The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and GB virus C or hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infections was determined in 289 patients with liver disease in Ho Chi Minh City and 890 healthy inhabitants of its rural area, Dalat City, Vietnam, respectively. Serum HCV RNA and GBV-C/HGV RNA were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). HBsAg, HCV antibodies, and GBV-C/HGV RNA were detected in 139 (47%), 69 (23%), and ten (3%) subjects, respectively, often accompanied by elevated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase. HBsAg and HCV antibodies or HCV antibodies and GBV-C/HGV RNA were detectable simultaneously in 8% and 2% of the patients, respectively. In the inhabitants, HBsAg, HCV antibodies, and GBV-C/HGV RNA were found in 51 (5.7%), nine (1.0%), and 11 (1.2%) subjects, respectively. Thus, the prevalence of HBsAg, HCV antibodies, and GBV-C/HGV RNA was significantly higher in liver disease patients than those in the general population. In the samples from 69 patients and nine inhabitants who were seropositive for HCV antibodies, HCV RNA was detectable in 42 (61%) and 4 (44%), respectively. In patients with liver disease, ten belonged to HCV genotype 1a, ten to HCV 1b, three to HCV 2a, four to HCV 2b, and two to HCV 3a by PCR with genotype-specific primers. Nine patients had mixed genotypes, and the remaining four were not classified. Of the GBV-C/HGV RNA-positive individuals, two patients and two inhabitants were positive for HBsAg, while none of the residents had HCV antibodies, although six HCV antibodies (60%) and four HCV RNA (40%) were found in patients. When a phylogenetic tree of GBV-C/HGV was constructed based on the nucleotide sequences, the 21 isolates were classified into at least two genotypes; four isolates belonged to G2, and 17 to G3. The results indicate that in Ho Chi Minh HCV infection prevails with broad distribution of genotypes together with HBV infection among patients with liver disease. This study suggests that GBV-C/HGV infection occurs independently in the two different districts in association with HCV infection.

All-solid-state lithium batteries using inorganic sulfide solid electrolytes have good safety properties and high rate capabilities as expected for a next-generation battery. Presently, conventional preparation methods such as mechanical milling and/or solid-phase synthesis need a long time to provide a small amount of the product, and they have difficult in supplying a sufficient amount to meet the demand. Hence, liquid-phase synthesis methods have been developed for large-scale synthesis. However, the ionic conductivity of sulfide solid electrolytes prepared via liquid-phase synthesis is typically lower than that prepared via solid-phase synthesis. In this study, we have controlled three factors: (1) shaking time, (2) annealing temperature, and (3) annealing time. The factors influencing lithium ionic conductivity of Li 3 PS 4 prepared via liquid-phase synthesis were quantitatively evaluated using high-energy X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement coupled with pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. It was revealed from PDF analysis that the amount of Li 2 S that cannot be detected by Raman spectroscopy or XRD decreased the ionic conductivity. Furthermore, it was revealed that the ionic conductivity of Li 3 PS 4 is dominated by other parameters, such as remaining solvent in the sample and high crystallinity of the sample.

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Abstract:The ultimate aims of our research are to i) offer a technical description of imitation behavior, ii) modelize imitation with other related factors to present an overall model where all important factors can be measurable, and iii) utilize the model to measure the impacts of imitation. Therefore, understanding the concept of imitation and other related concepts in order to properly characterize these concepts, and then building a conceptual model are the first steps toward achieving this aim. This paper will focus on i) the review of the literature on imitation and its limitation, ii) the understanding of the relationship between imitation and other related concepts, and iii) the resultant suggestions on a conceptual framework for analysis.

Li 3 PS 4 was synthesized from the reaction of Li 2 S and P 2 S 5 in several kinds of organic solvents with a carbonyl group, i.e. dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethyl acetate (EA) and methyl propyl ketone (MPK) as a complex forming medium by liquid-phase shaking. XRD results showed that Li 2 S still existed in the sample prepared using MPK, whereas the reaction between Li 2 S and P 2 S 5 completed in DMC and EA media which then resulted in the formation of co-crystalline complex for EP and low crystalline complex for DMC, respectively. Ionic conductivities of Li 3 PS 4 obtained using MPK, MDC and EP were 3 × 10 −7, 6 × 10, and 2 × 10 −4 Scm −1 at room temperature, respectively.The results pointed out that ester group was suitable for facilitation of the reaction between Li 2 S and P 2 S 5 .

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