The electrochemical N2 fixation, which is far from practical application in aqueous solution under ambient conditions, is extremely challenging and requires a rational design of electrocatalytic centers. We observed that bismuth (Bi) might be a promising candidate for this task because of its weak binding with H adatoms, which increases the selectivity and production rate. Furthermore, we successfully synthesized defect‐rich Bi nanoplates as an efficient noble‐metal‐free N2 reduction electrocatalyst via a low‐temperature plasma bombardment approach. When exclusively using 1H NMR measurements with N2 gas as a quantitative testing method, the defect‐rich Bi(110) nanoplates achieved a 15NH3 production rate of 5.453 μg mgBi−1 h−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 11.68 % at −0.6 V vs. RHE in aqueous solution at ambient conditions.

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to fuels is considered a promising strategy for the sustainable carbon cycle. However, the improvement of the catalytic performance of CO2 electrocatalysts still poses many challenges, especially achieving the large partial current density of product and high faradaic efficiency simultaneously, which are essential for future applications of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. In response, herein, an in situ porous Zn catalyst is prepared and exhibits high faradaic efficiency and large CO partial current density at the same time, benefiting from the porous architecture with increased exposure and accessibility of active sites. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the high faradaic efficiency is attributed to the favorable adsorption energy of the key intermediate, which promotes CO2 electroreduction to CO.

IMPORTANCE The timing and selection of patients with Kawasaki disease for corticosteroid use to prevent coronary artery complications remain controversial. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of corticosteroid therapy in KD. DATA SOURCES Databases of Medline, The Cochrane Library, and the Clinicaltrials.gov website until July 2015. We used the key words ["Kawasaki disease"] and ["steroid" OR "corticosteroid"] to retrieve potentially relevant studies in the databases of Medline, the Cochrane Library, and the Clinicaltrials.gov website until July 2015. Both English and non-English literature was identified. Titles and abstracts were reviewed by 2 authors (S.C. and Y.D.) to determine suitability for inclusion. Relevant articles were reassessed by reviewing the full text. Discrepancies in study inclusion were resolved by consensus (M.G.K.). STUDY SELECTION Clinical studies that compared corticosteroids plus intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy with IVIG therapy alone in treating patients with KD. Studies either using corticosteroids as initial therapy or as rescue therapy were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Investigators independently extracted the data information. Data were quantitatively synthesized using random-effects analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Rate of coronary artery abnormalities. RESULTS Sixteen comparative studies characterizing 2746 patients were analyzed. The duration of illness before corticosteroids therapy was significantly shorter in the initial corticosteroids subset than in the rescue corticosteroids subset. The rate of coronary artery abnormalities was significantly lower in adjunctive corticosteroids therapy than in IVIG therapy (odds ratio [OR], 0.424; 95% CI, 0.270-0.665). Meta-regression based on known variables demonstrated that the overall efficacy was negatively correlated with the duration of illness before corticosteroid therapy (P < .001). Subgroup analysis, including studies using corticosteroids plus IVIG as initial therapy, showed a more advantageous effect than IVIG alone regarding coronary artery abnormality prevention (OR, 0.320; 95% CI, 0.183-0.560), whereas this benefit was not found in a subgroup of studies using corticosteroids as rescue therapy. Further analysis found that patients predicted at baseline to be at high risk of IVIG resistance seemed to obtain the greatest benefit from adjunctive corticosteroid therapy regarding coronary artery abnormality prevention (OR, 0.240; 95% CI, 0.123-0.467). The fever duration was significantly reduced in the corticosteroids group. The favorable effects of corticosteroids were conferred without an increased risk of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study highlights the importance of timing to prevent coronary artery complication in treating KD. High-risk patients with KD benefit greatly from a timely and potent adjunctive corticosteroid therapy strategy.

Lithium metal is the only anode material that can enable the Li−O2 battery to realize its high theoretical energy density (≈3500 Wh kg−1). However, the inherent uncontrolled dendrite growth and serious corrosion limitations of lithium metal anodes make it experience fast degradation and impede the practical application of Li−O2 batteries. Herein, a multifunctional complementary LiF/F‐doped carbon gradient protection layer on a lithium metal anode by one‐step in situ reaction of molten Li with poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) is developed. The abundant strong polar C‐F bonds in the upper carbon can not only act as Li+ capture site to pre‐uniform Li+ flux but also regulate the electron configuration of LiF to make Li+ quasi‐spontaneously diffuse from carbon to LiF surface, avoiding the strong Li+‐adhesion‐induced Li aggregation. For LiF, it can behave as fast Li+ conductor and homogenize the nucleation sites on lithium, as well as ensure firm connection with lithium. As a result, this well‐designed protection layer endows the Li metal anode with dendrite‐free plating/stripping and anticorrosion behavior both in ether‐based and carbonate ester‐based electrolytes. Even applied protected Li anodes in Li−O2 batteries, its superiority can still be maintained, making the cell achieve stable cycling performance (180 cycles).

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BackgroundBabesiosis is an emerging health risk in several parts of the world. However, little is known about the prevalence of Babesia in malaria-endemic countries. The area along the China-Myanmar border in Yunnan is a main endemic area of malaria in P.R. China, however, human infection with Babesia microti (B. microti) is not recognized in this region, and its profile of co-infection is not yet clear.MethodsTo understand its profile of co-infections with B. microti, our investigation was undertaken in the malaria-endemic area along the China-Myanmar border in Yunnan between April 2012 and June 2013. Four parasite species, including B. microti, Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum), P. vivax, and P. malariae, were identified among 449 suspected febrile persons detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay based on small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) genes of B. microti and Plasmodium spp.ResultsOf all the collected samples from febrile patients, mono-infection with B. microti, P. vivax, P. falciparum, and P. malariae accounted for 1.8% (8/449), 9.8% (44/449), 2.9% (13/449), and 0.2% (1/449), respectively. The rate of mixed infections of B. microti with P. falciparum or P. vivax are both 0.2% (1/449), and mixed infections of P. falciparum and P. vivax accounted for 1.1% (5/449).ConclusionsThis report supports the hypothesis that babesiosis caused by B. microti is emerging along the China-Myanmar border in the Yunnan province, P.R. China, but it was ignored because of low parasitemia or mixed infection with Plasmodium spp. More sensitive and specific diagnosis methods are needed to find the rapid response mechanism of emergency for babesiosis and malaria co-prevalence areas.

BackgroundRapid diagnostic test (RDT) is becoming an alternative way of establishing quickly the diagnosis of malaria infections, by detecting specific malaria antigens in suspected patients’ blood between the China-Myanmar endemic borders areas, towards achieving the National Malaria Elimination programme by 2020. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of CareStart™ Malaria Pf/Pan RDT kit for the diagnosis of malaria infections in suspected patients. Blood examination by microscopy was taken as gold standard to evaluate CareStart™ kit’s sensitivity, specificity and predictive value and corrected with PCR assay.ResultsOverall 126 of 241 (52.28%) malaria cases were detected by microscopy compared to 115 of 241(47.72%) CareStart™ kit and 128 of 241 (53.11%) PCR corrected assay. CareStart™ kit’s sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of malaria were 89.68% and 98.26% respectively, compared to standard microscopy, whereas the sensitivity and specificity for falciparum malaria were 88.52% and 98.26%, and for vivax malaria: 90.77% and 100%. The CareStart™ positive predictive values were 98.26% (93.88-99.52%, 95% CI) compared to 100% (96.77-100%, 95% CI) for PCR-corrected, and the negative predictive values of 89.68% (83.15-93.87%, 95% CI) were the same in microscopy as PCR-corrected. The diagnostic accuracy of CareStart™ kit versus microscopy and PCR were 93.78% (89.99-96.19%, 95% CI) and 94.61% (90.99-96.82%, 95% CI) respectively. The likelihood of diagnostic of malaria positive was almost similar between microscopy and CareStart™ kit, with an entropy reduction of 60.0% compared to a weak likelihood of misdiagnosis of 0.10 (0.09-0.12, 95% CI), with an entropy reduction of 36.01%.ConclusionThe accuracy of CareStart™ kit is comparable to gold standard microscopy in these areas, it is easy to perform and suitable for cross-border diagnosis and monitoring of local or imported malaria patterns by any local health staff in endemic remotes.

Malaria importation and local vector susceptibility to imported Plasmodium vivax infection are a continuing risk along the China–Myanmar border. Malaria transmission has been prevented in 3 border villages in Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, China, by use of active fever surveillance, integrated vector control measures, and intensified surveillance and response.