Effects of Talaromyces marneffei on Complete Blood Count by a Sysmex XN-9000 Analyzer.

BACKGROUND: Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei) infection detected in the peripheral blood smears has been described by several reports. We studied the effects of T. marneffei in peripheral blood samples on complete blood count (CBC) using a Sysmex XN-9000 analyzer. METHODS: In a simulated T. marneffei infection model, blood samples with and without infectious diseases were selected, with high, medium, and low levels of white blood cell (WBC) and platelet (PLT) count, respectively. All samples were detected immediately and after a warm bath of 37℃ for 2 hours. RESULTS: WBC count of all samples was significantly increased by T. marneffei from a certain concentration and higher. For all samples, the effect of T. marneffei on WBC count after warm bath was significantly reduced compared to that on immediate WBC count from 4 - 6 x 109/L T. Marneffei and higher (p < 0.05). The presence of T. marneffei in all blood samples did not affect the results of PLT count. For all samples, the obvious effects of T. marneffei on WBC differential (WDF) and white cell nucleated red blood cell (WNR) scatter plots were from 4 - 6 x 109 T Marneffei and higher. CONCLUSIONS: As a kind of intracellular yeast, T. marneffei may affect WBC count, NRBC count, and WBC differential count of peripheral blood samples when the yeast concentration is (4 - 6) x 109 T Marneffei and higher. Moreover, the unique scatter plot cloud on WDF and WNR scatter plots caused by T. marneffei, may become an important clue pointing toward T. marneffei in peripheral blood.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Iron Sulfide and Its Application as a Catalyst in the Hydrogenation of Azobenzenes.

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of iron sulfide (FeSx ) is reported for the first time. The deposition process employs bis(N,N'-di-tert-butylacetamidinato)iron(II) and H2 S as the reactants and produces fairly pure, smooth, and well-crystallized FeSx thin films following an ideal self-limiting ALD growth behavior. The FeSx films can be uniformly and conformally deposited into deep narrow trenches with aspect ratios as high as 10:1, which highlights the broad applicability of this ALD process for engineering the surface of complex 3D nanostructures in general. Highly uniform nanoscale FeSx coatings on porous γ-Al2 O3 powder were also prepared. This compound shows excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of azo compounds under mild reaction conditions, demonstrating the promise of ALD FeSx as a catalyst for organic reactions.

Interface Energy Alignment of Atomic-Layer-Deposited VOx on Pentacene: an in Situ Photoelectron Spectroscopy Investigation.

Ultrathin atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) vanadium oxide (VOx) interlayer has recently been demonstrated for remarkably reducing the contact resistance in organic electronic devices (Adv. Funct. Mater. 2016, 26, 4456). Herein, we present an in situ photoelectron spectroscopy investigation (including X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopies) of ALD VOx grown on pentacene to understand the role of the ALD VOx interlayer for the improved contact resistance. The in situ photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations allow us to monitor the ALD growth process of VOx and trace the evolutions of the work function, pentacene HOMO level, and VOx defect states during the growth. The initial VOx growth is found to be partially delayed on pentacene in the first ∼20 ALD cycles. The underneath pentacene layer is largely intact after ALD. The ALD VOx is found to contain a high density of defect states starting from 0.67 eV below the Fermi level, and the energy level of these defect states is in excellent alignment with the HOMO level of pentacene, which therefore allows these VOx defect states to provide an efficient hole-injection pathway at the contact interface.

Band Alignment for Rectification and Tunneling Effects in Al2O3 Atomic-Layer-Deposited on Back Contact for CdTe Solar Cell.

The present work intends to explain why ultrathin Al2O3 atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) on the back contact with rectification and tunneling effects can significantly improve the performance of CdTe solar cells in our previous work [ Liang , J. ; et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2015 , 107 , 013907 ]. Herein, we further study the mechanism through establishing the interfacial energy band diagram configuration of the ALD Al2O3/CuxTe by experiment of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations and conclude to find the band alignment with optimized layer thickness (about 1 nm ALD Al2O3) as the key factor for rectification and tunneling effects.

A novel p-type and metallic dual-functional Cu-Al2O3 ultra-thin layer as the back electrode enabling high performance of thin film solar cells.

Increasing the open-circuit voltage (Voc) along with the fill factor (FF) is pivotal for the performance improvement of solar cells. In this work, we report the design and construction of a new structure of CdS/CdTe/Al2O3/Cu using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, and then we control Cu diffusion through the Al2O3 atomic layer into the CdTe layer. Surprisingly, this generates a novel p-type and metallic dual-functional Cu-Al2O3 atomic layer. Due to this dual-functional character of the Cu-Al2O3 layer, an efficiency improvement of 2% in comparison with the standard cell was observed. This novel dual-functional back contact structure could also be introduced into other thin film solar cells for their efficiency improvement.

Enhancing the High-Voltage Cycling Performance of LiNi(0.5)Mn(0.3)Co(0.2)O2 by Retarding Its Interfacial Reaction with an Electrolyte by Atomic-Layer-Deposited Al2O3.

High-voltage (>4.3 V) operation of LiNi(x)Mn(y)Co(z)O2 (NMC; 0 ≤ x, y, z < 1) for high capacity has become a new challenge for next-generation lithium-ion batteries because of the rapid capacity degradation over cycling. In this work, we investigate the performance of LiNi(0.5)Mn(0.3)Co(0.2)O2 (NMC532) electrodes with and without an atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) Al2O3 layer for charging/discharging in the range from 3.0 to 4.5 V (high voltage). The results of the electrochemical measurements show that the cells with ALD Al2O3-coated NMC532 electrodes have much enhanced cycling stability. The mechanism was investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods. We find that the ultrathin ALD Al2O3 film can reduce the interface resistance of lithium-ion diffusion and enhance the surface stability of NMC532 by retarding the reactions at NMC532/electrolyte interfaces for preventing the formation of a new microstructure rock-salt phase NiO around the NMC532 surfaces.

Vapor-Phase Atomic Layer Deposition of Co9S8 and Its Application for Supercapacitors.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of cobalt sulfide (Co9S8) is reported. The deposition process uses bis(N,N'-diisopropylacetamidinato)cobalt(II) and H2S as the reactants and is able to produce high-quality Co9S8 films with an ideal layer-by-layer ALD growth behavior. The Co9S8 films can also be conformally deposited into deep narrow trenches with aspect ratio of 10:1, which demonstrates the high promise of this ALD process for conformally coating Co9S8 on high-aspect-ratio 3D nanostructures. As Co9S8 is a highly promising electrochemical active material for energy devices, we further explore its electrochemical performance by depositing Co9S8 on porous nickel foams for supercapacitor electrodes. Benefited from the merits of ALD for making high-quality uniform thin films, the ALD-prepared electrodes exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance, with high specific capacitance, great rate performance, and long-term cyclibility, which highlights the broad and promising applications of this ALD process for energy-related electrochemical devices, as well as for fabricating complex 3D nanodevices in general.

Kinetics Tuning of Li-Ion Diffusion in Layered Li(NixMnyCoz)O2.

Using ab initio calculations combined with experiments, we clarified how the kinetics of Li-ion diffusion can be tuned in LiNixMnyCozO2 (NMC, x + y + z = 1) materials. It is found that Li-ions tend to choose oxygen dumbbell hopping (ODH) at the early stage of charging (delithiation), and tetrahedral site hopping (TSH) begins to dominate when more than 1/3 Li-ions are extracted. In both ODH and TSH, the Li-ions surrounded by nickel (especially with low valence state) are more likely to diffuse with low activation energy and form an advantageous path. The Li slab space, which also contributes to the effective diffusion barriers, is found to be closely associated with the delithiation process (Ni oxidation) and the contents of Ni, Co, and Mn.

Evidence of two distinct dynamical freezing processes in single-layered perovskite La(0.7)Sr(1.3)CoO4.

The static and dynamic features of magnetization have been investigated in terms of dc magnetization, ac susceptibility, and memory effects on single-layered perovskite La(0.7)Sr(1.3)CoO(4). The results indicate that short-range ferromagnetic clusters coexist with the glassy magnetic state, i.e., a cluster-glass phase between T(f) and T(G) and a spin-glass-like phase below T(f). The clear evidence of memory effects in the dc magnetization is also observed below T(f) and T(G), respectively. These two glassy states with cooperative relaxation processes may derive from the different interaction processes among nanoscale ferromagnetic clusters mediated by the matrix, which is influenced by changing the spin state of Co(3+) ions in spontaneously phase-separated cobaltite.

[Effect of landscape pattern on mouse pest in Dongting Lake area].

The relationship between landscape pattern and ecological process is one of the key issues in landscape ecology. Both the species protection and the bio-disaster prevention are closed linked with the landscape pattern of organism's habitat. Taking Dongting Lake area as a case, this paper studied the characteristics of landscape pattern in typical sampling plots, and analyzed the correlation of mouse capture rate in farmland and in house with the indices reflecting the characteristics of landscape pattern. The results showed that the mouse capture rate in farmland correlated significantly with the landscape aggregation, connection, and mosaic shape, while that in house had a significant correlation with the mosaic shape of construction land. Some suggestions on reducing mouse pest were put forward from the viewpoint of landscape pattern.