Size-controlled and coated magnetite nanoparticles with glucose and gluconic acid have been successfully synthesized via a simple and facile hydrothermal reduction route using a single iron precursor, FeCl 3 , and a combination of the inherent chemical reduction capability of sucrose decomposition products and their inorganic coordinating ability. The particle size can be easily controlled in the range of 4-16 nm. Results obtained with and without the addition of sucrose indicate that sucrose is required for the formation of nanoscale and coated magnetite instead of the much larger hematite. Mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry analysis were used to investigate the formation mechanism of the coated nanomagnetite from the single Fe(III) precursor in sucrose. Sucrose acts as a bifunctional agent: (i) it decomposes into reducing species, causing partial reduction of the Fe 3+ ions to Fe 2+ ions as required for the formation of Fe 3 O 4 and (ii) acts as the source of a capping agent to adjust the surface properties and enable the formation of nanoscale particles. The saturation magnetization of the asobtained magnetite is measured and greatly related to the particle size.

Unique N-doped TiO 2 nanowires with onedimensional nanostructure were synthesized in presence of NH 3 gas at different temperature with titanate nanowires as precursor. Structure and morphology of the obtained samples were investigated by TEM, HRTEM, SEM, XRD, XPS, and UV-Vis. The results revealed that a clear visiblelight response could be induced by N-doping. Nanowire structure was maintained after N-hybridization of TiO 2 framework even at 600°C, while distance between two contiguous layers shrinked a little. The incorporated nitrogen atoms are located in position of oxygen in TiO 2 lattice to form O-Ti-N structure according to XPS result. An excellent photocatalytic activity of nitrogen-doped TiO 2 nanowires for degradation of methyl orange was achieved.

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A novel bio-templated route was reported for the fabrication of uniform and well dispersed TiO, nanoparticles using denatured egg albumen (EA) proteins network as template. Anatase TiO2 nanoparticles of ca. 9 nm with narrow size distribution were obtained under employed reaction conditions, as proved by the XRD and TEM results. The as-prepared TiO2 nanoparticles were further characterized by means of XPS, FTIR, TG-DTA and UV-Vis. Based on the characterization results, a possible process of heat-induced denatured protein network as template matrix to fabricate TiO2 nanoparticles was carefully proposed. The method with egg albumen as bio-template provides us a cheap, green and repeatable route for the fabrication of nanoparticles under mild conditions.

Introduction: Although syphilis is a frequent co-infection in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the influence of syphilis on immune response and virologic failure in HIV-infected patients following initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not well-defined. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at Tianjin Second People's Hospital to evaluate the prevalence of syphilis and immune status in 4171 ART-naïve patients. The study included patients who initiated ART between August 2009 and June 2019. Results: The prevalence of syphilis was 40.1% in all ART-naïve patients and 42.5% in ARTnaïve men who have sex with men. HIV/syphilis co-infection was associated with higher virologic failure (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.30 (1.04, 1.63)). Patients with HIV/ syphilis co-infection had lower median CD4 + T cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratios at baseline. After initiation of ART, patients co-infected with HIV/syphilis had smaller increases in CD4 + T cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratios than patients infected only with HIV. The rate of recurrence of syphilis or reinfection was 9% (n = 128) during seven years of ART. Conclusion: HIV/syphilis co-infection had a negative impact on immune recovery and antiretroviral effectiveness. RPR titer and HIV viral load should be monitored in patients coinfected with HIV/syphilis, especially in patients with high RPR titers.