Ti-substituted tunnel-type Na0.44MnO2 oxide as a negative electrode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries

The aqueous sodium-ion battery system is a safe and low-cost solution for large-scale energy storage, because of the abundance of sodium and inexpensive aqueous electrolytes. Although several positive electrode materials, for example, Na0.44MnO2, were proposed, few negative electrode materials, for example, activated carbon and NaTi2(PO4)(3), are available. Here we show that Ti-substituted Na0.44MnO2 (Na-0.44[Mn1-xTix] O-2) with tunnel structure can be used as a negative electrode material for aqueous sodium-ion batteries. This material exhibits superior cyclability even without the special treatment of oxygen removal from the aqueous solution. Atomic-scale characterizations based on spherical aberration-corrected electron microscopy and ab initio calculations are utilized to accurately identify the Ti substitution sites and sodium storage mechanism. Ti substitution tunes the charge ordering property and reaction pathway, significantly smoothing the discharge/ charge profiles and lowering the storage voltage. Both the fundamental understanding and practical demonstrations suggest that Na-0.44[Mn1-xTix]O-2 is a promising negative electrode material for aqueous sodium-ion batteries.

Epidemiology of invasive group B streptococcal disease in infants from urban area of South China, 2011–2014

YesBackground: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in infants in both developed and developing countries. To our knowledge, only a few studies have been reported the clinical features, treatment and outcomes of the GBS disease in China. The severity of neonatal GBS disease in China remains unclear. Population-based surveillance in China is therefore required. Methods: We retrospectively collected data of <3 months old infants with culture-positive GBS in sterile samples from three large urban tertiary hospitals in South China from Jan 2011 to Dec 2014. The GBS isolates and their antibiotic susceptibility were routinely identified in clinical laboratories in participating hospitals. Serotyping and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) were also conducted for further analysis of the neonatal GBS disease. Results: Total 70 cases of culture-confirmed invasive GBS infection were identified from 127,206 live births born in studying hospitals, giving an overall incidence of 0.55 per 1000 live births (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.44–0.69). They consisted of 49 with early-onset disease (EOD, 0.39 per 1000 live births (95% CI 0.29–0.51)) and 21 with late-onset disease (LOD, 0.17 per 1000 live births (95% CI 0.11–0.25)). The incidence of EOD increased significantly over the studying period. Five infants (4 EOD and 1 LOD) died before discharge giving a mortality rate of 7.1% and five infants (7.1%, 2 EOD and 3 LOD) had neurological sequelae. Within 68 GBS isolates from GBS cases who born in the studying hospitals or elsewhere, serotype III accounted for 77.9%, followed by Ib (14.7%), V (4.4%), and Ia (2.9%). MLST analysis revealed the presence of 13 different sequence types among the 68 GBS isolates and ST-17 was the most frequent sequence type (63.2%). All isolates were susceptible to penicillin, ceftriaxone, vancomycin and linezolid, while 57.4% and 51.5% were resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin, respectively. Conclusions: This study gains the insight into the spectrum of GBS infection in south China which will facilitate the development of the guidance for reasonable antibiotics usage and will provide evidence for the implementation of potential GBS vaccines in the future.Supported by medical and health science and technology projects of Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangzhou Municipality (grant number 20151A010034) and Guangdong provincial science and technology planning projects (grant number 2014A020212520)

Explicitness and explicitation through the use of connectives in translation: A corpus-based study of English-Chinese scientific research articles

This doctoral dissertation explores connective explicitness and the phenomena of explicitation and implicitation, as well as their counterparts implicitness and implicitation, in the translation of scientific research articles from English to Chinese. The study addresses four central research questions. Firstly, it examines whether English texts demonstrate a higher degree of connective explicitness than Chinese texts, attributed to the more frequent usage of connectives. Secondly, it investigates whether Chinese translated texts exhibit greater connective explicitness compared to their non-translated counterparts in Chinese. Thirdly, the focus shifts to the identification of connective shifts in Chinese target texts in comparison to their English source texts. Lastly, the research delves into the nature of these connective shifts, determining whether they qualify as explicitations or implicitations, and to what extent Becher’s five triggers elucidate these phenomena. Methodologically, the study employs a meticulous examination of composite corpora, including bilingual comparable, monolingual comparable, and bilingual parallel corpora. The analysis follows a three-phase model, assessing explicitness and implicitness across different sub-corpora, identifying connective-based shifts, and discerning the status of these shifts concerning semantic relations vis-à-vis the source text. Empirical findings indicate that translations exhibit a heightened degree of connective explicitness compared to both source texts and non-translated texts in the same target language. This is primarily driven by a preference for additions over omissions during the translation process. It is crucial, however, to differentiate connective shifts from explicitations or implicitations. The study underscores that translators often introduce, substitute, or omit semantically weak connectives to rephrase the original message in the target language without altering the semantic relation. Furthermore, these shifts find explanations in source language interference and translators' conservatism, aligning with Becher's proposed triggers. In conclusion, this research significantly advances theoretical and methodological frameworks related to explicitation phenomena, shedding light on the intricacies of translating scientific research articles. It offers a nuanced understanding of the complexities inherent in connective usage during the translation process, thereby contributing substantially to the broader academic discourse

普及文化中的性別身份 = Gender identity in popular culture

Paper Presented by: 陳銘匡: 流行曲歌詞與性/別身份的呈現 - 從楊千嬅與何韻詩的歌曲說起 胡淑茵: 女演員銀幕前後的性別身份建構過程: 解讀惠英

The Thermal and Dynamic Process of Core → Mantle → Crust and the Metallogenesis of Guojiadian Mantle Branch in Northwestern Jiaodong

The Jiaodong gold mineral province, with an overall endowment estimated as &gt;3000 t, located at the eastern segment of the North China Craton (NCC), ranks as the greatest source of Au in China. The structural evolution, magmatic activity and metallogenesis during the Mesozoic played important roles in the large scale regional gold, silver and polymetallic mineralization in this area; among them, the intensive activation of fault structures is the most important factor for metallogenesis. This study takes the regional deep faults as main thread to discuss the controlling role of faults in large scale metallogenesis. The Jiaojia fault and Sanshandao faults in the northwest margin of the Guojiadian mantle branch not only are dominant migration channels for hydrothermal fluid but are very important favorable spaces for ore-forming and ore-hosting during the formation of world-class super large gold deposits in this area. The deep metallogenic process can be summarized as involving intensive Earth&#8217;s core, mantle and crust activity &#8594; magmatism &#8594; uplifting of metamorphic complex &#8594; detachment of cover rocks &#8594; formation of mantle branch &#8594; penetration of hydrothermal fluid along deep faults &#8594; concentration of metallogenic materials &#8594; formation of super large deposits

The complete mitochondrial genome of hybrid F2 from Acanthopagrus schlegelii (♀) × Pagrus major (♂)

The complete mitochondrial genome of hybrid F2 from Acanthopagrus schlegelii (♀) × Pagrus major (♂) was obtained using high-throughput sequencing technology. The circular genome was 16,648 bp in length, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and a control region. Overall, nucleotide composition was A: 28.02%, T: 27.88%, C: 27.93%, G: 16.17%. Nine genes were encoded on the light strand and the remaining 28 genes were encoded on the heavy strand. All protein initiation codons are ATG except for COI that begins with GTG. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that hybrid F2 of A. schlegelii (♀) × P. major (♂) was closest to A. schlegelii. The newly described mitochondrial genome may provide valuable data for the genetic and taxonomic research on artificial hybrid seabream