Construction of Porous Carbon Nanosheet/Cu2S Composites with Enhanced Potassium Storage.

Porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites were prepared using a simple self-template method and vulcanization process. The Cu2S nanoparticles with an average diameter of 140 nm are uniformly distributed on porous carbon nanosheets. When used as the anode of a potassium-ion battery, porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites exhibit good rate performance and cycle performance (363 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 after 100 cycles; 120 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1 after 1000 cycles). The excellent electrochemical performance of porous C nanosheet/Cu2S composites can be ascribed to their unique structure, which can restrain the volume change of Cu2S during the charge/discharge processes, increase the contact area between the electrode and the electrolyte, and improve the electron/ionic conductivity of the electrode material.

Trumpet-Like ZnS@C Composite for High-Performance Potassium Ion Battery Anode.

ZnS has acquired increasing attention for high-performance PIBs anode because of its remarkable theoretical capacity, and redox reversibility for conversion reaction. However, the larger volume variation and delayed reaction kinetics for the ZnS in the discharge/charge processes lead to pulverization and severe capacity degradation. Herein, the trumpet-like ZnS@C composite was synthesized by template method by using sodium citrate as carbon source followed by vulcanization process. As potassium ion batteries (PIB) anode, ZnS@C composite exhibits good rate performance and long life (stable reversible capacity of 107.8 mAh/g over 2000 charge-discharge cycles at 5 A/g and high reversible capacity of 310 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g). The outstanding electrochemical performance of the ZnS@C composite is ascribed to its unique structure, which can mitigate the volume expansion of ZnS in the charge discharge process, expand the contact area between the electrode and electrolyte, and improve the conductivity of electrode materials by the introduction of carbon layer. This method of synthesizing trumpet-like ZnS@C composite provides an important strategy for obtaining potassium ion batteries anode with long cycle.

Fabrication of Nb2 O5 /Carbon Submicrostructures for Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes.

Nb2 O5 possesses superior fast Li+ storage capability for LIB anodes, benefiting from its fast pseudocapacitive behavior and low volumetric change within the cycling processes. However, the poor electric conductivity for Nb2 O5 restricts its reaction kinetics and rate property. Herein, Nb2 O5 /carbon (C) submicrostructures are fabricated by solvothermal method followed by calcination process. The Nb2 O5 /C submicrostructures exhibit outstanding rate behavior and cyclic performance (332 (194) mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles at 1 (5) A g-1 ). The superior electrochemical property is attributed to the distinctive structure for Nb2 O5 /C submicrostructures, in which Nb2 O5 nanoparticles uniformly distributed within Nb2 O5 /C composite can protect Nb2 O5 nanoparticles from agglomeration, and the porous carbon matrix can enhance electron/ion conductivity. This work furnishes a novel strategy for fabricating Nb2 O5 /C submicrostructures with superior Li+ storage performance, which can be potentially used to design other metal oxide/C submicrostructures for second battery anode.

Construction of Fe7Se8@Carbon nanotubes with enhanced sodium/potassium storage.

The Fe7Se8@Carbon (C) nanotubes are successfully synthesized using Fe3O4@C nanotubes as sacrificial templates. Fe7Se8@C nanotubes exhibit excellent rate behaviour and maintainable capacity (319 mAh g-1 at 2 A g-1 upon 720 cycles), when utilized as SIBs anode. Moreover, for PIBs anode, Fe7Se8@C nanotubes also exhibit outstanding rate behaviour and maintainable capacity 222 mAh g-1 at 2 A g-1 upon 500 cycles). The superior electrochemical performance of Fe7Se8@C nanotubes is ascribed to the unique structure, where the hierarchical hollow tubular characteristic of Fe7Se8@C composites can mitigate the volume expansion of Fe7Se8 and supply effective transmission paths for both Na+(K+) and electrons within repeated cycle processes, and additionally, N-doped carbon layer can further protect the integrality of Fe7Se8@C nanotubes from destruction within the cycle processes, and enhance electronic conductivity.

Increased Drug Resistance and Biofilm Formation Ability in ST34-Type Salmonella Typhimurium Exhibiting Multicellular Behavior in China.

Salmonella Typhimurium is an important food-borne pathogen. In this paper, multicellular behavior and associated characteristics of S. Typhimurium isolated from human and animal source food were studied. All the S. Typhimurium strains exhibiting multicellular behavior (100%) belonged to the ST34 type. In addition, most of the ST34-type multicellular behavior S. Typhimurium strains had a human origin (69.11%) and 98% of the ST34-type multicellular behavior strains exhibited strong biofilm formation capacity, which was much higher than that of non-multicellular behavior strains (7%, P < 0.01). Antibiotic resistance in ST34-type multicellular behavior strains was significantly higher than in strains with non-multicellular behavior for most conventional drugs (P < 0.05); notably, Polymyxin B (8%) and Imipenem (1%) resistances were also observed in the ST34-type strains. Furthermore, all the ST34-type multicellular behavior strains (100%) exhibited Multiple Drug Resistance (resistance to ≥3antibiotics), which was much higher than that of the non-multicellular behavior strains (P < 0.05). Consistent with the drug-resistant phenotype, the carrying rates of most drug-resistant genes in ST34-type multicellular behavior strains were higher than that those in non-multicellular behavior strains (P < 0.05). Therefore, this study revealed the emergence of a prevalent ST34-type multicellular behavior S. Typhimurium strains with increased biofilm formation ability and drug resistance rate, which poses a threat to public health safety, and highlights the need for comprehensive monitoring of the strains.

Quantification of ecosystem services supply-demand and the impact of demographic change on cultural services in Shenzhen, China.

Previous studies on the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ES) mainly focused on inter-annual changes, and no studies have explored the impact of demographic change on the ES supply and demand on fine-grained time scales. Thus, taking Shenzhen as an example, the status of ES supply and demand, as well as diurnal population changes and their impacts on cultural services were analyzed at different time periods using mobile phone signaling data, ecological supply-demand ratio (ESDR), Geo-Informatic Tupu, InVEST model and buffer zone. The results showed that the population declines successively on workdays, weekends and holidays, and that the daytime population is greater than the nighttime. Water yield services can basically meet the demand in terms of quantity and spatial distribution, however, carbon sequestration and cultural services showed the opposite results. The main type of ESDR changes in cultural services are the mutual conversion of deficit and balance, and these are concentrated in areas with high forest coverage and small populations, but frequent population changes. In addition, when the fixed population is too large, the use of time-varying population data will conceal the impact of demographic changes on ES supply and demand, and other data are needed for auxiliary analysis. Overall, this study provides a new research perspective for the ES supply and demand and can provide a theoretical basis for refined sustainable urban management.

Pomegranate-like structured Nb2O5/Carbon@N-doped carbon composites as ultrastable anode for advanced sodium/potassium-ion batteries.

The distinctive pomegranate-like Nb2O5/Carbon@N-doped carbon (Nb2O5/C@NC) composites are fabricated using hydrothermal method integrated with nitrogen doped carbon coating procedure. For the SIBs anode, the Nb2O5/C@NC composites present superior rate character and sustainable capacity (117 mAh g-1 upon 1000 cycles at 5 A g-1). The in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) is utilized to research its sodium storage mechanism. Furthermore, for PIBs, the Nb2O5/C@NC composites present sustainable capacity (81 mAh g-1 upon 1000 cycles at 1 A g-1). The outstanding performance of Nb2O5/C@NC composites is ascribed to its unique architecture, in which Nb2O5 nanocrystals embedded in porous carbon can restrain agglomeration of Nb2O5 nanocrystals, enhance electron/ion diffusion kinetics, and ensure electrolyte accessibility, and moreover, NC shell layer can provide effective active sites and further increase ions/electrons transfer.

Highly Prevalent Multidrug-Resistant Campylobacter spp. Isolated From a Yellow-Feathered Broiler Slaughterhouse in South China.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, virulence genes, and genetic diversity of Campylobacter spp. along the yellow-feathered broiler slaughtering line in Southern China from December 2018 to June 2019. A total of 157 Campylobacter spp. isolates were identified from 1,102 samples (including 53.6% (75/140) of live chicken anal swab samples, 27.5% (44/160) of defeathering samples, 18.1% (29/160) of evisceration samples, 2.1% (3/140) of washing samples, 1.4% (2/140) of chilling samples, and 1.1% (4/362) of environmental samples). The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was 14.2%, including 43.9% Campylobacter jejuni, 53.5% Campylobacter coli, and 2.5% other Campylobacter species. The highest antimicrobial resistance rate was found to be against sulfamethoxazole (138/157, 87.9%), and 90.4% (142/157) of the isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR). Examination of resistance-related genes revealed the double base mutated Thr-86-Ile, which informed ACA-TTA, with an Arg-79-Lys substitution in gyrA. Eleven virulence-associated genes (cadF, cdtA, cdtB, ciaB, flaA, imaA, dnaJ, plaA, virB11, racR, and cdtC) were also detected by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, and cadF (81.5%) was the most prevalent. Based on an analysis of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) results, we found that Campylobacter spp. could be cross-contaminated throughout the entire slaughtering line. These results show that it is imperative to study the Campylobacter spp. from the yellow-feathered broiler along the slaughtering line in China to develop preventative and treatment measures for the poultry industry, as well as food safety and public health.

Using Nanoimprint Lithography to Create Robust, Buoyant, Superhydrophobic PVB/SiO2 Coatings on wood Surfaces Inspired by Red roses petal.

Robust, buoyant, superhydrophobic PVB/SiO2 coatings were successfully formed on wood surface through a one-step solvothermal method and a nanoimprint lithography method. The as-prepared PVB/SiO2/wood specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric/differential thermogravimetric (TG-DTG) analyses. The superhydrophobic property and abrasion resistance of rose-petal-like wood were measured and assessed by water contact angle (WCA) and sand abrasion tests. The results show that PVB/SiO2/wood not only exhibited a robust superhydrophobic performance with a WCA of 160° but also had excellent durability and thermostability during the sand abrasion tests and against corrosive liquids. Additionally, the as-prepared PVB/SiO2/wood specimens show high buoyancy.

Synchronous gastrointestinal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors: a single-institution experience.

BACKGROUND: A study was conducted to investigate the clinicopathological features and survival outcomes of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) that are synchronous with other gastrointestinal cancers. METHODS: Clinical and pathological data of 286 patients with primary GIST from a single institution from January 2009 to December 2014 were reviewed. RESULTS: The entire study population comprised 286 patients with GISTs. Of these patients, 167 (58.4%) were males and 119 (41.6%) were females. The median age was 58 years old (in the range 29-86 years). A total of 47 patients were diagnosed with GISTs synchronous with other digestive tract malignancies (synchronous group), whereas 239 patients were diagnosed with non-synchronous disease (non-synchronous group). The concomitant digestive tumors in 27, 12, 7, and 1 patients were diagnosed as gastric carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, respectively. Compared with the synchronous group, the non-synchronous group exhibited a higher percentage of increased mitotic count (P = 0.011). The difference in tumor diameter between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Patients in the non-synchronous group exhibited larger tumor size than the patients in the synchronous group (5.9 ± 3.5 cm vs. 1.6 ± 0.4 cm, P < 0.001). The majority of GIST lesions in the synchronous group were located in the stomach (P = 0.020). Lower risk stratifications and worse ECOG performance statuses were observed in the synchronous group (P < 0.001) than in the non-synchronous group. The 5-year overall survival rate was significantly higher in patients with no synchronous digestive tract malignancies than in patients with synchronous disease (70.8 vs. 34.1%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with GIST synchronous with other gastrointestinal cancers show worse prognosis than those with non-synchronous tumors. Clinicians should pay more attention to this subgroup.