High performance removal of sulfamethoxazole using large specific area of biochar derived from corncob xylose residue

To remove antibiotics from waste water,an alkali active porous biochar,850BC,was prepared from corncob xylose residue.In preparation,NaOH dipping was used for silicon removal and KOH activation was operated at 850℃.Further characterization containing BET,SEM,and FTIR were confirmed.850BC possessed a huge specific surface area of 3043 m^(2)·g^(−1),developed pore structure and abundant oxygen functional groups.The adsorption performance of sulfamethoxazole on 850BC was quick and efficient,and the adsorption capacity reached 1429 mg·g^(−1),which was significantly higher than other adsorbents reported previously.While pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model could better describe the adsorption,chemisorp-tion dominated the SMX adsorption onto 850BC.In virtue of pore-filling andπ-πinteraction as major mechanism,a large surface area and rich oxygen-containing functional groups led to an excellent adsorption performance.Thus,this preparation method provided a biochar-based adsorbent with enhanced specific surface for efficient removal of antibiotic pollutants.

Prevalence,Incidence,and Characteristics of Tuberculosis Among Known Diabetes Patients—A Prospective Cohort Study in 10 Sites,2013–2015

Summary What is already known about this topic?The association of diabetes mellitus(DM)with both increased risk of tuberculosis(TB)and unfavorable treatment outcomes has been identified by many studies(1).However,epidemic data for TB cases in DM patients is absent in China.What is added by this report?This current population-based prospective cohort study,conducted in ten counties located in eastern,central,and western China during 2013–2015,revealed a high prevalence and incidence of TB in known DM patients.Most TB cases were captured by active case-finding and a much higher presence of being asymptomatic among TB/DM patients was obtained.What are the implications for public health practice?Active case-finding should be carried out in DM patients and populations at high risk for developing TB.A TB symptom screening-based case-finding strategy is not enough;chest radiography check should be done once a year for these patients.

Construction of an Infectious Clone for Mosquito-Derived Tembusu Virus Prototypical Strain

Dear Editor,Duck Tembusu virus(DTMUV),a member of the Flavivirus genus within the Flaviviridae family,has caused huge economic losses to the poultry industry in China and even in Asia since 2010(Zhang et al.2017).The first strain of Tembusu virus(TMUV)MM_1775 was isolated from mosquitoes in 1955 in Malaysia(Platt et al.1975).DTMUV CQW1 strain(GenBank:KM233707.1)was isolated from the liver tissue of Cherry Valley ducks in southwest China in 2015(Zhu et al.2015).The positive control rCQW1 was rescued from an infectious clone that contained the full-length cDNA of CQW1.And the complete cDNA was positioned under the control of the T7 promoter elements for in vitro transcription(Chen et al.2018).The relationship between TMUV evolution and pathogenic variants has not been revealed.The fundamental reason is the lack of the in vitro operation platform for the prototypical strain genome.