Tunable CO2 electroreduction to ethanol and ethylene with controllable interfacial wettability.

The mechanism of how interfacial wettability impacts the CO2 electroreduction pathways to ethylene and ethanol remains unclear. This paper describes the design and realization of controllable equilibrium of kinetic-controlled *CO and *H via modifying alkanethiols with different alkyl chain lengths to reveal its contribution to ethylene and ethanol pathways. Characterization and simulation reveal that the mass transport of CO2 and H2O is related with interfacial wettability, which may result in the variation of kinetic-controlled *CO and *H ratio, which affects ethylene and ethanol pathways. Through modulating the hydrophilic interface to superhydrophobic interface, the reaction limitation shifts from insufficient supply of kinetic-controlled *CO to that of *H. The ethanol to ethylene ratio can be continuously tailored in a wide range from 0.9 to 1.92, with remarkable Faradaic efficiencies toward ethanol and multi-carbon (C2+) products up to 53.7% and 86.1%, respectively. A C2+ Faradaic efficiency of 80.3% can be achieved with a high C2+ partial current density of 321 mA cm-2, which is among the highest selectivity at such current densities.

Diagnostic Value of Serum Procalcitonin in Appendicitis in Infants and Young Children: Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of studies have indicated that uncomplicated acute appendicitis can be cured with antibiotics alone. Reducing the hazards of appendicitis in infants and young children is a priority problem. It is necessary to search for potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of appendicitis in infants and young children. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study, including 366 infants and young children treated in the pediatric surgery department, was conducted. Complete blood count, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin were measured at admission and 24 hours after operation. RESULTS: The median of PCT, CRP, and WBC in the acute appendicitis group and other diseases group were 1.20, 0.11 - 4.06; 16.50, 0.81 - 76.21; 13.51, 7.53 - 26.30 and 0.03, 0.01 - 0.13; 3.35, 0.92 - 6.33; 14.34, 8.84 - 17.23 at the admission, respectively. PCT and CRP were found higher in the acute appendicitis group than that in other abdominal pain diseases group (p < 0.05). WBC is not a specific indicator for identifying acute appendicitis and other abdominal pain diseases (p > 0.05). In different acute appendicitis cases, PCT and CRP significantly increased in complicated appendicitis (p < 0.05). Data showed that WBC mildly increased in complicated appendicitis compared to acute simple appendicitis (p < 0.05). ROC curves showed that PCT was a specific indicator for identifying acute appendicitis and other abdominal pain diseases, AUCPCT = 1.000 (95% CI, 0.999 - 1.000). The median of antibiotic treatment is 4.0 d (95% CI 3.0 - 5.0) in acute appendicitis with PCT results versus 7.0 d (95% CI 5.0 - 9.0) in acute appendicitis without PCT result. CONCLUSIONS: PCT shows a high diagnostic ability for appendicitis in infants and young children at admission and assists pediatricians in management of pediatric appendicitis. The combination of these biomarkers is highly recommended. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.