Urinary schistosomiasis and malaria associated anemia in Ethiopia

Objective:To assess the prevalence of anemia in children with urinary schistosomiasis,malaria and concurrent infections by the two diseases.Methods:Urine and blood samples were collected from 387 children(216 males and 171 females)to examine urinary schistosomiasis and malaria and to determine hemoglobin concentration at Hassoba and Hassoba Buri village in Amibara woreda,Afar region,Ethiopia.Results:The overall prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis and Plasmodium falciparum malaria was 24.54%and 6.20%respectively.Only 2.84%of children carried concurrent infections of both parasites.There was high percentage of anemic patients(81.81%)in the coinfected cases than in either malaria(33.3%)or schistosomiasis(38.94%)cases.There was significantly low mean hemoglobin concentration in concurrently infected children than non-infected and single infected(P<0.05).The mean hemoglobin concentration between Plasmodium falciparum and S.haematobium infected children showed no significant difference(P>0.05).The level of hemoglobin was negatively correlated with the number of S.haematobium eggs/10 mL urine(r=-0.6)and malaria parasitemia(r=-0.53).Conclusions:The study showed that anemia is higher in concurrently infected children than non-infected and single infected.Furthermore,level of hemoglobin was negatively correlated with the number of S.haematobium eggs and malaria parsitemia.Therefore,examination of hemoglobin status in patients co-infected with malaria and schistosomiasis is important to reduce the risk of anemia and to improve health of the community.

Zhu Xi:a pioneer of experimental biology

Zhu Xi(朱洗,1900-1962)(Fig.1),one of the founders of cell biology and experimental biology in China,was bom in Linhai,Zhejiang Province in 1900.In 1931,he obtained his doctorate in France.After returning China,he devoted himself to toad reproduction research.With the spirit of innovation and dedication to research,he had made marvelous contributions to China,especially in biology.At the same time,he put his patriotism into action,promoting the vigorous development of agriculture and other industries.

Porous and free-standing Ti3C2Tx-RGO film with ultrahigh gravimetric capacitance for supercapacitors

MXene-based electrode materials exhibit favorable supercapacitor performance in sulfuric acid due to praised pseudocapacitance charge storage mechanism.However,self-stacking of conventional MXene electrodes severely restricts their electrochemical performance,especially at high loading.Herein,a flexible cross-linked porous Ti3C2Tx-MXene-reduced graphene oxide(Ti3C2Tx-RGO)film is skillfully designed and synthesized by microscopic explosion of graphene oxide(GO)at sudden high te mperature.The generated chamber structure between layers could hold a few of electrolyte,leading to a close-fitting reaction at interlayer and avoiding complex ions transmission paths.The Ti3C2Tx-RGO film displayed a preferable rate performance than that of pure Ti3C2Tx film and a high capacitance of 505 F/g at 2 mV/s.Furthermore,the uniform intralayer structure and unique energy storage process lead to thicknessindependenct electrochemical performances.This work provides a simple and feasible improvement approach for the design of MXene-based electrodes,which can be spread other electrochemical systems limited by ions transport,such as metal ions batteries and catalysis.

Shu-szi Sin: A Chinese pioneer biologist, ancient agronomist, and educator

Shu-szi Sin(辛树枳,1894-1977)(Fig.1),a Chinese pioneer biologist and ancient agronomist,initiated the earliest scientific biological investigation of the Dayao mountain in both Guangxi and Guangdong provinces,discovering more than 20 new species that have been acknowledged internationally.He was one of the founders and initiators of the China Botanical Society and the China Zoological Society.Mr.Sin was also a great educator Among one of those who first introduced the scientific method into agricultural history research,Mr.Sin helped to set up the National Northwest Agriculture and Forestry College(now Northwest A&F University)and the Lanzhou University.He devoted himself to the development of higher education in Northwest China.

A Multilevel Analysis of Asian Immigrant Children’s Reading Achievement in the Early Years:Evidence from the ECLS-K Data

This study investigates 1.5 generation1 Asian immigrant children’s(n=264)early literacy achievement patterns,treating them as a heterogeneous group.Specifically,the within-group variances in reading achievement from kindergarten to third grade are examined,drawing on four waves of data from the ECLS-K class of 1998-1999.Our analysis shows that ethnicity plays a role in shaping the children’s initial reading readiness and later growth,but the effects of languages spoken at home are not significant.Our analysis also demonstrates a persistent achievement gap between low-and high-socioeconomic status(SES)Asian groups.However,gender difference in terms of children’s reading development is not found to be significant.There is also no interaction between SES and the other factors such as gender,ethnicity and language backgrounds.