The final stages of dog rabies elimination from Japan.

Rabies is a lethal zoonotic disease mainly transmitted to humans by dog bites. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of rabies control policies in Japan, which resulted in the elimination of the disease from the country in 1957. Using historical records from the Kanto region (Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Tokyo Prefectures) between 1947 and 1956 where the final canine cases were recorded, we undertook a descriptive epidemiological study, applying spatio-temporal scan statistics using SaTScan and estimating the effective reproduction number (R ) for the clusters and each prefecture using the growth rates.

Spatio-temporal epidemiology of animal and human rabies in northern South Africa between 1998 and 2017.

Background: Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease that is maintained in domestic dogs and wildlife populations in the Republic of South Africa. A retrospective study was conducted to improve understanding of the dynamics of rabies in humans, domestic dogs, and wildlife species, in relation to the ecology for three northern provinces of South Africa (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North-West) between 1998 and 2017.

Methods: A descriptive epidemiology study was conducted for human and animal rabies.

Excellent Moisture Stability and Efficiency of Inverted All-Inorganic CsPbIBr Perovskite Solar Cells through Molecule Interface Engineering.

All-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have drawn widespread interest because of its excellent thermal stability compared to its organic-inorganic hybrid counterpart. Poor phase stability caused by moisture, however, has thus far limited their commercial application. Herein, by modifying the interface between the hole-transport layer (HTL) and the perovskite light absorption layer, and by optimizing the HTL for better energy alignment, we controlled the growth of perovskite, reduced carrier recombination, facilitated carrier injection and transport, and improved the PSC's power conversion efficiency (PCE) and moisture stability.

Suppression of Iodide Ion Migration via SbS Interfacial Modification for Stable Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

In mixed halide perovskite, the halide phase segregation is commonly observed due to halide ion migration, which causes severe stability issues in perovskite devices. Here, we directly revealed the iodide-migration process via potentiostatic treatment in CsPbIBr perovskite. The absence of iodide ions was reduced significantly via a SbS interfacial modification.

Niobium Incorporation into CsPbIBr for Stable and Efficient All-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

All-inorganic perovskites are attracting increasing attention due to their superior thermal stability than that of the traditional CHNHPbI, while their inferior phase stability in ambient conditions is still an unsolved issue. Here, for the first time, we report the incorporation of niobium (Nb) ions into the CsPbIBr perovskite. Results indicate that Nb can effectively stabilize the photoactive α-CsPbIBr phase by the possible substitution of Pb.

The Role of Lanthanum in a Nickel Oxide-Based Inverted Perovskite Solar Cell for Efficiency and Stability Improvement.

A high-performing inverted perovskite solar cell (PSC) always relies on the hole transporting layer (HTL) quality and its interfaces. This work investigates the impact of La incorporation within the NiO matrix for defects passivation, thus leading to high charge extraction ability and stability without compromising its power conversion efficiency. In the presence of La, the La-NiO quality is clearly improved; without the formation of pinholes.

High Electrical Conductivity 2D MXene Serves as Additive of Perovskite for Efficient Solar Cells.

MXenes, a newly intriguing family of 2D materials, have recently attracted considerable attention owing to their excellent properties such as high electrical conductivity and mobility, tunable structure, and termination groups. Here, the Ti C T MXene is incorporated into the perovskite absorber layer for the first time, which aims for efficiency enhancement. Results show that the termination groups of Ti C T can retard the crystallization rate, thereby increasing the crystal size of CH NH PbI .

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic water oxidation catalysed by iron-based metal-organic frameworks.

An iron-based metal-organic framework, MIL-101(Fe), promotes photocatalytic water oxidation to produce oxygen from aqueous silver nitrate solution under visible-light irradiation. The finely dispersed iron-oxo clusters embedded as nodes of the porous framework would contribute importantly to the efficient promotion of the reaction as compared to bulk hematite (α-Fe2O3).

Evaluation of the copper(II) complexing ability of ultrafiltered humic acid by the solvent extraction method.

A commercial humic acid dissolved in water was fractionated to nine samples by means of ultrafiltration (UF); the nominal molecular weight used for UF membranes was 1 k-200 kDa. Concerning the nine samples, copper(II) complexing capacities (CuCC) and conditional stability constants (beta) of the formed copper(II) complexes were measured by a solvent extraction method. A total organic carbon (TOC) and the UV-VIS absorption ratio (E350 nm/E450 nm) were also measured.