Elucidation of phenolic metabolites in wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L.) by NMR and HPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS: Changes in isolated phenolics and antioxidant effects through diverse growth times.

The current research was characterized on phenolic metabolite profile including six chemical structures (phenolic acid, luteolin, orientin, apigenin, isoscoparin, and tricin) in wheat seedlings using HPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS and NMR techniques. Our study was also was the first to demonstrate fluctuations of isolated nine phenolic contents and antioxidant properties in various cultivars of this species with different growth times. The antioxidant abilities differed significantly in the 80 % methanol extracts (600 µg/mL) according to cultivar and growth time, with the highest average activities (DPPH: 82 %; ABTS: 87 %) observed after 7 days. The isolated nine compositions exhibited considerable differences in cultivars and growth times, specifically, isoorientin (6) and isochaftoside (8) were observed the most abundant average contents (99.3; 64.3 mg/100 g), representing approximately 28.3 and 18.3 % (total content: 350.8 mg/100 g). Their total phenolics showed the highest rates (420.8 mg/100 g) at 7 days, followed by 9 â†’ 5 â†’ 12 â†’ 14 days with 374.6 â†’ 366.7 â†’ 350.7 â†’ 241.1 mg/100 g, as the rank orders of antioxidant effects. These findings suggest that wheat seedlings may be a potent source of functional agents.

Development of research network on Quantum Annealing Computation and Information using Google Scholar data.

We build and analyse the network of 100 top-cited nodes (research papers and books from Google Scholar; the strength or citation of the nodes range from about 44 000 up to 100) starting in early 1980 until last year. These searched publications (papers and books) are based on Quantum Annealing Computation and Information categorized into four different sets: (A) Quantum/Transverse Field Spin Glass Model, (B) Quantum Annealing, (C) Quantum Adiabatic Computation and (D) Quantum Computation Information in the title or abstract of the searched publications. We fitted the growth in the annual number of publication ([Formula: see text]) in each of these four categories, A-D, to the form [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] denotes the time in years. We found the scaling time [Formula: see text] to be of the order of about 10 years for categories A and C, whereas [Formula: see text] is of the order of about 5 years for categories B and D. This article is part of the theme issue 'Quantum annealing and computation: challenges and perspectives'.

Antibiotic Stewardship in Treatment of Osteoarticular Infections Based on Local Epidemiology and Bacterial Growth Times.

Incubation for 14 days is recommended for the culture of microorganisms from osteoarticular infections (OAI), but there are no recommendations for postoperative antibiotic stewardship concerning empirical antimicrobial therapy (EAT), while prolonging broad-spectrum EAT results in adverse effects. The aim of this study was to describe the local OAI epidemiology with consideration of bacterial growth times to determine which antibiotic stewardship intervention should be implemented in cases of negative culture after 2 days of incubation. We performed a 1-year, single-center, noninterventional cohort study at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital OAI reference center. Samples were taken as part of the local standard of care protocol for adult patients who underwent surgery for OAI (native or device related) and received EAT (i.e., piperacillin-tazobactam plus daptomycin [PTD]) following surgery. The time to culture positivity was monitored daily. Overall, 147 patients were recruited, accounting for 151 episodes of OAI, including 112 device-related infections. Microbiological cultures were positive in 144 cases, including 42% polymicrobial infections. Overall, a definitive microbiological result was obtained within 48 h in 118 cases (78%) and within 5 days in 130 cases (86%). After 5 days, only Gram-positive bacteria were recovered, especially Cutibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp. Overall, 90% of culture-positive OAI were correctly treated with the locally established EAT. EAT guidance for OAI was in agreement with our local epidemiology. Our results supported antibiotic stewardship intervention consisting of stopping piperacillin-tazobactam treatment at day 5 in cases of negative culture. IMPORTANCE Osteoarticular infections (OAI) remain challenging to diagnose and to treat. One of the issues concerns postoperative empirical antimicrobial therapy (EAT), which is usually a combination of broad-spectrum antibiotics. This EAT is maintained up to 2 weeks, until the availability of the microbiological results (identification and drug susceptibility testing of the microorganisms responsible for the OAI). Our results provide new data that will help to improve OAI management, especially EAT. Indeed, we have shown that antibiotic stewardship intervention consisting of stopping the antibiotic targeting Gram-negative bacteria included in the EAT could be implemented in cases where culture is negative after 5 days of incubation. The benefits of such an antibiotic stewardship plan include improved patient outcomes, reduced adverse events (including Clostridioides difficile infection), improvement in rates of susceptibilities to targeted antibiotics, and optimization of resource utilization across the continuum of care.

Improving the Molecular Packing Order and Vertical Phase Separation of the P3HT:O-IDTBR Blend by Extending the Crystallization Period of O-IDTBR.

The morphology with strong molecular packing order and gradient vertical composition distribution associated with efficient charge transport and collection is critical to achieve high performance in nonfullerene solar cells. However, the rapid solidification process of the active layer upon the fast removal of solvent usually results in a kinetically trapped state with undesired morphology. Herein, we proposed a strategy to extend the crystal growth time of the acceptor via a high-boiling-point additive that selectively dissolved the acceptor. This was enabled by adding dibenzyl ether (DBE) to the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):O-IDTBR blend in chlorobenzene (CB) solution. The combination of the kinetic study by time-resolved ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra and detailed morphological characterization allows us to correlate the crystallization kinetics with the microstructural transition. The results show that the crystal growth time of O-IDTBR increases from 3 to 60 s upon the addition of 0.75% DBE, leading to further evolution of the molecular order of O-IDTBR during the DBE-dominated drying period. Meanwhile, O-IDTBR has more time to migrate toward the substrate owing to the larger surface energy. In addition, the onset of the crystallization process of P3HT is brought forward from 8 to 6 s due to the reduced solvent quality, which favors P3HT to crystallize into a fibril network. As a result, an optimized morphology that features the enhanced molecular packing order of P3HT and O-IDTBR as well as the vertical compositional gradient of O-IDTBR is obtained. Devices based on the optimized blend show more balanced charge transport and suppressed bimolecular recombination, giving rise to an improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 4.29 ± 0.04 to 7.30 ± 0.12%.

Some Distinct Attributes of ZnO Nanorods Arrays: Effects of Varying Hydrothermal Growth Time.

This study investigates the growth time effect on the structural, morphological, optical, and photoelectrochemical characteristics of highly oriented ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNRAs). The nanorod arrays were grown on ITO substrates using the unified sol-gel spin coating and hydrothermal techniques. ZnO nanoparticles (ZNPs) were synthesized using the sol-gel spin coating method. In contrast, the hydrothermal method was used to grow the ZnO nanorods. The hydrothermal growth time investigated was between 4 and 12 h. The synthesized ZNRAs were used as the photoanode electrodes to investigate their photoelectrochemical (PEC) electrode potency. The as-prepared ZNRAs were characterized using various analytical tools to determine their structures, morphologies, optical, and photoelectrochemical traits. EDX spectra showed the presence of uncontaminated ZnO chemical composition, and FTIR spectra displayed the various functional groups in the samples. A rod-shaped ZnO nanocrystallite with mean lengths and diameters of 300-500 nm and 40-90 nm, respectively, is depicted. HRTEM images indicated the nucleation and growth of ZNRAs with a lattice fringe spacing of 0.26 nm and a growth lattice planer orientation of [002]. The optimum ZNRAs (grown at 8 h) as photoelectrode achieved a photoconversion efficiency of 0.46% and photocurrent density of 0.63 mA/cm2, that was 17 times higher than the one shown by ZNPs with Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode. Both values were higher than those reported in the literature, indicating the prospect of these ZNRAs for photoelectrode applications.

Experimental validation of stability and applicability of Start Growth Time method for high-throughput bacterial ecotoxicity assessment.

Ecotoxicity assessments based on bacteria as model organisms are widely used for routine toxicity screening because it has the advantages of time-saving, high sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, and less ethical responsibility. Determination of ecotoxicity effect via bacterial growth can avoid the restriction of model bacteria selection and unique equipment requirements, but traditional viable cell count methods are relatively labor- and time-intensive. The Start Growth Time method (SGT) is a high-throughput and time-conserving method to determine the amount of viable bacterial cells. However, its usability and stability for ecotoxicity assessment are rarely studied. This study confirmed its applicability in terms of bacterial types (gram-positive and gram-negative), growth phases (middle exponential and early stationary phases), and simultaneous existence of dead cells (adjustment by flow cytometry). Our results verified that the stability of establishing SGT correlation is independent of the bacterial type and dead-cell portion. Moreover, we only observed the effect of growth phases on the slope value of established SGT correlation in Shewanella oneidensis, which suggests that preparing inoculum for the SGT method should be consistent in keeping its stability. Our results also elucidate that the SGT values and the live cell percentages meet the non-linear exponential correlation with high correlation coefficients from 0.97 to 0.99 for all the examined bacteria. The non-linear exponential correlation facilitates the application of the SGT method in the ecotoxicity assessment. Finally, applying the exponential SGT correlation to evaluate the ecotoxicity effect of copper ions on E. coli was experimentally validated. The SGT-based method would require about 6 to 7 h to finish the assessment and obtain an estimated EC50 at 2.27 ± 0.04 mM. This study demonstrates that the exponential SGT correlation can be a high-throughput, time-conversing, and wide-applicable method for bacterial ecotoxicity assessment.

Evolution of Bacterial Persistence to Antibiotics during a 50,000-Generation Experiment in an Antibiotic-Free Environment.

Failure of antibiotic therapies causes > 700,000 deaths yearly and involves both bacterial resistance and persistence. Persistence results in the relapse of infections by producing a tiny fraction of pathogen survivors that stay dormant during antibiotic exposure. From an evolutionary perspective, persistence is either a 'bet-hedging strategy' that helps to cope with stochastically changing environments or an unavoidable minimal rate of 'cellular errors' that lock the cells in a low activity state. Here, we analyzed the evolution of persistence over 50,000 bacterial generations in a stable environment by improving a published method that estimates the number of persister cells based on the growth of the reviving population. Our results challenged our understanding of the factors underlying persistence evolution. In one case, we observed a substantial decrease in persistence proportion, suggesting that the naturally observed persistence level is not an unavoidable minimal rate of 'cellular errors'. However, although there was no obvious environmental stochasticity, in 11 of the 12 investigated populations, the persistence level was maintained during 50,000 bacterial generations.

Blood Parasites in Sympatric Vultures: Role of Nesting Habits and Effects on Body Condition.

Avian haemosporidians are a common and widespread group of vector-borne parasites capable of infecting most bird species around the world. They can negatively affect host condition and fitness. Vultures are assumed to have a very low prevalence of these blood parasites, likely due to their strong immunity; however, factors contributing to variation in host exposure and susceptibility to haemosporidians are complex, and supporting evidence is still very limited. We analyzed blood samples collected from nestlings of three vulture species in Spain over 18 years, and used updated nested-PCR protocols capable of detecting all haesmosporidian cytochrome b lineages typical for diurnal birds of prey (Accipitriformes). Similarly to previous studies, we found low haemosporidian prevalence in cliff-breeding species, with Leucocytozoon as the only represented blood parasite genus: 3.1% in griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) (n = 128) and 5.3% in Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) (n = 114). In contrast, the tree-breeding cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) had a substantially higher prevalence: 10.3% (n = 146). By far the most common lineage in Spanish scavenging raptors was the Leucocytozoon lineage CIAE02. No effects of nestling age and sex, or temporal trends in prevalence were found, but an effect of nest habitat (tree-nest vs. cliff-nest) was found in the griffon vulture. These patterns may be explained by a preference of vectors to forage in and around trees rather than on cliffs and wide open spaces. We found an apparent detrimental effect of haemosporidians on body mass of nestling cinereous vultures. Further research is needed to evaluate the pathogenicity of each haemosporidian lineage and their interaction with the immune system of nestlings, especially if compromised due to pollution with pharmaceuticals and infection by bacterial and mycotic pathogens.

Real-Time PCR and Droplet Digital PCR Are Accurate and Reliable Methods To Quantify Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae Biovar 3 in Kiwifruit Infected Plantlets.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae is the etiological agent of kiwifruit canker disease, causing severe economic losses in kiwifruit production areas around the world. Rapid diagnosis, understanding of bacterial virulence, and rate of infection in kiwifruit cultivars are important in applying effective measures of disease control. P. syringae pv. actinidiae load in kiwifruit is currently determined by a labor-intense colony counting method with no high-throughput and specific quantification method being validated. In this work, we used three alternative P. syringae pv. actinidiae quantification methods in two infected kiwifruit cultivars: start of growth time, quantitative PCR (qPCR), and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Method performance in each case was compared with the colony counting method. Methods were validated using calibration curves obtained with serial dilutions of P. syringae pv. actinidiae biovar 3 (Psa3) inoculum and standard growth curves obtained from kiwifruit samples infected with Psa3 inoculum. All three alternative methods showed high correlation (r > 0.85) with the colony counting method. qPCR and ddPCR were very specific, sensitive (5 × 102 CFU/cm2), highly correlated to each other (r = 0.955), and flexible, allowing for sample storage. The inclusion of a kiwifruit biomass marker increased the methods' accuracy. The qPCR method was efficient and allowed for high-throughput processing, and the ddPCR method showed highly accurate results but was more expensive and time consuming. While not ideal for high-throughput processing, ddPCR was useful in developing accurate standard curves for the qPCR method. The combination of the two methods is high-throughput, specific for Psa3 quantification, and useful for research studies (e.g., disease phenotyping and host-pathogen interactions).

The Right Time to Safely Re-Evaluate Empirical Antimicrobial Treatment of Hip or Knee Prosthetic Joint Infections.

Currently, no guideline provides recommendations on the duration of empirical antimicrobial treatment (EAT) in prosthetic joint infection (PJI). The aim of our study was to describe the time to growth of bacteria involved in PJI, rendering possible decreased duration of EAT. Based on a French multicentre prospective cohort study, culture data from patients with confirmed hip or knee PJI were analysed. For each patient, five samples were processed. Time to positivity was defined as the first positive medium in at least one sample for virulent pathogens and as the first positive medium in at least two samples for commensals. Definitive diagnosis of polymicrobial infections was considered the day the last bacteria were identified. Among the 183 PJIs, including 28 polymicrobial infections, microbiological diagnosis was carried out between Day 1 (D1) and D5 for 96.7% of cases. There was no difference in the average time to positivity between acute and chronic PJI (p = 0.8871). Microbiological diagnosis was given earlier for monomicrobial than for polymicrobial infections (p = 0.0034). When an optimized culture of peroperative samples was carried out, almost all cases of PJI were diagnosed within five days, including polymicrobial infections. EAT can be re-evaluated at D5 according to microbiological documentation.

Coherent fluctuation nephelometry as a promising method for diagnosis of bacteriuria.

OBJECTIVES: Specialized analyzers are used to automate the diagnosis of bacteriuria in laboratory practice. They are based on analysis of microorganisms concentration in urine samples or recording the growth of urine microflora. Coherent fluctuation nephelometry (CFN) has high sensitivity and allows analyzing both parameters simultaneously. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of CFN-based and flow cytometry based analyzers. DESIGN AND METHODS: Total 117 urine samples from children were studied in parallel using the CFN-analyzer and UF-1000i (Sysmex), the results were confirmed by conventional microbiological methods. RESULTS: In 21 urine samples (18%), significant bacteriuria was determined (≥104 CFU/ml). The best diagnostic indicators were obtained while testing urine samples using the CFN-analyzer. The most efficient bacteriuria diagnosis is achieved by simultaneous analyses of microorganisms concentration in urine and growth of urine microflora (sensitivity - 95.2%, specificity - 96.9%, positive predictive value - 87%, negative predictive value - 98.9%, diagnostic odds ratio - 81.7, positive likelihood ratio - 30.5, negative likelihood ratio- 0.049, area under curve in ROC-analysis - 0.987). The CFN-analyzer allows the preliminary selection of negative urine samples, which do not require further analysis by conventional microbiological methods, thereby decreasing the number of cultures by 80.3%. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the CFN-analyzer is the effective tool for bacteriuria screening in children.

Assessment of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 growth on lettuce exposed to isothermal and non-isothermal conditions.

This study aimed to assess the growth of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on lettuce exposed to isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Pathogens were inoculated on lettuce separately and stored under isothermal condition at 5 °C, 10 °C, 25 °C, 37 °C for both bacteria, at 40 °C for Salmonella and 42 °C for E. coli O157:H7. Growth curves were built by fitting the data to the Baranyi's DMFit, generating R2 values greater than 0.92 for primary models. Secondary models were fitted with Ratkowsky equations, generating R2 values higher than 0.91 and RMSE lower than 0.1. Experimental data showed that both bacteria could grow at all temperatures. Also, the growth of both pathogens under non-isothermal conditions was studied simulating temperatures found from harvest to supermarkets in Brazil. Models were analysed by R2, RMSE, bias factor (Bf) and accuracy factor (Af). Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 were able to grow in this temperature profile and the models could predict the behavior of these microorganisms on lettuce under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Based on the results, a negligible growth time (ς) was proposed to provide the time which lettuce could be exposed to a specific temperature and do not present an expressive growth of bacteria. The ς was developed based on Baranyi's primary model equation and on growth potential concept. ς is the value of lag phase added of the time necessary to population grow 0.5 log CFU/g. The ς of lettuce exposed to 37 °C was 1.3 h, while at 5 °C was 3.3 days.

Effect of growth time on Ti-doped ZnO nanorods prepared by low-temperature chemical bath deposition.

Ti-doped ZnO nanorod arrays were grown onto Si substrate using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method at 93 °C. To investigate the effect of time deposition on the morphological, and structural properties, four Ti-doped ZnO samples were prepared at various deposition periods of time (2, 3.5, 5, and 6.5 h). FESEM images displayed high-quality and uniform nanorods with a mean length strongly dependent upon deposition time; i.e. it increases for prolonged growth time. Additionally, EFTEM images reveal a strong erosion on the lateral side for the sample prepared for 6.5 h as compared to 5 h. This might be attributed to the dissolution reaction of ZnO with for prolonged growth time. XRD analysis confirms the formation of a hexagonal wurtzite-type structure for all samples with a preferred growth orientation along the c-axis direction. The (100) peak intensity was enhanced and then quenched, which might be the result of an erosion on the lateral side of nanorods as seen in EFTEM. This study confirms the important role of growth time on the morphological features of Ti-doped ZnO nanorods prepared using CBD.

Effect of growth period on the multi-scale structure and physicochemical properties of cassava starch.

Starches were isolated from South China 5 (SC5) cassava harvested for 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 months. During growth, the granule size, lamellar structure, crystalline structure and digestibility changed slightly, while the amylose content varied between 20.93% and 22.61%. However, the molecular weight showed an obvious increase as the harvesting time increased to 9 months, and then decreased during 9-11 months. The pasting behaviors were greatly affected by harvesting time. A shorter growth time led to higher pasting temperature, and lower peak, breakdown and setback viscosities. This trend became contrary when the growth time prolonged from 9 to 11 months. Hence, the starch harvested at 9 months showed the lowest pasting temperature (64.6°C), but highest paste viscosity (2105cP) and retrogradation tendency. All these results confirm that the growth time of 9 months was the turning point for the physicochemical features of SC5 during growth. This study provides fundamental data for rationally tailoring cassava starch properties by simply controlling the harvest time.

Unveiling the Evolutions of Nanotube Diameter Distribution during the Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

In situ and ex situ Raman measurements were used to study the dynamics of the populations of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) during their catalytic growth by chemical vapor deposition. Our study reveals that the nanotube diameter distribution strongly evolves during SWCNT growth but in dissimilar ways depending on the growth conditions. We notably show that high selectivity can be obtained using short or moderate growth times. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations support that Ostwald ripening is the key process driving these seemingly contradictory results by regulating the size distribution and lifetime of the active catalyst particles. Ostwald ripening appears as the main termination mechanism for the smallest diameter tubes, whereas carbon poisoning dominates for the largest ones. By unveiling the key concept of dynamic competition between nanotube growth and catalyst ripening, we show that time can be used as an active parameter to control the growth selectivity of carbon nanotubes and other 1D systems.

Investigation on influence factors of gernal surgeon growth / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective To investigate the general surgeon growth time, and to probe into the factors affecting the surgeon growth. Methods 72 surgeons who worked more than 15 years in the field of general surgery in 12 hospitals of Gansu Province were investigated, focusing on education, resident rotation train-ing, teachers' qualification, refresher training, the frequency of intra-hospital technical exchange, and scale of hospital employed. SPSS 18.0 statistical software was applied to analyze the data. t test was used in com-parison between groups, and multiple groups were compared by using single factor analysis of variance. Results The surgeon growth time was (9.84±1.51) years averagely. In the process of growing up, the growth time of the general surgeons who experienced hospital resident rotated training, refresher training, intra-hos-pital technical exchange was significantly shorter than that of no-related-experienced surgeons. The higher the education, the higher the quality of the teachers and the higher the level of medical institutions, the shorter the doctor's growth time. Conclusion In the same medical institutions, the resident rotated training, the teacher's qualification, higher hospital training, and the frequency of intra-hospital technical exchange have the positive function to the surgeon's general growth, so in making young doctor training plan we should consider the value of the above-mentioned factors.

Diagnosis of bacteraemia and growth times.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to predict the diagnosis of bacteraemia as a function of the time at which the automated BacT/Alert system continuously detects microorganism growth. METHODS: A retrospective study of a database of 1334 patients with a positive blood culture between January 2011 and June 2013 was conducted. Together with the final blood culture results and the patient's history, growth was then analysed to assess whether it represented true bacteraemia or bacterial contamination. The earliest detection times of bacterial growth in each batch of blood cultures were analysed in a blinded fashion after classification. RESULTS: In total, 590 batches of blood cultures corresponded to true bacteraemia and 744 to bacterial contamination. In the bacteraemia group, the median growth time was 12.72 h (interquartile range (IQR) 10.08-17.58 h). In the contaminated blood culture group, the median growth time was 20.6h (IQR 17.04-32.16 h) (p<0.001). Analysis of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve (area under the curve 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.771-0.826) showed that 90% of the contaminants grew after 14.7h (sensitivity 90.5%, specificity 63.4%, positive predictive value (PPV) 65.9%, negative predictive value (NPV) 90.7%). Forty-five percent of the bacteraemia organisms grew in under 12h (sensitivity 45.3%, specificity 95%, PPV 87.8%, NPV 68.7%). Microorganisms such as Candida sp and Bacteroides sp presented median growth times significantly longer than those of the other microorganisms. The administration of antibiotics in the week prior to bacteraemia was found to delay the growth time of microorganisms (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Knowing the time to detection of microorganism growth can help to distinguish between true bacteraemia and bacterial contamination, thus allowing more timely clinical decisions to be made, before definitive microorganism identification.

Highly Conductive Diamond-Graphite Nanohybrid Films with Enhanced Electron Field Emission and Microplasma Illumination Properties.

Bias-enhanced nucleation and growth of diamond-graphite nanohybrid (DGH) films on silicon substrates by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using CH4/N2 gas mixture is reported herein. It is observed that by controlling the growth time, the microstructure of the DGH films and, thus, the electrical conductivity and the electron field emission (EFE) properties of the films can be manipulated. The films grown for 30 min (DGHB30) possess needle-like geometry, which comprised of a diamond core encased in a sheath of sp(2)-bonded graphitic phase. These films achieved high conductivity of σ = 900 S/cm and superior EFE properties, namely, low turn-on field of 2.9 V/µm and high EFE current density of 3.8 mA/cm(2) at an applied field of 6.0 V/µm. On increasing the growth time to 60 min (the DGHB60), the acicular grain growth ceased and formed nanographite clusters or defective diamond clusters (n-diamond). Even though DGHB60 films possess higher electrical conductivity (σ = 1549 S/cm) than the DGHB30 films, the EFE properties degraded. The implication of this result is that higher conductivity by itself does not guarantee better EFE properties. The nanosized diamond grains with needle-like geometry are the most promising ones for the electron emission, exclusively when they are encased in graphene-like layers. The salient feature of such materials with unique granular structure is that their conductivity and EFE properties can be tuned in a wide range, which makes them especially useful in practical applications.