BackgroundRecently in China, HCV 6a infection has shown a fast increase among patients and blood donors, possibly due to IDU linked transmission.Methodology/FindingsWe recruited 210 drug users in Shanwei city, Guangdong province. Among them, HCV RNA was detected in 150 (71.4%), both E1 and NS5B genes were sequenced in 136, and 6a genotyped in 70. Of the 6a sequences, most were grouped into three clusters while 23% represent emerging strains. For coalescent analysis, additional 6a sequences were determined among 21 blood donors from Vietnam, 22 donors from 12 provinces of China, and 36 IDUs from Liuzhou City in Guangxi Province. Phylogeographic analyses indicated that Vietnam could be the origin of 6a in China. The Guangxi Province, which borders Vietnam, could be the first region to accept 6a for circulation. Migration from Yunnan, which also borders Vietnam, might be equally important, but it was only detected among IDUs in limited regions. From Guangxi, 6a could have further spread to Guangdong, Yunnan, Hainan, and Hubei provinces. However, evidence showed that only in Guangdong has 6a become a local epidemic, making Guangdong the second source region to disseminate 6a to the other 12 provinces. With a rate of 2.737×10−3 (95% CI: 1.792×10−3 to 3.745×10−3), a Bayesian Skyline Plot was portrayed. It revealed an exponential 6a growth during 1994–1998, while before and after 1994–1998 slow 6a growths were maintained. Concurrently, 1994–1998 corresponded to a period when contaminated blood transfusion was common, which caused many people being infected with HIV and HCV, until the Chinese government outlawed the use of paid blood donations in 1998.Conclusions/SignificanceWith an origin from Vietnam, 6a has become a local epidemic in Guangdong Province, where an increasing prevalence has subsequently led to 6a spread to many other regions of China.

Ammonium salt of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA-NH4) has been used to stabilize aqueous BaTiO3 suspensions at various pH values. Adsorption of PAA-NH4 causes the zeta potential to become more negative, although this effect becomes less dramatic as the pH increases. The concentration of PAA-NH4 required to stabilize aqueous BaTiO3 suspensions decreases with increasing pH. The critical amount of PAA-NH4 as a function of pH is plotted in a stability map, as determined by adsorption, rheology, and sedimentation studies.

The colloidal stability of aqueous barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) suspensions with the ammonium salt of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA-NH 4 ), as a function of pH, has been investigated. The concentration of PMAA-NH 4 required to stabilize aqueous BaTiO 3 suspensions decreases as the pH increases. A stability map that delineates the critical amount of PMAA-NH 4 necessary to achieve colloidal stability, as a function of pH, has been constructed.

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Ti and Ti alloys can be applied to steels as a protective coating in view of its excellent resistance to corrosive environment. Cold spraying, as a new coating technique, has potential advantages in fabrication of Ti coating in comparison with conventional thermal spraying techniques. In this study, Ti coatings were prepared on carbon steel substrates by cold spraying via controlling the process conditions. The microstructure of coatings was observed by SEM. The porosity of coatings was estimated by image analysis and the bond strength was tested for comparison of the process conditions. Potentiodynamic polarization and open-circuit potential (OCP) measurements were performed to understand the corrosion behavior of the coatings. The SEM examination shows that the coatings become more compact with the increases of pressure and temperature of driving gas. The potentiodynamic polarization curves indicate that the coating which has lower porosity has lower corrosion current. The polarization and OCP measurement reveal that cold-sprayed Ti coating can provide favorable protection to carbon steel substrate. The polishing treatment of coating surface polishes the rough outer layer including the small pores as well as decreases the actual surface area of the coating, leading to the considerable improvement of corrosion resistance.