[Investigation on endemic situation of schistosomiasis in infection-controlled regions in Anhui Province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the epidemic situation of schistosomiasis in 27 counties (cities, districts) that reached the criteria of schistosomiasis infection controlled in Anhui Province. METHODS: According to the requirement of The National Assessment Scheme of Schistosomiasis, 81 administrative villages where the schistosomiasis epidemic situation was relatively heaver in above-mentioned 27 counties (1 village per town, 3 towns per county) were sampled and investigated. RESULTS: From 2012 to 2014, 81 villages were investigated, and 34,293 residents received the serum examinations, and 1,086 were positive with a positive rate of 3.17% (0.65%-9.58%), and the positives received stool examinations and the average stool positive rate was 0.37% (0-4.0%). The calculated prevalence of human infection was 0.01%. A total of 3 057 domestic animals were investigated including 438 cattle, 2,550 sheep, and 69 other animals, and no infections were detected. A total of 11,261 living Oncomelania hupensis snails were collected and detected, but no schistosome infected snails were found. Before this investigation, no infected snails were detected for more than 2 years [average 2.3 (2-6) years], and no acute schistosome infection cases were found for more than 2 years [average 4.9 (2-9) years]. CONCLUSION: The infection rates of schistosomiasis in residents and domestic animals are relatively low, and no schistosome infected snails are found in the regions.

[Susceptibilities of Oncomelania hupensis snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from different hosts].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the susceptibilities of Oncomelania hupensis snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from different hosts. METHODS: The Schistosoma japonicum eggs from different hosts, such as rabbits, cattle and mice were collected. These eggs were incubated for miracidia, respectively. Each snail from the same site was exposed to 5 miracidia of Schistosoma japonicum from different hosts. The infected snails were fed in the laboratory for two months. Then all the snails were dissected and observed under the dissecting microscope in order to know the infection rate of snails. RESULTS: In the experiment group, the infection rates of snails infected with miracidia from rabbits, cattle and mice were 1.42%, 8.67% and 19.87%, respectively, the mortality rates were 29.5%, 13.5% and 24.5%, respectively. However, the infection rates of snails in the control group were 2.63%, 2.02% and 11.66%, respectively, and the mortality rates were 24.0%, 49.5% and 18.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The susceptibilities of Oncomelania snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from 3 kinds of hosts are significantly different.

Characterization of partially reduced graphene oxide as room temperature sensor for H2.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was synthesized under H(2)/Ar treatment from 100 °C to 900 °C. RGO-300 shows excellent sensitivity to H(2) and a dual sensing mode was observed. The balance between the chemical adsorption capacity and electronic conductivity, and the dominance of either electrons or holes are the key factors.

Hydrophilic TiO2 porous spheres anchored on hydrophobic polypropylene membrane for wettability induced high photodegrading activities.

TiO(2) porous nanospheres on polypropylene (PP) films (TiO(2)/PP composite) are produced at ambient temperature. Particle/pore size match up is the key anchoring point to overcome the low affinity between hydrophilic materials and hydrophobic materials. With the hydrophilic TiO(2) catalyst evenly dispersed on a hydrophobic surface, the aqueous solution will selectively skip the substrate and wet the catalysts. Such a wettability-induced smart system maximizes the degrading activity of the TiO(2) catalyst. In photodegrading reactions, the resulting TiO(2)/PP composite film exhibits a 10 times higher activity in flow-type setup than the same TiO(2) catalyst in a traditional batch-type setup.

Identification of the nitrogen species on N-doped graphene layers and Pt/NG composite catalyst for direct methanol fuel cell.

Heat treatment of graphene oxide (GO) with ammonia flow at various temperatures resulted in different distribution of nitrogen species. Synchrotron based X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy provides unambiguous evidence for the presence of three nitrogen species. The Pt/NG-800 composite exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation.

Silica nanotubes with mesoporous walls and various internal morphologies using hard/soft dual templates.

Silica nanotubes with mesoporous walls of 30 nm thickness and various internal morphologies are produced using hard/soft dual templates; this hierarchical pore structure shows faster mass transportation in catalysis.