Search

Cryptosporidiosis is an extensively contagious zoonotic waterborne disease caused by the genus

An n-type Si nanowire (SiNW) solar cell based on transition metal oxides V2O5 and TiO2 has been fabricated. The cell is demonstrated in the ITO/V2O5/n-SiNWs/TiO2/Al heterojunction structure, in which the V2O5 and TiO2 work as the hole- and the electron-selective layers, respectively. Parameters of cells with different lengths of nanowires have been investigated. Owing to the excellent light trapping effect of nanowire arrays and superior carrier transporting properties of thin V2O5 and TiO2 layers, an improved power conversion efficiency of 12.7% has been achieved in a cell with 1.45-μm-long nanowires. Due to the large work function difference between V2O5 and n-Si, a build-in potential of 0.75 V was obtained from the capacitance-voltage measurement, which implies the possibility of achieving a large open circuit voltage for these nanowire solar cells. The efficiency loss is mainly caused by the recombination via the defects on the unpassivated surface of SiNWs. By solving this problem, the cell efficiency may be improved further and realize the application in PV industries.

Trichinellosis is a serious foodborne zoonotic disease. It is an important threat to public health in both developing and developed countries. Human infections are strongly associated with consuming undercooked meat containing infective Trichinella larvae. The development of serological tools has enabled seroepidemiological studies and contributed to our knowledge on the importance of this parasite. Serological tests can also help the diagnosis of parasite infections in humans and the surveillance of animals. Generally speaking, serological techniques include detection methods for specific antibodies and for circulating parasite antigens in the serum or tissue fluids. Here, we present a comprehensive review of various methods used in the detection of antibodies against Trichinella and circulating parasite antigens in animals and humans., Highlights • Trichinellosis is considered as a public health problem in several countries around the world. • The development of immunodiagnostic techniques has promoted the conduct of seroepidemiological studies. • This review provides insight into the evolution of these techniques.

A study of 426 rabbits from 3 cities in Jilin province (Changchun City and Jilin City) and Liaoning province (Shenyang City) was conducted between May and June 2015. The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in rabbits was 0.94% (4/426), with 0% (0/116), 1.72% (3/174), and 0.74% (1/136) in Jilin, Changchun, and Shenyang City, respectively. Only 3 farms (farm 1 and farm 3 in Changchun City, farm 8 in Shenyang City) were PCR-positive for E. bieneusi. Moreover, rabbits of more than 6 months (1.72%) had the highest E. bieneusi prevalence, followed by rabbits of 4-6 months (1.26%), 2-3 months (0.58%), and less than 1 month (0%). Analysis of ITS gene of E. bieneusi suggested that all 4 E. bieneusi isolates were genotype D, and were classified as group 1a. The present results first demonstrated the existence of zoonotic E. bieneusi in domestic rabbits in China. Effective control measures should be implemented to prevent E. bieneusi infection in domestic rabbits, other animals, and humans.

One-step sputtering with elevated substrate temperature was used to fabricate Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) and Cu(In,Ga)S2 (CIGS) films. We investigated the influence of this approach on the structure and electrical properties of CIGSe and CIGS films. Compact films with large grain size were achieved at relatively low substrate temperatures below 400 °C without post-treatments. The films obtained from CIGSe targets showed larger grain and higher crystallinity compared to that prepared from CIGS targets. It was found that the substrate temperature over 400 °C brought some undesirable effects on the film quality, such as voids and secondary phases. The loss of Ga and In during the fabrication process was detected, resulting in the formation of Cu-rich films with low carrier density. HBr solution etching reduced the Cu/(In + Ga) ratio of the sputtered films, leading to the improvement of the performance of the CIGSe solar cells along with the enhancement of carrier density.

To investigate the effect of Trichinella spiralis infection on dectin-2 expression on dendritic cells (DC) in mice.Seventy-two female BABL/c mice were randomized into experimental and control groups (n=36 in each), and received intragastric administration of 200 muscle larvae of Trichinella spiralis and PBS respectively. Six animals were each sacrificed on days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 after administration. The spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) were dissected and single cell suspensions were prepared. The expression of dectin-2 on DC in the spleen and MLN was examined by flow cytometry. In another experiment, bone marrow was obtained from C57BL/6 mice, and was treated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin 4 to induce bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) in vitro. Then 100 μg/ml T. spiralis excretory/secretory (ES) antigen or the same volume of PBS was added. The expression of dectin-2 was determined by flow cytometry at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 h.The flow cytometry results showed a significant decrease of dectin-2 expression［（7.0±0.7）%］ on spleen DC compared with that of the control group［（15.1±1.6）%］（P0.01） on day 7, and significant increase of dectin-2 on MLNDC compared with that of the control on days 7, 21 and 28 ［（11.1±3.5）% vs. （6.6±0.4）%, （12.4±1.4）% vs. （4.9±0.4）%, （6.9±1.0）% vs. （4.0±1.4）%］ （P0.05） after infection. In vitro results showed that dectin-2 expression was （9.4±2.2）%, （6.9±1.8）%, （6.9±0.7）%, （9.1±1.9）%, and（15.9±1.9）% respectively at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h after ES stimulation on BMDC. The expression at 6, 12, 24 and 36 h decreased significantly in comparison to that of the PBS group［（21.3±6.3）%］（P0.01).Trichinella infection can induce changes of dectin-2 expression on DC of mice.

Serine proteases form one of the most important families of enzymes and perform significant functions in a broad range of biological processes, such as intra- and extracellular protein metabolism, digestion, blood coagulation, regulation of development, and fertilization. A number of serine proteases have been identified in parasitic helminths that have putative roles in parasite development and nutrition, host tissues and cell invasion, anticoagulation, and immune evasion. In this review, we described the serine proteases that have been identified in parasitic helminths, including nematodes (Trichinella spiralis, T. pseudospiralis, Trichuris muris, Anisakis simplex, Ascaris suum, Onchocerca volvulus, O. lienalis, Brugia malayi, Ancylostoma caninum, and Steinernema carpocapsae), cestodes (Spirometra mansoni, Echinococcus granulosus, and Schistocephalus solidus), and trematodes (Fasciola hepatica, F. gigantica, and Schistosoma mansoni). Moreover, the possible biological functions of these serine proteases in the endogenous biological phenomena of these parasites and in the host-parasite interaction were also discussed.

Copper oxide nanowires and nanoparticles were fabricated through electrospinning followed by calcinations in different heating conditions. It was found that the solution viscosity and environment humidity had great impact on the morphologies of precursor nanowires, and the parameters of heat treatment, including final temperature and heating rate, significantly affected the product morphologies.

For Strong and Optimize Shanghai Ecological Environmental System. Shanghai has increased its investment in ecological environmental protection. Songjiang ranks the first in terms of environmental quality in all districts for 8 consecutive years. All the above achievements are due to the efficient and fast optimization and upgrading in its ecological environmental system. This paper focuses on analyzing the features of the ecological environmental protection system of Songjiang, clarifying clarifies the main bottlenecks, and puts forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions to provide references for relevant government departments.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are mainly used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The inhibitory effect of icariin on the activity of AChE was investigated by inhibition kinetics. The binding interaction and binding sites between icariin and AChE were also studied by using fluorimetry and molecular docking, respectively. The results showed that icariin could potently inhibit the activity of AChE, the IC50 value was determined to be 3.50 x 10(-8) mol x L(-1), and the determined IC50 value to tacrine was 0.75 x 10(-8) mol x L(-1). Kinetic analyses showed that icariin is a reversible and mixed type AChE inhibitor. The inhibition constants K1 and K(IS) were determined to be 2.67 x 10(-8) and 4.43 x 10(-8) mol x L(-1), respectively. Icariin binds selectively to the AChE peripheral anionic site via hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces.

Adipose-derived stromal cell (ADSC) differentiation into neural cells in vitro is becoming widely studied. However, there are few reports on astrocytes following differentiation, and particularly on maturation and electrophysiology. In this study, we used various methods to determine ADSC-derived astrocyte maturity.Chemical induction with isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) was used to differentiate adult ADSCs into astrocytes followed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining to observe morphology and transmission electron microscopy for cellular ultrastructure assessment. Immunofluorescence was used to detect expression of neural stem cell marker nestin as well as glial markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S-100. In addition, we measured membrane potentials in bis-(1,3-dibarbituric acid) trimethine oxanol-labeled ADSCs and astrocytes by stimulation with a high potassium solution under an inverted fluorescence microscope. Finally, cell cycle distribution was detected by flow cytometry.Typical astrocyte morphology was shown by HE staining after 48-hour differentiation. Glial fibril was observed with transmission electron microscopy. GFAP and S-100 were not expressed in the control group, but were expressed within 24-hour differentiation and reached a maximum at day 14 with no change up to day 28. Nestin was weakly expressed in control cells and also reached a maximum at day 14 with the percentage of positive cells constant until day 21 followed by a decrease. Differentiated cell membrane potentials after stimulation with potassium were slightly increased, and then gradually declined over time. There was no significant membrane potential change in the control group. Flow cytometry showed that the percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase was 93% and only 5% in S phase.ADSCs were differentiated into mature astrocytes with typical characteristics including morphology, ultrastructure, marker protein expression, mature potassium channels and mitotic capacity.

We fabricate nano-columnar tungsten (W) films on polycrystalline silicon substrates by magnetron sputtering using a grazing angle deposition technique. The deposition process is performed at a base pressure of 5×10−4 Pa. The intersection angle between the direction of the incident beam and the normal direction of the substrate is set as 85°. Separate as well as synergetic irradiations of 30/50 keV deuterium ions and 60 keV helium ions are carried out for the nano-columnar W. Samples of normal structure W are also irradiated under the same conditions as a comparison. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction are used to characterize the structure of the as-prepared as well as the irradiated samples. The experimental results show that blisters are difficult to form on the surface of nano-columnar W under the irradiation conditions in this work, which could be due to the particular structure.