Hubei University of Technology

A novel uncapped mRNA platform was developed.

Five lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA constructs were made to evaluate several aspects of our platform, including transfection efficiency and durability in vitro and in vivo and the activation of humoral and cellular immunity in several animal models. The constructs were eGFP-mRNA-LNP (for enhanced green fluorescence mRNA), Fluc-mRNA-LNP (for firefly luciferase mRNA), S^δT-mRNA-LNP (for Delta strain SARS-CoV-2 spike protein trimer mRNA), gD^ED-mRNA-LNP (for truncated glycoprotein D mRNA coding ectodomain from herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2)) and gD^FR-mRNA-LNP (for truncated HSV2 glycoprotein D mRNA coding amino acids 1-400).

Quantifiable target protein expression was achieved in vitro and in vivo with eGFP- and Fluc-mRNA-LNP. S^δT-mRNA-LNP, gD^ED-mRNA-LNP and gD^FR-mRNA-LNP induced both humoral and cellular immune responses comparable to those obtained by previously reported capped mRNA-LNP constructs. Notably, S^δT-mRNA-LNP elicited neutralizing antibodies in hamsters against the Omicron and Delta strains. Additionally, gD^ED-mRNA-LNP and gD^FR-mRNA-LNP induced potent neutralizing antibodies in rabbits and mice. The mRNA constructs with uridine triphosphate (UTP) outperformed those with N1-methylpseudouridine triphosphate (N1mψTP) in the induction of antibodies via S^δT-mRNA-LNP.

Our uncapped, process-simplified and economical mRNA platform may have broad utility in vaccines and protein replacement drugs.KEY MESSAGESThe mRNA platform described in our paper uses internal ribosome entry site (IRES) (Rapid, Amplified, Capless and Economical, RACE; Register as BH-RACE platform) instead of caps and uridine triphosphate (UTP) instead of N1-methylpseudouridine triphosphate (N1mψTP) to synthesize mRNA.Through the self-developed packaging instrument and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery system, mRNA can be expressed in cells more efficiently, quickly and economically.Particularly exciting is that potent neutralizing antibodies against Delta and Omicron real viruses were induced with the new coronavirus S protein mRNA vaccine from the BH-RACE platform.

Lime-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is usually used to treat gypseous soils.However, sulfate-bearing soils often contain other sulfates, e.g., sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄), potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄).Therefore, in this study, lime-GGBS was used as a curing agent for stabilizing four sulfate-bearing soils, which were named as Na-soil, K-soil, Mg-soil, and Ca-soil.Unconfined compressive strength (UCS), swelling, X-ray diffraction, SEM and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy tests, were conducted to explore the macro- and micro-properties of the lime-GGBS-stabilized soils.The results showed that at 5000 ppm sulfate, stabilized Mg-soil had the lowest swelling and highest UCS.At 20,000 ppm sulfate, stabilized Ca-soil had the lowest swelling, while stabilized Na-soil had the highest UCS.Generally, increasing sulfate concentration decreased swelling for Ca-soil but increased for other three soils, and decreased UCS for Mg-soil but increased for other three soils.This was because less ettringite was generated in the stabilized Ca-soil and the formation of magnesium silicate hydrate (MSH) in the stabilized Mg-soil.Therefore, the sulfate type had a significant impact on the swelling and strength properties of lime-GGBS-stabilized sulfate-bearing soil.It is essential to identify the sulfate type before stabilizing the soil on-site.

The ever-increasing size of wind turbines has given rise to a need for design of the carbon-glass hybrid blades.From the perspective of extreme loads, aero-elastic characteristics and cost, this study investigates the influence of carbon-glass blade structure on the performances of the whole wind turbine.With an integrated tool for analyzing ultimate loads and deformations of wind turbine components, the structural optimization model for the carbon-glass hybrid blade was built, and the new structural blade was optimized.By using a quant. cost model, the performance of the wind turbine equipped with the optimized blades was analyzed; it shows that the use of glass-carbon hybrid materials and the reasonable structural design can effectively reduce the loads and deformation of the blade in the edge-wise and torsional directions.The use of carbon fiber will increase the manufacturing cost of the blade, but from an overall perspective, the cost of the whole wind turbine will have a slightly reduction of 0.8%.