Facile synthesis of α-Fe2O3 micro-ellipsoids by surfactant-free hydrothermal method for sub-ppm level H2S detection

The α-Fe2O3 micro-ellipsoids were prepared using a facile hydrothermal process without any surfactant or template, and their morphological, structural and H2S sensing properties were investigated. The α-Fe2O3 showed uniform micro-ellipsoids with a long axis diameter of 1.7 μm and a short axis diameter of 1.2 μm. Detailed structural analysis confirmed that the synthesized α-Fe2O3 micro-ellipsoids were compact particles with a hexagonal structure. Gas sensor base on the α-Fe2O3 micro-ellipsoids showed excellent response, short response/recovery time (< 90 s and 30 s, respectively), low detection concentration (~ 0.5 ppm), good long-term stability and excellent selectivity towards H2S gas at the optimized operating temperature of 350 °C. The sensing mechanism of the sensor based on the α-Fe2O3 micro-ellipsoids towards H2S was discussed

Charge redistribution, charge order and plasmon in La2−x_{2-x}Srx_{x}CuO4_{4}/La2_{2}CuO4_{4} superlattices

Interfacial superconductors have the potential to revolutionize electronics, quantum computing, and fundamental physics due to their enhanced superconducting properties and ability to create new types of superconductors. The emergence of superconductivity at the interface of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$/La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$ (LSCO/LCO), with a T$_c$ enhancement of $\sim$ 10 K compared to the La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ bulk single crystals, provides an exciting opportunity to study quantum phenomena in reduced dimensions. To investigate the carrier distribution and excitations in interfacial superconductors, we combine O K-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and atomic-resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements to study La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$/La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$ superlattices (x=0.15, 0.45) and bulk La$_{1.55}$Sr$_{0.45}$CuO$_{4}$ films. We find direct evidence of charge redistribution, charge order and plasmon in LSCO/LCO superlattices. Notably, the observed behaviors of charge order and plasmon deviate from the anticipated properties of individual constituents or the average doping level of the superlattice. Instead, they conform harmoniously to the effective doping, a critical parameter governed by the T$_c$ of interfacial superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Ultrasound Stimulation Modulates Voltage-Gated Potassium Currents Associated With Action Potential Shape in Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Neurons

Potassium channels (K+) play an important role in the regulation of cellular signaling. Dysfunction of potassium channels is associated with several severe ion channels diseases, such as long QT syndrome, episodic ataxia and epilepsy. Ultrasound stimulation has proven to be an effective non-invasive tool for the modulation of ion channels and neural activity. In this study, we demonstrate that ultrasound stimulation enables to modulate the potassium currents and has an impact on the shape modulation of action potentials (AP) in the hippocampal pyramidal neurons using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in vitro. The results show that outward potassium currents in neurons increase significantly, approximately 13%, in response to 30 s ultrasound stimulation. Simultaneously, the increasing outward potassium currents directly decrease the resting membrane potential (RMP) from −64.67 ± 1.10 mV to −67.51 ± 1.35 mV. Moreover, the threshold current and AP fall rate increase while the reduction of AP half-width and after-hyperpolarization peak time is detected. During ultrasound stimulation, reduction of the membrane input resistance of pyramidal neurons can be found and shorter membrane time constant is achieved. Additionally, we verify that the regulation of potassium currents and shape of action potential is mainly due to the mechanical effects induced by ultrasound. Therefore, ultrasound stimulation may offer an alternative tool to treat some ion channels diseases related to potassium channels

110例丙型肝炎患者流行病学特征和疾病谱分析

ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiological features and disease spectrum of inpatients with hepatitis C in recent years and to provide reference for the control of hepatitis C. MethodsA retrospective study of demography, epidemiology, and laboratory examination was performed in 110 hospitalized patients with hepatitis C. ResultsOf the 110 patients, 60 were male and 50 were female, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. The main transmission routes included blood product transfusion (33.6%), surgery (30.0%), intravenous drug use (14.5%), and sexual transmission (4.5%). The other 19 cases (17.4%) were of unknown transmission route. The annual numbers of cases from 2008 to 2011 were 16, 18, 32, and 44, respectively. The genotype proportions in patients were as follows: 1b, 60.7% (17/28); 2a, 28.6% (8/28); 1b/2a mixed type, 7.1% (2/28); 3b, 3.6% (1/28). Of all patients, 13.6% (15/110) were found with acute hepatitis C, 67.3% (74/110) with chronic hepatitis C, 19.1% (21/110) with liver cirrhosis, and 109% (12/110) with decompensated cirrhosis. ConclusionThe incidence of HCV infection has been increasing year by year. The major HCV genotypes are 1b and 2a. Hepatitis C is apt to develop into liver cirrhosis. It is necessary to reinforce monitoring and to carry out specific epidemiological study among the target population

Rapid soil water recovery after conversion of introduced peashrub and alfalfa to natural grassland on northern China’s Loess Plateau

To evaluate the potential of soil water recovery after thinning, in situ soil water content in the 0–500 cm soil profile under thinned (50%–100%) and unthinned peashrub and alfalfa plots and a nearby natural grassland in the Liudaogou watershed in China’s Loess Plateau (CLP) was measured monthly during 2015–2017 growing season using a neutron probe. At the start of experiment, the profile soil water storage (SWS0–500 cm) under introduced peashrub and alfalfa was, respectively, 18.8% and 12.2% lower than that under natural grassland. This showed that there was higher water consumption by planted vegetation, compared with native grass. After thinning, SWS0–500 cm in thinned peashrub and alfalfa plots was significantly higher than that in unthinned plots due to decrease in both interception and transpiration. The increase in SWS0–500 cm in the 100% thinned peashrub plot (159.9–216.1 mm) was much higher than that in 50% thinned peashrub (39.1–169.8 mm) and 100% thinned alfalfa (20.3–118.1 mm) plots. This indicated that the extent of soil water recovery varied with thinning intensity and vegetation type. At the end of the third growing season, soil water restoration frontier in the thinned peashrub and alfalfa plots (>300 cm) was much greater than that in the unthinned plots (<180 cm). It also indicated that with thinning, soil water (<300 cm) can recover rapidly following two successive wet years. The results suggested that concerns about soil desiccation and the potential impact on long-term sustainability of restored ecosystems on CLP were resolvable.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Investigation of porcine circovirus type 2 and porcine circovirus type 3 infections based on dual TaqMan fluorescent quantitative PCR method and genetic evolutionary analysis of these two viruses

IntroductionPorcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the pathogen of Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases. Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is a novel porcine circovirus associated with porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS) and reproductive failure. PCV2 is clearly pathogenic, while the pathogenicity of PCV3 remains controversial, so it is crucial to monitor the prevalence of PCV2 and PCV3 in healthy and diseased pigs to investigate the effects of PCV3 and PCV2 on the health status of pigs.MethodsHere, we developed a PCV2 and PCV3 dual TaqMan quantitative PCR (qPCR) method to test samples from healthy and diseased pigs, to clarify the differences in the positive rates and viral copy numbers of PCV2 and PCV3, and to analyze the genetic evolution and molecular characterization of the viral genomes obtained with sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, homology and structural analysis of Cap proteins, and selection pressure analysis.ResultsWe successfully established a dual TaqMan qPCR method for PCV2 and PCV3 with good repeatability, specificity and sensitivity. In total, 1,385 samples from 15 Chinese provinces were tested with the established qPCR. The total positive rates were 37.47% for PCV3 and 57.95% for PCV2, and the coinfection rate for was 25.49%. The positive rates of PCV3 and PCV2 in 372 healthy pigs were 15.05 and 69.89%, respectively, and the coinfection rate was 12.90%. The positive rates of PCV3 and PCV2 in 246 diseased pigs were 55.69 and 83.33%, respectively, and the coinfection rate was 47.97%. Eighteen PCV3 genomes and 64 PCV2 genomes were identified, including nine each of the PCV3a-1 and PCV3b genotypes, eight of PCV2a, 16 of PCV2b, and 40 of PCV2d. The amino acid identity within the PCV3 Cap proteins was 94.00–100.0%, whereas the PCV2 Cap proteins showed an identity of 81.30–100.0%. PCV3 Cap was most variable at amino acid sites 24, 27, 77, 104 and 150, whereas PCV2 Cap had 10–13 unique sites of variation between genotypes.DiscussionThese results clarify the prevalence and variations of PCV2 and PCV3 in healthy and diseased pigs, which will provide a basis for the prevention and control of the two viral infections