in aerosols. Medical maskwearing which was supported by many studies was opposed by other studies possibly due to erroneous judgment. With these data, we propose the approach of mask-wearing plus instant hand hygiene (MIH) to slow the exponential spread of the virus. This MIH approach has been supported by the experiences of seven countries in fighting against COVID-19. Collectively, a simple approach to slow the exponential spread of SARS-CoV-2 was proposed with the support of experiments, literature review, and control experiences. K E Y W O R D S coronavirus, COVID-19, hand hygiene, mask, pandemic, soap N95 mask 12.49 ± 0.33 99.98% (99.98%-99.99%) Medical mask 5.13 ± 0.98 97.14% (94.36%-98.55%) Homemade mask 4.37 ± 0.90 95.15% (90.97%-97.39%) Abbreviations: AIV, avian influenza virus; CI, confidence interval; SD, standard deviation. MA ET AL. | 3contact, and reduce air contamination of pathogens from infected people.With the above data and discussion, we propose herein the approach of mask-wearing and instant hand hygiene (MIH), namely that common people should wear effective masks and bring an appropriate item for instant hand hygiene when needed, to slow the rapid spread of the virus worldwide. This is crucial for the world to reduce severe and fatal cases of the virus before successful marketing of the effective vaccines against the coronavirus, and avoid the tragedy of medical systems being overwhelmed by a surge of too many patients.As indicated in this study, when medical masks and disinfectants are in shortage, the homemade masks made of kitchen paper can be used to temporally surrogate medical masks, and so soap powder is used for instant hand hygiene.From the news we know that the MIH approach has been implemented in China, Republic of Korea, and Japan, where maskwearing is widely accepted and items for instant hand hygiene are usually accessible in public areas. The spread of the coronavirus in all these three countries has been well controlled. 3,6 In contrast, Iran, Italy, Spain, and the USA did not implement...

Incubations with pure and enrichment cultures of Acidimicrobium sp. strain A6 (A6), an autotroph that oxidizes ammonium to nitrite while reducing ferric iron, were conducted in the presence of PFOA or PFOS at 0.1 mg/L and 100 mg/L. Buildup of fluoride, shorter-chain perfluorinated products, and acetate was observed, as well as a decrease in Fe­(III) reduced per ammonium oxidized. Incubations with hydrogen as a sole electron donor also resulted in the defluorination of these PFAS. Removal of up to 60% of PFOA and PFOS was observed during 100 day incubations, while total fluorine (organic plus fluoride) remained constant throughout the incubations. To determine if PFOA/PFOS or some of their degradation products were metabolized, and since no organic carbon source except these PFAS was added, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was tracked. At concentrations of 100 mg/L, PFOA/PFOS were the main contributors to DOC, which remained constant during the pure A6 culture incubations. Whereas in the A6 enrichment culture, DOC decreased slightly with time, indicating that as defluorination of PFOS/PFOA occurred, some of the products were being metabolized by heterotrophs present in this culture. Results show that A6 can defluorinate PFOA/PFOS while reducing iron, using ammonium or hydrogen as the electron donor.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has claimed many lives worldwide. Wearing medical masks or N95 masks (namely N95 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Accepted Articlerespirators) can slow the virus spread and reduce the infection risk. Reuse of these masks can minimize waste, protect the environment, and help to solve the current imminent shortage of masks. Disinfection of used masks is needed for reuse of them with safety, but improper decontamination can damage the blocking structure of masks. In this study, we demonstrated, using avian coronavirus of infectious bronchitis virus to mimic SARS-CoV-2, that medical masks and N95 masks remained their blocking efficacy after being steamed on boiling water even for 2 hours. We also demonstrated that three brands of medical masks blocked over 99% viruses in aerosols. The avian coronavirus was completely inactivated after being steamed for 5 minutes. Together, this study suggested that medical masks are adequate for use on most social occasions, and both medical masks and N95 masks can be reused for a few days with steam decontamination between use.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibers are the highly elongated and thickened single-cell trichomes on the seed epidermis. However, little is known about the molecular base of fiber cell wall thickening in detail. In this study, a cotton NAC transcription factor (GhFSN1) that is specifically expressed in secondary cell wall (SCW) thickening fibers was functionally characterized. The GhFSN1 transgenic cotton plants were generated to study how FSN1 regulates fiber SCW formation. Up-regulation of GhFSN1 expression in cotton resulted in an increase in SCW thickness of fibers but a decrease in fiber length. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that GhFSN1 activates or represses numerous downstream genes. GhFSN1 has the ability to form homodimers, binds to its promoter to activate itself, and might be degraded by the ubiquitin-mediated proteasome pathway. The direct targets of GhFSN1 include the fiber SCW-related GhDUF231L1, GhKNL1, GhMYBL1, GhGUT1 and GhIRX12 genes. GhFSN1 binds directly to a consensus sequence (GhNBS), (C/T)(C/G/T)TN(A/T)(G/T)(A/C/G)(A/G)(A/T/G)(A/T/G)AAG, which exists in the promoters of these SCW-related genes. Our data demonstrate that GhFSN1 acts as a positive regulator in controlling SCW formation of cotton fibers by activating its downstream SCW-related genes. Thus, these findings give us novel insights into comprehensive understanding of GhFSN1 function in fiber development.