Highly synergistic antimicrobial activity of spherical and flower-like hierarchical titanium dioxide/silver composites

A spherical titanium dioxide/silver (TiO2/Ag) composite and a flower-like hierarchical TiO2/Ag composite were prepared via a template-induced method and a solvothermal method based on the Ag/Carbon spheres templates followed by calcination treatment, respectively. The morphologies of the composites were controlled by changing the concentration of reactants and calcination temperature. The antibacterial efficiency of the composites was evaluated with both Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The minimal inhibitory concentration, morphological evolution of bacteria and fluorescent-based cell wall/membrane integrity were assayed. The synergistic effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and silver ions were observed, which lead to superior antibacterial activities of these TiO2/Ag composites with a bacteriostatic rate as high as 99% even in the absence of light. The morphological effect of the composites on the antibacterial efficacy was also investigated. In addition, a durable antimicrobial coating was also fabricated by incorporating the hierarchical TiO2/Ag composite into a commercial emulsion solution of polyvinyl acetate, which exhibited a promising application in bacterial sensitive locations.</p

Extraction of Electron Self-Energy and Gap Function in the Superconducting State of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 Superconductor via Laser-Based Angle-Resolved Photoemission

Super-high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been performed on a high temperature superconductor Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8. The band back-bending characteristic of the Bogoliubov-like quasiparticle dispersion is clearly revealed at low temperature in the superconducting state. This makes it possible for the first time to experimentally extract the complex electron self-energy and the complex gap function in the superconducting state. The resultant electron self-energy and gap function exhibit features at ~54 meV and ~40 meV, in addition to the superconducting gap-induced structure at lower binding energy and a broad featureless structure at higher binding energy. These information will provide key insight and constraints on the origin of electron pairing in high temperature superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

A Spreadsheet-like Construct for Streamlining and Reusing Mashups

It is challenging to provide end users an easy-to-use problem-solving tool to combine data from different sources and reuse the results. Inspired by spreadsheets, we argue that spreadsheet-like programming paradigm can help to reduce the complexity and to improve user experience in building mashups. In this paper, we propose a spreadsheet-like construct as the basis of this mashup building paradigm. The construct includes a data model, a “nested table ” view structure and a set of carefully chosen mashup operators. Data from a variety of sources is structured like a spreadsheet, and end-users are not necessarily aware of the underlining data flow. SpiderCharlotte, a tool to help end users to build situational applications for their daily uses, was developed to demonstrate the characteristics of this construct

Evidence for acquisition of virulence effectors in pathogenic chytrids

Background The decline in amphibian populations across the world is frequently linked to the infection of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). This is particularly perplexing because Bd was only recently discovered in 1999 and no chytrid fungus had previously been identified as a vertebrate pathogen. Results In this study, we show that two large families of known virulence effector genes, crinkler (CRN) proteins and serine peptidases, were acquired by Bd from oomycete pathogens and bacteria, respectively. These two families have been duplicated after their acquisition by Bd. Additional selection analyses indicate that both families evolved under strong positive selection, suggesting that they are involved in the adaptation of Bd to its hosts. Conclusions We propose that the acquisition of virulence effectors, in combination with habitat disruption and climate change, may have driven the Bd epidemics and the decline in amphibian populations. This finding provides a starting point for biochemical investigations of chytridiomycosis

A review on resilient cities research from the perspective of territorial spatial planning: a bibliometric analysis

With the rapid progression of urbanization, cities are increasingly confronted with multifaceted challenges encompassing climate change, population expansion, and resource constraints. Consequently, fostering the development of resilient cities has emerged as a pivotal imperative within future territorial spatial planning. In this paper, we searched the Web of Science Core Collection database for data related to resilient cities in the perspective of territorial spatial planning from 2004 to 2022, and conducted a bibliometric analysis using the Bibliometrix R software package. The results show that: (1) From 2004 to 2022, the number of papers in the field of resilient cities research in the perspective of land spatial planning totaled 933, with a fluctuating upward trend of annual publications. The top three journals in terms of publication are Sustainability, Cities and Landscape and Urban Planning. (2) There are 2,651 researchers from 71 countries or regions contributing to the field,with the top three authors being SHARIFI A, BRUNETTA G, and BARTHEL S, but most of the authors (90.49%) have published only one paper. In addition, developed countries have strong research strength in this field. (3) The top ten keywords in the field of resilient cities research from the perspective of territorial spatial planning are Cities/City, Resilience, Management, Ecosystem services, Climate-change, Urban, Framework, Adaptation, Governance and Space. These keywords reflect the fact that topics related to resilience management and sustainable development of urban areas are hot topics in the field. Water, Health, Geography, Demand, Decision-Making and Built Environment are the research directions of resilient cities from the perspective of future territorial spatial planning

A Student Information Management System Based on Fingerprint Identification and Data Security Transmission

A new type of student information management system is designed to implement student information identification and management based on fingerprint identification. In order to ensure the security of data transmission, this paper proposes a data encryption method based on an improved AES algorithm. A new S-box is cleverly designed, which can significantly reduce the encryption time by improving ByteSub, ShiftRow, and MixColumn in the round transformation of the traditional AES algorithm with the process of look-up table. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve the encryption time compared with the traditional AES algorithm