Distribution of HHVs among different age groups in this study.

<p>Distribution of HHVs among different age groups in this study.</p

Association of clinical signs in the FUO patients (n = 184) with the viruses detected.

<p>Association of clinical signs in the FUO patients (n = 184) with the viruses detected.</p

Demographic and aetiological data.

<p>Demographic and aetiological data.</p

Primers(5′-3′) and Targets Used for the Detection of Human Herpes Viruses in the Study.

<p>Primers(5′-3′) and Targets Used for the Detection of Human Herpes Viruses in the Study.</p

Effects of Sulfate Groups on the Adsorption and Activity of Cellulases on Cellulose Substrates

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with sulfuric acid may leave sulfate groups on its surface that may hinder its biochemical conversion. This study investigates the effects of sulfate groups on cellulase adsorption onto cellulose substrates and the enzymatic hydrolysis of these substrates. Substrates with different sulfate group densities were prepared from H₂SO₄- and HCl-hydrolyzed and partially and fully desulfated cellulose nanocrystals. Adsorption onto and hydrolysis of the substrates was analyzed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The surface roughness of the substrates, measured by atomic force microscopy, increased with decreasing sulfate group density, but their surface accessibilities, measured by QCM-D H₂O/D₂O exchange experiments, were similar. The adsorption of cellulose binding domains onto sulfated substrates decreased with increasing sulfate group density, but the adsorption of cellulases increased. The rate of hydrolysis of sulfated substrates decreased with increasing sulfate group density. The results indicated an inhibitory effect of sulfate groups on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, possibly due to nonproductive binding of the cellulases onto the substrates through electrostatic interactions instead of their cellulose binding domains

Silver Nanoparticle-Assisted Photodynamic Therapy for Biofilm Eradication

As an antibiotic-free treatment, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered a promising alternative to antibiotic therapy for bacterial infections. However, the recalcitrant bacterial biofilm has manifested significant endurance to PDT, especially the gram-negative bacteria with the protective outer membrane. The ever-developing nanotechnology has provided new opportunities to overcome the biofilm infection. Here, we used silver nanoparticles as the auxiliary for PDT to implement a combined treatment against biofilms. A photosensitizer chlorin e6-modified polyethyleneimine was used as the ligands of silver nanoparticles. In the combined treatment, the silver and PDT exhibited a synergistic effect by mutually reinforcing each other. The surface plasma resonance of silver promotes the photodynamic effect to generate singlet oxygen, and the reactive oxygen can in turn stimulate the oxidative dissolution of the bactericidal Ag+. As a result, the combined treatment showed advanced antibacterial activity against both the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli. Moreover, the Gram-negative E. coli, which is more susceptible to silver, becomes almost extinct even in the biofilm form. The therapy on mice with epidermal wound infection verified the high effectiveness of the nanocomposite. This research developed an efficient combined therapy for biofilm eradication, which strengthens the weakness of PDT in eliminating the Gram-negative bacteria, providing an alternative way to fight biofilm-related infections

Oxygen-Loaded Lipid Nanobubbles for Biofilm Eradication by Combined Trimodal Treatment of Oxygen, Silver, and Photodynamic Therapy

The hypoxic microenvironment of bacterial biofilms is one of the main causes of their recalcitrance. The combined therapy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has shown its potential for biofilm eradication. However, hypoxia can not only restrict the efficiency of the oxygen-dependent PDT but also encumber the oxidizing release of the Ag+ cations from the AgNPs, thus greatly impeding the therapeutic performance of the combined treatment. Here, a liposomal delivery system is developed using cationic phospholipid for the synergistic ablation of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and their biofilms, which is formed using cationic phospholipid and loaded with oxygen, Ce6, and silver nanoparticles. The positively charged micelles increased the adhesion and penetration to the negatively charged biofilm, and the loaded perfluorohexane (PFH) acted as an oxygen carrier to overcome the hypoxia microenvironment and promoted the performance of PDT. The reactive oxygen species generated in the PDT then stimulated the oxidative dissolution of the Ag+. In vivo antibacterial therapy on mice with subcutaneous abscess demonstrated its strong sterilizing capability on living tissues. This research developed a trimodal treatment for effective biofilm eradication, providing a way for the management of biofilm-associated infections

Microscopic-Level Insights into the Mechanism of Enhanced NH₃ Synthesis in Plasma-Enabled Cascade N₂ Oxidation–Electroreduction System

Integrated/cascade plasma-enabled N2 oxidation and electrocatalytic NOx– (where x = 2, 3) reduction reaction (pNOR-eNOx–RR) holds great promise for the renewable synthesis of ammonia (NH3). However, the corresponding activated effects and process of plasma toward N2 and O2 molecules and the mechanism of eNOx–RR to NH3 are unclear and need to be further uncovered, which largely limits the large-scale deployment of this process integration technology. Herein, we systematically investigate the plasma-enabled activation and recombination processes of N2 and O2 molecules, and more meaningfully, the mechanism of eNOx–RR at a microscopic level is also decoupled using copper (Cu) nanoparticles as a representative electrocatalyst. The concentration of produced NOx in the pNOR system is confirmed as a function of the length for spark discharge as well as the volumetric ratio for N2 and O2 feeding gas. The successive protonation process of NOx– and the key N-containing intermediates (e.g., −NH2) of eNOx–RR are detected with in situ infrared spectroscopy. Besides, in situ Raman spectroscopy further reveals the dynamic reconstruction process of Cu nanoparticles during the eNOx–RR process. The Cu nanoparticle-driven pNOR-eNOx–RR system can finally achieve a high NH3 yield rate of ∼40 nmol s–1 cm–2 and Faradaic efficiency of nearly 90%, overperforming the benchmarks reported in the literature. It is anticipated that this work will stimulate the practical development of the pNOR-eNOx–RR system for the green electrosynthesis of NH3 directly from air and water under ambient conditions

Microscopic-Level Insights into the Mechanism of Enhanced NH₃ Synthesis in Plasma-Enabled Cascade N₂ Oxidation–Electroreduction System

Integrated/cascade plasma-enabled N2 oxidation and electrocatalytic NOx– (where x = 2, 3) reduction reaction (pNOR-eNOx–RR) holds great promise for the renewable synthesis of ammonia (NH3). However, the corresponding activated effects and process of plasma toward N2 and O2 molecules and the mechanism of eNOx–RR to NH3 are unclear and need to be further uncovered, which largely limits the large-scale deployment of this process integration technology. Herein, we systematically investigate the plasma-enabled activation and recombination processes of N2 and O2 molecules, and more meaningfully, the mechanism of eNOx–RR at a microscopic level is also decoupled using copper (Cu) nanoparticles as a representative electrocatalyst. The concentration of produced NOx in the pNOR system is confirmed as a function of the length for spark discharge as well as the volumetric ratio for N2 and O2 feeding gas. The successive protonation process of NOx– and the key N-containing intermediates (e.g., −NH2) of eNOx–RR are detected with in situ infrared spectroscopy. Besides, in situ Raman spectroscopy further reveals the dynamic reconstruction process of Cu nanoparticles during the eNOx–RR process. The Cu nanoparticle-driven pNOR-eNOx–RR system can finally achieve a high NH3 yield rate of ∼40 nmol s–1 cm–2 and Faradaic efficiency of nearly 90%, overperforming the benchmarks reported in the literature. It is anticipated that this work will stimulate the practical development of the pNOR-eNOx–RR system for the green electrosynthesis of NH3 directly from air and water under ambient conditions

Methanol-Mediated Electrosynthesis of Ammonia

The development of electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) to ammonia currently faces the dilemma of low Faradaic efficiency (FE) due to the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The proton-donating ability of proton donor at the electrode–electrolyte interface plays a critical role in inhibiting HER and then boosting the selectivity of NRR. Depending on the intrinsic discrepancy of proton-donating ability between alcohol and water, herein, we demonstrate an innovatively well-controlled alcohol–water electrolyte system to modulate local proton concentration and the microenvironment at the electrode–electrolyte interface, wherein the availability and dissociation process of water can be substantially restricted, accompanied by an expanded electrochemical window and inhibited HER. In particular, the methanol-enabled electrolyte presents a record high NRR FE of 75.9 ± 4.1% and ammonia yield rate of 262.5 ± 7.3 micrograms per hour per milligram of catalyst (FeOOH/CNTs), indicative of ∼8-fold enhancements compared with that in conventional aqueous electrolytes and the universality over the other catalysts