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A polyyne dendrimer (PD) was synthesized in four-steps and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, FT-IR, etc. Subsequently, ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra were further investigated in a series of solvents, in which obvious aggregation-induced emission (AIE) were observed. In addition, the electrochemiluminescence (ECL)properties in solid state were also investigated. Interestingly, the π-extended PD with slight distorted configuration possessed intense and stable cathodic ECL emission, which indicatedthat it has potential application in the future construction of high-performance ECL emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report two anthracene-thiophene based π-conjugated homologues, in which the synthesis and structural characterizations were accomplished by NMR, HR-MS, etc. Subsequently, their electron absorptions, photoluminescence (PL) emissions, and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties were further investigated. Interestingly, in the visible region of ~400–550 nm, both of the two homologous chromophores displayed strong PL emissions. Finally, intense and stable cathodic ECL emissions in the visible region of ~400–1000 nm for the title compounds were further observed, which provided excellent potential candidates for the future construction of high-performance ECL emitters. Besides, the phenyl group substituted homologue exhibited more intense in fluorescence spectrum, while relatively weak in ECL emission, which added new insights into the structure-properties relationships of anthracene-thiophene containing π-conjugated luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the prediction of peritumoral and intratumoral radiomics for visceral pleural invasion (VPI) in lung adenocarcinoma cancer (LAC) based on preoperative computed tomography (CT) radiomics. In total, 350 patients with LAC confirmed by surgery pathology were enrolled in The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, including 281 VPI negative patients and 69 VPI positive patients, were divided into the training cohort (n = 280) and validation cohort (n=70) at random with a ratio of 8:2. We extracted the radiomics features from the 3 region of interest (ROI), including gross tumor volume (GTV), the gross peritumoral tumor volume (GPTV) and the gross volume of the tumor rim (included the outer 4 mm of the tumor and 4mm of the tumor adjacent lung tissue on either side of the tumor contour boundary, GTR).The maximal redundancy minimal relevance (mMRM) algorithm and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) was performed to reduce feature dimensionality and the radiomics score (Rad score) of the best radiomics model was combined with CT morphological characteristics with statistical significance in the univariable analysis to construct the combined model. The performance of the models was evaluated based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, calibration, and clinical usefulness. DeLong's test was used to assess differences in area under curve (AUC) between different models. There were no statistically significant differences in patient's gender, age, and BMI between the VPI positive group and VPI negative group (all p ＞0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the tumor maximum diameter, tumor CT image type, vacuole sign, and pleural indentation sign between the VPI positive group and VPI negative group (all p < 0.05). The models of radiomics of GTV, GPTV, and GTR showed high predictive value in the training cohort (All AUC > 0.75). Compared with GTV, GTR radiomics models, the GPTV radiomics model constructed via the logistic regression (LR) method exhibited better prediction performance with the AUCs of 0.819, 0.827; accuracy of 0.757,0.743; sensitivity of 0.800,0.786; specificity of 0.747,0.732 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The LR model of GPTV radiomics was defined as the optimal model for predicting VPI, since its excellent performance in both ROC, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). Preoperative CT-based radiomics models can predict VPI in patients with LAC; the LR algorithm combined the GPTV radiomics was the optimal choice, demonstrating high sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and clinical usefulness. • Prediction model based on radiomics showed good prediction performance for VPI in LAC. • Prediction model combined with radiomics and ML can effectively predict VPI status in LAC. • Model based on GPTV radiomics combined with LR had good prediction and clinical usefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resonators have been used in a wide range of fields, such as biochemical detection and microscale lasers. In recent years, optofluidic resonators have attracted a significant amount of attention owing to their unique liquid environments. Liquids containing biochemical samples can be designed to pass through the ring resonators or to directly form droplets, for sample sensing. Liquid diffusion is an important property in optofluidic applications, such as gradient refractive index lenses and waveguides. However, liquid diffusion has not been used in the study of optofluidic resonators, for both possible sensing characteristics, and unidirectional emission that is mostly acted as light sources. Here, we introduce a gradient refractive index profile formed by liquid diffusion in annular channels into a circular resonator, forming a gradient-index resonator with a tunable unidirectional emission. For both simulations and experiments, the squeezed and non-rotationally symmetrical light intensity profile was first obtained in a circular resonator. The squeezed light profile enables unidirectional emission in circular resonators, which is difficult to achieve in conventional ones. The squeezed light profile and unidirectional emission are determined by the refractive index difference of the liquids used, the dimension of the circular channels, and the working wavelengths. In experiments, different dimensions of bending radii were demonstrated and a tunable squeezed light intensity profile and unidirectional emission were exhibited. Interestingly, the squeezed coefficient of light, which was about 1.8 for a bending radius of 100 μm, enabled emission with a divergence angle as small as 14 degrees, which could be used for laser emission applications in the future. This work reveals the significant potential of the novel liquid gradient refractive index resonator, which provides a practicable approach for optofluidic resonator emission applications and also has potential for use in optofluidic sensing based on the squeezed light profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the therapeutic efficacy of local block with promethazine and routine surgery in the treatment of popliteal cyst and explore the clinical efficacy of arthroscopy-assisted modified popliteal cyst resection therapy, a total of 116 patients with popliteal cyst treated at the Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command were enrolled. These patients were divided into the control group, who underwent routine surgery and the research group, who were subjected to local block with promethazine, with 58 patients in each group. The therapeutic efficacy was observed and compared. The incision length and surgical time of the research group were significantly lower than that of the control group. By comparing the remission rates of clinical symptoms at 2 d, 1 mo, 2 mo and 1 y after surgery, the magnetic resonance imaging data, the recovery rate and recurrence rate, results showed that the research group had greater advantage over the control group (P<0.05). Local block with promethazine could produce ideal outcomes in the treatment of popliteal cyst than routine surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports direct temperature determination of sympathetically cooled 113Cd+ ions with laser-cooled 24Mg+ in a linear Paul trap. The sympathetically cooled ion species distribute in the outer shell of the large ensembles, which contain up to 3.3 × 105 ions. With optimized parameters, the minimum temperature of the sympathetically cooled 113Cd+ ions was measured to be on the order of 10 mK. These results are promising for the performance of microwave atomic clocks. The second-order Doppler frequency shift is two orders of magnitude lower (from 1.88 × 10−14 to 6.26 × 10−16) and the Dick effect is suppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we reported the synthesis of three positional isomeric (o-, m-, and p-) π-conjugated polyyne chromophores, in which three diethynylbenzene positional isomers were used as π-conjugated bridges, respectively. Subsequently, the structural characterization of the above positional isomers was accomplished by NMR, MS, IR, etc. Then, their electronic absorption, photoluminescence (PL) emissions, and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties were further investigated. The PL emissions of three π-conjugated polyyne chromophores were observed in the wavelength of ~325–510 nm. Interestingly, the para-isomer with a rigid planar π-conjugated structure exhibits the strongest UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence emission. Finally, the ECL measurements indicated that the three π-conjugated polyyne chromophores exhibited stable cathode ECL emission, providing excellent candidate materials for the future design and manufacturing of ECL emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for the synthesis of two branched π-conjugated polyynes was proposed. The electron absorption, photoluminescence (PL) emissions, and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties of the prepared polyynes were further investigated. PL emissions from both chromophores were observed in the visible region of 320–500 nm. Both two polyynes exhibited stable cathode ECL emission, which can be used to design and preparation of functional materials in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a recently identified coronavirus in the genus Deltacoronavirus that can cause enteric disease with clinical signs including diarrhoea, vomiting, dehydration and mortality in neonatal piglets. Although evidence of the prevalence of PDCoV in China is accumulating, little published information about Chinese PDCoV isolates is available. In this study, we investigated the presence of PDCoV in 49 faecal/intestinal samples from piglets with diarrhoea on different farms in Hebei province. Five samples (10.2%) were positive for PDCoV, but no coinfection of PDCoV with other enteropathogens was observed. A PDCoV strain named HB‐BD was successfully isolated from the intestinal contents of a diarrhoeic piglet and serially propagated in swine testicular (ST) cells for >40 passages. The complete genome of the HB‐BD strain was sequenced and analysed. Genomic analysis showed that the HB‐BD strain had a closer relationship with Chinese strains than those from other countries and was grouped within the Chinese PDCoV cluster. The results of this study will be valuable for further research of PDCoV genetic evolution and development of effective diagnostic reagents, assays and potential vaccines against newly emerged PDCoV strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P-glycoprotein [P-gp or the ATP-binding cassette transporter B1 (ABCB1)] is an important participant in multidrug resistance of cancer cells, yet the precise function of this arthropod transporter is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of P-gp for susceptibility to insecticides in the beet armyworm ( Spodoptera exigua) using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene-editing technology. We cloned an open reading frame (ORF) encoding the S. exigua P-gp protein (SeP-gp) predicted to display structural characteristics common to P-gp and other insect ABCB1 transporters. A knockout line with a frame shift deletion of four nucleotides in the SeP-gp ORF was established using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system to test its potential role in determining susceptibility to chemical insecticides or insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Results from comparative bioassays demonstrate that knockout of SeP-gp significantly increases susceptibility of S. exigua by around threefold to abamectin and emamectin benzoate (EB), but not to spinosad, chlorfenapyr, beta-cypermethrin, carbosulfan indoxacarb, chlorpyrifos, phoxim, diafenthiuron, chlorfluazuron, chlorantraniliprole or two Bt toxins (Cry1Ca and Cry1Fa). Our data support an important role for SeP-gp in susceptibility of S. exigua to abamectin and EB and imply that overexpression of SeP-gp may contribute to abamectin and EB resistance in S. exigua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While essential for the classification of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), anticardiolipin (aCL) assays lack specificity and anti-β2glycoproteinI (anti-β2GPI) assays lack sensitivity in this regard. Our aim was to perform a comparative analysis of the APhL ELISA assay (IgG/IgM) and criteria antiphospholipid (aPL) immunoassays in identifying APS-related clinical manifestations in a large group of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: Serum samples from 1178 patients from the Hopkins (n=543), LUMINA (n=588) and Jamaican SLE cohorts (n=47) were examined for IgG/IgM positivity in aCL (in-house), anti-β2GPI (two commercial kits) and APhL (Louisville APL) ELISA assays. Correlation of assay positivity with clinical manifestations and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and likelihood ratios were evaluated. A case series analysis was also performed in patients for whom there was isolated positivity in the specific aPL assays. Results: The prevalence of aCL positivity was 34.9%, anti-β2GPI kit A was 22.6%, APhL was 11.5% and anti-β2GPI kit B was 7.6% in the study population. Anti-β2GPI kit B, aCL and APhL assays were correlated with venous thrombosis, while only APhL was significantly correlated with arterial thrombosis and consistently correlated with pregnancy-related morbidity. No significant correlations were noted for anti-β2GPI kit A. Sensitivity was greatest for aCL assays followed by anti-β2GPI kit A, APhL and anti-β2GPI kit B, while specificity was greatest and equal for anti-β2GPI kit B and APhL assays. Conclusions: Overall, APhL antibodies, especially IgG, represent a promising biomarker for the classification of APS patients in the context of autoimmunity and in risk assessment with regards to pregnancy morbidity and thrombotic manifestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional flow cytometry (FC) suffers from the diffraction limit for the detection of nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm, whereas traditional total internal reflection (TIR) microscopy can only detect few samples near the solid–liquid interface mostly in static states. Here we demonstrate a novel on-chip optofluidic technique using evanescent wave sensing for single nanoparticle real time detection by combining hydrodynamic focusing and TIR using immiscible flows. The immiscibility of the high-index sheath flow and the low-index core flow naturally generate a smooth, flat and step-index interface that is ideal for the TIR effect, whose evanescent field can penetrate the full width of the core flow. Hydrodynamic focusing can focus on all the nanoparticles in the extreme centre of the core flow with a width smaller than 1 μm. This technique enables us to illuminate every single sample in the running core flow by the evanescent field, leaving none unaffected. Moreover, it works well for samples much smaller than the diffraction limit. We have successfully demonstrated the scattering imaging and counting of 50 nm and 100 nm Au nanoparticles and also the fluorescence imaging and counting of 200 nm beads. The effective counting speeds are estimated as 1500, 2300 and 2000 particles per second for the three types of nanoparticles, respectively. The optical scattering spectra were also measured to determine the size of individual Au nanoparticles. This provides a new technique to detect nanoparticles and we foresee its application in the detection of molecules for biomedical analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many depth map estimation methods have been developed, depth map estimation still has some difficulties in low-texture regions and occlusion. This paper presents a novel approach for multi-view depth video estimation which adopts an adaptive matching scheme for high-texture regions and low-texture regions, respectively. For low-texture regions, the proposed method integrates affine invariant features with colour to make the matching more robust. Furthermore, according to the smoothness assumption of depth maps, a refinement is then performed on the estimated depth maps. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve better or comparable performances than the state-of-the-art method in the category of local methods even with the less running time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Symmetrical electrical double layer capacitors with ionic liquid potassium hydroxide (KOH)-based poly(acrylic acid) gel polymer electrolytes and activated charcoal electrodes were constructed and characterised. The optimised composition of gel polymer electrolytes exhibits high room temperature ionic conductivity of 0.46 S cm−1 with good mechanical and dimensional stability, which is suitable for their application as electrolyte in electrical double layer capacitors. Analysis shows that the maximum value of capacitance was 0.343 F cm−2, and this value corresponds to an energy density equal to 0.111 J cm−2. Electrical double layer capacitor exhibits large capacitance and high energy density. The results indicate that the gel polymer electrolyte used in our study is promising and is suitable as a solid electrolyte for high-performance all-solid-state electrochemical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease ( FMD) caused by FMD virus ( FMDV) is a major health and economic problem in the farming industry. Vaccination of livestock against this highly infectious viral disease is crucial, and inactivated FMD vaccine has been effective at controlling infection. However, accumulated data show that the inactivated vaccine generates weak immune responses and that the oil formulation results in undesirable side effects. Mushroom lectins have recently been shown to display adjuvant effects when incorporated into DNA vaccines. In this study, to enhance the cellular immune response of FMDV antigen (146S), C57 BL/6 mice were immunized with 146S combined with Xylaria hypoxylon lectin ( XHL). The oil formulation (146S/Oil) was served as control group. Strong humoral immune responses were elicited in mice immunized with 146S/ XHL as shown by high 146S antigen-specific IgG levels, and also in 146S/Oil group. Interestingly, XHL in conjunction with inactivated FMD vaccine activated strong Th1 and Tc1 cell responses, especially Tfh cell responses, in immunized mice. XHL stimulated dendritic cell maturation by upregulating expression of major histocompatibility complex II ( MHCII) molecules and co-stimulatory molecules CD40 and CD86 in immunized mice. No XHL-specific IgG or inflammatory factors were detected indicating the safety of XHL as an adjuvant. Taken together, these results suggest the effectiveness of XHL at inducing cellular immune responses and therefore confirm its suitability as an adjuvant for inactivated FMD vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of Ca in the grain refinement of Mg-Ca binary alloys was studied. The alloys were prepared with pure Mg and pure Ca. The results showed that with the increase of the content of Ca, there is a sharp decrease of the grain size of Mg with Ca content in the range of 0-0·5% and then there is a slight decrease of grain size with increasing the content of Ca from 0·5 to 2%. The grain size becomes increasing with further increasing the content of Ca. The variation of Vickers hardness has a similar trend to that of the microstructure. This paper presents these results and gives corresponding discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sponge-like polyurethane (PU) and composite have recently attracted attention in biomedical field as scaffolds for bone repair or tissue engineering research. In this study, castor oil was transesterified with glycerol to increase its functional hydroxyl groups and improve the mechanical properties of the resulting composite scaffolds. The glyceride of castor oil (GCO) was used to copolymerise with isophorone diisocyanate to generate PU, meanwhile blending with hydroxyapatite (HA) powder to prepare porous HA/PU composite scaffolds. The HA/glyceride based PU (GCPU) scaffolds were compared with pristine castor oil (PCO) based PU scaffolds (PCPU) by investigating the physicochemical properties and cytocompatibility using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, SEM, mechanical testing and methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay. The results showed that the number of hydroxyl groups of GCO was nearly twice as high as that of PCO, which enhanced efficiently the crosslinking density of PU matrix. The compressive strength of HA/GCPU scaffold with 40 wt-%HA was ∼4·6 MPa, much higher than that (0·058 MPa) of HA/PCPU scaffolds. The in vitro biological results demonstrated that both GCPU and HA/GCPU scaffolds exhibited desirable cytocompatibility. The novel synthetic route is highly effective for the preparation of HA/GCPU porous scaffolds, which have good prospect in the repair of bone defects or for bone tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the mechanisms of diabetes-related depression is limited by the lack of sufficiently adequate animal models. Among 80 rats, we formed four groups: (i) normal (N, control), (ii) with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mellitus (group Dm), (iii) with a depression model induced by various mild but long-lasting repetitive stressogenic stimulations applied each day during 4 weeks (group D), and (iv) diabetic rats subjected to the combined action of stressogenic influences (group DmD). The latter group (35 animals) was divided into two subgroups, DmD1 subjected to the above chronic stressogenic stimulations, and DmD2 in which diabetic rats were during the above period (4 weeks) kept in isolation. Rats of groups Dm, D, and DmD manifested clear behavioral symptoms of depression. These symptoms were relatively mild in group Dm and much more intense in group DmD. The body mass of rats noticeably decreased in the Dm and D groups and dramatically dropped in the DmD group. In this group, diabetes-related changes in the levels of blood glucose, insulin, and hemoglobin A1C were the greatest. The same relates to the behavioral indices demonstrated by rats in the open field test. The contents of norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and dopamine in the thalamus of rats of groups Dm, D, and DmD were lower than in the norm, and these shifts where most dramatic in the DmD group. The levels of ACTH and cortisol increased in the experimental groups; again, shifts were the greatest in the DmD group. RT PCR and Western blotting showed that the level of NPY protein in the hypothalamus was lower in groups Dm, D, and DmD than that in the norm. Thus, chronic unpredictable stressogenic stimulation or behavioral isolation of diabetic rats significantly aggravates manifestations of depression and stably provides the formation of an adequate animal model of diabetes-related depression. Keeping animals in isolation (subgroup DmD2) is more suitable for empirical studies because of a lower mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i- ELISA), based on the structural protein VP2 of goose parvovirus ( GPV), for the detection of antibodies to GPV in blood serum. In this study, the capsid protein VP2 of GPV was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by nickel chromatography. The purified protein was capable of reacting with GPV antibodies, as analysed by Western blot. An i- ELISA based on the protein VP2 was developed. For evaluation of the newly developed ELISA, 192 field sera collected from six goose herds were tested in parallel by the serum neutralization ( SN) test. The result showed that 138 samples were positive and 49 negative in both cases. The agreement of the two tests was 97·3%. This i- ELISA has high sensitivity and good specificity and is an alternative serologic test for the detection of the antibodies to GPV in blood serum. Significance and Impact of the Study In this study, we expressed and purified the capsid protein VP2 of GPV and developed a VP2-based i- ELISA for the detection of GPV antibodies. This i- ELISA can be used for evaluating the immune effects of GPV vaccine and for diagnosing of GPV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafast spin dynamics in Tbx(FeCo)1-x films is studied using the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. At pump fluence of 1.0 mJ/cm^2 the ultrafast demagnetization processes are accomplished by one-step and two-step decays (the first fast and second slow decays) for low and high Tb contents, respectively. For the low Tb contents (x < 0.08), the demagnetization time is almost a constant (\sim 600 fs), which is similar with the demagnetization time (\tau_1) of the first fast decay for the high Tb contents due to bleaching effect. However, the following slow demagnetization time (\tau_2) for the high Tb contents strongly depends on the Tb contents. It increases with increasing Tb contents, and reaches a maximum of 3.0 ps at x=0.21, then decreases with Tb content further increasing. The distinguished slow decay process is suggested to ascribe to the Gilbert damping factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion behaviour of 316L stainless steel (SS) in acetic-10% formic acid mixture containing Br- and in simulated purified terephthalic acid (PTA) slurry was investigated to understand the corrosion mechanism of 316L SS in the drying process of PTA slurry. The results show that in acetic-10% formic acid mixture containing Br-, the corrosion rate of 316L SS increases with the increase in Br- concentration and temperature. In the PTA slurry, the corrosion rate of 316L SS changes in a parabolic form with an increase in the solid/liquid ratio of the slurry. The slurry has the strongest corrosivity when the solid/liquid ratio of the slurry reaches ∼6·25. In a half dry-half wet PTA slurry, when the 316L steel surface remained at a suitable temperature to avoid continuous liquid film on the surface, the corrosion rate of the steel will be greatly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is the only gas that is appreciably soluble in aluminium and its alloys and is the main cause of the gas porosity in aluminium alloy castings. A novel degassing technology with intensive melt shearing and Ar injection has been developed and its degassing effect on aluminium alloy has been studied. The experimental results showed that the new degassing technology can significantly degas LM25 aluminium alloy within a quite short period of time. By applying intensive melt shearing and Ar injection of 60 s, the density index Di was reduced from 10·70 to 0·98%, which means that the hydrogen concentration in the liquid alloy was significantly reduced. The effect of degassing time and isothermal holding time after degassing on the hydrogen concentration level in LM25 alloy melt was also studied and the mechanism of high degassing efficiency with this technology was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The relative contribution of different categories of contact in transmitting pertussis to very young infants, who experience the most severe morbidity, is the most important single factor determining the likely benefit of pertussis vaccination of their close contacts (the “cocooning” strategy). Objective: To identify, evaluate the quality of and summarise existing data on potential sources of infant pertussis infection in high income countries, focussing on infants under 6 months old. Data sources: Online databases MEDLINE and EMBASE. Additional studies were identified from the reference lists of relevant articles. Study selection and analysis: Study quality was evaluated by standardised criteria, based on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. Pooled estimates of the proportion of pertussis cases attributable to various contact sources were calculated using data from the highest quality studies. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria; seven included data on contacts of hospitalised infants less than 6 months old. Case definitions and methods of contact ascertainment were variable. Most identified sources were from the household, of which 39% (95%CI 33–45%) were mothers, 16% (95%CI 12–21%) fathers, and 5% (95%CI 2–10%) grandparents. Estimates for siblings (16–43%) and non-household contacts (4–22%) were more heterogeneous. For 32–52% of infant cases, no source was identified. Asymptomatic pertussis infection was found in 8–13% of contacts evaluated. Conclusions: These data suggest that the greatest potential impact of pertussis vaccination of adults to prevent severe disease in young infants comes from vaccinating mothers, followed by fathers, with grandparents having a minor role. Siblings varied in importance and, given recent data regarding waning immunity in vaccinated children, need further study. Non-household sources are also well documented, highlighting the potential limitations of the cocoon strategy to prevent severe infant disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tubular cathodes provide a method to obtain high surface areas for scaling up microbial fuel cells (MFCs), but the importance of the cathode shape is not known. We therefore examined power production using cathodes in various configurations (tubes or flat). The MFC with a single internal carbon cloth tube cathode (71 W/m3) produced more power than previously obtained with an ultrafiltration membrane (8 W/m3) due to the better performance of carbon material. This power density was slightly less than that of a flat carbon cloth cathode (81 W/m3; 88m2/m3) due to the lower total surface area of the tube (68 m2/m3) and not as a result of the tubular cathode shape. Adding a second tube increased power (83 W/m3) in proportion to specific surface area (93 m2/m3). Wrapping the cathode completely around the anode formed a fully tubular MFC (external tubular reactor) with a higher surface area that produced 128 W/m3. Volumetric power density was highly correlated with cathode specific surface area (R2 = 0.93, p = 0.008) and did not depend on the cathode shape (tubes, completely tubular, or flat). Thus, future MFC designs should focus on increasing cathode specific surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]