A real-world study on the effectiveness of BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac in Nanjing area.

Since the advent of COVID-19 vaccine, the long-term monitoring and evaluation of vaccine effectiveness worldwide has never stopped. Real-world research of the mainstream vaccines in China (BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac) is extremely valuable as a supplement to clinical research data. Venous blood of this study was collected from 111 blood donors and from 6 volunteers, who had received 2 doses of SAR-CoV-2 vaccine. Cross-sectional study and cohort study was adopted. Venous blood of 11 COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors was collected as a positive control. The seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies in 111 vaccine recipients was 90.99% (101/111); The level of SAR-CoV-2 antibodies peaked around 28 days after inoculation, then fast descended followed by gentle descended until it was still detectable around 280 days later. The changes in antibody levels were similar to those of the 6 participants and those of convalescent plasma donors after infection. 5 of the 6 participants still maintained a high level of neutralizing antibodies (> 60% of the peak value) around 28 days after receiving 2 doses of vaccine; one participant had an antibody reaction that was almost always negative for 4 weeks. BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac can produce good immune effects in most vaccinators aged 20 to 59 years in Nanjing area. Nevertheless, significant individual discrepancies of the humoral immunity are still existed.

Stability and reference intervals of spot urinary fractionated metanephrines and methoxytyramine by tandem mass spectrometry as a screening method for pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.

PURPOSE: The 24 h urinary-fractionated metanephrine (MN) and normetanephrine (NMN) are recommended as the preferred indicators for laboratory diagnosis of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). However, it might cause missed diagnosis for some type of PPGL, in addition, 24-h urine collection is inconvenient and prone to error, so we aimed to develop a better screening method. METHODS: Urine samples from patients of primary hypertension (n = 317) or PPGL (n = 64) were collected randomly and in a 24-h cycle. Samples were prepared by solid phase extraction (SPE) and analyzed with LC-MS/MS. Sample stability under different storage conditions was investigated. The gender-specific reference intervals of spot urinary catecholamine metabolites adjusted by creatinine were established and the diagnostic performance was evaluated. RESULTS: Urinary MN, NMN (MNs), and 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) were stable at room temperature or 4 °C for at least 4 days without adding any preservatives and at -20 °C for at least 11 weeks. Reference intervals of spot urinary MN, NMN and 3-MT adjusted by creatinine were 20.2-174.0, 47.6-452.0, and 20.6-398.5 µg/g for male and were 15.3-202.0, 34.4-461.0, and 38.0-392.6 µg/g for female. The sensitivity and specificity of spot urinary MN, NMN, and 3-MT were similar with that of 24-h urine (P > 0.05). Regardless of urine sample type, combined application of MNs or MNs and 3-MT can improve the diagnosis efficiency of MN and 3-MT alone. CONCLUSIONS: Adding 3-MT to diagnosis model can improve diagnostic sensitivity to some extent, and the analysis of spot urinary MNs and 3-MT can provide reliable diagnostic information in a much shorter diagnostic time, it may reduce the medical expenses indirectly.

Mechanisms of invasive population establishment and spread of pinewood nematodes in China.

This paper summarizes the results of our study of the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus). By population genetic analysis, it was determined that there was no genetic bottle caused by the founder effect and genetic drift in the Chinese invasive population. Multiple invasions with large amounts of nematodes from different sources led to rich genetic diversity in the invasive population. Keeping high genetic diversity in the invasive process may be one of the genetic mechanisms in its successful invasion. By testing interspecies competition, it was shown that, with high fecundity and a strong competitive ability, B. xylophilus outcompeted the native species B. mucronatus in the natural ecosystem during the invasion process. Competitive displacement may be one of the ecological mechanisms of B. xylophilus's invasion. In addition, an unequal interspecific hybridization with introgress was in favor of the invasive species which also accelerated the replacement of B. mucronatus by B. xylophilus. The structures, functions and evolutions of a few important genes that are closely related to the ecological adaptation of pinewood nematodes were studied to explore the molecular mechanism of its ecological adaptations. Further, the resistance and resilience mechanism of the pine ecosystem invaded by pinewood nematodes was also investigated. The results of these studies uncovered a portion of the genetic and ecological mechanisms of PWN's successful invasion and laid a foundation for further study to obtain a comprehensive interpretation of the mechanisms of the nematode invasion. The results also provided a scientific basis for effectively controlling the occurrence and spread of pine wilt disease which is caused by nematodes. Various aspects requiring further investigation are considered.