abstract,label
" The synthesis of lambda-manganese oxide (λ-MnO2) with a developed porosity and an ordered and interconnected pore structure used as supercapacitor electrode is reported for the first time in the present study. A spinel-type LiMn2O4 material was first prepared by hard-templating pathway using KIT-6 mesoporous silica as a template and metal nitrates as precursors, which was subsequently acid treated leading to λ-MnO2 material. The materials exhibit high surface area (up to 150 m2 g−1), defined pore size distribution with three-dimensional interconnected pores, and crystalline pore walls. The material textural properties as well as the morphologies vary considerably with the synthetic conditions. The as-synthesized porous λ-MnO2 materials exhibit a noticeably better performance (120 F g−1) at high constant currents (1 A g−1) than commercial derived λ-MnO2 (11 F g−1). The extended surface area and the porous and three-dimensional interconnected structures along with the specific morphology significantly enhance the lithium diffusion through the particles and allow for a more effective use of this pseudocapacitive material as an electrode in supercapacitor.",battery
"Introduction Contact dermatitis to cosmetics is a common problem in the general population, although its prevalence appears to be underestimated. We reviewed cases of allergic contact dermatitis to cosmetics diagnosed in our dermatology department over a 7-year period with a view to identifying the allergens responsible, the frequency of occurrence of these allergens, and the cosmetic products implicated. Methods Using the database of the skin allergy department, we undertook a search of all cases of allergic contact dermatitis to cosmetics diagnosed in our department from January 2000 through October 2007. Results In this period, patch tests were carried out on 2485 patients, of whom 740 were diagnosed with allergic contact dermatitis and the cause was cosmetics in 202 of these patients (170 women and 32 men), who accounted for 27.3% of all cases. A total of 315 positive results were found for 46 different allergens. Allergens most often responsible for contact dermatitis in a cosmetics user were methylisothiazolinone (19%), paraphenylenediamine (15.2%), and fragrance mixtures (7.8%). Acrylates were the most common allergens in cases of occupational disease. Half of the positive results were obtained with the standard battery of the Spanish Group for Research Into Dermatitis and Skin Allergies (GEIDAC). The cosmetic products most often implicated among cosmetics users were hair dyes (18.5%), gels/soaps (15.7%), and moisturizing creams (12.7%). Conclusion Most patients affected were women. Preservatives, paraphenylenediamine, and fragrances were the most frequently detected cosmetic allergens, in line with previous reports in the literature. Finally, in order to detect new cosmetic allergens, cooperation between physicians and cosmetics producers is needed.",non-battery
"The passivation of pure Zn (99.995wt%) and Zn–0.4Mn (0.4wt% Mn) alloy in a deaerated 0.1M NaOH solution (pH 12.9) was investigated by electrochemical measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance measurements show that addition of 0.4wt% Mn can decrease the passive current density of Zn in the passive region. XPS surface analysis indicates that there is approximately 1.0–2.0at% Mn2+ being incorporated into the passive film on Zn–0.4Mn alloy with Mn content being higher in the outer layers. Mott–Schottky analysis shows that the incorporated Mn can decrease concentration of defects in the film. AFM observations disclose that Mn can decrease the grain size of the film. The mechanism by which Mn additions improve the passivity of Zn is that the incorporated Mn can inhibit ions transportation in the film and inhibit its growth. Meanwhile, Mn can also promote the nucleation of Zn oxides and decrease film porosity.",battery
"The corrosion of titanium in H2SO4 electrolytes (0.001–1.0M) at temperatures from ambient to 98°C has been investigated using steady-state polarization measurements. Four distinct regions of behaviour were identified, namely active corrosion, the active–passive transition, passive region and the dielectric breakdown region. The active corrosion and active–passive transition were characterized by anodic peak current (i m) and voltage (E m), which in turn were found to vary with the experimental conditions, i.e., d ( log ⁡ ( i m ) ) / dpH = − 0.8 ± 0.1 and dE m/dpH which was −71mV at 98°C, −58mV at 80°C and −28mV at 60°C. The activation energy for titanium corrosion, determined from temperature studies, was found to be 67.7kJmol−1 in 0.1M H2SO4 and 56.7kJmol−1 in 1.0M H2SO4. The dielectric breakdown voltage (E d) of the passive TiO2 film was found to vary depending on how much TiO2 was present. The inclusion of Mn2+ into the H2SO4 electrolyte, as is done during the commercial electrodeposition of manganese dioxide, resulted in a decrease in titanium corrosion current, possibly due to Mn2+ adsorption limiting electrolyte access to the substrate.",battery
"The presence of vascular neurocognitive impairment (whatever the severity) is always associated with a functional impact and increased risk of dependency and institutionalization. However, vascular cognitive impairment remains underdiagnosed, and the mechanisms underlying post-stroke cognitive disorders are still poorly understood. However, the advent of new criteria and a standardized international neuropsychological battery is expected to lead to improved diagnosis and management, and the development of novel techniques (such as brain imaging and amyloid PET) should improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying vascular cognitive impairment and help to identify potential targets for therapy.",non-battery
"Hierarchical NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes are successfully prepared by a mild solution method based on the template of polymeric nanotubes (PNT) followed by a thermal annealing treatment. The microstructure and chemical composition of NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). When evaluated as an electrode material for supercapacitors, the results of electrochemical test show that the unique NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes exhibit relatively high specific capacitance of 1468, 1352, 1233, 1178, 1020 and 672 F g−1 at the discharge current densities of 2, 4, 8, 10, 20 and 40 A g−1, respectively. They also reveal an excellent cycling stability of 99.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 10 A g−1. The smart nanostructures of the NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes make a prominent contribution to the excellent electrochemical performance.",battery
"Metal alloys possessing core–shell structures have potential as low-Pt catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells, but can suffer from poor stability. Using high-resolution microscopy, Li et al. find that a Pt–Pd–Au catalyst undergoes surface atomic rearrangement and becomes more active on electrochemical cycling.
",battery
"We report that the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities of (001)-oriented manganese perovskite films decrease from 10 to 1 nm by more than an order of magnitude, which can be attributed to the barrier associated with interfacial band bending that impedes electron transfer to the electrolyte, and reduction of Mn3+ due to charge transfer from the Nb:SrTiO3 substrate. Furthermore, we show by substitution in La1−x(Ca,Sr)xMnO3 that Mn3+, not Mn4+, is the active valence state for ORR.
",battery
"The oceans face a range of complex challenges for which the impacts on society are highly uncertain but mostly negative. Tackling these challenges is testing society’s capacity to mobilise transformative action, engendering a sense of powerlessness. Envisaging positive but realistic visions of the future, and considering how current knowledge, resources, and technology could be used to achieve these futures, may lead to greater action to achieve sustainable transformations. Future Seas (www.FutureSeas2030.org) brought together researchers across career stages, Indigenous Peoples and environmental managers to develop scenarios for 12 challenges facing the oceans, leveraging interdisciplinary knowledge to improve society’s capacity to purposefully shape the direction of marine social-ecological systems over the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). We describe and reflect on Future Seas, providing guidance for co-developing scenarios in interdisciplinary teams tasked with exploring ocean futures. We detail the narrative development for two futures: our current trajectory based on published evidence, and a more sustainable future, consistent with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which is technically achievable using existing and emerging knowledge. Presentation of Business-as-usual and More Sustainable futures—together—allows communication of both trajectories, whilst also highlighting achievable, sustainable versions of the future. The advantages of the interdisciplinary approach taken include: (1) integrating different perspectives on solutions, (2) capacity to explore interactions between Life Under Water (Goal 14) and other SDGs, and (3) cross-disciplinary learning. This approach allowed participants to conceptualise shared visions of the future and co-design transformative pathways to achieving those futures.
",non-battery
"Using a simple electrochemical reduction approach, we have produced three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam having high conductivity and well-defined macroporous structure. Through a hydrothermal process, Ni(OH)2 sheets are grown in-situ onto the graphene surface. This monolithic 3D graphene/Ni(OH)2 composite is used as the free-standing electrode for supercapacitor application; it shows a high specific capacitance of 183.1Fg−1 (based on the total mass of the electrode), along with excellent rate capability and cycle performance. The asymmetric supercapacitor based on the 3D graphene/Ni(OH)2 as a positive electrode and active carbon (AC) as a negative electrode is also assembled and it exhibits a specific capacitance of 148.3Fg−1 at 0.56Ag−1 and a high energy density of 52.7Whkg−1 at a power density of 444.4Wkg−1. Moreover, 3D graphene/Ni(OH)2//AC has a good cycle stability (87.9% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles), making it promising as one of the most attractive candidates for electrochemical energy storage. This excellent electrochemical performance results from the multiplexed 3D graphene network facilitating electron transport; the interlaced Ni(OH)2 sheets shorten ion diffusion paths and facilitate the rapid migration of electrolyte ions.",battery
"LiMn2O4/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) composite was synthesized by mechanical activation reaction followed by a heat-treatment (500 °C). The LiMn2O4 and LiMn2O4/MWNTs as cathodes were investigated in 1 M Li2SO4 by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (GC), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The LiMn2O4/MWNTs cathode delivered higher discharge capacity (117 mAh g−1) than LiMn2O4 (84.6 mAh g−1). Furthermore, the results from EIS showed that LiMn2O4/MWNTs had a faster kinetic process for lithium ion intercalation/de-intercalation than LiMn2O4. Besides, LiMn2O4/MWNTs had better cycling stability and rate capability than LiMn2O4, which was confirmed by GC testing. SEM images showed that a three-dimensional network structure was formed during the mechanical activation, giving a decrease of particle size.
",battery
"Replacing state-of-the-art graphite with metallic Li anodes could dramatically increase the energy density of Li-ion technology. However, efforts to achieve uniform Li plating and stripping in conventional liquid electrolytes have had limited success. An alternative approach is to use a solid electrolyte to stabilize the Li interface during cycling. One of the most promising solid electrolytes is Li7La3Zr2O12, which has high ionic conductivity at room temperature, high shear modulus and chemical and electrochemical stability against Li. Despite these properties, Li filament propagation has been observed through LLZO at current densities below what is practical. By combining recent achievements in reducing interface resistance and optimizing microstructure, we demonstrate Li cycling at current densities competitive with Li-ion. Li|LLZO|Li cells are capable of cycling at up to 0.9 ± 0.7 mA cm−2, 3.8 ± 0.9 mA cm−2, and 6.0 ± 0.7 mA cm-2 at room temperature, 40 and 60 °C, respectively. Extended stability is shown in Li plating/stripping tests that passed 3 mAh cm−2 charge per cycle for a cumulative capacity of 702 mAh cm−2 using a 1 mA cm−2 current density. These results demonstrate that solid-state batteries using metallic Li anodes can approach charge/discharge rates and cycling stability comparable to SOA Li-ion.",battery
"Pristine graphene was directly suspended in a variety of organic media, which are used either as electrolyte solvents or deposition media in sensitized solar cells. Dispersion occurred directly through sonication-assisted exfoliation of graphite powder, without adopting the oxidative approach involving intermediate formation of graphene oxide and its subsequent reduction. The concentration of the thus dispersed graphene was relatively low, in the order of a few tens of micrograms per ml, but it was very effective in increasing the efficiency of sensitized solar cells. Dispersed graphene was first deposited on solid substrates and was extensively characterized by TEM, SEM, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Also dispersed graphene has been introduced in liquid-electrolyte and gel-electrolyte dye-sensitized solar cells by means of sulfolane/3-methoxypropionitrile mixtures and in quantum dot sensitized solid-state solar cells by means of chlorobenzene-based suspensions. Increase of cell efficiency in the presence of the above tiny quantities of graphene was very large, particularly in the case of solid state cells where more than 3-fold increase of efficiency was observed.",battery
"Multidimensional CoMoO4@Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite materials are fabricated on the nickel modified surface and channels of an ordered macro-porous electrode plate (OMEP) by a multistep high temperature hydrothermal method as the supercapacitor electrode in a high power density energy storage device. The effects, morphology, capacitive properties, and formation mechanism of the CoMoO4@Ni(OH)2 composite materials are systematically investigated. Compared to nanostructured nickel grown on the OMEP or CoMoO4@Ni(OH)2 on nickel plate with the same area, the CoMoO4@Ni(OH)2/OMEP shows enhanced electrochemical energy storage properties such as high energy capacitance of 8.55 F cm−2 (1812.42 F g−1) at 2 mA cm−2 and good cycling stability of 87.42% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. An asymmetrical supercapacitor (ASC) device is assembled with a polyethylene (PE) membrane, CoMoO4@Ni(OH)2/OMEP, and active carbon covered nickel foam. The ASC with the CoMoO4@Ni(OH)2/OMEP has an energy density of 9.66 Wh Kg−1 even at a power density of 3000 W Kg−1 as well as stable power characteristics with 86.5% retention after 10,000 cycles at a current of 0.06 A. The device produces large instantaneous power after charging at 2.8 V for 10 s one ASC can power a 5 mm red LED with high efficiency.",battery
"Presenting Author details:joselito600@yahoo.es La Fuente s/n, 31003 Burlada (Navarra), Spain, Tel.: +34 656740772. Background: Cannabis abuse is thought to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. However several studies have examined the influence of current cannabis abuse on illness characteristics, little is known about the antecedents of pre-psychotic cannabis abuse in patients with psychosis and its effects on the clinical picture of the subsequent illness. In this study we aimed to examine in a sample of patients already diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, the predictors and consequences of: (1) pre-psychotic cannabis abuse, (2) early cannabis abuse and (3) current cannabis abuse. Methods: Pre-psychotic characteristics included sociodemographic variables, childhood and adolescence adjustment. Phenotypic measures included age of illness onset, psychopathology (OPCRIT) and a short neuropsychological battery. These characteristics were then compared according to patients' pre-psychotic and current history of cannabis abuse. Results: A sample of 337 patients with psychosis was included. It was found that pre-psychotic cannabis abuse was associated with better social but worse school premorbid adjustment. Early cannabis abuse predicted an earlier age of illness onset and more negative and cognitive symptoms. Finally, current cannabis abuse was associated with more severe positive, manic and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: While psychotic patients who comorbidly abuse cannabis may have more prominent positive and affective symptoms, those who started abusing cannabis during their early adolescence have poor adolescent school adjustment, early onset of illness and more prominent negative symptoms and cognitive abnormalities.",non-battery
"A Ni/Mn composite precursor was prepared as the precursor for Li-rich cathode materials under an air-precipitation atmosphere in a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). The nucleation and growth of precursor particles were investigated during the CSTR process by monitoring particle morphology, chemical composition, and phase composition. It was found that the particle shape and chemical composition were not homogeneous in the early stages of co-precipitation and did not become so until after 4 h. Mn2+ ion oxidation was verified to occur during the entire course of precipitation by X-ray diffraction. The final precipitate was identified as a two-phase system consisting of a Ni/Mn layered double hydroxide phase and a Mn3O4 phase. Scanning electron microscopy and an N2 adsorption–desorption test revealed the porosity and surface area of the material. A Li-rich cathode material was synthesized using the final precipitate as a precursor; the electrochemical performance of this cathode material is reported in this article.
",battery
"One-vs-One (OVO) and One-vs-All (OVA) are decomposition methods for multi-class strategies used to allow binary Support-Vector Machines (SVM) to transform a given k-class problem into pairwise small problems. In this context, the present work proposes the analysis of these two decomposition methods applied to the hand posture recognition problem in which the sEMG data of eight participants were collected by means of an 8-channel armband bracelet located on the forearm. Linear, Polynomial and Radial Basis Function kernels functions and its adjustments level were implemented combined to the strategies OVO and OVA to compare the performance of the SVM when mapping posture data into the classification spaces spanned by the studied kernels. Acquired sEMG signals were segmented considering 0.16 s e 0.32 s time windows. Root Mean Square (RMS) feature was extracted from each time window of each posture and used for SVM training. The present work focused in investigating the relationship between the multi-class strategies combined to kernels adjustments levels and SVM classification performance. Promising results were observed using OVA strategy which presents a reduced number of binary SVM implementation achieved a mean accuracy of 97.63%.",non-battery
"Phase transition in lithium manganese oxide spinel synthesized by sol–gel technique and in samples prepared from commercially available powders of LiMn2O4 (Alfa-Aesar and Sigma–Aldrich) was investigated. In addition to the standard impedance measurements and the X-ray diffraction in Bragg–Brentano geometry, simultaneous measurements of impedance spectrum and X-ray pattern in non-focusing geometry were performed in the temperature range between −25 and +100°C. Correlation between the XRD profile parameters and the electrical conductivity was evidenced. Spinel synthesized by the sol–gel technique and heat-treated at 800°C as well as samples prepared from Alfa-Aesar powder exhibited a distinctive phase transition from cubic to orthorhombic structure upon cooling below room temperature. Structural transition was visible in the X-ray pattern as splitting of the 400 reflection of cubic structure, and was accompanied by a decrease of conductivity by a factor of about 10. In the sample prepared from powder supplied by Sigma–Aldrich the phase transition was not complete even upon cooling to −25°C, and no stepwise change of conductivity was observed. Differences in behavior of the spinel samples can be related to the presence of additional phases (Mn3O4 or Li2MnO3), which were found in commercial powders, whereas the sol–gel synthesized samples were single phase.",battery
"Separator papers are an essential component of a valve regulated lead/acid (VRLA) battery. In addition to separating the positive and negative electrodes, they provide a constant pressure on the active materials thereby reducing the rate of degradation during cycling. Dendrites formed from the negative active material are also less likely to cause short circuits in batteries where a separator is employed. The level to which a separator will influence the performance of a VRLA battery it strongly dependent on its properties. This paper describes the results from a series of tests used to characterise the properties of separators most influential to battery performance. These properties include, the macroscopic structure, permittivity and wicking rates. During the operational life of a VRLA battery the volume of electrolyte will decrease, due mainly to the electrolysis of water during overcharging. The consequence of this process is a variation of acid saturation during the life of the battery, which will have a direct influence on the compressive and diffusive properties of the separator. Compressive and diffusive characteristics were therefore measured over a range of saturation levels. Characterisation was conducted on three separator types. Types A and B were 100% glass but had slightly different structures and type C contained 8% polyester fibres mixed with glass.",battery
"An all-soft, highly stretchable liquid metal (LM) conductor with high electrical conductivity, excellent electrical conductivity stability under various mechanical deformations and good mechanical properties was achieved. The stretchable conductor was prepared by infiltrating Gallium-indium-tin (GIT) LM into porous polyurethane sponge (PUS) with large porosity and small pores using a vacuumizing method followed by encapsulation with Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to prevent the leakage of GIT-LM and to improve the mechanical properties. The as-made PDMS/PUS/LM composite shows a high tensile strength (1.11 MPa), high elongation at break (419%), excellent electrical conductivity (104 S/cm) and electrical conductivity stability under various mechanical deformations. The normalized resistance is of highly repeatability in stretch-release and bend-release cycle experiments.",non-battery
"Wind energy conversion systems have become a focal point in the research of renewable energy sources. This is in no small part due to the rapid advances in the size of wind generators as well as the development of power electronics and their applicability in wind energy extraction. This paper provides a comprehensive review of past and present converter topologies applicable to permanent magnet generators, induction generators, synchronous generators and doubly fed induction generators. The many different generator–converter combinations are compared on the basis of topology, cost, efficiency, power consumption and control complexity. The features of each generator–converter configuration are considered in the context of wind turbine systems.",battery
"There is a deficiency of research looking at how rates of comorbid psychopathology are effected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual functioning level. The present study aimed to extend the literature in this area by evaluating how ASD and IQ scores are related to ratings on a measure of comorbid symptoms. Twenty-three children with ASD and 87 children without ASD participated in this study. Rates of tantrum behavior, avoidant behavior, worry/depressed, repetitive behavior, under-eating, over-eating, and conduct behavior were examined utilizing the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbidity for Children (ASD-CC). Correlational and multiple regression analyses were then conducted. ASD diagnosis significantly predicted rates of tantrum behavior, avoidant behavior, and repetitive behavior. Children with ASD tended to have higher rates of all three of these comorbid symptoms than children without ASD. Although not statistically significant, there was a negative correlation between IQ and rates of comorbid symptoms, such that children with higher IQ scores tended to have lower rates of comorbid symptoms. The implications of these findings on assessment and intervention are discussed.",non-battery
"A carbon-coated composite consisting of Sn, SnO2, and porous carbon-nanofiber membrane (Sn⿿SnO2⿿CNF@C) was successfully prepared via electrospinning followed by carbonization and low-temperature hydrothermal treatment. The thickness of the carbon overlayer formed by using sucrose as the carbon source could be well controlled by adjusting the sucrose concentration. The three-dimensional (3D) nanofiber network structure allowed the Sn⿿SnO2⿿CNF@C membrane to be used directly as an anode in lithium-ion batteries without adding any polymer binders or electrical conductors. The composite electrodes of this material exhibited a high discharge capacity of 712.2mAhg⿿1 at a high current density of 0.8Ag⿿1 after 200 cycles, as well as good cycling stability and excellent rate capability, which can be ascribed to the improved electrochemical properties of the Sn⿿SnO2 particles provided by the protective carbon coating and the 3D carbon nanofiber membrane. The composite can thus be widely used as an advanced binder-free anode material in high-current rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and extended to the fabrication of flexible electrodes.",battery
"Résumé Cet article résume le mémoire intitulé : « La batterie de décision visuelle d’objets, test du stock structural dans les gnosies visuelles » soutenu par Régine Crété, orthoptiste, lors de la validation du diplôme universitaire de neuropsychopathologie des apprentissages scolaires. Il s’agit de l’étalonnage, auprès d’enfants de 3 à 8ans, du test de batterie de décision visuelle d’objets (BDVO), portant sur les gnosies visuelles ou, plus précisément, sur une étape du traitement de l’image qui concerne plus particulièrement les orthoptistes : le stock structural (ou stock en mémoire pour les formes connues). Dans le modèle séquentiel du traitement de l’image, il se situe au niveau de l’étape cognitive qui succède aux étapes sensorielle et perceptive explorées par le bilan orthoptique. Ce test, rapide à faire passer, s’avère être un bon outil d’investigation, mais également un moyen de transmission des données recueillies. L’objectif est de favoriser la coordination des soins thérapeutiques et/ou palliatifs ; de mieux comprendre l’enfant, son refus de regarder, son comportement insolite, parfois inquiétant pour son entourage.",non-battery
"This study examines various design strategies which can be used in distance learning. Today, learning-teaching theories emphasize ‘learning’ so distance education has been affected and ‘distance learning’ concept has begun widely used. Distance learning has included different emerging media such as computer, intranet and internet because of rapid change and widespread use of technology. Electronic learning environments allow learners to access information from anywhere and anytime. Nowadays, this change means accessing information from everywhere and every time with become widely available of mobile devices. As the results of these changes, we need to blend various learning environments to design the future of distance learning in which learners can decide what to learn, where and how to learn in respect of their request and individual differences.",non-battery
"A reverse micelles method is used in the synthesis of manganese carbonate. The use of cetyl-trimethylammonium bromide surfactant and hexanol cosurfactant allows the preparation of a new monodispersed form of MnCO3. Particles with a regular shape and ca. 200nm edges are observed by electron microscopy. The electrochemical reaction with lithium of the manganese carbonate leads to the formation of the manganese metal and lithium carbonate as the main side product, which yields higher capacity than graphite and good capacity retention. Submicron MnCO3 could replace other more toxic and expensive anodes used in recent commercial Li-ion products.",battery
"A novel free-standing Na4Mn9O18/reduced graphene oxide (NMO-RGO) composite was successfully prepared by a facile vacuum filtration technique. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed formation of a film with needle-like Na4Mn9O18 homogeneously distributed and anchored on the RGO matrix. A sodium rechargeable hybrid aqueous battery with this novel cathode and zinc anode was first investigated and reported. The NMO-RGO film delivered a reversible discharge capacity of about 83 mAh g−1 when cycled galvanostatically at a current density of 0.1 A g−1, which was for about 78% higher than that of Na4Mn9O18 prepared by a slurry casting technique. This significant enhancement of electrochemical properties of NMO-RGO was due to the presence of graphene sheets in this free-standing composite cathode. These sheets form an agile substrate with a high conductivity to guarantee a successive electronic conduction channels in the electrode. In the same time, such composition and structure enables accommodation of the volume changes of Na4Mn9O18 during sodium insertion-extraction.",battery
"The importance of Ni-based batteries in the present context is extremely valuable, as their electrochemical properties are expected to offer significant insights into their application as battery materials. In this direction, Ni(OH)2 has been prepared using the co-precipitation method by varying the concentrations of zinc additive (2, 4, 6 & 8wt%) and pH (8, 9, 10 & 11). The results show that the prepared samples exist in β-phase with flake like structure. The electrochemical properties of b-Ni(OH)2 have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements using a paste-type electrode on a nickel mesh as a current collector. The cyclic voltammetry measurements indicate that the reversibility of the electrode reaction increases at pH 10 and 6% Zn additive. Whereas, the EIS measurements reveal that a reduction in the charge transfer resistance increases the double layer capacitance of the nickel electrode.",battery
"This work explores an enhanced magnetic spring based energy harvester design that uses a dual-mass and a geometrically nonlinear mechanical planar spring as a route to significantly improve power metrics of traditional magnetic spring based energy harvesters. Prototypes of the enhanced harvester are constructed and characterized experimentally. Nonlinear dynamical models of the harvester are developed and validated against experimental data. Additionally, prototypes of the commonly studied magnetic spring based energy harvesters are constructed, characterized, and modeled. Results show excellent agreement between model simulations and experimental data. Results show that the enhanced harvester significantly outperforms the commonly studied magnetic spring based vibration energy harvesters, especially at low acceleration levels. The enhanced harvester generates 1.97 [mW/cm3 g2] at 0.4 g [m/s2] which is approximately 400% the amount of power generated by the traditional magnetic spring based harvester, i.e. 0.5 [mW/cm3 g2]. Additionally, the half-power frequency bandwidth of the enhanced harvester is 90% wider compared to the traditional harvester. At lower acceleration, i.e. 0.1 g [m/s2], the enhanced harvester exhibits 4000% increase in power metrics compared to the traditional harvester. This makes the presented enhanced harvester design exceptionally suitable for applications where low acceleration oscillations are abundant including harvesting vibrations from highway bridges and human body motion.",battery
"Active material blended electrodes, comprised of physical mixtures of two or more lithium insertion compounds, can have superior balanced performance compared to electrodes with an individual active compound. Due to their high complexity, a good understanding of blended electrodes is still lacking, including their electrolyte/electrode interfacial kinetics, which is a key factor for determining battery service life, safety, and power performance. In this paper, a comprehensive study of the interfacial impedance in Si-alloy/graphite blended electrodes is presented through experiment and theory. Experiments were conducted by the characterization of symmetric cells by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. An inhomogeneous transmission line model (ITLM) was developed to investigate this binary system on a large scale. Both experimental and theoretical results show that adding a small proportion of low interfacial impedance particles can suppress interfacial impedance growth in blended electrodes.",battery
"This Review outlines the main ethical and legal issues surrounding informed consent for the insertion, removal, and deactivation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). The authors also provide an overview of current guidelines for communication with and involvement of patients and next of kin throughout the decision-making process.",non-battery
"All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSBs) are considered as next generation energy storage systems. A model might be very useful, which describes all contributions to the internal cell resistance, enables an optimization of the cell design, and calculates the performance of an open choice of cell architectures. A newly developed one-dimensional model for ASSBs is presented, based on a design concept which employs the use of composite electrodes. The internal cell resistance is calculated by linking two-phase transmission line models representing the composite electrodes with an ohmic resistance representing the solid electrolyte (separator). Thereby, electrical parameters, i.e. ionic and electronic conductivity, electrochemical parameters, i.e. charge-transfer resistance at interfaces and lithium solid-state diffusion, and microstructure parameters, i.e. electrode thickness, particle size, interface area, phase composition and tortuosity, are considered as the most important material and design parameters. Subsequently, discharge curves are simulated, and energy- and power-density characteristics of all-solid-state cell architectures are calculated. These model calculations are discussed and compared with experimental data from literature for a high power LiCoO2-Li10GeP2S12/Li10GeP2S12/Li4Ti5O12-Li10GeP2S12 cell.",battery
"The effect of the lithium perchlorate concentration in sulfolane (in the range from 0.1M to 2.8М) on the performance of lithium-sulfur cells is studied. It is shown that the concentration of lithium perchlorate in sulfolane considerably affects the depth of electrochemical reduction of sulfur, the reactivity of lithium polysulfides, and the coulomb efficiency of cycling of lithium-sulfur cells. The maximum depth of electrochemical reduction of sulfur is reached at the concentration of lithium perchlorate in sulfolane of 1.0M, while the minimum depth is reached at 2.8М. The depth of electrochemical reduction of sulfur is limited by the number of free solvent molecules. An increase in the concentration of the support salt results in an increase in the coulomb efficiency of cycling of lithium-sulfur cells. At concentrations of the support salt above 2.4М, the coulomb efficiency of cycling of lithium-sulfur cells is close to 100%. We believe that the concentration of support salts affects the species of lithium polysulfides, their association-dissociation equilibria in electrolyte solutions and the processes of solvation of lithium ions contained in lithium polysulfides and support salts, and thus determines the performance of lithium-sulfur cells.",battery
We investigate the local structural changes in a positive electrode of a lithium ion secondary battery (LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) as the active material) associated with charge–discharge cycling at elevated temperatures by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). STEM–EELS spectral imaging reveals the evolution of a NiO-like phase localized near the surface and grain boundary regions after many cycles. The amounts of capacity fading and resistance increase are discussed based on the results of the semiquantitative estimation of NiO-like and other product phases. We also identify the chemical state of lithium in the NiO-like phase substituting for Ni.,battery
"There is a perceived tradeoff between the ease of measuring alcohol in the body and the accuracy of the result. Direct tests of blood alcohol concentrations are considered the most accurate, desktop stationary breath testers based on electro-chemical infra-red technology are slightly less accurate, but accepted for evidentiary purposes in most jurisdictions, and quick portable breath testers based on fuel-cell technology are the easiest to administer but not acceptable in many courts. This study compared the accuracy of an evidentiary portable breath tester and an evidentiary desktop breath tester relative to blood alcohol concentrations. Inverse regressions were used to obtain confidence limits for the alcohol levels as read by the breath testers that would provide tradeoffs of false positives and false negatives for three levels of confidence: 95%, 96%, and 98%; corresponding to false positive values of 2.5%, 2%, and 1%, respectively. A decision tree model is offered for the optimal use of the three measures, so that portable breath testers can be sufficient for high level BrAC, stationary breath testers can be sufficient for medium level BrAC, and blood tests are recommended for still lower BrACs. The model provides quantitative BrAC threshold levels for the two most common BAC levels used to imply DWI: 50mg/dl and 80mg/dl.",non-battery
"Biomass materials have attracted much attention in the functional composites, due to the bio-mesopores structure, recyclability and electrochemical properties. Herein, a two-step route for manufacturing the mushroom-derived carbon/Co3O4 functional composite (MC/Co3O4-FC) has been developed, based on carbonizing mushroom and ultrasonic coating Co3O4. The experimental results indicate that MC/Co3O4-FC has bio-mesopores structure and the sizes of pores are between 3.0 nm and 6.5 nm. In addition, the specific surface area of MC/Co3O4-FC is 122.4 m2 g−1. As an anode material, the MC/Co3O4-FC shows a reversible capacity of 528.1 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 200 cycles, about twice as well as MC (~262 mAh g−1). Even at a high current density of 2000 mA g−1, the discharge capacity of MC/Co3O4-FC also can reach to 260 mAh g−1. The good electrochemical performances can be imputed to the bio-mesopores structure and synergistic effect between MC and Co3O4 particles. Furthermore, a solid electrolyte of polymer (instead of the liquid electrolyte) has been also prepared to improve the safety performance and electrochemical performances (298 mAh g−1).",battery
"The absence of clean electricity in Tunisia means a large number of people who are deprived of much needed socioeconomic development. However, wind and solar radiation are two renewable energy resources that are abundantly available in Tunisia. Although, it is not feasible for these two resources separately to meet high electricity demands, hybrid applications can be the best way to get over this weakness. This paper investigated the potential operation of Hybrid Energy System (photovoltaic (PV)/wind turbine/diesel system with batteries storage in the northernmost city in Africa, city of Bizerte in Tunisia. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable simulation software was used to simulate and optimize the technical-economic feasibility of the system. There were several system configurations with and without battery storage elements which will be studied and analyzed. The simulations will be focused on the net present costs, levelized cost of energy, produced excess electricity and the reduction of CO2 emission for the given hybrid configurations. Moreover, the comparison between the economic viability of the stand-alone and the grid-connected HES will be discussed.",battery
"The paper presents a full cost-benefit analysis of a deposit–refund program for beverage containers in Israel. We examine all cost elements of the program – storage, collection, and treatment costs of empty containers, and all potential benefits – savings in alternative treatment costs (waste collection and landfill disposal), cleaner public spaces, reduction of landfill volumes, energy-savings externalities associated with use of recycled materials, and creation of new workplaces. A wide variety of data resources is employed, and some of the critical issues are examined via several approaches. The main finding of the paper is that the deposit–refund program is clearly economically worthwhile. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature on deposit–refund programs by its complete and detailed analysis of all relevant factors of such a program, and also specifically in its analysis of the savings in alternative waste management costs. This analysis reveals greater savings than are usually assumed, and thus shows the deposit–refund program to be highly efficient.",non-battery
"Breastfeeding has been associated with an advantage to infant neurobehavioral development, possibly in part due to essential nutrients in breast milk. However, breast milk may be contaminated by environmental neurotoxicants, such as methylmercury. In the Faroe Islands, where maternal consumption of pilot whale may cause transfer of marine toxicants into breast milk, a cohort of 1022 consecutive singleton births was generated during 1986–87. Methylmercury exposure was assessed from mercury concentrations in cord blood and in the hair of the child at age 12 months, and the duration of breastfeeding was recorded. At approximately 7 years of age, 917 (90%) of the children underwent detailed neurobehavioral examination. After adjustment for confounders, breastfeeding was associated with only marginally better neuropsychological performance on most tests. These associations were robust even after adjustment for cord-blood and hair mercury concentration at age 1 year. Thus, in this cohort of children with a relatively high prenatal toxicant exposure and potential exposure to neurotoxicants through breast milk, breastfeeding was associated with less benefits on neurobehavioral development than previously published studies though not associated with a deficit in neuropsychological performance at age 7. Although the advantage may be less, Faroese women can still safely breastfeed their children.
",non-battery
" The orphan GPCR MrgE is one of an extended family of GPCRs that are expressed in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Based on these expression patterns it has been suggested that GPCRs like MrgE may play a role in nociception however, to date, no direct supporting evidence has emerged. We generated mutant mice lacking MrgE and examined the effects of deletion of this gene in three pain behavioural models. The effect of MrgE gene deletion on expression of Mrgs and genes involved in sensory neurone function was also investigated.",non-battery
"Mechanical alloying and annealing at 1023 K for 0.5 h under an argon atmosphere were used to prepare Ti2Ni-based nanocrystalline alloys and their nanocomposites. Ti2Ni alloy was chemically modified by Pd and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. An objective of the present study is to provide data on hydrogenation properties of Ti2Ni-based alloys and compounds containing Pd and/or multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Alloys and composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy equipped with an electron energy dispersive spectrometer, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy to evaluate phase composition, crystal structure, grain size, particle morphology and distribution of catalyst element. Hydrogenation/dehydrogenation properties and hydriding kinetics of materials were measured using a Sievert's apparatus. Hydrogenation properties of nanostructured Ti2Ni-based alloy and Ti2Ni-based nanocomposites were compared with those of the binary Ti2Ni compound. In present work we shown how mechanical alloying method and chemical modification by Pd and MWCNTs affected hydrogen storage properties of Ti2Ni alloy. The highest hydrogen capacity obtained for nanostructured Ti2Ni + Pd alloy equaled 2.1 wt.%. Up to our knowledge it is the highest hydrogen storage capacity obtained so far for Ti2Ni-based materials.",battery
"Considerable evidence suggests that circadian rhythmicity is progressively disrupted in senescence. Among clock genes, Period3 (PER3) has been associated with circadian phenotypes, homeostatic regulation of sleep, and cognitive performance in young adults. However, the effects of PER3 genotype on aging-related changes in both cognitive function and cortical integrity remain largely unknown. To shed light into this issue, we have investigated differences in cognitive performance, patterns of cortical thickness, and cortical glucose consumption in normal elderly subjects homozygous carriers of the short (PER34/4, n = 32) and long repeat alleles (PER35/5, n = 32). Relationships between cognitive performance and cortical thickness/metabolism were further explored for each PER3 genotype. We found that PER35/5 carriers had poorer cognitive performance (attention, executive function, semantic memory, and verbal fluency) and lower cortical integrity (structural and functional) than PER34/4. PER35/5 further showed thinning of temporo–parietal areas, and reductions of glucose consumption in fronto–temporo–parietal regions bilaterally. Moreover, PER35/5 subjects exhibited significant correlations between decreased glucose metabolism in fronto–parietal regions and poorer cognitive flexibility, though only correlations with lower glucose consumption of the supramarginal gyrus distinguished PER35/5 from PER34/4 groups. Overall, these findings enhance our understanding on the gene–brain interaction in aging, and may have further implications for the detection of subclinical cognitive decline associated with PER3 genotypes in late life.
",non-battery
"Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) complex is built up with both nucleus- and mitochondrion-encoded subunits. Biogenesis and assembly of the complex thus requires fine cross-talk between the two compartments. In order to shed light on the regulation of nuclear–mitochondrial interactions, we studied the expression of COXIII (mitochondrion-encoded) and COXIV (nucleus-encoded) in adult rat tissues and rat developing brain. We found that the levels of COXIV protein and mRNA are not linearly related, thus suggesting a post-transcriptional mode of regulation. In agreement with this observation, we report the presence of a protein that specifically binds to the 3′-untranslated region of COXIV mRNA. This factor, that forms with RNA a complex of about 60 kDa, is present both in the cytoplasm and mitochondria, where its concentration decreases throughout development with inverse correlation with COXIV accumulation. Interestingly, using an antibody raised in our laboratory, we found that, in developing rat brain, COXIII does not localize exclusively to mitochondria, but is also present in the cytosol, where it could exert a yet unknown regulatory role.",non-battery
"Treatment adherence in early psychosis individuals is considered problematic. Some studies have tried to understand reasons for medication non-adherence in this population, though few have also considered engagement in services. We conducted a cross-sectional study with 118 early psychosis individuals, assessing multiple constructs (symptoms, insight, personality traits, alliance, childhood trauma, substance abuse, social functioning and sociodemographics) suggested in the literature as potentially linked to medication adherence or engagement in services. Forward Wald logistic regression suggested that more positive symptoms, having witnessed violence as a child and high agreeableness as a personality trait predicted poor medication adherence. Forward linear regression revealed that physical abuse as a child, lack of knowledge regarding consumer rights, difficulties in building an alliance, low neuroticism and high agreeableness predicted poor service engagement. Profiles of non-adherers or low service engagement were strongly linked to childhood trauma, and high agreeableness, as well as more severe symptoms and poor alliance. Males with histories of legal problems were also more prevalent in both groups. No significant differences were found for insight or substance abuse. Overall, individuals with early psychosis who adhered less to treatment in general could have issues with trusting authority and place more importance on peer acceptance. Results are presented in light of the existing literature and clinical implications are discussed.",non-battery
A method of monitoring the performance of the cell components was developed to study the cycling behavior of the commercial size rechargeable lithium-ion cells. A lithium reference electrode was placed into the center of a full commercial cylindrical cell in an effort to monitor the electrochemical behavior of the cell and its component electrodes during cycling. This technique allowed the resolution of measured voltage into component cathode and anode voltages and hence the resolution of the total area-specific impedance (ASI) into cathode and anode ASI. The cathode was found to be the electrode limiting the power and capacity of the Li-ion cell. Further investigations also revealed that the increase in the cathode ASI is a main cause of power and energy degradation of the cell during cycling.,battery
"In order to evaluate the use of satellite (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer: MODIS) and ground-measured (hyperspectral spectrometer and broadband micrometeorological sensors) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), this study compares NDVI derived from five experimental (FLUXNET) field sites (grassland, winter wheat, corn, spruce, and beech) in Germany in June 2006 and April-September 2007. In addition, the spatial variability of ground radiation measured within one specific land-use class (for grass and winter wheat) was investigated to analyze the accuracy of the FLUXNET tower values. Furthermore, the angular dependence of spectrometer values on viewing angles was determined in order to enhance the spatial representativeness of spectrometer measurements which, especially above trees, are affected by soil parts and the tower structure when measured in nadir. The best agreement between the satellite- and ground-measured NDVI was found for winter wheat (2006) with values from 0.79–0.88 followed by grass (2006), showing NDVI values between 0.71 and 0.86. The spatial variability of NDVI within one land-use type was lower than the differences caused by the different NDVI determination methods. Above more open canopies (corn, beech), spectrometer measurements with 60° viewing angle in solar plane direction were found to better correspond to satellite-derived NDVI. Together with broadband NDVI, our ground-based results can complement satellite-derived NDVI.
",non-battery
"The performance of segmented bi-material electrodes consisting of an activated carbon and LiMn2O4 was investigated as a function of the relative amount of the components for full slow discharge at C/5. By means of a segmented current collector the contribution of each component to the overall current has been monitored. The potential profiles for the constant current discharges showed a monotonous transition from pure capacitive behavior of the activated carbon to battery behavior of pure LiMn2O4 for increasing amounts of LiMn2O4 in the segmented bi-material electrode. Correspondingly, the current sharing measurements have shown a decreased contribution of the activated carbon to the overall current. The effect of the C-rate up to 20C and pulse discharge at 25C was investigated for a segmented bi-material electrode with a relative amount of activated carbon of 72% by weight. The current sharing showed an increased contribution of the activated carbon to the overall current at high C-rate and during pulse discharge. Moreover it could be demonstrated that the battery material recharges the capacitive material subsequent to the discharge pulse.",battery
"This report describes the construction, optimization and validation of a battery of quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models to predict reproductive and developmental (reprotox) hazards of untested chemicals. These models run with MC4PC software to predict seven general reprotox classes: male and female reproductive toxicity, fetal dysmorphogenesis, functional toxicity, mortality, growth, and newborn behavioral toxicity. The reprotox QSARs incorporate a weight of evidence paradigm using rats, mice, and rabbit reprotox study data and are designed to identify trans-species reprotoxicants. The majority of the reprotox QSARs exhibit good predictive performance properties: high specificity (>80%), low false positives (<20%), significant receiver operating characteristic (ROC) values (>2.00), and high coverage (>80%) in 10% leave-many-out validation experiments. The QSARs are based on 627–2023 chemicals and exhibited a wide applicability domain for FDA regulated organic chemicals for which they were designed. Experiments were also performed using the MC4PC multiple module prediction technology, and ROC statistics, and adjustments to the ratio of active to inactive (A/I ratio) chemicals in training data sets were made to optimize the predictive performance of QSAR models. Results revealed that an A/I ratio of ∼40% was optimal for MC4PC. We discuss specific recommendations for the application of the reprotox QSAR battery.",non-battery
"The demand for electricity is increasing day by day, which cannot be fulfilled by non-renewable energy sources alone. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are omnipresent and environmental friendly. The renewable emulnergy sources are emerging options to fulfill the energy demand, but unreliable due to the stochastic nature of their occurrence. Hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) combines two or more renewable energy sources like wind turbine and solar system. The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of various aspects of HRES. This paper discusses prefeasibility analysis, optimum sizing, modeling, control aspects and reliability issues. The application of evolutionary technique and game theory in hybrid renewable energy is also presented in this paper.",battery
"Electrochemical and mass-transport properties of a redox-active ionic liquid, 1-(ferrocenylmethyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (FcEmiTFSI), were investigated for the pure compound and for solutions in acetonitrile (ACN) and in a room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EmiTFSI). Cyclic voltammetry data were compared with those obtained for the oxidation of ferrocene (Fc) in EmiTFSI and ACN. The half-potential of FcEmiTFSI/Fc+EmiTFSI is higher than that of Fc/Fc+ in both media. The apparent heterogeneous rate constants k app ° of FcEmiTFSI and Fc were determined in both solvents. The values of k app ° for these two redox probes in the same solvent are of the same order of magnitude. However, k app ° is lower in EmiTFSI than in ACN. Comparison of k app ° in these solvents indicates that the decrease in k app ° cannot be explained in terms of Marcus–Hush theory. The electrochemical and mass-transport properties of FcEmiTFSI in EmiTFSI were investigated by means of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The tip current depends upon the tip velocity. With high tip velocity, one observes that the tip current increases as the distance between the tip and insulating substrate decreases. This behavior is not due to a positive feedback mechanism. It is interpreted in terms of mixed diffusion and convective mass transfer control.",battery
"Pageview is the most popular webpage analytic metric in all sectors including blogs, business, e-commerce, education, entertainment, research, social media, and technology. To perform deeper analysis, additional methods are required such as mouse tracking, which can help researchers understand online user behavior on a single webpage. However, the geometrical data generated by mouse tracking are extremely large, and qualify as big data. A single swipe on a webpage from left to right can generate a megabyte (MB) of data. Fortunately, the geometrical data of each x and y point of the mouse trail are not always needed. Sometimes, analysts only need the heat map of a certain area or perhaps just a summary of the number of activities that occurred on a webpage. Therefore, recording all geometrical data is sometimes unnecessary. This work introduces preprocessing during real-time and online mouse tracking sessions. The preprocessing that is introduced converts the geometrical data from each x and y point to a region-of-interest concentration, in other words only heat map areas that the analyzer is interested in. Ultimately, the approach used here is able to greatly reduce the storage and transmission cost of real-time online mouse tracking.
",non-battery
"In-situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (in-situ EIS) was applied to the investigation of electrochemical properties of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (LIRB). The in-situ EIS enables us the simultaneous measurements of the impedance spectra with charge/discharge curves by galvanostatic control. In the present paper, successive impedance spectra of positive and negative electrodes were determined by using three-electrode cell. For example, the impedance spectra of positive electrode during the charge and discharge allow the information regarding the deintercalation and intercalation of lithium, respectively, in LIRB. The charge transfer resistances of both positive and negative electrodes showed the hysteresis versus the state of charge (SOC) during charge–discharge sequence. These results indicate that the charge transfer resistance for the deintercalation is larger than that for the intercalation in the cases of both positive and negative electrodes in LIRB.",battery
"Several high-purity methyl perfluorocarboxylates were prepared (>99.5% purity by mole) and investigated as potential fluorine-rich electrolyte solvents in Li-ion batteries. The most conductive electrolyte, 0.1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in dimethyl perfluoroglutarate (PF5M2) (ionic conductivity = 1.87 × 10−2 mS cm−1), is investigated in Si thin-film half-cells. The solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI) formed by the PF5M2 electrolyte is composed of similar organic and inorganic moieties and at comparable concentrations as those formed by ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate electrolytes containing LiPF6 and LiTFSI salts. However, the SEI formed by the PF5M2 electrolyte undergoes reversible electrochemical defluorination, contributing to the reversible capacity of the cell and compensating in part for capacity fade in the Si electrode. While far from ideal these electrolytes provide an opportunity to further develop predictions of suitable fluorinated molecules for use in battery solvents.",battery
"Progress in the somatosensory field has been restricted by the limited number of genetic tools available to study gene function in peripheral sensory neurons. Here we generated a Cre-driver mouse line that expresses Cre-recombinase from the locus of the sensory neuron specific gene Advillin. These mice displayed almost exclusive Cre-mediated recombination in all peripheral sensory neurons. As such, the Advillin-Cre-driver line will be a powerful tool for targeting peripheral neurons in future investigations.",non-battery
"We used an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to lift and suspend distributed temperature sensing (DTS) technologies to observe the onset of an early morning transition from stable to unstably stratified atmospheric conditions. DTS employs a fiber optic cable interrogated by laser light, and uses the temperature dependent Raman scattering phenomenon and the speed of light to obtain a discrete spatial measurement of the temperature along the cable. The UAS/DTS combination yielded observations of temperature in the lower atmosphere with high resolution (1 s and 0.1 m) and extent (85 m) that revealed the detailed processes that occurred over a single morning transition. The experimental site was selected on the basis of previous experiments and long term data records; which indicate that diurnal boundary layer development and wind sectors are predictable and consistent. The data showed a complex interplay of motions that occur during the morning transition that resulted in propagation and growth of unstable wave modes. We observed a rapid cooling of the air aloft (layer above the strong vertical temperature gradient) layer directly after sunrise due to vertical mixing followed by an erosion of the strong gradient at the stable layer top. Midway through the transition, unstable wave modes were observed that are consistent with Kelvin–Helmholtz motions. These motions became amplified through the later stages of the transition.",non-battery
"PSpice author, Dr Luis Castañer dons another hat to work with Dr Tom Markvart, Reader in Electronic Materials, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton.",non-battery
"This paper is a small review of the use of computer simulations and especially the use of standard quantum-mechanical ab initio electronic structure calculations to rationally design and investigate different choices of chemicals/systems for lithium battery electrolytes. Covered systems and strategies to enhance the performance of electrolytes will range from assisting the interpretation of vibrational spectroscopy experiments over development of potentials for molecular dynamics simulations, to the design of new lithium salts and the lithium ion coordination in liquid, polymer, and gel polymer electrolytes. Examples of studied properties include the vibrational spectra of anions and ion pairs to characterize the nature and extent of the interactions present, the lithium ion affinities of anions, important for the salt solvation and the ability to provide a high concentration of charge carriers, the HOMO energies of the anions to estimate the stability versus oxidation, the anion volumes that correlate to the anion mobility, the lithium ion coordination and dynamics to reveal the limiting steps of lithium ion transport, etc.",battery
"Imidazolium cations form molten salts and exhibit excellent ionic conductivity because of their very low melting points or low glass transition temperature. This phenomenon depends strongly on the characteristics of the anion species. Some derivatives having vinyl groups are obtained as highly ion-conductive molten salt, but conductivity drops greatly after polymerization. To minimize this drop in conductivity the vinyl group and molten salt unit were tethered with oligo(ethylene oxide). The ionic conductivity of the polymers improved by a factor of 100. Further improvement took place when a hydrocarbon chain was used instead of oligo(ethylene oxide). Molecular design of the molten salt polymers for higher ionic conductivity is discussed.",battery
"The conversion of waste-stream greenhouse carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into value added chemicals and solar fuels using solar energy or electricity derived from sunlight is popularly known as artificial photosynthesis (AP). This latter process can indeed address the problems related to (i) the CO2 associated global warming, (ii) energy crisis due to the depletion of fossil fuels, and (iii) energy (and/or electricity) storage in high energy density chemical fuels. There are six types of processes (i.e., reactions) available to convert CO2 into value added chemicals; namely, (i) stoichiometric (also called as redox and neutralization reactions), (ii) thermo-chemical, (iii) biochemical (for e.g., algae production), (iv) photocatalytic, (v) photoelectrochemical (PEC) and (vi) electrochemical. Based on today׳s state-of-the-art on this subject, only electrochemical routes can be fully developed in such a way that the commercial plants can be established based on this process to produce renewable fuel chemicals from CO2, water and electricity (derived from sunlight or from any other renewable energy). Of late, the nano-structured materials (including nanoparticles, NPs) have found to play a significant role in improving the reaction efficiency and rate of reaction of this electrochemical conversion of CO2 into fuel chemicals. In this article, (i) the role of CO2 in dealing with the energy and global warming related problems, (ii) the fundamental understandings of electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ERC), (iii) the role of nanomaterials and reverse microbial fuel cells (R-MFC) on ERC, and (iv) the information about the already commercialized ERC processes have been presented and discussed while citing all the up-to-date relevant references.",battery
"Children with poor arithmetic fact mastery (n=45) at the end of third grade were compared to grade-level peers with good arithmetic fact mastery (n=60) in competencies related to reading and mathematics. Children were assessed longitudinally across second and third grades. When predictor variables such as IQ were held constant, the poor fact mastery and good fact mastery groups performed at about the same level and progressed at a comparable rate on math story problems and on broad reading achievement. The groups also progressed at a comparable rate on broad math achievement, although children with poor fact mastery performed at a significantly lower level. Children with poor fact mastery showed remarkably little growth on timed number facts during the study period, despite normal growth in other areas of mathematics. Deficits in fact mastery are highly persistent and appear to be independent of reading and language abilities.",non-battery
"Herein, we demonstrate an effective strategy to prepare N and P co-doped carbon nanotubes (NPC) using pyrrole monomer and phytic acid as precursors. Importantly, density functional theory (DFT) and pseudocapacitance contribution calculations certify that the electron mobility and electrochemical kinetics of the carbon nanotubes are enhanced by P-doping. Furthermore, the co-effect of the special hollow nanotubes structure and dual N, P doping endows the NPC with excellent rate performance and long-term cycling stability when it is used as an anode material for sodium ion batteries. Even tested at a high current density of 5000 mA g−1, a high reversible capacity of 180.3 mA h g−1 can be obtained after 3000 cycles for the NPC electrode.",battery
"One-dimensional (1D) nanosize electrode materials of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) nanowires and Co3O4–carbon nanotube composites were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The as-prepared 1D nanostructures were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. We tested the electrochemical properties of LiFePO4 nanowires as cathode and Co3O4–carbon nanotubes as anode in lithium-ion cells, via cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling. LiFePO4 nanorod cathode demonstrated a stable performance over 70 cycles, with a remained specific capacity of 140mAhg−1. Nanocrystalline Co3O4–carbon nanotube composite anode exhibited a reversible lithium storage capacity of 510mAhg−1 over 50 cycles. 1D nanostructured electrode materials showed strong potential for lithium-ion batteries due to their good electrochemical performance.",battery
"It is almost a truism that nature is social, but by what means is nature made social at the level of the interactional encounter? While the transformation of society/nature relationships is often approached through the problematic of distance, and at the scale of macro-historical transformation, this article uses a conflict between American birdwatchers and ornithologists over scientific “collecting” (literally, the killing of birds) to examine the processes through which individuals come to know nature, and come to know it so differently. With John Dewey’s (1958 [1925]) “experience” as the unit of analysis, I trace changes in each group’s experience with birds over the past century; the phenomenology of the resulting encounters; and the understanding that emerges from each in order to understand (1) how, empirically, these two very different loves of birds are formed, and (2) knowledge of nature as an affective sensibility shaped by experiences of closeness.
",non-battery
"An aliphatic quaternary ammonium salt which has a methoxyethyl group on the nitrogen atom formed an ionic liquid (room temperature molten salt) when combined with the tetrafluoroborate (BF4 −) and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [TFSI; (CF3SO2)2N−] anions. The limiting oxidation and reduction potentials, specific conductivity, and some other physicochemical properties of the novel ionic liquids, N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium tetrafluoroborate (DEME-BF4) and DEME-TFSI have been evaluated and compared with those of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. DEME-BF4 is a practically useful ionic liquid for electrochemical capacitors as it has a quite wide potential window (6.0V) and high ionic conductivity (4.8mScm−1 at 25°C). We prepared an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) composed of a pair of activated carbon electrodes and DEME-BF4 as the electrolyte. This EDLC (working voltage ∼2.5V) has both, a higher capacity above room temperature and a better charge–discharge cycle durability at 100°C when compared to a conventional EDLC using an organic liquid electrolyte such as a tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in propylene carbonate.",battery
"Objective: To determine whether men and women differ in cognitive outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Observational, prospective, cross-sectional design. Setting: Research center in an urban medical center. Participants: Participants were 83 community-dwelling men (mean age, 47±11y) and 76 women (mean age, 48±14y) with mild-to-severe TBI, recruited as part of a study on fatigue after TBI. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure: Measures of processing speed, executive functioning, and visual memory were obtained from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Results: Among participants with mild TBI, women scored significantly higher than men on a test of visual memory, and there were no sex differences in processing speed or executive functioning. Among participants with moderate-to-severe TBI, there were no significant sex differences in any cognitive outcomes. Conclusions: Overall, there were few differences in cognitive outcome in men and women in this sample. However, the results are consistent with previous findings of better memory outcome in women compared with men after TBI, when the injury severity is mild. These findings suggest that, in some cognitive domains, outcomes after TBI vary depending on sex, but these differences may depend on other contributing variables such as injury severity.",non-battery
"The management and final disposal of industrial wastes are a matter of considerable human concern. The present study evaluates the cyto/genotoxic effects and changes of the coelomic cell formulas exerted by aqueous leachates and solid waste (SW) of two industrial residues using coelomocytes extruded from Eisenia fetida. The assayed wastes corresponded to industrial foundry and cosmetic activities. After 14 days of exposure, we obtained a group of endpoints that reflect the toxicity/genotoxicity, coelomocyte formula and indexes; and the mortality classical value (LC50-14d). Among the variables measured, total coelomocytes formula (eleocytes + amebocytes + granulocytes) appears as a single and easy parameter to assess the toxicity of eluates at short exposure times. We applied a set of assays using earthworms as test organism that would allow evaluating SW as well as its aqueous leachates. It is easy to run trials combining exposures of 1 h to 14 days, which can be integrated into the implementation of the traditional test for evaluating acute toxicity.
",non-battery
"Pristine Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) and Ru-doped Li4Ti5O12 with the composition of Li4Ti4.95Ru0.05O12 (Ru-doped LTO) are synthesized by solid-state reaction. Ru doping into the lattice of LTO affects the electronic structure of LTO, leading to the modification of optical properties and improvement in electrochemical performance. The variations between pristine LTO and Ru-doped LTO in optical properties are investigated by UV–vis and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, the related microstructure is characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM. The enhancement in electronic conductivity of Ru-doped LTO can provide the discharge capacities of 222, 183 and 132mAh/g at 1C, 5C and 10C, respectively, during the voltage window of 0.01–2.5V. Furthermore, the capacity retentions are 95, 92 and 86% for 1C, 5C and 10C rates, respectively, at 100th cycles. The significant improvement in electrochemical performance demonstrates that ruthenium doped lithium titanate is promising as a high rate anode for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Objective To investigate the psychometric properties of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 (MPAI-4) obtained by self-report in a large sample of active duty military personnel with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design Consecutive cohort who completed the MPAI-4 as a part of a larger battery of clinical outcome measures at the time of intake to an outpatient brain injury clinic. Setting Medical center. Participants Consecutively referred sample of active duty military personnel (N=404) who suffered predominantly mild (n=355), but also moderate (n=37) and severe (n=12), TBI. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure MPAI-4 Results Initial factor analysis suggested 2 salient dimensions. In subsequent analysis, the ratio of the first and second eigenvalues (6.84:1) and parallel analysis indicated sufficient unidimensionality in 26 retained items. Iterative Rasch analysis resulted in the rescaling of the measure and the removal of 5 additional items for poor fit. The items of the final 21-item Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-military were locally independent, demonstrated monotonically increasing responses, adequately fit the item response model, and permitted the identification of nearly 5 statistically distinct levels of disability in the study population. Slight mistargeting of the population resulted in the global outcome, as measured by the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-military, tending to be less reflective of very mild levels of disability. Conclusions These data collected in a relatively large sample of active duty service members with TBI provide insight into the ability of patients to self-report functional impairment and the distinct effects of military deployment on outcome, providing important guidance for the meaningful measurement of outcome in this population.",non-battery
"Cu2+/Cu+–[Fe(CN)6]3-/[Fe(CN)6]4- redox couple is investigated for energy storage applications. Analogous to Pourbaix diagram, Potential – Time plot indicating regions such as Nernstian, Steady state and Redox were analyzed. Appropriate electrochemical reactions associated with these regions were also attempted. The redox couple provides power continuously for 3312 h with good stability. The coulombic, voltage and energy efficiencies obtained were 96%, 72.13% and 69.3% respectively. The maximum voltage attained by the cell is 0.88 V. The baseline voltage of the cell is 0.3 V and never reaches zero voltage output even after the inactivity of anolyte. Hence by replenishing the anolyte and anode, the device can be made functional for next 3312 h without replacing catholyte. Thus Cu2+/Cu+–[Fe(CN)6]3-/[Fe(CN)6]4- redox couple can be a low cost alternative or partial substitution redox couple to improve the performance of flow batteries.",battery
"This study aimed to observe the type of asymmetry exhibited by Porcellio laevis sampled from 15 sites belonging to Tunisian industrialized areas. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, organic matter and CaCO3 contents were measured in soils. Moreover, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations were determined in both soils and woodlice. Additionally, 10 metrical traits were measured to evaluate the type of asymmetry on individuals: the basis, the second and the third articles of the antenna, the first article of the flagellum of the antenna and the merus, the carpus, and the propodus of the sixth and the seventh pereopods. Among the 531 measured individuals, 432 exhibited fluctuating asymmetry (FA) while the remaining individuals exhibited antisymmetry or directional asymmetry. The data obtained were analyzed using a multivariate statistical analysis. Contrary to our hypothesis, the results showed that individuals from contaminated sites have a low FA level, whereas those from uncontaminated sites have a high FA level, particularly females but with some exceptions. Variations in FA level in the traits and populations studied and its usefulness as a stress indicator were discussed.",non-battery
"Endogenous electric fields in wounds have been documented for centuries, but they have received little attention from the scientific community. A new study shows that manipulation of these electric fields affects wound healing in vivo and identifies the phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling pathway as a key component of cell migration in response to electric cues.
",non-battery
"Exploring prospective materials for energy production and storage is one of the biggest challenges of this century. Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energy resources, due to its wide availability and low environmental impact. Metal halide perovskites have emerged as a class of semiconductor materials with unique properties, including tunable bandgap, high absorption coefficient, broad absorption spectrum, high charge carrier mobility and long charge diffusion lengths, which enable a broad range of photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. Since the first embodiment of perovskite solar cells showing a power conversion efficiency of 3.8%, the device performance has been boosted up to a certified 22.1% within a few years. In this Perspective, we discuss differing forms of perovskite materials produced via various deposition procedures. We focus on their energy-related applications and discuss current challenges and possible solutions, with the aim of stimulating potential new applications.",battery
"Microfluidic fuel cells and flow batteries are free from the static physical barrier that separated the anodic and cathodic compartments, introducing the advantages of low cost and feasible miniaturized application. Recently, the concept of dual electrolyte stream proves itself an effective strategy to enhance the reactor performance by pairing catholyte and anolyte with thermodynamically favored pHs. Being able to be implemented in both fuel cell and electrolyzer modes, the dual electrolyte strategy demonstrates superior peak power density, low overpotentials, high reactivity, and high efficiency. However, keeping the characteristics of laminar flow requires continuous electrolyte flowing in the microchannel. Besides, neutralization reaction would occur within the mixing layer between the catholyte and the anolyte, requiring higher flow rate to control the layer thickness. These lead to considerable electrolyte wastage that will significantly weaken the economical aspect and electrolyte utilization efficiency. To tackle this issue, this study investigated the electrolyte degradation process and proposed an operation scheme for electrolyte recycling. Key parameters of electrolytes were tracked and monitored by mimicking different reactor situations. Results indicated that with appropriately adjusted operating conditions, electrolyte recycling would be feasible in a microfluidic pH-differential network. Accordingly, an pH indicator for electrolyte recycling was proposed for potential practical application.",battery
"Studies about investigation of hydrogen production from wind energy and hydrogen production costs for a specific region were reviewed in this study and it was shown that these studies were rare in the world, especially in Turkey. Therefore, the costs of hydrogen, hydrogen production quantities using a wind energy conversion system were considered as a case study for 5 different locations of Nigde, Kirsehir, Develi, Sinop and Pinarbasi located in the Central Anatolia in Turkey. Annual wind energy productions and costs for different wind energy conversion systems were calculated for 50m, 80m and 100m hub heights. According to wind energy costs calculations, the amounts and costs of hydrogen production were computed. Furthermore, three different scenarios were taken into account to produce much hydrogen. The results showed that the hydrogen production using a wind energy conversion system with 1300kW rated power had a range from 1665.24kgH2/year in Nigde at 50m hub height to 6288.59kgH2/year in Pinarbasi at 100m hub height. Consequently, Pinarbasi and Sinop have remarkable wind potential and potential of hydrogen production using a wind–electrolyzer energy system.",battery
"There is an increasing interest in the development of thin, flexible energy storage devices for new applications. For large scale and low cost devices, structures with the use of earth abundant materials are attractive. In this study, we fabricated flexible and conductive nanopaper aerogels with incorporated carbon nanotubes (CNT). Such conductive nanopaper is made from aqueous dispersions with dispersed CNT and cellulose nanofibers. Such aerogels are highly porous with open channels that allow the deposition of a thin-layer of silicon through a plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) method. Meanwhile, the open channels also allow for an excellent ion accessibility to the surface of silicon. We demonstrated that such lightweight and flexible Si-conductive nanopaper structure performs well as Li-ion battery anodes. A stable capacity of 1200mAh/g for 100 cycles in half-cells is achieved. Such flexible anodes based on earth abundant materials and aqueous dispersions could potentially open new opportunities for low-cost energy devices, and potentially can be applied for large-scale energy storage.",battery
"Electrochemical properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with hexacyanoferrate(II,III) ions (PEDOT(HCF)) were studied in the presence of Cu2+ ions. Voltammetric and EDAX studies revealed retention of hexacyanoferrate anions in the polymer film and accumulation of Cu(II) cations, as well as formation of solid copper hexacyanoferrate near the polymer surface. Accumulation of Cu2+ ions was found to be advantageous from the point of view of PEDOT(HCF) applications as a solid contact (ion-to-electron transducer) in all-solid-state Cu2+-selective electrodes with solvent polymeric polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based membrane, containing Cu2+-selective ionophore. Binding of Cu2+ ions in the conducting polymer layer results in analyte ions flux into the transducer phase. Thus, pronounced enhancement of selectivity of the all-solid-state Cu2+-selective electrode or lower detection limit of the potentiometric response range was achieved, reaching under optimised conditions 10−7 M CuSO4.",battery
"The vast growth of the mobile telecommunication (T/C) sector during the recent years has led to the extension of the respective networks even to the most remote areas. Many of these areas, however, often lack electricity grid supply and as a result installation of energy autonomous T/C stations, usually based on diesel-oil electricity generation, is essential. On the other hand, technological developments and considerable procurement cost reduction of photovoltaics (PVs) encourage also the use of PV stand-alone configurations, as an alternative energy solution for the operation of these remote T/C stations. Instead of using PV-battery configurations alone, contribution of a diesel engine in terms of moderate fuel consumption may downsize the system and improve its economic performance. In this context, an optimum sizing methodology currently developed is used to determine the dimensions of such an autonomous hybrid system, based on the criterion of minimum initial cost. The developed methodology is accordingly applied to a representative Greek area of high solar potential under different scenarios of fuel consumption and panels’ tilt angle. From the results obtained, the proposed hybrid power station appears to be one of the most attractive energy solutions for the support of remote T/C stations, providing increased levels of reliability and presenting low maintenance needs.",battery
"One of the aims of research in spatial cognition is to examine whether spatial skills can be enhanced. The goal of the present study was thus to assess the benefit and maintenance effects of mental rotation training in young adults. Forty-eight females took part in the study: 16 were randomly assigned to receive the mental rotation training (based on comparing pairs of 2D or 3D objects and rotation games), 16 served as active controls (performing parallel non-spatial activities), and 16 as passive controls. Transfer effects to both untrained spatial tasks (testing both object rotation and perspective taking) and visual and verbal tasks were examined. Across the training sessions, the group given mental rotation training revealed benefits in the time it took to make judgments when comparing 3D and 2D objects, but their mental rotation speed did not improve. When compared with the other groups, the mental rotation training group did show transfer effects, however, in tasks other than those practiced (i.e., in object rotation and perspective-taking tasks), and these benefits persisted after 1 month. The training had no effect on visual or verbal tasks. These findings are discussed from the spatial cognition standpoint and with reference to the (rotation) training literature.
",non-battery
"In this manuscript we announce new type of “tailored” imidazole-derived salts designed, synthesized and tested for application in lithium conductive electrolytes. Basic characterization of the structure of described materials has been made by Raman, IR and NMR (13C NMR, 19F NMR) techniques. DSC and CV studies showed thermal stability of all salts over 200°C and electrochemical stability in liquid and solid polymer solvents up to +4.6V vs. metallic lithium anode and Al collectors. Such properties proved applicability of these salts as lithium electrolytes for modern types of lithium ion batteries.",battery
"
Restoration for bone injuries created by infections, complicated fractures, and resection surgery which may require massive transplanted bones, has always been a quite complicated procedure that involves a battery of biological events [1]. Currently, alternative structures have traditionally been fabricated from autologous, heterologous or even synthetic materials [2]. Among them, the autologous is recognized to be the “gold standard” owing to its superior osteogenesis, living tissue with intact cells and conductive scaffold that supports and integrates with the original bone tissue with perfection. Nevertheless, the autologous method is not without its disadvantages. Autologous bone obtained from patients could cause donor site infection, persistent pain and other complications [3]. Without affecting the normal structure and function of donor site, the number of autologous bone is too restricted to meet the demand of clinical treatment [4]. Correspondingly, massive researches have concentrated on new biomaterials for replacing traditionally used materials as quickly as possible or ameliorating their properties of bone regeneration with greatness [5]. Furthermore, natural polymers have attracted most attention owing to their good biocompatibility.
",non-battery
"The association of microneedles with electric pulses causing electroporation could result in an efficient and less painful delivery of drugs and DNA into the skin. Hollow conductive microneedles were used for (1) needle-free intradermal injection and (2) electric pulse application in order to achieve electric field in the superficial layers of the skin sufficient for electroporation. Microneedle array was used in combination with a vibratory inserter to disrupt the stratum corneum, thus piercing the skin. Effective injection of proteins into the skin was achieved, resulting in an immune response directed to the model antigen ovalbumin. However, when used both as microneedles to inject and as electrodes to apply the electric pulses, the setup showed several limitations for DNA electrotransfer. This could be due to the distribution of the electric field in the skin as shown by numerical calculations and/or the low dose of DNA injected. Further investigation of these parameters is needed in order to optimize minimally invasive DNA electrotransfer in the skin.
",non-battery
"X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase (X-PDAP) from Lactobacillus helveticus IF03809 expressed nearly full activity under high salt conditions, such as 2 M NaCl. We cloned and sequenced the pepX gene for X-PDAP. The calculated M, of deduced X-PDAP (803 amino acids) was 90,847 and the protein was distantly related (35 to 44% identity) to known X-PDAPs of Lactobacillus sp. including L. helveticus CNRZ32 (40% identity). Native and recombinant X-PDAP were purified to homogeneity from both L. helveticus IF03809 and Escherichia coli DH5α harboring the pepX gene on a plasmid, respectively. The native enzyme appeared to be a dimer of 220 kDa, as estimated by gel filtration column chromatography. It hydrolyzed an X-prolyl-linkage, but not prolyl- or X-prolyl-X-peptide bonds, and tolerated up to 2 M NaCl as well as some other chlorides of monovalent cations. Determination of the flanking sequences revealed two divergent genes. The upstream region of the pepX gene encodes oppA gene for a putative oligopeptide permease, while the downstream region encodes tnp gene specifying a possible transposase of the IS3 family. The oppA gene shares a 176 bp-promoter region with pepX in the intergenic region, implying a relationship between this oligopeptide transport system and X-PDAP.",non-battery
"In this paper, we investigate an adaptive energy management and power splitting system for a fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle. The battery pack is the main power source whereas the fuel cell is considered as a range extender that cannot sustain alone the vehicle traction power. In addition, the fuel cell contributes to reduce the battery pack degradation by limiting its depth-of-discharge (DoD). This energy management system is based on a two layer architecture in which the upper layer computes the anticipated end-of-trip DoD using online mass estimation. The lower layer is designed to split the driver power demand by minimizing a cost function which includes the hydrogen/electricity cost ratio. Therefore, the best trade-off between reducing battery pack degradation and using cost effective energy is provided. Furthermore, the system allows the fuel cell to operate at its maximum efficiency. Comparative study results indicate that using online mass estimation improves the overall fuel consumption efficiency whilst contributing at the same time to DoD reduction.",battery
"Electrolyte solutions, containing the lithium salts lithium-cyclo-difluoromethane-1,1-bis(sulfonyl)imide (abbreviated as LiDMSI) and lithium-cyclo-hexafluoropropane-1,1-bis(sulfonyl)imide (LiHPSI) dissolved in organic carbonate solvents, were electrochemically investigated on graphite and LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC) electrodes and compared to the electrolyte salt LiPF6 with regard to conductivity, the electrochemical stability window, the anodic dissolution behavior vs. aluminum as well as the thermal stability behavior at 60°C. XPS studies were carried out to investigate the influence of the salt on the composition and the thickness of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Constant current cycling experiments proved the potential applicability of the investigated salts for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Sn-based composite materials were synthetized by a conventional melt-quenching method, and studied by X-ray diffraction, electrochemistry and in situ119Sn Mösssbauer spectroscopy. Tin was dispersed ex situ into a matrix formed from B2O3:P2O5. XRD and 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy show the formation of an interface between the active species (Sn0) and the matrix. This amorphous interface acts as a “buffer-zone” which compensates volume changes during the tin–lithium alloy formation and avoids aggregation of tin particles.
",non-battery
"The transition to lower-carbon sources of energy will inevitably produce and, in many cases, perpetuate pre-existing sets of winners and losers. The winners are those that will benefit from cleaner sources of energy, reduced emissions from the removal of fossil fuels, and the employment and innovation opportunities that accompany this transition. The losers are those that will bear the burdens, or lack access to the opportunities. Here we review the current state of understanding—based on a rapidly growing body of academic and policy literature—about the potential adverse consequences of the energy transition for specific communities and socio-economic groups on the frontlines of the transition. We review evidence about just transition policies and programmes, primarily from cases in the Global North, and draw conclusions about what insights are still needed to understand the justice and equity dimensions of the transition, and to ensure that no one is left behind.",battery
Suspension electrolysis is a combined process of chemical and electrochemical reactions. The developed model for a parallel-plate electrochemical reactor is based on mixture model for suspension flow and balance equation for diluted species taking into account the dispersed phase content and ions migration due to the electrolyte current and partial dissolution of suspended particles in the suspension electrolysis. Electrochemical reactions are specified through flux boundary conditions at the electrode/electrolyte interface. The influence of the combined processes is reflected through the distribution of ions concentration profile in liquid phase and current density profile at the electrode surface. Numerical investigation indicates that about 90 % of the iron deposition flux is accommodated by an additional component flux due to the chemical reaction of partial dissolution of α-Fe2O3 particles in suspension electrolysis.,battery
"Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which have demonstrated that all moving things in the universe can generate electricity in a sustainable way are currently being developed to be integrated with electronics, and to improve user convenience. The electrically charged surface upon a contact electrification phenomenon caused by contact of the materials determines the output performance of TENGs. This review focuses on the electrification and surface charge density characteristics of various fluoropolymer-based materials as active materials that have been investigated to realize high performance TENGs, and the results of the study of their applications. Furthermore, the characteristics of electrification with differently polymerized P(VDF-TrFE) as TENGs’ active materials and their applications are reviewed. The boosted output performance characteristics when used as a matrix material and integrated with a composite system with a high dielectric constant material are also reviewed. Finally, the paper presents three perspectives on the direction of TENG research for future improvement, namely material, structure, and circuitry.",battery
"Results from a previous longitudinal study, the Swedish OCTO-Immune study, indicated that the combination of higher CD8 peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), decreased CD4 PBLs, and poor proliferative response to mitogenic stimulation in very old humans were associated with an increased 2 year mortality. In follow up studies this combination of immune parameters was significantly associated with a CD4/CD8 ratio less than one and positive IgG serologic titers to cytomegalovirus (CMV). The present study, the Swedish NONA-Immune study, was an extension of that study, using a new sample of the very old. The results of this study confirmed the results of the previous study and extended the surface marker profile of the PBLs, indicating that the CD4/CD8 ratio change is associated with increased CD8 cells, decreased CD4 cells, and lymphocyte activation. The predominant phenotypes of the CD3+CD8+ cells were CD27−, CD28−, CD56+, and CD57+, CD45RA+, and double marked CD45RA+RO+. As in the OCTO study, the NONA-Immune data indicated that the changes are associated significantly with seropositive responses to CMV.",non-battery
"A delicate structure of graphitic carbon-encapsulated α-Fe2O3 nanocomposite is in situ constructed via “Absorption–Catalytic graphitization–Oxidation” strategy, taking use of biomass matter of degreasing cotton as carbon precursor and solution reservoir. With the assistance of the catalytic graphitization effect of iron core, onion-like graphitic carbon (GC) shell is made directly from the biomass at low temperature (650°C). The nanosized α-Fe2O3 particles would effectively mitigate volumetric strain and shorten Li+ transport path during charge/discharge process. The graphitic carbon shells may promote charge transfer and protect active particles from directly exposing to electrolyte to maintain interfacial stability. As a result, the as-prepared α-Fe2O3@GC composite displays an outstanding cycle performance with a reversible capacity of 1070mAhg−1 after 430 cycles at 0.2C, as well as a good rate capability of ∼ 950mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at 1C and ∼ 850mAhg−1 even up to 200 cycles at a 2C rate.",battery
"One of the major issues hampering the acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs) is the anxiety associated with long charging time. Hence, the ability to fast charging lithium-ion battery (LIB) systems is gaining notable interest. However, fast charging is not tolerated by all LIB chemistries because it affects battery functionality and accelerates its aging processes. Here, we investigate the long-term effects of multistage fast charging on a commercial high power LiFePO4-based cell and compare it to another cell tested under standard charging. Coupling incremental capacity (IC) and IC peak area analysis together with mechanistic model simulations (‘Alawa’ toolbox with harvested half-cell data), we quantify the degradation modes that cause aging of the tested cells. The results show that the proposed fast charging technique caused similar aging effects as standard charging. The degradation is caused by a linear loss of lithium inventory, coupled with a less degree of linear loss of active material on the negative electrode. This study validates fast charging as a feasible mean of operation for this particular LIB chemistry and cell architecture. It also illustrates the benefits of a mechanistic approach to understand cell degradation on commercial cells.",battery
"Although transition metal oxides have attracted considerable attention for their high energy density as anode materials of lithium-ion batteries, they suffer from large volume expansion during lithiation process, which usually causes fast capacity degradation. Herein, we report a rational design and facile preparation strategy of copper oxide encapsulated mesoporous carbon multi-yolk-shell octahedra, in which multiple CuO nanoparticles are well-confined in the compartments of micro-scale octahedral carbon scaffolds. The advantages of the novel multi-yolk-shell design are that the three-dimensional carbon scaffolds can buffer the volume change and prevent aggregation of CuO nanoparticles during the charge/discharge cycles, provide pathways for electron transport and Li+ diffusion, and restrict the thin solid-electrolyte interphase layer to the outer surface of carbon shells. The results demonstrate how the electrochemical properties of anodes can be significantly improved by the multi-yolk-shell nanostructures with greatly enhanced structural stability and electrochemical actuation. Moreover, the micrometer-size CuO@C octahedra reduce the relative quality of SEI, resulting in high Coulombic efficiency and long cycling stability. In Li-ion cells, the CuO@C multi-yolk-shell octahedra anodes deliver a highly-reversible capacity of 598mAhg−1 at 250mAg−1, excellent rate capacity of 365mAhg−1 at 3000mAg−1 and exhibit long-term cyclability with a capacity of 512mAhg−1 after 300 cycles at 500mAg−1.",battery
"Manganese oxide thin films were sputtered on graphite foils by radio frequency (RF) sputtering. At the 1,000th cycle of potential cycling, maximum mass specific capacitance of 341 F g−1 was obtained in 0.5 M LiCl and with optimum sputtering conditions (5 sccm of oxygen, 20 mTorr, and 70 W) as well as annealing temperature (150 °C). These show its high electrochemical stability and good mass specific capacitance at a higher sweep rate of 100 mV s−1. In addition, the higher the volume flow rates of oxygen, the larger the amount of trivalent manganese oxide and the higher the surface roughness, the higher the mass specific capacitance at lower volume flow rates of oxygen, but the amounts of trivalent manganese oxide were almost the same and the mass specific capacitance decreased due to decreasing surface roughness at higher volume flow rates of oxygen. Furthermore, the geometric specific capacitance increases with increasing sputtering pressure and power.",battery
"Several spent Li-ion batteries were manually dismantled and their components were uncurled and separated. The chemical composition of each battery's component was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Among several ways to separate cathode material from the collector, the alkali dissolution treatment was selected as the most effective one. After both complete separation and acid leaching steps, the co-precipitation method, followed by a thermal treatment (700 °C or 850 °C), was used to resynthesize cathode material LiCo0.415Mn0.435Ni0.15O2. Its structure and morphology were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDS methods. The electrochemical behavior of recycled cathode materials was examined by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry in both LiNO3 and NaNO3 aqueous solutions. High sodium storage capacity, amounting to 93 mAh g−1, was measured galvanostatically at a relatively high current of ∼100 mA g−1. Initial lithium intercalation capacity of ∼64 mAh g−1, was determined potentiodynamically at very high scan rate of 20 mV s−1 (∼40 C). Somewhat lower initial capacity of ∼30 mAh g−1, but much lower capacity fade on cycling, was found for sodium intercalation at the same scan rate. The differences in the Li and Na charge storage capability were explained in terms of ion rearrangement during charging/discharging processes.",battery
"As a presumed bastion of the Enlightenment values that support a critical intelligentsia, the university is often regarded as both the bedrock and beneficiary of liberal democracy. By contrast, authoritarian regimes are said to discourage higher education out of fear that the growth of a critical intelligentsia could imperil their survival. The case of China, past and present, challenges this conventional wisdom. Imperial China, the most enduring authoritarian political system in world history, thrived in large part precisely because of its sponsorship of a form of higher education closely tied to state interests. Although twentieth-century revolutions brought fundamental change to Chinese politics and pedagogy, the contemporary party-state also actively promotes higher education, cultivating a mutually advantageous state-scholar nexus and thereby reducing the likelihood of intellectual-led opposition. As in the imperial past, authoritarian rule in China today is buttressed by a pattern of educated acquiescence, with academia acceding to political compliance in exchange for the many benefits conferred upon it by the state. The role of educated acquiescence in enabling Chinese authoritarianism highlights the contributions of a cooperative academy to authoritarian durability and raises questions with prevailing assumptions that associate the flourishing of higher education with liberal democracy.
",non-battery
"Healthcare services in many countries have been partially or completely disrupted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since its onset in the end of 2019. Amongst the most impacted are the elective medical and surgical services in order to conserve resources to care for COVID-19 patients. As the number of infected patients decrease across Canada, elective surgeries are being restarted in a staged manner. Since Otolaryngologists – Head & Neck Surgeons manage surgical diseases of the upper aerodigestive tract where the highest viral load reside, it is imperative that these surgeries resume in a safe manner. The aim of this document is to compile the current best evidence available and provide expert consensus on the safe restart of rhinologic and skull base surgeries while discussing the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative care and tips. Risk assessment, patient selection, case triage, and pre-operative COVID-19 testing will be analyzed and discussed. These guidelines will also consider the optimal use of personal protective equipment for specific cases, general and specific operative room precautions, and practical tips of intra-operative maneuvers to optimize patient and provider safety. Given that the literature surrounding COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, these recommendations will serve to start our specialty back into elective rhinologic surgeries over the next months and they may change as we learn more about this disease.",non-battery
"Surface coating is a key strategy in lithium-ion battery technologies to achieve a high and stable battery performance. Increasing the operation voltage is a direct way to increase the energy density of the battery. In this work, TiO2 is directly sputtered on as-fabricated LiCoO2 composite electrodes, enabling a controllable oxide coating on the topmost of the electrode. With an optimum coating, the discharge capacity is able to reach 160 mAh g−1 (86.5% retention) after 100 cycles within 3.0–4.5 V at 1 C, which is increased by 40% compared to that of the bare electrode. The high-voltage rate capability of LiCoO2 is also remarkably enhanced after TiO2-coating as reflected by the much larger capacity at 10 C (109 vs. 74 mAh g−1). The artificially introduced oxide coating is believed to make the LiCoO2 electrode more resistant to interfacial side reactions at high voltage and thus minimizes the irreversible loss of the active material upon long cycling. The TiO2 coating layer is also possible to partially react with the decomposition product of electrolyte (e.g. HF) and form a more stable and conductive interphase containing TiF x , which is responsible for the improvement of the rate capability.",battery
"Lentil populations were developed from crosses between ‘JL-3’ (sensitive to drought stress) and ‘PDL-1’ and ‘FLIP-96-51’ (tolerant to drought stress), to study the inheritance of drought tolerance and to identify the markers associated with it. The parental types, F1, F2, F3, and backcross (BC) generations were screened for drought tolerance using seedling survivability and drought scores. The F1 hybrids responded similar to the drought-tolerant parent, indicating dominance of seedling drought tolerance over sensitivity. Segregation for seedling survival drought tolerance versus sensitivity in F2 generation was in complete agreement with monogenic 3:1 ratio. The F3 families and backcross data additionally confirmed monogenic tolerance based on seedling survival under drought. Out of 51 SSR markers screened, thirteen markers were polymorphic between the parental types. Seven markers among them were found to be associated with seedling survival drought tolerance through bulk segregant analysis. Association of these markers with seedling survival drought tolerance was further confirmed through their screening on 10 drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive genotypes. These seven markers were screened in F2 mapping population (JL-3 × PDL-1) of 101 individuals to map their position in relation to the gene for seedling survival drought tolerance. Linkage analysis mapped the seven markers within a map distance of 133.2 cM. A single major gene Sdt was identified with a LOD value of 19.9 and phenotypic variation (R2) of 69.7 %. The Sdt locus was obtained in the marker interval of PLC_105–PBA_LC_1480 spanning 24.9 cM with the closest marker PLC_105 at a distance of 9.0 cM on the obtained linkage group. This is the first report on genetic control and linkage of SSR markers for drought tolerance in lentil. These linked markers can be used in molecular breeding programmes for introgression of seedling survival drought tolerance gene in high-yielding cultivars.
",non-battery
"Carbonaceous thin-film electrodes were modified by nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) plasma, and surface-modified carbonaceous thin-film electrodes were obtained and investigated by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Their chemical composition, degree of fluorination, and chemical bonding were investigated. The effects of surface modification on the anode reaction of lithium-ion batteries were examined. The electrochemical properties of the resultant thin-film electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry using a three-electrode electrochemical cell. The cyclic voltammograms showed that the fluorine atoms on the surface suppressed the reductive decomposition of ethylene carbonate.",battery
"Since the discovery of fullerenes more than three decades ago, new kinds of nanoscale materials of carbon allotropes called “nanocarbons” have so far been discovered or synthesized at successive intervals as cases such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanohorns, graphene, carbon nanowalls, and a carbon nanobelt, while nanodiamonds were actually discovered before then. Their attractively excellent mechanical, physical, and chemical properties have driven researchers to continuously create one of the hottest frontiers in materials science and technology. While plasma states have often been involved in their discovery, on the other hand, plasma-based approaches to this exciting field originally hold promising and enormous potentials for advancing and expanding industrial/biomedical applications of nanocarbons of great diversity. This article provides an extensive overview on plasma-fabricated nanocarbon materials, where the term “fabrication” is defined as synthesis, functionalization, and assembly of devices to cover a wide range of issues associated with the step-by-step plasma processes. Specific attention has been paid to the comparative examination between plasma-based and non-plasma methods for fabricating the nanocarobons with an emphasis on the advantages of plasma processing, such as low-temperature/large-scale fabrication and diversity-carrying structure controllability. The review ends with current challenges and prospects including a ripple effect of the nanocarbon studies on the development of related novel nanomaterials such as transition metal dichalcogenides. It contains not only the latest progress in the field for cutting-edge scientists and engineers, but also the introductory guidance to non-specialists such as lower-class graduate students.",non-battery
" Multiple studies suggest that reduced postural orientation is a possible risk factor for both patello-femoral joint pain (PFP) and rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). In order to prevent PFP and ACL injuries in adolescent athletes, it is necessary to develop simple and predictive screening tests to identify those at high risk. Single Leg Mini Squat (SLMS) is a functional and dynamic real-time screening test, which has shown good validity and reproducibility in evaluation of postural orientation of the knee in an adult population. The aim of this study was to determine the inter-tester reproducibility of SLMS in the age group of 9–10 and 12–14 years by evaluating postural orientation of the ankle, knee, hip and trunk. Further on, this study exemplify the divergence of kappa values when using different methods of calculating kappa for the same dataset.",non-battery
"This research addresses the issues of frequency and regularity in verb reading and their importance for the organization of the mental lexicon in DLI francophones. A reading task probes response latencies and response accuracy for DLI and control participants on frequent and infrequent inflected forms of verbs. DLI participants are slower at reading verbs even if their mean accuracy rates are higher than controls’. Results also indicate that the type of suffix on the verb affects controls and DLI participants differently in their accuracy rates: DLI participants exhibit higher error rates on less frequent inflections, while controls do not. Finally, unusual patterns are found for DLI participants on regular versus irregular verbs: regular verbs are slower to be read by DLI participants. These results are compared to findings from a previous simple lexical decision study. They are interpreted as indicating that DLI word reading patterns are qualitatively different from those evidenced by controls.",non-battery
"Significant efforts have been made to eliminate the shuttle effect created by the surface modification of separator or by adding interlayers. However, much of the research so far requires elaborate and costly material processing steps that did not necessarily result in substantially improved cell performances. In this contribution, a three-dimensional carbon fiber cloth (CFC) is placed between the separator and the sulfur cathode to accommodate and capture the soluble polysulfide intermediates. The cells with this interlayer show an initial discharge capacity of 6.89mAhcm−2, which remains substantial after 100 cycles at 1C (6.69mAhcm−2). CFC interlayers provide an efficient and cost effective route for developing promising lithium-sulfur batteries with long cycle stability and good rate capability.",battery
"Migratory birds use compass systems derived from the geomagnetic field, the stars, the sun and polarized light patterns. We tested whether birds use a single underlying reference system for calibration of these compasses and, specifically, whether sunset and sunrise polarized light cues from the region of the sky near the horizon are used to calibrate the magnetic compass. We carried out orientation experiments with Savannah sparrows, Passerculus sandwichensis, in Alaska during autumn migration 2005, and compared the magnetic orientations of individual birds before and after exposure to conflicting information between magnetic and celestial cues. Birds exposed to an artificially shifted polarization pattern (±90° shift relative to the natural condition) for 1 h at local sunrise or sunset recalibrated their magnetic compass, but only when given access to the artificial polarization pattern near the horizon. Birds exposed to a 90° clockwise-shifted magnetic field for 1 h at solar noon did not recalibrate their magnetic compass. These results indicate that migratory birds calibrate their magnetic compass using the skylight polarization pattern vertically intersecting the horizon at sunrise and sunset. In conjunction with earlier work showing that sun and star compass calibrations are secondarily derived from magnetic and polarized light cues, our findings suggest that polarized light cues near the horizon at sunrise and sunset provide the primary calibration reference for the compass systems of migratory songbirds.
",non-battery
"The SnO2 material has been considered as a promising lithium-ion battery anode candidate, and recently, the importance has been increased due to its high performance in sodium-ion batteries. Remarkably, the SnO2 lithium-ion battery anode usually shows extra specific capacity that greatly exceeds the theoretical value. Partial reversibility of conversion reaction has been commonly considered to contribute the extra capacity, however, this has not clearly solved due to the indirect experimental evidences. Here, a realistic ex situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis technique was developed to reveal the origin of the extra capacity. We demonstrate that reactions of Li2O phase contribute to the extra capacity and the reverse conversion reaction of SnO2 hardly occurs in the real battery system. This work provides significant implications for establishing an accurate electrochemical reaction mechanism of SnO2 lithium-ion battery anode, which may lead to inspiration on enhancing performance of the SnO2 anode in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries as well. Furthermore, the robust ex situ TEM experimental approach we have introduced is extensively applicable to analyses of various battery electrode materials.",battery
"Ti–Mn and Ti–Fe codoped Li3V2(PO4)3 samples, i.e. Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Mn x (PO4)3 and Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Fe x (PO4)3 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.25), are prepared by a sol–gel method. Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Mn x (PO4)3 and Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Fe x (PO4)3 are phase-pure when x is not higher than 0.05. LiMnPO4 and LiFePO4 begin to form as impurity phases in Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Mn x (PO4)3 and Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Fe x (PO4)3, respectively, when x is equal to 0.1. And another impurity of Mn2P2O7 appears in Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Mn x (PO4)3 when x is equal to 0.2. All these impurities increase with increasing x. XPS analyses indicate that the oxidation states of Ti, Mn and Fe are +4, +2 and +2 respectively. The first charge/discharge capacities of both Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Mn x (PO4)3 and Li3V2 − 2x Ti x Fe x (PO4)3 at 0.2 C decline with an increase of x. Both the high-rate discharge capability and long term cycling performance of Li3V1.9Ti0.05Fe0.05(PO4)3 are much better than those of Li3V2(PO4)3, which can be attributed to the smaller particle size, larger lattice parameters and better structural stability induced by Ti and Fe codoping. However, the electrochemical performance of Li3V1.9Ti0.05Mn0.05(PO4)3 is worse than that of Li3V2(PO4)3, which is due to the structural instability induced by the incorporation of Mn.",battery
"The LiNi0.5− x Mn0.5− x Co2 x O2 (0 < x ≤ 0.1) series was first prepared at 800 °C by the spray dry method. The structural and electrochemical characteristics of these compounds were also studied. The Co substitution seems to promote the formation of LiNi0.5− x Mn0.5− x Co2 x O2. In addition, the Co introduction in LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 can not only reduce the cell polarization, but increase the reversible capacity. The LiNi0.5− x Mn0.5− x Co2 x O2 series shows an excellent cyclability and rate ability. After 50 cycles, LiNi0.425Mn0.425Co0.15O2 shows a reversible capacity of about 110mAh g−1 at the rate of 1mA cm−2 (100mA g−1) in 3–4.6V at room temperature and more than 140mAh g−1 at the rate of 2mA cm−2 (200mA g−1) at 55 °C.",battery
"Layered oxides, ruthenium-substituted Li2MnO3, were synthesized at 800°C and 1200°C. Their phase relation and electrical and electrochemical properties were investigated. Li2Mn1−x Ru x O3 synthesized at 800°C clearly separated into two phases, manganese-rich and ruthenium-rich phases, except for the narrow composition range of 0≤ x ≤0.05, while Li2Mn1−x Ru x O3 synthesized at 1200°C formed two solid solutions in the whole composition range across a structural transition between x =0.6 and 0.8. The electrical resistivity of Li2Mn1−x Ru x O3 decreased with increasing ruthenium content. Li2Mn0.2Ru0.8O3 (x =0.8) synthesized at 1200°C showed the lowest resistivity of 5.7×102 Ωcm at room temperature. The discharge capacity and cycling performance were improved by the ruthenium substitution. Li2Mn0.4Ru0.6O3 (x =0.6) exhibited a discharge capacity of 192mAhg−1 in the initial cycle and 169mAhg−1 in the tenth cycle with high and almost constant charge–discharge efficiencies of 99% from the second to tenth cycle at a current rate of 1/10C. The ruthenium substitution to Li2MnO3 is quite effective to improve electrical conductivity and charge–discharge performance.",battery
"Non-flammable high-performance electrolytes are in high demand for rechargeable batteries. Here the authors design cyclic phosphate-based electrolytes to enable stable operations of graphite anodes and high-voltage cathodes for lithium-ion batteries.
",battery
"The alloying reaction between 14th group elements and alkali can be detrimental for Li, Na or K-ion batteries due to the large associated volume expansion that leads to a rapid capacity fading. In order to overcome this issue, their associated 2D phases are promising anodes that enable alkali intercalation without alloying reaction and volume expansion. In this study, the lamellar siloxene obtained from topotactic deintercalation of Ca from CaSi2 delivered reversible capacities of 2300, 311 and 203 mAh/g for Li, Na and K, respectively, with good capacity retention and coulombic efficiency for Li and Na. The intercalation mechanism taking place upon cycling is highlighted on the basis of ex situ Raman characterization combined with IR spectroscopy, SEM and TEM. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that a lamellar Silicon based material shows such high stable capacity without volume expansion, representing a real breakthrough for the batteries field and particularly for NIB.",battery
"In this study, commercial Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2/graphite (NCM/C) lithium-ion batteries were cycled at −10 °C under different current rates ranging from 0.2 C to 1C. Electrochemical measurements and post-mortem analysis were performed to identify the root causes of the degradation in the electrochemical performance of the cells. The results reveal that apart from the increase of lithium plating on the anode, there is a considerable and abnormal capacity loss on the NCM cathode with the increase in current rate. The different degradation mechanisms including the loss of lithium inventory (LLI) and the specific capacity loss of NCM material (LAM) during cycling at −10 °C were analyzed quantitatively. It is shown that the evolution trend of LLI with the increase in current rate (8.6%, 35.0%, 55.8% for 0.2 C, 0.5 C and 1 C respectively) corresponds closely to that of the capacity loss of the full-cells (8.6%, 45.5%, 63.6% for 0.2 C, 0.5 C and 1 C, respectively), which is different to the trend of LAM (7.2%, 8.8%, 22.3% for 0.2 C, 0.5 C and 1 C, respectively). Further analysis by XRD and HR-TEM clearly indicates that the crystallinity of the hexagonal layered structure of NCM was greatly impaired after low-temperature cycling at −10 °C, and spinel phase can be observed among the layered structure.",battery
"Non-precious Fe/N/S-composited hierarchically porous carbon materials (Fe(x)/N/S-PAD, PAD: poly(acrylamide-co-diallyldimethyl ammonium chlor), x: the weight ratio of FeSO4 7H2O/PAD) are synthesized using a facile silica colloid template approach with FeSO4 7H2O as Fe and S sources, and PAD as N source, respectively. A simultaneous creation of porous structures and surface functionalities (Fe, N and S) of such catalysts is realized just by simply tuning the weight ratio of FeSO4 7H2O and PAD in the synthetic precursors. As a result, a series of catalyst samples with high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity/stability are obtained, demonstrating the promotion role of FeSO4/PAD ratio in synthesizing high-performing catalysts. Particularly, a catalyst (Fe(1.5)/N/S-PAD) with a trace Fe content down to 1.0wt.% is tested to be superior to a commercial Pt/C catalyst in alkaline media and exhibits impressive ORR performance in acidic media. Combined with characterization results such as TEM, Raman spectra, BET and XPS analysis, it is found that the well-defined micro- and meso-porous structure play the key role in enhancing catalytic ORR performance rather than the final total N contents in the carbon. Regarding the stability of such a catalyst, test using cyclic voltammetry for 5000 cycles in O2-saturated solution shows a negligible degradation rate when compared with Pt/C one, suggesting that this catalyst could be used for catalyzing the high-performing cathode ORR in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells and metal–air batteries.",non-battery
"As robot swarms move from the laboratory to real-world applications, a routine checklist of questions could help ensure their safe operation.
",non-battery
 The fundamental determinant of death in donation after circulatory determination of death is the cessation of brain circulation and function. We therefore propose the term donation after brain circulation determination of death [DBCDD].,non-battery
"A time dependence of three-dimensional simulation including water phase change and heat transfer of a PEMFC model has been studied. The overshoot behavior has been observed during a change in the electrical load during operation with fixed flow rates of hydrogen and air. The simulation of 25-cm2 active area with a serpentine flow path shows the interactions of the anode and cathode flow streams, the flow through the gas diffusion media, and the movement of water through the MEA by electroosmotic and back diffusion forces. The simulation used a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver, STAR-CD with and add-on PEMFC module, es-pemfc. The operating conditions corresponded to 101kPa, 70°C cell temperature, anode and cathode dew points and stoichiometries of 78°C and 72°C and 1.2 and 2.0 at an initial operating voltage of 0.7V and current density of 0.57Acm−2.",battery
"Lithium–manganese spinel is prepared by a hydrothermal process that uses ethanol as the co-solvent. The crystallinity, particle morphology and electrochemical performance of the spinel are examined and compared with those obtained without the co-solvent. The amount of co-solvent and reaction time are adjusted to control the properties. The addition of ethanol leads to uniform particle size and shape, as well as higher crystallinity, than for spinel prepared in pure water. The co-solvent also reduces the time required for synthesis. A prolonged reaction time is effective in obtaining high-purity Li–Mn spinel in pure water but more impurities form after a long reaction time in an ethanol-added solvent. A mechanism for this process is suggested. A report is given of the electrochemical performance of Li–Mn spinel, including the capacity, rate capability and cyclability, as well as the effects of the co-solvent on these properties.",battery
"Reading comprehension difficulties in children with ADHD are well established; however, limited information exists concerning the cognitive mechanisms that contribute to these difficulties and the extent to which they interact with one another. The current study examines two broad cognitive processes known to be involved in children’s reading comprehension abilities—(a) working memory (i.e., central executive processes [CE], phonological short-term memory [PH STM], and visuospatial short-term memory [VS STM]) and (b) orthographic conversion (i.e., conversion of visually presented text to a phonological code)—to elucidate their unique and interactive contribution to ADHD-related reading comprehension differences. Thirty-one boys with ADHD-combined type and 30 typically developing (TD) boys aged 8 to 12 years (M = 9.64, SD = 1.22) were administered multiple counterbalanced tasks assessing WM and orthographic conversion processes. Relative to TD boys, boys with ADHD exhibited significant deficits in PH STM (d = −0.70), VS STM (d = −0.92), CE (d = −1.58), and orthographic conversion (d = −0.93). Bias-corrected, bootstrapped mediation analyses revealed that CE and orthographic conversion processes modeled separately mediated ADHD-related reading comprehension differences partially, whereas PH STM and VS STM did not. CE and orthographic conversion modeled jointly mediated ADHD-related reading comprehension differences fully wherein orthographic conversion’s large magnitude influence on reading comprehension occurred indirectly through CE’s impact on the orthographic system. The findings suggest that adaptive cognitive interventions designed to improve reading-related outcomes in children with ADHD may benefit by including modules that train CE and orthographic conversion processes independently and interactively.",non-battery
"There is increasing interest in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) for large scale-energy storage systems. Vanadium electrolytes which function as both the electrolyte and active material are highly important in terms of cost and performance. Although vanadium electrolyte technologies have notably evolved during the last few decades, they should be improved further towards higher vanadium solubility, stability and electrochemical performance for the design of energy-dense, reliable and cost-effective VRFBs. This timely review summarizes the vanadium electrolyte technologies including their synthesis, electrochemical performances, thermal stabilities, and spectroscopic characterizations and highlights the current issues in VRFB electrolyte development. The challenges that must be confronted to further develop vanadium electrolytes may stimulate more researchers to push them forward.",battery
"PEO16–LiClO4–ZnAl2O4 nanocomposite polymer electrolyte (NCPE) films prepared by hot-pressing method have been investigated. In order to compare with the hot-pressed NCPEs, the NCPE films have also been prepared using the conventional solution-casting method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), conductivity (σ) and interface property studies have been carried out on above two kinds of films. The results show that the NCPE film prepared by hot-pressing method has smoother surface, higher interface stability, lower crystallization and melting temperature values than that prepared by solution-casting method. An all-solid-state lithium polymer battery using the hot-pressed NCPE film as electrolyte, lithium metal and LiFePO4 as anode and cathode respectively, shows high discharge specific capacity, good rate capacity, high coulombic efficiency, and excellent cycling stability as revealed by galvanostatical charge/discharge cycling tests.",battery
"Li2MnSiO4/C composites have been prepared by a facile molten salt method followed by a carbon coating process. Submicron Li2MnSiO4 particles are obtained in KCl–NaCl molten phase with a short reaction time of 3h. The orthorhombic structure and sphere-like morphology are confirmed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. Ex-situ XRD study confirms amorphous transition of Li2MnSiO4 during the first charge process. Galvanostatic charge-discharge tests display high initial charge and discharge capacities of 265 and 194 mAh g−1, respectively, at 0.05C rate for the Li2MnSiO4/C composite prepared at 700°C. At 0.1C rate, it maintains a discharge capacity of 165 mAh g−1 and its capacity retention at the 50th cycle is up to 78%, showing superior cycling stability.",battery
"In this study, a simple cobalt oxide modification approach for graphite felt is investigated as the positive electrode for the all-vanadium redox flow battery. A thin coating layer of cobalt oxide on the surface of graphite felt is applied via impregnation in conjunction with ultrasonication and calcination. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveal that the modified graphite felt exhibits excellent electro-catalytic activity and reversibility toward the VO2+/VO2 + redox reaction and stability after repetitive 50-cycle testing. Full cell performance is assessed via charge-discharge and polarization curve analysis. The coulombic efficiency, voltage efficiency, energy efficiency and discharge capacity of the cell employing the modified electrode (without flow field) are 89.5%, 77.6%, 69.4% and 373.9 mAh at 150 mA cm−2, respectively, 12.7% higher in energy efficiency and 101.7% higher in discharge capacity than a cell employing pristine graphite felt. The polarization curve analysis exhibits a much higher limiting current density and maximum power density at a state of charge of 95% due to the inhibition of ohmic polarization. Overall, the results demonstrate an enhanced and stable catalytic effect of the facile cobalt modification for promoting the electrochemical performance of graphite felt in the vanadium redox flow battery.",battery
"To evaluate the accuracy of a Functional Activity Monitor (FAM) in 1) detecting daily activities including postures (sitting, standing, lying), transfers between postures and walking, and 2) measuring activity duration and step frequency. A cross-sectional study comparing the outcomes of the FAM to 1) video recordings (HS100P/PC, Panasonic Inc. and VIXIA HG21, Canon Inc.) for activity identification, and 2) 3D motion analysis system recordings (Optotrak 3020 NDI) for measuring step frequencies. The FAM includes one triaxial accelerometer, and one triaxial gyroscope, powered by 3.7V lithium ion battery (sample frequency of 50 Hz; Sparkfun Inc, Boulder CO, USA). One FAM was positioned on the sternum and two on each thigh. Wireless transmission of data to a PDA (Motorola Inc.) was established by means of Bluetooth. Trials included postures, transfers between postures and walking at preferred, slow and fast speeds. Statistical analysis included the determination of percentage of agreement and an ANOVA with repeated measures. Clinical Movement Sciences Laboratory, Boston University. Ten young adults (range 20-26 years of age) including 5 males and 5 females. Not applicable. Frequency of occurrence of activities, activity duration and step frequencies. The agreement between tools for identification of postures ranged from 96.2% to 100%, and for the identification of transfers and walking from 98.6% to1:00%. There was no significant difference between tools in terms of activity duration and step frequencies at different walking speeds. The FAM is an accurate device to monitor daily functional activities, activity durations and step frequencies of healthy young adults in research lab settings. Future research will focus on the validation of the FAM in the evaluation of daily activities of elderly in their home and community environment.",non-battery
"External sediment supply is an important control on wetland morphology and vulnerability to storms, sea-level rise, and land use change. Constraining sediment supply and net budgets is difficult due to multiple timescales of variability in hydrodynamic forcing and suspended sediment concentrations, as well as the fundamental limitations of measurement and modeling technologies. We used two independent observational campaigns and one hydrodynamic modeling effort to estimate the sediment supply to Jamaica Bay, New York, USA, an urbanized embayment with a history of extensive wetland loss. We found that all three estimates indicate a net import to the system, ranging from 36 to 74 kt/year, with a mean estimate of 55 kt/year ± 31 kt/year, which is consistent with a prior estimate derived from radionuclide tracers. Net sediment import is controlled by flood-ebb asymmetry in bed shear stress, which results in higher suspended sediment concentrations on flood tide relative to ebb. This indicates a seaward source of sediment that is resuspended by waves in the coastal ocean, likely offshore marine deposits or potentially from the adjacent Hudson River estuary. Despite the net sediment import, a simple sediment budget suggests that the rate of supply is not sufficient to maintain the present geomorphic planform of the system relative to sea-level rise. The convergent estimates from independent methods provide reasonable guidance as context for sediment-based restoration efforts.
",non-battery
"Starting from the pro-environmental potential of virtual reality (VR), the aim was to understand how different statistical information formats can enhance VR persuasive potential for plastic consumption, recycling and waste. Naturalistic, immersive virtual reality environments (VREs) were designed ad hoc to display three kinds of statistical evidence formats, featured as three different formats (i.e., numerical, concrete and mixed). Participants were exposed only to one of the three formats in VR, and their affect, emotions, sense of presence, general attitudes toward the environment, specific attitudes and behavioral intentions toward plastic, use, waste, recycle, as well as their social desirability proneness were measured. Numerical format was the least effective across all dimensions. Concrete and mixed formats were similar. Social desirability only partially affected participants’ attitudes and behavioral intentions. Numerical format did not increase the persuasive efficacy of statistical evidence displayed in VR, with respect to visual alone. Implications and future directions for designing effective VRE promoting pro-environmental behaviors were discussed.",non-battery
"Dicationic ionic liquids are promising solvents for safe high performance Li-ion battery applications. In this work, we report on the synthesis and characterization of new electrolytes based on geminal dicationic pyrrolidinium and piperidinium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide ionic liquids, where the two cations are linked by variable length oxyethylene chain spacers. All 1 M LiTFSI doped synthesized electrolytes are thermally stable up to 300 °C, and they exhibited remarkable electrochemical stability window up to 6.0 V vs. Li/Li+. Electrolytes were assembled with LiMn2O4 (LMO) spinel in lithium half-cells. Electrochemical cell performance in terms of cyclic voltammetry, rate capability and galvanostatic cycling studies have been studied at 60 °C. Results obtained indicate that both the cationic structure and the length of the oxyethylene chain spacer has a significant influence on the electrochemical performance of LMO-cells. The cell based on the pyrrolidinium electrolyte with the two cationic structures linked by two oxyethylene units exhibit the faster rate capability, with a capacity retention of 45% at 5C, and the highest reversible capacity (ca. 80 mAhg-1).",battery
"We report on the formation of carbon/Co3O4 (C@Co3O4) composite nanospheres using a hydrothermal approach, followed by application of a thin coating of monosaccharide-derived carbon veneered on the surface of Co3O4 by high temperature calcination. When evaluated as the negative electrode for Li-ion batteries (LIBs), the C@Co3O4 structures exhibit attractive energy storage capacity and improved cycle life, over more than 100 repeated discharge/charge cycles. We hypothesize that the improved electrochemical performance of the composite electrodes originates from the enhanced structural stability of the active Co3O4 particles, imparted by the carbon coating. Consistent with this hypothesis, post mortem analysis performed on pristine Co3O4 and composite C@Co3O4 anodes subjected to prolonged cycling indicate that surface cracking, particle breakage, and primary particle fusion evident in the pristine Co3O4 material are substantially reduced in anodes comprised of C@Co3O4.",battery
"The present work focuses on the structural stability upon hydrogenation of three typical La–Mg–Ni-based alloys: La2MgNi9, La3MgNi14 and La4MgNi19. Structural changes during gaseous and electrochemical cycles were characterized, and the influence of the structure distortion on the hydrogen storage properties was concerned. Hydrogen-induced amorphization (HIA) and disproportionation of the three alloys have occurred during both the gaseous and electrochemical cycles. Structural stability of the phase structures in the La–Mg–Ni system is found to follow the order: LaNi5 > (La,Mg)5Ni19 > (La,Mg)2Ni7 > (La,Mg)Ni3 > (La,Mg)Ni2. HIA increases thermal stability of the metal hydrides and difficulty to dehydrogenation and leads to degradation of both the gaseous and electrochemical capacities. Interestingly, La2MgNi9 with poor stability presents elevated discharge capability even at 60 °C which can be attributed to increase in the hydrogen desorption capability and inhibition of the self-discharge induced by severe HIA at higher temperatures. In addition, HIA in the electrochemical reactions is obviously weaker than the extent during the gaseous cycles, which is mainly due to the slower hydrogenation speed. The development of HIA in the gaseous and electrochemical process is considered to follow the direct and gradual modes, respectively.",non-battery
"The cointercalation of sodium with the solvent organic molecule diglyme into graphite, forming a ternary graphite intercalation compound (t-GIC), can resolve the difficulty of making the stage 1 Na-GIC in order to use as a potential anode for Na-ion batteries (NIBs). To clarify the mechanism of such cointercalation, we investigate the atomistic structure, energetics, electrochemical properties, ion and electron conductance, and charge transferring upon the de/intercalation of the solvated Na-diglyme ion into graphite with ab initio calculations. It is found that the t-GICs Na(digl)2C n have the lowest negative intercalation energy at n ≈21, the Na(digl)2 complex diffuses relatively fast in the interlayer space, and the electronic conductance can be enhanced upon the cointercalation compared with graphite. The calculations reveal that the diglyme molecule as well as Na atom donates electrons to the graphene layer, indicating an ionic bond between the graphene layer and the diglyme molecule. We belive that this work will contribute to the development of graphite-based anode materials for NIBs.",battery
This paper presents a generalized method of moments algorithm for estimating the structural parameters of a macroeconomic model subject to the restriction that the coefficients of the monetary policy rule minimize the central bank's expected loss function. The algorithm combines least-squares normal equations with moment restrictions derived from the first-order necessary conditions of the auxiliary optimization. We assess the performance of the algorithm with Monte Carlo simulations using three increasingly complex models. We find that imposing the optimizing restrictions when they are true improves estimation accuracy and that imposing those restrictions when they are false biases estimates of some of the structural parameters but not of the policy-rule coefficients.,non-battery
"Purpose A pilot study was conducted to assess correspondence among measures of program characteristics (opportunities and intervention strategies) and youth experiences in a range of activity settings in a residential immersive life skills (RILS) program. Method Opportunities and intervention strategies were assessed in 18 activity settings in the 21-day program. On two occasions each, four youth completed a measure of experiences and took part in onsite interviews. Results There was good convergence between observed program opportunities and the use of socially-mediated, teaching/learning, and non-intrusive strategies. Youth experiences of social interaction, choice, and personal growth were further informed by interview information. There was substantial convergence between program characteristics and youth experiences, indicating the program was provided and experienced as intended. Conclusions This pilot study indicated the fidelity of the program and the feasibility of using the measures in a future study. The preliminary findings suggest that RILS programs may provide a favorable environment for developmental experiences concerning social interaction, autonomy, and personal growth.",non-battery
"The morphological optimization of Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) material has a great significance for improving the electrochemical performance since NVP suffers from intrinsic low electronic conductivity. For this purpose, a novel 3D NVP nanofiber network is controllably constructed via a facile self-sacrificed template method. Based on time-dependent experiments, an outside-in morphological evolution mechanism from microsphere to 3D nanofiber network is proposed. The as-synthesized material exhibits excellent cyclability (95.9% capacity retention over 1000 cycles at 10C) and enhanced high-rate performance (94mAhg−1 at 100C) for sodium half cell. Notably, when evaluated as full battery (NaTi2(PO4)3 as anode) cathode, it also shows outstanding cycling stability (96.9% capacity retention over 300 cycles at 5C) and superior rate capability (80mAhg−1 at 50C). Such remarkable performance is attributed to the 3D nanofiber network structure, which provides multi-channel ionic diffusion pathway, continuous electronic conduction, and improved structural integrity. This self-sacrificed template strategy presented here can inspire new thought in constructing novel nanofiber/nanowire structures and accelerate the development of high-power sodium–ion batteries.",battery
"Transition metal oxides have attracted considerable interest as promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high energy densities. It is necessary, however, to resolve the foremost issue for them in terms of practical applications, relating to the large volume changes during cell operation. Herein, we report a SnO2 anode with a hierarchical fibrous porous architecture which was fabricated by electrospinning the Sn-precursor with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and subsequent temperature-dependent pyrolysis processes, resulting in the distinctive morphology, featuring hierarchical fibrous porous structures on the microscale with numerous primary constituent nanoparticles. The porous fibres are composed of uniform polycrystalline nanoparticles (approximately 10–50nm in size) and abundant voids in close proximity to the constituent nanoparticles. By comparing with an anode containing commercial SnO2 nanopowder (with a size of <100nm), we found that the porous fibrous SnO2 anode featured superior rate capability, long-term cycling stability, and dimensional stability, which was attributed to the distinctive structural characteristics, which offered enhanced kinetics towards electrochemical reactions with lithium ions and space for alleviating the huge volume expansion during charging/discharging. These findings would pave the way for practical applications in LIBs with high capacity and long cycle life of transition metal oxide anodes that suffer from significant volume changes during cycling.",battery
"Glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES) was applied to quantification of Li in both positive and negative electrodes. Depth profiles of Li1.03Ni0.32Co0.33Mn0.32O2 (NCM) and hard carbon based electrodes in the range of state of charge (SOC) 0–100% were measured throughout from the surface to the current collector within a few hours. The flat crater shapes, although slightly concave at the edge for NCM, suggested a good depth resolution in the profiles. The sample surfaces sputtered during the GD-OES measurement were smooth in SEM observation, suggesting that remarkable preferential sputtering of the composite materials did not occur. The Li intensities obtained from GD-OES were correlated with the Li components determined using ICP-MS for both positive and negative electrode samples. The correlation coefficients of the linear relationship were improved by considering intensity ratio of Li to the matrix element, Li/Co and Li/C for NCM and hard carbon electrodes, respectively, to correct the sputtering rate variation of samples. These results confirm that GD-OES is a potential technique for quantitative analysis of Li in the electrodes.",battery
"Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is one of the most promising energy storage systems due to its large energy density of 2560Whkg−1. However, severe shuttle effect of polysulfide intermediates, poor conductivity of S and large volume change during cycling cause fast capacity fading and poor cycle performance. Herein, we demonstrate S nanodots impregnated microporous carbon encapsulated conductive mesoporous vanadium nitride nanowires (S/MVN@C NWs) as high-performance S cathode materials for Li-S batteries. The S nanodots with the size of 2–5nm are impregnated into the mesopores of MVN@C NWs and further encapsulated with microporous carbon. During cycling, the polysulfides intermediates are strongly chemical anchored by the conductive MVN NWs and further physically trapped by microporous carbon coating within the cathode. The freestanding and binder-free cathode comprising intertwining and interpenetrating S/MVN@C NWs demonstrates highly mechanical flexibility, which deliver a long cycle life of 636mAhg−1 after 200 cycles at 1C (1650mAg−1) and high rate performance with a capacity of 543mAhg−1 at 10C. Even at a high areal mass loading of 9.7mgcm−2, a large and stable capacity of 7.1mAhcm−2 is achieved. The strategy combining microporous carbon coating with high conducting mesoporous metal nitrides opens a feasible route to design large-capacity and high-stability S-based cathodes for Li-S batteries.",battery
"The energy-density improvement for cathode materials by using the method of occupying the Li site with the lowest formation enthalpy was first presented, and successfully applied to Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2. Herein, the synthesis, structure and electrochemical properties (including both Li extraction and intercalation) of mixed alkali-ion phosphate Li8NaV3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 were comprehensively studied, and compared with its isologue Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2. Both Li8NaV3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 and Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 were synthesized via an original two-step method for the first time. The sintering temperature of Li8NaV3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 (650 °C) was much lower than that of Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 (750 °C). The Rietveld structure refinement indicated that Na ions occupied the Li1(2b) site of Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 as expected, and Li8NaV3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 showed a single charge plateau at 4.4 V vs. Li in the 1st cycle. However, the Na ions migrated from Li1(2b) site after the initial cycle, and the charge plateau at 3.7 V vs. Li reappeared. On the other hand, both Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 and Li8NaV3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 can deliver a high reversible capacity (∼200 mAh g−1), and reveal excellent cycle and rate performance in 3.0–0.05 V vs. Li. The gentle structure changes along with abundant Li intercalation into the bulks suggested that Li9V3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 and Li8NaV3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 were also promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The energy and environmental benefits of electric vehicles (EVs) are highly dependent on individual driving patterns. To characterize individual driving patterns in Beijing, a populated megacity in East Asian, GPS-based travel data from 459 private passenger vehicles were gathered covering nearly 17,000 sampling days in 2013–2015. The data were analyzed using a statistical model to produce 0.5h, 4h, 8h and daily individual trip chain distributions, which were used to evaluate customer acceptance for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) based on inconvenience thresholds and to assess the energy consumption for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). The mean daily distances travelled on weekdays and weekends in Beijing were found to be 44.6km and 51.4km respectively. In Beijing the mean habitual travel distance (40.4km) is modest, the random component of travel distance is lower, and the fraction of habitual travel is higher than for cities in the U.S. and in Germany. These factors make EV deployment in Beijing more favorable than in the U.S. or Germany. We show that the estimated acceptance rate for BEVs is very sensitive to the predetermined inconvenience threshold level. The abundant public transportation alternatives and traffic management in Beijing are factors which reduce the inconvenience of BEVs and may make them acceptable without substantially increased cost for larger battery capacity. PHEVs with all-electric ranges of 50km (PHEV50) have an ensemble utility factor (UF) and equivalent gasoline consumption estimated to be 0.55 and 4.39L/100km. However, for 50% of vehicle owners PHEV50s would have a UF of 0.94 and equivalent gasoline consumption of 3.03L/100km. Our results show that attention to heterogeneity among individuals instead of analysis at the ensemble level is essential to understanding the real-world acceptance and benefits of EVs.",battery
"We summarize the foundational elements of a new area of research we call soundscape ecology. The study of sound in landscapes is based on an understanding of how sound, from various sources—biological, geophysical and anthropogenic—can be used to understand coupled natural-human dynamics across different spatial and temporal scales. Useful terms, such as soundscapes, biophony, geophony and anthrophony, are introduced and defined. The intellectual foundations of soundscape ecology are described—those of spatial ecology, bioacoustics, urban environmental acoustics and acoustic ecology. We argue that soundscape ecology differs from the humanities driven focus of acoustic ecology although soundscape ecology will likely need its rich vocabulary and conservation ethic. An integrative framework is presented that describes how climate, land transformations, biodiversity patterns, timing of life history events and human activities create the dynamic soundscape. We also summarize what is currently known about factors that control temporal soundscape dynamics and variability across spatial gradients. Several different phonic interactions (e.g., how anthrophony affects biophony) are also described. Soundscape ecology tools that will be needed are also discussed along with the several ways in which soundscapes need to be managed. This summary article helps frame the other more application-oriented papers that appear in this special issue.",non-battery
"More than 100 years after Edison's life changing discovery, 1.6–2 billion people around the globe still live without light, in dark and smoke filled homes. The remote and impoverished Himalayan villages of upper Humla, in north-west Nepal, belong to some of the 2.4 billion people who still depend on the use of traditional biomass for their daily energy services such as cooking, heating and light. These activities on open fireplaces have a direct chronic impact on the health and extremely low life expectancy of the women and children along with devastating deforestation. There is a strong relationship between prosperity and access to electricity. The more remote and isolated communities in Nepal generally live in great poverty. Eighty percent of Nepal's 28.5 million people live in rural areas, with around half of these so remote, that neither a road, nor the national grid is ever likely to reach them. While Nepal has no fossil fuel resources, it is a country that is rich in renewable energy resources such as hydropower and solar energy. These abundant and locally available renewable energy resources can be tapped into with appropriate locally developed technologies. Generating and storing electrical energy derived from these rich local energy resources can provide for appropriate and sustainable lighting, which brings potential health, education, social and economic benefits to the people who have previously lived in homes with excessive indoor air pollution. This paper describes the living conditions of some villages in upper Humla, and the possible benefits of a simple village electrification system that provides basic lighting for the homes and the consequent improvements in the living conditions of the villagers.",battery
"Design and construction of versatile nanostructured SnO2/C composites is still an efficient strategy for developing advanced SnO2-based lithium-ion battery anode materials. Generally, the composite way of carbon and SnO2 in SnO2/C is that the nanostructured SnO2 is coated by a smooth carbon coating. It is believed that if the SnO2 is coated by a characteristically non-smooth three-dimensional (3D) carbon coating rather than smooth carbon coating, the lithium storage properties of SnO2/C would be greatly improved owing to the sufficient free space and larger surface area of 3D structure. However, the SnO2/C composites with a 3D carbon coating are rarely reported because of the difficulty in preparation. In this work, an interestingly nanostructured SnO2/C composite (SnO2@C) with a uniquely non-smooth carbon coating has been prepared via a carefully devised strategy, which consists of uniquely 3D jagged carbon coating porous SnO2 quasi-nanocubes. Thus unique architecture offers SnO2@C enhanced electrochemical kinetics and superior structural stability when served as a lithium-ion battery anode material. Consequently, the SnO2@C displays extraordinaire cycle performance and outstanding rate capability, releasing capacity of 1089.5 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 after even 400 cycles, as well as 479.2 mAh g−1 even at 3000 mA g−1.",battery
" Advanced heart failure treated with a left ventricular assist device is associated with a higher risk of right heart failure. Many advanced heart failures patients are treated with an ICD, a relative contraindication to MRI, prior to assist device placement. Given this limitation, left and right ventricular function for patients with an ICD is calculated using radionuclide angiography utilizing planar multigated acquisition (MUGA) and first pass radionuclide angiography (FPRNA), respectively. Given the availability of MRI protocols that can accommodate patients with ICDs, we have correlated the findings of ventricular functional analysis using radionuclide angiography to cardiac MRI, the reference standard for ventricle function calculation, to directly correlate calculated ejection fractions between these modalities, and to also assess agreement between available echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters of right ventricular function.",non-battery
"A life model is developed for a lithium ion cell with a spinel-based cathode. It is assumed in the proposed model that the Mn(III) disproportionation reaction causes the degradation of the spinel cathode. The Mn(III) disproportionation reaction leads to the Mn(II) dissolving into the electrolyte and the formation of an inactive material layer which causes a resistance increase in the cathode. The proposed model is used to investigate the effects of ambient temperature and voltage range of cycling on the loss of the cell capacity and the changes in the volume fraction of the cathode active material, the radius of the cathode particle and the resistance of the cathode.",battery
"In the present study, a nanocrystalline GeO2/C core shell was synthesized by a cost-effective and simple citric-gel method for various parameters, and the effects of these parameters on the microstructural and electrochemical properties of the GeO2/C core shell were investigated. Thermo-gravimetric-analysis showed that the combustion of gel-complexes occurred in the temperature range from 178 to 247°C. Among the samples pre-heated at 150°C, the sample pre-heated for 4h had the highest surface area (11.12 m2 g−1; particle size ∼ 30nm). TEM analysis revealed that the citric-gel synthesized GeO2 was encapsulated with carbon. This carbon encapsulation acted as a critical buffer layer against capacity degradation in the fabricated electrodes. The optimized sample showed a specific capacity of 738mA h g−1 and maintained its reversibility after 50 cycles at a capacity of 697mA h g−1. The electrode containing the optimized sample showed a reversible capacity of 530mA h g−1 at 1C rate",battery
"Porous separator functions to electrically insulate the negative and positive electrodes yet communicate lithium ions between the two electrodes when infiltrated with a liquid electrolyte. The separator must fulfill numerous requirements (e.g. permeability, wettability, and thermal stability) in order to optimize the abuse tolerance and electrochemical performance of a battery. Non-woven mat separators have advantages such as high porosity and heat resistance. However, their applications in lithium ion batteries are very limited as their inadequate pore structures could cause accelerated battery performance degradation and even internal short. This work features the development of thermally stable non-woven composite separators using a low cost paper-making process. The composite separators offer significantly improved thermal dimensional stability and exhibit superior wettability by the liquid electrolyte compared to a conventional polypropylene separator. The open porous structures of the non-woven composite separators also resulted in high effective ionic conductivities. The electrochemical performance of the composite separators was tested in coin cells. Stable cycle performances and improved rate capabilities have been observed for the coin cells with these composite separators.",battery
"Gel Polymer Electrolytes (GPEs) composed by 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (EMIM TFSI), ZnTf2 salt, and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) are synthesized using n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent. Structural and Thermal characterization of GPEs with different ZnTf2 concentrations are analyzed by ATR-FTIR, XRD, DSC and TG. Ionic conductivity versus temperature plots obeys the Vogel-Tammen-Fulcher (VTF) behavior and activation energy values are deduced from the slopes. Use of NMP solvent turns out to be a key factor for improving the Zn2+ transport inside the GPE due to the interaction between Zn2+ cations and carbonyl groups of the NMP. High values of ionic conductivity and low activation energy values, together with the high reversibility and high current density obtained in the voltammograms reveal these GPEs as good candidates to be used in Zn batteries. Furthermore, ionic liquids-based GPEs are probed in Zn/MnO2 batteries, resulting specific capacities of 125mAhg−1.",battery
"Porous silicon–carbon (Si–C) composite materials have attracted a great deal of attention as high-performance anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs), but their use suffers from the complex and limited synthetic routes for their preparation. Herein we demonstrate a scalable and nontoxic method to synthesize porous Si–C composite materials by means of simultaneous chemical etching of Si and carbon phases using alkaline solution. The resulting porous Si–C composite material showed greatly improved cycle performance, good rate capability, and high dimensional stability during cycling. Porous Si–C electrode showed an expansion of the height by about 22% after the first lithiation and only 16% after the first cycle. The material synthesis concept and scalable simultaneous etching approach presented here represent a means of improving the electrochemical properties of Si-based porous anode materials for use in commercial LIBs.",battery
" The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of dental erosion among competitive swimmers of the local swimming club in Szczecin, Poland, who train in closely monitored gas-chlorinated swimming pool water.",non-battery
"Three different cation-vacant spinels aiming at composition “Li2Mn4O9” were prepared by (1) low-temperature solid state reaction, (2) chemical delithiation, (3) electrochemical delithiation. Products of routes (1) and (2) were studied by neutron diffraction. Rietveld refinements confirmed the double-vacancy scheme proposed by de Kock et al. [Mater. Res. Bull. 25 (1990) 657] in the former. The exact composition of both samples departed significantly from the expected stoichiometry. They also differed in their electrochemical behavior. Both can be cycled at 3V with much better stability than stoichiometric LiMn2O4, probably due to the increased initial manganese valence with respect to LiMn2O4. Spinel with tetrahedral-vacancies only gives an additional reversible redox step ca. 150mV above the main plateau. This feature is observed on both discharge (lithium insertion) and charge (extraction).",battery
"Na4MnV(PO4)3 is a sodium ion conducting material with a NASICON type crystal structure. This phase is not much known as an electrode material. The present work focuses on the sodium ion intercalation/de-intercalation mechanism and charge/discharge behavior of the material. The Na4MnV(PO4)3 is synthesized through a sol-gel process and characterized by XRD, SEM, and XPS. The structural analysis confirms the formation of a phase pure crystalline material with nanometric particle size which adopts a trigonal crystal structure. Galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) measurements indicate that Na4MnV(PO4)3 is electrochemically active having slanting voltage plateaus. Ex-situ and In-situ XRD analysis, as a function of sodium concentration, indicate that the intercalation/de-intercalation of sodium is associated with a single-phase reaction rather than a biphasic reaction when cycled between 1.5 and 4.5 V. The electrochemical measurements on composite electrodes, Na4MnV(PO4)3/CNTS (1 & 3 wt.%), show promising charge/discharge capacity (∼140 mAh/g), good cyclability (100% capacity retention after 40 cycles) and reasonable rate capability. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicate that the main contributions towards the activity of Na4MnV(PO4)3 can be attributed to the active of Mn2+/Mn3+ and V3+/V4+ redox couple with partial activity of V4+/V5+. The obtained results suggest that Na4MnV(PO4)3 is a promising electrode material which can be achieved better rate performance with long cycling stability and battery performance through engineering of the particle morphology and microstructure.",battery
"Today, energy crises attracted many researchers’ attention to renewable energy technologies especially photovoltaic (PV) systems. The main challenge of PV systems is unpredictable nature of solar power generation. To overcome this challenge, a storage system is integrated which reduces demand reliance on electricity grid and uses excess energy that solar panels produce. As investment cost of the storage system is considerable, finding an optimal technology, size, and configuration are crucial. In this paper, the optimal battery system is excluded from existing PV plant installing in a commercial building located in Mashhad/Iran. Here, the sizing procedure is based on a financial evaluation which considers the damage costs due to outages that the commercial building is experiencing during the PV system life spam. To compare results, the battery size is also determined by stochastic methods, e.g. Monte-Carlo simulation method. The simulation results confirm the advantages of the proposed approach compare with classic ones.",battery
"Transition metal oxides are among the most promising anode candidates for next-generation lithium-ion batteries for their high theoretical capacity. However, the large volume expansion and low lithium ion diffusivity leading to a poor charging/discharging performance. In this study, we developed a surfactant and template-free strategy for the synthesis of a composite of Co x Fe3−x O4 hollow spheres supported by carbon nanotubes via an impregnation–reduction–oxidation process. The synergy of the composite, as well as the hollow structures in the electrode materials, not only facilitate Li ion and electron transport, but also accommodate large volume expansion. Using state-of-the-art electron tomography, we directly visualize the particles in 3-D, where the voids in the hollow structures serve to buffer the volume expansion of the material. These improvements result in a high reversible capacity as well as an outstanding rate performance for lithium-ion battery applications. This study sheds light on large-scale production of hollow structured metal oxides for commercial applications in energy storage and conversion.",battery
"Low-cost houses in South Africa are characterized by poor craftsmanship and design with no regard to energy efficient passive solar design features resulting in high electrical energy consumption, uncomfortable indoor thermal environment and poor ventilation efficiency. Incorporating energy efficiency passive solar design strategies and correct material choice can significantly reduce energy consumption in buildings. This paper presents the effects of fly ash to brick properties, thermal comfort analysis and the impact of the ventilation components to the indoor environment of a low-cost energy efficient passive solar house constructed using fly ash bricks. The addition of fly ash to clay improved brick properties. The house was monitored for a period covering all the South African seasons. In summer, the passive solar house was found to be thermally comfortable for 66% of the period monitored, while for winter it was about 79%. Windows were found to have a higher impact on the ventilation rates than doors. The indoor carbon dioxide concentration monitored over night was found to be 0.248%, which is less than the maximum range limit of 0.500%. The performance of the house was seen to depend on how the occupants operate the house. The house was found to create a thermally comfortable indoors environment and experienced minimal temperature and humidity swings, with a better performance in winter than summer.",battery
"Is this paper, the electrodeposition/electrodissolution cycling of lead dioxide (PbO2) is studied on vitreous carbon electrodes in lead methanesulfonate/methanesulfonic acid medium for a soluble lead acid flow battery application. The influence of the active species concentrations (Pb2+, H+) on the cyclability of lead dioxide (charge efficiency, lifetime of cycling, etc.) is assessed. The proton has a very adverse effect when its concentration is above 1M. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) shows that the lead dioxide layer can be passivated at the end of reduction when the electrolyte is strongly acidic. Mass changes investigations carried out during PbO2 cycling with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) confirm the presence of the solid-state reaction predicted in the literature. This side reaction suggests the formation of a non-stoichiometric PbO x compound with a poor solubility and a high electric resistance. The effect of the acid concentration as well as the current density on the formation of PbO x is assessed. The poor cyclability of PbO2 in high acidic media can be related to the accumulation of this resistive compound within the layer. Finally, considerations for an optimal operation of the battery are presented.",battery
"With nearly 40% of U.S. adults obese, and childhood and adolescent rates rising, obesity and associated comorbidities are serious public health concerns with massive societal costs. Often, lifestyle interventions do not offer sufficient weight loss to improve health, requiring surgery and medications as adjunct management strategies. Here, we present a 4-month case study in which the sustained, low-dose, and constant administration of the thyroid receptor β selective agonist GC-1 (sobetirome) from a novel nanochannel membrane implant was assessed in an obese, pre-diabetic rhesus macaque. Dramatic loss of white adipose tissue in the abdomen from 36 to 18% was observed via magnetic resonance imaging in conjunction with normalized serum insulin and glycemia, with no signs of cardiotoxicity shown. The non-human primate study highlights sustained low-dose delivery of GC-1 from our minimally invasive subcutaneous implant as a valuable approach to induce weight loss and manage obesity and comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes.",non-battery
"Li4Ti5O12 was successfully synthesized by a modified solid-state reaction method with an in situ coating process. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area and scanning electron microscopy. Sub-micron Li4Ti5O12 oxides, with a high phase purity and accurate stoichiometry, were obtained after calcination at 800 °C for 7 h. The pure Li4Ti5O12 electrode material showed a much higher surface area and specific capacity than the one without the ultra-high speed nano-pulverization pretreatment process. Excellent reversible high-rate capability was achieved as 137 mAh g−1 at 10C, 107 mAh g−1 at 20C, 76 mAh g−1 at 40C. The result of the cycling performance showed high capacity retention of about 100% for all charge/discharge rates after 10 cycles. Electrochemical impedance spectra tests demonstrated that the lithium-ion diffusivity in Li4Ti5O12 was improved significantly after the pretreatment, which indicated that the ultra-high speed nano-pulverization treated Li4Ti5O12 with high dispersion and smooth particle surface would be a promising high-rate anode material for lithium-ion battery.",battery
"Electric vehicles (EVs) have attracted attention all over the world because of their advantages, such as energy conservation and carbon emission reduction. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage in EVs are used because of their high energy density. LiFePO4 is one of the most preferred cathode materials for EVs because of several advantages, such as high specific energy, long life cycle, environmental safety, and low cost. However, at high temperatures, LiFePO4 devices exhibit iron dissolution, which limits the use of LiFePO4 in EVs. This study fabricates an in operando, self-growing, solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the LiFePO4 electrode by using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to prevent iron dissolution and extend its life cycle. The APPJ treatment results in the plasma-induced grafting of hydrophilic functional groups on the LiFePO4 surface, which are used for the in operando synthesis of an amorphous a-FePO4·H2O thin layer on the surface and subsequent electrochemical reaction with ethylene carbonate to form a unique core-shell SEI layer. Contact angle measurements and optical emission and Raman spectroscopy analyses reveal the surface characteristics of LiFePO4 after the APPJ treatment. TEM images confirm that the SEI was formed by an amorphous layer with a thickness of 2.73 nm. High-temperature (60 °C) testing reveals that the SEI considerably improved the cycle performance by suppressing iron dissolution. The present study fabricates an in operando, self-growing, core-shell SEI on a LiFePO4 electrode to improve the high-temperature performance of LIBs.",battery
"Open circuit voltage (OCV) has a considerable influence on the accuracy of battery state of charge (SOC) estimation. Three efforts have been made to reconstruct OCV for SOC estimation of lithium ion batteries in this study: (1) A new parameter backtracking strategy is proposed for online parameter identification using the recursive least square (RLS) algorithm to obtain stable OCV, which significantly reduces the jitters occurring in OCV identification results. (2) Historical experimental data of lithium ion batteries are used to derive baseline OCV curve and determine constraint boundaries, then an extended Kalman filter (EKF) is employed as a state observer to estimate the SOC for the same types of the batteries that have not been tested. (3) The OCV-SOC curve is reconstructed based on the accumulated online parameter identification and SOC estimation results. The OCV curve can be locally reconstructed even when the accumulated data only cover a partial range of SOC, which is suitable for electric vehicle (EV) operation conditions. Once the OCV curve is reconstructed, the response surface model of OCV-SOC-Capacity is applied to update battery capacity. In this way, the OCV curve can be gradually reconstructed from high SOC to low SOC during battery discharging process. The use of the reconstructed OCV curve to estimate SOC significantly improves the SOC estimation accuracy with the maximum error less than 3% for EV operation conditions.",battery
"With the promise of its high conductivity, the ceramic Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (x =0.85) of Li3−2x (Al1− x Ti x )2(PO4)3 (x =0.55 to 1.0), as a lithium fast ionic conductor, is produced by a conventional solid-state reaction and introduced into the poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based composite polymer electrolyte films (CPE) to improve their ionic conductivity. The CPE films are prepared by a solution-cast technique and their characteristics are investigated by several experimental techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectra, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As measured by electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) measurement, the temperature-dependent ionic conductivity of PEO–Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 film with EO/Li=16 is maximized at 2.631×10−6 Scm−1 at room temperature and at 1.185×10−4 Scm−1 at 343K, while the ionic conductivity of the PEO–LiClO4–Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 film with EO/Li=8 is maximized at 7.985×10−6 Scm−1 at room temperature and at 1.161×10−3 Scm−1 at 373K when Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 content is 15wt.%.",battery
"Graphite electrodes were modified by polyacrylic acid (PAA), polymethacrylic acid (PMA), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Their electrochemical properties were examined in 1moldm−3 LiClO4 ethylene carbonate:dimethyl carbonate (EC:DMC) and propylene carbonate (PC) solutions as an anode of lithium ion batteries. Generally, lithium ions hardly intercalate into graphite in the PC electrolyte due to a decomposition of the PC electrolyte at ca. 0.8V vs. Li/Li+, and it results in the exfoliation of the graphene layers. However, the modified graphite electrodes with PAA, PMA, and PVA demonstrated the stable charge–discharge performance due to the reversible lithium intercalation not only in the EC:DMC but also in the PC electrolytes since the electrolyte decomposition and co-intercalation of solvent were successfully suppressed by the polymer modification. It is thought that these improvements were attributed to the interfacial function of the polymer layer on the graphite which interacted with the solvated lithium ions at the electrode interface.",battery
"Lithium, mainly used in electrical energy storage, has also been studied in thermal energy storage. It is recognized as a “critical material” and is produced from minerals and from brines. Chile is one of the biggest producers, here from brine and with lower costs than in other countries. With sensible heat storage, in solar power plants lithium is seen as a way to improve the properties of molten salts used today. The low melting point in these ternary salts with lithium, represent a considerable reduction in the maintenance and operational costs associated with current solar technology, demonstrating that the fluids showed, are potential candidates for thermal energy storage (TES) in concentrated solar plants (CSP) plants. Many materials have been studied and proposed to be used as phase change materials (PCM). Between the multiple materials studied to be used in PCM, lithium materials and mixtures are listed as potential PCM for building applications and for high temperature applications. In thermochemical energy storage, lithium compounds have been used mainly in chemical heat pumps, following their use in absorption cooling.",battery
"The transportation sector is characterized by a high consumption of fossil fuels and a strong environmental impact. Promoting electric vehicles is an alternative to reduce and limit them move towards the sustainability of the automobile sector. In a short period of time, world car manufacturers have built, marketed and sold a million electric vehicles, and a million drivers got used to these new low carbon advanced technologies. Comparatively, this figure represents approximately the average annual sales of conventional vehicles in Spain. The main problem is the battery autonomy, since its maximum range does not exceed 250km, a restriction that limits the trip. Spain belongs to the group of countries which have longest trip average around 80km. Then the problem is how to understand electric mobility, for that the types and modes of charging, the types of electric vehicles, and the available charging systems all interact with one another in the charging systems for electric vehicles, which will be specifically analysed. Alternative charging methods are also presented, and the agents involved in the charging process in accordance with applicable regulations are identified. The objective of this article is to analyse the charging of electric vehicles in Spain and to assess the current situation to be able to propose potential improvements or implementation strategies. This paper determines that it is necessary to develop public policies for a structured implementation of charging stations in public places and in common-use areas within large shared spaces, such as parking areas and residential areas in order to improve electric mobility in Spain. This paper also illustrates the need to legislate standards for charging electric vehicles to maximize their implementation in Spain, with the goal of implementing electric vehicles on a larger scale and ultimately allowing society to benefit from the advantages of this technology.",battery
"We present a variational framework for the computational homogenization of
chemo-mechanical processes of soft porous materials. The multiscale variational
framework is based on a minimization principle with deformation map and solvent flux
acting as independent variables. At the microscopic scale we assume the existence of
periodic representative volume elements (RVEs) that are linked to the macroscopic scale
via first-order scale transition. In this context, the macroscopic problem is considered
to be homogeneous in nature and is thus solved at a single macroscopic material point.
The microscopic problem is however assumed to be heterogeneous in nature and thus calls
for spatial discretization of the underlying RVE. Here, we employ Raviart–Thomas finite
elements and thus arrive at a conforming finite-element formulation of the problem. We
present a sequence of numerical examples to demonstrate the capabilities of the
multiscale formulation and to discuss a number of fundamental effects.",non-battery
"In today’s digital world, data transmission and storage is becoming a massive problem. This is because the data produced by various sensors worldwide is outstripping the ability to store them. Pre-processing the entire data before transmission is the best solution for reducing the storage issue. ‘Compressed sensing’(CS) is a pre-processing technique that exploits the sparsity of the signal for sampling the data. Since most of the natural signals are sparse, CS allows sampling at a rate lesser than that required in Nyquist sampling theorem. However, in conventional CS, sampling is done for the entire image at once which increases processing time and reduces visual quality. In block compressed sensing (BCS), blocks of the images are processed simultaneously which increases processing speed and decreases the processing time. To improve the quality of the reconstructed signal, a variant of BCS, Adaptive block compressed sensing (ABCS) is used. This review paper studies the advantages, challenges and applications of applying ABCS for image compression.",non-battery
"A study was conducted on 207 lactating camels in six herds in Kenya to evaluate the California mastitis test (CMT) for the detection of intramammary infections (IMIs) caused by Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus and to investigate the prevalence of both the pathogens in the camel udder. IMI with S. agalactiae was found in 12% of all camels sampled. IMI with S. aureus was present in 11% of all camels sampled. The herd-level prevalence of IMI varied between 0 and 50% for S. agalactiae and between 0 and 13% for S. aureus. Longitudinal observations over 10–12 months confirmed persistent infections for both pathogens. Observations in one herd suggested that camel pox was a contributing factor in spreading and exacerbating S. agalactiae udder infections. The CMT had quarter-level sensitivities of 77 and 68% for S. agalactiae and S. aureus in camels, respectively. The CMT specificities were 91% for both the pathogens.",non-battery
"Recycling battery and electronic wastes for the recovery of nanomaterials (NMs) has ushered in a new era in nanotechnology and environmental research. Essentially, NM recycling offers a two-way method of environmental remediation. The potential economic benefits of high-value NM end-products are conducive for industrial scale operations. Simultaneously, it reduces the industrial consumption of finite primary resources. The added benefits of abating environmental pollution (e.g., from VOCs, VFAs, SO2, NOx, and heavy metals) further contributes to the significance of ongoing research in this particular area. However, some challenges still persist due to the lack of motivation for recycling and the problem of the limited usability (or low stability) of many of the end-products. In this study, we aimed to evaluate different basic aspects of waste recycling in relation to NM recovery, along with other associated techniques. The utility of recovered NMs and potential options for NM recovery are described as highlighting features to help construct a future roadmap for this emerging scientific field. In addition, an assessment of the potential economic returns from recycling high-purity NMs is provided. Outcomes of this review may fuel further innovations for optimizing the current recycling methods for the efficient synthesis of commercial-grade, high purity NMs at minimal cost.",battery
"A low temperature (210 °C) aluminothermic reaction process using a eutectic mixture of AlCl3 and ZnCl2 as the mediator has been developed to synthesize porous silicon (Si) as an anode for lithium (Li)-ion battery applications. With carbon pre-coating on the porous SiO2 precursor, carbon coated porous Si (p-Si@C) core-shell structured anodes could be obtained with architecture and morphology similar to that of the porous SiO2 precursor. The carbon coating network not only facilitates the electron and Li+ ion transportation, but also offers good mechanical support minimizing the particle pulverization that is associated with the large volume change of Si during lithiation/delithiation. As a result, p-Si@C anode demonstrates a high specific capacity of ∼2100 mAh g−1 at the current density of 1.2 A g−1 and significantly improved capacity retention of ∼89% over 250 cycles, which is much better than that of p-Si. Therefore, p-Si@C is promising anode for high-energy-density Li-ion batteries. The similar low temperature synthesis approach can also be used to prepare other functional materials.",battery
"Hair mineral analysis has become an interesting diagnostic tool in biomonitoring of exposure to toxic elements in the assessment of health and nutritional status. The most inconvenient of this matrix is the lack of sufficient information to define normal ranges of metal levels in a general healthy population. In this study, segmental hair analysis was used to depict a chronological scheme of exposure to arsenic, cobalt, cadmium, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel and lead in a 16-year-old girl showing signs of potential intoxication. The quantitative results obtained from consecutive segments of hair proved the exposure to chromium. In particular, segment A (0–6 cm), approximately reflecting the last 6 months of exposure, resulted in the chromium level at 5.60 µg/g. The technique of segmental analysis allowed us to establish “intra-individual” physiological variation ranges for each heavy metal hair concentration. As a consequence, these “confidence” intervals could be used as individualized references to highlight the occurrence of atypical metal levels in any specific hair segment, possibly identifying a period of anomalous exposure and/or intoxication.",non-battery
"Soft and conformable electronics are emerging rapidly and is envisioned as the future of next-generation electronic devices where devices can be readily deployed in various environments, such as on-body, on-skin or as a biomedical implant. Modern day electronics require electrical conductors as the fundamental building block for stretchable electronic devices and systems. In this review, we will study the various strategies and methods of designing and fabricating materials which are conductive, stretchable and self-healable, and explore relevant applications such as flexible and stretchable sensors, electrodes and energy harvesters.
",non-battery
"The development of high-performance electric vehicles depends on high energy density Li metal batteries. However, the growth of Li dendrites causes the typical safety issue with respect of Li metal batteries, which is an obstacle to its commercial application. In this work, we prepare a flexible and tensile polymer coating on Li metal surface, which induces the uniform and dendrite-free deposition of Li metal during cycling. The combination of 18-Crown-6 and polyvinylidene fluoride synergistically allows for the robust flexibility and the high conductivity of Li ions of the prepared coating film. The composite polymer film suppresses lithium dendrites obviously. Results show that polymer coated on electrode has a high coulombic efficiency (∼97.38% after 200 cycles) and a good cycle stability.",battery
"The simple, green, cost-effective and environmental friendly technique used by our south-Indian peoples to make their very favourite and world-famous meal i.e. “Idli” was adopted here to prepare the three-dimensional heteroatom-doped graphene foam. The graphene-Idli was first prepared in a domestic microwave oven using heteroatom-doped (boron, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorous) graphene and rice flour and calcined to produce graphene foam which was used as a metal-free bifunctional catalyst for oxygen evolution (OER) and oxygen reduction (ORR) reactions. The performance of heteroatom-doped foams (nitrogen, sulphur, boron and phosphorous) was studied and it was found that sulphur-doped graphene foam (s-DGF) shows better performance as electrocatalyst, in terms of high BET surface area (499m2/g), electrochemical surface area (0.271cm2), high roughness factor (0.690) and high porosity. As a bifunctional electrocatalyst, it possess a lowest onset potential (0.29V vs Ag/AgCl), highest current density (497mAcm−2), lowest overpotential (128mV) and lowest Tafel slope (35.71mV/dec) for oxygen evolution reaction and an onset potential of (−0.02V), current density (−125mAcm−2) and Tafel slope (49.83mV/dec) for oxygen reduction reaction. The obtained values are best among other reported metal-free electrocatalyst and superior to several metal-based electrocatalysts. The prepared foams were free from any methanol cross-over effect and show a good stability in all the aspect i.e. performance, storage etc. Being a bifunctional catalyst, the S-DGF was successfully implemented for the fabrication of rechargeable zinc-air battery also. This finding offers a straightforward environment-compatible route for synthesizing attractive bifunctional electrocatalyst material as promising candidates for the large-scale commercialization of regenerative fuel cells and rechargeable metal-air batteries. In addition, the proposed metal-free foam based catalyst are able to overcome the multiple disadvantages of the existing electrocatalyst like high cost, poor stability, low selectivity and detrimental environmental effects.",battery
"The research and development of solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) began when Wright found ion conductivity in a PEO-alkaline metal ion complex in 1975. The conductivity then was 1×10−7 S cm−1 at room temperature. A lithium polymer battery has features such as flexibility in the shape of a cell design, leak proof of electrolyte, high safety, etc., but poses the challenge of how close its electrical performance can be made to that of a liquid electrolyte cell. Therefore, various efforts have so far been made to improve the ionic conductivity of the SPE. Recently, such efforts have also included the development of gelled SPE and porous SPE, especially in consideration of its practical application, in particular the use at low temperature. The ionic conductivity of such SPEs now reaches 1×10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature. This paper reviews the history and the present status of the research and development of SPE and the lithium polymer battery, and presents an outlook of the future research and development activities. The paper also introduces the history of the improvement of primary and lithium polymer secondary batteries using SPE at the Yuasa Corporation, with the performance and the applications of its present commercial products, and presents their future outlook.",battery
"A straightforward hydrothermal strategy is designed for the fabrication of CoFe2O4-graphene nanocomposites with different graphene contents. Due to the synergetic effect between the conducting graphene nanosheets and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles, the nanocomposites exhibit promising electrochemical performance as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. It is found that the graphene content plays an important role in tuning the electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite. With 20wt% graphene, the CoFe2O4-graphene nanocomposite electrode can deliver a high reversible specific capacity up to 1082mAhg−1 as well as excellent cycling stability and rate capability.",battery
"Cobalt oxides are investigated as anode materials for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries by means of a variety of electrochemical characterization techniques. The CoO electrode demonstrates a stable reversible lithium storage capacity of about 300mAhg−1, even after 30 cycles. The reactivity of the cobalt oxides is attributed to the fact that the products of lithiation are in the form of nanosized products.",battery
"Objective: To prospectively evaluate the intraoperative and post-operative utility of the Cook–Swartz Doppler flow monitoring system for free flap monitoring of arterial and venous anastomosis in head and neck reconstruction of oral cavity defects. Study design and setting: A cohort of consecutive patients with oral cavity defects requiring free-tissue transfer flap reconstruction by the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery at the University of Alberta Hospital were followed prospectively. The intervention in all patients was the use of implantable Cook–Swartz Doppler probe systems for monitoring both the arterial and venous microvascular anastomoses while concurrently collecting a battery of traditional clinical markers for free flap viability. These patients were group matched by flap type, age and gender to a cohort of patients who underwent free-tissue transfer flap reconstruction with single vessel implantable Doppler monitors. Data were collected at the time of surgery and for the ten post-operative days while the Doppler system was in situ regarding flap compromise, salvage, impaired flow as determined by the Doppler monitoring system and any intervention or re-operative findings. Results: When compared with the matched single Doppler cohort, the double Doppler group had an increased rate of intraoperative modifications but a significantly lower rate of surgical re-explorations, a lower need for revising the anastomosis and a lower rate of flap failure. Conclusions: This study supports the utility of a two-vessel monitoring system for intraoperative detecting in adequacy of vascular anastomosis. In the post-operative period, while the Doppler system was associated with false positives, reassuring Doppler signals were often used to prevent unnecessary surgical re-exploration in addition to earlier detection of compromise leading to improved rates of salvage.",non-battery
"Rutile-type FeOF is a promising cathode for lithium-ion batteries, because it has a relatively large theoretical capacity of 885 mAh g−1 in eco-friendly iron-based cathodes. Although it is difficult to synthesize by conventional solid-state synthesis methods, it can be quickly synthesized by the roll-quenching method. The quick synthesis method is suitable to reduce the produce cost, but also to avoid the fluorine gas release during synthesis procedure. The obtained FeOF by roll-quenching method has kept some crystallinities, and provides a large discharge capacity (900 mAh g−1) between 0.7 and 4.0 V. The charge and discharge reaction mechanism was investigated by structural analyses.",battery
"The Equotip hardness tester (EHT) is a portable and non-destructive instrument used mainly for the dynamic rebound hardness testing of metals. Although various versions of the ‘single impacts’ and ‘repeated impacts’ testing procedures have been employed by different authors for different applications, it is not yet known whether a particular testing procedure is more relevant for a specific application in rock engineering. To be able to contribute to the subject, the present study was carried out to determine the suitability of different rebound testing procedures with this instrument for uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) estimations of some selected carbonate rocks. To achieve this goal, as well as four different existing rebound testing procedures, a newly proposed testing methodology involving the parameter hybrid dynamic hardness (HDH) was also employed. The statistical analyses performed on the experimental data, on the whole, showed that the test procedures which are based on single impacts test procedures outperformed the repeated impacts test procedures in terms of UCS prediction accuracy. The prediction capability of the newly introduced testing methodology was found to be superior to those of other procedures considered in this work, suggesting that it could be an efficient tool in practice for preliminary estimates of rock strength. The statistical analyses also indicated that, in practical applications of the EHT using different test procedures, it may be possible to predict the UCS more accurately when apparent density data is available. For the range of specimen sizes considered, no clear evidence of size effect was observed in the mean rebound values. The argument raised by some other authors that the EHT might not be a convenient instrument for the dynamic rebound hardness determination of relatively high-porosity rocks was not confirmed in this study.
",non-battery
"This study develops two novel charging strategies for lithium-ion batteries, designed to prevent the onset of lithium plating when the cells are charged at low ambient temperatures. Commercially available 3.1 Ah 18650-type cells with NCA and graphite electrodes have been selected for this study. Experimental results highlight that for these cells, lithium plating can be detected when the cells are charged with a traditional constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) profile at an ambient temperature of 5 °C and a charge rate of 1C. The occurrence of lithium plating is known to lead to a considerable capacity reduction. To avoid the onset of lithium plating with minimum impact on the charge time, two optimal charging strategies are proposed. The first is based on detecting the onset of lithium plating through the online analysis of the voltage relaxation profile (VRP). The second is to manage the cell charging process to achieve a pre-defined rate of battery degradation per charge cycle. Experimental results highlight that the capacity fade of cells using the proposed charging strategies can be significantly reduced compared to when charged using the conventional CC-CV approach by 45% and 70% respectively while minimizing their impact on the charging speed.",battery
"Stannous sulfide@reduced graphene oxide (SnS@RGO) composite is successfully synthesized via a facile precipitation route. The structural and morphological characterizations reveal SnS@RGO composites are composed of SnS nanoparticles of the size 5–10 nm, which are uniformly anchored on the surface of RGO. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate the reversible capacity of the SnS@RGO composite – that includes contributions from the conversion reaction of SnS to Sn and NaxS and the alloying reaction of Sn to NaxSn. The SnS@RGO electrode exhibits a reversible capacity of 457 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1, superior cycling stability (94% capacity retention over 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1) and adequate rate performance. Compared to the neat SnS nanoparticles, the enhanced electrochemical performance of the SnS@RGO composite is primarily due to the incorporation of RGO as a highly conductive, flexible component as well as possessing a large available surface area, which provides desirable properties such as improved electronic contact between active materials, aggregation suppression of intermediate products, and alleviation of the volume change during sodiation and desodiation. Encouraging experimental results suggest that the SnS@RGO composite is a promising material to achieve a high-capacity and stable anode for NIBs.",battery
"Ti3+ self-doped spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) particles were synthesized through a facile electrochemical modification route in NaCl-KCl molten salt electrolysis, and the formation mechanism is explored. Alternating Ti3+ self-doping significantly improves the electrochemical performance of the spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) particle, especially at high charge/discharge rates. According to the report, LTO, once introduced with oxygen vacancies or Ti3+, will decrease the band gap about to 1.54 eV, which can dramatically improve the inherent electronic conductivity. Through the molten salt electrochemical modification technique, the Ti3+ species will be doped onto the surface of LTO, which was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy with EPR (namely electron spin resonance) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray analysis. As anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) particle electrode with self-doped Ti3+ can deliver stable discharge capacities of 168, 152, 131, 120, 102, 93 and 78 mAh g−1 at different rates of 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20C, respectively. Meanwhile, like pure spinel LTO, they also carry strong cycling stability and demonstrate the capacity retention of 92.0%, though after 900 cycles under 5C. Our results indicate that pure-phase LTO is prepared by a molten salt method, and it is then electrochemically modified by a constant current to obtain conductive Ti3+. Self-doped spinel Li4Ti5O12 particles are a good alternative to facilitate the transfer of electrons, especially under high-rate conditions, because it shows good electronic and ionic conductivities. In addition, the molten salt synthesis and the electrochemical modification steps of this method are conducted in the same reactor with a simple process, strong operability and environmental friendly process.",battery
"A pure SnO2 film consisting of SnO2 nanocrystals with a size of ~ 15nm can deliver a stable and high capacity > 900 mAhg−1 for 100 cycles. Unlike the previous perception, the capacity decay in the initial cycles of the SnO2 anode is mainly induced by the gradual degradation of the reversible conversion reaction (Sn + Li2O←→SnO2) at a potential > 1.0 V due to Sn coarsening with cycling. The coarsening of Sn has a significant impact on the reversible capacity, Coulombic efficiency, energy efficiency and Li+ ion diffusion kinetics of the SnO2 electrode. The grain size of coarsening Sn and the degree of irreversibility monotonically increase with cycling, which is quantitatively expressed with a linear equation. It is extrapolated that if the Sn grains remain with diameters < 11nm, the fast interdiffusion kinetics among the interfaces of Sn/Li2O will enable complete reversible conversion reactions in lithiated SnO2 electrodes. Since the stability of nanostructured interfaces in metal (M)/LinX (X = O, F, S) compounds is also crucial for the reversible conversion reactions in binary M-X compounds, we firmly believe that these results will provide valuable insight into the design of new conversion-type electrode materials with high and stable capacities for next-generation rechargeable batteries.",battery
"Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) featured with environmental friendliness, low cost, and high safety have attracted great interest but still suffer from the lack of high-performance electrodes. Herein, a facile in situ approach is developed to simultaneously introduce multivalence, increase the interlayer water content, and expand the interlayer distance in hydrated V2O5. These structural modulations endow the as-obtained layer-expanded V2O5 2.2H2O (E-VO) nanosheets with faster charge transfer kinetics, more Zn2+ storage space, and higher structural stability than precursor V2O5. Besides, a unique flexible Zn/stainless steel (Zn/SS) mesh composite anode with low polarization and uniform Zn stripping/plating behavior is fabricated, which alleviates the Zn dendrite growth. As cathode for aqueous ZIBs, E-VO exhibits high reversible capacity (450 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), good rate capability (222 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1) and long stability (72% capacity retention for 3000 cycles at 5 A g−1). Moreover, the flexibility and large lateral size make E-VO a high-performance binder-free cathode for flexible quasi-solid-state Zn/E-VO battery, i.e. high capacity under different bending states (361 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), good rate capability (115 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1), and long stability (85% capacity retention for 300 cycles at 1 A g−1). The achievements of this study can be considered as an important step toward the development of aqueous-based ZIBs.",battery
"This paper develops a new framework for the interpretation of impedance or capacitance spectroscopy of ion insertion processes in thin film electrodes, with a particular emphasis in electrochromic materials. The model distinguishes types of inserted ion charge regarding the energetics and kinetics properties of ion storage sites. The ion charge in a connected network of sites moves rapidly (fast sites) and is distributed according to equilibrium thermodynamic properties, while slower sites trap the ions and provide a variety of kinetic behaviors that dominate the response in the long time scale. We show that the assumption that a fraction of the intercalated ions have been immobilized at certain sites, and do not participate in diffusion, provides a suitable explanation for the observation of different capacitive components in the faradaic impedance of homogeneous systems (fast and slow charging modes). Moreover, ion trapping contributes a resistive component to the impedance, related to homogeneous charge-transfer between different types of sites (trap resistance). The model predicts an arc in the complex capacitance representation associated to the solid-state reduction step involved in the coloration by electroinsertion. The characteristic features of the relaxation in structurally disordered materials are studied in the kinetic framework of a multiple trapping scheme. We show that a wide distribution of trapping times provides a power law of frequency, which relates to the frequent observation of a constant phase element (CPE) impedance.",battery
"In this work, well-aligned and ordered NiSi nano columnar arrays were fabricated using an ion assisted oblique angle deposition technique based on electron beam co-evaporation. It was demonstrated that these NiSi nano columnar arrays were promising high-capacity anode material for next generation lithium-ion batteries. Nano-structured Si films were also deposited and evaluated as anode material under the same experimental conditions for comparison. It was found that the dopant of about 9% wt. Ni in Si nano columns helped to improve the electrical conductivity and the electrochemical performance of the material. The electrochemical characterization showed that the well-aligned nano-columnar porous NiSi thin film delivered a very high reversible capacity (~1100mAhg−1) with almost no capacity fade for up to 100 cycles.",battery
"We use data from the 2002 wave of the National Survey of America’s Families to develop and validate discrete measures of material hardship that can be used to examine the difficulties that vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities have in making ends meet. Using latent class analysis, we estimate two measurement models: multidimensional and omnibus. The multidimensional model provides separate estimates for food, medical, and housing and utilities hardship. The omnibus model is a single model of 11 hardship indicators. Results show three distinct classes of food hardship, three classes of medical hardship, and two classes of housing/utilities hardship. The omnibus model reveals eight classes. Both the multidimensional and omnibus models are largely invariant between women with disabilities and women without disabilities, indicating that valid comparisons can be made between these populations using these classes of hardship. These classes can be utilized in further research on the hardship of women with disabilities to inform the development of policies targeted to alleviate the specific forms of hardship experienced by disabled women.
",non-battery
"The authors regret that the following errors were present within their article:1.In equation 10 and 11, the rate constant “k” should be in lowercase; the same problem existed within table 2 and 3 and also in the ‘List of symbols’.2.In table 2 and 3, “k6/m4(mols)-1” should have been “ke/m4(mols)-1” In equation 10 and 11, the rate constant “k” should be in lowercase; the same problem existed within table 2 and 3 and also in the ‘List of symbols’. In table 2 and 3, “k6/m4(mols)-1” should have been “ke/m4(mols)-1” The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.",battery
"Cell components in lithium ion cells have been studied to check their effects to reduce the charge time. Factors including various separator thickness, tab width, LiPF6 concentration and solvent composition in electrolytes, cathode thickness, anode thickness and cathode active materials were studied. In addition, charge time of lithium ion cells was studied based on the charge voltage of cell. The most important variable in reducing the charge time of lithium ion cells was found to be the thickness of the cathode. The charge time of the lithium ion cells was reduced with thinner cathode. Other variables such as the separator thickness, LiPF6 concentration and solvent composition in electrolytes, anode thickness and charge voltage of lithium ion cells were also effective in reducing the charge time of the cells, but with fewer impacts.",battery
"The aim of the study was to analyse the characteristics of domestic violence by comparing a sample of children who witnessed abuse against a sample of children who suffered from it, and to outline how the traumatic experience could influence the child's emotional, cognitive and psychopathological development. Thirty-three school-age children (14 girls and 19 boys) aged between 6 and 11 years of age were studied; 17 out of 33 were witnesses of violence (WA; age Mean (M) 8.8; Standard Deviation (SD) 1.4), and 16 out of 33 suffered from sexual abuse or physical maltreatment (SPA; age M 8.7; DS 1.4). All children have been assessed by the K-SADS-PL (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children – Present and Lifetime Version) interview, the projective test of Duss Fables and the Promea battery of tests, which investigate the cognitive function of memory. The presence of behavioural disorders (WA > SPA), post-traumatic stress disorder (WA < SPA) and also anxiety disorders (WA = SPA) emerged from the study. The Duss Fables method highlighted areas of conflict. The Promea test draws attention to the performance of all abused children being average, but different learning styles emerged from implicit learning (WA > SPA) and implicit and explicit visual learning (WA > SPA). The comparison between the two samples has shed light on areas of specific vulnerability concerning psychopathological, emotional and cognitive aspects of development.",non-battery
"High ionic conductivity and superior interfacial stability of solid electrolytes at the electrodes are crucial factors for high-performance all-solid-state sodium batteries. Herein, a composite solid electrolyte Na3PS4-polyethylene oxide is synthesized by the solution-phase reaction method with an improved ionic conductivity up to 9.4 × 10− 5 S/cm at room temperature. Moreover, polyethylene oxide polymer layer is wrapped homogeneously on the surface of Na3PS4 particles, which could effectively avoid the direct contact between Na3PS4 electrolyte and sodium metal, thus alleviate their side reactions. We demonstrate that all-solid-state battery SnS2/Na with the composite solid electrolyte Na3PS4-polyethylene oxide delivers an enhanced electrochemical performance with 230 mAh/g after 40 cycles.",battery
"Context Imaging and post-mortem studies provide converging evidence that subjects with schizophrenia (SZ) have a dysregulated trajectory of frontal lobe myelination. Prior MRI studies suggested that early in treatment of SZ, antipsychotic medications initially increase frontal lobe white matter (WM) volume, which subsequently declines prematurely in chronic stages of the disease. Insofar as the trajectory of WM decline associated with chronic disease may be due to medication non-adherence, it may be modifiable by long acting injection (LAI) formulations. Objectives Examine the impact of antipsychotic formulation on the myelination trajectory during a randomized six-month trial of LAI risperidone (RLAI) versus oral risperidone (RisO) in first-episode SZ subjects. Design Two groups of SZ subjects (RLAI, N=11; and RisO, N=13) that were matched in pre-randomization oral medication exposure and 14 healthy controls (HCs) were prospectively examined. Frontal lobe WM volume was estimated using inversion recovery (IR) MRI images. A brief neuropsychological battery that focused on reaction times was performed at the end of the study. Main outcome measure WM volume change scores. Results WM volume remained stable in the RLAI and decreased significantly in the RisO groups resulting in a significant differential treatment effect, while the HC had a WM change intermediate and not significantly different from the two SZ groups. WM increase was associated with faster reaction times in tests involving frontal lobe function. Conclusions The results suggest that RLAI may improve the trajectory of myelination in first-episode patients and have a beneficial impact on cognitive performance. Better adherence provided by LAI may underlie the modified trajectory of myelin development. In vivo MRI biomarkers of myelination can help clarify mechanisms of action of treatment interventions.",non-battery
"Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has evolved into an essential diagnostic modality for the evaluation of various conditions. In line with the increase in MRI applications, the use of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) is growing and many of the CEID recipients of today may require MRI examinations in the future. Traditionally, MRI examination of CIED recipients has been considered a contraindication. However, recent studies have provided strong evidence that MRI can safely be performed in selected patients with specific precautions. This review highlights the interactions of MRI with CIEDs, summarizes the literature, and outlines the Johns Hopkins Safety Protocol.
",non-battery
"Derivates of metal-organic frameworks are promising materials of self-supported Li ion battery anodes due to the good dispersion of active materials, conductive scaffold, and mass transport channels in them. However, the discontinuous growth and poor adherence of metal-organic framework films on substrates hamper their development in self-supported electrodes. In the present study, cobalt-based metal-organic frameworks are anchored on Ti nanowire arrays through an electrochemically assistant method, and then the metal-organic framework films are pyrolyzed to carbon-containing, porous, self-supported anodes of Li ion battery anodes. Scanning electron microscope images indicate that, a layer cobaltosic oxide polyhedrons inserted by the nanowires are obtained with the controllable in-situ synthesis. Thanks to the good dispersion and adherence of cobaltosic oxide polyhedrons on Ti substrates, the self-supported anodes exhibit remarkable rate capability and durability. They possess a capacity of 300 mAh g−1 at a rate current of 20 A g−1, and maintain 2000 charge/discharge cycles without obvious decay.",battery
"The addition of nanoparticles to an organic ionic plastic crystal can result in orders of magnitude increases in ionic conductivity, which makes these materials of interest as solid state electrolytes. However, this effect is not universal and depends on both the nature of the organic ionic plastic crystal and on the type of nanoparticle used. The effect of addition of TiO2, Al2O3 and SiO2 nanoparticles to a range of ionic materials with varying plasticity and rotator phase behaviour has been studied by thermal analysis and conductivity and the effect on the different materials is compared.",battery
" Monitoring rock displacements is important to understanding the behavior of a rock mass and to assessing its stability. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based positioning system developed in the USA; it was established as a navigation system and then as a method for long baseline surveys (e.g., Hoffman-Wellenhof et al. 2001; The Survey Advisory Board and the Public Land Survey Office for State of Washington Department of Natural Resources 2004; Misra and Enge 2006). GPS has the potential to monitor three-dimensional displacements over an extensive area with high accuracy. It began to be used for displacement monitoring in the mid-1980s in the fields of civil and mining engineering, and other related fields (e.g., Chrzanowski and Wells 1988; Burkholder 1988, 1989). Since then, practical applications have been performed by many researchers (e.g., Hudnut and Behr 1998; Gili et al. 2000; Malet et al. 2002; Kim et al. 2003; Taşçi 2008), and some guidelines have been published for displacement (deformation) monitoring (e.g., US Army Corps of Engineers 2002; Vermeer 2002; Bond 2004).",non-battery
"Until now, a small number of studies have analysed the carbon footprint (CO2 eq. emissions) of the application of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in conventional Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems considering different conventional fossil fuels as the source of heat. In those scarce studies, the different environmental impact categories were estimated using, on the one hand, diverse environmental methodologies and, on the other hand, different environmental evaluation methods (the midpoint and endpoint approaches). Despite the fact that several researchers have used the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology as a tool to estimate the environmental impact of TES systems, there is no unanimity in the scientific community on the environmental evaluation method to be used. As a consequence, research results cannot be easily compared. This article evaluates the introduction of a TES system (using different PCMs) to recover the waste thermal energy released in industrial processes, which can be used in other applications, thereby avoiding fossil fuel consumption by the associated equipment to produce thermal energy. Five different fossil fuels have been considered to generate the 20 case studies that were analysed using the same methodology (LCA) and evaluation method (Global Warming Potential, GWP100, a midpoint approach). The results were used to identify the best cases, considering the environmental benefits that they generate. Additionally, this research indicates that the benefits can be achieved since, in general, the amount of conventional fuels saved is sufficiently large to balance the environmental impact associated with the inclusion of PCMs in conventional TES. Nevertheless, the selection of a PCM can increase or eliminate the environmental benefits obtained.",battery
"Freestanding hierarchical NiO/MnO2 core/shell nanocomposite arrays were synthesized by a two-step method including chemical bath deposition and hydrothermal reaction. Their morphology and structure were characterized by XRD and SEM. NiO net-like macroporous nanoflake arrays grow on Ni foam as freestanding core backbone material, and MnO2 nanosized mesoporous foams grow on the two sides of NiO nanoflakes, forming secondary shell structure on NiO nanoflakes. Electrochemical performances were examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). NiO/MnO2 nanocomposite arrays show improved electrochemical performance: high specific capacity (190mAhg−1 at 1Ag−1 and 167mAhg−1 at 20Ag−1) and high cycling stability (92% retention at 2Ag−1 after 4000 cycles) as well as good rate performance. CV testing indicates both NiO and MnO2 participate in the Faradic reactions even though MnO2 nanosized mesoporous foam covers the surface of NiO nanoflakes. EIS shows that charge-transfer resistance and Warburg resistance decrease, which reflects that the nanocomposite structure can improve electrochemical activity of NiO and MnO2. SEM observation on the cycled electrode confirms the intense synergistic effect of NiO/MnO2 nanocomposite. Electrochemical investigation reveals the freestanding hierarchical NiO/MnO2 core/shell nanocomposite array designed here is a good electrode material for high-performance electrochemical energy storage.",battery
"2-Methoxyethyl (methyl) carbonate (MOEMC) has been identified as a useful solvent for rechargeable Li-ion batteries. The conductivity–temperature and viscosity–temperature data for Li salt solutions in MOEMC can be fitted to the Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher (VTF) equation. The electrolytes formulated in MOEMC are characterized by the appearance of glass-transition temperatures without encountering freezing points, and this unique low-temperature behavior has allowed us to experimentally determine their glass-transition temperatures. This in turn has enabled us to experimentally demonstrate the application of the VTF theory to explain the conductivity–temperature data of these electrolytes. The results support a solvent-assisted ion conduction mechanism attributable to the strong interactions between the solvent molecules and Li ions. There appears to be no strong interaction between solvent molecules and the anions, but because of ion-pairing, the anion conduction is indirectly assisted by solvent fluctuations. Strong interactions between the solvent and Li+ have been verified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopic data. The electrolytes formulated in MOEMC have been tested for their electrochemical stability and Li cycling performance of the graphite anode and the LiCoO2 cathode, thereby demonstrating their utility for Li-ion battery development.",battery
"Cognitive and affective Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities increase significantly in adolescence and a developmental step in middle adolescence can be seen.Girls outperform boys regarding cognitive ToM, but not regarding affective ToM.Across adolescence, attention and affective intelligence are associated with cognitive and affective ToM; Cognitive ToM is additionally predicted by working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence.Associated neuropsychological variables vary across ToM type and adolescent age group.Results are supported by neuroscientific and neurobiological studies regarding ToM and the integration of cognitive and affective processes.
",non-battery
"Octahedron-shaped CoS2 crystals have been successfully fabricated through a simple hydrothermal route without any surfactant or template. The well-defined octahedral structures are highly uniform with a mean edge length of ∼ 360nm and exhibit a high geometric symmetry. The mechanism for the evolution process of the final octahedral structures is researched and proposed to begin with a growth and self-aggregation process, followed by an Ostwald ripening process. When electrochemically investigated as electrode materials for supercapacitors, the as-fabricated CoS2 electrode shows typical pseudocapative properties with a specific capacitance of 236.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. Remarkably, it exhibits an excellent cycling stability at 2 A g−1 with only a loss of 7.4% in the specific capacitance after 2000 cycles.",battery
"This paper introduces an online and intelligent energy management controller to improve the fuel economy of a power-split plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Based on analytic analysis between fuel-rate and battery current at different driveline power and vehicle speed, quadratic equations are applied to simulate the relationship between battery current and vehicle fuel-rate. The power threshold at which engine is turned on is optimized by genetic algorithm (GA) based on vehicle fuel-rate, battery state of charge (SOC) and driveline power demand. The optimal battery current when the engine is on is calculated using quadratic programming (QP) method. The proposed algorithm can control the battery current effectively, which makes the engine work more efficiently and thus reduce the fuel-consumption. Moreover, the controller is still applicable when the battery is unhealthy. Numerical simulations validated the feasibility of the proposed controller.",battery
"Progressive apraxia of speech (AOS) can result from neurodegenerative disease and can occur in isolation or in the presence of agrammatic aphasia. We aimed to determine the neuroanatomical and metabolic correlates of progressive AOS and aphasia. Thirty-six prospectively recruited subjects with progressive AOS or agrammatic aphasia, or both, underwent the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and Token Test to assess aphasia, an AOS rating scale (ASRS), 3T MRI and 18-F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET. Correlations between clinical measures and imaging were assessed. The only region that correlated to ASRS was left superior premotor volume. In contrast, WAB and Token Test correlated with hypometabolism and volume of a network of left hemisphere regions, including pars triangularis, pars opercularis, pars orbitalis, middle frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus and inferior parietal lobe. Progressive agrammatic aphasia and AOS have non-overlapping regional correlations, suggesting that these are dissociable clinical features that have different neuroanatomical underpinnings.",non-battery
"Charge transport in the polymer film formed by anodic oxidation of Ni(dobpy) (dobpy=6,6′-bis(2′-hydroxyphenyl)-2,2′-bipyridine dianion) in acetonitrile with tetrabutylammonium perchlorate as supporting electrolyte was investigated. Oxidation of the poly[Ni(dobpy)] film is accompanied by movement of perchlorate ions into the film to main electroneutrality. The charge transfer characteristics of the film at different electrolyte concentrations, applied potentials and film thickness obtained from a.c. impedance analysis suggested that the charge propagation is controlled by the migration of ions through the polymer film. In situ FTIR spectroelectrochemical studies indicated that the absorption bands of the phenoxy rings are enhanced when the polymer film is oxidized, implying that electron diffusion occurs via the Ph–Ph–O–Ni–O–Ph–Ph bridge in the conjugated polymer backbone during film oxidation.",battery
"Polymer gel electrolytes were prepared by soaking poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) membranes, obtained by casting solutions of PVdF copolymer or homopolymers in a solvent such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran (THF), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and N-methylpyrollidone (NMP), into an electrolyte solution of 1 M LiBF4 in propylene carbonate (PC). During the casting process, phase separation occurred leading to non- or low-porous membranes when the phase separation remained in its early stage or to highly porous membranes when it was mostly achieved. The phase separation was enhanced with the increase in the polymer crystallinity and was more significant in the case of the homopolymers. The membranes cast from NMP solutions were non- or low-porous and showed very low uptakes of the electrolyte solution and low conductivity. In this case, the copolymer showed higher uptakes of the electrolyte solution than the homopolymers. It was also found that even for an equivalent uptake of the electrolyte solution the conductivity was higher for the copolymer than the homopolymer, attributable to the lowest crystallinity of the copolymer. On the contrary, the membranes obtained from MEK solutions with slow evaporation rates were highly porous for the homopolymers and absorb much more electrolyte solution than non- or low-porous membranes. The polymer electrolytes from the porous membranes exhibited conductivity of 10−3 S/cm at 30°C. The phase separation process was very important since it allowed a higher uptake of the electrolyte solution and thus a higher conductivity. Nevertheless, increasing porosity affected the mechanical properties of the membranes when it exceeded 50% of the total volume. The principal limitation of the uptake of electrolyte was caused by the loss of mechanical strength. Concerning the potential window and the evolution of the interfacial resistance at the Li/polymer electrolyte interface, no significant difference could be pointed out between the copolymer and the homopolymers.",battery
"The integration of a macroporous Si (pSi) layer on an electrodeposited Cu current collector is proposed as a facile, low-cost and industrial-scalable procedure to elaborate efficient new anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The preparation process consists of i) formation of macropores on a Si wafer by electrochemical etching, ii) chemical deposition of Cu NPs on microstructured Si, iii) electroplating of a thick continuous Cu film, and iv) peeling of pSi–Cu film. The anode device is flexible and presents a total thickness, comprising the current collector, of 25 μm. SEM characterization shows the partial integration of the copper film inside the Si porous structure. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements showed this architecture enhances the electrical contact between the Cu current collector and the pSi due to the optimized interface of the two materials. A specific capacity of 1360 mAh g−1 in EC/DMC LiPF6 1 M is achieved at low galvanostatic discharge current (0.2 A g−1). Even during cycling at a high current density of 1.8 A g−1, the macroporous silicon anode was stable, demonstrating a specific capacity of 750 mAh g−1 twice as large as graphite based anodes.",battery
"In order to improve the high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) performance of lead-acid batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, graphene oxide (GO), polypyrrole (PPy) and three PPy/GO composites with different weight ratio of pyrrole to GO (m py/m GO) were selected as additives to form negative plates and simulated test cells. The effects of these additives on the electrochemical performance and the microstructure of the negative plate and on the HRPSoC cycle performance of the simulated test cell were investigated. The results indicate that the microstructure of the negative plate is changed with the addition of different additives. GO significantly increases the hydrogen (H2) evolution ability of the negative plate, while PPy has the opposite effect. The incorporation of the proper content of PPy with GO can effectively inhibit the H2 evolution of the negative plate. Moreover, adding different additives in the negative plate also decreases its total impedance, accelerates the redox processes between Pb and PbSO4 on it and increases its specific capacitance. GO and the PPy/GO composite with m py/m GO =1:1 (PG1) can significantly increase the HRPSoC cycle life of the simulated test cell. Considering the H2 evolution performance and the HRPSoC cycle performance, the PPy/GO composites with a medium m py/m GO ratio, such as PG1, may be the appropriate additives for the negative plate of lead-acid batteries.",battery
"Integrating MoS2 with various carbonaceous matrices, especially graphene, has been extensively explored for lithium-ion storage. However, mostly reported MoS2/graphene/MoS2 nanostructures have been suffering from their low yield, costly and time-consuming prepared methods as well as their polysulfide shuttling problem owing to a certain degree of adverse reaction to the electrolyte. Herein, layer-by-layer nitrogen-doped graphene/MoS2/nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG/MoS2/NDG) stacking heterostructure has been prepared through a scalable and low-cost in-situ thermal decomposition-reduction method. This new NDG/MoS2/NDG exhibits high crystallization degree MoS2, intimate interface contacts and fully NDG coating, which can effective host the electrochemical products of Mo and soluble lithium polysulfide and restrain the adverse reaction to the electrolyte. As a result, it shows a high initial CE (84.3%), excellent high-rate cycle performance (552 mAh g−1 at 1Ag−1 after 600 cycles) and a high areal capacity (409 mAh g−1 at 8.73mgcm−2) when evaluated as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) anode. Moreover, we have systematically studied the Li-storage mechanism, which confirms that the NDG coating layer shows significantly effect and advantage on solving polysulfide shuttling problem. We believe that this work can open up an avenue for the rational design of various anode materials, such as NDG coated metal oxides and sulfides for high performance LIBs and other energy related field.",battery
"Succinonitrile (SN) has been used as functional additive to improve the thermal stability and broaden the oxidation electrochemical window of commercial electrolyte 1 M LiPF6/EC/DEC (1:1, by volume) for high-voltage LIBs (cathode: Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2, anode: Li). 1 wt % SN-based electrolyte showed a wide electrochemical oxidation window of 5.4 V vs Li+/Li and excellent thermal stability demonstrated by thermogravimetry (TG) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as well as theoretical analysis according to molecular orbital theory. The LNMO (Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2) battery with 1 wt % SN-based electrolyte showed better cyclability and capacity retention when charged to higher cut-off voltage. The improved battery performance is mainly attributed to the formation of uniform cathode electrolyte interface (CEI) formed by interfacial reactions between the LNMO cathode and electrolyte. The outcome of this work and the continuous research on this subject can generate critical knowledge for designing thermal stability electrolytes for large format lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"
MgO-templated mesoporous carbons annealed from 900 to 1,500 °C were examined as active materials for negative electrodes in a propylene carbonate electrolyte containing 1 M sodium hexafluorophosphate. The carbons annealed at 1,000 °C exhibited 180 mAh g−1 at a rate of 0.1 A g−1 in a potential range of 2.00–0.01 V versus Na+/Na. The carbons showed good rate capability as well as cyclability. It is considered that mesopores plays a role of easy diffusion pathway for ions, and also significantly relates to both electric double layer capacitance and faradaic reactions involving Na ions. X-ray diffraction patterns, nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and Raman spectra were discussed for characterization of the carbons. Raman spectra indicated a reversible interaction of reduced Na with carbons. However, Na intercalation in the carbon layers was not confirmed for the carbon annealed at 1,000 °C. This is because the Na intercalation sites in the carbon layers are very few due to the disordered structure caused by the relatively low temperature annealing.",battery
"The protein brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in diverse memory processes and is strongly expressed in the hippocampus. The hippocampus itself is a key structure involved in the processing of information from short-term to long-term memory. Due to the putative role of BDNF in memory consolidation, a prominent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on the BDNF gene (BDNF Val66Met) was investigated in the context of long-term memory performance. N = 138 students were presented with 40 words from 10 categories, each consisting of eight words such as ‘fruits’ or ‘vehicles’ in a memory recognition task (specifically the Deese-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm). Recognition performance was analyzed 25 min after the initial presentation of the word list and subsequently 1 week after the initial presentation. Overall, individual long-term memory performance immediately after learning the word list (T1) and performance 1 week later (T2) did not differ on the basis of the BDNF SNP, but an interaction effect of BDNF Val66Met by time-of-recall was found: Carriers of the Met66+ variant showed the strongest decline in hit rate performance over time.
",non-battery
"Mechanical circulatory support in the form of ventricular assist devices (VADs) in children has undergone rapid growth in the last decade. With expansion of device options available for larger children and adolescents, the field of outpatient VAD support has flourished, with many programs unprepared for the clinical, programmatic, and administrative responsibilities. From preimplantation VAD evaluation and patient education to postimplant VAD management, the VAD program, staffed with an interdisciplinary team, is essential to providing safe, effective, and sustainable care for a new technology in an exceedingly complex patient population. Herein, this paper describes the Boston Children’s Hospital VAD experience over a decade and important lessons learned from developing a pediatric program focusing on a high-risk but low-volume population. We highlight the paramount role of the VAD coordinator, clinical infrastructure requirements, as well as innovation in care spanning inpatient and outpatient VAD supports at Boston Children’s Hospital.
",non-battery
"LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 is a promising high-voltage cathode for lithium-ion battery fast charging applications. Aware of its electrochemical stability issues, the material's surface is modified with small amounts of zirconia (ZrO2) ranging from 0.5 to 2 wt% using a scalable ball milling process. The advantage of the coating has been demonstrated in electrochemical measurements performed at room temperature and 55 °C, and in cells discharged under high-rate conditions up to 80C. Of significance, the material coated with 1.0 wt% ZrO2 has been cycled at the 40C rate for over a thousand cycles and retains 86% of its initial capacity. The material with 2.0 wt% ZrO2 modification preserves 76% of its initial capacity when cycled at the 40C rate and 55 °C. The coated materials have shown excellent cycling stability when subjected to 6C (10-min) fast charging and C/3 discharging for 300 cycles. Compared to the uncoated material, the interfacial resistance of the zirconia modified LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 has been found to be much lower and does not significantly increase with increasing the coating amount. However, the electrochemical performances are still partly limited by both interfacial resistance at the beginning of charge and electrolyte diffusivity, particularly under higher rate cycling conditions. Overall, the strategy of ZrO2 surface modification applied to LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 unveils the potential that the material could play in extreme fast charged electric vehicles.",battery
"At present, electrification and digitalization are two significant trends in the energy sector. Large-scale introduction of variable renewable energy sources, energy storage and power-electronics components, all based on direct current (DC), is fundamentally changing the electrical energy system of today that is based on alternating current (AC). This trend leads to a complex hybrid AC/DC power system with the extensive deployment of information and communication technologies (ICT) to keep the system stable and reliable. Photovoltaics (PV) is a technology that will play an essential role in local generation of clean electricity in expanding urban areas. To take full advantage of PV in the urban environment, PV technology must become intelligent. In this article, we identify, describe, and label a new research field that deals with intelligent PV and its application in components with multiple functionalities. We denote this field photovoltatronics. We review photovoltatronics research areas and introduce new directions for each area. Photovoltatronics brings together disciplines of energy and informatics. Since photons and electrons are carriers of both energy and information, photovoltatronics is the field that designs and delivers autonomous devices for electricity generation and information communication. It introduces a pathway from harvesting energy of photons (hν) to creating bits of information (01) through the energy of photo-generated electrons (eV). We show that ∼10 keV energy is at least needed for transceiving one bit of information in the energy-information chain of the photovoltatronics, while the ultimate efficiency of the chain can reach up to 33.4%. We show that the number of publications related to photovoltatronics is exponentially increasing and the publication rate of combined research areas has been doubled in the present decade and reached 3.4% as a clear sign of its emergence.
",battery
"In order to mitigate the effects of global warming, companies are being compelled by governments, investors, and customers to control their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Similar to the European Union’s legislation on the airline industry, legislation is expected to require the electronics industry to assess their product’s carbon footprint before sale or use, as the electronics industry’s contribution to global GHG emissions is comparable to the airline industry’s contribution. Thus, it is necessary for members of the electronics industry to assess their current GHG emission rates and identify methods to reduce environmental impacts. Organizations use Carbon Footprint (CF) analysis methods to identify and quantify the GHG emissions associated with the life cycle stages of their product or services. This paper discusses the prevailing methods used by organizations to estimate the CF of their electronics products and identifies the challenges faced by the electronics industry when adopting these methods in an environment of decreasing product development cycles with complex and diffuse supply chains. We find that, as a result of the inconsistencies arising from the system boundary selection methods and databases, the use of outdated LCA approaches, and the lack of supplier’s emissions-related data, the CFs of electronic products are typically underestimated. To address these challenges, we present a comprehensive approach to the carbon footprinting of electronic products that involves the use of product-group-oriented standards, hybrid life cycle assessment techniques, and the integration of CF into products’ supply chains. A case study on commercial- and military-grade DC–DC buck converters demonstrating the recommended approach is presented.",battery
"This work aims to study the impact of different models for the evaluation of the efficiency of a double axis PV tracking system on the monthly probability distribution function of the AC power. Two components of the global efficiency are analysed, that is: the effect of PV cells temperature on the module efficiency and the DC/AC converter efficiency. In particular, the temperature efficiency model combines basic parameters characterizing the array, with the local monthly average temperature and the monthly clearness index to yield a monthly average efficiency. The simulation results are compared with experimental data related to a 9.6kWp PV plant installed in ENEA research centre located in Portici, Naples (Italy). The tuning of the model is performed by both system measurements and environmental data.",battery
"Hierarchical cobalt metal flower-like microsphere (Co-FM) was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal process, and its electrochemical hydrogen storage performance was investigated. The Co-FM was generated by the reduction of beta cobalt hydroxide [β-Co(OH)2] platelets in the presence of a mild reducing agent without the use of any template or surfactant. The obtained sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The XRD analysis reveals that this sample has a pure hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure. The FE-SEM and HR-TEM observations indicate that the synthesized particles are flower-like microspheres with an average diameter of ∼1.5μm, composed of individual Co metal platelets. The electrochemical hydrogen storage performance was investigated as the negative electrode for nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery in aqueous KOH solution. The electrochemical measurements demonstrated that this material showed better reversibility, higher hydrogen storage capacity, and higher rate dischargeability than the commercial Co metal powder with similar particle size (∼2μm) under atmospheric temperature and pressure. Its maximum discharge capacity was ∼360mAhg−1 and remained 300mAhg−1 even after 100 cycles, and the capacity retention rate was ∼83%. This significant electrochemical hydrogen storage performance can be attributed to its hierarchical architecture, which leads to increasing the surface area, reducing the diffusion pathway, and buffering the volume change during cycling.",battery
"The effect of nano-sized silica and γ-LiAlO2 on the electrochemical and interfacial properties of P(EO)20LiN(SO2CF2CF3)2–10wt.% filler polymer electrolytes has been studied using linear sweep voltammetry, ac impedance and galvanostatic stripping/deposition on symmetric non-blocking cells. Non-symmetric cells were used to investigate the electrochemical stability window. The limiting current density of the P(EO)20LiBETI polymer electrolytes at 90°C was found to decrease with the addition of nano-sized filler. The presence of silica caused higher interface resistance during storage in open circuit at 90°C. For the galvanostatic Li stripping/deposition at 0.2mA/cm2 at 90°C, the silica containing electrolyte showed the highest initial overvoltage due to the high interface resistance. These results suggest that the presence of nano-size silica in solvent-free P(EO)20LiBETI polymer electrolytes results in no substantial improvement on the electrochemical and interfacial properties of the electrolytes at 90°C.",battery
"This work investigates the characterization and performance of polyaniline and silica modified Nafion membranes. The aniline monomers are synthesized in situ to form a polyaniline film, whilst silica is embedded into the Nafion matrix by the polycondensation of tetraethylorthosilicate. The physicochemical properties are studied by means of X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared techniques and show that the polyaniline layer is formed on the Nafion surface and improves the structural properties of Nafion in methanol solution. Nafion loses its crystallinity once exposed to water and ethanol, whilst the polyaniline modification allows crystallinity to be maintained under similar conditions. By contrast, the proton conductivities of polyaniline modified membranes are 3–5-fold lower than that of Nafion. On a positive note, methanol crossover is reduced by over two orders of magnitude, as verified by crossover limiting current analysis. The polyaniline modification allows the membrane to become less hydrophilic, which explains the lower proton conductivity. No major advantages are observed by embedding silica into the Nafion matrix. The performance of a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) using commercial catalysts and polyaniline modified membranes in a cell gives a peak power of 8mWcm−2 at 20°C with 2M methanol and air feeding. This performance correlates to half that of MEAs using Nafion, though the membrane modification leads to a robust material that may allow operation at high methanol concentration.",battery
"Samples of MnO2 incorporated into active electrodes structure of the disassembled car batteries were prepared by classical melt-quenching method. The effect of MnO2 concentration on host network were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, InfraRed (IR), UltraViolet-Visible (UV–Vis), Photoluminescence (PL) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, measurements of Cyclic Voltammetry (VC). X-ray diffractograms show the presence of the metallic lead in the cubic structure and small amounts of PbO2 crystalline phase with the orthorhombic structure in the metallic samples. Combining all of the outputs from different characterizations, we can conclude that the amount of MnO2 incorporated into structure of the recycled active electrodes has effect on the number of non-bridging oxygen atoms that determines the role of MnO2 as a modifier/network former. At lower MnO2 contents, the doping breaks PbOPb bonds producing the formation of [MnO6] structural units in which the Mn+2 ions are in octahedral symmetry, gap energy value increases and the effect of luminescence is quenched. At higher MnO2 content, MnO2 plays a network former role, joins the vitroceramic network as [MnO4] and [MnO6] structural units and the PL intensity increases. The sample doped with small MnO2 content (x = 5mol%) used as working electrode in the measurements of cyclic voltammetry shows a good reversibility of the voltammogram, also improved the electrochemical properties, namely an increased stability in acidic electrolyte environments and offers an alternative for obtaining of electrodes for rechargeable batteries.",battery
"The article provides a comparison of two intellectual accounts of experiences in the First World War—From the Letters of an Artillery Ensign (1918) by the Russian philosopher and writer Fjodor Stepun and The Storm of Steel by the German essayist Ernst Jünger. The aim of this article is to reveal similarities and differences between the “optics” of Jünger and Stepun who are reporting one and the same event but deal with two different images of the Great War.
",non-battery
"Vapour grown carbon nanofibres (VGCNFs) produced at industrial scale were subjected to different treatments in N2, air and CO2 atmospheres. The effect of these treatments on the homogeneity of the industrial product was investigated by means of TG analysis. Temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) experiments were performed to obtain DTG profiles. The DTG curves were deconvoluted into a mixture of Gaussian–Lorentzian curves, so that the contribution of each peak could be evaluated and assigned to phases of different reactivity. It was found that treatments in air are more selective in removing the most reactive phase (which has a higher content of amorphous carbon) at low burn-off, while at an elevated burn-off degree CO2 treatments result in a greater enrichment of the product in the less reactive phase (which has a higher content of fibre). This behaviour is attributed to the presence of a certain amount of iron in the industrially produced materials and its catalytic effect on the oxidative reactions. The effect of the treatments on the porous texture, surface chemistry and graphite-like character of the samples was also investigated.",non-battery
"This paper reports the effects of introducing oxygen into amorphous silicon films on their anode properties in all-solid-state lithium batteries. Although poor cycling performance is a critical issue in silicon anodes, it has been effectively improved by introducing even a small amount of oxygen, that is, even in Si-rich amorphous silicon suboxide (a-SiO x ) films. Because of the small amount of oxygen in the films, high cycling performance has been achieved without lowering the capacity and power density: an a-Si film delivers discharge capacity of 2500 mAh g−1 under high discharge current density of 10 mA cm−2 (35 C). These results demonstrate that a-SiO x is a promising candidate for high-capacity anode materials in solid-state batteries.",battery
"Bimetallic metal sulfides have been intensely studied as electrode materials for energy storage. However, the synthesis methods are often multi-step. Herein, we proposed a simple one-step electrodeposition of nickel cobalt sulfide nanosheets on 3D Ni nanowires film. The as-synthesized Ni@Ni–Co–S was directly employed as electrode for supercapacitor. Taking advantages of 3D conductive nanostructure for Ni substrate and mesoporous nanosheets nature for active material Ni–Co–S, the as-fabricated electrode exhibits a high capacity of 392.8 C cm−3 at 0.5 A cm−3 and excellent rate capability. A hybrid supercapacitor based on Ni@Ni–Co–S positive electrode and rGO-CNTs negative electrode was fabricated for practical supercapacitor application. Our device demonstrated a high energy density of 18.4 mWh cm−3 at a power density of 254.5 mW cm−3 and excellent long term cycle performance with 90.5% capacitance retention after 10000 cycles.",battery
" The genome of Schizophyllum commune encodes a diverse repertoire of degradative enzymes for plant cell wall breakdown. Recent comparative genomics study suggests that this wood decayer likely has a mode of biodegradation distinct from the well-established white-rot/brown-rot models. However, much about the extracellular enzyme system secreted by S. commune during lignocellulose deconstruction remains unknown and the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, extracellular proteins of S. commune colonizing Jerusalem artichoke stalk were analyzed and compared with those of two white-rot fungi Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and a brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum.",non-battery
"Highly crystalline platinum nanoclusters, prepared by the pulse electrochemical deposition (PED) method, onto graphene sheets, served as a catalyst electrode for proton exchange membrane fuel cell was investigated. The ratio of current-on to current-off time appears to be a crucial factor in affecting the surface density and the crystalline structure of Pt clusters. The linear relation between Pt loading and current-off time confirms that ionic diffusion acts as a rate-determining step in the PED process. The electrochemical performance of Pt catalyst electrodes was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the single cell test at 30–75°C. The ratio of Pt (111) plane in the cluster showed a positive effect on the improvement of equivalent series resistance and power density. The single cell equipped with the Pt catalyst electrode delivered the lowest inner resistance of 1.07Ω and the highest power density of 1.48kWg−1.",battery
"Electrochemical behaviors of LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 were examined in non-aqueous lithium cells and lithium-ion cells with Li[Li1/3Ti5/3]O4 at 30, 55, 75, and 95°C. Li/LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 cells showed rechargeable capacity of 205mAhg−1 at 30°C, 210mAhg−1 at 55°C, and 225mAhg−1 at 75°C in voltages of 2.5–4.6V. Results on rate-capability tests at 55°C indicated that LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 was capable to deliver 160mAhg−1 of capacity even at 4000mAg−1 while high-rate charge was very hard due to electrical shortage derived from lithium metal deposition. Lithium-ion cells of Li[Li1/3Ti5/3]O4 and LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 could operate with rechargeable capacity of 150mAhg−1 at 1600mAg−1 without any electrical shortage during charge and discharge at 55°C. One-hundred cycle test of the lithium-ion cell with variation of temperature 55, 75, and 95°C, in voltages of 1.00–3.05V was also examined and shown that LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 was the most promising positive-electrode material for advanced lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"In this study, a porous manganous oxide/graphene aerogel (MnO/GA) is synthesized via a facile sol-gel method used for the anode material of lithium-ion capacitor (LIC). The crystal and morphology characterizations confirm that the MnO nanocrystal grows directly on the graphene sheets of the three-dimensional graphene aerogel (GA) matrix. In a half-cell, the MnO/GA electrode loaded with 2.9 wt% MnO exhibits high specific capacity of 630 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1 after 100 cycles. The electrochemical results show that the MnO nanocrystals loaded on the GA can enlarge the average pore size and improve the specific capacity. In addition, the porous GA matrix cannot only facilitate capacitive storage of Li+ ions but also accommodate the volume variation of MnO during conversion process. The assembled LICs using the pre-lithiated MnO/GA anode and lithium iron phosphate cathode deliver high energy densities of 194 and 93 Wh·kg−1 at power densities of 300 and 3600 W kg−1, respectively. Furthermore, the LICs exhibit superior cycling stability after 1000 cycles, with high energy density of 101 Wh·kg−1 at a power density of 300 W kg−1.",battery
 We evaluated the vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in the forearm flexor muscle of women with distal radius fracture. High VDR expression was associated with low appendicular lean mass index.,non-battery
" Openair-Plasma technology developed by Plasmatreat and used worldwide is a dry, chemical-free pretreatment process which, when applied to material surfaces, not only creates optimal adhesive characteristics in seconds, it also ensures that high-quality finishes are achieved with water-based paints. The environmentally friendly process needs nothing other than compressed air as the process gas and electrical energy.",non-battery
"To enhance the thermal stability of graphite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, 4-isopropyl phenyl diphenyl phosphate (IPPP) was investigated as an additive in the electrolyte of 1.0 M LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate (1:1 in weight). The electrochemical performance of Li/IPPP-electrolyte/C half cells was evaluated. The thermal behavior of LixC6 and LixC6-IPPP-electrolytes were examined using a C80 micro-calorimeter. Electrolytes with 5 and 10% IPPP improve the thermal stability of the graphite electrode in the tests. The electrochemical performance of Li/IPPP-electrolyte/C cells is not degraded by the addition of this amount of IPPP to the electrolyte.
",battery
"The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is developing a lithium-ion secondary battery for deep space missions. Lithium-ion secondary battery was first used for the interplanetary spacecraft, Hayabusa. With a view to future long-term operations on the moon and interplanetary travel, the in-orbit performance of the lithium-ion battery of Hayabusa was examined. The battery cells maintained a constant performance over 2.7 years of operation as Hayabusa travelled to the asteroid Itokawa. To maintain cell conditions. The state of charge was fixed by using a balance circuit. The cell voltages differed by less than 60mV during the operation, which is within the error expected based on the circuit design and the telemetry conditions.",battery
"The charging and discharge behavior of an electrically rechargeable alkaline Zn–air battery consisting of a porous Zn/ZnO electrode on the negative side and a porous O2 electrode on the positive side has been investigated. Galvanostatic experiments have been performed and a one-dimensional numerical model has been developed to analyze these experimental data. The cell voltages, the Zn electrode potentials versus Zn reference, and the O2 electrode potentials versus Zn reference calculated with this model are in fairly good agreement with the corresponding experimental values. The unwanted redistribution of Zn per cycle is predicted to decrease with increasing cycle number. The numerical model is expected to be useful when optimizing zinc cell designs for specific applications.",battery
"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a very common non-motor feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the non-amnestic single-domain is the most frequent subtype. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) is a non-invasive technique, which is capable of enhancing cortical excitability. As the main contributor to voluntary movement control, the primary motor cortex (M1) has been recently reported to be involved in higher cognitive functioning. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of tRNS applied over M1 in PD-MCI patients in cognitive and motor tasks. Ten PD-MCI patients, diagnosed according to the Movement Disorder Society, Level II criteria for MCI, underwent active (real) and placebo (sham) tRNS single sessions, at least 1 week apart. Patients underwent cognitive (Digit Span Forward and Backward, Digit Symbol, Visual Search, Letter Fluency, Stroop Test) and motor assessments (Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS-ME], specific timed trials for bradykinesia, 10-m walk and Timed up and go tests) before and after each session. A significant improvement in motor ability (UPDRS-ME and lateralized scores, ps from 0.049 to 0.003) was observed after real versus sham tRNS. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in other motor tasks and cognitive assessment both after real and sham stimulations. These results confirm that tRNS is a safe and effective tool for improving motor functioning in PD-MCI. Future studies using a multisession tRNS applied over multitargeted brain areas (i.e., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and M1) are required to clarify the role of tRNS regarding rehabilitative intervention in PD.
",non-battery
"In this article we present a self-organized method for allocating the individuals of a robot swarm to tasks that are sequentially interdependent. Tasks that are sequentially interdependent are common in natural and artificial systems. The proposed method does neither rely on global knowledge nor centralized components. Moreover, it does not require the robots to communicate. The method is based on the delay experienced by the robots working on one subtask when waiting for input from another subtask. We explore the capabilities of the method in different simulated environments. Additionally, we evaluate the method in a proof-of-concept experiment using real robots. We show that the method allows a swarm to reach a near-optimal allocation in the studied environments, can easily be transferred to a real robot setting, and is adaptive to changes in the properties of the tasks such as their duration. Finally, we show that the ideal setting of the parameters of the method does not depend on the properties of the environment.
",non-battery
"Two- and four-electrode electrochemical cells were designed for characterization studies of highly resistive non-aqueous automotive lubricant using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influence of internal configuration of the impedance analyzer, the media’s temperature and properties, shielding of the cables, and the electrochemical cell geometry and arrangement on the impedance results were investigated. The most accurate EIS measurements can be made in the two-electrode configuration with active shields where a single arc at high frequencies and a complicated low frequency impedance feature were observed in complex impedance plots. When four-electrode cells were employed, the impedance load, geometry and positioning of voltage electrodes; finite resistance of the impedance analyzer; and capacitive coupling between the signal lines introduced two types of impedance measurement artifacts. A capacitive-resistive low frequency load was interpreted as a measurement artifact originating from geometry and positioning of voltage electrodes. The appearance of additional medium frequency load combining resistive, capacitive and inductive features is intrinsic to the measurement setup and is due to a combination of several instrumental and experimental factors resulting in a voltage divider effect.
",battery
Evaluation work on steel alloy mixes suitable for powder forged auto con rods led to the development of new PM forging materials and provided ammunition for the powder forging vs C-70 controversy…,non-battery
"We investigated the predictive value of prenatal superior temporal sulcus (STS) depth asymmetry in a special case of a female dizygotic twin that showed inverted prenatal asymmetry of this structure. For this purpose, we performed a follow-up investigation in this former fetus at the age of seven, where we assessed the functional language lateralization using task-based and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As control group we employed her twin brother, who showed a typical folding pattern prenatally, as well as a complementary set of four age-matched children that had fetal MRI of their brains and typical STS depth asymmetry. We could show that the twin with the atypical fetal asymmetry of the STS also showed significantly differing rightward language lateralization in the frontal and temporal lobes. Additionally, resting-state data suggest a stronger connectivity between inferior frontal gyri in this case. The twin showed normal cognitive development. This result gives a first glimpse into the STS’ atypical asymmetry being a very early morphological marker for later language lateralization.
",non-battery
"A sulfonated poly(sulfone) (S-Radel®) membrane with high proton conductivity and low vanadium ion permeability showed high initial performance in a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) but suffered mechanical and chemical degradation during charge/discharge cycling. The S-Radel membrane showed different degradation behavior in flow cell cycling and ex-situ vanadium ion immersion tests. When the membrane was immersed in aqueous V5+ solution, the sample cracked into small pieces, but did not degrade to any measurable extent in V4+ solution. During charge/discharge cycling in the VRFB cell, the membrane underwent internal delamination, preferentially on the side of the membrane that faced the positive electrode. A vanadium-rich region was observed near the membrane surface that experienced delamination and Raman spectroscopic analysis of the degraded surface indicated a slightly depressed 1026 cm−1 band corresponding to a loss in the sulfonate SO2 stretch intensity. Even though the S-Radel membrane underwent severe mechanical damage during the flow cell cycling, significant chemical degradation was not obvious from the spectroscopic analyses. For the VRFB containing an S-Radel membrane, an increase in membrane resistance caused an abnormal voltage depression during the discharge cycle. The reversible increase in membrane resistance and severe mechanical degradation of the membrane during cycling may be attributed to repeated formation and dissolution of particles inside the membrane. The mechanical stresses imposed by the particles coupled with a small amount of chemical degradation of the polymer by V5+ ions, are likely degradation mechanisms of the S-Radel membrane in VRFBs under high state-of-charge conditions.
",battery
"A facile solvothermal treatment without any template is employed to synthesize TiO2 mesoporous microspheres with nanorod structure. The post-calcination of the microsphere sample at 500°C with carbon source leads to the formation of C-coated TiO2 with the same structure. All of the prepared samples have been characterized by the techniques of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Additionally, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm curves have been depicted to show the tunable mesopores and high specific surface area of the prepared pure and C-coated TiO2. A growth scheme is also proposed to elucidate the formation process of the mesoporous microspheres with nanorods on the surface. The electrochemical results show that both of the prepared samples have better electrochemical performance than commercial anatase TiO2 due to the nanorod and mesoporous structures, which provides direct and open channals for efficient Li+ ion diffusion. Moreover, the prepared C-coated TiO2 has superior rate property and cycling performance with specific capacity of 157.4mAhg−1 at 1C rate even after 200 cycles. The galvanostatic charge-discharge voltage indicates that the C-coated TiO2 with improved electronic conductivity has the broadest voltage platform comparable to Li4Ti5O12. Therefore, the C-coated TiO2 with mesoporous microspheres and nanorod structure can be an attractive candidate as functional anode materials.",battery
"The highly fragmented landscape structures of coastal salinas are known to result in decreased terrestrial bird abundance, species richness and diversity but to promote original assemblages dominated by specialist species, such as the Bluethroat Luscinia svecica namnetum. This species is mainly found at the core of these salinas, where the landscape characteristics are a priori the most hostile for terrestrial birds. The aim of this study was to test whether individuals of a specialized species like the Bluethroat may offset such landscape constraints by expanding their home ranges. We therefore radio-tracked 21 males in 2013 and 2014 in the salinas of the Marais du Mès (Parc Naturel Régional de Brière, Western France). The data of the 18 best-monitored males were used to carry out a hierarchical partitioning of variance to test the relative influence of landscape characteristics, individual characteristics and distance to other males on their home-range sizes. We found that landscape characteristics were the factors that best explained home range sizes. Home-range sizes were significantly smaller in diversified landscapes composed of tidal creeks and salt-marsh patches and tended to be larger in landscapes dominated by the aquatic matrix consisting of water ponds. The results of this study demonstrate that although a few bird species are able to select a priori hostile landscapes, they can offset such constraints by expanding their home-range size.
",non-battery
"Objective The current study aimed to develop and evaluate a motivational school-based intervention for adolescent sleep problems. Methods The intervention was implemented in three co-educational secondary schools in Adelaide, South Australia. Two year-11 Psychology classes from each school participated, with one as the intervention class (N =53) and one as the control class (N =51). Students in the intervention classes attended four 50-min sleep education classes, held once per week. The lessons were modified from those of Moseley and Gradisar [23] to incorporate a motivational interviewing framework. Students completed an online questionnaire battery measuring school day and weekend sleep parameters, daytime sleepiness, and depression at pre- and post-program and follow-up, and completed motivation to change questionnaires during the program. Results Students in the intervention group significantly increased their knowledge about sleep relative to the control group (p =0.001). During the intervention, students’ motivation to regularize their out-of-bed times improved (p =0.03), and there was a trend towards improved motivation to increase average total sleep time (p =0.11). But despite improvements in sleep and daytime functioning for adolescents in the program group (p <0.05), these changes were not significantly different from the control group (all p >0.05). Conclusions School-based interventions are promising for educating adolescents about sleep. Future programs should translate increased motivation into long-term behavioral change. The identification of barriers and support to assist this change is recommended.",non-battery
"Ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets were prepared in high yield using a facile and effective hydrothermal intercalation and exfoliation route. The products were characterized in detail using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the high yield of MoS2 nanosheets with good quality was successfully achieved and the dimensions of the immense nanosheets reached 1 μm–2 μm. As anode material for Li-ion batteries, the as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets electrodes exhibited a good initial capacity of 1190 mAh·g−1 and excellent cyclic stability at constant current density of 50 mA·g−1. After 50 cycles, it still delivered reversibly sustained high capacities of 750 mAh·g−1.",battery
"The automated collection of phenotypic measurements in livestock is becoming increasingly important to both researchers and farmers. The capacity to non-invasively collect real-time data, provides the opportunity to better understand livestock behaviour and physiology and improve animal management decisions. Current climate models project that temperatures will increase across the world, influencing both local and global agriculture. Sheep that are exposed to high ambient temperatures experience heat stress and their physiology, reproductive function and performance are compromised. Body temperature is a reliable measure of heat stress and hence a good indicator of an animals’ health and well-being. Non-invasive temperature-sensing technologies have made substantial progress over the past decade. Here, we review the different technologies available and assess their suitability for inferring ovine heat stress. Specifically, the use of indwelling probes, intra-ruminal bolus insertion, thermal imaging and implantable devices are investigated. We further evaluate the capacity of behavioural tracking technology, such as global positioning systems, to identify heat stressed individuals based on the exhibition of specific behaviours. Although there are challenges associated with using real-time thermosensing data to make informed management decisions, these technologies provide new opportunities to manage heat stress in sheep. In order to obtain accurate real-time information of individual animals and facilitate prompt intervention, data collection should be entirely automated. Additionally, for accurate interpretation on-farm, the development of software which can effectively collect, manage and integrate data for sheep producer’s needs to be prioritised. Lastly, understanding known physiological thresholds will allow farmers to determine individual heat stress risk and facilitate early intervention to reduce the effects in both current and subsequent generations.
",non-battery
"A comparative study of an O2-diffusion cathode and a H2-diffusion anode has been performed to ascertain the limiting processes, when they are combined in a flow alkaline fuel cell with hydroperoxide ion generation. The linear sweep voltammograms and the impedance diagrams of both electrodes show large differences. The cathode reaction is charge transfer-controlled up to current densities of at least 1 A cm−2, whereas the dissociative adsorption, charge transfer and diffusion of H2 appear to limit the anode reaction. The anode, with limiting current densities of about 90 and 150 mA cm−2 for 1.0 and 6.0 M KOH, respectively, then clearly controls the hydroperoxide ion production in the fuel cell. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that, the carbon of the H2-diffusion anode does not undergo significant oxygen functionalisation during hydroperoxide ion generation in the fuel cell.",battery
"The recent advancements in the internet technology have created the urgency in developing critical data security framework around the globe. One of the most shared multimedia objects is the image which is safeguarded through a task called image encryption. An integrated approach to image encryption is the need of the hour which can combine algorithm and communication model. In this context, this work presents the first- of- its- kind approach addressing Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) to encrypt and decrypt the images to enhance their security during transmission via Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication systems. The uniqueness of this work is to combine the encryption scheme and subsequent wireless transmission. Modified Huffman coding has been employed to achieve compression. The viability of the proposed approach was tested and the performance metrics namely Entropy, PSNR, Histogram, correlation coefficient, differential attack, NIST test, and occulation attack analyses were evaluated. The simulation results prove the efficiency of the proposed integrated encryption – compression – communication schema.
",non-battery
"In the present study, the environmental and occupational exposure of lead (Pb) has been assessed by analyzing the whole-blood samples of early adolescents (boys) aged 12–15 years working for the past 1–3 years in battery recycling workshops (BRW). For comparative purpose, boys of the same age group residing in the vicinity of BRW (exposed non-workers) and who lived in domestic areas devoid of any industrial activity (referents boys) were selected. The blood samples were analyzed for Pb, along with biochemical parameters of blood. Both biological samples were oxidized by acid in a microwave oven before determination of Pb by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean value of Pb concentration in blood samples of working boys was threefold higher as compared with referent boys. The significant negative correlations of blood Pb level with % Hb (r=−0.862) were observed in working boys.
",non-battery
"One important goal for any developing country is to establish and provide electric power for its citizens; an endeavor initiated by the Government of Bangladesh many years ago. Renewable energy is a key component for development and Bangladesh has already made significant strides in reaching most of the country's population; both in Urban and Rural areas. The renewable energy projects initiated by the Government are helping Private sector, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and Micro-Finance institutions expand the solar energy program, both in terms of Sustainability and Commercial viability. These projects are increasing awareness among consumers and suppliers of the benefits and the correct use of solar home systems. The study, therefore, investigates whether solar business industry should implement a common strategy to position itself in all over the country. The Authors outline the benefits of using solar energy and the possibilities regarding solar energy system in Bangladesh as well as the problems relating to this sector. Data was collected via questionnaire on a systematic random basis. The results indicate significant business potentials of the solar energy sector. As perception towards renewable energy product is being measured in terms of convenience, country made perception and as a whole it will enhance the comfort of the society to some extent but also it will contribute in the economy if proper sales and service is given to the consumers. The authors recommend the initiation of motivational awareness by policy developers of Bangladesh, for the achievement of sustainable growth in the production of renewable energy.",battery
"A Si–O–C composite material is prepared by pyrolyzing a copolymer of phenyl-substituted polysiloxane and divinylbenzene at 800°C under a hydrogen atmosphere. The material has a high delithiation capacity about 965.3mAhg−1 in the first cycle and retains 660mAhg−1 after 40 cycles at 50mAg−1. The differential capacity curves of the anode show that there are several reduction peaks between 0.2 and 0.6V existing all the time during repeated cycles. By comparing 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si MAS NMR), Si (2p) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the anode in the original, fully lithiated, and fully delithiated state, the reduction peaks are related to lithium reversible insertion into SiO2C2, SiO3C, and SiO4 units, respectively. The corresponding 29Si MAS NMR resonances shift to high field and their binding energies of the Si (2p) XPS peak increase in the fully lithiated state, and then both turn to the opposite direction in the fully delithiated state. The SiO4 units decrease during repeated cycles. The remaining ones can reversibly transform to Li–silicate (Li2SiO3) when lithium is inserted, while the lost ones irreversibly transform to Li–silicate (Li4SiO4). However, the SiOC3 units of the material are totally irreversible with lithium because they nearly disappear in the first discharge process, and lead to the formation SiC4 units.",battery
"LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 is a promising cathode material with a high capacity for Li-ion batteries. However, the rapid capacity degradation in the high-voltage cycles constrain their further applications. Accordingly, the performances of LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 have been systematically investigated using various microstructural characterizations as well as electrochemical analyses to explore its degradation mechanism. Our results indicate that the capacity decay of LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 strongly depends on the charge cut-off voltage. For the cell that is cycled at 4.2 or 4.5 V, the degradation mechanism is primarily due to transformation from layered to rock salt structure on the particle surface, increasing the charge transfer impedance. For the cell that is cycled at 4.8 V, another two reasons should be considered. The irreversible structural change in the bulk lattice of LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 during the high-degree delithiation process eventually disintegrates the secondary particles, resulting in the poor electrical contact between particles. Another one is that the insulating surface film which is generated on the surface of particles after cycling at 4.8 V increases the interfacial impedance of LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2. All these factors contribute to the overall capacity degradation at high voltages.",battery
"Alloy-based materials (i.e. Sn, Sb, P) are promising candidates for sodium-ion battery (SIB) anodes, but they suffer from capacity decay during charge/discharge cycling due to the pulverization caused by their huge volume change. Nanostructures can slow down the capacity fade, but most of the synthesis methods of such nanostructured anodes are difficult to scale-up. Herein, a ternary Sn5SbP3/C composite was fabricated by a green, low cost, one-step and easily scalable ball-milling of elementary Sn, Sb, P, and C. The microstructure of the ball-milled powders consists of micrometric agglomerates of active nano Sn4P3 and SnSb and Sn particles. Carbon in the composite acts as a conducting matrix, and it does not only benefit to the ball milling efficiency, but also benefit to the cycle life of the electrode. Each of the active Sn4P3 and SnSb and Sn phases in the composite functions mutually as a buffer for the others. As a result, this ternary composite anode delivers a good capacity of 352mAhg−1 at the current density of 2Ag−1, which is notably higher than that of the binary Sn4P3/C and SnSb/C composites produced under the same conditions.",battery
"Individuals with schizophrenia have difficulties in emotional information processing. A relationship between behavioral variables of emotional processing and structural amygdala alterations in schizophrenia has been proposed but not shown, yet. Morphological studies of amygdala size in schizophrenia have yielded inconsistent results. The current study assessed paired associates learning of emotional and neutral faces in 16 subjects with schizophrenia during acute episode and in relative remission after 3 months. Sixteen matched controls were studied for comparison. Subjects also underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (3D-MRI) at the first time of assessment. Subjects with schizophrenia showed a significant decrease (by 13%) in total size of the amygdala compared to controls, which was more pronounced on the right side. Subjects with schizophrenia improved associative learning of facial identities but not of emotional facial expressions after relative remission of psychotic symptoms. Volume of the right amygdala in subjects with schizophrenia and in controls was significantly related to emotional learning, indicating better learning in subjects with larger amygdala size. Our results indicate that subjects with schizophrenia have a deficit to form associations when emotionally loaded material is used. This deficit seems to be trait-like and independent of disease state. It seems to be linked to size reduction of the right amygdala in schizophrenia.",non-battery
"The objective of this study was to develop a new personal sampler for viable airborne microorganisms and to evaluate its performance under controlled laboratory conditions and in a field. In the sampler, air is bubbled through a porous medium submerged in a liquid layer, as has earlier been demonstrated to be highly efficient for air purification. The prototype had the physical collection efficiency >95% for particles >0.32μm in aerodynamic diameter during 8h of continuous operation. The pressure drop across the sampler was below 1700Pa, much lower than that of most conventional bioaerosol samplers. The collection liquid losses due to evaporation and aerosolization did not exceed 18% in 8h and the culturability of sampled microorganisms remained high: the recovery rate of stress-sensitive gram-negative P. fluorescens bacteria was 61±20%; for stress-resistant B. subtilis bacteria and A. versicolor fungal spores it was 95±9% and 97±6%, respectively. Six identical personal samplers were tested simultaneously on a simplified human manikin in an office environment. The culturable microbial concentration data obtained during 2, 4 and 8-h sampling were not affected by the sampling time. Inter-sample variation did not exceed 30%. The laboratory and field evaluations have demonstrated that the new sampler is capable of long-term personal sampling of airborne culturable microorganisms. The estimation of the detection limits has indicated that the sampler is capable of monitoring microbial exposure in the environments with the bacterial concentrations above 15CFU/m3 and fungal concentrations above 5CFU/m3 when using a sampling time of 8h.",non-battery
"Thermoelectric generator (TEG) has drawn significant for the waste heat recovery systems. In this study, a prototype has been developed for the working principle suitable to the thermoelectric generator systems. The exhaust system of diesel engine is used and benefited from the exhaust gas heat to heat the surface. In addition, thermoelectric cooling system is used for the cooling effect that is required under different temperatures. In experiments, internal combustion diesel engines are used in five different engine speeds and two different engine loads for each speed level. Electric connection of the 40-piece thermoelectric modules mounted on the octagon structure made from Aluminium 6061 material is made in series. Performance of TEG systems has been examined in terms of changing speed and engine load. The performance of TEG systems has been examined in terms of changing speed and load in the engine. In the system, with the assistance of fluent programme in the Ansys Workbench 12.0 and at the same time having the Calculating Fluid Dynamic (CFD) programme, the temperature and flow analysis is performed.",battery
"SnO2 is promising as anode material for Lithium ion batteries(LIBs) due to its high specific capacity and low opening potential. However, its poor electronic conductivity as well as serious volume effect significantly restrict its application in LIBs. In this work, a facile hydrothermal method assisted with microwave is performed to realize the composite of SnO2 and graphene within only 30minutes without any chelating agents. It is highly time-efficient with relatively high SnO2 loading of 89.97wt.%. Ultrasmall nano-particles of SnO2 well disperse on the surface of the graphene with average particle size of 3–8nm and larger surface area of 417.45m2 g−1. Simultaneously, high charge/discharge capacity of 969.4/978.6mAhg−1 is obtained after 100 cycles at 200mAg−1. Even increasing the current density to 1Ag−1, high reversible charge/discharge capacities of 740.0/747.0mAhg−1 are still remained after 200 cycles. In addition, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are performed to further study the composite material prepared by facile microwave hydrothermal method. It is considered to be a high efficient way to obtain SnO2/graphene composite with excellent electrochemical properties as anode material for applications.",battery
"Micro gas turbine units are reliable and versatile units for on-site combined heat and power production (CHP). Compared to internal combustion engines, CHP units based on micro gas turbines offer several advantages, among which the compactness, the high power-to-weight ratio, the lower pollutant emissions and maintenance costs. Depending on the specific type of gas turbine, also fuel flexibility could be better than diesel engines, as the fuel is continuously burnt in a hot environment and there is not possible mixing among fuel and lubricating oil. Within the framework of the EU-Russian Federation FP7 cooperative and specifically the Bioliquids-CHP project, a Garrett GTP 30–67 liquid fuel (diesel) micro gas turbine was characterised with diesel and then tested with different first generation biofuels, such as vegetable oil and biodiesel. An in-house test bench was designed, engineered, instrumented and built. In this research work, exhaust emissions from experimental campaign on the micro gas turbine run with diesel oil and biofuels are presented. Emissions were measured at various load. The experiments demonstrated that the MGT can be successfully operated with these biofuels, with emissions comparable to the standard diesel oil. The experiences gained on the operation of the micro gas turbine on first generation biofuels will serve as a basis for modifying the MGT to be operated with bio-oil from fast pyrolysis.",battery
"Throughout the world application of vehicle and infrastructure based intelligent transportation systems have been increased over the last decade. Most of these advanced intelligent technologies are only used in urban areas. Successful introduction of such intelligent technologies can enhance the level of safety, security and efficiency of transportation system in rural communities and support country's growth. In this research, a techno-economic feasibility evaluation of a smart street light (SSL) system, in the context of rural areas in India, has been carried out. In order to evaluate the proposed SSL system we have considered a case study of the remotely located Khurhaan village in the state of Bihar, India. The result suggested that adopting SSL over the conventional street light system gives a cost saving of 91,506 annually.",non-battery
"This paper presents the results of an investigation into the initial stage of the discharge voltage response of valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) batteries. This region is dominated by the phenomenon known as the coup de fouet which manifests itself as a voltage dip followed by a recovery. The research focuses on two parameters found within the coup de fouet region, namely, the trough and the plateau voltage. It is found that these parameters are influenced by the operating conditions and the sate-state-of health (SoH) of the battery. The operating conditions considered are discharge rate, ambient temperature, depth of previous discharge, charge duration, and float voltage. The coup de fouet parameters corresponding to high rate discharges, as well as discharges conducted at low temperatures, have reduced magnitudes compared with those conducted at lower rates or higher temperatures. This behaviour mirrors the availability of capacity when the battery is discharged under the same operating conditions. The float voltage is found to have a direct relationship with the trough and plateau voltages, whereas an indirect relationship between charge duration and the trough and plateau voltages is observed. The influence of variations in discharge depth on the coup de fouet is more complex. For consecutive discharge depths below approximately 10% of rated capacity, the coup de fouet becomes distorted and exhibits a second voltage dip. For consecutive discharges of greater depth, this does not occur. The influence of the degradation in battery SoH due to accelerated thermal ageing, water replenishment post-accelerated thermal ageing, and field ageing is investigated. The coup de fouet parameters associated with the discharge of batteries with low SoH have a reduced magnitude compared with those associated with the discharge of batteries with a high SoH.",battery
"Upper limb nerve injuries are common, and their treatment poses a challenge for physicians and surgeons. Experimental models help in minimum exploration of the functional characteristics of peripheral nerve injuries of forelimbs. This study was conducted to characterize the functional recovery (1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 21 days) after median and ulnar nerve crush in mice and analyze the histological and biochemical markers of nerve regeneration (after 21 days). Sensory–functional impairments appeared after 1 day. The peripheral nerve morphology, the nerve structure, and the density of myelin proteins [myelin protein zero (P0) and peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22)] were analyzed after 21 days. Cold allodynia and fine motor coordination recovery occurred on the 10th day, and grip strength recovery was observed on the 14th day after injury. After 21 days, there was partial myelin sheath recovery. PMP22 recovery was complete, whereas P0 recovery was not. Results suggest that there is complete functional recovery even with partial remyelination of median and ulnar nerves in mice.
",non-battery
"Diluents composed of H2O and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were added to 1-ethyl-3-methylimmidazolium dicyanamide (EMI-DCA), yielding an electrolyte system that is potentially applicable for Zn–air batteries. H2O is critical for enhancing both the electrolyte conductivity and Zn/Zn(II) redox kinetics, but impairs Zn/Zn(II) redox reversibility and cyclability. DMSO has the ability to stabilize the electrolyte from H2O decomposition and is beneficial for maintaining Zn/Zn(II) redox reversibility and cyclability. Improved Zn/Zn(II) redox kinetics and reversibility, together with good cyclability up to 200 cycles, was achieved in EMI-DCA + H2O + DMSO in a mole ratio of 1:1.1:2.3.",battery
"Networked microgrids (NMGs) are beneficial and economical for both microgrids’ owners and consumers as this structure could potentially play a significant role in energy efficiency, power system reliability and sustainability. Renewable energy sources (RESs) and sharp fluctuations in load consumption impose new challenges in solving operational problems in smart distribution grids. As a result, deterministic methods are not able to provide a precise analysis of microgrids operation and planning. Therefore, stochastic algorithms are used as powerful tools in ensuring reliable solutions especially in operation problems. In this paper, daily optimal scheduling problem of NMGs considering intermittent behavior in generation and load is investigated in a proposed energy management system (EMS). Two demand response programs (DRPs) based on time of use (TOU) and real time pricing (RTP) are integrated into the optimal scheduling model and the developed model is solved using a metaheuristic algorithm under uncertainties of RESs and loads. The numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed model through comparison with solution from stochastic optimization.",battery
"Age-related impairment in synaptic plasticity, like long-term potentiation (LTP), has been repeatedly reported. We had shown that late stages of LTP in the rat dentate gyrus can be modulated by emotional factors, but this is impaired by aging. In the present study we have searched for possible impairments in emotional and spatial memory tasks that may correspond to the impaired reinforcement observed at the cellular level. We have trained young and aged animals in a battery of tests: exploration (open field) object recognition, anxiety (plus maze) fear conditioning and spatial memory (Morris' water maze (MWM)). The open field, anxiety, and novelty recognition showed no age differences except a reduced velocity in aged rats. Emotional and contextual memories were preserved, but acquisition was slightly impaired. Age-dependent impairments appeared in spatial memory, evaluated in terms of latency and distance to reach the hidden escape platform in the water maze task, but these were not related with impairments in other tests, in particular there was no relation between spatial and emotional memory impairments. Age-related impairments in different paradigms were caused by different independent factors that did not correlated with each other.",non-battery
"The objective of this research is to analyze the performance of a passive hybrid powerplant control system to be implemented in a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle capable to ascend up to the high troposphere (10,000 m). The powerplant is based on a high-temperature PEM fuel cell connected in parallel to a set of lithium-polymer batteries and regulated by two power diodes. Test performed in steady state demonstrates that the use of the hybrid system increases the efficiency of the stack by more than 7% because the voltage at the main DC bus is limited by the batteries. The robustness of the passive control system is proved in a long-term test in which random perturbations of ±15% are applied to the average power that would be demanded during the ascent flight. The hybridization of the stack with the batteries eliminates sudden peaks in the current generated by the stack, which are responsible for prompt degradation phenomena that drastically reduce its useful lifetime. The study demonstrates that with the passive hybrid powerplant it is possible to reach the target height with the gas storage system considered in the application, contrary to what happens with the simple power plant.",battery
"We herein report the synthesis of ternary nanocomposites consisting of polyaniline (PANI), activated carbon, and TiO2(B) components, which involves the preparation of activated carbon/TiO2(B) nanowires (ACTB) using sonochemical–hydrothermal method, and their subsequent composites with PANI via in situ polymerization. The morphology and structure of ACTB/PANI ternary nanocomposites are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Morphology analysis shows that the porous network layer of PANI homogeneously coated on the outer surface of ACTB support. The electrochemical properties of the ternary nanocomposite as the electrode material for electrochemical capacitors are examined by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge test in an organic electrolyte (1.0M LiClO4 in propylene carbonate). The results show that the ternary nanocomposites have a specific capacitance as large as 286Fg−1 in the potential range from −3 to 3V (vs. SCE) at a charge–discharge current density of 1.0Ag−1, which is a significant improvement compared to those of the three separate components, demonstrating that the ACTB/PANI nanocomposites are promising materials for supercapacitor electrode.",battery
"Given a set of input points, the ",non-battery
" Investigation of early transmission failure from animal-borne, satellite transmitters should reveal vital information about the reliability of the technology, and the risk of application to the animal. Current technology available to the investigator does not provide firm evidence for causes of transmitter blackout.",non-battery
Lower energy bills and desirable spherical powder are only two of the advantages of centrifugal atomisation…,non-battery
"The properties of the monoclinic lithium vanadium phosphate, Li3V2(PO4)3 (LVP), are investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical methods. Electrochemical measurements conducted in half cells with Li3V2(PO4)3 as the cathode material and lithium metal as the anode have shown that this material exhibits an excellent reversibility when the charge extracted is confined to that equivalent to two lithiums per formula unit. The extraction of the last lithium is observed at a potential >4.6V versus Li/Li+ and involves a significant overvoltage. Upon discharge, a solid solution behavior is observed after which the two-phase regime for the last lithium insertion reappears. Furthermore, XRD has shown that the original structure is recovered. Cycling performance as well as rate capability are also presented for rocking-chair batteries based on LVP and graphite.",battery
"The electroactive LiFePO4/C nano-composite has been synthesized by an emulsion drying method. During burning-out the oily emulsion precipitates in an air-limited atmosphere at 300°C, amorphous or low crystalline carbon was generated along with releasing carbon oxide gases, and trivalent iron as a cheap starting material was immediately reduced to the divalent one at this stage as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, leading to a low crystalline LiFePO4/C composite. Heat-treatment of the low crystalline LiFePO4/C in an Ar atmosphere resulted in a well-ordered olivine structure, as refined by Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction pattern. From secondary electron microscopic and scanning transmission electron microscopic observations with the corresponding elemental mapping images of iron and phosphorous, it was found that the LiFePO4 powders are modified by fine carbon. The in situ formation of the nano-sized carbon during crystallization of LiFePO4 brought about two advantages: (i) an optimized particle size of LiFePO4, and (ii) a uniform distribution of fine carbon in the product. These effects of the fine carbon on LiFePO4/C composite led to high capacity retention upon cycling at 25 and 50°C and high rate capability, resulting from a great enhancement of electric conductivity as high as 10−4 Scm−1. That is, the obtained capacity was higher than 90mAh (g-phosphate)−1 by applying a higher current density of about 1000mAg−1 (11C) at 50°C.",battery
"Lead telluride and its alloys have been extensively studied for medium temperature thermoelectric applications due to decent figure-of-merit (ZT) at temperature close to 900K. However, little emphasis has been given to improve the ZT near room temperature. In this investigation, we report a systematic study of Cr doping in PbTe1−y Se y with y=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 0.85, and 1. We found the peak ZT temperature increased with increasing concentration of Se. The highest ZT of ~0.6 at room temperature in Te-rich Cr0.015Pb0.985Te0.75Se0.25 was obtained due to a lowered thermal conductivity and enhanced power factor resulted from high Seebeck coefficient of about −220µVK−1 and high Hall mobility ~1120cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature. A room temperature ZT of ~0.5 and peak ZT of ~1 at about 573–673K is shown by Se-rich sample Cr0.01Pb0.99Te0.25Se0.75. This improvement of the room temperature ZT improved the average ZT over a wide temperature range and could potentially lead to a single leg efficiency of thermoelectric conversion for Te-rich Cr0.015Pb0.985Te0.75Se0.25 up to ~11% and Se-rich Cr0.01Pb0.99Te0.25Se0.75 up to ~13% with cold side and hot side temperature at 300K and 873K, respectively, if matched with appropriate p-type legs.",battery
"As research continues to document differences in the prevalence of mental health problems such as depression across racial/ethnic groups, the issue of measurement equivalence becomes increasingly important to address. The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) is a widely used screening tool for child and adolescent depression. This study applied a differential item functioning (DIF) framework to data from a sample of 6th and 8th grade students in the Seattle Public School District (N = 3,593) to investigate the measurement equivalence of the MFQ. Several items in the MFQ were found to have DIF, but this DIF was associated with negligible individual- or group-level impact. These results suggest that differences in MFQ scores across groups are unlikely to be caused by measurement non-equivalence.",non-battery
"One-way electric car-sharing systems are expected to be an integral part of future transportation systems, playing an important role in reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Owing to limited battery capacities and the lengthy charging process, an electric car-sharing system may not achieve the high vehicle utilization that a non-electric car-sharing system can achieve. We investigate two approaches to vehicle management, in order to circumvent battery constraints and to improve vehicle utilization rates in one-way electric car-sharing systems. In the first approach, we optimize vehicle assignment decisions, and in the second approach, we further allow vehicle relays, enabling users to complete longer trips by sequentially taking two vehicles. We propose a novel space–time–battery network flow model to determine optimal assignment and relay decisions. With an extra dimension for tracking each vehicle’s battery level, the proposed model is a single-commodity network flow model that is computationally amiable. To meet the requirement of quick responses, we propose an efficient algorithm that exploits an innovative diving heuristic to solve the resulting integer program. Numerical results show that when vehicle assignment and relays are optimized in an electric car-sharing system, we may achieve a comparable vehicle utilization rate as in a non-electric car-sharing system. In particular, optimizing vehicle assignment is essential when most trips are short trips, and vehicle relays are critical when users demand more long trips.",non-battery
"Due to the inherent aleatory uncertainties in renewable generators, the reliability/adequacy assessments of distributed generation (DG) systems have been particularly focused on the probabilistic modeling of random behaviors, given sufficient informative data. However, another type of uncertainty (epistemic uncertainty) must be accounted for in the modeling, due to incomplete knowledge of the phenomena and imprecise evaluation of the related characteristic parameters. In circumstances of few informative data, this type of uncertainty calls for alternative methods of representation, propagation, analysis and interpretation. In this study, we make a first attempt to identify, model, and jointly propagate aleatory and epistemic uncertainties in the context of DG systems modeling for adequacy assessment. Probability and possibility distributions are used to model the aleatory and epistemic uncertainties, respectively. Evidence theory is used to incorporate the two uncertainties under a single framework. Based on the plausibility and belief functions of evidence theory, the hybrid propagation approach is introduced. A demonstration is given on a DG system adapted from the IEEE 34 nodes distribution test feeder. Compared to the pure probabilistic approach, it is shown that the hybrid propagation is capable of explicitly expressing the imprecision in the knowledge on the DG parameters into the final adequacy values assessed. It also effectively captures the growth of uncertainties with higher DG penetration levels.",battery
"Electrolyte poisons comprised of diols and diamines are investigated for the intended function of exacerbating internal resistance in lithium-ion batteries upon short circuit failure, to quickly arrest uncontrolled joule heat generation in the earliest stages. The competing dynamics of powerful short circuit currents and electrolyte poisoning interactions are evaluated via simultaneous nail penetration and poison injection of LIR2450 format LiCoO2/graphite 120 mAh coin cells. To forcibly increase electrolyte impedance, diols serve to hinder charge-carrying ion mobility by raising solution viscosity, while diamines disrupt solvent permittivity by rapidly polymerizing the ethylene carbonate solvent. Diamines demonstrate great potency, and are suitable for integration into battery cells within chemically-inert, breakable containers, rigged for release upon mechanical activation. Mixtures of 1,2-ethanediol and 1,2-ethanediamine show synergistic poisoning effects, decreasing peak temperature accrued by 70% when introduced simultaneously upon nail penetration. With the innate presence and abundance of diols and diamines in electric vehicle heat exchangers, they may be employed for multifunctional applications.",battery
"Current commercial Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are powered by conventional batteries. However, such technology has reached a point at which an increase of the endurance and range of operations would require increasing the size of existing AUV designs. Much attention has been paid to fuel cells as they have proven successfully installable in AUV prototypes and have shown good results regarding the increase of range and endurance of AUVs. Nevertheless, no commercial AUV powered by fuel cells has been made yet. In this work, the characteristics of well-known commercial AUVs have been studied using the Principal Components Analysis. Such study allows inferring the requirements and constraints for the implementation of fuel cells in commercial AUVs. Freedom in certain design parameters of both fuel cells and AUVs has been found. Regarding the necessity to store oxidant along with the fuel in underwater applications, a map of achieved energy densities by the combination of different means of storing hydrogen and oxygen has been obtained. Such map reveals the most benefiting combination of storage means for both reactants. Finally, a method for obtaining the initial design parameters of fuel cell powered AUVs is proposed.",non-battery
"Excellent design of a thermal management system requires good understanding of the thermal behaviors of power batteries. In this study, the electrochemical and heat performances of a prismatic 40 Ah C/LiFePO4 battery are investigated with a focus on the influence of temperature on cell capacity in a mixed charge–discharge cycle. In addition, the heat generation and energy efficiency of a battery are determined during charge and discharge at different current rates. The experimental results indicate that in certain temperature ranges, both the charging and discharging capacities increase significantly as the temperature increases. In addition, the energy efficiency reaches more than 95% when the battery runs at a current rate of 0.33 C–2 C and temperature of 25–45 °C. A thermal mathematical model based on experimentally obtained internal resistances and entropy coefficients is developed. Using this model, the increase in the battery temperature is simulated based on specific heat values that are measured experimentally and calculated theoretically. The results from the simulation indicate that the temperature increase agrees well with the experimental values, the measured specific heat provides better results than the calculated specific heat and the heat generated decreases as the temperature increases.",battery
"Scholars have recognized that a recent increase in the ways citizens participate beyond the electoral arena may be a promising avenue of renewal for citizen participation. In this article we test the theory that different kinds of citizenship norms motivate some citizens to specialize in electoral-oriented activities (e.g. voting), while others specialize in non-institutionalized activities (e.g. protest). The latent class analysis of data from the U.S. Citizen, Involvement and Democracy Survey (2005) in the current study assesses how actors combine a variety of acts in their “political tool kits” of participation, and facilitates a comparison to prior findings that analyze single political behaviors. Results indicate a participatory type that specializes in non-institutionalized acts, but the group’s high probability of voting does not align with the expectations in the literature. An electoral-oriented specialist type is not identified; instead, the findings show that a majority of the population is best characterized as disengaged, while a small group of all-around activists embrace all possible opportunities for political action. The actor-centered theoretical and measurement approach in this study identifies caveats to the theory that changing citizenship norms are leading to civic and political renewal. We discuss the implications of these findings for measuring different aspects of democratic (dis)engagement and participatory (in)equality.",non-battery
"LiFexMn2-xO4 (x =0.0, 0.1 and 0.2) with superior rate and cycling performance is synthesized using a sol – gel method by combining citric acid and glucose as the chelating agent. For the first time Fe is found to basically occupy the 16d site. Fe doping decreases the occupancies of Mn at the 8a site considerably, and reduces the variations of the lattice volume before and after charge significantly, and suppresses the formation of the lower valence manganese surface phases. The structure - related factors other than the conventional morphology and size lead to the drastically enhanced performance of the Fe - doped samples. The combination of the decreased occupancies of Mn on the 8a site, and the only occupation of Fe on the 16d site, and the suppression of the surface phases of manganese ions with the lower valences and the alleviation of the Jahn - Teller effect due to the partial replacement of Mn3+ by Fe3+ result in both the improved electronic and ionic conductivities, and thus the drastically enhanced performance. The capacity of 66 mAh g−1 for x = 0.2 is delivered for 300C discharge with 1C charge. The capacity retentions after 1500 cycles for 100C discharge and 10C charge at room temperature (RT) and 60°C are 90% and 83%, respectively. The present study opens a feasible way to obtain the high performance manganese spinel cathode by controlling the lattice site occupation of an alien element and manganese and the formation of low valence manganese surface phases.",battery
"Technical challenges facing determination of battery available power arise from its complicated nonlinear dynamics, input and output constraints, and inaccessible internal states. Available solutions often resorted to open-loop prediction with simplified battery models or linear control algorithms. To resolve these challenges simultaneously, this paper formulates an economic nonlinear model predictive control to forecast a battery's state-of-power. This algorithm is built upon a high-fidelity model that captures nonlinear coupled electrical and thermal dynamics of a lithium-ion battery. Constraints imposed on current, voltage, temperature, and state-of-charge are then taken into account in a systematic fashion. Illustrative results from several different tests over a wide range of conditions demonstrate that the proposed approach is capable of accurately predicting the power capability with the error less than 0.2% while protecting the battery from undesirable reactions. Furthermore, the effects of temperature constraints, prediction horizon, and model accuracy are quantitatively examined. The proposed power prediction algorithm is general and then can be equally applicable to different lithium-ion batteries and cell chemistries where proper mathematical models exist.",battery
"The present study focuses on dynamic thermal-hydraulic modeling for the all-vanadium flow battery and investigations on the impact of stack flow patterns on battery performance. The inhomogeneity of flow rate distribution and reversible entropic heat are included in the thermal-hydraulic model. The electrolyte temperature in tanks is modeled with the finite element modeling (FEM) technique considering the possible non-uniform distribution of electrolyte temperature. Results show that the established model predicts electrolyte temperature accurately under various ambient temperatures and current densities. Significant temperature gradients exist in the battery system at extremely low flow rates, while the electrolyte temperature tends to be the same in different components under relatively high flow rates. Three stack flow patterns including flow without distribution channels and two cases of flow with distribution channels are compared to investigate their effects on battery performance. It is found that the flow rates are not uniformly distributed in cells especially when the stack is not well designed, while adding distribution channels alleviates the inhomogeneous phenomenon. By comparing the three flow patterns, it is found that the serpentine–parallel pattern is preferable and effectively controls the uniformity of flow rates, pressure drop and electrolyte temperature all at expected levels.",battery
"Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) garnet is one of the most promising Li-ion solid electrolytes for all-solid-state Li-ion batteries, owing to its high chemical stability against Li metal and relatively high Li-ion conductivity. In order to further enhance the conductivity of LLZO, Gd3+ is used to dope LLZO at the Zr4+ site, in order to enable excess Li to occupy the octahedral sites, which could facilitate Li-ion transport and increase ionic conductivity. In this study, Li7+xLa3Zr2-xGdxO12 (LLZGO, x = 0–0.5) solid electrolytes with cubic phase and high relative densities are prepared at 1220 °C using a solid-state reaction method. It is found that LLZGO garnets with x from 0.1 to 0.2 deliver higher conductivities than pristine LLZO. Among these, the Li7.2La3Zr1.8Gd0.2O12 (LLZG2O) sample achieves the highest room-temperature total conductivity of 2.3 × 10−4 S cm−1. X-ray diffraction characterization confirms that LLZG2O is chemically stable against Li metal at room temperature for half a month. Cyclic voltammetry shows that LLZG2O possesses good electrochemical stability and reversibility of Li dissolution and deposition reactions. Symmetrical cells using a LLZG2O solid electrolyte and two Li metal electrodes are cycled galvanostatically under various current densities. The results demonstrate that the cell can achieve excellent cycling stability and low overpotentials for the dissolution and deposition reactions of Li. The substitution of Gd3+ for Zr4+ is effective in improving the Li-ion conductivity of LLZO, and Li7+xLa3Zr2-xGdxO12 could be promising as solid electrolytes for high-performance all-solid-state Li-ion batteries.",battery
"In order to coordinate the scheduling problem between an isolated microgrid (IMG) and electric vehicle battery swapping stations (BSSs) in multi-stakeholder scenarios, a new bi-level optimal scheduling model is proposed for promoting the participation of BSSs in regulating the IMG economic operation. In this model, the upper-level sub-problem is formulated to minimize the IMG net costs, while the lower-level aims to maximize the profits of the BSS under real-time pricing environments determined by demand responses in the upper-level decision. To solve the model, a hybrid algorithm, called JAYA-BBA, is put forward by combining a real/integer-coded JAYA algorithm and the branch and bound algorithm (BBA), in which the JAYA and BBA are respectively employed to address the upper- and lower- level sub-problems, and the bi-level model is eventually solved through alternate iterations between the two levels. The simulation results on a microgrid test system verify the effectiveness and superiority of the presented approach.",battery
A new class of carbon nanomaterials has been discovered as metal-free catalysts to dramatically reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of fuel cells. This article highlights recent progresses in this emerging research area.,battery
A team based at the Technical University in Dresden in Germany has produced a small-molecule organic light-emitting diode (SMOLED) that operates at as low a voltage as any polymer-based OLED.,non-battery
 This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes between accelerated rehabilitation (AR) and non-accelerated rehabilitation (NR) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) using hamstring autografts through a systematic review and meta-analysis.,non-battery
"The present paper addresses the control and the power management of a hybrid system dedicated to an elevator application. In fact, the multi-source includes a photovoltaic generator as a main source supported by a battery-bank and a stack of super capacitors (SC). On the traction part, a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is used to carry the elevator box. The power supervising mission is performed via a neural network (NN) routine trained with a frequency based strategy (FBS). The main objective of the applied control routines is to manage effectively the splits of the load demand. Therefore, they can provide the required power amounts in both steady-state and transient state, respecting the dynamic behavior of each source. Obviously, a fuzzy logic MPPT method has been applied to the PV side to permanently track the maximum power point through an adequate tuning of a boost converter regardless of the solar irradiance variations. Whereas, the controller of the DC-DC bidirectional converters of the battery and SC stack is based on the direct lyapunov theory. To test the effectiveness of the proposed techniques, intensive numerical tests are done using MATLAB/Simulink Package. The obtained results prove the feasibility of the proposed approach, where the system switches smoothly between the operating modes.",non-battery
"High activity bifunctional non-noble electrocatalysts, targeting both ORR and OER, are rationally designed by integrating the merits of both NiFe2O4 quantum dots and carbons nanotubes (CNTs) (NiFe2O4(QDs)/CNTs), which possesses large specific surface area (584 m2 g−1), abundant NiFe2O4 quantum dots and superior conductivity. Specially, the mechanism for the formation of quantum dots in relation to Fe/Ni ratio and the corresponding activity of ORR and OER are studied carefully. Consequently, NiFe2O4(QDs)/CNTs exhibits superior bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activities with the lowest the potential difference (ΔE) of 0.9 V, outperforming well-known commercial Pt/C and IrO2, directly demonstrating the advantages of quantum dots catalysts on providing more effective actives sites and adsorption-desorption sites to promote oxygen reaction kinetics. NiFe2O4(QDs)/CNTs, as high-performance catalyst used in liquid and flexible metal-air batteries, realize high power density, high specific capacity, long-term rechargeability (over 800 h), and extremely low charge-discharge voltage gaps (only 0.62 V) in ambient atmosphere. Furthermore, the metal-air batteries with flexible configuration effectively prevent the migration of Zn2+/Mg2+, the production of carbonate and the hydrogen evolution reaction. Density functional theory calculations further illustrate that the NiFe2O4(QDs) on CNT has a very active ORR and OER site at the interface Ni site. The work offers prospects for the rational design of quantum dots containing composites to achieve their practicalities in next generation of metal-air batteries.",battery
"Carbon quantum dots derived from the chemical oxidation of D-(+)-glucose have been efficiently synthesized in good yield using a simple and economically viable approach. Carbon quantum dots possess a quasi-spherical structure with facile storage and transport channels for lithium and sodium-ions. When applied as an anode for the lithium-ion battery, the as-prepared quantum dots demonstrate a superior and stable cycling performance after 500 cycles (864.9 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C) with capacity retention of 91.6%, and a good rate performance (340.2 mAh g−1 at 20 C). As a sodium-ion battery anode, the quantum dots present a specific capacity of 323.9 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C and capacity retention of 72.4% after 500 charge/discharge cycles, indicating an excellent cycling stability. A relatively moderate rate performance of 123.6 mAh g−1 is achieved at the 20 C rate. This study demonstrates the use of individual quantum dots as a potential electrode material for lithium-ion, and sodium-ion battery applications, and it will definitely result in the fabrication of new composite materials in the energy-storage field. The extreme downsizing to the quantum regime has led to the achievement of utmost properties that have been prescribed to the quantum effects, efficient ion diffusion, and the charge transfer.",battery
"Purpose The current preliminary study was based on the principles of positive psychology orientation when examining the multidimensional construct of quality of life (QOL): the physical functioning, psychological functioning, functional state, and social functioning among parents of children with epilepsy. We assessed the contribution of loneliness and personal resources, namely optimism and flexibility, to parents' QOL. Method The study was conducted at a multidisciplinary center for epilepsy in a central hospital in Israel. Forty-eight parents agreed to participate in a preliminary research study and completed a battery of self-report questionnaires. Results Significant negative correlations were found between flexibility and the scores on the four components of QOL (higher scores on the QOL scales indicated lower QOL). Optimism was not found to be associated with the scores on QOL. High levels of loneliness were found to be associated with higher scores on the four components of parents' QOL. Among sociodemographic variables, only the economic situation (due to illness) was linked negatively to the scores on QOL components. Flexibility and economic situation were the significant variables that accounted for the explained variance of total QOL. Conclusion The results of this study highlight the importance of flexibility in effectively managing the stressors that might be associated with childhood epilepsy. These results suggest that psychosocial intervention providing coping strategies for the family might improve QOL. Moreover, a parent's economic situation seems to be an essential part of the psychosocial assessment, and assurance of the optimal utilization of financial rights and facilities may improve their QOL.",non-battery
"In this paper we analyze the non-instrumental dimension of social capital and its effects on subjective well-being. In the first part, we define the characteristics of production and consumption of relational goods. The second section analyses the influence of the different expressions of relational goods and social capital on individual subjective well-being. In the third, we test the explanatory power of this variable on the Easterlin’s paradox using the results of a survey on individual social capital in Spain. The main findings from the empirical analysis for Spanish society allow us to strengthen the hypothesis. We found a weak explanatory capacity of income or educational level or instrumental dimensions of social capital (expert mobilization) while a strong link between expressions of relational goods (domestic mobilization, household stability, partnership, trust and security in the environment) was found.
",non-battery
"In a high wind penetration scenario in electricity production, the availability of models for synthetically generating hourly wind speed data becomes increasingly important for both sizing and modeling integrated renewable systems. A methodology for generating hourly wind speed time series is presented in this paper, adopting a physical-statistical approach based on some known aggregate input data. The proposed approach, developed in a previous study by the same authors, has been here improved using a new diurnal wind speed profile function. The improved methodology is first described and validated through experimental wind speed data, comparing the results with those obtained using the basic model. Then, hourly wind speeds generated with the improved methodology are used as input data for the optimal design of grid-connected and off-grid wind power plants. For each configuration, the influence of the diurnal wind speed profile and wind regime on system sizing and its economic parameters has been evaluated. Results have shown that the diurnal variation of wind speed does not affect the size of wind turbine, but strongly influences the storage capacity of off-grid wind power plants.",battery
"A nanocomposite comprised of conductive poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)PEDOT chains interleaved between the layers of crystalline V2O5 powder has been synthesized by direct in situ oxidation. The interlayer spacing of V2O5 expands from 4.32 to 13.84Å and this interlayer separation is consistent with the existence of a monolayer of PEDOT in the V2O5 framework. The nanocomposite is coupled with a large-area Li foil counter electrode and a Li wire reference electrode in 1M LiClO4 in a mixture of ethylene and dimethylcorbonate (50/50 by volume), the discharge capacity is ≥300mAhg−1 which is larger than that of pristine V2O5. The significant difference in capacity is explained on the basis of lithium ions insertion/de-insertion between the layers of V2O5.",battery
"This paper details the failure analysis of swelling in prismatic lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) after undergoing several charge–recharge cycles subsequent to long-term storage. The methods of analysis are nondestructive and mainly involve the use of computed tomography (CT) and cell disassembly. Two situations are compared. The first cell is examined after long-term storage, in which case a void space, presumably a gas bubble, is observed around the Ni tap in the cell, and traces of side reactants are found around the center of the anode electrode. This cell is compared with a swollen cell examined after undergoing several cycles after long-term storage, in which, according to the CT results before and after gas removal, gas is detected inside the jelly roll and inside the space between the can body and the jelly roll. Moreover, side reactants are identified near the center of the anode electrode, causing the color of the anode electrode to become irregular. The results show the gas bubbles and side reactants generated as a result of long-term storage are determined to be responsible for the swelling in the cell due to prolonged cycling.",non-battery
"An influential stream of happiness literature has demonstrated that increased income did not raise individual happiness. Focusing on the case of Chinese society, this research aims to provide some preliminary accounts for the paradoxical observation that economic miracle in the country was not accompanied by more happiness. To this objective, our analysis starts with an investigation of the determinants of happiness in China, where a series of variables, measured both at individual and contextual levels, is incorporated to see the extent to which they explain the variance of personal happiness. Based on the findings derived from the multilevel statistical modeling, the research then moved forward to explore whether they have a clue for the happiness-income paradox in China. In particular, the research finds that social comparison and hedonic adaptation could be potential reasons for the happiness-income paradox in China. Furthermore, the empirical analysis provides novel clues on the ‘China puzzle’ by identifying the potential role of the adverse trends in other variables beyond income, which involves expanding social capital deficit, growing social inequality, and work-life imbalance.
",non-battery
"The preparation of coatings of manganese oxide and graphene nanoplatelets onto graphite paper by aqueous electrophoretic deposition is studied. This method is a fast and environmental friendly procedure for the manufacture of electrodes with enhanced specific capacitance for supercapacitors. The electrodes are prepared either sequentially, depositing consecutively the suspension of each material or simultaneously, from suspensions of mixtures of the two materials. Some of the electrodes show specific capacitances as high as 422 F g−1. The effects of (i) the electrophoretic deposition route chosen and (ii) the composition and load of the active electrode material deposited on the supercapacitor performance are studied. The symmetric supercapacitor cells show specific energy up to 9.2 W h kg−1 and specific power up to 1.8 kW kg−1 for 0.1 and 10 A g−1, respectively. The highest specific energy values are obtained in cells built with electrodes prepared by depositing first a layer of graphene nanoplatelets and then, manganese oxide.",battery
"The direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase (GOx) integrated with graphene was investigated. The voltammetric results indicated that GOx assembled on graphene retained its native structure and bioactivity, exhibited a surface-confined process, and underwent effective direct electron transfer (DET) reaction with an apparent rate constant (k s) of 2.68s−1. This work also developed a novel approach for glucose detection based on the electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen at the GOx–graphene/GC electrode. The assembled GOx could electrocatalyze the reduction of dissolved oxygen. Upon the addition of glucose, the reduction current decreased, which could be used for glucose detection with a high sensitivity (ca. 110±3μAmM−1 cm−2), a wide linear range (0.1–10mM), and a low detection limit (10±2μM). The developed approach can efficiently exclude the interference of commonly coexisting electroactive species due to the use of a low detection potential (−470mV, versus SCE). Therefore, this study has not only successfully achieved DET reaction of GOx assembled on graphene, but also established a novel approach for glucose detection and provided a general route for fabricating graphene-based biosensing platform via assembling enzymes/proteins on graphene surface.",battery
"A fully implantable wireless pressure sensor system was developed to monitor bladder pressures in vivo. The system comprises a small commercial pressure die connected via catheter to amplifying electronics, a microcontroller, wireless transmitter, battery, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) or computer to receive the wireless data. The sensor is fully implantable and transmits pressure data once every second with a pressure detection range of 1.5 psi gauge and a resolution of 0.02 psi. In vitro calibration measurements of the device showed a high degree of linearity and excellent temporal response. The implanted device performed continuously in vivo in several porcine studies lasting over 3 days. This system can be adapted for other pressure readings, as well as other vital sign measurements; it represents the first step in developing a ubiquitous sensing platform for telemedicine and remote patient monitoring.
",non-battery
"Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by intra-neuronal inclusions of Lewy bodies in distinct brain regions. These inclusions consist mainly of aggregated α-synuclein (α-syn) protein. The present study used immunoprecipitation combined with nanoflow liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to high resolution electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS/MS) to determine known and novel isoforms of α-syn in brain tissue homogenates. N-terminally acetylated full-length α-syn (Ac-α-syn1–140) and two N-terminally acetylated C-terminally truncated forms of α-syn (Ac-α-syn1–139 and Ac-α-syn1–103) were found. The different forms of α-syn were further studied by Western blotting in brain tissue homogenates from the temporal cortex Brodmann area 36 (BA36) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex BA9 derived from controls, patients with DLB and PD with dementia (PDD). Quantification of α-syn in each brain tissue fraction was performed using a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
",non-battery
"The potential and utilization of renewable energy technologies (RETs), and energy analysis in Lesotho with emphasis on the contribution of solar energy technologies (SETs) is presented. The heavy reliance of the country on imported fossil fuel coupled with the growing demand for electricity and declining wood fuel supplies call for alternative sources of energy. Taking the average global solar radiation that ranges from 15 to 20MJ/m2 and cognizant of the short falls of other renewable energy sources in Lesotho, this paper focuses on the application of solar energy and associated developmental issues. The paper provides a statistical analysis of the energy demand and identifies areas of further growth for SETs. Various application areas of solar energy and their contribution to development in Lesotho together with future prospects for use of solar energy are also discussed. An analysis of the relative merits of using photovoltaic (PV) devices over other renewable energy sources in Lesotho is presented. It is argued that with proper economic support and utilization of efficient RETs, developing countries like Lesotho can meet their basic energy demands and alleviate the problems of energy shortages.",battery
"A serpentine flow field is commonly used in both fuel cells and redox flow batteries. Accurate prediction of mass transfer in the porous gas/liquid diffusion layer (GDL/LDL) is essential for both flow field design optimization and pressure drop predictions. Darcy's law has been widely used to predict fluid flow through GDL/LDL in fuel cells and flow batteries. However, since the inertial effect is neglected in the Darcy's law, significant errors can arise when it is applied to serpentine flow fields. In this work, dimensional analyses are performed using both the Buckingham Pi-theorem and the analytical models developed earlier based on Darcy's law and modified Darcy's law. From the Pi-theorem, four and five non-dimensional parameters are obtained from the Darcy's law and the modified Darcy's law, respectively. The variations of Darcy's law errors in predicting under-land cross-flow rate with each of the non-dimensional parameters are studied. By comparing the coefficient of each term of the two models, two independent Pi-terms for under-land cross-flow rate are obtained. The criterion for applicability of Darcy's law is developed based on the two Pi-terms. The model predicted errors of Darcy's law compared very well with experimental data, thus further confirms the applicability of developed criterion.",battery
"To realize a high-performance room temperature Na/S battery with an elemental sulfur cathode, it is important that sodium polysulfides stay within the cathode and that they have room enough to react freely. In this work, sodium polysulfides are confined to the cathode using a β″ alumina solid electrolyte separator and an optimal amount of tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) electrolyte. In addition, an activated carbon material, in the form of a sulfur/carbon (S/C) composite, with high surface area, porosity, and pore volume is employed in the cathode. The resulting Na/S battery shows a high first discharge capacity of 855 mAh g−1 and coulombic efficiency close to 100%, as well as stable cyclability, with a discharge capacity of 521 mAh g−1 at the 104th discharge.",battery
"The present work reports fabrication of vertically aligned CdS sensitized TiO2 nanorod arrays grown on transparent conducting oxide substrate with high transparency as a photoanode in photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting. To realize an unassisted water splitting system, the photoanode and dye-sensitized solar cell tandem structures are tried and their electrochemical behaviors are also investigated. The hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanorod arrays followed by CdS nanoparticle decoration can improve the light absorption of long wavelength light resulting in increased photocurrent density. Two different techniques (electrodeposition and spray pyrolysis deposition) of CdS nanoparticle sensitization are carried out and their water splitting behaviors in the tandem cell are compared.",battery
"V2O3@activated carbon (V2O3@C) composite catalysts with different mass ratios have successfully been fabricated using a facile one-step the reduction of ammonium vanadate (NH4VO3) with AC in a high-temperature solid-state reaction. V2O3@C composites were further served as catalytic materials for counter electrodes (CEs) in encapsulation of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The morphology and microstructure of each V2O3@C composite were determined by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Cyclic voltammetry studies revealed that the V2O3@C composites showed a higher electrocatalytic activity than AC and V2O3 for the reduction of triiodide ions. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Tafel analysis data for the symmetrical cells indicated a lower charge transfer resistance and higher exchange current density for V2O3@C composite than AC and V2O3. The experimental results showed that power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 4.94, 5.55 and 5.32% were obtained for AC:NH4VO3 mass ratios of 1:3, 2:3 and 4:3 as counter electrode toward the reduction of I3 −/I− ions respectively, which were superior to higher than that of AC (2.10%) and V2O3 (3.33%) electrode under the same conditions. The enhanced electrode performance can be ascribed to the combined effects of the relatively larger surface area and higher conductivity of V2O3@C composite catalysts.",battery
"Achieving sustainable development goals while meeting the 1.5 °C climate target requires radical changes to how we use energy. A scenario of low energy demand shows how this can be done by down-sizing the global energy system to enable feasible deployment rates of renewable energy resources.
",battery
"The study deals with the electrochemical and physico-chemical characterizations of new proton-conducting ionic liquids. Through the use of several amines and perfluorinated acids, it attempts to define the most appropriate ionic liquids for use in high temperature PEMFCs. In addition to the usual characterizations based on Pulsed Field Gradient NMR and conductivity measurements, NMR correlation techniques NOESY, HOESY and COSY experiments are used to characterize the interactions and spatial proximities of ionic liquid species.",battery
"In this paper, we report the synthesis of graphene-like MoS2/graphene hybrid by a facile lithium-assisted sonication method and its cathode application for rechargeable Mg batteries. Instrumental analyses elucidate that the composite displays a three-dimensional (3D) porous architecture constructed by exfoliated single or few MoS2 layers, and some graphene is intercalated in the MoS2 gallery with an enlarged interlayer spacing from 0.62 to 0.98 nm. The obtained MoS2/graphene hybrid exhibits high electrochemical performance with a remarkable capacity (115.9 mA h g−1) and good cyclic stability (82.5 mA h g−1 after 50 cycles). This is owing to the synergistic effect between the graphene-like MoS2 and the highly conductive graphene, which can effectively facilitate the Mg2+ ions diffusion and electrons transfer, provide abundant active sites for Mg2+ intercalation, and prevent structural collapse upon prolonged cycling.",battery
"Endoscopy allows inspection and biopsy of mucosal surfaces of the gastro-intestinal tract in addition to some therapeutic manoeuvres that would otherwise require a more invasive approach. Childhood endoscopy is most commonly indicated when the diagnoses of inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease or reflux oesophagitis are under consideration. By considering the symptoms of these more common childhood indications for endoscopy as potential indications for endoscopy, the non-specialist is likely to be referring many of the less common conditions requiring endoscopy for the procedure. Diagnostic upper gastroenterology and biopsy in skilled hands is a very safe procedure. Diagnostic colonoscopy carries a 1/1000 risk of perforation and therapeutic endoscopy is associated with the greatest risks of complication. The risks and benefits of endoscopy are considered in the setting of the clinical indication.",non-battery
"In this work, morphology-controlled lithium cobalt oxides (LCO) were obtained by a simple two-step method that involves a Co3O4 synthetic process, in which cubic and spherical Co3O4 were prepared by a hydrothermal method and a subsequent lithiation process with Li2CO3. The structures and morphologies of two materials were investigated by XRD, SEM and TEM. In contrast with the LCO prepared by using commercial Co3O4 precursor, the cubic and spherical LCO materials have an excellent performance in cyclic stability and rate capacity which is attributed to the better fluidity and less agglomeration with specific morphology of LCO materials.",battery
"Soil organic matter pools under contrasting long-term management systems provide insight into potentials for sequestering soil C, sustaining soil fertility and functioning of the soil–atmospheric interface. We compared soil C and N pools (total, particulate and microbial) under pastures (1) varying due to harvest technique (grazing or haying), species composition (cool- or warm-season), stand age and previous land use and (2) in comparison with other land uses. Grazed tall fescue-common bermudagrass pasture (20 yr old) had greater soil organic C (31%), total N (34%), particulate organic C (66%), particulate organic N (2.4 fold) and soil microbial biomass C (28%) at a depth of 0–200 mm than adjacent land in conservation-tillage cropland (24 yr old). Soil organic C and total N at a depth of 0–200 mm averaged 3800 and 294 g m−2, respectively, under grazed bermudagrass and 3112 and 219 g m−2, respectively, under hayed bermudagrass. A chronosequence of grazed tall fescue suggested soil organic N sequestration rates of 7.3, 4.4 and 0.6 g m−2 yr−1 to a depth of 200 mm during 0–10, 10–30 and 30–50 yr, respectively. Soil C storage under long-term grazed tall fescue was 85 to 88% of that under forest, whereas soil N storage was 77 to 90% greater under grazed tall fescue than under forest. Properly grazed pastures in the Southern Piedmont USA have great potential to restore natural soil fertility, sequester soil organic C and N and increase soil biological activity.",non-battery
"Although lithium-ion batteries are commonly used to our daily life, achieving superior properties in low-cost is still our current challenge. Here we report the fabrication of a bacteria-inspired, micro-/nanostructured Fe3O4-carbon/graphene foam hybrid material for lithium-ion battery anodes. The process employing biological adsorption is featured with low-cost and can have mass-production. Attributed to the graphene foam substrate, the fabricated micro-/nanostructure can be directly employed as a binder-free LIB anode without the need of complex treatments. The product used as an anode delivers a high reversible capacity of 1112mAhg−1 at the current density of 100mAg−1 even after 200 cycles, and exhibits good rate performance. These results demonstrate fabrication and electrochemical properties of a bacteria-inspired Fe3O4-carbon/graphene foam, suggesting a facile method for making anodes to be used in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"To mitigate emissions from the electricity and transportation sectors, large scale deployment of renewable energy generators and battery electric vehicles are expected in the coming decades. However, adoption of these technologies may exacerbate issues related to mismatch of electricity supply and demand. In this study, we utilize a hybrid capacity expansion and dispatch model to quantify grid impacts of the conversion of the entire road vehicle fleet to electric vehicles by 2050. We examine impacts of policies, such as targeting a renewable energy penetration of 93%, using British Columbia as a case study. Scenarios making use of utility controlled charging of vehicles to balance supply and demand are further analyzed. Results show that although electrifying the entire road vehicle fleet will require generation capacity to increase by up to 60%, relative to a scenario without electrification, levelized cost of electricity only increases by 9% in the same scenario due to availability of low cost generation options such as wind and solar. We also find that a 93% renewable energy target leads to carbon abatement costs 30% lower than a scenario where this policy is removed. Further use of utility controlled charging reduces total system capacity up to 7%.",battery
"Network management is increasingly being customised for green objectives due to roll out of mission-critical applications across the internet of things and execution, in a number of cases, on battery-constrained devices. In addition, the volume of operations across the internet of things is attracting climate change concerns. While operational efficiency of wireless devices and in data centres (which support operation of the internet of things) should not be achieved at the expense of Quality of Service, optimisation opportunities should be exploited and inefficient resource use minimised. Green networking approaches however, are not yet standardised, and there is scope for novel middleware architectures. In this paper, we explore operational efficiency from the perspective of activities in data centres which support the internet of things. This includes evaluation of the effectiveness of mechanisms integrated into the e-CAB framework, an algorithm proposed by the authors to manage next generation data centres with green objectives. A selection of its policy mechanisms have been implemented in the NS-2 Network Simulator to evaluate performance; configuration decisions are described in this paper and presented alongside experimental results which demonstrate optimisations achieved. Focus lies, in particular, on rate adaptation of its context discovery protocol which is responsible for capturing real-time network state. Performance results reveal a small overhead when applying network management and validate improved efficiency through adaption in response to environment dynamics.",non-battery
"Vision measurement systems have a reliable performance on ground, but it remains a challenge to apply commonly-used vision measurement systems (i.e. multi-camera systems and laser systems) in underwater environments. One of the most challenging issues is the transformation from an unscaled measurement to a scaled result, which is achieved by a calibration method and determinate the strategy used for underwater vision measurement. This paper proposes a novel monocular underwater calibration method underlying a simple underwater vision measurement system. Underwater unscaled measurement results are calculated by the dark channel prior model. These results are then processed by our calibration method, transforming the unscaled measurements to accurately scaled results. These measurement results finally are used to estimate the scaled 3D structure of underwater objects. Experimental results under natural open water show that our proposed method is reliable and efficient.
",non-battery
 This study examined individual and collective factors as predictors of change in global diet quality (DQ).,non-battery
"Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for tumor initiation and progression. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are highly expressed in cancer cells and associated with poor prognosis. However, a linkage between CSCs and TLRs is unclear, and potential intervention strategies to prevent TLR stimulation-induced CSC formation and underlying mechanisms are lacking. Here, we demonstrate that stimulation of toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) promotes breast cancer cells toward a CSC phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, conventional NF-κB signaling pathway is not exclusively responsible for TLR3 activation-enriched CSCs. Intriguingly, simultaneous activation of both β-catenin and NF-κB signaling pathways, but neither alone, is required for the enhanced CSC phenotypes. We have further identified a small molecule cardamonin that can concurrently inhibit β-catenin and NF-κB signals. Cardamonin is capable of effectively abolishing TLR3 activation-enhanced CSC phenotypes in vitro and successfully controlling TLR3 stimulation-induced tumor growth in human breast cancer xenografts. These findings may provide a foundation for developing new strategies to prevent the induction of CSCs during cancer therapies.
",non-battery
"This study was designed to examine the ability to recognize facial expressions of emotion in adults with Down's syndrome and analyze whether a specific deficit exists in recognising emotional facial expressions in this etiology. Specifically, face processing and recognition of emotional facial expressions was investigated in 20 adults with Down's syndrome and moderate intellectual disability, and the results were compared with those of adults control group matched for age and sex. The results indicate that adults with Down's syndrome show a response pattern similar to that shown by adults in the general population despite getting poorer performance in all facial processing tasks applied.",non-battery
"A new hyperbranched organic–inorganic hybrid electrolyte based on the use of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (cyanuric chloride, CC) as the coupling core to couple with oligo(oxyalkylene)-amines, followed by condensation with (3-glycidoxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane (GLYMO) and complexed with LiClO4, has been prepared and characterized. The Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher (VTF) like conductivity behavior is observed in the present organic–inorganic hybrid electrolytes with a maximum ionic conductivity value of 4.4×10−5 Scm−1 at 30°C. Multinuclear NMR techniques are used to provide a microscopic view for the specific interaction between the polymer chains and Li+ cations and their dynamic behaviors. The results of 2D 1H–13C wide-line separation (WISE) and 7Li static line NMR width measurements divulge that the mobility of the 7Li cations is strongly related to a dynamic environment created by the polymer motion in the amorphous phase. The combined results of conductivity and 7Li pulse-gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR self-diffusion coefficient measurements reveal that the conductivity enhancement at low salt concentrations is mainly caused by the high mobility of the lithium cations.",battery
"Layered manganese dioxide (MnO2) films intercalated with Li+, Na+ or Mg2+ ions were synthesized by a one-step electrochemical method. The electrodeposition was potentiostatically performed by applying an anodic potential of 1.0V vs. Ag/AgCl in an aqueous MnSO4 solution containing a perchlorate salt of the cation. The electrodeposited oxide films have a birnessite-type layered structure with alkali cations and water molecules between manganese oxide layers. The galvanostatic charge–discharge experiments performed in 1M LiPF6-DME/PC solution indicated that the Mg2+-intercalated MnO2 electrode exhibits an initial discharge capacity as large as 140mAhg−1 and it shows a better capacity retention during cycling as compared with the Li+- or Na+-intercalated MnO2 electrode.",battery
"This study involved the use of a flow circulation cell, using varying circulation rates as a room temperature process (20°C). Mössbauer and XRD analysis were conducted to ascertain whether amorphous or microcrystalline structures could be obtained at 20°C using a range of current densities. Amorphous or microcrystalline structures of Sn–Fe and Sn–Co–Fe have potentially important industrial applications for energy efficient cells, for use as high performance electrodes in lithium batteries, as environmentally acceptable corrosion resistant materials and are derived from an energy efficient environmentally friendly electrolyte process which would be acceptable as an industrial process. 
",non-battery
"The results of recent theoretical studies of features of superconducting states in hybrid structures whose properties are significantly determined by the spin–orbit effects have been reported. The two main phenomena appearing in such systems in the presence of additional spin splitting caused either by the Zeeman effect in a magnetic field or by the exchange field: (i) the generation of spontaneous currents and (ii) the appearance of topologically nontrivial superconducting phases. It has been shown that the spin–orbit coupling can be a key mechanism that allows implementing new inhomogeneous phase structures, in particular, the so-called “phase batteries.” The effect of geometric factors on the properties of topologically nontrivial superconducting states has been analyzed. New types of topological transitions in vortex states of Majorana wires have been proposed.",non-battery
"The purpose of this study was to investigate whether brain activity related to the presence of stuttering can be identified with rapid functional MRI (fMRI) sequences that involved overt and covert speech processing tasks. The long-term goal is to develop sensitive fMRI approaches with developmentally appropriate tasks to identify deviant speech motor and auditory brain activity in children who stutter closer to the age at which recovery from stuttering is documented. Rapid sequences may be preferred for individuals or populations who do not tolerate long scanning sessions. In this report, we document the application of a picture naming and phoneme monitoring task in 3min fMRI sequences with adults who stutter (AWS). If relevant brain differences are found in AWS with these approaches that conform to previous reports, then these approaches can be extended to younger populations. Pairwise contrasts of brain BOLD activity between AWS and normally fluent adults indicated the AWS showed higher BOLD activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right temporal lobe and sensorimotor cortices during picture naming and higher activity in the right IFG during phoneme monitoring. The right lateralized pattern of BOLD activity together with higher activity in sensorimotor cortices is consistent with previous reports, which indicates rapid fMRI sequences can be considered for investigating stuttering in younger participants. Educational objectives: The reader will learn about and be able to describe the: (1) use of functional MRI to study persistent developmental stuttering; (2) differences in brain activation between persons who stutter and normally fluent speakers; and (3) potential benefit of time efficient fMRI sequences combined with a range of speech processing tasks for investigating stuttering in younger populations.",non-battery
"In order to elucidate the structural change of Li x CoO2 with temperature (T), powder X-ray diffraction measurements have been carried out using a synchrotron radiation source in the T range between 300 and 90K for the samples with x = 1.02 , 0.60, 0.56, and 0.53. The samples with x < 1.02 were prepared by an electrochemical reaction in a non-aqueous lithium cell. The x = 1.02 and 0.60 samples are in a rhombohedral phase ( R 3 ¯ m ) in the whole T range measured. On the other hand, the x = 0.56 and 0.53 samples exhibit a structural transition around 140K, although the both samples are in a monoclinic phase ( C 2 / m ) down to 90K. That is, the angle between a M - and c M -axis ( β M ) increases monotonically down to 150K, then increases more rapidly with further lowering T. The values of Δ β and a M / b M , which are parameters to characterize a monoclinic distortion from the hexagonal symmetry, are Δ β > + 0.6 ° and a M / b M < 1.732 above 140K, while Δ β < + 0.6 ° and a M / b M ≈ 1.732 below 140K. This suggests that the monoclinic distortion below 140K is mainly caused by a gliding along the basal plane.",battery
"Real-time awareness of radio spectrum use across frequency, geography and time is crucial to effective communications and information gathering in congested airway environments, yet acquiring this awareness presents a challenging sensing and data integration problem. A recent proposal has argued that real-time generation of spectrum usage maps might be possible through the use of existing radios in the area of interest, by exploiting their sensing capacity when they are not otherwise being used. In this paper, we assume this approach and consider the task allocation problem that it presents. We focus specifically on the development of a network-level middleware for task management, that assigns resources to prospective mapping applications based on a distributed model of device availability, and allows mapping applications (and other related RF applications) to specify what is required without worrying about how it will be accomplished. A distributed, auction-based framework is specified for task assignment and coordination, and instantiated with a family of minimum set cover algorithms for addressing “coverage” tasks. An experimental analysis is performed to investigate and quantify two types of performance benefits: (1) the basic advantage gained by exploiting knowledge of device availability, and (2) the additional advantage gained by adding redundancy in subregions where the probability of availability of assigned devices is low. To assess the effectiveness of our minimum set cover algorithms, we compute optimal solutions to a static version of the real-time coverage problem and compare performance of the algorithms to these upper bound solutions.
",non-battery
"This paper presents a method to find the optimal location, selection, and operation of energy storage systems (ESS- batteries-) and capacitors banks (CB) in distribution systems (DS). A mixed-integer non-linear programming model is proposed to formulate the problem. In this model, the minimization of energy loss in the DS is selected as an objective function. As constraints are considered: the active and reactive energy balance, voltage regulation, the total number energy storage devices that can be installed into network, as well as the operative bounds associated with the ESS (time of charge-discharge and energy capabilities). Three operating scenarios for the DS are analyzed by adopting the method proposed in this work. The first scenario is an evaluation of the base case (without batteries and CB), in which the initial conditions of the DS are determined. The second scenario considers the location of the ESS composed by redox flow batteries. Finally, the third scenario includes the installation of REDOX flow batteries with CB in parallel to correct operating problems generated by battery charging, and improve their impact on the grid. A master-slave strategy is adopted to solve the problem here discussed, implementing a Chu & Beasley genetic algorithm in both stages as an optimization technique. The proposed method is tested in a 69-node test feeder, where numerical results demonstrate its effectiveness.",battery
"The lithium intercalation effects on the electronic states and the chemical bonding of spinel Li x Mn2O4 (x=0,1,2) have been investigated by the DV-Xα molecular orbital method. It is found that charge transfer takes place mostly from the Li ions to the O ions, but not to the Mn ions, when Li is intercalated into either the tetrahedral site or the octahedral site surrounded by the O ions in the compounds. Also, it is shown that these lithium intercalation compounds are characteristic of the host skeleton frame of Mn and O ions, which can flexibly accommodate the intercalated Li ions while maintaining the original electronic states as much as possible through the suitable structure relaxation.",battery
"In situ neutron diffraction was employed to investigate the structural evolution of the electrode materials in an ICR 10440 commercial cylindrical lithium-ion battery, which has a discharge capacity of 360 mAh and a nominal voltage of 3.7 V. A three-phase mixture of Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2, LiCoO2 and LiMn2O4 was identified as the active material of the cathode, with graphite acting as the anode material. The study revealed that the graphite anode underwent structural changes to form a series of insertion-type lithiated derivatives, with up to 12.7% volume expansion for the Li-saturated compound LiC6. The charge-discharge behavior was more complex for the cathode. Here, the charge process was associated with partial lithium depletion from the initially Li-saturated compounds, leading to volume shrinkage for Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2, in contrast to (Ni,Mn)-free LiCoO2. Electrochemical discharge experiments performed under a fast regime (2 C) at 5, 25 and 45 °C revealed that the discharge capacity followed the trend of an increased diffusion rate of Li+ ions in the electrolyte and Li atoms in both electrodes, being highest for 45 °C. At the lowest tested temperature (5 °C), a rapid drop in the discharge capacity took place using the same kinetic regime.",battery
"Si–carbon composite prepared by mechanical milling showed good cyclic capacity retention until the utilization of Si was limited below 32%, whereas the retention of a Si–Cu–carbon composite obtained by two-step mechanical milling was maintained up to 55%. A comparison between the first charge curves of a Si–carbon composite and a Si–Cu–carbon composite at 0.1C, indicated that the Si–carbon composite underwent a much higher polarization than the Si–Cu–carbon composite, leading to the difference in utilization of Si. Impedance spectroscopy let us confirm that the electrochemical alloying between Si and Li+ is much easier in the Si–Cu–carbon composite than in the Si–carbon composite. The superiority of the Si–Cu–carbon composite in kinetics enabled its electrode to have a more homogeneous Li+ concentration after Li+ insertion. Because this phenomenon means that the Si–Cu–carbon composite has a more homogeneous volume expansion than the Si–carbon composite, the disparity in electrochemical performance between the Si–carbon composite and the Si–Cu–carbon composite was attributed to enhanced Li+ transfer in the Si–Cu–carbon composite.",battery
"Unknown ‘Note: Page numbers followed by “f” indicate figures, “t” indicate tables.’",non-battery
"The microstructures and discharge products of Mg-6%Al-3%Zn and Mg-6%Al-3%Zn-0.5%In alloys are investigated by morphology observation, phase characterization, and composition analysis. Hydrogen collection, weight-loss measurement, and electrochemical tests are conducted to discuss their corrosion and discharge behaviors. An indium aroused dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism for Mg activation is proposed. Results suggest that the dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism can suitably interpret the indium-activation effect. Indium addition into Mg promotes Mg dissolution through synergistic effects, which involve increasing the second-phase amount, generating less-protective products, promoting products self-peeling, and dissolution–reprecipitation of indium. The homogenized Mg-Al-Zn-In alloy performs desirable corrosion resistance and discharge capability and thus is a promising candidate for applications as anode materials.",battery
"LiCoO2 thin-films have been grown by RF magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates covered with gold. As-grown films deposited at substrate temperature 500°C were identified by XRD and RS as an HT hexagonal phase. The structure of the films prepared at substrate temperatures <300°C were less well defined. Nevertheless, the films prepared at 200°C have better electrochemical properties than the films prepared at higher temperatures. The determination of the composition of thin-films showed that the composition approaches to the stoichiometric one for discharge power of 60W irrespective of substrate temperature. In other cases, a slight excess of Li was found. The films have promising properties to be used as cathodes in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.",battery
"The approach to optimal control for distributed battery energy storage systems (BESS) has recently been closely investigated and implemented by numerous experts. The management of the power balance based on the dischargeable energy of each battery is the main issue in this type of BESS control. In this regard, the performance of power sharing between Battery Energy Storage Units (BESUs) with different States of Charge (SoC) can be enhanced. Based on the traditional droop control, the sharing of power between different BESUs is based on power capacities, rather than on energy levels; it thus causes some limitations for the ideal injection and absorption of energy by the energy storage system. In this paper, a decentralized control method for SoC is proposed, based on a modified droop control method in which the SoC of each BESU is balanced during the discharge process. The droop coefficients should be set to be inversely proportional to the SoC of each BESU. Using this control strategy, the storage unit with the highest SoC provides more power to support the load, while the unit with lower SoC provides less power. Thus, the output power of each converter will be proportional to each SoC. The method is validated using simulation results from PSCAD/EMTDC software.",battery
"While SnO2 is regarded as a good material for Li ion storage because of its high theoretical capacity, its microstructured powder form cannot be directly used as battery electrode because of a drastic pulverization problem and thus poor cyclic performance. Nanostructuring offers opportunities to circumvent this drawback. We report the construction of SnO2 nanoflake branches onto robust TiO2 nanotube stems. This core-branch nanostructured electrode demonstrate evidently improved Li ion storage properties compared to powders, with more stable cycling processes and higher rate capability. In this design, the TiO2 nanotube stems are realized by atomic layer deposition and offer a low-mass scaffold for the SnO2 nanoflakes and also a charge conductive path.",battery
"Anion species are proved to have a significant influence on orientation, agglomeration and defect control of crystal growth for LiMn0.9Fe0.1PO4 nano-particles prepared by solvothermal synthesis. SO4 2− is helpful for high dispersity, while Cl− benefits accurate molar ratio control of transition metals in LiMn0.9Fe0.1PO4. Various LiMn0.9Fe0.1PO4 particles, being agglomerative spindles or mono-dispersed uniform nano-flakes, can be obtained by just tuning [Cl−]:[SO4 2−] ratio, and present dramatically different electrochemical performances. Though the as-prepared samples possess similar reversible capacities around 130 mAh g−1 at low C-rate, they show very different rate performances depending on morphology of the particles.",battery
"A thermal model of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4/C electrochemical system has been developed. The thermal model is based on the thermal characteristic and related calculation for full charged LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and full discharged carbon materials, respectively. According to simulations on the thermal stability of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4/C electrochemical system, there is one exothermic process for the full charged LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and two for the full discharged carbon. The first exothermic reaction for carbon material should be the best explanation for the initially self-heating of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4/C electrochemical system. It is the reactions between LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and the electrolyte that make the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4/C cell going into thermal runway. The simulated result shows a good consistency with the testing result, so this simulation method can provide a significant basis for the thermal and safety design of batteries.",battery
"To improve the electrochemical performances of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries and extend their cycle life, a mulberry-like Al-doped ZnO (AZO) particles decorating carbon cluster composite (C@AZO cluster) is synthesized as the Li-S cathode material. The C@AZO/S composite, with the sulfur content of 70 wt% and the sulfur mass loading of 2.2 mg cm−2, delivers a high initial specific capacity of 974.2 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.5C (1C = 1675 mAh g−1) and a low capacity decay of 0.12% per cycle over 300 cycles. In this composite, the interconnected primary carbon spheres decorated by conductive AZO particles provide a fast charge transmission network which could greatly enhance the reaction kinetics and rate performance of Li-S batteries. Meanwhile, the integrated architecture of carbon cluster and the polarity brought by AZO could effectively reduce the dissolution of polysulfides to improve the cycle stability.",battery
"The electrochemical polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDT) was studied in microemulsions containing polyoxyethylene-10-laurylether as a non-ionic micellar surfactant. This allows to increase the solubility of the monomer in an aqueous solution. Thereby, the surfactant affects the transport of EDT. Capacity measurements and cyclic voltammetry on bare Pt show the influence of the surfactant by adsorption on the metal, too. An adsorption on the polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDT) surface could not be proved. Combined charge transfer and diffusion limitations control the electropolymerization kinetics at low monomer and surfactant concentrations. Charge transfer becomes limiting at high EDT concentrations. Apparent diffusion coefficients and the charge transfer coefficient of the electrochemical reaction were obtained from RDE experiments. The redox activity, UV/VIS spectra and surface morphology (from SEM pictures) depend on the polymerization potential and the solution composition. Best films were obtained at low potentials in LiClO4. At high potentials overoxidation of the polymer takes place, but an incorporation of the surfactant could not be detected.",battery
"Recently, M13 bacteriophage has started to be widely used as a functional nanomaterial for various electrical, chemical, or optical applications, such as battery components, photovoltaic cells, sensors, and optics. In addition, the use of M13 bacteriophage has expanded into novel research, such as exciton transporting. In these applications, the versatility of M13 phage is a result of its nontoxic, self-assembling, and specific binding properties. For these reasons, M13 phage is the most powerful candidate as a receptor for transducing chemical or optical phenomena of various analytes into electrical or optical signal. In this review, we will overview the recent progress in optical sensing applications of M13 phage. The structural and functional characters of M13 phage will be described and the recent results in optical sensing application using fluorescence, surface plasmon resonance, Förster resonance energy transfer, and surface enhanced Raman scattering will be outlined.
",non-battery
 Baseline data are reported from a study of the effects of zinc supplementation on cognitive function in older adults as assessed by the CANTAB computerised test battery.,non-battery
"The electrochemical stability of non-precious FeCo-EDA and commercial Pt/C cathode catalysts for zinc air battery have been compared using accelerated degradation test (ADT) in alkaline condition. Outstanding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) stability of the FeCo-EDA catalyst was observed compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The FeCo-EDA catalyst retained 80% of the initial mass activity for ORR whereas the commercial Pt/C catalyst retained only 32% of the initial mass activity after ADT. Additionally, the FeCo-EDA catalyst exhibited a nearly three times higher mass activity compared to that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst after ADT. Furthermore, single cell test of the FeCo-EDA and Pt/C catalysts was performed where both catalysts exhibited pseudolinear behaviour in the 12–500mAcm−2 range. In addition, 67% higher peak power density was observed from the FeCo-EDA catalyst compared with commercial Pt/C. Based on the half cell and single cell tests the non-precious FeCo-EDA catalyst is a very promising ORR electrocatalyst for zinc air battery.",battery
"Transition metal selenides (TMSs) have been considering as a kind of promising alternative anode materials for the application of sodium ion batteries due to their high electrical conductivity and high capacity. Here, hollow NiCoSe2 microspheres was prepared via an easy hydrothermal method, followed by the dopamine derived N-doped carbon coated which formed the hollow NiCoSe2@C composite. As-prepared hollow NiCoSe2@C composite has been first used as a new anode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Our selenides displays a quite good electrochemical sodium storage performance. For example, the reversible capacity of as-prepared hollow NiCoSe2@C composite electrode can be maintained at 464.7 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 200 cycles. Moreover, the rate performance of the hollow NiCoSe2@C composite is outstanding. The reversible capacities of 425.3, 420.8, 403.2, 394.7, 378.7, 367.8 and 337.5 mAh g−1 can be achieved at the current densities of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 5000 mA g−1, respectively. Meanwhile, hollow NiCoSe2@C composite electrode exhibits a high discharge capacity of 338 mAh g−1 at a relatively high current density of 0.5 A g−1 after 250 cycles. In addition, the kinetic analysis of electrochemical Na + storage properties of the hollow NiCoSe2@C composite demonstrates that the extrinsic pseudo capacitive behaviour contributes significantly to excellent rate performance and good long-term cycling life. This method can be used to modify the morphologies and structures of the other TMSs for the development of new anode materials as anode materials in the application of sodium ion batteries.",battery
"The transport of lithium through sputter-deposited lithium cobalt dioxide thin film electrode was investigated by analysis of cyclic voltammogram (CV). Anodic and cathodic peaks on CV were highly asymmetric to each other in shape, and anodic peak current was larger than cathodic peak current in value. In addition, the anodic peak current I anod varied linearly with scan rate ν to the power 0.66–0.69 (i.e. I anod∝ν 0.66 to ν 0.69), over the scan rate range of two orders of magnitude, irrespective of the surface roughness of the oxide film. The CVs were simulated as a function of the scan rate at various chemical diffusivities, D ̃ Li + of lithium in the oxide by numerical analysis, assuming ‘cell-impedance controlled’ lithium transport across the electrode∣electrolyte interface. Especially the numerically simulated CVs at D ̃ Li + =10−10 cm2 s−1 quantitatively shared those experimentally obtained. This D ̃ Li + value was in good accordance with that value determined from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The effect of D ̃ Li + on peak current and peak potential during the ‘cell-impedance controlled’ lithium transport was also discussed.",battery
"A new control strategy including multiband stabilizers is designed for battery energy storage system (BESS). The introduced control scheme includes two internal control loops equipped with internal proportional-integral (PI) type controllers for active and reactive power control. These control loops are also equipped with multiband stabilizers. All controllers (i.e., internal controllers and multiband stabilizers) are simultaneously tuned by Meta-heuristic optimization techniques. Several disturbances are applied and simulated. The viability and effectiveness of the introduced method is verified through various nonlinear simulations and comparative studies.",non-battery
"Organic coating strategies for corrosion protection with inherently conducting polymers have become important because of restriction on the use of heavy metals and chromates in coatings due to their environmental problems. This work presents the synthesis of polyaniline–TiO2 composites (PTC) and the corrosion protection behaviour of PTC containing coating on steel. PTC was prepared by chemical oxidation of aniline and TiO2 by ammonium persulfate in phosphoric acid medium. The PTC was characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM techniques. Suitable coating with PTC was formed on steel using acrylic resin. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the PTC containing coating's behaviour in 3% NaCl immersion test and salt spray test has been found out. Results indicate that the coating containing PTC is able to maintain the potential of steel in passive region due to its redox property. The resistance of the coating containing PTC was more than 107 Ωcm2 in 3% NaCl solution after 60 days and 109 Ωcm2 in the salt spray test of 35 days. But the resistance of the TiO2 containing coating was found to be less than 104 Ωcm2 in both the cases. The high performance of PTC containing coating is attributed to the passivation of steel by polyaniline.",battery
"Renewable energy technologies׳ systems are major components of the strategy to reduce harmful emissions and deal with depleting energy resources. It is necessary to deploy renewable energy sources in the best possible way such that cost is minimized and generation is maximized. In this paper, we present a review of different optimization methods for deployment and operation of renewable energy sources based generating units. Unlike other existing reviews, we carry out a general review of this research area, without limiting ourselves to any particular issue or geographic location. We examine this area with respect to different types of renewable energy sources, different modes of operations, types of objective functions for optimization and different geographical areas from which research publication are emanating. We present a general resource allocation problem and specify different possibilities for input, output, objective function and constraints. In addition, we review different objectives used in defining the optimization problems. We also present different types of linear and non-linear optimization algorithms used in renewable energy sources. Finally, we review optimization techniques for applications with respect to different end users.",battery
"Previous research has shown that polymorphisms of the apolipoproteins E (APOE) and APOC1 represent genetic risk factors for dementia and for cognitive impairment in the elderly. The brain mechanisms by which these genetic variations affect behavior or clinical severity are poorly understood. We studied the effect of APOE and APOC1 genes on magnetic resonance imaging measures in a sample of 50 subjects with age-associated memory impairment. The APOE E4 allele was associated with reduced left hippocampal volumes and APOE*E3 status was associated with greater frontal lobe white matter volumes. However, no APOE effects were observed when analyses accounted for other potential confounding variables. The effects of APOC1 on hippocampal volumes appeared to be more robust than those of the APOE polymorphism. However, no modulatory effects on brain morphology outside the medial temporal lobe region were observed when demographic variables, clinical status, and other anatomical brain measurements were taken into consideration. Our results suggest that the role of the APOC1 polymorphism in brain morphology of the cognitively impaired elderly should be examined in further studies.",non-battery
"Time estimation was examined in 148 older good and poor sleepers in analogue and naturalistic sleep settings. On analogue tasks, both “empty” time and time listening to an audiobook were overestimated by both good and poor sleepers. There were no differences between groups. “Empty” time was experienced as “dragging.” In the sleep setting, most poor sleepers underestimated nocturnal sleep and overestimated awake times related to their own sleep problem: sleep onset vs. sleep maintenance insomnia. Good sleepers did the opposite. Severity of sleep problem and size of time estimation errors were unrelated. Greater night-to-night wake time variability was experienced by poor than by good sleepers. Psychological adjustment was unrelated to time estimations and to magnification or minimization of sleep problems. The results suggest that for poor sleepers who magnify their sleep problem, self-monitoring can be of benefit by demonstrating that the sleep problem is not as severe as believed.",non-battery
"Cell transplantation with embryonic stem (ES) cell progeny requires immunological compatibility with host tissue. 'Therapeutic cloning' is a strategy to overcome this limitation by generating nuclear transfer (nt)ES cells that are genetically matched to an individual. Here we establish the feasibility of treating individual mice via therapeutic cloning. Derivation of 187 ntES cell lines from 24 parkinsonian mice, dopaminergic differentiation, and transplantation into individually matched host mice showed therapeutic efficacy and lack of immunological response.
",non-battery
"Antimony (Sb) is an attractive anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) with a high theoretical capacity of 660 mAh g−1. However, its practical application is greatly hindered by the rapid capacity fading which is largely due to the large volume expansion during sodiation. Tuning the morphology and structure at the nanoscale or using carbonaceous materials as the buffer layer is essential to address this issue. Here, a facile carbon-coating coupled with a thermal-reduction strategy has been developed to synthesize unique Sb@C coaxial nanotubes. With different annealing time, the hollow space and the amount of Sb inside the tube can be easily tuned by the partial evaporation of Sb. The as-obtained Sb@C nanotubes exhibit excellent sodium storage properties. The remarkable electrochemical performance results from the unique coaxial nanoarchitecture. Specifically, it delivers a high specific capacity of 407 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 240 cycles. Furthermore, a stable capacity of 240 mAh g−1 can be retained at 1.0 A g−1 even after 2000 cycles. Most importantly, high capacities of 350 mAh g−1 and 310 mAh g−1 can be achieved at large current densities of 10 and 20 A g−1, respectively, which represents the best rate performance among the reported Sb-based anode materials.
",battery
"Lead–calcium–tin alloys are extensively used as electrodes in acid batteries. They are synthesised by casting/hardening and subject to microstructural evolution during use. The change from an “aged” metallurgic structure to an “over-aged” structure is associated, in particular, with a deterioration of mechanical properties. The determination of the Pb–Ca–Sn ternary phase diagram, and in particular the evolution of the limits of solubility of calcium and tin in a lead matrix as a function of the temperature, is essential to appreciate the oversaturation degree after hardening and to optimise the necessary thermal treatment to obtain the stabilisation of the aged state. Some experimental measurements were carried out (radiocrystallography, differential thermal analyses, microprobe, …) for the x(Ca)≤0.25 composition domain. They have allowed putting in light the inconsistencies between experimental data provided by the literature. Phase boundaries information was used to model the Pb–Ca–Sn system with a CALPHAD approach. Related thermodynamic databank is presented in this paper.",battery
"A two-dimensional and steady-state model of the vanadium redox flow battery with an interdigitated channel and a thin active electrode was developed to visualize the flow velocity, concentrations of the reactants, and local current distribution in the through-plane direction of the electrode sheets. The concentration overpotential was increased in the low flow speed region. The low mass transport coefficient by a slow flow speed resulted in a higher concentration overpotential. The mass flux distributions at the state of charge of 20% were strongly dependent on the flow speeds due to low bulk concentration of the reactants. Based on the visualized data, not only the reactivity improvement of the electrode material but also the advanced design of the porous electrode structure for a high flow permeability of the electrolyte solution are essential to improve the cell voltage during discharge.",battery
"This study identified age differences in time-based prospective memory performance in school-aged children and explored possible cognitive correlates of age-related performance. A total of 56 7- to 12-year-olds performed a prospective memory task in which prospective memory accuracy, ongoing task performance, and time monitoring were assessed. Additional tests of time estimation, working memory, task switching, and planning were performed. Results showed a robust relationship between age and prospective memory performance even after controlling for ongoing task performance. Developmental differences in time monitoring were also observed, with older children generally adopting a more strategic monitoring strategy than younger children. The majority of age-related variance in prospective memory task performance could be explained by cognitive resources, in particular planning and task switching. In contrast, no further independent contribution of time estimation was observed. Findings are in line with the development of strategic behavior, as well as executive functioning, in school-aged children.",non-battery
"Preparation of indium doped tin antimony (SnSb) alloy is achieved with simple co-precipitation technique. Structural analysis from XRD and Raman spectra shows the phase purity, crystallinity of the synthesized alloys. From XRD data calculated crystallite sizes are 35nm for SnSb:In and 21nm for pristine. SEM-Morphological images show spherical nature of the synthesized particles. Electrical conductivity analyses carried out via AC impedance spectra for both the samples at the frequency range of 100kHz to 100mHz reveal the improved bulk conductivity of doped SnSb. Better electrochemical lithiation and de-lithiation behavior of SnSb:In than SnSb is observed from cyclic voltammogram in organic and aqueous electrolytes. From cyclic voltammetry analysis the reversible nature and the ability to provide stable capacitance over higher number of cycles are observed which is desirable for a potential anode material to be used in Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Frequency dynamics, occurring due to the high penetration of the renewable energy in the microgrid (MG) are of great concern to the system dynamic stability. The battery energy storage systems are reported to have a good frequency regulating ability in the off-grid microgrid systems. However, to compensate the power irregularities, the battery is needed to charge and discharge at a high frequency, which degrades its lifetime significantly. In addition, in the primary frequency control (PFC) the battery needs to deal with the abrupt power changes, which will also accelerate the battery degradation process. In this regard, this paper presents a new concept of primary frequency control by integrating the superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) with battery, thus achieving the ability of not only performing a good frequency regulating function but also extending the battery service time. A novel power sharing method using the dynamic droop factors to control charge/discharge prioritization between the SMES and the battery is proposed and has been proved to have a better operation than the preceding droop control. A microgrid system based on the case of Uligam Island of Maldives is developed in the PSCAD, verifying the performance of PFC with the hybrid energy storage system (HESS) using the dynamic droop control. The results show that the HESSs have a better frequency regulating ability and the proposed dynamic droop control is capable of exploiting the different characteristics of both SMES and battery, forming a kind of complementary hybrid energy storage system. Moreover, the battery in the new control scheme is better protected from the short-term frequent cycles and abrupt currents, hence has been proved to have a longer lifetime extension.",battery
"Sn-rich La–Co–Sn ternary alloys were obtained by arc-melting process and subsequent ball-milling. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the structure and morphology of the obtained alloys. In addition, the galvanoststic discharge/charge test, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out to characterize the electrochemical properties of these alloys as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. It is found that all the as-cast La–Co–Sn ternary alloys have the same main phase of La3Co4Sn13 and low electrochemical capacities. Among these alloys, the as-cast LaCoSn4 alloy exhibits the best electrochemical performance. The ball-milling process results in the reduced cystallinity, and the enhanced electrochemical capacities as compared to the as-cast alloy. In particular, the LaCoSn4 alloy, obtained after ball-milling for 16h, provides the higher reversible discharge capacity and the better cycle stability.",battery
"High-performance electrocatalysts play a vital role in various sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies. Although enormous carbon-based materials have been developed and exhibited efficient electrocatalytic ability comparable to precious metal catalysts, the obtained blurry structure seriously hampered the understanding of the nature of electrocatalysis. Pyrolysis-free polymers are a competitive type of materials owing to their high-density uniform building units, tailorable chemical structure and diverse topology structure, which demonstrate promising catalytic performances for multifarious important reactions. In particular, the absence of a pyrolysis process promises well-preserved active sites, laying a solid foundation for mechanism research. In this review, the recent developments of pyrolysis-free polymers including porous organic polymers, metal organic frameworks, and linear conjugated polymers for oxygen electrocatalysis are summarized. The engineering strategies and their influence on boosting the electrocatalytic performance are concluded, particularly the impact of electronic structure engineering and hybrid synergistic effect. Finally, we further discuss current challenges and future directions for maximizing the advantages of polymer-based electrocatalysts without pyrolysis. This review aims to highlight the importance of pyrolysis-free polymer-based electrocatalysts and their potential to become the guideline for preparing high practical value catalysts by virtue of their clear structure–activity relationship.
",battery
"In the last years, there has been growing evidence linking elevated homocysteine levels with cognitive dysfunction in several neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential relationship between elevated homocysteine levels and cognitive deficits in first-episode psychosis patients. Plasma levels and cognitive performance of 139 patients and 99 healthy volunteers were compared. Patients were classified as elevated homocysteine (>90 percentile for controls) and normal and compared on 22 cognitive outcome measures grouped into cognitive domains known to be impaired in schizophrenia. Patients had a statistically significant increase in plasmatic homocysteine levels. In addition, they presented with significantly increased cognitive deficits. However, no relationship between homocysteine levels and cognitive impairment was detected. These results suggest the need for further studies to clarify the role of homocysteine in the etiology and prognosis of psychosis.
",non-battery
"Local authorities need updated and reliable data on the quantity and the quality of the waste generated in their area, in order to establish an integrated solid waste management system capable of fulfilling regional and national waste management targets. This paper presents information about the quantity and the characteristics of the municipal solid waste generated in Thessaloniki, which is the second largest city in Greece. It is based on the results of three research programs investigating the evolution of municipal solid waste. The investigations were carried out over the last 20 years at the landfill of Thessaloniki by the same research group using statistically acceptable practices for sampling and hand sorting. The results show a great increase in the incoming quantities during the last years and a significant increase of the per capita generation. There is also a significant change in the composition, demonstrated mainly by a decrease in the organic fraction followed by an increase of packaging materials (paper and plastic).",non-battery
"The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long term effect of abrasivity of toothpastes normally used over the surface and mechanical properties of dental casting alloys. Three dental casting alloys (Ni–Cr, Co–Cr, c.p. Ti) and one ceramic were chosen. Four specimens of each material were immersed in artificial saliva, brushed without or with one of four toothpastes of different Relative Dentine Abrasivity (RDA 50, 52, 80, and 114). An electric toothbrush with a load of 250 g was used for 420 min. Mass loss was determined by difference in weight, microhardness and surface roughness were also measured. Two-way ANOVA and non-parametric tests were used to detect significant differences. Titanium specimens (478 μg/cm2) exhibited the most mass loss, whereas ceramic (282 μg/cm2) and Co–Cr (262 μg/cm2) exhibited the least. However, ceramic demonstrated the most volume loss (0.239 mm3). The abrasivity effect of the toothpaste correlated with the RDA values. Slight variations in microhardness were observed after toothbrushing and depended on the material but not on the toothpaste used. Material surfaces were slightly smoothed by toothbrushing but no significant differences were detected. Dental casting alloys and ceramic are susceptible to abrasion by brushing with an electric toothbrush depending on the RDA value of the toothpaste. Variations in microhardness and surface roughness were not clinically relevant.
",non-battery
"A facile electrospinning route for one-step synthesis of Fe3O4/C nanotubes has been developed depending on the separation of mineral oil and polyacrylonitrile in N, N-dimethylformamide solvent followed by stabilization and carbonization. The obtained Fe3O4 nanoparticles with diameter 10 to 100nm were uniformly embedded into highly conductive carbon nanotube wall. The carbon combined conducting, buffering and confining effects during electrochemical cycling. In addition, the hollow tubular structure with more space can accommodate large volume changes of Fe3O4 associated with Li ions insertion/extraction, and increase the surface area accessible to the electrolyte, facilitating the Li ions diffusion at the interior and exterior of the nanotube. The half cells based on Fe3O4/C nanotubes exhibit an unexpected cycling stability with capacity of 600mAhg−1 after 100 cycles. These results are encouraging for the development of Fe3O4/C nanotubes as potential building blocks for high-performance anodes in LIBs.",battery
"Herein, we provide critical information via first-principles calculations to solve one of the major problems of Li−O2 batteries, namely, large overpotentials during the charge–discharge process. First, we found that PtCo exhibits remarkably low oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotentials of 0.19 and 0.20V, respectively. These are considerably lower than those of pure Pt (1.02 and 1.62V, respectively) and of high-performance Pt3Co (1.02 and 1.13V, respectively). The composition optimization of bimetallic catalysts is therefore critical in developing an optimal Li−O2 battery catalyst with an overpotential of nearly zero. Second, our calculations demonstrate that replacing the late transition metal Co in Pt3Co with the early transition metal Ti significantly decreases overpotentials, yielding ORR and OER overpotentials of 0.34 and 0.82V, respectively. These results are opposite to those obtained for fuel cells. Notably, our results suggest that a bimetallic catalyst with poor catalytic activity in fuel cells might show excellent activity in Li−O2 cells. In particular, combinations of active Pt with early transition metals should be studied for development of bimetallic catalysts with high round-trip efficiency in Li−O2 batteries. Finally, we suggest that the adsorption energies of Li and LiO2 are critical descriptors of catalytic activity and that they should be used to screen new candidate materials. This is because low ORR and OER overpotentials are closely related to strong Li and weak LiO2 adsorptions, respectively, on the catalytic surface.",battery
"In this study, we present a novel anode architecture for high-performance lithium-ion batteries based on a Silicon/3-aminosilane-functionalized CNT/Carbon (Si/A-CNT/C) composite. A high-yield, low-cost approach has been developed to stabilize and support silicon as an active anode material. Silicon (Si) nanoparticles synthesized in a hot-wall reactor and aminosilane-functionalized carbon nanotubes (A-CNT) were dispersed in styrene and divinylbenzene (DVB) and subsequently polymerized forming a porous Si/A-CNT/C composite. Transmission electron microscopy showed that this method enables the interconnection and a uniform encapsulation of Si nanoparticles within a porous carbon matrix especially using aminosilane-functionalized CNT (A-CNT). Electrochemical characterization shows that this material can deliver a delithiation capacity of 2293 mAh g−1 with a capacity retention of more than 90 % after 200 cycles at lithiation and delithiation rate of 0.5 C. We conclude that the porous Si/A-CNT/C composite material can accommodate sufficient space for Si volume expansion and extraction and improve the electronic and ionic conduction. Excellent electrochemical performance during repeated cycling can thus be achieved.
",battery
" Nitridated LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 was prepared by a solid-state reaction followed by nitridation to investigate the effect of nitrogen on the structural and electrochemical performance of LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries. The structural and morphological features of the synthesized samples were characterized by various techniques. X-ray photoelectron spectrometer analysis revealed the existence of a trace amount of nitrogen on the surface and slight changes in Mn and Ni valence states. Electrochemical studies on the nitridated LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 was conducted using the galvanostatic charge–discharge process and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The nitridated LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 exhibited enhanced cyclability and rate capability compared with LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4, which originated from the improved electrical conductivity caused by increased proximity between active Ni redox centers as well as the increased number of Mn3+ hopping carriers.",battery
"Human activity generates an environmental impact increasingly important including in the field of transport and portable electronics. It is therefore essential to develop of new technologies capable of producing and storing electrical energy. In this context, organic material based battery can constitute an interesting alternative compared to inorganic ones. Less costly and toxic and allowing to involve other alkali cation (rather than Li+), since few years such materials are evoked in literature. However, their performance yet do not compete with that of involving inorganic cathodic material (i.e. Lithium iron phosphate). In this context, multi electron process can be the way to reach high performance organic compounds. This can be done using phenothiazine which, through an adapted chemical modification, can undergo a two electron oxidation in the potential window stability of classical electrolyte. This work is dedicated to the impact of N-methyl-phenothiazine chemical modification on its electrochemical behavior. The stability of oxidized forms of modified phenothiazine is investigated helping to select the best monomer to be involved as cathodic polymer material in battery.",battery
"We have established a novel and solvent-free synthesis of superior performance Sn/C anode derived from binary metal oxides which initiated the outward growth of ZIF-8 approach. The obtained anode has highly dispersed Sn nanoparticles wrapped in nitrogen-rich carbon with a 3D continuous conductive framework and a high Sn content of 82.3wt% Binary metal oxide (ZnSnO3) is chosen together with imidazole to direct ZIF-8 growing around tin oxides according to the theory of hard and soft acids and bases. This ensures an encapsulation of tin oxides with high dispersion into ZIF-8. Subsequent pyrolysis allows the outward growth of ZIF-8 convert into a continuous and nitrogen-rich (5.3wt%) carbon network with good conductivity. Meanwhile, tin oxides are reduced to Sn nanoparticles by carbothermal reduction and the reduced zinc consequently evaporates to create open pores which contribute to fast transportation of lithium-ions and electrons. Consequently, the Sn/C anode presents an initial discharge capacity of 1321mAhg−1 with superior coulombic efficiency of 80.1% at 0.2Ag−1. Reversible capacities of 901mAhg−1 at 0.2Ag−1 and 690mAhg−1 at 1Ag−1 are reserved after 150 cycles. Importantly, this designed synthesis suggests a new approach to produce other materials such as MnO/C anode exhibiting good performance.",battery
"Two types of double-layer capacitors, based on carbon materials, were analysed: (1) an imaginary nano-capacitor assembled from single graphene sheets, separated by electrolyte layers (thickness of nanometers) and (2) a capacitor based on porous carbons. It has been shown that the maximum specific surface of a porous carbon material which may be used for the construction of a capacitor is ca. 2600m2 g−1. The maximum energy density of an imaginary double-layer ‘nano-capacitor’, is close to 10kJkg−1 at a voltage of U =1V (aqueous electrolyte) of ca. 40–45kJkg−1 at U ≈2.3–2.5V (organic electrolytes), and at the order of 100kJkg−1 at voltages close to 4V (ionic liquids as electrolytes). The real device consists of porous electrodes and a separator, both soaked with the electrolyte, as well as current collectors. Consequently, the maximum electric capacity expressed versus the mass of the device (ca. 20–30Fg−1), is much smaller than the corresponding value expressed versus the mass of the carbon material (ca. 300Fg−1). In order to obtain the energy density of the device at a level of 100kJkg−1 (characteristic for the lead-acid battery), the capacitor with porous carbon electrodes should operate at voltages of ca. 4V (ionic liquids as electrolytes). However, the specific power density of such a capacitor having an acceptable energy density (ca. 100kJkg−1) is relatively low (ca. 1kWkg−1).",battery
"This paper summarises the safety assessments of eleven smoke flavouring primary products evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Data on chemical composition, content of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and results of genotoxicity tests and subchronic toxicity studies are presented and discussed. The smoke flavourings vary in their contents of identified constituents; none of them exceeded the legal limit for benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[a]anthracene. Ten smoke flavourings proved not to be genotoxic in vivo, whereas this could not be ruled out for another smoke flavouring. Results from animal testing and proposed dietary exposure indicate that only three smoke flavourings would not be of safety concern for humans.",non-battery
"Rechargeable aluminum-ion batteries (RAIBs) are regarded as the next generation of low-cost and high-capacity electrical energy storage systems. Compared to graphene-based cathodes, metal dichalcogenide cathodes can potentially provide RAIBs with higher capacities. However, metal dichalcogenides suffer from poor cycling performance, hindering the further development of high-capacity RAIBs. Thus, to further improve the performance of RAIBs, it is imperative to gain a deep understanding of the mechanisms behind the energy-storage and capacity-deterioration characteristics of these materials. In this work, we conducted detailed characterization to acquire a deep understanding of the energy storage mechanism of a CoSe2-based cathode. The characterization results revealed that energy storage involved incorporation of Al3+ into CoSe2 to generate AlmConSe2 (i.e., partial substitution of Co2+ by Al3+) and elemental Co, while capacity deterioration resulted from the dissolution of active cobalt species into the electrolyte and the pulverization of the CoSe2 phase. The understanding of the capacity-deterioration mechanism allowed us to design a two-step concept for a new type of RAIB composite cathode material. Thus, we employed a conductive wrapping layer of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to protect CoSe2/carbon nanodice composites from cobalt dissolution and CoSe2 pulverization while also improving the conductivity of the materials. This novel design resulted in a CoSe2/carbon nanodice@rGO composite material with an outstanding cycling performance (after 500 cycles) of 143 mA h g−1 at 1000 mA g−1, which is one of the best performances for a metal-based RAIB cathode material reported to date. These findings are of great significance for the further development of high-capacity RAIBs.
",battery
"Electrochemical deposition of magnesium (Mg) has been successfully achieved from an ionic liquid (IL) solution based on quaternary ammonium salt containing lithium (Li) salt. Irreversible electrochemical behavior was generally observed in the IL-based electrolytes containing simple Mg salt. In the IL-based electrolyte dissolving both Mg and Li salts, electrochemical reduction and oxidation of magnesium cation (Mg2+) have become detectable. Such reversible processes correspond respectively to cathodic deposition and anodic dissolution of metallic Mg, which are accompanied by the co-deposition/co-dissolution of Li. Potentiostatic electrolysis of IL dissolving binary Mg and Li salts gave metallic deposit consisting of both elements with total current efficiency of ca. 52%.",battery
"In this work flexible composite nanogenerators were prepared aiming to identify and optimize the exploitation of the piezoelectric effect in mechanical energy harvesting. A novel shape-controlled synthesis of ZnO microstructures through hydrothermal route was achieved resulting in different morphologies and aspect-ratio particles, microwires, multipods, and desert-roses. The three different microparticles and round-shaped commercial nanoparticles were incorporated into a polydimethylsiloxane matrix and a comparative study on the piezoelectric output power dependence on the filler morphology was carried out. The highest performances, i.e. output voltage of 10V and a maximum power of 55µW, were obtained with the highest aspect-ratio ZnO filler, the microwires, dispersed in the PDMS matrix at a 40wt% concentration. Considering the generated voltage dependence on the size and aspect-ratio of the fillers, a working mechanism was formulated. The nanogenerators were then exploited to charge a homemade carbon-based supercapacitor. The voltage charging curves confirm the voltage generation trend based on the high aspect-ratio particles, showing that the best performances are obtained by the microwires-based composite nanogenerator. This work thus contributes to clarify the piezoelectric mechanism in composite nanogenerators and to maximize the output power generation in view of self-powered nanodevices able to recover and store waste environmental energy.",battery
"Composites Li[Li x Ni0.34−x Mn0.47Co0.19]O2 (0.18≤ x ≤0.21) were prepared by a solid state reaction method assisted with co-precipitating. The chemical composition, structure, morphology, and specific surface area of as-prepared composites were systematically characterized by ICP, XRD, SEM, and BET, respectively. The electrochemical performances of the composites were evaluated as high-voltage cathode for lithium-ion batteries. Among all the composites, sample SN exhibited a best electrochemical performance. Except for the initial decay, no obvious capacity fading was observed after cycling 30 cycles at different rates. The discharge capacities were maintained steadily as the current density increased up to 500mAg−1. The improved electrochemical performance of sample SN was attributed to the compromise effect between the increased Li2MnO3 phase and the enhanced Li/Ni disorder.",battery
"The effect of reduction conditions on a Pt28Ni36Cr36/C catalyst was investigated by using two different reduction methods: hydrogen reduction and NaBH4 reduction. In hydrogen reduced catalysts, dissolution of metallic Ni and Cr was observed during cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests, and a larger amount of Ni and Cr was dissolved when reduced at higher temperatures. For methanol electro-oxidation, the highest specific current density of 1.70Am−2 at 600s of the chronoamperometry tests was observed in the catalyst reduced at 300°C, which was ∼24 times that of a Pt/C catalyst (0.0685Am−2). In NaBH4 reduced catalysts, formation of an amorphous phase and a more Pt-rich surface was observed in X-ray diffraction and CV results, respectively, with increasing amounts of NaBH4. When reduced by 50 times of the stoichiometric amount of NaBH4, the PtNiCr/C catalyst (PtNiCr-50t) showed a current density of 34.1Agnoble metal −1, which was 81% higher than the 18.8Agnoble metal −1 value of a PtRu/C catalyst at 600s of the chronoamperometry tests. After 13h of chronoamperometry testing, the activity of the PtNiCr-50t (15.0Agnoble metal −1) was 110% higher than the PtRu/C catalyst (7.15Agnoble metal −1). The PtNiCr/C catalyst shows promise as a Ru-free methanol oxidation catalyst.",battery
"A novel water-dispersible polyaniline (PANI)/graphene composite was prepared by the in situ polymerization of aniline on the surface of poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) coated graphene nanosheets (PSS-GR). The characterization of atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the successful synthesis of PANI/PSS-GR composites and strong interaction between PANI and PSS-GR. The as-synthesized PANI/PSS-GR composite is readily dispersible in water and forms a homogeneous aqueous dispersion which is stable for more than one month. More interestingly, PSS-GR can dope PANI effectively and shift its electroactivity to a neutral or even alkaline environment, making them promising candidates for biological application. In addition, the PANI/PSS-GR composite shows improved electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability compared to the neat polyaniline. Furthermore, the potential use of this composite for detection of ascorbic acid (AA) was investigated. A low detection limit of 5×10−6 M and a linear detection range between 1×10−4 M and 1×10−3 M was attained, indicating the high electrocatalytic ability of this composite. Anticipatedly, the synthesized composite will find promising applications as a novel electrode material in sensors and other devices in virtue of their outstanding characteristics of water-dispersibility, good cycle stability, electroactivity in neutral solution and excellent electrocatalytic ability.",battery
"Immunosenescence contributes to cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration, and those conditions could be attenuated by non-pharmacological anti-inflammatory strategies, such as exercise and supplementation with the amino acid taurine. Since taurine body content decreases with aging, we investigated the effects of supplementation (alone and combined with exercise) on oxidative stress, extracellular matrix degradation, white blood cells, neurotrophins, cognition and physical fitness of elderly women. Forty-eight women (83.58 ± 6.98 years) were enrolled into exercise training only (EO: n = 13), taurine supplementation (TS: n = 12), exercise training + taurine supplementation (ETTS: n = 11), and control group (CG: n = 12). All interventions lasted 14 weeks. Exercise was applied twice a week, and taurine was given once a day (1.5 g). Data collection occurred before and after interventions with the determination of myeloperoxidase (MPO), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF) levels, and white blood cell counts (WBC). Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and physical fitness tests were also evaluated. Concentration of MPO and MMP-9 decreased after intervention in TS (p < 0.05). No effect of time or time × group was observed for WBC parameters; however, univariate analysis showed a significant decrease in lymphocytes for TS, while an increase in monocytes occurred in the CG (p < 0.05). MoCA scores decreased over time in the CG (p < 0.05). Improvements in physical fitness occurred in ETTS (better agility and aerobic capacity), mostly likely due to exercise and boosted by taurine supplementation. No changes in BDNF levels were observed (p > 0.05), while NGF concentration were undetectable in almost subjects. Exercise together with taurine supplementation appears to be a valuable strategy to enhance health-related outcomes in older persons.",non-battery
"Attempts to utilise LiCoO2 as the cathode when the electrolyte is based on an ionic liquid, e.g. 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, have been severely limited by significant capacity fade. Given that some form of instability of this material in ionic liquids is widely suspected as the principal cause, the aim of the current work is to determine the efficacy of using the scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM), to detect solubilisation of species leaving the LiCoO2 electrode during charging and/or discharging. The SECM microelectrode probe tip was lowered to within 10–20μm of the platinum substrate electrode, onto which solid LiCoO2 had been coated. This substrate material was charged and discharged to different voltages, whilst probing any solubilised species at the microelectrode tip. The detection of solubilised Co2+ and oxygen during over-charge and more so under deep discharge was observed. Possible mechanisms for degradation of the electrode are proposed. From these preliminary results, strategies are suggested for mitigating the degradation of LiCoO2 when used in a room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte.",battery
"Résumé Introduction L’objectif de ce travail est d’établir des normes diagnostiques pour les tests de la batterie RAPID, dans la détection des troubles cognitifs liés à la maladie d’Alzheimer. Population et méthodes L’échantillon comprenait 352 sujets témoins (MMSE moyen : 27,3±2,5) et 676 patients atteints de maladie d’Alzheimer (MMSE moyen : 22,9±2,6) répartis selon trois classes d’âge (60–69ans, 70–79ans, 80–89ans) et trois niveaux scolaires. Des valeurs seuil « optimales » et « spécifiques », ajustées selon l’âge et le niveau scolaire, ont été calculées afin d’évaluer le pouvoir discriminant de chaque test de la batterie RAPID. Résultats Le RL/RI-16 explorant les fonctions mnésiques possédait une bonne sensibilité (de 87 % à 100 % pour le rappel libre et de 85 % à 98 % pour le rappel total) et spécificité (de 85 % à 96 % pour le rappel libre et de 86 % à 100 % pour le rappel total), quels que soient l’âge et le niveau scolaire. Pour l’épreuve d’appariement catégoriel, les sensibilités étaient faibles. Conclusion L’utilisation de ces deux types de valeurs seuil apporte au clinicien une aide au diagnostic de la maladie d’Alzheimer en fonction du contexte clinique, permettant de limiter les risques de faux positifs et de faux négatifs.",non-battery
"Here an Li ion conductive oxysulfide of LiSnOS with a layered structure, grown from a layered SnOS phase by reacting with different amounts of LiNO3 to form the Li-ion intercalation compound, is developed in order to find the best LiSnOS with the highest Li ion conductivity for assembling a totally solid LiCoO2/(LiSnOS + gel polymer)/Li lithium ion battery (LIB). With this approach, there is no need for utilizing the moisture-sensitive Li2S precursor. The variations of crystal parameter, morphology, and Li ion conductivity of LiSnOS with the Li/Sn precursor ratio are investigated in terms of its composition and lattice defect. The LiSnOS with the Li/Sn molar ratio of 2 or LiSnOS-2 is expected to have the Li vacancy-free Li[Li1/3Sn2/3(O,S)2] or Li2Sn(O,S)3 layered structure and show the highest Li ion conductivity of 1.92 × 10−4 S cm−1. The hybrid electrolytes with different amounts of LiSnOS-2 in poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) or PVDF-HFP gel are studied. The battery with the 30 wt% LiSnOS-2/70% gel electrolyte performs the enhanced discharge capacity of 134.6 mA h g−1 and behaves well for the 30 charge-discharge cycles. A schematic mechanism in terms of the LiSnOS content in gel electrolyte is proposed to explain the performance enhancement of LIB.",battery
"In this paper, aqueous solution of reduced graphene oxide has been prepared assisted by the graphene quantum dot, which is then mixed with aqueous polyaniline solution to form water-borne reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline composite powder. The resultant graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline shows a specific morphology of nanosized polyaniline firmly attached on reduced graphene oxide layer, due to the good dispersion of reduced graphene oxide and polyaniline in water. The monodispersion leads to the close contact between reduced graphene oxide sheets and polyaniline particles, significantly depressing the accumulation. It leads to the enhanced conductivity, supercapacitance and cycling stability for graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline, with capacitance as high as 648 F g−1. After 5000 charge-discharge cycles, the capacitance of as-prepared reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline composite shows just 3.7% decay while it reaches 68% for polyaniline. Furthermore, driven by the strong electrostatic forces between the electropositive polyaniline and the electronegative graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide as well as the π−π interactions, the obtained nanosized graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline films from the controllable layer-by-layer method show the morphology of interconnected-layer networks and exhibit good electrochemical activity on H2O2 in the range of 5.0 × 10−7–3.5 × 10−5 M. The detection limit is as low as 1.1 μM.",battery
"In recent years, surface engineering has acquired a greater importance in the field of materials technology, particularly in aerospace, automotive, bio-medical and engineering applications. Surface engineering enables enhancing the performance of the materials at an affordable cost to induce functional properties, which otherwise cannot be provided by the substrate material. The degradation of materials properties due to wear and corrosion is estimated to be very high. Since surface engineering can increase the performance of the given materials at a reduced cost, it has enormous potential for providing technological solutions to various engineering problems. Conventionally, several wet-chemical and spray-based processes have been used for the surface modification of engineering materials. These include: electroplating, electroless plating, anodization and various other electrochemical processes, and organic paint coatings. However, environmental issues demand the development of cost-effective eco-friendly surface modification processes. Towards this, in recent times, a lot of superior process techniques such as: chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, thermal spray, diffusion processes, sol–gel, etc. have been developed. In spite of this, there is still great scope for research in establishing a relationship between the process parameters of the used surface engineering processes and the resulting properties of the modified surface. Further, recent developments in surface engineering using nanostructured coatings/nano-surfaces are expected to carve a niche in many industrial applications. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need to fill the gaps between the research done at the lab level and the plethora of problems faced by the industry. In this article, some of these issues will be addressed with emphasis to the aerospace, automotive and engineering sectors. A glimpse of futuristic surface modification technologies will also be presented, in brief, which will enable in providing cost-effective solutions to a variety of industrial problems.
",non-battery
"Large-scale energy storage represents a key challenge for renewable energy and new systems with low cost, high energy density and long cycle life are desired. In this article, we develop a new lithium/polysulfide (Li/PS) semi-liquid battery for large-scale energy storage, with lithium polysulfide (Li2S8) in ether solvent as a catholyte and metallic lithium as an anode. Unlike previous work on Li/S batteries with discharge products such as solid state Li2S2 and Li2S, the catholyte is designed to cycle only in the range between sulfur and Li2S4. Consequently all detrimental effects due to the formation and volume expansion of solid Li2S2/Li2S are avoided. This novel strategy results in excellent cycle life and compatibility with flow battery design. The proof-of-concept Li/PS battery could reach a high energy density of 170 W h kg−1 and 190 W h L−1 for large scale storage at the solubility limit, while keeping the advantages of hybrid flow batteries. We demonstrated that, with a 5 M Li2S8 catholyte, energy densities of 97 W h kg−1 and 108 W h L−1 can be achieved. As the lithium surface is well passivated by LiNO3 additive in ether solvent, internal shuttle effect is largely eliminated and thus excellent performance over 2000 cycles is achieved with a constant capacity of 200 mA h g−1. This new system can operate without the expensive ion-selective membrane, and it is attractive for large-scale energy storage.
",battery
"Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are technologically significant for sulfur is cheap, and offers high gravimetric capacity and a large energy density. But achieving long term cyclability with moderate capacity loss, and scalability pose formidable challenges. A solution phase approach for the preparation of a composite of sulfur with hydroxyl groups functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTols) and coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole) (PEDOP) is presented for the first time. Comparison of the Li-S performances at 0.1 C current-rate show that the S based cell with a S-loading of 80% retains a low capacity of 122 mAh gsulfur −1 after 100 cycles, whereas cells with S/MWCNTols and S/MWCNTols/PEDOP composites with sulfur loadings of 73 and 70% respectively, retain capacities of 384 and 624 mAh gsulfur −1 after 200 charge-discharge cycles, with Coulombic efficiencies of 96 and 98.7% respectively. This performance differential illustrates the role of PEDOP in inhibiting sulfur loss and in maximizing cell response. The polymer provides electrical interconnects between the insulating sulfur clusters and facilitates Li+ transfer at the interface. The ease of the synthesis, coupled with the remarkable cycling performance delivered by this composite at a high sulfur-loading, demonstrate the promise that this S/CNT/conducting polymer composite has for practical Li-S batteries.",battery
"Smartphones are considered as one of the most essential and highly personal devices of individuals in our current world. Due to the popularity of context-aware technology and recent developments in smartphones, these devices can collect and process raw contextual data about users’ surrounding environment and their corresponding behavioral activities with their phones. Thus, smartphone data analytics and building data-driven context-aware systems have gained wide attention from both academia and industry in recent days. In order to build intelligent context-aware applications on smartphones, effectively learning a set of context-aware rules from smartphone data is the key. This requires advanced data analytical techniques with high precision and intelligent decision making strategies based on contexts. In comparison to traditional approaches, machine learning based techniques provide more effective and efficient results for smartphone data analytics and corresponding context-aware rule learning. Thus, this article first makes a survey on previous work in the area of contextual smartphone data analytics and then presents a discussion of challenges and future directions for effectively learning context-aware rules from smartphone data, in order to build rule-based automated and intelligent systems.
",non-battery
"A sulfur-multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite is prepared by the direct precipitation method as a cathode material for lithium sulfur batteries. The microstructure and morphology of the sulfur-MWCNTs composite are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) mapping and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). From these results, it is found that the synthesized sulfur has an orthorhombic phase and the MWCNTs are chemically well-dispersed over the whole surface of the synthesized sulfur. Electrochemical charge–discharge tests demonstrated that the sulfur-MWCNTs composite exhibits better capacity retention (63%) than that (16%) of the precipitated sulfur, which is also prepared by the direct precipitation method without MWCNTs. The enhanced cycle performance of the sulfur-MWCNTs is mainly attributed to the formation of highly conductive electron path due to the uniformly dispersed MWCNTs. Furthermore, in order to investigate the electrochemical reaction mechanism for the Li–S cell during the discharge process, the ac-impedance spectra as a function of the state of discharge are measured and analyzed.",battery
" In the current research, density functional theory calculations were carried out to investigate the potential application of bare and functionalized olympicene molecules (C19H12) as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. The interactions of Li and Li+ were studied with these molecules and the cell voltages were calculated. The results reveal that the cell voltage of this molecule is greater than some well-known carbon based materials such as C32, C60, C70 fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. The functionalization of C19H12 with the electron-donating groups such as OCH3, NH2, OH enhances the cell voltage. The OCH3 substituted olympicene exhibits the maximum cell voltage of 1.60 V, which is even greater than that of a (10,10) carbon nanotube.",non-battery
"Lithium iron orthosilicate (Li2FeSiO4) is an important alternative cathode for next generation Li-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity (330 mA h/g). However, its development has faced great challenges arising from significant structural complexity, including the disordered arrangement/orientation of Fe/Si tetrahedra, polytypes and its poorly understood Li storage and transport properties. In this context, ab-initio calculations are employed to investigate the phase stability and Li diffusion profiles of both monoclinic (P21) and orthorhombic (Pmn21) Li2FeSiO4 orthosilicates. The calculations demonstrate that formation of LiFe antisites can induce a metastability competition between both phases, with neither dominating across nearly the entire discharging profile from Li2FeSiO4 through to LiFeSiO4. Furthermore, structural instability is shown to be a serious concern at discharge concentrations below LiFeSiO4 (1 Li extraction) due to the shared occupation of Li donated electrons with oxygen 2p orbitals – rather than the hypothesized transition to a tetravalent Fe4+ state. This finding is further supported by diffusion calculations that have determined a high activation energy barrier towards fast charging and rapid phase transitions. In summary, these theoretical results provide critical and timely insight into the structural dynamics of lithium iron orthosilicate, in pursuit of high energy density cathodes.",battery
"Several state of charge estimation algorithms have been developed and validated in the past. However, due to varying validation methods, the results cannot be compared. This paper presents an approach for a generalised validation and benchmark method for state of charge estimation algorithms. The independence of standardised driving cycles is obtained by developing a synthetic load cycle. To do so, a frequency analysis is performed for 149 different driving cycles and the five major time constants are identified at 55.8s, 9s, 5.1s, 3.8s and 1s. Using the synthetic load profile, three validation profiles are created. In addition to low- and high-dynamic behaviour, long-term stability is considered at five different temperatures (−10°C, 0°C, 10°C, 25°C and 40°C). During the long-term test, the temperature varies between −10°C and 40°C. To ensure comparability, a quantitative rating technique is introduced for estimation accuracy, transient behaviour, drift, failure stability, temperature stability and residual charge estimation to evaluate the performance of different state estimation algorithms. Furthermore, the benchmark can be used to optimise the state estimator, such as a linear and an extended Kalman filter examined within this study.",battery
"We initially prepared the sulfanilic acid functionalized poly(1,4-phenylene ether ether sulfone) (SPEES-SA) membrane, and it was further modified by incorporating the different mass% of sulfonic acid functionalized zeolites to develop the composite membranes. The functionalization of zeolites was confirmed by wide-angle X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The resulting SPEES-SA and its composite membranes were subjected to various techniques to investigate their physico-chemical properties. The morphology of the membranes was studied using both atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The performance of the membranes was studied in terms of swelling behavior, water uptake, ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity with respect to mass% of functionalized zeolites. The oxidative stability was performed in Fenton's solution at 80 °C and ascertained that more than 95% of the membrane residue remained with a minimum loss of ion exchange capacity (IEC). The proton conductivity data revealed that the membranes incorporated with 8 mass% of functionalized zeolites exhibited the highest IEC values. The proton conductivity of the composite membranes incorporated with functionalized Na-ZSM-5 zeolite, Na-Beta zeolite and Na-Mordenite zeolite was found to be 0.102, 0.112 and 0.124 S cm−1, respectively. The fuel cell performance study also revealed that composite membranes incorporated with 8 mass% of functionalized Na-ZSM-5 zeolite, Na-Beta zeolite and Na-Mordenite zeolite demonstrated excellent power density of 0.37 W cm−2 at 0.97 A cm−2, 0.42 W cm−2 at 1.05 A cm−2 and 0.45 W cm−2 at 1.1 A cm−2, respectively. These data are much superior to the commercially available Nafion® 117 membrane. Thus, the developed composite membranes are promising candidates for the applications of fuel cell technology.",battery
"Impaired consciousness in epilepsy has a significant negative impact on patients' quality of life yet is difficult to study objectively. Here, we develop an improved prospective Responsiveness in Epilepsy Scale-II (RES-II) and report initial results compared with the earlier version of the scale (RES). The RES-II is simpler to administer and includes both verbal and non-verbal test items. We evaluated 75 seizures (24 patients) with RES and 34 seizures (11 patients) with RES-II based on video-EEG review. The error rate per seizure by test administrators improved markedly from a mean of 2.01±0.04 with RES to 0.24±0.11 with RES-II. Performance during focal seizures showed a bimodal distribution, corresponding to the traditional complex partial vs. simple partial seizure classification. We conclude that RES-II has improved accuracy and testing efficiency compared with the original RES. Prospective objective testing will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of impaired consciousness in epilepsy.",non-battery
"Herein we report on the hydrothermal synthesis of niobium pentoxide on carbide-derived carbon (Nb2O5/CDC) with a layered structure. The presence of phenylphosphonic acid guides the deposition during preparation, leading to the formation of amorphous Nb2O5 particles which are 4–10 nm in diameter and homogeneously distributed on the CDC framework. Electrochemical testing of the Nb2O5/CDC electrode indicated that the highest capacitance and Coulombic efficiency occurred using an electrolyte comprised of 1 M lithium perchlorate in ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate. Subsequent heat treatment of Nb2O5/CDC in CO2 environment led to crystallization of the Nb2O5, allowing reversible Li+ intercalation/de-intercalation. For sweep rates corresponding to charging and discharging in under 3 min, a volumetric charge of 180 C cm−3 and Coulombic efficiency of 99.2% were attained.",battery
"Li2MSiO4 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, et al.) has received great attention because of the theoretical possibility to reversibly deintercalate two Li+ ions from the structure. However, the silicates still suffer from low electronic conductivity, sluggish lithium ion diffusion and structural instability upon deep cycling. In order to solve these problems, a “hard-soft” templating method has been developed to synthesize three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) Li2FeSiO4/C composites. The 3DOM Li2FeSiO4/C composites show a high reversible capacity (239 mAh g−1) with ∼1.50 lithium ion insertion/extraction, a capacity retention of nearly 100% after 420 cycles and excellent rate capability. The enhanced electrochemical performance is ascribed to the interconnected carbon framework that improves the electronic conductivity and the 3DOM structure that offers short Li ion diffusion pathways and restrains volumetric changes.",battery
"Solid polymer electrolytes containing phosphotungstic acid (PWA) and/or silicotungstic acid (SiWA) in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were investigated for their proton conductivities. Enhanced conductivity was obtained when mixing PWA and SiWA at equal ratio. This polymer electrolyte was found viable for electrochemical capacitors. Thermal and structural analyses were conducted with DSC, XRD, and FTIR. The polymer electrolyte exhibited a different structure and different thermal properties from its respective components. The polymer electrolyte retained its original Keggin structure but contained crystallized protonated water in the form of H5O2 +. The protonated water may contribute to the proton conductivity of the polymer electrolyte.",battery
"The thermal stability of the layered oxide LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 and its delithiated product is studied by a combination of X-ray and electron diffraction, TEM imaging and magnetic measurements. Diffraction shows that a small fraction of the layered material converts to spinel phase following delithiation. More spinel phase is observed after thermal annealing. The morphology of the particle changes upon thermal annealing of delithiated materials. The selected area electron diffraction and the magnetic measurement results confirm the presence of Ni+2/Li+ disorder in the delithiated material, which increases upon thermal ageing. The oxidation states of the transition metal ions were determined from magnetic data. It is shown that the charge balance due to removal of Li+ is maintained through oxidation of Ni+2 and that the oxidation states remain stable during subsequent annealing. No antiferromagnetic ordering or crystallographic in plane ordering of transition metal ions is observed. These results clearly describe the thermal degradation of Li x Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (x ≤ 1) occur through the significant microstructural changes.",battery
"Neutral chloride-based electrolyte and directly grown manganese oxide on carbon paper are used as the electrolyte and air cathode respectively for rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions on manganese oxide show dependence of activities on the pH of the electrolyte. Zn-air batteries with chloride-based electrolyte and manganese oxide catalyst exhibit satisfactory voltage profile (discharge and charge voltage of 1 and 2 V at 1 mA cm−2) and excellent cycling stability (≈90 days of continuous cycle test), which is attributed to the reduced carbon corrosion on the air cathode and decreased carbonation in neutral electrolyte. This work describes a robust electrolyte system that improves the cycle life of rechargeable Zn-air batteries.",battery
"Wood–plastic composites (WPCs) are a form of composite combining wood-based elements with polymers. The processes for manufacturing WPCs include extrusion, injection molding, and compression molding or thermoforming (pressing). Newer manufacturing processes for WPCs include additive manufacturing via fused layer modeling and laser sintering. An important constraint for polymers used in WPCs is requiring process conditions (melt temperature, pressure) that will not thermally degrade the wood filler. Wood degrades around 220 °C; thus, general-purpose polymers like polyethylene and poly vinyl chloride are typically used for manufacturing WPCs. Wood fibers are inherently hydrophilic because of the hydroxyl groups contained in the cellulose and hemicellulose molecular chains. Thus, modification of the wood fiber via chemical or physical treatments is very critical to making improved WPCs. The most abundant profiles made from wood–plastic composites are boards or lumber used in outdoor decking applications. Although early WPC products were mainly extruded for profiled sections, nowadays, many injected parts made of WPC are being introduced for various industries, including electrical casings, packaging, daily living supplies, and civil engineering applications. Mold and mildew and color fading of WPCs tend to be the durability issues of prime importance for WPCs. Most recent research on WPC durability focuses on studies to better understand the mechanisms contributing to various degradation issues as well as methods to improve durability. Most WPC products in the USA are utilized in building materials with few exceptions for residential and commercial building applications, which means that building codes are the most important national rules for the WPC manufacturers. New developments are being made especially in the area of nano additives for WPCs including nanocellulose. Recently, the trend of patent registrations for WPCs has shifted to new products or applications instead of the materials itself.",non-battery
"Li1.2(Mn0.32Ni0.32Fe0.16)O2 (LMNFO) nanoparticles with and without a chelating agent (adipic acid) were synthesized by sol–gel method. The supercapacitive behaviors of the synthesized materials as a cathode are evaluated with activated carbon (AC) as the anode in a hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) configuration utilizing a non-aqueous electrolyte. The structural, morphological and electrochemical features of the prepared materials are investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge–discharge studies, respectively. The results demonstrated that the LMNFO nanoparticles prepared with the chelating agent, adipic acid (AA), delivered an enhanced specific discharge capacitance (86Fg−1) and better cycling stability than the native compound. The CV studies also revealed the same conclusions, based on the stronger current response observed during various scan rates between 0 and 3V. Moreover, the AA-LMNFO/AC cell delivered maximum energy and power densities of 36Whkg−1 and 1.67Wkg−1, respectively, with a columbic efficiency of over 99% and excellent rate performance.",battery
"The study of the effect of stress on both combatants physiological and anatomical systems have been poor studied in the specific literature. The present research aimed to study the effect of combat stress in strength manifestations of leg flexor-extensor muscles and the anaerobic metabolism of soldiers. Before and after asymmetrical combat simulation were analyzed parameters of blood lactate concentration, explosive leg strength manifestation and contractile capacity of leg muscle in 186 professional soldiers. Results showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in blood lactate values (2.23 ± 0.95 vs 7.47 ± 3.67 mmol/L), explosive leg strength (Squat Jump 0.31 ± 0.06 vs 0.35 ± 0.07 m, Countermovement Jump 0.33 ± 0.07 vs 0.36 ± 0.07 m, Abalakov Jump 0.39 ± 0.08 vs 0.41 ± 0.09 m), and a significant decrease of the elastic capacity (0.022 ± 0.04 vs 0.021 ± 0.04) and recruitment and muscle synchronization capability (0.028 ± 0.04 vs 0.026 ± 0.04). This data suggest that combat stress increases the leg strength manifestation despite the significantly increase of muscle acidosis after a combat simulation. This result is probably due to the high activation of the fight-flight system of soldiers which increases the organic response of soldiers and that can compensate the prejudicial effect of acidosis in muscle contraction. These results could be used by officers to improve specific training programs and to improve planning and election of equipment and material for the development of different missions in current theaters of operations.",non-battery
"A lithium sulfide-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (Li2S-rGO) was synthesized and evaluated as the cathode material and Li source for the assembly of Li-S batteries. The composite, with a unique 3-D pocket structure, was synthesized by a combination of facile solution chemistry and thermal treatment. The as-prepared Li2S-rGO nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, which showed 20–40 nm Li2S particles homogeneously dispersed between reduced graphene oxide sheets. Li2S contents as high as ∼66% could be obtained. When used with an electrolyte containing LiNO3 and polysulfide, the Li2S-rGO nanocomposites exhibited a high initial capacity of 982 mAh g−1 Li2S. However, there was noticeable capacity fade in subsequent cycles, probably due to polysulfide dissolution and the shuttle mechanism, but a capacity of 315 mAh g−1 could still be obtained after 100 cycles, with 90–95% coulomb efficiency. The effect of polysulfide additive in the electrolyte on the activation of Li2S in the first delithiation step was discussed.",battery
"The conductivity aging and thermal stability of poly(N-methylaniline) are reported. Poly(N-methylaniline) doped with chloride ion was electrochemically synthesized. The conductivity data obtained in the temperature range between 118 and 483K are analysed by Arrhenius and Mott models to elucidate the conduction mechanism. The thermal degradation of both doped and dedoped samples of poly(N-methylaniline) in air and nitrogen atmosphere has been followed using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis techniques. The polymer is heat-aged at various temperatures and the aged samples are analysed by FT-IR, SEM and XRD. The thermogravimetric data are further analysed by three different methods: Horowitz and Metzger [Anal. Chem. 35 (1963) 1464], Coats and Redfern [Nature 201 (1964) 68], Chan et al. [Synth. Met. 31 (1989) 95] to evaluate the energy of activation. The applicability of the three methods for the evaluation of kinetic parameters is discussed.",non-battery
"Personal exposure sampling provides the most accurate and representative assessment of exposure to a pollutant, but only if measures are implemented to minimize exposure misclassification and reduce confounders that may cause misinterpretation of the collected data. Poor compliance with personal sampler wearing protocols can create positive or negative biases in the reported exposure concentrations, depending on proximity of the participant or the personal sampler to the pollutant source when the monitor was not worn as instructed. This paper presents an initial quantitative examination of personal exposure monitor wearing protocol compliance during a longitudinal particulate matter personal exposure monitoring study of senior citizens of compromise health in North Carolina. Wearing compliance varied between participants because of gender or employment status, but not longitudinally or between cohorts. A minimum waking wearing compliance threshold, 0.4 for this study of senior citizens, is suggested to define when personal exposure measurements are representative of a participant's exposure. The ability to define a minimum threshold indicates data weighting techniques may be used to estimate a participant's exposure assuming perfect protocol compliance.
",non-battery
"The paper presents first the theoretical foundations used to develop a pre-experimental version of a questionnaire on relationship to work, and then the four stages of its initial validation leading to an experimental version. These stages included: (1) Defining the dimensions and sub-dimensions of the relationship to work concept; (2) Operationalizing the dimensions and sub-dimensions and creating the items; (3) Verifying the face and content validity and developing the pre-experimental questionnaire; (4) Testing the pre-experimental questionnaire with 550 workers and 538 students, assessing its psychometric properties and elaborating the experimental questionnaire.
",non-battery
"The effect of partial substitution of Al and Mo for Ni on the structure and electrochemical properties of the La0.7Mg0.3Ni3− x (Al0.5Mo0.5) x (x =0–0.4) hydrogen storage alloys have been investigated systematically. The result of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis show that all the alloys consist of the La(La, Mg)2Ni9 phase and the LaNi5 phase. Meanwhile, the lattice parameter and the cell volume of both the La(La, Mg)2Ni9 phase and the LaNi5 phase increase with increasing Al and Mo contents in the alloys. The pressure composition isotherms curves indicate that the hydrogen storage capacity first increases and then decreases with increasing x. The electrochemical measurements show that the maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrodes first increases from 343.3 (x =0) to 377.6mAh/g (x =0.3) and then decreases to 350.4mAh/g (x =0.4). Moreover, the high rate dischargeability (HRD) and the exchange current density of the alloy electrodes decrease first and then increases with the increase of x in the alloys. The hydrogen diffusion coefficient increases with increasing Al and Mo content and thus increases the low temperature dischargeability (LTD) of the alloy electrodes.",battery
"The coated separator was prepared by coating poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) on the surface of the novel separator based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) and polyethylene (PE) non-woven matrix. The ionic conductivity of the coated separator was 1.1×10−3 Scm−1 at 25°C, a little higher than that of bare separator. The coated separator showed smoother surface morphology and better adhesion property toward electrodes, and thereby it resulted in lower total resistance than the bare separator. The discharge capacity of the unit cell with coated separator at C/2 rate was maintained at about 84% of the theoretical capacity, which is quite higher than that of the unit cell with the bare separator.",battery
"In this paper, MWCNT (Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube)-induced vanadium oxide nanosheet composite is synthesized via sol–gel method and subsequent hydrothermal treatment process. TEM and SEM tests confirmed that the synthesized product shows a rectangular sheet-like nanostructure with the length of several micrometers, width of a few hundred nanometers and thickness of dozens of nanometers. The analysis of XRD verified the monoclinic crystal structure of the vanadium oxide nanosheet. The XPS results manifested that V4+ is predominant in the V element of vanadium oxide nanosheet. The corresponding electrochemical performance examinations indicated this nanosheet-MWCNT composite with distinct single phase transition feature exhibits high specific capacity and good cycling stability due to its sheet-like nanostructure and uniform adding of MWCNTs, which makes this novel vanadium oxide nanosheet-MWCNT composite quite suitable and promising as cathode material for Li+ ion batteries applications.",battery
"Zn2SnO4-based anode materials have recently attracted considerable attention due to their high capacity and low price for lithium-ion batteries. However, their performance is affected by temperature and temperature-dependent characters have not been investigated sufficiently. In this regard, we tested the electrochemistry performance of Co-doped Zn2SnO4–graphene–carbon (Co–ZTO–G–C) nanocomposite anode at various temperatures (−25, 25 and 60°C) and analyzed the main limitations and improvements of its low- and high-temperature behavior. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results demonstrated that severe concentration polarization, the absence of Zn2SnO4/Zn(Sn) redox couple and large charge-transfer resistance Rct limited its low-temperature performance. Further electrochemical performance analysis indicated that the doped Co could effectively decrease Rct of the nanocomposite and improve its capacity at low temperature. It also suggested that graphene and carbon layer contributed to maintaining its capacity during high-temperature cycles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the performance degeneration of the nanocomposite at elevated temperature was mainly attributed to severe volume expansion/contraction of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles and destruction of Zn2SnO4 cubic structure. The XRD results also showed that the cubic structures of Zn2SnO4 at all temperatures were destroyed after cycling, which led to cyclic performance degeneration of the Co–ZTO–G–C nanocomposite.",battery
"In this communication, for the first time, we demonstrate the fast and facile preparation of porous FeF3 nanospheres using solvent exchange from FeF3 aqueous solution to ethanol. We further demonstrate the use of such FeF3 nanospheres as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with good rate capability and cycling performance.",battery
"Time and energy saving synthesis method is crucial to the scale up applications of energy conversion and storage materials. In this report, we demonstrate a convenient and novel approach to fabricate the highly crystalline ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles as anode materials for Li rechargeable batteries. Pure phase ZnMn2O4 samples can be feasibly obtained under different calcination temperature from the precursor via combustion assisted coprecipitation method. Various techniques are used to characterize the structure and morphology of the products. Sample gained at 800°C exhibits the best electrochemical property for lithium ion batteries. A reversible specific capacity of 716mAhg−1 can be retained under a current density of 100mAg−1 after 90 circles. Even the current density elevated up to 1000mAg−1, the reversible capacity of the material still can be kept as high as 500mAhg−1 after 1200 cycles. The outstanding performance compared to the other samples benefits from its good crystallinity and uniform dispersion with appropriate particle size.",battery
"Previous functional imaging studies have pointed to the compensatory recruitment of cortical circuits in old age in order to counterbalance the loss of neural efficiency and preserve cognitive performance. Recent electroencephalographic (EEG) analyses reported age-related deficits in the amplitude of an early positive–negative working memory (PNwm) component as well as changes in working memory (WM)-load related brain oscillations during the successful performance of the n-back task. To explore the age-related differences of EEG activation in the face of increasing WM demands, we assessed the PNwm component area, parietal alpha event-related synchronization (ERS) as well as frontal theta ERS in 32 young and 32 elderly healthy individuals who successfully performed a highly WM demanding 3-back task. PNwm area increased with higher memory loads (3- and 2-back > 0-back tasks) in younger subjects. Older subjects reached the maximal values for this EEG parameter during the less WM demanding 0-back task. They showed a rapid development of an alpha ERS that reached its maximal amplitude at around 800 ms after stimulus onset. In younger subjects, the late alpha ERS occurred between 1,200 and 2,000 ms and its amplitude was significantly higher compared with elders. Frontal theta ERS culmination peak decreased in a task-independent manner in older compared with younger cases. Only in younger individuals, there was a significant decrease in the phasic frontal theta ERS amplitude in the 2- and 3-back tasks compared with the detection and 0-back tasks. These observations suggest that older adults display a rapid mobilization of their neural generators within the parietal cortex to manage very low demanding WM tasks. Moreover, they are less able to activate frontal theta generators during attentional tasks compared with younger persons.",non-battery
"The overcharge safety and behaviors of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with LiCoO2 cathode are investigated under a successive constant current (CC) and constant voltage (CV) charge mode. It is indicated that in the case of smaller charge currents, a higher probability for the LIBs passing the overcharging test can be obtained. The batteries can safely pass CC overcharge test at 0.25C to 10 V, and then about 80% batteries can also pass CV overcharge test. Whereas, with increasing the CC currents to 0.33C, 0.5C, and 1C, about 50%, 30%, and 10% batteries can directly pass the overcharge test at the CC step, and then about 20%, 10%, and 0% batteries approach 10 V and subsequent pass CV overcharge test, respectively. Besides the charge current, it is also demonstrated that whether the LiCoO2/graphite batteries are likely to achieve energy balance and pass the overcharge test basically depends on the formation of the internal short-circuit pathways derived from the cobalt and lithium deposition in the separator during the overcharge process. The cobalt deposition will be more uniform when the battery core has shape stability of assembly-structure, which can be used as an effective measure to raise LIBs through the overcharge test. In addition, relative more uniform cobalt dendrites can also be formed if a double layer separator is adopted, which reduces the local short-circuit risk caused by the melting or shrinkage of the separator and correspondingly improves the ratio of LIBs passing through the overcharge test. These risk reduction measures can be used in the battery manufacture to improve the overcharge safety of LIBs.",battery
"Immunotherapeutic approaches are currently in the spotlight for their potential as disease-modifying treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. The discovery that α-synuclein (α-syn) can transmit from cell to cell in a prion-like fashion suggests that immunization might be a viable option for the treatment of synucleinopathies. This possibility has been bolstered by the development of next-generation active vaccination technology with short peptides-AFFITOPEs® (AFF)- that do not elicit an α-syn-specific T cell response. This approach allows for the production of long term, sustained, more specific, non-cross reacting antibodies suitable for the treatment of synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this context, we screened a large library of peptides that mimic the C-terminus region of α-syn and discovered a novel set of AFF that identified α-syn oligomers. Next, the peptide that elicited the most specific response against α-syn (AFF 1) was selected for immunizing two different transgenic (tg) mouse models of PD and Dementia with Lewy bodies, the PDGF- and the mThy1-α-syn tg mice. Vaccination with AFF 1 resulted in high antibody titers in CSF and plasma, which crossed into the CNS and recognized α-syn aggregates. Active vaccination with AFF 1 resulted in decreased accumulation of α-syn oligomers in axons and synapses, accompanied by reduced degeneration of TH fibers in the caudo-putamen nucleus and by improvements in motor and memory deficits in both in vivo models. Clearance of α-syn involved activation of microglia and increased anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, further supporting the efficacy of this novel active vaccination approach for synucleinopathies.",non-battery
"Abstract Hybrid materials produced via the combination of functional polymers with inorganic nanostructured compounds, with the latter exhibiting size-dependent physical and chemical properties, have become a major area of research and technological development. The introduction of metal oxide nanoparticles in the polymeric nanocomposites has attracted the attention of researchers as advanced technological materials because of their unique optical, electronic, mechanical, and structural characteristics. This chapter mainly focuses on the preparation, properties, characterization, and applications of poly(vinyl chloride)/metal oxide composites. Also, the various manufacturing techniques, analysis of morphology, filler dispersion, interfacial interactions, etc. have been described.",non-battery
"Long-life property is one of the key factors for wide applications of lithium-ion batteries. Here, Mo-modified Ni-rich cathode material LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM) is synthesized successfully via a solvent evaporating way followed with a calcination method. This strategy delivers two kinds of effects including Mo-doping and Mo-coating. Mo not only intercalates into the crystal lattice of NCM, but also forms a film-like coating layer on the surface to impede side reactions between electrode and electrolyte. Thus, its specific capacity, rate capability and cycle performance are improved simultaneously, especially in terms of long cycling life property. A series of physical and electrochemical characterizations are used to study the modified performance, and the sample with 1.0 wt% Mo modifying presents the best property with an approximate 3.5 nm coating layer surrounding the surface. Besides, the capacity retention ratio reaches to 89.7% even after 500 cycles between 3.0 and 4.3 V. However, Mo-modified samples have an obvious attenuation in the later period after charging to a higher voltage of 4.6 V although they have preferable cycle performance at the preliminary stage. The results indicate that the reaction mechanisms are diverse at different voltage ranges, which may guide subsequent researches.",battery
"The issue of renewable energy is becoming significant due to increasing power demand, instability of the rising oil prices and environmental problems. Among the various renewable energy sources, fuel cell is gaining more popularity due to their higher efficiency, cleanliness and cost-effective supply of power demanded by the consumers. This paper presents a comprehensive review of different fuel cell technologies with their working principle, advantages, disadvantages and suitability of applications for residential/grid-connected system, transportation, industries and commercial applications. Development of mathematical model of fuel cell required for simulation study is discussed. This paper also focuses on the necessity of a suitable power-conditioning unit required to interface the fuel cell system with standalone/grid applications.",battery
"Herein, we describe a microwave-assisted hydrothermal process to synthesize α-Fe2O3 nanotubes/SnO2 nanorods/reduced graphene oxide (FNT/S/RGO) for application as a high-performance anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The composite products exhibit anisotropic growth because of heteronucleation and the preferred orientation of SnO2. SnO2 nanorods on the FNT surfaces are converted into Sn metal during the alloying/dealloying reaction, which offers improved electrical conductivity. The FNT/S/RGO show substantially enhanced electrochemical properties because of the reduced volume expansion effect, which improves the electrical and Li-ion conductivity and provides a large surface area. As a consequence, the FNT/S/RGO anode delivers a high reversible capacity of 883mAhg−1 even at a current density of 200mAg−1, with a capacity retention of 90% between the 1st and 220th cycles, excellent high-rate capacity (382mAhg−1 at 4320mAg−1), and long-term cycle durability (maintaining 629mAhg−1 at 1000mAg−1 for 1000 cycles). The presented FNT/S/RGO electrodes are the most efficient SnO2- and Fe2O3-based anode electrodes reported thus far for LIBs. The origin of the synergistic effect and the reaction mechanism of the FNT/S/RGO was thoroughly investigated using various in situ transmission electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis methods.",battery
"In this paper, we report a simple sol–gel method for the synthesis of a composite containing reduced graphene oxide (R-GO) embedded within nano LiFePO4 particles for a lithium-ion battery cathode. This composite has an effective electron pathway and a highly meso-porous structure as compared to conventional LiFePO4. Highly conductive R-GO, together with the meso-porosity results in a material that has good electronic conductivity and high electrolyte permeability. Electrodes fabricated from the composite exhibited excellent performance when evaluated as lithium-ion battery cathodes, including compared to pristine LiFePO4. The electrode of the R-GO composite exhibits excellent rate capabilities of 125 mAh g−1 at 10 C, whereas pristine LiFePO4 could deliver only 81.5 mAh g−1 at the same condition. It also achieves an improved cyclability with capacity retention ratios of 92.48% after 200 cycles at 10 C, as well.",battery
"Background Poor reading efficiency is the most persistent problem for adults with developmental dyslexia. Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between left posterior temporal cortex (pTC) function and reading ability, regardless of dyslexia status. Objective/Hypothesis In this study, we tested whether enhancing left lateralization of pTC using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves reading efficiency in adults without dyslexia. Method Twenty-five right-handed adults with no history of learning disorder participated. Real and sham “Left lateralizing” tDCS were applied to the pTC in separate sessions. Standardized word and nonword reading tests were given immediately after stimulation. Results Modeling of the induced electrical field confirmed that tDCS was likely to increase left pTC excitability and reduce right pTC excitability as intended. Relative to sham, real tDCS induced improvements in word reading efficiency in below average readers. Conclusions Enhancing left lateralization of the pTC using tDCS improves word reading efficiency in below-average readers. This demonstrates that left lateralization of the pTC plays a role in reading ability, and provides stimulation parameters that could be used for a trial of tDCS in adults with developmental dyslexia. Such short-term gains could amplify the effect of appropriate reading interventions when performed in conjunction with them.",non-battery
"Cognitive side effects of antiepileptic drugs are common and can negatively affect tolerability, compliance, and long-term retention of the treatment. Furthermore, adverse cognitive effects of pharmacotherapy significantly affect everyday functioning and quality of life. Consequently, preservation of cognitive functions is an important aspect of epilepsy therapy. Knowledge of the patient’s neuropsychological status before and after pharmacological interventions can help to decide on the appropriate treatment and, thus, can potentially improve individual medical care. Here, we suggest that cognitive monitoring of antiepileptic pharmacotherapy – like the assessment of seizure frequency, blood serum levels, electroencephalography or structural imaging – should be carried out as a matter of routine. In contrast to subjective measures, there are only very few neuropsychological instruments explicitly validated for the assessment of cognition along with antiepileptic pharmacotherapy. This review (1.) outlines indications and requirements for individual cognitive monitoring, (2.) discusses available diagnostic tools, and (3.) discloses relevant pitfalls. Neuropsychology, as demonstrated, provides evidence-based methods for monitoring cognitive effects of individual pharmacological treatments and, therefore, serves as a valuable tool for the quality and outcome control of antiepileptic therapies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “The Future of Translational Epilepsy Research”.",non-battery
" Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) represents one main cause of chronic neuropathic or mixed pain, functional disability and reduced Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) can be a value for money option to treat patients refractory to conventional medical management (CMM).",non-battery
"Porous tin-based films are electrodeposited on copper foils from a choline chloride/ethylene glycol based electrolyte containing SnCl2·2H2O without any complexing agent or additive. Increasing the deposition time and voltage produces thicker films. The initially deposited Sn grains are relatively uniform with an average size of 200–300 nm and a kind of self-assembly distribution constructing an open and bicontinuous porous network. The architecture of these films possesses a double-layer structure, i.e. SnO2 (superficial layer)/Sn–Cu alloy (bottom layer), which is revealed by X-ray diffractometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance of the porous tin-based films as anode for lithium-ion batteries is measured. Although the capacity fades gradually with repeated cycling, a reversible capacity of 300-350 mAh g−1 is maintained for more than 50 cycles, which suggests that the in situ formed Sn--Cu alloy could provide an interlocking interface between active materials and current collector. Therefore, the tin's shedding from the current collector can be restrained. Moreover, the inactive materials, such as the oxide in the superficial layer and the Cu in the bottom layer, could also act as buffers to relieve the induced volume expansion of Sn during the repeated lithiathion/delithiation process, thus giving the good cycle performances.",battery
"A novel PEO (polyethylene oxide)-based composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) using absorptive glass mat (AGM) as filler was prepared and characterized. Scanning electronic micrograph (SEM) images showed that the addition of Li salt and modified AGM may improve the surface morphology of CPE. The results of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimeters (DSC) indicated that the inclusion of LiClO4 salt and the addition of AGM filler can reduce the crystallinity of PEO. It was concluded that the addition of AGM plays two roles in PEO-based CPEs, namely, interruption of the PEO recrystallization and reinforcement of CPEs, accordingly enhancing room temperature ionic conductivity of CPEs and improving its mechanical strength and electrochemical stability at high temperatures.",battery
"Developments in lithium rechargeable batteries since the last International Power Sources Symposium in Manchester in 2001 are described. The major developments are that, as expected, lithium cobalt oxide cathode material is being replaced by lithium cobalt/nickel oxide and polymer electrolyte batteries are now coming into production. Likely future developments are new cathode and electrolyte materials to reduce cost and to improve safety. Some research has been reported on sodium-ion batteries.",battery
"Two sodium sulfur (NaS) cells, one with a planar design and the other with a tubular design, were subject to discharge-charge cycles in order to investigate the effect of cathode felt geometries on electrochemical characteristics of NaS cells. Their discharge-charge behaviors over 200 cycles were evaluated at the operation temperature of 350 °C with the current densities of 100 mA cm−2 for discharge and 80 mA cm−2 for charge. The results showed that the deviation from theoretical open circuit voltage changes of a planar cell was smaller than those of a tubular cell resulting in potential specific power loss reduction during operation. In order to understand the effect, a three dimensional statistically representative matrix for a cathode felt has been generated using experimentally measured data. It turns out that the area specific fiber number density in the outer side area of a tubular cathode felt is smaller than that of a planar felt resulting in occurrence of larger voltage drops via retarded convection of cathode melts during cell operation.",battery
"Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a cause of death after total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA, TKA). We characterised the patient population suffering from in-hospital PE and identified perioperative risk factors associated with PE using nationally representative data. Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey between 1990 and 2004 on patients who underwent primary or revision THA/TKA in the United States were analysed. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine if perioperative factors were associated with increased risk of in-hospital PE. An estimated 6,901,324 procedures were identified. The incidence of in-hospital PE was 0.36%. Factors associated with an increased risk for the diagnosis of PE included: revision THA, female gender, dementia, obesity, renal and cerebrovascular disease. An increased association with PE was found among patients with diagnosis of Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), psychosis (confusion), and peripheral thrombotic events. Our findings may be useful in stratifying the individual patient’s risk of PE after surgery.
",non-battery
"The uncontrollable dendrite lithium growing is a hazardous behavior for lithium metal batteries, which is mainly cause for restraint of its commercial applications. Gel-based polymer electrolyte is emerging as a promising solution to achieving high ionic conductivity dendrite-free lithium deposition and good safety for developing high-performance all-solid-state rechargeable batteries. In this work, a new sponge-supported gel-based polymer electrolyte is developed by in-situ gelation of precursor solution-soaked (1,2-diacrylyl ethane, 2,4,6-triallyloxy-1,3,5-triazine and LiPF6 electrolyte) commercial sponge. In the sponge-supported polymer electrolyte, commercial sponge is served as the supporting framework to dissipate energy, enhancing mechanical strength of polymer electrolyte, while the cross-linked 1,2-diacrylyl ethane and 2,4,6-triallyloxy-1,3,5-triazine contained LiPF6 electrolyte endow fast ion transmitting for polymer electrolyte. The S-GPE with compact structure is conducive to be formation of a highly uniform and robust SEI layer on the lithium metal, thus resulting in remarkable lithium dendrite-resistance and electrochemical performances (ionic conductivity, interfacial resistance, charge/discharge, rate behavior, and long-term cyclic lifespan).",battery
"New sol–gel encapsulated glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme electrodes, constructed from carbon film resistor electrodes and chemically deposited copper hexacyanoferrate as mediator, have been developed and characterized using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The sol–gel was prepared using three different oxysilanes: 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTOS), 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GOPMOS) and the well-known tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The sol–gel composition was optimised for each oxysilane according to the gelation time of the sol–gel solution and response time of the enzyme biosensor to standard additions of glucose. Results obtained showed that APTOS and GOPMOS have similar electrochemical behaviour but differ from TEOS. As a glucose biosensor, the sensitivity can be described by the sequence: GOPMOS>APTOS>TEOS with detection limits down to 44μM. The sensor lifetime was improved by elimination of ethanol from the hydrolysed oxysilanes by heating in a hot air stream after which APTOS-based sensors showed superior properties to GOPMOS, but with higher detection limit, and were sufficiently stable to be used for over several weeks.",battery
"Yakushima Island was used as a model area where material recycling and indigenous energy systems would be realized based on the zero-emission concept in the near future. We evaluated the renewable energy resources to propose a regional energy system on this island. In this paper, the present energy demand and supply structure was quantitatively specified, and the water potential was evaluated. The energy system in Yakushima is unique, with hydroelectric power supplying about 30% of the total energy consumption mainly by commercial and residential sectors. However, petroleum remains the main source of primary energy for transportation, heating, and cooking. The hydroelectric power yielded on the island is sufficient to cover all the energy demands on the island. We found that fossil fuel energy in Yakushima could be substituted with hydroelectric energy without causing an impact on the environment.",battery
"Superionically conducting lithium aluminum germanium phosphate (LAGP) glass-ceramic and barium strontium titanate, Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (0.6BST)-doped specimens were processed and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and AC impedance techniques. The XRD patterns exhibited the existence of LiGe2(PO4)3 as the primary phase with impurity phases AlPO4 and Li2O. SEM images revealed the presence of large LAGP crystals. The highest conductivity (5.08×10−3 Scm−1) at 27°C was obtained for the glass-ceramic sheet specimen crystallized at 850°C for 12h. Pelletized specimens prepared from the glass-ceramic powder and sintered at 850°C for 9h exhibited a slightly lower conductivity (4.62×10−3 Scm−1) at 27°C. The nonlinearity in the Arrhenius plots of total conductivity was attributed to the impurity phases, AlPO4 and Li2O and mediated the transport of lithium ion which is associated with higher activation energy. Doping of dielectric 0.6BST to the LAGP led to the shifting of the temperature of inflection towards the higher temperature in the Arrhenius plot of total conductivity and enhanced the space charge effect.",battery
"How can the electricity system operator determine the optimal quantity and quality of electricity ancillary services (such as frequency response) to procure in a market increasingly characterized by intermittent renewable electricity generation? The paper presents a system operator’s utility function to calculate the exchange rates in monetary values between different frequency response products in the electricity system. We then use the utility function in a two-sided Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism combined of two frequency response products – enhanced and primary – in the context of the system in Great Britain. This mechanism would allow the market to reveal to the system operator the welfare optimal mix of speed of frequency response and quantity to procure. We show that this mechanism is the efficient way to support new faster sources of frequency response, such as could be provided by grid scale batteries.",battery
"The use of inexpensive and biodegradable deep-eutectic ionic mixtures as solvents for the electrochemical synthesis of conducting polymers could potentially improve the sustainability of these processes and reduce their economic cost. Such an unexplored approach was investigated in this communication by growing a model polymer such as polyaniline from a 1:2 mixture of choline chloride and 1,2-ethanediol (the so-called Propeline) using potentiodynamic and potentiostatic electrochemical procedures. Beyond a preparation method, cyclic voltammetry was also used to characterize the growth of the polymers. The morphology of the films, and their optical properties, were assessed ex-situ by means of scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopic measurements in the UV–vis. The polyanilines thus prepared exhibited nanoparticulated morphology and high reversibility to doping/dedoping which evidences fast charge transport across the films. Excellent conductivities higher than 50 S cm−1 were found under this approach.",battery
"In this paper, the background, current research status and problems of separators for Li-ion batteries were reviewed first. Then a novel sandwich-like type of composite nonwoven separators was prepared to improve the performance of composite nonwoven Li-ion battery separators by combining SiO2/PVDF-HFP membranes with PVDF-HFP dipped PP nonwoven fabric. The physical and electrochemical properties of the composite separators were measured and analyzed. It is found that the mean pore size of the composite separators was in the range of 100 to 300nm with maximum pore size less than 2μm. The composite nonwoven-based separators possessed higher electrolyte uptake, stronger thermal stability, better wettability and lower interfacial resistance than the commercial PE separator. The batteries assembled with composite nonwoven separators showed stable cycling performance and improved rate performance. The composite nonwoven separators are expected to be a promising alternative to commercial PE separator.",battery
"The Na0.60CoO2 phase, obtained by a classical solid-state reaction, is tested as a conductive additive in the nickel oxide electrode. Though the process was not optimised in terms of additive repartition, the experiments show a good efficiency of the Na0.60CoO2 phase even at low cobalt content, compared to usual additives like CoO. Moreover, it increases the stability of the electrode at low potential. The added Na0.60CoO2 phase is shown to transform, during the first cycles, into a γ-type cobalt oxyhydroxide phase that is more stable at low potential than the usual additives.",battery
"Lithium-rich layered compound cathode materials recently attract ever-growing attention in lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage devices due to their high discharge capacities of over 250mAhg−1 and low cost. However, they still suffer from capacity fade, voltage decay and poor rate capability and thermal stability. In this paper, the Al&F co-doped Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13-x Mn0.54Al x O2(1-y)F2y cathode material has been successfully prepared via a co-precipitation reaction and a subsequent solid phase calcination. The resulting material combines the advantages of both Al-doping and F-doping, which can effectively mitigate the intrinsic layered-to-spinel phase transformation, and as a consequence, inhibits the capacity fade and voltage decay: delivering a discharge capacity of 217mAhg−1 with retention of 88.21% and an average discharge voltage decay of 0.4019V upon 150 cycling at 0.5C. On the other side, with an increased electronic and ionic conductivity, this co-doping practice enhances the rate capability by a considerable extent that it delivers a discharge capacity of 157mAhg−1 at 10C, thus facilitating its application for quick charging devices. In addition, the thermal stability related with battery safety is significantly meliorated. Specifically, the co-doped cathode material exhibits an initial exothermal peak at a higher temperature of 273°C and a much less overall heat generation of 221Jg−1 compared to the 210°C and 755Jg−1 for the pristine one. In conclusion, the anion/cation co-substitution strategy has been demonstrated to be of great promise for the improvement of lithium-rich layered cathode materials.",battery
"Carbon coating on battery electrode active material powders is a common practice in order to improve their electronic conductivity and the battery calendar life by limiting side reactions (i.e. active material surface degradation and electrolyte decomposition). Such a coating is currently achieved through chemical procedures involving dispersing the powder in a liquid medium with a carbon precursor followed by thermolysis at high temperatures (ca. 700 °C). This energy consuming procedure has the drawback of not being applicable to materials which may decompose or reduce under such conditions. We present herein an alternative procedure based on physical deposition of carbon, carried out at room temperature under dry conditions, hence avoiding the limitations mentioned above and being generally applicable to any electrode active material. Moreover it allows easy achievement of a homogeneous conformal coating with fine control of the coating thickness. Results on selected materials are reported to exemplify the wide application spectrum and performance improvements induced by the coating.
",battery
"The limited dispatchability of wind energy poses a challenge to its increased penetration. One technically feasible solution to this challenge is to integrate a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a wind farm. This highlights the importance of a BESS control strategy. In view of this, a stochastic model predictive control scheme is proposed in this paper. Based on the forecasted wind power distributions, the proposed scheme ensures the optimal operation of BESS in the presence of practical system constraints, thus bringing the wind-battery combined power output to the desired dispatch levels. The salient feature of the proposed scheme is that it takes into account the non-Gaussian wind power uncertainties. In this scheme, a probabilistic wind power forecasting model is employed as the prediction model, which quantifies the non-Gaussian uncertainties in wind power forecasts. Using chance constraints, the quantified uncertainties are incorporated into the controller design, thus forming a chance constrained stochastic programming problem. Using warping function, this problem is recast as a convex quadratic optimization problem, which is tractable both theoretically and practically. This way, the proposed control scheme handles the non-Gaussian uncertainties in wind power forecasts. The simulation results on actual data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. The data used in the simulation are obtained in the real operation of a wind farm in China.",battery
"An ionically conducting block copolymer was used as a template for the synthesis and confinement of lithium manganese oxide nanoparticles. The block copolymer functions as a polyelectrolyte and as a composite anode in a lithium battery system. Impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic testing, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the anode and polyelectrolyte. Galvanostatic testing indicates 300 or more cycles were possible without appreciable capacity fade.",battery
"Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a heterogeneous disorder, which is often co-morbid with learning disabilities. However, mathematical problems have rarely been studied in DCD. The aim of this study was to investigate the mathematical problems in children with various degrees of motor problems. Specifically, this study explored if the development of mathematical skills in children with DCD is delayed or deficient. Children with DCD performed significantly worse for number fact retrieval and procedural calculation in comparison with age-matched control children. Moreover, children with mild DCD differed significantly from children with severe DCD on both number fact retrieval and procedural calculation. In addition, we found a developmental delay of 1 year for number fact retrieval in children with mild DCD and a developmental delay of 2 years in children with severe DCD. No evidence for a mathematical deficit was found. Diagnostic implications are discussed.",non-battery
"Despite the high energy density of layered-type cathode materials for Na-ion batteries, their two-dimensional crystal structure suffers a large volume change and phase transition during Na+ de/intercalation, which often results in their poor cycling performances. Thus, a robust three-dimensional framework with minimal structural change is required for stable electrochemical sodium storage. Here, we introduce an earth-abundant element-based trigonal-type Na–Fe–F compound (Na2Fe2F7) with three-dimensionally interconnected FeF6 octahedra and three-dimensional Na+ diffusion pathways. Through combined studies using first-principles calculations and experiments, we confirm that Na2Fe2F7 delivers excellent power-capability due to large three-dimensional Na+ diffusion pathways as well as ultra-long cycling performance due to negligible structural change during Na+ de/intercalation. These results will guide new insights for material discovery for high performance rechargeable batteries.
",battery
"Patterns of distribution, key biometric parameters and home range extent were determined for hawksbill turtles at Lighthouse Reef Atoll (LRA), Belize over two field seasons (16days, 2009; 30days, 2010). Relative abundance was determined using 49 sightings transects (≈1km) distributed across the atoll and of all turtles encountered (n=68), 91% were immature (CCLmin ≤65cm). Habitat type was significantly correlated with abundance, with more turtles encountered on the coral reef than in the lagoon (GzLMM, χ2 2 =6.85, p<0.05; CPUE reef=1.41turtlesh−1, CPUE lagoon=0.62turtlesh−1). Hawksbills were also significantly more abundant within protected areas (GzLMM, χ2 1 =8.69, p<0.05; CPUE Blue Hole Natural Monument (BHNM)=2.96turtlesperson−1 h−1; CPUE Half Moon Caye Natural Monument (HMCNM)=2.34turtlesh−1; outside boundaries=0.88 turtlesh−1). Of 26 captures, 19 focal individuals were equipped with ultrasonic transmitters for active acoustic telemetry, and tracked for 6–25days (n=10, 2009; n=9, 2010). Spatial habitat utilisation was found to be highly variable, with large areas of overlap between distinct home ranges. Home range averaged 31.2ha±32.6 (range 5.1–111.3ha) for the juveniles that were successfully tracked (n=15), with maximum displacement in the order of 1.8km±1.0 (range 0.5–4.0km) and net displacement at 1.2km±0.9. This offshore atoll constitutes an important developmental habitat for the regional population and although our tracking durations were limited, home range of juvenile hawksbills at this site is significantly more expansive than that documented elsewhere.",non-battery
Unknown,non-battery
"Adherence to prescribed medication regimens is difficult for all patients and particularly challenging for the elderly. Medication adherence demands a working relationship between a patient or caregiver and prescriber that values open, honest discussion about medications, i.e. the administration schedule, intended benefits, adverse effects and costs.",non-battery
"To meet the requirements of fuel cell power system for electric bike, the influence of partial substitution of Zr and Cr on hydrogen storage performance of TiMn1.5V0.2-based alloys is investigated first, and a hydrogen storage tank is then built using the developed TiMn1.5V0.2-based alloy as metal hydride bed and its hydrogen supply ability is further evaluated. It is found that for TiMn1.5V0.2-based alloys, the Zr substitution for Ti effectively reduces the plateau pressure but increases the plateau slope, while the partial substitution of Mn by Cr decreases the absorption plateau pressure, leading to a smaller hysteresis factor. After the optimization of components, 6kg of Ti0.95Zr0.05Mn1.4Cr0.1V0.2 alloy powder with 5wt.% aluminum foam is mixed uniformly to form a metal hydride bed inside the tank. The measurements show that the tank releases up to 82g of hydrogen to produce a 200W fuel cell output for 300min and has a stable cyclic capacity, indicating that hydrogen storage system of TiMn1.5V0.2-based alloys for fuel cell power system of electric bike is applicable.",battery
 Lumbar multifidus muscles (LMM) are important for spinal motion and stability. Low back pain (LBP) is often associated with fat infiltration in LMM. An increasing fat infiltration of LMM may lead to lumbar dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between the severity of lumbar dysfunction and the severity of fat infiltration of LMM.,non-battery
"The aim of this paper is to further improve the fuel efficiency and keep the balance of battery SOC simultaneously during urban driving. A dynamic programming (DP)-optimized HEV power management control strategy is proposed. The DP algorithm is applied to obtain the optimal engine/motor power distribution and utilized for the design of the fuzzy control strategy. The traditional DP algorithm is modified with the consideration of SOC balance for HEVs. In the analysis of DP simulation results, rules of torque slip behaviors have been found, which are directly utilized in the design of fuzzy control strategy. In order to improve the practicality of the control strategy to meet the diversities of city driving patterns, an urban driving pattern recognition method is presented. To evaluate the control performance, the proposed control strategy is also compared with the conventional rule-based strategy. The simulation results indicate that by adopting the proposed strategy the fuel efficiency of HEV is improved, and the SOC of the battery is kept in balance during different urban driving cycles.",battery
"Weight gain has been reported after deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS), a widely used treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). This nucleus has been repeatedly found to be linked both to reward and to inhibitory control, two key aspects in the control of food intake. In this study, we assessed whether weight gain experienced by patients with PD after STN-DBS, might be due to an alteration of reward and inhibitory functions. Eighteen patients with PD were compared to eighteen healthy controls and tested three times: before surgery, in ON medication and after surgery, respectively five days after the implantation in ON medication/OFF stimulation and at least three months after surgery in ON medication/ON stimulation. All participants were assessed for depression (Beck Depression Inventory), anhedonia (Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale) and impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale). They performed a battery of tests assessing food reward sensitivity (Liking, Wanting and Preference) and a food go/no-go task. Results showed that body weight significantly increased after STN-DBS. A few days after surgery, patients were slower and more impulsive in the go/no-go task, showed a higher preference for high calorie (HC) foods and rated foods as less tasty. Months after subthalamic stimulation, the performance on the go/no-go task improved while no differences were observed in reward sensitivity. Interestingly, weight gain resulted greater in patients with higher levels of attentional impulsiveness pre-surgery, higher wanting for low calorie (LC) foods and impulsivity in the go/no-go task in ON medication/ON stimulation. However, only wanting and attentional impulsivity significantly predicted weight change. Furthermore, weight gain resulted associated with the reduction of l-Dopa after surgery and disease's duration. In conclusion, our findings are consistent with the view that weight gain in PD after STN-DBS has a multifactorial nature, which reflects the complex functional organization of the STN.",non-battery
"A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) powered portable freezer has been developed. The PEMFC system is composed of an air-cooled fuel cell stack module with combined oxidant and coolant flow, a fuel supply subsystem with two metal hydride canisters, a power management subsystem with a DC–DC converter and a lead acid battery, and a control electronics subsystem. The vapor compression refrigeration cycle has been adopted for refrigerating. The control logic for fuel cell stack operation, cabinet temperature maintenance and fuel canister replacement has been designed for a stable system operation. To estimate PEMFC system performance, the stack power output, parasitic loss and battery charging power are measured for various external loads. The PEMFC system provides a rated power output of 200.5W at 13.4V with balance-of-plant (BOP) efficiency of 72%. The maximum system efficiency based on lower heating value (LHV) is 37% at 120.7W. The PEMFC powered freezer stably operates with the continuous replacement of hydrogen canisters, and the cabinet temperature drops to −21.8°C when the ambient temperature is 26.6°C.",battery
"N-methylpyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid, with fluorine function group, N-(2-fluoroethyl) N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide is proposed as the co-solvent for Si anode. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as well as the impedance measurement is conducted to investigate its effect on the solid electrolyte interface formation. Cycling tests show that it can much better improve the cycling stability of Si than fluoroethylene carbonate or F-free ionic liquid analogue.",battery
"Electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy sources offer the potential to substantially decrease carbon emissions from both the transportation and power generation sectors of the economy. Mass adoption of EVs will have a number of impacts and benefits, including the ability to assist in the integration of renewable energy into existing electric grids. This paper reviews the current literature on EVs, the electric grid, and renewable energy integration. Key methods and assumptions of the literature are discussed. The economic, environmental and grid impacts of EVs are reviewed. Numerous studies assessing the ability of EVs to integrate renewable energy sources are assessed; the literature indicates that EVs can significantly reduce the amount of excess renewable energy produced in an electric system. Studies on wind–EV interaction are much more detailed than those on solar photovoltaics (PV) and EVs. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.",battery
"Three types of lithium ion pouch cells ranging from small consumer electric cells with LiCoO2 cathode to large (electric vehicle size) cells with nanophosphate chemistry were tested under several local and global compression scenarios, including compression between two flat plates and local indentation with a flat cylindrical punch, a conical punch, and three hemispherical punches. Load, displacement, temperature, and voltage were recorded in all tests. The punch displacements were stopped when a drop in force and voltage of the cell, as well as a rise in temperature indicated a short circuit in the cell. Finite element models were developed for each cell type. Two tests were used for calibration of the constitutive properties of each type of cell, and the remaining tests served for the validation of the computational model. The models successfully predicted the load displacement relation and contour of deformations in the cells. Additionally, the models closely predict the force and punch displacement corresponding to the onset of short circuit in the cell. The current results are building confidence in robustness and accuracy of the present calibration and modeling approach.",battery
"Executive dysfunction has been postulated as the core deficit in ADHD, although many deficits in lower order cognitive processes have also been identified. By obtaining an appropriate baseline of lower order cognitive functioning light may be shed on as to whether executive deficits result from problems in lower order and/or higher order cognitive processes. We examined motor inhibition and cognitive flexibility in relation to a baseline measure in 816 children from ADHD and control families. Multiple children in a family were tested in order to examine the familiality of the measures. No evidence was found for deficits in motor inhibition or cognitive flexibility in children with ADHD or their nonaffected siblings: Compared to their baseline speed and accuracy of responding, children with ADHD and their (non)affected siblings were not disproportionally slower or inaccurate when demands for motor inhibition or cognitive flexibility were added to the task. However, children with ADHD and their (non)affected siblings were overall less accurate than controls, which could not be attributed to differences in response speed. This suggests that inaccuracy of responding is characteristic of children having (a familial risk for) ADHD. Motor inhibition and cognitive flexibility as operationalized with mean reaction time were found to be familial. It is concluded that poorer performance on executive tasks in children with ADHD and their (non)affected siblings may result from deficiencies in lower order cognitive processes and not (only) from higher order cognitive processes/executive functions.",non-battery
" The delivery of technology-enhanced home care is growing in most industrialized countries. The objective of our study was to document, from the patient's perspective, how the level of user-friendliness of medical technology influences its integration into the private and social lives of patients. Understanding what makes a technology user-friendly should help improve the design of home care services.",non-battery
"Lithium sulfur battery is promising as one of the next generation high performance electrochemical systems because of its high energy density and outstanding cost effectiveness. In this work, the hollow structured manganese dioxide modified by polymeric multilayers (PM) is proposed as the sulfur host for lithium sulfur batteries. In the polymeric multilayer-coated S@MnO2 cathode material (S@MnO2@PM), the MnO2 shell shows the capability in trapping the polysulfide intermediates and suppressing the shuttling caused by their dissolution into electrolyte, and the polymeric multilayers improves the Li+ ion transfer in the composites besides the trapping of polysulfides. The S@MnO2@PM composite exhibits good long-term cyclability due to the synergetic effect of polymeric multilayer and manganese dioxide with hollow porous structure, retaining a discharge capacity of 481 mAh·g−1 at 0.2 C after 1000 cycles. This demonstration indicates that polymeric multilayers coating on S@MnO2 facilitates the charge transfer and improves the cycling stability of lithium sulfur batteries.",battery
"The thermal dissipation technique is widely used to estimate transpiration of individual trees and forest stands, but there are conflicting reports regarding its accuracy. We compared the rate of water uptake by stems of six tree species in potometers with sap flow (FS) estimates derived from thermal dissipation sensors to evaluate the accuracy of the technique. To include the full range of xylem anatomies (i.e., diffuse-porous, ring-porous, and tracheid), we used saplings of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), white oak (Quercus alba), American elm (Ulmus americana), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). In almost all instances, estimated FS deviated substantially from actual FS, with the discrepancy in cumulative FS ranging from 9 to 55%. The thermal dissipation technique generally underestimated FS. There were a number of potential causes of these errors, including species characteristics and probe construction and installation. Species with the same xylem anatomy generally did not show similar relationships between estimated and actual FS, and the largest errors were in species with diffuse-porous (Populus deltoides, 34%) and tracheid (Pinus taeda, 55%) xylem anatomies, rather than ring-porous species Quercus alba (9%) and Ulmus americana (15%) as we had predicted. New species-specific α and β parameter values only modestly improved the accuracy of FS estimates. However, the relationship between the estimated and actual FS was linear in all cases and a simple calibration based on the slope of this relationship reduced the error to 1–4% in five of the species, and to 8% in Liquidambar styraciflua. Our calibration approach compensated simultaneously for variation in species characteristics and sensor construction and use. We conclude that species-specific calibrations can substantially increase the accuracy of the thermal dissipation technique.
",non-battery
"The layered LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 was synthesized by wet-chemical method and characterized by X-ray diffraction and SQUID magnetometry. The powders adopted the α-NaFeO2 structure. The ferromagnetism observed below Tc=140K is attributed to the linear Ni2+(3a)–O–Mn4+(3b)–O–Ni2+(3a) magnetic paths, from which we derive that 7% of the nickel occupies the (3a) Wyckoff position in place of Li, constituting a Ni2+(3a) defect. The analysis of the magnetic properties in the paramagnetic phase in the framework of the Curie–Weiss law agrees well with the combination of Ni2+ (S =1) and Mn4+ (S =3/2) spin-only values. Results of structural and magnetic properties of chemically delithiated sample are consistent with the electronic state Mn4+/Ni4+ and the high-spin configuration for Ni4+ ions. The LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 electrode sintered at 900°C delivers a capacity 166mAh/g at 0.1C rate which is capacity retention of 95%.",battery
"The World Health Organization estimates that smoking poses one of the greatest global health risks in the general population. Rates of current smoking among people living with HIV (PLHIV) are 2–3 times that of the general population, which contributes to the higher incidence of non-AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in PLHIV. Given the benefit of smoking cessation, strategies to assist individuals who smoke to quit should be a primary focus in modern HIV care. Tobacco harm reduction focuses on reducing health risk without necessarily requiring abstinence. However, there remains uncertainty about the safety, policy and familiarity of specific approaches, particularly the use of vaporised nicotine products. Evidence suggests that vaporised nicotine products may help smokers stop smoking and are not associated with any serious side-effects. However, there is the need for further safety and efficacy data surrounding interventions to assist quitting in the general population, as well as in PLHIV specifically. In addition, official support for vaping as a harm reduction strategy varies by jurisdiction and this determines whether medical practitioners can prescribe vaporised products and whether patients can access vaporised nicotine products. When caring for PLHIV who smoke, healthcare workers should follow general guidelines to assist with smoking cessation. These include: asking the patient about their smoking status; assessing the patient’s readiness to quit and their nicotine dependence; advising the patient to stop smoking; assisting the patient in their attempt to stop smoking through referral, counselling, pharmacotherapy, self-help resources and/or health education; and arranging follow-up with the patient to evaluate their progress.",non-battery
"Sputter glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique was used to fabricate 50 and 200 nm long tilted Pt nanorods on glassy carbon electrodes with weight loadings of 0.042 and 0.117 mg cm−2, respectively. GLAD-tilted Pt nanorod electrodes were investigated as potential electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells utilizing cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating-disk electrode (RDE) techniques in aqueous perchloric acid (HClO4) to determine their oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities and stabilities. The CV results demonstrate that the tilted Pt nanorods electrocatalyst exhibits more positive oxide reduction peak potential compared to conventional carbon supported Pt particles (Pt/C), indicating that tilted GLAD Pt nanorods are less oxophilic than Pt/C. In addition, the multiple CV cycles in acidic electrolyte showed that tilted Pt nanorods are significantly more stable than Pt/C. Furthermore, specific ORR activities of tilted Pt nanorods determined by RDE technique were analyzed and compared to literature values of Pt/C and vertically aligned Pt nanorod electrodes. The room temperature RDE results revealed that tilted Pt nanorods demonstrate higher area-specific activity than that of Pt/C catalyst. The enhanced ORR activity of tilted Pt nanorods is due to their large crystallite size and possible dominance of the preferred crystal orientations for ORR. However, the tilted Pt nanorods showed lower mass-specific activity than Pt/C electrocatalyst caused by the large diameters of the tilted Pt nanorods. Overall ORR activity and stability of tilted Pt nanorods were found to be comparable to those of vertical ones.
",battery
"Ruthenium oxide/graphene (RuO2/GR) hybrid materials for high performance electrochemical capacitor have been prepared by a solution-phase assembly technology between RuO2 nanosheets and GR nanosheets at room temperature. The high dispersion of RuO2 and GR nanosheets maintains a high structural stability for the hybrid material, and causes an obvious synergistic effect between the RuO2 and GR nanosheets. A specific capacitance of 479 F g−1 has been obtained for the hybrid material with RuO2 mass content of 40% (abbreviated as RuGR46), and a high specific capacitance of 998 F g−1 obtained for RuO2 in the electrode. The utilization of RuO2 in the RuGR46 hybrid material increases by adding GR, and the capacitance of RuGR46 is quite comparable to that of the pristine RuO2·xH2O while 60 wt% of RuO2 can be saved. A symmetrical electrochemical capacitor based on the RuGR46 electrode is assembled with 0.5 mol L−1 H2SO4 solution as the electrolyte in a voltage of 0–1.2 V. It can give a high energy density of 20.28 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 600 W kg−1. Moreover, it presents a high power density (14.03 Wh kg−1 at 12 kW kg−1) and excellent cycle performance.",battery
"Solar energy is often chosen as the enabling technology for many off grid, rural electrification projects. In many situations photovoltaic systems (PV) prove to be a highly effective means of meeting essential needs such as lighting for homes, schools and community centres, as well as remote telecommunication, fresh drinking water and vaccine refrigeration. Throughout the Pacific-island region, countries such as the Philippines have experimented with small scale rural energy projects for over three decades. There are lack of adequate ‘individual’ technical training and appropriate social preparation activities has often resulted in project failures due to poor maintenance, abuse, poor installation, and lack of understanding by the system owner, operator or local technician. This research was aimed at investigating the importance of individual training in capacity building programs for solar home system (SHS) technology transfer projects. The focus is on the analysis of the effectiveness of the individual training component in various projects in the Philippines. A survey has been undertaken which included a series of SHS site visits and individual surveys with system owners and operators, and Focus Group Discussions with other project stakeholders. Survey results show that adequate user and local technician training is an important factor in successfully implementing rural electrification through PV power systems. However, for training to be successful there must be a consensus of what the target performance behaviors should be and how they should be measured. The most basic requirements for successful training are that the training reaches to the right people at the right time and delivers the right content.",battery
"In this paper, SnO2@C/MWCNTs‑lithium fluoride (LiF) composite electrode was prepared. Carbon-coated SnO2 (SnO2@C) was prepared by spray drying method with water-soluble asphalt as the carbon source and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as conductive agent. The electronic conductivity of the new type of anode was significantly enhanced and the volume expansion of SnO2 was refrained. LiF was utilized to enhance the stability of the SEI film and improve the coulombic efficiency and capacity retention rate of electrode. After 200 cycles, the SnO2@C/MWCNTs-LiF anode still maintain 70.1% capacity retention rate. And the specific capacity hold at 274 mAh/g at 2400 mA/g compared with 136 mAh/g of SnO2@C/MWCNTs anode. The results demonstrated that the addition of LiF can stabilize the SEI film and improve the electrochemical performance of the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).",battery
 To clarify the prevalence of mental diseases including personality disorders in a sample of German prisoners regarding delinquency and gender specificity.,non-battery
"Nano-clusters of noble metals Ru, Rh, Pd, Pt and Au have been supported on γ-Al2O3, C and SiO2, of which the catalytic activities have been investigated for hydrolysis of NH3BH3. Among these catalysts, the Ru, Rh and Pt catalysts exhibit high activities to generate stoichiometric amount of hydrogen with fast kinetics, whereas the Pd and Au catalysts are less active. Support effect has been studied by testing the hydrogen generation reaction in the presence of Pt supported on γ-Al2O3, VULCAN® carbon and SiO2, and it is found that Pt on γ-Al2O3, which has the smallest particle size, is the most active. Concentration dependence of the hydrogen generation from aqueous NH3BH3 solutions has been investigated in the presence of Pt/γ-Al2O3 by keeping the amount of Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst unchanged, which exhibits that the hydrogen release versus time (mlH2 min−1) does not significantly change with increasing the NH3BH3 concentration, indicating that the hydrogen release rate is not dependent on the NH3BH3 concentration and the high activity of the Pt catalyst can be kept at high NH3BH3 concentrations. Activation energies have been measured to be 23, 21 and 21kJmol−1 for Ru/γ-Al2O3, Rh/γ-Al2O3 and Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalysts, respectively, which may correspond to the step of B–N bond breaking on the metal surfaces. The particle sizes, surface morphology and surface areas of the catalysts have been obtained by TEM and BET experiments.",battery
"Various amounts of ethylene glycol (EG) were used during the preparation of LiFePO4/C composite by hydrothermal method. The effects of EG on the structure, morphology, and the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, surface area measurement, and electrochemical testing methods. The results showed that the ratio of the EG/water of the reaction medium for the electrode preparation has significant effects on the morphology and the crystallinity of the particles. The results also showed that the LiFePO4/C prepared with the optimized EG/water ratio (7/93) exhibited the best electrochemical performance. In particular, this electrode exhibited the best specific discharge capacity of 168.8 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C rate because of its uniform particle distribution, its large specific surface area, and its best crystallinity which is favorable for high Li-ion diffusion during redox reaction.
",battery
"State of Health (SOH) estimation of lithium ion batteries is critical for Battery Management Systems (BMSs) in Electric Vehicles (EVs). Many estimation techniques utilize a battery model; however, the model must have high accuracy and high computational efficiency. Conventional electrochemical full-order models can accurately capture battery states, but they are too complex and computationally expensive to be used in a BMS. A Single Particle (SP) model is a good alternative that addresses this issue; however, existing SP models do not consider degradation physics. In this work, an SP-based degradation model is developed by including Solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI) layer formation, coupled with crack propagation due to the stress generated by the volume expansion of the particles in the active materials. A model of lithium ion loss from SEI layer formation is integrated with an advanced SP model that includes electrolytic physics. This low-order model quickly predicts capacity fade and voltage profile changes as a function of cycle number and temperature with high accuracy, allowing for the use of online estimation techniques. Lithium ion loss due to SEI layer formation, increase in battery resistance, and changes in the electrodes' open circuit potential operating windows are examined to account for capacity fade and power loss. In addition to the low-order implementation to facilitate on-line estimation, the model proposed in this paper provides quantitative information regarding SEI layer formation and crack propagation, as well as the resulting battery capacity fade and power dissipation, which are essential for SOH estimation in a BMS.",battery
"A metal-rich form of Ni-selenide, nickel subselenide, Ni3Se2 has been investigated as a potential oxygen evolution electrocatalyst under alkaline conditions for the first time. The Ni3Se2 phase has a structure similar to the sulfur mineral heazlewoodite, which contains metal–metal bonding. The electrocatalytic activities of Ni3Se2 towards OER were seen to be at par with or even superior to the transition metal oxide based electrocatalyst in terms of onset overpotential for O2 evolution as well as overpotential to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2 (observed at 290 mV). The electrocatalytic Ni3Se2 films were grown by electrodeposition on conducting substrates and the deposition parameters including the pH of the electrolytic bath, deposition potential, and substrate composition were seen to have some influence on the catalytic activity. So far, Ni3Se2 films deposited on the Au-coated Si substrate was seen to have the lowest overpotential. Annealing of the as-deposited electrocatalytic films in an inert atmosphere, enhanced their catalytic efficiencies by decreasing the overpotential (@10 mA cm−2) as well as increasing the current density. The structure and morphology of these films has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Catalytic activities were investigated through detailed electrochemical studies under alkaline conditions, including linear sweep voltammetry, chronoamperometric studies at constant potential, electrochemical surface area determination and calculation of the Tafel slope. The Faradaic efficiency of this catalyst has been estimated by reducing the evolved O2 in a RRDE set-up which also confirmed that the evolved gas was indeed O2. In addition to low overpotentials, these Ni3Se2 electrodeposited films were seen to be exceptionally stable under conditions of continuous O2 evolution for an extended period (42 h).
",battery
" The number of patients who have a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIEDs) that undergo a course of radiotherapy is increasing due to the ageing population. The majority of clinical studies only evaluate any CIED malfunction at the end of a course of irradiation or in a case of there being symptoms of possible malfunction. As a result, little data has been collected on CIED status acquired during an active course of irradiation.",non-battery
"ZnFe2O4 nano particles as an anode material for lithium ion batteries are prepared by the glycine-nitrate combustion method. The mixture of styrene butadiene rubber and sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose (SBR/CMC) with the weight ratio of 1:1 is used as the binder for ZnFe2O4 electrode. Compared with the conventional polyvinylidene-fluoride (PVDF) binder, the SBR/CMC binder is much cheaper and environment benign. More significantly, this water soluble binder significantly improves the rate capability and cycle stability of ZnFe2O4. A discharge capacity of 873.8 mAh g−1 is obtained after 100 cycles at the 0.1C rate, with a very little capacity fading rate of 0.06% per cycle. Studies show that the SBR/CMC binder enhances the adhesion of the electrode film to the current collector, and constructs an effective three-dimensional network for electrons transport. In addition, the SBR/CMC binder helps to form a uniform SEI film thus prohibiting the formation of lithium dendrite. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that the SBR/CMC binder lowers the ohmic resistance of the electrode, depresses the formation of SEI film and facilitates the charge transfer reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface. These advantages highlight the potential applications of SBR/CMC binder in lithium ion batteries.",battery
Results are presented from an electrochemical investigation into properties of hydrous MnO2 grown by electrodeposition from aqueous solution. MnO2 grown from MnSO4 solutions mixed with acetate based electrolytes has been studied for electrochemical capacitor applications. The addition of acetates to the electrodeposition solution permits a controllable reduction in the deposition potential from roughly 0.95 to 0.55V under galvanostatic conditions. We can observe some morphological changes in the material under SEM examination when different acetate solutions are used but the capacitance appears to be insensitive to this variable. We have grown material under both potentiostatic and galvanostatic conditions for comparison. We have observed a consistent insensitivity in specific capacitance for material deposited under potentiostatic conditions at 1V in comparison to galvanostatic depositions occurring in the 0.55V range. We have also observed a consistent decrease in specific capacitance from 260 to 50F/g as material thickness increases.,battery
"In this paper, an insect biofuel cell (BFC) using trehalose included in insect hemolymph was developed. The insect BFC is based on trehalase and glucose oxidase (GOD) reaction systems which oxidize β-glucose obtained by hydrolyzing trehalose. First, we confirmed by LC-MS that a sufficient amount of trehalose was present in the cockroach hemolymph (CHL). The maximum power density obtained using the insect BFC was 6.07 μW/cm2. The power output was kept more than 10 % for 2.5 h by protecting the electrodes with a dialysis membrane. Furthermore, the maximum power density was increased to 10.5 μW/cm2 by using an air diffusion cathode. Finally, we succeeded in driving a melody integrated circuit (IC) and a piezo speaker by connecting five insect BFCs in series. The results indicate that the insect BFC is a promising insect-mountable battery to power environmental monitoring micro-tools.
",non-battery
"Currently, mobile learning is a new trend in medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the use of m-learning in medical education and discuss its effect on student learning process in order to help future medical professionals deliver better care for patients and populations. This was done by conducting a literature search in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE, and consequently by evaluating the findings of the selected studies. The results of this study confirm that mobile learning is efficient, especially in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Nevertheless, so far, the role of mobile learning has been perceived as an appropriate complement to traditional learning. Therefore, more research should be conducted on the efficacy of the use mobile learning in medical education, as well as to explore the unique features of mobile devices for the enhancement of learning outcomes.
",non-battery
"The present study compared object and action naming in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia. We tested the hypothesis put forward in (some) previous studies that in Alzheimer’s dementia the production of verbs, that is required in action naming, is better preserved than the production of nouns, that is required in object naming. The possible reason for the dissociation is that verbs are supported predominantly by frontal brain structures that may remain relatively better preserved in early Alzheimer’s disease. Objects, on the other hand, are supported by temporal lobe structures that are affected early in the disease. An alternative hypothesis, which is supported by other studies, is that action naming is more impaired than object naming due to verbs being semantically more complex than nouns. In order to test these contrasting hypotheses, the present study used more stringent methodology than previous studies. We used a larger set of stimuli with carefully matched object and action items and we collected not only accuracy data but also naming latencies, a measure that is sensitive to even mild lexical retrieval problems. We compared the performance of 19 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease with that of 19 healthy age matched participants. We found that both the patients and the comparison group responded faster and made fewer errors on the object pictures than the action pictures. A qualitative analysis of the naming errors indicated that object and action naming pose different demands for the language system. The results overall suggest that the patients’ performance is an exaggeration of the pattern present in the comparison participants.",non-battery
"Hollow sphere geometry is compared with the corresponding nonhollow one in terms of its electrochemical benefits. Lithiation of Fe3O4 and its backward reaction is chosen as a case study process. Dimension of the hollow structure is carefully controlled to have the same mass per a single particle as that of its nonhollow counterpart. The comparison shows the possibility that the faradaic performances of hollow geometry could be better than those of the nonhollow in terms of volumetric as well as gravimetric capacities, even if the hollow has void in its centre.",battery
"Recent work on the empirical structure of psychopathology has aimed to address some limitations that can arise from traditional categorical classification approaches. This research has focused on modeling patterns of co-occurrence among traditional diagnoses, uncovering a variety of well-validated dimensions (or spectra) of psychopathology, spanning common and uncommon mental disorders. A model integrating these empirically derived spectra (the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology; HiTOP) has been proposed. However, the placement of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) within this model remains unclear, as studies have variably found OCD to fit best as part of the Fear, Distress or Thought Disorder spectra. One reason for this may be the heterogeneity of symptoms experienced by individuals with OCD, which is lost when analysing categorical diagnoses. For example, different symptom clusters within OCD—such as washing and contamination versus obsessions and checking—may be differentially associated with different spectra in the HiTOP model. The aim of this study was to test this hypothesis. Data were collected in an anonymous online survey from community participants (n = 609), largely with elevated symptoms of mental illness, and analyzed in a factor analytic framework treating OCD as a unitary construct and as four separate symptom clusters. The results indicated that OCD and its constituent symptom clusters had significant loadings of varying strength on the Fear and Thought Disorder spectra. These findings suggest that OCD may be best characterized as cross-loading on both the Fear and Thought Disorder spectra, and highlight the importance of accounting for diagnostic heterogeneity in future research.
",non-battery
"Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a canonical tool commonly used in environmental microbiology research to visualize targeted cells. However, the problems of low signal intensity and false-positive signals impede its widespread application. Alternatively, the signal intensity can be amplified by incorporating Hybridization Chain Reaction (HCR) with FISH, while the specificity can be improved through protocol modification and proper counterstaining. Here we optimized the HCR-FISH protocol for studying microbes in environmental samples, particularly marine sediments. Firstly, five sets of HCR initiator/amplifier pairs were tested on the laboratory-cultured bacterium Escherichia coli and the archaeon Methanococcoides methylutens, and two sets displayed high hybridization efficiency and specificity. Secondly, we tried to find the best combination of sample pretreatment methods and HCR-FISH protocol for environmental sample analysis with the aim of producing less false positive signals. Various detachment methods, extraction methods and formulas of hybridization buffer were tested using sediment samples. Thirdly, an image processing method was developed to enhance the DAPI signal of microbial cells against that of abiotic particles, providing a reliable reference for FISH imaging. In summary, our optimized HCR-FISH protocol showed promise to serve as an addendum to traditional FISH for research on environmental microbes.",non-battery
"A series of experiments have been performed to investigate electrochemical properties of Mm0.7Mg x Ni2.58Co0.5Mn0.3Al0.12 (x =0, 0.3) alloy at various temperatures (238K, 273K and 303K). The results indicate that both alloy electrodes exhibit high dischargeabilities after elemental substitution, above 320mAhg−1 even at 238K. The capacity degradation of the two alloys are primarily ascribed to serious pulverization, other than the oxidation of active components at the initial stage. Moreover, the electrochemical performances of Mm0.7Mg x Ni2.58Co0.5Mn0.3Al0.12 (x =0, 0.3) alloy electrodes depend on the alloy type and testing temperature. Mm0.7Mg0.3Ni2.58Co0.5Mn0.3Al0.12 alloy, consisting of LaNi5-phase and La2Ni7-phase, shows better properties of discharge capacity, cyclic stability, self-discharge and pulverization resistance at the three temperatures than those of single LaNi5-phase Mm0.7Ni2.58Co0.5Mn0.3Al0.12 alloy. The electrochemical kinetics studies indicate that the activation energy of hydrogen diffusion and exchange current density (I 0) of Mm0.7Mg0.3Ni2.58Co0.5Mn0.3Al0.12 alloy are lower than those of Mm0.7Ni2.58Co0.5Mn0.3Al0.12 alloy. When the temperature increases from 238 to 303K, the capacity loss, high-rate dischargeability, exchange current density I 0 and hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D/a 2) of the two alloys increases, while capacity retention decreases. Further analysis of kinetics suggests that bulk hydrogen diffusion is the rate-determining step of the battery reaction at low temperature 238K, and charge-transfer reaction on alloy surface is the rate-determining step when tested at 273K and 303K for both alloys. The perfect low temperature discharge capacities of the two alloys can mainly attribute to the decrease of activation energy for hydrogen diffusion after elemental substitution.",battery
"For electric vehicle (EV) or hybrid EV (HEV) development and integration of renewables in electrical networks, battery monitoring systems have to be more and more precise to take into account the state-of-charge and the dynamic behavior of the battery. Some non-integer order models of electrochemical batteries have been proposed in literacy with a good accuracy and a low number of parameters in the frequential domain. Nevertheless, time simulation of such models required to approximate this non-integer order system by an equivalent high integer order model. An adapted algorithm is then proposed in this article to simulate the non-integer order model without any approximation, thanks to the construction of a 3-order generalized state-space system. This algorithm is applied and validated on a 2.3 A.h Li-ion battery.",non-battery
"In this paper, we reported the synthesis of single-crystalline octahedral LiMn2O4 particles by a two-step method in which well-shaped octahedral Mn3O4 was easily obtained by the hydrothermal reaction of KMnO4 in water/N, N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) mixed solution and then transferred to LiMn2O4 by the solid-state lithiation process. High crystallinity and phase purity were also observed. When used as a cathode for Li-ion battery, the octahedral LiMn2O4 particles have demonstrated superior electrochemical properties in comparison with the LiMn2O4 particles by sol-gel method. A high initial discharge capacity of 122.7mAhg−1 was exhibited at 1C-rate and 104mAhg−1 maintained after 200 cycles for octahedral LiMn2O4. And good rate capability has also been achieved. The excellent electrochemical properties should be mainly attributed to the special octahedral morphology, single crystalline nature and high crystallinity.",battery
"Rapid microscale toxicity tests make it possible to screen large numbers of compounds and greatly simplify toxicity identification evaluation and other effect directed chemical analyses of effluents or environmental samples. Tests using Vibrio fischeri (such as Microtox®) detect toxicants that cause non-specific narcosis, but are insensitive to other important classes of contaminants. The microbial assay for risk assessment (MARA) is a 24 h multi-species test that seeks to address this problem by using a battery of ten bacteria and a fungus. But there has been little independent evaluation of this test, and there is no published information on its sensitivity to pesticides. Here, we assess the performance of MARA using a range of toxicants including reference chemicals, fungicides and environmental samples. Mean MARA microbial toxic concentrations   and IC20s (20% Inhibitory concentrations) indicate the toxicant concentrations affecting the more sensitive micro-organisms, while the mean IC50 (50% Inhibitory concentration) was found to be the concentration that was toxic to most MARA species. For the two fungicides tested, the yeast (Pichia anomalia) was the most sensitive of the ten MARA species, and was more sensitive than the nine other yeasts tested. The test may be particularly valuable for work with fungicides. Mean MARA IC50s were comparable to values for nine other yeast species and the lowest individual IC50s for each toxicant were comparable to reported IC50s for Daphnia magna, Selenastrum capricornutum and Microtox® bioassays. MARA organisms exhibited more variable sensitivities, with the most sensitive organism being different for different samples, enhancing the likelihood of toxicity detection and giving a toxicity “fingerprint” that may help identify toxicants. The test, therefore, has great potential and would be valuable for ecotoxicological testing of pollutants.
",non-battery
 The purpose of this study was to explore breast cancer survivors’ interest in and preferences for technology-supported exercise interventions.,non-battery
"The fuel-cell powered bus is becoming the favored choice for electric vehicles because of its extended driving range, zero emissions, and high energy conversion efficiency when compared with battery-operated electric vehicles. In China, a demonstration program for the fuel cell bus fleet operated at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai Expo in 2010. It is necessary to develop comprehensive proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) diagnostic tools to increase the reliability of these systems. It is especially critical for fuel-cell city buses serving large numbers of passengers using public transportation. This paper presents a diagnostic analysis and implementation study based on the signed directed graph (SDG) method for the fuel-cell system. This diagnostic system was successfully implemented in the fuel-cell bus fleet at the Shanghai Expo in 2010.",battery
"Recent upsurge in the two-dimensional (2D) materials have established their larger role on energy storage applications. To this end, Mxene represent a new paradigm extending beyond the realm of oft-explored elemental 2D materials beginning with graphene. Here in, we employed first principles modelling based on density functional theory to investigate the role of S-functionalized Nitride Mxenes as anodes for Li/Na ion batteries. To be specific, V2NS2 and Ti2NS2 have been explored with a focus on computing meaningful descriptors to quantify these 2D materials to be optimally performing electrodes. The Li/Na ion adsorption energies are found to be high (>-2 eV) on both the surfaces and associated with significant charge transfer. Interestingly, this ion intercalation can reach up to multilayers which essentially affords higher specific capacity for the substrate. Particularly, these two 2D materials (V2NS2 and Ti2NS2) have been found to be more suitable for Li-ion batteries with estimated theoretical capacities of 299.52 mAh g−1 and 308.28 mAh g−1 respectively. We have also probed the diffusion barriers of ion migration on these two surfaces and these are found to be ultrafast in nature. All these unique features qualify these Mxenes to be potential anode materials for rechargeable batteries and likely to draw imminent attention.",battery
"Microscale Li4Ti5−x Zn x O12 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) particles with high phase purity were synthesized by a simple solid-state reaction. The effect of the zinc doping on the physicochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) was extensively studied by TG-DSC, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, CV, EIS, and galvanostatic charge–discharge testing. The crystallization of lithium titanate oxide forms at about 750 °C. The lattice parameter of the Zn-doped LTO samples is slightly smaller than that for the pure LTO samples, and zinc doping does not change the basic Li4Ti5O12 structure. Even though the material has a particle size of 1–2 μm, Zn-doped LTO shows very high excellent capacity retention between 0 and 2.5 V. Especially, in rate performance, the Li4Ti4.8Zn0.2O12 sample maintains capacity of about 180 mAh g−1 until 5 C rates after 200 cycles, while the pure LTO sample shows severe capacity decline at corresponding rates. The reason for the high rate performance of Zn-doped LTO anode is ascertained to the diffusion coefficient (D Li) and reversible intercalation and deintercalation of lithium ion. The superior cycling performance and wide discharge voltage range, as well as simple synthesis route and low synthesis cost of the Zn-doped LTO are expected to show a potential commercial application.",battery
" The soluble lead flow battery (SLFB) is conventionally configured with an undivided cell chamber. This is possible, unlike other flow batteries, because both electrode active materials are electroplated as solids from a common species, Pb2+, on the electrode surfaces during charging. Physically separating the active materials has the advantage that a single electrolyte and pump circuit can be used; however, failure mechanisms such as electrical shorting may be observed. In addition, a common electrolyte requires that any electrolyte additives are compatible with both half-cell reactions. This paper introduces two new configurations; semi- and fully divided for the SLFB. Cationic, anionic, and microporous separators are assessed for ionic conductivity in SLFB electrolytes, showing that their incorporation adds as little as a 20 mV to the cell voltage. Voltammetry shows the effect of additives on the equilibrium potential and stripping overpotential of PbO2. It is then demonstrated that the incorporation of a separator into the SLFB can reduce failure due to electrical shorting and permit electrode-specific additives to be used. A unit flow cell with electrode area of 100 cm2 is shown to operate for over 300 Ah in the semi-divided configuration, more than doubling the previously reported cycle life for cells of similar size.",battery
"This study describes the preparation and analysis of laser micro-structured nickel metal electrodes for application as a cathode material in micro-batteries based on the nickel oxyhydroxide chemistry. Using ultra-short pulse length lasers (picoseconds to femtoseconds); surface micro-structures in the form of ripples are rapidly generated at the surface of nickel metal cathodes. These ripple micro-structures, with a periodic spacing approximately equal to the wavelength of laser radiation used, are more commonly referred to as laser-induced periodic plasmonic structures (LIPPS). The electrochemical activity of the LIPPS nickel metal cathodes is investigated in aqueous KOH using cyclic voltammetry. Across a wide range of scan rates, the results of the voltammetry show that the formation of LIPPS yields a considerable enhancement in the electrochemical activity of the nickel surface. The observed enhancement is attributed to both the greater surface area of the rippled surface relative to a planar nickel surface and a thicker NiO x layer generated by the laser process.",battery
"Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) with a layered structure is considered an attractive cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its low cost, abundance, and relatively high theoretical capacity (294mAhg−1 with two lithium insertion/extractions per unit formula) as compared with more commonly used cathode materials such as LiCoO2 (140mAhg−1) and LiFePO4 (170mAhg−1). However, practical applications of V2O5 are limited by its poor structural stability, low electrical conductivity, and slow electrochemical kinetics, leading to poor long-term cycling stability and rate performance. In this study, carbon-coated V2O5 nanoparticles were synthesized by facile thermal decomposition of a soluble intermediate product, namely (NH4)(VO)(C6H5O7) from a reaction of NH4VO3 with citric acid (C6H8O7); citric acid was used as both a carbon source and a chelating/reducing agent. The highly crystalline V2O5 nanoparticles were coated with a carbon layer of thickness approximately 4–5nm. The carbon-coated V2O5 nanoparticles had better electrochemical performances than those of V2O5 nanoparticles synthesized using tartaric acid (C4H6O6) or oxalic acid (C2H2O4), which are commonly used as reducing agents. They exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 293mAhg−1 between 2.1 and 4.0V at a rate of 0.1C, and good capacity retention of 90% after 30 cycles. At high current densities of 0.5–5 C, excellent rate capabilities and cycling stabilities were achieved.",battery
"The mass ratio between electrode and electrolyte in lithium-ion battery plays a key role for the battery thermal stability. Its effect on the thermal stability of their coexisting system was studied using C80 micro-calorimeter. For the Li0.5CoO2–LiPF6/ethylene carbonate (EC)+diethyl carbonate (DEC) coexisting system, when the mass ratios of Li0.5CoO2–LiPF6/EC+DEC are 2:1, 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3, one, two, three and four main exothermic peaks are detected with total heat generation of −1043.8Jg−1, −1052.6Jg−1, −1178.5Jg−1 and −1684.5Jg−1, respectively. For the Li x C6–LiPF6/EC+DEC coexisting system, the thermal behavior trend is similar, and the heat generation increases with the electrolyte content increasing, however, and the onset temperature are very close to each others. The heating rate also influence the heat generation rate for the two coexisting system, too far or too low heating rate could results in varies heat generation.",non-battery
"Battery power is one of the most important sources of energy for vehicles that do not produce harmful gases, electric vehicles. These electric vehicles are also capable of taking advantage of the electric grid to recharge at night. Scientists worldwide are searching for practical battery designs and electrodes with high cycling stability for electric vehicles by combining nanotechnology with surface coating technologies. Multiple tests have been performed upon lithium-ion batteries; however, new research is focusing on aluminum-ion batteries. The production and application of this form of battery technology is expected to improve greatly in the future. This Review summarizes the recent highlights in the energy industry as well as our laboratory work regarding lithium-ion and aluminum-ion batteries. The focus of this work is on battery structure models and nanoscale analysis technologies. Furthermore, this Review outlines the challenges that exist in producing cheaper and more accessible batteries by examining the energy storage and transmission principles of these new batteries. The structure and size effects of nanoparticles allows, as well as probes on the thermodynamic mechanism for mediating lessened battery performance due to heat expansion of the nanostructure. Finally, this Review looks at batteries and electrodes of electric vehicles as objects, commenting on the design ideas and feasibility of new battery technologies.",battery
"Abstract There are various types of measurements and controls accomplished through sensors and transmitters. Pressure, temperature, flow, and level types of general measurements are included in this chapter. Different types of pressure and temperature elements are deployed for respective measurements. Flow elements are often used as differential producers for flow measurements. Level measurements are often based on pressure and differential pressure measurements. Other types of flow and level measurements are also described. Working principle, specification/data sheets, and a typical list of measurements are presented.",non-battery
"A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated in rat plasma for quantification of tadalafil, a novel therapeutic agent for erectile dysfunction. Tadalafil and acebutolol (internal standard) were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction with tert-butyl methyl ether. The chromatographic separation was performed on a reverse phase C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1 % formic acid and acetonitrile (45:55, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The protonated analyte was quantitated by multiple reaction monitoring with a Waters Quattro micro™ API mass spectrometer. The calibration curve was linear over a concentration range of 2–2000 ng/mL, and the lower limit of quantification was 2 ng/mL with a precision (CV %) of 10.9 %. Acceptable intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy were obtained at 3 concentration levels (3, 200, and 1500 ng/mL). Tadalafil was found to be stable in a battery of studies, including bench top, freeze–thaw, and autosampler conditions. The validated method was successfully used to determine tadalafil concentration in rat plasma samples after oral administration at a dose of 1 mg/kg.
",non-battery
"CoAl layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been found excellent supercapacitive behavior, however, little is known on their stability in alkali solutions. Here, a series of CoAl LDHs with molar ratios of Co to Al between 1 and 9 synthesized by homogenously precipitation with urea were characterized. When the LDH materials are either soaked in alkali solutions or electrochemically charged/discharged on the electrodes, they transform into β-Co(OH)2. The transformation reaction accelerates as the Al content in the LDH materials decreases, or the ambient temperature and/or the alkali concentration for the soaking treatment increases. When the KOH concentration goes up from 6.0moll−1 to 7.0moll−1, there is a much greater decrease in mass of the residual solid, indicating that the transformation leaps in the 7.0moll−1 KOH solution. Elemental analyses on both the residual solid and the filtrate support those observations. Electrochemical characterization shows that the transformation reaction has great effects on the supercapacitive behaviors and cycling charge/discharge performances. For example, the specific capacitance of Co3.85Al(OH)8.7(OCN)0.84(CO3)0.58·2.5H2O gives the maximum of 549.0Fg−1 at the 5th cycle under a specific current of 800mAg−1, however, that of its residual solid after the soaking in 7.0moll−1 KOH for 5h decreases to less than 80Fg−1 within the 200 cycles. In addition, the dissolution of Al(OH)3 in the electrolyte and/or surface modification of Y, Er or Lu can improve the cycling charge/discharge performances because they can retard the transformation from LDH into β-Co(OH)2.",battery
"This paper is to assess the current trend, implementation and future possibilities of solar home systems (SHS) at the non-electricity provided study area in Bangladesh. The study also suggests an applicable plan to solve the problems and assure the proper availability and using compatibility of SHS to the poor and helpless rural people. The study area of the research is Lechraganj Char Union, Harirampur subdistrict of Manikganj district in Bangladesh. The trends and implementation strategies of solar home system (SHS) would be available in the Section 3.1 and Section 3.2; the future possibilities described in the Section 4. One of the major rational of this research is to provide a sample plan of SHS implementations, future propagation process, prospects and issues to be solved can be useful for the whole non grid zones of the country Bangladesh. This could bring more country progress by renewable technology and the lower order citizens of the country by the supply of electricity and also future analysis of SHS. The primary data sources to shape the paper were- personal field observation, field documentation, taking photographs, qualitative household survey, household questionnaire survey, in-depth interview, FGD etc. Secondary data sources were from different books, articles, journals, magazines, newspaper, Government and NGO Organizations, unpublished reports and thesis etc. Various cartographic techniques as like- Produced tables, flow charts, pie-diagrams, graphs, histograms were used for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of implementation of SHS in Harirampur Subdistrict. Proper direction by the government authority and NGOs can improve the current condition and support the off grid citizens of Bangladesh for the penetrating them under the coverage of SHS technology.Further assessment on the implementation of SHS, quality of SHS devices, environmental impacts of SHS, detailed economic advantages can be done for the proper expansion of SHS.",battery
"Dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) was used as a cosolvent to reformulate the nonflammable electrolyte of 1M LiPF6/EC+DEC+DMMP (1:1:2wt.) in order to improve the safety characteristics of lithium-ion batteries. The flammability, cell performance, low-temperature performance and thermal stability of the DMMP-based electrolyte were compared with the electrolyte of 1M LiPF6/EC+DEC (1:1wt.). The nonflammable electrolyte exhibits good oxidation stability at the LiCoO2 cathode and poor reduction stability at the mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) and surface-modified graphite (SMG) anodes. The addition of vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) to the DMMP-based electrolyte provided a significant improvement in the reduction stability at the carbonaceous electrodes. Furthermore, it was found that the addition of DMMP resulted in optimized low-temperature performance and varied thermal stability of the electrolytes. All of the results indicated the novel DMMP-based electrolyte is a promising nonflammable electrolyte to resolve the safety concerns of lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"There is growing concern for the lake environment because polluted sediments may cause ecotoxicological effects. In the current study, persistent organochlorine compounds (OCPs), including hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and cyclodienes, were analyzed in core sediments taken from Huoshaohei Lake, Xihulu Lake, Wanghua Lake and Keqin Lake, Heilongjiang Province, China. The total OCPs concentrations ranged from 0.92 to 7.09, 0.15 to 9.95, 0.19 to 1.84 and 0.06 to 3.52 ng/g, respectively. The most dominant pollutants were the HCHs, high proportions of γ-HCH isomer indicating the recent input of lindane. The ratios of α-HCH/γ-HCH of four lakes are all lower than that in technical HCH mixtures indicating that there was input of lindane in the past several years, and the mean ratios of (DDE+DDD)/DDTs are all <0.5, suggesting recent release of DDT compounds. Compared with the corresponding ecological environmental quality guidelines from Ingersoll and base on the model of risk based corrective action environmental health risk assessment, the sediments from the four lakes poses a lower potential hazard to human health and the environment but still should be taken into account.",non-battery
"To suppress the dissolution of polysulfides and maintain a high sulfur utilization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, double-shelled hollow carbon sphere with a microporous outer carbon shell (m-DSHCS) is designed and fabricated as an efficient sulfur host. Specially, the m-DSHCS with an outer microporous carbon shell and foam-like conductive carbon links is an ideal sulfur host. The foam-like carbon links between the shells and inside the hollow structure can not only provide enough space for sulfur loading and volume expansion, but also facilitate fast electron transfer and Li+ diffusion. Additionally, the outer microporous carbon shell can also serve as an efficient physical barrier to suppress the diffusion of sulfur species derived from inner hollow carbon sphere. When used as cathode material for Li-S batteries, the m-DSHCS/S electrode delivered an outstanding reversible capacities (capacity fading of 0.16% per cycle at 0.2C after 200 cycles and 0.07% per cycle at 1C after 1000 cycles) and superior high-rate capabilities (900 mAh g−1 at 1C and 800 mAh g−1 at 2C) than that of graphene wrapped hollow carbon sphere/sulfur (rGO@HCS/S) electrode (100 cycles at 0.2C with 0.54% capacity fading per cycle, 670 mAh g−1 at 1C and 540 mAh g−1 at 2C).",battery
Miniature temperature/humidity sensors are incorporated into the graphite flowplates of a single cell polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in order to measure the humidity profile along the serpentine channels of both anode and cathode in real time. The sensors show robust performance and importantly are able to recover after saturation. The key observation is a significant increase in relative humidity along the anode gas channel due to back diffusion of water from cathode to anode. Such measurements may be used to determine the water balance in the cell under a range of operating conditions to facilitate model validation and system optimisation.,battery
"Herein, we construct a novel electrocatalyst with Fe–Co dual sites embedded in N-doped carbon nanotubes ((Fe,Co)/CNT), which exhibits inimitable advantages towards the oxygen reduction reaction. The electrocatalyst shows state-of-the-art ORR performance with an admirable onset potential (Eonset, 1.15 V vs. 1.05 V) and half-wave potential (E1/2, 0.954 V vs. 0.842 V), outperforming those of the commercial Pt/C. The ORR test reveals that the performance of the (Fe,Co)/CNT is superior to most of the reported non-precious catalysts in alkaline electrolytes. Furthermore, when employed as a cathode catalyst in a Zn–air battery, the (Fe,Co)/CNT exhibits high voltages of 1.31 V and 1.23 V at discharge current densities of 20 mA cm−2 and 50 mA cm−2, respectively. In addition, the power density and the specific energy density reach 260 mW cm−2 and 870 W h kgZn−1. We discover that the Fe–Co dual sites embedded in N-doped porous carbon are beneficial for the activation of oxygen by weakening the OO bonds.
",battery
"Off-grid generation options have been simulated for remote villages in Cameroon using a load of 110kWh/day and 12kWp. The energy costs of proposed options were simulated using HOMER, a typical village load profile, the solar resource of Garoua and the flow of river Mungo. For a 40% increase in the cost of imported power system components, the cost of energy was found to be 0.296€/kWh for a micro-hydro hybrid system comprising a 14kW micro-hydro generator, a 15kW LPG generator and 36kWh of battery storage. The cost of energy for photovoltaic (PV) hybrid systems made up of an 18kWp PV generator, a 15kW LPG generator and 72kWh of battery storage was also found to be 0.576€/kWh for remote petrol price of 1€/l and LPG price of 0.70€/m3. The micro-hydro hybrid system proved to be the cheapest option for villages located in the southern parts of Cameroon with a flow rate of at least 200l/s, while the PV hybrid system was the cheapest option for villages in the northern parts of Cameroon with an insolation level of at least 5.55kWh/m2/day. For a single-wire grid extension cost of 5000€/km, operation and maintenance costs of 125€/yr/km and a local grid power price of 0.1€/kWh, the breakeven grid extension distances were found to be 15.4km for micro-hydro/LPG generator systems and 37.4km for PV/LPG generator systems respectively. These results could be used in Cameroon's National Energy Action Plan for the provision of energy services in the key sectors involved in the fight against poverty.",battery
"Sodium metal holds promise as the ultimate anode for high-energy-density Na battery systems. Recent progress has been made in terms of rational design of nanostructured 3D current collectors for dendrite-free Na deposition with limited dimensional changes during cycling. However, critical information such as Na nucleation and growth behavior on these hosts remains elusive. Herein, by using amorphous carbon nanofibers (CNF) as a current collector, we present the first nanoscale-resolution observation of electrochemical Na plating/stripping dynamics via in situ electron microscopies. With the use of solid electrolyte, Na metal was found to grow and dissolve reversibly as nano/micro-particles at all the possible locations around indiviual CNFs and even throughout their network. Notably, inter-fiber Na ion transport was experimentally confirmed, which enables more homogeneous Na deposition deep into the network interior without interfacing the electrolyte; this would be crucial for dendrite-free Na plating, especially in all-solid-state Na batteries. In addition, through a delicately designed in-situ experiment, the CNF interior exhibited a superior Na capacity compared to its graphitized counterpart. Thus, owning to both exterior and interior Na storage of each fiber, CNFs could be a promising host material for building rechargeable composite Na metal anodes with ultrahigh capacity.",battery
"Underwater vehicle is one of the most important tools for ocean observation and exploration. The application of ocean thermal energy conversion can greatly extend its duration and range. The challenge in developing the system resides in the proper sizing and integration of the components to enhance the efficiency of energy conversion. This study proposes the ocean thermal energy conversion for underwater vehicles. It utilizes phase change material to collect ocean thermal energy from warm near-surface and converts it into the potential energy stored in a hydraulic accumulator, which is transformed into electrical energy for the power supply by using hydraulic motor, generator and other components. Based on its working principle, the heat to electricity power generation system efficiency model is established, and validated by comparing measurements and predictions for a laboratory system. Factors influencing the efficiency of power generation are thoroughly analyzed. Moreover, primary design guidelines based on commercially available components are deduced from the proposed model. A prototype is developed and a sea trial is conducted to validate performance of the prototype. The results show that the energy harvested by the prototype can reach 6696 J per dive cycle with 6 kg phase-change material. The maximum hydraulic-to-kinetic efficiency of about 70% and maximum kinetic-to-electric efficiency of about 80% were achieved in the system. The maximum and average energy conversion efficiency are respectively 0.55% and 0.396%. Therefore, high efficiency and good performance of prototype were validated which implied a possibility to improve the range and navigation time of underwater vehicles.",battery
This work reports a new chemical pre-lithiation method to fabricate lithium sulfide (Li2S) cathode. This pre-lithiation process is taken place simply by dropping the organolithium reagent lithium naphthalenide (Li+Naph−) on the prepared sulfur cathode. It is the first time realizing the room temperature chemical pre-lithaition reaction attributed by the 3D nanostructured carbon nanotube (CNT) current collector. It is confirmed that the Li2S cathode fabricated at room temperature showing higher capacity and lower hysteresis than the Li2S cathode fabricated at high temperature pre-lithiation. The pre-lithiated Li2S cathode at room temperature shows stable cycling performance with a 600 mAh g−1 capacity after 100 cycles at 0.1 C-rate and high capacity of 500 mAh g−1 at 2 C-rate. This simple on-site pre-lithiation method at room temperature is demonstrated to be applicable for the in-situ pre-lithiation in a Li metal free battery.,battery
"Smartphones store sensitive and confidential data, e.g., business related documents or emails. If a smartphone is stolen, such data are at risk of disclosure. To mitigate this risk, modern smartphones allow users to enable data encryption, which uses a locking password to protect the data encryption key. Unfortunately, users either do not lock their devices at all, due to usability issues, or use weak and easy to guess 4-digit PINs. This makes the current approach of protecting confidential data-at-rest ineffective against password guessing attackers. To address this problem we design, implement and evaluate the Sidekick system — a system that uses a wearable device to decouple data encryption and smartphone locking. Evaluation of the Sidekick system revealed that the proposal can run on an 8-bit System-on-Chip, uses only 4 Kb/20 Kb of RAM/ROM, allows data encryption key fetching in less than two seconds, while lasting for more than a year on a single coin-cell battery.",non-battery
"A 50-μm thick lithium manganese oxide (parent material LiMn2O4) battery electrode (positive electrode; cathode) was charged, slightly discharged and then sliced with a scotch tape test-type method. A selected number of slices was then subject to synchrotron soft X-ray emission spectroscopy near the Mn Lα,β emission lines in order to determine changes in the oxidation state of the manganese as a function of sampling depth. The emission spectra showed a minute yet noticeable and systematic chemical shift of up to 0.25eV between the layer near the current collector and the layer near the electrolyte separator. The average manganese oxidation state near the separator was smaller than the average oxidation state in the interior of the electrode, or near the current collector. Since the data provide an oxidation state depth profile of the cathode, a Li+ depth profile can be inferred. This method provides information on the spatial chemical inhomogeneity of electrodes prior to and after electrochemical cycling, and thus can aid in degradation studies.",battery
"This paper proposes a hierarchical energy management system for multi-source multi-product (MSMP) microgrids. Traditional energy hub based scheduling method is combined with a hierarchical control structure to incorporate transient characteristics of natural gas flow and dynamics of energy converters in microgrids. The hierarchical EMS includes a supervisory control layer, an optimizing control layer, and an execution control layer. In order to efficiently accommodate the systems multi time-scale characteristics, the optimizing control layer is decomposed into three sub-layers: slow, medium and fast. Thermal, gas and electrical management systems are integrated into the slow, medium, and fast control layer, respectively. Compared with wind energy, solar energy is easier to integrate and more suitable for the microgrid environment, therefore, potential impacts of the hierarchical EMS on MSMP microgrids is investigated based on a building energy system integrating photovoltaic and microturbines. Numerical studies indicate that by using a hierarchical EMS, MSMP microgrids can be economically operated. Also, interactions among thermal, gas, and electrical system can be effectively managed.",battery
"Lithium rich manganese oxide based materials are emerging as possible high energy density cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. In the present research, we have investigated the first charge/discharge profile behavior of Li1.2Ni0.175Co0.1Mn0.52O2 via in situ Raman spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction studies confirm the presence of cation ordering in the transition metal layers. Scanning electron microscopy shows the homogeneous distribution of highly dense spherical agglomerates of ∼5 μm size. Steady decrease in impedance up to ∼4.5 V followed by a less steep increase as the cell voltage traversed the first charge cycle has been confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy shows that the extraction of lithium takes place from both the transition metal layers as well as lithium layers in the voltage range of 4.1–4.4 V. The oxygen removal becomes severe in the voltage range of 4.55–4.6 V, after which the diffusion of the transition metal ions to the vacant sites takes place.",battery
"Management The patient and his spouse were referred for counseling, and the patient was referred for follow-up examinations.
",non-battery
"Appropriate recycling of waste to reusable materials is much sought after in the scientific community to control the incessant rising pollution in environment due to insufficient management of waste materials. To address this issue, efforts were directed to obtain SnO2-Fe3O4 nanocomposites from scrap tin plated steel and the use of these composites for the degradation of organic pollutant. We have demonstrated a novel, efficient and facile hydrometallurgy approach for the extraction of iron from waste tin plated steel containers found in plenty in the common waste generated in society. The extracted iron has further been utilized for the preparation of SnO2:Fe3O4 nanocomposites with different compositions (SnO2:Fe3O4 ratio of 93.2:6.8, 85:15, 58:42 and 40:60) using hydrothermal route. The photocatalytic activities of nanocomposite were determined spectroscopically using Rhodamine-B (RhB) as a model dye. Our results indicate that among all the composites with SnO2 (85%):Fe3O4 (15%) exhibits the best photocatalytic efficiency under UV light whereas the composition of SnO2 (93.2%):Fe3O4 (6.28%) is the most efficient in visible light. The above visible light efficiency was supported by density functional theory (DFT) studies which suggest a small amount of pure Fe is present at the Sn sites in the nanocomposite, leading to the reduction in the band gap of the nanocomposite and resulting in absorption in the visible range. Thus, in the present study, we have shown a process of conversion of waste to nanomaterials and its utilization for treatment of organic pollutants.",non-battery
"A layered LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 solid solution, which is a promising cathode material for secondary lithium batteries, was successfully synthesized by an emulsion drying method. Because electrochemical properties significantly depend on the conditions of the synthesis, the calcination temperature was carefully determined on the basis of X-ray diffraction and TG studies. The prepared cathodes were characterized by means of SEM, BET, X-ray diffraction, Rietveld refinement, cyclic voltammetry and a charge-discharge experiment. From the Rietveld analysis, it was found that powder calcined at 800 °C for 12 h exhibits a well ordered and lower cation mixed layered structure than the others. The cyclic voltammetry experiment shows that phase transformation can be suppressed considerably by increasing the calcination temperature to 800 °C. The highest discharge capacity of 188.4 mA h g−1 was obtained from the sample prepared at 800 °C. Furthermore, a high capacity retention ratio of 88.1% was found for the initial value after 50 cycles at a constant current density of 40 mA g−1 between 2.7 VLi/Li+ and 4.3 VLi/Li+. In the rate capability test, the cathode delivered a higher discharge capacity of 153.1 mA h g−1 at a 4 C (800 mA g−1) rate.",battery
"The determination of type of generation technology suitable for an autonomous power system calls for comprehensive planning. In this paper, a systematic approach for determination of optimal mix of resources is presented for an autonomous hybrid power system. The considered constituent resources comprise of diesel, photovoltaic, wind and battery storage. A techno-socio-economic criterion is formulated in order to determine optimum combination of resources. Reliability evaluation forms the basis of planning problem and has been carried out using analytical technique. The proposed formulation has been analyzed for different resource mix configurations for an autonomous power system located in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) has been used to determine optimal component sizing for each of the configuration.",battery
"In order to improve the high-rate discharge capability without diminishing the cycle stability, we investigate the substitution of Cu–P for Co on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of the MlNi3.55Co0.75−x Mn0.4Al0.3(Cu0.75P0.25) x (x = 0–0.5) composite alloys. The results obtained by XRD, SEM and EDS show that the MlNi3.55Co0.75Mn0.4Al0.3 alloy consists of a single phase, and the substitutional alloys are composed of multiphase structures. The electrochemical studies reveal that the substitutional alloys can be easily activated within one cycle, but the maximum discharge capacity decreases from 296.8 mA h g−1 (x = 0) to 275 mA h g−1 (x = 0.5). With the increase of Cu–P content, the capacity decay rate D 100 initially decreases from 1.26 mA h g−1 cycle−1 (x = 0) to 0.80 mA h g−1 cycle−1 (x = 0.3), and then increases to 1.19 mA h g−1 cycle−1 (x = 0.5). The overall high-rate discharge capability is significantly improved with increasing Cu–P content, which is in agreement with the monotonous increase of the exchange current density and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient. The best compromise between excellent high-rate discharge capacity and favorable cycle stability of the series alloys is obtained when x = 0.3.",battery
"Lithium ion battery and its safety are taken more consideration with fossil energy consuming and the reduction requirement of CO2 emission. The safety problem of lithium ion battery is mainly contributed by thermal runaway caused fire and explosion. This paper reviews the lithium ion battery hazards, thermal runaway theory, basic reactions, thermal models, simulations and experimental works firstly. The general theory is proposed and detailed reactions are summarized, which include solid electrolyte interface decomposition, negative active material and electrolyte reaction, positive active material and electrolyte reaction, electrolyte decomposition, negative active material and binder reaction, and so on. The thermal models or electrochemical–thermal models include one, two and three dimensional models, which can be simulated by finite element method and finite volume method. And then the related prevention techniques are simply summarized and discussed on the inherent safety methods and safety device methods. Some perspectives and outlooks on safety enhancement for lithium ion battery are proposed for the future development.",battery
"High-performance and long-cycling rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have been in steadily increasing demand for the past decades. Nevertheless, the two dominant anodes at the moment, graphite and L4T5O12, suffer from a safety issue of lithium plating (operating voltage at ∼ 0.1 V vs. Li+/Li) and low capacity (175 mAh/g), respectively. Here, we report LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 as an alternative anode material which has a working voltage of ∼1.1 V and a capacity as high as 330 mAh/g at the current rate of C/15. Symmetric cells with both electrodes containing LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 can deliver average discharge voltage of 2.2 V. In-situ XRD, HRTEM and first principles calculations indicate that the reaction mechanism of a LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 anode is comprised mainly of conversion. Both the fundamental understanding and practical demonstrations suggest that LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 is a promising negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"The present study was undertaken to determine if in vitro inhibition of one or both of the two most dominant mammalian DNA topoisomerases (topos) is common among chemopreventive agents. To determine if an agent was a topo I inhibitor, we employed the DNA relaxation and nicking assays. For potential topo II inhibitors, we used the DNA unknotting and linearisation assays. 14 of 30 agents (47%) were ineffective in all four assays (IC50 >100 μg/ml), and 11 (37%) inhibited topo II catalytic activity. The sensitivity of the topo II assay was 63%, selectivity 93%, positive predictive value 91%, and total accuracy 77%. For chemopreventive efficacy, the positive predictive value of the unknotting assay was 92%, and the total accuracy was 60%. These data suggest that reduced topo II activity is a desirable property of many known chemopreventive agents. We conclude that the unknotting assay could be a valuable addition to the in vitro tests presently used to select chemopreventive agents.",non-battery
" Salmonids return to the river where they were born in a phenomenon known as mother-river migration. The underpinning of migration has been extensively examined, particularly regarding the behavioral correlations of external environmental cues such as the scent of the mother-river and geomagnetic compass. However, neuronal underpinning remains elusive, as there have been no biologging techniques suited to monitor neuronal activity in the brain of large free-swimming fish. In this study, we developed a wireless biologging system to record extracellular neuronal activity in the brains of free-swimming salmonids.",non-battery
"The interconnected LiMn2O4 fibers have been synthesized by using easily accessible cellulose filter paper as template. SEM and TEM images indicate the fibers are porous and constructed by nano grains. Without surface modification, the fibers exhibit superior high-rate capabilities and good cycling stability. The discharge capacities at 0.5C and 20C are 123 and 101mAhg−1 respectively, and about 78.9% of its initial capacity can be retained after 1000 cycles at 5C. The superior rate performance and excellent cyclability can be attributed to the porous fiber structure, single crystalline and exposed {111} facet.",battery
"In this work, we have successfully synthetized Co3O4 spheres and NiCo2O4 rosettes by a simple chemical bath. The Ni incorporation to Co to form the NiCo2O4 spinel decreased the crystallite size from 32.4 (Co3O4) to 15.3nm (for NiCo2O4). The NiCo2O4 spinel displayed a rosette-like hierarchical shape, the Co3O4 presented a semispherical shape. Additionally, NiCo2O4 material presented 1.7–fold higher BET surface area than Co3O4. These physicochemical changes had a direct impact on the electrocatalytic activity for ORR/OER in alkaline media. The NiCo2O4 displayed an onset potential of 0.91V vs. RHE during the ORR, which is 100mV more positive to that obtained by the Co3O4 (0.81V), and 110mV lower to that displayed by Pt/C as reference material (1.02V). Additionally, the NiCo2O4 material showed superior activity for OER in contrast to Co3O4 and Pt/C displaying a potential difference of 155mV@10mAcm−2. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed that the improved activity of NiCo2O4 was not only related to surface area differences, but also to the improvement of the electrical properties because NiCo2O4 displayed a lower charge transfer resistance than the Co3O4 material (785.1 vs. 921.5Ωcm2).",battery
"The presented study is focused on the development of LiFePO4 based cathode for thin and flexible screen printed secondary lithium based accumulators. An ink formulation was developed for the screen printing technique, which enabled mass production of accumulator's cathode for Smart Label and Smart Textile applications. The screen printed cathode was compared with an electrode prepared by the bar coating technique using an ink formulation based on the standard approach of ink composition. Obtained LiFePO4 cathode layers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements at different loads. The discharge capacity, capacity retention and stability at a high C rate of the LiFePO4 cathode were improved when Super P and PVDF were replaced by conductive polymers PEDOT:PSS. The achieved capacity during cycling at various C rates was approximately the same at the beginning and at the end, and it was about 151 mAh/g for cycling under 1C. The obtained results of this novelty electrode layer exceed the parameters of several electrode layers based on LiFePO4 published in literature in terms of capacity, cycling stability and overcomes them in terms of simplicity/industrial process ability of cathode layer fabrication and electrode material preparation.",battery
"Black carbon (BC) is an essential climate forcer in the atmosphere. Large uncertainties remain in BC’s radiative forcing estimation by models, partially due to the limited measurements of BC vertical distributions near the surface layer. We conducted time-resolved vertical profiling of BC using a 356-m meteorological tower in Shenzhen, China. Five micro-aethalometers were deployed at different heights (2, 50, 100, 200, and 350 m) to explore the temporal dynamics of BC vertical profile in the highly urbanized areas. During the observation period (December 6–15, 2017), the average equivalent BC (eBC) concentrations were 6.6 ± 3.6, 5.4 ± 3.3, 5.9 ± 2.8, 5.2 ± 1.8, and 4.9 ± 1.4 μg m−3, from 2 to 350 m, respectively. eBC temporal variations at different heights were well correlated. eBC concentrations generally decreased with height. At all five heights, eBC diurnal variations exhibited a bimodal pattern, with peaks appearing at 09:00–10:00 and 19:00–21:00. The magnitudes of these diurnal peaks decreased with height, and the decrease was more pronounced for the evening peak. eBC episodes were largely initiated by low wind speeds, implying that wind speed played a key role in the observed eBC concentrations. eBC wind-rose analysis suggested that elevated eBC events at different heights originate from different directions, which suggested contributions from local primary emission plumes. Air masses from central China exhibited much higher eBC levels than the other three backward trajectory clusters found herein. The absorption Ångström exponent (AAE375–880) showed clear diurnal variations at 350 m and increased slightly with height.",non-battery
"Ion migration in solids provides basis for a wide range of technique applications including alkali-metal ion batteries. Understanding the ion migration dynamics and kinetics is critical to bring benefits to the industry. Here, we directly track the Na ions insertion and extraction in van der Waals interactions dominated layered structure SnS2 at atomic-scale by in situ transmission electron microscopy technique. Insertion of sodium in SnS2 forms highly defective and expanded NaxSnS2 with volume expansion of (~5%) via a two-phase reaction while sodium extraction involves a solid solution behavior with formation of nano-sized intermediate superstructure Na0.5SnS2, of which the atomic structure has been identified to be row ordering in the (001) planes. The reaction behaviors of sodiation are also compared with lithiation in SnS2 nanostructures. Unlike the conversion and ionic bonded intercalation-type electrode materials, in this van der Waals material SnS2 the sodiation and lithiation reactions share great similarities in the dynamics (e.g. asymmetric reaction pathways). However, the high density of defects that are generated at the reaction front during sodiation, was not captured during lithiation probably due to the larger radius and heavy mass for Na ions. These findings provide valuable insights into understanding the underlying ion migration mechanism in the layered transition metal dichalcogenide. The asymmetric sodium insertion and extraction pathways may help us to elucidate the origins of voltage hysteresis and energy efficiency in alkali-metal ion batteries.",battery
"Objectives The self-report of cognitive deficits by of patients with epilepsy is often poorly correlated with objective test performances but highly related to mood and personality. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether information obtained by close relatives of the patient shows higher correlations with the patients' objective test scores and thereby can be a complementary measure for ensuring a reliable basis for diagnostic decision-making. Methods Thirty-four patients and 29 relatives were asked to fill in a questionnaire about everyday cognitive deficits of the patient. All patients completed a neuropsychological test battery comprising measures of memory, attention, and executive functioning and questionnaires on anxiety, depression, and the personality trait neuroticism. Results Correlations between relatives' reports and patients' test performances were highly significant across all examined domains. By contrast, self-reports of the patients significantly correlated with none of the neuropsychological measures of memory and with only a subset of the objective measures of attention and executive functioning. Regression analyses additionally revealed a strong dependency of the patients' self-assessment on depression, anxiety, and neuroticism (R 2 =0.42). Conclusions These results point out the risk of self-reports distorting reality and additionally recommend consulting a close relative of the patient to ensure reliable information about the patient's everyday cognitive functioning.",non-battery
"Lithium/sulfur batteries represent a promising class of energy storage systems. Their drawback still preventing major technical applications is the fading of capacity with the number of cycles. Here we introduce a linear four state model that is capable of describing the majority of the capacity fading curves of recently presented Li/S battery systems with different cathode materials (e.g. carbon, metal oxide and metals). Our approach models the discharge process as a Markov chain and consists of only four states that belong to three phases. The living phase comprises a stable and unstable state. The sleeping phase is converted into the living stable state and the dead phase represents the irreversible loss of living phase during the charge/discharge process. Despite its inherent simplicity this approach describes a broad variety of different systems. It gives detailed insights into the fading mechanisms of lithium sulfur cells. Moreover, it represents an easy-to-use tool for the quantitative assessment of a given system in terms of three figures of merit.",battery
"The likely health and environmental implications associated with atmospheric nanoparticles have prompted considerable recent research activity. Knowledge of the characteristics of these particles has improved considerably due to an ever growing interest in the scientific community, though not yet sufficient to enable regulatory decision making on a particle number basis. This review synthesizes the existing knowledge of nanoparticles in the urban atmosphere, highlights recent advances in our understanding and discusses research priorities and emerging aspects of the subject. The article begins by describing the characteristics of the particles and in doing so treats their formation, chemical composition and number concentrations, as well as the role of removal mechanisms of various kinds. This is followed by an overview of emerging classes of nanoparticles (i.e. manufactured and bio-fuel derived), together with a brief discussion of other sources. The subsequent section provides a comprehensive review of the working principles, capabilities and limitations of the main classes of advanced instrumentation that are currently deployed to measure number and size distributions of nanoparticles in the atmosphere. A further section focuses on the dispersion modelling of nanoparticles and associated challenges. Recent toxicological and epidemiological studies are reviewed so as to highlight both current trends and the research needs relating to exposure to particles and the associated health implications. The review then addresses regulatory concerns by providing an historical perspective of recent developments together with the associated challenges involved in the control of airborne nanoparticle concentrations. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the topic areas covered.",non-battery
"
The main purposes of this paper are to study (1) a differential effect of inside debts on components of the firm risk, and (2) how it relates to the diversification of CEOs’ portfolios to reduce exposures to the firm risk. We find that compensating CEOs with inside debts (e.g., pensions and other deferred compensation plans) leads to reductions in firms’ systematic risk and idiosyncratic risk, but to disproportionate degrees. CEOs with larger inside debts draft and implement policies, which lead to a significantly larger reduction in the idiosyncratic firm risk and investment. We then show that the differential effect is the result of an asymmetry in CEOs’ perceived benefits of diversifying exposures to individual firm risk components. We further show that granting excessive debt-based pay may divert executives from firm specific but productive activities (e.g., R&D investments), therefore may compromise the long-run corporate success.",non-battery
"The most frequent manifestations of Cryptococcus neoformans (CN) disease are systemic infections in immunocompromised patients and localized pulmonary disease in immunocompetent individuals. Such pulmonary cryptococcosis can range from asymptomatic infection to frank pneumonia that can be severe. Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is a rare severe form of pneumonitis caused by a variety of infectious and toxic agents or connective tissue diseases. BOOP due to Cryptococcus neoformans has very rarely been reported; there have been only five such case reports, mostly in immunocompromised patients. We report herein on a case of CN-associated BOOP in an immunocompetent individual and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of this entity.",non-battery
"Increased interest in wireless sensor networks by scientists and engineers is forcing wireless sensor networking research to focus on application requirements. Data is available as never before in many fields of study; practitioners are now burdened with the challenge of doing data-rich research rather than being data-starved. However, in situ sensors can be prone to errors, links between nodes are often unreliable, and nodes may become unresponsive in harsh environments, leaving to researchers the onerous task of deciphering often anomalous data. Presented here is the REDFLAG fault detection service for wireless sensor applications, a Run-timE, Distributed, Flexible, detector of faults, that is also Lightweight And Generic. REDFLAG addresses the two most worrisome issues in data-driven wireless sensor applications: abnormal data and missing data. REDFLAG exposes faults as they occur by using distributed algorithms in order to conserve energy. Simulation results show that REDFLAG is lightweight both in terms of footprint and required power resources while ensuring satisfactory detection and diagnosis accuracy. Being unrestrictive, REDFLAG is generically available to a myriad of applications and scenarios. As a matter of fact, REDFLAG has been applied into a subsurface contaminant transport model to improve the model performance in the presence of erroneous sensor data.",non-battery
"Acidic organophosphorous extractants were screened for the mutual separation of Mn(II) and Zn(II), in a leach solution of waste Zn–C cell powder. This was done using a 2mol/L H2SO4 solution containing 2g/L glucose. Extraction characteristics of both metal ions in this mixture have been examined as functions of equilibrium pH. Although tech. and anal. grade D2EHPA are not so effective for the separation, PC88A, Cyanex 272, Cyanex 302 and Cyanex 301 are all promising for this purpose. Strippings of Mn(II) and Zn(II) from the extracted organic phases have been examined, using 0.25, 0.50 and 1mol/L H2SO4; and 1mol/L HCl, HNO3 and HClO4 at different phase ratios. H2SO4 appears to be the best stripping agent. A 1mol/L H2SO4 solution strips almost 100% of target metal ions in 10min, regardless of the extractant used. As ΔpH1/2 =2.75 and as the max. separation factor (β)=1793 for Cyanex 302 at pH(eq) =4.0, a flow sheet has been developed for their mutual separations. Finally, classical precipitation methods have been adopted to obtain MnS and ZnS, which can be easily oxidized to MnO2 and ZnO, respectively.",non-battery
"The huge energy demand coming from the increasing diffusion of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) poses a significant challenge to electricity utilities and vehicle manufacturers in developing smart charging systems interacting in real time with distribution grids. These systems will have to implement smart charging strategies for PEV batteries on the basis of negotiation phases between the user and the electric utility regarding information about battery chemistries, tariffs, required energy and time available for completing the charging. Strategies which adapt the charging current to grid load conditions are very attractive. Indeed, they allow full exploitation of the grid capacity, with a consequent greater final state of charge and higher utility financial profits with respect to approaches based on a fixed charging rate. The paper demonstrates that the charging current should be chosen also taking into account the effect that different charging rates may have on the charging efficiency. To this aim, the performances of two smart variable-rate-based charging strategies, taken as examples, are compared by considering possible realistic relationships between the charging efficiency and the charging rate. The analysis gives useful guidelines for the development of smart charging strategies for PEVs as well as for next-generation battery charging and smart grid management systems.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter describes the theory of mixed lubrication and discusses experimental considerations, pitting in rolling/sliding contacts, lubricant–metal interaction effects in fatigue, wear in rolling/sliding contacts, and modeling of contact in mixed lubrication. Asperity contact through the films is of practical importance. Improved mixed lubrication is a desirable goal to be achieved in practice. Wear occurs due to relative sliding among surfaces. Pitting life is extensively studied because of its effect on failure. The wear problems in these contacts are less widely studied. Once the pitting problem is overcome, the component life will be determined on the basis of allowable wear in the system. In mixed lubrication, the wear modeling can be approached in terms of the extent of asperity contact through the films. The influence of chemical additives is variable. Most of the chemical additives tried have a significant beneficial effect on wear in normal boundary lubrication. These include conformal and concentrated contacts.",non-battery
" In order to rapidly and efficiently screen potential biofuel feedstock candidates for quintessential traits, robust high-throughput analytical techniques must be developed and honed. The traditional methods of measuring lignin syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio can be laborious, involve hazardous reagents, and/or be destructive. Vibrational spectroscopy can furnish high-throughput instrumentation without the limitations of the traditional techniques. Spectral data from mid-infrared, near-infrared, and Raman spectroscopies was combined with S/G ratios, obtained using pyrolysis molecular beam mass spectrometry, from 245 different eucalypt and Acacia trees across 17 species. Iterations of spectral processing allowed the assembly of robust predictive models using partial least squares (PLS).",non-battery
"Using psychosocial acceleration theory, this multimethod, multi-reporter study examines how early adversity adaptively shapes the development of a self-regulation construct: effortful control. Investigation of links between early life harshness and unpredictability and the development of effortful control could facilitate a nuanced understanding of early environmental effects on cognitive and social development. Using the Building Strong Families national longitudinal data set, aspects of early environmental harshness and early environmental unpredictability were tested as unique predictors of effortful control at age 3 using multiple regression. Early harshness variables were financial harshness, mothers’ and fathers’ observed parenting, mothers’ and fathers’ reported use of harsh discipline, and harsh neighborhood conditions. Early unpredictability was measured by number of paternal transitions. Cues of harshness, specifically observed unresponsive parenting, observed harsh parenting, and neighborhood harshness, did significantly negatively predict effortful control. Paternal transitions also significantly predicted effortful control, but in the opposite (i.e., positive) direction. The results corroborate previous research linking quality of parenting to the development of children’s effortful control and place it within an evolutionary-developmental theoretical framework. Further, the results suggest that neighborhood harshness may also direct developmental trajectories of effortful control in young children, though the mechanisms through which this occurs are still unclear. This is the first study to explicitly investigate effortful control development in early childhood within the harshness and unpredictability framework.
",non-battery
"Schwann cells (SCs) promote axonal integrity independently of myelination by poorly understood mechanisms. Current models suggest that SC metabolism is critical for this support function and that SC metabolic deficits may lead to axonal demise. The LKB1–AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) kinase pathway targets several downstream effectors, including mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and is a key metabolic regulator implicated in metabolic diseases. We found through molecular, structural and behavioral characterization of SC-specific mutant mice that LKB1 activity is central to axon stability, whereas AMPK and mTOR in SCs are largely dispensable. The degeneration of axons in LKB1 mutants was most dramatic in unmyelinated small sensory fibers, whereas motor axons were comparatively spared. LKB1 deletion in SCs led to abnormalities in nerve energy and lipid homeostasis and to increased lactate release. The latter acts in a compensatory manner to support distressed axons. LKB1 signaling is essential for SC-mediated axon support, a function that may be dysregulated in diabetic neuropathy.
",non-battery
"Sulfinated PEEK was synthesized via reduction of sulfochlorinated PEEK. The degree of sulfination was determined by redox titration. By partial reduction of sulfochlorinated PEEK, PEEK carrying both SO2Cl and sulfinate groups could be obtained. From these polymers, covalently cross-linked ionomer membranes were prepared by reaction with the cross-linker diiodobutane and subsequent hydrolysis of the sulfochloride groups by aqueous post-treatment. The membranes show strongly reduced swelling connected with good H+-conductivity. Moreover, due to the fact that in these membranes all macromolecules are integrated into the covalent network, no leaching out of soluble substance took place during immersion in 90°C hot DMAc for 5 days. One of the membranes was tested in a DMFC and exhibited stable performance up to T =130°C.",battery
"This research is directed towards the development of safe, and thermally stable polymeric electrolytes. Advanced electrolytes are described, including thermal test data, which are ionically highly conductive, and non-flammable. These novel multi-heteropolymer electrolytes represent a significant advance in the design of high-performance rechargeable lithium systems that possess superior safety and handling characteristics. Representative results are shown by the figures contained in this text. These DSC/TGA results compare a typical liquid carbonate-based electrolyte system, ethylene carbonate and ethyl methyl carbonate, with novel polyphosphonates as synthesized in this program. These tests were performed with the electrolytes in combination with lithium metal, and the impressive relative thermal stability of the phosphonates is apparent.",battery
"Flower-like hydrogenated TiO2(B) nanostructures have been synthesized via a facile solvothermal approach combined with hydrogenation treatment. The obtained TiO2(B) nanostructures show uniform and hierarchical flower-like morphology with a diameter of 124 ± 5 nm, which are further constructed by primary nanosheets with a thickness of 10 ± 1.2 nm. The Ti3+ species and/or oxygen vacancies are well introduced into the structures of TiO2(B) after hydrogen reduction, resulting in an enhancement in the electronic conductivity (up to 2.79 × 10−3 S cm−1) and the modified surface electrochemical activity. When evaluated for lithium storage capacity, the hydrogenated TiO2(B) nanostructures exhibit enhanced electrochemical energy storage performances compared to the pristine TiO2(B) nanostructures, including high capacity (292.3 mA h g−1 at 0.5C), excellent rate capability (179.6 mA h g−1 at 10C), and good cyclic stability (98.4% capacity retention after 200 cycles at 10C). The reasons for these improvements are explored in terms of the increased electronic conductivity and the facilitation of lithium ion transport arising from the introduction of oxygen vacancies and the unique flower-like morphologies.",battery
 Evidences support the view that central obesity is an independently cardiovascular risk. It is thought that leptin contributes to autonomic dysfunction and cardiovascular risks in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM and T2DM). This raises the possibility that leptin might mediate the relationship between central obesity and the severity of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in patients with well-controlled T2DM and prediabetes.,non-battery
"Clark and Wells’ (1995) model of social phobia proposes that there are three types of maladaptive self-beliefs responsible for persistent social anxiety (high standard, conditional, and unconditional beliefs). Although these beliefs are theoretically important, there currently is not a validated measure of these beliefs in the social anxiety literature. Hence, the Self-Beliefs Related to Social Anxiety (SBSA) Scale was developed (Wong and Moulds 2009) and its psychometric properties were examined in the current study using a non-clinical sample (N = 600). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses ultimately indicated that a correlated three-factor solution optimally summarized the data with the three factors corresponding to the three belief types. The SBSA and its three subscales demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and divergent validity. The SBSA thus appears to have good psychometric properties and is appropriate for use in non-clinical samples. The potential applications of the SBSA and avenues for future research are discussed.
",non-battery
"The carbon intensity of the electricity used to charge an electric vehicle (EV) is dependent on when in the day charging occurs. However, persuading EV owners to adopt incentives to charge during off-peak hours is challenging. Here we show that governments could exploit the ‘window of opportunity’ created when people purchase their first EV to promote time-of-use tariffs. Email recipients (n = 7,038 EV owners) were more likely to click-through to an information webpage when the email emphasized specific reductions in home-charging costs versus general bill savings. However, the ‘window of opportunity’ for maximizing potential adoption is short; email open rates declined from over 70% immediately after purchase to 40% for recipients owning their EV for over three months. These results demonstrate the potential of prompts to change behaviours for which opt-out enrolment (where enrolment is automatic unless people explicitly opt out) would be unethical or less effective.",battery
"The practical application of LithiumSulfur battery is limited due to its rapid capacity fading and early battery failure caused by the shuttling of soluble polysulfide. Thus, the key to improve the performance of a LithiumSulfur battery is to suppress the shuttling effect. Herein, we report a NbN modified PP separator with high performance for LithiumSulfur battery applications. The NbN functionalized layer of the separator can strongly interact with soluble polysulfide species, as demonstrated by both experimental investigation and theoretical verification. As a result of the high polysulfide affinity, the composite separator effectively prevents the shuttling of soluble polysulfide through the separator. Besides, the high electrolyte wettability of NbN modification layer lowers the resistance of Li+ transport through the separator. Due to these favorable features, LithiumSulfur battery assembled with the multifunctional NbN modified separator exhibits excellent cycling performance with a reversible capacity of 554.6 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2C. The significantly improved rate performance of the battery based on the modified separator is also demonstrated. Our results show that NbN is a promising material for the modification of separators in LithiumSulfur battery and the strategy of separator engineering is effective for improving the performance of LithiumSulfur battery.",battery
"Hypergeometric series solutions are presented for the electrodynamic response of bare-wire tether systems, and are used to generate closed-form expressions for the sensitivity coefficients in the generator configuration. For the thruster configuration, the governing equations are in the form of three simultaneous differential equations, which do not allow closed-form solutions for the sensitivity coefficients to be generated, and therefore numerical solutions for the sensitivity coefficients are presented.",non-battery
"Sulfide electrolyte (SE)-based all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) have gained worldwide attention because of their instrinsic safety and higher energy density over conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, poor air stability of SEs, detrimental interfacial reactions, insufficient solid–solid ionic contact, and the large gap between fundamental study and practical engineering have impeded the commercialization of SE-based ASSLBs. This review aims to combine fundamental and engineering perspectives to rationally design practical SE-based ASSLBs with high energy density, covering SEs, interface, and practical all-solid-state pouch cells. First, the latest progress of typical pseudo-binary, pseudo-ternary, and pseudo-quaternary SEs is summarized, and effective strategies to improve ionic conductivity and chemical and electrochemical stability are highlighted. Moreover, challenges and strategies at the cathode and anode interfaces are reviewed separately. Furthermore, advanced in situ characterization techniques are examined to better understand the interface of ASSLBs. Encouraging demonstrations of SE-based all-solid-state lithium-ion and all-solid-state lithium–sulfur batteries are exemplified. Most importantly, energy-density-oriented all-solid-state pouch cells are designed using practical engineering parameters. The proposed design can serve as a quantitative framework to predict the practical energy density of SE-based all-solid-state pouch cells in future. Finally, future directions and our perspectives in SE-based ASSLBs are presented.
",battery
"In this study an attempt is made to put into perspective the problem of a rotating disk, be it a single disk or a number of concentric disks forming a unit. An analytical model capable of performing an elastic stress analysis for single/multiple, annular/solid, anisotropic/isotropic disk systems, subjected to pressure surface tractions, body forces (in the form of temperature-changes and rotation fields) and interfacial misfits is summarized. Results of an extensive parametric study are presented to clearly define the key design variables and their associated influence. In general the important parameters were identified as misfit, mean radius, thickness, material property and/or load gradation, and speed; all of which must be simultaneously optimized to achieve the ‘best’ and most reliable design. Also, the important issue of defining proper performance/merit indices (based on the specific stored energy), in the presence of multiaxiality and material anisotropy is addressed. These merit indices are then utilized to discuss the difference between flywheels made from PMC and TMC materials with either an annular or solid geometry. Finally two major aspects of failure analysis, that is the static and cyclic limit (burst) speeds are addressed. In the case of static limit loads, a lower (first fracture) bound for disks with constant thickness is presented. The results (interaction diagrams) are displayed graphically in designer friendly format. For the case of fatigue, a representative fatigue/life master curve is illustrated in which the normalized limit speed versus number of applied cycles is given for a cladded TMC disk application.",non-battery
"The electrochemical cycling stability is one of the most important parameters for the practical application of supercapacitors and highly depends on the electrode material. Herein, we report the cycling stability of reduced graphene oxide with different morphologies such as curly and flat graphene nanosheets prepared by the chemical and thermal reduction of graphene oxide, respectively. The “curly” graphene nanosheets displayed moderate capacitance, good cycling stability, and satisfactory rate performance up to 2,500 cycles. In contrast, the “flat” graphene nanosheets displayed a very high initial capacitance, but poor cycling stability and rate performance. The pore structure of the “curly” graphene nanosheets was found to be more stable than that of the “flat” graphene nanosheets.",battery
"One of the most significant difficulty in Wireless Sensors Network (WSN) is the development of an effective topology control method that can support the quality of the network, respect the limited memory and at the same time increase the lifetime of the network. This paper introduces a new approach by mixing a non-cooperative Game Theory technique with a decentralized clustering algorithm to address the problem of maximizing the network lifetime. More precisely, this approach uses Game Theory techniques to control the activities of a sensor node and its neighbors to limit the number of the forwarding messages and to maximize the lifetime of the sensor's battery. In other words, the approach will decrease the energy consumed by the WSN by decreasing the number of forwarded packets and improve the network lifetime by harvesting energy from the environment. The simulations results show that the performances in terms of energy saving and increasing the number of data packets received by base station outperforms those with distributed based clustering algorithms without GT, such as low energy and location based clustering LELC and LEACH algorithms.",non-battery
"A novel method of synthesizing lithium nickelate has been proposed by chemical oxidation of nickel hydroxide in a aqueous LiOH solution at lower temperature than 100°C. In this new process “direct-oxidation method”, the oxidation of Ni(OH)2 and a subsequent ion-exchange reaction successively took place in the same medium. The conversion yield of the ion-exchange process has not been complete and the product has seemed to remain some amount of proton in its structure. In order to increase the reaction rate and its conversion ratio, it was preferable that the reaction was allowed to proceed at higher temperature range 80–100°C, however, electrochemical activity of the product was drastically deteriorated with a lapse of reaction time at those temperature. Co doping in Ni(OH)2 was found to be effective in depression of the capacity decrease in the long-time reaction. In addition, the product prepared by the direct-oxidation method has a possibility of a further high-capacity active material based on two-electron redox reaction in the range from Ni2+ to Ni4+. It has exhibited larger discharge capacity than 310 mA h g−1 with a smooth potential change between two plateaux corresponding to Ni2+/Ni3+ and Ni3+/Ni4+ redox couples. Its cycle performance has also been superior to that of LiNiO2 prepared by the other synthetic methods.",battery
"In this study, the direct methanol fuel cell performance of Nafion®/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend membranes at 5, 10, and 20wt% PVA (annealed at 230°C) was investigated at various methanol feed concentrations (2, 4, 8, and 16M) and compared to the performance of Nafion® 117 at similar membrane thicknesses and fuel cell conditions. For Nafion® 117, the maximum power density decreased three-fold when the methanol feed concentration increased from 2 to 16M. The Nafion®/PVA (5wt% PVA) blend membrane reveals a similar trend, however the decrease in power is only 26% compared to 47% when methanol concentration is increased from 2 to 8M. Furthermore, the maximum power density of the blend membrane (5wt% PVA) is higher than Nafion® 117 at 2, 4, and 8M methanol feed concentrations, while the maximum power density at 16M is comparable between the two membranes. Specifically, at 8M methanol, the maximum power density of the blend at 5wt% PVA is 33% higher than Nafion® 117. Blend membranes at higher PVA concentrations are noticeably lower in performance compared to Nafion® 117. Overall, fuel cell performance trends match observed transport property (proton conductivity and methanol permeability) trends.",battery
"An empirical method to measure respiratory CO2 recycling using a fast growing agricultural cover crop as a model system was tested and compared with a theoretical method which uses a variation of the Keeling plot. Both methods gave values which were high and similar to each other. The theoretical method gave a value of respiratory based CO2 recycling of 0.41, while the empirical method gave a value of 0.49. Therefore close to half of the respired CO2 is refixed during daytime photosynthesis in this densely planted cover crop. Refixation of respired CO2 during the day should lead to an isotopic enrichment of the remaining respired CO2 leaving the canopy of the cover crop. Therefore, calculations of gross respiration and photosynthesis using isotopic mass balance equations that do not take this isotopic fractionation into account could be in error. We tested this premise by using isotopic mass balance equations to estimate average gross photosynthesis and respiration in this cover crop under two scenarios: (1) no recycling and (2) recycling of respired CO2. Values of gross photosynthesis and respiration were unrealistically low when it was assumed that no recycling occurs. On the other hand, realistic values similar to previous publications were observed when recycling was taken into account.",non-battery
"Free-standing hybrid papers were fabricated by the vacuum-assisted filtration of graphene nanosheets (GNS) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) both suspended in water, an approach that is environmentally benign. The CNTs are randomly dispersed between the GNS and hence, the hybrid papers exhibit high mechanical strength and flexibility even after being annealed at 800 °C. Electrochemical properties of the hybrid papers are strongly dependent on the CNT/GN ratios. Highest lithium ion storage capacities were obtained in the paper with a CNT/GN ratio of 2:1. The initial reversible specific capacities are ∼375 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1. The capacities remain above 330 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles, which are about 100 mAh g−1 higher than those of the graphene paper with nearly the same mass. The improved capacities were attributed to the contribution of the CNTs, which prevent restacking of the GNS, increase cross-plane electric conductivity of the paper and simultaneously, store Li ions. These results suggest that graphene–CNT hybrid paper has a high potential to be used as collector and binder free anodes for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Monoclininc lithium vanadium phosphate, Li3V2(PO4)3, is regarded as a potential cathode material for the next generation of high-performance lithium ion batteries, since it exhibits a high discharge voltage (up to ∼4.1 V) and a large theoretical specific capacity (197 mAhg−1). However, the low intrinsic electronic conductivity of Li3V2(PO4)3, which is a prevailing challenge for olivine type compounds, inhibits its use in commercial applications. Although the substitution of V3+ by other cation species is a common procedure to increase the conductivity and electrochemical performance of Li3V2(PO4)3, the underlying mechanisms for the improved properties are not yet well understood. Therefore, a thermodynamic approach is used in this work to investigate the influence of dopant, i.e. Mg2+ as well as vacancies on the V3+ site on the stability of the resulting materials. On the basis of the measured partial molar Gibbs energies, entropies and enthalpies of the electrochemical reaction, a detailed discussion of the substitution mechanisms and their influence on the electrochemical performance is presented.",battery
Transition metal oxysalts are evaluated as conversion electrode material. Anhydrous iron oxalate is investigated and a comparison with manganese carbonate is carried out to envisage the possible extension of these studies to a vast number of transition metal oxysalts. The dehydration process is studied by thermal analysis to prepare the anhydrous oxysalts. Both manganese carbonate and iron oxalate are interesting candidates for the active material of the negative electrode of lithium-ion batteries. A higher reversible capacity and lower irreversible capacity are observed for the oxalate compound. The reversible capacity cannot be exclusively ascribed to redox processes involving iron. The low temperature synthesis of these materials makes them an inexpensive option for this purpose.,battery
"This work explores low cost methods for the preparation of Si/nano-graphite sheets (NanoGs) composite materials for Li ion battery. The Si/NanoGs composites are prepared by magnesium thermal reduction of mechanical mixture of fumed SiO2 and NanoGs under Ar atmosphere. The structure of the samples is characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscope, SEM, and HRTEM. The results show that highly crystallized Si nanoparticles with a sheet-like morphology are uniformly distributed on the surface of NanoGs (both edge and a-b plane). The average diameter of Si nanoparticles is ∼20 nm. Electrochemical characterization shows that an electrode has an initial lithium storage capacity of 1702.9 mAh g−1 at a current of 100 mA g−1. The storage capacity decreases to 975.7 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. Since cheap commercial fumed SiO2 and graphite are used and the process is simple and easy to scale up, with further improvement, the method has potential for use in large scale production of high energy density Si/NanoGs anode materials at low cost.",battery
"Silver oxide nano layers were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering on amorphous SiO2 substrates. O2 pressure in chamber was varied from 1 to 4 and 7 mTorr during growth process. The effects of different O2 pressure on structural, morphological and optical properties of the films were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy analyses. Optical reflectance measured in the wavelength of 350–950 nm by spectroscopy. Other optical properties and optical band gaps were calculated using Kramers–Kronig relations. The X-ray diffraction measurements showed change in crystalline structure with increasing O2 pressure. Preferred orientation has been changed to another growth orientation at 4 mTorr O2 pressure. The Atomic force microscope images showed increasing in roughness consistently by increasing oxygen pressure. The thickness of the thin films decreases (from 217 to 180 nm) with increasing O2 pressure. Optical results revealed that the highest optical band gap of 3.1 eV and the highest transmittance of ~ 80% were achieved at lower O2 pressure (1 mTorr).",non-battery
"Due to the large radius of K-ion, K-ion batteries (KIBs) involving K-ion insertion and extraction processes generally exhibit an insufficient cycle life and poor rate performance. In this work, sulphur-doped reduced graphene oxide (S-RGO) sponges, which are used as free-standing anodes for KIBs, are obtained via simple freeze-drying of graphene oxide solution and subsequent thermal treatment in sulphur steam. After sulphur doping, our S-RGO sponges deliver preeminent electrochemical performance. Such free-standing electrodes exhibit high K-ion storage capacity of 361 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 over 50 cycles. Furthermore, even at a high current density of 1 A g−1, they also display a highly stabile K-ion storage with a capacity of 229 mAh g−1 over 500 cycles, which outperforms all previously reported carbon-based materials for KIBs. Such preeminent performance is attributed to the S-RGO sponges’ unique conductive structure and the sulphur doping, which effectively enhance the insertion of large K ions. We also utilize ex-situ XPS to illuminate the reaction process of our sample during potassiation/depotassiation and highlight the role of sulphur doping in improving K-ion storage performance.",battery
"Transparent lithium-ion conducting films were prepared by adding lithium perchlorate to a mixture of chitosane (CHI) and poly(aminopropylsiloxane) (pAPS) in a molar ratio 0.6:1 by sol–gel methods. The morphological and molecular properties, determined by scanning electron microscopy and FT-IR, respectively, depend on the lithium salt concentration. The same techniques were also used for performing a “titration” of the capacity of the film for incorporating lithium salt. Results show that about 0.8 mol lithium salt per mol chitosane can be added before the product losses the transparence and molecular compatibility characteristic of the pristine CHI/pAPS polymer complex. When lithium salt addition reaches the tolerance limit, anisotropically oriented patterns are observed in the hybrid films. Both transparence and ionic conductivity of the product appear to be related to the layered nature of formed nanocomposites. The properties of obtained films may be furthermore rationalized considering the chemical functionality and the Lewis donor–acceptor affinity of the components.",battery
"Charging a battery beyond its maximum capacity can lead both to cell overheating and to the venting of gasses. A fundamental understanding of cell heating could lead to the development of real-time sensors that anticipate and avert catastrophic battery failure. Joule heating (also called ohmic or resistive heating) from cell internal resistance (R int ) dominates the overall thermal energy (ΔQ) generated during charging. Contrary to prior hypotheses, though, Joule heating does not appear to contribute to venting observed during overcharging. In this manuscript, we examine an alternate hypothesis, that heat released by the entropy change in the anode (ΔS anode ) and the concomitant increase in the anode temperature (T anode ) triggers the venting. Using our recently developed non-invasive battery internal temperature (BIT) sensor to monitor T anode , we separated the contributions of ΔS anode , R int and the anode resistance (R anode ) to ΔQ. These quantities were tracked during constant current charging of a 18650 Lithium-ion cell, from zero state of charge (SoC) to overcharge. The resulting analysis suggests that anode entropy change is more important than resistive heating resulting from R anode to the overall thermal energy. Anode entropy measurements, enabled by the BIT sensor, might serve as an alternative or adjunct method for anticipating and avoiding cell venting events.",battery
"Mg-doped perovskite oxides LaNi1−x Mg x O3 (x = 0, 0.08, 0.15) electrocatalysts are synthesized by a sol–gel method using citric acid as complex agent and ethylene glycol as thickening agent. The intrinsic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of as-prepared perovskite oxides in aqueous electrolyte are examined on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) set up. Li–air primary batteries on the basis of Mg-doped perovskite oxides LaNi1−x Mg x O3 (x = 0, 0.08, 0.15) and nonaqueous electrolyte are also fabricated and tested. In terms of the ORR current densities and OER current densities, the performance is enhanced in the order of LaNiO3, LaNi0.92Mg0.08O3 and LaNi0.85Mg0.15O3. Most notably, partially substituting nickel with magnesium suppresses formation of Ni2+ and ensures high concentration of both OER and ORR reaction energy favorable Ni3+ (e g = 1) on the surface of perovskite catalysts. Nonaqueous Li–air primary battery using LaNi0.92Mg0.08O3 and LaNi0.85Mg0.15O3 as the cathode catalysts exhibit improved performances compared with LaNiO3 catalyst, which are consistent with the ORR current densities.",battery
"Neurons and astrocytes cooperate metabolically but differ in key aspects of their metabolism, including the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, the authors show that mitochondrial ROS produced in astrocytes affect neuronal metabolism and mouse memory and behaviour.
",non-battery
"Tungsten disulfide (WS2) have been attracting increasing attention as anode materials for high performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high theoretical capacity and large interlayer spacing. However, the low conductivity and volume expansion during lithiation/delithiation process will lead to the low specific capacity and rapid capacity fading during long-term cycling. Here, we have used flexible single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with ultra-high electrical conductivity as conductive materials to construct a three-dimensional (3D) WS2@SWCNT foam by a simple hydrothermal method followed by freeze-drying process. The 3D structure not only provide good electronic transportation pathways, but also can accommodate huge volume change of WS2 due to the mechanical flexibility of SWCNTs, leading to the excellent cyclability as anode materials for LIBs. Benefiting from these excellent properties, the WS2@SWCNT foam nanostructure delivers a specific capacity of 1050 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1, high reversible capacity of 688.3 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles and a capacity retention of 113% over 1000 cycles at 1 A g−1.",battery
"Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been explored for lithium intercalation due to its similar crystal structure to graphite, a well-known anode material for Li-ion secondary batteries. Lithium h-BN intercalation compounds (Li-BNICs) have been successfully synthesized through heat treatment. In this study, potential physical properties related to electrical conductivity were investigated using pristine and milled h-BN, which is further mixed/combined with milled graphite. The electrochemical properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic cycling with potential limitation (GCPL). The chemical potential of h-BN was estimated about 1.0V versus Li/Li+ and a two-phase reaction was suggested. Accordingly, Li-BNIC is more stable than Li-GICs (lithium graphite intercalation compounds) in terms of thermal stability.",battery
"LiV3O8 cathode has been synthesized by two simple low temperature methods without involving the melting of V2O5 and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), discharge–charge measurements in lithium cells and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). While the first method involves the heating of the components in H2 at 500°C followed by in N2 at 600°C, the second method involves the dispersion of the components in methanol followed by evaporating the solvent and heating at 500°C in N2 atmosphere. The samples exhibit a high capacity of around 230mAhg−1 at 0.5mAcm−2 and 25°C in a narrow voltage range of 2–3.5V with excellent cyclability at −30 to 60°C. Additionally, the samples exhibit superior safety characteristics compared to the currently used LiCoO2 cathode as indicated by the absence of exothermic peaks (DSC) up to 450°C in the charged state.",battery
"Nearly half of all youth with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have at least one parent who also meets criteria for the disorder, and intergenerational ADHD is a significant risk factor for poor outcomes following evidence-based behavioral parent training (BPT) programs. Given that BPT is predicated on consistent parental involvement, symptoms of ADHD in parents may be a significant barrier to effective engagement with BPT treatment. In the present investigation, we examine the effect of parental ADHD symptoms on BPT treatment engagement for children with ADHD-predominantly inattentive presentation (N = 148, ages 7–11). We examine the following parent- and clinician-rated treatment engagement domains: between-session skill adherence, in-session participation, perceived skill understanding, treatment-engagement attitudes, and session attendance. Parent- and clinician-rated between-session adherence was the only treatment engagement domain related significantly to parental ADHD symptoms. This finding was robust and remained even after accounting for symptoms of parental anxiety and depression, child ADHD symptom severity, and various sociodemographic factors (parental education level, household income, employment status, and being a single parent). These findings suggest that targeting parental ADHD symptoms in the context of parenting interventions may be a promising approach for improving adherence and treatment outcomes for BPT interventions.",non-battery
"The concept of using heat to stop bleeding goes back thousands of years. Throughout the centuries, researchers have constructed various devices that use electricity as a means to heat tissue and control bleeding. Electrosurgery became more widely used in the late 1920s because of the urgent need to safely control bleeding in operative and invasive procedures. The evolution of the equipment has continued throughout its history to the devices of today that take the patient tissues into consideration during energy delivery for hemostasis.",non-battery
"Layered intercalation compounds LiM0.02Co0.98O2 (M=Mo6+, V5+, Zr4+) have been prepared using a simple solid-state method. Morphological and structural characterization of the synthesized powders is reported along with their electrochemical performance when used as the active material in a lithium half-cell. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction patterns suggest a single phase HT-LiCoO2 that is isostructural to α-NaFeO2 cannot be formed by aliovalent doping with Mo, V, and Zr. Scanning electron images show that particles are well-crystallized with a size distribution in the range of 1–5μm. Charge–discharge cycling of the cells indicated first cycle irreversible capacity loss in order of increasing magnitude was Zr (15mAhg−1), Mo (22mAhg−1), and V (45mAhg−1). Prolonged cycling the Mo-doped cell produced the best performance of all dopants with a stable reversible capacity of 120mAhg−1 after 30 cycles, but was inferior to that of pure LiCoO2.",battery
"Secondary LiFePO4/C microspheres (LFP) are synthesized with different carbon sources by the spray drying process. The carbon sources effect on the structures, morphologies, and 3D conductivity of the secondary structure are systematically investigated. LFP samples prepared with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as mixing carbon sources possesses the loose structure with higher specific surface area, showing the best rate capability, cycling stability and low-temperature discharge characteristic. Additionally, the differences of 3.3V plateau performance at room temperature and 2.85V plateau performance at −20°C are investigated. It could be observed that the electronic and ionic conductivities are reduced gradually with the decrease of the discharge cut-off voltage, while the electronic conductivities are greater than ionic conductivities for the four LFP samples, indicating that the ionic transport is more difficult and the electrochemical reaction is more and more difficult with the increase of Li-ion intercalation. Li-ion diffusion coefficients at the cut-off voltage of 3.30V under room temperature and at the cut-off voltage of 2.85V under −20°C are both the highest for the LFP sample synthesized with PEG and β-CD, further indicating that PEG and β-CD as mixing carbon sources can decrease the charge transfer resistance and promote the 3D electronic/ionic conductivities and Li-ion diffusion coefficients in the secondary structure, thus greatly improve the rate capability, cycling stability and low-temperature capacity of LFP cathode.",battery
"The evolution of corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steels exposed to salt lake atmosphere for 8 years was investigated. The results showed that the stainless steel in salt lake atmosphere had a greater corrosion rate during the initial exposure time and relatively lower corrosion rate during the subsequent exposure time. Dust depositions accumulated on the downward surface caused severe local corrosion of stainless steel. As exposure time prolonged, the relative amount of Croxide and Feoxide in the corrosion products gradually increased, which may directly affect the corrosion rate of stainless steels. Moreover, the maximum pit depth followed a power function with respect to exposure time.
",non-battery
"Two transition pathways towards a 100% renewable energy (RE) power sector by 2050 are simulated for Europe using the LUT Energy System Transition model. The first is a Regions scenario, whereby regions are modelled independently, and the second is an Area scenario, which has transmission interconnections between regions. Modelling is performed in hourly resolution for 5-year time intervals, from 2015 to 2050, and considers current capacities and ages of power plants, as well as projected increases in future electricity demands. Results of the optimisation suggest that the levelised cost of electricity could fall from the current 69 €/MWh to 56 €/MWh in the Regions scenario and 51 €/MWh in the Area scenario through the adoption of low cost, flexible RE generation and energy storage. Further savings can result from increasing transmission interconnections by a factor of approximately four. This suggests that there is merit in further development of a European Energy Union, one that provides clear governance at a European level, but allows for development that is appropriate for regional contexts. This is the essence of a SuperSmart approach. A 100% RE energy system for Europe is economically competitive, technologically feasible, and consistent with targets of the Paris Agreement.",battery
"A new Mn-doped coordination supramolecular network (CSN) was synthesized on nickel foam directly by a simple one-step hydrothermal method. Compared with the pure CSN electrode (∼2.46 C cm−2 at 10 mA cm−2), this Mn-doped binder-free electrode showed an ultrahigh areal capacity (∼8.12 C cm−2 at 10 mA cm−2). In addition, when the current density increased from 10 mA cm−2 to 50 mA cm−2, it had a good rate capability with 73.33% capacitance retention. For practicality, an asymmetrical supercapacitor (ASC) was assembled by Activated Carbon (AC) electrode and the Mn-doped CSN electrode. The device not only could achieve a maximum energy density of 3.41 mW h cm−3 at the power density of 44.98 mW cm−3, but also could exhibit excellent stability after 4000 cycles, with the capacitance retention of 90.14%. The above results indicate that the Mn-doped CSNs are promising electrode materials for supercapacitors in energy storage.",battery
"Nitrogen-doped carbon materials were synthesized and used as metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under alkaline conditions. The synthesis was achieved by thermal treatment of nitrogen-containing polymers diluted in different carbon materials. Polypyrrole, polyaniline and polyacrylonitrile were used as N precursors. Carbon black and two types of commercial carbon nanotubes were used as carbon matrices. The obtained N contents were in the range of 1–1.8wt.%. Different N species including pyridinic, pyrrolic and quaternary N were quantitatively determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The ORR activities were evaluated in 0.1M KOH. Rotating disc electrode studies revealed the presence of multiple active centers in all the samples. The sample obtained using polypyrrole and small diameter nanotubes (ca. 15nm) had the highest onset potential at −0.07V vs. Ag/AgCl/3M KCl, which also showed a significantly higher electrochemical stability than the sample from carbon black and polypyrrole. The ORR activity was not correlated to the total nitrogen amount, but to the amount of pyridinic and quaternary N species. For the onset potential and the (Npyridinic +Nquaternary)/Ntotal ratio a quasi-linear relation was found, which points to the substantial role of pyridinic- and quaternary-N species in ORR catalysis.",battery
"High-voltage spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 is considered the most promising cathode materials for large-scale lithium-ion batteries to meet the fast increasing high energy and power density requirements. However, its commercial applications are restricted due to rigorous capacity fading, particularly at high temperatures. Herein, we propose novel highly uniform nano/submicro LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cubes for the first time using cubic MnCO3 precursors, which are prepared via a facile co-precipitation route. The as-synthesized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 demonstrates excellent cycle stability and superior rate capability. Specifically, the materials retain a nearly 100% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 25°C. Moreover, under the elevated temperature of 55°C, it can deliver a discharge capacity of 131.7mAhg−1 with the specific energy of 605.1WhKg−1 and even over 98.4% of primal discharge capacity can be maintained for up to 100 cycles.",battery
"Melting heat transfer in open-cell metal foams embedded in phase-change materials (PCMS) predicted by the volume-averaged method (VAM) was systematically compared with that calculated using direct numerical simulation (DNS), with particular attention placed upon the contribution of natural convection in the melt region to overall phase change heat transfer. The two-temperature model based on the assumption of local thermal non-equilibrium was employed to account for the large difference of thermal conductivity between metallic ligaments and PCM (paraffin). The Forchheimer extended Darcy model was employed to describe the additional flow resistance induced by metal foam. For the DNS, a geometric model of metal foam based on tetrakaidehedron cells was reconstructed. The DNS results demonstrated significant temperature difference between ligament surface and PCM, thus confirming the feasibility of local thermal non-equilibrium employed in VAM simulations. Relative to the DNS results, the VAM combined with the two-temperature model could satisfactorily predict transient solid-liquid interface evolution and local temperature distribution, although pore-scale features of phase change were lost. The presence of natural convection affected significantly the melting front shape, temperature distribution and full melting. The contribution of natural convection to overall phase change heat transfer should be qualitatively and quantitatively given sufficient consideration from both macroscopic (VAM) and microscopic (DNS) point of views. Besides, practical significance and economic prospective using metal foam in TES unit for WHR system to provide residential heating or hot water is discussed and analyzed.",battery
"Single-crystal Co3O4 nanoparticles are produced via a novel lysine-assisted hydrothermal process. When used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, a heat-treatment process is first introduced to decrease the initial irreversible loss and enhance the cyclability of Co3O4 nanoparticle-based electrodes using a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. Heat-treated electrodes exhibit improved lithium storage properties relative to those that are unheated. In particular, Co3O4 electrodes heated at 200 °C have the highest capacity and best reversibility: 1000 mA h g−1 with 95.2% capacity retention after 170 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. Even when cycled at a high rate of 1000 mA g−1, a reversible capacity up to 600 mA h g−1 can still be maintained after 500 cycles. These improvements are explained based on the results from thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, nanoscratch tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Heat treatment not only improves binder distribution and adhesion to both Co3O4 particles and the substrate but also ensures high interfacial conductivity and keeps the active material particles and carbon black electrically connected, thereby leading to superior electrochemical performance. The results suggest that the heat-treated Co3O4 electrode may be a promising anode for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Electrochemical capacitors are electrochemical devices with fast and highly reversible charge-storage and discharge capabilities. The devices are attractive for energy storage particularly in applications involving high-power requirements. Electrochemical capacitors employ two electrodes and an aqueous or a non-aqueous electrolyte, either in liquid or solid form; the latter provides the advantages of compactness, reliability, freedom from leakage of any liquid component and a large operating potential-window. One of the classes of solid electrolytes used in capacitors is polymer-based and they generally consist of dry solid-polymer electrolytes or gel-polymer electrolyte or composite-polymer electrolytes. Dry solid-polymer electrolytes suffer from poor ionic-conductivity values, between 10−8 and 10−7 S cm−1 under ambient conditions, but are safer than gel-polymer electrolytes that exhibit high conductivity of ca. 10−3 S cm−1 under ambient conditions. The aforesaid polymer-based electrolytes have the advantages of a wide potential window of ca. 4 V and hence can provide high energy-density. Gel-polymer electrolytes are generally prepared using organic solvents that are environmentally malignant. Hence, replacement of organic solvents with water in gel-polymer electrolytes is desirable which also minimizes the device cost substantially. The water containing gel-polymer electrolytes, called hydrogel-polymer electrolytes, are, however, limited by a low operating potential-window of only about 1.23 V. This article reviews salient features of electrochemical capacitors employing hydrogel-polymer electrolytes.
",battery
" Hella, a leading automotive component supplier for lighting technology and electronic products, was the first customer to purchase the plasma system for pretreating their vehicle headlamps. With these components, the adhesive bond between the polycarbonate lenses and their polypropylene housings must satisfy extremely strict sealing requirements. Even the slightest leak would result in moisture penetration leading to impairment of the headlamp lens, which in turn would adversely affect the beam angle of the light.",non-battery
Lydall Inc is buying DSM Solutech BV from Royal DSM NV in the Netherlands.,non-battery
"In situ nickel/carbon coated Li4Ti5O12 has been synthesized successfully via a facile sol-gel method with chitosan serving as chelating agent and carbon source. The as-prepared samples are tested by different physical and electrochemical methods. The results of SEM and TEM indicate that the Ni/C layer was successfully coated on the surface of Li4Ti5O12 with the thickness of 2–3nm. Furthermore, the Li4Ti5O12@Ni/C composite shows excellent rate capability and cycling stability. A large charge capacity of 237.3 mAh g−1 can be remained after 100 cycles with the current of 0.1 A g−1 between 0.02–3.0V, which is close to its theoretical capacity (∼262 mAh g−1). Even at the current of 4.0 A g−1, it still delivers a quite high charge capacity of 186.5 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles, with no significant capacity fading. Additionally, the results of EIS reveal that the Li4Ti5O12@Ni/C electrode has faster lithium-ion diffusivity and less resistance compared with pure Li4Ti5O12. The remarkable improvement of the electrochemical properties should be attributed to the Ni/C coating layer, which acts as an effective conductor and a protective material against side reactions with electrolyte.",battery
" Aging is associated with changes in cognitive functions. However, many other factors may affect cognitive functions and this interaction needs further assessment.",non-battery
"This paper presents data coming from 19F NMR spectroscopy and conductivity measurements used as two independent methods for the determination of ion pair formation constants. The studied systems were limited to lithium tetrafluoroborate and trifluoromethylsulfonate solutions in mixtures of 1,4-dioxane and glyme, diglyme or water. The systems containing glyme and diglyme have coordinating properties (donor and acceptor numbers) very similar to liquid poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether and solid poly(ethylene oxide) and their composition can be tailored to have the dielectric constants similar to those of the polymeric systems. The obtained results are compared with the electrochemical and spectroscopic data found in the literature for liquid poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether and solid poly(ethylene oxide). The main stress of the discussion is focused on ion–ion and ion–solvent interactions and the influence of the oligooxyethylene chain length on ionic pair formation. Additionally, on the basis of the electrochemical data for the dioxane–water solutions, the difference in behavior between water-free and water containing samples of similar polarity is discussed. To check the influence of the cation on ion pairing, a similar set of experiments was performed for tetraalkylamonium salts with identical anions.",battery
"In this study, a thermoelectric energy harvesting device based on phase change material is presented which can be applied with large temperature variation in space for power supply. Aiming at multi-parameter optimization of thermoelectric harvester, an assessment of the generalized design rules for the proposed harvester has been implemented. The effect of thermal conductivity, melting temperature and mass of phase change material on the thermodynamic process were investigated to obtain the design criterion for thermoelectric harvester. Besides, both simulation and experiment validated that choosing PCM with a suitable melting temperature is quite essential to the temperature control by balancing the heat storage and release process, consequently enhancing the power output. This work offers a unique powering solution for wireless sensor involving location with temperature variation in space application.",battery
"A new protocol has recently been developed and validated for the GreenScreen HC GADD45a-GFP genotoxicity reporter assay, enabling the incorporation of an S9 metabolic activation system into the assay. The S9 protocol employs flow-cytometric methodology for the detection of both reporter GFP fluorescence and propidium iodide fluorescence for the estimation of cellular viability. In the spirit of assay validation by bodies such as the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), the adapted metabolic activation protocol for the GADD45a-GFP assay has been undergoing ‘pre-validation’. Results of phases I and II of this pre-validation, namely protocol refinement and protocol transfer, respectively, are presented here. In phase I the protocol was transferred to a second laboratory for initial assessment of method portability and subsequent refinement of the protocol. In phase II, the protocol was then transferred to two further laboratories along with the elaborated standard operating-procedure (SOP) for further assessment of transferability. The three transfer sites then undertook an assessment of the method's reproducibility by testing eight compounds. The outcome of the study was a refined protocol that was found to be highly transferable. It yielded 100% agreement in results between all four laboratories.",non-battery
"La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.7Co0.3O3-coated spinel LiMn2O4 with excellent cycle stability and high rate capability is successfully prepared by a sol–gel method. The 3 wt.% La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.7Co0.3O3-coated LiMn2O4 shows the optimum electrochemical performance. It can deliver 101 mAh g−1 at 10 C even after 100 cycles with a capacity retention of 93.5%. In contrast, the bare LiMn2O4 delivers 83.6 mAh g−1 at the same condition, only 84.5% capacity left. The rate capability of 3 wt.% La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.7Co0.3O3-coated LiMn2O4 is also obviously enhanced, especially at high rates (10 C, 20 C and 30 C). It can deliver 74.3 mAh g−1 at 30 C which is much higher than that of the bare sample (47.2 mAh g−1). The bare and coated LiMn2O4 samples are studied with various techniques. Both powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements demonstrate the existence of the La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.7Co0.3O3, and it has no influence on the crystal structure of the pristine LiMn2O4. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.7Co0.3O3 coating layer with good crystallinity can cover the surface of LiMn2O4 to form a core–shell structure. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) demonstrate that the coating layer can improve the kinetics of electrodes.",battery
"In our study, for ion–polymer interaction in gel-type polymer electrolyte (GPE), two kinds of ions were used. GPE systems were composed of Mg or Li salt, organic solvent (γ-BL), and polymer matrix prepared by chemical crosslinking of NBR with poly(ethylene glycol)methylethermethacrylate (PEGMEM) having polar group (CH2 CH2 O) in the side chain of monomer. GPE consisting of Li+ ion had higher ionic conductivity than that of Mg2+ ion at below 100wt.% of electrolyte content (1M salt/γ-BL). On the other hand, GPE consisting of Mg2+ ion had higher ionic conductivity than that consisting of Li+ ion at over 120wt.% of electrolyte content (1M salt/γ-BL). The maximum liquid electrolyte content was 200wt.% for all GPE systems. And the highest ionic conductivity of 3.3 × 10−2 Scm−1 was achieved for the case of Mg2+-GPE with 200wt.% of liquid electrolyte contents at 20°C. The interaction between ionic species and polymer matrix in GPE was investigated by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Also, cyclic voltammogram of Mg2+-GPE confirmed the electrochemical property of divalent cation with two electron-transfer reactions.",battery
"The pursuit of energy density has driven electric vehicle (EV) batteries from using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes in early days to ternary layered oxides increasingly rich in nickel; however, it is impossible to forgo the LFP battery due to its unsurpassed safety, as well as its low cost and cobalt-free nature. Here we demonstrate a thermally modulated LFP battery to offer an adequate cruise range per charge that is extendable by 10 min recharge in all climates, essentially guaranteeing EVs that are free of range anxiety. Such a thermally modulated LFP battery designed to operate at a working temperature around 60 °C in any ambient condition promises to be a well-rounded powertrain for mass-market EVs. Furthermore, we reveal that the limited working time at the high temperature presents an opportunity to use graphite of low surface areas, thereby prospectively prolonging the EV lifespan to greater than two million miles.",battery
"In this research, a numerical simulation has been conducted to investigate one of the important factors for the efficient design of a maintenance-free (MF) lead-acid battery lid. Baffles and splashguards on the battery vent plug and inside the double lid are generally utilized to reduce the electrolyte loss, in the form of electrolyte droplets, during lifetime of maintenance-free batteries. Gas flow inside the battery cell and double lid is initially solved by finite volume method (FVM); then discrete phase model, in a Lagrangian reference frame, is employed to trace the electrolyte particles formed by bursting gas bubbles on the electrolyte surface and electrolyte splashing and agitating. In addition, appropriate physical models for the boundary conditions of the released gases, electrolyte droplets interaction with the lid walls and the flame arrestor are considered.",battery
"Three dimensional (3D) nano-LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4@C/CNT composite was successfully synthesized by an oleylamine-assisted solvothermal method. The prepared composite showed excellent electrochemical performance, especially superior high rate capability. It could deliver a specific discharge capacity of 103.1 mAh/g, even at 80 C. The superior high rate performance of the as-prepared LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4@C/CNT electrode is attributed to its unique 3D conducting network: (1) the prepared LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4@C active particles were in nano-scale with a size of 30–50 nm; (2) LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4 nanoparticles were uniformly coated by amorphous carbon with a thickness of 3 nm; (3) the graphitized conductive CNTs were dispersed homogenously among the LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4@C active particles. The synergistic effect of the nanoscale amorphous carbon coated LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4@C active particles and the graphitized CNTs reduces the diffusion path of the lithium ions and benefits the transference ability of electron.",battery
"For exploring promising energy storage devices beyond lithium ion batteries, aluminum ion batteries (AIBs) are desirable cells with high energy-to-price ratios because of abundant natural resources, the higher energy density of aluminum and elimination of unexpected safety risks. Nevertheless, an ideal rechargeable AIB configuration with ultrahigh capacity is still fundamentally pursued. For fundamentally promoting the most promising chalcogen or chalcogenide-based AIB positive electrode materials, here rechargeable tellurium (Te) nanowire positive electrodes are demonstrated to construct novel tellurium–aluminum batteries. The cell configuration allows Te nanowires for delivering an ultrahigh discharge capacity ∼1026 mA h g−1 (with a specific current of 0.5 A g−1) along with an initial 1.4 V discharge voltage, competitive with the record-setting energy density of the documented AIBs. For essentially tackling the dramatic capacity loss in tellurium positive electrodes, the mechanism of impacting the rechargeable ability is linked to the production of soluble tellurium chloroaluminate compounds upon both chemical dissolution and electrochemical conversion processes. As a consequence, the cell configuration is proved to substantially suppress the unexpected shuttle effects induced by soluble tellurium chloroaluminate compounds via employing reduced graphene oxide to support the tellurium positive electrodes as well as utilizing functionalized carbon nanotube membranes to modify the separators. The implication of the results suggests a nice plateau for massively promoting the rechargeable ability of AIBs, advancing remarkable routes for achieving ultrahigh capacity and energy density.
",battery
"Carbon coated Fe3O4 nanocomposite (Fe3O4/C) is synthesized via a simple sol–gel route and a subsequent carbon CVD process, with Fe2O3 xerogel as intermediate product. The nanoporous Fe2O3 xerogel is reduced to Fe3O4 during the CVD process. The prepared Fe3O4/C composite presents a well-distributed nanostructure composing of Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with carbon layer. The electrode exhibits a stable reversible capacity of over 850 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, excellent cycling performance and good rate capability. Both of the nano-scale particle size of Fe3O4 and the carbon layer contribute to the excellent electrochemical performance of Fe3O4/C. An increase in electrode capacity with cycling is observed for the prepared Fe3O4/C composite when cycled at 50 °C, which is similar to other reported transition metal oxides. The preparation process of Fe3O4/C composite is facile, mild and productive.",battery
"Metal-based smart windows allow for light and heat transmission control but suffer from poor metal ion diffusion over large areas. Here, the authors demonstrate a 100 cm2 window that is uniformly switchable from clear to black in 60 s by combining reversible metal electrodeposition with ion insertion.
",battery
"Choosing a camera for use in the dermatology office is difficult, particularly in the case of a digital camera because the market is constantly evolving. This article explains the features that should be taken into account, including camera type, sensor, lens and macro capability, aperture priority mode, screen, viewfinder, operating speed, flash, battery, memory card, and image format. The most recent advances in the field of digital photography relevant to the dermatologist are discussed.",non-battery
"New inks based on lithium iron phosphate and graphite for cathode and anode, respectively, were developed for printable lithium-ion batteries using the “green solvent” N,N′-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU) and poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, as a binder. The results were compared with the ones from inks developed with the conventionally used solvent N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, NMP. The rheological properties of the PVDF/DMPU binder solution shows a more pronounced shear thinning behavior than the PVDF/NMP solution. Cathode inks prepared with 2.25 mL and 2.50 mL of DMPU for 1 g of electrode mass show an apparent viscosity of 3 Pa s and 2 Pa s for a shear rate of 100 s−1, respectively, being therefore processable by screen-printing or doctor blade techniques. The electrodes prepared with DMPU and processed by screen-printing show a capacity of 52 mAh g−1 at 2C for the cathode and 349 mAh g−1 at C/5 for the anode, after 45 charge-discharge cycles. The electrochemical performance of both electrodes was evaluated in a full-cell and after 9 cycles, the discharge capacity value is 81 mAh g−1, showing a discharge capacity retention of 64%. The new inks presented in this work are thus suitable for the development of printed batteries and represent a step forward towards more environmental friendly processes.",battery
"A solid-state photo-rechargeable capacitor (photocapacitor) is obtained here by coupling a dye-sensitized solar cell and a ruthenium oxide based electrochemical capacitor. This integrated system permits direct storage of energy generated by sunlight within a single optoelectronic microelectrochemical device. It utilizes three planar electrodes arranged sequentially to include a polymer hole conductor (poly-(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)), between the titanium oxide photoanode modified with dye (E)-3-(5-(4-(Bis(20,40-dibutoxybiphenyl-4-yl)amino)phenyl)thiophen-2-yl)-2-cyanoacrylic acid (D35) and the intermediate silver electrode as well as two hydrous ruthenium oxide layers (separated by protonically conducting Nafion™ membrane) between the intermediate (silver) and the external (counter) electrode. Upon integration of the capacitor and dye-sensitized solar cell into a single photocapacitor hybrid device, the following parameters were obtained under simulated 100 mW cm−2 solar illumination: specific capacitance, 407 F g−1 (3.26 F cm−2); energy and power densities, 0.17 mWh cm−2 and 0.34 mW cm−2 and coulombic efficiency, 88%. These data together with results of experiments performed at different light intensities (10–100 mW cm−2) are consistent with very good performance of the optoelectronic device under various light conditions.",battery
"Agricultural residues as sugarcane straw and bagasse are burned in boilers for generation of energy in sugar and alcohol industries. However, excess of those by-products could be used to obtain products with higher value. Pulping process generates cellulosic pulps and lignin. The lignin could be oxidized and applied in effluent treatments for heavy metal removal. Oxidized lignin presents very strong chelating properties. Lignins from sugarcane straw and bagasse were obtained by ethanol–water pulping. Oxidation of lignins was carried out using acetic acid and Co/Mn/Br catalytical system at 50, 80, and 115 °C for 5 h. Kinetics of the reaction was accomplished by measuring the UV-visible region. Activation energy was calculated for lignins from sugarcane straw and bagasse (34.2 and 23.4 kJ mol−1, respectively). The first value indicates higher cross-linked formation. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy data of samples collected during oxidation are very similar. Principal component analysis applied to spectra shows only slight structure modifications in lignins after oxidation reaction.
",non-battery
"Layered-layered type xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiMnO2 (x = 0.91, 0.78, 0.67, 0.54, 0.42, and 0.32) nanorods with a diameter of 100–200 nm and length of 400–1000 nm are prepared through a pyrolysis reduction process of monoclinic Li2MnO3 (m-Li2MnO3) nanorods. All the synthesized xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiMnO2 nanorods exhibit the main characteristic diffraction peaks of m-Li2MnO3 in addition to some weak peaks attributable to m-LiMnO2 especially for those composites with x < 0.67. When used as cathode material of Li-ion battery, those xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiMnO2 nanorods show an initial charge/discharge profile similar to the Li-rich solid solution in the voltage window of 2.0–4.8 V. The m-LiMnO2 portion in those synthesized composites can significantly enhance the reversible capacity but lower the cyclic stability, while the m-Li2MnO3 portion can improve the cyclic stability due to its retardation effect of the layered-to-spinel transformation during the charge/discharge processes, and thus xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiMnO2 nanorods with x = 0.54 exhibits the best cyclic and rate performance since it contains appropriate m-Li2MnO3/m-LiMnO2 contents to balance the reversible capacity and Jahn-Teller effect. The present findings demonstrate an effective strategy for the development of low-cost pure Mn-based Li-rich layered cathode materials with adjustable reversible capacity, cyclic and rate performance by tailoring the composition.",battery
"The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is increasing and currently >600 NPS have been reported. However, limited information on neuropharmacological and toxicological effects of NPS is available, hampering risk characterization. We reviewed the literature on the in vitro neuronal modes of action to obtain effect fingerprints of different classes of illicit drugs and NPS. The most frequently reported NPS were selected for review: cathinones (MDPV, α-PVP, mephedrone, 4-MEC, pentedrone, methylone), cannabinoids (JWH-018), (hallucinogenic) phenethylamines (4-fluoroamphetamine, benzofurans (5-APB, 6-APB), 2C-B, NBOMes (25B-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, 25I-NBOMe)), arylcyclohexylamines (methoxetamine) and piperazine derivatives (mCPP, TFMPP, BZP). Our effect fingerprints highlight the main modes of action for the different NPS studied, including inhibition and/or reversal of monoamine reuptake transporters (cathinones and non-hallucinogenic phenethylamines), activation of 5-HT2receptors (hallucinogenic phenethylamines and piperazines), activation of cannabinoid receptors (cannabinoids) and inhibition of NDMA receptors (arylcyclohexylamines). Importantly, we identified additional targets by relating reported effect concentrations to the estimated human brain concentrations during recreational use. These additional targets include dopamine receptors, α- and β-adrenergic receptors, GABAAreceptors and acetylcholine receptors, which may all contribute to the observed clinical symptoms following exposure. Additional data is needed as the number of NPS continues to increase. Also, the effect fingerprints we have obtained are still incomplete and suffer from a large variation in the reported effects and effect sizes. Dedicated in vitro screening batteries will aid in complementing specific effect fingerprints of NPS. These fingerprints can be implemented in the risk assessments of NPS that are necessary for eventual control measures to reduce Public Health risks.",non-battery
"Several ‘Advanced Rechargeable Battery Technologies’ (ARBT) have been evaluated in terms of various energy, environmental, economic, and technical criteria. Their suitability for different applications, such as electric vehicles (EV), consumer electronics, load levelling, and stationary power storage, have also been examined. In order to gain a sense of perspective regarding the performance of the ARBT [including Lithium-Ion batteries (LIB), Li-Ion Polymer (LIP) and Sodium Nickel Chloride (NaNiCl) {or ‘ZEBRA’} batteries] they are compared to more mature Nickel–Cadmium (Ni–Cd) batteries. LIBs currently dominate the rechargeable battery market, and are likely to continue to do so in the short term in view of their excellent all-round performance and firm grip on the consumer electronics market. However, in view of the competition from Li-Ion Polymer their long-term future is uncertain. The high charge/discharge cycle life of Li-Ion batteries means that their use may grow in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, and to a lesser extent in load levelling, if safety concerns are overcome and costs fall significantly. LIP batteries exhibited attractive values of gravimetric energy density, volumetric energy density, and power density. Consequently, they are likely to dominate the consumer electronics market in the long-term, once mass production has become established, but may struggle to break into other sectors unless their charge/discharge cycle life and cost are improved significantly. ZEBRA batteries are presently one of the technologies of choice for EV development work. Nevertheless, compared to other ARBT, such batteries only represent an incremental step forward in terms of energy and environmental performance.",battery
"Environmental and safety aspects of seasonal storage of baled municipal solid waste to be used as fuel for energy production (waste fuel), was investigated and experiments were carried out on burning of bales. The flammability, combustion processes and emissions were studied by simulating, in small-scale, potential effects of a possible fire in full-scale bale storage area. Despite the high water content and the high density of the bales, after setting fire, the bales burned well, even though no risk for self-ignition exists. The following parameters of the combustion product were measured continuously: O2, CO2, CO, SO2, NO, NO2, NO x , THC, smoke gas rate and the temperature of the smoke. Soot particles in the smoke were collected and analysed for Hg, Pb, Cd, As, Ni, Cr, Mn, Cu, Co, Sb and V concentrations. The analysis of the moisture content, concentrations of Hg, Cd, HCl, HF, HBr, NH3, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), chlorinated and brominated dioxins (PCDD/F and PBrDD/F, respectively) were carried out. It was found that the PCDD/F levels (TEQs) varied according to the system used: 12.53 ng (I-TEF-88)/Nm3; 14.09 ng (I-TEF-99)/Nm3; 13.86 ng (Eadons)/Nm3. The PAH concentration was 3.04 μg/Nm3. The contents of the metals in the smoke (with the exceptions of Pb and Cd with mean values of 1.74 and 0.36 mg/m3, respectively) were below the limit values established by the Swedish Ministry of Environment for emissions from incineration plants [Swedish Ministry of Environment, (2002:1060), Förordning 2002:1060 om avfallsförbränning. Available from http://www.notisum.se/rnp/SLS/LAG/20021060.HTM]/EU-directive [(2000/76/EC), Directive 2000/76/EC, of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 on the Incineration of Waste. http://www.Scotland. gov.uk/library5/environment/iecda.pdf]. The HCl concentration was 10 times higher than the limit value (mean value of 99 mg/m3).",non-battery
"The oligo(ethylene oxide) modified layered double hydroxide (LDH) prepared by template method was added as a nanoscale nucleating agent into poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) to form PEO/OLDH nanocomposite electrolytes. The effects of OLDH addition on morphology and conductivities of nanocomposite electrolytes were studied using wide-angle X-ray diffractometer, polarized optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and ionic conductivity measurement. The results show that the exfoliated morphology of nanocomposites is formed due to the surface modification of LDH layers with PEO matrix compatible oligo(ethylene oxide)s. The nanoscale dispersed OLDH layers inhibit the crystal growth of PEO crystallites and result in a plenty amount of intercrystalline grain boundary within PEO/OLDH nanocomposites. The ionic conductivities of nanocomposite electrolytes are enhanced by three orders of magnitude compared to the pure PEO polymer electrolytes at ambient temperature. It can be attributed to the ease transport of Li+ along intercrystalline amorphous phase. This novel nanocomposite electrolytes system with high conductivities will be benefited to fabricate the thin-film type of Li-polymer secondary battery.",battery
"Lithium-ion battery elevated upfront cost is considered one of the major barriers hampering the mass market adoption of electric vehicles. In this context, second life use of electric vehicle batteries is one of the solutions explored by the academia and the industry to reduce electric vehicle upfront costs. Per se, the concept of giving a second life to electric vehicle batteries simply consists of reusing the batteries that do not meet any longer the requirements of automotive applications, but which could still be used on less-demanding grid-connected energy storage applications. The present paper reviews the most relevant publications in the field of Lithium-ion battery second life, from economic, technical and environmental perspectives. The main industrial and R&D projects are also described, and the most relevant commercial products available today are briefly reported. The conclusions from the consulted references are critically discussed at the end of each subsection, and, finally, overall conclusions and recommendations are presented.",battery
"In this work, we report a LiCoPO4/C core/shell structure to address two key challenges facing the application of lithium cobalt phosphate (LiCoPO4), i.e. sluggish kinetics and poor cycle stability. By carefully controlling the synthetic procedure, we obtain a LiCoPO4 material coated with a homogeneous carbon shell via an in situ approach. The carbon shell not only increases the reversible capacity, but also enhances the capacity retention upon repeated cycles. Electrochemical charge and discharge tests show that the LiCoPO4/C core/shell structure can deliver a high specific capacity of 131mAhg−1 in the voltage range of 3.0–5.2V vs. Li+/Li and maintain 78% of initial capacity after 40 cycles at a low specific current of 17mAg−1. When discharged at 1C, the material still delivers a capacity of 95mAhg−1. The results indicate that the LiCoPO4/C composite is promising for energy storage application. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cyclic voltammetry, and AC impedance are applied to understand its good electrochemical performance.",battery
"We report an outstanding electrochemical performance of a gel type lithium ion battery with long cycle life enabled by a dense transparent polymeric single ion conductor. The polymer electrolyte was synthesized by a side chain grafting method with 4-amino-4’-trifluoromethyl bis(benzene sulfonyl)imide grafted on side chains of poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) with a grafting ratio of 50%. Blending lithiated iononmers with poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) via a solution cast method results in a dense transparent film. The fabricated blend polymer electrolyte film has an ionic conductivity of 0.104 mS cm−1 at room temperature, a tensile strength of 15.5 MPa and percent elongation at break of 5%. A gel type single ion conductive polymeric lithium ion battery was assembled using the blend film as the separator as well as the electrolyte, LiFePO4/C mixed with ionomers as the cathode and a lithium foil as the anode. The battery delivers a reversible discharge capacity of 100 mAh g−1 at 1 C under room temperature for 1000 cycles without obvious decay. The stable cyclic imide and comb-like structure of the polymer is largely responsible for the excellent battery performance. The side chain grafted single ion conducting polymer electrolyte is well suited for large-scale production.",battery
"According to the working principle of Lithium ion batteries, a perfect coating layer should not only be a lithium ion conductor but also an electronic conductor. In this work, the layered cathode material LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 was modified by a dual functional coating layer created from the Li-ion conductor Li2SiO3 and electronic conductor carbon. It was found that the modified LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 showed outstanding electrochemical performance after being coated with an appropriate content of Li2SiO3&C. Particularly, at the high current density of 5C (1C=160mA/g), the LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 coated with Li2SiO3&C could still deliver a discharge capacity of 96 mAh/g after 500 cycles with a capacity retention of 89.62%. In comparison, the pristine only delivered a discharge capacity of 71 mAh/g after 450 cycles. Furthermore, our strategy is convenient and universal, it can also be applied to other layered cathode materials to ameliorate their electrochemical properties.",battery
"It is well known that there is a strong influence of thermal processing variables on the solidification structure and as a direct consequence on the casting final properties. The morphological microstructural parameters such as grain size and cellular or dendritic spacings will depend on the heat transfer conditions imposed by the metal/mould system. There is a need to improve the understanding of the interrelation between the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of dilute Pb–Sn casting alloys which are widely used in the manufacture of battery components. The present study has established correlations between cellular microstructure, ultimate tensile strength and corrosion resistance of Pb–1wt% Sn and Pb–2.5wt% Sn alloys by providing a combined plot of these properties as a function of cell spacing. It was found that a compromise between good corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties can be attained by choosing an appropriate cell spacing range.",battery
"Nanostructured silicon with its high theoretical capacity and ability to accommodate volume expansion has attracted great attention as a promising anode material for Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. Liquid metal dealloying method, is a novel method to create nanoporous silicon (np-Si). The assembled Li-ion batteries based on such np-Si anode can be cycled beyond 1500 cycles, in 1000 mA h/g constant capacity cycling mode with consistent performance; however, it suffers from degradation after ~ 460 cycles, while being cycled under 2000 mA h/g. To reveal the failure mechanism and differences in the morphological evolution in different capacity cycling modes in the np-Si anode, we conducted synchrotron X-ray nano-tomography studies. The three dimensional (3D) morphological evolution was visualized and quantified as a function of the number of cycles and cycling capacities. By comparing the 3D morphology under each cycling condition and correlating these 3D morphological changes with cycling-life performance, we elucidate the failure mechanism of the np-Si electrodes resulting from a mesoscopic to macroscopic deformation, involving volume expansion and gradual delamination. In particular, the shorter cycling life in higher-capacity cycling mode stems from particle agglomeration. Overall, while the nanoporous structure can accommodate the volume expansion locally, these mesoscopic and macroscopic deformations ultimately result in heterogeneous stress distribution with faster delamination. The work thus sheds the light on the importance to consider the structural evolution at the mesoscopic and macroscopic scales, while designing nano-structured energy storage materials for enhanced performances, particularly for long cycling-life durability.",battery
"Tropical cyclone storm surge represents a significant threat to communities around the world. These surge characteristics vary spatially and temporally over a range of scales; therefore, conceptual frameworks for understanding and mitigating them must be cast within a context of risk that covers the complete range of hazards, their consequences, and methods for mitigation. A review of primary overlapping time scales and associated spatial scales for tropical cyclone surge hazards covers two scales of particular interest: (1) synoptic-scale predictions used for warnings and evacuation decisions and (2) long-term estimation of hazards and related risks needed for coastal planning and decision-making. Factors that can affect these estimates, such as episodic variations in tropical cyclone characteristics and longer-term climate change and sea-level rise are then examined in the context of their potential impacts on hazards and risks related to tropical cyclone surges.",non-battery
"Herein, we report on electrochemical doping of a conducting polymer (CP) with anionically modified graphene nanosheets. The architecture built from reduced graphene oxide (rGO) skeleton skinned by polypyrrole (pPy) enhanced supercapacitor performances especially at high discharge rates superior to those of the same CP with a conventional dopant: e.g., from 141 to 280Fg−1 at 1000C equivalent to ~50Ag−1. At relatively low rates, the graphene-doped pPy reached the theoretical capacitance of pPy, indicating efficient use of whole electroactive mass.",battery
"Micro-supercapacitors are a kind of state-of-the-art energy storage devices and have great potential to be developed in portable and wearable electronics. Here, we report a novel strategy for scalable fabrication of all-printed solid-state micro-supercapacitors with multilayer structure via multi-material 3D printing technique. To obtain electrode materials, we synthesize polypyrrole/polyaniline coaxis nanotubes by utilizing the self-degraded template polymerization method and in situ electrochemical polymerization. The as-prepared aqueous composite electrode ink shows significant shear thinning behavior and excellent processability: a complex electrode patterning with 484 retractions was proved. In addition, the inks are well-adapted to various substrates (paper, texitle, plastic film etc), allowing the device to be printed onto different substrates, even directly on the desired surface. As a conceptual exhibition, we design two schemes of in situ fabricated energy storage devices to meet the ever-changing energy needs and expand the application range of micro-supercapacitors. The transferable tape-type micro-supercapacitors can be stuck to any surfaces where energy is needed immediately. The in situ fabricated wearable micro-supercapacitor on lab-gown shows promising performance and excellent flexibility.",battery
"This work describes a route for extracting manganese and zinc from spent zinc–manganese dioxide dry cells via fusion of the electroactive components with potassium hydroxide to form potassium manganate (K2MnO4) and soluble zincates. The fused mass was dissolved in aqueous KOH and the insoluble matter was separated. Under the best optimal conditions, 70–78 wt% of manganese was solubilized as K2MnO4 whereas 30–44 wt% of zinc was solubilized as [Zn(OH)4]2− ions. Lead was the only minor component dissolved in detectable amounts. Manganese was isolated by a one-step precipitation procedure as barium manganate (BaMnO4) or via crystallization of K2MnO4. Lead and excess barium were isolated as sulfate by adding K2SO4. Zinc was precipitated as hydroxide after neutralizing the alkaline solution with H2SO4. pH control is essential to avoid decomposition of manganate ions and for the sequential precipitation of leached elements. K2SO4 was partially recovered as by-product after partial evaporation of the neutralized solution.",battery
"Background Childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes are the most common forms of benign epilepsy syndromes. Although cognitive dysfunctions occur in children with both childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, the similarity between their patterns of underlying cognitive impairments is not well understood. To describe these patterns, we examined multiple cognitive functions in children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Methods In this study, 43 children with childhood absence epilepsy, 47 children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, and 64 control subjects were recruited; all received a standardized assessment (i.e., computerized test battery) assessing processing speed, spatial skills, calculation, language ability, intelligence, visual attention, and executive function. Groups were compared in these cognitive domains. Simple regression analysis was used to analyze the effects of epilepsy-related clinical variables on cognitive test scores. Results Compared with control subjects, children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes showed cognitive deficits in intelligence and executive function, but performed normally in language processing. Impairment in visual attention was specific to patients with childhood absence epilepsy, whereas impaired spatial ability was specific to the children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Simple regression analysis showed syndrome-related clinical variables did not affect cognitive functions. Conclusions This study provides evidence of both common and distinctive cognitive features underlying the relative cognitive difficulties in children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Our data suggest that clinicians should pay particular attention to the specific cognitive deficits in children with childhood absence epilepsy and benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, to allow for more discriminative and potentially more effective interventions.",non-battery
"The carbon supported composite catalysts for Li-O2 batteries with optimized structure seem attractive in terms of their advantages of electronic conductivity and light weight. In this work, a facial solvothermal method was employed to prepare the composite with 34 wt% δ-MnO2 wrapped on the surface of MWCNTs in form of monomolecular layer by the chemical binding (δ-MnO2@MWCNTs). The experimental results indicate that δ-MnO2@MWCNTs retains the high specific surface area and abundant mesoporous structure of MWCNTs. Moreover, the dominated (002) facet and abundant oxygen vacancies of the δ-MnO2 layer accelerate the adsorption of O2 and elongate the O-O bond, which promote the oxygen reduction reaction activity. In particular, the oriented growth of discharge products (Li2O2) forming flake- and flower-like depositions with an increase of DOD ensures the stable reaction zone in the cathode with sufficient charge transfer and oxygen diffusion channel. Therefore, the Li-O2 batteries with δ-MnO2@MWCNTs as cathode catalysts demonstrate the high discharge capacity of 28517 mA h g−1 with the voltage platform of 2.82 V in the initial discharge (100 mA g−1) and the excellent rate performance with 75% capacity retention at current density of 1000 mA g−1. Meanwhile, the δ-MnO2 @MWCNTs catalysts are of benefit to the excellent electrochemical reversibility with 190 cycles (100 mA g−1) and 20 cycles (1000 mA g−1) under a limited discharge depth of 1000 and even 4000 mA h g−1, respectively.",battery
"Using a simple filtration method, we fabricate freestanding carbon-based composite paper electrodes (F-CCPEs), based on acid-treated carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs) and microporous carbon-based nanoplates containing numerous heteroatoms (H-CMNs). The F-CCPEs exhibited a high electrical conductivity of 2.3 × 102 S cm−1 and a high surface area of 1211.7 m2 g−1; moreover, they had numerous electroative heteroatoms and showed mechanical flexibility. Therefore, F-CCPEs without current collectors and binder show a superior electrochemical performance. In particular, the prepared F-CCPEs exhibit high capacitances of 275 and 148 F g−1 in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively. In addition, the specific energy density and specific power density of these F-CCPEs were found to be 63 Wh kg−1 and 140 kW kg−1, respectively, with good cyclic stability, even after 20,000 charge/discharge cycles.",battery
"The mechanical stability of inactive polymeric components (e.g. separator and binder) can play an important role in the long term performance of lithium-ion batteries. Here we investigate the effects of electrolyte solvents on the mechanical properties of a polypropylene battery separator through experimental measurements of thickness and elastic modulus of separator samples immersed in different solvent environments. We find that certain electrolyte solvents such as dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, and ethyl acetate cause noticeable softening of the separator. However, in other solvent environments such as propylene carbonate and acetonitrile, the separator retains the mechanical properties of a dry material. We show that the mechanical property reduction can be attributed to polymer swelling and explain these observations in the context of the Hildebrand solubility and Flory–Huggins interaction parameters. The solubility/interaction parameter analysis provides a straightforward method for predicting the in situ mechanical behavior of polymer separators in solvent environments. The relationships discussed herein can be used to screen and identify mechanically-stable polymer and electrolyte solvent pairs for use in lithium-ion batteries designed for long life.",battery
"Feasibility, safety, and utility of brain MRI for patients with non-MRI-conditioned cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIEDs) remains controversial. While a growing number of studies have shown safe employment in select patients under strict protocols, there is an increasing clinical need for further off-label investigations. To assess the feasibility and utility of brain MRI in neurological and neurosurgical patients with non-MRI-conditioned CIEDs using off-label protocol. We retrospectively evaluated 126 patients with non-MRI-conditioned CIEDs referred to our hospital between 2014 to 2018 for MRI under an IRB-approved protocol. A total of 126 off-label brain MRI scans were performed. The mean age was 67.5 ± 13.0. Seventy percent of scans were performed on female patients. Indications for MRI are neurosurgical (45.2%), neurological (51.6%), and others (3.2%). MRI utilization for tumor cases was highest for tumor cases (68.3%), but employment was valuable for vascular (12.7%), deep brain stimulators (3.2%), and other cases (15.9%). In the tumor category, (37.2%) of the scans were performed for initial diagnosis and pre-surgical planning, (47.7%) for post-intervention evaluation/surveillance, (15.1%) for stereotactic radiosurgery treatment (CyberKnife). No clinical complications were encountered. No functional device complications of the CIED were identified during and after the MRI in 96.9% of the studies. A 49.6% of the off-label brain MRI scans performed led to a clinically significant decision and/or intervention for the patients. A 42.9% of obtained MRI studies did not change the plan of care. A 7.9% of post-scan decision-making data was not available. We demonstrate that off-label brain MRI scans performed on select patients under a strict protocol is feasible, safe, and relevant. Almost 50% of scans provided critical information resulting in clinical intervention of the patients.
",non-battery
"Hydrogen being clean energy source is an effective substitute to current fossil fuels. Present day advancement in hydrogen economy field has motivated researchers to work in green energy field. Different types of methods are in use to store hydrogen. Our review focuses initially on various types of sustainable and non-renewable energy sources, then with emphasis towards hydrogen economy, we discuss in details about it. Hydrogen is efficient candidate amongst vivid sustainable source of energy. Hydrogen advantages and its applications in different fields are covered. Initially discussing different methods to synthesize hydrogen, we shift towards the hydrogen storage methods. Amongst all the hydrogen storage methods, electrochemical method is best, as hydrogen is generated, stored in situ at normal pressure and temperature conditions. Different methods can be used to study hydrogen storage by electrochemical means. Various materials that can efficiently store hydrogen, were covered. Hydrogen is most common fuel in fuel cell, hence classification of hydrogen fuel cells and their relevance with respect to stationary and portable fields are covered.",battery
"A photoplethysmograph (PPG) is a simple medical device for monitoring blood flow and transportation of substances in the blood. It consists of a light source and a photodetector for measuring transmitted and reflected light signals. Clinically, PPGs are used to monitor the pulse rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and blood vessel stiffness. Wearable unobtrusive PPG monitors are commercially available. Here, we review the principle issues and clinical applications of PPG for monitoring oxygen saturation.",non-battery
"A convenient and operable fabrication technique has been demonstrated for self-assembled vertically aligned anatase TiO2 nanowires on FTO glass with tunable length in the range of 15–55 μm for multi-layered configuration photoanode based DSSCs application. DSSCs based on 47 μm-long multi-layered anatase TiO2 nanowire arrays attain a power conversion efficiency of 9.40%, which is the highest value for nanowire array based DSSCs to date.
",battery
"With the rapid development of electric vehicles (EVs), the impacts on power grids arising from EV charging have drawn increasing attention worldwide. Uncoordinated charging of large-scale EVs will inevitably elevate load peaks at rush hours, therefore, poses serious challenges to the stability and security of power grid. Coordinated charging is expected to alleviate these negative impacts by utilizing the surplus power in the lower-demand hours with the help of the so-called valley filling algorithm. Nevertheless, when the amount of EVs involved reaches 1 million or above, the complexity of the scheduling method becomes a critical issue. In this paper, a very high efficient valley-filling strategy is proposed. Two key indexes, viz., capacity margin index and charging priority index are defined, the former one is used to select the target time slots on which the power grid has abundant surplus power for EV charging, and the latter one is used to determine the charging priority of EVs on each time slot. The simulation results demonstrate that the coordinated charging scheme with the proposed valley-filling strategy significantly outperforms the uncoordinated charging in the aspect of suppressing the elevated peak loads of power grid. Moreover, the complexity analysis shows that the proposed algorithm is much high-efficient than its existing counterparts.",battery
"Recently, the low cost energy devices with high energy density and high power density are becoming more and more important in the field of electric vehicles. In this work, the electrochemical intercalation/deintercalation behaviors of PF6ˉ into graphitic mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) cathode are investigated in the electrolyte of 1 M LiPF6 in the mixed solvent of ethylmethyl carbonate and sulfolane. The charge storage mechanisms related to surface-limited capacitive and diffusion-controlled intercalation capacity are also studied by cyclic voltammetry measurements, which indicates that both the intercalation reaction and the capacitive reaction contribute to the overall capacity. Furthermore, dual-carbon batteries comprising MCMB cathode and pre-lithiated MCMB anode are unprecedentedly demonstrated in the form of aluminum pouch cells with laminated structure and exhibit an encouraging energy density of 47.9 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 583.6 W kg−1 based on the overall mass of the battery. Finally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to differentiate the resistance variation of MCMB cathode and MCMB anode before and after 3000 cycles. The continuous intercalation/deintercalation of PF6ˉ into MCMB cathode lead to the exfoliation of the active material and the increase of internal resistance.",battery
"Confabulation, the production of statements and actions that are unintentionally incongruous to the subject's history, background, present and future situation, is a rather infrequent disorder, observed in several conditions affecting the nervous system. Little is known about the quantitative and qualitative evolution of confabulation in time. In this study we evaluated longitudinally the evolution of this disorder in a group of severe confabulators, using the Confabulation Battery (CB), a sensitive tool to detect confabulations in various memory domains. It was found that confabulations were stable over time and not temporally limited. It was also found that “Habits Confabulations” (HCs), i.e., habits and repeated personal events mistaken as specific, unique past and future personal episodes, or well-known public events when semantic knowledge is concerned, was the more frequently observed type of confabulation. Confabulations were also more prominent in the domain of Temporal Consciousness (TC), i.e., a specific form of consciousness that allows individuals to remember their personal past, to be oriented in their present world and to predict their personal future, than in Knowing Consciousness (KC), i.e., a specific form of consciousness allowing individuals to be aware of past, present and future impersonal knowledge and information. Confabulations showed also persistence, i.e., confabulations at the same questions over time, and consistency, i.e., same type of confabulation at the same question over time. These findings are discussed within the framework of the Memory, Consciousness and Temporality Theory.",non-battery
"The urgent need for a stable, efficient, and affordable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst has led to the investigation of a vast amount of transition metal materials with multiple different anions. In situ and post catalytic characterization shows that most materials transform during the harsh OER conditions to layered (oxy)hydroxides (LOH). Several open questions concerning these in situ formed LOH remain such as: an explanation for their strongly varying activities, or the effect of the precatalyst structure, leaching anions, and transformation conditions on the formed LOH. Herein, we report on a cobalt selenite precursor, which, depending on pH and potential, transforms irreversibly into two different LOH OER catalysts. Combining multiple electrochemical and analytical methods ex and in situ, we prove that one of these products is near-surface catalytically active and the other one throughout the bulk with an in situ average cobalt oxidation state of 3.2. We deduce a detailed structural model explaining these differences and propose general concepts relating both the precatalyst structure and the transformation conditions to the final catalyst. Further, we apply these models to the most promising non-noble metal catalyst, NiFe LOH.
",battery
"The effects of the reformer in an internal-reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (IR-MCFC) are studied by mathematical modeling. Temperature distributions, conversion of methane and compositions of gases are analyzed through mathematical modeling of the reformer and the cell. In the reformer, the methane-reforming reaction and the water-gas shift reaction occur simultaneously and the conversion of methane to hydrogen, calculated including the thermodynamic equilibrium of the reaction, reaches 99%. Additionally, the endothermic-reforming reaction contributes to a uniform temperature distribution. The voltage and the power of the IR-MCFC are similar to those of an external-reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (ER-MCFC), when the compositions at the inlet of the ER-MCFC are set as those at the outlet of the reformer in IR-MCFC. As the molar ratio of methane to water-gas decreases at a fixed total flow rate, the working voltage decreases.",battery
"Mesoporous spinel Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles with the diameter of around 40nm and the average pore size of about 8nm were prepared by a rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal method followed by low-temperature calcination. Electrochemical tests reveal that the Li4Ti5O12 mesoporous nanoparticle electrode exhibits high discharge capacities of 174, 165, 157, 148, 137 and 123mAhg−1 at 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40C, respectively. The electrode still delivers a capacity of 90mAhg−1 even at the highest rate of 60C (~10,000mAg−1), corresponding to a time of 60s to fully discharge/charge the materials. Moreover, the capacity of the Li4Ti5O12 mesoporous nanoparticle electrode can be completely recovered to 174mAhg−1 when the discharge rate returns to 1C after continuous 10cycles at 60C. This electrode also exhibits outstanding long-term cycling stability with only 1.8% capacity degradation for each 100cycles at 60C, and the electrode is still able to deliver the reversible charge capacities of 95mAhg−1 after 500cycles. These superior electrochemical properties result from its favorable morphology with interconnected nanoparticles and uniform mesoporous, which significantly decreases the contact resistance, shortens the lithium diffusion distances and provides more locations for lithium surface storage.",battery
"Aluminium–air cells are high-energy density (<400 W h kg−1) primary batteries developed in the 1960s. This review shows the influence of the materials, including: aluminium alloy, oxygen reduction catalyst and electrolyte type, in the battery performance. Two issues are considered: (a) the parasitic corrosion of aluminium at open-circuit potential and under discharge, due to the reduction of water on the anode and (b) the formation of a passive hydroxide layer on aluminium, which inhibits dissolution and shifts its potential to positive values. To overcome these two issues, super-pure (99.999 wt%) aluminium alloyed with traces of Mg, Sn, In and Ga are used to inhibit corrosion or to break down the passive hydroxide layer. Since high-purity aluminium alloys are expensive, an alternative approach is to add inhibitors or additives directly into the electrolyte. The effectiveness of binary and ternary alloys and the addition of different electrolyte additives are evaluated. Novel methods to overcome the self-corrosion problem include using anionic membranes and gel electrolytes or alternative solvents, such as alcohols or ionic liquids, to replace aqueous solutions. The air cathode is also considered and future opportunities and directions for the development of aluminium–air cells are highlighted.",battery
"Direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs), with a series of perovskite-type oxides La1−x Sr x CoO3 (x =0.1–0.5) as the cathode catalysts and a hydrogen storage alloy as the anode catalyst, are studied in this paper. The structures of the perovskite-type catalysts are mainly La1−x Sr x CoO3 ( x =0.1–0.5) oxides phases. However, with the increase of strontium content, the intensities of the X-ray diffraction peaks of the impure phases La2Sr2O5 and SrLaCoO4 are gradually enhanced. Without using any precious metals or expensive ion exchange membranes, a maximum current density of 275mAcm−2 and a power density of 109mWcm−2 are obtained with the Sr content of x =0.2 at 60°C for this novel type of fuel cell.",battery
In situ and ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were carried out on lithiated graphite electrodes at different states of charge. Data were collected from both sides of electrode. We found macroscopic inhomogeneities in the lithium concentration along the electrode thickness even when the electrode was allowed to rest for 24h. The electrode side facing the lithium counter electrode in the coin type half-cell displays higher lithium concentration as compared to the side opposed to the XRD window. Residual stage 2 compound is found in the supposedly fully lithiated and fully delithiated electrode. It seems that the differences in the chemical potential between stage 2 and stage 1 is too small to average the lithium composition through chemical diffusion at ambient temperature in reasonable times.,battery
"The electric generation systems on islands are based generally on fossil fuel. This fact and its supply make the electricity cost higher than in systems used in the continent. In this article, we present a review of the renewable energy generation systems on islands. To do it we analysed 77 islands from 45 different countries. This work will allow us to know how the implementation of renewable energy sources could help these islands in developing a renewable and sustainable energy sector, including a reduction of electricity generation cost. This paper shows the results from a study case of the application of renewable energy technology in Cozumel Island, Mexico. This Island is located in front of the Riviera Maya area. The analysis was made through long- term statistical models. A deterministic methodology was used to perform time-series simulations. The simulations shows that for the year 2050 a feasible integration of a system based on wind/PV can be achieved on the Island, reducing the electricity price from 0.37US$/kWh to 0.24US$/kWh (2050 scenario). With this scenario, the government will achieve its targets in renewable energy and in the reduction of the emissions of CO2. This will allow reaching a sustainable electricity sector.",battery
"The use of a dual channel implantable pulse generator (IPG) for deep brain stimulation during de novo implantation is now routine in many centers. When the generator batteries of bilateral single channel generators expire, the issue of whether to exchange two single channel generators for one dual channel generator arises. This presents many debatable clinical, practical and fiscal issues. We discuss these issues and describe the “one for two” technique we have adopted for exchanging IPGs.
",non-battery
"In order to improve the properties of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the graphite anode in lithium-ion batteries, different electrolyte additives are used, such as lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB), vinylene carbonate, and fluoroethylene carbonate. It is known that LiBOB increases the SEI resistance, but there is very little fundamental knowledge about the influence of LiBOB on the structure of the SEI as well as on ion and molecule transport mechanisms in the SEI. Here, we study SEIs grown at the interface between a planar glassy carbon electrode and battery electrolytes containing different amounts of LiBOB. The SEIs are characterized by a combination of FIB-SEM, AFM, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and redox probe experiments. The transport of Li+ ions and of redox molecules becomes slower with increasing LiBOB concentration in the electrolyte, but like observed for a LiBOB-free electrolyte, the effective diffusion coefficients of Li+ ions and ferrocene molecules in the SEIs are virtually identical and show the same temporal evolution after voltammetric SEI formation. This gives strong indication that both Li+ ions and molecules are transported in the liquid electrolyte phase inside the pores of the SEI and thus challenges the common view of a solid-electrolyte-type Li+ transport mechanism in SEIs.",battery
"The past two decades have seen an increasing usage of lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries in diverse applications including consumer electronics, power backup, and grid-scale energy storage. To guarantee safe and reliable operation of a Li-ion battery pack, battery management systems (BMSs) should possess the capability to monitor, in real time, the state of health (SOH) of the individual cells in the pack. This paper presents a deep learning method which utilizes deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for cell-level capacity estimation based on the voltage, current, and charge capacity measurements during a partial charge cycle. The unique features of DCNN include the local connectivity and shared weights, which enable the model to accurately estimate battery capacity using the measurements during charge. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first attempts to apply deep learning to the online capacity estimation of Li-ion batteries. Ten-year daily cycling data from eight implantable Li-ion cells and half-year cycling data from 20 18650 Li-ion cells were utilized to verify the performance of the proposed deep learning method. Compared with traditional machine learning methods such as shallow neural networks and relevance vector machine (RVM), the proposed deep learning method is demonstrated to produce higher accuracy and robustness in the online estimation of Li-ion battery capacity.",battery
"Young nest-bound birds often face a diversity of ectoparasites that typically feed on blood and can negatively affect nestling morphological and physiological traits, including hemoglobin concentration. While hemoglobin concentration can be correlated with nestling performance, such as body mass, it is unknown whether variation in hemoglobin is the direct proximate factor responsible for variation in morphology, or if nestling traits simply co-vary with hemoglobin concentration due to a number of similar factors influencing both traits. If hemoglobin concentration does directly influence the phenotype of nestlings, then the reduction in nestling hemoglobin concentration by ectoparasites may cause other negative effects commonly associated with parasitism. By experimentally reducing the hemoglobin concentration of nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) using phenylhydrazine hydrochloride (PHZ), we tested whether reduced hemoglobin concentration could be the mechanism that causes changes in nestling morphology and behavior in response to increased parasitism. Parasite loads were manipulated in conjunction with the PHZ treatment. Nestlings injected with PHZ displayed no change in hemoglobin concentration 2 days post-injection, whereas control nestlings showed the typical increase that occurs during early development. By 6 days post-injection, the parasite, but not PHZ, treatment significantly affected hemoglobin concentration. Both treatments interacted to affect begging intensity, while size and growth rate of nestlings were only affected by the parasite load manipulation. This study demonstrates the potential use of PHZ in nestlings to tease apart the effects of parasitism and reduced hemoglobin, but the results suggest incorporating a second injection of PHZ to better replicate the pattern of hemoglobin reduction created by hematophagous ectoparasites.",non-battery
"The costs associated with the treatment of medical device and surgical site infections are a major cause of concern in the global healthcare system. To prevent transmission of such infections, a prophylactic surface system that provides protracted release of antibacterial silver ions using low intensity direct electric current (LIDC; 28 μA system current at 6 V) activation has been recently developed. To ensure the safety for future in vivo studies and potential clinical applications, this study assessed the biocompatibility of the LIDC-activated interdigitated silver electrodes-based surface system; in vitro toxicity to human epidermal keratinocytes, human dermal fibroblasts, and normal human osteoblasts, and antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was evaluated. The study concluded that the technological applications of the surface system for medical devices and surgical tools, which contact human tissues for less than 1.5 h, are expected to be self-sterilizing without causing toxicity in vivo.",non-battery
"Coordinated transcriptional modulation of large gene sets depends on the combinatorial use of cis-regulatory motifs in promoters. We postulate that promoter content similarities are diagnostic for co-expressing genes that function coherently during specific cellular responses. To find the co-expressing genes we propose an ab initio method that identifies motif families in promoters of target gene groups, map these families to the promoters of all genes in the genome, and determine the best matches of each of the target group gene promoters with all other promoters. When the method was tested in rice starting from a group of co-expressing Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) genes, we obtained a promoter similarity-based network that contained candidate genes that could plausibly complement the function of LEA genes. Importantly, 73.36% of 244 genes predicted by our method were experimentally confirmed to co-express with the LEA genes in maturing rice embryos, making this methodology a promising tool for biological systems analyses.",non-battery
"An investigation is reported on O2 electrogeneration at β-PbO2 electrodes in HClO4, H2SO4 and CF3SO3H (TFMSA) using steady-state and impedance measurements. It is established that desorption of reaction intermediates is rate limiting in all the cases examined, and it is proposed that elementary reactions leading to oxygen evolution take place at a surface consisting of crystal line (PbO2) and hydrous [PbO(OH)2] zones. Contribution of the latter becomes particularly pronounced at high potentials, probably on account of PbO2 dissolution and re-deposition in the form of Pb(OH)4 that subsequently evolves to give PbO(OH)2. This process is indicated as a possible cause of an inflexion point in the Tafel plots between 1.95 and 2.0 V SCE. Different important factors are found to affect the electrochemical process: (i) pre-treatment of the electrode, which makes electrodes more active by reason of an increase of the hydrous zones; (ii) the temperature at which electrodeposition of PbO2 is carried out has an effect on the hydration state of the surface and hence the electrocatalytic activity; (iii) electrolyte anions, particularly SO4 2− and CF3SO3 −, are adsorbed and inhibit both water discharge and desorption of reaction intermediates; besides, they undergo oxidation at the more positive potentials; (iv) fluoride added to the electrolyte is strongly adsorbed and suppresses and/or modifies the structure of the hydrous layer with the consequence that water discharge is inhibited in the lower potential range and, prevalently at the more positive potentials, desorption of oxygen intermediates is strongly retarded; and (v) a low electrolyte temperature also inhibits O2 evolution mainly by inhibition of the desorption of reaction intermediates in the whole potential range examined, in contrast to the selective effect of fluoride.",battery
"This work describes an effective method to synthesize structurally uniform composite of nickel oxide/benzenesulfonic functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite (NiO/f-MWCNTs) using benzenesulfonic MWCNTs as the substrate. Benzenesulfonic group here is bifunctional both for solubilizing MWCNTs into aqueous solution and for tethering Ni2+ precursor onto MWCNTs surfaces to facilitate the follow-up chemical deposition of NiO by supplying surface binding and anchoring groups. The composite has a uniform surface dispersion and large coverage of NiO onto f-MWCNTs, which is characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements. The NiO/f-MWCNTs composite improved the utilization of electrochemical capacitive materials and delivered capacity of 384F/g at the constant current of 0.20A/g due to f-MWCNTs as substrate.",battery
"The kinetic stabilization of the cathode/electrolyte interface is essential to enhance cycle life and safety of lithium-ion batteries at high voltage application. The addition of only 2 wt.% Mg powder to the cathode slurry were found to significantly increase the cycle life of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2/Li half cells upon cycling to 4.6 V vs. Li/Li+, in terms of higher capacity retention, less parasitic reactions and less self-discharge. The presence of dissolved Mg2+ cations in the electrolyte during formation of the cell lead to an increased hydrolysis of the conducting salt LiPF6 and the formation of stable and effective LiPFxOy/Mg(PFxOy)2 species on the charged cathode surface.",battery
"The need for high energy density batteries becomes increasingly important for the development of new and clean energy technologies, such as electric vehicles and electrical storage from wind and solar power. The search for new energetic materials of primary and secondary batteries with higher energy density has been highlighted in recent years. This review surveys recent advances in the research field of high energy density electrode materials with focus on multi-electron reaction chemistry of light-weight elements and compounds. In the first section, we briefly introduce the basic strategies for enhancement of the energy density of primary batteries based on multi-electron reactions. The following sections present overviews of typical electrode materials with multi-electron chemistry and their secondary battery applications in aqueous and non-aqueous electrolytes. Finally, the challenges and ongoing research strategies of these novel electrode materials and battery systems for high density energy storage and conversion are discussed.
",battery
"Batteries are presently pervasive in portable electronics, electrified vehicles, and renewable energy storage. These indispensable engineering applications are all safety-critical and energy efficiency-demanding such that batteries must be meticulously monitored and manipulated, where effectively estimating the internal battery states is a key enabler. The primary goal of this paper is to present a concise, understandable overview of existing methods, key issues, technical challenges, and future trends of the battery state estimation domain. More specifically, for the first time, the state of the art in State of Charge (SOC), State of Energy (SOE), State of Health (SOH), State of Power (SOP), State of Temperature (SOT), and State of Safety (SOS) estimation is all elucidated in a tutorial yet systematical way, along with existing issues exposed. In addition, from six different viewpoints, some future important research opportunities and evolving trends of this prosperous field are disclosed, in order to stimulate more technologically innovative breakthroughs in SOC/SOE/SOH/SOP/SOT/SOS estimation.",battery
"Automobiles with electric motor are becoming increasingly attractive alternative to the car with combustion engine, considering the effects on the environment as well as economic factors such as gradual increasing price of fluid fossil fuels and others. The European Union and therefore all member countries try to produce the least possible impact of activities on the environment in which we live. Transport is a sector of the national economy, which largely affects the environment. An effort to reduce the impact of road transport is therefore logical. The actual trend is the promotion of electric cars and the gradual replacement of combustion vehicles with “electro mobiles”. The aim of the paper is to analyze the impact of production, operation and fluidation of automobiles with electric and with combustion engines on the environment and economic interpretation of their effects on the economy. Direct and indirect effects of individual automobile types on the environment, with emphasis on air pollution, are described in the paper. The economic analysis is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of investment comparing electric powered and combustion engine powered cars, considering the use by individuals and companies.",non-battery
"The PCB manufacturing process has been applied to the DMFC package which is especially suitable for the planar type DMFC module design. Maintaining the planar DMFC in good operating condition is an important task. This paper discusses the cathode airflow effect on the single cell and also on the 3-cell planar DMFC module. In the single cell study, the research starts from the airflow rate to airflow velocity viewpoint. In the DMFC module study, a 3-cell DMFC module, a substitute of 3-Cell PCB DMFC module, with a parallel flow board are compared. The results indicate that providing suitable cathode airflow velocity is more important than merely considering the airflow rate in the DMFC single or 3-cell DMFC module.",battery
"In this article, the method of separation of variables (SOV), as illustrated by Subramanian and White (J Power Sources 96:385, 2001), is applied to determine the concentration variations at any point within a three region simplified lithium-ion cell sandwich, undergoing constant current discharge. The primary objective is to obtain an analytical solution that accounts for transient diffusion inside the cell sandwich. The present work involves the application of the SOV method to each region (cathode, separator, and anode) of the lithium-ion cell. This approach can be used as the basis for developing analytical solutions for battery models of greater complexity. This is illustrated here for a case in which non-linear diffusion is considered, but will be extended to full-order nonlinear pseudo-2D models in later work. The analytical expressions are derived in terms of the relevant system parameters. The system considered for this study has LiCoO2–LiC6 battery chemistry.
",battery
"This paper is to develop a coordinated control strategy of a ship with hybrid power and evaluate on the energy efficiency and emissions reduction of the case ship. The hybrid power system consists of 4-stoke diesel generator, solar panels and battery packs. A micro-grid power system was structured to offer an optimal combination of the three power sources in terms high efficiency and low emissions of the overall system. The control requirements for the developed micro-grid power system were analysed according to the principles of priority to use renewable energy. A power distribution control strategy was designed by applying the logic threshold method. A system simulation model was established and the simulation was carried out with MATLAB. An experimental test rig was built to evaluate the simulation results and develop the control system. The developed marine micro-grids power system has been applied on a case ship and run stably. Compared with the conventional power system, the performance of emission and economic of the hybrid system is studied with the case ships. The results of case ship and experimental have shown that the developed hybrid micro grid system can be managed effectively by the proposed control strategy. The emission of CO2 is dramatically decreased in any cases and the energy cost is reduced considering for the ship life-cycle.",non-battery
" Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) harbor the potential to differentiate into diverse cardiac cell types. Previous experimental efforts were primarily directed at the generation of hiPSC-derived cells with ventricular cardiomyocyte characteristics. Aiming at a straightforward approach for pacemaker cell modeling and replacement, we sought to selectively differentiate cells with nodal-type properties.",non-battery
"In this study, nine types of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibrous membranes with varied fiber diameters and different membrane porosities are prepared by electrospinning followed by hot-pressing. Subsequently, these membranes are explored as Li-ion battery (LIB) separators. The impacts of fiber diameter and membrane porosity on electrolyte uptake, Li+ ion transport through the membrane, electrochemical oxidation potential, and membrane performance as LIB separator (during charge/discharge cycling and rate capability tests of a cathodic half-cell) have been investigated. When compared to commercial Celgard PP separator, hot-pressed electrospun PAN nanofibrous membranes exhibit larger electrolyte uptake, higher thermal stability, wider electrochemical potential window, higher Li+ ion permeability, and better electrochemical performance in LiMn2O4/separator/Li half-cell. The results also indicate that the PAN-based membrane/separator with small fiber diameters of 200–300nm and hot-pressed under high pressure of 20MPa surpasses all other membranes/separators and demonstrates the best performance, leading to the highest discharge capacity (89.5mAhg−1 at C/2 rate) and cycle life (with capacity retention ratio being 97.7%) of the half-cell. In summary, this study has revealed that the hot-pressed electrospun PAN nanofibrous membranes (particularly those consisting of thin nanofibers) are promising as high-performance LIB separators.",battery
" Individuals with anxiety disorders display reduced resting-state heart rate variability (HRV), although findings have been contradictory and the role of specific symptoms has been less clear. It is possible that HRV reductions may transcend diagnostic categories, consistent with dimensional-trait models of psychopathology. Here we investigated whether anxiety disorders or symptoms of anxiety, stress, worry and depression are more strongly associated with resting-state HRV.",non-battery
"It is still a great challenge at present to combine the high rate capability of the electrochemical capacitor with the high electrochemical capacity feature of rechargeable battery in energy storage and transport devices. By studying the lithiation mechanism of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) using in-situ electron holography, we find that double charge layers are formed at the interface of the insulating Li4Ti5O12 (Li4) phase and the semiconducting Li7Ti5O12 (Li7) phase, and can greatly boost the lithiation kinetics. The electron wave phase of the LTO particle is found to gradually shrink with the interface movement, leaving a positive electric field from Li7 to Li4 phase. Once the capacitive interface charges are formed, the lithiation of the core/shell particle could be established within 10 s. The ultrafast kinetics is attributed to the built-in interface potential and the mixed Ti3+/Ti4+ sites at the interface that could be maximally lowering the thermodynamic barrier for Li ion migration.",battery
"This paper presents an innovative load management tool for a micro-grid composed by a photovoltaic (PV) system and an energy storage device installed at a residential user. The objective is to develop a suitable residential load management to maximize the PV plant exploitation through the storage system in order to achieve a greater energy independence of the micro-grid (MG) from the electric grid. For this purpose a MG dynamic model was developed in Matlab Simulink environment useful to analyse and optimize the MG energy performance. On the modelling results, through artificial neural networks (ANN) technique, a hierarchy load management that takes into account of the load demand, battery state of charge and weather forecast was defined. Specifically the aim of the ANN model here proposed is to predict the scheduling of programmable loads considering the weather conditions relative to the current day and the previous one, beyond that on the weather forecast for the day after. The obtained results, considering the relatively small dataset, are to be considered strongly encouraging. Greater performance is expected in the case the data set is enlarged.",battery
"The UK government’s CO2 emissions targets will require electrification of much of the country’s infrastructure with low carbon technologies such as photovoltaic panels, electric vehicles and heat pumps. The large scale proliferation of these technologies will necessitate major changes to the planning and operation of distribution networks. Distribution network operators are trialling electrical energy storage (EES) across their networks to increase their understanding of the contribution that it can make to enable the expected paradigm shift in generation and consumption of electricity. In order to evaluate a range of applications for EES, including voltage control and power flow management, installations have taken place at various distribution network locations and voltage levels. This article reports on trial design approaches and their application to a UK trial of an EES system to ensure broad applicability of the results. Results from these trials of an EES system, low carbon technologies and trial distribution networks are used to develop validated power system models. These models are used to evaluate, using a formalised methodology, the impact that EES could have on the design and operation of future distribution networks.",battery
"The use of self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of organic disulfide as novel cathode materials for high specific energy, rechargeable, lithium batteries is demonstrated for the first time. The suitability of monolayer films of diphenyl disulfide (DDS) as cathode materials for facilitating reversible insertion and de-insertion of Li+ ions is examined by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV), infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and charge–discharge measurements. The SAM-based cathodes on coupling with Li-metal anodes in 0.1M LiClO4 and tetrahydrofuran (THF) show good thermodynamic feasibility along with an open-circuit voltage of 2.9V. The electrochemical capacity obtained is found, however, to fade during continuous cycling. This indicates a loss of electroactivity concomitant with the destruction of the monolayer functionalized cathode. The reasons for the coulombic efficiency of these rechargeable SAM-based cathodes are explained in terms of two different mechanistic modes of interaction of Li+ ions with the monomolecular film.",battery
"A combination of in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to study a two-electrode lithium-ion cell made from electrodes from a high-rate lithium-ion battery. The cathode was LiNi0.85Co0.15O2. Both the XRD and the XAS were done in the transmission mode. XAS was done while the cell was charged at the C/2 rate to 4.5V. The near edge Co and Ni spectra (XANES) indicated that all of the charge compensation occurred on the Ni and the Co did not change its oxidation state during charge. The Co EXAFS indicated that the Co is randomly distributed in the NiO2 layers. XRD data were collected on a beam line with a position sensitive detector. Complete high quality XRD patterns could be obtained in as little as 3min. The patterns covered the range between the (003) and the (113) reflections of the cathode material and included the (002) reflection from graphite in the anode. Data were collected while the cell was cycled at rates between the C/4 and 2C rate. In all cases, at the beginning of charge, there is an initial expansion along the c-axis and a concomitant contraction along the a- and b-axes. Towards the end of charge there is a contraction along the c-axis and a slight expansion along the a- and b-axes. After high rate charges there are relaxation processes that last for a few minutes after termination of charge. The results indicate with proper choice of the active materials and electrode design lithium-ion cells can be charged and discharged at high rate with high utilization of the active material.",battery
"Objectives. To identify the features of the recovery of consciousness and higher mental function in children aged 6–17 years during the first four months after severe craniocerebral trauma (SCCT). Materials and methods. A total of 17 patients aged 6–17 years were studied after SCCT (Glasgow Coma Scale ≤8). The dynamics of the recovery of consciousness were followed using the Coma Recovery Scale (CRS). Depending on the level of recovery of consciousness at four months post-trauma, children were divided into three groups: 1) seven children with complete recovery of consciousness, who achieved high levels of voluntary control sufficient for them to perform the Luriya Neuropsychological Battery underwent full neuropsychological investigation; 2) six children able to carry out simple instructions and provide Yes/No responses to questions were assessed using an adapted version of the neuropsychological diagnosis tests; 3) four children, because of low levels of consciousness and voluntary activity, were not competent for neuropsychological examination, so were assessed only on neurobehavioral scales. Results and conclusions. The most frequently encountered disorders in the early period of recovery after SCCT were impairments to executive functions and memory, along with neurodynamic mental activity. the slowest changes in the recovery of mental activity in children occurred in those with damage mainly to the frontal areas of the brain. Slow recovery of consciousness was generally accompanied by more profound primary impairments to visual object gnosis, speech, and executive functions, which were mostly seen in patients able to undergo neuropsychological investigations. Marked improvements in mental activity were combined with early appearance of behavioral reactions and rapid increases in changes in behavior.
",non-battery
"Research examining the factors influencing selection within talented junior Rugby League players is limited. The aims of this study were firstly to determine whether differences existed for anthropometric and performance characteristics between regional and national selection in high performance UK junior Rugby League players, and secondly to identify variables that discriminated between these selection levels. Regional representative (n =1172) selected junior players (aged 13–16 years) undertook an anthropometric and fitness testing battery with players split according to selection level (i.e., national, regional). MANCOVA analyses, with age and maturation controlled, identified national players as having lower sum of 4 skinfolds scores compared to regional players, and also performed significantly better on all physical tests. Stepwise discriminant analysis identified that estimated maximum oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 max ), chronological age, body mass, 20m sprint, height, sum of 4 skinfolds and sitting height discriminated between selection levels, accounting for 28.7% of the variance. This discriminant analysis corresponded to an overall predictive accuracy of 63.3% for all players. These results indicate that performance characteristics differed between selection levels in junior Rugby League players. However, the small magnitude of difference between selection levels suggests that physical qualities only partially explain higher representative selection. The monitoring and evaluation of such variables, alongside game related performance characteristics, provides greater knowledge and understanding about the processes and consequences of selection, training and performance in youth sport.",non-battery
"Owing to outstandingly tunable optoelectronic properties, hybrid materials consisting of atomic scale thickness of two dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and one dimensional (1D) nanowires have been attracting steady interests over the last several years. In this research for the first time we report optically probing the interaction between monolayer MoS2 and single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT). By using Raman and photoluminescence measurements, we found the charge transfer between MoS2 and SWCNT is sensitive to the intensity of light field. We also demonstrate that SWCNT acts as p-type dopants at physical contact with monolayer MoS2. Our study gives new insight into the interaction between monolayer MoS2 and SWCNT, which may allow new phenomena and ideas for novel low dimensional hybrid materials.",non-battery
"Direct current reactive sputtering deposition of ruthenium oxide thin films (bottom and top electrodes) at 400°C are performed to produce a solid-state thin-film supercapacitor (TFSC). The supercapacitor has a cell structure of RuO2/Li2.94PO2.37N0.75 (Lipon)/RuO2/Pt. Radio frequency, reactive sputtering deposition of an Li2.94PO2.37N0.75 electrolyte film is performed on the bottom RuO2 film at room temperature to separate the bottom and top RuO2 electrodes electrically. The stoichiometry of the RuO2 thin film is investigated by Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry (RBS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the as-deposited RuO2 thin film is an amorphous phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements reveal that the RuO2/Lipon/RuO2 hetero-interfaces have no inter-diffusion problems. Charge–discharge measurements with constant current at room temperature clearly reveal typical supercapacitor behaviour for a RuO2/Lipon/RuO2/Pt cell structure. Since the electrolyte thin film has low ionic mobility, the capacity and cycle performance are inferior to those of a bulk type of supercapacitor. These results indicate that a high performance, TFSC can be fabricated by a solid electrolyte thin film with high ionic conductivity.",battery
"Amorphous nickel-based hydroxides with different cation substitutions have been hydrothermally synthesized in the presence of ethylene glycol, which provides a mild environment for the gradual hydrolysis of transition metal ions, giving rise to the formation of amorphous transition metal hydroxides. The amorphous hydroxides with rich grain boundaries as electroactive sites and ion diffusion channels for facilitating charge transfer, and thus display significantly improved specific capacity and enhanced rate capability in comparison with the crystalline counterparts. In addition, the substitution of Ni ions by different transition metal ions further improves the charge storage performance of the amorphous hydroxides. As a result, an amorphous NiCo–OH exhibits the best electrochemical performance when used as electroactive battery materials. The amorphous Ni–Co hydroxide (NiCo–OH) shows specific capacities of 888 and 662 C g−1 at 1 and 50 A g−1, respectively. The performance of NiCo–OH is better than that of the other amorphous nickel-based hydroxides, including Ni, Ni–Mn, Ni–Zn and Ni–Cu amorphous hydroxides. A hybrid supercapacitor based on amorphous NiCo–OH exhibits superior electrochemical performance with high specific power density, high specific energy density and ultralong cycling lifespan.",battery
The authors regret that the following errors were present within their article:1.The corresponding author's email address was incorrect2.Reference 4 was wrongly linked and its DOI was missing3.The chemical formula on line 4 of page 173 was separated4.The last key word needed changing from ‘cell swelling’ to ‘gas generation’5.In Table 1 the case of the word Ratio in ‘Solvents (vol. Ratio)’ and Code in ‘Colour Code’ was changed from upper to lower The corresponding author's email address was incorrect Reference 4 was wrongly linked and its DOI was missing The chemical formula on line 4 of page 173 was separated The last key word needed changing from ‘cell swelling’ to ‘gas generation’ In Table 1 the case of the word Ratio in ‘Solvents (vol. Ratio)’ and Code in ‘Colour Code’ was changed from upper to lower The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.,battery
"Li1−3 x Na2 x Mg x Mn0.8Fe0.2P1− x Si x O4 (x =0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, 0.16) are studied as cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. Na, Mg and Si can be incorporated into the structure of LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 without introducing any impurity phase when x is not higher than 0.08, but NaFePO4 appears as an impurity phase when x is as high as 0.16. Charge balance is maintained in Li1−3 x Na2 x Mg x Mn0.8Fe0.2P1− x Si x O4 because the oxidation states of Na, Mg, Mn, Fe, P and Si can be considered as +1, +2, +2, +2, +5 and +4, respectively. The first charge/discharge capacity, the discharge capacity at each current density and the capacity retention upon cycling first increase and then decrease with increasing x, and the maximum values are always obtained when x is equal to 0.01. At the current density of 20 C, Li0.97Na0.02Mg0.01Mn0.8Fe0.2P0.99Si0.01O4 has a discharge capacity as high as 84mAhg−1 and 98.3% of the initial discharge capacity is retained after 100 cycles.",battery
"Recent research indicates that cadmium (Cd) induces oxidative damage in cells; however, the mechanism of the oxidative stress induced by this metal is unclear. We investigated the effects of Cd on the individual complexes of the electron transfer chain (ETC) and on the stimulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mitochondria. The activity of complexes II (succinate:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) and III (ubiquinol:cytochrome c oxidoreductase) of mitochondrial ETC from liver, brain, and heart showed greater inhibition by Cd than the other complexes. Cd stimulated ROS production in the mitochondria of all three tissues mentioned above. The effect of various electron donors (NADH, succinate, and 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-6-decyl-1,4-benzoquinol) on ROS production was tested separately in the presence and in the absence of Cd. ESR showed that complex III might be the only site of ROS production induced by Cd. The results of kinetic studies and electron turnover experiments suggest that Cd may bind between semiubiquinone and cytochrome b 566 of the Q0 site of cytochrome b of complex III, resulting in accumulation of semiubiquinones at the Q0 site. The semiubiquinones, being unstable, are prone to transfer one electron to molecular oxygen to form superoxide, providing a possible mechanism for Cd-induced generation of ROS in mitochondria.",non-battery
" Physical activity is a key component of exploration and development. Poor motor proficiency, by limiting participation in physical and social activities, can therefore contribute to poor psychological and social development. The current study examined the correlates of motor performance in a setting where no locally validated measures of motor skills previously existed. The development of an appropriate assessment schedule is important to avoid the potential misclassification of children’s motor performance.",non-battery
"Tracking a battery’s chemical and thermal states during operation offers important information on its reliability and lifetime. Here the authors develop optical fibre sensors and decouple temperature and pressure variations in the measurements inside of batteries, allowing chemical and thermal events to be monitored with high accuracy.
",battery
"In Europe, agriculture on managed peat wetlands is often a balance between maximising farming production, whether hay harvest or cattle production or both, and a desire to maintain a threatened ecological landscape with its flora and fauna. Because of the large amount of carbon stored in peat soils, the management of peat wetlands to minimise the production of atmospheric greenhouse gases is also now a priority. Eddy correlation and allied radiation and soil physics measurements were made continuously over several years at a wetland meadow peat site that is subject to a water level management scheme, at Tadham Moor in the Somerset Levels and Moors, UK. These measurements provided estimates of Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and, through established models, estimates of Gross Photosynthetic Production (GPP), and separate soil and plant respiration. A relationship between depth to the water table and soil respiration was established that showed increasing ecosystem respiration with increasing depth to the water table. Annual results are presented for 2002, which also incorporate harvest and cattle carbon gains and losses. In 2002, the site had a significant loss of soil carbon of 59gCm−2 y−1 compared to the historical long-term carbon uptake of natural peat-lands. However, it is shown that the current implementation of the management scheme is ineffective in maintaining the prescribed water levels in the ditches. A consequence of this is that desired water levels in the field are not achieved. Controlling the management scheme for in-field water levels (rather than channel levels) is shown to decrease markedly the annual soil respiration and hence help to maintain the current soil carbon stocks without affecting the current farming practice.",non-battery
"Supercapacitors, more properly named electrochemical capacitors (EC), have a great potential in constituting the premium power reserve in a variety of energy- and power-intensive applications in transport and in electricity grids. EC may be used in conjunction with electrochemical storage systems, such as the batteries of various chemistries (lead-acid, sodium-nickel chloride or sodium-sulphur, nickel-metal hydride and even lithium-based systems), in a hybrid configuration where the functions of energy and power can be conveniently separated between the two storage devices and then optimized. Recently, an electric forklift has been commercialized with such a hybrid storage system, without any demonstrated specification of the advantages achievable with this configuration. In this article, the effective technical and economical benefits of this EC integration are theoretically and experimentally evaluated, by means of a conventional electric forklift. The reference vehicle drivetrain is modified by combining a conventional traction lead-acid battery, already used in the vehicle, and a commercial EC. The performances of the modified electric forklift are simulated with already developed vehicle and components models and validated with experimental data. Simulations and electrical tests confirm the functional relationship, expressed in exponential form, between battery lifetime and peak current and demonstrate the technical and economical potentialities of the use of these hybrid configurations, such as the increased efficiency and the prolonged battery life (more than doubling the life of the battery without EC), due to the reduced battery operating stress, and an economical saving (about 30 %), able to compensate initial extra-costs for vehicle modification and battery replacement.
",battery
"The prediction of electricity consumption is a vital foundation for smart energy management. Since the consumption of power varies with different appliances, better forecasting of power and peak demand is an essential accomplishment for the proper planning and development of the power generation and distribution system. This forecast analysis helps the service providers and the government to understand the lifestyle of the customers. The existing prediction and forecasting models are not meeting the standard requirements and moreover difficult to apply in practice. The forecast says that the boom of electric vehicles will increase the demand of electricity globally by 3% for the upcoming year. There exists a number of machine learning algorithms for classification and decision making. But the accuracy of the exiting methods have shown inferior performance in terms of prediction which leads to inefficient decision making in the quantity of electricity generation. This paper proposes the use of random forest supervised learning model to forecast the consumption of power and identify the level of peak demand. The large smart meter dataset collected at varying seasons of the year is fed to the random forest classifier technique for better analysis and forecasting. This approach outperforms in terms of accuracy, stability and generalization. In addition, this paper investigates the existing models and compares the performance with those models. The performance analysis shows that this model performs better than the other investigated models with performance accuracy of 95.67% and enhanced accuracy of precision and recall.
",non-battery
"ABSTRACT An inexpensive, facile galvanic displacement reaction for the direct growth of silver–copper (Ag-Cu) catalysts on nickel foams is developed for the first time. The resulting Ag-Cu catalysts exhibit dendritic morphologies. Ag and Cu atoms are in their metallic state while the presence of CuO and Cu2O are limited on the surface of catalyst. The catalysts demonstrate high catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution, as evaluated by both linear scanning voltammetry and rotating disk electrode polarization measurements. The ORR catalysed by Ag-Cu catalyst in alkaline solution proceeds through a four-electron pathway. An air cathode is fabricated using Ag-Cu catalyst as a carbon-free, binder-free catalyst layer. Using this Ag-Cu catalyst based air cathode, both the primary and rechargeable zinc-air batteries show excellent battery performance. The specific capacity of the primary zinc-air battery is 572mAhg−1. Especially, the rechargeable zinc-air battery shows high round-trip efficiency, appealing stability at a long charge-discharge cycle period.",battery
"LiMnPO4 nanoplates in a size of 30-70nm were successfully obtained via a graphene oxide (GO) assisted solvothermal synthesis method. The particle size reduction is ascribed to a preferential nucleation of LiMnPO4 on the GO sheets. The particle size is critically dependent on the added GO content, ranging from 300nm, 200nm to 50nm, when the GO content increase from 5/30, 10/30, to 20/30mg/cm-3. LiMnPO4 nanoplates were further carbon-coated at 600°C. Carbon-coated LiMnPO4 (LiMnPO4/C) with a particle size of 30-70nm displays a specific capacity of 140mA h g-1 at C/10 and 85mA h g-1 at 1C rate.",battery
"Aims Using diabetic foot (DF) as an indicator of severe diabetes, we aimed to investigate the cognitive profile of DF patients and the relations between cognitive functioning and both diabetes complications and comorbidities. Methods Dementia-free patients with DF aged 30–90 (n=153) were assessed through medical records and a cognitive battery. Information on diabetes complications and comorbidities was collected via interview; glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was tested. Data were analyzed using robust logistic or quantile regression adjusted for potential confounders. Results The mean Mini-Mental Examination (MMSE) score of patients was 24.6 (SD=3.6), and 40% had global cognitive dysfunction (MMSE ≤24). Among elderly patients (aged ≥65), MMSE impairment was related to amputation (OR 3.59, 95% CI 1.07–12.11). Episodic memory impairment was associated with foot amputation (OR 4.13, 95% CI 1.11–15.28) and microvascular complications (OR 9.68, 95% CI 1.67–56.06). Further, elderly patients with HbA1c <7% had increased odds of psychomotor slowness (OR 7.75, 95% CI 1.55–38.73) and abstract reasoning impairment (OR 4.49, 95% CI: 1.15–17.46). However, such significant associations were not shown in adult patients aged <65. Conclusion Amputation, microvascular diseases and glycemic control were associated with impaired global cognitive function and its domains among patients aged ≥65.",non-battery
"Porous silicon (PSi) is one of the most promising anode materials for next generation lithium ion batteries. Additionally, good cycling stability and rate capability are expected for PSi-based anode because of its possible accommodation of volume change during the charge/discharge process. In this work, we have demonstrated that PSi with tunable pore diameters and specific surface areas up to 303.2m2 g−1 can be synthesized with a magnesiothermic reaction of silicon monoxide. The result indicates that pore structure can be largely controlled by the reaction temperature while the electrochemical performance of PSi is found to be closely related with their pore structure. The anode based on PSi with the optimized pore structure exhibits a reversible specific capacity of 1045.6mAhg−1 at a specific current of 1000mAg−1. To further demonstrate the potential of PSi from magnesiothermic reaction as high-performance anode material, a conductive carbon layer has been wrapped around the periphery of PSi particles. At a specific current of 1000mAg−1, carbon wrapped PSi retains a reversible capacity of 1639.0mAhg−1, 84.5% of the initial capacity after 200 cycles. The performance is much better than those of naked PSi or infiltrated carbon coated PSi due to its effective accommodation of the volume change during the charge/discharge process.",battery
"Among energy buffering alternatives, supercapacitors can provide unmatched efficiency and durability. Additionally, the direct relation between a supercapacitor's terminal voltage and stored energy can improve energy awareness. However, a simple capacitive approximation cannot adequately represent the stored energy in a supercapacitor. It is shown that the three branch equivalent circuit model provides more accurate energy awareness. This equivalent circuit uses three capacitances and associated resistances to represent the supercapacitor's internal SOC (state-of-charge). However, the SOC cannot be determined from one observation of the terminal voltage, and must be tracked over time using inexact measurements. We present: 1) a Kalman filtering solution for tracking the SOC; 2) an on-line system identification procedure to efficiently estimate the equivalent circuit's parameters; and 3) experimental validation of both parameter estimation and SOC tracking for 5 F, 10 F, 50 F, and 350 F supercapacitors. Validation is done within the operating range of a solar powered application and the associated power variability due to energy harvesting. The proposed techniques are benchmarked against the simple capacitive model and prior parameter estimation techniques, and provide a 67% reduction in root-mean-square error for predicting usable buffered energy.",battery
"A new chitosan imprinting adsorbent using diatomite as core material was prepared by using the surface molecular imprinting technology with the Pb2+ as imprinted ion. The preparation process conditions of the surface molecular imprinting adsorbent were studied. The adsorbent was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. FTIR spectrum indicated that it was cross-linked by epichlorohydrin. The new imprinting adsorbent could provide a higher adsorption capacity for Pb2+, which reached 139.6 mg/g increasing 32.3% compared with cross-linking chitosan adsorbent (the initial Pb2+ concentration of 600 mg/L). The adsorption velocity was quick and the equilibration time of the imprinting adsorbent for Pb2+ was 3 h that shortened about 40% compared with cross-linking chitosan adsorbent. It had a more wide pH range of 5–7 than that of cross-linking chitosan adsorbent. The new imprinting adsorbent can be reused for up to ten cycles without loss of adsorption capacity. In the kinetics and isotherm study, the pseudosecond order model and Langmuir model could represent the adsorption process.",non-battery
" Pacific halibut support high-value commercial and sport fisheries in the north Pacific Ocean, making survival of Pacific halibut bycatch in trawl fisheries an important management concern. We present a method for characterizing activity and inferring survival of Pacific halibut based on accelerometer data from Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSATs). A PSAT attached to a fish with a dart and tether floats freely above the fish in a vertical orientation when the fish is stationary, but switches to a more horizontal orientation when towed behind an active fish. We hypothesized that characteristic changes in PSAT orientation associated with activity could be detected by accelerometers and summarized for transmission by PSATs to provide valuable information on fish activity.",non-battery
"A sulfur/carbon nanocomposite was prepared by a simple chemical deposition method. A feasible vacuum soaking step was introduced to absorb the sulfur source (Na2S x ) into the carbon micropores/mesopores. It is confirmed from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), galvanostatic discharge–charge, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) that the S/C composite with vacuum soaking (78wt% sulfur) leads to more dispersion of sulfur into the carbon micropores/mesopores and displays better electrochemical features, compared to the S/C composite without vacuum soaking, the synthesized sulfur/carbon and pristine sulfur/carbon ball-milled composites. The S/C cathode with vacuum soaking delivers an initial discharge capacity of 1116.1mAhg−1 (based on sulfur weight) and retains 534.2mAhg−1 after 150 cycles with a discharge/charge rate of 0.35C. The stable capacity retention and sturdy structure of the electrode are attributed to an intimate nanoscale contact established between the smaller sized sulfur and the conductive carbon.",battery
"This paper studies a nonlinear predictive energy management strategy for a residential building with a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system and second-life lithium-ion battery energy storage. A key novelty of this manuscript is closing the gap between building energy management formulations, advanced load forecasting techniques, and nonlinear battery/PV models. Additionally, we focus on the fundamental trade-off between lithium-ion battery aging and economic performance in energy management. The energy management problem is formulated as a model predictive controller (MPC). Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control scheme achieves 96%–98% of the optimal performance given perfect forecasts over a long-term horizon. Moreover, the rate of battery capacity loss can be reduced by 25% with negligible losses in economic performance, through an appropriate cost function formulation.",battery
" The replacement of lead (Pb)-bearing solders by several Pb-free solders is a subject of intense research in these days due to the toxic effects of Pb on the environment. However, the Pb-free solders contain metals such as silver (Ag), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). The increasing use of these Pb-free solders again increases the risk of release of Ag, Cu, and Zn metals into the environment. The Pb-free solders can, therefore, be used as a secondary source for the metals which will not only help in environmental protection but also for the resource recovery.",non-battery
"The development of proton exchange membrane and direct methanol fuel cell stacks is now well advanced for many applications. However, the significant performance advantages that these have over the battery for small to moderate scale applications will not be realised until a credible fuel source has been developed. The deficiencies of the PEMFC and DMFC can be eliminated by cation or anion-conducting membranes incorporated into a direct sodium borohydride fuel cell (DSBFC). The characterisation of membranes for the DSBFC is discussed. Novel membranes have been prepared which have resistance of an equal magnitude to the commercially available Nafion® membrane.",battery
"Renewable energy (RE) has a strong synergy with some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), thus its successful deployment can potentially result in an impact on these SDGs. In this study, we examine the synergy effect of renewable electricity on selected SDGs via the electricity prices for the European Union (EU) countries. Using panel data and a two-step estimation approach, our findings indicate a strong synergy effect between renewable electricity prices, SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth). The results further reveal that SDG 12 (responsible production and consumption) accounts for most of the future renewable electricity price variation (excluding self-effect), whereas future variation in SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (climate action) are explained mostly by SDG 8 and SDG 12, respectively.",non-battery
"Large arrays of aligned copper oxide nanowires were produced by electrodeposition, using anodic alumina membranes as template. We have studied the effect of two fundamental parameters involved in fabrication process: potential perturbation and bath composition. Performing electrodeposition from a copper acetate/sodium acetate bath (pH 6.5), we found that chemical composition of nanowires varied in dependence on the shape of the applied potential perturbation: pure copper oxide nanowires were produced by pulsed potential, whilst continuous electrodeposition resulted in a co-deposition of Cu and Cu2O. In a copper lactate bath, buffered at pH 10, the shape of perturbation did not influence the chemical composition of nanowires, consisting of pure copper oxide. Besides, bath composition influenced the crystallographic structure of nanowires: in the acetate bath polycrystalline nanowires, having a maximum length of about 2.5μm, were obtained whilst in the lactate electrolyte Cu2O nanowires with a preferential orientation along the (200) plane were deposited. In every case, nanowire diameters were uniform with an average value of about 200nm. Growth rate of nanowires was influenced by the shape of potential pulse.",battery
"To realise the battery potential of gel polyelectrolytes greater ion dissociation, ultimately leading to higher conductivities, must be achieved. Higher conductivities will result through increasing the ion-dissociating properties of the gel polyelectrolyte. The poor degree of ion dissociation arises as the active ion tends to remain in close proximity to the backbone charge. Nano-particle inorganic oxides, and zwitterionic compounds have been shown to act as dissociation enhancers in certain polyelectrolyte systems. In an attempt to further increase ion dissociation the addition of both TiO2 nano-particles and a zwitterionic compound based on 1-butylimidazolium-3-N-(butanesulphonate) were added to the gel polyelectrolyte system poly (Li-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulphonate-co-N,N′-dimethylacrylamide), poly(Li-AMPS-co-DMAA) to determine if a synergistic effect occurs. Two different solvents were used to determine the breadth of applicability of the additive effect. The use of both dissociators resulted in the maximum ionic conductivity being achieved at lower nano-particle concentrations when compared to an identical system without zwitterion.",battery
"Activated carbon (AC) fiber cloths and a hydrophobic microporous polypropylene (PP) membrane, both modified with lithiated acetone oligomers, were used as electrodes and a separator in electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) with aqueous lithium hydroxide (LiOH) as the electrolyte. Electrochemical characteristics of EDLCs were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge cycle tests and impedance spectroscopy (EIS), compared with a case of the capacitor with aqueous potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an electrolyte. As a result, the capacitor with LiOH aqueous solution and a modified separator and electrodes was found to exhibit higher specific capacitance, maximum energy stored and maximum power than that with KOH aqueous solution.",battery
" Although sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has become an important treatment option in severe obesity, cardiorespiratory and muscle function after SG has not adequately been investigated.",non-battery
"Sodium-ion transfer through the interface between ceramic and organic electrolytes was studied by AC impedance spectroscopy. Na3Zr1.88Y0.12Si2PO12 (NASICON) and Na-β″-alumina were used as ceramic electrolytes, and propylene carbonate (PC) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) containing 0.05moldm−3 NaCF3SO3 were used as organic electrolytes. The semi-circle ascribed to interfacial charge transfer resistance (R ct ) was observed. The activation energies for sodium-ion transfer at the interface between ceramic and organic electrolytes were evaluated by the temperature dependency of R ct . As a result, the activation energies depended on the ceramic electrolytes but not on the solvents. These results suggest that sodium-ion transfer from ceramic to organic electrolytes should be responsible for the activation energies, which is contrary to the case in a lithium-ion transfer system. Based on these results, the mechanism of interfacial sodium-ion transfer was discussed.",battery
"A poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP)-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) containing propylene carbonate (PC)-based liquid electrolyte was developed to enhance the safety performance of LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2/graphite (NMC532/graphite) lithium ion batteries. The PC-based liquid electrolyte (PEV-LE) consists of 1 mol L−1 LiPF6 as lithium salt, PC as the main solvent and ethylene sulfite (ES, 2% by weight) as well as vinylene carbonate (VC, 2% by weight) as solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) forming additives. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the combination of ES and VC additives facilitates the formation of effective interphases at the respective electrolyte/electrode interfaces, thus contributing to a remarkable cycle life of NMC532/graphite cell comprising PEV-GPE. Flash point measurements and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed significantly improved safety performance of PEV compared to the state-of-the-art electrolyte. PEV-GPE is a promising alternative to state-of-the-art electrolyte as it shows extended cycle life and enhanced thermal stability in NMC532/graphite lithium ion cells.",battery
"A double-layer structural air cathode consisting of diamond like carbon (DLC) active layer and CoO x catalytic layer is designed and its catalytic effect for Li-air batteries both in carbonate and ether based electrolytes are tested. Ethylene carbonate (EC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) based Li-air cell using this double-layer electrode as air cathode exhibits significant improvement in discharge/charge electrochemical performance but suffers from electrolyte decomposition as proved by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurements. In 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) based electrolyte, CoO x /DLC double layer electrode shows high catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Furthermore, over 30 cycles is achieved with a capacity of more than 2000 mAh g−1 by using CoO x /DLC double layer electrode, which makes it a promising air electrode for Li-air batteries.",battery
"The vanadium flow battery (VFB) has been considered as one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies in terms of its design flexibility, long cycle life, high efficiency and high safety. However, the high cost prevents the VFB technology from broader market penetration. Improving the power density of the VFB is an effective solution to reduce its cost due to the reduced material consumption and stack size. Electrode, as one of the main components in the VFB, providing the reactions sites for redox couples, has an important effect on the voltage loss of the VFB associated with electrochemical polarization, ohmic polarization and concentration polarization. Extensive research has been carried out on the electrode modification to reduce polarizations and hence improve the power density of the VFB. In this review, state-of-the-art of various modification methods on the VFB electrode materials is overviewed and summarized, and the future research directions helpful to reduce polarization loss are presented.",battery
"Because of environmental and business factors, reverse logistics has received increasing attention in many industries. This chapter will offer a comprehensive investigation into reverse logistics and related subjects. After introducing the subject and providing a literature review related to reverse logistics in recent papers, three main questions are studied: Why are things returned? How are they returned? What things are returned? We also investigate reverse logistics’ application and its relationship with the vehicle-routing problem and information technology. Finally, we study the quantitative models in this area.",non-battery
" Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with worsening physical function and a high prevalence of comorbid health conditions. In particular, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is higher in individuals with OA than the general population. Limitations in physical function may be one pathway to the development of CVD among individuals with OA. This study evaluated associations of symptomatic knee OA (sxKOA), baseline physical function and worsening of function over time with self-reported incident CVD in a community-based cohort.",non-battery
"Herein we report the covalent functionalization of multiwall carbon nanotubes by grafting sulfanilic acid and their dispersion into sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone). The nanocomposites were explored as an option for tuning the proton and electron conductivity, swelling, water and alcohol permeability aiming at nanostructured membranes and electrodes for application in alcohol or hydrogen fuel cells and other electrochemical devices. The nanocomposites were extensively characterized, by studying their physicochemical and electrochemical properties. They were processed as self-supporting films with high mechanical stability, proton conductivity of 4.47×10−2 Scm−1 at 30°C and 16.8×10−2 Scm−1 at 80°C and 100% humidity level, electron conductivity much higher than for the plain polymer. The methanol permeability could be reduced to 1/20, keeping water permeability at reasonable values. The ratio of bound water also increases with increasing content of sulfonated filler, helping in keeping water in the polymer in conditions of low external humidity level.",battery
"In some aqueous-metal batteries or electrochemical parallel plate reactors, the spacing between the electrodes is controlled by a porous net. This net affects the limiting current distribution because it disrupts the parabolic laminar flow velocity distribution. Here, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations surrounding the inert net and the effect of the net geometry on the limiting current density is studied. The location, spacing, and number of the longitudinal and transverse ribs of the net are shown to affect the local and average current density distributions on each of the two electrodes. The effect of transverse ribs on the current distribution was found to be much higher than the longitudinal ribs. The results show that the longitudinal ribs decrease the local current density at the electrode which is not in contact and increase the current density the space between two adjacent longitudinal ribs at the electrode in contact. The transverse ribs on the other hand, increase the local current density to very high values at the electrode that is not in contact. The current density, however, falls along the flow direction as it exits the transverse-ribs region. These effects were observed to be mainly due to the changes in flow field distribution. A deviation of −40% was observed for a system of 4 longitudinal ribs and no transverse ribs at the non-dimensional axial position 0.06. For 2 transverse ribs, the deviation at the same axial position was approximately 250% of the local current density. All the results are for a net with a spacing of 0.94 × 10−3 m.
",battery
"The token economy is a treatment intervention based on principles of operant conditioning and social learning. Developed in the 1950s and 1960s for long-stay hospital patients, the token economy has fallen out of favor since that time. The current review was undertaken as part of the 2003 update of the schizophrenia treatment recommendations of the Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT). A total of 13 controlled studies of the token economy were reviewed. As a group, the studies provide evidence of the token economy's effectiveness in increasing the adaptive behaviors of patients with schizophrenia. Most of the studies are limited, however, by methodological shortcomings and by the historical context in which they were performed. More research is needed to determine the specific benefits of the token economy when administered in combination with contemporary psychosocial and psychopharmacological treatments.",non-battery
"The preparation of hybrid ceramic-polymer electrolytes, consisting of 70 wt% of Li+ cation conducting Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) and 30 wt% of P(EO)15LiTFSI polymer electrolyte, through a solvent-free procedure is reported. The LLZO-P(EO)15LiTFSI hybrid electrolytes exhibit remarkable improvement in terms of flexibility and processability with respect to pure LLZO ceramic electrolytes. The physicochemical and electrochemical investigation shows the effect of LLZO annealing, resulting in ion conduction gain. However, slow charge transfer at the ceramic-polymer interface is also observed especially at higher temperatures. Nevertheless, improved compatibility with lithium metal anodes and good Li stripping/plating behavior are exhibited by the LLZO-P(EO)15LiTFSI hybrid electrolytes with respect to P(EO)15LiTFSI.",battery
"The structure and oxygen non-stoichiometry of misfit layered cobaltite Bi1.85Sr2Co1.85O7.7−δ was determined by Rietveld analysis and by thermogravimetric measurements. The heat capacity and enthalpy increments of pseudo-ternary oxide Bi1.85Sr2Co1.85O7.7−δ was measured by the relaxation time method (PPMS) from 2K to 256K, by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) from 258K to 355K and by the drop calorimetry from 573K to 1153K. Above room temperature the temperature dependence of the molar heat capacity in the form C pm =(305.8+0.07325· T −4702536· T −2)JK−1 mol−1 was derived by the least-squares method from the experimental data. The heat capacity was analyzed in terms of a combined Debye–Einstein model. The molar entropy S m ∘ ( 298.15 ) = 317.7 Jmol−1 K−1 was evaluated from the low temperature heat capacity measurements.",non-battery
"Objective: To investigate whether suppression of right inferior frontal gyrus (Broca’s homologue) by 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve speech recovery. Design: Comparative, repeated-measure study. Setting: Rehabilitation unit at a university hospital. Participants: 8 subcortical aphasia patients who were 3 months to 3 years poststroke onset. Interventions: We applied low frequency rTMS on right Broca’s homologue twice a week for 6 weeks. rTMS was performed with intensity of 80% of motor threshold for 10 minutes (600 pulses) at a 1-Hz frequency. Main Outcome Measures: Subjects were tested with Korean Version of the Western Aphasia Battery before and after the procedure. Also they were tested with parallel short forms for the Korean-Boston Naming Test and Animal Naming Test serially for outcome measure. Results: Significant improvement was observed in picture naming at post-rTMS only in nonfluent aphasia patients but not in fluent aphasia patients. Conclusions: rTMS may provide a novel treatment for aphasia by possibly modulating the distributed, bi-hemispheric language network.",non-battery
"5 V lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are promising candidates for high energy density batteries. However, conventional carbonate-based liquid electrolyte is vulnerable to oxidative decomposition caused by free radical attack, which leads to poor cycling performance of the 5 V LIBs. Herein, we present a novel strategy based on the free radical scavenging effect to suppress the electrolyte decomposition of 5 V class batteries composed of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cathodes and carbonate-based electrolyte. Our strategy is to scavenge the free radicals during the charging process at the cathode interface by adopting a renewable biomass lignin binder with numerous phenol groups, which can significantly suppress the free radical chain reaction and subsequently generate a compatible multi-dimensional interphase between the electrode and electrolyte. The lignin based electrode exhibited a capacity retention of 94.1% after 1000 cycles, which is significantly higher than that of its PVDF counterpart (46.2%). This work represents a milestone contribution to the strategy for resolving the interfacial issue of high voltage cathode materials, initiating a big step in boosting 5 V batteries.
",battery
"A candidate gene, EKN1, was recently described in a cohort from Finland for the dyslexia locus on chromosome 15q, DYX1. This report described a (2;15) (q11;21) translocation disrupting EKN1 that cosegregated with dyslexia in a two-generation family. It also characterized a sequence polymorphism in the 5′ untranslated region and a missense mutation that showed significant association in 109 dyslexics compared to 195 controls (p=0.002 and p=0.006, respectively). To confirm these results we interrogated the same polymorphisms in a cohort of 150 nuclear families with dyslexia ascertained through the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center. Using QTDT analysis with nine individual quantitative tasks and two composite measures of reading performance, we could not replicate the reported association. We conclude that the polymorphisms identified in the Finland sample are unlikely to be functional DNA changes contributing to dyslexia, and that if variation in EKN1 is causal such changes are more likely to be in regulatory regions that were not sequenced in this study. Alternatively, the published findings of association with markers in EKN1 may reflect linkage disequilibrium with variation in another gene(s) in the region.
",non-battery
"Kernel smoothing of spatial point data can often be improved using an adaptive, spatially varying bandwidth instead of a fixed bandwidth. However, computation with a varying bandwidth is much more demanding, especially when edge correction and bandwidth selection are involved. This paper proposes several new computational methods for adaptive kernel estimation from spatial point pattern data. A key idea is that a variable-bandwidth kernel estimator for d-dimensional spatial data can be represented as a slice of a fixed-bandwidth kernel estimator in (d+1)
Kernel smoothing is a versatile tool for analysing spatial data: it is used to estimate probability density, point process intensity, relative risk, spatial regression functions and other quantities. Efficient algorithms for kernel smoothing are vital and must continually be improved in order to handle larger and more complex datasets.
",non-battery
Black phosphorus was prepared from red phosphorus by using mixer mill and planetary ball-mill apparatuses. The composites with black phosphorus and acetylene black (AB) were also prepared by using the mixer mill apparatus. The mechanical milling of black phosphorus and AB brought about a decrease in size of secondary particles of the composites. The all-solid-state lithium cells with the composite and the Li2S–P2S5 glass-ceramic electrolyte exhibited the first discharge capacity of 1962mAhg−1 and the coulombic efficiency of 89% at the current density of 0.064mAcm−2 (24mAg−1). The all-solid-state cells worked at 3.8mAcm−2 (1.47Ag−1) at 25°C and showed the excellent cycle performance with a high capacity of over 500mAhg−1 for 150 cycles. Black phosphorus is one of the most attractive negative electrodes with both high capacity and high-rate performance in all-solid-state lithium rechargeable batteries with sulfide electrolytes.,battery
"The Army is facing a number of challenges now and in the future. One of the major challenges is in the power sources arena. As the Army continues to move toward digitizing the battlefield, the need for portable power is increasingly becoming a technological hurdle that must be overcome in order for a soldier to exercise his electronics capabilities without being overburdened by the power sources size, weight and operating/logistical costs. Advanced electronic devices are becoming a critical piece of the soldier's personal battlefield equipment. A soldier with the latest version of the Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) is one of the most dangerous weapon systems on the modern battlefield. The ability to accurately navigate and communicate multiplies the soldier's advantage over a less electronic capable enemy. Keeping his personal electronics operational is crucial to giving the soldier the capability to complete his mission successfully. Inherent in keeping the electronic equipment operating is keeping it supplied with batteries. Due to the increased emphasis placed on the modern soldiers electronic equipment, the importance of the portage of the power sources needed to keep this equipment operational has also increased. Recent efforts have focused on hybrid power sources that may enhance discussed capabilities by taking advantage of both high energy sources and high power systems for intermittent power application. This development could lead to a power source with enough energy to meet the Army's preference for a 72-h mission life before the need for resupply.",battery
"Conventional vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) using Nafion 115 suffered from issues associated with high ohmic resistance and high capital cost. In this work, we report a commercial membrane (VANADion), consisting of a porous layer and a dense Nafion layer, as a promising alternative to Nafion 115. In the dual-layer structure, the porous layer (∼210μm) can offer a high ionic conductivity and the dense Nafion layer (∼20μm) can depress the convective flow of electrolyte through the membrane. By comparing with the conventional Nafion 115 in a VRFB, it is found that the change from the conventional Nafion 115 to the composite one results in an increase in the energy efficiency from 71.3% to 76.2% and an increase in the electrolyte utilization from 54.1% to 68.4% at a current density of as high as 240mAcm−2. In addition, although two batteries show the comparable cycling performance at current densities ranging from 80mAcm−2 to 240mAcm−2, the composite membrane is estimated to be significantly cheaper than the conventional Nafion 115 due to the fact that the porous layer is rather cost-effective and the dense Nafion layer is rather thin. The impressive combination of desirable performance and low cost makes this composite membrane highly promising in the VRFB applications.",battery
" Ingestion of button batteries occurs in about ten persons per one million persons each year, with most of them children, and one in every 1000 battery ingestions leads to serious injuries. This study aimed to describe the clinical features and outcome of ingestion or inhalation of button batteries in children spanning a decade from January, 2006 to December, 2016 at a tertiary care hospital.",non-battery
"Carbon Nano Fibers (CNFs) coated with LiFePO4 particles have been prepared by a non-aqueous sol–gel technique. The functionalization of the CNFs by HNO3 acid treatment has been confirmed by Raman and XPS analyses. The samples pure LiFePO4 and LiFePO4–CNF have been characterized by XRD, SEM, RAMAN, XPS and electrochemical analysis. The LiFePO4–CNF sample shows better electrochemical performance compared to as-prepared LiFePO4. LiFePO4–CNF (10wt.%) delivers a higher specific capacity (∼140mAhg−1) than LiFePO4 with carbon black (25wt.%) added after synthesis (∼120mAhg−1) at 0.1C.",battery
"Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are experienced by approximately 25% of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite the high incidence, the pathological features of AVH in BPD remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity (FC), as measured by functional connectivity density (FCD), and its relationship with AVH in BPD. 65 pharmacotherapy treatment-naïve female BPD patients (30 with AVH and 35 without AVH), and 35 female healthy controls were investigated. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected to assess whole-brain FC and functional connectivity density mapping (FCDM) was applied to the fMRI data to compute FCD features. Compared to the healthy controls, both BPD groups (BPD–AVH and BPD without AVH) exhibited significantly higher gFCD values in the bilateral prefrontal lobe, bilateral orbital lobule, and bilateral insula, and significantly lower gFCD values in the SMA, right anterior temporal lobule, and the ACC. These altered regions were significantly associated with AVH in the BPD subjects. Moreover, higher gFCD values were observed in the left posterior temporal lobule and posterior frontal lobule. Aberrant alterations also emerged in the left posterior temporal lobule and posterior frontal lobule, mainly in Broca and Wernicke regions. Nevertheless, there was no significant correlation between gFCD values and the severity of AVH as measured by the AVH scores. In summary, we have identified aberrations in the FC and brain metabolism of the aforementioned neural circuits/networks, which may provide new insights into BPD–AVH and facilitate the development of therapeutic approaches for treating AVH in BPD patients.
",non-battery
"The potentiodynamic synthesis and subsequent characterisation of a polyaniline (PAn) grown in the presence of a water-soluble conducting polymer, poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid) (PMAS) is described. The novel polymer is obtained as a water-insoluble film consisting of a PAn backbone with PMAS integrated as the molecular dopant. The electrodeposition of the polyaniline material is enhanced by the presence of the electrically conducting PMAS polyelectrolyte dopant, which functions as a molecular template providing supramolecular pre-ordering as well as simultaneously facilitating charge transport during electrodeposition.",battery
"A new all-solid-state self-charging power cell (SCPC) has been fabricated using mesoporous PVDF-LiPF6 film as piezo-electrolyte. The solid piezo-electrolyte can act as both the electrolyte and piezo-separator, which is prepared through immobilizing the liquid electrolyte in mesoporous PVDF film. The all-solid-state flexible SCPC can be efficiently charged up by mechanical deformation, and thus can directly harvest/store the body-motion energy. The SCPC sealed in stainless-steel cell can be charged by compressive deformation (30N, 1Hz) and the storage capacity is 0.118μAh within 240s, which is about 5 times larger than that of the traditional non-integrated system. The SCPC sealed in flexible shell can be charged by the bending deformation. The all-solid-state flexible SCPCs can power a variety of wearable electronic devices, including sports bracelets, smart watches and LEDs. This work provides an innovative approach for developing new self-sustainable battery and self-powered wearable electronics.",battery
"The complex sol–gel technique is applied to the preparation of Mg-/Zr-doped LiCoO2 cobaltites. The synthesis results in composite powders in which the cathodic material is intimately mixed with inactive metal oxides as Co3O4, MgO and ZrO2. Cycling ability of the electrodes is evaluated by chronopotentiometry at different currents and potentials, revealing an improved stability of the electrode surface for the Mg-/Zr-doped cathode. Kinetics is investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, revealing improvements both in bulk and interfacial transport properties. This behavior can be explained by the concomitant effects of Zr4+ doping and of morphology modifications induced by inactive MgO and ZrO2 oxides dispersion.",battery
" Emerging global positioning system (GPS) technologies can clarify movement patterns of free-ranging animals in far more detail than has been possible with previous methods. We conducted long-term (mean, 65 days; maximum, 221 days) GPS radio-tracking of 41 northern bluetongue lizards (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) and 8 centralian bluetongue lizards (T. multifasciata) at two study sites in northwestern Australia, close to the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory.",non-battery
"In this work, a new morphological nanostructure of the CNWs@ultrathin SnO2 NSs@C composite has been successfully fabricated, realizing the integration of two-dimensional ultrathin SnO2 NSs and one-dimensional CNWs. The nanosized ultrathin SnO2 NSs (thickness of ca. 1–3 nm) are uniformly distributed between one dimension CNWs core and C shell, as confirmed by XRD, SEM, TEM and HRTEM characterizations. When tested as potential anode materials for LIBs, the as-prepared coaxial nanocable-like CNWs@ultrathin SnO2 NSs@C composite exhibits outstanding reversible capacity for lithium storage (695 mAh g−1 after 40 cycles at 160 mA g−1, 651 and 618 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles at 400 and 800 mA g−1, respectively). This intriguing architecture, which integrates both electronic conductivity and buffering matrix design strategies, contributing to enhanced lithium storage performance.",battery
"Herein, we report magnesium sulphide (MgS) as an anode for lithium ion batteries. Magnesium sulphide-carbon composite is directly synthesized by mechanically milling the elemental mixture. A possible lithiation and delithiation mechanism for MgS is proposed based on electrochemical and ex-situ XRD studies. The electrochemical reaction of MgS with lithium results in the formation of Li2S and Mg, the as-formed Mg simultaneously reacts with lithium and forms LixMg alloy further contributing to the capacity. A stable reversible capacity of 530mAhg−1 was achieved after 100 cycles within the voltage window of 0.001–2.5V. The compatibility of MgS anode was tested in full cell using lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LNMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) as cathodes.",battery
"Management of the ever-increasing generated solid waste had been a difficulty for state governments in Nigeria. The high costs connected to this waste management which had encumbered the state budget, ignorance or lack of understanding of resourceful waste management and insensitivity to environmental concerns may have led to partial neglect of this sector. This research paper is aimed at evaluating the rehabilitation potential and the risk level of Igbatoro dumpsite, an Ondo state-managed waste dumpsite which predominantly receives the waste of Akure and its environs. In determining rehabilitation/reconstruction potentials and assessing the risk of the dumpsite, an Integrated Risk Based Approach (IRBA) was considered. The Risk Index (RI) was calculated from the addition of the sensitivity index output with the attribute weightage of the twenty-seven (27) parameters studied. A total risk index of 571.58 was obtained for Igbatoro dumpsite indicating moderate hazard evaluation. Questionnaires distributed to dwellers around the dumpsite also showed that 83.6% of those interviewed agreed that the present management of the dumpsite is poor while 81.8% supported rehabilitation of the dumpsite. Hence, reconstruction of the Igbatoro dumpsite to an endurable and controlled landfill is hereby recommended.",non-battery
"The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) coordinates an array of fundamental behaviors, including sleeping, waking, feeding, stress and motivated behavior. The wide spectrum of functions ascribed to the LHA may be explained by a heterogeneous population of neurons, the full diversity of which is poorly understood. We employed a droplet-based single-cell RNA-sequencing approach to develop a comprehensive census of molecularly distinct cell types in the mouse LHA. Neuronal populations were classified based on fast neurotransmitter phenotype and expression of neuropeptides, transcription factors and synaptic proteins, among other gene categories. We define 15 distinct populations of glutamatergic neurons and 15 of GABAergic neurons, including known and novel cell types. We further characterize a novel population of somatostatin-expressing neurons through anatomical and behavioral approaches, identifying a role for these neurons in specific forms of innate locomotor behavior. This study lays the groundwork for better understanding the circuit-level underpinnings of LHA function.",non-battery
"Co-precipitation method of SnCl2·2H2O and graphene oxide (GO) solution was performed to fleetly prepare graphene/SnO2 composite. The structure and composition of the nanocomposite were detected by means of XRD, SEM, TEM and FT-IR. The GO was reduced by bivalent tin ions to graphene nanosheet (GNS) via solution reaction and SnO2 nano-crystals with size of 4–6nm were homogeneously distributed on the matrix of GNS. It was found that the disorder degree of graphene in GNS/SnO2 composite prepared by the bivalent tin ion assisted reduction method was much lower than that of GNS obtained via pyrolysis reduction. The possible mechanism for this phenomenon was discussed in detail. The N2 adsorption tests showed an ink-bottle-like pore structure of GNS/SnO2 and the SnO2 nanoparticles were confined in the interlayer of GNS without agglomeration. These structural features were desirable and enabled GNS/SnO2 an excellent anode material in lithium ion battery. The electrochemical tests showed that the composite could deliver a reversible capacity of 775.3mAh/g and capacity retention of 98% after 50 cycles.",battery
"The preliminary design of a biologically inspired flapping UAV is presented. Starting from a set of initial design specifications, namely: weight, maximum flapping frequency and minimum hand-launch velocity of the model, a parametric numerical study of the proposed avian model is conducted in terms of the aerodynamic performance and longitudinal static stability in gliding and flapping conditions. The model shape, size and flight conditions are chosen to approximate those of a gull. The wing kinematics is selected after conducting an extensive parametric study, starting from the simplest flapping pattern and progressively adding more degrees of freedom and control parameters until reaching a functional and realistic wing kinematics. The results give us an initial insight of the aerodynamic performance and longitudinal static stability of a biomimetic flapping UAV, designed at minimum flight velocity and maximum flapping frequency.
",non-battery
"Conductive carbon has been coated on the surface of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode material by the carbonization of sucrose for the purpose of improving the rate performance. The effect of carbon coating on the physical and electrochemical properties is discussed through the characterizations of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cycling and rate tests. Results demonstrate that the carbon coating can greatly enhance the discharge capacity, rate capability and cycling stability of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 without degrading the spinel structure. The sample modified with 1wt.% sucrose displays the best performance. A large capacity of 130mAhg−1 at 1C discharge rate with a high retention of 92% after 100 cycles and a stable 114mAhg−1 at 5C discharge rate can be delivered. The remarkably improved rate properties of the carbon-coated samples are due to the suppression of the solid electrolyte interfacial (SEI) layer development and faster kinetics of both the Li+ diffusion and the charge transfer reaction.",battery
"Lithium-ion storage capacitors were assembled using graphene/tantalum carbide/tantalum wire electrodes and carbon hollow spheres as electrolyte. The graphene/tantalum carbide layers were prepared by electron-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition; the carbon hollow spheres were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction and pyrolysis treatment. The specific capacitance of the capacitor was 593Fg−1 at a current density of 10Ag−1. The capacitor showed excellent cycling stability, retaining 91.2% of its initial capacitance after 8000 cycles. Moreover, the capacitor provided a high specific energy density of 132Whkg−1 at a high power density of 3.17kWkg−1. The high energy density is attributed to the widened operation window ranging from 0 to 3.0V. The graphene layer of the electrode and carbon hollow spheres in electrolyte synergistic affect influence on the electrochemical performance of the capacitor are discussed. In addition, the use of a low-cost lithium salt, lithium chloride, is also featured in this paper.",battery
"Membranes and separators play an important role in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Despite many developments of separators for electrochemical cell applications, there are barriers which limit their performance for MFCs which include ionic transfer limitations, which can increase the internal electrical resistance, and oxygen transfer, which can decrease the MFC performance. Various separator materials have been used, including ion exchange membranes (anion, cation and bipolar), microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes, porous material using fabrics, glass fibres and polymers. Advances in the understanding of separator materials and properties have opened up opportunities to overcome these limitations, but challenges remain for their practical application. Here, a review of membrane requirements and applications in MFCs is provided and an outlook of future developments for MFC separators is presented. The working principle of MFC is followed by a discussion on potential applications of the MFC for wastewater treatment and power generation. The different membrane requirements affecting the MFC performance are discussed. The initial development of this field is much more recent than that of chemical fuel cells, with major studies occurring only in the last two decades.",non-battery
"The performances of Li-ion batteries depend on many factors amongst which the important ones are the electrode materials and their structural and electronic evolution upon cycling. For a better understanding of lithium reactivity mechanism of many materials the combination of X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) and Transmission Mössbauer Spectroscopy (TMS) providing both structural and electronic information during the electrochemical cycling has been carried out. Thanks to the design of a specific electrochemical cell, derived from a conventional Swagelock cell, such measurements have been realised in operando mode. Two examples illustrate the greatness of combining XRPD and TMS for the study of LiFe0.75Mn0.25PO4 as positive electrode and TiSnSb as negative electrode. Different kinds of insertion or conversion reactions have been identified leading to a better optimization and design of performing electrodes.
",non-battery
"The availability of renewable energy technologies is increasing dramatically across the globe thanks to their growing maturity. However, large scale electrical energy storage and retrieval will almost certainly be a required in order to raise the penetration of renewable sources into the grid. No present energy storage technology has the perfect combination of high power and energy density, low financial and environmental cost, lack of site restrictions, long cycle and calendar lifespan, easy materials availability, and fast response time. Engineered electroactive microbes could address many of the limitations of current energy storage technologies by enabling rewired carbon fixation, a process that spatially separates reactions that are normally carried out together in a photosynthetic cell and replaces the least efficient with non-biological equivalents. If successful, this could allow storage of renewable electricity through electrochemical or enzymatic fixation of carbon dioxide and subsequent storage as carbon-based energy storage molecules including hydrocarbons and non-volatile polymers at high efficiency. In this article we compile performance data on biological and non-biological component choices for rewired carbon fixation systems and identify pressing research and engineering challenges.",non-battery
"Many studies recognize that membrane lithium air batteries (LABs) are preferable to non-membrane lithium air batteries for future applications as an energy source. An intensive collection of work was published several years ago regarding air cathodes, lithium metal anodes, and electrolytes, among others. Typically, the membrane is sandwiched between an air cathode and a lithium metal anode and protects the anode from any impurities such as oxygen and water that diffuse from cathode to anode in LABs. Membranes have been used as electrolytes and separators and have been used at the outer side of the cathode and the inner side of the cathode and anode in LABs. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discuss the potential advantages of different membranes to understand the possible mitigations of challenges related to LABs. This review examines the effectiveness of various membranes in the primary components of LABs, including air cathodes, lithium metal anodes, electrolytes and electrodes. Several membranes were effective in limiting the gas permeation and water permeability in LABs. The prospects of these membranes in LABs are determined by their efficacy in overcoming the related problems that work against the energy storage in LABs for future studies.",battery
"Cone-shaped CuS@MnS nanostructures were grown on Ni foam with robust adhesion using a one-step hydrothermal method and efficiently served as binder-free battery-type material for high-performance supercapacitors. The synergic effects of the unique nanostructure and great adhesion is advantageous for enhancing the surface area on the Ni foam substrate, increasing the storage and charge accumulation, increasing the electrochemical activity between CuS and MnS, and accelerating electron and electrolyte ion transfer. As a result, as a battery-type material, the CuS@MnS/NF composite electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity (89.77 mA h g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1), good cycling stability (95.9% capacity retention after 3000 cycles), and outstanding rate capability compared to that of CuS/NF (45.73 mA h g−1) and MnS/NF (3.8 mA h g−1). This study sheds new light on the composites, and demonstrates that the CuS@MnS/NF electrode is an ideal material for electrochemical energy storage.",battery
"The purpose of this paper was to determine the effects of deep approaches to learning on the moral reasoning development of 1,457 first-year students across 19 institutions. Results showed a modest positive relationship between our measures of deep approaches to learning and moral reasoning at the end of the first year of college even after controlling for precollege moral reasoning. After accounting for a host of demographic and relevant student characteristics and for the natural clustering of students, we found that the integrative learning subscale, which captures students’ participation in activities designed to integrate information from varied sources and diverse perspectives, positively affected moral reasoning among first-year students. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.
",non-battery
"LiCoO2 based electrode materials were characterized in detail using visible Raman spectroscopy. The studied materials comprise the active LiCoO2 material itself as well as electrochemically relevant composites of LiCoO2 with binder and conductive additives. Spatially resolved analysis, i.e. mapping of LiCoO2 composite electrodes reveals a significant variation of chemical composition across the electrode surface. Based on wavelength-dependent studies we demonstrate the presence of a resonance enhancement for LiCoO2 materials for green laser excitation allowing for in situ studies on the LiCoO2-based electrodes during lithium de-intercalation. During in situ experiments no significant structural changes occur consistent with the fact that visible Raman spectroscopy probes mainly the surface region of the LiCoO2 composite electrode. Our results demonstrate the potential of Raman spectroscopy for spatially resolved and in situ analysis of lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"In much of the world, there is increasing demand for electricity to serve rural communities, isolated from the existing grids and typified by low-density electrical consumption. Because these non-urban consumer markets require rather high implementation investments (as well as high operation and maintenance costs), new technological and policy options are required to meet the needs of these markets. These consumers typically use energy in daytime peak hours of electricity, typically for lighting, television, and communication—as well as for a variety of cultural habits such as hot water that impose high demands on the utility's power distribution and generation system. This has been the case in Brazil, making it necessary to identify decentralized generation technologies to meet the potential markets, typically serving rural and poorer areas. The government itself provided the impetus with the passage of the Brazilian “Universalization Law” that mandated supplying electricity access for the entire population by the year 2010. This law allows the use of both the distribution grid and renewable energy off-grid technologies. In response, Brazil's largest state utility, Energetic Company of Minas Gerais (CEMIG) has aggressively implemented the use of decentralized photovoltaic systems to supplement the conventional power grid to satisfy the “universalization” targets. This paper provides a summary of the status and the future prospects of solar photovoltaic Energy in Brasil, within the context of the “universal electricity supply” policy. The focus here is to highlight the successes and the issues experienced to date in the State of Minas Gerais. This includes examining the methods implemented to ensure system reliability for the consumers, as well as the standards established under the Agéncia Nacional de Energy Elétrica (ANEEL), the national regulator electrical agency that ensures compliance with the federal regulations.",battery
"This paper describes the leaching experiments and the electrowinning tests to recover Zn and Mn from spent household alkaline batteries. After the dismantling of the batteries, the black powder was analyzed and found to contain 21wt.% Zn and 45%wt. Mn. Therefore, it was considered that recovery of these metals would be interesting due to their relatively large amounts in this kind of waste. Batch laboratory experiments were carried out to develop an acid leaching procedure and to determine appropriate leaching conditions to maximize zinc extraction and to study the leaching behavior of Mn. An experimental study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous recovery of zinc and particulate manganese dioxide using a laboratory cell. The results from these electrowinning experiments are also presented in this paper.",battery
"Mg–Ni multilayers and Ni-rich Mg thin films were deposited by electron gun and pulsed laser deposition, respectively. Samples were submitted to thermal treatment in deuterium or hydrogen atmosphere at 423K and ∼105 Pa pressure to promote the metal to hydride phase transition. The H chemical bonding in the multilayer samples, after annealing in H2 atmosphere, was examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: the obtained spectra suggest that the samples with the Mg:Ni=2:1 atomic ratio contain the Mg2NiH4 phase while the samples with lower Ni concentration contain both the MgH2 and the Mg2NiH4 phases. The effect of the Ni additive on the stability of the deuteride phase was studied by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The TDS spectra of the single-phase Mg2NiD4 samples show a TDS peak at 400K. The TDS spectra of the two-phase samples show both the D2 desorption peak at 400K and a second peak at higher temperature that we attributed to the dissociation of the MgD2 phase. The high-temperature peak shifts to lower temperatures by increasing the Ni content. It is suggested that in the two-phase samples, the lattice volumes having the Mg2Ni structure resulting from the dissociation of the Mg2NiD4 phase reduce the thermodynamic stability of the MgD2 phase.",battery
 There has been limited success in establishing Open Heart Surgery programmes in Nigeria despite the high prevalence of structural heart disease and the large number of Nigerian patients that travel abroad for Open Heart Surgery. The challenges and constraints to the development of Open Heart Surgery in Nigeria need to be identified and overcome. The aim of this study is to review the experience with Open Heart Surgery at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and highlight the challenges encountered in developing this programme.,non-battery
"Nickel-cobalt phosphate/graphene foam (40 mg) (NiCo(PO4)3/GF) composite was synthesized via a hydrothermal process and used as electrode material for supercapacitors. This work was done based on the fact that the electrochemical behavior of cobalt phosphate is similar to EDLC, while nickel phosphate is purely faradaic. Interestingly, the advantages of these two different mechanisms reflected on the results of NiCo(PO4)3/GF as an electrode for supercapacitor. The crystal structure, morphology and texture of the synthesized materials were studied with XRD, Raman spectrum, SEM and BET. The electrochemical performance of the produced sample was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 1 M KOH electrolyte. NiCo(PO4)3/GF_40 mg composite exhibited significantly improved specific capacity (86.4 mAh g−1) much higher than pristine NiCo(PO4)3 (64 mAh g−1) at 1 A g−1 due to the synergistic effect between the conductive GF and NiCo(PO4)3. Furthermore, the hybrid supercapacitor device (NiCo(PO4)3//AC) fabricated achieved the highest energy density of 34.8 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 377 W kg−1 at a specific current of 0.5 A g−1. The hybrid device also showed 95% of capacity retention after 10000 charge-discharge cycles at a specific current of 8 A g−1 and 90% efficiency at floating time over 110 h at 5 A g−1. These results make this composite to be a good candidate for electrochemical capacitors applications.",non-battery
"In the past few years, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has evolved into a new tool in the fight against nosocomial infections and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. The products generated by the plasma-electrons, ions, reactive species and UV light–represent a ‘lethal cocktail’ for different kinds of pathogen, which opens up possible applications in hygiene and medicine. Nevertheless, to ensure the safe usage of CAP on skin (e.g., to treat wounds or skin diseases) several pre-clinical in vitro studies have to be performed before implementing clinical trials on humans. In the study presented here, inactivation experiments with Escherichia coli were carried out to identify the necessary plasma dosage for a 5log reduction: with a small hand-held battery-operated CAP device, these disinfection properties were achieved after application during 30s. This and higher plasma dosages were then used to analyze the mutagenicity induced in V79 Chinese hamster cells–to furthermore define a ‘safe application window’–with the HPRT (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase) mutation assay. The results show that a CAP treatment of up to 240s and repeated treatments of 30s every 12h did not induce mutagenicity at the Hprt locus beyond naturally occurring spontaneous mutations.",non-battery
"Biomass is regarded as sustainable and low-cost precursors of porous carbons for electrochemical energy storage and conversion due to their varied architecture and plentiful heteroatom containing. We herein developed a hierarchical N-doped porous carbon nanosheet material from soybean milk by employing simultaneous hard-template and KOH activation strategy. Hard-template of CaCO3 nanospheres, KOH activation and the melt template of potassium species respectively result in the formation of macropores, micropores and nanosheet-like morphology. Moreover, abundant nitrogen and oxygen elements in precursor bring a high heteroatom percentage in resultants, which don’t contribute psuedocapacitance but also promote electron transfer and conductivity. The obtained carbons exhibit good charge storage capacity with a specific capacitance of 240.7 F g−1 (1 A g−1) and the excellent retention of initial specific capacitance (92.2% to 20 A g−1) that is much higher than those of biomass-based porous carbons. A symmetric all-solid-state supercapacitor using KOH/PVA as electrolyte has a specific capacitance of 149.3 F g−1 (0.5 A g−1), and good cycling stability with capacitance retention of 89.3% after 5000 cycles. The device displays energy density of 10.2 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 351 W kg−1, and retains 8.2 Wh kg−1 even at a high power density of 19,600 W kg−1 with a wide voltage window of 1.4 V.",battery
"Our work focuses on the feasibility of utilizing organic fuels for virtual hydrogen flow cell battery systems, based on thermodynamic considerations of fuel hydrogenation/dehydrogenation reactions. An assessment of the energy density and open circuit potentials (OCPs) as determined by the structure of carbocyclic and heterocyclic saturated hydrocarbons and their dehydrogenation products has been pursued and we identified promising organic carriers that could yield theoretical OCPs higher than that for the hydrogen fuel cell.
",battery
"In situ monitoring of the pulverization of amorphous MgNi and crystalline LaNi5-based alloys has been studied during their hydrogen charge by combining acoustic emission and electrochemical measurements. In both alloys, two classes of acoustic signals with specific temporal and energetic characteristics were detected during their charge: a P1 class related to the particle cracking and a P2 class due to the release of H2 bubbles. By comparing the P1 activity on both materials as a function of the charge input, it was shown that the pulverization phenomenon becomes significant at a much lower charge input for the LaNi5-based electrode (∼5–25mAhg−1) than for the MgNi electrode (∼365mAhg−1), reflecting the fact that the mechanism responsible of their decrepitation is not similar. Indeed, it was demonstrated that the cracking of the amorphous and porous MgNi material is mainly induced by the hydrogen evolution reaction whereas for the crystalline and denser LaNi5-based material, the α–β lattice expansion is responsible of its decrepitation. It was also shown that the particle size and the charge current density have a major impact on the MgNi decrepitation. The correlation between the MgNi particle cracking and the discharge capacity decay with cycling was established.",battery
"Feeding problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), with food selectivity being the most frequently reported. Selectivity based on type and/or texture of food is of concern in those with ASD. Variations in symptom presentation of food selectivity in children with different autism spectrum diagnoses across childhood have not often been investigated. Parent-report of food selectivity was examined in 525 children age 2–18 years diagnosed with autistic disorder, PDD-NOS, Asperger's disorder, atypical development, and typical development using information garnered from the Autism Spectrum Disorder-Comorbidity for Children (ASD-CC), a tool to assess emotional issues and comorbid psychopathology. Individuals with an ASD were reported to have significantly more food selectivity than both the atypically developing group and the typically developing group. In addition, the ASD groups, when looked at together, showed a decrease in food selectivity across childhood with significant decrease in the Asperger's disorder group.",non-battery
"Reorganization of skin during wound healing, inflammatory disorders, or cancer growth is the result of expression changes of multiple genes associated with tissue morphogenesis. We wanted to identify proteins involved in skin remodeling and select those that may be targeted for agonistic or antagonist therapeutic approaches in various disease processes. Full-thickness human skin was grafted to severe combined immunodeficient mice and injected intradermally with 38 different adenoviral vectors inserted with 37 different genes coding for growth factors, cytokines, proteolytic enzymes and their inhibitors, adhesion receptors, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes. Responses were characterized for infiltration of inflammatory cells, vascular density, matrix formation, fibroblast-like cell proliferation, and epidermal hyperplasia. Of the 17 growth factor vectors, 16 induced histological changes in human skin. Members of the VEGF and angiopoietin families induced neovascularization. PDGFs and TGF-βs stimulated connective tissue formation, and the chemokines IL-8 and MCP-1 attracted inflammatory neutrophils and monocytes, respectively. The serine protease uPA induced a vascular response similar to that of VEGF. Vectors with adhesion receptors, oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes had, with few exceptions, little effects on skin architecture. The overall results suggest that adenoviral vectors can effectively remodel the architecture of human skin for studies in morphogenesis, inflammatory skin disorders, wound healing, and cancer development.",non-battery
"In this work, an environmentally-friendly leaching process for the recovery of indium (In) and tin (Sn) from LCD panel waste was investigated. Easily degradable citrates (C6H5O7 3−), i.e., sodium citrate and citric acid, were used as complexing agents. The morphology and composition of the species present in the LCD powder before and after the leaching processes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The concentrations of In, Sn, and iron (Fe) present in the leachate were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The necessary thermodynamic conditions for achieving substantial In recovery were established by using MEDUSA software. The optimal process conditions were determined experimentally by varying the initial citrate concentration as well as by using reducing or oxidizing media, respectively hydrazine (N2H4) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). It was found that using N2H4 in a citrate solution as a reducing agent enhances the leaching efficiency. However, high concentrations of Sn and Fe with respect to In were found in the LCD powder. Therefore, a pretreatment processes to first remove the excess of Sn and Fe, which compete with In for the citrate, was implemented. Leaching with 1 M citrate, 0.2 M N2H4, at pH = 5, using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at solid:liquid (S:L) ratio of 20 g∙L−1, yielded a remarkably high In recovery of 98.9% after 16.6 h.",non-battery
"Nowadays Health Technology devices are growing up very rapidly; there is no healthcare specialty that does not use technologies of different complexity, this increasing amount of devices, also increases the number of adverse events related to such technologies. This study shows how different nature factors concur in the occurrence of adverse events with iatrogenic results, there are problems related to technological complexity, with the materials used, with quality control in manufacturing, with the software involved, with maintenance procedures and obviously with the way that devices are being operated by healthcare personnel, and in some cases by the same patient if he is connected to the device. It is important, to perform multilateral studies, to detect and avoid factors that generate adverse events. To avoid the risk, measures must be taken into account within a wide range of tasks such as improving product quality, providing an adequate user training and reporting any dangerous event via technological surveillance for information feedback to manufacturers, aimed at improving the production or correcting deficiencies of medical devices. Unfortunately, it is not only necessary to act in the technological and administrative level, it is also necessary to eradicate practices such as the lobby and low transparent policies, on technology acquisition or marketing of products that do not meet all the requirements and regulations that helps to increase the quality services and avoid risks to patients and users.
",non-battery
"Electrochemical behavior and flammability of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBA)-mixed electrolyte solutions are investigated using 1 mol L−1 LiPF6-EC:EMC (1:2 vol.%) with 0 wt.% (reference electrolyte) and 1–3 wt.% of TBBA. The cycling performance (at room and elevated temperature) and rate capability of the 18650 cell (LiMn2O4:Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 (8:2)/Li4Ti5O12) cell containing TBBA-mixed electrolyte is similar to that of cell containing the reference electrolyte. A detailed analysis of the surface on both the anode and the cathode electrodes via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the cathode electrode contains more Br components than the anode electrode. Within the first few cycles, on the positive electrode, we observe competing redox processes between the cathode material containing Mn and TBBA, which generate hydroxy radicals and other by-products. This process and the electrochemical reductive decomposition of TBBA to HBr, Br2 and bisphenole A are responsible for the increased flame retardant properties of the electrolyte containing TBBA. Safety tests were performed using an 18650 cell showed that even 1 wt.% of TBBA in the electrolyte significantly reduces cell flammability.",battery
"Poly(o-aminophenol) has been synthesized potentiostatically at different electrode potentials in aqueous acidic solution. The cyclic voltammograms of the POAP films synthesized at relatively low electrode potentials (E SCE =0.70…0.80V) exhibit two redox processes with a mid point potential between the respective redox potentials E SCE =0.29V showing that the redox transition of the POAP from its reduced to completely oxidized state occurs via two consecutive reactions. The polymer has been studied with in situ UV–Vis and in situ Raman spectroelectrochemistry. The nature of a Raman band observed around 1645cm−1 with red Kr+ laser excitation (647.1nm) is discussed. The intensity of this band grows during a positive potential shift up to a maximum, located at about E SCE =0.30V, and then decreases with a further potential shift indicating the existence of intermediate species during the redox transformation of the polymer.",battery
"A Si–TiFeSi2 composite was synthesized in large-scale using arc melting followed by rapid quenching. The composite showed that active Si nanocrystallites of approximately 50nm were embedded in an inactive TiFeSi2 hard matrix. Crystalline Si reacted with Li to form the Li21Si8 phase and transformed into amorphous Si when Li was extracted, while the TiFeSi2 matrix remained inactive to Li and unchanged throughout the electrochemical cycling. The composite showed a reversible capacity of 1200mAhg−1 over 50cycles with a Coulombic efficiency of 89% for the first cycle. Nanosized cracks were observed only at the Si crystallites parts within the Si–TiFeSi2 particles, indicating that the TiFeSi2 matrix was hard enough to withstand the stress generated during lithiation which explained the excellent capacity retention.",battery
"Due to an increasing number of electric vehicles, battery pack endurance over the cell lifetime is an important issue of public interest, because it determines to a large degree the value of the vehicle. The exact state of health of a battery is still a major challenge for analysis, especially since the individual ageing factors are not well understood and depend on the cell chemistry and design. In this analysis, X-ray computer tomographic (CT) images of new and aged battery electrodes are compared to determine structural changes over lifetime. The X-ray CT images with sub-micrometer resolution show the internal pore structure of the electrodes and allow the identification of the morphology of the materials. Organic residues and depositions responsible for reduced porosity in aged anodes are quantified and visualized. Furthermore, particle cracking and current collector corrosion is detected on the cathode side. All these are ageing effects, which might influence the cell capacity and impedance. A quantitative analysis of the lithium distribution completes the interpretation of the ageing study confirming that the degradation can be attributed to the loss of cyclable lithium which is bound in the particle surface layer of the anode.",battery
"Hedgehog-like LiCoPO4 with hierarchical microstructures is first synthesized via a simple solvothermal process in water–benzyl alcohol mixed solvent at 200°C. Morphology and crystalline structure of the samples are characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The hedgehog-like LiCoPO4 microstructures in the size of about 5–8μm are composed of large numbers of nanorods in diameter of ca. 40nm and length of ca. 1μm, which are coated with a carbon layer of ca. 8nm in thickness by in situ carbonization of glucose during the solvothermal reaction. As a 5V positive electrode material for rechargeable lithium battery, the hedgehog-like LiCoPO4 delivers an initial discharge capacity of 136mAhg−1 at 0.1C rate and retains its 91% after 50 cycles, showing much better electrochemical performances than sub-micrometer LiCoPO4 synthesized by conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction.",battery
"In this work, effects of drying temperature, pH of aqueous electrolyte and current density on capacitive performance of VOx·nH2O material were firstly investigated. VOx·nH2O powders were prepared by a melt quenching method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The capacitive properties of VOx·nH2O samples were examined by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge test. VOx·nH2O sample which was obtained at the drying temperature of 80 °C, delivers a maximum specific capacitance of 227.3 F g−1 and exhibits excellent capacity retention in the potential range of −0.3 to 0.7 V at a current density of 200 mA g−1 in NaNO3 solution with pH 2.",battery
"Graphene-encapsulated Li2MnTi3O8 nanoparticles were synthesized via a modified sol-gel process using graphene oxide as the template. The prepared Li2MnTi3O8 material has a complex spinel structure in the P4332 space group. The morphology of the graphene-encapsulated Li2MnTi3O8 composite indicates that the Li2MnTi3O8 particles can be uniformly scattered on a graphene substrate, and these particles have a size of 10–20nm. The electrochemical properties indicate that the graphene-encapsulated Li2MnTi3O8 material possesses a stable reversible discharge capacity of ∼220mAh g-1 after 50 cycles at 0.1C. In addition, the reversible capacity at 2C improved by 70% after graphene-encapsulation, which indicates the excellent high rate capability.",battery
"Abstracts The role of micro-nano AlSb precipitates in the electrochemical behaviors and discharge performance of Al-Sb alloys is discussed in detail. The micro-nanoscale AlSb precipitates significantly improve the discharge activity and inhibit the self-corrosion rate of Al-Sb anodes, resulting in higher cell voltage and anodic efficiency than pure Al. A continuous stream of micro-nanoscale AlSb precipitates can provide a good inhibiting effect on the localized consumption of grain boundary at large current density. Furthermore, the oxidation of AlSb precipitates provides a Sb-containing film, which covers the cathodic site and greatly decreases growing rate of passive film on the anode surface. The Al-0.06Sb alloy exhibits the peak anodic efficiency as high as 98.2% at 40 mA·cm−2. Meanwhile, it can still output a high energy density of 3781 Wh·kg−1 at 20 mA·cm−2. However, excess amount of micro-nano AlSb precipitates strongly aggravates the localized dissolution of anodes, which is detrimental to the anode performance. The microstructure refinement is also beneficial for the enhanced anode performance.",battery
"Rural electrification improves the quality of life of rural dwellers having limited or non-access to electricity through decentralized electricity coverage. Since the price of oil is unstable and fluctuating day by day and grid expansion is not also a cost effective solution, integrating renewable energy sources thus become an important alternative for rural electrification. The present study investigated the feasibility of different power generation configurations comprising solar array, wind turbine and diesel generator in different locations within the geo-political zones of Nigeria. Six rural communities were randomly chosen from each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria with the intention that the results of the study could be replicated in other remote locations of the selected zones with similar terrains. HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable) simulation software was used to determine the economic feasibility of the systems. The simulations concentrated on the net present costs, cost of energy and renewable fraction of the given hybrid configurations for all the climatic zones. The analysis indicates that the PV/diesel/battery hybrid renewable system configuration is found as optimum architecture for both sensitivity cases of 1.1 and $1.3/l of diesel. It also displayed better performance in fuel consumption and CO2 reduction.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries have been widely adopted in electric vehicles (EVs), and accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation is of paramount importance for the EV battery management system. Though a number of methods have been proposed, the SOC estimation for Lithium-ion batteries, such as LiFePo4 battery, however, faces two key challenges: the flat open circuit voltage (OCV) vs SOC relationship for some SOC ranges and the hysteresis effect. To address these problems, an integrated approach for real-time model-based SOC estimation of Lithium-ion batteries is proposed in this paper. Firstly, an auto-regression model is adopted to reproduce the battery terminal behaviour, combined with a non-linear complementary model to capture the hysteresis effect. The model parameters, including linear parameters and non-linear parameters, are optimized off-line using a hybrid optimization method that combines a meta-heuristic method (i.e., the teaching learning based optimization method) and the least square method. Secondly, using the trained model, two real-time model-based SOC estimation methods are presented, one based on the real-time battery OCV regression model achieved through weighted recursive least square method, and the other based on the state estimation using the extended Kalman filter method (EKF). To tackle the problem caused by the flat OCV-vs-SOC segments when the OCV-based SOC estimation method is adopted, a method combining the coulombic counting and the OCV-based method is proposed. Finally, modelling results and SOC estimation results are presented and analysed using the data collected from LiFePo4 battery cell. The results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach, in particular the joint-EKF method.",battery
"Large-area manganese oxide nanorod arrays (MONRAs) and herringbones (MOHBs) were successfully synthesized on F-doped SnO2 coated glass (FTO) substrates by a simple electrochemical method. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements demonstrated that the MONRAs and MOHBs exhibited excellent specific capacitance and good cycling stability in 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution. For example, the specific capacitance of the MONRAs achieves as high as 660.7 F g−1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 and 485.2 F g−1 at a current density of 3 A g−1, respectively. Furthermore, the presented method may be extended to allow similar MONRs with a specific capacitance of 583.6 F g−1 to grow on flexible Ti foil, which may have great potential application in fabricating flexible supercapacitors.
",battery
" 1-Amino-9,10-anthraquinone was electropolymerized in the presence of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode in an acetonitrile solution containing 0.1 M LiClO4. Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) recorded on the GC electrode were compared with those obtained with the MWCNTs. The poly(1-amino-9,10-anthraquinone)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PAAQ/MWCNT) films showed greater anodic peak currents due to the presence of more active sites on the MWCNTs and their larger surface area. The CVs for the PAAQ/MWCNT films recorded at different scan rates revealed that the anodic peak currents increase with increase in the scan rate, and that the redox process is surface controlled. The polymer was characterized by the CV, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The results obtained from the CVs and SEM revealed that the MWCNTs diffused within the polymer structure. Impedance spectroscopy results also confirmed the CV results.",non-battery
"Estimation of state-of-charge (SOC) is a key criterion to evaluate the battery management system (BMS). Due to the flat open-circuit voltage (OCV)–SOC curve of LiFePO4 batteries, it is a great challenge to estimate the SOC accurately. Here we present a dual-circuit state observer for SOC estimation of LiFePO4 batteries. It is a combination of an open loop based current integrator and a proportional-integral (PI) based state observer. We also employed an easy but practical drifting current corrector to restrain the influence of the drifting current. The experiment results show that error of the estimated SOC is less than 2.5% by the proposed method when the initial SOC is unknown. We proved that with no matrix operations, the proposed method is lighted-weighted and high efficient, which is suitable for embedded systems.",battery
"Organic redox-reactive polymers have garnered great attention as a promising alternative for conventional transition-metal compounds in sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) due to their low cost, structural flexibility and diverse structure. Among this class of materials, polyimides with high mechanical strength, excellent thermal stability and high density of electroactive functional groups have shown promise as low-cost electrode materials for NIBs. Herein, a simple hydrothermal method was used to synthesise pyromellitic dianhydride-based polyimides [C16H6O4N2]n. The polyimides consisting of interconnected nanosheets with a microflower-like morphology were tested as an NIB anode. The polyimide electrode exhibited a stable discharge capacity of 125 mAh g−1 at a current density of 25 mA g−1 at the 100th cycle. At a high current density of 2 A g−1, the electrode delivered a discharge capacity of 43 mAh g−1. The capacity contribution of this polyimide electrode mainly occurred below 1.5 V making it suitable as an organic NIB anode. The mechanism of sodiation and desodiation during discharge and charge was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, in which this polyimide experienced two-step enolisation reaction with reversible insertion of two sodium ions during the redox electrochemical reaction.",battery
"Background Individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) exhibit impaired cognitive functioning in a pattern similar to that found in schizophrenia; less clear is the extent to which these individuals also share schizophrenia patients' impairments in functional capacity and real-world functioning. Method We evaluated 46 SPD patients, as well as 38 individuals with avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) and 55 healthy controls (HC) on: cognitive functioning, real-world functioning (employment and residential status), and functional capacity (indexed by the UPSA, a performance-based skills assessment). Results We found that individuals with SPD exhibited worse performance on both the cognitive battery and the UPSA than the other groups; they were also less likely to be employed and to be living independently. Additionally, cognitive and UPSA performance in the SPD group was intercorrelated to a degree comparable to what has been found in schizophrenia, and this relationship was not present in the AvPD group. Finally, real-world functioning was related to UPSA performance for both patient groups. Conclusions SPD patients exhibit impaired real-world functioning suggesting that these deficits extend across the schizophrenia spectrum. In addition, there is supportive evidence for the validity and importance of performance-based measures such as the UPSA to predict everyday outcomes across the schizophrenia spectrum.",non-battery
"This study compared changes in quantitative EEG (QEEG) and CNV (contingent negative variation) of children suffering from ADHD treated by SCP (slow cortical potential) neurofeedback (NF) with the effects of group therapy (GT) to separate specific from non-specific neurophysiological effects of NF. Twenty-six children (age: 11.1 ± 1.15 years) diagnosed as having ADHD were assigned to NF (N = 14) or GT (N = 12) training groups. QEEG measures at rest, CNV and behavioral ratings were acquired before and after the trainings and statistically analyzed. For children with ADHD-combined type in the NF group, treatment effects indicated a tendency toward improvement of selected QEEG markers. We could not find the expected improvement of CNV, but CNV reduction was less pronounced in good NF performers. QEEG changes were associated with some behavioral scales. Analyses of subgroups suggested specific influences of SCP training on brain functions. To conclude, SCP neurofeedback improves only selected attentional brain functions as measurable with QEEG at rest or CNV mapping. Effects of neurofeedback including the advantage of NF over GT seem mediated by both specific and non-specific factors.
",non-battery
"Internet of Things (IoT) is a buzzword in the area of information technology. The Internet of Things is an interconnected computer system with unique identifiers (UIDs) that are capable of transmitting information over a network. This review article highlights the potential applications of IoT in pharmaceutical manufacturing, warehousing, and supply chain management to enhance product quality, increase productivity, and reduction in errors during different stages of a pharmaceutical product. During the manufacturing of the pharmaceutical product, IoT may be useful in supervising and optimizing different unit operations for real-time monitoring and control to enhance production efficiency. In warehousing and supply chain management of pharmaceutical products, IoT is applicable in monitoring the real-time storage conditions of the drug product and improving visibility to enhance operational effectiveness.
",non-battery
"Fabricating cost effective and high-performance electrodes is essential to the development of vanadium flow battery (VFB). Moreover, improving the stability of electrodes in acidic electrolyte remains key issues. In this work, we describe a simple method to prepare novel electrodes composed of N-doped carbon nanospheres (NCS) grown on graphite felt (GF) fibers. Dopamine monomers are used as both carbon and nitrogen source. Physical and electrochemical results reveal that the as-prepared NCS/GF electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity as well as wettability for vanadium ion redox reactions. The single cell tests at current densities of 50–300mAcm−2 demonstrate superior battery performance in terms of energy efficiency and capacity retention. Exceptional durability of the NCS catalyst is confirmed by long-term cycles at a higher current density of 150mAcm−2. NCS/GF electrode also shows excellent temperature adaptability from −15°C to 50°C. The facile approach reported in this study can pave a new route to fabricate high-performance electrodes for VFB.",battery
"Benefiting from fluidity and surface tension, materials in a liquid form are one of the best candidates for self-healing applications. This feature is highly desirable for improving the life cycle of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because the volume expansion/contraction during the cycles of high-capacity anodes such as Si and Sn can result in mechanical fracture and lead to inferior cycle performance. Here, we report a novel room-temperature liquid metal (LM) as the anode to improve the cycle life of LIBs. The LM anode comprises an alloy of Sn and Ga, a liquid at room temperature with inherent self-healing properties, as confirmed by the in situ and ex situ analyses. Because both Ga and Sn have high theoretical capacities (769 and 990 mA h g−1, respectively), the resulting LM anode delivers a high capacity of 775, 690, and 613 mA h g−1 at the rate of 200, 500, and 1000 mA g−1, respectively. There was no obvious decay in more than 4000 cycles with a capacity of ∼400 mA h g−1 at 4000 mA g−1, realizing the best cycle performance among all metal anodes.
",battery
" Failures or forced shutdowns in power plants are often due to boilers, particularly failure of boiler tubes. Failure Investigation of Boiler Tubes: A Comprehensive Approach, by industry experts Paresh Haribhakti, P.B. Joshi, and Rajendra Kumar, addresses failure investigation of boiler tubes from basic fundamentals to practical applications. Topics covered include properties and selection of materials for boiler tubes, damage mechanisms responsible for failure of boiler tubes, and characterization techniques employed for investigating failures of boiler tubes in thermal power plants and the utility boilers of industrial/commercial/institutional boilers.From left, a schematic of a needle touching a graphene sheet, a micrograph showing topographic folding, and a schematic of concurrent imaging and manipulationLaurence Casey applying water to an aluminum composite panelA sapphire ball moving across the sample modifies the copper permanentlyFrom left, nanopillar fabricated for compression test and electron microscope image of dislocation avalancheNSLS-II scientist stands next to the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe beamline, where her research team developed a novel x-ray imaging techniqueThree-dimensional image of hydrogen-induced crack in nickel alloySchematic of in vitro material analysis technologySchematic of analytical method and structure determinedAn additive-manufactured part relative to the tip of a match",non-battery
" Vertigo remains a diagnostic challenge for primary care, emergency, and specialist physicians. Multidisciplinary clinics are increasingly being employed to diagnose and manage patients with dizziness. We describe, for the first time in Canada, the clinical characteristics of patients presenting with chronic and acute dizziness to both a multidisciplinary chronic dizziness clinic (MDC) and a rapid access dizziness (RAD) clinic at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH).",non-battery
"Stable and radiocarbon isotopic contents of dissolved organic C (DOC), dissolved inorganic C (DIC), particulate organic C (POC) and plants were used to examine the source and turnover rate of C in natural and constructed wetlands in the Florida Everglades. DOC concentrations decreased, with P concentrations, along a water quality gradient from the agriculturally impacted areas in the northern Everglades to the more pristine Everglades National Park. δ13C values of DOC in the area reflect contributions of both wetland vegetation and sugarcane from agriculture. Radiocarbon ages of DOC, POC and DIC in the Everglades ranged from 2.01ka BP to “>modern”. The old 14C ages of DOC and POC were found in impacted areas near the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) in the northern Everglades. In contrast, DOC and POC in pristine marsh areas had near modern or “>modern” 14C ages. These data indicate that a major source of POC and DOC in impacted areas is the degradation of historic peat deposits in the EAA. In the pristine areas of the marsh, DOC represents a mix of modern and historic C sources, whereas POC comes from modern primary production as indicated by positive Δ14C values, suggesting that DOC is transported farther away from its source than POC. High Δ14C values of DIC indicate that dissolution of limestone bedrock is not a significant source of DIC in the Everglades wetlands. As a restored wetland moves towards its “original” or “natural” state, the 14C signatures of DOC should approach that of modern atmosphere. In addition, measurements of concentration and C isotopic composition of DOC in two small constructed wetlands (i.e., test cells) indicate that these freshwater wetland systems contain a labile DOC pool with rapid turnover times of 26–39days and that the test cells are overall net sinks of DOC.",non-battery
"The electrochemical behavior and electrodeposition of cobalt was investigated in the choline chloride-urea deep eutectic solvent containing cobalt chloride. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the effect of temperature and concentration on the electrochemical behavior of cobalt. Chronoamperometry results show that as the applied potential increases, the electrocrystallization of cobalt on the tungsten electrode gradually tends to three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation. SEM observation of the microstructure of the coating shows that the deposited films obtained in this experimental condition (−0.85 V ∼ −1.0 V; 343 K–373 K) are dense and uniform with fine crystals. As the deposition potential increases, the contours of the particles are become clear and the edges of the particles gradually join. As the temperature rises, the coating particles increase to become gradually uniform, the plush contour gradually disappears, and the particles are no longer connected with the other particles. EDS and XRD analyses show that pure cobalt coating was obtained.",battery
"This paper provides an industry leader's perspectives on the potential for transportation fuel cells, reviewing their development progress, describing their advantages and barriers, and identifying paths to successful commercial deployment. UTC Power has developed proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology for transportation since 1998, building upon applicable innovations from the company's space fuel cell and stationary fuel cell programs. PEM fuel cell durability improvements are discussed, highlighting achievements in the understanding of decay mechanisms and the design of effective mitigations. The potential for high-volume production to make automotive fuel cells cost competitive with internal combustion engines is explained. The paper underscores the important role that initial deployment of PEM technology for transit buses can play, although development of automotive fuel cells must continue in parallel as the hydrogen infrastructure develops. Suggestions are offered on how policies and regulations, communication and education, and improved codes and standards can all help to promote the widespread use of fuel cells in transportation.",battery
"To meet demands on lithium ion batteries for high power applications, the rate capability of cathode materials has to be greatly improved. In this study, a significant improvement of rate capability in LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x was obtained by the aid of elevated oxygen non-stoichiometries. Various oxygen non-stoichiometries were achieved through calcining LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 above the onset temperature of oxygen loss at 700°C. No obvious second phases were observed in XRD patterns of as-synthesized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x powders. However, the crystallographic structure transformation of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x was observed in FTIR analysis as x increased from 0.015 to 0.025, accompanying the expansion in cell parameters. Mixed phases, composing of both cation-ordered phase (P4332) and cation-disordered phases (Fd-3m) at 700°C, transformed into the single phase (Fd-3m) at 730°C. Electrochemical test shows that LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x with lower oxygen non-stoichiometries displayed the deteriorated performance at elevated discharge rate. In contrast, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x with higher oxygen non-stoichiometries demonstrated a significantly enhanced rate capability, attributing to the disordered structure (Fd-3m) and elevated Mn3+ contents. With respect to LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x (x =0.015), the discharge capacity of both LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4−x (x =0.025 and 0.033) cathodes greatly improved about 33% and 47% at 3C and 5C, respectively.",battery
"Silicon suboxide (SiOx) is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), due to its high specific capacity, small volume variation and superior cycle performance. Herein, we demonstrated the determining roles of oxygen contents on the behavior of SiOx upon lithium by means of thin-film type electrodes. The SiOx thin-film anodes with different oxygen contents were prepared by sputtering with Cu foil as substrates. XRD and Raman investigations reveal that these SiOx films are amorphous. As anodes, it is found that increasing oxygen contents in SiOx endows an enhanced cycle stability, but does harm to their initial Coulombic efficiency and capacity. Among all the a-SiOx film anodes (x = 0.4, 0.7, 1.1 and 1.5), the SiO0.7 electrode with a thickness of 450 nm exhibits excellent cycle performance and rate capability, with a high initial discharge capacity of 463 μAh cm−2 μm−1 at the current density of 64 μA cm−2 and a high capacity retention of 90% after 300 cycles. This superior performance is ascribed to that the in-situ formed lithium oxide/silicates compounds during discharge effectively alleviates the large volume change of Si components, but also suppresses the electron leakage from the surface of active particles, shutting down the further decomposition of electrolytes and then the formation of thick solid interphase layer. These results will provide inspirations for designing high-performance Si based anodes for lithium ion batteries.",battery
 To explore the associations between type of milk feeding (the “nutrients”) and mode of breast milk feeding (the “nursing”) with child cognition.,non-battery
"The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is developing polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) systems that can be operated under isolated low-gravity and closed environments. In the present study, we combine the PEFC with an electrolyzer in order to realize a regenerative fuel cell. Ideally, if a single cell can be operated as a fuel cell and the cell can be made reversible through the electrolysis reaction, then compact, lightweight regenerative fuel cell systems can be realized. A unitized regenerative fuel cell was prepared, and its operability was demonstrated. During 100-W class operations, a stable fuel cell and electrolysis reaction was observed.",battery
"The dependence of the composition of aqueous electrolytes in the pore system of activated carbon on the potential has been determined by monitoring the amount of ions exchanged with the external electrolyte upon immersion and upon changing the electrode potential. From the investigation with KF solutions, a quantity δ/√ɛ =4×10−10 m is evaluated where δ is half the width of the micropores, and ɛ the (relative) permittivity. This is in accordance with δ ≈1nm and ɛ ≈7 applying to essentially immobilized water and fits into the results with the other electrolytes. Anions are adsorbed in the cases of sodium perchlorate and potassium hydroxide, while protons are adsorbed in the case of acids (HCl, H2SO4). The adsorption of ClO4 − seems to result from electrostatic interaction with the solid, while H+ and OH− are strongly chemisorbed, probably at surface groups like >CO. Ionic mobilities of ions in the micropores have been determined from conductance measurements concerning the pore electrolyte of a single spherical particle of activated carbon. Mobilities are more than one order of magnitude lower than those in bulk electrolyte, probably due to an increased viscosity of the liquid in the narrow pores and/or to the coulombic interaction with charged domains of the solid. The rate of charging of the capacitor (solid/micropore electrolyte) is assisted by macropores distributing ions throughout the carbon material.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter is an approach to get raw data into a state that is appropriate for mining purposes. Any miner uses these basic techniques for addressing almost any business problem. Miners need to note preparation techniques when mining data in other domains, such as biomedical data, industrial automation data, telemetry data, geophysical data, time domain data, and so on. Developing mined models requires a hard work. It involves working with data, including making changes and taking actions that depend on the needs of the business problem and the miner's data discovery. Mining data is not magic, and it is not something that computer software will do for any one. Basically, data mining is an organized way of working with data, digging out useful information, and application of that useful information in solving the business problems. Most of the tools that are currently in use were developed from three main areas including statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Despite apparently different roots, these tools essentially do only one thing that is related to the discovery of a relationship, which more or less maps measurements in one part of a data set to measurements in another linked part of the data set.",non-battery
"Organic materials offer the advantages of cost-effective, environmental benignity, and molecular structural diversity as applications of electrode materials for lithium ion batteries. In fact, their lithium storage behaviors in terms of dynamics and kinetics intrinsically lie in ion migration in solids. Thus the solid forms including crystalline and amorphous states are crucial for the properties. In this study, a conventional carbonyl type organic material, namely zinc terephthalate (ZnC8H4O4), is obtained in both well-crystalline and amorphous forms and applied as anodes for lithium ion batteries. ZnC8H4O4 with amorphous structure shows higher lithium storage capacity and better capacity retention compared with that of crystalline one. It is ascribed that the amorphous phase provides a higher lithium ion diffusion coefficient than the crystalline one under the conditions of similar electronic conductivity.",battery
"Metal-ion batteries are promising for large-scale energy storage. Their potential commercialization not only depends on their superior electrochemical performance, but also on the large-scale synthesis cost of electrode materials. In the conventional industrial technology for producing non-oxides, argon protection is required to avoid oxidation, leading to additional costs and extra processing. We demonstrate, without protection gas, that ball milling in air with a small amount of Ti additive can be a cost-effective approach for preparing high-performance alloy anodes. Ti consumes the oxygen, forming TiO2 (< 10 nm) in situ with high ionic conductivity, while also preventing oxidation and sustaining the electrical conductivity of carbon. This strategy effectively promotes the rate capability (61% capacity retention from 60 to 3000 mA g−1) of SnSb/carbon-nanotube anode (over 204% better than without Ti additive).",battery
" Community Paramedics (CPs) require access to timely blood analysis in the field to guide treatment and transport decisions. Point of care testing (POCT), as opposed to laboratory analysis, may offer a solution, but limited research exists on CP POCT. The purpose of this study was to compare the validity of two devices (Abbott i-STAT® and Alere epoc®) by CPs in the community.",non-battery
"Hair, a high-nitrogen energetic material, is utilized as a precursor for nitrogen-doped porous carbon. The preparation procedures for obtaining carbon from hair are very simple, namely, reductant or deionized water activation process followed by hair carbonization under argon atmosphere at 800°C for 2h. The samples are characterized through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron microscopy. The carbon samples are tested as electrode materials in supercapacitors in a three-electrode system. The carbon (soaked in deionized water at 80°C) presents relatively low specific surface areas (441.34m2 g−1) and shows higher capacitance (154.5F g−1) compared with nitrogen-free commercial activated carbons (134.5Fg−1) at 5Ag−1. The capacitance remains at 130.5Fg−1 even when the current load is increased to 15Ag−1. The capacitance loss is only 5% in 6M KOH after 10,000 charge and discharge cycles at 5Ag−1. It is the unique microstructure after activation processing and electroactive nitrogen functionalities that enable the carbon obtained through a simple, ecological, and economical process to be utilized as a potential electrode material for electrical double-layer capacitors.",battery
We report a new method for synthesizing reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-porous silicon composite for lithium-ion battery anodes. Rice husks were used as a as a raw material source for the synthesis of porous Si through magnesiothermic reduction process. The as-obtained composite exhibits good rate and cycling performance taking advantage of the porous structure of silicon inheriting from rice husks and the outstanding characteristic of graphene. A considerably high delithiation capacity of 907 mA h g−1 can be retained even at a rate of 16 A g−1. A discharge capacity of 830 mA h g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 was delivered after 200 cycles. This may contribute to the further advancement of Si-based composite anode design.,battery
"Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2/carbon lithium-ion batteries designed to work at high temperature exhibit good performances for cycling at 85 °C but a strong impedance increase for cycling or storage at 120 °C. The effects of high temperature on the aging process of positive electrode's binder, electrodes/electrolyte interfaces and positive active material were investigated by bulk and surface analysis techniques: X-ray diffraction, 7Li and 19F Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The main phenomenon observed at 120 °C is a migration of PVdF binder from the outer part of the positive electrode which thus shows a bad Li reintercalation. Binder migration results in the formation of a PVdF layer at the extreme surface of the positive electrode, and in its diffusion and deposition on the surface of the negative electrode. Several changes in the composition of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) were also evidenced between a cycle at 60 °C and cycling at 85 °C and 120 °C. Disappearance of carbonate species disappearance and increase of inorganic species, which both together may also affect battery's performance. Though, since the battery can undergo 25 cycles at 120 °C, Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2 seems to be an appropriate material for high temperature cycling.",battery
"When charging a lithium-ion cell, the deposition of metallic lithium on the negative electrode surface, known as lithium plating, must be avoided. In this paper, the charging process of a commercial high energy lithium-ion pouch cell is investigated. Three-electrode test cells are assembled using electrode materials from the high energy lithium-ion pouch cell together with lithium metal as reference electrode to acquire the potential at the negative electrode-electrolyte interface. During charging, the cells’ current is controlled in a way that the negative electrode potential is maintained constantly slightly above 0 V vs. Li/Li+. The resulting current map depending on temperature and state of charge is used to control the charging process of the pouch cell. Following this new charging procedure, a state of charge of 80% is reached in 15 min at 25°C ambient temperature. Different cycle life tests are performed to examine iteratively an approach to how the charging current has to be reduced over the lifetime in order to avoid accelerated aging. To prove the practicability, the method is tested at the battery pack level.",battery
"Freshwater pinch analysis (FWaPA) as an extended pinch analysis technique has been proposed for retrofitting the off-grid batteryless photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis system (PVS-RO) with a water storage tank to minimize the required outsourced freshwater. The freshwater composite curve (FWaCC) as the graphical tool, and freshwater storage cascade table (FWaSCT) as the numerical tool of the FWaPA are introduced to determine the optimal delivered electricity to the RO system, water storage tank capacity, and wasted electricity in each time-interval with minimized outsourced freshwater. A multi-objective optimization algorithm by combining FWaPA numerical tool and genetic algorithm (FWaPA-GA) minimizes three objective functions including required outsourced freshwater during first operation year, outsourced freshwater during normal operation year, and total annual cost of the system to obtain the optimal number of PV panels, membranes, and capacity of water storage tank. The FWaPA-GA was implemented to find optimal design of an off-grid PVS-RO-WT system for a case study in Kish island, Iran. The results clearly represented that the FWaPA-GA can be used to grassroots design of the desalination systems with renewable energy sources, where the designed PVS-RO-WT system for the case study needs 178.5 m3 freshwater to provide 10 m3/d freshwater-on-demand with the total annual cost of 13,652 $/year.",battery
"Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are promising scalable energy storage system; however, one of the challenges for its potential application is the huge volume variations during cycling due to the insertion/extraction of large size potassium ions. Here, we fabricated the S-doped carbon-coated rod-like FeS2/C@C, which not only effectively alleviate the volume variations upon cycling but also can improve electrical conductivity and maintain the structural integrity. As an anode material for PIBs, the rod-like FeS2/C@C electrodes delivered excellent rate performance (175 mA h g−1 at 0.5 A g−1) and stable cycle performance (262 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1). The superior excellent performance is associated with the unique structure of FeS2/C@C. The as-synthesized FeS2/C@C is demonstrated to be a potential anode for PIBs.",non-battery
"Nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets (NGNS) are prepared by a novel mechanochemical method via all-solid-state ball-milling graphite with urea. The ball-milling process does not only successfully exfoliate the graphite into multi-layer (<10 layers) graphene nanosheets, but at the same time, enables the N element to be doped onto the graphene. Urea, acting as a new solid doping and assist-grinding agents, has the advantages of low cost and good water solubility that can simplify the fabrication process. The as-prepared NGNS are investigated in detail by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, TGA, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The doping nitrogens are around 3.15% and dominated (>94%) by pyrindic-N and pyrrolic-N which facilitates the NGNS with enhanced electronic conductivity and Li-ion storage capability. For the first time, we demonstrate that the all-solid-state prepared NGNS exhibits, especially at high currents, enhanced cycling stability and rate capability as Lithium ion battery (LIB) anode active material when compared to pristine graphite and undoped graphene in half-cell configuration. The method presented in this article may provide a simple, clean, economical and scalable strategy for preparation of NGNS as a feasible and promising anode material for LIBs.",battery
"Purpose A previous study showed that assessment of language laterality could be improved by adding grammar tests to the recovery phase of the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) (Połczyńska et al. 2014). The aim of this study was to further investigate the extent to which grammar tests lateralize language function during the recovery phase of the IAP in a larger patient sample. Methods Forty patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (14 females, thirty-two right-handed, mean age 38.5years, SD=10.6) participated in this study. On EEG, 24 patients had seizures originating in the left hemisphere (LH), 13 in the right hemisphere (RH), and 4 demonstrated mixed seizure origin. Thirty participants (75%) had bilateral injections, and ten (25%) had unilateral injections (five RH and five LH). Based on results from the encoding phase, we segregated our study participants to a LH language dominant and a mixed dominance group. In the recovery phase of the IAP, the participants were administered a new grammar test (the CYCLE-N) and a standard language test. We analyzed the laterality index measure and effect sizes in the two tests. Key findings In the LH-dominant group, the CYCLE-N generated more profound language deficits in the recovery phase than the standard after injection to either hemisphere (p<0.001). At the same time, the laterality index for the grammar tasks was still higher than for the standard tests. Critically, the CYCLE-N administered in the recovery phase was nearly as effective as the standard tests given during the encoding phase. Significance The results may be significant for individuals with epilepsy undergoing IAP. The grammar tests may be a highly efficient measure for lateralizing language function in the recovery phase.",non-battery
"This paper presents a high efficiency non-isolated bidirectional converter which can be employed as an interface circuit between ultracapacitors or batteries and DC bus voltage. All semiconductor devices in the proposed converter are soft switched while the control circuit remains PWM. So, the energy conversion through the converter is highly efficient. The proposed converter acts as a zero-voltage transition (ZVT) buck to charge an ultracapacitor or battery and acts as a ZVT boost to discharge an ultracapacitor or battery. The performance of the proposed converter with respect to abrupt load and operating mode change is shown through computer simulation results. The results confirm the aforementioned advantages and features of the proposed converter.",non-battery
"Sulfide-based Na-ion conductors are promising candidates as solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) for fabrication of solid-state Na-ion batteries (NIBs) because of their high ionic conductivities and low grain boundary resistance. Currently, most of the sulfide-based Na-ion conductors with high conductivities are focused on Na3PS4 phases and its derivatives. It is desirable to develop Na-ion conductors with new composition and crystal structure to achieve superior ionic conductivities. Here we report a new quaternary Na-ion conductor, Na10.8Sn1.9PS11.8, exhibiting a high ionic conductivity of 0.67 mS cm−1 at 25 °C. This high ionic conductivity originates from the presence of a large number of intrinsic Na-vacancies and three-dimensional Na-ion conduction pathways, which has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and first-principles calculations. The Na10.8Sn1.9PS11.8 phase is further evaluated as an electrolyte in a Na-Sn alloy/TiS2 battery, demonstrating its potential application in all-solid-state NIBs.",battery
"Hierarchical composites of sulfonated graphene-supported vertically aligned polyaniline nanorods (sGNS/PANI) are successfully synthesized via interfacial polymerization of aniline monomers in the presence of sulfonated graphene nanosheets (sGNS). The FE-SEM images indicate that the morphologies of sGNS/PANI composites can be controlled by adjusting the concentration of aniline monomers. FTIR and Raman spectra reveal that aligned PANI nanorod arrays for sGNS/PANI exhibit higher degree of conjugation compared with pristine PANI nanorods. The hierarchical composite based on the two-electrode cell possesses higher specific capacitance (497 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1), better rate capability and cycling stability (5.7% capacitance loss after 2000 cycles) than those of pristine PANI nanorods.",battery
"Solar energy is a clean, green and renewable source of energy. It is available in abundance in nature. Solar cells by photovoltaic action are able to convert the solar energy into electric current. The output power of solar cell depends upon factors such as solar irradiation (insolation), temperature and other climatic conditions. Present commercial efficiency of solar cells is not greater than 15% and therefore the available efficiency is to be exploited to the maximum possible value and the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) with the aid of power electronics to solar array can make this possible. There are many algorithms proposed to realize maximum power point tracking. These algorithms have their own merits and limitations. In this paper, an attempt is made to understand the basic functionality of the two most popular algorithms viz. Perturb and Observe (P & O) algorithm and Incremental conductance algorithm. These algorithms are compared by simulating a 100 kW solar power generating station connected to grid. MATLAB M-files are generated to understand MPPT and its dependency on insolation and temperature. MATLAB Simulink software is used to simulate the MPPT systems. Simulation results are presented to verify these assumptions.",non-battery
"It has been well accepted that the performance of supercapacitor material highly depends on its morphology, thus the control on morphology is significant for acquiring advanced materials. Herein, a facile method for controllable synthesis of nickel-cobalt layered double hydroxide (Ni-Co LDH) with a unique hollow structure is presented. In which zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) nanocrystals are used as templates and etched in a nitrate solution. The morphology of Ni-Co LDH shows an interesting variation with a different dosage of Ni(NO3)2. The Ni-Co LDH with integrated hollow structure exhibits superior electrochemical property among the obtained materials. The electrochemical tests revealed that the electrode display a specific capacity of 790Cg−1 at 2Ag−1 and a favourable rate capability. The integrated polyhedral hollow structure and the interlaced nanosheets make the Ni-Co LDH a highly promising material for hybrid supercapacitors.",battery
"This communication reports the synthesis of mesoporous Pd–Co dendrites with both a unique hierarchical porosity and a large surface area by the combination of electrodeposition and dealloying. The resultant mesoporous dendrites consist of microparticles with a diameter of a few hundred nanometers, and the particles have mesopores with around 10nm width. The mesoporous dendrites are found to be Pd8Co2, to be composed of pure Pd crystalline phases and amorphous Pd–Co phases, and to be covered with Pd-skin layers. This catalyst exhibits a high activity in the oxygen reduction reaction. Thus, this novel catalyst is attractive as a catalyst for on-chip fuel cells, which require catalysts to be deposited precisely onto tiny current collectors.",battery
"Herein we propose a novel poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVdF)-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) for application in lithium-ion batteries, LIBs. The GPE is prepared under air as a dry, flexible film and directly gelled during LIB assembly with a conventional liquid organic electrolyte. The dry-gel here originally reported maintains its structural integrity due to the presence of crystallized EC-solvent within its matrix that avoids structural collapse, as demonstrated by TGA analysis. By avoiding the use of controlled atmosphere, the GPE is easy to handle and suitable for roll-to-roll scaling-up, i.e. characteristics missed by the common gel membranes. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) evidences a micrometric polymer network of the dry membrane precursor acting as the support matrix for the gelation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements and galvanostatic tests suggest a good stability of the lithium electrode/gel electrolyte interface and a satisfactory lithium transference number. Cycling tests of gel-electrolyte-based lithium half-cells using lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) and graphite (C), respectively, as counter electrodes, as well as of a full C/LFP lithium-ion battery confirm the suitability of the GPE developed in this work for application in stable, low cost and environmentally friendly energy storage systems.",battery
"Objectives To examine aphasia outcomes and to determine whether the observed language profiles vary by race-ethnicity. Design Retrospective cross-sectional study using a convenience sample of persons of with aphasia (PWA) obtained from AphasiaBank, a database designed for the study of aphasia outcomes. Setting Aphasia research laboratories. Participants PWA (N=381; 339 white and 42 black individuals). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Western Aphasia Battery–Revised (WAB-R) total scale score (Aphasia Quotient) and subtest scores were analyzed for racial-ethnic differences. The WAB-R is a comprehensive assessment of communication function designed to evaluate PWA in the areas of spontaneous speech, auditory comprehension, repetition, and naming in addition to reading, writing, apraxia, and constructional, visuospatial, and calculation skills. Results In univariate comparisons, black PWA exhibited lower word fluency (5.7 vs 7.6; P=.004), auditory word comprehension (49.0 vs 53.0; P=.021), and comprehension of sequential commands (44.2 vs 52.2; P=.012) when compared with white PWA. In multivariate comparisons, adjusted for age and years of education, black PWA exhibited lower word fluency (5.5 vs 7.6; P=.015), auditory word recognition (49.3 vs 53.3; P=.02), and comprehension of sequential commands (43.7 vs 53.2; P=.017) when compared with white PWA. Conclusions This study identified racial-ethnic differences in word fluency and auditory comprehension ability among PWA. Both skills are critical to effective communication, and racial-ethnic differences in outcomes must be considered in treatment approaches designed to improve overall communication ability.",non-battery
" For the first time, Nd-MOF nanostructures were synthesized using a novel ultrasonic procedure. The final products were characterized by relevant techniques of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray mapping analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance, vibrating sample magnetometer, photoluminescence, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Results showed that using ultrasonic irradiation can produce Nd-MOF samples with desirable physicochemical properties. It was found that the Nd-sample synthesized in optimum conditions has a high surface area of 1649 m2 g−1. This value expands the application of these novel materials in different fields such as electrochemical applications. The electrochemical cyclic voltammetry method was employed to study the behavior of DA on the proposed modified electrode. The results revealed high yields of these compounds in the electrooxidation of dopamine. The efficient synthesis route, novel physichochemical properties, and potential electrochemical applications developed in this study can be used as a novel protocol for other MOFs.",battery
"Room-temperature Na metal batteries have been regarded as promising candidates for energy storage systems due to their high energy density and the widespread availability of low cost sodium. However, the practical application of metallic sodium anode is impeded by its low stripping/plating efficiency and poor cycling performance due to the poor reversibility of sodium anode caused by the formation of inhomogeneous solid electrolyte interphase, the growth of dendritic sodium, and relatively infinite volume change. Here, Na-C composite anode was fabricated by depositing nanoscale metallic sodium in graphitized carbon microspheres which were assembled from graphitized carbon nanosheets. The carbon microspheres function as a mini-nanoreservoir with high-surface-area, conductivity, and mechanical stability, which lower the local current density, ensure a homogeneous Na nucleation and high electrochemical active of Na, and restrict the volume change. As a result, metallic sodium can be reversibly nondendritic stripped/plated with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.3% up to 4 mA cm−2 for 4 mA h cm−2. Building upon this dendrite-free anode, we demonstrate a full cell using O3-NaNi0.5Mn0.2Ti0.3O2 cathode to achieve a superior long lifespan of ~100 cycles at high current density of 0.5 C.",battery
"Sustainable and affordable energy resources are urgently demanded to mitigate environmental issues. Herein, carbon materials, prepared by electrochemical reduction of greenhouse gas, CO2, in Li-Na-K carbonate molten salts (electrolytic-carbon), are tested as negative electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. Owing to the small particle size and suitable surface area, the electrolytic-carbon exhibits a high reversible capacity of 798 mAh g−1 (more than two times of graphites’ theoretical capacity) at 50 mA g−1 and 266 mAh g−1 with a stable cyclability over 500 cycles at a current density up to 500 mA g−1, as well as remarkable rate performance. Furthermore, a comprehensively study was conducted to investigate the effects of electrolysis temperature and cell voltage on the electrochemical performance of the electrolytic-carbon. These results demonstrate a promising strategy to develop renewable high-performance carbon negative electrode materials for Li-ion batteries by molten salt capture and electrochemical reduction of CO2.",battery
"Shading banana and other orchard crops with screens is increasing in popularity due to decreased water use, increased fruit quality and other reasons. This study focused on airflow, turbulence, ventilation rate, evapotranspiration and energy balance in a large commercial flat-roof banana screenhouse in northern Israel. Measurements were made during 14 days. An eddy covariance system, consisting of a one-dimensional sonic anemometer, a fine-wire thermocouple and a Krypton hygrometer, was deployed at 5m height, in a location allowing a minimum fetch of 100m in all directions. Net radiation, soil heat flux and storage, soil evaporation, air temperature and humidity and turbulent airflow characteristics were measured. Comparison between wind speed inside and outside of the screenhouse suggests that the logarithmic wind profile model is approximately valid within the screenhouse. Airflow direction inside the screenhouse was usually the same as that of the external wind. Friction velocity scaled with the mean horizontal wind speed inside the screenhouse. Integral length scale calculations showed that eddies were always narrow and long and high air velocities caused eddies to become even narrower, as expected. Average turbulence intensity within the screenhouse for all data was 0.49±0.12 (± standard deviation). Spectral energy density depended on frequency to the power of about −5/3, typical of the inertial subrange in turbulent boundary layers. Air exchange rate increased with wind speed, as expected. Evapotranspiration averaged 5.6±0.47mmday−1, in accord with the 7–8mmday−1 irrigation. Analysis of energy balance closure resulted in a slope of 0.94 and an intercept of 2.4Wm−2.",non-battery
"Ge-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZ) is prepared via the conventional solid-state reaction. Our results showed that doping Ge of less than 1 wt% could stabilize the cubic phase of garnet-type LLZ and also increase its ionic conductivity up to 8.28×10−4 S/cm at room temperature. When the content of Ge dopant is higher, GeO2 impurity phase would appear and there coexists cubic and tetragonal mixed structures, lowering the conductivity. By combining X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy and full multiple-scattering theory, we find that Ge more likely enters into the Li and La crystallographic sites instead of the Zr site, which provides understanding of the micro-structural modulation by Ge dopants and the subsequent enhancement in the ionic conductivity.",battery
"Silicon is one of the most promising anode candidates for the next generation Li-ion batteries. Polymer binders play a crucial role as they are very essential to keep mechanical integrity of the electrodes and affect the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) properties. Alginate appears to be the best binder system for Si electrode and it is able to form three-dimensional (3D) conductive polymeric network through in-situ inter-chain cross-linking by divalent cations. Herein, the effects of different cross-linking cations (Cu2+, Ca2+, Fe2+ and Ni2+) on the electrochemical behavior of silicon nano-sized particle anodes with alginate binder are investigated. It is found that all the alginate networks bridged by the transition metal cations are able to tolerate the volume change of silicon and effectively restrict the volume expansion of the Si particles. The overall electrochemical properties of the Si anode with Ni cations cross-linked alginate exhibit the highest reversible capacity, extraordinary cycleability and superior rate capability. The main reason for the electrochemical enhancement is explained by the improved stability of SEI film on the Si surface.",battery
" Development of stable, high-performance and cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts that can replace baseline Pt- and Ir-based catalysts has been a central theme in metal–air batteries. Along this direction, transition metal-based oxides and nitrides have attracted attention due to their abundance, stability, and low cost. Here, Mn nitride, fabricated via annealing of Mn powder in N2, is investigated for the first time as a candidate bifunctional electrode for rechargeable Zn–air batteries (ZABs). Three samples were prepared by nitridation of a Mn precursor, with particle size <100 μm, at 1100 °C for 4–30 h. The morphology and microstructure of the fabricated samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Phase quantification for all samples was performed using Rietveld-based fitting. The samples treated for 4 and 10 h had the largest fraction (~75%) of nitride phases (Mn4N and Mn6N2.58); the remaining material was primarily MnO. The nitride phases were not pure, but contained oxygen, resulting in the formation of pseudobinary phases. The oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER) performance of all samples was evaluated using rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry in an alkaline electrolyte (0.1 M KOH). Among all the catalysts, the sample treated for 10 h exhibited the most positive ORR onset potential (−0.038 V vs. Hg/HgO) with good stability. The catalyst was incorporated into a practical ZAB and displayed a battery efficiency of 52.7% after 14 h of charge–discharge cycling (1 h/cycle) at a current density of 7.5 mA cm−2.",battery
"The human body has its own innate electrical system that regulates the body’s functions via communications among organs through the well-known neural system. While the effect of low-level electrical stimulation on wound repair has been reported, few studies have examined the effect of electric potential on non-wounded, intact skin. A galvanic couple comprised of elemental zinc and copper was used to determine the effects of low-level electrical stimulation on intact skin physiology using a Dermacorder device. Zn–Cu induced the electrical potential recorded on intact skin, enhanced H2O2 production and activated p38 MAPK and Hsp27 in primary keratinocytes. Treatment with Zn–Cu was also found to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1α, IL-2, NO and TNF-α in multiple cell types after stimulation with PHA or Propionibacterium acnes bacteria. The Zn–Cu complex led to a dose-dependent inhibition of TNF-α-induced NF-κB levels in keratinocytes as measured by a dual-luciferase promoter assay, and prevented p65 translocation to the nucleus observed via immunofluorescence. Suppression of NF-κB activity via crosstalk with p38 MAPK might be one of the potential pathways by which Zn–Cu exerted its inflammatory effects. Topical application of Zn–Cu successfully mitigated TPA-induced dermatitis and oxazolone-induced hypersensitivity in mice models of ear edema. Anti-inflammatory activity induced by the Zn–Cu galvanic couple appears to be mediated, at least in part, by production of low level of hydrogen peroxide since this activity is reversed by the addition of Catalase enzyme. Collectively, these results show that a galvanic couple containing Zn–Cu strongly reduces the inflammatory and immune responses in intact skin, providing evidence for the role of electric stimulation in non-wounded skin.
",non-battery
"Subjective memory impairment (SMI) is being increasingly recognized as a preclinical phase of Alzheimer disease (AD). Short latency afferent inhibition (SAI) is helpful in demonstrating dysfunction of central cholinergic circuits, and was reported to be abnormal in patients with AD and amnestic multiple domain mild cognitive impairment. In this study, we found normal SAI in 20 subjects with SMI. SAI could be a useful biomarker for identifying, among individuals with memory complaints, those in whom cholinergic degeneration has occurred.",non-battery
"Accurate cholesterol and lipoprotein measurements have provided dependable and powerful basic risk factors for cardiovascular disease. A battery of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides (TG) is recommended in the initial evaluation for classification of patients (based on lipids) into highly desirable, desirable, borderline, high, and very high lipid risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Treatment is based largely on the LDL cholesterol measurement result of the patient. The risk factor score of a patient greatly increases when other risk factors for cardiovascular disease exist, along with increased lipid risk factors. Attainment of the needed acceptable accurate lipid and lipoprotein measurements depends upon prevention or control of multiple sources of errors or variation that can exist in preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic stages of determination of the reported result. Highly important is to control nonfasting, posture, diet, and alcohol intake in the preanalytic part, elimination of matrix effects and use of accurate calibrators in the analytic part, and check for transcription errors in preparation of reports in the postanalytic part of the measurement of lipids.",non-battery
"Herein, we design and prepare Ni3S2/NiCo2O4 arrays on Ni foam with core-shell flakes structure as charge-storage materials. In this synthetic strategy, NiCo2O4 flakes are firstly grown on Ni foam substrate through simple hydrothermal process, and then ultrathin Ni3S2 nanoflakes are electrodeposited into scaffold of NiCo2O4 arrays. Those nanoflakes supported with each other can form a three-dimensional porous and interconnected structure, which afford more active sites and ion transfer channels for redox reaction. As expected, Ni3S2/NiCo2O4 arrays show excellent charge-storage properties in electrochemical energy storage, including high specific capacity of 1201 C g−1 (3.46 C cm−2) at 1 mA cm−2, which far larger than those of pure NiCo2O4(572 C g−1, 0.86 C cm−2) and Ni3S2 (612 C g−1, 0.98 C cm−2). Meanwhile, Ni3S2/NiCo2O4 arrays show a good rate capability of 742 C g−1 at 60 mA cm−2. Furthermore, hybrid device is fabricated using Ni3S2/NiCo2O4 arrays (positive electrode) and graphene on Ni foam (negative electrode). This device can deliver high energy density of 47.62 Wh kg−1, indicating a good application ability of Ni3S2/NiCo2O4 arrays. The excellent charge-storage performance of Ni3S2/NiCo2O4 arrays is attributed to the core-shell structure of flakes arrays and synergistic effects of two components.",battery
"Random copolymers of ethylene carbonate (EC) and ethylene oxide (EO) having various EC/EO ratios were synthesized using double metal cyanide catalyst, and their LiFSI electrolytes were prepared. All of the copolymer electrolytes had greater conductivity and lower T g than the EC homopolymer system, and the copolymer with 53% EO content (LiFSI 120 mol%) exhibited the highest conductivity of 2.9 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 60 °C, with an excellent Li-ion transference number of nearly 0.7. FT-IR measurement showed that the carbonate groups of the copolymer interact preferentially with Li ions without the formation of any stable coordination structure, while free FSI anions decrease and the aggregated ions increase with increasing salt concentration. A Li/LiFePO4 coin cell with copolymer electrolyte having LiFSI 120 mol% had a discharge capacity of approximately 160 mAh g−1 for the first few cycles at 40 °C. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement on the cell after discharge found two semicircles in the Nyquist diagrams based on the passivation layer and charge-transfer resistance between the electrode and electrolyte gradually increase in size with increasing charge-discharge cycling.",battery
Carbon emissions from fluvial systems are a key component of local and regional carbon cycles. We used floating chambers to investigate the CO2 flux from stream water to air (,non-battery
"Li4Ti5O12 is a highly promising anode material for use in Li-ion batteries. Herein, Li4Ti5O12 samples are prepared by sintering Li2CO3 and anatase TiO2 with varying Li molar excess. Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy is performed. The electrochemical performance, crystal structure and surface morphology are found to be dependent on the Li content. The effect of TiO2 and Li2TiO3 impurities in Li4Ti5O12 on electrochemical characteristics including charge–discharge cycling and the AC impedance spectra is also investigated. These two impurities are found to have different effects on the electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12. At a 2% molar Li excess, a high capacity and Li ion diffusion coefficient are achieved.",battery
"Adsorption capacity of manganese powder synthesized from spent battery waste solution was analyzed for simultaneous removal of congo red and hexavalent chromium. Manganese powder was synthesized by heat treatment followed by reaction with sodium borohydride to spent lithium-ion batteries. The removal conditions viz., pH, dosage of manganese and various concentrations of congo red and hexavalent chromium were optimized. The synthesized manganese powder was characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Further, FESEM was done to observe the difference in surface morphology of the particles with and without treatment. The adsorption performance was studied and the highest adsorption by the zero manganese was 475mg/g and 125mg/g for CR and Cr (VI), respectively when different concentrations of the contaminants (400mg/L CR and 100mg/L Cr (VI)) was used. Under the optimum conditions, simultaneous removal from 450mg/L of CR to 250mg/L and 125mg/L of Cr (VI) to around 74mg/L was achieved. Desorption study of the treated zero manganese exhibited that acid treatment (0.1M HCl) for CR and alkali treatment (0.1M NaOH) for Cr (VI) as the suitable reagent for desorption.",non-battery
"Electrochemical oxidation behavior of non-aqueous electrolytes on LiCoO2 thin film electrodes were investigated by in situ polarization modulation Fourier transform infrared (PM-FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). LiCoO2 thin film electrode on gold substrate was prepared by rf-sputtering method. In situ PM-FTIR spectra were obtained at various electrode potentials during cyclic voltammetry measurement between 3.5V vs. Li/Li+ and 4.2V vs. Li/Li+. During anodic polarization, oxidation of non-aqueous electrolyte was observed, and oxidized products remained on the electrode at the potential higher than 3.75V vs. Li/Li+ as a surface film. During cathodic polarization, the stripping of the surface film was observed at the potential lower than 3.9V vs. Li/Li+. Depth profile of XPS also showed that more organic surface film remained on charged LiCoO2 than that on discharged one. AFM images of charged and discharged electrodes showed that some decomposed products deposited on charged electrode and disappeared from the surface of discharged one. These results indicate that the surface film on LiCoO2 is not so stable.",battery
"In this work, double-void-space SnO2/carbon composite has been synthesized as high-capacity anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. This novel designed structure, with the internal void space inside SnO2 hollow spheres and the external void space between SnO2 and carbon, can superiorly accommodate the large volume change as a physical buffering layer during the charge/discharge procedure. It is found that the double-void-space SnO2/carbon composite manifest a much higher reversible capacity compared to SnO2 hollow spheres. Due to the formation of the void space, the special composite is able to deliver a reversible Li storage capacity of 408.4 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles. This implies the structural optimization can provide new opportunities to enhance the properties of tin-based materials for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Battery life estimations and state-of-health projections for commercial applications such as hybrid electric vehicles are highly dependent on accurate resistance monitoring. This study examined discharge/charge hysteresis (path dependency) effects on measuring resistance using two different lithium-ion cell chemistries. Cells were either discharged or charged to a target voltage, followed by a rest at open-circuit for electrochemical and thermal equilibration, immediately prior to a resistance measurement using a high-current pulse profile. Results show that a voltage hysteresis effect has an impact on cell resistance measurements, depending on the direction a target voltage is reached. Specifically, charging to a target condition yields different and less consistent resistance measurements compared to discharging to that same condition. Further, using slower rates to approach the target condition has a small impact on resistance on the discharge curve but does give a noticeable improvement on the charge curve. Unfortunately, slow charging and discharging are generally not practical for hybrid electric vehicle applications due to the rapidly changing power demands of the driver. Consequently, these results indicate that life estimates should be primarily based on resistances determined from pulses on the discharge curve.",battery
"The fluorine gradient-doped LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 spinels are synthesized by a facile one-step method and the effect of heat treatment on their structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance are investigated. The results show that introduction of fluorine leads to a larger lattice parameter and particle size, and the formation of F-enriched surface. Whereas at 400°C, the fluorine gradient-doped LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 sample exhibits an improved long-term cycling stability and high rate performance, due to the suppression of the reaction between electrolyte and cathode, resulting in a decrease in the total resistance and the formation of a thin, uniform and smooth film on the surface. As a result of in situ XRD with charged pristine and the fluorine gradient-doped samples, the similar thermal-decomposition pathways from the charged spinel to the final NiMn2O4-type spinel structure with a small amount of NiMnO3 and α-Mn2O3 are observed. In addition, the disappearance temperature of the charged spinel structures is at about 280°C for the fluorine gradient-doped sample, exhibiting an improved thermal stability of high voltage cathode material. These results show that fluorine gradient-doped LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 sample is a promising positive electrode material for high performance lithium ion batteries.",battery
" Traumatic spinal cord injury ( SCI) leads to serious neurological and functional deficits through a chain of pathophysiological events. At the molecular level, progressive damage is initially revealed by collapse of plasma membrane organization and integrity produced by breaches. Consequently, the loss of its role as a semi-permeable barrier that generally mediates the regulation and transport of ions and molecules eventually results in cell death. In previous studies, we have demonstrated the functional recovery of compromised plasma membranes can be induced by the application of the hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) after both spinal and brain trauma in adult rats and guinea pigs. Additionally, efforts have been directed towards a nanoparticle-based PEG application.",non-battery
"A series of nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (NCPEs) comprising nanoparticles of BaTiO3, Al2O3 or SiO2 were prepared by electrospinning technique. The nano-sized ceramic fillers were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VdF-HEP)] membranes during the electrospinning process. The resultant porous membranes are good absorbent of the liquid electrolyte and exhibit high electrolyte retention capacity. The presence of the ceramic nanoparticles has positive effect on the mechanical properties of the membranes. The ionic conductivity and the electrochemical stability window of the electrospun P(VdF-HFP)-based polymer are enhanced by the presence of the fillers. The cell Li/LiFePO4 based on the NCPE containing BaTiO3 delivers a discharge capacity of 164mAh/g, which corresponds to 96.5% utilization of the active material. In comparison, the performance of Li/LiFePO4 cells with NCPEs containing Al2O3 and SiO2 was observed to be lower with respective discharge capacities of 153 and 156mAh/g. The enhanced performance of the BaTiO3-based-NCPE is attributed mainly to its better interaction with the host polymer and compatibility with lithium metal.",battery
"The effect of different ambient temperatures on the electrochemical properties of La4MgNi17.5Co1.5 hydrogen storage alloy was investigated. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the alloy consists of LaNi5-type phase and A5B19-type (Ce5Co19 + Pr5Co19) phase. With the increase of the ambient temperature, the maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrodes increases from 353.33 (283 K) to 379.25 mAh/g (308 K), and the cyclic stability (S100) of the electrodes decreases from 80.19 (283 K) to 52.04% (308 K) due to the acceleration of pulverization, corrosion and oxidation at higher ambient temperature. Moreover, it is found that the increase of the temperature can accelerate the diffusion rate of hydrogen in the alloy (D) and increase the exchange current density (I0), which are beneficial for improving the activation performance and the high-rate dischargeability (HRD) of the alloy electrodes. The activation cycles of the electrodes decrease from 4 (283 K) to 1 (308 K), and the HRD900 of the electrodes sharply increases from 66.36 (283 K) to 95.64% (308 K).",non-battery
"Several studies suggest that highly emotional information could facilitate long-term memory encoding and consolidation processes via an amygdala-hippocampal network. Our aim was to assess emotional perception and episodic memory for emotionally arousing material in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) who are candidates for surgical treatment. We did this by using an audiovisual paradigm. Forty-six patients with medically resistant TLE (26 with left TLE and 20 with right TLE) and 19 healthy controls were assessed with a standard narrative test of emotional memory. The experimental task consisted of sequential picture slides with an accompanying narrative depicting a story that has an emotional central section. Subjects were asked to rate their emotional arousal reaction to each stimulus after the story was shown, while emotional memory (EM) was assessed a week later with a multiple choice questionnaire and a visual recognition task. Our results showed that ratings for emotional stimuli for the patients with TLE were significantly higher than for neutral stimuli (p=0.000). It was also observed that patients with TLE recalled significantly less information from each slide compared with controls, with a trend to lower scores on the questionnaire task for the group with LTLE, as well as poorer performance on the visual recognition task for the group with RLTE. Emotional memory was preserved in patients with RTLE despite having generally poorer memory performance compared with controls, while it was found to be impaired in patients with LTLE.",non-battery
"Nowadays, the importance of electrical generation based on renewable energies is increasing, due to its low emissions of greenhouse gases. At the same time, Distributed Generation and Microgrids (MG) are becoming an important research line because of their peculiar characteristics. MGs are composed of small power sources which can be renewable, placed near customer sites. Moreover, they have the inherent property of islanding: the disconnection of either the MG from the main grid or a portion of a MG from the rest of the MG. There are two kinds of islanding: intentional or planned (for maintenance purposes), and unintentional or unplanned. The latter is mainly due to disturbances and it is used to avoid damages in sources and loads. It is the most critical case because it must be detected as soon as possible to activate all the control systems which allow continuing the energy production and distribution despite the disconnection. In islanding, it is crucial to ensure the power and the electrical signal quality. In grid-connected mode, the inverters use the electrical signal of the main grid as reference. Once in islanding, the main grid reference is lost and new control techniques for the inverters are needed in order to obtain the correct values of voltage magnitude and frequency in the MG. The main objective of this paper is to make a survey on MGs focussed on two important features: unplanned islanding and control of inverters in that scenario. The idea is to present the basic architectures and regulation techniques of MGs and to study the islanding behaviour, mainly the different detection techniques and the inverters’ control once islanded.",battery
"Vertically oriented arrays of high surface area TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) are fabricated by the fast and facile anodic oxidation of a titanium foil. The formation of well-defined one-dimensional nanotubular carpets is assessed by means of morphological Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy characterisation, while X-ray diffraction analysis and Transmission Electron Microscopy imaging confirm the amorphous nature of the samples. The electrochemical response evaluated in lab-scale lithium cells is highly satisfying with near-theoretical initial specific capacity and remarkable rate capability, noteworthy in the absence of binders and conductive agents, which would affect the overall energy density. A specific capacity exceeding 200 mAh g−1 is observed at very high 24C and approx. 80 mAh g−1 are retained even at very high 96C rate, thus accounting for the promising prospects in storage devices conceived for high power applications. Moreover, the NTs can perform with good cycling stability and capacity retention approaching 50% of the initial value after very long-term operation along with improved durability (> 2000 cycles).",battery
"Metal sulfides have gradually gained attention as preferable anode materials in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high theoretical capacities. In this work, we report for the first time the synthesis of carbon coated ZnSnS3 nanocubes (ZnSnS3@C NCs) as high-performance anode material for SIBs. The outer carbon coating surrounding the ZnSnS3 active material not only enhances the electronic conductivity of the anode but also increases the electrode reaction active sites. Thus, it can greatly improve the reversible capacity as well as homogenize the repeated volume changes of the active material and decrease the mechanical stress caused during the prolonged charge/discharge process, which could finally enable an enhanced electrode stability. Electrochemical test results demonstrated that the introduced ZnSnS3@C NC anode is capable of delivering a high reversible capacity of 661.4 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 250 cycles (with capacity retention of 97.1%) and demonstrating a stable Coulombic efficiency of over 99%. To the best of our knowledge, both the reversible capacity and cycling stability performance introduced in this work are so far the best among metallic sulfur-based anodes and are even superior to some recently reported SnS2-based anodes.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries have demonstrated excellent energy density, reliability, and life in commercial applications. Several new Navy and undersea applications are emerging that need the high energy density and high power capabilities that the lithium-ion technology offers. Such applications have historically utilized silver–zinc technology for their power source. However, life cycle costs, maintenance and logistics issues, and wet-life limitations are true detriments in these applications. Lithium-ion technology has demonstrated the energy and power density of silver–zinc, but with much improved cycle life, shelf life, and low maintenance properties. For these reasons, and others, many under water applications are looking to lithium-ion to provide the performance of the silver–zinc system, but at a greatly reduced life-cycle cost.",battery
"The well-crystallized LiFePO4 cathode material was synthesized by liquid deposition method using mesoporous Ketjen Black (KB) as template. The LiFePO4/KB nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TG, SEM, HR-TEM, nitrogen sorption, galvanostatic charge/discharge test and EIS. The results indicate that the LiFePO4 particles about 10nm were embedded in the mesoporous of Ketjen Black. The composite has an uniform particle size and 3D network structure, which delivers a discharge capacity of 120.2mAh/g, 100.1mAh/g, 85.5mAh/g and 64.5mAh/g at 1C, 5C, 10C and 20C under −20°C respectively. Moreover, the composite also exhibit relatively high cycling performance and the capacity maintains 93.6% at 5C and 91.2% at 10C under −20°C after 200 cycles. The stable high rate performance possibly fulfills the requirements of rechargeable lithium batteries for high power applications especially at low temperature.",battery
"We report a facile strategy to synthesize polyaniline/molybdenum disulfide (PANI/MoS2) nanocomposite by in situ polymerization to achieve excellent electrochemical properties for application as supercapacitor electrodes. MoS2 nanocomposite with graphene-like subunits structure is prepared by a hydrothermal method and serves as an excellent 2D conductive skeleton that supports a highly electrolytic accessible surface area of redox-active PANI and provides a direct path for electrons. The layered nanostructure of PANI/MoS2 composites provides a larger contact surface area for the intercalation/deintercalation of protons into/out of active materials and shortens the path length for electrolyte ion transport. The structure of the composite is characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, and the electrochemical performances of the composites are evaluated by cyclic voltammogram and galvanostatic charge–discharge. The maximum specific capacitance of 575Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 is observed at the PANI/MoS2 electrodes. The energy density of 265Whkg−1 is obtained at a power density of 18.0kWkg−1. In addition, the PANI/MoS2 composite electrode shows excellent long-term cyclic stability (less than 2% decrease in specific capacitance after 500 cycles at a current density of 1Ag−1), indicating a positive synergistic effect of MoS2 and PANI for the improvement of electrochemical performance.",battery
"Background Increasing evidence indicates impairments of empathic abilities in schizophrenia that may impact outcome and course of the disease. While there is consensus on the presence of deficits in ‘theory of mind’ in this disorder, i.e. cognitive aspects of mental state attribution, the ability to infer emotional experiences of others, i.e. affective empathy, has not been investigated so far. Methods We assessed multiple dimensions of empathy in 45 schizophrenic patients and 45 healthy controls, matched for age and gender, with a self-rating instrument, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). To control for modulating effects of cognitive deficits, a neuropsychological test battery was employed. Results Schizophrenic patients showed significantly lower scores in cognitive empathy (‘perspective taking’: F =12.176, df =1, p =0.001) but more self-related aversive feelings in response to the distress of others (‘personal distress: F =16.477, df =1, p <0.001). Self-ratings of affective empathy, i.e. concern for others, did not differ between groups. Results in the domains of empathy were not explained by symptoms or neurocognition as revealed by regression analysis. However, lower scores in ‘perspective taking’ were found with advancing duration of illness (r =−0.453, p =0.002). Conclusions Results indicate reductions of cognitive empathy but relatively preserved emotional empathic abilities in schizophrenia. Although previous studies observed deficits in emotion perception and expression, our findings support the concept of differentially disturbed abilities in cognitive and emotional empathy in schizophrenia.",non-battery
 The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of low-normal and high-normal levels of IGF-1 in growth hormone (GH) deficient adults on cognition and wellbeing during GH treatment.,non-battery
"Cross-linked trimethylolpropane trimethylacrylate-based gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) were prepared by in situ thermal polymerization. The ionic conductivity of the GPEs are >10−3 Scm−1 at 25°C, and continuously increased with the increase of liquid electrolyte content. The GPEs have excellent electrochemical stability up to 5.0V versus Li/Li+. The LiCoO2|TMPTMA-based GPE|graphite cells exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 129mAhg−1 at the 0.2C, and good cycling stability with around 83% capacity retention after 100 cycles. Both the simple fabricating process of polymer cell and outstanding electrochemical performance of such new GPE make it potentially one of the most promising electrolyte materials for next generation lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The kinetics of the electrochemical lithium insertion reaction in nanosized V2O5 prepared from a fluorination synthesis in solution is investigated by AC impedance spectroscopy. The experimental data are obtained vs. x in nano-LixV2O5 over the wide composition range 0≤x<1.8 and vs. temperature. Kinetic parameters for Li electroinsertion in nanosized V2O5 are achieved here for the first time. The charge transfer kinetics is little affected by Li content. A moderate evolution of the chemical diffusion coefficient is related to the peculiar single-phase behavior induced by the nanosize effect combined with shorter Li diffusion pathways. Comparison with experimental data obtained for microsized analogue vs. temperature reveals a much lower activation energy barrier (0.06 eV) for the lithium diffusion process in nanosized V2O5 that explains the significant improvement in electrochemical performances and especially a better rate capability. This work illustrates how nanosizing promotes the kinetics of Li insertion reaction, in agreement with the new and specific structural response of nanosized vanadium pentoxide.",battery
"The effects of combined driving and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) usage on the lifetime performance of relevant commercial Li-ion cells were studied. We derived a nominal realistic driving schedule based on aggregating driving survey data and the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule, and used a vehicle physics model to create a daily battery duty cycle. Different degrees of continuous discharge were imposed on the cells to mimic afternoon V2G use to displace grid electricity. The loss of battery capacity was quantified as a function of driving days as well as a function of integrated capacity and energy processed by the cells. The cells tested showed promising capacity fade performance: more than 95% of the original cell capacity remains after thousands of driving days worth of use. Statistical analyses indicate that rapid vehicle motive cycling degraded the cells more than slower, V2G galvanostatic cycling. These data are intended to inform an economic model.",battery
"The decrease in the resistance at solid electrolyte and electrode interfaces has become a critical issue in the development of solid-state lithium batteries. To understand the ionic transport properties across solid electrolyte and electrode interfaces, thin-film batteries consisting of flat epitaxial films are of considerable importance. Herein, we report the operation of bottom-current-collector-free thin-film batteries using LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 epitaxial thin films. As the bottom current collector is not inserted between the substrates and LiNi0.8Co0.2O2, the surface of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 is very flat, with a surface roughness average of approximately 0.44 nm. This study proposes a very flat electrode surface suitable for the investigation of interfacial phenomena at solid electrolyte and electrode interfaces.",battery
"We tested sensitivity to coherent motion (CM) in random dot kinematograms in a group of 5-year-old preschool children genetically at risk for dyslexia, compared to a group of well-matched control children. No significant differences were observed, either in a group analysis or in an individual deviance analysis. Nonetheless, CM-thresholds were significantly related to emerging orthographic skills. In a previous study on the same subjects (Boets, Wouters, van Wieringen, & Ghesquière, in press), we demonstrated that both risk groups already differed on measures of phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Moreover, auditory spectral processing (especially 2Hz FM detection) was significantly related to phonological ability. In sum, the actual visual and previous auditory data combined, seem to suggest an exclusive relation between CM sensitivity and orthographic skills on the one hand, and FM sensitivity and phonological skills on the other.",non-battery
"Three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical heterostructures have been widely studied for energy storage because of their amazing synergistic effect. However, a detailed characterization how the branched structure affects the backbone structure during electrochemical cycling, and the specific relationship between the backbone and the branched heterogeneous structure (namely synergistic effect) have been rarely revealed. In addition, the controllable synthesis of this system still remains a great challenge. Herein, we developed a one-step gradient hydrothermal method to obtain a series of 3D hierarchical heterogeneous nanostructures, including V2O5/NaV6O15, V2O5/ZnV2O6 and V2O5/CoV2O6, through controlling the sequence of nucleation and growth processes of different structural units in the same precursor. On the basis of time-resolved in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterizations, we clearly elucidated the synergistic effect between the branched and backbone structure. During the synergistic effect, the branched NaV6O15 helps to reduce the potential barrier during lithium-ion insertion/extraction, buffers the impact of crystal-system transformations during the charge/discharge process; the backbone V2O5 is beneficial to increase the charge/discharge capacity, inhibits the self-aggregation of branched NaV6O15 and maintains the stability of 3D structure. Consequently, 3D V2O5/NaV6O15 hierarchical heterogeneous microspheres exhibit the best electrochemical performance than pure V2O5 and V2O5/NaV6O15 physical mixture in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). When tested at a high rate of 5Ag−1, 92% of the initial capacity can be maintained after 1000 cycles. We believe this method will be in favor of the construction of 3D hierarchical heterostructures and this specific synergistic effect investigated by in situ XRD will be significant for the design of better electrodes.",battery
"The electrochemical behaviour of nickel and its oxides in molten carbonates is very complex because of the continuous growth of the NiO layer and the material losses during the oxidation and reduction processes. Thus, cyclic voltammograms have been realised in molten Li2CO3+Na2CO3 at 650°C at different electrodes (gold covered by NiO, fresh and aged nickel); they allowed us to identify, at different scan rates, the reactions associated with the peaks observed. In particular, thanks to a planar nickel disc electrode, with a well-defined surface, the principal reduction peak has been attributed to the transformation of NiO into Ni. Other reduction peaks, occurring at lower potentials, are probably due to the same reaction and their presence to phase transitions. Evidence was given for the existence of a Ni/Ni2+ system and the formation of Ni(III), most probably NaNiO2, by the oxidation of NiO at relatively high potentials.",battery
"An effective method to estimate the integrated state of charge (SOC) value for the lithium-ion battery (LIB) pack is proposed, because of its capacity state estimation needs in the high-power energy supply applications, which is calculated by using the improved extended Kalman filter (EKF) method together with the one order equivalent circuit model (ECM) to evaluate its remaining available power state. It is realized by the comprehensive estimation together with the discharging and charging maintenance (DCM) process, implying an accurate remaining power estimation with low computational calculation demand. The battery maintenance and test system (BMTS) equipment for the aerial LIB pack is developed, which is based on the proposed SOC estimation method. Experimental results show that, it can estimate SOC value of the LIB pack effectively. The BMTS equipment has the advantages of high detection accuracy and stability and can guarantee its power-supply reliability. The SOC estimation method is realized on it, the results of which are compared with the conventional SOC estimation method. The estimation has been done with an accuracy rate of 95% and has an absolute root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.33% and an absolute maximum error of 4.95%. This novel method can provide reliable technical support for the LIB power supply application, which plays a core role in promoting its power supply applications.",battery
"Clinical and autopsy studies have consistently reported cardiac sympathetic dysfunction in the left ventricular wall in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Whether the nerve fibers of the cardiac conduction system or the atrial walls are equally affected in this disease process has not yet been well documented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate sympathetic nerves in the cardiac conduction system as well as in the walls of all four heart chambers in patients with PD, in incidental Lewy body disease (iLBD), and in controls. Heart tissue from five PD patients, two iLBD cases, and seven controls were investigated immunohistochemically using antibodies directed against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and α-synuclein (syn-1). A marked diminution of TH immunoreactivity (IR) within nerve fibers was observed in four PD patients and in both individuals with iLBD. In contrast, all control subjects displayed dense TH-IR nerve structures. The depletion in TH-IR involved not only the ventricles, but also the conduction system and the atrium showing a global change within cardiac TH-IR nerve fibers in the course of PD. In conclusion, the alterations in cardiac sympathetic nerves of patients with PD or in individuals with iLBD are homogeneous and global within the heart. The clinical implications related to this complete cardiac sympathetic dysfunction, including clinical correlates, diagnostic implications, and treatment, however, remain to be determined in a larger autopsy-controlled cohort of prospectively followed individuals.",non-battery
"To detect that a conversational turn is intended to be ironic is a difficult challenge in everyday language comprehension. Most authors suggested a theory of mind deficit is crucial for irony comprehension deficits in psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia; however, the underlying pathophysiology and neurobiology are unknown and recent research highlights the possible role of language comprehension abnormalities. Fifteen female right-handed subjects completed personality testing as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychology. Subjects were recruited from the general population. No subject had a lifetime history of relevant psychiatric disorder; however, subjects differed in their score on the German version of the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ). During fMRI scans, the subjects silently read 44 short text vignettes that ended in either an ironic or a literal statement. Imaging was performed using a 3 T Siemens scanner. The influence of schizotypy on brain activation was investigated by using an SPM5 regression analysis with the SPQ total score and the SPQ cognitive-perceptual score as regressors. Reading ironic in contrast to literal sentences activated a bilateral network including left medial prefrontal and left inferior parietal gyri. During reading of ironic sentences, brain activation in the middle temporal gyrus of both hemispheres showed a significant negative association with the SPQ total score and the SPQ cognitive-perceptual score. Significant positive correlation with the SPQ total score was present in the left inferior frontal gyrus. We conclude schizotypal personality traits are associated with a dysfunctional lateral temporal language rather than a theory of mind network.",non-battery
" The development of efficient and stable electrode materials is a cutting-edge method to improve electrocatalytic activity. The way of combination biomass-derived porous carbon and metal oxides is considered to be an effective strategy to improve the redox reaction. In this study, we selected tea as a biomass carbon source and synthesized 3D structure of tea porous carbon (TPC) using a template-free method. TiO2/TPC composite material was successfully prepared through one-step simple hydrothermal reaction without destroying the pore structure. The degradation effect of phenol and the yield of ·OH were used as the evaluation criteria for the electrocatalytic performance of composites. The results show that TiO2/TPC-1:2 (20) has an excellent phenol degradation effect (97.54%). The good degradation effect is based on the reasonable design of the structure of composite materials. This effective preparation strategy of composite maximizes the advantages of the pore structure of the material itself and creates a large number of good channels for electron transport. At the same time, the load of metal oxide can effectively promote more catalytic active sites, which has a certain significance for the preparation of porous carbon or porous carbon matrix composite materials.",battery
"Background Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is a glycoprotein and plays an important role in cell-cell adhesion, neural migration, neurite outgrowth, synaptic plasticity and brain development. We investigated the relationship between the serum NCAM concentration and cognitive deficit in first episode drug naïve schizophrenia (FES) patients. Methods Thirty FES patients and thirty healthy controls were recruited for this study. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed by the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS). Cognitive functions were assessed by measurement and treatment research to improve cognition in schizophrenia (MATRICS) and consensus cognitive battery (MCCB). Serum levels of NCAM were determined by ELISA. Results Schizophrenia patients had decreased serum NCAM concentrations than controls (−30%, p <0.001). Cognitive scores were significantly lower in FES patients than healthy controls (−34%, p <0.001). The NCAM concentrations were positively correlated with the total scores of MCCB (r =0.438, p =0.003). Multiple regression analysis confirmed that serum NCAM concentration was an independent contributor to MCCB total Scores. Conclusions There were a close relationship between the serum NCAM concentrations and cognitive deficits in FES patients. Since NCAM has an important role in neurodevelopmental processes, these results support the neurodevelopmental dysfunction hypothesis of schizophrenia and suggest that an altered NCAM may be one of the risk factors for schizophrenia including cognitive deficits.",non-battery
" The impact of different severities of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on cognition has not well been documented. Neuroglobin, a recently discovered vertebrate protein, shows a neuroprotective function to modulate hypoxic–ischemic brain injury. This study investigated the cognitive function of patients with varying OSA severities and intended to explore the relationship between levels of neuroglobin in serum and cognitive deficits of OSA.",non-battery
"A series of new hydrophobic ionic liquids based on 1-alkyl-quinuclidinium cations, quoted as CnQuin+ where n is the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, and on the fluorinated anion bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI−) were synthesized, characterized by NMR (1H, 13C), and their elemental analysis determined. Among the five compounds synthesized, only one: C6Quin(TFSI) is liquid at ambient temperature and the others with the exception of C1Quin(TFSI), exhibit melting points below 100 °C and can be considered as ionic liquids. With the aim of using them as electrolytes in electrochemical devices, some of their physicochemical properties such as density, dynamic viscosity and conductivity were explored. The behaviour of C6Quin(TFSI) at a graphite electrode was investigated in the presence of added LiTFSI, by means of cyclic voltammetry for possible use as electrolyte in Li-ion batteries. Results show that the large quinuclidinium cations intercalate in the graphite layers and do not permit the reversible insertion of lithium ions.",battery
"Objective: Whilst a large volume of research has been conducted showing the relevance of measures of psychological distress as risk factors and consequences of cardiovascular disease, only few have investigated this with regard to Atrial Fibrillation (AF). Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) has been shown to be seriously impaired in AF patients in many studies, however, a deeper understanding of the mental health issues is lacking. Methods: Using clinical data from two trials conducted by the competence network for atrial fibrillation in Germany (n=770 at baseline), we have conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of mental health parameters and HRQoL in AF patients. An in-depth battery of questionnaires on mental health parameters (including vital exhaustion, symptom burden, illness intrusiveness, patient perceptions of disease severity and depression) were included. Results: The prevalence of major depression in AF patients (8%) is more than double that of general population estimates. The healthiest subgroup of patients has a two-fold increased risk of suffering from vital exhaustion. Both depression and vital exhaustion are significantly more prevalent in persistent that paroxysmal patients, contrary to expectations. In addition, depression is associated with worsened patient-physician communication, and with the reporting of more severe AF related symptom burden, after adjustment for clinical measures of disease severity. AF patients without comorbidities and with minimal symptom burden have impaired quality of life in comparison to the general population. Conclusions: Quality of life and psychological comorbidity are alarmingly elevated even in the healthiest of AF patients in the clinic.",non-battery
"Objective We investigated the relative effects of fatigue, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness on prognosis at 2-year follow-up in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients. Methods Consecutively admitted PCI patients (n=534) treated with paclitaxel-eluting stent as the default strategy completed the Maastricht Questionnaire (MQ) at baseline. Apart from an overall vital exhaustion score, the MQ also assesses fatigue (seven items; Cronbach's α=.87) and depressive symptoms (seven items; Cronbach's α=.83), with hopelessness (one item) comprised in the depressive symptom items. Patients were followed up for adverse clinical events (mortality and nonfatal myocardial infarction) at 2 years. Results At 2-year follow-up, there were 31 clinical events. In univariable analyses, overall vital exhaustion and depressive symptoms, but not fatigue, were associated with adverse prognosis; in multivariable analysis, depressive symptoms [hazard ratio (HR)=2.69; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=1.31–5.55] remained the only predictor of clinical outcome. Among the depressive symptoms, hopelessness (HR=3.44; 95% CI=1.65–7.19) was the most cardiotoxic symptom. The incidence of clinical events was higher in the high-hopelessness patients (11% vs. 3%; P=.001) than in the low-hopelessness patients. Hopelessness (HR=3.36; 95% CI=1.58–7.14; P=.002) remained an independent predictor of clinical outcome at 2 years in adjusted analysis. Conclusion Symptoms of depression, but not fatigue, predicted adverse clinical events. Hopelessness was the most cardiotoxic symptom, associated with a more than three-fold risk of clinical events 2 years post-PCI. Screening for hopelessness may lead to the identification of high-risk patients.",non-battery
"The capacity utilization of zinc anode is usually very low in dilute alkaline solution or at high rate discharge because of the passivation of zinc surface. This problem can be considerably overcome by use of surfactant additive in electrolyte. In this work, it is found that with addition of 2% sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) in 20% KOH solution, the discharge capacity of zinc anode increases from 360 to 490mAh/g at moderate discharge rate of 40mA/g, corresponding to a 35% increase in the capacity utilization. Based on the electrochemical and morphological observation of the anodic passivation behaviors of zinc electrode, this effect is revealed that due to the SDBS adsorption, the passive layer formed on the zinc surface has a loose and porous structure rather than a dense and compact film. This type of surface layer facilitates the diffusive exchange of the solution reactant and discharged product through the surface deposit layer and therefore effectively suppresses the surface passivation of zinc anode.",battery
"To test the hypothesis that sediment would have a synergistic effect on the toxicity of lead to cladocerans, we performed life table demography experiments with two pelagic (Diaphanosoma birgei and Moina micrura) and one littoral (Alona rectangula) cladoceran species. Life table demography experiments were conducted at three levels of turbidity (0, 17 and 170 NTU) and six concentrations of lead (as PbCl2) from 0 to 0.71 mg l−1. Median lethal concentrations (LC50) for A. rectangula, D. birgei and M. micrura were 7.06 ± 0.39, 3.16 ± 0.25 and 3.24 ± 0.69 mg l−1 of Pb. Life table study showed that in general, the presence of sediments in test jars allowed an overall increase of 20–75% in both survivorship and reproduction of the cladoceran species exposed to different concentrations of Pb. At 0.04 mg l−1 of Pb, the population growth rates were 0.127 for A. rectangula, 0.037 for D. birgei and 0.471 d−1 for M. micrura in the absence of sediments but were elevated in their presence (0.309, 0.141 and 0.722 d−1, respectively). The data have been discussed in relation to their importance in shallow, turbid Mexican waterbodies.
",non-battery
"Aluminum is an attractive anode material for lithium ion batteries due to its low cost, high capacity and low equilibrium potential for lithiation/delithiation. The compact surface oxide layer is usually considered to be detrimental for lithium storage in Al due to its poor conductivity for Li+. Here we show that the Al oxide layer, which is positively charged, can be utilized to assist the homogeneous loading of the Al nanoparticles on to the negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) sheets. During the thermal reduction of GO to reduced GO (rGO), anhydrous HCl is introduced to selectively remove the surface oxide on the Al particles. The vitalized Al/rGO composite exhibits high lithium storage capacity of 1041mAhg−1 after 500 cycles at current density of 500mAg−1. The results demonstrate how the double edged surface oxide layer on Al nanoparticles can be manipulated to enable high performance lithium storage in Al, which is illuminating for the application of Al as a high performance, low cost anode material for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The use of hand-held dental X-ray units is increasing within Australia since their portability is advantageous in applications such as aged care. However, proximity of the operator to the X-ray unit raises radiation safety concerns. The aim of this study was to evaluate operator radiation exposure and methods of dose reduction for the Rextar X camera-style hand-held dental X-ray unit. Leakage and scattered radiation were measured using a solid state detector. Scatter was generated using a Perspex head phantom. Measurements of scattered radiation dose as a function of distance were made with and without a lead acrylic scatter shield (0.6 mm Pb equivalence at 100 kVp) attached to the X-ray unit. Without the scatter shield, doses to the operator from a single adult maxillary molar X-ray exposure were 0.69, 0.78 and 0.47 µGy at the left hand, right hand and eyes respectively. With the scatter shield attached, doses were reduced to 0.25, 0.12 and 0.15 µGy respectively, corresponding to a dose reduction of 64, 85 and 68%. The contribution from leakage radiation was insignificant in comparison. It is highly unlikely that an operator would reach occupational dose limits when using the Rextar X hand-held dental X-ray unit, even without the scatter shield in place. Nevertheless, it is strongly recommended that the scatter shield is attached to keep operator doses as low as reasonably achievable. Use of the scatter shield additionally ensures compliance with the Australian legislative requirement for a protective barrier and is considered a preferable alternative to X-ray protective clothing.",non-battery
"Three dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene (3DNG) with high nitrogen content and improved electrochemical performance is successfully prepared by a facile, lost-cost hydrothermal method with ammonia as reducing-doping agent. The as-prepared 3DNG exhibits a hierarchical and interconnected porous network, which offers favorable pathways for electrolyte penetration and transportation. Remarkably, as binder-free electrode in aqueous electrolyte, the resultant 3DNG-2 with both high nitrogen content (7.71 at%) and large active material density (1.31gcm−3) exhibits an ultrahigh volumetric capacitance of 437.5Fcm−3 (334.0Fg−1) at current density of 0.5Ag−1 and superior cycling stability (93% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles at high current density of 10Ag−1). Further analyses indicate that the N-configurations are of great significance to the improvement of electrochemical behavior as well as the N-content. This work provides an effective way to synthesize 3DNG with excellent electrochemical properties for high performance supercapacitor and promotes the in-depth understanding of the enhancement mechanism of N-doping to supercapacitor performance.",battery
"On-chip fuel cells are promising power sources for future electronics and microdevice applications including on-chip sensors and micro-air-vehicles. Previously, we reported a small scale (0.4 mm wide and 6 mm long) on-chip fuel cell of an air-breathing, membrane-less and monolithic design, which exhibited the highest power for an on-chip fuel cell, 1.4 μW (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 10456). In order to improve the performance, precise understanding of the phenomena occurring in the cells is of primary importance. Thus, this paper focuses on understanding cell operation by using numerical simulation, and on implementing cell improvements based on the simulation results. The initial quantitative study concluded that the performance of the on-chip fuel cell was limited owing to oxygen-supply caused by cathode flooding. Thus, we experimentally added the hydrophobic ionomer (Nafion) onto the cell to reduce the influence of the flooding, and successfully increased the maximum power from 2.0 to 2.8 μW. This power is considered sufficient for microsensor application. On the basis of additional simulation results, we show that performance may potentially be improved to over 100 μW by increasing the effective surface areas of catalysts to a level comparable with methanol fuel cells. If successful, such performance enhancements would position the on-chip fuel cell as a viable candidate for future micro-devices, and point to promising directions for fuel cell development efforts.
",battery
"Electric drive vehicles are equipped with totally different propulsion systems compared with conventional vehicles, for which the energy consumption and cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions associated with vehicle production could substantially change. In this study, the life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of vehicle production are compared between battery electric and internal combustion engine vehicles in China’s context. The results reveal that the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of a battery electric vehicle production range from 92.4 to 94.3GJ and 15.0 to 15.2 t CO2eq, which are about 50% higher than those of an internal combustion engine vehicle, 63.5GJ and 10.0 t CO2eq. This substantial change can be mainly attributed to the production of traction batteries, the essential components for battery electric vehicles. Moreover, the larger weight and different weight distribution of materials used in battery electric vehicles also contribute to the larger environmental impact. This situation can be improved through the development of new traction battery production techniques, vehicle recycling and a low-carbon energy structure.",battery
"Cobalt oxides are attractive high-capacity anode materials in lithium ion batteries yet suffer from fast capacity fading and low rate capability. Herein, we have prepared well-dispersed cobalt oxide nanoparticles encapsulated within a flexible single-walled carbon nanotubes matrix (marked as Co3O4 NPs@SWCNT), for the first time, through a facile evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) of single-walled carbon nanotubides (SWCNTDs). By varying the loading amount of Co3O4 content in the composite, the optimal Co3O4 NPs@SWCNT exhibits a high capacity of 1286mAhg−1 after 140 cycles at 100mAg−1. When the specific current returns from 5000mAg−1 to 100mAg−1, it still maintains a specific capacity of 1109mAhg−1, demonstrating remarkable cycling stability and high rate capability. Moreover, the optimal Co3O4 NPs@SWCNT demonstrates superior prolonged cycling stability for over 200 and 600 cycles at extremely high specific currents of 1000 and 2000mAg−1, respectively. Such impressive electrochemical properties are mainly ascribed to the synergic effect of Co3O4 nanoparticles and SWCNTs in the heterostructure, in which the robust SWCNTs not only offer excellent strain accommodation of the encapsulated Co3O4 upon long-term cycling, but also significantly enhance overall electric conductivity and mechanical stability of the electrodes. The facile and effective strategy demonstrated here can be extended to design various SWCNT-based hybrid nanostructures for applications in supercapacitors, water splitting and other fields.",battery
 Previous studies show inconsistent results on the role of innervation imaging (with I-123-mIBG) and perfusion imaging in predicting appropriate ICD therapy (aICDth). These studies included patients with both dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathy. This study compared the ability of 123I-mIBG imaging along with perfusion imaging (using thallium-199) to predict aICDth in patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF) in relation to indication for ICD implantation (primary vs. secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD)).,non-battery
"ABSTRACT Background Digital radiographic imaging is slowly, but surely, replacing film-based imaging. It has many advantages over traditional imaging, but the technology also has some drawbacks. The author presents an overview of the types of digital image receptors available, image enhancement software and the range of costs for the new technology. Practice Implications The expenses associated with converting to digital radiographic imaging are considerable. The purpose of this article is to provide the clinician with an overview of digital radiographic imaging technology so that he or she can be an informed consumer when evaluating the numerous digital systems in the marketplace.",non-battery
"Few layer graphene/carbon (FLG/C) composites are prepared directly via the rapid and simple exfoliation of expanded graphite in the presence of carbon based natural precursors (i.e. protein, polysaccharide) in water, followed by carbonization process. Several parameters such as nature of C-precursor, FLG/C ratio and carbonization conditions (gas, temperature) are modified in order to optimize the morphology, composition and porosity of FLG/C and thereby investigate their impact on gravimetric and volumetric capacitance, their stability and contribution of pseudocapacitance (Ps) vs. Double-layer capacitance (DL). Few composites exhibit extremely high capacitance considering their low BET-surface area ranging in 130–260 m2/g. The highest gravimetric and volumetric capacitance of 322 F/g and 467 F/cm3 respectively (0.5 A/g); and energy/power performance is reached for FLG/C:1/2, synthesized from graphite-bovine serum albumin (BSA). Despite relatively high theoretical pseudocapacitance contribution of 69% (1.1 V), this sample shows also high capacity retention at high current density and elevated energy -to- power densities. The overall great capacity performance is attributed to the high electrochemical surface area from combined structural features: ultramicroporosity, FLG alignment with high accessibility of FLG edges and elevated packing density. The transport limitation enhances however at higher scan rate (>100 mV/s).",battery
"Fault trees are used to organize potential causes of a problem to facilitate better judgments about potential problem solutions. However, fault trees can lead to biased judgments because decision makers tend to overestimate the likelihood of problem causes that are explicitly mentioned in the fault tree and underestimate the likelihood of problem causes that are not. In this research, we examined the impact of context information and need for cognitive closure on these estimates. In 2 experiments, participants with a low need for cognitive closure used the informational content of experimenter provided and self-generated context information as a basis for making likelihood estimates. In contrast, participants with a high need for closure did not use experimenter provided context information at all but used the ease of producing self-generated context information (rather than informational content) as a basis for their likelihood estimates.",non-battery
"Wet-chemical assembling process has been developed for the formation of the anode electrocatalyst layers of a micro tubular direct formic acid fuel cell. By using this method, a porous layer of Pd nano-catalyst was bonded onto the inner surface of a tubular polymer electrolyte membrane by chemical reduction of Pd complex impregnated in the membrane. The performance characteristics as a function of parameters such as catalyst loading amount of Pd or the cell temperature were evaluated by using a half-cell testing method. The micro tubular DFAFC with a 2.5mg-Pdcm−2 anode and 6mg-Ptcm−2 cathode fabricated by wholly wet-chemical assembling process exhibited a peak power density over 4mWcm−2 under passive and air breathing conditions at ambient temperature and pressure.",battery
"The spherical Li-rich materials 0.3Li2MnO3·0.7LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 are synthesized by a standard co-precipitation method followed by solid state sintering. The primary particle size and morphologies of the 0.3Li2MnO3·0.7LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 materials can be readily controlled by altering the heat-treatment temperature. With different primary size, the materials show different rate discharge capabilities. However, due to similar chemical composition, they show similar discharge capacity at high temperature and low current density. Subsequent galvanostatic intermittent titration tests indicate that the larger the particle size, the larger the chemical diffusion coefficient of the Li+. The relationship between the primary particle size and electrochemical kinetics is discussed. Of all the samples in this study, the material with a primary particle size of 200 nm, obtained at 900 °C, exhibits the best integrated electrochemical performance.",battery
"Lead oxide nanowires are an attractive alternative to conventional pasted electrodes, owing to their high surface area leading to high specific energy batteries. Here, we report the performance of template electrodeposited PbO2 nanowires used as positive electrodes. Nanostructured electrodes were tested at constant charge/discharge rate from 2 C to 10 C, with a cut-off potential of 1.2 V and discharge depth up to 90% of the gravimetric charge. These new type of electrodes are able to work at very high C-rate without fading, reaching an efficiency of about 90% with a very good cycling stability. In particular, after an initial stabilization, a specific capacity of about 200 mAh g−1, very close to the theoretical one of 224 mAh g−1, was drained for more than 1000 cycles at a C-rate higher than 1 C with an efficiency close to 90%. This behaviour significantly distinguishes PbO2 nanostructured electrodes from the conventional ones with pasted active material. In addition, discharge at a quasi-constant voltage of about 2.1 V, without reaching the cut-off potential also at high C-rate, occurs. This implies a quasi-constant energy supply during fast discharge. According to these findings, innovative applications as hybrid or electrical mobility or buffer in renewable energy plants can be envisaged.",battery
"The aim of this study was to determine the influence of heavy metals on biological soil quality assessments in Vaccinium myrtillus L. rhizosphere soil as well as in non-rhizosphere soil from different polluted sites. The presented study was also conducted in order to determine any differences in the soil physicochemical and biological properties between the Vaccinium rhizosphere soil and the non-rhizosphere soil. The content of heavy metals and their potential bioavailability, content of macronutrients, physicochemical soil properties, activity of six soil enzymes and microarthropod communities were determined. Soil organic matter, the levels of C, N and all the studied macronutrients and almost all enzyme activity were significantly higher in the rhizosphere soil than in the non-rhizosphere soil. At the most contaminated site, the content of heavy metals was also higher in the rhizosphere soil, but their bioavailability was lower than in the non-rhizosphere soil. The β-glucosidase and urease activity in the soil correlated most negatively with the examined metals. The levels of two enzymes were also strongly impacted by the organic matter—the C and N levels and pH. The number of microarthropods as well as the QBS (soil biological quality index) and FEMI (abundance-based fauna index) were higher in the rhizosphere soil. The bilberry rhizosphere soil had stronger correlation coefficient values between the measured parameters than the non-rhizosphere soil, which suggests that rhizosphere soil is more sensitive and could be used in the monitoring and assessment of forest ecosystems. β-glucosidase and urease were the most sensitive indicators of the adverse impact of Cd, Zn and Pb. The FEMI index seems to be a better indicator than the QBS for identifying differences in soil quality.",non-battery
"ABSTRACT The performance of lithium ion battery based on electrospun nanofibrous membranes has gained a great deal of attention in the past decades, but the intrinsic low mechanical strength and large pore size of electrospun membranes limit their battery performance. To overcome this limitation, a powerful strategy for designing, fabricating and evaluating silica nanoparticles coated polyetherimide-polyurethane (SiO2/PEI-PU) nanofibrous composite membranes is easily developed via electrospinning followed by a dip-coating process. Benefiting from the high porosity, interpenetrating network structure and synergetic effect of PU, PEI and SiO2 nanoparticles, the as-prepared composite membranes exhibit high ionic conductivity (2.33mScm−1), robust tensile strength (15.65MPa) and improved safety (excellent thermal resistance and flame retardant property). Additionally, the as-prepared composite membranes possess relatively narrow pore size distribution with average pore size of 0.58μm after coating SiO2 nanoparticles, which plays an important role in hindering the micro-shorting and mitigating self-discharge. Significantly, the SiO2/PEI-PU membranes based Li/LiFePO4 cell exhibits more excellent cycling stability with capacity retention of 98.7% after 50 cycles at 0.2C rate and better rate capability compared with the Celgard membrane based cell. The results clearly demonstrate that this is a promising separator candidate for next-generation lithium ion batteries, which may represent a significant step toward separators with improved performance.",battery
"We demonstrate for the first time, the synthesis of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanoparticles and nanorods in the films using a high throughput solution plasma spray deposition approach. The scalable plasma spray method enables the direct deposition of large area nanostructured films of V2O5 with controllable particle size and morphology. In this approach, the solution precursors (vanadium oxychloride and ammonium metavanadate) were injected externally into the plasma jet, which atomizes and pyrolyzes the precursors in-flight, resulting in the desired films on the current collectors. The microstructure analysis of the as synthesized films revealed pure nanocrystalline phase for V2O5 with particles in the size range of 20–50nm. The V2O5 film based electrodes showed stable reversible discharge capacity in the range of 200–250mAhg−1 when cycled in the voltage window 2–4V. We further discuss the mechanism for controlling the particle growth and morphology, and also the optimization of reversible lithium storage capacity. The nanorods of V2O5 formed after the anneal treatment also show reversible storage capacity indicative of the potential use of such film based electrodes for energy storage.",battery
" The aim of this study was to examine the associations between the risk of cognitive impairment and the serum levels of folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine (Hcy).",non-battery
"The olivine polymorph LiCoPO4 was synthesized by solvothermal and a subsequent annealing process. Carbon free, ex-situ carbon coated and in-situ carbon coated materials were prepared. With the addition of citric acid in the solvothermal reaction, a carbon layer was coated via an in-situ approach. To systematically compare the different carbon coating routes, the structure and morphology of the LiCoPO4 materials were investigated by XRD, Raman, and SEM. HAADF-STEM combined with EDX was applied to analyze the homogeneity of the carbon layer and corresponding antisite defects. Electrochemical properties were analyzed by half-cells measuring cyclic-voltammograms, charge/discharge cycling behavior stability and rate-capability. It was found that the in-situ carbon coated LiCoPO4/C exhibited a superior electrochemical performance due to the relatively uniform and complete surface-layer formation. As a result, an appropriate carbon layer improves the electronic and ionic transport properties, ensures fast electron-transfer kinetics at the electrode particle surfaces and suppresses unwanted side reactions with the electrolyte.",battery
" Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is used to measure the auditory evoked magnetic field (AEF), which reflects language-related performance. In young children, however, the simultaneous quantification of the bilateral auditory-evoked response during binaural hearing is difficult using conventional adult-sized MEG systems. Recently, a child-customised MEG device has facilitated the acquisition of bi-hemispheric recordings, even in young children. Using the child-customised MEG device, we previously reported that language-related performance was reflected in the strength of the early component (P50m) of the auditory evoked magnetic field (AEF) in typically developing (TD) young children (2 to 5 years old) [Eur J Neurosci 2012, 35:644–650]. The aim of this study was to investigate how this neurophysiological index in each hemisphere is correlated with language performance in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and TD children.",non-battery
"Mal-attitude and negative emotion specific to speech are known to correlate with severity among children who stutter. To determine if speech-associated mal-attitude and negative emotion also covary with each other, 143 grade-school children who stutter were administered Brutten's Communication Attitude Test (CAT). Then, independently, they also ranked their emotional reaction to those items of the CAT that had led them to report mal-attitude. The results revealed the existence of a statistically significant correlation of .89 between mal-attitude and negative emotion. Moreover, both speech-associated mal-attitude and negative emotion increased to a statistically significant extent with age and stuttering severity. These data highlight the importance of early detection and intervention as it relates to the cognitive and affective components of the stuttering syndrome. Educational Objectives: The reader will learn and be able to describe the relationship between school-age children's (1) stuttering and their mal-attitudes toward speech, (2) Their mal-attitudes and negative emotional reactions to speaking, and (3) the charges that occur in stuttering severity, mal-attitudes and negative emotional reactions between ages 7 and 13 years.",non-battery
"Hierarchical Co3O4 nanostructure is synthesized via a self-assembled process in molten hydroxides. The morphologies, crystal structures and the phase transformation processes are analyzed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. As an anode material for lithium ion batteries, the hierarchical Co3O4 exhibit an initial capacity of 1336mAhg−1 and a stable capacity of 680mAhg−1 over 50 cycles. More importantly, high rate capability is obtained at different current densities between 140 and 1120mAg−1. The improved electrochemical performance of Co3O4 could be attributed to the unique hierarchical nanostructure.",battery
"Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adulthood is associated with marked cognitive impairment, research on metacognition in adult ADHD is scarce. Deficits in metacognition may have a negative impact on treatment adherence, functional outcomes, and everyday life. This study explores metacognition, specifically self-awareness of cognitive performance, in adults with ADHD by combining objective and subjective assessments. Forty-seven patients with ADHD and 47 control individuals completed a neuropsychological assessment battery including tests for attention, executive functions and memory (objective assessment), as well as questionnaires for cognitive functioning and symptom severity (subjective assessment; self- and informant-report). Participants evaluated their test performance of the objective assessment after test completion by selecting a percentile rank which was subtracted from their normed test result, yielding a discrepancy score. Compared to controls, adults with ADHD showed impairments in attention (medium effects) and memory (small and medium effects), but not in executive functions. The discrepancy scores between self-evaluation and cognitive performance revealed deficits in self-awareness of attentional functions (small effects), but not in executive functions and memory in patients with ADHD compared to controls. Discrepancy scores between self- and informant-reports of cognitive functioning revealed no significant differences. Adults with ADHD show impairments in metacognition in attentional functions, but may have intact metacognitive abilities in other domains. Patients with ADHD tend to overestimate their abilities, especially in attentional functions. Subjective and objective measures of metacognition may not correspond, highlighting the need for clinicians to not solely rely on patients’ self-report in their assessment.
",non-battery
"A new family of cathode materials for lithium cells with nominal stoichiometry Li3Fe2−x Cr x (PO4)3 (0≤ x ≤1), was successfully prepared by ion exchange reactions of Na3Fe2−x Cr x (PO4)3. The chemical exchange process leads to the structural transition from the monoclinic to a rhombohedral phase with an open framework which facilitates lithium diffusion. Chromium substitution was evidenced by a decrease in cell parameters in both sodium and lithium phases. 57Fe Mössbauer spectra revealed a decrease in the isomer shift on increasing Cr content. The partial substitution by low Cr contents improved the electrochemical performance of Li3Fe2−x Cr x (PO4)3. Thus, Li3Fe1.8Cr0.2(PO4) reversibly inserted 1.7 Li ions per formula unit, delivering a specific capacity of 105mAh/g after the first discharge. The low electrode impedance of Cr substituted compounds can be responsible for the improvement of the electrochemical behavior.",battery
"Although self-regulated learning (SRL) is seen as highly relevant for successful college learning, college students oftentimes show a lack in SRL abilities. Therefore, it seems necessary to foster SRL in this group of leaners. In order to evaluate such training and to foster SRL in an optimal way, a valid assessment of this competence and its development is necessary. As different methods for the assessment of SRL show benefits and points of criticism, the present study used a multimethod approach to investigate convergence between and across different measures as well as their predictive validity for achievement. SRL was conceptualized of cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational components. Seventy college students were assessed with two broad SRL-measures (questionnaire, strategy knowledge test) and two task-specific SRL measures (microanalyses, trace data) within a standardized laboratory setting. Moreover, GPA of college entrance diploma was gathered as an indicator of general achievement level. Results indicate moderate to high relations between the different components of SRL (cognition, metacognition, and motivation) within one assessment level and no relations between the different assessment methods within one component. With regard to achievement, we found that every component is predictive for achievement but only if measured with different assessment methods. The results are discussed with regard to their implications for future research and the use of different assessment methods for SRL.
",non-battery
"3D cubic-ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) are prepared by nanocasting approach using silica KIT-6 as the template, furfuryl alcohol as the carbon precursor and subsequently carbonized at the temperature of 500°C, 600°C and 700°C. The physicochemical and electrochemical properties of the as-prepared OMCs are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm, Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cycle life measurement in 6molL−1 KOH electrolyte. The results demonstrate that the synthesized technology is a crucial factor impacting the characteristics of OMCs. With the change of carbonization temperature, the OMC-600 exhibits the honeycomb-like morphology with high specific surface area (1257.8m2 g−1), large pore volume (1.56cm3 g−1), and high capacitance of 221.8Fg−1 at the current density of 1Ag−1. In addition, the supercapacitor using OMC-600 as the active material shows high specific capacitance and excellent cycle stability, which exhibits a specific capacitance of 52.8Fg−1 at the charge/discharge current density of 0.5Ag−1. Moreover, the OMC-600 supercapacitor delivers high energy density of 6.53Whkg−1 at the power density of 5000Wkg−1, indicating a promising application for the high performance supercapacitors.",battery
"The structure design of SnO2-based anode material is crucial for the development of high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Here, a solvent-evaporation induced codeposition of monodispersed polystyrene (PS) microspheres (241nm) and γ-radiation reduced graphene oxide (rGO) at the presence of the surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), has been firstly conducted to prepare a self-stand PS/rGO composite template film, which can transform into a porous SnO2/rGO composite material after being infiltrated with the precursor of SnO2 and further calcinated at 420°C. TGA, SEM, TEM, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms analyses indicate that the prepared SnO2/rGO composite material has 52.1wt% of rGO, and a hierarchical pore structure, i.e., mesopores (3.312nm) and macropores (∼200nm) coexist. The half-cell using the hierarchical porous structured SnO2/rGO composite as the electrode exhibits an excellent cycle performance (850mAhg−1 in 100 cycles at a current density of 0.3C) and rate property of 436mAhg−1 at a current density of 4.5C. This work indicates that the incorporation of graphene-based materials into hierarchical porous SnO2 matrix will be a potential way to obtain high-performance LIB anode material.",battery
"The PEFC stack in a commercial power system was operated with room air and pure hydrogen. After the system reached a steady temperature, an ac impedance test was conducted on the fuel cell power system. The impedance data were real-time response generated by the ac sinusoidal excitation. Data for a single PEM stack and PEM stacks operating in parallel and series were collected with or without an embedded system controller board and electronic devices. The equivalent circuit model with three time constants and the non-linear least square fitting program (NLLS) were applied for fitting the stack impedance spectrum. The Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm utilized in the NLLS fitting process automatically adjusted the parameter values of the physical elements in the model to find the best fit result. From the preliminary results, data interpretation and the equivalent circuit model identified the physical elements, the related electrochemical processes, and the phenomenon inside the fuel cells or stacks. Losses from ohmic conduction, anode activation, cathode activation, and mass transfer were separated and analyzed. Further PSpice simulation curves using these equivalent circuit elements demonstrate good agreement with the pulse testing data measured from the PEFC power system.",battery
"Stable and safe functioning of a Li-ion battery is the demand of modern generation. Herein, we are demonstrating the application of an in-situ free radical polymerisation process (thermal curing) to fabricate a polymer electrolyte that possesses mechanical robustness, high thermal stability, improved interfacial and ion transport characteristics along with stable cycling at ambient conditions. The polymer electrolyte is obtained by direct polymerization over the electrode surface in one pot starting from a reactive mixture comprising an ethylene oxide-based dimethacrylic oligomer (BDM), dimethyl polyethylene glycol (DPG) and lithium salt. Furthermore, an engineered cathode is used, comprising a LiFePO4/PEDOT:PSS interface at the current collector that improves the material utilization at high rates and mitigates the corrosive effects of LiTFSI on aluminium current collector. The lithium cell resulting from the newly elaborated multiphase assembly of the composite cathode with the DPG-based carbonate-free polymer electrolyte film exhibits excellent reversibility upon prolonged cycling at ambient as well as elevated temperatures, which is found to be superior compared to previous reports on uncoated electrodes with polymer electrolytes.",battery
"Abstract Polyurethane (PU) composites have received increasing attention due to their enhanced properties and functions when compared with sole PU, and PU nanocomposites are superior to larger-sized ones to some extent. The suitable and successful combination of PU and other materials, such as polymer, carbon-based material, and bioceramic, will impart the composites with great potential to be applied in different biomedical fields, including wound dressing, tissue engineering, drug delivery and biosensor. This chapter reviews the current state of PU composite fabrication, the corresponding properties and functions. Particularly, the typical characteristics and preparation techniques are reviewed, and then several types of popular PU composites, as well as the corresponding applications in biomedical fields are summarized and discussed, such as PU–polymer type for wound dressing and PU–ceramic type for tissue engineering. The composites with unique functions or fabricated using functional PU, like shape memory polyurethane (SMPU), are highlighted and discussed, including their physicochemical, mechanical, thermal, and biological performance. Finally, the perspectives and challenges of PU composites are suggested, and the conception of potential possibilities to better apply such composites is also presented.",non-battery
"A flowerlike C/SnS@C nanocomposite assembled from SnS@C nanoflakes vertically anchored on carbon nanoparticles is constructed by one facile hydrothermal method combined with an annealing process. Electrochemical results indicates that the sample displays remarkable lithium/sodium storage properties owing to the synergetic effect of the existence of carbon matrix and the void space between the SnS nanoflakes, which improve the electro-conductivity and alleviate volume fluctuations during the cycling process. Furthermore, S, N co-doped carbon shells can provide more active sites, which can improve Li+/Na+ adsorption. As anode materials for lithium/sodium ion batteries (LIBs/SIBs), the sample demonstrates splendid capacities of 740 mA h g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles in LIBs and 485 mA h g−1 at 500 mA g−1 after 400 cycles in SIBs, respectively.",battery
"A rational solvothermal method is proposed to achieve the conversion from a Zn contented metal organic framework to ZnO mesoporous single-crystal-like spheres. The as-prepared ZnO sphere is composed of oriented assembled primary crystals, which exhibits single crystal nature with narrow pore size distribution and high surface area. In addition, time depending trails indicate the metal organic framework functions as reservoir to control the release of Zn species and the organic molecules also serve as directing regent to facilitate the oriented assembling of the ZnO primary units. Thanks to this structure coherence, the ZnO sphere delivers high electron mobility, which enables reduced carrier recombination and improved collection efficiency of the photoelectrons when used as photoanode in CdS/CdSe sensitized solar cell. The device achieves a high power conversion efficiency of ∼6.20%, which is substantially improved from that of regular ZnO nanoparticles (∼5.02%). Moreover, when evaluated as anode for lithium ion battery, the ZnO sphere based electrode demonstrates high reversible capacity of 1016.7 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 100 cycles, and excellent high rate stability which shows impressive reversible capacity of 698.4 mA h g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 after 300 cycles.",battery
"Photovoltaic systems (PVSs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are becoming increasingly common and expected to be further integrated into electric power distribution systems (EDSs) in the near future. In this paper, the combined effects of PVSs and PEVs on the feeder and transformer loads, voltage profiles and harmonic distortions of an urban area EDS are investigated. The results indicate that the simultaneous connection of PVSs and PEVs, at the correct ratio, can impact load reduction and produce a reduction in voltage variations while potentially resulting in an increase the total harmonic distortion of voltage (THDV). In addition, this paper presents changes in the characteristic daily load and voltage profiles and changes in the THDV of the system caused by the simultaneous operation of PVSs and PEVs. The test EDS with 19 nodes is based on a real EDS. Two seasons, summer and winter, and several different degrees of penetration of PVSs and PEVs were studied. We used a stochastic approach to model the loads, PVSs and PEVs based on data measured in real systems and data found in the literature.",battery
"The accuracy of the exposure assessment is a critical factor in epidemiological investigations of pesticide exposures and health in agricultural populations. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate questionnaire-based exposure metrics. The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is a prospective cohort study of pesticide applicators who provided detailed questionnaire information on their use of specific pesticides. A field study was conducted for a subset of the applicators enrolled in the AHS to assess a pesticide exposure algorithm through comparison of algorithm intensity scores with measured exposures. Pre- and post-application urinary biomarker measurements were made for 2,4-D (n=69) and chlorpyrifos (n=17) applicators. Dermal patch, hand wipe, and personal air samples were also collected. Intensity scores were calculated using information from technician observations and an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Correlations between observer and questionnaire intensity scores were high (Spearman's r=0.92 and 0.84 for 2,4-D and chlorpyrifos, respectively). Intensity scores from questionnaires for individual applications were significantly correlated with post-application urinary concentrations for both 2,4-D (r=0.42, P<0.001) and chlorpyrifos (r=0.53, P=0.035) applicators. Significant correlations were also found between intensity scores and estimated hand loading, estimated body loading, and air concentrations for 2,4-D applicators (r-values 0.28–0.50, P-values<0.025). Correlations between intensity scores and dermal and air measures were generally lower for chlorpyrifos applicators using granular products. A linear regression model indicated that the algorithm factors for individual applications explained 24% of the variability in post-application urinary 2,4-D concentration, which increased to 60% when the pre-application urine concentration was included. The results of the measurements support the use of the algorithm for estimating questionnaire-based exposure intensities in the AHS for liquid pesticide products. Refinement of the algorithm may be possible using the results from this and other measurement studies.",non-battery
"Bear bile has long been used in the Asian traditional pharmacopoeia. Bear farming first started in China ~30 years ago in terms of reducing the number of poached bears and ensuring the supply of bear bile. Approximately 13,000 bears are today captivated on Asia’s bear farms: their teeth are broken and the claws are also pulled out for the sake of human safety; the bears are imprisoned in squeeze cages for years; and a catheter is daily inserted into a bear’s gall bladder or a tube is implanted inside its body in order to collect the dripped bile—captive bears moan in severe pain whenever the bile is extracted. When the bears cannot produce sufficient bile, they are often left to die of starvation. It must be impossible to justify the bile extraction from living bears because (1) medicinal/herbal alternatives are similar to bear bile; (2) there is no evidence to suggest that bear farming has any beneficial effects on wild bear populations; and (3) ethical problems lie not only in the painful bile extraction but also the whole lifecycle of captive bears. In conclusion, human welfare (health care) based on traditional medicine is upheld by sacrificing bear welfare. Since a trial calculation suggests that it is economically unfeasible to keep a proper balance between bear welfare and the traditional pharmacopeia, the cultivation of herbal alternatives seems to be a possible solution to phase out bear faming and maintain the practice of traditional medicine in Asia.
",non-battery
"While combating social exclusion has been a key target of the European Union’s social policy in recent years, the concept remains contested and various ways of measuring its prevalence have been proposed. In the Netherlands a survey-based method has been in use since 2004, which refers to four theoretical elements of social exclusion: material deprivation, limited social participation, inadequate access to basic social rights and a lack of normative integration. In this article we propose an improved and more concise version of the instrument. Using focus groups and cognitive tests, the study first examined whether it adequately covers the different elements of social exclusion. Based on the results, the existing items were reformulated and supplemented. A revised questionnaire was then submitted to a new stratified sample of 650 respondents, randomly drawn from an online panel and a database of people without access to the Internet. The weighted outcomes may be regarded as representative for the entire adult Dutch population, although some caveats apply. Using nonlinear canonical correlation analysis, we identified a single underlying dimension in our new data set. This contains 15 items, with three to four indicators for each of the theoretical elements of social exclusion. According to our general index, just under 5 % of the Dutch population aged 18 years or older are faced with a serious degree of social exclusion. On the four subscales the figure ranges from 7 % (social rights) to 22 % (material deprivation).
",non-battery
"The aim of this study was to assess heavy metals mobility and toxicity in sediments collected from a dam reservoir in the conditions of intensive human impact by using chemical fractionation and a battery of bioassays. In the studies, the test organisms were exposed to substances dissolved in water (Microtox, Phytotestkit) as well to substances absorbed on the surface of solid particles (Phytotoxkit, Ostracodtoxkit F). The studies showed that sediments from the Rybnik reservoir are toxic, but the tested organisms showed different sensitivity to heavy metals occurring in the bottom sediments. The sediment samples were classified as toxic and very toxic. Moreover, the studies showed a higher toxicity in solid phases and whole sediment than in pore water. The lowest sensitivity was observed in H. incongruens (solid phases) and V. fischeri (pore water, whole sediment). The studies revealed that the toxicity of the sediments is caused mainly by heavy metal forms associated with the solid phase of the sediments. The studies did not confirm the metals occurring in fraction I (exchangeable) to be bioavailable and toxic to living organisms because most correlations between the metal concentration in fraction I and the response of the organisms were negative. The highest mobility from the bottom sediments was found in zinc, average mobility—in copper, cadmium and nickel, and low mobility—in chromium and lead. Organic matter is likely to be the most important factor controlling metal distribution and mobility in the studied sediments.
",non-battery
"Computer simulations are compared with experimental data for Bellcore PLION® cells using the graphite/1 M LiPF6 in EC:DMC (2:1)/LiMn2O4 system. The motivation is to model lithium-ion polymer cells having higher active material loadings and competitive energy densities and specific energies to liquid lithium-ion batteries. Cells with different electrode thickness, initial salt concentrations, and higher active material loadings were examined using the mathematical model to understand better the transport processes in the plasticized polymer electrolyte system. A better description of the ionic conductivity is employed based on new conductivity data. Improvements in the agreement between the simulations and experimental data are obtained by using the contact resistance at the current collector/electrode interface as an adjustable parameter for different cells, whose values vary from 20 to 35 Ω cm2 (based on separator area). The contact resistance is believed to originate at the mesh current collector interfaces. Reducing the salt diffusion coefficient by a factor of two or more at the higher discharge rates was necessary to obtain better agreement with the experimental data. Based on the experimental data and model predictions from this study, it can be concluded that the solution-phase diffusion limitations are the major limiting factor during high-rate discharges.",battery
"This study focuses on the stability of dyslexia status from Grade 2 to Grade 8 in four groups: (a) no dyslexia in either grade (no-dyslexia, n = 127); (b) no dyslexia in Grade 2 but dyslexia in Grade 8 (late-emerging, n = 18); (c) dyslexia in Grade 2 but not in Grade 8 (resolving, n = 15); and (d) dyslexia in both grades (persistent-dyslexia, n = 22). We examined group differences from age 3.5 to age 14 in (a) reading, vocabulary, phonology, letter knowledge, rapid naming, IQ, verbal memory; (b) familial and environmental risk and supportive factors; and (c) parental skills in reading, phonology, rapid naming, verbal memory, and vocabulary. Our findings showed group differences both in reading and cognitive skills of children as well as their parents. Parental education, book-reading frequency, and children’s IQ, however, did not differentiate the groups. The children in the persistent-dyslexia group exhibited widespread language and cognitive deficits across development. Those in the resolving group had problems in language and cognitive skills only prior to school entry. In the late-emerging group, children showed clearly compromised rapid naming. Additionally, their parents had the most severe difficulties in rapid naming, a finding that suggests strong genetic liability. The findings show instability in the diagnosis of dyslexia. The members of the late-emerging group did not have a distinct early cognitive profile, so late-emerging dyslexia appears difficult to predict. Indeed, these children are at risk of not being identified and not receiving required support. This study suggests the need for continued monitoring of children’s progress in literacy after the early school years.",non-battery
"Crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells featuring a high-temperature processed homojunction have dominated the photovoltaic industry for decades, with a global market share of around 93%. Integrating commercially available crystalline silicon solar cells with high-efficiency perovskite solar cells is a viable pathway to increase the power conversion efficiency, and hence achieve low levelized electricity costs for the photovoltaic systems. However, the fabrication process for this type of cell is challenging due to the many, and often conflicting, material processing requirements and limitations. Here, we present an innovative design for a monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell, featuring a mesoscopic perovskite top subcell and a high-temperature tolerant homojunction c-Si bottom subcell. The improved temperature tolerance of the c-Si bottom cell permits significantly increased flexibility in the design and fabrication of the perovskite cell. We demonstrate an efficiency of 22.5% (steady-state) and a Voc of 1.75 V on a 1 cm2 cell. The method developed in this work opens up new possibilities in designing, fabricating and commercialising low-cost high-efficiency perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells.
",battery
"In this work two three-branched cyanopyridine based monomers were synthesized and used as starting materials for the preparation of viologen derivatives with branched structures. The film synthesis was performed using reductive electropolymerization in aqueous solution. Both electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical characterization proved that the viologen films undergo a well-defined and reversible two step redox reaction, which is the typical performance for viologen materials. Furthermore, FTIR and SEM were utilized to characterize their structures and morphologies. SEM studies showed that the viologen films have a highly porous structure. Additionally, discharging experiments confirmed that the viologen films show different intercalation behavior as size of electrolyte anion had various effects on the redox potential. Finally, it has been proven that these two viologen derivative materials have the potential to be utilized as a supporting material with intrinsic redox activity and with excellent properties for hosting especially negatively charged particles, molecules and macromolecules. The promising properties of these materials make them good candidates in electronics and also in organic solar cells when loaded with large molecules such as fullerenes. In the organic rechargeable battery applications they can be used as anode-active materials as they exhibit high charging-discharging capacity at negative potentials.",battery
"Increasing renewable energy generation influences the reliability of electric power grids. Thus, there is a demand for new technical units providing ancillary services. Non-dispatchable renewable energy sources can be balanced by energy storage devices. By large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs) grid efficiency and reliability as well as power quality can be increased. A further characteristic of BESSs is the ability to respond rapidly and precisely to frequency deviations, making them technical ideal candidates for primary control provision (PCP). In this paper environmental impacts of PCP by novel Li-ion BESSs are compared to impacts of PCP by state-of-the-art coal power plants (CPPs) using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach and considering German control market conditions. The coal power plant stock is characterized by varying properties. Thus, different scenarios of CPP operation are analyzed by varying sensitive parameters like efficiency loss and required must-run capacity. Finally, PCP by BESSs and CPPs are compared in terms of environmental performance. The more must-run electricity generation is attributable to PCP of CPPs, the higher are the environmental impacts of these CPPs. This leads to a better relative environmental performance of BESSs in most scenarios. Contrary, comparative or even better environmental performance of CPPs compared to state-of-the-art BESSs can solely be achieved if power plants without load restrictions for provision of primary control and with extreme low efficiency losses caused by PCP are applied. Consequently, the results of this paper indicate that BESSs are a promising option to reduce environmental impacts of primary control provision.",battery
"The current study is a pilot test of a screening instrument aimed at flagging children at-risk for dyscalculia. The screening test is designed so that it can be applied by any teacher with minimal instruction and financial investment and it is based on Number Sense battery, NUCALC battery and, first of all, romanian mathematical curriculum. Out of the 45 students from Bucharest (8-11 years) participating in this study, ten scored under the cut-off point of 10, three of which scored under 5. All these children, deemed at risk for dyscalculia, scored above the threshold for mental delay on two IQ tests.",non-battery
"In this article, we report an active-matrix type SnSnSb alloy, which is sandwiched between nitrogen doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) sheets in the form of a nanocomposite, as a high rate capability anode for lithium-ion batteries. The alloy nanocomposite is synthesized via a cheap and industrially scalable route of microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis, and is coated onto electrodeposited 3D microporous nickel foam current collector. The additional mechanical buffering, along with effective electron conduction and lithium ion diffusion pathways provided by N-rGO nanosheets and nickel foam, result in a specific capacity of ∼300 mAhg−1 at a specific current of 4 A g-1 by preventing both pulverization and delamination of the active material. This combination of properties in N-rGO decorated SnSnSb nanocomposite anode (with 40 wt% N-rGO) on nickel foam results in a 2nd cycle discharge specific capacity of 705 mAhg−1, with a stable reversible specific capacity of 500 mAhg−1 after 200 cycles @ 0.1 A g-1. The nanocomposite anode also shows capacity retention of 400 mAhg−1 @ 0.8 A g-1 (1C rate) for 120 cycles. As compared to low N-rGO (10 wt%) decorated nanocomposite, the high N-rGO (40 wt%) nanocomposite shows improved performance with a nominal sacrifice of capacity which is at par, if not superior, to the existing commercial graphitic anodes.",battery
"In this paper, a novel hybrid maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method is proposed and investigated. The proposed MPPT technique combines the simplicity of perturb and observe (P&O) method and the fast tracking ability of open circuit voltage (OCV) method. The advantages of the proposed MPPT approach include fast tracking speed, no additional circuit required and no temporary power loss. To validate the feasibility of the proposed MPPT technique, an 1.2 kW thermoelectric generation system for industrial waste heat recovery is also constructed, experimental results show that comparing with conventional P&O technique, the proposed method can improve the tracking speed for 42.9% and 86.2% when temperature differences are ΔT = 60 °C and ΔT = 180 °C, respectively. Moreover, the energy loss can be improved by 24.0% and 87.0% when temperature differences are ΔT = 60 °C and ΔT = 180 °C, respectively.",battery
"The effect of silver metavanadate doping on physicochemical properties and thermal behaviour of the activated carbons obtained from waste materials was investigated. The carbonaceous supports were subjected to carbonisation at 400 or 600°C. The samples carbonised at 600°C have much more developed surface area and porous structure than the analogous samples obtained at 400°C. Impregnation of activated carbons with silver metavanadate leads to a decrease in their surface area and pore volume. According to thermal analysis (TG, DTG) in the samples containing 1 and 3wt.% of silver metavanadate, AgVO3 is fully decomposed to do vanadium oxide and Ag, with no intermediate products, while in the samples containing 5wt.% AgVO3, this salt is decomposed to vanadyl species as intermediate compounds at 350°C before the formation of V2O5 at 500°C. Moreover, in all samples impregnated with silver metavanadate the nanoparticles of silver undergo crystallisation leading to reduction of Ag+ ions from the vanadium salt to Ag0.",non-battery
"The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of solidification cooling rates on the as-cast microstructural morphologies of a Pb–1wt%Sn alloy, and to correlate the resulting microstructure with the corresponding electrochemical corrosion resistance in a 0.5M H2SO4 solution at 25°C. Cylindrical low-carbon steel and insulating molds were employed permitting the two extremes of a significant range of solidification cooling rates to be experimentally examined. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) diagrams, potentiodynamic polarization curves and an equivalent circuit analysis were used to evaluate the electrochemical corrosion response of Pb–1wt%Sn alloy samples. It was found that lower cooling rates are associated with coarse cellular arrays which result in better corrosion resistance than fine cells which are related to high cooling rates. The experimental results have shown that that the pre-programming of microstructure cell size of Pb–Sn alloys can be used as an alternative way to produce as-cast components of lead-acid batteries with higher corrosion resistance.",battery
"The cathode material is synthesized from FeC2O4·2H2O and LiH2PO4 by a solid-state reaction using citric acid as a carbon source. The electric conductivity of the synthesized LiFePO4 has been raised by eight orders of magnitude from 10−9 Scm−1. The LiFePO4/C composite shows a greatly enhanced rate performance and the cyclic stability at room temperature. It delivers an initial discharge capacity of 128mAhg−1 at 4C, which is retained as high as 92% after 1000 cycles. In addition, the tested low temperature character is attractive. At −20°C, the composite exhibits a discharge capacity of 110mAhg−1 at 0.1C. The homogenous morphology, the porous surface, the small particles inside and the conductive carbon observed contribute much to obtain the favorable electrochemical performance.",battery
"To improve the cycling performance and rate capability of the promising layered lithium-rich cathode materials, we substitute Co3+ in Li[Li0.20Mn0.534Ni0.133 Co0.133]O2 with unusually large Y3+ during coprecipitation and synthesize Li[Li0.20Mn0.534 Ni0.133Co0.133-x Yx]O2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.0665). The influences of yttrium content on the electrochemical properties of the lithium-rich materials are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), galvanostatic charge–discharge tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The charge–discharge cycling tests suggest that after heating at 1223K in air for 10h, the material with x =0.00665 deliver a high discharge capacity of 349.7 mAhg−1 after 1 cycle and 225.2 mAhg−1 after 80 cycles with a current rate of 0.1 C between 2.0 and 4.6V vs. Li/Li+. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicates that Li[Li0.20Mn0.534Ni0.133Co0.133-xYx]O2 electrode has lower impedance during cycling. The higher capacity retention and high-rate capability of yttrium-substituted materials can be ascribed to the expanded Li+ diffusing channels in the layered structure, lower surface film resistance and lower charge transfer resistance of the electrode during cycling.",battery
"Several hydroxyl- and ether-functionalized binary task specific ionic liquids (ILs) are prepared, ether-functionalized ILs exhibit higher conductivity and lower viscosity than those of hydroxyl-functionalized ILs, whereas hydroxyl-functionalized ILs show wider potential window than those of ether-functionalized ILs. The correlation between ionic conductivity and viscosity is based on the classical Walden rule; a relatively large deviation of the plots from the ideal Walden line is observed for the ILs without considering the ion size, whereas the deviation decreases significantly when the adjusted Walden plot is adopted. The α values of ILs calculated from the slopes of the Walden plots are compared to those calculated from the ratio of activation energies for viscosity and molar conductivity (E a,Λ /E a,η ). There are very few reports where electrochemically derived activation energy from conductivity and voltammetric characterization are available for comparison, so a key concept of activation energy in electrochemistry could be developed in this paper.",battery
"Background Patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) frequently develop Parkinson’s disease (PD), which can impair decision-making ability. This study was undertaken to investigate decision-making ability and its relation to olfactory function in patients with idiopathic RBD. Methods This study used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Sniffin’ Stick Test for examination of 38 patients with idiopathic RBD (iRBD) and 34 age-matched healthy control subjects (HC). Associations between these test results and other clinical RBD variables were also assessed. Results Total IGT score and Sniffin’ Stick Test scores were significantly lower in the iRBD group than in the HC group. The iRBD group IGT scores in the first, third, and final blocks were significantly lower than those of the HC group. In the iRBD group, no association was found between the total IGT score and the Sniffin’ Stick Test score or any clinical RBD variable. Conclusions Impaired decision-making associated with iRBD can herald PD. However, decision-making disability is thought to appear irrespective of olfactory dysfunction and progression of RBD pathology.",non-battery
"This paper covers the synthesis and use of a related family of cyclic phosphazene solvents containing terminal unsaturations that are being considered as electrolyte additives in lithium-ion cells. A brief synopsis on the synthesis and purification of these compounds is given. Data will be presented that covers physical and chemical properties of the phosphazenes as well as the properties when blended at various levels with representative organic carbonate baseline solvents. Electrochemical cycling data will be presented using commercially available electrode couples as well as studies focusing on cell performance at early lifetime as well as after repeated cycles. Conclusions regarding the effect of the unsaturated phosphazene compounds and their interaction with various alkyl carbonates, and their effect on cell performance will be presented.",battery
"The discharge properties of a Na/Ni3S2 cell using 1M NaCF3SO3 in tetra(ethylene glycol)dimethyl ether liquid electrolyte were investigated at room temperature. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Electrochemical properties of Na/Ni3S2 cells were also presented by cyclic voltammetry and the galvanostatic current method. Na/Ni3S2 cells have an initial discharge capacity of 420mAhg−1 with a plateau potential at 0.94V versus Na/Na+. After the first discharge, Ni3S2 and Na react at room temperature and then form sodium sulfide (Na2S) and nickel. Sodium ion can be partially deintercalated from Na2S charge reaction. The discharge process can be explained as follows: Ni3S2 +4Na↔3Ni+2Na2S.",battery
"LiCoO2 cathode material is renovated and simultaneously separated from spent LiCoO2 electrodes containing LiCoO2, electron-conducting carbon, binder, Al current collector, and separator in a single synthetic step using hydrothermal method in a concentrated LiOH solution at 200°C without any scraping procedures. It is found that the renovated LiCoO2 phase crystallizes in the rhombohedral system with the space group R-3m. Although the obtained material has some electrochemically inactive impurities, the renovated LiCoO2 phase exhibits the first discharge capacity of 144.0mAh/g and the discharge capacity retention of 92.2% after 40 cycles.",battery
"The Berlin questionnaire (BQ) has been used to help identify patients at high risk of having sleep apnea in primary care and atrial fibrillation patients. The BQ may be a useful adjunct in sleep medicine and research, but it has never been validated in a sleep clinic population. The aim of the study is to determine the specificity and sensitivity of the BQ compared to the respiratory disturbance index (RDI) values obtained from two nights of polysomnographic recording in a sleep clinic population. This is a retrospective chart review study of 130 sleep clinic patients. Patients’ demographics, BQ scores, RDI measurements, and sleep study parameters were extracted from the patients’ chart. Of the 130 charts reviewed, the BQ identified 76 (58.5%) as being at high-risk of having sleep apnea, but overnight polysomnography found only 34 of the 130 patients (26.2%) had an RDI > 10. The BQ performed with 0.62 sensitivity and 0.43 specificity at the RDI > 10 level. Due to the low sensitivity and specificity as well as the large number of false negatives and positives, the Berlin questionnaire is not an appropriate instrument for identifying patients with sleep apnea in a sleep clinic population.",non-battery
"Virtual reality (VR) has become popular in mental health research. Several studies have explored the use of VR in the context of biofeedback protocols. In the present paper, we report on the development and evaluation of a VR-based respiratory biofeedback game to foster diaphragmatic breathing. The game integrates respiratory biofeedback, restorative VR and gamification. The game is designed to run on a mobile, all-in-one VR headset. Notably, an integrated VR hand controller is utilized as a sensor to detect respiration-induced movements of the diaphragm. In a longitudinal within-subjects study, we explored the feasibility of the game and tested the effectiveness of six training sessions. Participants reported a pleasant user experience. Moreover, the results show that the brief VR-based breathing training increased perceived breath awareness, improved diaphragmatic breathing, increased relaxation, decreased perceived stress, reduced symptoms of burnout and boosted relaxation-related self-efficacy. Future studies need to address the generalizability and long-term stability of the results, compare the approach with existing treatments and fine-tune the training components.",non-battery
"Abtract Nowadays the use of distributed generating systems, which use a renewable energy source, has experienced a fast development. Moreover their intrinsic intermittent nature can be overcome using hybrid systems which combine more energy sources. This paper discusses the main topologies which can be adopted for a general hybrid generation system and it focuses on a particular hybrid system which combines two different energy sources, evidencing high level and local level power flow control strategies in both stand-alone and grid connected operation. A full experience in the realization of a hybrid plant which uses an internal combustion engine with cogeneration functionalities and solar source, installed in Delebio, Italy is then presented. System design aspects, with particular attention to the possible topologies and power flow control strategies, are analyzed. After the analysis of the design aspects, experimental results of the real plant are reported.",battery
"A tier III, essential fish habitat analysis was used to evaluate the biochemical condition of common mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus residing in two isolated tidal salt marshes, one a relatively undisturbed polyhaline site dominated by Spartina alterniflora and the other a meso-oligohaline site dominated by an invasive variety of Phragmites australis. Stable isotopes signatures of C, N, and S in whole tissue samples of F. heteroclitus were used to compare the trophic spectrum for this species in each marsh as a function of the dominant macrophytes present with additional contributions from phytoplankton and benthic microalgae. Allometry of wet mass and its components, water mass, lean protein mass and lipid mass in individual fish exhibited hyperallometric patterns; and average lipid mass fell within the range reported for most fundulids, including F. heteroclitus. Significant differences were also detected in the allocation of lipid classes to energy reserves in the form of triacylglycerols (TAG) and free fatty acids. These reserves, especially TAG, are critical for reproduction, migration, and overwintering survival in many taxa and were significantly lower in fish collected in the P. australis-dominated marsh. Relative to the relatively undisturbed Spartina-dominated site, we tentatively conclude that the P. australis-invaded marsh was an inferior habitat for F. heteroclitus.",non-battery
"By analogy with the behavior of vacuum (air) capacitors, early perceptions of the properties of electrochemical supercapacitors were that very high power-levels would be achievable because only capacitance (ca. 25μFcm−2) originating from a double-layer of nanometre thickness was involved. However, for device applications, the required large capacitances (0.50Fg−1) are achievable only by use of high-area porous-C matrices (ca. 1 to 2×103 m2 g1). Then the capacitance is only accessible through a complex series/parallel distribution of reduced current (RC) networks leading to a power-spectrum in which only a fraction of expected charge is accessible at high rates. The equivalent circuit then approximates to that of a transmission-line. Characterization of power limitation effects is demonstrated by results of experiments on porous-C electrodes by means of linear-sweep voltammetry, complementary dc charge/discharge curves and by real-time simulations of the behavior of a 5-element hardware RC circuit. The distribution of R and C elements in a porous electrode structure leads to a decline of energy-density with operating power-density as current drain is increased. It is shown how this can be represented by Ragone plots for capacitors, taking account of declining voltage with state of discharge. Practical comparisons are made with the behavior of three, non-aqueous capacitor modules.",battery
"Heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 reduction derived from porous, crystalline frameworks have emerged as efficient systems with comparable activity and superior selectivity to their inorganic counterparts. The spatial arrangement of active sites in such catalytically active frameworks is critical to their performance in CO2 reduction. This review presents a comprehensive and critical analysis of (thermal) CO2 reduction over catalysts derived from porous, crystalline frameworks, whose structural and chemical diversity offers unprecedented opportunities to regulate reactivity. Thermodyamic considerations and the impact of process parameters on reaction intermediates, governing mechanisms for CO2 reduction and catalyst stability are discussed. Strategies for leveraging the flexibility of porous, crystalline frameworks to improve their stability and promote CO2 reduction are presented which include: use as sacrificial precursors to an active phase; integration within composites; and as hosts for nanoparticle encapsulation. Finally, future challenges and research prospects are highlighted.
",battery
"Invasive Burmese pythons have been shown to have population-level effects on native mammals in southern Florida. Tens of thousands of long-legged wading birds (of multiple species in Ciconiiformes, Pelecaniformes) breed in aggregations, known as colonies, on tree islands in the Everglades. Burmese pythons may pose a threat to these colonies because pythons are semi-aquatic and commonly use tree islands and arboreal habitat. However, python predation on nests of wading birds has not previously been documented or quantified. We used trail cameras to monitor nests at colonies in Everglades National Park and Water Conservation Area 3 in 2014, and 2016–2017. We did not detect Burmese python predation at monitored nests in 2014 (23 nests in 2 colonies) or 2016 (59 nests in 4 colonies). In 2017 (125 nests in 7 colonies), we detected three individual pythons consuming nestlings, fledglings, and eggs in a minimum of 7.9% (5 nests, n = 63) of monitored nests at a colony in Everglades National Park. In 2017, the overall predation rate of Burmese pythons at all monitored nests (5 of 125 nests, or 4%), was five times the native predator rate (1 of 125 nests, or 0.8%). Our study confirms that Burmese pythons are acting as predators in wading bird colonies at nontrivial rates and provides a baseline to which future studies can refer.
",non-battery
"Early diagnosis and objective monitoring of disease progression are essential for the development of therapeutic strategies in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Current techniques are mainly based on semi-objective measures such as neuropsychological tests and a physician's magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) inspection. We have developed a computational method for automatic and unbiased assessment of the brain's state of atrophy from MRI. Sixty-eight high-resolution MRI scans were acquired from 25 AD patients (age: 69.8±7.5), 16 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients (67.6±9.1) and 27 control subjects (64.9±8.8). On the basis of the computations we were able to recognize MCI subjects with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 80% in a group of MCIs and controls using a linear classifier. To date, comparable results have only been received by manual labelling or human inspection. Our calculations are light weighted and can be applied on usual workstations in everyday clinical practice. Each step can be understood and applied by the physicians, independent of their computer knowledge. The applied image analysis process produces visual maps of atrophic changes as intermediate steps of the calculations. These can be helpful for the physician during inspection of the brain. The proposed analysis has the potential to improve AD diagnosis and treatment, especially in early its stages, and could also be used to monitor disease progression in therapeutic trials.",non-battery
"The hard carbon C1600 was studied as an anode material for Na-ion batteries. The electrochemical performance of the C1600 electrode was investigated in four kinds of typical electrolytes: 1 mol dm−3 NaClO4/EC–DMC, 1 mol dm−3 NaClO4/PC, 1 mol dm−3 NaPF6/EC–DMC, and 1 mol dm−3 NaPF6/PC. The C1600 electrodes showed excellent electrochemical properties in NaClO4-containing electrolytes. An initial Na insertion/extraction capacity of 413/321 mAh g−1 was obtained in the NaClO4/EC–DMC electrolyte, followed by a good capacity retention of 90% over 50 cycles. These are the best electrochemical properties reported thus far for carbonaceous anode materials in Na-ion batteries. The safety risk of C1600 anodes for Na-ion batteries was evaluated by using a TG–DSC system. Based on the results of DSC analysis for simple electrolytes, the thermal behaviors of mixtures of the sodiated/lithiated C1600 and the associated electrolyte in a temperature range from room temperature to 400 °C were investigated and compared. The C1600 anodes showed better thermal stability in EC–DMC-based electrolytes than in PC-based ones. Moreover, although Na metal is much more unstable than Li metal, the anode and electrolyte mixture of Na-ion batteries showed similar or better thermal stability than that of Li-ion batteries.",battery
"A facile route to improve the lithium-storage properties of flake graphite (FG) is proposed through coating pyrolysis carbon from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) assisted by KOH activation. The interplanar distance between the graphene sheets of activated PVDF/FG is enlarged, effectively suppressing the electrode deformation during lithium (de)-intercalation. More edge and porous structures of PVDF/FG arising from KOH activation on graphite flakes contribute to improved electron and ion transport, leading to great improvement in its rate and cycling performances. The initial specific capacity of the activated PVDF/FG is 476.6mAhg−1 at 50mAg−1 and when the current increases to 1000mAg−1, the value still retains 142.6mAhg−1.",battery
"Individual differences in compensatory and non-compensatory choice processes remain an unresolved issue for decision process researchers. This study investigates the stability and nature of individual differences in choice processes when individuals adapt to changes in the structure of the choice environment, namely the correlation among the choice attributes. By means of process tracing techniques, between-subjects differences in choice processing (option-based or attribute based) were found to be stable across different tasks. Individuals with higher openness to experience and ability to solve reasoning tasks were found to be more adaptive, that is to switch more promptly their choice process in adaptive ways, by using more option-based search strategies when attributes were negatively related. These results suggest that insight into individual differences in choice processes can be gained when attention is given to the structure of the choice task and to how decision makers adapt to it in the course of the choice task.",non-battery
"In the group of post Lithium-ion batteries, Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries attract a high interest due to their high theoretical limits of the specific capacity of 1672 Ah kg−1 and specific energy of around 2600 Wh kg−1. However, they suffer from polysulfide shuttle, a specific phenomenon of this chemistry, which causes fast capacity fade, low coulombic efficiency, and high self-discharge. The high self-discharge of Li-S batteries is observed in the range of minutes to hours, especially at a high state of charge levels, and makes their use in practical applications and testing a challenging process. A simple but comprehensive mathematical model of the Li-S battery cell self-discharge based on the shuttle current was developed and is presented. The shuttle current values for the model parameterization were obtained from the direct shuttle current measurements. Furthermore, the battery cell depth-of-discharge values were recomputed in order to account for the influence of the self-discharge and provide a higher accuracy of the model. Finally, the derived model was successfully validated against laboratory experiments at various conditions.",battery
"The analysis of the energy efficiency in Cloud Computing infrastructures has become an important research domain as the utilization rate of the various on-demand services is daily higher and higher and its management is now considered as a main objective. Today, to tackle this challenging issue, Cloud providers integrate renewable energy sources to feed their infrastructure. Energy saving is part often an integral many companies goal. Unlike the classic supply of grid energy, the production of green energy is unstable and depends on nature of the weather or wind. It introduces new challenges as pervasive jobs to reduce a server consumption. In this article, studies based on the use and the storage of photovoltaic energy are exposed. We detail our design of a scheduler which uses solar energy production to make an off-line decision. This enables us to schedule virtual machines into a datacenter via different algorithms which consumes the least amount of brown energy as possible. We based our analysis through an existing workload from Google. We describe and study this workload to create one corresponding to our need. We also proposed to evaluate the storage size of a smartgrid related to the solar panel size. It is an analysis of the reliance between both storage (battery) and renewable energy production (solar panel) components sizing.",non-battery
"In this work, a 3D porous cellular NiCoO2/graphene (NC-GN) network is readily synthesized using a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-templated strategy via filtration assembly of NiCoO2 precursor and partially reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, freeze-casting, and thermal treatment processes. The 3D porous cellular NiCoO2/graphene (NC-GN) network demonstrates advantageous bifunctional electrocatalytic durability and activity toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), owing to its fascinating 3D morphology, the high conductivity of graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, and catalytic active sites of NiCoO2 binary transition oxides. In comparison with the commercial OER electrocatalyst (IrO2) and ORR electrocatalyst (Pt/C), the 3D porous cellular NiCoO2/graphene (NC-GN) network exhibits superior OER catalytic performance with a satisfactory overpotential of 436 mV vs. RHE at 10 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the 3D porous NC-GN network displays a good ORR catalytic activity with an adequate half-wave potential of 665 mV vs. RHE. The cycling stability and limiting current density of the 3D porous NC-GN network towards OER and ORR are both better than the commercial IrO2 and Pt/C catalysts. The 3D porous cellular NiCoO2/graphene (NC-GN) network shows excellent potentials toward various energy conversion applications such as metal-air batteries, fuel cells, and water splitting.",battery
"With the popularity of mobile social networking and the emergence of ideas such as participatory sensing, mobile crowdsourcing has the potential to help tackle new problems in relation to real-time data collection and coordination among a large number of participants. Due to the unreliability and dynamic behavior of mobile opportunistic networks, there are several key issues concerning the development of crowdsourcing-related mobile applications that need to be considered. In this paper, we investigate task propagation models devised to support mobile crowdsourcing in intermittently connected opportunistic networks. The propagation strategy is used to disseminate tasks among a crowd of peers. We investigate response models (i.e., to estimate the number of responses to expect in the network) and energy consumption models (for estimating the energy used by both a task-originator and workers) and study their behavior under different conditions in comprehensive simulations. The findings will show the interplay and relationships between mobile crowdsourcing factors and the number of peers responding and energy consumption.",non-battery
"The water-soluble phosphonate functionalized spherical platinum nanoclusters (Pt-NCs) composed of primary nanoparticles are synthesized by the thermal decomposition of platinum(IV)-complex. The size, morphology and structure of Pt-NCs are analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Attachment of phosphonate groups on Pt surface is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and zeta potential analysis. The phosphonate functionalized Pt-NCs efficiently suppress the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) while fully preserving the Pt-like activity for the hydrogen peroxid reduction reaction. Importantly, at certain cathodic potential, only reduction reaction of hydrogen peroxide occurs at the Pt-NCs surface. Consequently, the phosphonate functionalized Pt-NCs can be used to fabricate a new kind of hydrogen peroxide electrochemical sensor with high performance in the presence of oxygen. Under optimized experimental conditions, the hydrogen peroxide electrochemical sensor shows fast response (less than 2s) and wide linear range (1.0×10−6–1.0×10−3 M) in the presence of oxygen. The results presented here indicate an important new direction in the quest to design selective catalysts for the fabrication of noble-metal based H2O2 electrochemical sensor.",battery
"High cut-off charge potential usually means high viable specific capacity and energy for the cathode materials. However, electrode/electrolyte interface reactions will be triggered at high potentials, leading to electrolyte decomposition, increased charge transfer resistance and accelerated transition metal dissolution. Therefore, a durable and uniform interphase layer is essential to suppress the interfacial reactions. We herein address these issues by using tetrakis (trimethylsiloxy) titanium (TT) as a multifunctional electrolyte additive to form a thin and uniform interface layer on the electrodes. The results of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy illustrate that the film is composes of organic C3H9 Si and inorganic TiO2. Owning to the presence of the durable and self-curable organic/inorganic hybrid interphase on both the Li1.17Ni0.25Mn0.58O2 (LLO) cathode and the graphite anode, the capacity retention of the LLO/graphite cell is enhanced from 33% to 81% in 150 cycles. These findings provide a new approach to create hybrid high performance interphase for the high energy density batteries.",battery
"Electron beam evaporated manganese oxide films display excellent electrochemical properties on post deposition oxidative annealing in air. The films annealed below 573 K are amorphous, exhibit minor deficiency in oxygen and are characterized by a specific discharge capacitance of 398 F g−1 at a discharge current of 1.1 A g−1 and 236 F g−1 at a discharge current of 5.5 A g−1. In terms of stability, these films retain 99.6% of their specific capacitance even after 400 cycles. The electrochemical properties of these films are explained in terms of their structure and composition which have been measured by X-ray diffraction and proton elastic backscattering spectrometry. In addition, the electrochemical properties are influenced by their morphology; the oxidatively annealed films contain nanometric, spherical and elongated grains which acquire extensive networking during electrochemical measurements.",battery
"An overview of the main scientific areas of condensed matter research, which are extended with the use of the IBR-2 high-flux research reactor, is presented. It is demonstrated that the spectrometer facility of the upgraded reactor has great potential for studying the structural, magnetic, and dynamical properties of novel functional materials and nanobiosystems, which ensures the leading position of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in neutron research of condensed matter for the long-term prospect.",non-battery
"All-solid-state cells of In/LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 using a superionic oxysulfide glass with high conductivity at room temperature of 10−3 Scm−1 as a solid electrolyte were fabricated and the cell performance was investigated. Although a large irreversible capacity was observed at the 1st cycle, the solid-state cells worked as lithium secondary batteries and exhibited excellent cycling performance after the 2nd cycle; the cells kept charge–discharge capacities around 70mAhg−1 and its efficiency was almost 100%. This is the first case to confirm that all-solid-state cells using manganese-based layer-structured cathode materials work as lithium secondary batteries.",battery
" Intranasally administered insulin has shown promise in both rodent and human studies in Alzheimer’s disease; however, both effects and mechanisms require elucidation.",non-battery
" We reviewed physical activity (PA) studies in prostate cancer (PC) survivors investigating (a) the effects of PA on health outcomes, (b) the prevalence of PA, and (c) the determinants of PA.",non-battery
"Hybrid supercapacitors were fabricated with both pristine and H2Ti12-xZnxO25-x (x=0.15, 0.3, 0.45, 0.6) anode electrodes. The structural properties and morphology of particles after zinc doping were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron micron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical performances of the hybrid supercapacitors were measured. The results show that the H2Ti11.7Zn0.3O24.7 not only enhanced discharge specific capacitances of 70.7 Fg−1 at 0.5 Ag−1, but also capacitance retention of 92% after 1000 cycles. In addition, H2Ti11.7Zn0.3O24.7 has lower polarization and charge transfer resistance (Rct) of 0.142Ω. The power densities and energy densities of H2Ti11.7Zn0.3O24.7 were 42.4-8.1 Wh kg−1 and 182-5676.2Wkg−1 at 0.1 and 3 Ag−1, respectively. Consequentially, Zn doping improved structure stability and electrochemical performance of H2Ti12O25. Therefore, hybrid supercapacitors were fabricated using a H2Ti11.7Zn0.3O24.7 anode can be regarded as energy storage devices.",battery
"The utility of single-case vs. group studies has been debated in neuropsychology for many years. The purpose of the present study is to illustrate an alternative approach to group studies of aphasia, in which the same symptom dimensions that are commonly used to assign patients to classical taxonomies (fluency, naming, repetition, and comprehension) are used as independent and continuous predictors in a multivariate design, without assigning patients to syndromes. One hundred twenty-six Italian-speaking patients with aphasia were first classified into seven classic aphasia categories, based on fluency, naming, auditory comprehension, and repetition scales. There were two goals: (1) compare group analyses based on aphasia types with multivariate analyses that sidestep classification and treat aphasic symptoms as continuous variables; (2) present correlation-based outlier analyses that can be used to identify individuals who occupy unusual positions in the multivariate “symptom space.” In the service of the first goal, group performance on an external validation measure (the Token Test) was assessed in three steps: analyses of variance based on aphasia type, regressions using the same cut-offs for fluency, naming, comprehension and repetition as independent but dichotomous predictors, and regressions using the same subscales as continuous predictors (with no cut-offs). More variance in Token Test performance was accounted for when symptoms were treated as continuous predictors than with the other two methods, though use of independent but dichotomous predictors accounted for more variance than aphasia taxonomies. Thus, if we by-pass classical taxonomies and treat patients as points in a multidimensional symptom space, better predictions are obtained. Outlier analyses show that group results depend on heterogeneity among patients, which can be used as a search tool to identify potentially interesting dissociations. Hence this multivariate group approach is complementary to and compatible with single-case methods.",non-battery
" The aim of the present study was to evaluate the trunk strength capacity of alpine ski racers aged 10–18 years, who were tested during the last 15 years, to identify reference values for trunk flexor to extensor strength ratios according to age and sex.",non-battery
"The commercial Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is successfully modified by AlF3 via a low temperature process. After being calcined at 400 °C for 5 h, AlF3 reacts with LTO to form a composite material which mainly consists of Al3+ and F− co-doped LTO with small amounts of anatase TiO2. Al3+ and F− co-doped LTO demonstrates ultrahigh rate capability comparing to the pristine LTO. Since the amount of the byproduct TiO2 is relatively small, the modified LTO electrodes retain the main voltage characteristics of LTO with a minor feature similar to those of anatase TiO2. The doped LTO anodes deliver slightly higher discharge capacity and maintain the excellent long-term cycling stability when compared to the pristine LTO anode. Therefore, Al3+ and F− co-doped LTO composite material synthesized at low temperature is an excellent anode for stable and ultra-high power lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"We have been using a heat conduction microcalorimeter to measure enthalpies of dissolution of slightly soluble solids. Recently we did report the testing of the prototype and we are now extending the previous investigation to measurements with organic solvents. In the present work we use DMSO due to its importance in the pharmaceutical industry. The importance of the applications of enthalpies of solution in organic solvents calls for the need to find a substance that can be used in the future for chemical calibration in these solvents. Attempts for proposing such a substance have also been a goal for our research group. The enthalpies of solution of paracetamol and sodium diclofenac were measured in DMSO and in phosphate buffer (pH 6.91) at 298.15K. We show that it is possible to obtain very good results with DMSO as solvent for these two drugs on our dissolution microcalorimeter. Nevertheless, due to their slow and low enthalpy of dissolution in this solvent, they cannot be seen as good candidates for test substances.",non-battery
"(100-x) (0.78Li2S·0.22P2S5)·xLi3BO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 5) solid electrolytes are prepared via mechanical milling and a post heat-treatment process, and the resulting electrochemical properties are investigated in conjunction with structural analysis. Adding of Li3BO3 into the (100-x) (0.78Li2S·0.22P2S5)·xLi3BO3 solid electrolyte is expected to enhance the conductivity and lower the activation energy as a consequence of changing the structural unit in the glass network. It turned out that the doping of Li3BO3 enhances the conductivity by enlarging the glass forming region and promoting precipitation of high lithium ion conductive thio-LISICON II analog. 97 (0.78Li2S·0.22P2S5)·3Li3BO3 (x = 3) glass-ceramics exhibits the highest conductivity (1.03 × 10−3 S cm−1). Structural analysis shows that the samples with Li3BO3 added to the electrolyte are composed of the main structural unit of PS4 3− with partially-modified structural unit of PO4 3−, which are believed to effectively enhance the conductivity and decrease the activation energy. In glass-ceramics produced from these materials, the thio-LISICON II phase with higher ionic conductivity tends to be stabilized by the addition of Li3BO3. Additionally, the formation of space-charge layer is relaxed by Li3BO3 doping. As a result, the all-solid-state cell shows high initial discharge capacity of 156 mAh g−1, and the capacity is retained to be 149 mAh g−1 for 40 cycles.",battery
"Cycling stability of 5 V spinel LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 (LMNO) is improved by surface modification with FePO4 through a chemical deposition method. The pristine, 0.5 wt.%, 1 wt.% and 3 wt.% FePO4-coated LMNO are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. It is found that the coating process is in favor of the disorder–order phase transition. The investigation on their cycling performance demonstrates that 1 wt.% FePO4-modified LMNO cathode exhibits the best cycling performance, with the capacity retention ratio of 99.3% after 50 cycles, much better than that of the pristine LMNO (only 79%). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is applied to explain the galvanostatic results. The enhanced cycling performance of the surface-modified samples can be attributed to the decreasing contact area between the electrode and electrolyte and the suppression of undesirable thick SEI (solid electrolyte interfacial) layer.",battery
"Life-cycle analysis of a charging station for electric vehicles (EVs) was performed in the three phases, that is, production, transportation and installation of the charging equipment, which consists of charger, battery and stand. We chose parking lots on expressways, commercial parking lots in cities, municipal facilities, shopping centers, etc. throughout the country as the charging sites according to the EV charge program in Southern California. Air-pollutant emissions during the transportation phase were calculated based on the emission factors of vehicles, running speed and the transport distance between one factory of the charging equipment and each site. The share of transporting the charging machines in total emissions of CO2, SO x and CO was less than 15% and the production phase was dominant. In case of NO x , the share of transporting them was over 20%. The relation between gasoline vehicle and gas station was applied to estimate the number of EVs using the charging stations through the country, and the contribution of the charging stations to life-cycle emissions of air pollutants from EV was presented. The share of infrastructure in total emissions of CO2 was 16% in our model case. Thus the development of the charging infrastructure almost did not change the advantage of EV compared to gasoline vehicle (GV) in terms of CO2, NO x , and CO emissions. But an EV emits more life-cycle SO x than gasoline vehicles (GVs).",battery
"Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadischihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45–63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 μg/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000–2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r2 = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms’ ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species’s extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a “capital breeder”. We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE.
",non-battery
"Photoreforming is a process that harnesses the redox ability of photocatalysts upon illumination, to simultaneously drive the reduction of H+ into hydrogen gas and oxidation of organic compounds. Over the past few decades, significant effort has been devoted to improving the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency, while substantially less focus has been directed towards the oxidation reactions. More recently, the realization of the potential for simultaneous hydrogen production with value-added organics has inspired researchers to use photooxidation pathways to tune the selectivity of oxidized products. As a distinct benefit, the less energetically demanding organic reforming is highly favorable when compared to the slow kinetics of oxygen evolution which negates the need for expensive and/or harmful hole scavengers. Photocatalyst modifications, such as secondary component deposition, doping, defect, phase and morphology engineering, have been the main strategies adopted to tune the photooxidation pathways and oxidation products. Direct control of the process conditions, including pH, temperature and reactant concentration, and favorable reactor designs can further improve the selectivity towards desired products. While other published reviews focus on the types of photocatalysts or feedstocks used to enhance the hydrogen evolution efficiency, this review highlights the importance of controlling the selectivity of the photoreforming reaction, particularly as an alternative path for waste abatement or valorization for industry. This review links the strategies used to improve the selectivity of photoreforming of organic waste into high-value and desirable chemicals, as well as offers an outlook on the future research direction required to deliver highly selective photocatalyst. A holistic strategy that comprises photocatalyst and system designs, appropriate characterizations and implementation of artificial intelligence has also been proposed and discussed to further aid establishment of the structure–mechanism–function relationship, thereby accelerating the discovery of optimum selective photoreforming systems.
",battery
"This paper reports a micromachined drug delivery device that is wirelessly operated using radiofrequency magnetic fields for implant applications. The controlled release from the drug reservoir of the device is achieved with the microvalves of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) thermoresponsive hydrogel that are actuated with a wireless resonant heater, which is activated only when the field frequency is tuned to the resonant frequency of the heater circuit. The device is constructed by bonding a 1-mm-thick polyimide component with the reservoir cavity to the heater circuit that uses a planar coil with the size of 5–10 mm fabricated on polyimide film, making all the outer surfaces to be polyimide. The release holes created in a reservoir wall are opened/closed by the hydrogel microvalves that are formed inside the reservoir by in-situ photolithography that uses the reservoir wall as a photomask, providing the hydrogel structures self-aligned to the release holes. The wireless heaters exhibit fast and strong response to the field frequency, with a temperature increase of up to 20°C for the heater that has the 34-MHz resonant frequency, achieving 38-% shrinkage of swelled hydrogel when the heater is excited at its resonance. An active frequency range of ~2 MHz is observed for the hydrogel actuation. Detailed characteristics in the fabrication and actuation of the hydrogel microvalves as well as experimental demonstrations of frequency-controlled temporal release are reported.",non-battery
"The development of lithium–air batteries is plagued by a high potential gap (>1.2 V) between charge and discharge, and poor cyclability due to the drastic phase change of O2 (gas) and Ox− (condensed phase) at the cathode during battery operations. Here we report a cathode consisting of nanoscale amorphous lithia (nanolithia) confined in a cobalt oxide, enabling charge/discharge between solid Li2O/Li2O2/LiO2 without any gas evolution. The cathode has a theoretical capacity of 1,341 Ah kg−1, a mass density exceeding 2.2 g cm−3, and a practical discharge capacity of 587 Ah kg−1 at 2.55 V versus Li/Li+. It also displays stable cycling performance (only 1.8% loss after 130 cycles in lithium-matched full-cell tests against Li4Ti5O12 anode), as well as a round-trip overpotential of only 0.24 V. Interestingly, the cathode is automatically protected from O2 gas release and overcharging through the shuttling of self-generated radical species soluble in the carbonate electrolyte.",battery
"In this work, sulfur doped nickel cobalt layered double hydroxide nanosheet arrays are fabricated on a stainless steel (S-LDH/SS) substrate by simple electrodeposition technique for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and supercapacitor applications. The surface morphology and chemical composition of S-LDH/SS are accessed by field emission electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Remarkably, the fabricated S-LDH/SS electrode requires low overpotential of −0.38V vs. RHE to accomplish a current density of −10mAcm−2 with a less Tafel slope of −69mVdec−1 for HER in aqueous KOH. Further, the tailored S-LDH/SS behaves like a battery-type electrode and delivers maximum specific capacity of 344Cg−1 (95.5mAhg−1) at scan rate of 5mVs−1, which possess excellent cyclic stability and capacity retention. The S-LDH/SS comprised by two types of active catalytic sites along with anions furnish an excellent conductivity, which improving the mass and ionic transportations. Hopefully, exceptional electrochemical interpretation substantiates that this S-LDH/SS electrode might be a favorable material for the energy conversion and storage applications.",battery
"Nb2O5 nanostructures were produced by a rational hydrothermal method, which were used as the cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. The Super-P and graphene compounds were used as the conductive agents. Owing to the excellent conductivity of graphene, it is favorable for the contacting area between electrolyte and the electrode material. The results showed that adding graphene can increase the conductivity of the entire electrode system. The specific capacity of Nb2O5 with 4 wt% graphene is 180 mAh g−1, meanwhile the capacity retention rate is more than 85% after 100 charge and discharge cycles under a current rate of 5 C. Adding an appropriate amount of graphene as the conductive agent can greatly improve the conductivity of the electrode system, reduce the charge transfer resistance during the charge-discharge process to increase the specific capacity, and enable the battery to keep excellent cycle stability. This work demonstrates that the obtained Nb2O5 with Super-P and graphene compound conductive agents can greatly increase performances of lithium ion battery such as capacity, rate performance, and cycle performance and conductivity.",battery
"In(OH)3-coated Zn-Al-hydrotalcite is prepared by homogeneous precipitation method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images reveal that the In(OH)3 is successfully coated on the surface of the Zn-Al-hydrotalcite particles. And about 2.5wt% of coating is determined through the energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS). The electrochemical performance of In(OH)3-coated Zn-Al-hydrotalcite is investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscope (EIS), Tafel polarization curves and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements. The EIS exhibits a higher charge-transfer resistance and the Tafel polarization curves reveal a more positive corrosion potential for the In(OH)3-coated Zn-Al-hydrotalcite, in comparison with the pristine Zn-Al-hydrotalcite and the mixture of Zn-Al-hydrotalcite and In(OH)3. After 50 cell cycles, the In(OH)3-coated Zn-Al-hydrotalcite retains a specific discharge capacity of 364.0mAhg−1 with a retention rate of 96.9%, which is much superior to that of 262.2mAhg−1 with a retention rate of 67.6% for the pristine Zn-Al-LDHs and 299.2mAhg−1 with a retention rate of 81.2% for the mixture of Zn-Al-LDHs with In(OH)3.",battery
"To ensure the driving safety and avoid potential failures for electric vehicles, evaluating the health state of the battery properly is of significant importance. This study aims to serve as a useful support for researchers and practitioners by systematically reviewing the available literature on state of health estimation methods. These methods can be divided into two types: experimental and model-based estimation methods. Experimental methods are conducted in a laboratory environment to analyze battery aging process and provide theoretical support for model-based methods. Based on a battery model, model-based estimation methods identify the parameters, which have certain relationships with battery aging level, to realize state of health estimation. On the basis of reading extensive literature, methods for determining the health state of the battery are explained in a deeper way, while their corresponding strengths and weaknesses of these methods are analyzed in this paper. At the end of the paper, conclusions for these methods and prospects for the development trend of health state estimation are made.",battery
"Environmental factors which influence the distributions of malaria vectors in northern Australia (Anopheles farauti ss, A. farauti 2 and A. farauti 3) were investigated by ecological niche modelling and data mining using an extensive data set of species presence and absence records obtained by systematic field surveys. Models were generated with GARP (the genetic algorithm for rule-set prediction) using geographical coverages of 41 climatic and topographic parameters for the north of the continent. Environmental variables associated with species records were identified with the ranking procedures of the decision tree software packages CART and KnowledgeSeeker. There was consistent agreement in the variables ranked by both methods. This permitted the selection of reduced sets of environmental variables to develop GARP models for the three target species with equivalent predictive accuracy to those which used all of the environmental information. The environmental parameters which define the realised distributions of A. farauti ss and A. farauti 3 were well described by this approach but the results were less satisfactory for A. farauti 2. Atmospheric moisture was shown to be a critical variable for each species which accords with many field and laboratory observations concerning the influence of humidity on adult mosquito survival.",non-battery
"Nitrogen and sulfur containing carbon, derived from human hair (HHC) has been exploited for the first time as a multifunctional electrode material for use in sodium batteries and for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline medium. Human hair acts as the source of carbon containing nitrogen and sulfur, due to the presence of α-keratin, thus eliminating the need for the addition of multiple hazardous chemicals such as organic precursors and the requirement of conventionally adopted energy intensive methods. Such a dual hetero atom containing human hair derived carbon, when examined as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) displays a high specific capacity of ∼ 210mAhg−1 at 50mAg−1 and a high rate capability of ∼ 50mAhg−1 at 1.5Ag−1, thereby providing newer perspective towards the construction of low-cost SIBs. Further, HHC upon exploration as a metal free electrocatalyst for ORR applications exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic performance in terms of superior stability and resistance towards methanol cross over along with long term stability. Our cost-effective approach against the disposal of human hair opens up newer avenues for the conversion of filthy human hair waste as value added electrode material in energy storage and electrocatalytic applications.",battery
"LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2–carbon composite positive electrodes were prepared by the spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) treatment. The SPS treated acetylene black (AB) powder (HDAB) was used as carbon sources, and it showed an effect to improve the electrical connections between the carbon particles. By the SPS treatment of the LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 +HDAB blended powder, the strong bindings between the active materials and the carbon powders were formed. Both contact effects, particularly the active material–carbon contact effect, improved the electrochemical performances of the cells. The improvement effects were more evident when the cells were cycled at higher current density, which indicates that the present method is effective to improve the rate capability of the positive electrodes without lowering electrode density.",battery
"Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial metabolic brain disorder characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. Decreased brain energy and glucose metabolism occurs before the appearance of AD symptoms and worsens while the disease progresses. Deregulated brain insulin signaling has also been found in AD recently. To restore brain insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, two insulin sensitizers commonly used for treating type 2 diabetes, have been studied and shown to have some beneficial effects in AD mouse models. However, the molecular mechanisms of the beneficial effects remain elusive. In the present study, we treated the 3xTg-AD mice, a widely used mouse model of AD, with pioglitazone and rosiglitazone for 4 months and studied the effects of the treatments on cognitive performance and AD-related brain alterations. We found that the chronic treatment improved spatial learning, enhanced AKT signaling, and attenuated tau hyperphosphorylation and neuroinflammation. These findings shed new light on the possible mechanisms by which these two insulin sensitizers might be useful for treating AD and support further clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of these drugs.
",non-battery
"Li[Mn1/3Co1/3Ni1/3]O2 cathode material for lithium ion batteries was coated by CaF2 via wet coating strategy. The CaF2-coated Li[Mn1/3Co1/3Ni1/3]O2 were analyzed by X-ray diffraction spectra (XRD), the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) to confirm the structure and morphology of cathode material. Cyclic voltammetry and cycling charge–discharge measurements were carried out to study the electrochemical performance of bare and coated samples, as well as the optimal coating dosage. Comparison tests have found that the capacity retention is 67.9% for bare sample and 93.5% for 1.0wt.% CaF2-coated sample. In summary, the CaF2 coating strategy benefits the cycling performance of Li[Mn1/3Co1/3Ni1/3]O2 cathode material, and the optimal dosage of coating agent is 1.0wt.%.",battery
"Cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit drug and its consumption is currently associated with tobacco, which contains another psychoactive compound, namely nicotine. Interactions between cannabinoids and other drugs of abuse, such as opioids, have been previously reported. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible role of CB1 cannabinoid receptor in responses induced by acute and repeated nicotine administration by using knockout mice lacking the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and their wild-type littermates. Acute nicotine (0.5, 1, 3 and 6 mg/kg, sc) administration decreased locomotor activity and induced antinociceptive responses in the tail-immersion and the hot-plate test, in wild-type animals. The antinociceptive effects in the tail-immersion test were significantly enhanced in CB1 knockout mice. In wild-type mice nicotine (0.5 mg/kg, sc) produced a significant rewarding effect, as measured by a conditioned place preference paradigm. This response was absent in CB1 knockout mice. Finally, a model of mecamylamine-induced abstinence in chronic nicotine-treated mice (10 mg/kg/day, sc) was developed. Mecamylamine (1 and 2 mg/kg, sc) precipitated several somatic signs of nicotine withdrawal in wild-type dependent mice. However, no difference in the severity of nicotine withdrawal was observed in CB1 knockout mice. These results demonstrate that some acute effects and motivational responses elicited by nicotine can be modulated by the endogenous cannabinoid system and support the existence of a physiological interaction between these two systems.",non-battery
"In this work, we have prepared undoped and vanadium doped ZnO nanopowders by sol–gel method. The treated powder at 500 °C has an average particle size of 25 nm. Pellets have been prepared at sintered temperature of 900 °C in atmospheric furnace. The characterization of the obtained pellets has been made by the X-ray diffraction, the UV–visible spectrophotometer, and cathodoluminescence (CL). The XRD analysis shows that ZnO has hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential direction along (101). It has also revealed that grain size and lattice parameters have increased after vanadium doping. The optical band gap has been found to increase from 3.15 to 3.27 eV as the V content varied from 0 to 10 %. CL spectra have shown a broad yellow emission at 2.2 eV and UV emission band around 3.16 eV. Doping with vanadium has enhanced the CL intensity of near band emission.",non-battery
" Autism is characterised by atypical social-communicative behaviour and restricted range of interests and repetitive behaviours. These features exist in a continuum in the general population. Behavioural measures validated across cultures and languages are required to quantify the dimensional traits of autism in these social and non-social domains. Bengali is the seventh most spoken language in the world. However, there is a serious dearth of data on standard measures of autism-related social and visual cognition in Bengali.",non-battery
"GPR88 is an orphan G-protein coupled receptor originally characterized as a striatal-enriched transcript and is a potential target for neuropsychiatric disorders. At present, gene knockout studies in the mouse have essentially focused on striatal-related functions and a comprehensive knowledge of GPR88 protein distribution and function in the brain is still lacking. Here, we first created Gpr88-Venus knock-in mice expressing a functional fluorescent receptor to fine-map GPR88 localization in the brain. The receptor protein was detected in neuronal soma, fibers and primary cilia depending on the brain region, and remarkably, whole-brain mapping revealed a yet unreported layer-4 cortical lamination pattern specifically in sensory processing areas. The unique GPR88 barrel pattern in L4 of the somatosensory cortex appeared 3 days after birth and persisted into adulthood, suggesting a potential function for GPR88 in sensory integration. We next examined Gpr88 knockout mice for cortical structure and behavioral responses in sensory tasks. Magnetic resonance imaging of live mice revealed abnormally high fractional anisotropy, predominant in somatosensory cortex and caudate putamen, indicating significant microstructural alterations in these GPR88-enriched areas. Further, behavioral analysis showed delayed responses in somatosensory-, visual- and olfactory-dependent tasks, demonstrating a role for GPR88 in the integration rather than perception of sensory stimuli. In conclusion, our data show for the first time a prominent role for GPR88 in multisensory processing. Because sensory integration is disrupted in many psychiatric diseases, our study definitely positions GPR88 as a target to treat mental disorders perhaps via activity on cortical sensory networks.
",non-battery
"Si nanoparticles prepared by ball-milling (BM-Si) are expected as practical negative-electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, but their performance is much lower than those of more expensive Si nanomaterials, such as chemical-vapor-deposition derived Si nanoparticles (CVD-Si) having a tight network structure. It is found that carbon-coating of aggregations of BM-Si forms a quasi-network structure, thereby making the performance comparable to that of CVD-Si under capacity restriction (to 1500 mAh g−1). In this case, the structural transition of BM-Si during charge/discharge cycling is characterized by the formation of a specific ‘wrinkled structure’, which is very similar to that formed in CVD-Si.",battery
"The high-voltage spinel cathode material LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) with its high energy per mass and volume is widely considered as promising alternative to the cobalt-containing state-of-the-art layered cathode materials. LNMO is usually charged/discharged at high voltage to make use of Ni-redox at the 4.7 V plateau, while after insertion of additional lithium the utilization of excess Li at the low voltage region of LNMO (<3.0 V) may compensate active lithium losses upon operation. Such a Li-excess stoichiometry of the spinel cathode can be achieved for instance through chemical pre-lithiation. Besides the compensation of Li losses, the additional Li also may also lead to an increase of the specific capacity. This study aims for a better understanding of the impact of the calcination time of LNMO particles on the low voltage region and an in-depth discussion of the results in the context of previous literature reports. Therefore, LNMO is synthesized by a ball-mill assisted solid-state synthesis and the calcination time is systematically changed. The subsequent structural and electrochemical analysis of the material shows for the first time that the material properties, including particle size and lattice parameter, as well as the charge/discharge current rate in general have a strong impact on the capacity ratio of the 2.7 V/2.1 V plateaus and that discharging (=lithiating) the cathode material to 1.5 V leads to irreversible changes within the material, which are however beneficial for its specific energy. Furthermore, the cathode material is cycled in the intermediate voltage range (2.4–4.95 V), demonstrating high specific capacities and excellent long-term stability over 100 cycles (≈179.5 ± 0.1 mAh g−1 and 96.4% ± 0.3%, respectively).",battery
"Grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSP) are polyphenolic compounds which exert a novel spectrum of biological, pharmacological and therapeutic properties against oxidative stress. Recent findings have shown that GSP exhibit numerous antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. So, it was of special concern to investigate the protective efficacy of GSP against cadmium induced hepatic dysfunction in rats. Male Wistar rats were treated with cadmium (Cd) as cadmium chloride (CdCl2, 5 mg kg−1 bw, orally) and orally pre-administered with GSP (100 mg kg−1 bw) 90 minutes before Cd intoxication for 4 weeks to evaluate hepatic damage of Cd and antioxidant potential of GSP. Our results demonstrate a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the levels of serum hepatic markers and hepatic oxidative stress markers and a notable (p < 0.05) decrease in hepatic enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant contents along with histopathological alterations on Cd exposure. The GSP pre-treatment regimen was beneficial in the recovery of altered serum and hepatic biochemical and histological variables by Cd. Our results clearly indicate that the free radical scavenging and antioxidant potential of GSP benefits the recovery of rats exposed to Cd. We thus recommend that diets rich in GSP help in attenuating Cd-induced oxidative hepatic dysfunction in rats.
",non-battery
"Stray magnetic field considered as harmful noise for the human body can be a ubiquitous energy source. We are surrounded with 50/60 Hz parasitic magnetic noise arising from power delivery infrastructure, but it cannot be readily utilized by traditional electromagnetic harvesters. Here, we introduce a novel magneto-mechano-electric (MME) generator with a colossal power density that can turn on 35 LEDs and drive a wireless sensor network under a weak magnetic field of 5–7 × 10−4 T at a low frequency of 60 Hz. The MME generator is a cantilever structured magnetoelectric (ME) laminate composite in which the 〈011〉 oriented anisotropic single crystal fiber composite (SFC) is bonded to Ni plate and Nd permanent magnet proof mass. The ME laminate composite has a strong ME coupling (αME ∼ 160 V cm−1 Oe−1) even without magnetic bias due to the intrinsic property of Ni. The MME generator is also found to exhibit a colossal output power density of 46 mW cm−3 Oe−2 under a weak magnetic field of 1.6 × 10−4 T at 60 Hz. This MME generator can be a ubiquitous power source for wireless sensor networks, low power electric devices, and wireless charging systems by harvesting tiny amounts of parasitic magnetic energy from our living environment.
",battery
"The explore and development of electrocatalysts have gained significant attention due to their indispensable status in energy storage and conversion systems, such as fuel cells, metal–air batteries and solar water splitting cells. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and their derivatives (e.g., transition metal alloys, oxides, sulfides, nitrides and phosphides) have been adopted as catalysts for various electrochemical reactions, such as oxygen reduction, oxygen evolution, hydrogen evolution, and CO2 reduction, which show excellent activity and remarkable durability in electrocatalytic process. In this review, the synthesis strategies, structural characters and electrochemical performances for the LDHs and their derivatives are described. In addition, we also discussed the effect of electronic and geometry structures to their electrocatalytic activity. The further development of high-performance electrocatalysts based on LDHs and their derivatives is covered by both a short summary and future outlook from the viewpoint of the material design and practical application.",battery
"Abstract The different roles that ionic liquids can play in several aspects of electrochromic technology have been reviewed, from the advantageous synthesis of electrochromic polymers to their key role as substantial components of liquid, semi-solid, or solid electrolytes. The performance of resulting devices has been analyzed, showing correct optical behavior and sometimes impressive lifetimes. From this review, it can be concluded that ionic liquids are versatile compounds that can improve the current performance of electrochromic and other electrochemical devices.",non-battery
"Polypore International Inc, a global high-technology filtration company specialising in microporous membranes, has announced that the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina has granted a motion by Celgard Llc, a subsidiary of Polypore, for a preliminary injunction against LG Chem Ltd and LG Chem America Inc.",non-battery
"Objectives We evaluated the accuracy of the Accusplit AH120 pedometer (built-in memory) for recording step counts of children during treadmill walking against (1) observer counted steps and (2) concurrently measured steps using the previously validated Yamax Digiwalker SW-700 pedometer. Design This was a cross-sectional validation study performed under controlled settings. Methods Forty five 9–12-year-olds walked on treadmills at speeds of 42, 66 and 90m/min to simulate slow, moderate and fast walking wearing Accusplit and Yamax pedometers concurrently on their right hip. Observer counted steps were captured by video camera and manually counted. Absolute value of percent error was calculated for each comparison. Bland–Altman plots were constructed to show the distribution of the individual (criterion-comparison) scores around zero. Results Both pedometers under-recorded observer counted steps at all three walk speeds. Absolute value of percent error was highest at the slowest walk speed (Accusplit=46.9%; Yamax=44.1%) and lowest at the fastest walk speed (Accusplit=8.6%; Yamax=8.9%). Bland–Altman plots showed high agreement between the pedometers for all three walk speeds. Conclusions Using pedometers with built-in memory capabilities eliminates the need for children to manually log step counts daily, potentially improving data accuracy and completeness. Step counts from the Accusplit (built-in memory) and Yamax (widely used) pedometers were comparable across all speeds, but their level of accuracy was dependent on walking pace. Pedometers should be used with caution in children as they significantly undercount steps, and this error is greatest at slower walk speeds.",non-battery
"Lomber and colleagues find that enhanced visual localization and motion detection in deaf cats is subserved by cross-modal reorganization of cortex that is typically dedicated to auditory function. Furthermore, the authors localize the individual visual functions to discrete portions of reorganized auditory cortex.",non-battery
"Heavy and frequent rain, low temperatures, and strong winds may decrease adult foraging time, cause thermoregulatory stress on nestlings, and lead to nest damage or destruction, all of which can negatively affect breeding success. However, certain parental behaviours can mitigate these potentially negative effects of inclement weather. We examined how parents could mitigate these negative weather effects by adjusting three behaviours—nest attendance, prey deliveries, and nest maintenance—before, during, and after storms at 11 nests of the at-risk Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) in Canada. Female adults spent an increasing amount of time on the nest as wind speed increased. Similar numbers of prey were delivered before and after storms, suggesting that Ferruginous Hawks do not compensate for lost foraging time. They appeared to demonstrate an ability to detect approaching storms, possibly by responding to falling barometric pressure cues, and may have mitigated the risk of nest damage by increasing their nest maintenance behaviours. Our study is among the first to observe storm preparation behaviour, and indicates that some raptorial birds have the ability to alter nesting behaviour in response to approaching inclement weather.",non-battery
"A smart home is a residence equipped with technology that observes the residents and provides proactive services. Most recently, it has been introduced as a potential solution to support independent living of people with disabilities and older adults, as well as to relieve the workload from family caregivers and health providers. One of the key supporting features of a smart home is its ability to monitor the activities of daily living and safety of residents, and in detecting changes in their daily routines. With the availability of inexpensive low-power sensors, radios, and embedded processors, current smart homes are typically equipped with a large amount of networked sensors which collaboratively process and make deductions from the acquired data on the state of the home as well as the activities and behaviors of its residents. This article reviews sensor technology used in smart homes with a focus on direct environment sensing and infrastructure mediated sensing. The article also points out the strengths and limitations of different sensor technologies, as well as discusses challenges and opportunities from clinical, technical, and ethical perspectives. It is recommended that sensor technologies for smart homes address actual needs of all stake holders including end users, their family members and caregivers, and their doctors and therapists. More evidence on the appropriateness, usefulness, and cost benefits analysis of sensor technologies for smart homes is necessary before these sensors should be widely deployed into real-world residential settings and successfully integrated into everyday life and health care services.",non-battery
"Objectives. (1) Determine the predictive value of a school-based test of cardiovascular fitness (CVF) for insulin resistance (IR); (2) compare a ""school-based"" prediction of IR to a ""laboratory-based"" prediction, using various measures of fitness and body composition. Methods. Middle school children (",non-battery
"The nitrate-(glycine+malonic acid)-assisted gel-combustion process, followed by a heat treatment at 750°C under reductive atmosphere, was used as a fast and effective way to synthesize vanadium doped olivine incorporated in carbon matrix, of general formula LiFe(1−x)V x PO4/C. The two-phased Rietveld refinement confirmed that vanadium incorporation into olivine structure was complete. The heating under reduction atmosphere caused the formation of iron phosphide to some extent, the concentration was determined by Rietveld analysis. The capacity and rate capability of these composites were tested by both cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic cycling. Specifically, the average discharging capacities of the composite with x =0.055, determined in an saturated aqueous LiNO3 solution equilibrated with air, at the rates of 1, 10 and 100C, amounted to 91, 73 and 35mAhg−1, respectively, with no perceivable capacity fade.",battery
" Patients with a history of a fracture have an increased risk for future fractures, even in short term. The aim of this study was to assess the number of patients with falls and to identify fall risk factors that predict the risk of falling in the first three months after a clinical fracture.",non-battery
"In this paper, a novel silica sol conductor SiO2(Li+) was synthesized from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and γ-(2,3-epoxypropoxy) propyltrimethoxysilane via sol–gel hydrolysis followed by neutralized with lithium hydroxide. The prepared SiO2(Li+) were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) by standard solution-casting technique coupled with phase inversion process to fabricate a composite microporous membrane. Then the resultant composite microporous gel polymer electrolyte (CMGPE) was obtained by simply immersing the dried composite microporous membrane into liquid electrolyte and being gelled. The physicochemical properties of the CMGPEs were characterized by FTIR, DSC, XRD, TG, stress–strain response and electrochemical measurements. They exhibit a higher porosity and a higher electrolyte uptake with a proper addition of SiO2(Li+), while, the degree of crystallization of composite microporous membranes decrease with it. In addition, the ionic conductivity of CMGPEs can also be enhanced by vast amount of Li+ ions on the added SiO2(Li+). When the content of SiO2(Li+) was 5wt%, ionic conductivity of the CMGPEs reached to 10−3 Scm−1 order of magnitudeat at room temperature and its electrochemical stability window was 5.2V. A proper content of SiO2(Li+) in PVdF-based membrane makes it a potential candidate for application as polymer electrolyte in devices.",battery
"Nanoporous hard carbon microspheres (NHCSs) were prepared by combination of microemulsion and polymerization methods and using phenolic resin (resol) as precursor and ethanol and ethylene glycol (EG) as solvent and soft template, respectively, followed by carbonization process. Using different amounts of EG resulted in NHCSs with different crystalline structure, surface area and pore volumes, and Li ion storage capacity, as evidenced by physical and electrochemical measurements. Higher and lower polymerization rates were also tested on the starting resol solution with composition which led to the NHCS with the highest surface area and Li ion storage capacity. The sample polymerized at higher rate had the highest surface area and pore volume, as well as the best Li ion storage performance in terms of capacity and rate capability. for all of the NHCSs, the specific surface area and Li ion storage capacity were well correlated, and a good correlation was observed between total pore volume and rate capability. Furthermore, acceptable correlations were found between Li ion storage capacity and either surface area or microstructure of the NHCSs.",battery
"Ni-rich layered oxides are regarded as the promising candidate for high energy density lithium-ion batteries owing to the high specific capacity. However, Ni-rich layered oxides suffer a rapid capacity fade, which is related to the undesirable structure evolution during cycling. Herein, an in-situ surface modification strategy by using Al2O3 nanofibers as electrolyte additive is adopted to enhance the crystallographic, morphological, component, and electrochemical stability of LiNi0.88Co0.09Al0.03O2 during cycling at both the particle and electrode level. The coating layer can be in-situ formed on the cathode surface after injecting the functional electrolyte into the cell. The integrated spherical morphology of secondary particles on the modified cathode is maintained during cycling without harmful microcracks. In the meantime, the coating layer protects the cathode from HF corrosion during cycling, which can reduce the dissolution of transition-metal ions and insure relatively uniform spatial distribution of the constituents across the cathode as detected by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Consequently, the modified cathode shows the improved stability with the high initial capacity of 198.1 mAh g−1 and good capacity retention after 800 cycles at room temperature. Moreover, the modified cathode also exhibits promising performance at higher operating temperature (55 °C) or higher charge potential (4.6 V).",battery
"We present a complete testing environment for the parallel performance characterization of biofuel cells. Besides rapid-assembly electrode fixtures and an aseptic electrochemical reactor, it comprises a 24-channel electrical testing system that bridges the gap between simple load resistors and costly multi-channel potentiostats. The computer-controlled testing system features active current control to enable the forced operation of half-cell electrodes, whereas galvanic isolation between individual channels ensures interference-free operation of multiple fuel cells immersed in a common testing solution. Implemented into the control software is an automated procedure for the step-wise recording of polarization curves. This way, performance overestimation due to a too fast increase in load current can be circumvented. As an applicational example, three abiotically catalyzed glucose fuel cells are characterized simultaneously in a common testing solution. Complete disclosure of the electrical system (incl. printed circuit board layout, control software, and circuit diagrams) in the online supplementary material accompanying this paper allows researchers to replicate our setup in their lab and can serve as inspiration for the design of similar systems adapted to specific requirements.
",battery
"Aspect-based sentiment classification aims to predict the sentiment polarity of specific aspects appeared in a sentence. Nowadays, most current methods mainly focus on the semantic information by exploiting traditional attention mechanisms combined with recurrent neural networks to capture the interaction between the contexts and the targets. However, these models did not consider the importance of the relevant syntactical constraints. In this paper, we propose to employ a novel gated graph convolutional networks on the dependency tree to encode syntactical information, and we design a Syntax-aware Context Dynamic Weighted layer to guide our model to pay more attention to the local syntax-aware context. Moreover, Multi-head Attention is utilized for capturing both semantic information and interactive information between semantics and syntax. We conducted experiments on five datasets and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.",non-battery
"In this work, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-wrapped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), denoted as CNT@DNA, were successfully assembled through a facile sonication treatment. By using the as-obtained CNT@DNA as template, a NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA composite with anchored NiCo2O4 nanoparticles was fabricated by coating via in situ precipitation. The nanostructures of the as-synthesized samples were examined via powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques. Subsequently, the NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA and NiCo2O4-CNT (prepared without DNA) samples were used as cathode materials to fabricate supercapacitors with high capacitive performance. The results of electrochemical tests show that the NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 760.0 F/g at 5 mV/s, which is higher than that of the NiCo2O4-CNT electrode. The NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA electrode displays a capacitance retention of 96.2% after 5000 cycles at the current density of 5 A/g. Moreover, a NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA//activated carbon (AC) asymmetric supercapacitor, prepared using NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA and activated carbon as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, shows a specific capacitance of 223.7 F/g and a maximum energy density of 69.7 Wh/kg at a power density of 373.9 W/kg. The NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA//AC asymmetric supercapacitors, integrated in series, powered 5 mm red, yellow, and green light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The above results demonstrate that the novel NiCo2O4-CNT@DNA composites can be promising candidates as electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors in future applications.",battery
"The modeling of Lithium-ion batteries usually utilizes discrete-time system identification methods to estimate parameters of discrete models. However, in real applications, there is a fundamental limitation of the discrete-time methods in dealing with sensitivity when the system is stiff and the storage resolutions are limited. To overcome this problem, this paper adopts direct continuous-time system identification methods to estimate the parameters of equivalent circuit models for Lithium-ion batteries. Compared with discrete-time system identification methods, the continuous-time system identification methods provide more accurate estimates to both fast and slow dynamics in battery systems and are less sensitive to disturbances. A case of a 2nd-order equivalent circuit model is studied which shows that the continuous-time estimates are more robust to high sampling rates, measurement noises and rounding errors. In addition, the estimation by the conventional continuous-time least squares method is further improved in the case of noisy output measurement by introducing the instrumental variable method. Simulation and experiment results validate the analysis and demonstrate the advantages of the continuous-time system identification methods in battery applications.",battery
"Lead electrodeposited carbon foam (LCF), whose substrate was made from pitch by a template method, was investigated as possible positive current collectors for lead acid batteries. Scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests were employed to characterize the effect of the proposed collector on the structure and electrochemical properties of the positive active material (PAM). The LCF with uniform and dense lead coating shows the similar electrochemical characteristics to metallic lead in the voltage range where the positive electrodes of lead acid batteries operate. The LCF and lead slices were used as the positive current collectors to equip lead acid batteries, respectively. Comparative charge–discharge tests show that a battery equipped with a LCF collector exhibits higher PAM utilization efficiency and longer cycle life, for LCF can provide large specific surface area which is beneficial to electrochemical reactions and PAM adhesion. In addition, a light lead acid battery with a LCF positive current collector and a carbon foam negative current collector was made and tested for the first time. It deserves systematic industrial study in the future.
",battery
"The development and utilization of biomass materials for high-performance energy storage electrode materials that meet the urgent need for green and sustainable development strategies are required. In this study, we developed a simple thermal treatment method for the formation of porous carbon (PC) from loofah sponge. An asymmetric supercapacitor was then assembled depending on the loofah sponge-derived PC@MnO2 and N-doped PC, providing high energy and power density than MnO2. The working voltage of the designed asymmetric device could reach 1.8V and exhibited excellent performance such as a high capacitance of 78.2Fg−1 at a current density of 1Ag−1 in 1.0M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte, a relatively high energy density of 34.7Whkg−1 and power density 26.8kWkg−1. In addition, the device exhibited good electrochemical stability, with approximately 91.2% retention of initial specific capacitance after 2000cycles. The asymmetric supercapacitor represents an exciting direction for enhancing the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors and designing next-generation high-performance energy storage devices.",battery
"In this paper, we leverage a 10-wave election panel to examine the relative and dynamic effects of voter evaluations of Bush, Palin, Biden, McCain, and Obama in the 2008 presidential election. We show that the effects of these political figures on vote choice evolves through the campaign, with the predictive effects of President Bush declining after the nominees are known, and the effects of the candidates (and Palin), increasing towards Election Day. In evaluating the relative effects of these political figures on individual-level changes in vote choice during the fall campaign, we also find that evaluations of the candidates and Sarah Palin dwarf that of President Bush. Our results suggest a Bayesian model of voter decision making in which retrospective evaluations of the previous administration might provide a starting point for assessing the candidates, but prospective evaluations based on information learned during the campaign helps voters to update their candidate preference. Finally, we estimate the “Palin effect,” based on individual-level changes in favorability towards the vice-presidential nominee, and conclude that her campaign performance cost McCain just under 2% of the final vote share.",non-battery
"We present CARE, a context-aware tool for nurses in nursing homes. The system utilises a sensors infrastructure to quantify the behaviour and wellbeing (e.g., activity, mood, social and nurse interactions) of elderly residents. The sensor data is offloaded, processed and analysed in the cloud, to generate daily and long-term summaries of residents’ health. These insights are then presented to nurses via an Android tablet application. We aim to create a tool that can assist nurses and increase their awareness to residents’ needs. We deployed CARE in a local nursing home for two months and evaluated the system through a post-hoc exploratory analysis and interviews with the nurses. The results indicate that CARE can reveal essential insights on the wellbeing of elderly residents and improve the care service. In the discussion, we reflect on our understanding and potential impact of future integrated technology in elderly care environments.",non-battery
"Al-doped β-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets are prepared by a simple hydrothermal process onto nickel foam by using a mixed aqueous solution of nickel nitrate, aluminum nitrate and ammonia. Their structure and surface morphology are studied by using X-ray diffraction analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The SEM images show changes in the microstructure of β-Ni(OH)2 by the addition of Al. The XRD results show that the α-phase Ni(OH)2 appeared by the addition of Al. The effects of Al content on the electrochemical behaviors of β-Ni(OH)2 are investigated by cyclic voltammetrys, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show a drastic improvement in the capacitive characteristics of β-Ni(OH)2 with a specific capacitance increase from 941.7 to 2122.6 F g−1 by the addition of just 3.4 mol% Al. This work suggests that the as-prepared Al0.034Ni0.966LDH electrode has a promising future as higher charging/discharging rate materials for pseudo-supercapacitors.",battery
"Novel binary electrolytes based on ionic liquid (N-butyl-methyl piperidinium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide, PP14-TFSI) and sulfone (tetramethylene sulfone, TMS) have been prepared and examined for use in lithium-ion batteries. The addition of sulfone is expected to improve the lithium salts solvability, ionic conductivity and electrode compatibility of the ionic liquid greatly. More importantly, the addition of sulfone is not expected to deteriorate the peculiar properties of the ionic liquid, such as the wide electrochemical window and non-flammability. Experimental results have shown that the reversible discharge capacities of the Li/LiFePO4 half-cell, which contains a 0.5 M LiTFSI/(60%) PP14-TFSI/(40%) TMS mixed electrolyte at a current density of 0.05 C and 1 C, can reach up to 160 and 150 mAh g−1, respectively, which are much higher than the discharge capacity achieved using the pure ionic liquid electrolyte under the same conditions. Furthermore, lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) has been found to have positive effects on the battery performance of the mixed electrolytes. The 0.5 M LiDFOB/(60%) PP14-TFSI/(40%) TMS mixed electrolyte exhibits better compatibility with the Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 cathode than conventional electrolytes, where an initial discharge capacity of 255 mAh g−1 is obtained and a stable capacity of above 230 mAh g−1 is retained after 30 cycles.",battery
"Efficient control of electrified powertrains requires accurate estimation of the power capability of the battery for the next few seconds into the future. When implemented in a vehicle, the power estimation is part of a control loop that may contain several networked controllers which introduces time delays that may jeopardize stability. In this article, we present and evaluate an adaptive power estimation method that robustly can handle uncertain health status and time delays. A theoretical analysis shows that stability of the closed loop system can be lost if the resistance of the model is under-estimated. Stability can, however, be restored by filtering the estimated power at the expense of slightly reduced bandwidth of the signal. The adaptive algorithm is experimentally validated in lab tests using an aged lithium-ion cell subject to a high power load profile in temperatures from −20 to +25 °C. The upper voltage limit was set to 4.15 V and the lower voltage limit to 2.6 V, where significant non-linearities are occurring and the validity of the model is limited. After an initial transient when the model parameters are adapted, the prediction accuracy is within ± 2 % of the actually available power.",battery
"Desiccant material has been used in drying applications because of its low energy consumption, among other advantages. Desiccant material can produce hot and dry air that is beneficial for the drying process. The advantages of using desiccant material in a drying system include continuous drying even during off-sunshine hours, increased drying rate due to hot and dry air, more uniform drying, and increased product quality especially for heat-sensitive products. Some problems in desiccant system such as pressure drop in solid desiccant, carry over of liquid desiccant by air stream and low moisture adsorption capacity may be improved by optimization of the design of desiccant system. Numerous researchers have studied the low cost and low regeneration temperature of desiccant material, and the optimization of desiccant application to produce more competitive energy. The use of heat to regenerate desiccant material in a drying system has limitations in energy saving. However the use of low energy or free available energy such as solar energy and waste heat from industrial processes for regeneration of desiccant material will make the system more cost-effective. This paper presents several works on the regenerative method of the desiccant system and its application in the drying system for both solid and liquid desiccant materials.",battery
"Safinamide is a monoamine-oxidase-B inhibitor with peculiar features. At the dose of 100 mg/day, safinamide stimulates dopaminergic transmission and reduces glutamatergic transmission. Here, we investigated the effects of safinamide 100 mg on executive functions at the end of levodopa dose in fluctuating Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Thirty-two fluctuating PD patients were submitted at baseline (V1) to the UPDRS-III, the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and the Stroop-Word-Color-Test (SWCT) at the end of levodopa dose. Safinamide was then added to the original therapy. After 12 weeks of treatment, patients underwent the final visit (V2), including the UPDRS-III, the FAB and the SWCT with the same daily time schedule as V1. Treatment with safinamide was associated with significant increases of the total FAB score, SWCT-interference time score and UPDRS-III score. Within FAB subdomains, add-on with safinamide significantly increased motor programming and increased mental flexibility and inhibitory control scores. The results of this exploratory study show that add-on with safinamide improves executive functions at the end of levodopa dose in fluctuating PD patients. In particular, attention and inhibition of cognitive interference were significantly ameliorated by add-on with safinamide, suggesting increased modulatory performances of prefrontal cortical pathways. If confirmed by future research on larger cohorts and under controlled conditions, the present results may represent the basis for a novel indication for the use of safinamide in fluctuating PD patients.
",non-battery
"Insulated polymer host and lithium salt need to be separately dissolved into organic solvents prior to assembly of lithium batteries, implying a large usage of organic solvents and the consequent disadvantages of poor thermal stability, flammability, and explosibility of the end products. Herein, a new generation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystalline lithium salt (LiBIB) with potential bilayer fast ion-conductive tunnels, having functionalities of both lithium salt and polymer host or electrolyte, is successfully synthesized. Molecular structure, thermal stability, ionic conductivity, electrochemical stability, and ion-conductive mechanism of the LiBIB are extensively assessed. The obtained LiBIB shows typical behaviors of both ionic liquid and liquid crystal. Melt point at 43 °C, much lower than that of traditional lithium salts like LiClO4 and LiPF6, and clear point of the LiBIB at 83 °C are both detected. Solid LiBIB salt shows better ionic conductivity (3 × 10−3 S cm−1) and electrochemical stability at room temperature in comparison with those of traditional lithium salts. Time-resolved and perturbation-correlation moving window 2D-COR FTIR results indicate that the high ionic conductivity of the LiBIB is mainly originated from the formation of fast ion-conductive tunnels, implying a promising application in solvent-free Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) typically have very low outputs in terms of root-mean-square (RMS) values as the outputs are in the form of short duration pulses. In order to overcome this limitation, here we introduce multi-phase rotation-type TENGs (MP-TENGs). The rotator of the MP-TENGs consists of alternating components of PTFE and mono cast nylon, whereas the stator consists of PTFE with multiple back electrodes. Each electrode produces an output of the same frequency and amplitude, but of different regularly shifted phases. Consequently, the outputs from all the electrodes are full-wave rectified and superimposed, and the total output of the MP-TENGs is almost constant direct current (DC), unlike typical TENGs, with much higher RMS values. A 5-phase TENG has produced 380 V, 3.6 mA m−2, and 4.9 W m−2, and the current crest factor is dramatically decreased to 1.26. Finally, due to the almost constant DC output, the MP-TENGs successfully operate electronic devices and charge a battery.
",battery
"Polyaniline (PANI) is electrochemically synthesized using agar gel as a template (Agar-PANI). The material characteristics and electrochemical behavior of the Agar-PANIs are compared with those of polyaniline synthesized by means of conventional methods (C-PANI). The electrochemical synthesis is monitored using the cyclic potential sweep (CPS) technique. The dependency of the total deposition charge on the number of cycles can be satisfactorily explained with a CPS parameter, n, and is consistent with scanning electron micrographs. The electrical conductivity and the bulk density of the Agar-PANI samples are 1.5Scm−1 and 1.53gcm−3, which are three orders and four times larger than those of the C-PANI samples, respectively. On the other hand, C-PANI and Agar-PANI have similar crystallinity. The capacitances of the Agar-PANIs are 200–500Fcm−3 at 5mHz and these electrodes would be adequate for high energy density devices. The accommodation of glutamate is 1.5×10−3 molcm−3 for the Agar-PANI, which is two orders of magnitude larger than when a polypyrrole electrode is used.",battery
"Lithium metal anode is a promising electrode with high theoretical specific capacity and low electrode potential. However, its unstable interface and low Coulombic efficiency, resulting from the dendritic growth of lithium, limits its commercial application. PIM-1 (PIM: polymer of intrinsic microporosity), which is a polymer with abundant micropores, exhibits high rigidity and flexibility with contorted spiro-centers in the backbone, and is an ideal candidate for artificial solid electrolyte interphases (SEI). In this work, a PIM-1 membrane was synthesized and fabricated as a protective membrane on the surface of an electrode to facilitate the uniform flux of Li ions and act as a stable interface for the lithium plating/stripping process. Nodule-like lithium with rounded edges was observed under the PIM-1 membrane. The Li@PIM-1 electrode delivered a high average Coulombic efficiency (99.7%), excellent cyclability (80% capacity retention rate after 600 cycles at 1 C), and superior rate capability (125.3 mAh g−1 at 10 C). Electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) showed that the PIM-1 membrane could lower the diffusion rate of Li+ significantly and change the rate-determining step from charge transfer to Li+ diffusion. Thus, the PIM-1 membrane is proven to act as an artificial SEI to facilitate uniform and stable deposition of lithium, in favor of obtaining a compact and dense Li-plating pattern. This work extends the application of PIMs in the field of lithium batteries and provides ideas for the construction of artificial SEI.",battery
"The accumulation of irreversible capacity in the first cycle and upon cycling has been studied for LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4-based cathodes (LNMO), bare and coated with ZnO. Materials have been synthesized at 800°C and characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The precipitation of a continuous ZnO film on the surface of LNMO has been highlighted by TEM. Galvanostatic cycling at room temperature and at 60°C, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), impedance spectroscopy and TEM techniques have been used to investigate the materials and the irreversible capacity accumulation upon cycling. Our study confirms that continuous parasitic processes occur upon cycling beyond the first charge/discharge. Anodic LSV test shows that side oxidation processes start on the surface of a LNMO electrode at potential slightly above the Ni2+/Ni4+ redox couple. At the end of charge an uniform and continuous thin film (3–4nm) forms of on the bare LNMO. This film likely modifies upon cycling and it is apparently unable to passivate the LNMO surface preventing further decompositions. On the contrary the material coated with ZnO shows rough surfaces without large morphological alteration upon charge and cycling. The ZnO coating confirms its ability to mitigate the irreversible charge consumption.",battery
"Fe2O3 as anode material for lithium ion batteries has been widely studied. However, structural pulverization and capacity fading induced by large volume change and low conductivity still limit its practical applications. In this work, Fe2O3/NiO/PPy and Fe2O3/Co3O4/PPy nanosheets were firstly constructed and investigated as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The unique structures and the synergistic effect of the two components can effectively accommodate the strain of volume change, inhibit the pulverization and aggregation of the electrodes as well as enhance the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the void spaces and interstitial sites in the Fe2O3/NiO/PPy and Fe2O3/Co3O4/PPy hybrids provide more lithium storage spaces and buffer spaces for the volumetric change during cycling. Benefiting from these advantages, the obtained Fe2O3/NiO/PPy and Fe2O3/Co3O4/PPy hybrids exhibit high reversible capacity, good cyclic performance and excellent rate capability. At the current density of 0.2 A g−1, the Fe2O3/NiO/PPy and Fe2O3/Co3O4/PPy display the discharge capacities of 1034 mAh g−1 and 922 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles, respectively. Even at high current density of 10 A g−1, the reversible capacities still maintain at 445 mAh g−1 for Fe2O3/NiO/PPy and 414 mAh g−1 for Fe2O3/Co3O4/PPy after long-term cycles (1000 cycles).",battery
"This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors with the agreement of the Editor-in-Chief. The corresponding Author submitted the manuscript without the approval of all the collaborators in the work. The Authors apologise for this serious violation of the publishing policies, and they offer sincere apologies to their collaborator. The journal apologises to its readers. The appropriate work has been published as https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.07.087.",battery
" Self-administrated patient outcome scores are increasingly recommended for evaluation of primary outcome in clinical studies. The VISA-P score, developed at the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment in Melbourne, Australia, is a questionnaire developed for patients with patellar tendinopathy and the patients assess severity of symptoms, function and ability to participate in sport. The aim of this study was to translate the questionnaire into Swedish and to study the reliability and validity of the translated questionnaire and resultant scores.",non-battery
"One-step electrosynthesis of polypyrrole (PPy)/graphene oxide (GO) composites on the graphite felt (GF) electrode was achieved by electropolymerization of pyrrole while using GO as the anionic dopant. The resulting PPy/GO composites were uniformly coated on the GF surface, with increased surface area, electronic conductivity, biocompatibility and stability as compared to PPy alone or graphene alone-modified GF electrode. The dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) equipped with the PPy/GO modified GF anode showed the maximum power density of 1326mWm−2 (obtained from linear sweep voltammetry at a scan rate of 0.5mVs−1), which was significantly larger than that associated with the unmodified GF anode (166mWm−2), the electrochemically reduced GO-modified GF anode (318mWm−2), the chemically reduced GO-modified GF anode (924mWm−2), and the PPy-modified GF anode (1100mWm−2). After 120 cycles of lactate feeding, the PPy/GO-GF anode exhibited good stability without noticeable performance degradation, but performance degradation was observed for the anodes modified with PPy alone or graphene alone. These results demonstrate that the PPy/GO composites, synthesized via the simple and facile electropolymerization approach, are effective anode modifying materials for improving electricity generation as well as long-term stability of MFCs.",battery
" This work describes optimized conditions for the use of cellulose acetate (CA), a naturally derived polymer, in gel electrolytes (GEs) for electrochromic devices (ECDs). The GEs were doped with lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) as a supporting salt electrolyte and propylene carbonate as a solvent. The conductivity of GEs with varying CA concentration was evaluated by a conductivity meter to determine the effectiveness of electrolyte ion transport in the GE matrix. Then, we employed poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) thin films as an electrochromic layer on an ITO substrate. The P3HT film served as the main cathodic electrochromic layer, the GE as an ion conducting layer, and a piece of bare ITO substrate as an anodic electrochromic layer. We evaluated the stability of the P3HT film by measuring the optical and electrochemical properties of P3HT thin films on ITO in GEs through UV–Vis and cyclic voltammograms obtained during application of potential to the films. Current/voltage data and related performance for ECDs were investigated. The results showed that the prepared GEs have high stability within the operative potential window for ECDs. The electrochromic polymer films operated with the prepared GE showed good stability with fully reversible color change for more than 1000 cycles without polymer film or GE degradation. This work shows the first example of the use of GE with a natural polymer matrix in electrochromic devices and demonstrates their reliability under repetitive switching of applied voltage for up to 1000 cycles.",battery
"In the present work, the ionic transport in copper tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine doped polyaniline (PANI/CuTsPc) film and its effects on the optical properties of the polymer is presented. The studies were performed in situ and in real time by using electrochemical surface plasmon resonance (ESPR) and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM). The electropolymerization was performed by potentiodynamic method and the EQCM experiments showed that the PANI/CuTsPc films behave rigidly validating the use of the Sauerbray equation. Both protonic and anionic participation in the charge compensation process were calculated and showed that the presence of the CuTsPc in the PANI film suppress the anionic transportation. Finally, the ESPR experiments showed that changes in the optical properties of the PANI/CuTsPc film were more expressive in the same potential range where the protonic transport was dominant.",battery
We report the influence of nickel catalyst layer thickness when growing nickel silicide alloy nanowires below the liquefaction temperature through metal induced growth. Three different catalyst layer thicknesses show three different nanowire growth results that vary significantly the performance when used as an anode in a lithium ion solution. The thicker catalyst layers (70 nm) show pure NiSi nanowires which have an initial capacity of 1300 mAh g−1 that degrades to 550 mAh g−1 within 90 cycles. The thinner (30 nm thick) layer shows a heterogenous nanowire morphology comprising of a multicrystalline NiSi2 inside core and a Ni doped SiO amorphous shell with initial Li-ion capacity of 1727 mAh g−1 capacity that increases to 2468 mAh g−1 after 90 cycles. Samples with no catalyst layers were shown to grow pure silicon nanowires with poor surface coverage having an initial capacity of 1779 mAh g−1 that falls to 242 mAh g−1 after 90 cycles.,battery
"A study was conducted to identify sanitizing solutions effective at inactivating ca. 5logCFU of Salmonella enterica inoculated onto the stem scar of red round tomatoes during two-minute immersion treatments. Sixty-three antimicrobial combinations were tested. Vacuum perfusion was applied to tomatoes during selected treatments to promote infiltration of sanitizer into porous tomato stem scar tissue. Red round tomatoes were inoculated to ca. 6.9logCFU/stem scar with a four-serovar composite of Salmonella enterica, air dried, and tomatoes were immersed in circulating sanitizing solutions for 120s at ca. 22°C. Stem scars were aseptically excised, macerated in DE neutralizing broth, and the homogenate was spiral plated. Twenty-four washes inactivated ≥3.0logCFU/stem scar. Seven treatments reduced ≥4.8 log (viz., 40% EtOH, sulfuric acid, and organic acid combinations). LogCFU/stem scar reductions for various sanitizers are listed in parenthesis, as follows: 90ppm peroxyacetic acid (1.31), 200ppm chlorine (1.53), 190ppm chlorine+15″ Hg vacuum perfusion (2.23), 0.2N sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (3.78), 2% total of lactic+acetic acid (4.35), 3% total of phosphoric+lactic acids (4.51), and 40% ethanol (4.81). Solutions that achieved ≥4.95 log reductions were 5.1% total of lactic+acetic+levulinic acids, 49% ethanol, 6% total of lactic+acetic acids, and a 0.2M H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) solution. The use of vacuum perfusion with 200ppm chlorine increased inactivation by 0.7logCFU over chlorine alone, however, P>0.05. Results from this study provide tomato processers with some sanitization options effective at inactivating Salmonella from the stem scars of tomatoes. These results may also help processors and scientists design future decontamination studies by incorporating combinations of these chemical treatments.",non-battery
"A generalized three dimensional computational model based on unified formulation of electrode–electrolyte system of an electric double layer supercapacitor has been developed. This model accounts for charge transport across the electrode-electrolyte system. It is based on volume averaging, a widely used technique in multiphase flow modeling ([1,2]) and is analogous to porous media theory employed for electrochemical systems [3–5]. A single-domain approach is considered in the formulation where there is no need to model the interfacial boundary conditions explicitly as done in prior literature ([6]). Spatio-temporal variations, anisotropic physical properties, and upscaled parameters from lower length-scale simulations and experiments can be easily introduced in the formulation. Model complexities like irregular geometric configuration, porous electrodes, charge transport and related performance characteristics of the supercapacitor can be effectively captured in higher dimensions. This generalized model also provides insight into the applicability of 1D models ([6]) and where multidimensional effects need to be considered. A sensitivity analysis is presented to ascertain the dependence of the charge and discharge processes on key model parameters. Finally, application of the formulation to non-planar supercapacitors is presented.",battery
"Although Li-ion batteries have revitalized the energy storage platform, higher energy density for long-range applications is still a challenge. Beyond Li-ion, Li-S battery could be one of the most promising technologies, but challenges such as lithium polysulfide shuttling, sluggish reaction kinetics and low areal sulfur loading (<2.0 mg cm−2) remain. Herein, we report a multifunctional electrode composite consists of conducting polymer-carbon complex where the sulfur loading can reach as high as ∼75 wt %. Owing to high electrical conductivity and inherent heteroatom compositions of conductive polymers, composite electrodes are capable of suppressing polysulfide shuttling and enhance reaction kinetics via catalysis. As a result, these composite electrodes deliver outstanding electrochemical performance with the specific capacity of ∼1100 mAhg−1 for more than 100 cycles. A one-pot and straightforward procedure at ambient conditions to prepare these composite electrodes are demonstrated.",battery
"Power electronics DC–DC converters are being widely used in various applications like hybrid energy systems, hybrid vehicles, aerospace, satellite applications and portable electronics devices. In the recent past, a lot of research and development has been carried out to enhance the reliability, efficiency, modularity and cost effectiveness of these converters. A number of new topologies have been proposed and new characteristics of power conversion have been defined. DC–DC converters have made a successful transition from single input–single output to multiinput–multioutput converters. These converters are now able to interface different level inputs and combine their advantages to feed the different level of outputs. Research is continued to bring down the cost and reduce the number of components while keeping the continuous improvement in the areas like reliability and efficiency of the overall system. The study of different multiinput DC–DC converter topologies suggests that there is no single topology which can handle the entire goals of cost, reliability, flexibility, efficiency and modularity single handed. This paper presents some of the recent trends in the development of multiinput and multioutput DC–DC converters. Methods to synthesize multiinput converters, their operational principles, merits and demerits are studied.",battery
"We used high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to increase the excitability of perilesional regions after chronic brain damage to promote functional restitution. We specifically targeted rTMS to a perilesional area previously determined to be an essential site of functional compensation after focal damage to the posterior parietal cortex. A group of adult cats (n=6) underwent extensive behavioral testing in a battery of tasks requiring visually guided orienting responses to static visual stimuli presented at eccentricities throughout the left and right visual hemifields. Once plateau performance levels were reached, animals received unilateral cortical lesions of the posterior visuo-parietal cortex, which resulted in impairments in the ability to detect and localize visual stimuli in the contralesional visual hemispace. Three months after lesion, all subjects underwent daily sessions of rTMS (10Hz rTMS, 2400 pulses at 40% intensity) for seventy sessions. Animals were evaluated daily after each session of rTMS and after every block of 5 sessions. Following rTMS treatment, animals achieved either high, (n=4 subjects, 27±7%) moderate, (n=1 subjects, 17%) or no (n=1 subject, 0%) improvements in contralesional performance with respect to pre-TMS levels. Overall, recovery progressed from pericentral to peripheral targets with increasing rTMS sessions. A sham 10Hz TMS group (n=2) underwent an equivalent regimen and showed no changes in performance Our findings demonstrate that high frequency rTMS applied to perilesional cortical key areas is able to alleviate functional deficits in brain damaged subjects. These data have important implications for the use of rTMS to produce restitution in human patients afflicted by cerebral damage.",non-battery
"Bead-like nanocomposite Li3V2(PO4)3 (LVP) grown on carbon nanofiber (CNF) have been prepared by electrospinning and heat-treatment. The primary LVP crystals are squeezed together and grow outward because of the limitation of the reaction space for LVP precursors in PVP fiber, accompanying with the carbon nanofibers shrank in diameters. Compared with the traditional carbon-coated LVP, the combination of the “beads” (LVP nanoparticles) and the “string” (carbon fiber) are effective in conductivity and stability. A small amount of carbon content (5.27 wt%) in LVP/CNF is sufficient to enhance the rate performance and cycle ability. The initial discharge capacity of LVP/CNF is 196mAhg−1 at 0.1C, which is very close to the theoretical value (197mAhg−1) of pure LVP in 3.0-4.8V. In the long-term cycles at 20C-rate, LVP/CNF delivers the initial capacities of 127.5mAhg−1, and remains 102.0mAhg−1 at the 1000th cycle. Bead-like structure of LVP nanoparticles grown in carbon fibers is stable in thousands charge/discharge cycles at high current rate.",battery
"Simulating repeating loading events on dynamic systems can be challenging when large timescale disparities exist coupled with aperiodic effects. Batteries driving switched/pulsed loads represent one such situation. Large timescale disparity can be experienced by solid-state batteries driving switching microactuators or microelectronics, due to extremely short transient response times of microscale systems relative to some of the battery’s own dynamics. Projecting state changes over a long series of fast-timescale loading events using a transition matrix approach was shown previously to significantly reduce numerical expense of simulation compared to full modeling. Here we develop an approach for further accelerated simulation of a battery driving a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuator that quantifies errors and addresses overhead expenses in projecting battery states across multiple fast events. This is done with a definition of system states that allows efficient transition matrix generation, and an analysis of key errors associated with projection. This error analysis enables targeted modification to the transition matrix during projection. A case study explores these modeling approaches in a capacitively loaded, battery usage scenario of a piezoelectrically-driven microrobot where the proposed improvements reduce the numerical cost (function calls) by over 44x from the prior approach. Conditions for further simplified modeling are discussed.",battery
"A future for the E.U., dominated by an ever-increasing population of retired citizens represents a major challenge to social and health policy in European countries. Under Rowe and Kahn’s (Gerontol 37(4):433–440, 1997) perspective on positive aging, this paper is interested in exploring the role of health on citizens’ active participation after retirement and social engagement to life and quality of life. This paper also aims at finding whether Sen’s (Public health, ethics, and equity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004) capability approach or cumulative disadvantage or advantage theory relative to the access to health also verifies in a context of multi-national developed economies. The first part of this study is therefore concerned with generating a health indicator that enables this, whilst controlling for individual heterogeneity in self-rated health responses from 10,859 retired individuals from the SHARE survey. Socioeconomic determinants of health are found not to be critical in determining health in such a developed context whilst cumulative advantage is found relevant for the positive aging of Europeans. Evidence is found that active engagement in activities and quality of life are most certainly a prerogative for the more educated and the healthier retirees, hinting a strategy for European policymakers: cumulative advantage, leveraged by education and health policy, might just be the long-term strategy for contouring an aging and unproductive European population, transforming what could be a ‘burden’ into an asset.
",non-battery
"Nitrogen-doped carbons are suggested as electrochemically active materials for V(IV)/V(V) redox couples for a vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). These materials were synthesized using a hydrothermal reaction of aqueous glucose solution in the presence of ethylenediamine as a nitrogen source. The physical and electrochemical properties of the nitrogen-doped carbons are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry. These results reveal that the hydrothermal method is an effective way to synthesize high-content nitrogen-doped carbons. Nitrogen doping significantly improves catalytic activity and reversibility. Therefore, use of nitrogen-doped carbon is expected to increase the energy storage efficiency of VRBs.
",battery
"Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) {P(VdF-HFP)} membranes incorporating 0, 6 and 10wt.% of nano-meter sized particles of SiO2 were prepared by electrospinning. These membranes served as host matrix for the preparation of polymer electrolytes (PEs) by activating with the non-volatile and safe room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonylimide) (BMITFSI). The membranes consisted of layers of fibers with average fiber diameter of 2–5μm and had a porosity of ∼87%. PEs with SiO2 exhibited higher ionic conductivity with a maximum of 4.3×10−3 Scm−1 at 25°C obtained with 6% SiO2. The optimum PE based on the membrane with 6% SiO2 exhibited better compatibility with lithium metal electrode on storage and resulted in enhanced charge–discharge performance in Li/LiFePO4 cells at room temperature, delivering the theoretical specific capacity of 170mAhg−1 at 0.1C-rate. The PEs exhibited a very stable cycle property as well, demonstrating their suitability for lithium battery applications.",battery
"The dynamic behavior of the three-phase interface on a platinum electrode during oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in a potassium hydroxide droplet was studied by a charge-coupled device (CCD) and confocal laser microscopy. Contact angle measurements reveal a spreading interface during ORR, whereas the droplet figure remains unchanged during OER. The microscopy results demonstrated the formation of many fine droplets in the vicinity of the meniscus boundary during ORR, which was attributed to vapor condensation on the surface. Correlation of these observations with electrochemical data and differences in the results between ORR and OER suggest that the motion of the three-phase interface is induced by local pH and temperature gradients in the meniscus, presumably caused by ORR uniformity under the limitation of dissolved oxygen.",battery
"LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode powders for lithium-ion batteries were prepared by a modified sol–gel method with citric acid as chelating agent and a small amount of hydroxypropyl cellulose as dispersant agent. The structure and morphology of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders calcined at various temperatures for 4 h in air were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction analyzer, scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetric analyzer and differential thermal analyzer, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area analyzer. The results show that LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders calcined at 800 °C exhibit the best layered structure ordering and appear to have monodispersed particulates surface. In addition, the electrochemical properties of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders as cathode material were investigated by the charge–discharge and cyclic voltammetry studies in a three-electrode test cell. The initial charge–discharge studies indicate that LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode material obtained from the powders calcined at 800 °C shows the largest charge capacity of 231 mAh g−1 and the largest discharge capacity of 191 mAh g−1. And, the cyclic voltammetry studies indicate that Li+ insertion and extraction in LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders is reversible except for the first cycle.",battery
"Background and purpose Correlated with better follow-up of gliomas, cognitive disorders are increasingly studied. The aim of this study was to describe the cognitive disorders presented by these patients at baseline, before any treatment, and to evaluate the relations between cognitive disorders and return to work. Methods A detailed neuropsychological evaluation was administrated to 15 newly diagnosed patients with a grade II or III glial tumor before any treatment. Patients also completed the quality of life and depression scales. Results All patients in our study presented with at least one failed cognitive domain during the detailed examination, while the scores on the MMSE scale were within the norm. The most deteriorated functions were divided attention and episodic verbal and nonverbal memory. Moreover, a significant link was found between the number of failed cognitive functions and quality of life. Conclusion Cognitive disorders are frequent with glial tumors and impact patients’ quality of life. Simple tests of global cognitive status are not sufficient to detect cognitive difficulties in these patients. Consequently, detailed and adapted neuropsychological assessment is necessary, especially to detect deteriorated problems with memory, divided attention, or processing speed in this population.",non-battery
"The severe capacity fading and poor rate performance under high voltage of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 are the vital barriers for their large scale application. In order to solve above issues, zirconium doped LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 materials were prepared by solid state method. The effects of the zirconium content on the structure and electrochemical properties of Li(Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3)1-x Zr x O2 were extensively studied. Though the zirconium doped samples delivered lower initial capacities, the cycling stability are dramatically enhanced. Notably, Li(Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3)0.99Zr0.01O2 showed a capacity retention of 83.78% at 1C after 100 repeated cycle in a high voltage of 4.6V, while that of bare sample remains only 69.35%. Moreover, the rate capability of Li(Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3)0.99Zr0.01O2 is also greatly reinforced especially at high current density. The improved electrochemical performances could be ascribed to the less cation mixing degree, better lithium transportation kinetic and lower impedance, which were confirmed by Rietveld refinement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron impedance spectroscopy.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the automobile with emphasis on the basic operation of the engine, thus providing the background to how electronic controls have been and are applied. The basic automobile components and systems are reviewed as they pertained to the post-World War II, pre-emissions control era. This review provides a framework within which the present day automobile with its extensive use of electronics can be understood. In this sense, the motivation for applying electronics to solve regulatory problems imposed on the industry can be readily seen. The influence of the shock absorber damping on wheel motion is explained. This chapter briefly reviews the major systems of the automobile and discusses basic engine operation, and also indicates where electronic technology could be applied to improve performance or reduce cost.",non-battery
"Lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) are used as Li salts in butylmethylpyrrolidinium–bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMP–TFSI) ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte for Li/LiFePO4 cells. This kind of IL electrolyte shows high thermal stability (>400°C) and non-flammability, and is thus ideal for high-safety applications. At 25°C, a maximum capacity of 113mAhg−1 (at 0.1 C) is found for LiFePO4 in the IL with 0.5M LiTFSI. An excessive LiTFSI concentration leads to a capacity decrease due to reduced electrolyte ionic conductivity. At 50°C, the measured capacity and rate capability are significantly improved compared to those at 25°C. With 1M LiTFSI-doped IL electrolyte (the optimum concentration at 50°C), a capacity of 140mAhg−1 is found at 0.1 C and 45% of the capacity can be retained when the rate increases to 5 C, values which are comparable to those found in a traditional organic electrolyte. In the IL electrolyte, the LiFePO4 electrode shows better cyclic stability at 50°C than it does at 25°C; this trend is opposite to that found in the organic electrolyte. At 50°C, there is negligible capacity loss of LiFePO4 after 100 charge–discharge cycles in 1M LiTFSI-doped BMP–TFSI IL electrolyte.",battery
"Thermodynamics is a core part of science. Nearly all scientists should have a basic knowledge of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is a science of development, and is a viewpoint of scientific development in natural sciences. Achievement of thermodynamics has influence not only on natural sciences, but also on social sciences and philosophy. Fundamental concepts and definitions are very important for any discipline of science, so what is classical thermodynamics and what is modern thermodynamics have become the key points of puzzledom in thermodynamics. In this paper, after clarification of fundamental concept in thermodynamics, a complete basic modern classification of thermodynamics is naturally obtained. It is suggested that extended Carnot theorem and dissipation decrease theorem, together with the laws of thermodynamics, are the most fundamental theorems in thermodynamics discipline. Nondissipative thermodynamics is a new field besides equilibrium thermodynamics belonging to the equal part of the second law of thermodynamics.",non-battery
"
When the early trials of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® were conducted, different terms were used to denote ageing-associated neurocognitive disorders. With the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a taxonomy covering dementia and pre-dementia stages of such disorders became available. DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) were applied to patients with any type of ageing-associated cognitive impairment, including dementia, enrolled in randomized controlled clinical trials of EGb 761®, taking into account the reported inclusion and exclusion criteria and patient characteristics at baseline. For 23 of 31 trials (74 %), the inclusion diagnoses could be classified as NCD in accordance with DSM-5. Thirteen trials enrolled patients with major NCD, four trials enrolled patients with mild NCD and six trials enrolled patients with NCD, who could not be classified unambiguously as having mild or major NCD. Although various terms were formerly used for neurocognitive disorders, the patients enrolled in the majority of clinical trials with EGb 761® could be classified retrospectively using modern DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.",non-battery
"A simple synthetic method is developed for the synthesis of CoS2/N, S-codoped graphene. The result shows the existence of a strong electronic coupling between CoS2 and N, S-codoped graphene. The pyrrolic and pyridinic type nitrogen and S in the form of C-S-C in N, S-codoped graphene are found to be the anchoring sites of the CoS2 nanoparticles. As a bifunctional catalyst, the CoS2/N, S-codoped graphene exhibits an oxygen reduction onset potential of 0.963 V vs. RHE and delivers an oxygen evolution overpotential of 393 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2. Its oxygen reduction and evolution catalytic activities are comparable to those of the Pt/C and the state-of-art RuO2/C, respectively. Most impressively, the CoS2/N, S-codoped graphene exhibits a potential gap of 771 mV. This value is lower than those of most bifuntional catalysts reported, clearly indicating its potential use as the bifunctional catalyst to replace the noble-metal based catalysts for practical applications. Additionally, our results also suggest a great importance to prepare a single pure phase CoS2 in improving the catalytic bifunctionality of the CoS2/N, S-codoped graphene. The primary Zn-air battery with CoS2/N, S-codoped graphene shows a higher discharge peak power density than that with Pt/C.",battery
"Published data from various sources are used to perform economic and environmental comparisons of four types of vehicles: conventional, hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel cell. The production and utilization stages of the vehicles are taken into consideration. The comparison is based on a mathematical procedure, which includes normalization of economic indicators (prices of vehicles and fuels during the vehicle life and driving range) and environmental indicators (greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions), and evaluation of an optimal relationship between the types of vehicles in the fleet. According to the comparison, hybrid and electric cars exhibit advantages over the other types. The economic efficiency and environmental impact of electric car use depends substantially on the source of the electricity. If the electricity comes from renewable energy sources, the electric car is advantageous compared to the hybrid. If electricity comes from fossil fuels, the electric car remains competitive only if the electricity is generated on board. It is shown that, if electricity is generated with an efficiency of about 50–60% by a gas turbine engine connected to a high-capacity battery and an electric motor, the electric car becomes advantageous. Implementation of fuel cells stacks and ion conductive membranes into gas turbine cycles permits electricity generation to increase to the above-mentioned level and air pollution emissions to decrease. It is concluded that the electric car with on-board electricity generation represents a significant and flexible advance in the development of efficient and ecologically benign vehicles.",battery
"Intermetallic compounds with nominal formula CaNi5−x Cu x (x =0, 1, 2.5) have been prepared in order to investigate their hydrogenation properties. The samples were obtained by arc-melting and were deuterated in a Sieverts reactor. For x =0 and 1, we have found that the fast kinetics and the different shape of the curve (non sigmoidal) in the second absorption process indicate an improvement of the hydrogen absorption due to the activation of the alloys. The deuterium desorption spectra are similar for x =0 and 1 whereas for x =2.5 the desorption ranges a broader temperature interval (∼100–350°C) indicating a certain degree of chemical inhomogeneity or amorphization intrinsic to the parent sample or induced by the deuterium absorption. The formed deuterides were passivated in the presence of air in order to carry out a neutron diffraction study, allowing us to determine the deuterium positions in the samples. While in CaNi4CuD y the deuterium is randomly distributed over seven different positions, in CaNi5D y the deuterium only occupies five of them. This wider distribution in CaNi4CuD y can explain its higher stability, and therefore, its higher desorption temperature for deuterium.",battery
"Research has repeatedly shown that early adversities are a risk factor for psychological distress in adulthood. However, limited research has examined the association between early adversities and intraindividual changes in psychological distress among middle-aged adults. This study developed a self-report scale to retrospectively measure the level of adversity experienced in childhood (Early Environment Scale: EES) and investigated the association between the EES score and the change in psychological distress in middle-aged adults. Study 1 examined the reliability and validity of the nine-item EES using a sample of 337 Japanese adults (162 women; Meanage = 42.96, SDage = 10.55). In Study 2, a three-wave six-month longitudinal survey was conducted with a sample of 2000 Japanese adults (1000 women; Meanage = 40.94; SDage = 5.35). Psychological distress at all three waves was measured with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-6). The results from a latent growth analysis showed significant positive associations between early adversities and the intercept and slope factors of psychological distress. Specifically, individuals who reported more early adversity showed higher initial levels of psychological distress and a stronger increase in psychological distress among Japanese middle-aged adults. Early adversities might influence the development of dispositional sensitivity for psychological distress in adulthood.
",non-battery
"Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-bonded gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs), modified with polyaniline as an electron and proton conductor in the catalyst layer, are prepared and evaluated for use in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Polyaniline is coated on the GDE by electropolymerization of aniline and trifluoromethane sulfonic acid as the proton-conductive monomer. The electrodes are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, current–potential measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and chronoamperometry. The polyaniline is found to be homogenously dispersed in the catalyst layer, making it a good candidate proton and electron conductor. Use of polyaniline instead of Nafion in the catalyst layer, increases the utility of the electrocatalyst by 18%. The results are consistent with the presence of polyaniline as a conductive polymer in the reaction layer reducing the polarization resistance of the electrode in comparison with that of a corresponding electrode containing Nafion. Thus, the present results indicate that PEMFCs using polyaniline-containing electrocatalysts should give superior performance to those using catalysts containing traditional ionomers.",battery
"Although functionalized carbon-based materials have been widely used as the supercapacitor electrodes, the optimum contents of the functional groups, the charge storage mechanisms, and the effects of electrolytes and operating temperature have not yet been clearly investigated. In this work, carboxylate-modified hollow carbon nanospheres (c-HCN) with different functional group contents synthesized by an oxidation process of carbon nanospheres with nitric acid were coated on flexible carbon fibre paper and used as the supercapacitor electrodes. An as-fabricated supercapacitor of the c-HCN with a finely tuned 6.2 atomic % of oxygen of the oxygen-containing groups in an ionic liquid electrolyte exhibits a specific capacitance of 390Fg−1, a specific energy of 115Whkg−1, and a maximum specific power of 13548Wkg−1 at 70°C. The charge storage mechanism investigated is based on the chemical adsorption of the ionic liquid electrolyte on the c-HCN electrode. This process is highly reversible leading to high capacity retention. The supercapacitor in this work may be practically used in many high energy and power applications.",battery
"Photovoltaic-powered membrane filtration (PV-membrane) systems are of interest for the provision of clean drinking water in small communities, especially in remote areas. In order to deliver clean water at the lowest cost over the lifetime of the system, a reliable and robust design is paramount. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the operating range and reliability of all components of a small-scale PV-membrane system for brackish water desalination. The failure and degradation modes, as well as lifetime and robustness issues associated with field operation are discussed and best-practice recommendations made. The outcomes of this paper suggest that a small-scale (power rating <1.5 kW) PV-membrane system – based on a helical rotor pump driven by a direct-current brushless motor and powered by silicon photovoltaic modules – may achieve a lifetime of 20 years, while operating with a specific energy consumption of 1.5–3 kWh/m3. Possible methods for mitigating the effects of membrane fouling and damage are also discussed. To maximize membrane lifetime, such systems ought to be operated with a recovery of less than 30% and limit the rate of change of pressure (induced by fluctuations in solar irradiance) to less than 0.7 bar/s. The analysis is useful for identifying the optimal combination of components, system operation and possible reliability improvements. The investigation into component and system failures allows the weakest links to be avoided and enable the optimization of future systems. This review is intended as valuable reference for engineers engaged in the field of renewable-energy-powered membrane filtration technologies.",battery
"A lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) glass-electrolyte thin film is coated on a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) composite cathode by means of a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. The effect of the LiPON coating layer on the electrochemical performance and thermal stability of the LiCoO2 cathode is investigated. The thermal stability of the delithiated LiCoO2 cathode in the presence of liquid electrolyte is examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It is found that the LiPON coating, improves the rate capability and the thermal stability of the charged LiCoO2 cathode. The LiPON film appears to suppress impedance growth during cycling and inhibits side-reactions between delithiated LiCoO2 and the electrolyte.",battery
"We demonstrate the unsuitability of LiV3O8 as an electrode material for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries on simple but solid grounds: the compound is unstable under typical battery operation conditions, where it slowly dissolves as reflected in the yellow color acquired by the electrolyte. This can be the origin of the poor performance of the aqueous batteries based on this compound.",battery
"A simplified 5-RC transmission line equivalent circuit was introduced. Manganese dioxide cathodes from three commercial primary alkaline cells were investigated by means of ac impedance technique. Cathode Ohmic resistance, Faraday resistance for the reduction of MnO2, proton diffusion rate inside the lattice of EMD and electrochemical accessible surface area were obtained by numerical fitting of impedance data using the simplified transmission line model. The kinetics for cathode surface accessibility was also studied.",battery
"Application of advanced anode and cathode materials in commercial lithium-ion batteries is attracting attention due to their high capacity. Silicon (Si)/graphite anodes and nickel (Ni)-rich lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide with layered structures have been paired in commercial 18650 high energy density cells (∼270 Wh/kg). It is crucial to investigate the cell performance and the aging behavior of this commercial cell. In this study, we present commercial cell degradation mechanisms by comparing fresh and aged electrodes, including changes of crystal structure, morphology, elemental composition, and electrochemical properties. The quantitative analysis was done based on dV/dQ incremental capacity analysis of 18650 cells. To determine the amount of cyclable lithium ions (Li+) and active material loss, the lithiation and delithiation capacity were compared for fresh and aged electrodes in half coin cells. Results showed that even with 5% (by mass) of Si added in the anode, cracks occurred across the anode leading to contact loss and thickening of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer. Additionally, the average fluorine (F) ratio of the aged anodes was higher compared to that of the fresh anodes. More severely, the F content on the Si aggregations on aged anodes increased to as high as 5 times that of the fresh anode, indicating SEI growth, especially on Si particles. Solid 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance results showed no detectable Li metal deposition on the aged anode. On the cathode side, cracks on the primary particle interfaces contributed to cathode material loss, contact loss, and impedance rise. Therefore, Li+ loss into the thickened SEI layer, particle cracking, and impedance rise are the main reasons behind cell degradation.",battery
"While there is growing evidence that some dyslexic children suffer from a deficit in simultaneously processing multiple visually displayed elements, the precise nature of the deficit remains largely unclear. The aim of the present study is to investigate possible cognitive impairments at the source of this deficit in dyslexic children. The visual processing of simultaneously presented letters was thus thoroughly assessed in two dyslexic children by means of a task that requires the report of briefly presented multi-letters arrays. A computational model of the attentional involvement in multi-object recognition (Bundesen, 1990, 1998) served as framework for analysing the data. By combining psychophysical measurements with computational modelling, we demonstrated that the visual processing deficit of simultaneously displayed letters, observed in the two dyslexic individuals reported in the current study, stems from at least two distinct cognitive sources: a reduction of the rate of—letter—information uptake, and a limitation of the maximal number of elements extracted from a brief visual display and stored in visual short-term memory. Possible relations between these impairments and learning to read proficiently are discussed.",non-battery
"The variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism in the 3′-untranslated region of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT) may influence the variability of the therapeutic response to methylphenidate (MPH) in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For this reason we evaluated the neuropsychological functioning after a prolonged period of MPH treatment and after a specific time from MPH suspension. Relationship between DAT VNTR genotypes and neurocognitive response to MPH was analyzed in a sample of 108 drug-naive ADHD patients. The performance of children with ADHD on measures of working memory, inhibition and planning was assessed at 4, 8 and 24 weeks and at 8 weeks after MPH withdrawal. Patients with 9/9 genotype evidenced an improvement in response inhibition and working memory only at 4 weeks of treatment, in planning at 24 weeks of therapy and after 8 weeks of MPH suspension. Patients with 9/10 showed an improvement in response inhibition at 4, 8 and 24 weeks of treatment, in planning at 24 weeks and after 8 weeks of MPH suspension. Patients with 10/10 evidenced an improvement in response inhibition and working memory at 4, 8 and 24 weeks of treatment and in planning at 4, 8 and 24 weeks of treatment and after 8 weeks of suspension. These results indicate that the 9/9 ADHD genotype has a different response at 24 weeks treatment with MPH. 10/10 DAT allele seems to be associated with an increased expression level of the dopamine transporter and seems to mediate the MPH treatment response in ADHD patients.",non-battery
"High-capacity anodes hold great promise for the next-generation lithium-ion batteries. However, such electrodes are known to suffer from mechanical degradation during battery cycling. One important failure mode commonly observed in thin-film electrodes is film delamination from the underneath current collector. Here, by accounting for the nonlinear coupling between the chemical and mechanical fields, we derive the stress intensity and solute segregation factors close to the edge of a thin elastic film which is bonded to the surface of a thick elastic substrate. The film is considered in chemical equilibrium with an external mass reservoir. While in the limit of extremely weak coupling, our formulation reduces to the classical delamination theory, the results indicate that the chemo-mechanical coupling leads to magnification of the stress intensity factor and solute segregation near the film edge. The effect of coupling on the solute and stress distribution in the film is discussed. Further, an analytical expression is derived for the edge stress intensity factor in the limit of extremely strong chemo-mechanical coupling, based on which a modified critical film thickness to avoid edge delamination is proposed. Potential implication of the results for fatigue delamination growth is also discussed.",battery
"A recent concept called the fragmentation-energy fan has been used to analyze drop weight testing (DWT) data and to obtain both the mathematical form of the breakage index equation, i.e., t10 versus impact energy and the parameter values needed for making an actual prediction with it. The fan is visualized by plotting the progeny size corresponding to a set of percent passing values versus scaled drop energy in log–log scale and fitting straight, i.e., linear fan lines with a common focal point to these data. The fan behavior lies inherent in the fact that the DWT sieving data closely follow the Swebrec distribution. A mathematical expression for t10 in closed form follows directly from a functional inversion, and this expression differs from the forms it has been given by the JKMRC. In most cases five fan lines suffice to provide a very accurate t10 equation. When applied to a suite of eight rocks, ores mostly, the coefficient of determination R2
Laboratory drop weight testing (DWT) of lumps of rock is a way to characterize the breakage properties of ore and rock so that design and modeling of comminution circuits can be made with confidence (Napier-Munn et al. 1996). The DWT yields initially sieving curves for the progeny generated and their dependence on the drop energies Ecs
The JKMRC has been leading in the development of the DWT (Shi 2016), and one of the most extensive available data sets on laboratory drop weight testing (DWT) of lumps of rock, mostly ores, is found in the thesis of Banini (2002) from the JKMRC.
",non-battery
"Storage and Demand Side Management (DSM) are key in integrating renewable energy into community energy systems. There are many modelling tools which support design of such systems. In order to select an appropriate tool it is essential to understand tool capabilities and assess how these match requirements for a specific situation. The aim of this paper is to provide a process to be used to make such a selection consisting of: (i) a tool capability categorisation, (ii) a stepwise tool selection process. Capabilities of 13 tools (screened from 51) for community scale were categorised covering: input data characteristics; supply technologies; design optimisation; available outputs; controls and DSM; storage; and practical considerations. A stepwise selection process is defined, adapted from software engineering, in which tools are scored based on ‘essential’, ‘desirable’, or ‘not applicable’ technical capabilities for the specific situation. Tools without essential capabilities are eliminated. Technical scores and practical considerations are then used to select the tool. The process is demonstrated for a simple case study. The future applicability of the selection process is discussed. Findings from the capability categorisation process are highlighted including gaps to be addressed and future trends in modelling of such systems.",non-battery
"The cycling performances of the cell with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based composite polymer electrolyte using BaTiO3, TiO2, and Al2O3 as filler, lithium metal anode, and LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode at 80°C have been examined. The cycling performance depended on the filler in PEO-Li(CF3SO2)2N electrolyte. The best result was obtained in the electrolyte with the BaTiO3filler. The good cycling performance in the cell of Li/PEO19Li(CF3SO2)2N-BaTiO3/LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 was explained by the improved interfacial stability between the electrolyte and the electrode. The cycling performance of PEO-based polymer electrolyte cell was influenced by the charge and discharge cut-off voltage. The electrochemical window of PEO19Li(CF3SO2)2N-BaTiO3 composite electrolyte was estimated to be <4.0V.",battery
" Standard mean imputation for missing values in the Western Ontario and Mc Master (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index limits the use of collected data and may lead to bias. Probability model-based imputation methods overcome such limitations but were never before applied to the WOMAC. In this study, we compare imputation results for the Expectation Maximization method (EM) and the mean imputation method for WOMAC in a cohort of total hip replacement patients.",non-battery
"CuO/C microspheres are prepared by calcining CuCl2/resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) gel in argon atmosphere followed by a subsequent oxidation process using H2O2 solution. The microstructure and morphology of materials are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transition electron microscopy (TEM). Carbon microspheres have an average diameter of about 2μm, and CuO particles with the sizes of 50–200nm disperse in these microspheres. The electrochemical properties of CuO/C microspheres as anode materials for lithium ion batteries are investigated by galvanostatic discharge–charge and cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests. The results show that CuO/C microspheres deliver discharge and charge capacities of 470 and 440mAhg−1 after 50 cycles, and they also exhibit better rate capability than that of pure CuO. It is believed that the carbon microspheres play an important role in their electrochemical properties.",battery
"Limbic system-associated membrane protein (LSAMP) is a neural cell adhesion molecule involved in neurite formation and outgrowth. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the distribution of alternatively transcribed Lsamp isoforms in the mouse brain and its implications on the regulation of behavior. Limbic system-associated membrane protein 1b transcript was visualized by using a mouse strain expressing beta-galactosidase under the control of Lsamp 1b promoter. The distribution of Lsamp 1a transcript and summarized expression of the Lsamp transcripts was investigated by non-radioactive in situ RNA hybridization analysis. Cross-validation was performed by using radioactive in situ hybridization with oligonucleotide probes. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to study correlations between the expression of Lsamp isoforms and behavioral parameters. The expression pattern of two promoters differs remarkably from the developmental initiation at embryonic day 12.5. Limbic system-associated membrane protein 1a promoter is active in “classic” limbic structures where the hippocampus and amygdaloid area display the highest expression. Promoter 1b is mostly active in the thalamic sensory nuclei and cortical sensory areas, but also in areas that regulate stress and arousal. Higher levels of Lsamp 1a transcript had significant correlations with all of the measures indicating higher trait anxiety in the elevated plus-maze test. Limbic system-associated membrane protein transcript levels in the hippocampus and ventral striatum correlated with behavioral parameters in the social interaction test. The data are in line with decreased anxiety and alterations in social behavior in Lsamp-deficient mice. We propose that Lsamp is involved in emotional and social operating systems by complex regulation of two alternative promoters.
",non-battery
"Insights about the failure mechanism of negative electrodes based on NaAlH4 for lithium batteries are here discussed based on electrochemical-pressure measurements, galvanostatic cycling, infrared spectroscopy and impedance spectroscopy. The accumulation of irreversible capacity in the first cycle and the capacity fading have multiple origins. Besides the mechanical instability due to volume expansions/contractions upon lithium incorporation/de-incorporation, two additional reasons for electrode failure have been disclosed, both related to active material consumption: (1) the irreversible oxidation upon charge of the alanates that leads to H2 release, and (2) the spontaneous chemical reaction of the electrode active material with the electrolyte due to an unstable solid electrolyte interface. Both problems can be tackled by limiting the anodic voltage cutoffs in lithium cells and by the use of innovative electrolytes based on mixture of an ionic liquid and the standard carbonate-based solvent blend. The use of both strategies allowed us to assemble and demonstrate for few cycles the operation of a full Li-ion cell with a negative electrode based on NaAlH4 and a LiFePO4 positive electrode.",battery
"Fabricating of high performance electrodes by a sustainable and cost effective method is essential to the development of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). In this work, an effective strategy is proposed to deposit carbon nanoparticles on graphite felts by hydrothermal carbonization method. This in-situ method minimizes the drop off and aggregation of carbon nanoparticles during electrochemical testing. Such integration of felts and hydrothermal carbons (HTC) produces a new electrode that combines the outstanding electrical conductivity of felts with the effective redox active sites provided by the HTC coating layer. The presence of the amorphous carbon layers on the felts is found to be able to promote the mass/charge transfer, and create oxygenated/nitrogenated active sites and hence enhances wettability. Consequently, the most optimized electrode based on a rational approach delivers an impressive electrochemical performance toward VRFBs in wide range of current densities from 200 to 500 mA cm−2. The voltage efficiency (VE) of GFs-HTC is much higher than the VEs of the pristine GFs, especially at high current densities. It exhibits a 4.18 times increase in discharge capacity over the pristine graphite felt respectively, at a high current density of 400 mA cm−2. The enhanced performance is attributed to the abundant active sites from amorphous hydrothermal carbon, which facilitates the fast electrochemical kinetics of vanadium redox reactions. This work evidences that the glucose-derived hydrothermal carbons as energy storage booster hold great promise in practical VRFBs application.",battery
"The penetration of electric vehicles becomes a catalyst for the sustainability of Smart Cities. However, unregulated battery charging remains a challenge causing high energy costs, power peaks or even blackouts. This paper studies this challenge from a socio-technical perspective: social dynamics such as the participation in demand-response programs, the discomfort experienced by alternative suggested vehicle usage times and even the fairness in terms of how equally discomfort is experienced among the population are highly intertwined with Smart Grid reliability. To address challenges of such a socio-technical nature, this paper introduces a fully decentralized and participatory learning mechanism for privacy-preserving coordinated charging control of electric vehicles that regulates three Smart Grid socio-technical aspects: (i) reliability, (ii) discomfort and (iii) fairness. In contrast to related work, a novel autonomous software agent exclusively uses local knowledge to generate energy demand plans for its vehicle that encode different battery charging regimes. Agents interact to learn and make collective decisions of which plan to execute so that power peaks and energy cost are reduced system-wide. Evaluation with real-world data confirms the improvement of drivers’ comfort and fairness using the proposed planning method, while this improvement is assessed in terms of reliability and cost reduction under a varying number of participating vehicles. These findings have a significant relevance and impact for power utilities and system operator on designing more reliable and socially responsible Smart Grids with high penetration of electric vehicles.",non-battery
"Nanosized LiCrO2·Li2MnO3 composite powders are prepared by a new concept spray pyrolysis. The precursor and post-treated powders have a Li2CrO4 impurity introduced by the partial oxidation of LiCrO2. The powders have a pure layered structure corresponding to the LiCrO2·Li2MnO3 composite after Li2CrO4 is removed by washing with distilled water. The real composition of the washed cathode powders is Li1.18Cr0.404Mn0.477O2. The aggregated post-treated powders are converted into nanosized powders after washing with distilled water; milling is not required for this conversion. The mean size of the nanosized LiCrO2·Li2MnO3 powders is 48nm. The LiCrO2·Li2MnO3 cathode sample post-treated at 750°C has initial charge and discharge capacities of 272 and 233mAhg−1 at a constant current density of 18mAg−1, respectively. The discharge capacity of the cathode sample post-treated at 750°C decreases from 233 to 222mAhg−1 by the 44th cycle, in which the capacity retention is 95%.",battery
"Size optimization of solar array and battery in a standalone photovoltaic (SPV) system is investigated. Based on the energy efficiency model, the loss of power supply probability (LPSP) of the SPV system is calculated for different size combinations of solar array and battery. For the desired LPSP at the given load demand, the optimal size combination is obtained at the minimum system cost. One case study is given to show the application of the method in Malaysian weather conditions.",battery
"Li-ion storage electrodes are manufactured through the conventional cast process involving the use of a toxic solvent (n-methyl-2- pyrrolidone, NMP) and the binder polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). This process can be problematic for nanosized materials as they form viscous suspensions that prevent the formation of uniformly dense coatings. Additionally, the NMP solvent is very hazardous. Herein lies the viability of using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) as an alternative manufacturing process that would both eliminate the need for a toxic solvent and improve electrode properties is presented. In particular, it is shown that styrene- butadiene rubber (SBR) enables the assembly of carbon-coated LTO and carbon nanoparticles into bridged hetero-aggregates that render themselves to fast growth of adherent highly performing LIB electrodes. The electrodes are built by suspending C-coated LTO, carbon, and SBR at 80/10/10 wt% ratio in a medium consisting of 90/10 vol% acetonitrile and water, performing 3–5 stages of 15-s constant current deposition cycles followed by pressing at 4 MPa and drying in a vacuum oven. Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) with SEM were performed to examine carbon/LTO composite film homogeneity and compared to conventional PVDF-based electrodes. More importantly, photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) were used to probe the presence/distribution of the SBR binder in the coating. The EPD-based electrode exhibits superior rate capability when compared to the PVDF-based electrodes. The conductivity, as shown by EIS, of the pressed EPD electrodes was 15 times higher than that of the pressed PVDF electrodes demonstrating the superiority of EPD in fabricating highly conductive electrodes for high-power LIB application.",battery
This paper demonstrates a low temperature solvothermal method for the synthesis of a layered spheric TiO2. The crystal structure and morphology of the material were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron miscopy (SEM). Electrochemical performances of the TiO2 when used as anode material in lithium ion batteries were investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge and cyclic voltammetry experiments. A discharge capacity of 179mAhg−1 was obtained in the potential range between 3.0 and 1.5V. No significant capacity decay was observed in the successive 30 cycles showing satisfactory cycling performance of the electrode.,battery
"Flowable suspensions that conduct both electrons and ions can enable the use of energy-dense electroactive species in flow batteries [M. Duduta et al., Adv. Energy Mater., 1, 511 (2011); Z. Li et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 15, 15,833 (2013); F. Fan et al., Nano Lett., 14, 2210 (2014)]. In comparison with conventional flow batteries where electrochemical reactions are confined to a fixed current-collector region, electronically conductive flow electrodes permit electrochemical reactions to extend outside of the physical confines of the stack. We have measured and modeled how mixed-conduction enables an electroactive zone (EAZ, in which electrochemical reactions occur) that is of greater spatial extent than current collectors, the extension being termed side zone, SZ. Electrochemical reactions in SZs can reduce coulombic and energetic efficiency. Here we show that for realistic suspension properties and operating conditions, the added inefficiency is small in practice, and can be further mitigated by using appropriate operating conditions and/or materials choices. For the specific example of a non-aqueous Li4Ti5O12 suspension, we show that EAZ extension contributes less than 1% additional efficiency loss at C/10 rates for current collectors greater than 20mm long.",battery
"In this research, we studied the first cycle characteristics of Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2 charged up to 4.7V. Properties, such as valence state of the transition metals and crystallographic features, were analyzed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray and neutron diffractions. Especially, two plateaus observed around 3.75 and 4.54V were investigated by ex situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy. XANES studies showed that the oxidation states of transition metals in Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2 are mostly Ni2+, Co3+ and Mn4+. Based on neutron diffraction Rietveld analysis, there is about 6% of all nickel divalent (Ni2+) ions mixed with lithium ions (cation mixing). Meanwhile, it was found that the oxidation reaction of Ni2+/Ni4+ is related to the lower plateau around 3.75V, but that of Co3+/Co4+ seems to occur entire range of x in Li1−x [Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2. Small volume change during cycling was attributed to the opposite variation of lattice parameter “c” and “a” with charging–discharging.",battery
"LiCo x Mn1−x PO4/C nanocomposites (0≤ x ≤1.0) were prepared by a combination of spray pyrolysis at 300°C and wet ball-milling followed by heat treatment at 500°C for 4h in 3% H2 +N2 atmosphere. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that all samples had the single phase olivine structures indexed by orthorhombic Pmna. The lattice parameters linearly decreased with increasing cobalt content, which confirmed the existence of solid solutions. It was clearly seen from the scanning electron microscopy observation that the LiCo x Mn1−x PO4/C samples were agglomerates with approximately 100nm primary particles. The LiCo x Mn1−x PO4/C nanocomposites were used as cathode materials for lithium batteries, and electrochemical performance was comparatively investigated with cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge test using the Liǀ1M LiPF6 in EC:DMC=1:1ǀLiCo x Mn1−x PO4/C cells at room temperature. The cells at 0.05C charge–discharge rate delivered first discharge capacities of 165mAhg−1 (96% of theoretical capacity) at x =0, 136mAhg−1 at x =0.2, 132mAhg−1 at x =0.5, 125mAhg−1 at x =0.8 and 132mAhg−1 (79% of theoretical capacity) at x =1.0, respectively. While the first discharge capacity increased with the cobalt content at high charge–discharge rates more than 0.5C due to higher electronic conductivity of LiCoPO4 in comparison with LiMnPO4, the cycleability of cell became worse with increasing the amount of cobalt. The existence of Mn2+ seemed to enhance the cycleability of LiCo x Mn1−x PO4/C nanocomposite cathode.",battery
"Fuel-cell dynamics have been investigated with a variable-resistance board applied to a high-temperature polymer fuel cell, operating on pure oxygen and hydrogen at atmospheric pressure and about 150 °C. A particular pattern has been identified in the voltage–current density diagram. A model has been developed, using a characteristic equation to represent the external circuit as a resistive load, possibly nonlinear and time-varying, rather than assuming the current density to be an independent variable. The model successfully explains the shape of the transient current–voltage paths, including the different time constants observed when reversing a transient.",battery
"To restore unavoidable capacity losses, we propose a method of mixing and online electrolysis that resolves the imbalance of electrolyte concentration, volume and valence simultaneously. The cycle life of all-vanadium redox flow batteries is effectively prolonged at various current densities (120, 180, 240 and 300 mA cm−2) using different Nafion membranes (Nafion 212, Nafion 115 and Nafion 117). Besides, the total vanadium concentrations of the electrolytes detected by the titrator indicates minimal influence of electrolysis on the batteries. Although the capacity recovery decreases over long-term cycles, especially at the higher current density, this decrease is mainly due to the attenuation of the electrochemical performance of the electrodes, as evidenced by cyclic voltammetry curves. In addition, we conduct long-term cycle tests of 4140 and 5100 cycles, and we observe capacity retentions of 89.87% and 81.39% on batteries with Nafion 115 and Nafion 117, respectively, at the current density of 120 mA cm−2. Based on these results, we speculate that the method of mixing and online electrolysis can operate over indefinite cycles. This low-cost, convenient method, which does not need replacement of electrolytes, is beneficial to prospective applications in large-scale energy storage.",battery
"The electrochemical performance of Na0.45Ni0.22Co0.11Mn0.66O2 in an ionic liquid-based electrolytic solutions is reported and compared with that obtained in a conventional, carbonate-based electrolyte. Even at ambient temperature, the Na-ion intercalation material reveals a much better electrochemical performance in 10 mol% NaTFSI (or 0.45 M) in PYR14FSI electrolyte than 0.5 M NaPF6 in PC electrolyte in terms of specific capacity and cycling stability. In particular, the electrodes cycled in the IL-based electrolyte combine a capacity retention of about 80% after 100 cycles with high specific capacities (about 200 mAh g−1) and high average voltage (2.7 V vs. Na/Na+), demonstrating that Na0.45Ni0.22Co0.11Mn0.66O2 is a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries.",battery
"The properties of C3N/graphene heterostructures and their electrochemical performance serving as anodes for Li-ion batteries are systematically studied using density functional calculations. Present results demonstrate that C3N/graphene exhibits a metallic behavior, favorable stability and ultrahigh stiffness, which are well maintained even under the applied strains and after lithium adsorption, ensuring the electrode's good electric conductivity and integrity against pulverization. Most particularly, it is predicted that C3N/graphene possesses a maximum Li-storage theoretical capacity of 1079 mA h g−1, low average open-circuit voltages (0.13 V) and Li-diffusion barrier (0.28 eV). These encouraging findings indicate that C3N/graphene heterostructures can be appealing anode materials for Li-ion batteries.",battery
"In an electric vehicle (EV), thermal runaway, vibration or vehicle impact can lead to a potential failure of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery packs due to their high sensitivity to ambient temperature, pressure and dynamic mechanical loads. Amongst several factors, safety and reliability of battery packs present the highest challenges to large scale electrification of public and private transportation sectors. This paper reviews mechanical design features that can address these issues. More than 75 sources including scientific and technical literature and particularly 43 US Patents are studied. The study illustrates through examples that simple mechanical features can be integrated into battery packaging design to minimise the probability of failure and mitigate the aforementioned safety risks. Furthermore, the key components of a robust battery pack have been closely studied and the materials have been identified to design these components and to meet their functional requirements. Strategic battery pack placement technique is also discussed using an example of Nissan LEAF battery packaging design. Finally, the disclosed design solutions described in this paper are compared with the Chevrolet Volt battery pack design to reveal the basic mechanical design requirements for a robust and reliable battery packaging system.",battery
"Pico-hydro (pH) and photovoltaic (PV) hybrid systems incorporating a biogas generator have been simulated for remote villages in Cameroon using a load of 73kWh/day and 8.3kWp. Renewable energy systems were simulated using HOMER, the load profile of a hostel in Cameroon, the solar insolation of Garoua and the flow of river Mungo. For a 40% increase in the cost of imported power system components, the cost of energy was found to be either 0.352€/kWh for a 5kW pico-hydro generator with 72kWh storage or 0.396€/kWh for a 3kWp photovoltaic generator with 36kWh storage. These energy costs were obtained with a biomass resource cost of 25€/tonne. The pH and PV hybrid systems both required the parallel operation of a 3.3kW battery inverter with a 10kW biogas generator. The pH/biogas/battery systems simulated for villages located in the south of Cameroon with a flow rate of at least 92l/s produced lower energy costs than PV/biogas/battery systems simulated for villages in the north of Cameroon with an insolation level of at least 5.55kWh/m2/day. For a single-wire grid extension cost of 5000€/km, operation and maintenance costs of 125€/yr/km and a grid power price of 0.1€/kWh, the breakeven grid extension distances were found to be 12.9km for pH/biogas/battery systems and 15.2km for PV/biogas/battery systems respectively. Investments in biogas based renewable energy systems could thus be considered in the National Energy Action Plan of Cameroon for the supply of energy to key sectors involved in poverty alleviation.",battery
"X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to characterize the local structural environment of the vanadium ions in Mg doped Li3V(2-2x/3)Mgx(PO4)3; x = 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, (LVP) in a functioning battery. For all three compositions the x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra show evidence for only two spectroscopically distinguishable species when the potential is cycled between 3 and 4.5 V. These are attributed to octahedral V3+ and V4+ in LVP. If the potential is increased above 4.5 V a third species that is consistent with V5+ in a distorted, possibly tetrahedral environment is formed. For x = 0.30 and x = 0.45 this species disappears when the potential is lowered. In contrast, for x = 0.15 a fourth species is formed on reduction. This new species is consistent with V4+ in a distorted tetrahedral environment and may explain the loss of capacity in the 15% sample during cycling. Although the potential shows discrete plateaus, consistent with formation of mixed-valence species, these are not seen in the x-ray absorption. Rather, we see apparent deviations from Faraday's law that are consistent with a lag in oxidation of the bulk vanadium.",battery
"While rechargeable batteries are critical for fighting the climate crisis, they are not free of environmental and social impacts. Here, we provide a robust, holistic, and accessible framework for researchers to use to assess these impacts for any battery material. The framework addresses four key issues present during the battery manufacturing process: (i) total energy use and emissions, (ii) toxicity, (iii) habitat destruction, and (iv) social impact. This article also includes example impact assessments for three battery chemistries that are being intensely pursued for current and future energy storage applications: (i) LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811)-graphite, (ii) LiFePO4 (LFP)-graphite, and (iii) aqueous Na-ion. Based on the results of these assessments, we offer the following recommendations for making batteries more environmentally and socially responsible. First, given the human rights issues related to its extraction, cobalt usage must be eliminated entirely. To reduce energy use and emissions, the N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent should be eliminated. To reduce battery toxicity significantly, low toxicity electrolyte salts and non-toxic binders should be used. Iron and manganese-based cathodes are less toxic, less energy-intensive alternatives to cobalt and nickel-based cathodes. Lastly, to preserve habitat, sodium should be used over lithium for grid storage and cellulose separators over polyethylene separators for all applications.
",battery
"This work reports the facile surface coating of lithium-rich Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 cathode material by nano-SnO2 for lithium ion batteries. Thus-obtained nano-SnO2 coated Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 (denoted as NTO-LMO) material is characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It is revealed that the SnO2 layer with a thickness of 4–8 nm is uniformly coated on the surface of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2. This NTO-LMO material exhibits outstanding rate capability and cyclic stability in comparison with pristine material, which should be ascribed to the nano-SnO2 coating layer that limits the side reactions and produces a thin and stable solid electrolyte interface film. More importantly, in contrast to the conventional surface coatings that usually reduce the reversible capacity of active materials, the discharge capacity of our NTO-LMO material increases by 38 mAh g−1 at the current density of 30 mA g−1, which is attributed to the enhanced activation of Li2MnO3 component. The oxygen vacancies in nano-SnO2 coating layer are revealed to facilitate the transfer of high valence state oxygen through the coating layer and be responsible for the promoted activation of Li2MnO3. These insightful findings are very helpful to developing effective strategies for the surface modification of Li-rich oxide materials.",battery
"The error-related negativity (ERN) is a negative deflection in the event-related potential (ERP) occurring approximately 50 ms after error commission at fronto-central electrode sites and is thought to reflect the activation of a generic error monitoring system. Several studies have reported an increased ERN in clinically anxious children, and suggest that anxious children are more sensitive to error commission—although the mechanisms underlying this association are not clear. We have previously found that punishing errors results in a larger ERN, an effect that persists after punishment ends. It is possible that learning-related experiences that impact sensitivity to errors may lead to an increased ERN. In particular, punitive parenting might sensitize children to errors and increase their ERN. We tested this possibility in the current study by prospectively examining the relationship between parenting style during early childhood and children’s ERN approximately 3 years later. Initially, 295 parents and children (approximately 3 years old) participated in a structured observational measure of parenting behavior, and parents completed a self-report measure of parenting style. At a follow-up assessment approximately 3 years later, the ERN was elicited during a Go/No-Go task, and diagnostic interviews were completed with parents to assess child psychopathology. Results suggested that both observational measures of hostile parenting and self-report measures of authoritarian parenting style uniquely predicted a larger ERN in children 3 years later. We previously reported that children in this sample with anxiety disorders were characterized by an increased ERN. A mediation analysis indicated that ERN magnitude mediated the relationship between harsh parenting and child anxiety disorder. Results suggest that parenting may shape children’s error processing through environmental conditioning and thereby risk for anxiety, although future work is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
",non-battery
"This work shows that newly developed primed aluminum current collector for positive electrodes allows to vastly improve the electrochemical performance compared to bare aluminum foil for full cells assembled with a C-coated LiFePO4 positive electrode, a graphite negative electrode and a standard carbonate/LiPF6 based electrolyte. Moreover, it is discovered that using a primed collector allows to drastically reduce the carbon additive content in the C-LiFePO4 electrode down to zero, while maintaining a very low impedance and excellent rate capability (80 mAh/g at 5C rate) and cyclability (60% capacity retention after 200 cycles at 2C rate). Comparatively, the same electrode shows no cyclability in the same testing conditions if a bare aluminum foil is used as the collector. Improving the energy density while maintaining good power capability of a Li-ion cell was thus achieved by using an adapted primed current collector. Such performance originates from a significant reduction of the contact resistance at the current collector – electrode interface through the multiplication of electrical contact points and/or the modification of their nature. In complement, this work shows that the carbon coating of the C-LiFePO4 particles is sufficient to ensure a good electrical conductivity within the electrode.",battery
"Plastic crystallinity of lithium salt, [LiB(OCH2CH2OCH3)4] (1), and its solid-state ionic conductivity are disclosed. The addition of small amounts of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) to borate 1 led to the drastic increase of the ionic conductivity and lithium transport number of the electrolyte.
",battery
"Sodium-based batteries have emerged as promising alternatives to Li-based batteries for future safe, high energy-density energy storage. They are expected to be cheaper, due to the greater abundance of Na and likely reduction in raw material costs. In this study, we investigate the properties of superconcentrated sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (NaFSI) mixtures with the ionic liquid (IL) methylpropylpyrrolinium (C3mpyr) FSI in the presence of ethylene carbonate (EC) in the liquid and gel states. Ionic conductivity and thermal stability are evaluated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. NaFSI is soluble in the IL up to 55 mol% Na; adding EC (30wt.%) to the IL almost doubles the ionic conductivity at ambient temperature. The temperature dependence of conductivity is well described by the Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher equation. NMR spectroscopy and Pulse Field Gradient NMR diffusion were employed to investigate transport in these electrolyte systems, while the chemical interactions were also studied using ATR-FTIR. Stable plasticized gel electrolytes were observed, even at 30wt. % EC; the formation of the gel does not significantly affect the liquid-like ion dynamics in these materials, as shown by DSC and FTIR analysis. The Na+ transference number of Na0.55[C3mpyr]0.45[FSI]+30wt.% EC was up to 0.32, and deposition and dissolution of sodium metal were observed in cyclic voltammetry around 0V vs. Na/Na+. Moreover, the suitability of the prepared electrolyte is preliminarily verified in half-cells at room temperature using Na3V2(PO4)3 as a cathode. The cells delivered capacity of 52.4 mAhg−1 at C/20.",battery
"Dredged material management is a key issue for the protection of aquatic environments. The in situ approach using caged bioindicator species has been chosen lately as a new methodology for the assessment of dredged material. In a tier testing approach, neutral red retention (NRR) assay has been applied as a screening tool to detect adverse changes in health status associated with contamination. Nevertheless, to authors’ knowledge, little is known about the application and validation of this technique in sediment bioindicator species and under field conditions. Caged Ruditapes decussatus and Carcinus maenas were exposed during 28 days to potentially contaminated sediments at three sites in Algeciras Bay (SW Spain) and one site in Cádiz Bay (SW Spain). Lysosomal membrane stability was measured over time in haemolymph samples of exposed clams and crabs using the NRR assay. Sediment characterization of the study sites was performed in parallel. NRR time did not vary significantly (p > 0.05) over time in organisms from Cádiz Bay. Conversely, significant differences (p < 0.05) in NRR time were found in clams and crabs exposed to sediments from Algeciras Bay, which exhibited a 30–70% decrease in haemocyte lysosome membrane stability compared to day 0. Statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between the drop of haemocyte lysosome membrane stability, in both crabs and clams, and the presence of metals (p < 0.05) and PAHs (p < 0.01) in the studied sediments. The results obtained confirmed the use of NRR assay as a suitable and sensitive method to be used in the assessment of sediment quality using as bioindicator species the clam R. philippinarum and the crab C. maenas.",non-battery
"Many countries around the world are considering using solar energy technologies in their future energy planning. The intermittency and unpredictability nature of solar power generation, which can influence the power quality and reliability of the power grid especially at large-scale solar energy systems, constitute a drawback for use of solar technology. Precise research and investigations are needed to overcome this weakness helping solar power be used in power network in large scale. The variation in sun radiation may lead to over-production of electricity from solar PV generators at one time, and lack of production to satisfy the energy demand at another time. As a result, solar PV systems demonstrate a low-level of reliability in power systems. However, an energy storage technology would play a significant role in increasing the reliability of solar power generation systems. The objectives of this study are: firstly to review the issues in relation to grid-integration of solar PV systems, secondly, to review a range of storage devices that could technically and economically be used in association with solar PV energy in order to increase the solar energy penetration level with appropriate reliability in weak electric systems, and finally to present a model for solar PV system combined with battery and super-capacitor.",battery
"The kinetic behaviors of Li-ion insertion/extraction in LiV3O8 thin film have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), potentiostatic intermittent titration (PITT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method. This LiV3O8 thin film with a mixed amorphous-nanocrystalline microstructure was fabricated by RF sputtering. For the first time, the intrinsic kinetics of LiV3O8 thin film electrode is obtained. The D L i + value is about 10−13 cm2/s in mixed amorphous-nanocrystalline microstructure LiV3O8 thin film. Different to crystalline LiV3O8 thin film, the D L i + values do not change a lot with the increase of cell potential which is due to the absence of structural phase transition behavior in mixed microstructure LiV3O8 thin film during Li+ insertion/extraction process. This is also the reason for excellent capacity retention performance of LiV3O8 film with a mixed microstructure.",battery
"This study has developed an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method for the in situ investigation of the influence of positive plate compression on the electrochemical behaviour of lead-acid batteries during charge/discharge cycling. The EIS data for a fully charged and fully discharged battery are internally consistent with the expected kinetics of a battery in the opposite states of charge, and demonstrate that EIS measurements may be recorded with a high level of reproducibility. Furthermore, this study has necessitated the development of a special cell incorporating horizontally orientated battery plates that can be subjected to elevated pressure through the stacking of lead bricks on top of the cell, as well as a physically robust reference electrode system that can withstand the application of pressure. For this purpose, a platinum-wire pseudo-reference electrode has been developed, and has been shown to exhibit sufficient electrode stability over the period of an EIS recording, enabling the measurement of reproducible and meaningful EIS data. Additionally, the influence of positive plate compression on the behaviour of the lead-acid battery has been investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Clearly, the experimental data show that plate compression enhances significantly the kinetics and concomitant performance of the lead-acid battery, and this is related to the enhanced reactivity of the active material, as rationalized by using the agglomeration-of-spheres (AOS) model.",battery
"Background This study aims to examine the effects of change in neurocognition on functional outcomes and to examine predictors of change in social functions following a 12-week course of cognitive remediation in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder with severe cognitive impairments. Method Level of social functioning was assessed using a performance based measure of functional capacity (PSP) in patients prior to and after the completion of 12-week cognitive remediation treatment (CRT). Participants completed a neuropsychological battery (MCCB-MATRICS) and clinical measures at both time points. Results 63 subjects with a mean age of 41.4 (SD=12.2) and with 12.2years of education (SD=2.4) were enrolled. There were significant improvements in overall PSP score from baseline to endpoint (p=0.021) as well as in PSP domain A (socially useful activities) (p≤0.001), domain B (personal and social relationships) (p=0.009), and domain D (disturbing and aggressive behaviors) (p=0.003). There was a significant improvement in the composite MCCB score (p=0.020) and the Working Memory (p<0.046). Stepwise logistic regression yielded a significant association for baseline Visual Learning (Wald=6.537, p=0.011, OR=1.195), Speed of Processing (Wald=4.112, p=0.043, OR=0.850) and level of PANSS positive symptoms (Wald=4.087, p=0.043, OR=0.739) with PSP overall improvement. Conclusions Faster speed of processing, better visual and verbal learning and less prominent positive symptoms were associated with greater functional improvement after a systematic cognitive intervention within a rehabilitative setting.",non-battery
"The afferent visual pathway represents the most frequently affected white matter pathway in multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can reveal microstructural or non-overt brain tissue damage and quantify pathological processes. DTI facilitates the reconstruction of major white matter fiber tracts allowing for the assessment of structure-function and damage-dysfunction relationships. In this review, we outline DTI studies investigating the afferent visual pathway in idiopathic optic neuritis (ON), NMOSD, and MS. Since MS damage patterns are believed to depend on multiple factors, i.e., ON (anterior visual pathway damage), inflammatory lesions (posterior visual pathway damage), and global diffuse inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes, comprehensive knowledge on different contributing factors using DTI in vivo may advance our understanding of MS disease pathology. Combination of DTI measures and visual outcome parameters yields the potential to improve routine clinical diagnostic procedures and may further the accuracy of individual prognosis with regard to visual function and personalized disease outcome. However, due to the inherent limitations of DTI acquisition and post-processing techniques and the so far heterogeneous and equivocal data of previous studies, evaluation of the true potential of DTI as a possible biomarker for afferent visual pathway dysfunction is still substantially limited. Further research efforts with larger longitudinal studies and standardized DTI acquisition and post-processing validation criteria are needed to overcome current DTI limitations. DTI evaluation at different levels of the visual pathway has the potential to provide markers for individual damage evaluation in the future. As an imaging biomarker, DTI may support individual outcome prediction during personalized treatment algorithms in MS and other neuroinflammatory diseases, hereby leveraging the concept of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine in the field of clinical neuroimmunology.
",non-battery
"Nanostructure control of β-Ni(OH)2 was attempted by adopting hydrothermal treatment for the high specific surface area (high-SSA) β-Ni(OH)2 in the presence of guanidine carbonate. β-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets-linked structures could be synthesized from high-SSA β-Ni(OH)2 owing to the strong effects of guanidine carbonate for keeping or enlarging SSA during hydrothermal treatment. The discharging capacities of the high-SSA sample showed the highest capacity above 80 % at 0.2C. However, the capacities were decreased with decreasing SSA of the β-Ni(OH)2 prepared. It was also found that, at lower SSA, charging/discharging rates below 1C did not affect the discharging capacity, i.e., the almost same capacities for 0.2C and 1C. Cyclic voltammetry revealed that the electrochemical reactions for the charging/discharging were considered to be reversible and smooth at various scanning rates. The rate-determining step of the electrochemical reaction is considered to be regulated by the diffusion of the active species involved for the lower SSA samples. However, for the higher SSA sample (280 m2 g−1) obtained at 200 °C in the presence of 1.0 × 10−1 mol L−1 guanidine carbonate strongly indicates the effects of the rate of surface reaction or electronic conductivity on rate-determining step of charging/discharging of the material.
",battery
"During the winter months in regions where constant electric power supply cannot be relied upon, power may be derived parasitically from heating stoves. A proportion of heat from these 20–50 kW wood or diesel-heated stoves may be utilized to drive a thermoelectric generator (TEG) consisting of several commercially available low-cost modules. These are Peltier modules operating in a power generating mode and adapted to the low-flux regime coupled with hot side temperatures of 100–300 °C. Two commercially available modules are considered. The generator is then theoretically re-evaluated with the Peltier modules re-designed in order to produce maximum power in a simple and cheap manner allowing easy commercial production using existing technology. A current power target is set at 100 W for a minimum domestic use.",battery
" Polystyrene foam (PF), commonly used in packaging and insulation purposes, has emerged as a recycling predicament due to its low density and is often found littering the natural environment. Herein, we have reported the utilization of discarded PF as a sacrificial material to synthesize porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as a sustainable technique to produce cost-effective, high-performance supercapacitor electrodes while addressing PF disposal. It was found that the solubility difference between PF and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in N,N-dimethylformamide can be exploited to create micro-mesoporous multi-channel CNFs via electrospinning technique for enhanced ion adsorption leading to higher specific capacitance. CNF-40 (PF:PAN = 40:60) showed the best electrochemical performance with a specific capacitance of 271.6 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1. Further, CNF-40 exhibited 100% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles, and the high energy and power densities of 18.8 Wh kg−1 and 8000 W kg−1, respectively. Moreover, in an all-solid-state supercapacitor, it demonstrated a high areal capacitance of 0.32 F cm−2, indicating great potential for application in solid-state devices.",battery
"A series of bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide based “polymeric ionic liquids” (PILs) as high molecular mass analogues of the corresponding imidazolium, ammonium and pyrrolidinium ionic liquids (ILs) was synthesized with high purity and fully characterized including electrochemical properties. The PILs differed by the nature of the cation, the quantity of the ionic centers in each monomer repeating unit, and the alkyl length of the spacer. Two novel ionic liquid like monomers (ILMs), namely 1,3-bis(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-2-propylmethacrylate bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) amide (ILM-2) and N-[(2-methacryloyloxy)-ethyl]-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (ILM-4) were synthesized and characterized. Optimal conditions for the free-radical polymerization of the ILMs were identified for the first time. It was demonstrated that, among the tested organic solvents, 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide IL was the best reaction medium in terms of the achievement of high polymer yields and molecular masses. For the first time, the influence of the residual monomer presence inside the PIL film on the resultant conductivity was clearly shown. The impact of the molecular mass of the PILs on the ionic conductivity was firstly studied as well. Finally, the copolymerization of ILMs with poly(ethylene glycol)dimethacrylate (PEGDM) was carried out yielding tight elastic films with the highest conductivity equal to 3.2×10−6 S/cm at 25 оС.",battery
 The aim of the present study was to identify the physical fitness (PF) tests of a multi-component battery more related to the perception of problems in each dimension of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by the EuroQol 5 dimensions 3 level questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults,non-battery
"Three ZnO-C samples with distinct structures including yolk-shell microspheres, hollow microspheres and solid microspheres are fabricated through a facile chemical solution reaction followed by calcination in argon. When employed as the anode materials for lithium ion batteries, yolk-shell ZnO-C microspheres exhibit the best electrochemical properties than the hollow and solid microspheres. After 150 cycles, yolk-shell ZnO-C microspheres demonstrate a relative high capacity of 520mA h g−1 at a current density of 100mAg−1 with a Coulombic efficiency of about 99.3%. The excellent cycling stability and good rate capability of yolk-shell ZnO-C microspheres stem from the synergistic effect of the unique yolk-shell structures and extra carbon support.",battery
"This paper analyzes a new fuel cell Hybrid Power Source (HPS) topology having the feature to mitigate the current ripple of the fuel cell inverter system. In the operation of the inverter system that is grid connected or supplies AC motors in vehicle application, the current ripple normally appears at the DC port of the fuel cell HPS. Consequently, if mitigation measures are not applied, this ripple is back propagated to the fuel cell stack. Other features of the proposed fuel cell HPS are the Maximum Power Point (MPP) tracking, high reliability in operation under sharp power pulses and improved energy efficiency in high power applications. This topology uses an inverter system directly powered from the appropriate fuel cell stack and a controlled buck current source as low power source used for ripple mitigation. The low frequency ripple mitigation is based on active control. The anti-ripple current is injected in HPS output node and this has the LF power spectrum almost the same with the inverter ripple. Consequently, the fuel cell current ripple is mitigated by the designed active control. The ripple mitigation performances are evaluated by indicators that are defined to measure the mitigation ratio of the low frequency harmonics. In this paper it is shown that good performances are obtained by using the hysteretic current control, but better if a dedicated nonlinear controller is used. Two ways to design the nonlinear control law are proposed. First is based on simulation trials that help to draw the characteristic of ripple mitigation ratio vs. fuel cell current ripple. The second is based on Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC). The ripple factor is up to 1% in both cases.",battery
"Recently, dual-ion cells based on the anion intercalation into a graphite positive electrode have been proposed as electrochemical energy storage devices. For this technology, in particular electrolytes which display a high stability vs. oxidation are required due to the very high operation potentials of the cathode, which may exceed 5 V vs. Li/Li+. In this work, we present highly promising results for the use of graphite as both the anode and cathode material in a so-called “dual-graphite” or “dual-carbon” cell. A major goal for this system is to find suitable electrolyte mixtures which exhibit not only a high oxidative stability at the cathode but also form a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) at the graphite anode. As an electrolyte system, the ionic liquid-based electrolyte mixture Pyr14TFSI-LiTFSI is used in combination with the SEI-forming additive ethylene sulfite (ES) which allows stable and highly reversible Li+ ion and TFSI− anion intercalation/de-intercalation into/from the graphite anode and cathode, respectively. By addition of ES, also the discharge capacity for the anion intercalation can be remarkably increased from 50 mA h g−1 to 97 mA h g−1. X-ray diffraction studies of the anion intercalation into graphite are conducted in order to understand the influence of the electrolyte additive on the graphite structure and on the cell performance.
",battery
"There is an increasing demand for improvement of the capacity, rate performance, and life cycle of lithium-ion batteries to meet the requirements of low-emission vehicles, such as hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. In this article, we report the application of graphdiyne (GDY) as high efficiency lithium storage materials and elucidate the method of lithium storage in multilayer GDY. GDY is a novel carbon allotrope comprising sp- and sp2-hybridized carbon atoms. Lithium-ion batteries featuring GDY-based electrode exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, including high specific capacities, outstanding rate performances, and a long cycle lives. We obtained reversible capacities of up to 520mAh/g after 400 cycles at a current density of 500mA/g. At an even higher current density of 2A/g, cells incorporating GDY-based electrodes retained a high specific capacity of 420mAh/g after 1000 cycles.",battery
"A binder-free LiFePO4 cathode is prepared by simple in situ gelatin carbonation at 600°C under pure N2. In this process, gelatin which is used as a binder in the traditional electrodes, is converted into carbon materials evenly and coated on LiFePO4 with acetylene black particles. The obtained binder-free cathode possesses uniform distribution of LiFePO4 and acetylene black, gelatin-based carbon coating and the porous structure. The gelatin-based carbon coating can enhance the effective electronic conductivity among LiFePO4, acetylene black particles and current collector. And the porous structure formed by decomposition and shrinkage during carbonation of gelatin can facilitate penetration of the liquid electrolyte into the pores, serving as a fast ionic pathway. The electrochemical results show the rate capability is greatly improved and the discharge capacity still reaches 108mAh/g at 5C. There is almost no capacity fading at the same C-rate cycles.",battery
"The objective of this paper is to close the scientific gap that there is a lack of comprehensive matching analysis for the increasingly complicated on-site hybrid energy systems with a continuously decreased annual primary energy consumption/equivalent CO2 emission. Thus, a thorough matching analysis is conducted for the on-site hybrid systems of two office buildings under distinct climate conditions. Both of the studied buildings are equipped with PV and solar thermal assisted ground source heat pumps (GSHP), which can be controlled by six excess renewable electrical (REe) and one excess renewable thermal (REth) treatments with respect to certain thermal storage recharging and grid exporting strategies. The assessment criteria are six recently defined indices. With the aid of these indices, the key methodology is to conduct parametric analyses from the aspect of matching for solar thermal collector area and connection type, PV panel area, and electrical battery size regarding certain excess REe or REth treatments. The outcomes of matching analyses show the advantages of solar thermal collectors connected in a parallel fashion in meeting office heating demands, the consistency between electrical generation and demand in the daytime in office buildings, the enhancement of on-site heating and cooling by GSHP and free ground cooling, and the battery effect in technically improving electrical matching. Furthermore, the fluctuations of indices in the instantaneous matching analysis clearly reflect the matching situations of on-site renewable energy resources and demand conditions at each time-step, which will be helpful for the detailed investigation of specific system operations and user behaviours. It has been shown that the methodology used in the study can be helpful for aiding the design of increasingly complicated on-site hybrid energy systems.",battery
"Co–Al–CO3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) with the different Co/Al molar ration is synthesized by hydrothermal method and investigated as an additive for positive material of the Ni–MH cells. The Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) show the Co–Al-LDH with Co/Al = 4:1 (molar ration) is well-crystallized and hexagon structure. The electrochemical performances of the nickel electrode added with different Co/Al molar ration Co–Al-LDH, the pure nickel electrode and the nickel electrode added with CoO are investigated by the cyclic voltammograms (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements, and AC electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Compared with the pure nickel electrode and the nickel electrode added with CoO, the nickel electrode added with Co/Al = 4:1 (molar ration) Co–Al-LDH has higher discharge capacity and more stable cycling performances. This cell can undergo at least 400 charge–discharge cycles at constant current of 1 C. The discharge capacity of this cell remains about 287 mAh g−1 after the 400th cycle. Meanwhile, compared with the pure electrode, the nickel electrode added with Co/Al = 4:1 (molar ration) Co–Al-LDH possess a higher rate capability to meet the needs of high-storage applications.",battery
"Anxiety is one of the most fundamental emotions required to survive or to cope with potential threatening stimuli. Under certain circumstances, it can change to excessive or maladaptive response and might manifest in anxious personality or even anxiety disorders. Genetic studies provide a number of promising candidate genes that, however, account for only a few percent of the phenotypic variance. Social and material environmental effects such as stressful life events, drugs or chemicals and particular behavioural influences such as parental care are suggested to interact with gene effects presumably involving epigenetic processes. Such interaction probably modifies an individual’s predisposition, personality and susceptibility to develop normal or low anxiety or even maladaptive or excessive anxiety. Since human anxiety involves complex emotions as well as cognitions, unique experiences and an individual genetic make-up, studies trying to clarify the complex and functionally interwoven pathogenesis of anxious personality or anxiety disorders often adopt a reductionistic, simplifying approach. Therein, mice constitute an invaluable tool for modelling human anxiety in its various forms as they display remarkable similarities on anatomical, physiological, biochemical, molecular and behavioural levels. This review aims to fit observations and results obtained from men and mice on behavioural, genetic and environmental levels in response to different threatening stimuli elucidating different genetic and epigenetic effects.",non-battery
"A Si-based alloy as the anode material in Li-ion batteries has advantages of safety and excellent performances, but poor electronic conductivity and excessive volume expansion limit the long cycle life required for practical application. In this work, in order to solve these problems, a core-shell nanocomposite has been developed, which is composed of a Si core and NiSi2/Ni shell with a carbon layer coating as the outer surface, which is referred to as a Si@NiSi2/Ni/C nanocomposite. Results show a reversible charge capacity of 1194mAhg−1 and 98% retention after 105 cycles, which are superior to its Si/C and NiSi2/Si counterparts. Furthermore, the fabrication method used has advantages of low cost and easy operation, which make it feasible to commercialize the Si@NiSi2/Ni/C nanocomposite as the anode in a lithium-ion battery.",battery
"Si with x =0.000, 0.015, 0.030, and 0.050 is successfully doped into layered LiNi0.5Mn0.5-xSixO2 using a sol − gel method. Si doping results in a decrease in lattice constant, Li/Ni mixing, stress, and size of primary particles. Si is distributed at the Mn site probably nonuniformly to cause two different states of Si4+. Si doping exerts no influence on the 2p bands of Ni2+, and however gives rise to a slight splitting of 2p3/2 band of Mn4+, and tends to increase the diffusion activation energy of Li+. The optimum performance is achieved for LiNi0.5Mn0.5-xSixO2 with x =0.015 which has the highest BET surface area. Detailed analysis of structural modifications allows one to conclude that the remarkable alleviation of agglomeration of primary particles other than the optimization of structure related parameters such as the lattice constant, metal − oxygen bond length, ordering, cation mixing, size, and stress is responsible predominantly for the performance improvement. This study suggests that silicon is not an effective dopant for performance improvement of layered LiMO2 simply from the perspective of structural modifications and optimization.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter presents a discussion on physical network layer. The chapter describes physical design issues for networks on chips (NoCs). A major design problem in NoCs is the interconnect realization that requires modeling and performance metrics—such as the signal integrity and noise immunity. High-speed signaling—such as current-mode signaling and wave-pipelining—and low-power interconnection designs—such as low-swing signaling and transition-reducing coding—are widely used within the NoC physical layer. The chapter analyzes the clock and data synchronizing methods as well as the physical design issues of NoC building blocks such as switches, buffeting memories, and SERDES. Although a new design approach such as NoC is required to get a more process independent interconnection architecture, still more emphasis is put on the physical design of interconnection and more detail understanding of the physics in the interconnect of deep submicron (DSM) technology is required than before. Four factors are referred to cause new challenges in DSM: (1) increase of the operation frequency so that the inductance characteristics are more conspicuous than before, (2) signal reflection and transmission because of impedance mismatch, (3) increase of fringe capacitance because of increased aspect ratio of the interconnection wire, and (4) increase of resistance with sheet resistance because of skin effect of high frequency and contact resistance.",non-battery
"A NiFe2O4–graphene heteroarchitecture with differing graphene content is prepared by a straightforward hydrothermal strategy. The NiFe2O4–graphene (with 20 wt% graphene) nanocomposite as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries shows a high specific reversible capacity up to 960mAhg−1 with good cycling stability and rate capability. The superior electrochemical performance of the NiFe2O4–graphene nanocomposite can be attributed to its unique heteroarchitecture, which enables high utilization of active material, good structural stability and fast charge transport.",battery
" Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often considered as an early stage of dementia, is heterogeneous, and not all subjects with MCI progress into clinically diagnosed dementia. Low body weight (and body mass index, BMI) as well as losing weight while in MCI stadium have been proposed as possible risk factors of MCI-to-dementia conversion.",non-battery
"Nano-Fe3O4-loaded tubular carbon nanofibers (nano-Fe3O4/TCNFs) were synthesized by adding TCNFs into the high-temperature solution-phase reactions of iron(III) acetylacetonate with 1,2-hexadecanediol in the presence of oleic acid and oleylamine. The morphology and structure of this material were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. TEM observation clarified that nano-sized Fe3O4 particles with a uniform diameter of several nanometers were distributed and loaded tightly on the TCNF surfaces (inside and outside). After being annealed at 500°C in Ar gas flow, nano-Fe3O4/TCNFs were used as the active material of negative electrodes for Fe/air batteries. Using an alkaline aqueous electrolyte with K2S additive, a high specific capacity of 786mAhg−1 and cycling efficiency of 76% at the 30th cycle were obtained. The downsizing of the conductive Fe3O4 nano-particles was considered to have contributed to the good electrochemical properties of the material.",battery
"A strategy for portable high-power applications with a controlled thermal environment has been developed and has demonstrated the advantage of using the novel phase change material (PCM) thermal management systems over conventional active cooling systems. A passive thermal management system using PCM for Li-ion batteries is tested for extreme conditions, such as ambient temperature of 45°C and discharge rate of 2.08C-rate (10A). Contrary to Li-ion packs without thermal management system, high-energy packs with PCM are discharged safely at high currents and degrading rate of capacity of the Li-ion packs lowered by half. Moreover, the compactness of the packs not only decreases the volume occupied by the packs and its associated complex cooling system, but also decreases the total weight for large power application.",battery
"Surface-modified graphite for application as an anode material in lithium ion batteries was obtained by etching with KOH under mild conditions without high-temperature annealing. The surface of the etched graphite is covered with many nano-sized pores that act as entrances for lithium ions during the charging process. As compared with pristine graphite and other references such as pitch-coated or etched graphite samples with annealing, our non-annealed etched graphite exhibits excellent electrochemical properties, particularly at fast charging rates of over 2.5 C. While avoidance of the trade-off between increase of irreversible capacity and good rate capability has previously been a main concern in highly porous carbonaceous materials, we show that the slightly larger surface area created by the etching does not induce a significant increase of irreversible capacity. This study shows that it is important to limit the size of pores to the nanometer scale for excellent battery performance, which is possible by etching under relatively mild conditions.",battery
"Composite electrodes for supercapacitors were prepared by electropolymerization of polyaniline (PANI) on the surface of activated-porous carbons. The surface morphology and the chemical composition of composite electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical properties of electrodes and the capacitive behavior of the resulting capacitors were systematically studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), ac impedance and constant current charge–discharge tests. The specific capacitance of PANI-carbon composite electrode was exhibited as high as 160F/g, in comparison with a value of 95F/g for the bare-carbon (BC) electrode. An increase in capacitance more than 60% has been achieved, that identifies the significant contribution of pseudocapacitance from PANI on the overall capacitance.",battery
"We synthesized an electrospun SnO2 hollow nanofibers (SnO2 hNFs) coated with carbon and wrapped with graphene oxide layer by simple hydrothermal and electrostatic force method, respectively. Thin carbon layer as electrolyte blocking layer was formed on the SnO2 hNFs by using glucose as a carbon source (SnO2@C hNFs). Also, layers of graphene oxide are wrapped on SnO2@C hNFs by the electrostatic interaction force (SnO2@C@G hNFs). At high C rate, the average capacity of the SnO2@C@G hNFs still kept high capacity comparing with the SnO2 hNFs and SnO2@C hNFs and then increased above 250% at 3C. It also exhibits a greatly enhanced synergic effect with an extremely high lithium storage capability up to 1,600mAhg−1 and kept 900mAhg−1 after 50 cycles benefiting from the advanced structural features.",battery
"Spinel lithium manganese oxides (LiMn2O4) modified with and without bismuth by sol–gel method were investigated by theoretical calculation and experimental techniques, including galvanostatic charge/discharge test (GC), cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry (CP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET measurement, and infrared spectroscopy (IR). It is found that the performance of LiMn2O4 can be improved by the bismuth modification. The modified and the unmodified samples have almost the same initial discharge capacity, 118 and 120mAhg−1, respectively. However, the modified sample has better cyclic stability than the unmodified sample. After 100 cycles, the capacity remains 100 and 89mAhg−1 for the modified and the unmodified samples, respectively. Moreover, the results from EIS show that the modified sample has a quicker kinetic process for Li ion intercalation/de-intercalation than the unmodified one; the charge-transfer resistance of the former is less than one-sixth of that of the latter. After immersion in electrolyte (DMC:EC:EMC=1:1:1, 1molL−1 LiPF6) for 10h at room temperature, the modified sample has less change in open circuit potential, crystal volume, and vibration absorption of Mn–O bond, and has less dissolution of manganese into solution than the unmodified sample.",battery
"Solid waste generation in sensitive tourist areas of the Indian Himalayan region is approaching that of some metro cities of the country. The present study showed ∼288 g waste generation visitor−1 day−1 compared with the nation-wide average of 350 g capita−1 day−1. About 29 metric tonnes (MT) solid waste is generated along a distance of about 19-km trek (a stretch of land or distance between two or more places covered by a walk) during a 4-month tourist season every year. Treks and trek stalls are the two major places where the visitors generate solid waste. Waste estimated from stalls accounted for about 51% by weight of the total waste generation in the trekking region. The native villagers generally construct stalls every year to meet the requirement of visitors going to Valley of Flowers (VOF) and Hemkund Sahib. The average annual results of 2 years (or equivalent to the average of one, 4-month tourist season for the region) showed non-biodegradable waste (NBW) to be 96.3% by weight whereas biodegradable waste (BW) amounted to merely 3.7%. From management point of view of the government, 96% NBW could easily be reused and recycled. Nevertheless, the need is to manage this waste by bringing it from the trekking areas to the road head (Govind Ghat) first and then to transport it to adjacent recycling centers. Cold drink glass bottles (68%), plastic (26%) and metal (2%) were the major items contributing to non-biodegradable waste. The remaining organic waste could be used as feedstock for composting. A well coordinated effort of public participation is necessary at all the levels for managing waste. There is a need to educate the visitors to instill in them the habit of considering discarded waste as potentially valuable and manageable.",non-battery
"A novel computer aided manufacturing (CAM) method for electrocorticography (ECoG) microelectrodes was developed to be able to manufacture small, high density microelectrode arrays based on laser-structuring medical grade silicone rubber and high purity platinum. With this manufacturing process, we plan to target clinical applications, such as presurgical epilepsy monitoring, functional imaging during cerebral tumor resections and brain-computer interface control in paralysed patients, in the near future. This paper describes the manufacturing, implantation and long-term behaviour of such an electrode array. In detail, we implanted 8-channel electrode arrays subdurally over rat cerebral cortex over a period of up to 25 weeks. Our primary objective was to ascertain the electrode’s stability over time, and to analyse the host response in vivo. For this purpose, impedance measurements were carried out at regular intervals over the first 18 weeks of the implantation period. The impedances changed between day 4 and day 7 after implantation, and then remained stable until the end of the implantation period, in accordance with typical behaviour of chronically implanted microelectrodes. A post-mortem histological examination was made to assess the tissue reaction due to the implantation. A mild, chronically granulated inflammation was found in the area of the implant, which was essentially restricted to the leptomeninges. Overall, these findings suggest that the concept of the presented ECoG-electrodes is promising for use in long-term implantations.",non-battery
"Recently, great interest has been aroused in flexible/bendable electronic equipment such as rollup displays and wearable devices. As flexible energy conversion and energy storage units with high energy and power density represent indispensable components of flexible electronics, they should be carefully considered. However, it is a great challenge to fabricate flexible/bendable power sources. This is mainly due to the lack of reliable materials that combine both electronically superior conductivity and mechanical flexibility, which also possess high stability in electrochemical environments. In this work, we report a new approach to flexible energy devices. We suggest the use of a flexible electrode based on free-standing graphene paper, to be applied in lithium rechargeable batteries. This is the first report in which graphene paper is adopted as a key element applied in a flexible lithium rechargeable battery. Moreover graphene paper is a functional material, which does not only act as a conducting agent, but also as a current collector. The unique combination of its outstanding properties such as high mechanical strength, large surface area, and superior electrical conductivity make graphene paper, a promising base material for flexible energy storage devices. In essence, we discover that the graphene based flexible electrode exhibits significantly improved performances in electrochemical properties, such as in energy density and power density. Moreover graphene paper has better life cycle compared to non-flexible conventional electrode architecture. Accordingly, we believe that our findings will contribute to the full realization of flexible lithium rechargeable batteries used in bendable electronic equipments.
",battery
"xLiH+M composites, where M=Mg or Ti, are suggested as new candidates for negative electrode for Li-ion batteries. For this purpose, the xLiH+M electrode is prepared using the mechanochemical reaction: MH x + xLi→ xLiH+M or by simply grinding a xLiH+M mixture. The most promising electrochemical behaviour is obtained with the (2LiH+Mg) composite prepared via a mechanochemical reaction between MgH2 and metallic Li leading to a very divided composite in which Mg crystallites of 20nm size are embedded in a LiH matrix. Reversible capacities of 1064mAhg−1 (three times as much as the one of graphite) and 600mAhg−1 are reached for these phase mixtures after 1 and 28h of grinding in vertical and planetary mill, respectively. The (2LiH+Ti) mixture prepared via the mechanochemical reaction between TiH2 and Li exhibits a reversible capacity of 428mAhg−1. From X-ray diffraction measurements, the performances of the electrodes are attributed to the electrochemical conversion reaction: M+ xLiH↔MH x + xLi+ + xe− (M=Mg, Ti) followed for M=Mg by an alloying process where M reacts with lithium ions to form Mg1−x Li x alloys.",battery
"For application to Li-ion batteries, we studied the electrochemical behavior and thermal stability of the following two combinations of binary electrolyte additives in a triphenylphosphate (TPP)-containing ionic electrolyte: vinyl acetate (VA) plus vinylene carbonate (VC), and vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) plus biphenyl (BP). Mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) and LiCoO2 were used as the anode and cathode materials, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for the analyses. These results confirmed the capability of the VEC+BP electrolyte additive to improve the cell performance and electrolyte thermal stability in TPP-containing solutions in Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The effects of a small amount of fluoroethylene carbonate (C3H3FO3 or FEC) on the electrochemical performance of lithium-rich layered oxide cathode Li1.16[Mn0.75Ni0.25]0.84O2 have been focused herein. When 1 vol.% or 2 vol.% FEC was introduced into the electrolyte, cycling performance and rate capability of Li1.16[Mn0.75Ni0.25]0.84O2 have been improved, and the initial irreversible capacity (Cirr) loss has been lessened by suppressing the parasitic side reactions between cathode and electrolyte. However, excess FEC (5% in volume) will lead to the decreased lithium transference number (tLi+), large concentration polarization and the reduced discharge capacity especially at high current. DFT calculations indicate that FEC enhances the anti-oxidation ability of the electrolyte system, and the preferential accumulation and reaction of FEC near cathode during charging due to the strong coordination between FEC and PF6 − anion. The results from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measures indicate that a more stable SEI film has been formed on the cathode surface with FEC as additive, which leads to the suppression of the electrolyte aggressive decomposition and the enhancement of thermal stability.",battery
"The use of nonhalogenated electrolyte salts for electrochemical devices is very important from the point of view of safety and cost. We have investigated the physical and electrochemical properties of a series of quaternary ammonium bis(oxalato)borates (QABOBs) and the performance of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). The mass and van der Waals volume of BOB− are higher and larger than those of BF4 −. The mass densities, viscosities, and surface tensions of propylene carbonate (PC) solutions containing the QABOBs are higher than those obtained for tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEABF4), and the electric conductivities become lower. However, the electrochemical voltage windows measured with an activated carbon electrode and the gravimetric capacitances of 2025-type coin cells are comparable to those obtained for the PC solutions containing the TEABF4.",battery
"The low viscosities of the linear sulfites dimethyl sulfite and diethyl sulfite are suggesting an investigation of their suitability as low viscosity co-solvents for ethylene carbonate based electrolytes. In this study, electrochemical performances at graphitic anodes and conductivities in the temperature range −60 to +60°C are presented. Comparisons with the linear carbonates dimethyl carbonate and diethyl carbonate, which have been currently used as low viscosity solvents in lithium ion batteries, are made.",battery
"High voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) spinel with an operating voltage of 4.7V is a promising candidate as the positive electrode in future lithium ion batteries for electric vehicle applications. However, LNMO displays a capacity fading problem in LNMO/graphite full-cells. Understanding the capacity fading mechanism of LNMO is important for implementing it in next-generation lithium ion batteries. Performance comparisons between LNMO/Li half-cell cycled and LNMO/graphite full-cell cycled were carried out. Whereas no degradation was observed for half-cells, full-cell usable capacity decreased by >50% after 100 cycles. The performance of LNMO and graphite electrodes that experienced full-cell cycling for >100 cycles were then evaluated in fresh half-cells. Results indicated that there is no degradation of the individual LNMO and graphite electrodes. The voltage profiles and dQ/dV curves of full-cells were compared with those of simulated profiles based on half-cell data. Experimental data were successfully reproduced by simulation based on an assumption that the capacity fading in full-cells was originated from the Li+ loss in LNMO. The amount of Mn deposited on Li-metal in the LNMO/Li half-cells was determined to be ∼0.3% of the total Mn weight in the LNMO electrode after 200 cycles at 30°C. The capacity fading of the LNMO/graphite can be explained by the impact of Mn dissolution, and active Li+ loss in the full-cell system through continuous SEI formation (electrolyte reduction) prompted by Mn reduced on top of graphite surface.",battery
"Plant–plant interactions are largely influenced by both environmental stress and ontogeny. Despite the effects of each of these factors on the overall outcome of these interactions has received considerable attention during the last years, the joint effects of both factors as drivers of such outcome are poorly understood. We used the combination of spatial pattern analysis, fruit production surveys, carbohydrate assays, sowing experiments and dendrochronological techniques to explore the interaction between Stipa tenacissima (nurse) and Lepidium subulatum (protégée) in two different slope aspects. This battery of techniques allows us to study the effects of the nurse plant during the whole life cycle of the protégée, and to assess the role of spatio-temporal variability in abiotic stress as a modulator of ontogenetic shifts in plant–plant interactions. Spatial pattern analyses suggested a net facilitative effect of S. tenacissima on L. subulatum. This effect was particularly important during the germination, shifting to competition (growth reduction) early after establishment. Competition was gradually reduced as the shrub aged, suggesting niche differentiation. The magnitude of competition was reduced under low rainfall levels in south-facing slopes, whereas this response was observed due to other abiotic factors in north-facing slopes. Our results highlight the crucial effect that positive interactions at early life-stages have to determine the long-term outcome of a given plant–plant interaction, and the existence of multiple shifts between facilitation and competition along different life-stages of the protégée. They also show how these ontogenetic shifts are modulated by abiotic factors, which differ among slope aspects. These findings may help to refine conceptual and theoretical models about shifts between facilitation and ontogeny under current climate change scenarios.",non-battery
"Electrochemical and electrical double layer characteristics for the phase boundary nanoporous carbon |1.0M triethylmethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEMA) solution in acetonitrile (AN), γ-butyrolactone (GBL), acetone (DMK) and propylene carbonate (PC) have been studied using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The constant current and constant power charge/discharge characteristics of capacitor modules constructed and filled with different electrolytes were tested over the temperature range from −30 to +60°C. Tests for “lifetime” of the capacitors were performed at elevated temperature. Energy density versus power density, i.e. so-called Ragone plots were constructed to characterize the performance of the capacitor modules. It was established that the energy density, power density, discharge time, etc. of the electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC) depend on the pore size distribution and conductivity of the nanoporous electrode material. It was shown that the energy output of capacitor depends on the viscosity and molar conductivity of a solvent. The power output of the capacitor increased in the order of solvent PC<DMK<GBL<AN in agreement with the dependence of the Ragone plot parameters on temperature.",battery
"A new approach of Thermal Impedance Spectroscopy (TIS) is introduced for thermal characterization of battery cells. It examines the transfer behavior between internal heat generation and resulting battery surface temperature in the frequency domain. Compared to previously published TIS methods the internal heat generation forced by electrical operation can be determined without any previous knowledge or assumptions on the electric/electrochemical behavior of the battery cell. The complete procedure is demonstrated by the TIS-application on a cylindrical High-Power Li-Ion cell. By the use of a thermal battery model, its theoretical transfer function can be fitted to the TIS-measurement results in the Nyquist-Plot. Consequently, the specific heat capacity and the heat conductivity of the cell's jelly roll can be derived. A comparison of the exemplary operated TIS to conventional thermal characterization methods shows a difference of 5% in the heat capacity and 12% in the heat conductivity determination. Future improvements on the experimental setup are suggested in order to reach a higher measurement accuracy and additionally, the systematic advantages of the easy to operate and non-destructive TIS-method are presented.",battery
" Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) in mice results in a brain infarct, the volume of which depends on the length of occlusion. Following permanent occlusion, neuropathological changes – including a robust glial inflammatory response – also occur downstream of the infarct in the spinal cord.",non-battery
"PVD method was shown advantageous for producing Nb2O5 thin film on the 316L SS.316L SS coated with Nb2O5 film to be used in biomedical devices.Nb2O5 coating improved biological response of the 316L SS.Nb2O5 thin film are less toxic and induces less inflammation in gingival cells.
",non-battery
"Iron fluoride based conversion cathode materials, LiF/Fe/V2O5 nanocomposites with high activity and good cyclic stability have been prepared in the discharged state by employing high energy ball milling and characterized by using XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. Li cycling behavior have been investigated by using galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry. It has been inferred that addition of V2O5 significantly enhanced the performance of the LiF/Fe nanocomposites by improving its electronic as well as its ionic conductivity. LiF/Fe/V2O5 (15 wt.%, 30 h ball milled) shows the best cycling performance. A high first cycle discharge capacity of ∼510 (±5) mA h g−1 is observed. At the end of 50th cycle, the capacity observed is ∼270 (±5) mA h g−1. The heat treated LiF/Fe/V2O5 (15 wt.%, 20 h ball milled) nanocomposite shows a notable improvement in cycling stability than the as prepared nanocomposite and a reversible capacity of ∼310 (±5) mA h g−1 is observed at the end of 50 cycles. The average charge–discharge potentials observed in CV are ∼2.9 and ∼1.7 V, respectively. Ex-situ XRD, TEM and EIS measurements are performed on cycled electrodes of LiF/Fe/V2O5 (15 wt.%; 30 h ball milled) at selected voltages to understand the reaction mechanism.",battery
"There is a growing need to reliably measure absorbed dose in low temperature samples, especially in the pharmaceutical and tissue banking industries. All dosimetry systems commonly used in the irradiation industry are temperature sensitive. Radiation of low temperature samples, such as those packaged with dry ice, must therefore take these dosimeter temperature effects into consideration. This paper will suggest a method to accurately deliver an absorbed radiation dose using dosimetry techniques designed to abrogate the skewing effects of low temperature environments on existing dosimetry systems.",non-battery
"The genome of the Antarctic bacterium Pseudomonas extremaustralis was analyzed searching for genes involved in environmental adaptability focusing on anaerobic metabolism, osmoregulation, cold adaptation, exopolysaccharide production and degradation of complex compounds. Experimental evidences demonstrated the functionality of several of these pathways, including arginine and pyruvate fermentation, alginate production and growth under cold conditions. Phylogenetic analysis along with genomic island prediction allowed the detection of genes with probable foreign origin such as those coding for acetate kinase, osmotic resistance and colanic acid biosynthesis. These findings suggest that in P. extremaustralis the horizontal transfer events and/or gene redundancy could play a key role in the survival under unfavorable conditions. Comparative genome analysis of these traits in other representative Pseudomonas species highlighted several similarities and differences with this extremophile bacterium.
",non-battery
"To improve the electrochemical performance of lithium sulfur batteries, a conductive Lewis base matrix, nitrogen doped graphene (NG), was prepared here through a facile strategy of annealing a polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide composite. The obtained NG was demonstrated with enriched pyridinic-N doping and was employed as the matrix of sulfur cathode with ultra-high rates, reversible capacity and high coulombic efficiency. The improved performance can be attributed to the high conductivity of the NG and the enhanced adsorption energy of Li2Sn (n=4-8) on the NG surface. The NG can act not only as an electronic conductive network but also as a Lewis base “catalyst” matrix that promotes the higher Li2Sn to be further oxidized completely to S8 as demonstrated in the cyclic voltammetry curve, which can thus significantly improve the sulfur utilization and cyclic stability even at a high sulfur loading of 75% (w/w) in the S@NG composite.",battery
"The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is the key component of a PEMFC stack. Conventional MEAs are composed of catalyzed electrodes loaded with 0.1–0.4mgPt cm−2 pressed against a Nafion® membrane, leading to cell performance close to 0.8Wcm−2 at 0.6V. Due to their limited stability at high temperatures, the cost of platinum catalysts and that of proton exchange membranes, the recycling problems and material availability, the MEA components do not match the requirements for large scale development of PEMCFs at a low cost, particularly for automotive applications. Novel approaches to medium and high temperature membranes are described in this work, and a composite polybenzimidazole–poly(vinylphosphonic) acid membrane, stable up to 190°C, led to a power density of 0.5Wcm−2 at 160°C under 3bar abs with hydrogen and air. Concerning the preparation of efficient electrocatalysts supported on a Vulcan XC72 carbon powder, the Bönnemann colloidal method and above all plasma sputtering allowed preparing bimetallic platinum-based electrocatalysts with a low Pt loading. In the case of plasma deposition of Pt nanoclusters, Pt loadings as low as 10μgcm−2 were achieved, leading to a very high mass power density of ca. 20 kW g Pt − 1 . Finally characterization of the MEA electrical properties by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) based on a theoretical model of mass and charge transport inside the active and gas diffusion layers, together with the optimization of the operating parameters (cell temperature, humidity, flow rate and pressure) allowed obtaining electrical performance greater than 1.2Wcm−2 using an homemade MEA with a rather low Pt loading.",battery
"Model-based observers appeal to both research and industry utilization due to the high accuracy and robustness. To further improve the robustness to dynamic work conditions and battery ageing, the online model identification is integrated to the state estimation, giving rise to the co-estimation methods. This paper systematically compares three types of co-estimation methods for the online state of charge of lithium-ion battery. This first method is dual extended Kalman filter which uses two parallel filters for co-estimation. The second method is a typical data-model fusion method which uses recursive least squares for model identification and extended Kalman filter for state estimation. Meanwhile, a noise compensating method based on recursive total least squares and Rayleigh quotient minimization is exploited for online model identification, which is further designed in conjunction with the extended Kalman filter to estimate the state of charge. Simulation and experimental studies are carried out to compare the performances of three methods in terms of the accuracy, convergence property, and noise immunity. The computing cost and tuning effort are further discussed to give insights to the application prospective of different methods.",battery
"Sodium polyanionic materials provide various structural frameworks compared to their lithium counterparts, leading to diverse studies on novel polyanion-based electrode materials for sodium ion batteries. Na4M3(PO4)2P2O7 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Mg) is a new class of mixed-anion phosphates combined with two polyanion groups, (PO4)3− and (P2O7)4−. It is an attractive electrode candidate because of its stable cyclability and low volume changes upon cycling. Although Mn-based mixed-anion phosphate materials have shown a high redox potential of 3.8 V vs. Na+/Na, they have suffered from low electrical conductivity and structural distortion upon oxidation. Partial substitution of Mn by other divalent cations is an efficient strategy to suppress lattice distortion and to affect the phase transition process during electrochemical cycling. Here we study the cation substitution effect of the Mn-based mixed-anion phosphates on the phase stability and the kinetics of the electrochemical reaction. The electrochemical reversibility was found to be improved by certain cation substitution. In particular, Co substitution not only increased the operating voltage but also enhanced both cyclability and rate capability. Furthermore, we investigate the phase changes upon cycling using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, supporting the positive effect of the mixed-anion phosphate structure through cation substitution.",battery
"Landscape ecology focuses on the spatial patterns and processes of ecological and human interactions. These patterns and processes are being altered by both changing resource-management practices of humans and changing climate conditions associated, in part, with increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Dominant resource-extraction and land-management activities involve energy, and the use of fossil energy is one of the key drivers behind increasing greenhouse gas emissions as well as land-use changes. Alternative energy sources (such as wind, solar, nuclear, and bioenergy) are being explored to reduce greenhouse gas emission rates. Yet, energy production, including alternative-energy options, can have a wide range of effects on land productivity, surface cover, albedo, and other factors that affect carbon, water, and energy fluxes and, in turn, climate. Meanwhile, climate influences the potential output, relative efficiencies, and sustainability of alternative energy sources. Thus, land use, climate change, and energy choices are linked, and any comprehensive analysis in landscape ecology that considers one of these factors should be cognizant of these interactions. This analysis explores the implications of linkages between land use, climate hange, and energy and points out ecological patterns and processes that may be affected by their interactions.
",non-battery
"The proton diffusion coefficients in an electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) electrode at various stages of the constant current discharge have been determined by means of AC impedance technique. The finite diffusion model was applied in the numerical fitting. The crystallite size of EMD was estimated from (110), (121) and (021) diffraction peaks with both Scherrer equation and Warren–Averbach theory. X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak broadening caused by instrument, crystallite size and microstrain was separated. The crystallite size of ramsdellite was assumed to be the proton diffusion length.",battery
"Inverters are such electronic devices that are extensively used to convert DC power to AC power in wide-range domestic and industrial applications. DC power is usually supplied from either national grid through the rectifiers or batteries for high and low energy demands, respectively. When they are employed to feed electrical devices the efficiency of these devices tends to decrease due to harmonic occurrence in them. One solution to this problem is the selective harmonic elimination which is required to solve multiple non-linear equations simultaneously. These equations are mainly function of the switching angles and are obtained from a type of inverter output voltage such as being unipolar, bipolar, etc. To eliminate one or more harmonics in these output voltages becomes a typical multivariate root-finding problem and its solution requires root-finding methods such as the Newton–Raphson method, the Broyden method etc. These methods can only produce a meaningful solution if initial values are properly guessed, but it is highly difficult task due to having no direct formula. In this paper, the hybrid genetic algorithm method based on the refinement of the genetic algorithms results through the Newton–Raphson method was used to simultaneously solve the non-linear equations. The results have shown a considerable effect on decrease in the total harmonic distortion, thereby increasing the efficiency of devices compared to conventional methods under the same conditions.",non-battery
"The skilled movement of livestock by dogs is highly valued among livestock handlers in the harsh farming environment of Australia. However, their workload has not been studied empirically. This pilot study aimed to measure the distance, speed, and heart rate of a group of sheep dogs (n = 6) working during an 11-day period of peak activity (shearing). In addition, it sought to determine the technological capabilities and limits of a modern Global Positioning System (GPS) device for monitoring working dogs during peak work. Distances recorded ranged from 1.7 km up to 68.3 km in a day. The furthest cumulative distance covered by a dog during the study period was 279.2 km. The maximum speed recorded in the yard area was 37.01 km/h. Because of the limitations of the equipment and the nature of the work, we were unable to measure heart rate reliably. The GPS units used in the study were effective at measuring the considerable variation in movement and speed of the dogs while working. However, battery life limitations prevented recording of the dogs' full activity over each day. Characterizing elite and peak performance in these working dogs may assist in comparisons with other sporting and working breeds and in identifying phenotypic traits of value in herding and related working contexts.",non-battery
"Ultrafast time-resolved studies of photocatalytic thin films can provide a wealth of information crucial for understanding and thereby improving the performance of these materials by directly probing electronic structure, reaction intermediates, and charge carrier dynamics. The interpretation of transient spectra, however, can be complicated by thermally induced structural distortions, which appear within the first few picoseconds following excitation due to carrier–phonon scattering. Here we present a comparison of ex situ steady-state thermal difference spectra and transient absorption spectra spanning from NIR to hard X-ray energies of hematite thin films grown by atomic layer deposition. We find that beyond the first 100 picoseconds, the transient spectra measured for all excitation wavelengths and probe energies are almost entirely due to thermal effects as the lattice expands in response to the ultrafast temperature jump and then cools to room temperature on the microsecond timescale. At earlier times, a broad excited state absorption band that is assigned to free carriers appears at 675 nm, and the lifetime and shape of this feature also appear to be mostly independent of excitation wavelength. The combined spectroscopic data, which are modeled with density functional theory and full multiple scattering calculations, support an assignment of the optical absorption spectrum of hematite that involves two LMCT bands that nearly span the visible spectrum. Our results also suggest a framework for shifting the ligand-to-metal charge transfer absorption bands of ferric oxide films from the near-UV further into the visible part of the solar spectrum to improve solar conversion efficiency.
",battery
"Free-standing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)–LiFePO4 composite films were successfully prepared by dynamic three phase interline electropolymerization (D3PIE). These films were used without further modification as the positive electrode in standard lithium ion batteries. As such, this new process eliminates all electrochemically inactive materials (carbon, polymer binder and current collector) used in conventional composite cathodes. The PEDOT–LiFePO4 composite film offers a discharge capacity of 75 mAh g−1 at the C/10 rate and high capacity retention at the C/2 rate. When reporting this value to the relative amount of LiFePO4 in the PEDOT-LiFePO4 composite film, the discharge capacity reached 160 mAh g−1, close to the theoretical maximum value (170 mAh g−1). As such, this approach yield highly functional hybrid free-standing conductive polymer/active material composite cathode with controllable size and structure.",battery
"In this work, V2O5 hollow spheres synthesized via a solvothermal method for high performance cathode of aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ARZIBs) is reported. The as-prepared V2O5 sample comprises of hollow spheres particles with diameter of 0.7–1.6 μm, which shows a larger specific area than commercial V2O5. When served as cathode of ARZIBs, V2O5 hollow spheres deliver better cycle stability and more excellent rate performance than commercial V2O5. More specifically, V2O5 hollow spheres display a high specific discharge capacity of 132 mA h g−1 with capacity retention of 82.5% after 6200 cycles at the current density of 10 A g−1. And the discharge capacity of V2O5 hollow spheres electrode can reach to 280, 250, 225, 213, 204, 165, 147 and 108 mA h g−1 at current densities of 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 3, 5 and 10 A g−1, respectively. Further, the ZnV2O5 batteries with V2O5 hollow spheres cathode reveal a promising potential for practical application.",battery
"This paper examines whether neuropsychological profiles of youth with early onset psychotic disorders predicted diagnostic or clinical status. Youth with schizophrenia (n=27), bipolar disorder (n=22), and psychosis NOS (n=20) were included. Subjects received an extensive neuropsychological evaluation, including measures of general cognition, attention, memory, and executive functioning. Medication status was not controlled. No statistically significant neurocognitive differences across diagnostic groups were found. Compared to standardized norms, youth with schizophrenia demonstrated deficits in general cognition, verbal learning, recall, sustained effort, and social knowledge. Subjects with bipolar disorder and psychosis NOS exhibited deficits on measures of verbal learning, recall, and sustained effort similar to those of youth with schizophrenia. Neurocognitive deficits in memory and attention appeared to be common among youth with psychotic illnesses, regardless of diagnosis. Those with schizophrenia may have greater global cognitive deficits and problems with social knowledge. Across diagnoses, subjects demonstrated relative strengths on tests that provided them with immediate feedback, and performed most poorly on tests requiring delayed recall.",non-battery
"The Titanium nitride was made by the carbamide and titanic chloride precursors. XRD results indicate that the precursor ratio N:Ti 3:1 leads to higher crystallinity. SEM and EDX demonstrated that Ti and N elements were distributed uniformly with the ratio of 1:1. The TiN used as the electrode material for supercapacitor was also studied. The specific capacities were changed from 407F.g−1 to 385F.g−1, 364F.g−1 and 312F.g−1, when the current densities were changed from 1A.g−1 to 2A.g−1, 5A.g−1 and 10A.g−1, respectively. Chronopotentiometry tests showed high coulombic efficiency. Cycling performance of the TiN electrode was evaluated by CV at a scanning rate of 50mV.s−1 for 20,000 cycles and there was about 9.8% loss. These results indicate that TiN is a promising electrode material for the supercapacitors.",non-battery
"X-ray photoemission spectroscopic and high-resolution hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopic studies of positive electrodes in LiNi0.73Co0.17Al0.10O2 and hard carbon based batteries were carried out to elucidate the mechanism of battery degradation. Li2CO3, hydrocarbons, ROCO2Li, polycarbonate-type compounds and LiF were observed on positive electrode surfaces and the amount of carbonates was found to have increased after cycle testing. Above 60°C, signs of electrolyte decomposition were indicated. Near the surface of the positive electrodes, a Li-deficient cubic phase is present and grows with degradation. Capacity and power fade could be related to the amount of species on the surface and the thickness of the Li-deficient cubic phase near the surface.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly used in mobile applications where mechanical vibrations and shocks are a constant companion. This work shows how these mechanical loads affect lithium-ion cells. Therefore pouch and cylindrical cells are stressed with vibrational and shock profiles according to the UN 38.3 standard. Additionally, a vibration test is set up to reflect stress in real-world applications and is carried out for 186 days. The effects of the load profiles on the tested cells are investigated by capacity measurement, impedance spectroscopy, micro-X-ray computed tomography and post mortem analyses. The mechanical stress has no effect on the investigated pouch cells. Although all tested cylindrical cells would pass the standard tests, in certain cells stressed in a vertical position the mandrel dispatched itself and struck against internal components. This caused bruised active materials, short circuits, a damaged current collector and current interrupt device. The investigations are not directly transferrable to all pouch or cylindrical cells but show that the mechanical cell design, especially the fixation of the internal components, determines whether a cell withstands vibrations and shocks. Depending on the cell design and the loading direction, long-term vibrational loads can have additional detrimental effects on lithium-ion cells compared to standard tests.",battery
"Anatase TiO2 nano-particles anchored on layered cathode material of Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54]O2 has been prepared for the first time through the co-precipitation method. The structure and electrochemical performance of this modified layered cathode material are systematically investigated. XRD and SEM indicate that these TiO2 NPs-anchored electrodes have good layered structure and regular morphology, respectively. XPS, AFM and TEM have proved that the TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) are anchored on the surface of the particles and distributed uniformly. Compared with the bare electrode with initial discharge capacity of 248.0mAhg−1 and capacity retention of 66.65% after 100 cycles at 0.5C, 0.5% TiO2 NPs-anchored electrode exhibits a capacity of 243.8mAhg−1 with capacity retention of 84.40% by electrochemical tests. Furthermore, the 0.5% TiO2 NPs-anchored electrode could deliver the initial discharge capacity of 265.9mAhg−1, 243.8mAhg−1, 190.8mAhg−1, 134.3mAhg−1 corresponding to 0.2C, 0.5C, 2C and 5C, respectively. The anchored TiO2 NPs could effectively reduce the interfacial resistance between the cathode and the electrolyte and benefit the Li+ conduction in the electrode compared with the traditional coated layers. Anchoring TiO2 NPs on the surface of electrode is firstly adopted to enhance the electrochemical properties of layered cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"In the face of growing environmental pollution, developing a fuel-cell-driven shunting locomotive is a great challenge in China for environmental protection and energy saving, which combines the environmental advantages of an electric locomotive with the lower infrastructure costs of a diesel-electric locomotive. In this paper, the investigation status and the development trend of the fuel-cell-driven shunting locomotive were introduced. Through innovation of the power system using fuel cells, an experiment prototype of a fuel-cell shunting locomotive was developed, which would reduce the effects on the environment of the existing locomotives. This was the first locomotive to use a proton exchange membrane fuel-cell (PEMFC) power plant in China. From October 2012, we started to test the fuel-cell power plant and further test runs on the test rail-line in Chengdu, Sichuan. The achieved encouraging results can provide fundamental data for the modification of the current individual fuel cell locomotives or further development of the fuel-cell hybrid ones in China.
",non-battery
"Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a unique honeycomb-like Ni3S2 structure growing directly on the Ni foam skeleton (H-Ni3S2/NF) and its application in lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries as a free-standing cathode. Excellent electrocatalytic activity of honeycomb-like Ni3S2 and the unique network structure of Ni matrix can provide synergistic effect for facilitating electron transport and the diffusion of both oxygen and Li+, leading to the excellent electrochemical performance of Li-O2 battery. Specifically, Li-O2 batteries with H-Ni3S2/NF electrodes exhibit high energy efficiency (84.2%), outstanding cycle stability of over 116 cycles at limiting capacity of 4 mA h cm−2 and excellent rate capability (9.84 mAh cm−2 at 12 mA cm−2).",battery
Unknown,non-battery
"Molybdenum disulfide nanosheets@hollow nitrogen-doped carbon (MoS2@NC) spheres were prepared via a facile synthesis and investigated as a host material for ion storages. When used in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) or sodium ion batteries (SIBs), the MoS2@NC spheres electrodes exhibited excellent electrochemical performances. A high capacity of 1386 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles was obtained at a current density of 200 mA g−1 for LIBs. As for SIBs, a capacity of 330 mAh g−1 was retained after 400 cycles at 1000 mA g−1. The remarkable ion storage performances can be attributed to the hierarchical architecture of the MoS2@NC spheres, which not only supply abundant active sites and efficient electron and ion pathways, but also alleviate the volume change of the active MoS2 material. Meanwhile, synergistic effect of the heterogeneous components, interfacial ion storages, nitrogen doping and induced defects are responsible for high capacities of the MoS2@NC electrodes. And the electrodes exhibited enhanced electrochemical kinetics due to the significantly improved electrical conductivity and the large specific area of the MoS2@NC spheres.",battery
"A combined process has been developed for recovering cobalt and regenerating cathode material from leach liquor of spent LiCoO2 batteries. Cobalt of 98% can be selectively separated from leach liquor using ammonium oxalate of 1.15 (mole ratio) at pH of 2.0, 55 °C, and 40 min. Kinetics analysis indicates that precipitation of cobalt is controlled by a combination of surface chemical reaction and diffusion. The Ea value of precipitation is 19.68 kJ/mol obtained from the second-order model of (1 − a)−1 = k′t + c. Based on the TG/DSC curves of oxidation of cobalt oxalate, it is found that formation of Co3O4 oxidized from cobalt oxalate is in according with the model of randomly nucleating followed by nucleus growth. The Ea value is 84.93 kJ/mol that is provided by the suitable model of g(α) = [−ln(1 − α)]1/3. Then, lithium is recovered from the filtrate as Li2CO3 with the purity of 99.5% by precipitation method. Finally, new cathode material with a good electrochemical performance is regenerated using obtained Co3O4 and lithium carbonate through solid phase method.",non-battery
"Mobile terminals in 4G heterogeneous wireless networks continuously undergo horizontal and vertical handovers. In order for a mobile terminal to be connected to a network in the best possible way in terms of QoS performance and energy consumption, access network selection as the main decision within the handover process is obviously crucial. This paper presents a novel method that takes into account user preferences, network conditions, QoS and energy consumption requirements in order to select the optimal network which achieves the best balance between performance and energy consumption. The proposed network selection method incorporates the use of parameterized utility functions in order to model diverse QoS elasticities of different applications, and adopts different energy consumption metrics for real-time and non-real-time applications. User preferences are easily configured for different application and situation contexts through the use of linguistic assessments and their representation as triangular fuzzy numbers. The aggregation of multiple criteria for the calculation of the overall rating of the networks is performed through the use of the Fuzzy Set Representation TOPSIS method that resolves the issue of inconsistency related to conflicting decision criteria and is modified through the use of the employed utility functions for the elimination of the ranking abnormality problem. Finally, simulations are conducted in order to demonstrate how the proposed method would work and confirm its suitability and effectiveness.",non-battery
"Li+ charge transfer and the colouration dynamics in an electrochromic tungsten trioxide film electrode have been studied by the potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT) and simultaneous in-situ optical transmittance at one fixed wavelength (670 nm). Relaxation transients of the optical density and of the total integrated charge after potential steps have been measured in intercalation as well as in deintercalation up to a Li composition x of 0.4. The experimental colouration efficiency (CE) (≤80 cm2 C−1) has been deduced as a function of x in such experiments and compared with the efficiency calculated according to the site-saturation model. The small departure of the data from the calculated efficiency was explained in terms of a partially irreversible cathodic reaction, which accounts also for some charge retention in the electrode after a complete cycle. Both charge intercalation and colouration dynamics appeared to follow a diffusion controlled process with a diffusivity of the order of 5×10−11 cm2 s−1. The optical data collected in a complete charge–discharge cycle showed a smaller hysteresis than the electrochemical data, and the colour diffusivity was always higher than the charge diffusivity, in particular at the end of either insertion or deinsertion processes (large x and small x, respectively). Such a small but systematic discrepancy between the optical and electrochemical kinetic data suggests that part of the charge is diverted from the main electrochromic process into a secondary electrochemical process.",battery
"Objectives Most of the fine-motor assessment tools used in Hong Kong have been designed in Western countries, so there is a need to develop a standardized assessment which is relevant to the culture and daily living tasks of the local (that is, Chinese) population. This study aimed to (1) develop a fine-motor assessment tool (the Hong Kong Preschool Fine-Motor Developmental Assessment [HK-PFMDA]) for use with young children in a Chinese population and (2) examine the HK-PFMDA's psychometric properties. Method The HK-PFMDA was developed by a group of occupational therapists specializing in the area of developmental disabilities in Hong Kong. A panel of 21 experts reviewed the content validity of the instrument. Rasch item analysis was used to examine the model fit of items against the rating scale model, and to explore the dimensionality of the test. Intra- and interrater reliability, convergent validity, and criterion-related validity were examined. The participants included 783 children without disabilities, 45 with autistic spectrum disorder, and 35 with developmental delay. Results The Rasch analysis suggested that the 87-item HK-PFMDA had a unidimensional structure, as the items explained most (91.6%) of the variance. The HK-PFMDA demonstrated excellent intra- (ICC=.99) and interrater reliability (ICC=.99), and internal consistency (α ranging from .83 to .92). In terms of validity, the HK-PFMDA had significant positive correlations with both age and the convergent measures of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS-2). Conclusion A set of normative data for local children aged from birth to 6 years was established. The HK-PFMDA has shown excellent psychometric properties and is suitable for clinical application by occupational therapists in the assessment of fine-motor skills development of young children in Chinese populations.",non-battery
The chemically reactive unsteady 3D Sisko fluid flow over a bidirectional stretched surface in the presence of nonlinear thermal radiation and magnetic field is considered. The numerical scrutiny of the transformed nonlinear ODEs is performed with the help of a numerical technique known as bvp4c. The mechanism of heat and mass transfer by the applications of chemical reaction and radiation is presented using temperature and concentration graphs. A remarkable enhancing results are estimated in the presence of nonlinear thermal radiation parameter ,non-battery
"Challenges and requirements for the large-scale production of all-solid-state lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries are herein evaluated via workshops with experts from renowned research institutes, material suppliers, and automotive manufacturers. Aiming to bridge the gap between materials research and industrial mass production, possible solutions for the production chains of sulfide and oxide based all-solid-state batteries from electrode fabrication to cell assembly and quality control are presented. Based on these findings, a detailed comparison of the production processes for a sulfide based all-solid-state battery with conventional lithium-ion cell production is given, showing that processes for composite electrode fabrication can be adapted with some effort, while the fabrication of the solid electrolyte separator layer and the integration of a lithium metal anode will require completely new processes. This work identifies the major steps towards mass production of all-solid-state batteries, giving insight into promising manufacturing technologies and helping stakeholders, such as machine engineering, cell producers, and original equipment manufacturers, to plan the next steps towards safer batteries with increased storage capacity.",battery
"In studies of gait, continuous measurement of force exerted by the ground on a body, or ground reaction force (GRF), provides valuable insights into biomechanics, locomotion, and the possible presence of pathology. However, gold-standard measurement of GRF requires a costly in-lab observation obtained with sophisticated equipment and computer systems. Recently, in-shoe sensors have been pursued as a relatively inexpensive alternative to in-lab measurement. In this study, we explore the properties of continuous in-shoe sensor recordings using a functional data analysis approach. Our case study is based on measurements of three healthy subjects, with more than 300 stances (defined as the period between the foot striking and lifting from the ground) per subject. The sensor data show both phase and amplitude variabilities; we separate these sources via curve registration. We examine the correlation of phase shifts across sensors within a stance to evaluate the pattern of phase variability shared across sensors. Using the registered curves, we explore possible associations between in-shoe sensor recordings and GRF measurements to evaluate the in-shoe sensor recordings as a possible surrogate for in-lab GRF measurements.",non-battery
"As redox flow batteries are being commercialised and demonstrated in a range of energy storage applications, further cost reductions are needed to make these batteries economically viable. In reducing cost, one important aspect is to minimise concentration polarisation, which allows for an increase in the power density of the battery stack. To make significant advances in increasing the power density of flow batteries it is critical to overcome the conventional design approach and explore new design concepts that alleviate the constraints in existing flow battery systems. This study investigates flow-through electrodes with new geometries that increase the velocity from inlet to outlet within cells. This velocity increase can address mass transport limitations, improving the delivery of electrochemical species to reactive sites on the electrode/electrolyte interface under varying states of charge. Three dimensional hydraulic-electrochemical coupled models were used to simulate different stack geometries; a rectangular geometry, a trapezoidal geometry and a radial geometry. The trapezoidal and radial geometries can accelerate the electrolyte during each pass in the battery stack. A new geometric stack arrangement is also proposed, which can deliver a higher power output with radially displaced cells.",battery
"End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has recently received attention as a secondary source of metals. This study examined characteristics of end-of-life EEE as secondary metal resources to consider efficient collection and metal recovery systems according to the specific metals and types of EEE. We constructed an analogy between natural resource development and metal recovery from end-of-life EEE and found that metal content and total annual amount of metal contained in each type of end-of-life EEE should be considered in secondary resource development, as well as the collectability of the end-of-life products. We then categorized 21 EEE types into five groups and discussed their potential as secondary metal resources. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and CRT TVs were evaluated as the most important sources of common metals, and personal computers, mobile phones, and video games were evaluated as the most important sources of precious metals. Several types of small digital equipment were also identified as important sources of precious metals; however, mid-size information and communication technology (ICT) equipment (e.g., printers and fax machines) and audio/video equipment were shown to be more important as a source of a variety of less common metals. The physical collectability of each type of EEE was roughly characterized by unit size and number of end-of-life products generated annually. Current collection systems in Japan were examined and potentially appropriate collection methods were suggested for equipment types that currently have no specific collection systems in Japan, particularly for video games, notebook computers, and mid-size ICT and audio/video equipment.",non-battery
"Several studies have pointed out that basal ganglia are involved in adaptive control of action at both motor and cognitive level. This study aimed to investigate how basal ganglia retrieve and manage script event knowledge required in planning behavior. Script event knowledge was investigated in patients with Parkinson's Disease using three kinds of activity that differed in familiarity. Unlike patients with prefrontal lesions, patients with Parkinson's Disease were able to order events in a typical sequence and obeyed the boundaries and hierarchies between events. In contrast, patients with Parkinson's Disease were impaired in evaluating how important each script event was within the context of goal-oriented planning activity. Our findings indicate that the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia are differentially involved in planning. The role of the basal ganglia might consist in providing a feedback about the goodness of each action while building up meaningful sequences of events during learning.",non-battery
"ZnO@Bi/C sphere with a distinctive core-shell construct is designed and fabricated by using solvothermal method, which is applied as a novel electrode material of ZnNi battery for the first time. The analytical results manifest that the core of the ZnO@Bi/C sphere coated with carbon layer consists of a large number of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), and in situ modified metal Bi is embedded in the amorphous carbon layer and ZnO NP core uniformly, thereby forming a unique core-shell construct. Unlike pure ZnO anode, the ZnO@Bi/C sphere shows more remarkable specific capacity and cycling stability: that is, after cycling 180 times at 1 C, the discharge specific capacity remains at 630.7 mAh g−1. The excellent electrochemical properties are attributed to the synergistic effect of carbon and metal Bi in the ZnO@Bi/C sphere, which is conducive to decreasing the voltage polarization and promoting the battery reversibility.",battery
"Increasing global demand for rechargeable lithium (Li) ion batteries has been driving the research on innovative processing techniques and material systems for cheaper production of battery electrodes. While cost reduction is important, obtaining desired microstructures in the active electrode material is also very critical for efficient performance of the batteries. Conventional processing of bulk scale Li-ion battery electrodes involves time consuming and multi-step processes starting from the production of active powder materials, blending with conductive additives and binders to develop the electrode material coating on a current collector. On the other hand, thin film battery technologies employ expensive vapor based or sputtering or laser ablation techniques to develop the electrodes. In this study, an innovative, rapid and a two step scalable manufacturing process has been developed. While capable of developing porous and ultrafine/nano structured oxide based LiCoO2 cathode material directly on a charge collector from metallic Cobalt (Co) coatings, the process does not require polymeric binders. Following this approach, LiCoO2 cathodes were synthesized directly on a stainless steel charge collector from plasma sprayed Co coatings via thermal treatments using aqueous LiNO3 solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed presence of LiCoO2 hexagonal phase. Microstructural and phase analysis showed porous active material with ultrafine/nano structural features along with imperfections (e.g., dislocations). Electrochemical characterization illustrated an average voltage around 3.9V with a specific discharge capacity around 70–85% of the nominal capacity (∼138mAh/g) against Li counter electrode. However, process optimization in terms of plasma spray coatings and thermal treatments, and addition of carbon may enhance the performance of LiCoO2 electrodes. Absence of polymeric binders makes these electrodes suitable for high temperature battery applications.",battery
"Conversion-reaction-based anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) such as transition metal oxides have been considered as high-capacity alternatives to graphite. In the conversion reactions, interestingly, microparticles have been known to be superior to nanoparticles in terms of capacity retention along repeated cycles. In this work, a cross-linked two-component binder system of poly(acrylic acid) and carboxymethyl cellulose (PAA/CMC) was used for nanoparticular Co3O4. The binder was characterized by high modulus and strong bonding to the surface oxide of Co3O4. Even without carbon coating, the composite electrodes of nanoparticular Co3O4 in the presence of PAA/CMC showed significantly enhanced cycle retention with improved reversibility of the conversion reaction.",battery
"Accurate description of the mechanical behavior of crystalline Na alloys is essential in establishing their electrochemical performance as well as their viability as anodes in Na-ion batteries. Using first principles simulations, we have investigated the intrinsic elastic properties of crystalline Na–M (M = Sn, Pb, Si and Ge) phases observed during Na intercalation. We have obtained the complete set of concentration-dependent anisotropic elastic constants as well as the average macroscopic elastic moduli of polycrystalline structures. We find that sodiation of pure M phases leads to a remarkable elastic softening that results in up to 75% deterioration of the elastic moduli. Our analysis of the electronic charge distribution demonstrates that the elastic softening during sodiation originates from a transition to weaker ionic interatomic bonding. Our results highlight the significance of the concentration dependence of the elastic moduli for the analysis of deformation behavior of Na alloy anodes of Na-ion batteries during sodiation and desodiation.",battery
"Chemically integrated hybrid quantum dots ZnCo2O4/reduced graphene oxide (QDs ZCO/rGO) sheets nanocomposites are synthesized through polyol processes. rGO sheets grow and interweave to form basic skeletons. Ultrafine ZCO particles with a size of around 3.66nm grow and embed on both sides of the rGO sheets, and the rGO sheets restrain the reunion of ZCO nanoparticles. The existence of rGO sheets and ZCO nanoparticles can engender the mutual synergistic effects so that hybrid QDs ZCO/rGO electrodes exhibit the excellent electrochemical properties. Owing to this special nanoparticles-on-sheets structure, the hybrid QDs ZCO/rGO electrodes exhibit an excellent initial discharge capacity for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (1325.9mAhg−1 at the current density of 200mAg−1), high rate stability (532.3/566.1mAhg−1 at 4000mAg−1) and outstanding electrochemical cyclic stability (657.6/668.2mAhg−1 at 2000mAg−1 after 2000 cycles with a capacity retention of 68.6%). For full-cells, high initial reversible discharging capacity (646mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1) and good cyclic stability (514mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1 after 100 cycles) are obtained. The superior performance of the as-prepared electrodes is ascribed to the advantage of nano-sized particles. With the successful synthesis of hybrid QDs ZCO/rGO nanocomposites, the facile synthetic route and unique growth of nanostructuring method can be extended to high electrochemical performance electrodes for commercial lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Miniaturized fuel cells as compact power sources fabricated in Pyrex glass using standard polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and electrode materials are presented. Photolithographic patterned and wet chemically etched serpentine flow channels of 1 mm in width and 250 μ m in depth transport the fuels to the cell of 1.44 cm2 active electrode area. Feeding H2/O2 a maximum power density of 149 mW cm−2 is attained at a very low Pt loading of 0.054 mg cm−2, ambient pressure, and room temperature. Operated with methanol and oxygen about 9 mW cm−2 are achieved at ambient pressure, 60 ° C , and 1 mg cm−2 PtRu/Pt (anode/cathode) loading. A planar two-cell stack to demonstrate and investigate the assembly of a fuel cell system on Pyrex wafers has successfully been fabricated.",battery
"This paper assesses the energy efficiency of a prototype of a dynamic photovoltaic (PV) greenhouse that has an asymmetric cross section and allows the rotation of the PV modules around their longitudinal axis throughout the day to select the degree of shading inside the structure. The goal of this research is to study the production of energy and the microclimate inside the structure with different tilt angles of the PV panels to improve the information available to support the farmers and to create a PV greenhouse capable of producing income from electrical and agricultural activity. The average values of the internal air temperature and relative humidity, measured during the hottest period and on days with clear skies, are within the optimal ranges for major vegetable species (17–27°C and 60–90%, respectively). The values of the solar radiation available for the plants were always sufficient for normal agricultural operations, except for the last two days of the experiment (values lower than 5MJm−2) in which the shading percentage analyzed was too high for normal production. When the shading percentage was highest (78%), the maximum value of PV power (102Wm−2) was recorded and when the shading percentage was equal to 0%, the minimum value of PV power (20Wm−2) was recorded. The results show that it is possible to balance the electricity production using photovoltaic panels and the agricultural production as a function of the type of crop grown, latitude, operating season, and characteristics of the greenhouse.",battery
"The biological bases of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia are poorly understood and may lie in insults in neurodevelopment, leading to alterations in critical structures. Synapses proteins are claimed to have etiopathogenic roles and more direct effects on core cognitive functions. Adducins family proteins seem of great interest, as they are fundamental constituents of synapses, involved in actin cytoskeleton assembly-disassembly, responsible of synaptic plasticity. ADD2 is more prominently expressed in brain tissues and influences memory and learning, commonly impaired in schizophrenia. In the present study we tested 342 patients with schizophrenia for three common adducins genetic variants, ADD1 rs4961, ADD2 rs4984 and ADD3 rs3731566, reported to have significant effects on circulatory system in humans. Neuropsychological measures were evaluated with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), a broad battery evaluating core cognitive domains. The analysis showed significant effects of ADD2 genotype on almost every cognitive domain. Moreover, significant interactions between ADD1 and ADD3 were also observed on some BACS subtests, namely Symbol Coding and Verbal Memory. Our findings suggest that adducins are involved in cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. This effect may result both from a direct mechanism affecting synaptic building and plasticity and indirectly as a consequence of vascular insults.",non-battery
"It is known that the supplies of fossil fuels are limited and their utilization as energy sources causes environmental degradation due to incomplete combustion when used as energy source, in addition to this as the world population increases the demand for energy sources increases, therefore the issue of a gradual replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources is of major consideration for most countries: Iran Bing located in Asian Middle East enjoys a great potential for producing some 6500 MW of electricity with wind energy. The feasibility of manufacturing wind turbines is investigated in this article.",battery
"With the aim of obtaining nanodevices as batteries, sensors and fuel cells, we prepared V2O5 and V3O7·H2O nanobelts by a simple hydrothermal process using poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a template. The yielding percentage of the nanomaterial is less in polymer-free V2O5 nanobelts and material size is also big. It is apparent that PEO used V3O7·H2O form a continuous and relatively homogeneous matrix with a clearly 1–5μm long and 50–150nm diameter nanobelts morphology. The SEM micrographs suggest that there is no bulk deposition of polymer on the surface of the nano-crystallites. Strong interaction between the vanadyl group and the polymer during the formation process has been identified by the shifts of the vanadyl vibration peaks. The CV curve of the electrode made of the V3O7·H2O nanobelts have higher current densities than the CV curve of the electrode made of V2O5 nanobelts.",battery
"B-site doped, A-site deficient perovskite oxide titanates with formula La0.4Sr0.4Mn+xTi1−xO3−γ−δ (M = Fe3+ or Ni2+; x = 0.06; γ = (4 − n)x/2) were employed as solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) cathodes for hydrogen production via high temperature steam electrolysis at 900 °C. A-site deficiency provided additional driving force for the exsolution of a proportion of B-site dopants at the surface in the form of metallic nanoparticles under reducing SOEC cathode operating conditions. In the case of La0.4Sr0.4Fe0.06Ti0.94O2.97, this represents the first time that Fe0 has been exsolved from a perovskite in such a way. Exsolution was due in part to the inability of the host lattice to accommodate vacancies (introduced (δ) oxygen vacancies () and fixed A-site () and inherent (γ) oxygen vacancies) beyond a certain limit. The presence of electrocatalytically active Fe0 or Ni0 nanoparticles and higher  concentrations dramatically lowered the activation barrier to steam electrolysis compared to the parent material (x = 0). The use of defect chemistry to drive the exsolution of less reducible dopant cations could conceivably be extended to produce new catalytically active perovskites with unique properties.
",battery
"For the first time, the role of isovalent Zr substitution in cerium oxide on the non-stoichiometry induced dilation (chemical expansion) was investigated. Chemical expansion was derived experimentally using HTXRD, dilatometry, and TGA measurements on Pr0.1Zr0.4Ce0.5O1.95−δ and computationally with DFT calculations on Zr0.5Ce0.5O2−δ. Though Zr was found to increase the reducibility and the corresponding chemical expansion of ceria in the studied range, the relationship between chemical expansion and non-stoichiometry (the chemical expansion coefficient) was significantly smaller (54% less) than that observed in ceria, and consistent with predictions from the authors' previous work. The origin of the reduced chemical expansion coefficient, associated with a larger contraction of the lattice around oxygen vacancies, is explained using DFT calculations and corroborated with prior investigations of enhanced reducibility of ceria–zirconia. Additionally, implications of this discovery for solid oxide fuel cells and heterogeneous catalyst systems are also discussed.
",battery
"The large amount of renewable energy sources (RESs) recently integrated within the electric power systems across the world poses new challenges for their operation. Among several viable solutions, energy storage systems are the most promising to increase reliability and flexibility. This paper proposes a novel topological and probabilistic approach to find the optimal capacity and siting of energy storage devices, in order to increase the system reliability and the hosting capacity of renewables. Wind and solar productions, generators availability, and real-time demand are modeled with proper distribution functions, and the yearly expected energy not supplied is estimated using a sequential Monte Carlo technique. Four siting policies are applied and compared to place the optimal storage capacity on eight grids with different topological characteristics. Power flows are linearized and the optimization of resources is formulated as a linear programming problem. The results show that large-scale batteries operated by the Transmission System Operator can significantly improve system reliability and exploitation of RESs. The presence of energy-hubs and small-world properties strongly increase the transmission effectiveness of weakly- and well-meshed grids. A siting policy based on the Power Transfer Distribution Factors matrix of the grid turns out to be particularly successful.",battery
"Accurate estimation of the capacity of a battery pack is essential for the battery management system (BMS) in electric vehicles. The SOCs and capacities of individual cells are the prerequisites for accurately estimating the capacity of a battery pack. This paper proposes quantitative analysis on how the estimation errors of individual cells’ SOCs and capacities influence the estimation error of the battery pack capacity using an approach named Capacity–Quantity diagram (C–Q diagram). The analysis concludes that the estimation error of cell SOC has more influence on the estimation error of pack capacity than the estimation error of cell capacity does. The theoretical analysis is further validated by an experiment using six NCM batteries connected in series with different initial SOC variations. The results help to guide the determination of specifications, e.g., the estimation error of the SOC and that of the capacity, during the design process of a BMS.",battery
"Prostate cancer is a common malignancy in Western populations and a growing public health problem globally. Although the prevalence of prostate tumors becomes very high with age, only a small proportion of tumors are potentially lethal (aggressive) and their identification is an enduring challenge. Established risk factors include age, family history, and race, but, until the causes are better understood, prevention is impossible. In some populations, the widespread use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests to increase early detection has inflated incidence, often by more than twofold, and shifted the disease spectrum toward less aggressive forms, that is, small tumors of low to moderate grade. Given the virtually ubiquitous presence of small low-grade tumors in the prostates of older men, the principal research question now is to identify factors that cause progression to advanced disease. Overdiagnosis and treatment has had ramifications for public health and has complicated efforts to identify causal factors for aggressive disease, since all prostate cancers are included as one entity in most epidemiological studies, irrespective of their potential to metastasize.",non-battery
" Chronic low back pain (cLBP) results in significant physical, psycho-social and socioeconomic burden. Identifying efficient and reliable patient reported outcome measures is critical for research and clinical purposes. The NIH’s Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) instruments have not been compared to validated “legacy” instruments in older adults with cLBP. This study evaluates construct (convergent and discriminant) validity and time to complete (TTC) PROMIS as compared to legacy instruments.",non-battery
"Over-lithiated layered Li2+x Ru1−xCo x O3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5) cathodes were synthesized through a solid-state reaction, which exhibits a superlattice structure. We investigated the effects of aliovalent Co3+ doping with excess lithium on the structural and electrochemical properties of layered Li2RuO3 cathodes. X-ray diffraction suggests the formation of a solid-solution where Co3+ occupies the Ru4+ sites in the transition metal layer while maintaining the layered Li2RuO3 structure. The electrochemical results indicate an enhanced electrochemical lithium reversibility of the cathodes at high C-rates (1C) than the pristine Li2RuO3. In particular, the high-performance Li2.1Ru0.9Co0.1O3 cathode delivered an initial capacity of 250 mAh g−1 with an enhanced Li+ extraction of 0.66 mol (52% capacity retention) after 100 cycles at 1C compared to the 0.28 mol of Li+ extraction (21% capacity retention) associated with the pristine Li2RuO3. Low content of Co3+ could realize an enhanced reversible Li+ extraction that originated from the improved reversible anionic redox chemistry, cation ordering with superlattice structure, and facile charge transfer process. The role of Co3+ content on the lithium reversibility of over-lithiated layered cathodes, containing excess lithium were investigated.",battery
"Electrodes containing the cathode material Li[Ni0.33Co0.33Mn0.33]O2 (NCM) were recycled in order to test a newly developed recycling concept which is aiming towards commercial application. For this purpose, cathodes from electrode production rejects and from spent lithium-ion battery cells were removed from the current collector using a cutting mill. The active material was dissolved in sulphuric acid and separated from the binder and the carbonaceous conductive additive. The gained solutions, containing the dissolved active cathode material, were analyzed using ICP-OES and synthetically remerged matching to these solutions. New cathode material was synthesized from remerged solutions in a bigger scale using an industrial process. The recycled materials and thus the prepared solutions exhibited different aluminum impurities (stemming from the current collector) which had an impact on the forming of secondary particles during re-synthesis. The electrochemical performance of the recycled materials was influenced by the detected impurities.",battery
"Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polysulfone (PVDF/PSF) blend microporous matrix of polymer electrolyte for lithium ion battery is prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) technique. Because of only one parameter, i.e., the PSF/PVDF weight ratio, the membrane microstructure is conveniently controlled. The membrane formation mechanism of PVDF/PSF blend membranes is proposed with the assistance of a binary PSF/PVDF weight ratio-temperature phase diagram. In addition to studying the microstructure and mechanical properties of PVDF/PSF blend membrane, the relationship between properties of membrane, electrochemical performances of corresponding polymer electrolyte and membrane microstructure are also discussed in this paper. It is found that the addition of PSF not only increases ionic conductivity and electrochemical stable window of polymer electrolyte, but also markedly enhances charge–discharge performances of coin cell. The results reveal that PVDF/PSF blend microporous membranes prepared via TIPS technique can be used as polymer matrices of polymer electrolytes for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"A non-aqueous approach was developed to synthesize iron phosphate cathode materials by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Deposition of iron phosphate thin films was achieved on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) by combining ALD subcycles of Fe2O3 (ferrocene-ozone) and PO x (trimethyl phosphate-water) at 200 – 350°C. The thickness of iron phosphate thin films depends linearly on the ALD cycle, indicating their self-limiting growth behavior. The growth per cycle of iron phosphate thin films was determined to be ∼ 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.5Å, at 200, 250, 300, and 350°C, respectively. Characterization by SEM, TEM, and HRTEM techniques revealed uniform and conformal coating of amorphous iron phosphates on the surface of NCNTs. XANES analysis confirmed FeOP bonding in the iron phosphates prepared by ALD. Furthermore, electrochemical measurement verified the high electrochemical activity of the amorphous iron phosphate as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. It is expected that the amorphous iron phosphate prepared by this facile and cost-effective ALD approach will find applications in the next generation of lithium-ion batteries and thin film batteries as either cathode materials or surface coating materials.",battery
"Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene (HTT) and involves a complex web of pathogenic mechanisms. Mutant HTT (mHTT) disrupts transcription, interferes with immune and mitochondrial function, and is aberrantly modified post-translationally. Evidence suggests that the mHTT RNA is toxic, and at the DNA level, somatic CAG repeat expansion in vulnerable cells influences the disease course. Genome-wide association studies have identified DNA repair pathways as modifiers of somatic instability and disease course in HD and other repeat expansion diseases. In animal models of HD, nucleocytoplasmic transport is disrupted and its restoration is neuroprotective. Novel cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma biomarkers are among the earliest detectable changes in individuals with premanifest HD and have the sensitivity to detect therapeutic benefit. Therapeutically, the first human trial of an HTT-lowering antisense oligonucleotide successfully, and safely, reduced the CSF concentration of mHTT in individuals with HD. A larger trial, powered to detect clinical efficacy, is underway, along with trials of other HTT-lowering approaches. In this Review, we discuss new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of HD and future therapeutic strategies, including the modulation of DNA repair and targeting the DNA mutation itself.",non-battery
"Local structure and electrical conductivity of semiconducting 20BaO·10Fe2O3·x MnO2·(70 − x)V2O5 glass (x = 0 − 30), abbreviated as xBFMV, were investigated by means of 57Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and DC four-probe method. Mössbauer spectrum of these vanadate glasses consists of a doublet with an identical isomer shift (δ) of 0.38±0.01 mm s − 1, indicating that distorted FeO4 tetrahedra constitute the structural units with distorted VO4 tetrahedra and VO5 pyramids. Quadrupole splitting (Δ) gradually increases from 0.70±0.02 to 0.87±0.02 mm s − 1 with an increase in the MnO2 content, indicating an increased local distortion of FeIIIO4 tetrahedra. DTA study of these glasses showed a gradual increase of glass transition temperature (Tg) from 329±5 to 411±5°C, showing an improved thermal durability. ‘Tg vs. Δ plot’ yielded a straight line with a large slope of 707°C(K)/mm s − 1, proving that FeIII played a role of network former (NWF). An isothermal annealing of 10BFMV glass at 500°C for 1000 min resulted in a marked increase in the electrical conductivity (σ) from (4.5±3.9) × 10 − 7 to (1.4±0.3) × 10 − 2 S cm − 1 and a decrease in the activation energy for the electrical conduction (Ea) from 0.33 ± 0.07 to 0.11±0.01 eV, while Δ of FeIII decreased from 0.76±0.02 to 0.49±0.02 mm s − 1. These results suggest that decrease in the distortion of FeIIIO4 tetrahedra involved with the structural relaxation causes an increase in the probability of electron hopping from VIV or VIII to VV.",non-battery
"Substitution across fuels is hard to study because traditional transport technologies are typically single-fuel. Using Swedish data, this study shows that fuel demand elasticities differ across fuels, and drivers exhibit high preference for fossil fuels, hindering the take-up of alternative fuels.
",battery
"Anthropoid monkeys are subdivided into two large groups, the New World platyrrhine monkeys (callithricids and cebids) and the Old World catarrhine monkeys (macaques, baboons, guenons, and leaf-eating monkeys). Most taxa are poorly known from a neurobiological point of view, but many species are used for laboratory studies (in particular, some macaques and baboons [Macaca and Papio], the Patas monkey [Erythrocebus], and the Central and South American marmoset [Callthrix], owl [Aotus], squirrel [Saimiri], and capuchin [Cebus] monkeys). Aging is particularly well documented among these taxa from the long-tailed and rhesus macaques and from the squirrel monkey. The neurobiological basis of declining cortical function in primate aging remains to be defined. One possibility is that the structural integrity of the neocortex is compromised by frank neuronal degeneration, synaptic loss, or other morphologic alterations. The consensus emerging from recent studies, however, is that many cortical areas, including subdivisions of the hippocampal, prefrontal, motor, and sensory cortices known to participate critically in sensory integration and memory-related processes, are relatively resistant to cell death during normal aging in monkeys. In contrast, subcortical structures are more consistently affected in a manner that correlates with the severity of cognitive deficits. Importantly, recent ultrastructural and cellular analyses have demonstrated that subtle alterations involving the neuropil as well as restricted domains of the dendritic trees are likely to contribute massively, together with molecular changes in specific neurotransmitter receptor proteins, to the cognitive and memory deficits observed in aged anthropoid monkeys.",non-battery
"Objective This study assessed the relative magnitude of associations between IBS outcomes and different aspects of social relationships (social support, negative interactions). Method Subjects included 235 Rome III diagnosed IBS patients (M age=41yrs, F=78%) without comorbid GI disease. Subjects completed a testing battery that included the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (Social Support or SS), Negative Interaction (NI) Scale, IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), IBS-QOL, BSI Depression, STAI Trait Anxiety, SOMS-7 (somatization), Perceived Stress Scale, and a medical comorbidity checklist. Results After controlling for demographic variables, both SS and NI were significantly correlated with all of the clinical variables (SS r's=.20 to .36; NI r's=.17 to .53, respectively; ps<.05) save for IBS symptom severity (IBS-SSS). NI, but not SS, was positively correlated with IBS-SSS. After performing r-to-z transformations on the correlation coefficients and then comparing z-scores, the correlation between perceived stress, and NI was significantly stronger than with SS. There was no significant difference between the strength of correlations between NI and SS for depression, somatization, trait anxiety, and IBSQOL. A hierarchical linear regression identified both SS and NI as significant predictors of IBS-QOL. Conclusions Different aspects of social relationships – support and negative interactions – are associated with multiple aspects of IBS experience (e.g. stress, QOL impairment). Negative social relationships marked by conflict and adverse exchanges are more consistently and strongly related to IBS outcomes than social support.",non-battery
"The realization of the full potential of Li metal batteries requires high-performance electrolytes. Here Z. Bao and colleagues develop low-concentration electrolytes with a single-solvent and single-salt formulation, offering promise for high-energy and long-cycling batteries.
",battery
"The attribute of battery current excitation signal significantly influences the battery model parameter identification accuracy. However, currently the studies mainly focus on the selection of battery models and the improvement of algorithm, and overlook the influence of excitation signal. More importantly, the conventional excitation signals, which are unsuited to the processes that subjected to the nonlinear effects, can lead to poor estimation accuracy of model parameters. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel excitation signal design method called inverse repeat binary sequence (IRBS). The theoretical analysis shows that the antisymmetric characteristic of IRBS can overcome the adverse effects of the direct current component and even-order nonlinearities for parameter estimation. Then, the design parameters of the excitation signal are determined for real application by analysing the single-sided amplitude spectrum of the typical battery test loading profiles of electric vehicles, and model parameters are estimated by means of particle swarm optimization algorithm. Finally, the experimental results of different temperatures based on the LiNiMnCoO2 lithium-ion battery validate that IRBS is feasible, and has the higher accuracy than three commonly used excitation signal design methods.",battery
"Three patients with visual neglect were tested on their ability to detect target letters at ipsilesional and contralesional locations on a monitor, and at different locations within large shapes on the monitor. When patients were asked to detect targets within the entire monitor, they showed neglect for all the contralesional hemifield. In contrast when they were asked to detect targets within a particular object, they showed object-based neglect. In these two conditions the displays, the targets and the response were identical, with the only difference being the space that is represented for the task. These results show that the reference frame of visual neglect may be altered by task-instructions changing how a structured visual scene is represented, with neglect applying to the contralesional side of this represented space.",non-battery
"It is now almost 50 years since the first rechargeable lithium batteries, based on the reversible intercalation of lithium into layered structured titanium disulfide, were conceived. They were the precursor to the structurally related layered oxides that now dominate energy storage for electronics, the grid and vehicles.
",battery
"Hopes have again been raised about developing a “hydrogen economy”, in which hydrogen could be expected to replace oil and natural gas for most uses, including transportation and heating. It is again being claimed that hydrogen will be a widely available, clean, safe fuel. This article argues that such expectations are almost certainly illusory. Hydrogen, like electricity, is not an energy resource but an energy carrier. It takes more energy to extract hydrogen from water than burning the hydrogen can ever provide. There are also inevitable losses in storage, transmission, and final mechanical or heating applications. The question then turns on the efficiency—and safety—of the entire chain of conversion, from the energy source (fossil, solar, or other) to the final use. Moreover, energy sources (preferably renewable, for the long term) can be used for the direct creation of electricity, which can be introduced into the existing grid without requiring a vast investment in a new hydrogen distribution system. In addition, a hydrogen-based system would be unacceptably dangerous. This report will present a detailed technical and economic analysis of the problems with the proposed hydrogen economy and the advantages of some alternatives, principally electricity-based. A hypothetical case of what would be required for a hydrogen filling station serving the general public is closely examined.",non-battery
"Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is considered to be a “zero strain material” that shows negligible stresses upon electrochemical cycling. Here we report on the stress evolution of this material for various voltages and lithiation/delithiation rates. The features in the stress signal are correlated to the coexistence of the two phases Li4Ti5O12 and Li7Ti5O12 as well as to structures that form during under- and overlithiation. The formation of the under- and overlithiated structures occurs as soon as the potential deviates from its signature plateau at 1.56 V vs. Li/Li+, where the two phases Li4Ti5O12 and Li7Ti5O12 coexist. In relaxation experiments time dependent phenomena in the under- and overlithiated states are investigated. Compared to other electrode materials, the stress level changes are moderate during operation at or close to the plateau voltage, but a large stress forms particularly for potentials below 1.0 V vs. Li/Li+. This high stress accumulation which would be an adverse effect of attempts to increase the capacity by further lithiation beyond the Li7Ti5O12 state is likely due to the formation of a lithium-rich phase that may compromise the reliability of this material at very low potentials.",battery
"A novel strategy for confined synthesis of graphene wrapped nano-sized LiMn0.5Fe0.5PO4 hybrid composite has been developed, including co-precipitation and solvothermal reactions. The LiMn0.5Fe0.5PO4 nanoparticles with a constrained diameter of 20 nm are homogeneously wrapped by a continuous interconnected graphene sheets. The mechanism and composite structure evolution during the process are carefully investigated and discussed. With the shortened Li+ diffusion paths and enhanced electron conductivity, the hybrid composite shows high discharge capacity and superior rate performance with the discharge capacities of 166 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C and 90 mA h g−1 at 20 C. Excellent cycle stability is also demonstrated with only about 7.8% capacity decay after 500 cycles at 1 C.",battery
"The electrochemical behaviour of the complexation of cerium(IV) with EDTA and DTPA was studied using both cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disc electrode (RDE). The Ce(IV)–DTPA complex at various scan rates gave a linear correlation between the peak potential (Ep) and square root of scan rate, showing that the kinetics of the overall process was controlled by mass transport. However, when the EDTA ligand was added to the Ce(IV) there was no specific change to the potential peak, i.e. the Ce(IV)–EDTA complex has the same redox potential as the Ce(IV)/(III) couple. Kinetic parameters such as potential, limiting current, diffusion coefficients, transfer coefficient and rate constants were studied. The results from RDE experiments confirmed that the parameters measured by CV are similar under hydrodynamic conditions and can be used to determine the kinetic parameters of the redox couples. The use of DTPA as a ligand for complexation of Ce(IV) gaves more favourable results compared to the Ce–(EDTA) complex reported previously. The results of kinetic studies of Ce(IV)–DTPA complex shows promise as an electrolyte for redox flow battery.
",battery
"Chronic social defeat stress induces loss of protein claudin-5, leading to abnormalities in blood vessel morphology, increased blood brain barrier permeability, infiltration of immune signals and depression-like behaviors.
",non-battery
"Cobalt disulfide (CoS2) is a promising thermal battery electrode material for its superior thermal stability and discharge performance. However, the low natural resource and poor air stability restrict its application in thermal battery fabrication. In this work, carbon coated CoS2 composite was prepared by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method with glucose as carbon source. During the growth of CoS2, the glucose molecules were in situ adsorbed and carbonized on the surface of the as-synthesized CoS2, and the resultant carbon coating provided improved electrical conductivity and discharge performances to the composite. The thermal battery cell, which was fabricated with such a composite cathode and with a Li-Si anode, can output a capacity of 235.8mAhg−1 and an energy density of 416.9Whkg−1 at a cut-off voltage of 1.7V. This carbon coated CoS2 composite also presented enhanced air stability. After being stored in dry air for 3 months, the composite can still provide a capacity of 232.4mAhg−1 to 1.7V, whereas the capacity of bare CoS2 stored with the same condition dropped from 202.4mAhg−1 to 189.7mAhg−1.",battery
"A hierarchical structure is proved to be important for the improvement of electrochemical performances of MnO2-based electrode materials used in supercapacitors. However, the rational design of materials’ structure and its real performance served as electrode materials are still facing challenges. Herein, hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers using ZIF-8 nanoparticles as pore templates are designed to provide one-dimensional hollow frameworks for the growth of ultrathin MnO2 nanosheets (referred as HPCNF/MnO2). The as-prepared HPCNF/MnO2 samples have a hierarchical coaxial core-shell structure, with HPCNFs as the core and MnO2 sheets as the shell. The novel nanostructure of this hybrid provides abundant electrochemical active sites for Faradic reactions and short diffusion channels for ions/electron transport. The utilization of HPCNF/MnO2 active material with such a structure can be significantly enhanced, especially at the high current density. When evaluated as electrode materials, HPCNF/MnO2 exhibits a specific capacitance of 269 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 (308 F g−1 for MnO2), a high capacitive retention of 98% even after 5000 cycles at 50 mV s−1 by cyclic voltammetry (86.7% capacitance retention at 1 A g−1 after 2000 cycles) and a rate capability of 58% from 0.5 to 10 A g−1. Especially at the current density of 10 A g−1, the specific capacitance of HPCNF/MnO2 has increased by 133% compared with that of non-porous carbon fiber/MnO2 composites, demonstrating a great superiority of hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers as frameworks to support pseudocapacitive materials.",battery
"Achieving high-power lithium-ion hybrid electrochemical capacitor (Li-HEC) through facile and low-cost synthesis procedures is still quite challenging. In this work, starting from daily used food additives, nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon (N-HPC) was prepared through facile pyrolysis of magnesium citrate and subsequent NH3 treatment, and carbon-coated Fe2O3 (Fe2O3@C) was synthesized by thermal decomposition of ferric citrate and following heat treatment in air, respectively. As-prepared N-HPC and Fe2O3@C were separately employed as cathode and anode materials to fabricate a high-power, which delivers a high energy density of 65Whkg−1 at 368Wkg−1, and 31Whkg−1 at a high power density of 9.2kWkg−1. And it remains 84.1% capacity over 1000 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles at 1Ag−1.",battery
"By a simple wet ball-milling method, Li3VO4-coated LiMnPO4 samples were prepared successfully for the first time. The thin Li3VO4 coating layer with a three-dimensional Li+-ion transport path and high mobility of Li+-ion strongly adhered to the LiMnPO4 material reduces Mn dissolution and increases the Li+ flux through the surface of the LiMnPO4 itself by preventing formation of phases on the surface that would normally block Li+ as well as Li+-ion permeation into the surface of the LiMnPO4 electrode and therefore improve the rate capability as well as the cycling stability of LiMnPO4 materials. The electrochemical testing shows that the 5% Li3VO4-coated LiMnPO4 sample shows a clear voltage plateau in the charge curves and a much higher reversible capacity at different discharge rates compared with the pristine LiMnPO4. EIS results also show that the surface charge transfer resistance and Warburg impedance of the Li3VO4-coated LiMnPO4 samples significantly decreased. The surface charge transfer resistance and Warburg impedance for the pristine LiMnPO4 are 955.1Ω and 400.3Ω, respectively. While, for the 5% Li3VO4-coated LiMnPO4, the value are only 400.2Ω and 283.6Ω, respectively. The surface charge transfer resistance decreases more than half. All of the improved performance will be favorable for application of the LiMnPO4 in high-power lithium ion batteries.",battery
" Current methods for identifying patients with pain hypersensitivity are sufficiently complex to limit their widespread application in clinical settings. We assessed the reliability and validity of a simple multi-modal vibrotactile stimulus, applied using an electric toothbrush, to evaluate its potential as a screening tool for central sensitization.",non-battery
"Sustainable batteries call for the development of new eco-efficient processes for preparation of electrode materials based on low cost and abundant chemical elements. Here we report a method based on bacterial iron biomineralization for the synthesis of α-Fe2O3 and its subsequent use as a conversion-based electrode material in Li batteries. This high-yield synthesis approach enlists (1) the room temperature formation of γ-FeOOH via the use of an anaerobic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacterium Acidovorax sp. strain BoFeN1 and (2) the transformation of these BoFeN1/γ-FeOOH assemblies into an alveolar bacteria-free α-Fe2O3 material by a short heat treatment under air. As the γ-FeOOH precursor particles are precipitated between the two membranes of the bacterial cell wall (40 nm–thick space), the final material consists of highly monodisperse nanometric (∼40 × 15 nm) and oriented hematite crystals, assembled to form a hollow shell having the same size and shape as the initial bacteria (bacteriomorph). This double level of control (nanometric particle size and particle organization at the micrometric scale) provided powders exhibiting (1) enhanced electrochemical reversibility when fully reacted with Li and (2) an impressive high rate capability when compared to non-textured primary α-Fe2O3 particles of similar size. This bacterially induced eco-efficient and scalable synthesis method opens wide new avenues to be explored at the crossroads of biomineralization and electrochemistry for energy storage.
",battery
"Aqueous rechargeable zinc-based batteries are attractive as promising candidates for practical electric vehicles. However, such batteries still suffer from the poor cycling stability and potential safety issue due to the dendrite formation. Herein, we design three-dimensional (3D) graphene foams co-doped with sulfur and nitrogen via an in-situ reduction of graphene oxide and subsequent thermal annealing process. Performed as both cathodic and anodic matrixes, the unique features of 3D porous graphene framework with N, S co-doping not only enable the reversible plating/striping process of zinc, but also facilitate the redox reactions of iodine species. Thus, the rationally designed aqueous rechargeable zinc-iodine system can integrate the redox reactions of zinc and iodine redox couple at the interface of graphene foam and electrolytes along with reversible ion shuttles (e.g., Zn2+, I−/I3 −) for efficient energy storage. More importantly, the 3D porous architecture with N, S co-doping can enhance the battery Coulombic efficiency by shortening the potential gap of charging/discharging process and suppress the formation of zinc dendrites by improve the reaction kinetics of reversible redox reactions.",battery
"Conducting polymer hydrogels (CPHs) advantageously synergize the features of both hydrogels and conducting polymers and have gained ground in various applications such as energy storage devices, catalysis and sensors. Conventional synthesis of CPHs usually couples with introducing of non-conductive polymer frameworks or chemical oxidative initiators, which will inevitably lead to degraded electrochemical performance and long rinse time. Here, we report an electrochemical polymerization method free of frameworks and initiators to build three-dimensional (3D) polyaniline/phytic acid supramolecular hydrogel. This CPH provides high conductivity of 0.43 S cm−1 and improved electrode interfaces between electronic transporting phase and ionic transporting phase. As a result, the CPHs exhibit large areal capacitance of 561.6 mF cm−2 and specific capacitance of 311.3 F g−1. Flexible solid-state micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) based on this CPHs deliver high areal capacitance of 135.9 mF cm−2 and considerable integratable potential via tandem and parallel connection. Cyclic stability is demonstrated by 10,000 galvanostatic charge/discharge cycles with 76% capacitance retention. Besides, electrochemical performance of this device can be maintained under different mechanical loadings such as bending and twisting, which makes it a promising power supply candidate for future wearable electronics and on-chip integrated circuit.",battery
"The MnO@nitrogen doped carbon microspheres with a yolk-shell structure (YS-MnO@NC) is reported. As an anode for lithium ion battery, the YS-MnO@NC exhibits a very high reversible capacity (1280 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), superior rate capability (capacities of 1090, 860, 700, 545, and 390 mA h g−1 at 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 A g−1, respectively), and stable cycling performance (880 mA h g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 after 1000 cycles). The reversible capacity and cyclability of YS-MnO@NC is higher than MnO based materials reported previously. Its remarkable performance is attributable to the unique yolk-shell structure and the presence of the NC shell. Specifically, the yolk-shell structure improves its structural stability during the repeated cycles due to the presence of the internal void between the core and shell, while the NC shell increases its electric conductivity and wettability toward the electrolyte solution. Additionally, the nitrogen doped structure also promotes a strong electronic coupling between MnO and NC. The in operando X-ray diffraction studies show that the MnO core and hollow NC microsphere play comparatively equal contributions on the high performance of the YS-MnO@NC. Both the NC shell and MnO microsphere exhibit high reversibility in lithiation and delithiation.",battery
"Functional liquid crystal polymers have attracted much attention as new all-solid-state polymer electrolytes due to their ability of orientation. In this paper, a hyperbranched star liquid crystal polymer (HSLCP) electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is developed for the first time. This type of HSLCP bears a hyperbranched poly(glycidol) (HPG) as core, poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) and poly (4-cyano-biphenyl methylmethacrylate) ((LC)x) compose the block arms of the HSLCP. (LC)x segments, one part of the arms, are assisted to promote transmission of Li-ion via orientation and PCL segments are used to dissociate lithium salt and efficiently migrate charge carriers. The good self-standing all-solid-state polymer electrolyte film composed of HSLCP and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI) can be formed by solution casting method. It is demonstrated that such a HSLCP exhibits good thermal stability (368°C), the HSLCP-based electrolyte shows high ionic conductivity (5.98 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30°C), outstanding ion transference number (0.63), and wide electrochemical window (5.12 V). In addition, LiFePO4/Li batteries employing the electrolyte deliver good cycling performance and rate capability. Simultaneously, the corresponding half-cell can still power a LED lamp at room temperature. Thus, this is a great progress for liquid crystal-based polymer electrolytes to be applied to high energy LIBs.",battery
"This paper presents a novel low-cost mini-UAV-based laser scanning system, which is also capable of performing car-based mobile mapping. The quality of the system and its feasibility for tree measurements was tested using the system’s laser scanner. The system was constructed as a modular measurement system consisting of a number of measurement instruments: a GPS/IMU positioning system, two laser scanners, a CCD camera, a spectrometer and a thermal camera. An Ibeo Lux and a Sick LMS151 profile laser were integrated into the system to provide dense point clouds; intensities of the reflected echoes can also be obtained with the Sick LMS. In our tests, when using a car as a platform, the pole-type object extraction algorithm which was developed resulted in 90% completeness and 86% correctness. The heights of pole-type objects were obtained with a bias of −1.6 cm and standard deviation of 5.4 cm. Using a mini-UAV as the platform, the standard deviation of individual tree heights was about 30 cm. Also, a digital elevation model extraction was tested with the UAV data, resulting in a height offset of about 3.1 cm and a standard deviation of 9.2 cm. With a multitemporal point cloud, we demonstrated a method to derive the biomass change of a coniferous tree with an R 2 value of 0.92. The proposed system is capable of not only recording point cloud data giving the geometry of the objects, but also simultaneously collecting image data, including overlapping images and the intensity of laser backscatter, as well as hyperspectral and thermal data. Therefore we believe that the system is feasible for new algorithm and concept development and for basic research, especially when data is recorded multitemporally.",non-battery
" Sleep problems are common among children with chronic illnesses such as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (or JIA). However, little is known about the frequency and severity of sleep disturbance(s) and the factors that are associated with sleep problems in children with JIA. The mechanism(s) of the relationships characterizing the development or exacerbation of sleep problems in children with JIA are still unknown, however studies have reported an association. The purpose of this study was to synthesize existing research related to sleep problems in children with JIA.",non-battery
"The fast evolution of technology and over production of mobile electronic devices leads to their short usage period and therefore may be a source of environmental pollution and contributes to global warming. Fortunately, due to the properties of the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery that powers these mobile devices, there is a lot of life left for the battery when the device is sent to recycle. This e-waste can be valued by giving to the batteries a second life as energy storage for solar lighting. In fact, it can be a real opportunity for access to electricity in remote rural areas of developing countries for low cost and quality lighting. We show that the usage of recycled mobile phone batteries associated with a solar panel and a light emitting diode (LED) lamp can be a good replacement for candles and kerosene lamps that are hazardous and only give poor lighting quality. Such a replacement can be done for a much lower cost than current expenses, better quality of light and contributes to poverty alleviation and jobs creation. This overcomes the challenges of cost and durability in small off-grid photovoltaic systems.",battery
"In this work, Ca1−x Ho x MnO3 (x =0, 0.1 and 0.2) perovskite oxide pelleted electrodes were prepared from the respective powders obtained by the citrate route method at 1173K. The electrodes exhibit particle size that decreases with the holmium content in the oxide. All the samples reveal semiconductor behaviour and the presence of holmium induces a marked decrease in the electrical resistivity. The results can be well attributed to the changes in the Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio. Electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. Cyclic voltammetric studies indicate a similar behaviour of the electrodes, irrespective of their composition. Two pairs of peaks were identified and associated, one to the Mn4+/Mn3+ redox couple and the other to the Mn7+/Mn4+ and Mn6+/Mn4+ redox couples. The voltammetric data provide evidence that the electrodes roughness factor increases with the introduction of Ho-ions in the oxide structure, what is consistent with the crystallite size obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the morphology observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Ho-substituted electrodes present higher current density when compared with CaMnO3 electrodes what can be attributed both to higher electrical conductivity and smaller particle size. The chronopotentiometric studies have shown that the discharge occurs by different mechanisms for the oxide electrodes with and without Ho.",battery
"Deploying large-scale wireless charging infrastructure at bus stops to charge electric transit buses when loading and unloading passengers requires significant capital investment and brings environmental and energy burdens due to charger production and deployment. Optimal siting of wireless charging bus stops is key to reducing these burdens and enhancing the sustainability performance of a wireless charging bus fleet. This paper presents a novel multi-objective optimization model framework based on life cycle assessment (LCA) for siting wireless chargers in a multi-route electric bus system. Compared to previous studies, this multi-objective optimization framework evaluates not only the minimization of system-level costs, but also newly incorporates the objectives of minimizing life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption during the entire lifetime of a wireless charging bus system. The LCA-based optimization framework is more comprehensive than previous studies in that it encompasses not only the burdens associated with wireless charging infrastructure deployment, but also the benefits of electric bus battery downsizing and use-phase vehicle energy consumption reduction due to vehicle lightweighting, which are directly related to charger siting. The impact of charger siting at bus stops with different route utility and bus dwell time on battery life is also considered. To demonstrate the model application, the route information of the University of Michigan bus routes is used as a case study. Results from the baseline scenario show that the optimal siting strategies can help reduce life cycle costs, GHG, and energy by up to 13%, 8%, and 8%, respectively, compared to extreme cases of “no charger at any bus stop” and “chargers at every stop”. Further sensitivity analyses indicate that the optimization results are sensitive to the initial battery unit price ($/kWh), charging power rate (kW), charging infrastructure costs, and battery life estimation methods.",battery
"Micro-supercapacitor (MSC) are considered to be a promising candidate for wearable energy storage due to their scale down in dimensions to fit on-chip geometries of integrated nanosystem, high charge/discharge efficiency, long lifetimes and strong security compared to Li-ion batteries. In this work, we present a polypyrrole (Ppy) film based MSC arrays by combining photolithograph and electrodepositon method. The designed MSC with concentric circles structure exhibited a large areal capacitance of 47.42 mF/cm2 and provided a power density of 0.185mW/cm2 at an area energy density of 0.004 mWh/cm2. MSC arrays connected in series were utilized as power source to drive a wearable gas sensor on the same flexible substrate. As-designed wearable self-driven room temperature ethanol gas sensor showed a quick response time (13s) and recovery time (4.5s), good selectivity to ethanol and a high detection capability of less than 1ppm at room temperature, proving the feasibility of the wearable MSC arrays integrated gas sensing system and offering a quick, easy and comfortable way for personalized monitoring drunken driving.",battery
"The electrochemical properties of a novel composite paper material of high surface area consisting of polypyrrole (PPy) deposited on cellulose derived from Cladophora sp. algae have been investigated in electrolytes containing different concentrations of nitrate, chloride and p-toluene sulfonate, as well as in solutions containing both p-toluene sulfonate and chloride. The oxidation mechanism and the dependence of the oxidation behavior of the polypyrrole, which was obtained by oxidation of pyrrole with iron(III) chloride, on the anion type and concentration have been studied. Current nucleation maxima, appearing at different times depending on the anion concentration, were obtained during the oxidation of the reduced polymers as a result of the combined action of the formation and growth of conducting polymer strands and anion diffusion. No loss of capacity was seen during repeated oxidation and reduction of the polymer indicating that trapping of anions in the reduced polymer did not limit the electroactivity of the present material. The latter can be explained by the thin polymer layer present on the cellulose substrate. During the oxidation of the polymer, the anions most likely first cover most of the surface of the composite before diffusing into the bulk of the polymer. The estimated distance between these surface sites was also found to match the size of the anions. For electrolytes containing a mixture of anions, the oxidation charge depends on the concentration and size of the different anions. The combination of the thin polymer coating and the large specific surface area of the composite give rise to a high ion absorption capacity even for large anions. Hence, the investigated material should be well-suited for use in biotechnological applications involving, e.g., desalting and extraction of proteins and DNA from biological samples.",battery
"We present an experimental platform that can be used for investigating lithium-ion batteries with very high spatial resolution. This in situ experiment runs inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and is able to track the morphology of an electrode including active and passive materials in real time. In this work it has been used to observe SnO2 during lithium uptake and release inside a working battery electrode. The experiment strongly relies on an ionic liquid which has very low vapor pressure and can therefore be used as an electrolyte inside the vacuum chamber of the SEM. In contrast to common electrochemical characterization tools, this method allows for the observation of microscopic mechanisms in electrodes. Depending on the SEM, resolutions down to 1nm can be achieved. As a result, the experimental platform can be used to investigate chemical reaction pathways, to monitor phase changes in electrodes or to investigate degradation effects in batteries. SnO2 is a potential anode material for future high capacity lithium-ion batteries. Our observations reveal the formation of interface layers, large volume expansions, growth of extrusions, as well as mechanically induced cracks in the electrode particles during cycling.",battery
"Thermal simulation was applied to 2Wh-class cells (diameter 14.2mm, height 50mm) using LiNi0.7Co0.3O2 or LiCoO2 as the positive electrode material, in order to clarify the thermal behavior of the cells during charge and discharge. The thermal simulation results for the 2Wh-class cells showed a good agreement with measured temperature values. The heat generation of a cell using LiNi0.7Co0.3O2 was found to be much less than that using LiCoO2 during discharge. This difference was considered to be caused by the difference in the change of entropy. A 250Wh-class cell (diameter 64mm, height 296mm) was also constructed using LiNi0.7Co0.3O2 and thermal simulation was applied. We confirmed that the results of the thermal simulation agreed with measured values and that this simulation model is effective for analyzing the thermal behavior of large-scale lithium secondary batteries.",battery
"A Ni3S2 nanorods/Ni foam composite electrode is prepared as a high-performance catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which exhibits excellent OER activity with a small overpotential of ∼157 mV based on the onset of catalytic current.
",battery
"Monitoring of lithium-ion batteries is of critical importance in electric vehicle applications in order to manage the operational condition of the cells. Measurements on a vehicle often involve current, voltage and temperature which enable in-situ diagnostic techniques. This paper presents a novel diagnostic technique, termed differential thermal voltammetry, which is capable of monitoring the state of the battery using voltage and temperature measurements in galvanostatic operating modes. This tracks battery degradation through phase transitions, and the resulting entropic heat, occurring in the electrodes. Experiments to monitor battery degradation using the new technique are compared with a pseudo-2D cell model. Results show that the differential thermal voltammetry technique provides information comparable to that of slow rate cyclic voltammetry at shorter timescale and with load conditions easier to replicate in a vehicle.",battery
"For the development of novel non-aqueous sodium ion conductor with safety of sodium secondary cell, non-flammable ionic liquid is attractive as electrolyte component. A preliminary study has been carried out for the purpose of constructing sodium ion conducting electrolyte based on ionic liquid. The solubility of sodium salt such as NaBF4 in ionic liquid is poor, thus the ternary electrolyte has been prepared where NaBF4 with poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME) as coordination former is dissolved with ionic liquid diethyl methoxyethyl ammonium tetrafluoroborate (DEMEBF4). The maximum conductivity among the prepared solutions, ca. 1.2mScm−1 at 25°C, was obtained when the molar ratio (ethylene oxide unit in PEGDME):NaBF4:DEMEBF4 was 8:1:2. The relationship between the conductivity of the ternary electrolyte and its solution structure has been discussed.",battery
"Understanding the degradation of battery cycled under different state-of-charge ranges is important for the optimal control of operation state-of-charge range. Cycle life tests on 8 A h pouch batteries with Li(NiMnCo)O2 cathode are conducted under 0–20%, 20%–40%, 40%–60%, 60%–80%, 80%–100% and 0–100% state-of-charge ranges with current and temperature at 6C and 25 °C. Results show that among the five ranges with 20% depth-of-discharge, cycling under 0–20% causes more impedance increase and less capacity loss, cycling under 80%–100% cause more capacity loss. The degradation behaviors of batteries under the remaining three ranges are similar. Battery degradation under 20% depth-of-discharge is significantly slower than 100% depth-of-discharge. Battery aging mechanisms are investigated using incremental capacity analysis method. It is indicated that loss of active material in positive electrode and loss of lithium inventory are comparable during battery aging process under 100% depth-of-discharge. However, for the battery under 20% depth-of-discharge, the dominant factor causing aging is loss of lithium inventory. Moreover, six characteristic parameters corresponding to loss of lithium inventory and loss of electrode material respectively are extracted from incremental capacity curve to establish the multi-indicators system describing battery state-of-health, which enhances the convenience of incremental capacity analysis to identify battery aging mechanisms on-board.",battery
"To improve its performance, extend its lifetime, and overcome the problem of the slow dynamic during the start-up and the operation process of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), this paper presents current short circuit and smart energy management approaches for a main PEMFC with auxiliary PEMFC, battery and supercapacitor as hybrid power source in parallel with an intelligent uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system. The hybrid UPS system consists of two low-cost 63-cell 300 W PEMFC stacks, 3-cell lead-acid battery, and 20-cell series-connected supercapacitors. Based on the designed intelligent hybrid UPS system, experimental tests and theoretical studies are conducted. Firstly, the modeling of PEMFC is obtained and evaluated. Then the performance improvement mechanism of the current short circuit is proposed and analyzed based on the Faradaic process and non-Faradaic process of electrochemical theory. Finally, the performances of the main PEMFC with the auxiliary PEMFC/battery/supercapacitor hybrid power source and intelligent energy management are experimentally measured and analyzed. The proposed current short circuit method can significantly extend the lifetime, improve the performance of PEMFC and decrease the size of the main FC for stationary, backup power sources and vehicular applications.",battery
"To understand the development of mathematical cognition and to improve instructional practices, it is critical to identify early predictors of difficulty in learning complex mathematical topics such as algebra. Recent work has shown that performance with fractions on a number line estimation task predicts algebra performance, whereas performance with whole numbers on similar estimation tasks does not. We sought to distinguish more specific precursors to algebra by measuring multiple aspects of knowledge about rational numbers. Because fractions are the first numbers that are relational expressions to which students are exposed, we investigated how understanding the relational bipartite format (a/b) of fractions might connect to later algebra performance. We presented middle school students with a battery of tests designed to measure relational understanding of fractions, procedural knowledge of fractions, and placement of fractions, decimals, and whole numbers onto number lines as well as algebra performance. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the best predictors of algebra performance were measures of relational fraction knowledge and ability to place decimals (not fractions or whole numbers) onto number lines. These findings suggest that at least two specific components of knowledge about rational numbers—relational understanding (best captured by fractions) and grasp of unidimensional magnitude (best captured by decimals)—can be linked to early success with algebraic expressions.",non-battery
"This longitudinal study tested the same children at three time points: infancy (10.5months of age), toddlerhood (2.5years of age), and early childhood (4.5years of age). At 10.5months, infants were assessed experimentally with a gaze-following paradigm. At 2.5years, children’s language skills were measured using the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories. At 4.5years, children’s explicit theory of mind was assessed with a standard test battery. Analyses revealed that infants with higher gaze-following scores at 10.5months produced significantly more mental-state words at 2.5years and that children with more mental-state words at 2.5years were more successful on the theory-of-mind battery at 4.5years. These predictive longitudinal relationships remained significant after controlling for general language, maternal education, and nonsocial attention. The results illuminate the bridging role that language plays in connecting infants’ social cognition to children’s later understanding of others’ mental states. The obtained specificity in the longitudinal relations informs theories concerning mechanisms of developmental change.",non-battery
"The mechanism of a low temperature wet chemical route for synthesis of LiFePO4 cathode material for Li-ion batteries is presented. Using inorganic salts as precursors and diethylene glycol (DEG) as reaction media, nanosize LiFePO4 powder is obtained. The controversially discussed role of the polyol on this reaction has been clarified by in-situ FT-IR analysis of the gaseous reaction products and a full analysis of solid products. It is observed that DEG does not act as reducing agent for iron(II) salts, nor is it oxidized during the synthesis of LiFePO4. Generally, polyols are used to reduce the oxides and hydroxides into their corresponding metals. The nucleation of Li +, PO 4 3 − and Fe2+-ions in the DEG solvent starts at temperatures 110°C, 130°C and 170°C, respectively. LiFePO4 precipitation from Li-carbonate, Fe(II)-oxalate dihydrate and ammonium dihydrogenphosphate as precursors is driven by thermal decomposition of the salts, intermediate formation and dehydration of amino-ethoxy-ethane, yielding 1,4-dioxane as volatile by-product. With the help of in-situ investigations reaction time and temperature could be minimized. Furthermore, the effect of the concentrations of Li +, Fe2+ and PO 4 3 − ionic moieties on the morphology of LiFePO4 materials obtained by chemical solution deposition and solid state reaction are studied with the help of FT-IR analysis. LiFePO4 platelets morphology exhibited better discharge capacity than LiFePO4 agglomerate morphology. The solid product is characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential thermogravimetry combined with mass spectrometry and FT-IR.",battery
"This investigation elucidates three maleimide (MI)-based aromatic molecules as additives in electrolyte that is used in lithium ion batteries. The 1.1M LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate (EC):propylene carbonate (PC):diethylene carbonate (DEC) (3:2:5 in volume) containing MI-based additives can prompt the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI); and inhibit the entering into the irreversible state during lithium intercalation and co-intercalation. The reduction potential is 0.71–0.98V versus Li/Li+ as determined by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The morphology and element analysis of the positive and negative electrode after the 100th charge–discharge cycle are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the MI was used in lithium ion batteries and provided 4.9% capacity increase and 16.7% capacity retention increase when cycled at 1C/1C. The MI-based additive also ensures respectable cycle-ability of lithium ion batteries. MI is decomposed electrochemically to form a long winding narrow SEI strip on the graphite surface. This novel SEI strip not only prevents exfoliation on the graphite electrode but also stabilizes the electrolyte. The MI-based additive also ensures respectable cycle-ability of lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The results of a wide demonstration test of Off-Grid Radio Base Stations powered with fuel cells and locally available renewable energy sources are presented. The experimental activity has been conducted as part of the FCPoweredRBS project to assess and verify the potential of hydrogen and fuel cells as power and energy sources for the telecom market. For this application, Fuel Cells have been integrated as a programmable power generator with a photovoltaic system and an energy storage system. Both electrochemical batteries and hydrogen produced locally with an electrolyzer have been tested as energy storage solutions. Data collected for a full year have been used to assess the potential of the systems proposed in comparison with diesel generators which are the standard solution for such applications. Results show that the hybrid renewable energy solution may be competitive in terms of energy efficiency and minimum consumption of fossil fuel consumption. Proper sizing and control strategy optimization are key aspects to this aim. Despite the use of FC technology and the integration of many different components, field tests have shown an acceptable level of stability and reliability.",battery
"There is a lot of interest in the development of new, safer and more sustainable polar aprotic solvents due to their importance in industrial applications and significant safety issues with the most commonly used examples. One such area of application is in pharmaceutically relevant C–C coupling reactions, where polar aprotic solvents are commonly used for solubility and to stabilise reaction intermediates. Although there are now a number of excellent alternatives in the literature, to date they have not been compared in a single study. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the green solvents N-butylpyrrolidinone (NBP), γ-valerolactone (GVL), propylene carbonate (PC) and dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene) in Heck and Baylis–Hillman reactions. Good conversions and initial rates were observed in GVL and NBP in Heck reactions. Cyrene exhibited high initial rates of reaction and high yields in the Baylis–Hillman reaction. This demonstrates Cyrene to be a promising alternative polar aprotic solvent for this reaction.
",non-battery
"While pressurized irrigation systems can be effectively powered using renewable energy sources, no serious related study is found in Iran in this regard. In the present study, in two different climatic conditions in Iran, development of small-scale solar irrigation were evaluated financially and compared with that of systems powered by the fossil fuel and electricity grid. Financial analysis of systems was provided using life cycle cost (LCC) method. Results showed that in the case of 4.5 and 5.5 kW pumps (for citrus orchard and a vineyard, respectively), photovoltaic irrigation pumps with batteries for energy storage are comparable to the systems in which the electricity used to drive pumps is transmitted through 0.25 km and 1.8 km private lines. It was concluded that, generally, if the required power of irrigation pumps exceeds 3 kW, the electricity supplied by a private power transmission line is more affordable than in-situ generated photovoltaic electricity, if the length of transmission line is less than 2 km. It was also observed that for required power less than 4.5 kW, photovoltaic energy is somewhat comparable to fossil fuel. As Iran is dependent upon its highly subsidized fossil fuels, the financing of solar irrigation projects will not be possible without the help of new policies and laws.",battery
"LiNi0.33Co0.33Mn0.33O2 which was synthesized by co-precipitation method has been used to investigate the relationships between crystal/interfacial structures and electrochemical performance of the material in the voltage range of 2.5–4.6V. X-ray diffraction showed that the material maintained high structural stability with charge–discharge cycling. Formation of SEI film was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The chemical compositions of the SEI film were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which were mainly composed of some organic compounds such as lithium alkyl carbonate RCH2OCO2Li, as well as some inorganic compounds such as Li x PF y and Li x PO y F z . Transmission electron microscopy showed that the SEI film gradually grew to a thickness of about 40nm after 30 cycles. This caused larger and larger interfacial resistance with charge–discharge cycling, which has been attributed to the continuous capacity fading of LiNi0.33Co0.33Mn0.33O2 in the voltage window of 2.5–4.6V.",battery
"Use of highly concentrated methanol fuel is required for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) to compete with the energy density of Li-ion batteries. Because one mole of H2O is needed to oxidize one mole of methanol (CH3OH) in the anode, low water crossover to the cathode or even water back flow from the cathode into the anode is a prerequisite for using highly concentrated methanol. It has previously been demonstrated that low or negative water crossover can be realized by the incorporation of a low-α membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which is essentially an MEA designed for optimal water management, using, e.g. hydrophobic anode and cathode microporous layers (aMPL and cMPL). In this paper we extend the low-α MEA concept to include an anode transport barrier (aTB) between the backing layer and hydrophobic aMPL. The main role of the aTB is to act as a barrier to CH3OH and H2O diffusion between a water-rich anode catalyst layer (aCL) and a methanol-rich fuel feed. The primary role of the hydrophobic aMPL in this MEA is to facilitate a low (or negative) water crossover to the cathode. Using a previously developed 1D, two-phase DMFC model, we show that this novel design yields a cell with low methanol crossover (i.e. high fuel efficiency, ∼80%, at a typical operating current density of ∼80–90% of the cell limiting current density), while directly feeding high concentration methanol fuel into the anode. The physics of how the aTB and aMPL work together to accomplish this is fully elucidated. We further show that a thicker, more hydrophilic, more permeable aTB, and thicker, more hydrophobic, and less permeable aMPL are most effective in accomplishing low CH3OH and H2O crossover.",battery
"Thermoelectric transport properties of p-type PbTe:Na, with high hole concentrations of approximately 1020 cm−3, are reinvestigated from room temperature to 750 K. The greatly enhanced Seebeck coefficient at these doping levels can be understood by the presence of a sharp increase in the density of states around the Fermi level. As a result, the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, reaches ∼1.4 at 750 K. The influence of these heavy hole carriers may contribute to a similarly high zT observed in related p-type PbTe-based systems such as Tl-doped PbTe and nanostructured composite materials.
",battery
"The hen's egg test for analysis of micronucleus formation (HET-MN) was developed several years ago to provide an alternative test system to the in vivo micronucleus test. In order to assess its applicability and robustness, a study was carried out at the University of Osnabrueck (lab A) and at the laboratories of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (lab B). Following transfer of the method to lab B, a range of test substances that had been pre-tested at lab A, were tested at Henkel: the genotoxins cyclophosphamide, dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, methotrexate, acrylamide, azorubin, N-nitroso-dimethylamine and the non-genotoxins, orange G and isopropyl myristate. In a second phase, additional compounds with known in vivo properties were examined in both labs: the non-genotoxin, ampicillin, the “irrelevant” positives, isophorone and 2,4-dichlorophenol (“irrelevant” means positive in standard in vitro tests, but negative in vivo), the clastogen p-chloroaniline, and the aneugens carbendazim and vinorelbine. All substances were correctly predicted in both labs with respect to their in vivo genotoxic properties, indicating that the HET-MN may have an improved predictivity compared with current standard in vitro test systems. The results support the promising role of the HET-MN assay as a supplement to existing test batteries.",non-battery
"Teachers are not typically involved as participatory designers in the design of technology-enhanced learning environments. As they have unique and valuable perspectives on the role of technology in education, it is of utmost importance to engage them in a participatory design process. Adopting a case study methodology, we aim to reveal in what ways teachers work as participatory designers and define conditions that support teachers in that. Two initiatives of participatory design in Canada and Singapore were investigated. Design materials, transcripts of design meetings, and interviews with teachers were qualitatively analyzed. Case study 1 (Canada) showed that two teachers participating in software design for an astronomy curriculum contributed by suggesting new design features, introducing pedagogical requirements, and providing feedback on prototypes or design ideas. It appeared essential that teachers feel that their ideas were valued and respected in the entire process. In case study 2 (Singapore), six teachers contributed to the design of a mobile learning trail through: Theorizing and bridging knowledge building principles, collaborative prototyping, contextual inquiry of activity relevance and activity execution, and collaborative evaluation of technology integration. Teachers valued case study discussions with similar cultural contexts and visiting the learning site to design with contextual knowledge. From our case studies, it can be concluded that teachers contribute to the design processes by engaging in theoretical discussion, active participation in a design partnership, reflection about pedagogy and practice, and experimenting with enactment. Conditions that support teachers include support in emergent processes and an atmosphere of trust and inclusion.",non-battery
"Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Lewy body diseases (LBD), e.g., Parkinson’s disease (PD) dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), are common causes of geriatric cognitive impairments. In addition, AD and LBD are often found in the same patients at autopsy; therefore, biomarkers that can detect the presence of both pathologies in living subjects are needed. In this investigation, we report the assessment of α-synuclein (α-syn) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and its association with CSF total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau181 (p-tau181), and amyloid beta1-42 (Aβ1-42) in subjects of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; n = 389), with longitudinal clinical assessments. A strong correlation was noted between α-syn and t-tau in controls, as well as in patients with AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the correlation is not specific to subjects in the ADNI cohort, as it was also seen in PD patients and controls enrolled in the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI; n = 102). A bimodal distribution of CSF α-syn levels was observed in the ADNI cohort, with high levels of α-syn in the subjects with abnormally increased t-tau values. Although a correlation was also noted between α-syn and p-tau181, there was a mismatch (α-syn–p-tau181-Mis), i.e., higher p-tau181 levels accompanied by lower α-syn levels in a subset of ADNI patients. We hypothesize that this α-syn–p-tau181-Mis is a CSF signature of concomitant LBD pathology in AD patients. Hence, we suggest that inclusion of measures of CSF α-syn and calculation of α-syn–p-tau181-Mis improves the diagnostic sensitivity/specificity of classic CSF AD biomarkers and better predicts longitudinal cognitive changes.
",non-battery
"Solar energy is a renewable and abundant energy source that has myriad potential applications to be tapped. Energy storage devices often present diminishing performance at lower temperatures, and sometimes they even fail during cold weather; therefore, a renewable technology to spur such sluggish performance not only is important for a sustainable future but also may inspire new-concept devices such as ignition sensors. Here, under solar illumination, the capacitance, energy density and power density of supercapacitors are all largely enhanced owing to the photothermal effect. The supercapacitors employ three-dimensional hierarchical graphene as the electrodes, and show an absorption of >92.88% over the entire solar spectrum, a response time of <200 s, and a surface temperature change of ∼39 °C under 1 solar illumination (1 kW m−2). Under 1 solar illumination, the capacitance of the pseudocapacitor increases by ∼1.5 times, and the capacitance of the electric double-layer capacitor increases by ∼3.7 times. The mechanism is quantitatively analyzed and discussed. This work provides new insights into the applications of solar energy and offers new design options for the development of energy storage devices.
",battery
"I first show that Kuhn came to have doubts about physics soon after entering college but did not make up his mind to leave the discipline until 1947–1948 when a close association with Harvard’s President James B. Conant convinced him of the desirability of an alternative career in the history of science. I go on to maintain that it was realistic for Kuhn to prepare for such a career in essentially autodidactic ways both because he enjoyed Conant’s patronage and because he could expect that his credentials in physics would be an asset in this relatively young interdisciplinary specialty. I then suggest that it was through his work as a teacher, researcher, and journeyman gatekeeper in the history of science that Kuhn gradually came to identify with the field. Finally, I argue that his training in physics, his teaching of general-education courses, and his hopes of influencing current philosophy of science helped shape his early practice as a historian of science. By way of epilogue, I briefly consider Kuhn’s path from his tenuring at Berkeley in 1958 to the appearance of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962.",non-battery
"Hybrid of metal oxide and graphene quantum dots may pave one way to improve their electronic, chemical and electrochemical properties. The paper reports one new strategy for synthesis of Co3O4-histidine-functionalized graphene quantum dots (Co3O4-His-GQD). Here, His-GQDs are combined with Co2+ ions to rapidly produce Co-His-GQD complex. Followed by the thermal annealing at 350°C in air to form Co3O4-His-GQD. The resulting nanohybrid offers a well-defined three-dimensional architecture with the rich of porous structures. The regulation of His-GQDs on the release rate of Co2+ ions during the oxidation process of Co2+ make the formed Co3O4 crystals have a small particle size of about 22nm. The in situ synthesis of Co3O4 on the surface of graphene sheets achieves to the intimate chemical and electrical contacts of Co3O4 with His-GQDs. This creates a fast energy and electron transfer between Co3O4 and His-GQDs in the nanohybrid. The sensor based on the Co3O4-His-GQD exhibits an ultrahigh electrochemical response towards hydroquinone. Its differential pulse voltammetric peak current linearly increases with increasing hydroquinone in the range of 2×10−9–8.0×10−4 M with the detection limit 8.2×10−10 M (S/N=3). The sensitivity is better than that of both His-GQDs sensor and Co3O4 sensor. The analytical method provides the advantage of sensitivity, selectivity and stability, it has been successfully applied in the determination of hydroquinone in environmental water samples. The study also provides a promising approach for fabrication of functional graphene quantum dot-based electrode materials with high-performance for sensing, electrocatalysis, supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Magnesium (Mg++) therapy has been shown to be neuroprotective and to facilitate recovery of motor and sensorimotor function in a variety of animal models of traumatic brain injury. However, few studies have investigated the efficacy of Mg++ therapy on cognitive impairments following injury. The present study evaluated the ability of magnesium chloride (MgCl2) to facilitate recovery of function following bilateral anterior medial cortex lesions (bAMC). Rats received electrolytic bAMC lesions or sham surgery and were then treated with 1mmol/kg, i.p. MgCl2, 2mmol/kg, i.p. MgCl2, or 1.0ml/kg, i.p. 0.9% saline. Drug treatment was administered 15min following injury with subsequent injections administered at 24 and 72h. Rats were tested on a battery of behavioral tests that measured both cognitive (reference and working memory in the Morris Water Maze (MWM) and spatial delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS)) and sensorimotor performance (bilateral tactile adhesive removal). The results indicated that bAMC lesions produced significant cognitive impairments in reference memory and working memory in the MWM, DMTS and sensorimotor impairments compared to shams. Mg++ therapy exhibited a dose-dependent effect in facilitating recovery of function. Administration of 2mmol of MgCl2 significantly improved performance on the bilateral adhesive tactile removal test, DMTS and working memory tests. The 1mmol dose of MgCl2 reduced the initial deficit on the tactile adhesive removal test and reduced the working memory impairment on the second day of testing. These results suggest Mg++ therapy improves cognitive performance following injury in a dose-dependent manner.",non-battery
"The hybridization of hydrogen and solar energy technologies is an interesting option to satisfy power demands in locations that are isolated from the electric grid. The main advantage of the photovoltaic (PV)-H2 hybrid system is the possibility of power storage by means of an electrolyzer (EL) which transforms the electricity into hydrogen (H2). The work described here concerns a methodology to design PV-H2 hybrid systems that considers the weather data and the electrical variables of the components to perform energy balances and to assess the system in terms of the load requirements, the levels of energy stored and the resulting costs. Two electrolytic systems (water splitting and ethanol electrochemical reforming) were studied in an attempt to find a best trade-off between the size and voltages of ELs. Ethanol reduced the energy requirements of EL at the expense of reagent consumption and lower current density. The energy supplied by these systems costs 0.28 €/kWh (i.e., roughly the same as power prices paid by domestic customers in Spain), but they have the merit of being autonomous and hydrogen has the capacity for seasonal energy storage ‒ thus avoiding electrification constraints in off-grid locations and limitations of short-term electrical energy storages.",battery
"A fully dense Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 (gadolinia doped ceria, GDC) is obtained by a novel using a sintering technique for several seconds at 545°C by applying a direct current (DC) electrical field of 70Vcm−1. The onset applied field value of this phenomenon is 20Vcm−1, and the volume specific power dissipation for the onset of flash sintering is about ∼10mWmm−3. Through contrast with the shrinkage strain of the conventional sintering as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, we conclude that GDC specimens are sintered to fully density under various applied fields. In addition, we demonstrate that the grain size of GDC is decreasing with the increase of applied field and the decrease of sintering temperature. Through calculation, we find that sintering of GDC can be explained by the Joule heating from the applied electrical field.",battery
"The optical and electrochemical properties of thin films of a nickel–vanadium mixed oxide have been investigated as a new Li+ intercalation compound, to be used as an optically passive counterelectrode in electrochromic switching devices. The thin film samples were prepared by radio frequency (RF) sputtering under different preparation conditions, using targets with different Ni/V ratios and a reactive (20% O2) or, alternatively, non-reactive (pure Ar) sputtering atmosphere. The optical properties of as-grown and Li+ inserted–extracted electrodes were determined by computer fitting of the UV–Vis–NIR transmittance and specular reflectance spectra. The electrochemical measurements of Li+ insertion and extraction consisted of cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry and potentiostatic intermittent titration technique. The samples showed interesting electrochemical and optical properties, a good electrochemical reversibility and ion-storage capacity exceeding 40 mCcm−2, lasting for several hundreds cycles at a current of 50 μAcm−2. The electrodes displayed an almost passive electrochromic behavior during the electrochemical experiments.",battery
"Advances in secondary batteries are required for realization of many technologies. In particular, there remains a need for stable higher energy batteries. Here we suggest a new anode concept consisting of an ultrathin Co3O4 nanosheet-coated Ni inverse opal which provides high charge–discharge rate performance using a material system with potential for high energy densities. Via a hydrothermal process, about 4 nm thick Co3O4 nanosheets were grown throughout a three-dimensional Ni scaffold. This architecture provides efficient pathways for both lithium and electron transfer, enabling high charge–discharge rate performance. The scaffold also accommodates volume changes during cycling, which serves to reduce capacity fade. Because the scaffold has a low electrical resistance, and is three-dimensionally porous, it enables most of the electrochemically active nanomaterials to take part in lithiation–delithiation reactions, resulting in a near-theoretical capacity. On a Co3O4 basis, the Ni@Co3O4 electrode possesses a capacity of about 726 mAh g−1 at a current density of 500 mA g−1 after 50 cycles, which is about twice the theoretical capacity of graphite. The capacity is 487 mAh g−1, even at a current density of 1786 mA g−1.",battery
"Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an increasingly used therapy for patients with treatment-refractory epilepsy and depression. Hypomanic and manic symptoms are a rare but recognized adverse effect of VNS treatment. Here we describe a case in which VNS treatment in a patient with epilepsy and unipolar depression was associated with the rapid development of manic symptoms. The patient's manic symptoms resolved with temporary discontinuation of the VNS current, and the patient was eventually able to resume VNS treatment with good effect and without further manic symptoms. Mania is a rare but serious side effect of VNS; however, in this case and in the majority of reported cases of VNS-associated mania, symptoms resolve and VNS can be safely administered.",non-battery
"This work reports a facile solution based chemical transformation of thin film of CdCO3 cuboids into Cd-based Prussian blue analogue structured thin film with controlled redox-state by manipulating the anion exchange reaction between the solid film and the aqueous solution of K3[Fe(CN)6] at 60°C. The progress of the transformation reaction is monitored via electron microscopy, X-ray difractometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Based on the scenario of the reaction progress revealed by these analysis, the CdCO3 cuboids are first found to be transformed into the smaller cuboids of cadmium ferricyanide, which, on further reaction, are transformed into the cadmium ferrocyanide cuboids. Thus, by controlling the redox-state of the Fe-metal center on the frameworks, the electrocatalytic activity of the frameworks on oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is studied. The electrocatalytically inert CdCO3 cuboids after transformation to the frameworks with Fe3+-centers demonstrate an enhanced catalytic activity on ORR, while the Fe2+-centers of the frameworks are found to relegate the catalytic activity, thereby manifesting the redox-sate modulated ORR activity of the frameworks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of this kind on redox-state specific ORR activity.",battery
"The physics-based single particle (SP) model was compared to the semi-empirical equivalent circuit analog (ECA) model to predict the cell voltage under constant current charge and discharge for different sets of Li-ion cell data. The parameters of the models were estimated for each set of data using nonlinear least squares regression. In order to enhance the probability of finding the global optima, a combination of the trust region method with a genetic algorithm was applied to minimize the objective function (the sum of squared residuals). Several statistical quantities such as sum of the squared errors, adjusted R 2, root mean squared error, confidence intervals of the parameters, and prediction bounds were included to compare the models. A significance test (t test) on the parameters and the analysis of the variances (F and χ 2 tests) were also performed to discriminate between the goodness of the fit obtained from the two models. The statistical results indicate that the SP model superiorly predicts all sets of data compared to the ECA model, while the computation times of both models are on the same order of magnitude.",battery
"A physics-based, reduced order model was developed to describe the capacity degradation in LiNiMnCoO2-graphite cells. By starting from fundamental principles, the model captures the effects of four degradation mechanisms: (i) SEI growth on the anode, (ii) electrolyte oxidation on the cathode, (iii) anode active material loss, and (iv) cathode active material loss, the last two due to chemomechanical fracture. The model is computationally efficient (∼1 ms/cycle) and enables physical, real-time, capacity loss calculations for automotive applications. Results demonstrate that under storage conditions, SEI growth and electrolyte oxidation are the major degradation mechanisms, in agreement with experiments. In contrast, batteries subjected to electric currents of a wide amplitude, close to the upper cutoff voltage, electrolyte oxidation contributes ∼50% of all the degradation mechanisms, consistent with recent experiments in the literature. Chemomechanically induced active material losses are maximal in the anode at high states of charge and maximal in the cathode at low states of charge. Results quantify the contribution to degradation from each individual mechanism, highlighting, for the first time, the need of physics-based, on-the-fly descriptions that go beyond traditional coulomb counting approaches. Finally, the identification of the individual degradation contributions enables the possibility of tailoring the charge/discharge sequence to extend battery life.",battery
"The mechanism of oxygen reduction at MnO2-catalyzed air cathode was investigated by measurements of polarization curves in wide OH− concentrations, oxygen pressures and using different crystalline MnO2 catalysts. It is found that the oxygen reduction at MnO2 catalyst is accompanied with the reduction of MnO2 and the catalytic activities of MnO2 is closely related to the electrochemical activities of MnO2. Based on the experimental determination of the reaction orders of OH−, O2 and the intermediate Mn3+ ion, we propose a chemical oxidation mechanism for the catalytic oxygen reduction, in which oxygen reduction proceeds through chemical oxidation of the discharge product of MnO2 rather than through a direct two-electron reduction. The rate expression derived from this mechanism can very well explain the observed polarization properties and the concentration dependence of oxygen reduction.",battery
"As an appealing storage system for electric vehicle application, the lithium-oxygen battery could theoretically provide ultrahigh energy density; however, its attractive implementation is overshadowed by unsatisfactory electrochemical characteristics of the poor rate capability and the short span life. Here, we put forward one kind of effective strategy to ameliorate these deficiencies. By embedding a novel air electrode, the utilization level of the electrochemically available active sites is effectively increased and meanwhile the mass transfer of oxygen is signally improved. The evaporation speed of the solvent is greatly slowed down to some degree. We demonstrate that a super P-based lithium-O2 battery could be operated over stable 50 cycles at the current density of 3000 mA g Carbon − 1 (equivalent to 2.4 mA cm−2), corresponding to a discharge time of about 20 min to 1000 mAh g Carbon − 1 . Based on the weight of the super P and the resultant Li2O2, the specific power density could reach 4040 W kg−1; even so, a substantial specific energy density of 1350 Wh kg−1 still could be achieved.",battery
"The degradation of LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (LNCAO), a cathode material in lithium-ion-batteries, was studied using in situ powder diffraction and in situ Ni K edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The fatigued material was taken from a 7 Ah battery which was cycled for 34 weeks under defined durability conditions. Meanwhile, a cell was stored, as reference, under controlled conditions without electrochemical treatment. The fatigued LNCAO used in this study showed a capacity loss of 26% ± 9% compared to the non-cycled material. During charge and discharge the local and the overall structure of LNCAO was investigated by X-ray near edge structure (XANES) analysis, the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis and by using Rietveld refinement of in situ powder diffraction patterns. Both powder diffraction and XAS revealed additional, rhombohedral phases which do not change with electrochemical cycling. Moreover, a phase with the lattice parameters of fully lithiated LNCAO was still present in the fatigued material at high potentials, while it was absent in the non-fatigued reference material. The coexistence of these phases is described by domains within the LNCAO particles, in correlation with the observed fatigue.",battery
"Lithium-rich layered oxide materials are considered as one of the most promising cathodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries. However, their practical applications are currently restricted by its low initial Coulombic efficiency and poor rate capability and cycling stability. In this study, we report the preparation of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 nanowires that have porous structures with different contents of spinel phase via a co-precipitation method followed by carefully controlled calcination steps. Structural characterizations verify that the as-prepared nanowires are composed of interconnected nano-sized subunits with porous structures, and spinel phases are embedded inside the layered structure. The electrochemical measurements show that the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 nanowires bearing moderate content of spinel phase exhibit a high capacity of 291 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and excellent capacity retention of 91.8% after 200 cycles at 1 C. The results also demonstrate that electrochemical performance of the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 nanowires is influenced by the content of spinel phase which can be readily tuned by changing the heating rate in the calcination step. The combination of one-dimension porous structures and built-in spinel domains in Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 nanowires improves the electrolyte contact and Li+ diffusion, and restrains structural degeneration.",battery
"This work demonstrates the first cyclic voltammetry in a perfluorocarbon solvent without use of a cosolvent. The novel electrolyte tetrabutylammonium tetrakis[3,5-bis(perfluorohexyl)phenyl]borate (NBu4BArF104; 80mM) allows for voltammetry of ferrocene in perfluoro(methylcyclohexane) by lowering the specific resistance to 268kΩcm at 20.8°C. Despite significant solution resistance, the resulting voltammograms can be fitted quantitatively without difficulty. The thus determined standard electron transfer rate constant, ko , for the oxidation of ferrocene in perfluoro(methylcyclohexane) is somewhat smaller than for many solvents commonly used in electrochemistry, but can be explained readily as the result of the viscosity and size of the solvent using Marcus theory. Dielectric dispersion spectroscopy verifies that addition of NBu4BArF104 does not significantly raise the overall polarity of the solution over that of neat perfluoro(methylcyclohexane).",battery
"Since Sifneos in 1973 introduced the term, “alexithymia” to describe the apparent incapacity of some of his patients to discern and verbally express their emotions, without finding a physical cause for it, this phenomenon has become the object of various studies and publications. In the pursuit of effective treatment methods, art therapy has been indicated as being among the possibly effective forms of treatment. But in the literature on art therapy alexithymia up to now has scarcely received the attention the authors believe it deserves. This paper focuses on the concept of alexithymia, especially in psychotrauma, and the usefulness of art therapy. A concise review of literature on the concept of alexithymia is included and an illustration of the use of art therapy by a detailed description of treatment of a case of alexithymia in a patient, Rita, with severe self-pathology, who had grown up in a traumatizing environment. The patient was able to recognize and name emotional reactions after the treatment with art therapy, and thus, art therapy seems to be a promising form of treatment for traumatized patients suffering from alexithymia, even in cases of severe self-pathology.",non-battery
"We demonstrated a sort of self-powered vibration sensor based on a triboelectric generator (TEG) using triboelectrification and electrostatic induction effects. The as-prepared TEG delivered an output voltage of 34.06V and short-circuit current density of 22.5mA/m2 corresponding to a maximum power density of 0.77W/m2, which was capable of driving five LEDs directly and continuously with working frequency of 50Hz without any rectification circuit or energy storage unit. The vibration sensor has a detection range of 0–500Hz, and high accuracy. Besides, it could realize detection under non-contact mode, which would protect the device and the detected object in operation. Moreover, the stability and repeatability could also be well retained. The TEG based vibration sensor possessed great potential in machines operation monitoring, process control, and security applications in unreachable and access-denied extreme environments.",battery
"Crystal and electronic structures of two model crystals for Li[Co1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3]O2 have been investigated using first principles calculations. One is so-called superlattice model of [√3×√3]R30°-type in triangular lattice of sites and the other is piled-up model among CoO2, NiO2 and MnO2 slabs. For both models, the formal charges of Co, Ni and Mn are, respectively, estimated to be +3, +2 and +4 from the interatomic distances and electronic structures. The formation energy for a superlattice model is −0.17eV while that for a piled-up model is +0.06eV, indicating that Li[Co1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3]O2 having a [√3×√3]R30°-type superlattice can be prepared when the processing method is exploited. The solid-state redox reactions in a superlattice model are also calculated and predicted that the reaction in the ranges of 0≤x≤1/3, 1/3≤x≤2/3 and 2/3≤x≤1 in Li1−x [Co1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3]O2 consists of Ni2+/Ni3+, Ni3+/Ni4+ and Co3+/Co4+, respectively, with smaller change in unit-cell volume associated with lithium insertion reaction than those of LiCoO2, LiNiO2 and LiMnO2.",battery
"A 3D mesoporous TiO2 material with well-developed mesostructure is prepared in the form of a binder-free thin (100nm) film and studied as potential candidate for the negative electrode in lithium microbatteries. By appropriate thermal treatments, the selected crystal structure (anatase, rutile, or amorphous), and micro-/mesostructure of the materials was obtained. The effects of voltage window and prelithiation treatment improved first cycle reversibility up to 86% and capacity retention of 90% over 100 cycles. After a prolonged intercalation of lithium ions in ordered mesoporous TiO2 appeared small particles assigned to Li2Ti2O4 with cubic structure as observed from ex-situ TEM micrographs. This study highlights the flexibility of the potential window to which the electrode can operate. Maximum capacity values over 100 cycles of 470μAhcm−2 μm−1 and 177μAhcm−2 μm−1 are obtained for voltage ranges of 0.1–2.6V and 1.0–2.6V, respectively. The observed values are between 6 and 2 times higher than those obtained for films with 600nm (80μAhcm−2 μm−1) and 900nm (92μAhcm−2 μm−1) lengths. This indicates that 100nm thin TiO2 films with high accessibility show finite-length type diffusion which is interesting for this particular application.",battery
Rechargeable proton conducting polymeric solid-state batteries have been fabricated with the configuration Zn+ZnSO4·7H2O||PEO:NH4ClO4 +PC||V2O5 +PbO2 +C+E. The maximum cell voltage is ∼1.57V at full charge. The discharge characteristics of the cell have been studied at different loads. The cell remains stable for more than 180h for low current drain (∼μA) making it suitable for low current density application. The cell also showed a good rechargeability which was tested for nine cycles.,battery
"Low crystalline CoSx was fabricated by anion-exchange of 2-dimensional (2D) cobalt carbonate hydroxide (CoCH) using aqueous sodium sulfide solution at room temperature. It was proved that single crystalline CoCH nanoplates would transform into porous 2D CoSx with low crystallinity after the anion-exchange. When they were used as electrode materials for supercapacitor, the 2D CoSx material had a much higher specific capacitance than its precursor due to their different compositions and electroconductivities. CoSx had a high specific capacitance of 863 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a good stability during long time charge-discharge processes, about 64.7% of initial capacitance retention after 10000 cycles. Asymmetric hybrid devices using 2D CoSx as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode were assembled, and the capacitor devices were able to achieve a high energy density of 33.56 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 400 W kg−1. The high performances of the porous CoSx make it a promising electrode material for energy storage.",battery
"This paper discusses the effects of a potential leachate leakage from a municipal solid waste landfill, situated at Mavallipura, Bangalore, India, on the surrounding water bodies. The landfill area is spread over an area of about 100 acres that began accepting waste from 2005. MSW was deposited in non-engineered manner that has resulting in steep and unstable slopes, leachate accumulation within the MSW mass, and leachate runoff into nearby water bodies such as ponds and open wells. The current study investigates the physicochemical characterization of landfill leachate and nearby water bodies. The batch leach tests were conducted to know the heavy metal concentrations in the contaminated soil. A series of column tests were also conducted to estimate the migration rates of different contaminants through the soil. Furthermore, these transport parameters were considered as input for fluidyn-POLLUSOL model to estimate the migration of leachate from the landfill site to the surrounding water bodies.",non-battery
"Carbon coated silicon (Si/C) dispersed in a carbon paper (CP) was examined as the anode for solid polymer lithium-ion batteries. The CP was prepared by pyrolysis of poly(acrylonitrile) fiber and Manila hemp non-woven cloth at 2600 °C under an inert atmosphere. The Si/C composite was formed by pyrolysis of a slurry consisting of Si power and a solution of polyvinyl chloride in tetrahydrofuran as the carbon source. Si/C:CP with a weight ratio of 20:100 had a high initial capacity of 980 mAh g−1 of Si/C and a high initial columbic efficiency of 77%, and also exhibited excellent capacity retention with a reversible capacity of 710 mAh g−1 of Si/C even after 250 cycles at a charge and discharge rate of 0.1 A g−1. The carbon fiber framework in the carbon paper could adsorb the volume change of Si during the lithium insertion and stripping processes.",battery
"This paper proposes a sophisticate application of redox flow batteries (RFB) coordinate with Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC) for the improvement of Load Frequency Control (LFC) of a multiple units two- area power system. The Interline Power Flow Controller is to stabilize the frequency oscillations of the inter-area mode in the interconnected power system by the dynamic control of tie-line power flow. The redox flow batteries, which are not aged to the frequent charging and discharging, have a quick response and outstanding function during overload conditions. In addition to leveling load, the battery is advantageous for secondary control in the power system and maintenance of power quality of distributes power resources. The Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO) algorithm is use to optimize the parameters of the cost functions for designing the integral controller. Compliance with North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) standards for Load Frequency Control has also been establishes in this work. Simulation studies reveal that the RFB coordinate with IPFC units has greater potential for improving the system dynamic performance.",battery
"Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are increasingly being investigated as electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Despite their promising catalytic activity, many fundamental questions concerning their structure−performance relationships—especially those regarding the roles of active species—remain to be answered. Here we show the structural transformation of a Ni0.5Co0.5-MOF-74 during the OER by operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging. We suggest that Ni0.5Co0.5OOH0.75, with abundant oxygen vacancies and high oxidation states, forms in situ and is responsible for the high OER activity observed. The ratio of Ni to Co in the bimetallic centres alters the geometric and electronic structure of as-formed active species and in turn the catalytic activity. Based on our understanding of this system, we fabricate a Ni0.9Fe0.1-MOF that delivers low overpotentials of 198 mV and 231 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and 20 mA cm−2, respectively.",battery
"This work presents a novel binder-free nitrogen-doped carbon paper electrode (NCPE), which was derived from a N-rich polypyrrole (PPy)/cellulose-chopped carbon filaments (CCFs) composite, for Li–O2 batteries. The fabrication of NCPE involved cheap raw materials (e.g., Cladophora sp. green algae) and easy operation (e.g., doping N by a carbonization of N-rich polymer), which is especially suitable for large-scale production. The NCPE exhibited a bird's nest microstructure, which could provide the self-standing electrode with considerable mechanic durability, fast Li+ and O2 diffusion, and enough space for the discharge product deposition. In addition, the NCPE contained N-containing function groups, which may promote the electrochemical reactions. Furthermore, binder-free architecture designs can prevent binder-involved parasitic reactions. A Li–O2 cell with the NCPE displayed a cyclability of more than 30 cycles at a constant current density of 0.1 mA/cm2. The 1st discharge capacity for a cell with the NCPE reached 8040 mAh/g at a current density of 0.1 mA/cm2, with a cell voltage around 2.81 V. A cell with the NCPE displayed a coulombic efficiency of 81% on the 1st cycle at a current density of 0.2 mA/cm2. These results represent a promising progress in the development of a low-cost and versatile paper-based O2 electrode for Li–O2 batteries.",battery
"Here we show that the intrinsic low electrical conductivity of LiFePO4 which seriously hinders the application of LiFePO4 for Li-ion batteries is overcome with conductive metallic NiP nano-coating. High resolution transmission electron microscopy image reveals that the NiP coating is a nanoscale amorphous layer, which was deposited on the LiFePO4 particles to form a so-called core/shell structure via electroless plating at room temperature. The electrochemical performances of NiP coated LiFePO4 show that both of the rate performance and cycleability of LiFePO4 against graphite anode are improved by the NiP coating. Analysis of electrochemical impedance spectra of the LiFePO4/graphite cells demonstrates that the NiP coating decreases both of the surface film resistance and charge transfer resistance. The dissolution of Fe from LiFePO4 in the LiPF6 based electrolyte is remarkably suppressed by the protective NiP coating.",battery
"LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) nanostructures (microspheres composed of nanoparticles) are prepared from urchin-like γ-MnO2 by calcinating under 800°C, the product shows Fd3m-based phase involving minor rock salt phase and Mn3+ ions confirmed by its Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction pattern and electrochemical activities. Furthermore, HRTEM images and EDS line-scanning spectroscopy patterns focusing on a single nanoparticle provide direct observation of intergrowth of two phases that minor P4332 phase is found on the edge of Fd3m body coupled with the varying Mn/Ni ratio. In comparison, the other sample is obtained by adding an annealing treatment at 700°C after calcinating at 800°C, which preserves the nanostructured architecture of C800 and displays all the structural characteristics of pure P4332 phase. As cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, merely calcined sample receives discharge capacities of 91 mAh•g−1 even at 50C, and 100.5 mAh•g−1 after 300 cycles at 5C, which shows better combination of rate and cycling performances than its counterpart with pure P4332 phase.",battery
"Battery powered energy systems such as electric vehicles utilize power electronics for controlling energy flows between the battery and the load or generation, respectively. Therefore, the battery is under high frequency stress due to fast switching power electronic devices. However, most battery models throughout the literature are not able to cope with high frequency excitation. This paper proposes an easy to implement equivalent circuit model that covers aforementioned frequency regions with a series of inductors that are each connected in parallel with an ohmic resistance. This circuit is parameterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) up to 100 kHz. For further regions that reach regions of megahertz a skin effect model is investigated and compared to the RL-model. It is shown that such semi-empirical models can be motivated by geometrical considerations that can be found in the literature. Moreover, the proposed model is validated by simulating the voltage response from an input current that originates from an actual back-to-back half bridge DC/DC converter. The promising results indicate that such models might be implemented in future battery energy systems to improve insights on how batteries react to perturbations such as EMI noise or high frequency current ripple.",battery
" Lung injury caused by both inhaled dusts and infectious agents depends on increased availability of iron and metal-catalyzed oxidative stress. Because inhaled particles, such as silica, and certain infections can cause secondary pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), we tested the hypothesis that idiopathic PAP is associated with an altered iron homeostasis in the human lung.",non-battery
"Two ionic liquids (ILs), which are functionalized with bis(oxalato)borate (BOB) and difluoro(oxalato)borate (DFOB) as the anion, have been synthesized and applied as additives for the battery grade electrolyte 1 M LiPF6 in an equivolume mixture of EC-DEC-DMC (LP71). When 0.3 M IL was added to LP71, peaks attributed to the formation of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) were observed during cyclic voltammetry for both cathodic and anodic sides. The presence of peaks during anodic scans suggests that the ILs possess the ability to form SEI on cathode surfaces. The high voltage Li | LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cells, employing the integrated electrolytes, exhibited a discharge capacity of around 120 mAh g−1. The retention rates of discharge capacity after 100 cycles were found to be 99.2% and 98.1% for the solution with 0.3 M of BOB-IL and DFOB-IL, respectively. By means of impedance analysis during the galvanostatic cycling, the growth of SEI was confirmed when BOB-IL was used as the additive. In this case, in the infrared spectra of the cycled LNMO electrodes, peaks related to borate compounds and polycarbonate were observed. This confirms that the BOB-IL promotes the formation of stable interfaces between the electrolyte and LNMO.",battery
"The electrochemical properties of a thin-film LiMn2O4 electrode were studied in an aqueous medium. The studies were done in a saturated aqueous medium to increase similarity of the electrolyte solution with a non-aqueous medium. The apparent diffusion coefficient was calculated and discussed for different potentials at the aqueous electrolyte. In addition, stability of the thin solid film was investigated during potential cycling, which indicates that the electrode is highly stable in aqueous medium as well as in non-aqueous media. The obtained results from electrochemical measurements indicate that the properties of the thin-film LiMn2O4 electrode in aqueous medium are similar to those that have been found in non-aqueous media.",battery
"Composites comprising silicon (Si), graphite (C) and polyacrylonitrile-based disordered carbon (PAN-C), denoted as Si/C/PAN-C, have been synthesized by thermal treatment of mechanically milled silicon, graphite, and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) powder of nominal composition C–17.5wt.% Si–30wt.% PAN. PAN acts as a diffusion barrier to the interfacial diffusion reaction between graphite and Si to form the electrochemically inactive SiC during prolonged milling of graphite and Si, which could be easily formed in the absence of PAN. In addition, graphite, which contributes to the overall capacity of the composite and suppresses the irreversible loss, retains its graphitic structure during prolonged milling in the presence of PAN. The resultant Si/C/PAN-C based composites exhibit a reversible capacity of ∼660mAhg−1 with an excellent capacity retention displaying almost no fade in capacity when cycled at a rate of ∼C/4. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicates that the structural integrity and microstructural stability of the composite during the alloying/dealloying process appear to be the main reasons contributing to the good cyclability observed in the above composites.",battery
"The effect of LaMnO3 with high electronic conductivity on the fast charge-discharge rate performance of LiMn2O4 is studied. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the existence of LaMnO3 and also indicate LaMnO3 has no influence on the crystal structure of pristine LiMn2O4. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images indicate that LaMnO3 coating layer, about 15nm thickness, covers the surface of LiMn2O4 well. The electrochemical performances are evaluated by galvanostatic charge/discharge tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). At 0.5C/0.5C, LaMnO3 coated LiMn2O4 delivers an initial capacity of about 114mAhg−1 along with the coulombic efficiency of 95.0%, which are higher than those of uncoated LiMn2O4 (106mAhg−1 and 89.1%). Furthermore, LaMnO3 coated LiMn2O4 can exhibit higher capacities at high charge-discharge rates than uncoated LiMn2O4. It can deliver about 90.6mAhg−1 at 10C/10C and 68.0mAhg−1 at 20C/20C, but there are only 53.6mAhg−1 and 43.3mAhg−1 for bare LiMn2O4. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) demonstrates that LaMnO3 coating layer can effectively reduce the electrodes' resistances and improve the kinetics of electrodes. The improved high rate properties of LaMnO3 coated LiMn2O4 are ultimately ascribed to the easier phase conversion from λ-MnO2 to Li0·5Mn2O4 which is related to LaMnO3 coating layer with high electronic conductivity.",battery
"Various aspects of stability of composite polymer gel electrolytes based on poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF/HFP) polymeric matrix and functionalized precipitated silicas have been studied. The silica fillers have been surface modified with methacryloxy or vinyl groups by partially replacing silanol groups, so that bi-functional (hydrophilic/hydrophobic) character of the inorganic fillers was created. Compatibility of the gel electrolytes with lithium electrode has been examined by means of EIS technique. Electrochemical stability window has been studied with the application of cyclic voltammetry technique with fast sweeping rate. Passive layer formation on graphite electrode has been investigated for all the gel electrolytes by means of cyclic voltammetry with slow scan rate and galvanostatic charging/discharging technique. It has been shown that stability of the interface between lithium and gel electrolyte is significantly improved when bi-functional silicas are used as fillers. The phenomenon has been ascribed to more effective scavenging of trace impurities as well as to better shielding of the electrode surfaces. Cyclic voltammetry on platinum has revealed excessive electrochemical redox processes upon prolonged cycling for all the gel electrolytes. It has been demonstrated that stable passive layers are formed on graphite electrodes upon electrochemical reduction in the presence of the studied composite polymer gel electrolytes.",battery
"Pd nanoparticle catalysts supported by multiwall carbon nanotubes (Pd/MWNTs) prepared using a complexation–reduction method are used in this study for the electrochemical determination of hydrazine. The physico-chemical properties of the Pd/MWNT catalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy physico-chemical (SEM). These structural analyses reveal that the Pd/MWNTs-modified glassy carbon electrode possesses a three-dimensional network structure in which the Pd nanoparticles, with an average size of 5nm, are uniformly distributed on the surface of the MWNTs. After Nafion solution was coated on the surface of the Pd/MWNT layer, the resulting Pd/MWNT–Nafion modified electrode retained the three-dimensional network structure. Electrochemical measurements show that the oxidation peak current of hydrazine decreases with increasing pH. Under optimum conditions, the Pd/MWNT–Nafion-based hydrazine sensor exhibits a broad linear calibration range (2.5–700μM) and a low detection limit of 1.0μM for hydrazine.",battery
"In Germany, the laender hold most of the powers relevant for protecting the population. After the end of the Cold War, they had realized a substantial peace dividend. Yet after 9/11, they have been confronted with a number of new (or newly realized) challenges, and a new governance pattern evolved that requires more intense co-operation between the laender and other levels of the political system. Furthermore, in the light of fiscal austerity and a certain euphoria for privatization, the private sector has become very much involved in formal and informal disaster management networks with state actors on all levels. Our paper traces this development in detail, explains its causes and gauges its impacts in terms of both effectiveness and democratic accountability. It is based on twenty expert interviews with state representatives on all levels of government as well as private actors representing different types of companies, and it especially focuses on the involvement of hospitals in emergency planning, electrical power network management (including reactions to blackouts), recent changes at firefigthers’ co-ordination centers, and, as a cross-cutting issue, the role of Information Technology (IT).",non-battery
"The design and implementation of innovation policy funding programmes has been the subject of scientific and political debate for decades. Especially the increasingly popular approach of mission-oriented innovation policies is a much discussed subject. The question of how missions arise, what rhetoric accompanies them and how they are eventually implemented has not yet been sufficiently clarified and specification is lacking. Whether mission-oriented innovation policy actually follows a strict top-down logic, or whether the policymaking process rather resembles a certain evolutionary scheme is questioned in this study. On the basis of the change within many policy strategy papers from biotechnology to a much broader bioeconomy, it is shown that, in reality, the transition does not follow a linear sequence. Neither excessive prioritisation nor neglect of a selected sector can be confirmed in this analysis. Within the bioeconomy, however, a clear change can be identified. Biotechnology funding was visibly reduced as part of the change of leitmotif while R&D increased in the agricultural sector in particular. Furthermore, it becomes clear that the issue of missing markets, which is predicted in theoretical studies, can also be confirmed empirically. So far, in terms of public involvement, little effort has been invested in the practical application of bioeconomical knowledge, which is why the intended transition towards bio-based economic activities is lagging behind expectations.",non-battery
"Following from the classical work of Hubel and Wiesel, it has been recognized that the orientation and the on- and off-zones of receptive fields of layer 4 simple cells in the visual cortex are linked to the spatial alignment and properties of the cells in the visual thalamus that relay the retinal input. Here we present evidence showing that the orientation and the on- and off-zones of receptive fields of layer 6 simple cells in cat visual cortex that provide feedback to the thalamus are similarly linked to the alignment and properties of the receptive fields of the thalamic cells they contact. However, the pattern of influence linked to on- and off-zones is phase-reversed. This has important functional implications.",non-battery
"Some aspects of the influence on the electrochemical mechanisms of the anion and structure in tin based negative materials are presented. Li insertion mechanisms in SnS and tin composite oxides (TCO) are analysed by 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy. For SnS, Mössbauer experiments were combined with in situ X-ray diffraction in order to determine tin oxidation states and identify the phases occurring during the discharge. The Mössbauer recoil-free fraction has been determined for TCO and the Debye temperature is found to be lower than that of crystalline SnO in good agreement with the lower network rigidity of the glass.",battery
"Amorphous silicon (α-Si) films are deposited on LiFePO4@C electrode by using vacuum thermal evaporation deposition technique and the effect of α-Si film on electrochemical performance of LiFePO4@C cells is investigated systematically by the charge–discharge testing, cyclic voltammograms and AC impedance spectroscopy, respectively. The results reveal that the present of α-Si film on electrode surface could remarkably improve the electrochemical performance at high charge/discharge rate, especially at elevated temperature. This enhancement may be attributed to the amelioration of the electrochemical dynamics on the electrode/electrolyte interface resulting from the beneficial effects of α-Si film, which might significantly suppress the rise of both of the surface film resistance and charge transfer resistance.",battery
"Introduction Persistent air leaks (PAL) is the most frequent post-operative complication in Thoracic Surgery, leading to a longer hospital stay and an increase in patient morbidity. We present a prospective study conducted in the Dr. Josep Trueta University Hospital in Gerona, involving a portable chest drainage system (PCDS) connected to a pleural drainage which allowed air leaks to be treated ambulatorily. Our aim is to demonstrate that by using this system hospital stay is reduced without increasing post-operative morbidity, and improves the quality of life of the patient. Material and methods The Thoracic Surgery Department of Gerona Hospital collected the data on 33 patients with PAL in the post-surgical period and who were treated ambulatorily with a PCDS. Post-operative complications were recorded, along with the mean days of ambulatory treatment with the PCDS and the hospital days saved. Results The mean hospital stay of the 33 patients was 7.03 days. The mean number of days that the 33 patients were treated ambulatorily with the PCDS was 9.33 days. It was calculated that there was a saving of 308 hospital days. The ambulatory treatment of PAL did not increase post-operative morbidity. Conclusions The clinical results and the management of the PCDS support the treatment of this problem in patients who do not have any other causes to remain in hospital. The study shows a saving in a considerable number of hospital days stay, with no increase in patient morbidity. All the patients preferred this system to hospital admission.",non-battery
 The aim of this study was to perform psychometric testing of the Growth Hormone Deficiency-Child Impact Measure (GHD-CIM): a patient-reported outcome (PRO) for children with GHD aged 9 to < 13 years and an observer-reported outcome (ObsRO) for parents/guardians of children who are unable to answer for themselves.,non-battery
"We investigated the ability to perform solfeggio, i.e. oral reading of musical notes in MP, a 65 year-old female professional musician, who, following a left temporoparietal ischemia, showed a complex pattern of amusia. The deficit on which we focused was her inability to read orally the bass (F) clef, often substituting it with the violin (G) clef. This problem could not be attributed to a lack of comprehension. The patient could in fact correctly perform on the piano the same sequences she erroneously read aloud; she was also able to correctly judge whether two strings, one in bass clef and the other in violin clef, represented the same sequence of notes. The problem seems to lie in the inability to retrieve note names keeping into account the clef-rule. It is hypothesized that, in the production of note names, this function requires the identification and application of syntactic-like information, in analogy with what is thought to happen in the retrieval of other words.",non-battery
"The coulomb counting method is expedient for state-of-charge (SOC) estimation of lithium-ion batteries with high charging and discharging efficiencies. The charging and discharging characteristics are investigated and reveal that the coulomb counting method is convenient and accurate for estimating the SOC of lithium-ion batteries. A smart estimation method based on coulomb counting is proposed to improve the estimation accuracy. The corrections are made by considering the charging and operating efficiencies. Furthermore, the state-of-health (SOH) is evaluated by the maximum releasable capacity. Through the experiments that emulate practical operations, the SOC estimation method is verified to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy.",battery
"A novel redox-mediated aqueous electrolyte is prepared by adding sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) into KOH alkaline electrolyte for the application in most metal oxide based supercapacitors. The electrochemical behaviors of nickel oxide (NiO) electrode in 2M KOH and 2M KOH containing different concentration of Na2S2O8 electrolytes, respectively, were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods. The results indicate that the reaction mechanism of NiO electrode in Na2S2O8 mixed electrolytes appears to be the reversible redox of Ni2+ to Ni3+ on two different channels, which is different with that in KOH electrolyte. Charge-discharge experiments show that the discharge ability of the NiO electrode in redox electrolyte is excellent. When added Na2S2O8 into KOH electrolyte, the charge time is shorted and the discharge time is increased sharply. The specific capacitance was up to 6317.5Fg−1 at 0.5Ag−1 in mixed 2M KOH and 0.03M Na2S2O8, more than 100% coulombic efficiency. Fortunately, this new redox-mediated aqueous electrolyte not only suitable for the metal oxide based electrode, but also have much effect to the metal sulfide, vanadate, and phosphate electrode et al.",battery
"Nowadays, wide temperature range and high-energy Li-ion batteries are increasingly required. However, it is difficult to get a compromise between subzero temperature performance and high temperature performance. Herein, methyl acetate co-solvent with a freezing point of −98.1 °C (50% by volume) is blended with carbonates to obtain a high-conductivity LiPF6-based electrolyte, which contains tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite and 1,3-propanediolcyclic sulfate binary functional additives to significantly enhance cycling performance of a challenging high-voltage (5 V-class) battery system using a LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode and a graphitic mesocarbon microbead anode, unprecedentedly ranging from −60 °C to 50 °C. High reactivity between methyl acetate co-solvent and graphitic mesocarbon microbead anode is innovatively proposed to be associated with graphitic mesocarbon microbead anode catalytic formation of methoxy free radical. More importantly, high reactivity between methyl acetate co-solvent and graphitic mesocarbon microbead anode can be greatly suppressed by species derived from functional additives. This paper highlights the crucial rule of both high Li+ conductivity and favorable graphite anode interface layer for achieving high performance wide temperature range Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The objective of this research is to clarify the mechanical properties and self-healing ability of the Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ) around rock caverns in clastic-rock. Observations of nearly one hundred closed roadways up to fifty years old, which can be regarded as very severe EDZs with no initial sealability and are up to 300m deep in clastic-rock, were made at the Kushiro Coal Mine, Japan, to accomplish the objective. Most old roadways were closed, though a few remain open. Closure of old roadways was mainly due to roof deflection and/or floor heave. Large plastic deformations dominated; however, severe fractures were seldom observed in closed old roadways. Rayleigh wave velocity and hydraulic conductivity in the closed old roadways were in the range of 0.3–1.2km/s and 5×10−7–1×10−7 m/s, respectively, and those in EDZ and EdZ (Excavation disturbed Zone) around recently excavated roadways were 1.1–1.8km/s and 1×10−8–5×10−8 m/s, respectively. The extent of EDZ around the present tailgate was in the range of 1–5m. Mechanical excavation and prevention from water are suggested as the key points for long-term maintenance of rock repositories. Pressurization from inside the cavern to decrease the permeability of EDZ is proposed for maintenance of rock repositories in medium-hard clastic-rock masses at similar depths for long periods.",non-battery
"The mixture of graphite, vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCFs), and carbon nanohorns (CNHs) was heat-treated in Ar atmosphere and carbon-coated by using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method (C-graphite/VGCF/CNH). Scanning electron microscopy observation showed that graphite, VGCF, and CNHs were covered by carbon film. Thermogravimetric analysis also indicated that carbon film formed by the CVD method combusted at 550 °C and the quantity of carbon film was about 4 wt%. The C-rate properties of half-cell for C-graphite/VGCF/CNH were superior to those for the mixture of graphite, VGCF, and CNHs (C-graphite/VGCF/CNH (discharge) : 3C/0.1C, 85%, graphite/VGCF/CNH (discharge) : 3C/0.1C, 50%), accelerating a promising application for quick charge–discharge of Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Nanoparticle loaded quasi solid electrolytes are important from the view point of developing electrolytes for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) having long term stability. The present work shows the influence of isoelectric point of nanopowders in electrolyte on the photoelectrochemical characteristics of DSSCs. Electrolytes with nanopowders of silica, alumina and magnesia which have widely differing isoelectric points are used in the study. Adsorption of ions from the electrolyte on the nanopowder surface, characterized by zeta potential measurement, show that cations get adsorbed on silica, alumina surface while anions get adsorbed on magnesia surface. The electrochemical characteristics of nanoparticulate loaded electrolytes are examined through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). DSSCs fabricated using liquid, silica or alumina loaded electrolytes exhibit almost similar performance. But interestingly, the magnesia loaded electrolyte-based cell show lower short circuit current density (J SC) and much higher open circuit voltage (V OC), which is attributed to adsorption of anions. Such anionic adsorption prevents the dark reaction in magnesia loaded electrolyte-based cell and thus, enhances the V OC by almost 100 mV as compared to liquid electrolyte based cell. Also, higher electron life time at the titania/electrolyte interface is observed in magnesia loaded electrolyte-based cell as compared to others.",battery
" A Li–Te rechargeable cell with exceptionally high specific capacity and cycling stability at high charge/discharge rates is presented. The cell was composed of a Te/mesoporous carbon CMK-3 composite positive electrode and a Li metal negative electrode. The Te/CMK-3 electrode was prepared using a melt diffusion process and characterized using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. Cyclic voltammograms of the Te/CMK-3 electrode suggested reversible (de)lithiation of Te at 1.63/1.88 VLi+/Li combined with irreversible formation processes. Initial cell cycling for formation process revealed voltage plateaus consistent with the cyclic voltammograms until a stationary capacity of about 400 mA h g−1 at 1C with 100 % coulombic efficiency was reached. Discharge capacities retained 96 % (0.5C), 86 % (1C), 78 % (2C), and 69 % (5C) of the theoretical specific capacity. Long-term cyclability tests involving 1000 charge/discharge cycles at 10C rate delivered an unprecedented specific capacity of 286 mA h g−1 at essentially 100 % coulombic efficiency (85 % capacity retention). The study bears testimony to the favorable high-rate stability of the Li–Te/CMK-3 cell design outperforming previously reported chalcogen-based electrode systems.",battery
"MnO is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), but a big challenge remains in impeding its structural and kinetic deterioration in the lithiation/delithiation process. In this study, we report that the structural integrity and electrochemical kinetics of MnO electrodes can be significantly enhanced by homogenously embedding MnO nanoparticles in robust carbon microsheets. The MnO/C microsheets were synthesized by sintering polyurethane (PU) sponge grafted with manganese polyacrylate at 800 °C. At a current density of 100 mA g−1, the resulting microsheets delivered a high reversible capacity of 797.6 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles. They also exhibited good cycling stability and rate capability of 323.2 mAh g−1 at 2000 mA g−1, showing one of the best lithium storage properties among the reported MnO anodes. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to the buffering, confining and conducting effects of robust carbon microsheets on MnO nanoparticles. These synergistic effects allow the hybrid microsheets to keep good structural integrity, high electronic conduction, and fast electrochemical kinetics in the cycling process. Our findings offer an alternative strategy to address the structural and kinetic issues of a MnO anode in the lithiation/delithiation process, which might be extendable to other electrode materials of LIBs.",battery
"The aim of this review is to illustrate the role of working memory and executive functions for scholastic achievement as an introduction to the question of whether and how working memory and executive control training may improve academic abilities. The review of current research showed limited but converging evidence for positive effects of process-based complex working-memory training on academic abilities, particularly in the domain of reading. These benefits occurred in children suffering from cognitive and academic deficits as well as in healthy students. Transfer of training to mathematical abilities seemed to be very limited and to depend on the training regime and the characteristics of the study sample. A core issue in training research is whether high- or low-achieving children benefit more from cognitive training. Individual differences in terms of training-related benefits suggested that process-based working memory and executive control training often induced compensation effects with larger benefits in low performing individuals. Finally, we discuss the effects of process-based training in relation to other types of interventions aimed at improving academic achievement.",non-battery
"HIV-infected women may be particularly vulnerable to certain types of neurocognitive impairments which may be exacerbated by aging and other predictors. Within the context of cognitive reserve, this article examines issues surrounding women as they age with HIV. For this, a review of 12 recent studies (2013–2016) using data from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), the largest cohort study comparing HIV-infected and demographically matched uninfected women, is presented that specifically examines neurocognition. In general, HIV-infected women are more vulnerable to developing neurocognitive impairments than uninfected women; other factors that may contribute to these neurocognitive impairments include recent illicit drug use, reading level (educational quality/cognitive reserve), stress, PTSD, insulin resistance, liver fibrosis, and age. Surprisingly, when examined in some analyses, age × HIV interactions were not observed to impact neurocognitive performance, findings largely consistent in the literature; however, longitudinal analyses of these data have yet to be performed which may yield future insights of how cognitive reserve may be compromised over time. Yet, with insulin resistance, liver fibrosis, stress, and other known predictors of poorer neurocognition also occurring more with advanced age, in time, the synergistic effect of age and HIV may be more robust and observable as this population ages.",non-battery
"The purpose of Directive 2012/19/EU which is related to WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), also known as “e-waste”, is to contribute to their sustainable production and consumption that would most possibly be achieved by their recovery, recycling and reuse. Under this perspective, the present study focused on the recovery of valuable materials, metals and metalloids from LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays). Indium (In), arsenic (As) and stibium (Sb) were selected to be examined for their Leaching Capacity (R) from waste LCDs. Indium was selected mainly due to its rarity and preciousness, As due to its high toxicity and wide use in LCDs and Sb due to its recent application as arsenic’s replacement to improve the optimal clarity of a LCD screen. The experimental procedure included disassembly of screens along with removal and recovery of polarizers via thermal shock, cutting, pulverization and digestion of the shredded material and finally leaching evaluation of the aforementioned elements. Leaching tests were conducted under various temperatures, using various solid:liquid (S/L) ratios and solvents (acid mixtures), to determine the optimal conditions for obtaining the maximum leaching capacities. The examined elements exhibited different leaching behaviors, mainly due to the considerable diversity in their inherent characteristic properties. Indium demonstrated the highest recovery percentages (approximately 60%), while the recovery of As and Sb was unsuccessful, obtaining poor leaching percentages (0.16% and 0.5%, respectively).",non-battery
"Potassium ion batteries (KIBs) are gaining attention as attractive, low-cost alternatives to lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Emerging KIB materials are not yet fully understood, so in situ characterization techniques are being developed to address the similarities and differences to the operation of LIB materials, including aspects of interfacial ion transfer and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation. Here, we introduce the use of Hg disc-well microelectrodes as probes in scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) for the detection of K+ gradients on an operating graphitic material. Electrochemically controlled amalgamation and stripping reactions on these probes permit their accurate positioning near a conductive surface, and the detection of local concentration changes once the substrate is biased to intercalate K+. K+ reduction into the Hg phase follows a behavior similar to that of Li+ and Na+ and yields an electrochemical response that is used to evaluate local substrate reactivity. Using these probes in situ, we demonstrate the reversible intercalation of K+ on a surface site of patterned highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), a model interface for carbonaceous KIB materials. Our method affords a direct measurement of localized K+ fluxes, which are not resolvable through bulk electroanalytical techniques, thus making our approach potentially informative about reaction mechanisms for nascent KIB-based energy storage technologies.",battery
"Whereas studies of the past 10years have shown the executive functions (EFs) in adults to be differentiated into at least three principal components (working memory, inhibition, and flexibility), EF structure in children is far less well understood despite a large body of research on the subject. A study was undertaken to test different structural models of EFs through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on a large sample of typically developing kindergarteners (N =272). The method employed sought to remedy the shortcomings of past research in this field such as absence of CFA, insufficient number of EF components tested, insufficient number of indicators per latent variable, and absence of control on processing speed. Children were assessed using a battery of EF tasks developed by the researchers to measure working memory (WM), flexibility, and inhibition (backward word span, backward block span, fruit Stroop, day–night test, hand Stroop, Trails-P, card sort, face sort, and verbal fluency shift). CFA results show the best-fitting model to comprise two factors, namely, an inhibition factor and a WM–flexibility factor. Invariance analyses suggest that this structure is the same for girls and boys and that latent variable means do not differ by sex. These results support the hypothesis of EF differentiation during development. The researchers formulate other hypotheses regarding neurophysiological development.",non-battery
"Submersed aquatic vegetation is an important modulator of sediment delivery from the Susquehanna River through the Susquehanna Flats into the Chesapeake Bay. However, the dynamic interactions between vegetation and the physical drivers of sediment transport through the region are not well understood. This study used a new vegetation component in a coupled flow-wave-sediment transport modeling system (COAWST) to simulate summer through fall 2011, when the region experienced a sequence of events including Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Fine sediment was exported under normal flows and high-wind forcing but accumulated under high flows, with accumulation doubling in the presence of vegetation. The relative effects of vegetation under normal flows and high-wind forcing depended on previous sediment dynamics. The presence of vegetation facilitated deposition of fine sediments within the patch under normal flows and subsequent resuspension during a wind-driven event. However, during significant discharge events, the system was completely dominated by riverine dynamics with vegetation enhancing net deposition as well as channeling the flow. While further refinement of the bed model may be needed to capture some nuances, the COAWST modeling system provides new insights into detailed sediment dynamics in complex vegetated deltaic systems.
",non-battery
"In this study, exclusive affect of microwave mediated synthesis on the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of α-MnO2 have been differentiated from that of α-MnO2 synthesized in conventional-reflux method. The TG, XRD, BET and SEM analyses show improved physicochemical properties like additional lattice K+ ions, better crystallinity, high surface area (155 m2 g−1) as well as pore volume (0.67 cm3 g−1) and hierarchical porous ball-like morphology of the microwave-synthesized α-MnO2. The CV studies show lower polarization resistance and higher rate pseudocapacitance (258 Fg−1 at 100 mVs−1) of microwave-synthesized α-MnO2 as compared to its reflux-synthesized counterpart (168 Fg−1 at 100 mVs−1). The CP studies show better high rate charge-discharge performance (146 Fg−1 at 16 Ag−1), longer cyclic stability (91.4% capacitance retention after 400 charge-discharge cycles at 16 Ag−1) and higher Coulombic efficiency (∼100%) of microwave-synthesized α-MnO2 as compared to the reflux-synthesized sample (80 Fg−1 at 16 Ag−1; 74.1% capacitance retention after 400 charge-discharge cycles at 16 Ag−1; 85% Coulombic efficiency). Further, due to facile mass transfer in the perfectly porous matrix, the microwave-synthesized α-MnO2 shows lower equivalent series resistance and better frequency response (higher specific capacitance at elevated operating frequency) as revealed from the impedance studies.",battery
"Many battery energy-storage applications are currently undergoing a progressive change away from the traditional flooded lead–acid battery to a valve-regulated design which offers convenience both in operation (spill-proof, able to be rapidly recharged) and in reduced maintenance. At the same time, there are large changes in prospect in the applications themselves. In the transport sector, it appears that at least part of the largest of all present markets, the 12/14V starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) battery, will be replaced by a 36/42V system. Also, there may be some substitution of electric and/or hybrid electric vehicles for vehicles that employ internal combustion engines alone. There is also, currently, rapid growth in the use of valve-regulated lead–acid batteries for telecommunications and there is enormous potential for future growth in remote-area power supplies (RAPSs). The present paper reviews some of the salient aspects of the research and development programs that are being carried out in order to meet these challenges.",battery
"Progress in the somatosensory field has been restricted by the limited number of genetic tools available to study gene function in peripheral sensory neurons. Here we generated a Cre-driver mouse line that expresses Cre-recombinase from the locus of the sensory neuron specific gene Advillin. These mice displayed almost exclusive Cre-mediated recombination in all peripheral sensory neurons. As such, the Advillin-Cre-driver line will be a powerful tool for targeting peripheral neurons in future investigations.
",non-battery
"The effects of 28 h of sleep deprivation were compared with varying doses of alcohol up to 0.1% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in the same subjects. The study was conducted in the laboratory. Twenty long-haul truck drivers and 19 people not employed as professional drivers acted as subjects. Tests were selected that were likely to be affected by fatigue, including simple reaction time, unstable tracking, dual task, Mackworth clock vigilance test, symbol digit coding, visual search, sequential spatial memory and logical reasoning. While performance effects were seen due to alcohol for all tests, sleep deprivation affected performance on most tests, but had no effect on performance on the visual search and logical reasoning tests. Some tests showed evidence of a circadian rhythm effect on performance, in particular, simple reaction time, dual task, Mackworth clock vigilance, and symbol digit coding, but only for response speed and not response accuracy. Drivers were slower but more accurate than controls on the symbol digit test, suggesting that they took a more conservative approach to performance of this test. This study demonstrated which tests are most sensitive to sleep deprivation and fatigue. The study therefore has established a set of tests that can be used in evaluations of fatigue and fatigue countermeasures.",non-battery
"To improve the rate capability and cyclability of carbon anode for Li-ion batteries, graphite was modified by forming a graphite–metal oxide (G–MO) composite. Structure analyses and electrochemical characteristics were performed. An insertion mechanism is proposed.",battery
"Lithium ion batteries are among the most promising electrochemical storage systems currently available. However, even though their high values of specific energy and energy density make them suitable for the development of new research approaches to counteract the global energy consumption, its diffusion is still limited in several sectors because of the high costs and safety problems. Five different Lithium ion cells of similar energy size but different chemical composition have been studied here, with the aim of pinpointing the fundamental characteristics of each battery. A comprehensive knowledge of these technologies can help finding out the critical parameters indicating dangerous situations. An automated test system based on the synchronous measurement of battery voltage, current and temperature has been employed in this comparative study. The system allows for testing the cells with a huge variety of protocols, from the standard charge cycle to the more complex power control test. Experimental results highlight that, for example, the LiNiCoO2 and the Lithium Polymer batteries outperform for their energy density and specific energy while the LiFePO4 show the highest versatility, efficiency and safety.",battery
"The performance of the anode materials is critical to further development of Li-ion batteries. However, the cycling stability and safety performance of anode materials are still far from satisfying. Here we propose a new strategy, i.e., the disorder/order engineering, by which the anode performance of the Li-ion battery can be improved. First, the disordered materials were prepared by vitrifying V2O5-TeO2 (VT) liquids, and then the VT glass powder was mixed with acetylene black and binder to form anode for a lithium ion battery. Second, by subjecting the battery to discharging/charging cycles, the VT glass was partially transformed into ordered phases at the nanoscale, i.e., the disorder-order transition occurred. Even the first cycle of discharging/charging induced the disorder-order transition. The ordered nano-domains and the disordered matrix exert a synergetic effect to facilitate the ionic and electronic transport and to maintain structure stable against discharging/charging. As a consequence, both the capacity and the cycling stability were greatly enhanced, and the structural origin of such enhancement was explored. This study has opened a new way for developing high performance anodes for Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Abstract This chapter begins with a general introduction to the Lagrangian methods, which provide a quantitative description of both track and speed of water current flow, employed to obtain an overall picture of oceanic subsurface currents and gyres over large areas. This is followed by a description of different kinds of freely drifting subsurface floats used for such measurements. These consist of surface-trackable subsurface drifters, satellite-recovered pop-up drifters, Swallow floats tracked by ship-borne hydrophones, subsurface floats transmitting to moored acoustic receivers, subsurface floats listening to moored acoustic sources, horizontally displaced and vertically cycling subsurface float (ALACE), and drifting profiling floats (ARGO floats) that allow estimation of geostrophic currents at various depths from repeat profiles of water temperature, salinity, and depth data (density data). A brief account of profiling observations from polar regions is also provided.",non-battery
"Rational robust hierarchical-porous Graphene/C/SiO2 hollow microspheres (G/C/SiO2) were designed as scaffold to load sulfur. The sulfur was impregnated into the microspheres to generate sulfur-Graphene/C/SiO2 composites (S-G/C/SiO2) for Li-S batteries. The 3D porous microspheres consist of SiO2 nanoparticles connected by interconnected graphene and carbon layer, which could leave enough room for volume changes of sulfur during the charge-discharge process, and imprison the polysulfide via physical adsorption and chemical binding, thus effectively improving the cycle stability. As a result, the S-G/C/SiO2 with 20.1wt. % SiO2 exhibits high discharge capacities up to 1118.4mA h g−1 at 0.1C, an excellent rate capability of 551.7mA h g−1 at 5C, and an exciting cycle performance of 626.3mA h g−1 after 400 cycles at 0.5C (ultralow capacity decay of only 0.062% per cycle), represented to be a promising cathode material for Li-S batteries.",battery
"Hybrid energy system is an excellent solution for electrification of remote rural areas where the grid extension is difficult and not economical. Such system incorporates a combination of one or several renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaic, wind energy, micro-hydro and may be conventional generators for backup. This paper discusses different system components of hybrid energy system and develops a general model to find an optimal combination of energy components for a typical rural community minimizing the life cycle cost. The developed model will help in sizing hybrid energy system hardware and in selecting the operating options. Micro-hydro-wind systems are found to be the optimal combination for the electrification of the rural villages in Western Ghats (Kerala) India, based on the case study. The optimal operation shows a unit cost of Rs. 6.5/kWh with the selected hybrid energy system with 100% renewable energy contribution eliminating the need for conventional diesel generator.",battery
"The effect of temperature on surface film formation on nickel electrode was studied in 1moldm−3 bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide dissolved in propylene carbonate by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ac impedance spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed that electrolyte decomposition reactions are accelerated at elevated temperatures, especially at 60 and 80°C. In situ AFM measurements showed that the film formation is fast and the resulting surface film is thicker at 80°C than at room temperature. Furthermore, it was confirmed by ac impedance measurements that the resistance of surface film was very low at elevated temperatures. These results were discussed in relation to superior cycling characteristics of lithium deposition and dissolution at the elevated temperatures.",battery
"TiNb24O62 with large theoretical capacity and safe working potential is regarded as a candidate for lithium ion batteries. However, poor electronic conductivity of TiNb24O62 restricts its widely application. Herein, we propose a novel methodology concerned about nitrogen-doped carbon coating to improve the electrochemical performance of TiNb24O62 nanowires. According to a series of analyses, it is found that nitrogen-doped carbon coating plays a key role on improving the electronic conductivity and electrochemical activity of TiNb24O62 nanowires. Meanwhile, both first principles calculations and in-situ XRD technique are applied to realize the structural evolution of nitrogen-doped carbon coated TiNb24O62 nanowires. The obtained results show a high diffusion channel for lithium ions in the lattice of TiNb24O62 and the good electrochemical reversibility of nitrogen-doped carbon coated TiNb24O62 nanowires. In addition, a full lithium ion battery is assembled by using nitrogen-doped carbon coated TiNb24O62 nanowires as anode and LiFePO4 as cathode. Such a cell can deliver a high capacity, indicative of a great potential for practical applications. Therefore, nitrogen-doped carbon coated TiNb24O62 nanowires can be a promising anode for high-rate lithium ion batteries.",battery
"ABSTRACT Background Numerous studies have linked dementia to the subsequent deterioration of oral health. Few investigators, however, have examined oral disease as a potential risk factor in the development of dementia. The authors conducted a study to investigate a potential association between a history of oral disease and the development of dementia. Methods Longitudinal dental records supplemented data collected from 10 annual cognitive assessments of 144 Milwaukee participants in the Nun Study, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer disease, who were 75 to 98 years old. Neuropathologic findings at autopsy were available for 118 participants who died. Results A low number of teeth increased the risk of higher prevalence and incidence of dementia. Conclusion Participants with the fewest teeth had the highest risk of prevalence and incidence of dementia. Clinical Implications Edentulism or very few (one to nine) teeth may be predictors of dementia late in life.",non-battery
"An enduring tendency towards negative thinking is thought to increase vulnerability for future depression. However, it has not been possible to assess this tendency in non-depressed mood states. We examined if response latency to endorse dysfunctional attitudes is associated with depressive outcomes in a longitudinal study. A sample of young people at familial risk of depression (N = 252, aged 10–19, 56.3 % female) completed a computer-administered dysfunctional attitude scale. The main outcome measure was the difference in reaction time to agree versus disagree with dysfunctional attitudes. Cross-sectional differences between current and previous depression and no psychiatric disorder groups as well as longitudinal associations with depressive symptoms were examined. Young people with current and previous depression were quicker to agree with dysfunctional attitudes than those without disorder. In young people free from depressive disorder, faster agreements with dysfunctional attitudes were specifically associated with increased depressive symptoms over time. Self-reported dysfunctional attitudes did not differentiate the formerly depressed and no disorder groups and showed a longitudinal association with depressive symptoms for older adolescents only. Reaction time to endorse dysfunctional attitudes may indicate changes in affective processing that represent an early risk for future depression that is not indexed by self-report measures of negative thought.",non-battery
"The design of a campus mail delivery vehicle powered by 350bar hydrogen feeding a 1.2kW PEM fuel cell to charge a lead acid battery pack is described. Five vehicles supplied to the campus at the University of Birmingham to measure the performance and to evaluate relevance to fleet operations are discussed. It is shown that the performance is better than that of a standard diesel van in two drive cycles, one following an academic circuit around the campus, the other doing multiple mail delivery stops. The acceleration and drive cycle compliance are found to be adequate on campus and the efficiency is significantly better than the diesel. The need for extension of range and increase in power and acceleration to meet standard urban drive cycles is clearly demonstrated.",battery
"Nanotechnology is developing far faster than our understanding of its effects. This lapping of our understanding by speedy development is typical of new technologies, and in the United States we let development occur, introducing new artifacts into the world, without any serious attempt to understand beforehand their effects, long-term or short-term. We have been willing to pay the price of pushing the technological envelope, but pushing the nanotechnological envelope has some special risks, requiring more caution.
",non-battery
"Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) as a new, environmentally and water-based organic compound, is firstly applied as the electrode binder for Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode in lithium-ion batteries. Compared with conventional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder, the COS binder is used for Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode significantly improves the electrochemical performances in terms of the first Columbic efficiency, cycling behavior, rate capability and long life cycle. At 0.1Ag−1, the initial discharge capacity of 215.6mAhg−1 can be obtained for Li2ZnTi3O8 with COS binder system and the Columbic efficiency is as high as 93.6%, which are apparently better than PVDF binder system. Moreover, 66.1mAhg−1 can be remained after 1000 cycles and the retention is 33.6% for COS binder system, while the PVDF binder system has only 37.9mAhg−1 (22.8%). In addition, the cycling stability of Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode has been improved after using COS as binder. The elevated electrochemical performances of Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode with COS binder system can be ascribed to the characters of COS binder, which not only provide numerous hydroxyl groups formed strong hydrogen binds with both active materials and copper current collector, but also suppress swelling of electrode with electrolyte solution.",battery
"Abstract The integration of several sources, microgrids, distributed generation, and various load types are supported owing to efficient control and management capabilities of smart grid. On the other hand, Internet of Things (IoT) is experiencing marvelous advances in terms of architecture, network types, and device compliance in a wide variety. The software related improvements of IoT are also extremely remarkable since many novel protocols, standards, connectivity methods, and security precautions are implemented. In this chapter, a comprehensive introduction on IoT-based smart grid infrastructures is presented. The technological developments are achieved in communication and security issues that enable the integration of smart grid and IoT systems. The smart grid applications and driving factors of IoT for smart grid systems are examined in depth that all stages of the smart grid system starting from generation to consumption levels are systematically analyzed. The IoT applications enabled in smart grid system in terms of application areas such as smart cities, smart home applications, home energy management systems, energy harvesting issues, smart sensor networks, distributed generation, and microgrid have been discussed. Finally, the open issues, future research directions, and report several important research areas are presented.",non-battery
"A new approach is presented to characterize the variable leakage resistance, a parameter in the variable leakage resistance model we developed to model supercapacitors used in environmentally powered wireless sensor network applications. Based on an analysis of the supercapacitor terminal behavior during the self-discharge, the variable leakage resistance is modeled as a function of the supercapacitor terminal voltage instead of the self-discharge time, which is more practical for an environmentally powered wireless sensor node. The new characterization approach is implemented and validated using MATLAB Simulink with a 10F supercapacitor as an example. In addition, effects of initial voltages and temperatures on the supercapacitor self-discharge rate and the variable leakage resistance value are explored.",battery
"The small intestine is a part of the gastrointestinal tract in which digestion and absorption of nutrients takes place. The small bowel follows the stomach and is followed by the large intestine, reaching from the pylorus to the valve of Bauhin and is separated into the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. Capsule endoscopy (CE) has the potential to offer a perfect overview of the small-bowel mucosa and complete visualization of the entire small bowel is achieved in most cases. In this video, there is an overview offered on normal findings in small-bowel CE and typical anatomical landmarks are indicated. This article is part of an expert video encyclopedia.",non-battery
"The development of physically representative models that allow reliable simulation of the processes under realistic conditions is essential to the development and optimization of fuel cells, the introduction of cheaper materials and fabrication techniques, and the design and development of novel architectures. Full three-dimensional, multiphase, non-isothermal computational fluid dynamics models of planar air-breathing and airflow-channel PEM fuel cell have been developed. These comprehensive models account for the major transport phenomena in both these types: convective and diffusive heat and mass transfer, electrode kinetics, transport and phase-change mechanism of water, and potential fields. The models are shown to understand the many interacting, complex electrochemical, and transport phenomena that cannot be studied experimentally. Fully three-dimensional results of the species profiles, temperature distribution, potential distribution, and local current density distribution are presented and analyzed with a focus on the physical insight and fundamental understanding for the air-breathing and airflow-channel PEM fuel cells.",battery
"Electricity generation using renewable energy generation technologies is one of the most practical alternatives for network planners in order to achieve national and international Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. Renewable Distributed Generation (DG) based Hybrid Energy System (HES) is a sustainable solution for serving electricity demand with reduced GHG emissions. A multi-objective optimisation technique for minimising cost, GHG emissions and generation uncertainty has been proposed in this paper to design HES for sustainable power generation and distribution system planning while considering economic and environmental issues and uncertainty in power availability of renewable resources. Life cycle assessment has been carried out to estimate the global warming potential of the embodied GHG emissions from the electricity generation technologies. The uncertainty in the availability of renewable resources is modelled using the method of moments. A design procedure for building sustainable HES has been presented and the sensitivity analysis is conducted for determining the optimal solution set.",battery
"With the development of computer software and hardware in the past few years, it has been possible to produce effective training virtual environments on everyday personal computers with little expert training required for users or designers. However, the development of the equipment that enables this has brought little coinciding research on what features to include when designing these environments. Despite these increased advances in PC capabilities for desktop virtual environments (VEs), there are still limitations on the number of objects that can be programmed to be interactive, usually due to restrictions on programming time and cost. As a result, it is often left to the programmer to decide which of the objects included to increase the realism of the environment will be interactive and which aesthetic. The work presented in this paper is an experiment that aims to establish a guide for environment designers to aid effective environment interaction development by identifying key elements in a VE design.",non-battery
"Polyethylene oxide (PEO) based-solid polymer electrolytes were prepared with low weight polymers bearing carboxylic acid groups added onto the polymer backbone, and the variation of the conductivity and performance of the resulting Li ion battery system was examined. The composite solid polymer electrolytes (CSPEs) were composed of PEO, LiClO4, PAA (polyacrylic acid), PMAA (polymethacrylic acid), and Al2O3. The addition of additives to the PEO matrix enhanced the ionic conductivities of the electrolyte. The composite electrolyte composed of PEO:LiClO4:PAA/PMAA/Li0.3 exhibited a low polarization resistance of 881.5 ohms in its impedance spectra, while the PEO:LiClO4 film showed a high value of 4,592 ohms. The highest ionic conductivity of 9.87 × 10−4 S cm−1 was attained for the electrolyte composed of PEO:LiClO4:PAA/PMAA/Li0.3 at 20 °C. The cyclic voltammogram of Li+ recorded for the cell consisting of the PEO:LiClO4:PAA/PMAA/Li0.3:Al2O3 composite electrolyte exhibited the same diffusion process as that obtained with an ultra-microelectrode. Based on this electrolyte, the applicability of the solid polymer electrolytes to lithium batteries was examined for an Li/SPE/LiNi0.5Co0.5O2 cell.",battery
"Since the electric grid does not store electrical energy, the demand for electric power must be matched by the production almost instantaneously. The supply-demand balance imposes a severe constraint on the penetration of renewable energy sources – especially wind and solar – in the power production markets of all nations, because solar irradiance and wind energy are not available at all hours of the day and exhibit daily and seasonal variabilities. Using the hourly data of the electric power demand in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, we calculate the implications of this constraint on the substitution of fossil fuel power plants with renewable energy sources. When the market penetration of renewables increases and the utilization of solar and wind energy sources expands to approximately 25%–30% of the annual electricity production, significant energy storage capacity is needed. Simulations of the entire electric grid are performed to determine the power ratings of the renewable sources and the necessary storage capacity to substitute part or all of the fossil fuel power capacity in Texas with renewable energy sources.",battery
"Modification of exfoliated graphite (EG) electrode with generation 2 poly(propylene imine) dendrimer by electrodeposition resulted in an electrochemical sensor which was used to detect lead ions in water to a limit of 1 ppb and a linear response between 2.5 and 40 ppb using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SW-ASV). Pb(II) was also removed from spiked water sample using a 40-mm diameter unmodified EG electrode with an applied potential of −1,000 mV for 180 min. A removal efficiency of 99% was calculated from a 150 mL sample. The results obtained in both cases using SW-ASV, correlated with atomic absorption spectroscopy.",battery
"Endocrine therapy in the setting of breast cancer has undoubtedly advanced clinical outcomes in this disease, but treatment with endocrine therapy is accompanied by a wide spectrum of side effects. It is of prime importance to understand and characterize these toxicities to facilitate clinical decision-making. Somewhat surprisingly, there is a relative paucity of data pertaining to cognitive changes associated with endocrine therapy. In this article we review cognitive associated with two classes of endocrine therapy: (1) selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs; tamoxifen and raloxifene) and (2) aromatase inhibitors (AIs; anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane). Companion studies to the Multiple Outcome of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE), the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) and National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) P-1 trials provide relevant data to understand the effect of SERMs on cognition. In contrast, substudies of the Arimidex, Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination (ATAC), Tamoxifen and Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational (TEAM) and Breast International Group (BIG) 1-98 trials juxtapose cognitive effects of AIs against those of tamoxifen. These and other studies are examined herein to provide a comprehensive overview of the effect of endocrine therapy on cognition.",non-battery
"High-capacity lithium-storage materials in metal composite form are being extensively researched, which can replace the carbon-based lithium intercalation materials currently commercialized as the negative electrode of lithium rechargeable batteries. Herein, Sn nanocrystals and Sn nanocrystal/carbon composites with various particle sizes are prepared by the chemical reduction method where surfactant can control the resultant particle size because the particle size of metal-based materials is the main underlying factor for their electrochemical enhancement. The chemical reduction approach using surfactants is very effective for varying the particle size of Sn nanocrystals. Sn nanocrystals with the optimized particle size in terms of anodic properties are made into a composite with carbon acting as an agglomeration preventer as well as an electronic conductor. The controlled size of the Sn nanocrystal in the carbon is associated with their drastically improved electrochemical performance retaining above 65% of the initial capacity after 30 cycles.",battery
"Electrochemical monitoring of electrical and structural changes of both PPy and PPy–PEG films electrochemical deposited, in order to highlight if the structural stability offered by PEG has an influence on electrical properties and stability in aqueous solution over immersion time was investigated. Electrochemical analysis suggests that PPy–PEG film inserts cations easier than PPy film for a short immersion time probably due to ability of PEG to form complexes with metal cations. The FTIR spectra showed that the PEG incorporation decreases the rate of PPy overoxidation probably by restraining the electron release and by rendering O2 inaccessible to PPy. Mott–Schottky analysis based on capacitance measurement reveal p-type conductance for both films. The in situ AFM analysis sustains electrochemical behaviour and has permitted elaboration of a model of PPy and PPy–PEG films behaviour during immersion in testing solution.",battery
"The research of the operation of low-power photovoltaic generation plants used for self-contained electric power supply in Siberian climatic conditions is performed in this paper. It provides an analysis of the operation of individual units of an automated control system, and gives recommendations for the selection of hardware components. The article describes the operational principles, developed based on functional modules of the programmable logic controller, ensuring maximum possible use of solar energy in this continuous power supply system. The results of plant operation have been obtained, in the form of a power counter log, as well as data on the volume of solar energy produced in both overcast and in sunny weather, throughout the observation period. The article provides visual illustration of generated energy, which could be used to assess the efficiency and economic viability of the low-power photovoltaic plant. Authors would like to point out that examples of the proposed methodology for the construction of self-contained power supply systems can be found in existing industrial facilities, on which further scientific research can be based.",non-battery
"This article looks at the phenomenon of ‘communicative” language testing as it emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a reaction against tests constructed of multiple choice items and the perceived over-emphasis of reliability. Lado in particular became a target for communicative testers. It is argued that many of the concerns of the communicative movement had already been addressed outside the United Kingdom, and that Lado was done an injustice. Nevertheless, the jargon of the communicative testing movement, however imprecise it may have been, has impacted upon the ways in which language testers approach problems today. The legacy of the communicative movement is traced from its first formulation, through present conundrums, to tomorrow's research questions.",non-battery
Renewable energy technologies do not always employ sustainable resources. The scarcity of cobalt supply must be addressed in transportation electrification.,battery
"Substituted LiR x Mn2− x O4 (R=La3+, Ce3+ , Pr3+ and x =0.00−0.20) nanoparticles are prepared by the sol–gel method and the consequent changes in their lattice structure, dielectric and electrical parameters are determined by XRD, ED-XRF, SEM, LCR meter bridge and dc electrical resistivity measurements. Diffraction data show that the samples are single-phase spinel materials with crystallites sizes between 21 and 38nm. The lattice parameter, cell volume and X-ray density are found to be affected by doping the Li-manganate with the rare-earth elements. The ED-XRF analysis confirms the stoichiometric composition of the synthesized samples and SEM reveals their morphology. Calculated values of the dielectric constant (έ) and the dielectric loss (tan δ) decrease with the frequency of the applied field. This is attributed to Maxwell–Wagner polarization. Replacement of manganese by the rare-earth elements results in an improvement in the structural stability of the material, which is considered to be useful for enhancement of the cycleability of the compounds when used in lithium rechargeable batteries, and increases significantly the values of έ and tan δ (except for Ce). Lithium manganate nanomaterials with high έ and low tan δ may be attractive for application in memory storage devices.",battery
"The increasing use of rare earth elements (REEs) in diverse technological applications has augmented the demand and exploitation of these worldwide, leading to a higher input of REEs + Yttrium (Y) in the marine environment. The present study investigated the ecotoxicity of Lanthanum (La) and Y to Mytilus galloprovincialis developing embryos and juveniles. This was achieved by quantifying the embryogenesis success after 48 h, and survival of juveniles after 96 h of exposure to different concentrations of La and Y. Results show that both La and Y are more toxic to developing embryos and larvae than to juveniles of M. galloprovincialis. Predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) values were also derived for the embryo development as a preliminary approach to assess the environmental risk for these compounds to marine organisms. Results revealed that La is more toxic than Y. The high sensitivity of the early developmental stages to these compounds highlight the relevance of including these stages when evaluating the toxicity of chemicals where little information is available. Although older life stages may be more tolerant to toxicants, the population survival will be compromised if new recruits are not viable, with implications to the whole ecosystem health and functioning of the impacted area. Information on the ecotoxicity of chemicals with expanded technological use and that may be released during deep-sea mining activities is urgent in order to help estimate environmental impacts.",non-battery
"Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into high-value products is attractive for lowering net carbon emissions. Lee et al. present the valorization of chemisorbed CO2 to CO in an aqueous monoethanolamine electrolyte via tailoring of the electrochemical double layer, with 72% Faradaic efficiency at 50 mA cm–2.
",battery
"Layered LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (LNCM) cathode has received extensive attention because of its high specific capacity at high voltage (4.5 V). While the unsatisfactory electrochemical performance at high voltage hinders its practical application in next generation lithium ion batteries. Herein we demonstrate that simply application of lithium difluorophosphate (LiPO2F2) electrolyte additive significantly improves the electrochemical performance of high voltage LNCM/Li cell, at room and low temperature (−10 °C). Capacity retention of high voltage LNCM/Li cell with 3 wt. % LiPO2F2 additive achieves 89% after 250 cycles at room temperature and 94% after 200 cycles at low temperature in comparison with that of 61% and 10% without additive. Even discharging at 10 C, the LNCM/Li cell with 3% LiPO2F2 still delivers an initial capacity of 144 mAh g−1 and maintains at 69 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at room temperature. While the one without additive drops to 0 mAh g−1 after about 350 cycles. The improved cyclic stability and rate capability of high voltage LNCM is mainly ascribed to the steady low impedance cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) film created by 3% LiPO2F2 additive, which greatly hinders the subsequent electrolyte oxidation, electrode structural destruction and increase of electrode polarization during cycling.",battery
"A core–shell structure high voltage spinel cathode material with an average composition of LiMg0.056Ni0.444Mn1.5O4 is firstly designed and synthesized via co-precipitation process. The spherical LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 core material is encapsulated by a novel thin concentration-gradient shell (CGS) which decreases Ni concentration and increases Mg concentration toward the particle surface, and the composition of the outmost layer of the spherical LiMg0.056Ni0.444Mn1.5O4 is LiMg0.5Mn1.5O4. The electrochemical properties of the LiMg0.056Ni0.444Mn1.5O4 are carefully investigated and compared with the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 by electrochemical measurements. It has been found that the electrochemical properties of the LiMg0.056Ni0.444Mn1.5O4 sample are far superior to those of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 sample. The LiMg0.056Ni0.444Mn1.5O4 sample exhibits excellent cycling performance. At 25 °C, it delivers a discharge capacity of 127 mAh g−1 between 3.0 and 4.9 V vs. Li/Li+ with a retention of 98.9% over 200 cycles at a rate of 1C (147 mA g−1). At 55 °C, it delivers a discharge capacity of 128 mAh g−1 with a retention of 99% after 100 cycles in the same charge–discharge condition. Besides, the LiMg0.056Ni0.444Mn1.5O4 shows a good rate capability, it can still deliver a high discharge capacity of 116 mAh g−1 even at a rate of 10C. Therefore, the core–shell structure high voltage spinel cathode material with CGS will be a promising cathode material for advanced lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The catalytic activity of spinel-type MnCo2O4 is often limited by the poor electronic conductivity, limited specific surface area and inferior stability in oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. In this study, carbon-coated MnCo2O4 nanowire (MnCo2O4@C) is prepared by a self-template method from MnCo2-NTA nanowire precursor. MnCo2O4@C shows excellent electrocatalytic performance and improved circulation stability, with an onset potential of 0.92 V and current retention rate of 99% within 10000 s at 0.80 V vs. RHE, better than the commercial Pt/C (E onset = 0.94 V, current retention rate 94%). Further study shows that the oxygen reduction mechanism of MnCo2O4@C follows quasi-four-electron transfer process. The carbon provides conductive network and promotes the fast transfer of electrons in between the carbon network and MnCo2O4 nanoparticles. Meanwhile, under the limitation of rigid carbon shell, the growth of MnCo2O4 nanoparticle is impeded. These make MnCo2O4@C excellent electrochemical properties, and endow rechargeable Zn-air battery with high open-circuit voltage of 1.43 V and long-term cycling performance over 70 h with high efficiency and stability. MnCo2O4@C holds great promise as highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst in the practical application of rechargeable metal-air batteries and other fuel cells.",battery
"Seawater contains significantly larger quantities of lithium than is found on land, thereby providing an almost unlimited resource of lithium for meeting the rapid growth in demand for lithium batteries. However, lithium extraction from seawater is exceptionally challenging because of its low concentration (∼0.1–0.2 ppm) and an abundance of interfering ions. Herein, we creatively employed a solid-state electrolyte membrane, and design a continuous electrically-driven membrane process, which successfully enriches lithium from seawater samples of the Red Sea by 43000 times (i.e., from 0.21 to 9013.43 ppm) with a nominal Li/Mg selectivity >45 million. Lithium phosphate with a purity of 99.94% was precipitated directly from the enriched solution, thereby meeting the purity requirements for application in the lithium battery industry. Furthermore, a preliminary economic analysis shows that the process can be made profitable when coupled with the Chlor-alkali industry.
",battery
"The effects of Cr coating are studied with respect to improving the electrochemical characteristics of carbon-coated silicon monoxide anodes in rechargeable Li cells. The Cr coating is applied by ion beam sputtering. Analyses of the coating are carried out by EDX, SEM, TEM, and EPMA. A coin cell (CR2032) with a carbon-coated SiO x anode coated with Cr and a lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode is assembled in an argon-filled glove box. The charged capacity of the Cr-coated SiO x –C/LCO cell is 1127 mAh g−1 in the 1st cycle at 0.1 C, while that of the uncoated SiO x –C/LCO cell is 956 mAh g−1. In addition, the Cr-coated SiO x –C/LCO cell has a discharged capacity of 733 mAh g−1, which is higher than that of the uncoated cell (635 mAh g−1). Furthermore, the discharge capacity retention ratio (100th:2nd) of the Cr-coated cell is 75% while that of the uncoated cell is 69%. The rate capability of the Cr-coated cell is superior to that of the uncoated cell. Cr has good electrical conductivity, enabling more Li ions to be stored in the Cr-coated cell than in the uncoated cell. Investigations into the improved electrochemical characteristics are carried out through the analyses of impedance, voltage profile, and cycle data.",battery
"Cognitive dysfunction including disrupted behavioral flexibility is central to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A cognitive measure that assesses relational memory, and the ability to flexibly assimilate and transfer learned information is transitive inference. Transitive inference is highly conserved across vertebrates and disrupted in cognitive disorders. Here, we examined how mutations in the synaptic cell-adhesion molecule neuroligin-3 (Nlgn3) that have been documented in ASD impact relational memory and behavioral flexibility. We first refined a rodent touchscreen assay to measure visual transitive inference, then assessed two mouse models of Nlgn3 dysfunction (Nlgn3−/y and Nlgn3R451C). Deep analysis of touchscreen behavioral data at a trial level established we could measure trajectories in flexible responding and changes in processing speed as cognitive load increased. We show that gene mutations in Nlgn3 do not disrupt relational memory, but significantly impact flexible responding. Our study presents the first analysis of reaction times in a rodent transitive inference test, highlighting response latencies from the touchscreen system are useful indicators of processing demands or decision-making processes. These findings expand our understanding of how dysfunction of key components of synaptic signaling complexes impact distinct cognitive processes disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders, and advance our approaches for dissecting rodent behavioral assays to provide greater insights into clinically relevant cognitive symptoms.",non-battery
"A systematic study has been performed for several chelato-borate complexes by combining electrochemical characterization and ab-initio calculations to reveal whether they are appropriate to be used as electrolyte components in Li-ion batteries. The chelato-borates used in this study are lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB), lithium salicylatooxalatoborate (LiSOB), lithium bis(salicylato)borate (LiBSB), lithium bis(3-methylsalicylato)borate, lithium bis(5-fluorosalicylato)borate, lithium bis(5-chlorosalicylato)borate, lithium bis(5-bromosalicylato)borate, and lithium bis(3,5-dichlorosalicylato)borate. A graphite electrode is chosen to study the cathodic stability, while LiMn2O4 is selected to estimate the anodic stability limits of these chelato-borates. Additionally, the oxidation potentials of these compounds are predicted by employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The CV studies of graphite electrodes in these electrolyte mixtures indicate that irreversible reduction of the oxalato and salicylato groups occurs at 1.6–1.8 and 0.9–1.3 V vs. Li/Li+, respectively. Besides, irreversible oxidation of the bis(salicylato)borate anions between 4.3 and 4.8 V vs. Li/Li+ is observed in the CV curves of LiMn2O4 electrodes, depending on the respective ligands around the central boron atom. The theoretical calculations are generally in line with the experimental observations. Furthermore, they help to explain the differences between the oxidation potentials of the anions, which are caused by the different groups that donate the electron and the respective substitution pattern.",battery
"The nickel foam-supported porous NiO–Ni nanocomposite synthesized by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique was investigated as anodes for lithium ion batteries. This anode was demonstrated to exhibit improved cycle performance as well as good rate capability. Ni particles in the composites provide a highly conductive medium for electron transfer during the conversion reaction of NiO with Li+ and facilitate a more complete decomposition of Li2O during charge with increased reversibility of conversion reaction. Moreover, the obtained porous structure is benefical to buffering the volume expansion/constriction during the cycling.",battery
"A solution phase transport theory considering solvent effects is developed for lithium ion cells. The solvent convection velocity is derived from a volume conservation argument, leading to a diffusive correction, a transference number gradient correction and a pore-wall flux correction to the material balance equation. The diffusive correction exactly cancels the solvent-related ( 1 − d ln c 0 / d ln c ) factor in the original diffusion term. The transference number gradient and pore-wall flux corrections lead to a larger effective value of the lithium ion transference number. Comparative discharge simulations are carried out for a graphite– LiMn 2 O 4 cell with 1M or 2M LiPF 6 solution. The convective transport theory demonstrates little cell voltage difference at low rates (1C and 3C) compared with the original approach that neglects convection. Nevertheless, at a 6C rate, a maximum of 51.32mV excess cell voltage is predicted by the convective theory for the 1M cell. For the 2M cell the convective theory predicts a slightly slower voltage drop at the beginning of discharge, but a faster drop at the end of the 6C discharge. At all rates the convective theory also gives a lower salt concentration profile within the negative electrode, but higher within the positive electrode. This implies that the concentration gradient is diminished by convection. Detailed analysis shows that the transference number gradient correction is always positive during discharge and is highly rate sensitive; the pore-wall flux correction is not only rate sensitive but also proportional to the salt concentration and is thus more prominent in the 2M cell.",battery
"The move from landfill-based to resource-based waste management systems requires a greater knowledge of the composition of municipal solid waste. This paper draws together the findings of municipal solid waste (MSW) compositional surveys undertaken in the United Kingdom. The results from recent surveys show a good agreement over the composition of household-collected waste, but less agreement over civic amenity site waste composition. There is insufficient data to allow comparisons of the commercial waste element of municipal waste or of the other components, and further work is necessary to produce more reliable estimates of the composition of these streams. The use of questionnaire surveys and analysis of the results suggests that the size and age profile of a household influence the generation of household-collected waste. Some research suggests that the waste container provided by the local authority and the socio-economic classification of a household also influence household-collected waste generation, but other studies failed to find this link. Further research is required to investigate this by surveying all of the waste disposal routes available to specific households.",non-battery
"SnO x -embedded carbon nanofibers (SnO x /CNF) were synthesized by electrospinning a composite solution of Sn(II) acetate, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), followed by stabilization and carbonization. The SnO x for SnO x /CNF-700 was distributed about below 2nm in diameter, whereas that for SnO x /CNF-800 represented around below 4nm. The fine structure of SnO x for SnO x /CNF was confirmed by analysis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The diameter of the fibers decreased with increasing temperature, whereas both SnO x particles and electrical conductivity of SnO x /CNF increased. Both SnO x /CNF-700 and SnO x /CNF-800 were prepared as disordered structures, whereas SnO x /CNF-900 was synthesized as an SnO2-like structure. The disordered transformation inducing excellent electrochemical performance originated form CNF prepared by electrospinning and proper heat treatment. Pure SnO2 displayed low electrochemical performance, indicating a typical large volume change and high mechanical stress. On the contrary, SnO x /CNF-800 represented outstanding specific discharge capacity and exceptional cycle retention at the same time, representing a coulomb efficiency of 71% even in the initial cycle. The specific discharge capacity for SnO x /CNF-800 slightly decreased by the 20th cycle, and then gradually increased by the 100th cycle. The CNF plays an important role as a buffering agent to prevent SnO x particles from agglomerating. The CNF having 1D pathway with high electrical conductivity leads to the promotion of charge transfer as well as mass transfer.",battery
"Level of evidence: Level V, therapeutic study.
",non-battery
"The increased pro-inflammatory cytokine production was previously observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We sought to explore whether acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) therapy ameliorates clinical symptoms in AD through down-regulation of inflammation. Expression and release of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), a positive regulator of Th2 differentiation, and interleukin (IL)-4, an anti-inflammatory cytokine from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in AD patients, were investigated. PBMC were purified from AD patients at time of enrolment (T0) and after 1month of treatment with AChEI (T1) and from healthy controls (HC). Supernatants were analyzed for cytokine levels by ELISA methods. mRNA expression were determined by RT–PCR. Expression and production of MCP-1 and IL-4 were significantly increased in AD subjects under therapy with the AChEI Donepezil, compared to the same AD patients at time of enrolment (P <0.001). Our data suggest another possible explanation for the ability of Donepezil [diethyl(3,5-di-ter-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl)phosphonate] to delay the progression of AD; in fact, Donepezil may modulate MCP-1 and IL-4 production, which may reflect a general shift towards type Th0/Th2 cytokines which could be protective in AD disease. The different amounts of MCP-1 and IL-4 observed might reflect the different states of activation and/or responsiveness of PBMC, that in AD patients could be kept in an activated state by pro-inflammatory cytokines.",non-battery
"The purpose of this study is to have epistemological and systematic in-depth review about ‘conjoint analysis’, a multivariate data analysis technique. Moreover, an attempt is made to provide the past and current status of research done along with its contribution, relevance and future research agenda in the field of research. To study manifold aspects about conjoint analysis, systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-synthesis techniques were used in combination for qualitative assessment that ensured a rigorous review. In total, 119 peer-reviewed articles were included in the review. The current study depicted the development and expansion of conjoint analysis in marketing research and beyond it in other associate fields. Through the combined application of systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-synthesis, the various commercial and industrial applications of this technique were explored. Moreover, the process of implementation of conjoint analysis with the help of an example and limitations of previous and current studies were discussed. Based on our robust search through relevant papers of reputed databases and best of our knowledge, this is the first literature review paper in the last decade providing the background, evolution, application, limitation and future research avenues of ‘conjoint analysis’ technique, which no other study has done so far.
",non-battery
"Measuring the well-being of citizens has become established practice in many advanced democracies. In the move to go beyond GDP, indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) have come to the fore, and are increasingly seen as providing a ‘yardstick’ to guide public policy. A strong version of this position is that SWB can (and should) provide the sole basis on which to design and evaluate public policy. This article argues that the increasing dominance of the subjective definition of well-being is problematic, and amounts to a hegemony of happiness. The article examines the fundamental assumptions behind different accounts of well-being, and develops a critique of the ‘strong position’ that sees SWB as the ultimate guide for public policy. First, the connections between the modern debate and classical schools of thought are discussed, and the strong Benthamite SWB approach is contrasted with the alternative Aristotelian capabilities approach. Next, the article examines current practice, using the UK’s Measuring National Well-being Programme as a case study. Finally, the article concludes that SWB has questionable legitimacy as a summary indicator of objective quality of life, and does not, on its own, provide a reliable metric for public policy. The capabilities approach, which takes a pluralist perspective on well-being and prioritises freedom and opportunity, offers a richer and more useful foundation for policy.",non-battery
"Waterpipe smoking has been growing in popularity in the United States and worldwide. Most tobacco control regulations remain limited to cigarettes. Few studies have investigated waterpipe tobacco smoke exposures in a real world setting. We measured carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM)2.5, and airborne nicotine concentrations in seven waterpipe cafes in the greater Baltimore area. Area air samples were collected between two and five hours, with an average sampling duration of three hours. Waterpipe smoking behaviors were observed at each venue. Indoor air samplers for CO, PM2.5, and airborne nicotine were placed in the main seating area 1–2 m above the floor. Indoor airborne concentrations of PM2.5 and CO were markedly elevated in waterpipe cafes and exceeded concentrations that were observed in cigarette smoking bars. Air nicotine concentrations, although not as high as in venues that allow cigarette smoking, were markedly higher than in smoke-free bars and restaurants. Concentrations of PM approached occupational exposure limits and CO exceeded occupational exposure guidelines suggesting that worker protection measures need to be considered. This study adds to the literature indicating that both employees and patrons of waterpipe venues are at increased risk from complex exposures to secondhand waterpipe smoke.",non-battery
"LiFe1−x Co x PO4 (0≤ x ≤1.0) solid solutions were prepared by solid-state reactions. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to analyze the variation of their structures and the chemical environments around the P and O atoms of the solid solution with various Co contents. The electrochemical performance of LiFe1−x Co x PO4 was also comparatively studied with cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge–discharge.",battery
"Effects of dopant and coating carbon nanotube on anodic performance of Si were studied for metallic anode Li ion rechargeable battery with large capacity. Although the large Li intercalation capacity higher than 1500mAhg−1 is exhibited on pure Si, it decreased drastically with increasing cycle number. Increasing the electrical conductivity by doping Cr or B is effective for increasing the initial capacity and the cycle stability of Si for Li intercalation. Coating semiconductive Si with the carbon nanotube by decomposition of hydrocarbon is effective for increasing the cycle stability, though the initial Li intercalation capacity slightly decreased. Conducting binder is also important for increasing the cycle stability and it was found that Li intercalation capacity higher than 1500mAhg−1 can be sustained by using poly vinyliden fruolide. Consequently, reversible Li intercalation capacity of 1500mAhg−1 was successfully sustained after 10th cycles of charge and discharge by doping Cr and coating with carbon nanotube.",battery
"Transition metal oxide-based aqueous supercapacitors rarely possess the ability of high potential windows (1.8–2.4 V), which tremendously restricts the possibility of constructing supercapacitors devices with superior energy density. Therefore, a novel strategy is conceived to synthesize a hierarchical Co3O4/MnO2 composite material which broadens the window voltage of the supercapacitors greatly. The MnO2 nanosheets are covered on the surface of Co-MOF-drived Co3O4 nanocages. The morphology and coverage density of MnO2 can be adjusted by the amount of KMnO4. The optimized electrode Co3O4/MnO2-3 exhibits excellent specific capacitance (292 F g−1 at 4 A g−1) and remarkable cycling stability (87.4% retention after 5000 cycles) in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte when the working voltage extends to 1.4 V (vs Ag/AgCl). Furthermore, Asymmetric aqueous supercapacitors assembled with Co3O4/MnO2 as the cathode and activated carbon as the anode displays maximal window voltage of 2.4 V with negligible oxygen evolution reaction, high energy density (46.2 W h kg−1) and excellent cycling stability (84.5% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles). The LED is successfully lit by only one device without any other energy assistance.",battery
"The efficient use of local renewable energy sources is a key factor to reach the EU's targets on climate change and renewable energy. In this review, the available technologies to convert solar energy into electrical and thermal energy are investigated. Photovoltaic panels, thermal collectors, heat pumps, solar cooling and energy storage systems are analyzed with a particular attention to their market availability for small-scale applications. Different ways to provide heating, cooling and sanitary hot water from solar source are analyzed and compared from an efficiency, economic and environmental perspective.",battery
"Although transition metal oxides anodes have attracted lots of attention, there are still many problems to be resolved. Complicated fabrication process, high cost and poor electrochemical performances are the most important ones, together hindering transition metal oxides anodes for practical use. Herein, we provide a new approach to fabricate a binder-free and conductive-additive-free TiO2/WO3-W integrative anode material through the nanosecond laser ablation and dip-coating technology, which simplifies the entire anode preparation process with no need for a conventional tape-casting procedure. Using this method, great time cost, machine cost and labor cost related to mixing and tape-casting process can be saved on the basis of good electrochemical performances. The prepared TiO2/WO3-W integrative anode realizes a first Coulombic efficiency of 75.6% and attains to a stable capacity within the first five cycles. It can still maintain a capacity of 600 mAh g−1 in the range of 0.01–3 V vs. Li+/Li at a current rate of 0.2 C after 500 cycles. This work offers a new way to achieve a fast fabrication of the integrative anode for lithium ion battery, which is universal for other transition metals (such as Fe, Cu, Ni, Co, Mo, W etc.).",battery
"Methyl butyrate (MB) has been investigated as a co-solvent for lithium-ion battery electrolytes to improve the performance at low temperature (−10 to −30 °C). The cycling performance of graphite/LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cells with 1.2 M lithium tetrafluorooxalatophosphate (LiFOP) in 2:2:6 EC/EMC/MB was compared to 1.2 M LiPF6 in both 3:7 EC/EMC and 2:2:6 EC/EMC/MB. The LiFOP/MB electrolyte has a good operational temperature window and comparable cycling performance to the LiPF6 electrolyte at both room temperature and low temperature (−10 °C). However, after accelerated aging the LiFOP/MB electrolyte has worse performance at very low temperature (−30 °C) compared to LiPF6 electrolytes. Ex-situ surface analysis was conducted by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy to provide insight into the performance differences.
",battery
"This study investigates how allomaternal care (AMC) impacts human development outside of energetics by evaluating relations between important qualitative and quantitative aspects of AMC and developmental outcomes in a Western population. This study seeks to determine whether there are measurable differences in cognitive and language outcomes as predicted by differences in exposure to AMC via formal (e.g., childcare facilities) and informal (e.g., family and friends) networks. Data were collected from 102 mothers and their typically developing infants aged 13–18 months. AMC predictor data were collected using questionnaires, structured daily diaries, and longitudinal interviews. Developmental outcomes were assessed using the Cognitive, Receptive Language, and Expressive Language subtests of the Bayley III Screening Test. Additional demographic covariates were also evaluated. Akaike Information Criterion (AIC)-informed model selection was used to identify the best-fitting model for each outcome across three working linear regression models. Although AMC variables had no significant effects on Receptive and Expressive Language subtest scores, highly involved familial AMC had a significant medium effect on Cognitive subtest score (β = 0.23, p < 0.01, semi-partial r = 0.28). Formal childcare had no effect on any outcome. This study provides preliminary evidence that there is a measurable connection between AMC and cognitive development in some populations and provides a methodological base from which to assess these connections cross-culturally through future studies. As these effects are attributable to AMC interactions with networks of mostly related individuals, these findings present an area for further investigation regarding the kin selection hypothesis for AMC.",non-battery
"In present article, temperature dependent surface morphological modification and its subsequent influence on electrochemical performance of hexagonal WO3 (h-WO3) thin films has been investigated. The nanostructured h-WO3 films are synthesized on carbon cloth substrate using simple hydrothermal method. It is observed that h-WO3 thin films prepared at temperature of 413, 433 and 453K display nanogranule-like, nanoplate-like and nanorod-like suface morphology. The X-ray diffraction study discloses the prominent orientation along (001) and (200) planes which reveals the preferential growth direction of h-WO3 along c and a-axis, respectively. The h-WO3 film prepared at 453K shows good surface area, pore volume and uniform pore size distribution. The electrochemical measurements exhibit high specific capacitance of 694Fg−1, energy density of 25 Wh Kg−1 and long term cycling performance (87 % capacitance retention after 2,000 cycles) for h-WO3 thin film. The results indicate that h-WO3 nanorods could be a promising electrode material for high performance energy storage devices.",battery
"Layered materials Na0.67+3xNi0.33LixTi0.67-xO2 with Li-substitution as x = 0, 0.05 and 0.11 have been synthesized and investigated as “bi-functional” electrodes for symmetric sodium ion cells. The samples with lithium substitution up to 0.11 are confirmed to be a single phase without impurities and introducing lithium into the transition metal layer increases the interlayer space of the layered materials. It is found that O3-type NaNi0·33Li0·11Ti0·56O2 exhibits two electrochemical working windows, 0.4–0.8 V and 3.1–3.75 V, for sodium ion storage. The as-proposed material thus can be employed as both positive and negative electrodes. As positive electrode, it shows a high working voltage of ca. 3.75 V versus Na+/Na and an initial capacity of 91 mAh g−1 with 19% capacity loss after 100 cycles. When utilized as negative electrode, it delivers a low average voltage of ca. 0.65 V versus Na+/Na, along with a reversible capacity of 125 mAh g−1 and 76% capacity retention after 200 cycles. A symmetric full cell based on the O3-type NaNi0·33Li0·11Ti0·56O2 “bi-functional” electrode has been developed. The cell exhibits a high voltage of 3.1 V and an energy density of 100 W h kg−1 based on the total mass of active electrode materials.",battery
"The dependence on morphology of the supercapacitive characteristics of manganese dioxide nanospheres (NSs) and nanorods (NRs) was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a series of electrochemical techniques. Because the nanosized pores in MnO2 NSs resulted in high surface area, MnO2 electrodes made of NSs had higher specific capacitance (SC) than those made of NRs at current densities less than 2.0 A g−1. However, at current densities over 2.0 A g−1, the power density of MnO2 electrodes composed of NRs was better than that of NSs. The high surface area and nanosized pores in MnO2 NSs increase the number of redox active sites, which leads to high specific capacitance. On the other hand, the small pore size in MnO2 NSs restricts the rates of charge and discharge, thus limiting their power density.",battery
"Since aluminium is one of the most widely available elements in Earth’s crust, developing rechargeable aluminium batteries offers an ideal opportunity to deliver cells with high energy-to-price ratios. Nevertheless, finding appropriate host electrodes for insertion of aluminium (complex) ions remains a fundamental challenge. Here, we demonstrate a strategy for designing active materials for rechargeable aluminium batteries. This strategy entails the use of redox-active triangular phenanthrenequinone-based macrocycles, which form layered superstructures resulting in the reversible insertion and extraction of a cationic aluminium complex. This architecture exhibits an outstanding electrochemical performance with a reversible capacity of 110 mA h g–1 along with a superior cyclability of up to 5,000 cycles. Furthermore, electrodes composed of these macrocycles blended with graphite flakes result in higher specific capacity, electronic conductivity and areal loading. These findings constitute a major advance in the design of rechargeable aluminium batteries and represent a good starting point for addressing affordable large-scale energy storage.",battery
"In this research, an autonomous power module for the purification of brackish water (TDS=5482mg/L) with high concentration of arsenic (2.04mg/L) was successfully designed, constructed and tested. The energy supply for the module is provided by solar power and includes an electrical energy storage system composed of lithium ion batteries. The purification process combines ion exchange and adsorption technologies (column filtration system) with an electrodialysis (ED) system. Different configurations or process sequences were studied to determine the best operating conditions of the system. The salt removal efficiency and specific electricity consumption (SEC) were determined at each stage. It was found that the process that combines all technologies is more efficient than just using ED for the removal of arsenic and salts. The ion exchange step removes the divalent cations, whereas most of the arsenic is adsorbed in the adsorption column system increasing the removal efficiency in the electrodialysis stage. This combined process reduces the time of desalination and the consumption of electricity during the ED. The lowest specific electricity consumption was 2.16kWh/m3 for the ED and 5.46kWh/m3 for the global system. Salt removal exceeded 95% and in the majority of tests, the arsenic removal was more than 99.9%. The power module with the water purification system has a versatile design that allows working with different salts concentration either for the treatment of water from river or underground, effectively removing arsenic. Our proposed solution is an alternative to the conventional technologies for arsenic removal and the results of this study should be useful for the design of other large-scale water desalination systems.",battery
"A NiO–graphene hybrid is synthesized by a liquid phase deposition method. As an anode material for lithium ion batteries, the cyclic stability and rate capability of NiO is significantly improved after the incorporation of graphene sheets. The NiO–graphene hybrid electrode delivers a capacity of 646.1mAhg−1 after 35cycles at a current density of 100mAg−1, corresponding to 86.3% capacity retention. When the current density is increased to 400 and 800mAg−1, it still maintains a capacity of 509 and 368.5mAhg−1, respectively. The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of NiO electrodes with and without graphene are investigated by galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. The relationship between the rate and voltage hysteresis is also discussed. The polarization of both the electrodes in all cases obeys ohmic rule in the present rate range. The incorporation of graphene sheets can partly reduce the voltage polarization thereby the voltage hysteresis with increasing the current density. However, the extrapolation to zero current ends up in an approximate residual voltage for both the NiO electrodes.",battery
"A simple methodology is developed for the in-situ preparation of flexible, three-dimensional ordered macroporous (3DOM) TiO2 electrodes with greatly enhanced mass transfer. The 3DOM electrode is fabricated using a polystyrene colloidal crystal templated carbon cloth, and provides significant improvements over conventional nanoparticle electrodes without the use of binder or other additive. When evaluated as an anode in a Li-ion battery, the 3DOM electrode provides outstanding high rate performance. The electrode provides a specific capacity of 174mAhg−1 at a current density of 2Ag−1, which is 2.6 times greater than that achieved with a nanoparticle electrode (68mAhg−1). The 3DOM electrode also achieves excellent cycling stability, with a capacity retention of 94.8% (181mAhg−1) over 1000 cycles at 10C (1.7Ag−1) compared to 93.7% (67mAhg−1) for the nanoparticle electrode. To the best of our knowledge, the performance of our 3DOM electrode is among the highest of binder-free, flexible TiO2 electrodes. We believe that this methodology is highly useful and is easily transferable to other materials and applications",battery
"Smart wearables for health monitoring, prevention, and patient support play a significant role in today’s treatment and home rehabilitation. The effectiveness of rehabilitation in acute cruciate ligament (CL) rupture is dependent upon patient adherence to personalised Home Exercise Programmes (HEPs) and development of self-efficacy. This paper presents the research, preliminary design stages and a formative evaluation of a digital wearable system for monitoring, tracking, guiding and motivating users during HEP. The aim of the prototype is to support patients’ rehabilitation program by reducing the risk of re-injury during the process and motivate them to adhere to their HEPs by monitoring, providing constructive feedback, encouraging understanding and thus promoting self-efficacy. The digital infrastructure is composed of three main parts, a physical product of two smart bracelets for sensing data from the patient’s knee, a smartphone application for the user to interact with and a web-based service for collecting, storing, analysing, and sharing data. The evaluation of the wearable system was based on a randomised group of 15 subject participants.",non-battery
"In batteries associated with waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), battery systems can be found with a higher content of valuable and critical raw materials like cobalt and rare earth elements (REE) relative to the general mix of portable batteries. Based on a material flow model, this study estimates the flows of REE and cobalt associated to WEEE and the fate of these metals in the end-of-life systems. In 2011, approximately 40Mg REE and 325Mg cobalt were disposed of with WEEE-batteries. The end-of-life recycling rate for cobalt was 14%, for REE 0%. The volume of waste batteries can be expected to grow, but variation in the battery composition makes it difficult to forecast the future secondary raw material potential. Nevertheless, product specific treatment strategies ought to be implemented throughout the stages of the value chain.",non-battery
"Metallic phase (1T) MoS2 has attracted enormous attention as an appealing energy storage material for batteries, supercapacitors, and catalysts. However, a facile fabrication method is lacking and the intensive understanding of its sodium storage mechanism is absent. Herein, ultrathin 1T MoS2 nanosheets (1–2 layers) are directly fabricated via and are investigated as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries. Interestingly, the as-prepared 1T MoS2 nanosheets demonstrate a high reversible capacity of 450 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 and outstanding cycling stability with a high capacity retention ratio of 94% after 200 cycles at 1 A g−1, which is far superior to that of the 2H phase counterpart. Density function theory (DFT) calculations show that, in addition to significantly enhanced electronic conductivity, 1T MoS2 also possesses much more sodium philicity and faster Na atom mobility in comparison with the 2H phase. More importantly, as revealed by ex-situ Raman, in-situ X-ray diffraction, and DFT calculations, the 1T MoS2 is more capable of suppressing the dissolution of S species from the material structure compared with the 2H phase, leading to excellent cycling stability. The facile and easily scalable method as well as the deep mechanism analysis will provide a very important reference for the development of high-performance MoS2 anodes and other SIB electrode materials.",battery
"Little is known about how components of executive function (EF) jointly and uniquely predict different aspects of academic achievement and how this may vary across cultural contexts. In the current study, 119 Chinese and 139 American preschoolers were tested on a battery of EF tasks (i.e., inhibition, working memory, and attentional control) as well as academic achievement tasks (i.e., reading and mathematics). Results demonstrate that although working memory performance in both cultures was comparable, Chinese children outperformed American children on inhibition and attentional control tasks. In addition, the relation between components of EF and achievement was similar in the two countries. Working memory uniquely predicted academic achievement, with some intriguing patterns in regard to tasks requiring complex processing. Inhibition uniquely predicted counting but did not uniquely predict calculation. Attentional control predicted most aspects of achievement uniformly and was the most robust predictor for reading in both countries. In sum, the data provide insight into both cultural variability and consistency in the development of EF during early childhood.",non-battery
"The US healthcare industry is poised on the verge of a massive expansion of its information technology infrastructure. Healthcare information technology (IT) is permeating numerous areas of healthcare delivery and fundamentally changing the nature of many healthcare jobs. When a comparable expansion in HIT use occurred in the office environment in the 1980s, little attention was paid to ergonomic design principles for computer work and the consequence was an increase in work-related musculoskeletal disorders throughout the 1990s. There are already signs of similar problems among certain groups of healthcare professionals. Consequently, it is vital that when the implementation of HIT is undertaken attention is paid to computer ergonomics programs. This review presents evidence that current patterns of HIT use may pose increased risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. It summarizes some of the main ergonomic design principles enshrined in standards that mitigate such problems. It points to the future expansion of ergonomics programs beyond the traditional workplace and into the realms of telecommuting. Results from this review can be used to optimize the implementation of future HIT initiatives in ways that will benefit user performance while minimizing their injury risks. Relevance to industry This review describes the rapid proliferation of HIT applications and the importance of ergonomic considerations in mitigating injury risks and optimizing the implementation of HIT systems.",non-battery
"High top-/bottom-soil ratios, or high values of “enrichment factors” (EFs), are used as a proof for major anthropogenic impact on the geochemistry of the Earth surface. The idea behind calculating such ratios is that soils taken at depth or “average crust” can provide the geochemical background for the soils collected at the Earth surface. However, a soil profile is not a closed system, element exchange between the different layers, depending on and varying with the chemical properties of the different elements, and their turnover in the biosphere is the essence of soil formation. High top-/bottom-soil ratios, or EFs, may thus highlight the geochemical de-coupling of the lithosphere from the biosphere rather than contamination. This is demonstrated by using regional data from 258 soil O- and B-horizon samples collected from the Czech Republic (76,800km2). Results show no relationship between the ratios and the magnitude of anthropogenic emissions. The visible relationship between element concentrations and sources in a map of the spatial distribution of the elements is lost when maps for the top-/bottom-soil ratio or EFs are constructed. The value of the data lies in the spatial elemental distribution, and not in ratios calculated based on misconceptions.",non-battery
"We measure stresses that develop in sputter-deposited amorphous Ge thin films during electrochemical lithiation and delithiation. Amorphous LixGe electrodes are found to flow plastically at stresses that are significantly smaller than those of their amorphous LixSi counterparts. The stress measurements allow for quantification of the elastic modulus of amorphous LixGe as a function of lithium concentration, indicating a much-reduced stiffness compared to pure Ge. Additionally, we observe that thinner films of Ge survive a cycle of lithiation and delithiation, whereas thicker films fracture. By monitoring the critical conditions for crack formation, the fracture energy is calculated using an analysis from fracture mechanics. The fracture energies are determined to be Γ = 8.0 J m−2 for a-Li0.3Ge and Γ = 5.6 J m−2 for a-Li1.6Ge. These values are similar to the fracture energy of pure Ge and are typical for brittle fracture. Despite being brittle, the ability of amorphous LixGe to flow at relatively small stresses during lithiation results in an enhanced ability of Ge electrodes to endure electrochemical cycling without fracture.",battery
"Background It has been suggested that the effect of cognitive remediation (CR) on functioning is mediated by the improvement in neurocognitive domains; especially executive function. However, the correlations are generally moderate and this has prompted the search for other mediators including negative symptoms (NS). Aims To investigate whether the effect of CR on functioning could be mediated by executive function and/or NS. Method In a previous study, 62 outpatients with schizophrenia were randomized to 32 group sessions of REPYFLEC CR or leisure activities. Functioning (Life Skills Profile; LSP), NS (PANSS) and executive function (Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome; BADS) were measured at baseline and post-therapy. To assess how the effect of REPYFLEC CR is expressed in functioning at post-treatment, an autoregressive mediation model was employed. Results There was a significant effect of the REPYFLEC CR compared with the control group in improving BADS total score and PANSS NS. There was also a significant association between NS and functioning while executive function was not significantly related to functioning. Finally, there was a significant intervention effect on functioning mediated by NS but not by executive function. Conclusion It is apparent that improving executive function does not lead directly to improved functional outcome and that NS might be closely linked to functioning in the context of our study.",non-battery
"In this report, we show that oxide battery anodes can be grown on two-dimensional titanium carbide sheets (MXenes) by atomic layer deposition. Using this approach, we have fabricated a composite SnO2/MXene anode for Li-ion battery applications. The SnO2/MXene anode exploits the high Li-ion capacity offered by SnO2, while maintaining the structural and mechanical integrity of the conductive MXene platform. The atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions used to deposit SnO2 on MXene terminated with oxygen, fluorine, and hydroxyl-groups were found to be critical for preventing MXene degradation during ALD. We demonstrate that SnO2/MXene electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance as Li-ion battery anodes, where conductive MXene sheets act to buffer the volume changes associated with lithiation and delithiation of SnO2. The cyclic performance of the anodes is further improved by depositing a very thin passivation layer of HfO2, in the same ALD reactor, on the SnO2/MXene anode. This is shown by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to also improve the structural integrity of the SnO2/MXene anode during cycling. The HfO2 coated SnO2/MXene electrodes demonstrate a stable specific capacity of 843 mAh/g when used as Li-ion battery anodes.",battery
"Interaction of low pH cement solutions and Friedland Ton for 5 months showed that the hydraulic conductivity of the clay had not increased, which is most important for its use as backfill in a repository where concrete is a construction component. Chemical analyses of the cement solutions and XRD investigations showed that the only change of the mixed layer muscovite–montmorillonite clay minerals was some slight dissolution. A very small change in potassium content of the solutions indicates that illitization was insignificant. With the selected technique, 15 cm3 of cement water, corresponding to about 150 cm3 of fully reacted concrete, interacted with 15 g of solid clay. The conclusion is that complete reaction between a 1-cm layer of Friedland Ton and a 10-cm concrete wall made of low pH cement causes insignificant changes of the clay. Hence, concrete plugs can be used in repositories without significantly altering the isolating properties of such backfill in any time perspective.",non-battery
"LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2, a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, is synthesized by a novel solution-combustion procedure using acenaphthene as a fuel. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the product shows a hexagonal cell with a =2.8955Å and c =14.1484Å. Electron microscopy investigations indicate that the particles are of sub-micrometer size. The product delivers an initial discharge capacity of 161mAhg−1 between 2.5 and 4.6V at a 0.1C rate and could be subjected to more than 50 cycles. The electrochemical activity is corroborated with cyclic voltammetric (CV) and electrochemical impedance data. The preparative procedure presents advantages such as a low cation mixing, sub-micron particles and phase purity.",battery
"LiCoO2 is a widely used cathode material in Li-ion batteries for applications such as portable electronics. Here, the authors report multiple-element doping to enable stable cycling of LiCoO2 at high voltages that are not yet accessible with commercial Li-ion batteries.
",battery
"Engineerings of facet exposure, nonstoichiometric defects and morphology are the key parameters affecting the SnO2 performance. Development of synthetic procedures enabling to control all these variables in one pot towards enhanced physicochemical performance is a big challenge. Herein we report such a facile microwave hydrothermal preparation of 3D hierarchical architecture assembled from single-crystalline nonstoichiometric SnO2 (denote as SnO2-δ) nanosheets with self-doped Sn2+ and controllably exposed {101} facets. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is used as capping agent allowing to stabilize the ultrathin and ultra-large SnO2-δ nanosheets and avoid their dissolution in the highly alkaline environment due to the introduction of highly concentrated NaOH, which together with PVP contribute to the formation of nanosheet morphology with preferential growth plane (121) and dominant reactive {101} surfaces. The detailed structural characteristics are examined by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, XPS and Mössbauer spectroscopy, revealing that SnO2-δ contains 17 at.% of Sn2+ dopant. These nonstoichiometric SnO2-δ hierarchical architectures capped with carbonized PVP manifest superior lithium storage properties compared with the stoichiometric SnO2, owing to the novel open hierarchical structure composed of flexible and ultrathin nanosheets with large surface area (82m2/g) and carbon-coating, which avoid the aggregation and provide porous channels facilitating the diffusion of electrolyte and lithium ions.",battery
"Unique hollow Fe3O4/C spheres are prepared by a simple one-pot solvothermal method, with spinel structure and 750nm in diameter identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The hollow Fe3O4/C spheres exhibit excellent cycling and rate performance as anode material for lithium ion batteries, delivering reversible specific capacities of 984mAhg−1 even after 70 cycles at 0.2C, 620mAhg−1 at 2C, and 460mAhg−1 at 5C, respectively. Lithium insertion mechanisms are also proposed in terms of the ex situ XRD analysis of the electrodes after discharged and charged to certain voltages together with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and voltage profile.",battery
"The sodium–metal halide (ZEBRA) batteries have been considered as one of the most attractive energy storage systems for stationary and transportation applications. Even though the battery technologies have been widely investigated for a few decades, there is still a need to further improve the battery performance, cost and safety for practical applications. In the present work, a novel low-cost Na–ZnCl2 battery with a planar β′′-Al2O3 solid electrolyte (BASE) was proposed, and its electrochemical reactions and battery performance were investigated. Compared to Na–NiCl2 chemistry, the ZnCl2-based chemistry was more complicated, in which multiple electrochemical reactions including liquid-phase formation occurred at temperatures above 253 °C. During the first stage of charge, NaCl reacted with Zn to form Na in the anode and Na2ZnCl4 in the cathode. Once all the NaCl was consumed, further charge with the reaction between Na2ZnCl4 and Zn led to the formation of a NaCl–ZnCl2 liquid phase. During the end of charge, the liquid phase reacted with Zn to produce solid ZnCl2. To identify the effect of liquid-phase formation on electrochemical performance, button cells were assembled and tested at 280 and 240 °C. At 280 °C, with the liquid phase formed during cycling, cells revealed quite stable cyclability. On the other hand, more rapid increase in polarization was observed at 240 °C where only solid-state electrochemical reactions occurred. SEM analysis indicated that the stable performance at 280 °C was due to the suppressed growth of Zn and NaCl particles, which were generated from the liquid phase during the discharge of each cycle.
",battery
"Avian flight heights are currently a focus of interest in terms of assessing possible impacts of offshore and inland wind farms on birds. We therefore analyzed the flight-height distribution in a tracking study of foraging Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) on the southern North Sea coast during the incubation period. We distinguished between marine and terrestrial, nocturnal and diurnal, straight and tortuous, and outbound and inbound flights. Individuals were equipped with specifically programmed GPS data loggers to ensure accurate flight-height measurements. A total of 89 % of recorded fixes were below 20 m above sea level, indicating an overlap between foraging flights and the rotor area of most operating wind turbines. The gulls flew lower over the sea than over land, and lower at night than during the day. Straight commuting flights were higher than tortuous flights, when the gulls were supposed to be foraging. Outbound and inbound flights occurred at similar heights, and flight height was unaffected by wind. This study provides insights into the individual flight-height distribution in a common seabird species throughout a range of foraging behaviors. These results might prove important for developing a comprehensive understanding of bird movements within and around wind farms, and the potential impacts of such wind farms on foraging patterns.",non-battery
"Abstract Lithium iron phosphate is a promising cathode material for the use in hybrid electrical vehicles (HEV) meeting the demands of good stability during cycling and safe operation due to reduced risk of thermal runaway. However, slow solid state diffusion and poor electrical conductivity reduce power capability. For further improvement, the identification of the rate determining processes is necessary. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has proven to be a powerful tool for the characterization of electrochemical systems. In this contribution a deconvolution of the impedance with the distribution of relaxation times (DRTs) is used to obtain a better resolution in frequency domain. Therewith, the relevant loss processes are identified and an impedance model is developed. Using DRT and CNLS-fit allows the determination of time constants and polarization resistances of all relevant loss processes. Furthermore, their temperature behavior is studied and a physical interpretation is provided.",battery
"A 3D spray-dried micro/mesoporous LiFePO4/porous graphene oxide/C (denoted as SP-LFP/PGO/C) composite material is synthesized via a three-step process, i.e., hydrothermal process, carbon coating, and spray dry method in sequence. The 2D porous graphene oxide (denoted as PGO) material is first prepared through an activation method. The galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements of LFP composites without graphene oxide, with 1 wt% graphene oxide, and 1 wt% PGO are conducted in the potential range of 2–3.8 V at various rates (0.1–10C). It is revealed that the SP-LFP/PGO/C material shows the best performance among three samples. The discharge capacities of the SP-LFP/PGO/C composites are observed to 160, 152, 151, 149, 144, 139, 127 mAh g−1 at 0.1C, 0.2C, 0.5C, 1C, 3C, 5C and 10C rate. In particular, the discharge capacity of the SP-LFP/PGO/C composite with 1 wt% PGO is 107 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at a 10C rate, and its capacity retention is ca. 97%. It is due to the unique structural and geometrical feature of SP-LFP/PGO/C composite, there the diamond-like (rhombus) LFP nanoparticles are embedded in porous GO matrix which forming a porous three-dimensional network for fast electronic and ionic transport channels.",battery
"A “market map” comparison methodology for cigarette smoke chemistry yields is presented. Federal Trade Commission machine-method smoke chemistry was determined for a range of filtered cigarettes from the US marketplace. These data were used to develop illustrative market maps for each smoke constituent as analytical tools for comparing new or non-conventional cigarettes to a sampling of the broader range of marketplace cigarettes. Each market map contained best-estimate “market-means,” showing the relationship between commercial cigarette constituent and tar yields, and yield “market ranges” defined by prediction intervals. These market map means and ranges are the basis for comparing new cigarette smoke yields to those of conventional cigarettes. The potential utility of market maps for evaluating differences in smoke chemistry was demonstrated with 1R4F and 2R4F Kentucky reference cigarettes, an Accord™ cigarette, and an Advance™ cigarette. Conventional cigarette tobacco nicotine, nitrate, soluble ammonia, and tobacco specific nitrosamine levels are reported. Differences among conventional cigarette constituent yields at similar tar levels were explained in part by the chemical composition range of those cigarette tobaccos. The study also included a comparison of smoke constituent yields and in vitro smoke cytotoxicity and mutagenicity assay results for the 1R4F Kentucky reference cigarette and its replacement 2R4F. Significant smoke yield differences were noted for lead, NNK, and NNN. The majority of their smoke constituent yields were within the market range developed from the sampled conventional cigarettes. Within the sensitivity and specificity of the in vitro bioassays used, smoke toxic activity differences for the two reference cigarettes were not statistically significant. These results add to the limited information available for the 2R4F reference cigarette.",non-battery
The overcharge performances of lithium-ion polymer batteries (LIPB) have been studied by monitoring their temperature variation and analyzing the generated heat during overcharge. The critical concentration of lithium in the cathode material is determined for the thermal runaway of the battery. Solutions against the thermal runaway are proposed based on these results.,battery
"The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the postoperative hippocampal remnant on postoperative seizure and neuropsychological outcome in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Postoperative volumetric MRI measurements of 53 patients surgically treated for TLE revealed a postoperative volume loss of the hippocampal remnant compared with the respective preoperative segment in all patients. Extent of preoperative hippocampal pathology, remnant shrinkage, resection volume, and postoperative volume of the hippocampal remnant did not correlate with seizure outcome 1 year after surgery. With respect to neuropsychological outcome, performance on tasks assessing verbal memory and language-related functions was impaired in patients with left-sided pathology after surgery. Performance of patients with right-sided pathology (n =26) demonstrated no significant correlation with hippocampal measures or with neuropsychological data. Degree of hippocampal remnant shrinkage seems to be associated with decreased verbal memory performance in patients with left-sided TLE.",non-battery
" Spermatogonial stem cell transplantation (SSCT) is a promising therapy in restoring the fertility of childhood cancer survivors. However, the low efficiency of SSCT is a significant concern. SSCT could be improved by co-transplanting transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1)-induced mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this study, we investigated the reproductive efficiency and safety of co-transplanting spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and TGFβ1-induced MSCs.",non-battery
"The influence of the flow cell configuration on the mass spectra obtained when coupling an electrochemical thin-layer flow cell to electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been investigated. It is shown that interferences due to the electrochemical reaction on the counter electrode and/or the absence of 100% conversion efficiency can alter the mass spectra when conventional thin-layer flow cells are used in conjunction with ESI-MS. The effects, which affect the intensities and distribution of the peaks in the mass spectra, can result in the inability to detect products formed at the working electrode. Comparisons of mass spectra, generated after the electrochemical oxidation of a dinuclear Mn complex [ Mn 2 II , II ( bpmp ) ( μ - OAc ) 2 ] + (where bpmp=2,6-bis[bis(2-pyridylmethyl) amino]methyl-4-methylphenol) using two different thin-layer flow cells clearly show that the potential dependence and appearance of the mass spectra depend on the flow cell configuration used. The use of a modified thin-layer flow cell, in which the counter electrode had been separated from the working electrode, gave rise to significantly increased intensities for the oxidised MnIII,IV state of the complex. With the conventional unmodified cell, the corresponding complex was only seen for considerably higher oxidation potentials. The different results can be explained by the reduced risk of redox cycling and interferences due to species generated at the counter electrode with the modified cell. As interferences due to the counter electrode reactions likewise may be expected with many coulometric flow cells, the electrochemical cell design clearly needs to be considered when using electrochemistry coupled to ESI-MS to study electrochemical reactions.",battery
"Salinity caused by land clearing is an important cause of land degradation in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Returning a proportion of the cleared land to higher water use perennial vegetation is one option for reducing or slowing the salinisation of land. Over the course of a year patterns of water use by Eucalyptus kochii subsp borealis (C. Gardner) D. Nicolle, a mallee eucalypt species, were monitored in three landscape positions with different water availability. One treatment had groundwater at 2 m, a second at 4.5 m and a third had groundwater below a silcrete hardpan thought to be impenetrable to roots. Hydraulic redistribution was observed in all landscape positions, and rates were positively correlated with the magnitude of soil water potential gradients within the soil. High rates of hydraulic redistribution, facilitated by abundant deep water may increase tree water use by wetting surface soils and reducing stomatal closure. This effect may be countered by increased soil evaporation of water moved from root to soil following hydraulic redistribution; the net volumes of redistributed water though lateral roots was calculated to be the equivalent of up to 27% of transpiration.
",non-battery
"The practical application of metal oxides (e.g., Fe3O4) as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries is hindered by their poor electrical conductivity and severe volume change in spite of their high theoretical capacities and abundance nature. In this work, uniform yolk-shell Fe3O4@nitrogen-doped carbon composites are synthesized by combining polymerization of o-phenylenediamine (oPD) with core-shell Fe3O4@SiO2 nanospheres, followed by pyrolysis of poly (o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) and removal of silica. This novel composites exhibit superior lithium storage capacity and cycling stability due to their unique yolk-shell structure and nitrogen-doped carbon shell, which provide ample space to accommodate the volume expansion of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, prevent the aggregation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and enhance the electron conductivity during cycling. This newly developed method can be employed in other yolk-shell structural design of hybrids with high-performance for lithium-ion or lithium-sulfur batteries.",battery
"Modelling and simulation of stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) systems (PV module, battery, regulator, etc.) in real time is crucial for the control, the supervision, the diagnosis and for studying their performances. In this paper, an intelligent simulator for stand-alone PV system was developed. Firstly, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) has been used for modelling and simulating each component of the system, after that the optimal architecture for each component has been implemented and simulated by using the very high-speed description language (VHDL) and the ModelSim. Subsequently, the developed architectures for each component have been implemented under the Xilinx® Virtex-II Pro FPGA (XC2V1000) (field programmable gate array). The obtained results showed that good accuracy is found between predicted and experimental data (signal) in a specific location (south of Algeria). The designed intelligent components (PV-MLP generator, MLP-battery and MLP-regulator) of the SAPV system can be used with success for simulating the system in real time (under a specific climatic condition) by predicting the different output signals for each component constituting the system.",non-battery
"Previous work has verified the possibility to obtain mechanically, chemically and electrically stable electrodes based on manganese oxide (MnOx) thin films for anodic oxidation of solutions containing the Reactive Violet 5 (RV5) azo dye. To improve the morphological and electrochemical properties of these materials, in this study, a surface modification of the titanium support has been presented. Chemically modified surfaces were obtained by etching titanium substrates in hydrocloridric acid at high temperature. Untreated and modified electrodes were coated sequentially with a RuOx film, as interlayer and a MnOx film obtained by adopting three different techniques including anodic electrodeposition, cathodic electrodeposition and thermal decomposition. Surface morphology, topography and composition of all the electrodes were investigated by profilometric and TOF–SIMS analysis. The electrochemical activity of anodes were first determined by cyclic voltammetry, and then in the treatment of solutions containing the RV5 azo dye, as model pollutant, in undivided cell under galvanostatic conditions. The results show that the surface microstructure modifies substantially the electrochemical response of selected electrodes.
",battery
"One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) have been successfully synthesized via a precipitation process followed by heating in vacuum at 300°C. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical testing by techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and discharge–charge cycling in lithium cells. Average crystal size of these oxides increased from 36 to 83nm as annealing time was increased from 45min to 1h, which also led to a decrease in Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area from 41 to 17m2 g−1. Good cyclability and high capacity (>200mAhg−1) were achieved in the voltage range of 2.0–4.0V (versus Li metal) at a current rate of 50mAg−1 by annealing the oxides for 1h. The increase in crystallinity and higher yield of one-dimensional nanostructure oxides contributed significantly to the improved capacity and enhanced cycle life.",battery
"A series of polyaniline (PANI)/Na+-montmorillonite (MMT) clay and PANI/organo-MMT nanocomposite materials have been successfully prepared by in situ emulsion polymerization in the presence of inorganic nanolayers of hydrophilic Na+-MMT clay or organophilic organo-MMT clay with DBSA and KPS as surfactant and initiator, respectively. The as-synthesized Na+-PCN and organo-PCN materials were characterized and compared by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide-angle powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Na+-PCN materials in the form of coatings with low loading of Na+-MMT clay (e.g., 3wt.%, CLAN3) on cold-rolled steel (CRS) were found much superior in corrosion protection over those of organo-PCN materials with same clay loading based on a series of electrochemical measurements of corrosion potential, polarization resistance, corrosion current and impedance spectroscopy in 5wt.% aqueous NaCl electrolyte. The molecular weights of PANI extracted from PCN materials and neat PANI were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with NMP as eluant. Effects of material composition on the gas permeability, optical properties and electrical conductivity of neat PANI and a series of PCN materials, in the form of free-standing film, solution and powder-pressed pellet, were also studied by gas permeability analyzer (GPA), ultraviolet–vis spectra and four-point probe technique, respectively.",battery
"Green communication is a new focus within the telecommunications industry, leading to various innovative ideas on how to optimize communication in order to achieve energy savings. While the majority of those ideas target the transport layer of communication systems, this paper takes a different approach and proposes an innovation for the application layer by introducing a novel concept in the mobile telecom service provisioning process: the swarm-oriented services. The presented proof-of-concept swarm-oriented mobile telecom service is called the Collaborative Downloading and its primary goal is to lower the mobile users’ overall energy consumption while they are downloading data. In order to enable this service, we designed the self-organizing market-based algorithm (SOMA), which combines swarm intelligence (i.e. self-organization) and market-based (i.e. auctions) mechanisms, while the proof-of-concept implementation is based on multi-agent technology. Analytical results show that the proposed Collaborative Downloading service saved up to 76% of energy in mobile device batteries when compared with the current mobile data download practice (in a scenario with 6 mobile users whose mobile devices support GPRS and Bluetooth networking technologies).",non-battery
"FTY720 (fingolimod), an FDA-approved drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis, has beneficial effects in the CNS that are not yet well understood, independent of its effects on immune cell trafficking. We show that FTY720 enters the nucleus, where it is phosphorylated by sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2), and that nuclear FTY720-P binds and inhibits class I histone deacetylases (HDACs), enhancing specific histone acetylations. FTY720 is also phosphorylated in mice and accumulates in the brain, including the hippocampus, inhibits HDACs and enhances histone acetylation and gene expression programs associated with memory and learning, and rescues memory deficits independently of its immunosuppressive actions. Sphk2−/− mice have lower levels of hippocampal sphingosine-1-phosphate, an endogenous HDAC inhibitor, and reduced histone acetylation, and display deficits in spatial memory and impaired contextual fear extinction. Thus, sphingosine-1-phosphate and SphK2 play specific roles in memory functions and FTY720 may be a useful adjuvant therapy to facilitate extinction of aversive memories.
",non-battery
"Driven by the limited global resources of lithium, magnesium metal batteries are considered as potential energy storage systems. The battery chemistry of magnesium metal anode, however, limits the selection of electrolytes, cathode materials and working temperature, making the realization of magnesium metal batteries complicated. Herein, we report the development of a new magnesium-insertion anode, magnesium stannide (Mg2Sn), and demonstrate reversible electrochemical Mg2+-extraction and insertion of Mg2Sn anode at 0.2 V versus Mg, delivering discharge capacity of 270 mAhg−1 in a half-cell with the electrolyte of PhMgCl/THF and enabling of room temperature magnesium-ion batteries with Mg2Sn anode combined with Mg-free oxide cathode and conventional-type electrolyte of Mg(TFSI)2/diglyme. The combination of Mg2Sn anode with various cathodes and electrolytes holds great promise for enabling room temperature magnesium-ion batteries.",battery
"Despite a wealth of studies in the field, longitudinal assessments of both the stability and predictive utility of individual differences in preschoolers’ understanding of the mind remain scarce. To address these gaps, we applied latent variable analyses to (a) experimental data gathered from a socially diverse sample (N =101, 60 boys and 41 girls) at 3 and 6 years of age and (b) transcript-based coding of children’s dyadic interactions with a best friend at age 6. Our results showed significant stability between latent factors of false belief understanding at ages 3 and 6 even with effects of verbal ability and inhibitory control controlled at both time points. In addition, false belief understanding at ages 3 and 6 showed both distal and proximal links with the frequency of children’s talk about mental states at age 6 even when their overall talk and their friends’ mental state talk were also controlled. We conclude that preschoolers’ false belief understanding both directly and indirectly supports children’s growing ability to discuss thoughts and feelings in their conversations with friends.",non-battery
"In his book “Die Geschichte von dem Zappel-Philipp,” the German psychiatrist Heinrich Hoffmann (1809–1894) offers a clinical vignette which raises the question of the description of a disobedient child or presenting hyperactivity symptoms. This article describes the historical context and the biographical aspects related to this interesting approach to describing a psychiatric syndrome to children and adults. It also underlines the importance of a global approach of ADHD that considers the familial environment and situational context of symptoms.",non-battery
"Organoboron-based anion trapping polymer electrolytes were synthesized through hydroboration or dehydrocoupling reaction between poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) oligomer (M n =400, 1200, 2000 and 4000) and 9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (9-BBN). Obtained oligomers were added various lithium salts (LiN(CF3SO2)2, LiSO3CF3, LiCO2CF3 or LiBr) to analyze the ionic conductivity and lithium ion transference number ( t L i + ). The ionic conductivity of the oligomer in the presence of LiN(CF3SO2)2 showed higher ionic conductivity than other systems, however, the t L i + was less than 0.3. When LiSO3CF3 or LiCO2CF3, was added high t L i + over 0.6 was obtained. Such difference in t L i + can be explained by HSAB principle. Since boron is a hard acid, soft (CF3SO2)2N− anion can not be trapped effectively. High ionic conductivity of 1.3×10−6 Scm−1 and high t L i + of 0.73 was obtained when PPO chain length was 2000. These values of facilely prepared polymer electrolytes are comparable to those of the PPOs having covalently bonded salt moieties on the chain ends.",battery
"A novel microwave sensor capable of remote detection of structural displacements is experimented as geotechnical instrument for static and dynamic testing of bridges. The sensor is based on an interferometric radar providing range imaging capability and sub-millimetric accuracy range displacement measurement. Dynamic monitoring calls for sampling rate high enough for transient analysis, while static monitoring requires long-term stability. The instrument has been designed in order to provide both these features. The results of a validation campaign on a railway bridge during the final test before going into service are reported.",non-battery
"In this paper, the properties of mixed titanium–niobium oxide Ti2Nb10O29 (TNO) annealed in air and vacuum as anode material for lithium-ion battery were investigated. The color of TNO annealed in vacuum (V-TNO) is dark blue while white for TNO annealed in air (A-TNO). Moreover, lattice parameters for V-TNO were confirmed to be slightly larger than those for A-TNO. Introduction of oxygen defect in V-TNO was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis also indicated that Ti4+ in V-TNO are partially reduced into Ti3+, due to the introduction of oxygen defect in V-TNO. Electronic conductivity at room temperature for uni-axially pressed V-TNO powder is estimated to be around 10−6−10−5 S cm−1, which is more than three digits higher than that for pressed A-TNO powder (= 10−9 S cm−1). The enhancement of intrinsic electronic conductivity of TNO greatly contributes for improving the rate performance. At low current density of 0.5 mA cm−2, both A-TNO and V-TNO showed reversible capacity around 250 mAh g−1 at potential range from 1.0 to 2.5 V vs. Li/Li+, while at higher current density of 10 mA cm−2, V-TNO maintained much higher discharge capacity of 150 mAh g−1 than that for TNO (= 50 mAh g−1).",battery
"Lithium-sulfur batteries (Li–S batteries) are promising candidates for the next generation high-energy rechargeable Li batteries due to their high theoretical specific capacity (1672 mAh g−1) and energy density (2500 Wh kg−1). The commercialization of Li–S batteries is impeded by several key challenges at cathode side, e.g. the insulating nature of sulfur and discharged products (Li2S2 and Li2S), the solubility of long-chain polysulfides and volume variation of sulfur cathode upon cycling. Recently, the carbon-based derivatives from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has emerged talent in their utilization as cathode hosts for Li–S batteries. They are not only highly conductive and porous to enable the acceleration of Li+/e− transfer and accommodation of volumetric expansion of sulfur cathode during cycling, but also enriched by controllable chemical active sites to enable the adsorption of polysulfides and promotion of their conversion reaction kinetics. In this review, based on the types of MOFs (e.g. ZIF-8, ZIF-67, Prussian blue, Al-MOF, MOF-5, Cu-MOF, Ni-MOF), the synthetic methods, formation process and morphology, structural superiority of MOFs-derived carbon frameworks along with their electrochemical performance as cathode host in Li–S batteries are summarized and discussed.",battery
"Porous nanostructured vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) particles were successfully prepared by spray pyrolysis (SP) in a precursor solution with an ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) additive. The correlation between the porous structure and the electrochemical properties of the V2O5 particles was investigated. The porous structure markedly changed upon increasing the concentration of NH4NO3 in the precursor solution from 0 to 0.408 mol L−1. Pore structure analysis based on N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm measurements indicated that porous nanostructured V2O5 particles with a pore size of less than 100 nm can be prepared by the novel SP method and that an increase in the NH4NO3 concentration in the precursor solution can enlarge the pores in the V2O5 particles, especially those with a size between 20 and 80 nm. The porous nanostructured V2O5 prepared with an NH4NO3 concentration of 0.272 mol L−1 exhibited a first discharge capacity of 400 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1. The unique porous structure of V2O5 particles significantly enhanced the rate performance and exhibited a first discharge capacity of 180 mAh g−1 at 1200 mA g−1, which is much higher than that of dense V2O5 particles (70 mAh g−1).",battery
"Objectives The overall objectives of the Ajou-Bundang Study for the Elderly (AB study) were to describe the current geriatric diseases and health behaviors, and to improve the visiting health service in South Korea. The particular objectives of the current study were to describe the AB study and to investigate the associations between subjective memory complaints (SMCs) and objective cognitive function, to assess the clinical characteristics of SMCs, and to measure possible differences between elderly people with and without cognitive dysfunction. Methods A cross-sectional study of a sample of people from the AB study was constructed to study the association between SMCs and demographic variables. SMCs, cognitive function, and demographic characteristics were ascertained. A total of 9477 subjects aged 65 years or over were recruited from the residents of Bundang, Korea. Results SMCs were reported by 57.3% of the study participants. SMCs were correlated with advanced age and with being female. Further analyses of cognitive functions revealed that associated factor profiles differed between the participants with and without cognitive dysfunction. Conclusions These results show that age is associated with SMCs, irrespective of the level of cognitive function. Longitudinal SMC studies should be undertaken to investigate potentially associated clinical parameters.",non-battery
"Microporous poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVDF/PMMA) membranes were prepared using the phase-separation method. Then, the membranes were immersed in liquid electrolyte to form polymer electrolytes. The effects of PMMA on the morphology, degree of crystallinity, porosity, and electrolyte uptake of the PVDF membrane were studied. The addition of PMMA increased the pore size, porosity and electrolyte uptake of the PVDF membrane, which in turn increased the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte. The maximum ionic conductivity at room temperature was 1.21×10−3 Scm−1 for Sample E70. The polymer electrolyte was investigated, along with lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) as cathode for all solid-state lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. The lithium metal/E70/LiFePO4 cell yielded a stable discharge capacity of 133mAhg−1 after up to 50cycles at a current density of 8.5mAg−1.",battery
"We have found that certain combinations of specific additives show a very interesting behavior in Li-ion batteries. During the course of investigating further improvements in the performance of the triple-bonded compounds, which we very recently reported, a novel and unique effect of an additive combination was observed. The combination of the triple-bonded compounds and the double-bonded compounds has proven to show a much improved battery performance, especially in cycleability and gas evolution than the case when they are singly used. Especially, the synergetic effect of propargyl methanesulfonate and vinylene carbonate is remarkable. To clarify the synergetic effect, the electrochemical properties of the additives and the electrode analyses were investigated. It is assumed that the higher battery performance of the combination effect resulted not only from the thin and dense SEI on the negative electrode but also from the positive electrode surface co-polymerized film produced by the synergetic decomposition of the additives. We suggest that the keys for producing the synergetic functions are (1) a structural difference in the unsaturated moiety, and (2) a greater difference in the reduction potential.",battery
"Wearable devices are drawing increasing attention in both academia and industry in that they can offer unprecedented information related to human health in real-time and human–machine interactions, which is expected to enable a paradigm shift in the digital world. For this shift to occur, green and sustainable energy technology for powering flexible wearable devices is a roadblock. This paper is dedicated to reviewing cutting-edge wearable power generation methodologies, for which we discuss their pros and cons, underlying physics, and general design/evaluation criteria. Sensor types, materials, processing technology, power consumption, and methods of testing the stretchability and flexibility of wearable devices are also summarized. Based on application scenarios in healthcare, industrial inspection, structural monitoring, armed forces and consumer electronics, an integrated system architecture of wearable, flexible systems is presented. Finally, future perspectives of wearable technologies are outlined by covering the aspects of all-in-one printable wearable electronics, fiber and textile electronics, self-powered self-awareness wearable systems, hybrid-integrated Systems on a Chip (SoC) for flexible electronics, and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled self-contained systems towards full life cycle monitoring.
",battery
"Developmental exposure to the organophosphorus pesticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon (DZN) alters serotonergic synaptic function at doses below the threshold for cholinesterase inhibition, however there are some indications that the two agents may differ in several important attributes. Previously, we found that low-dose chlorpyrifos exposure in neonatal rats causes lasting changes in emotional response and in the current study we did a comparable evaluation for DZN. Male and female Sprague–Dawley rat pups (N =10–12 of each sex per treatment group) were given 0, 0.5 or 2mg/(kgday) of DZN s.c. daily on postnatal days (PND) 1–4. These doses bracket the threshold for barely-detectable cholinesterase inhibition. Starting on PND 52, these rats began a battery of tests to assess emotional reactivity. In the elevated plus maze, there was a slight decrease in the time spent in the open arms for DZN-exposed males, while DZN-exposed females were not different from control females. In the novelty-suppressed feeding test, DZN-exposed males had significantly shorter latencies to begin eating than did control males, reducing the values to those normally seen in females. DZN-exposed rats of either sex showed reduced preference for chocolate milk in the anhedonia test that compared the consumption of chocolate milk to water. These findings show that neonatal exposures to DZN at a dose range below the threshold for cholinesterase inhibition nevertheless evokes specific, later alterations in emotional behaviors, particularly in males. The effects show not only some similarities to those of chlorpyrifos but also some differences, in keeping with neurochemical findings comparing the two agents.",non-battery
"Theoretical studies on a new unsymmetrical electrolyte salt, lithium [3-fluoro-1,2-benzenediolato(2-)-o,o′ oxalato]borate (FLBDOB), and its derivatives, lithium bis[3-fluoro-1,2-benzenediolato(2-)-o,o]borate (FLBBB), and lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LBOB) are carried out using density functional theory (DFT) method and B3LYP theory level. Bidentate structures involving two oxygen atoms are preferred. Based on these conformations, a linear correlation is observed between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energies and the limiting oxidation potentials measured by linear sweep voltammetry, which supports experimental results that strongly electron-withdrawing substituent anions are more resistant against oxidation. The correlations are also observed between ionic conductivity and binding energy, solubility and theoretical set of parameters of anion, thermal stability and the hardness (η). Wave function analyses are performed by natural bond orbital (NBO) method to further investigate the cation–anion interactions.",battery
"An investigation into the failure of a series of cycled 40Ah valve regulated lead acid batteries, identified a number of different defect types present in the corrosion layer. In this paper, a detailed description of the materialographic preparation method used to produce cross-sections of the corrosion layer is given. Each of the defect types identified is described and illustrated in an appropriate micrograph. Variations between the defect types suggest that there is more than one mechanism for defect initiation and growth. Possible mechanisms for sources of the defects and their subsequent growth are proposed.",battery
"As part of the California Regional PM2.5/PM10 Air Quality Study, annual average concentrations of PM2.5 associated organic compounds were measured using filter samples collected every sixth day for 24h for 1 year. During this time many central California sites had 24-h PM2.5 mass concentrations exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 65μgm−3. The highest concentration of 175μgm−3 was recorded in Fresno on January 1, 2001. Organic speciation of 20 sites within and near the central California valley provides a measure of the spatial differences of emission sources through the use of organic molecular markers. Additionally, it provides an opportunity evaluate their utility at ambient concentrations to measure the influence of emission sources at rural and urban locations. The most abundant particulate phase organic compounds identified were polar organic compounds. Sugar anhydrates, molecular markers of wood combustion, constituted the largest weight fraction of total carbon, followed by alkanoic acids, and alkanedioic acids. Local emission sources such as residential wood combustion, gasoline and diesel vehicles were distinguished by unique molecular markers and found to vary among the annual average sites. The annual average concentrations of individual organic species within compound classes were observed to be highly correlated for many of the central California sites. The two Fresno sites were highly correlated to each other especially with respect to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but not well correlated to other sites.",non-battery
"The characteristics of a divided, industrial scale electrochemical reactor with five bipolar electrodes (each having a projected area of 0.72m2) were examined in terms of mass transport, pressure drop and flow dispersion. Global mass transport data were obtained by monitoring the (first order) concentration decay of dissolved bromine (which was generated in situ by constant current electrolysis of a 1moldm−3 NaBr(aq)). The global mass transport properties have been compared with those reported in the literature for other electrochemical reactors. The pressure drop over the reactor was calculated as a function of the mean electrolyte flow velocity and flow dispersion experiments showed the existence of slow and fast phases, two-phase flow being observed at lower velocities.",battery
"We describe the fabrication of crystallographically preferred oriented TiO2 anatase nanotube arrays (p-NTAs) and the characterization of their photovoltaic properties. The preferred orientation to the (004) plane of the TiO2 nanotube array (NTA) was carefully controlled by adjusting the water content in the anodizing electrolyte; ∼2 wt% of water yielded a p-NTA, whereas other contents of water yielded randomly oriented NTAs (r-NTAs). A structural analysis using X-ray diffraction and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope revealed that the p-NTA showed a preferred orientation along the [001] direction of the anatase crystal structure. When the NTAs were employed to dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as photoelectrodes, the p-NTA showed a similar electron lifetime to the r-NTA, which was an order of magnitude higher than that for a TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) film. Moreover, the p-NTA exhibited faster electron transport than the NP film, and even faster than the r-NTA. These properties resulted in a longer electron diffusion length of the p-NTA, compared to the r-NTA and NP film, thereby improving the charge collection property of the photoelectrode. The p-NTA exhibited superior photovoltaic energy conversion performance in the DSSC system, and showed a higher thickness for the optimal photovoltaic performance compared to the NP film, which were attributed to the excellent charge collection properties. Our results address that the crystallographic orientation of NTAs improves their charge transport properties, which can be applied to various optoelectronics, especially to solar-driven energy conversion devices.
",battery
"1,3-Propane sultone (PS) additive for graphite electrodes was studied for propylene carbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC)-based electrolytes in lithium batteries. Decomposition of solvents with graphite electrodes could be remarkably suppressed by addition of the PS additive in the PC-based electrolyte, leading to improvement of electrochemical performances of the cells. The 1,3-propane sultone additive showed very interesting properties for the graphite electrode. It is predicted to give a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the surface of the graphite prior to solvent decomposition and bring about effects that not only suppress lithium deposition on the graphite electrode surface, but also accelerate lithium intercalation, leading to formation of LiC6 onto graphite electrode.",battery
"Objective There is uncertainty regarding the onset timing of the cognitive deficiencies of schizophrenia. We investigated whether conversion to psychosis and/or olanzapine altered the neuropsychological course of subjects within the first-ever double blind medication study of the putative schizophrenia first episode prodrome. Method Sixty participants in a double blind trial of olanzapine as a treatment for putative prodromal states were assessed at entry (pre-randomization), and again at 6 and 12 months (if they remained non-psychotic), or at any of these points prior to psychosis followed by post-psychosis and 6 months post-psychosis assessments. Results Participants who converted to psychosis did not differ from placebo non-converters in pre-randomization global neuropsychological status. Early converters did not differ from later converters in entry neuropsychological status. Subjects who converted after 6 months did not show neuropsychological declines during the initial, pre-psychosis, 6 months. Neuropsychological course did not differ between converters to psychosis and non-converters, or between olanzapine and placebo-assigned subjects. Conclusions Neither the onset of frank psychosis nor olanzapine treatment of the prodrome significantly alters neuropsychological course in persons considered to be at high risk at their initial (pre-psychosis) assessment. These findings suggest that the neuropsychological deficiencies associated with psychotic conditions largely pre-exist the first frank psychotic episode.",non-battery
"Poly(arylene ether ketone)-g-poly(vinyl 1-butylimidazolium bis(flouromethyl sulfonyl) host polymer and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrollidium bis(flouromethane sulfonyl) ionic liquid are synthesized. The host polymer is blended with ionic liquid to prepare the solid electrolyte membrane for lithium secondary battery. The solid electrolyte membranes integrated with ionic liquid show excellent properties in lithium ion conductivity, interfacial resistance, thermal and mechanical stability, depending on the graft chain length. The electrolyte membrane with the longest graft chain shows the highest lithium ion conductivity with the lowest interfacial resistance between electrode and membrane. The charge-discharge profiles are also investigated at various C-rates. The cells fabricated with the electrolyte membrane possessing the longest graft chain show ∼105 mAh g−1 at room temperature under 0.1 °C-rate in the voltage range from 3.8 to 4.2 V.",battery
"Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries represent a “beyond Li-ion” technology with low cost and high theoretical energy density and should fulfill the ever-growing requirements of electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems. However, the sulfur-based conversion reaction in conventional liquid electrolytes results in issues like the so-called shuttle effect of polysulfides and lithium dendrite growth, which deteriorate the electrochemical performance and safety of Li–S batteries. Optimization of conventional organic solvents (including ether and carbonate) by fluorination to form fluorinated electrolytes is a promising strategy for the practical application of Li–S batteries. The fluorinated electrolytes, owing to the high electronegativity of fluorine, possesses attractive physicochemical properties, including low melting point, high flash point, and low solubility of lithium polysulfide, and can form a compact and stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) with the lithium metal anode. Herein, we review recent advancements in the development of fluorinated electrolytes for use in Li–S batteries. The effect of solvent molecular structure on the performance of Li–S batteries and the formation mechanism of SEI on the cathode and anode sides are analyzed and discussed in detail. The remaining challenges and future perspectives of fluorinated electrolytes for Li–S batteries are also presented.",battery
"δ-MnO2 is a promissing electrode material of supercapacitors and Li ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its low cost, layer structure and composite valence of Mn. However, the unfavorable electronic conductivity of δ-MnO2 restricts its rate capability in both of the two devices. Herein, a vertically standing Ti nanowire array modified with δ-MnO2 nanoflakes is prepared by a electrodeposition method, and the electrochemical properties of Ti@δ-MnO2 nanowire arrays in supercapacitors and LIBs are investigated. The results show that, the arrays have a capacity of 195Fg−1 at 1.0Ag−1 and can cycle more than 10000 rounds at 10Ag−1 as electrodes of supercapacitors. On the other hand, the arrays behave good rate capability as LIB cathodes, which can release a capacity of 70mAhg−1 at 10C rate charge/discharge. We suggest that, the good electronic conductivity owing to the core-shell structure and the facilitated mass transport supplied by the array architecture are responsible for the enhanced rate performances in the two devices.",battery
"Once placed in a magnetic field, smart magnetic materials (SMM) change their shape, which could be use for the development of smaller minimally invasive surgery devices activated by magnetic field. However, the potential degradation and release of cytotoxic ions by SMM corrosion has to be determined. This paper evaluates the corrosion resistance of two SMM: a single crystal Ni–Mn–Ga alloy and Tb0.27Dy0.73Fe1.95 alloy. Ni–Mn–Ga alloy displayed a corrosion potential (Ecorr) of −0.58 V/SCE and a corrosion current density (icorr) of 0.43 μA/cm2. During the corrosion assay, Ni–Mn–Ga sample surface was partially protected; local pits were formed on 20% of the surface and nickel ions were mainly found in the electrolyte. Tb0.27Dy0.73Fe1.95 alloy exhibited poor corrosion properties such as Ecorr of −0.87 V/SCE and icorr of 5.90 μA/cm2. During the corrosion test, this alloy was continuously degraded, its surface was impaired by pits and cracks extensively and a high amount of iron ions was measured in the electrolyte. These alloys exhibited low corrosion parameters and a selective degradation in the electrolyte. They could only be used for medical applications if they are coated with high strain biocompatible materials or embedded in composites to prevent direct contact with physiological fluids.
",non-battery
"We present a case that is unusual in many respects from other documented incidences of auditory agnosia, including the mechanism of injury, age of the individual, and location of neurological insult. The clinical presentation is one of disturbance in the perception of spoken language, music, pitch, emotional prosody, and temporal auditory processing in the absence of significant deficits in the comprehension of written language, expressive language production, or peripheral auditory function. Furthermore, the patient demonstrates relatively preserved function in other aspects of audition such as sound localization, voice recognition, and perception of animal noises and environmental sounds. This case study demonstrates that auditory agnosia is possible following traumatic brain injury in a child, and illustrates the necessity of assessment with a wide variety of auditory stimuli to fully characterize auditory agnosia in a single individual.",non-battery
"Interest in residential batteries to supply photovoltaic (PV) electricity on demand is increasing, however they are not profitable yet. Combining applications has been suggested as a way to increase their attractiveness, but the extent to which this can be achieved, as well as how the different value propositions may affect the optimal battery technology, remain unclear. In this study, we develop an open-source optimization framework to determine the best-suited battery technology depending on the size and the applications combined, including PV self-consumption, demand load-shifting, demand peak shaving and avoidance of PV curtailment. Moreover, we evaluate the impact of the annual demand and electricity prices by applying our method to representative dwellings in Geneva (Switzerland) and Austin (United States). Our results indicate that the combination of applications help batteries to become close to break-even by improving the net present value by up to 66% when compared with batteries performing PV self-consumption only. Interestingly, we find that the best-suited battery technology in Austin is lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) as for Geneva lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries reach in average a higher net present value than NCA-based batteries. However, NCA-based batteries could be a more promising alternative when applications are combined.",battery
(100 − x)(0.75Li2S·0.25P2S5)·xLiBH4 (0 ≤ x (mol%) ≤ 33) glass electrolytes were prepared from 75Li2S·25P2S5 (mol%) glass and LiBH4 crystal by a mechanical milling technique. The effects of the addition of LiBH4 on the structures and properties of the glass electrolytes were examined. The DSC curves of the prepared glasses with LiBH4 did not have the endothermic peak attributable to the phase transition of LiBH4 crystal. The Raman spectra of the glasses indicated that the glasses included PS4 3− and BH4 − ions. The conductivities of the glasses increased with increasing the LiBH4 content. The glass at the composition of x = 33 showed the highest lithium-ion conductivity of 1.6 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature. The glass had a wide electrochemical window up to 5 V vs. Li+/Li. An all-solid-state Li/TiS2 cell using the glass as an electrolyte successfully operated as a secondary battery at 25 °C.,battery
"Introduction In this open non-controlled clinical cohort study, the applicability of a theoretical model for the diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) was studied in order to define a general psychological profile and to specify possible subgroups. Methods Forty PNES patients were assessed with a PNES “test battery” consisting of eleven psychological instruments, e.g., a trauma checklist, the global cognitive level, mental flexibility, speed of information processing, personality factors, dissociation, daily hassles and stress and coping factors. Results The total PNES group was characterized by multiple trauma, personality vulnerability (in a lesser extent, neuropsychological vulnerabilities), no increased dissociation, many complaints about daily hassles that may trigger seizures and negative coping strategies that may contribute to prolongation of the seizures. Using factor analysis, specific subgroups were revealed: a ‘psychotrauma subgroup’, a ‘high vulnerability somatizing subgroup’ (with high and low cognitive levels) and a ‘high vulnerability sensitive personality problem subgroup’. Conclusion Using a theoretical model in PNES diagnosis, PNES seem to be a symptom of distinct underlying etiological factors with different accents in the model. Hence, describing a general profile seems to conceal specific subgroups with subsequent treatment implications. This study identified three factors, representing two dimensions of the model, that are essential for subgroup classification: psychological etiology (psychotrauma or not), vulnerability, e.g., the somatization tendency, and sensitive personality problems/characteristics (‘novelty seeking’). For treatment, this means that interventions could be tailored to the main underlying etiological problem. Also, further research could focus on differentiating subgroups with subsequent treatment indications and possible different prognoses. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “The Future of Translational Epilepsy Research”.",non-battery
"The structural and electrochemical insertion properties of LiV1−x Al x PO4F (x =0.00, 0.25 and 0.50) phases are presented. XRD data reveal that the basic triclinic amblygonite structure was retained for all experimental compositions. Although the material specific capacities decreased almost linearly with aluminum content, the substituted phases revealed some intriguing properties that appear to be ‘tunable’ within the compositional range under investigation. The main beneficial attributes include low voltage polarization, high operating voltage and comparatively low capacity fade on cycling. In all cases the observed lithium insertion behavior was restricted to the V3+/4+ redox couple.",battery
"Electric vehicles (EV) have received considerable attention in recent years due to their low operating cost, potential for energy sustainability, and zero tailpipe emissions. This study presents a novel two-stage stochastic programming model integrating long- and short-term decisions to design and manage EV charging stations with renewable energy generation capability. The model captures the non-linear load congestion effect that increases exponentially as the electricity consumed by plugged-in EVs approaches the capacity of the charging station and linearizes it. The study proposes a hybrid decomposition algorithm that utilizes a Sample Average Approximation and an enhanced Progressive Hedging algorithm (PHA) inside a Constraint Generation algorithmic framework to efficiently solve the proposed optimization model. A case study based on Washington, D.C. is presented to visualize and validate the modeling results. Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in solving the problem in a practical amount of time. Finding of the study include that incorporating the load congestion factor encourages the opening of large-sized charging stations, increases the number of stored batteries, and that higher congestion costs call for a decrease in the opening of new charging stations.",non-battery
" The carboxylic acid-functionalized graphene oxide/gold nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode has been utilized as a platform to immobilize 5-amino-2-hydroxybenzoic acid (mesalazine). The surface structure and composition of the sensor were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Electrocatalytic oxidation of urea on the surface of modified electrode was investigated with cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and hydrodynamic voltammetry methods. The cyclic voltammetric results indicated the ability of carboxylic acid-functionalized graphene oxide gold nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode to catalyze the oxidation of urea. In addition, the modified electrode has short response time, low detection limit, high sensitivity, and low operation potential. Some kinetic parameters, such as the electron transfer coefficient, diffusion coefficient, and catalytic rate constant of the catalytic reaction were calculated. A sensitive amperometric method was proposed for determination of urea with advantages of fast response and good reproducibility.",non-battery
"High resolution measurements of wind speed and energy generation from an instrumented Bergey XL.1 small wind turbine were used to investigate the effect of ambient turbulence levels on wind turbine energy production. It was found that ambient turbulent intensity impacts energy production, but that the impact is different at different wind speeds. At low wind speeds, increased turbulence appeared to increase energy production from the turbine. However, at wind speeds near the turbine furling speed, elevated turbulence resulted in decreased energy production, likely to turbulent gusts initiating furling events. Investigation of measurements recorded at 1 Hz showed a time lag of one to 2 s between a change in wind speed and the resulting change in energy production. Transient changes in wind speed of only 1 s duration did not impact energy production, however, longer duration changes in wind speed were tracked reasonably well by energy production.",battery
"The second part of the manuscript presents a one-dimensional axisymmetric plane strain model to study lithium insertion induced stresses in different types of silicon nanostructures, – nanowire (Si NW), nanotube (Si NT) and core/shell (Si C/S) nanostructures. The 1-d plane strain model is the dimensionally reduced form of the 2-d model presented in part I. Simulation results from the 1-d plane strain model is compared to the results from the 2-d model for the Si NW. Each of these structures poses a different type of boundary conditions and the stress evolution due to diffusion in each of the cases are discussed. Simulation results indicate that Si NT structures develop lower tensile stresses compared to Si NW structures under similar current densities. Case studies on Si NT for different values of inner to outer radii ratio are also presented. Furthermore, simulations reveal that the Si C/S structures develop much higher stresses (closer to the core/shell interface) compared to Si NW or Si NT, owing to the different expansion factors of the core and shell material.",battery
"Experimental animal studies have demonstrated that oxidative stress plays an essential role during ischemic stroke. In addition to oxidizing macromolecules leading to cell injury, oxidants are also involved in cell death/survival signal pathways and cause mitochondrial dysfunction. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) represents one of the major regulators implicated in the endogenous defense system against oxidative stress. We have studied the expression and activation status of Nrf2 under stroke-like conditions using the temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion rat model. Inactive Nrf2 is proteasomal degraded within minutes but stabilized during activation. We analyzed Nrf2 activation and the resulting accumulation in post-ischemic rat brain cells using double immunofluorescence staining with antibodies directed against Nrf2 and cell type-specific markers. The core infarct region showed no obvious positive staining signal for Nrf2 24 h after the initiation of artery occlusion. However, Nrf2 immunoreactivity was detectable in the ipsilateral penumbra where microglia, astrocytes, and neurons contained Nrf2. Interestingly, Nrf2 was also significantly upregulated in neurons but not in other cell types of the unaffected contralateral site. These results provide strong evidence that Nrf2 is involved in acute stroke-dependent neurodegeneration in the penumbra but not core region and indicate the presence of a systemic Nrf2 activator independent from oxidative stress.",non-battery
"With the vast transcriptome database now available, global patterns of gene expression have been mapped in various species to reveal higher order structures in the genome. Location-dependent control of gene expression has also been studied in human cell cultures and in Arabidopsis plants using well-characterized insertion and transposition cell line collections. With the added genome-wide mapping of chromatin features at a high resolution, via advanced microarray and sequencing technologies, comprehensive analysis of structure–function relationships deduced from chromatin organization and gene expression data is now feasible. This has begun to reveal micro-heterogeneity in the genome with respect to structural and functional segmentations.",non-battery
"In this paper, we report a synthetic route for cobalt sulfides nanoparticles embedded in porous carbon fibers (Co9S8@C) by carbonizing polydopamine (PDA)-coated metal coordination polymers (MCPs) and subsequent sulfidation process. This material serves as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, which exhibits high capacity and good rate capability. At a rate of 0.1C, a high reversible capacity of 1565mA h g−1 is being obtained. In addition, the battery maintains a stable reversible capacities of 606mA h g−1 for 300 cycles at 1C. The improvement of lithium-storage performance is mainly attributed to the smart design of carbon-wrapped mesoporous Co9S8 fibers, which not only prevents aggregation and volume change of the Co9S8 particles, but also enables good conductivity, and thus enhances electrochemical stability.",battery
"Alkaline polymer electrolytes (APEs) are an emerging material that enables the use of nonprecious-metal catalysts in electrochemical energy technology, such as fuel cell and water electrolysis. Yet the OH− conduction in APE has been of much lower efficiency than the H+ conduction in its acidic counterpart (typically Nafion), leading to a large dissipative loss in energy conversion applications. Here we report that, by properly constructing ion-aggregating structures in APE, a OH− conducting highway can be built, such that the OH− conduction in APE becomes as efficient as the H+ conduction in Nafion (greater than 0.1 S cm−1 at 80 °C under moderate ion-exchange capacity 1.0 mmol g−1). The optimal approach to constructing such an ionic highway is first screened computationally using coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations, and then implemented experimentally based on a quaternary ammonia polysulfone (QAPS) model system. The resulting ordered structure of ion assembly has been unambiguously revealed by both the theoretically calculated structure factor and experimental results of TEM and SAXS. These findings have not only furthered our understanding about the ionic channels in APE, but also provided a general strategy for the rational design of polymer electrolytes.
",battery
"Emerging issues on fuel price and greenhouse gas emissions have attracted attention on the alternative energy sources, especially in transportation sector. The transportation sector accounts for 40% of total fuel consumption. Thus, an increasing number of studies have been conducted on hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and their energy management system (EMS). This paper focuses on reviews of EMSs for fuel cell (FC) based HEV in combination with battery and super-capacitor, respectively. Various aspects and classifications of fuel cell–HEV EMS are explained in this paper. Different types of FC–HEV control models and algorithms derived from simulation and experiment are explained in details for an analytical justification for the most optimal control strategy. The performances of the various combinations of FC–HEV system are summarized in the table along with relevant references. This paper provides comprehensive survey of FC–HEV on their source combination, models, energy management system (EMS) etc. developed by various researchers. From the rigorous review, it is observed that the existing technologies more or less are capable to perform well; however, the reliability and the intelligent systems are still not up to the mark. Accordingly, current issues and challenges on the FC–HEV technologies are highlighted with a brief suggestions and discussion for the progress of future FC–HEV vehicle research. This review will hopefully lead to increasing efforts towards the development of economic, longer lifetime, hydrogen viable, efficient electronic interface and well performed EMS for future FC–HEV.",battery
"Porous nanoscaled LiMn2O4 sample has been successfully prepared by a polymer-assisted sol–gel method. The porous structure is composed of nanoparticles ranging from 50 to 100nm. The as-obtained LiMn2O4 exhibits specific capacity of 131mAhg−1 at 0.5C and 105mAhg−1 even at 20C. At 2C, the capacity retention reaches 73.3% after 1000 cycles at room temperature and 77.3% after 100 cycles at 60°C. Such outstanding rate capability and cyclic performance can be ascribed to the unique porous nanoscaled structure. Short Li-ion diffusion path and high diffusion coefficient lead to the superior rate capability. The improved cyclic performance originates from low Mn dissolution and accommodation to the structural distortion provided by the porous structure during cycling.",battery
"Sate of charge (SOC) estimation is generally acknowledged as one of the most important functions in battery management system for lithium-ion batteries in new energy vehicles. Though every effort is made for various online SOC estimation methods to reliably increase the estimation accuracy as much as possible within the limited on-chip resources, little literature discusses the error sources for those SOC estimation methods. This paper firstly reviews the commonly studied SOC estimation methods from a conventional classification. A novel perspective focusing on the error analysis of the SOC estimation methods is proposed. SOC estimation methods are analyzed from the views of the measured values, models, algorithms and state parameters. Subsequently, the error flow charts are proposed to analyze the error sources from the signal measurement to the models and algorithms for the widely used online SOC estimation methods in new energy vehicles. Finally, with the consideration of the working conditions, choosing more reliable and applicable SOC estimation methods is discussed, and the future development of the promising online SOC estimation methods is suggested.",battery
"Butylmethylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMP–TFSI) ionic liquid (IL) with LiTFSI solute is used as a base electrolyte for Li/LiFePO4 cells. Three kinds of electrolyte additive, namely vinylene carbonate (VC), gamma-butyrolactone (γ-BL), and propylene carbonate (PC), with various concentrations are introduced. The thermal stability, flammability, and electrochemical properties of the electrolytes are investigated. At 25 °C, the additives (γ-BL is found to be the most effective) can significantly improve the capacity, high-rate performance, and cyclability of the cells. With an increase in temperature to 50 °C, the benefits of the additives gradually become insignificant. At 75 °C, the additives even have adverse effects. At such an elevated temperature, in the plain IL electrolyte (without additives), a LiFePO4 capacity of 152 mAh g−1 is found at 0.1 C. 77% of this capacity can be retained when the rate is increased to 3 C. These values are superior to those found for the additive-incorporated IL and conventional organic electrolytes. Moreover, negligible capacity loss is measured after 100 charge–discharge cycles at 75 °C in the plain IL electrolyte.",battery
"This resource provides a comprehensive evaluation of rodent locomotor profiles after different types of lesions to the central nervous system. The data set can guide the selection of suitable lesion paradigms, locomotor tasks and readouts in future animal studies.",non-battery
"Ni(OH)2 is recognized to be a promising material to detect hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), however, the fabrication method and electrocatalytic performances of suitable Ni(OH)2 structures are still in progress. In this work, we present a facile approach to in situ fabricate highly accessible Ni(OH)2/K-Ti-O composites by hydrothermally treating NiTi foil in 5M KOH solution. Based on systemic characterizations, the Ni(OH)2 appears nanoflakes, meanwhile the K-Ti-O shows nanowires in shape, which are randomly mixed together. Serving as a binder-free non-enzymatic sensor, the Ni(OH)2/K-Ti-O/NiTi foil electrode exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with a high sensitivity of 4278μAmM−1 cm−2 from 5μM to 1mM, and 1522μAmM−1 cm−2 from 1mM to 5mM. Further, the electrode can be demonstrated to have excellent selectivity, fast response, and long-term stability towards the H2O2 detection. It is found that the Ni(OH)2 plays a critical role with the synergistic effects of K-Ti-O. All our impressive performances indicate that the Ni(OH)2/K-Ti-O composites are promising electrode materials for non-enzymatic H2O2 sensors.",battery
"Herein we report Co3O4/Co@N-doped carbon nanotubes (T-Co3O4/Co@NC) as an efficient and highly stable anode material for lithium-ion batteries. T-Co3O4/Co@NC is facilely prepared via the thermal decomposition of Co3[Co(CN)6]2 in N2 and the oxidation in O2. T-Co3O4/Co@NC exhibits a high degree of graphitization and a large specific surface area, thus promoting the conductivity and providing more active sites. More importantly, the proper existence of metallic Co makes the reaction more reversible and thus leading to the improved cycling stability. Specifically, T-Co3O4/Co@NC delivers a high specific capacity of 689.2 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1 after 400 cycles with the capacity retention rate of 99.5%. In contrast, Co3O4/Co@N-doped carbon nanoball (B-Co3O4/Co@NC) exhibits a discharge specific capacity of only 247.0 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles, and the capacity retention rate is as low as 30.1%. Furthermore, T-Co3O4/Co@NC also exhibits excellent cycling performance in a full cell, with the coulombic efficiency over 95%, capacity retention rate over 87% after 100 cycles. The improved stability is mainly attributed to the existence of metallic Co which helps to optimize the solid electrolyte interphase film and form carbon nanotubes.",battery
"Rapid growth of sensor and computing platforms have introduced the wearable systems. In recent years, wearable systems have led to new applications across all medical fields. The aim of this review is to present current state-of-the-art approach in the field of wearable system based cancer detection and identify key challenges that resist it from clinical adoption. A total of 472 records were screened and 11 were finally included in this study. Two types of records were studied in this context that includes 45% research articles and 55% manufactured products. The review was performed per PRISMA guidelines where considerations was given to records that were published or reported between 2009 and 2017. The identified records included 4 cancer detecting wearable systems such as breast cancer (36.3%), skin cancer (36.3%), prostate cancer (18.1%), and multi-type cancer (9%). Most works involved sensor based smart systems comprising of microcontroller, Bluetooth module, and smart phone. Few demonstrated Ultra-Wide Band (i.e. UWB) antenna based wearable systems. Skin cancer detecting wearable systems were most comprehensible ones. The current works are gradually progressing with seamless integration of sensory units along with smart networking. However, they lack in cloud computing and long-range communication paradigms. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are key ports that need to be attached with current wearable systems. Further, clinical inertia, lack of awareness, and high cost are altogether pulling back the actual growth of such system. It is well comprehended that upon sincere orientation of all identified challenges, wearable systems would emerge as vital alternative to futuristic cancer detection.",non-battery
"Over the last 20 years, innovations have led to the development of exciting new technologies and novel applications of established technologies, collectively increasing the scale, scope, and quality of research possible in tidal marsh systems. Thus, ecological research on marshes is being revolutionized, in the same way as ecological research more generally, by the availability of new tools and analytical techniques. This perspective highlights current and potential applications of novel research technologies for marsh ecology. These are summarized under several themes: (1.) imagery — sophisticated imaging sensors mounted on satellites, drones, and underwater vehicles; (2.) animal tracking — acoustic telemetry, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, and satellite tracking, and (3.) biotracers — investigation of energy pathways and food web structure using chemical tracers such as compound-specific stable isotopes, isotope addition experiments, contaminant analysis, and eDNA. While the adoption of these technological advances has greatly enhanced our ability to examine contemporary questions in tidal marsh ecology, these applications also create significant challenges with the accessibility, processing, and synthesis of the large amounts of data generated. Implementation of open science practices has allowed for greater access to data. Newly available machine learning algorithms have been widely applied to resolve the challenge of detecting patterns in massive environmental datasets. The potential integration on digital platforms of multiple, large data streams measuring physical and biological components of tidal marsh ecosystems is an opportunity to advance science support for management responses needed in a rapidly changing coastal landscape.",non-battery
"Post-mortem studies have shown the maturation of the brain’s myelinated white matter, crucial for efficient and coordinated brain communication, follows a nonlinear spatio-temporal pattern that corresponds with the onset and refinement of cognitive functions and behaviors. Unfortunately, investigation of myelination in vivo is challenging and, thus, little is known about the normative pattern of myelination, or its association with functional development. Using a novel quantitative magnetic resonance imaging technique sensitive to myelin we examined longitudinal white matter development in 108 typically developing children ranging in age from 2.5 months to 5.5 years. Using nonlinear mixed effects modeling, we provide the first in vivo longitudinal description of myelin water fraction development. Moreover, we show distinct male and female developmental patterns, and demonstrate significant relationships between myelin content and measures of cognitive function. These findings advance a new understanding of healthy brain development and provide a foundation from which to assess atypical development.
",non-battery
"Patients with subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) may exhibit a high risk of cognitive impairment (CI) by disruption of white matter (WM) integrity. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is recommended as a sensitive method to explore whole brain WM alterations at an asymptomatic stage of the disease, which might be correlated with underlying cognitive disorders. We aim to investigate alterations in WM microstructures and evaluate the relationships between the mean values of diffusion metrics (FA, MD, AD, and RD) and cognitive assessments in SIVD patients. Fifty SIVD patients with (SVCI, N = 25) and without (pre-SVCI, N = 25) cognitive impairments and normal controls (NC, N = 23) underwent DTI and neuropsychological examinations. DTI data were analyzed via TBSS to detect significant changes in WM tracts. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to evaluate relationships between the mean values of diffusion indices and the cognitive assessments. In general, extensive symmetrically altered areas that involved approximately the entire cerebral WM were noted in the pre-SVCI group but were less distinct than that noted in the SVCI group compared with NCs. The genu of corpus callosum exhibited the most damaged WM fiber. Throughout WM, FA was decreased, whereas MD, AD, and RD were increased. Some specific WM tracts in patient groups were significantly correlated with the severity of white matter hyperintensity (WMH), cognitive assessments about executive functions and processing speed. WM integrity has already been damaged at the pre-SVCI stage, which would be associate with future cognitive dysfunction. DTI could potentially establish early biomarkers to detect underlying mechanisms of SIVD.",non-battery
"In this paper, the electrochemical properties and performances of all-solid-state lithium polymer batteries (LPBs) using standard PEO-based solid-state polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are reported and discussed. The assembled cell showed stable charge–discharge cycles (>150 cycles) at 30 °C. This is due to desirable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film formation at the SPE | cathode interface at the first cycle indicated by activation energy measurements for interfacial Li ion exchange reaction. However, sudden capacity fading for prolonged electrochemical cycles was indicated by an accelerated aging test at higher current density (1 C) and temperature conditions (60 °C), accompanied by an increase of electrochemical polarization. This degradation phenomenon may be fatal for practical usage of large-scale batteries which requires extremely long-time durability. Two sequential factors affecting the capacity fading are proposed through the studies of in situ19F-NMR imaging, real-time monitoring of the total cell thickness, and electrochemical measurements such as AC impedance. One factor is degradation of the cathode sheet or cathode composite assembly, owing to cyclic volumetric change from the two-phase LiFePO4–FePO4 reaction. Such degradation leads to uneven electric contact at the electrode | electrolyte interface, thereby enhancing local electrochemical polarization. The second factor, namely, Li salt decomposition, is triggered by this local polarization, giving rise to the continuous capacity fading and the increase of polarization. This degradation scenario can be general enough to include the full range of all-solid-state LPB devices, since the trigger of degradation owes to non-fluidity of solid | solid contact, or solid electrolytes cannot immerse into the cavities caused by pulverization of cathode particles unlike liquid electrolytes. On the basis of these results, we attempted to improve the mechanical properties of the binder materials of cathode sheets, and demonstrated improved cyclic durability.
",battery
"Attending music festivals is a popular pastime. However, there will unfortunately always be a share of fans who, for a wide variety of reasons, are unable to visit a festival of their choice in person. This article reports on the expectations users have about being able to immersively experience music festivals from the comfort of their living room. Out of these expectations, we distill an approach for remote festival engagement that is centered around the concept of blending respectively professional and user-generated content. We then crystallize our approach into a Smart TV application called WanderCouch and let prospective users evaluate it in a simulated live setting. The resulting findings suggest that the proposed solution, among other things, exhibits the potential to improve on the experience provided by traditional (TV) coverages of music festivals, to have a positive impact on both immersion and level of engagement with concerts, and to transfer a veracious impression of the festival’s general theme and on-site atmosphere.
",non-battery
"The effect of diphenyl disulfide (DPDS) as a bifunctional additive on the performance of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2/graphite batteries cycled at elevated temperature was evaluated. The batteries with 1.0wt.% DPDS exhibited a capacity retention of 68.4% after 100 cycles under 55°C, which was higher than that without DPDS (44.4%). In addition, the self-discharge of the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2/graphite battery was also suppressed in a storage test at 85°C for 8h by adding 1.0wt.% DPDS in the electrolyte. Linear sweep voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry combined with density functional theory calculations indicated that DPDS was oxidized and reduced prior to the solvent to participate in the formation of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) films on the cathode and anode simultaneously. The alternating current impedance and X-ray diffraction suggest that the SEI films derived from DPDS are helpful for enhancing the interface performance of the electrodes and protecting the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 and graphite structures from deterioration during high-temperature cycling, which is responsible for the improvement in the performance of the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2/graphite batteries at elevated temperature.",battery
"Because of high lithium storage capacity, high first coulombic efficiency and low cost, Li2MoO3 has become a very attractive anode material for lithium-ion batteries. However, its cycling stability and severe polarization need further improvement. Besides, its reaction mechanism is unclear. In this work, Li2MoO3 is synthesized through ball milling and thermal reduction, and its electrochemical performance and reaction mechanism are investigated as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The synthesized Li2MoO3 shows excellent cycling stability with high capacity. At a current density of 100mAg−1, it presents a first discharge capacity of about 835mAhg−1 with an initial coulombic efficiency of 97.6%. After 150 cycles, a discharge capacity of 902mAhg−1 is preserved. At a current density of 1600mAg−1, the compound exhibits a stable discharge capacity of about 556mAhg−1. It is revealed that the synthesized Li2MoO3 follows mixed insertion/conversion reaction mechanism.",battery
"The necessary reduction of the human footprint demanded by Sustainable Development can be measured by the entropy flow of the society to the environment. The classic tools of process evaluation as e.g. exergetic or life cycle analysis are able to evaluate existing solutions. But their use during the design phase is quite limited because of lacking information about the system and its components. They may be helpful for evolutionary development strategies on a long term only. But reversible process structures can be used as benchmarks already in the conceptual design phase to introduce the demands of the second law. It can be shown that basic human demands on housing, mobility, communication, and infrastructure and industry can be principally supplied by reversible process structures. Because the process logic is a virtual one, real processes can be engineered with a reversible structure however its components produce irreversible entropy flows. Hybrid cars are the most common examples here. The use of exergetic efficiencies allows a transfer of the results of reversible structures to real technology easily. The here presented methodology of sustainable engineering can be summarized by three design rules as using reversible structures, considering technology by exergetic efficiencies, and minimizing components’ entropy export. The still increasing utilization of electricity in upcoming technologies is very helpful for introducing reversible structures within hybrid technologies.",battery
"A simple solution processing method is developed to achieve a uniform and scalable stabilized lithium metal powder (SLMP) coating on a Li-ion negative electrode. A solvent and binder system for the SLMP coating is developed, including the selection of solvent, polymer binder, and optimization of polymer concentration. The optimized binder solution is a 1% concentration of polymer binder in xylene; a mixture of poly(styrene-co-butadiene) rubber (SBR) and polystyrene (PS) is chosen as the polymer binder. Results show that long-sustained, uniformly dispersed SLMP suspension can be achieved with the optimized binder solution. The uniform SLMP coating can be achieved using a simple “doctor blade” coating method, and the resulting SLMP coating can be firmly glued on the anode surface. By using SLMP to prelithiate the negative electrode, improvements in electrochemical performances are demonstrated in both graphite/NMC and SiO/NMC full cells.",battery
"A cooperative research program on the thermal characterization and safety of lithium batteries is being carried out at IIT/Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering and Tohoku University. This research includes experimental work for commercial lithium secondary batteries and performance prediction for scaled-up batteries. In this work, we present a set of thermal characterization experiments for lithium secondary battery cells under normal and abuse conditions. These show that the rise in cell temperature depends strongly on cell chemistry as well as discharge rate. Computer simulation of the cycling of scaled-up lithium batteries shows that the cell temperature profile also depends strongly on the surface cooling rate. An effective thermal management system is required to operate these batteries safely. This paper reviews the basic information needed for intrinsically safe design.",battery
"This study examined how dyslexia affects students’ ability to benefit from higher education, the strategies that successful students with these problems use, and the support offered by the higher education institutions. Results from interviews, self-reports and testing of 53 university students and 42 lecturers from 3 Swedish universities showed that students with dyslexia have problems with a number of skills and academic tasks, e.g. note taking and expressing ideas in writing. Many of the students described that their difficulties were long-standing and had been experienced already in elementary school. The students seemed to compensate via additional time for examinations, access to dyslexia tutors and support by information technology. The results indicate that there are significant knowledge gaps in the educational institutions regarding students who have dyslexia.",non-battery
"Grazing livestock freely select landscape resources, unless they are herded or constrained by fences. Automated animal control (AAC) systems offer an alternative to physical fences by using animal-positioning technology and aversive stimuli to deter animals from staying in sensitive environments and so limit their impact. This paper reports on a replicated field experiment completed to test whether occasional stimuli (audio cue followed by a mild electric stimulus), delivered by discontinuously activated AAC collars, could suffice to modify the grazing behavior of groups of cattle. Four groups of eight steers were confined in 8-ha rectangular paddocks that had an ad libitum supplement feeder located in one end to attract cattle. The steers' positional information was recorded continuously for 3 d using a GPS receiver encased in a collar fitted around their neck. These data were used to characterize their use of the paddocks without intervention. Subsequently a restriction zone was activated on the collars. This zone contained the supplement feeders and represented approximately 10% of the paddock area. Cattle movement was again monitored during a second 3-d period, in which the steers were subjected to discontinuous aversive stimuli (5min of stimulation followed by a random 0–30min interval without stimulation) if they were located inside or moved into the restriction zone. Cattle visits to the restriction zone were shorter and the return interval longer when steers were subjected to discontinuous stimulation. Overall, there was a 97% reduction in the use of the restriction zone between the first and second deployments. These results suggest that grazing impact can be drastically reduced by making a zone less desirable through discontinuous aversive stimulation. Such a discontinuous (25% of the time on) AAC system can reduce power consumption in collars and so help overcome energy supply limitations that hinder commercial AAC applications.",non-battery
"Trichoderma harzianum Rifai is a well-known biological control agent (BCA) effective against a wide range of phytopathogens. Since colonization and persistence in the target niche is crucial for biocontrol effectiveness we aimed to: (i) shed light on the olive roots colonization process by T. harzianum CECT 2413, (ii) unravel the fate of its biomass upon application, and (iii) study the in planta interaction with the soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae Kleb. Fluorescently-tagged derivatives of CECT 2413 and V. dahliae and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used. In vitro assays showed for the first time mycoparasitism of V. dahliae by T. harzianum, evidenced by events such as hyphal coiling. In planta assays revealed that CECT 2413 profusely colonized the rhizoplane of olive roots. Interestingly, biomass of the BCA was visualized mainly as chlamydospores. This observation was independent on the presence or absence of the pathogen. Evidence of inner colonization of olive roots by CECT 2413 was not obtained. These results suggest that CECT 2413 is not able to persist in a metabolically-active form when applied as a spore suspension. This may have strong implications in the way this BCA should be introduced and/or formulated to be effective against Verticillium wilt of olive.",non-battery
"In this work, different water-soluble binder systems are investigated in view on their influence on adhesion, porosity and electrochemical performance of Li1Ni0.33Mn0.33Co0.33O2 composite cathodes, with the aim to establish a low viscosity binder system for ultra-thick electrodes. Different mixtures of sodium carboxymethylcellulose, polyacrylic acid and polyethylene oxide are used as binder in a fixed ratio of 3 wt.-% regarding the solid components. A ternary composition of carboxymethylcellulose/polyacrylic acid/polyethylene oxide is identified as superior binder candidate regarding electrode paste viscosity and electrode adhesion. Starting from 60 wt.-%, the solid content of the electrode paste is increased to 65 wt.-% using the new binder system. Applying solid contents, homogenous and crack free electrodes with an active mass loading of up to 60 mg cm−2 are produced. Cycled against graphite anodes, these cathodes show specific capacities of 85 mAh∙g−1 (5 mAh∙cm−2) at 0.2C (1.8 mA cm−2). In a further step, the capacity is successfully increased to 120 mAh∙g−1 (6 mAh∙cm−2) at 0.2C (1.5 mA cm−2) using carbon micro fibers as additive. Beyond that, the electrode paste based on carbon micro fibers shows superior performance in comparison to a polyvinylidene difluoride-based reference system.",battery
"Public concern about oil and gas (O&G) operations in residential areas is substantial. Noise from construction and drilling related to O&G operations may be greater than other phases of O&G operations; yet the impacts of audible and low-frequency noise during these operations are not extensively explored nor the effects on health well understood. This study documents the noise levels at a multi-well O&G well pad during construction and drilling in a residential area in Colorado. A-weighted (dBA) and C-weighted (dBC) noise measurements were collected at four locations during development over a 3-month period. The maximum 1-min equivalent continuous sound levels over a 1-month period were 60.2 dBA and 80.0 dBC. Overall, 41.1% of daytime and 23.6% of nighttime dBA 1-min equivalent continuous noise measurements were found to exceed 50 dBA, and 97.5% of daytime and 98.3% of nighttime measurements were found to exceed 60 dBC. Noise levels exceeding 50 dBA or 60 dBC may cause annoyance and be detrimental to health; thus, these noise levels have the potential to impact health and noise levels and associated health effects warrant further investigation.",non-battery
"A substantial part of electric vehicles (EVs) powertrain is the battery cell. The cells are usually connected in series, and failure of a single cell can deactivate an entire module in the battery pack. Hence, understanding the cell behaviour helps to predict and improve the battery performance and leads to design a cost effective thermal management system for the battery pack. A first principle thermo electrochemical model is applied to study the cell behaviour. The model is in good agreement with the experimental results and can predict the heat generation and the temperature distribution across the cell for different operating conditions. The operating temperature effect on the cell performance is studied and the operating temperature for the best performance is verified. In addition, EV cells are examined in a realistic driving cycle from the Artemis class. The study findings lead to the proposal of some crucial recommendation to design cost effective thermal management systems for the battery pack.",battery
"The redox mechanism of micro-sized FeS2 particles in a rechargeable lithium battery is studied by galvanostatic cycling and ac-impedance analysis. It is shown that FeS2 is irreversibly reduced on the first discharge, turning Li/FeS2 cell into a combination of Li/FeS and Li/S chemistries, as suggested by two distinct discharge plateaus at ∼1.5 and 2.0V, respectively. The first discharge consists of an irreversible conversion of FeS2 to Li2FeS2 intermediate and its subsequent reduction to metallic Fe and Li2S. The first discharge suffers an initial voltage delay, suggesting that the discharge progresses in a thermodynamic non-equilibrium condition. The initial voltage delay can be attributed to the large grain boundary resistance (GBR) of pristine FeS2 particles, which impedes the nucleation of a new solid Li2FeS2 phase causing high polarization. Ac-impedance spectra of the FeS2 cathode are composed of a semicircle and a straight sloping line, representative of an electrode reaction resistance (Rer) and a Li+ adsorption impedance, respectively. The Rer is found to decrease progressively during the first discharge and reaches a plateau when the cell is charged above 2.5V vs. Li/Li+, being consistent with the model that FeS2 is irreversibly reduced during the first discharge and that the Li2S/Li2Sn redox couple is formed in recharge. It is indicated that Li/FeS2 batteries face the same problems as Li/S batteries, such as the dissolution of lithium polysulfide, the formation of a redox shuttle, and the loss of sulfur active material.",battery
"3,6-Poly(phenanthrenequinone) (PPQ) is synthesized and tested as a conductive binder. The PPQ binder, formulated with nano-sized Si powder without conductive carbon, is n-doped by accepting electrons and Li+ ions to become a mixed conductor in the first charging period. The resulting n-doped PPQ binder remains conductive thereafter within the working potential of Si (0.0–0.5 V vs. Li/Li+). Within the composite electrode, the PPQ binder is uniformly dispersed to effectively convey electrons from the current collector to the Si particles. Namely, the PPQ binder by itself plays the roles of conductive carbon and a polymer binder that are loaded in the conventional composite electrodes. Due to the highly conductive nature, the loading of the PPQ binder can be minimized down to 10 wt%, which is close to that used for practical electrode formulation, with reasonable rate and cycle performances of the nano-Si electrode.
",battery
"New test equipment and characterization methods for aging investigations on lithium-ion cells for automotive applications are presented in this work. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a well-established method for cell characterization and analyzing electrochemical processes. In order to integrate this method into long-term aging studies with real driving currents, new test equipment is mandatory. The presented test equipment meets the demands for high current, wide bandwidth and precise measurement. This allows the cells to be cycled and characterized without interruption for changing the test device. The characterization procedures must be of short duration and have a minimum charge-throughput for negligible influence on the aging effect. This work presents new methods in the time and the frequency domain for obtaining the impedance spectrum which allow a flexible trade-off between measurement performance, time consumption and charge-throughput. In addition to sinusoidal waveforms, rectangular, Gaussian and sin(x)/x pulses are applied for EIS. The performance of the different methods is discussed. Finally, the time domain analysis is applied with real driving currents which provides impedance spectra for state of charge estimation considering aging effects in the car.",battery
"Clark and Wells’ (1995) model of social phobia proposes that there are three types of maladaptive self-beliefs responsible for persistent social anxiety (high standard, conditional, and unconditional beliefs). Although these beliefs are theoretically important, there currently is not a validated measure of these beliefs in the social anxiety literature. Hence, the Self-Beliefs Related to Social Anxiety (SBSA) Scale was developed (Wong and Moulds 2009) and its psychometric properties were examined in the current study using a non-clinical sample (N = 600). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses ultimately indicated that a correlated three-factor solution optimally summarized the data with the three factors corresponding to the three belief types. The SBSA and its three subscales demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and divergent validity. The SBSA thus appears to have good psychometric properties and is appropriate for use in non-clinical samples. The potential applications of the SBSA and avenues for future research are discussed.",non-battery
"A battery fuel gauge (BFG) helps to extend battery life by tracking the state of charge (SOC) and many other diagnostic features. In this paper, we present an approach to validate the SOC and time-to-shutdown (TTS) estimates of a BFG. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing under realistic usage scenarios provides a means for BFG algorithm evaluation and provides insights into practical implementation and testing of BFG algorithms in battery management systems. We report the details of a HIL system that was designed to validate the SOC and TTS estimation capability of BFG algorithms; different current load profiles were synthesized to replicate typical battery usage in portable electronic applications; the HIL system is automated with the help of programmable current profiles and is designed to operate at various controlled temperatures; three performance validation metrics are formulated for an objective assessment of SOC and TTS tracking algorithms. The HIL setup and the performance validation metrics are used to evaluate a BFG developed by the authors using three different batteries at temperatures ranging from - 20 ° C to 40 ° C .",battery
"The lymphatic system has become the subject of great interest in recent years because of its important role in normal and pathological processes. Progress in understanding the origins and early development of this system, however, has been hampered by difficulties in observing lymphatic cells in vivo and in performing defined genetic and experimental manipulation of the lymphatic system in currently available model organisms. Here, we show that the optically clear developing zebrafish provides a useful model for imaging and studying lymphatic development, with a lymphatic system that shares many of the morphological, molecular and functional characteristics of the lymphatic vessels found in other vertebrates. Using two-photon time-lapse imaging of transgenic zebrafish, we trace the migration and lineage of individual cells incorporating into the lymphatic endothelium. Our results show lymphatic endothelial cells of the thoracic duct arise from primitive veins through a novel and unexpected pathway.",non-battery
"Mixing a small amount of Al(OH)3 powder with a LiCoO2 cathode material is demonstrated to improve markedly the cycle performance and thermal stability of commercial grade LiCoO2/graphite lithium-ion batteries. Al(OH)3-mixed LiCoO2/graphite prismatic cells exhibit excellent capacity retention as high as 95% after 400 cycles with negligible polarization build-up. Moreover, the thermal stability of the cells is greatly improved by Al(OH)3 mixing, which is confirmed by higher residual and recovery capacity ratios after storage at 90°C compared with a pristine cell. The beneficial effects of Al(OH)3 are found to be related mainly to an improvement of the cathode side, which is ascribed to reduced unwanted side-reactions with the electrolyte.",battery
"Zinc metal batteries (ZMBs) provide a promising alternative to lithium metal batteries but share the formidable challenges in reversibility. The authors discuss the key performance metrics of ZMBs and propose a protocol to assess the true reversibility of zinc metal anodes.
",battery
"Under the one-child policy and with the economic development, there has been an annual rise in both anxious emotions and behavioral problems among students with learning difficulties. In order to evaluate the relationship between anxious emotions and behavioral problems, this study adopted a quantitative approach to randomly select 6000 elementary school students in Jiangsu Province of China, then screened 714 anxious children with learning disabilities. The conclusions of this research were as follows: for children with learning difficulties, their anxious emotions and behavioral problems were above average, notably their social phobia and learning problems; behavioral problems of children with learning difficulties varied due to demographic variables, and there was a significant interaction effect of rearing styles and family atmospheres on children’s behavioral problems; separation anxiety, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, family atmosphere (harmony), rearing style (democracy), parental expectation (self-sufficiency) and somatization/panic disorder of children with learning difficulties could predict their behavioral problems. Based on the results, this study proposed a few suggestions for educators and future researchers.
",non-battery
"The introduction of nitrogen heteroatoms into carbon materials is a facile and efficient strategy to regulate their reactivities and facilitate their potential applications in energy conversion and storage. However, most of nitrogen heteroatoms are doped into the bulk phase of carbon without site selectivity, which significantly reduces the contacts of feedstocks with the active dopants in a conductive scaffold. Herein we proposed the chemical vapor deposition of a nitrogen-doped graphene skin on the 3D porous graphene framework and donated the carbon/carbon composite as surface N-doped grapheme (SNG). In contrast with routine N-doped graphene framework (NGF) with bulk distribution of N heteroatoms, the SNG renders a high surface N content of 1.81 at%, enhanced electrical conductivity of 31 S cm−1, a large surface area of 1531 m2 g−1, a low defect density with a low I D/I G ratio of 1.55 calculated from Raman spectrum, and a high oxidation peak of 532.7 °C in oxygen atmosphere. The selective distribution of N heteroatoms on the surface of SNG affords the effective exposure of active sites at the interfaces of the electrode/electrolyte, so that more N heteroatoms are able to contact with oxygen feedstocks in oxygen reduction reaction or serve as polysulfide anchoring sites to retard the shuttle of polysulfides in a lithium–sulfur battery. This work opens a fresh viewpoint on the manipulation of active site distribution in a conductive scaffolds for multi-electron redox reaction based energy conversion and storage.",battery
"The development of a free-standing electrode with high rate capability requires the realization of facile electrolyte percolation, fast charge transfer at the electrode-electrolyte interface as well as the intimate electrical wiring to the current collector. Employing a sulfonated high internal phase emulsion polymer (polyHIPE) as the carbon precursor, we developed a free-standing composite of carbon foam encapsulated SnO2 nanocrystallites, which simultaneously satisfies the aforementioned requirements. When directly evaluated in the pouch cell without using the binder, carbon additive or metallic current collector, the best performing composite exhibits a good rate performance up to 8 A g−1 and very stable cyclability for 250 cycles. This cycling performance was attributed to the synergistic coupling of hierarchical macro/mesoporous carbon foam and SnO2 nanocrystals with optimized size range. Postmortem characterizations unveiled the significant influence of subtle size variation of oxides on the electrochemical performance.",battery
"Large, sub-alpine, stratified lakes are directly within the scope of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and need adapted monitoring systems. Moreover, anthropogenic eutrophication was frequently the main cause of their water quality degradation in the 20th century. This paper is primarily aimed at demonstrating how in situ sensor-equipped buoys could be the base of monitoring designs to support the WFD objectives. The core of this paper, mainly methodological, focuses on single-depth, high frequency (4 per hour) fluorescence measurements. It shows that the internal wave pattern provides additional information to the single-depth time series to assess phytoplankton dynamics in a stratified water column displaying strong, vertical biomass heterogeneity. The paper deals with the following three aspects: (1) definition of an indicator to determine whether or not the sensor actually detects the metalimnetic fluorescence peak, (2) vertical representation of chlorophyll distribution from single-depth series; (3) time evolution of the fluorescence peak (maximum value, depth and associated temperature, peak width).",non-battery
"The influence of oxygen on the electrochemical response of magnesium–scandium (Mg–Sc) thin film electrodes has been investigated. It was found that the impact of oxygen dissolved in the electrolyte is two-fold. Firstly, it gives rise to a mixed-potential under open-circuit conditions that is much more positive than the true equilibrium potential of the hydride material, thus yielding incorrect thermodynamic data. Secondly, it causes self-oxidation of the hydrogenated thin films, making calculations regarding hydrogen storage capacities (mAh/g) not straightforward. A novel oxygen-scrubbing device was developed to de-oxygenate the argon used as purging gas during the electrochemical measurements. This self-regenerative system is based on the high reactivity of the methylviologen single radical towards oxygen. A comparison between various electrochemical responses of identical Mg–Sc thin film electrodes, measured with and without the presence of oxygen, showed distinct deviations in equilibrium potential and hydrogen storage capacity.",battery
"The abundant and low-cost potassium resources promote potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) as promising energy storage devices, thus accelerating the investigation of ideal electrode materials to accommodate the large-size K-ions. Here, a nano-rose-like MoS2 confined in reduced graphene oxide (MoS2@rGO) is evaluated as anode material to boost K-ion storage. The MoS2@rGO hybrid not only features large specific surface area for excellent electron conductivity and facile K-ions diffusion, but also provides a robust three-dimension (3D) network with stable interfacial connection through strong chemical bonds (Mo-C and Mo-O-C) between MoS2 and rGO, which can alleviate the mechanical stress to guarantee the structure stability during cycling. It is also confirmed that both intercalation and conversion reaction mechanisms, based on four-electrons-transfer, play an important role in K-ions insertion/extraction. Hence, the initial capacity of 438.5 mAh·g−1 with excellent cycling stability (capacity retention of 95.0% after 200 cycles) at 100 mA g−1 and the remarkable rate capability (196.8 mAh·g−1 at 2 A g−1) among many reported anodes are achieved for MoS2@rGO. No obvious fading at 500 mA g−1 can be observed over ultra-long lifespan of 1000 cycles. Finally, the K-ion full cells are assembled with K2Fe[Fe(CN)6] cathode to demonstrate the practical application.",battery
"We propose a stochastic mixed integer optimization model to optimally size a solar power system and its battery storage for residential and nonresidential customers of electric power. The objective function of the model is to minimize the total cost associated with solar power system investments and the grid provided electric power over a planning horizon. We consider the uncertainty associated with solar radiation, load, and electricity price in the form of probabilistic scenarios. The model can be used with different grid pricing programs and under no net metering or net metering programs, respectively. A numerical example and its parametric analyses are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the model and develop some insights into optimal sizing of a battery storage enabled solar system. The analyses show the size of the solar system is influenced by the labor cost and the load size whereas the size of the battery storage is sensitive to the load size and the battery cost. Moreover, we find the optimal number of solar panels/batteries is larger under the net metering program than under no net metering program.",battery
" Ethiopia is one of five countries that account for half of the world’s 2.6 million newborn deaths. A quarter of neonatal deaths in Ethiopia are caused by birth asphyxia. Understanding different dimensions of the quality of care for newborns with breathing difficulties can lead to improving service provision environments and practice. We describe facility readiness to treat newborns with breathing difficulties, the extent to which newborn resuscitation is provided, and by modeling the survival of newborns with difficulties breathing, we identify key factors that suggest how mortality from asphyxia can be reduced.",non-battery
"Of all the companies that saw the early years of the last Century, only about a quarter are recognisable today - and some of those only by a brand name. Inco is one the select few that have won through 100 turbulent years to celebrate its centenary. Chairman and Chief Executive Scott Hand says the company plans to be in business for a long time to come…",non-battery
"Ni3[Fe(CN)6]2 nano-cubic precursors were prepared by chemical coprecipitation at room temperature with nickel acetate and potassium ferricyanide as raw materials. The corresponding NiFe2O4-NiO@C composites with excellent crystallization were prepared by two-stage oxidation at low temperature. The microstructure and electrochemical behavior of the materials showed that the Prussian blue analog was transformed into metal oxide while the carbon coating was maintained in the two-stage oxidation at low temperature. The existence of the carbon coating reduces the charge transfer impedance to 31.5 Ω. At the current density of 500 mA/g, the reversible capacity of 632.7 mAh/g is maintained after 500 cycles. At the same time, carbon cladding can also enhance the role of pseudocapacitance in the material. At the scanning rate of 0.1 mV/s, the pseudocapacitance account for 54.4% of the total discharge capacity, which is significantly higher than that of uncoated materials.",non-battery
"There have been many advances in vitreoretinal surgery since Machemer introduced the concept of pars plana vitrectomy, in 1971. Of particular interest are the changes in the vitrectomy cutters, their fluidics interaction, the wide-angle viewing systems and the evolution of endoillumination through the past decade and notably in the last few years. The indications of 27-gauge surgery have expanded, including more complex cases. Cut rates of up to 16,000 cuts per minute are already available. New probe designs and pump technology have allowed duty cycle performances of near 100% and improved flow control. The smaller vitrectomy diameter can be positioned between narrow spaces, allowing membrane dissection and serving as a multifunctional instrument. Enhanced endoillumination safety can be achieved by changing the light source, adding light filters, increasing the working distance and understanding the potential interactions between light and vital dyes commonly used to stain the retina. Wide-angle viewing systems (contact, non-contact or a combination of both) provide a panoramic view of the retina. Non-contact systems are assistant-independent, while contact systems may be associated with better image resolution. This review will cover some current aspects on vitrectomy procedures, mainly assessing vitrectomy cutters, as well as the importance of endoillumination and the use of wide-angle viewing systems.",non-battery
"Field-portable detectors have been frequently used in routine monitoring and hazard assessment studies. However, there have been few thorough attempts to evaluate their potential as an alternative to the traditional procedure of collecting samples and analysing them in the laboratory. Thus, in this study the two approaches were compared in terms of their utility for monitoring 137Cs activity in the Nyänget catchment in northern Sweden. The objectives were: (i) to determine the 137Cs activity in soils associated with three types of vegetation, (ii) to map the geographical distribution of 137Cs using the portable NaI detector connected to a GPS system (GDM-40), (iii) to identify 137Cs anomalies in the catchment, and (iv) to compare the measurements obtained with the NaI detector and traditional sampling followed by laboratory analysis. Our results demonstrate that the GDM-40 has very good potential for making 137Cs inventories and for detecting 137Cs anomalies within large areas. The GDM-40 measurements identified differences between different hydrological areas that were not determined with the soil sampling method. The GDM-40 method is much faster than a traditional soil sampling method. However, soil sampling cannot be totally excluded because it is needed to calibrate the GDM-40. The agreement between the 137Cs activity values obtained by the two approaches was 20% which is good in the field where so many factors vary.",non-battery
"The acute effects of the organophosphate insecticide fenitrothion on Dicentrarchus labrax juveniles were investigated through a bioassay using biomarkers and swimming behaviour as effect criteria. After 96 h of exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of fenitrothion, the swimming velocity and several biomarkers were individually determined, namely: brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity; muscle cholinesterases (ChE), lactate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities; liver ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione S-transferases, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and lipid peroxidation levels (LPO). A significant decrease of the swimming velocity (LOEC = 2 mg l−1), an inhibition of both AChE (LOEC = 0.06 mg l−1) and ChE activities (LOEC = 0.03 mg l−1), and a positive and significant correlation between the swimming velocity and AChE were found in exposed fish, suggesting an influence of the inhibition of these enzymes in the swimming velocity decrease. An increase of EROD activity (LOEC = 1 mg l−1), indicating the involvement of this enzyme in fenitrothion biotransformation, and a negative and significant correlation between EROD activity and swimming velocity were also found, suggesting that the two findings may somehow be related. Furthermore, results show a significant induction of SOD (LOEC = 0.13 mg l−1) without LPO increase, suggesting that the enzyme is preventing oxidative stress damage. No significant alterations were found in any of the other parameters tested. Thus, exposure of seabass to fenitrothion in the wild at concentrations similar to those tested here may have adverse consequences at population level as neurotransmission and swimming ability are essential for fish performance and survival.
",non-battery
"Abstract Although they may know how to operate a vehicle or ride a bike, security officers must be prepared and responsible at all times. Post instructions and a vehicle checklist will need to be followed before a security officer leaves on patrol. Bicycle safety and how to avoid possible collisions are also addressed in this chapter.",non-battery
"Electric vehicle cooling modes are divided into air cooling, liquid cooling and phase change material cooling, the air cooling is divided into natural air cooling and forced air cooling. This paper selects the forced air cooling as the study object, and researches the heat dissipation performance of different airflow duct modes, the results indicated that: as considering that changing the longitudinal battery pack into horizontal battery pack, it could improve the heat dissipation performance by shorting airflow path; it increases the contact area for thermal conduction by adding bottom duct, and the area of battery pack top exists natural convection, so the heat dissipation performance of bottom duct mode is more superior; for battery pack with bottom duct mode, it uses the double “U” type duct instead of double “1” type duct in order to improve the heat dissipation performance; when the heat dissipation condition is poor, it could reduce the SOC state or charge & discharge rate to satisfy the heat dissipation performance requirements; as considering the practical operation condition of battery pack with double “U” type duct, it has a large margin of high charge and discharge rate to meet the needs of electric vehicle acceleration or deceleration operation.",battery
"A sulfur-coated carbon nanofiber (CNF–S) composite cathode material was prepared by a chemical deposition method in an aqueous solution. This CNF–S material was evaluated as the cathode material in lithium/sulfur cells with three different binders. The results of the SEM and TGA measurements reveal that CNF–S has a typical core–shell structure, containing 75.7 w/o sulfur coated uniformly on the surface of the CNFs. The effects of different binders on the potential profiles, electrode capacity and capacity retention with cycling were investigated. The electrode prepared with CMC+SBR binder has the best performance compared with PVdF and PEO binders, exhibiting a specific capacity of up to 1313mAhg−1 S at the initial discharge and a specific capacity of 586mAhg−1 S after 60 cycles.",battery
" Health professionals are required to collect data from standardized tests when assessing older patients’ functional ability. Such data provide quantifiable documentation on health outcomes. Little is known, however, about how physiotherapists and occupational therapists who administer standardized tests use test information in their daily clinical work. This article aims to investigate how test administrators in a geriatric setting justify the everyday use of standardized test information.",non-battery
"The performance of PVdF macroporous separators used in lithium battery at high charge rates was evaluated using Li4Ti5O12 and LiMn2O4 as negative and positive electrodes respectively. The effects of the non-solvent used, the PVdF concentration in the good solvent and the thickness of the swelled membrane on membrane porosity and on the conductivity of the separator+liquid electrolyte were evaluated. The conductivity decrease, induced by the porous separator introduction and separator thickness influence notably battery performance for high charge rate.",battery
"Electrically conducting polypyrrole (Ppy) coatings doped with sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) have been deposited on 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel by anodic polymerization from aqueous solutions of pyrrole and sodium dodecylsulfate. The corrosion behavior of Ppy coated steel was investigated in 0.3M HCl aqueous solution at room temperature by a combination of electrochemical measurement techniques and scanning electron microscopy. The steel is in active state at the open circuit potential and suffers from pitting corrosion when the polarization potential is higher than 210mV versus SCE. The Ppy coating can increase the corrosion potential of the steel by more than 600mV versus SCE, and the pitting corrosion potential by more than 500mV versus SCE. Fifty-day exposure experiments indicated that the Ppy coating shows high stability, and can inhibit effectively the corrosion of the steel.",battery
"Background Schizophrenia is characterized by impairment in multiple aspects of community functioning. Available literature suggests that community functioning may be enhanced through cognitive remediation, however, evidence is limited regarding whether specific neurocognitive domains may be treatment targets. We characterized schizophrenia subjects based on their level of community functioning through cluster analysis in an effort to identify whether specific neurocognitive domains were associated with variation in functioning. Methods Schizophrenia (SCZ, n=60) and control (CON, n=45) subjects completed a functional capacity task, social competence role-play, functional attainment interview, and a neuropsychological battery. Multiple cluster analytic techniques were used on the measures of functioning in the schizophrenia subjects to generate functionally-defined subgroups. MANOVA evaluated between-group differences in neurocognition. Results The cluster analysis revealed two distinct groups, consisting of 36 SCZ characterized by high levels of community functioning (HF-SCZ) and 24 SCZ with low levels of community functioning (LF-SCZ). There was a main group effect for neurocognitive performance (p <0.001) with CON outperforming both SCZ groups in all neurocognitive domains. Post-hoc tests revealed that HF-SCZ had higher verbal working memory compared to LF-SCZ (p ≤0.05, Cohen's d =0.78) but the two groups did not differ in remaining domains. Conclusion The cluster analysis classified schizophrenia subjects in HF-SCZ and LF-SCZ using a multidimensional assessment of community functioning. Moreover, HF-SCZ demonstrated rather preserved verbal working memory relative to LF-SCZ. The results suggest that verbal working memory may play a critical role in community functioning, and is a potential cognitive treatment target for schizophrenia subjects.",non-battery
"Novel hierarchical MoS2/graphene (MoS2/G) nanobelts were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal reaction. In this work, the MoO3 nanobelts and graphene nanosheets played the important roles in the preparation of the nanosheet-built nanobelt architecture. Ascribed to the ordered porous hierarchical nanobelt structure and introduction of graphene, the hybrid electrode exhibits much higher electrochemical capacity than pure MoS2 particles. Moreover, the unique ordered hierarchical architecture could greatly relieve the volume change and stack during the electrochemical process, resulting in the excellent cycling stability. Specifically, the hybrid electrode possesses a capacitance of 445.71 F g−1 at 0.8 A g−1 with a high capacity retention of 96.75% at 2 A g−1 after 1000 cycles.",battery
This study provides causal evidence demonstrating that consuming a high flavanol diet improves dentate gyrus function and dentate gyrus–dependent cognitive functions in aged humans.,non-battery
" Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most commonly used medications in the elderly. They have been widely studied as possible preventive agents against cognitive decline because of the properties of anti-inflammatories, which sustain cerebral blood flow and mitigate the neurotoxicity of microglial cells. However, the results remain controversial.",non-battery
"Establishment of 137Cs inventories is often used to gain information on soil stability. The latter is crucial in mountain systems, where ecosystem stability is tightly connected to soil stability. In-situ measurements of 137Cs in steep alpine environments are scarce. Most studies have been carried out in arable lands and with Germanium (Ge) detectors. Sodium Iodide (NaI) detector system is an inexpensive and easy to handle field instrument, but its validity on steep alpine environments has not been tested yet. In this study, a comparison of laboratory measurements with GeLi detector and in-situ measurements with NaI detector of 137Cs gamma soil radiation has been done in an alpine catchment with high 137Cs concentration (Urseren Valley, Switzerland). The aim of this study was to calibrate the in-situ NaI detector system for application on steep alpine slopes. Replicate samples from an altitudinal transect through the Urseren Valley, measured in the laboratory with a GeLi detector, showed a large variability in 137Cs activities at a meter scale. This small-scale heterogeneity determined with the GeLi detector is smoothed out by uncollimated in-situ measurements with the NaI detector, which provides integrated estimates of 137Cs within the field of view (3.1 m2) of each measurement. There was no dependency of 137Cs on pH, clay content and carbon content, but a close relationship was determined between measured 137Cs activities and soil moisture. Thus, in-situ data must be corrected for soil moisture. Close correlation (R 2 = 0.86, p < 0.0001) was found for 137Cs activities (in Bq kg−1) estimated with in-situ (NaI detector) and laboratory (GeLi detector) methods. We thus concluded that the NaI detector system is a suitable tool for in-situ measurements in alpine environments. This paper describes the calibration of the NaI detector system for field application under elevated 137Cs activities originating from Chernobyl fallout.",non-battery
"In this paper, we report the supercapacitor electrodes with excellent cycle stability, which are made of silicon carbide nanowires (SiC NWs) grown on flexible carbon fabric. A high areal capacitance of 23 mF cm−2 is achieved at a scan rate of 50 mV s−1 at room temperature and capacitances increase with the rise of the working temperature. Owing to the excellent thermal stability of SiC NWs and carbon fabric, no observable decrease of capacitance occurs at room temperature (20 °C) after 105 cycles, which satisfies the demands of the commercial applications. Further increasing the measurement temperature to 60 °C, 90% of the initial capacitance is still retained after 105 cycles. This study shows that silicon carbide nanowires on carbon fabric are a promising electrode material for high temperature and stable micro-supercapacitors.",battery
"Two types of nanosize intermetallic alloy powders, NiSi and FeSi, are prepared by high-energy ball-milling. The alloys are used as electrode materials in lithium test cells. During lithium insertion into the alloy electrodes, Si acts as active centres, which react with Li to form Li x Si alloys. A high lithium storage capacity of 1180 mA h g−1 is observed for the NiSi electrode, with some reversibility. A mechanism for the reaction of NiSi and FeSi with Li+ is proposed.",battery
"Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of mental retardation, arises in individuals with more than 200 CGG repeats in the 5′ untranslated region of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Although CGG repeat numbers comparable to those found in the normal human population are found in various non-human primates, neither the within-species size variation nor the propensity for expansion of the CGG repeat has been described for any non-human primate species. The allele distribution has now been determined for FMR1 (homologue) CGG repeats of 265 unrelated founder females of Macaca mulatta monkeys. Among 530 X chromosomes, at least 26 distinct repeat lengths were identified, ranging from 16 to 54 CGG repeats. Of these alleles 79% have between 25 and 33 CGG repeats. Detailed examination of the CGG region revealed a conserved G (CGG)2 G interruption, although in no case was an AGG trinucleotide detected. Two animals carried borderline premutation alleles with 54 CGG repeats, within the region of marginal instability for humans. Thus, M. mulatta may be useful as an animal model for the study of fragile X syndrome.",non-battery
" A core difficulty for individuals with autism is making friends and successfully engaging and interacting with peers. The majority of measures to assess peer interactions are observations in a school setting or self-report. The present study examined the convergent validity of using a teacher rating scale, the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS), for collecting information about the quality of peer interactions at school.",non-battery
"The invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida has spread from northeastern Asia to temperate coastal environments worldwide, with profound effects on colonized ecosystems. In this work, we analyzed the effect of exudates from U. pinnatifida on the chemical and microbial properties of seawater from a semi-enclosed gulf from Atlantic Patagonia. Exudates of U. pinnatifida, consisting mainly of carbohydrates, were released at a rate of 1.6 ± 0.8 mg C g−1 algae day−1, affecting the quality and optical properties of seawater in experimental incubations. Parallel factor analysis based on excitation-emission matrices collected from exudates revealed the presence of two humic-like and one non-humic fluorescent components. Exudate release stimulated microbial growth and polysaccharide degrading activity in seawater. After a 7-day incubation of fresh seawater with the exudates, changes in microbial community structure were analyzed by large-scale 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Copiotrophic and fermentative genera such as Spirochaeta (Spirochaetes) and Propionigenium (Fusobacteria) increased in the incubations with algal exudates. Genomic potential prediction revealed that the selected bacterial community could have higher ribosome content—an indicator of the potential for reaching higher metabolic rates—and genes for the degradation of complex organic compounds such as polysaccharides and other carbohydrates present in the exudates. Nutrient addition triggered the emergence of other microbial populations with different ecophysiological niches: unclassified Flavobacteriales, unclassified bacteria related to the recently described Phylum Kiritimatiellaeota, as well as potential pathogens such as Vibrio (Gammaproteobacteria) and Arcobacter (Epsilonproteobacteria), suggesting potential synergistic effects between invasive macroalgae and human activities.
",non-battery
"High density of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were synthesized by a hot-wire assisted plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. The structural and optical properties of the as-grown SiNWs prepared at different rf power of 40 and 80W were analyzed in this study. The SiNWs prepared at rf power of 40W exhibited highly crystalline structure with a high crystal volume fraction, X C of ∼82% and are surrounded by a thin layer of SiO x . The NWs show high absorption in the high energy region (E>1.8eV) and strong photoluminescence at 1.73 to 2.05eV (red–orange region) with a weak shoulder at 1.65 to 1.73eV (near IR region). An increase in rf power to 80W reduced the X C to ∼65% and led to the formation of nanocrystalline Si structures with a crystallite size of <4nm within the SiNWs. These NWs are covered by a mixture of uncatalyzed amorphous Si layer. The SiNWs prepared at 80W exhibited a high optical absorption ability above 99% in the broadband range between 220 and ∼1500nm and red emission between 1.65 and 1.95eV. The interesting light absorption and photoluminescence properties from both SiNWs are discussed in the text.",non-battery
"Résumé Introduction Les rapports entre perception visuelle et imagerie mentale visuelle sont au centre d’un vif débat théorique entre ceux proposant l’existence de processus neurocognitifs communs et ceux soulignant les diversités entre ces deux entités. La neuropsychologie est à même d’apporter une contribution importante à ce débat, en évaluant les associations et dissociations entre déficits perceptifs et imaginatifs chez les patients présentant des lésions cérébrales. Toutefois, il n’existe pas à ce jour une batterie de tests normalisés permettant de telles évaluations. Matériel et méthode Nous présentons ici une batterie d’évaluation des capacités d’imagerie mentale et de perception visuelle (batterie imagerie-perception, BIP) avec une analyse des effets de l’âge, du niveau d’éducation et du sexe sur les performances. La BIP comprend deux parties, l’une composée de 14 épreuves évaluant l’imagerie mentale visuelle et l’autre de huit épreuves évaluant les capacités de perception visuelle. Ces tests explorent différents domaines d’imagerie et de perception visuelle : objets et animaux, couleurs, matériel numérique, orthographique, spatial et visages. Résultats Les résultats mettent en évidence une influence des facteurs sur les performances et font apparaître des corrélations imagerie/perception pour le domaine orthographique, mais pas pour d’autres domaines cognitifs. Conclusion Ces résultats semblent aller à l’encontre des hypothèses postulant une équivalence entre perception et imagerie mentale visuelle.",non-battery
"Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a well established technique and adopted in characterizing heterogeneous interface properties in various fields, such as batteries, fuel cells and corrosion. As an extension to traditional linear EIS technique, nonlinear EIS (NLEIS) is a developing technique that benefits from considerably higher resolution, better sensitivity in determining reaction mechanisms with no extra cost for hardware and measurement time. However, the fundamental concepts of harmonic impedance and optimal experimental as well as analysis procedure have yet to be fully developed. This paper explores the potential and some fundamental characteristics of NLEIS by revisiting one of the most stable and well understood electrochemical systems – the ferri–ferrocyanide redox couple. It was found that the inflections on odd harmonic curves follow a predictable trend, shifting towards lower frequency with increasing order. Even harmonics behave differently and contain critical information about the symmetry of the system. In contrast to EIS where the transfer coefficient is obtained by measurements on solutions of different concentrations, it is demonstrated that analysis of the even harmonics can yield the transfer coefficient for the reaction from measurements of a single solution.",battery
"Pseudocapacitive manganese oxide films have been synthesized by anodic oxidation of metallic films deposited by sputtering. Results are presented from an electrochemical investigation into properties of these thin sputtered manganese films. Mn films with thickness ranging from 20 to 200nm have been sputtered onto Pt coated Si wafers in an Argon atmosphere. Electrochemical oxidation converts the metal film into a porous, dendritic structure which displays significant pseudocapacitance. We have observed a specific capacitance (C s) of 700F/g when cycled very slowly at a constant current density of 160μA/cm2. The same films probed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) at a rate of 5mV/s yielded a lower specific capacitance of 400–450F/g. Post-oxidation material loading was measured to be in the range of 25–75μg/cm2.",battery
"Manganese (II) oxide (MnO) nanoparticles with nitrogen-doped (N-doped) carbon coating were fabricated via an efficient carbonization process using pyrrole, acrylonitrile and pyridine as different carbon sources, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) characterizations reveal the uniform carbon coating on the MnO nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements demonstrate the presence of pyridinic N and pyrrolic N in the carbon coating. The nanocomposite using pyridine as carbon source exhibited superior cycling and rate performance, which could deliver a reversible capacity of 634mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 100mA g−1 and the capacities of 591, 510, 440, 310 mAh g−1 at 100, 200, 400 and 800mA g−1, respectively. From the comparison of the electrochemical performances of the MnO and N-doped carbon nanocoposites derived from different carbon sources, pyridinic N contributes more to the improvement of cycling performance and rate capability than pyrrolic N.",battery
"Hollow structured graphene-polyaniline spheres (GSA/PANI HS) were prepared via a facile and efficient Pickering emulsion polymerization using sulfonated graphene (GSA) as Pickering stabilizer. In our procedure, amphiphilic sulfonated graphene (GSA) was first synthesized and used to stabilize an oil phase containing aniline. Upon aniline polymerization at the oil/water interface, graphene-polyaniline hollow sphere (GSA/PANI HS) with a rough outer surface and a smooth inner surface, was generated. The size as well as the electrochemical properties of GSA/PANI HS could be easily adjusted by varying the amphipathicity and concentration of GSA, and the oil-water volume ratios of the Pickering emulsions. The synthesized GSA/PANI HS exhibited superior performance in supercapacitors compared to the common stacked two-dimensional GSA/PANI composite owing to its unique hollow structure, which provides a larger accessible surface area and reduces the transport length for both charge and ion The specific capacitance of GSA/PANI HS can reach 546 F g−1, more than two folds higher than stacked two-dimensional GSA/PANI composite. In addition, GSA/PANI HS reveals enhanced capacitance retention at higher scan rates (76% from 5 to 500 mV s−1) and current densities (83.5% from 0.5 to 10 A g−1), demonstrating superior electrochemical accessibility of the 3D hollow nanostructure. Furthermore, good cycling stability is also demonstrated, which render them interesting candidates for future electrochemical energy storage systems. This approach represents a simple, convenient and controllable route for the preparation of hollow graphene-polyaniline nanostructures for high performance supercapacitor applications.",battery
"The Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Blume) ‘Huaihuang’ was chosen as the experimental material to observe embryogenesis and the dynamic changes of cell wall components during this process. Various developmental stages of embryos, including globular embryos, heart embryos, torpedo embryos and cotyledon embryos, were observed. The results showed that during embryogenesis, cellulose increased, and callose rapidly degraded. In the cell walls of developing embryos, pectic homogalacturonan (HG), especially low-esterified HG, was abundant, suggesting rapid synthesis and de-methyl-esterification of HG. Extensin and galactan increased with the development of the embryos. In contrast, the arabinan epitopes decreased in developing embryos but were more abundant than galactan epitopes at all stages. Xylan epitopes showed explicit boundaries between the outer epidermal wall and the rest of the inner tissues, and the fluorescence intensity of the outer epidermal wall was significantly higher than that of the inner tissues. Furthermore, the results indicated that the outer epidermal wall contained high amounts of cellulose, HG pectin and hemicellulose, especially arabinan and xylan. These results suggested the presence of rapid pectin metabolism, cellulose synthesis, rapid degradation of callose, different distributive patterns and dynamic changes of hemicellulose (galactan, arabinan and xylan) and extensin during embryogenesis. Various cell wall components exist in different tissues of the embryo, and dynamic changes in cell wall components are involved in the embryonic development process.
",non-battery
"In this work, we study ablation of silicon in distilled water under the action of laser pulses with nanosecond duration. The size distribution of produced particles depends on the laser processing parameters and therefore can be modified by the varying distance between laser pulses, laser fluence or pulse duration. The properties of fabricated nanostructures are investigated by scanning electron microscopy to acquire statistical information on nanoparticle sizes. These results can be promising for dielectric nanophotonics, photovoltaics or cancer treatment where relatively large spherical silicon particles are necessary.",non-battery
"ERF transcription factors can bind GCC boxes or non-GCC cis elements to regulate biotic and abiotic stress responses. Here, we report that an ERF transcription factor gene (GbERF2) was cloned by suppression subtraction hybridization from sea-island cotton after Verticillium dahliae attack. The GbERF2 cDNA has a total length of 1143 bp with an open reading frame of 597 bp. The genomic sequence of GbERF2 contains an intron of 515 bp. The gene encodes a predicated polypeptide of 198 amino acids with a molecular weight of 22.5 kDa and a calculated pI of 9.82. The GbERF2 protein has a highly conserved ERF domain while the nucleotide and amino acid sequences have low homology with other ERF plant proteins. An RNA blot revealed that GbERF2 is constitutively expressed in different tissues, but is higher in the leaves. High levels of GbERF2 transcripts rapidly accumulated when the plants were exposed to exogenous ethylene treatment and V. dahliae infection, while there was only a slight accumulation in response to salt, cold, drought and water stresses. In contrast, GbERF2 transcripts declined in response to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. GbERF2 transgenic tobacco plants constitutively accumulated higher levels of pathogenesis-related gene transcripts, such as PR-1b, PR2 and PR4. The resistance of transgenic tobacco to fungal infection by Alternaria longipes was enhanced. However, the resistance to bacterial infection by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci was not improved. These results show that GbERF2 plays an important role in response to ethylene stress and fungal attack in cotton.",non-battery
"We have investigated the suitability of four different binders for the conventional mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs) anode material in Li-ion batteries. Unlike the conventional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), the binders were water soluble and were either cellulose based, such as the lithium and sodium salts of carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC, and LiCMC) and Xanthan Gum (XG), or the conjugated polymer: poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene) (PEDOT, a.k.a. Baytron). All binders were commercially available except LiCMC, which was synthesized and characterized by FTIR and NMR. Thermal studies of the binders by TGA and DSC showed that, in air, the binders have a broad melting event at 100–150°C, with an onset temperature for decomposition above 220°C. Li/MCMB half-cell batteries were assembled using the studied binders. Slow scan voltammograms of all cells showed characteristic lithium insertion and de-insertion peaks including that of the SEI formation which was found to be embedded into the insertion peaks during the first cycle. Cycling of the cells showed that the one containing XG binder gave the highest capacities reaching 350mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at C/12, while the others gave comparable capacities to those of the conventional binder PVDF. The rate capabilities of cells were examined and found to perform well up to the studied C/2 rate with more than 50% capacity retained. Further studies of the XG-based MCMB electrodes were performed and concluded that an optimal thickness of 300–365μm gave the highest capacities and sustained high C-rates.",battery
"Worldwide efforts are being devoted to promote an efficient use of renewable energy sources and sustainable electric transportation. High efficiency energy conversion systems like batteries, which store/deliver high energy and power densities, are under development. While Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are the best performing batteries on the market and redox flow batteries are already used for stationary plants, a drastic step forward is needed to increase energy and power performance and decrease costs. Li/O2 batteries are considered the next generation due to significantly higher energy delivery than LIBs. We demonstrate a radically new battery concept: a non-aqueous Li/O2 battery that operates with a semi-solid, flowable catholyte. The proof-of-concept is proven by a catholyte based on 2% wt. SuperP carbon dispersed in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether – lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide. Oxygen redox reaction at the semi-solid catholyte is investigated by electrochemical, morphological and spectroscopic analyses. The perfomance of a semi-solid, flow Li/O2 battery prototype operating at high discharge rates (up to 4mAcm−2) with high discharge capacity (>175mAhcm−2), energy (>500mWh cm−2) and power (>7mWcm−2) is reported. The strategies to approach the challenging target of 1kWhkg−1 and 2kWhL−1 are also discussed.",battery
"The field of prevention has established the potential to promote child adjustment across a wide array of outcomes. However, when evidence-based prevention programs have been delivered at scale in community settings, declines in implementation and outcomes have resulted. Maintaining high quality implementation is a critical challenge for the field. We describe steps towards the development of a practical system to monitor and support the high-quality implementation of evidence-based prevention programs in community settings. Research on the implementation of an evidence-based parenting program for divorcing families called the “New Beginnings Program” serves as an illustration of the promise of such a system. As a first step, we describe a multidimensional theoretical model of implementation that links aspects of program delivery with improvements in participant outcomes. We then describe research on the measurement of each of these implementation dimensions and test their relations to intended program outcomes. As a third step, we develop approaches to the assessment of these implementation constructs that are feasible to use in community settings and to establish their reliability and validity. We focus on the application of machine learning algorithms and web-based data collection systems to assess implementation and provide support for high quality delivery and positive outcomes. Examples are presented to demonstrate that valid and reliable measures can be collected using these methods. Finally, we envision how these measures can be used to develop an unobtrusive system to monitor implementation and provide feedback and support in real time to maintain high quality implementation and program outcomes.
",non-battery
"Lithium-chalcogen batteries, including lithium-sulfur (Li-S) and lithium selenium (Li-Se) systems, have been recognized as promising candidates for high energy electrical storage solution. The key challenge for lithium-chalcogen systems is to increase the chalcogen content in the system without sacrificing performance in order to compete with Li-ion batteries. Here we report a rationally designed hierarchical porous carbon (SPC) electrode architectures with maximum micro-, meso- and macro-level porosities as the conductive framework for the lithium-chalcogen batteries. The hierarchical electrode architectures enable high mass loading of the active cathode materials, encapsulation of both the small and long chain chalcogenide species, reduced SEI reaction, and efficient mass transport in the electrolyte. The ideal cathode architecture to allow a maximum conversion reaction mechanism is identified for stable cycling. Cell level calculations suggests that the hierarchical electrode architectures have the potential to increase the specific energy to more than 350 Wh kg−1, much higher than what can be achieved using the materials and parameters reported in the literature.",battery
"Electrospun polymer nanofibrous mats loaded with ionic liquids (ILs) and lithium salts are promising non-volatile electrolytes owing to their high ionic conductivities. However, the large cations of ILs are difficult to diffuse into solid electrodes, whereas the lithium ions in ILs tend to form anionic complexes with the IL anions, reducing the number of free lithium ions. To address these issues, octa(3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyldimethylsiloxy) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS-OH), which has large specific surface area and functionality number, is incorporated into electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-co-HFP) nanofibrous mats, and the mats are used to host LiClO4/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM+BF4 −). It is found that POSS-OH can significantly increase both ionic conductivity and lithium transference number of the electrolytes owing to the Lewis acid-base interactions of POSS-OH with ClO4 − and BF4 −. The electrochromic device using the hybrid mat (with 5 wt% POSS-OH) loaded with LiClO4/BMIM+BF4 − as the electrolyte shows significantly improved transmittance contrast and switching time, as a result of increased number of free lithium ions.",battery
"The current study investigated whether impaired visual attention among patients with schizophrenia can be accounted for by poor perceptual organization and impaired search selectivity. Twenty-three patients with schizophrenia and 22 healthy control participants completed a conjunctive visual search task where the relative frequency of the two types of distractors was manipulated. It has been shown that, when the total number of items in a display is fixed, search performance depends on the relative frequency of the types of distractors (i.e., as the ratio becomes more discrepant search time decreases). This modulation of search efficiency reflects participants' ability to group items by their perceptual similarity and then search only the smaller group of items that share a feature with the target. Results show that patients modulate their response time normally as a function of the distractor ratio – that is, they benefit from the presence of a smaller distractor subset in the display. This suggests that patients with schizophrenia, group items according to their perceptual similarity and flexibly deploy their attention to the smaller subset of distractors on each trial. These results demonstrate that search selectivity as a function of the relative frequency of distractors is unimpaired among patients with schizophrenia.",non-battery
"With advances in lasers, optics, and electronics, many new 3D display technologies have been proposed with prototypes in research labs or have entered the marketplace. Although some of these technologies (such as Stereoscopy) are familiar to people, other technologies, such as holography, remain far-fetched to most. This survey introduces the principles of current popular 3D display technologies, which are generally categorized into four categories: 3D movies, on-stage holograms, holographic projections and volumetric 3D displays. Furthermore, the limitations of each of the aforementioned technologies are deeply analyzed, and comparisons of these technologies are provided. Moreover, we note appropriate application situations for the various technologies. Because computer-generated hologram (CGH) technologies are considered to be the next generation of 3D display technology and have become a dominant direction in 3D display technology development, we address the challenges that CGH is currently facing and provide an insightful analysis of solutions proposed in recent years. Finally, we study the current 3D display applications associated with the four categorized technology principles.",non-battery
"Three electrode materials (glassy carbon, gold, and platinum) were investigated for application in a non-aqueous single-metal redox flow battery based on vanadium (III) acetylacetonate, supported by tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile. Redox couples associated with the one-electron disproportionation of V(acac)3 were observed in voltammetry for each metal tested. An elementary kinetic model was created and used to determine rates for oxidation or reduction of the vanadium complex. The oxidation rates for V(acac)3 were mass-transfer limited on all electrode materials, suggesting reversible kinetics. For the V(acac)3 reduction reaction, exchange-current densities of 1.3, 3.8, and 8.4 A m−2 were observed on glassy carbon, platinum, and gold electrodes, respectively.",battery
"This paper addresses recent activities relating to energy storage systems capable of delivering very high power. Specific power in the range of 2.0–2.2kW/kg and power density in the range of 5.0–6.5kW/l were obtained at current densities of 0.43–0.86A/cm2 (400–800A/ft2). The designs incorporate the use of thin, plastic bound electrodes laminated to nickel foil substrates. The units tested were nominal 28V, 24Ah batteries, as well as individual cells.",battery
"Lithium nickel manganese oxide (LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4) shows promising applications in next-generation Li-ion batteries due to its high working voltage. In this work, submicron LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 has been synthesized by a facile solid-phase route and its electrochemical performance has been investigated in both half cells and full cells using mesocarbon microbeads as anodes. In LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4–Li cells, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 shows excellent rate performance and high-rate cycling stability. At 20 C, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 can yield a discharge capacity of 105.8 mAh g−1. After 1400 cycles at 1 C, a discharge capacity of around 80 mAh g−1 can be still delivered. The LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4-limited full cells exhibit a working voltage of around 4.5 V and a discharge capacity of 90.0 mAh g−1 after 120 cycles at 1 C. The excellent electrochemical performance of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 can be attributed to a combination of submicron size, durability of Mn3+ at high rates and small-size induced protective film.",battery
"Objective Recent reports have suggested that long-term residual brain dysfunctions from mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) that are often overlooked by clinical criteria may be detected using advanced research methods. The aim of the present study was to examine the feasibility of EEG wavelet information quality measures (EEG-IQ) in monitoring alterations of brain functions as well as to determine the differential rate of recovery between the first and second concussive episodes. Methods Student–athletes at high risk for MTBI (n =265) were tested prior to concussive episodes as a baseline. From this subject pool, twenty one athletes who suffered from two concussive episodes within one athletic season and were tested on days 7, 14 and 21 post-first and second injuries using a within-subjects design. Specifically, EEG was recorded and processed using wavelet entropy (EEG-IQ) algorithm along with a battery of neuropsychological (NS) tests. Spatial distribution of EEG-IQ and its dynamics in conjunction with NS data were analyzed prior to and after MTBI. Results No neuropsychological deficits were present in concussed subjects beyond 7days post-injury after first and second concussions. However, EEG-IQ measures were significantly reduced primarily at temporal, parietal and the occipital regions (ROIs) after first and especially after second MTBI (p <0.01) beyond 7days post-injury. Rate of recovery of EEG-IQ measures was significantly slower after second MTBI compared to those after the first concussion (p <0.01). Conclusions EEG-IQ measures may reveal alterations in the brain of concussed individuals that are most often overlooked by current assessment tools. In this regard, EEG-IQ may potentially be a valuable tool for assessing and monitoring residual brain dysfunction in “asymptomatic” MTBI subjects. Significance The results demonstrate the potential utility of EEG-IQ measures to classify concussed individuals at various stages of recovery.",non-battery
"The aims of this study were to assess cognitive function in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients and to evaluate the effect of short- and long-term treatment with continuous positive airway pressure treatment (CPAP). A battery of neuropsychological tests, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Beck Inventory Scale were administered to 23 patients with severe OSA (age: 56.5±6.13; AHI: 54.9±13.37) and to 23 age- and education-matched controls. The OSA patients were evaluated in a baseline condition and in two follow-up treatment sessions (after 15 days and 4 months of CPAP, respectively). At baseline, OSA patients had a significant impairment, compared to controls, in tests of sustained attention, visuospatial learning, executive function, motor performance, and constructional abilities. The longitudinal evaluation showed that after a 15-days CPAP treatment attentive, visuospatial learning, and motor performances returned to normal levels. A 4-months CPAP treatment did not result in any further improvement in cognitive tests. Performance on tests evaluating executive functions and constructional abilities was not affected by short- and long-term treatment with CPAP. The findings of this study confirm the hypothesis of partial reversibility of cognitive dysfunction in OSA patients after CPAP.",non-battery
"An accurate assessment of liquid-phase mass transport resistances is necessary for understanding and optimizing battery performance using mathematical models. This work combines modeling and experiments to quantify tortuosity in electrolyte-filled porous battery structures (separator and active-material film). Tortuosities of separators were measured by two methods, AC impedance and polarization-interrupt, which produced consistent results. We measured an apparent interfacial resistance at the lithium metal electrodes that contributed to both ohmic and diffusional resistance of the cell. The polarization-interrupt experiment was used similarly to measure effective electrolyte transport in porous films of cathode materials, particularly films containing LiFePO4. An empirical relationship between porosity and the tortuosity of the porous structures was developed. Our results demonstrate that the tortuosity-dependent mass transport resistance in porous separators and electrodes is significantly higher than that predicted by the oft-used Bruggeman relationship.",battery
"Phase pure alpha nickel hydroxide (α-Ni(OH)2) is synthesized by a hydrothermal method using urea and nickel nitrate in an autoclave. Optimum conditions to obtain high yield and phase pure α-Ni(OH)2 are identified by varying experimental parameters such as urea concentration, ramp time, and temperature. In a typical experiment, a 94% yield of phase pure α-Ni(OH)2 is successfully prepared. The nickel content, analyzed by means of atomic absorption spectroscopy, is 44% in all samples. The α-Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The BET surface area and tap density of the nickel hydroxide nanoparticles are also determined. Electrochemical characterization is undertaken via cyclic voltammetry for which the nanoparticles are immobilized on the surface of paraffin impregnated graphite electrodes in 1.0M alkali solutions. The ageing of the alpha phase occurs within 27min (30cycles) of exposure in alkali solutions.",battery
"Tailored designing of highly active electrocatalysts plays a key role in determining the overall electrochemical performance of metal-air batteries for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). We report herein a facile agarose gel-mediated strategy for the selective electrodeposition of MnO2 and Co3O4 onto 3D porous nickel foam, in an attempt to produce a sectionalized MnO2-Co3O4 electrode with low physical interference on catalytic function. The as-prepared agarose hydrogel with metal precursor ions allows the electrochemical deposition only onto the contact area between the gel and the substrate. The resulting electrodes are completely sectionalized by two different catalyst (MnO2 and Co3O4) coating layers within the 3D porous nickel foam. This novel structure enhances both the ORR/OER catalytic activities compared to those of bare metal oxide catalyst electrodes and even after 400h of operation (equivalent to ~100 cycles), the sectionalized MnO2-Co3O4 electrode shows excellent cycling performance and long-term stability in rechargeable Zn-air batteries. As such, this novel sectionalized electrode configuration has potential for wide applications in the fabrication of other electrode structures employing various metal oxides.",battery
"The mechanism was investigated of hydrogen sulfide splitting in alkaline aqueous solutions using spray-pyrolysed SnIV-doped α-Fe2O3 photo-anodes in a photo-electrochemical cell. In principle, hydrogen sulfide splitting can be used to treat hydrogen sulfide in natural and process gases and simultaneously to produce hydrogen using solar energy. A comparison with conventional water splitting demonstrated the lower energy requirements to achieve the same photocurrent densities, while producing soluble polysulfide ions and elemental sulfur from hydrogen sulfide oxidation. However, neither splitting process was spontaneous using SnIV-doped α-Fe2O3 photo-anodes without inputs of electrical energy; two judiciously chosen photo-electrodes are required to achieve that objective. The effects were also studied of stirring, hydrogen sulfide ion concentration, electrode potential and annealing of SnIV-doped α-Fe2O3 films on titanium substrates. Under potentiostatic conditions during photo-assisted electrolysis, the photo-anodes exhibited no compositional or morphological changes after 18 h. In a bench-scale reactor (0.1 dm3), stable photocurrent densities of ca. 12.5 A m−2 were recorded over 12 h at an electrode potential of 1.17 V vs. RHE and an effective irradiance of 2670 W m−2. Similarly, photocurrent densities corresponding to ca. 4.3 A m−2 were achieved in an up-scaled reactor under an effective irradiance of 457 W m−2. Charge yields for formation of polysulfide ions were close to unity when operating at optimised potentials and hydrogen sulfide ion concentrations. The shift towards lower electrode potentials of photocurrent densities for hydrogen sulfide splitting compared with those for water splitting was associated with increased charge transfer rates due to decreased interfacial electron-hole recombination rates. The potential dependences of sulfur coverage and oxygen evolution rates were also estimated.",battery
"This article presents an extensive evaluation which analyzes the contribution of several control methods to decreasing the energy consumption associated with heating and cooling of buildings and the contribution of the local energy production to minimizing energy costs in nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB). A set of three heating and cooling control methods is mixed with a set of cost-based optimum allocation of on-site energy production using linear programming, variable indoor temperature setpoint for following the production curve and a battery storage system. When designing nZEBs, the aim is not only to reduce the energy consumption, but also to reduce the lifecycle costs, and a big part of them is associated with energy needed for heating and cooling. nZEBs are supposed to have local renewable energy generation, which must be consumed in a cost optimal way for keeping the total lifecycle costs low. This research helps nZEB design collectives to assess the opportunity of implementing controls as the ones described in this study and policy makers to extrapolate the results and estimate how the energy consumption reduction targets can be reached by implementing such technologies. The analysis of the control strategies is made based on real buildings located in Bucharest, Romania.",non-battery
"The hierarchical MoS2/carbonaceous materials composites have received considerable interest for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. In the present work, the hierarchical MoS2@RGO nanosheets, where ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets perpendicularly anchor on both sides of RGO, are successfully synthesized by a new route. Such hybrid structures not only improve the conductivity of the hybrid structure and effectively prevent the aggregation of MoS2 nanosheets, but also maximize the MoS2 loading in the MoS2@RGO composites to be over 92%. The formation process for the hierarchical MoS2@RGO nanosheets is also investigated. When evaluated as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries, the hierarchical MoS2@RGO nanosheets deliver an excellent cycling performance and a high specific capacity of 420 mA h g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1. The strategy can be used to prepare other hierarchical metal sulfides@RGO nanosheets as high performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.",battery
"The advent of time-of-use (TOU) household electricity prices provides an opportunity for large lithium ion batteries to become a component of residential electrical power equipment for either storage or cogeneration. This project investigates household power use and cogeneration scenarios combined with lithium ion battery technology via simulation. The simulation treats transient battery charge and discharge based on electrochemical fundamentals. The analysis of both storage and cogeneration systems containing a batteries serves to demonstrate economic advantages of these types of power storage, as well as to identify size, materials, and performance criteria suitable for designing a lithium ion battery unit meeting real application demands.",battery
"Asymmetric Zn-air battery is an ideal power source because of its high voltage and powder density. Acidic active bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst determines the performance of asymmetric Zn-air battery greatly. Here, an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst is synthesized through the loading of coordination compound modified polyoxometalate on rice paper derived nitrogen doped carbon paper. This elctrocatalyst exhibits three-dimensional network with bulky appearance, which can be employed as air cathode in asymmetric Zn-air battery directly. In acidic electrolyte, it oxygen reduction reaction completes through a typical four-electron process. In oxygen evolution reaction, its overpotential is only 359 mV. With this electrocatalyst as air cathode and Zn plate as anode, an asymmetric Zn-air battery is assembled. The open circuit voltage of this battery is 2.09 V. Its peak power density achieves 349 mW cm−2. When discharge at 20 mA cm−2, its specific energy density reaches 1009 Wh·kg−1. Furthermore, this battery keeps stable in long time charge-discharge experiments. This asymmetric Zn-air battery is superior to traditional Zn-air battery in both charge and discharge process. This work describes an efficient acidic active bifunctional electrocatalyst to construct asymmetric Zn-air battery with high voltage and powder density.",battery
"We examined hippocampal activation in schizophrenia (SZ) with fMRI BOLD in response to the presentation of novel and familiar scenes. Voxel-wise analysis showed no group differences. However, anatomical region-of-interest analyses contrasting normal (NL), SZ-on-medication (SZ-ON), SZ-off-medication (SZ-OFF) showed substantial differences in MTL-based novelty responding, accounted for by the reduction in novelty responses in the SZ-OFF predominantly in the anterior hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex. These differences in novelty-based activation in the SZ-OFF group represent disease characteristics of schizophrenia without confounding effects of antipsychotic medication and illustrate the tendency of antipsychotic drug treatment to improve memory functions in schizophrenia.",non-battery
"The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) tested six Saft America HP-12 (Generation 2000), 12-Ah lithium ion cells to evaluate cycle life performance as a power assist vehicle battery. The cells were tested to investigate the effects of temperature on capacity and power fade. Test results showed that five of the six cells were able to meet the power assist power and energy goals at the beginning of test and after 300,000 cycles using a battery size factor (BSF) of 44.3 cells. The initial static capacity tests showed that the capacities of the cells were stable for three discharges and had an average of 16.4Ah. All the cells met the self-discharge goal, but failed to meet the cold cranking goal. As is typical for lithium ion cells, both power and capacity decreased during the low-temperature thermal performance test and increased during the high-temperature thermal performance test. Capacity faded as expected over the course of 300,000 life cycles and showed a weak inverse relationship to increasing temperature. Power fade was mostly a result of cycling while temperature had a minor effect compared to cycle life testing. Consequently, temperature had very little effect on capacity and power fade for the proprietary G4 chemistry.",battery
"Polypyrrole is one of the most important conductive polymers because it is easily oxidized, water soluble and commercially available. Also, polypyrrole coatings have potential applications in batteries, fuel cells, electrochemical sensors, anti-corrosion coatings and drug delivery systems. In this study, a very thin gold layer was first coated on SS316L, and then a polypyrrole coating was laid on top. The nucleation and growth mechanisms of polypyrrole on the gold-coated SS316L were studied by electrochemical nucleation and growth techniques. SEM was used to characterize the polypyrrole coating morphology. Potentiodynamic tests were performed to determine the corrosion parameters of the polypyrrole coatings. Potentiostatic tests of the coated SS316L were conducted in simulated anode and cathode environments of a PEM fuel cell. The simulated anode environment was at a potential of about −0.1V versus SCE purged with H2 and the simulated cathode environment was at a potential of about 0.6V versus SCE purged with O2. After coating with Au and polypyrrole, the polarization resistance of SS316L is increased about six times, and the corrosion current density is decreased about seven times, compared to the base SS316L. Also, our calculations show that the metal ion concentration in solution for the polypyrrole/Au/SS316L had met the target of 10ppm after 5000h fuel cell operation.",battery
"The wetting time of porous electrodes with electrolytes based on organic solvents and ionic liquids, respectively, was investigated with two different techniques: with a tensiometer and by impedance spectroscopy. The results of this study showed that the wetting time of a porous electrode with ionic liquid-based electrolytes is up to 20 times longer than that with electrolytes comprising organic solvents. A significant reduction in the wetting time with ionic liquid-based electrolytes could be achieved by adding organic solvents. This effect can be explained by the interplay of reduced viscosity, increased surface tension and change in contact angle caused by the addition of the organic solvent, with the lower viscosity being the main driver of improved wetting kinetics.",battery
"The use of commercial 316L stainless steel as a simple, stable and competitive oxygen-evolution electrode in alkaline media for aqueous lithium–air batteries has been studied. In addition to the electrochemical characterization, the electrode was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (X-EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and elemental analyses via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The spontaneous formation of a catalytic film, during the aging test, gives rise to interesting electrode performances. Indeed, this film, containing a large part of nanocrystalline nickel oxides (83 at% of cationic composition), catalyzes the oxygen evolution reaction via two phenomena: an increase of the roughness of the electrode surface and a hypo–hyper d interbonding effect, due to the presence of well dispersed additives of Fe and Cr in the film.",battery
"The effect of La/Ce ratio on the structure and electrochemical characteristics of the La0.7−x Ce x Mg0.3Ni2.8Co0.5 (x =0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) alloys has been studied systematically. The result of the Rietveld analyses shows that, except for small amount of impurity phases including LaNi and LaNi2, all these alloys mainly consist of two phases: the La(La, Mg)2Ni9 phase with the rhombohedral PuNi3-type structure and the LaNi5 phase with the hexagonal CaCu5-type structure. The abundance of the La(La, Mg)2Ni9 phase decreases with increasing cerium content whereas the LaNi5 phase increases with increasing Ce content, moreover, both the a and cell volumes of the two phases decrease with the increase of Ce content. The maximum discharge capacity decreases from 367.5mAhg−1 (x =0.1) to 68.3mAhg−1 (x =0.5) but the cycling life gradually improve. As the discharge current density is 1200mAg−1, the HRD increases from 55.4% (x =0.1) to 67.5% (x =0.3) and then decreases to 52.1% (x =0.5). The cell volume reduction with increasing x is detrimental to hydrogen diffusion D and accordingly decreases the low temperature dischargeability of the La0.7−x Ce x Mg0.3Ni2.8Co0.5 (x =0.1–0.5) alloy electrodes.",battery
"In developing countries, energy is recognized to be essential for promoting equitable growth, fostering social inclusion and preserving the environment. Nevertheless, the current state of the energy sectors of developing countries still represents a major hindrance to the fulfillment of this goal. In this frame, electrical energy storage may allow a cost-effective exploitation of renewable sources in order to cope with the improvement of the power supply service via local national grids, but mainly it may become a building block of rural electrification through integration within off-grid systems. This paper focuses on electrical energy storage in sub-Saharan Africa providing an overview of the main aspects of this theme. Indeed, the specific features of the power sector in sub-Saharan Africa are analyzed about the framework of application of electrical energy storage. The typical technologies implemented in this context and the status of the market as well as of the economic models to support the diffusion of storage together with renewable energy technologies are highlighted. Moreover, an overview of technical aspects such as storage capacity sizing and interface converters for integration with renewables are described. Finally, an experimental application of a hybrid micro-grid in rural Tanzania is presented. With this paper, our aim is to provide an overall view, within the main technical and non-technical aspects, of electrical energy storage in a context – sub-Saharan Africa – which has a huge potential, both in market terms, but also with regards to the possibility to develop and implement alternative technical solutions which may be integrated in the power systems of high income countries as well.",battery
"Social movements carry out extensive character work, trying to define not only their own reputations but those of other major players in their strategic arenas. Victims, villains, and heroes form the essential triad of character work, suggesting not only likely plots but also the emotions that audiences are supposed to feel for various players. Characters have been overlooked in cultural analysis, possibly because they often take visual, non-narrative forms. By focusing on characters within movements, we illuminate some cultural dilemmas that both organizers and their opponents face as they try to influence players’ reputations.
",non-battery
"The objective was to determine if 3-axis accelerometers could be used to predict daily activity for cattle grazing rangeland. There were 48 Hereford × Angus 2-yr-old low- or high-residual feed intake (LRFI or HRFI) cows used in this 2-yr trial. Cattle grazed in 4 pasture treatments consisting of continuously grazed, control (CCON); continuously grazed, supplemented (CTRT); rotationally grazed, control (RCON); and rotationally grazed, supplemented pastures (RTRT). Three LRFI- and 3 HRFI-collared cows in each treatment had accelerometers mounted for 29 d in 2016 and 45 d in 2017, beginning mid-October. Grazing time (GT), resting time (RT), and walking time (WLK) were obtained for each cow by direct observation over 3 d each year and compared with accelerometer predicted behavior. In 2016, 1.6% of the days were rejected for halter-mounted accelerometers and 3.6% were rejected in 2017 for collar-mounted accelerometers. The GT and RT were more accurately predicted than was WLK with the percentage error of predicted against observed data being 11.94% for RT, 13.51% for GT, and 30.13% for WLK in 2017. Less observation data were available in 2016, but when considering other sampling periods for the same cows and halters, the error rate was 15.1% for RT, 19.3% for GT, and 52.6% for WLK. The accelerometers successfully identified patterns of grazing behavior and differentiated among climatic, grazing system, supplementation status, and residual feed intake classification influences on GT, RT, and WLK. In a more moderate climate year, HRFI cattle appeared to rest less (P < 0.08) and walk more (P < 0.07) than LRFI cattle. Similar patterns were observed for cattle in the CCON versus CTRT treatments, with supplemented cattle resting more (P < 0.05) and walking less (P < 0.05). Accelerometers appear to be effective in determining mechanistic adaptations in grazing behavior by beef cattle on range.",non-battery
"This paper examines human-nonhuman splices from a multidisciplinary approach, involving bioengineering and literary studies. Splices are hybrid beings, created through gene-splicing—a process which combines the DNA of the two species, resulting in a hybrid or chimeric being. A current trend in biotechnological research is the use of spliced pigs for xenotransplantation. Hiromitsu Nakauchi’s pancreas study that splices pigs with human iPS [induced pluripotent stem] cells in order to grow human organs inside pigs is being compared to a highly similar case of porcine hybrids: the pigoon from Margaret Atwood’s fictional MaddAddam trilogy. Atwood’s pigoons are pigs, genetically modified with human stem cells to facilitate the growth of various human organs for use in organ transplants with no risk of rejection. The case studies from science and science fiction overlap significantly and thus allow for a critical reading of the two highly different sources with a focus on ethical and moral questions regarding the use and abuse of nonhuman animals for human purposes. Furthermore, the context of the fictional works adds new layers of knowledge and new perspectives to the problematic issue of animal “enhancement.” Through the dynamic agency that can be detected within Atwood’s novels and that encompasses human, animal, and hybrid agency, the reader can develop empathy for other-than-human experiences and use this new perspective for a critical reflection of actual technoscientific developments that affect both human and nonhuman animal life. The combination of the two discourses reveals a value of science fiction for both the scientific community and society at large, demonstrating how its critical reception can result in enhanced ethical standards.
",non-battery
"Objectives Patient-reported seizure frequency is essential for therapy management and clinical research but lacks validity mainly due to seizure-induced seizure unawareness. Automated seizure detection by mobile monitoring devices promises to settle this serious methodological issue. Here, we explored attitudes and preferences towards future devices for seizure detection in adult patients with therapy-refractory epilepsies. Methods A total of 102 inpatients enrolled and underwent a newly constructed semistructured 30-minute interview on automated seizure registration. Results Most patients would generally apply and permanently use seizure registration devices. Removable devices were preferred (e.g., wristband sensors), but also patch electrodes at invisible body sites appeared acceptable. Only a minority of patients would accept implantations for seizure registration (especially of depth electrodes). Also, permanent optical or acoustical surveillance were accepted by a few patients only. Most patients were ready to care for the device (e.g., charging battery), to have doctor's appointments for device control, and even to pay for the device. Seizure prediction was evaluated as an essential additional function. Only half of the patients wanted emergency calls in case of a seizure. Significance Patients would accept automated seizure registration if the device had as little as possible negative effect on daily living. High acceptance might, therefore, be expected for hardware equipment as it is nowadays used by many healthy subjects for physiological self-monitoring and life-logging. The proper medical engineering task of the future, therefore, is to optimize sensors in those highly feasible devices and to establish reliable biomarkers and outcome measures for a diversity of diseases (including epilepsy) from data obtained by this generic hardware.",non-battery
"Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) at highly concentrated aqueous solution undergoes radiation crosslinking reaction by ionizing irradiation. It is assumed that this radiation-induced reaction takes place by the indirect effect of water radiolysis, especially through the OH radical. However, the reaction mechanism is not well known. In this topic, ESR spectra of CMC radicals formed by reaction with OH radicals were measured directly in aqueous solution to identify the initially formed radical site. The ESR spectra were observed successfully and were interpreted as the overlapping of two spectra; a Triplet×Doublet spectrum and a Doublet spectrum. Each spectrum was assigned to radicals located on carboxymethyl groups linked to C6 and C2/C3.",non-battery
"Although photographic assessment has been found to be reliable in assessing hair loss in Trichotillomania, the validity of this method is unclear, particularly for gauging progress in treatment. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of photographic assessment of change in Trichotillomania. Photographs showing hair loss of adults with Trichotillomania were taken before and after participating in a clinical trial for the condition. Undergraduate college students (N = 211) rated treatment response according to the photos, and additional archival data on hair pulling severity and psychosocial health were retrieved from the clinical trial. Photographic assessment of change was found to possess fair reliability (ICC = 0.53), acceptable criterion validity (r = 0.51), good concurrent validity (r = 0.30–0.36), and excellent incremental validity (ΔR2 = 8.67, p < 0.01). In addition, photographic measures were significantly correlated with change in quality of life (r = 0.42), and thus could be considered an index of the social validity of Trichotillomania treatment. Gender of the photo rater and pulling topography affected the criterion validity of photographic assessment (partial η2 = 0.05–0.11). Recommendations for improving photographic assessment and future directions for hair pulling research are discussed.",non-battery
"Technology diffusion is an important area of academic research. Diffusion studies are valuable in shedding light on success factors, and provide learning points for businesses seeking to launch products or services into an uncertain market. This paper reviews the recent diffusion literature and highlights the limitations associated with retrospective population models of diffusion that tend to emphasize success and innovation whilst ignoring diffusion failure or ‘re-invention’. The paper argues that the focus on single artifacts or products rather than a bundle of technologies or services is unhelpful, particularly where complex products and services are concerned. Key variables are drawn from the literature to assess the diffusion of new technologies and services, and three cases are presented which illustrate the effectiveness of these variables in wireless technology applications: in agriculture, mobile payments, and telecare.",non-battery
"Tinnitus is the perception of a sound in the absence of a corresponding external sound source. Research has suggested that functional abnormalities in tinnitus patients involve auditory as well as non-auditory brain areas. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to the auditory cortex, has demonstrated modulation of brain activity to transiently suppress tinnitus symptoms. Targeting two core regions of the tinnitus network by tES might establish a promising strategy to enhance treatment effects. This proof-of-concept study aims to investigate the effect of a multisite tES treatment protocol on tinnitus intensity and distress. A total of 40 tinnitus patients were enrolled in this study and received either bifrontal tDCS or the multisite treatment of bifrontal tDCS before bilateral auditory cortex tRNS. Both groups were treated on eight sessions (two times a week for 4 weeks). Our results show that a multisite treatment protocol resulted in more pronounced effects when compared with the bifrontal tDCS protocol or the waiting list group, suggesting an added value of auditory cortex tRNS to the bifrontal tDCS protocol for tinnitus patients. These findings support the involvement of the auditory as well as non-auditory brain areas in the pathophysiology of tinnitus and demonstrate the idea of the efficacy of network stimulation in the treatment of neurological disorders. This multisite tES treatment protocol proved to be save and feasible for clinical routine in tinnitus patients.",non-battery
"Railway train energy simulation is an important and popular research topic. Locomotive traction force simulations are a fundamental part of such research. Conventional energy calculation models are not able to consider locomotive wheel–rail adhesions, traction adhesion control, and locomotive dynamics. This paper has developed two models to fill this research gap. The first model uses a 2D locomotive model with 27 degrees of freedom and a simplified wheel–rail contact model. The second model uses a 3D locomotive model with 54 degrees of freedom and a fully detailed wheel–rail contact model. Both models were integrated into a longitudinal train dynamics model with the consideration of locomotive adhesion control. Energy consumption simulations using a conventional model (1D model) and the two new models (2D and 3D models) were conducted and compared. The results show that, due to the consideration of wheel–rail adhesion model and traction control in the 3D model, it reports less energy consumption than the 1D model. The maximum difference in energy consumption rate between the 3D model and the 1D model was 12.5%. Due to the consideration of multiple wheel–rail contact points in the 3D model, it reports higher energy consumption than the 2D model. An 8.6% maximum difference in energy consumption rate between the 3D model and the 1D model was reported during curve negotiation.
",non-battery
"The key to enabling long-term cycling stability of high-voltage lithium (Li) metal batteries is the development of functional electrolytes that are stable against both Li anodes and high-voltage (above 4 V versus Li/Li+) cathodes. Due to their limited oxidative stability ( <4 V), ethers have so far been excluded from being used in high-voltage batteries, in spite of their superior reductive stability against Li metal compared to conventional carbonate electrolytes. Here, we design a concentrated dual-salt/ether electrolyte that induces the formation of stable interfacial layers on both a high-voltage LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 cathode and the Li metal anode, thus realizing a capacity retention of >90% over 300 cycles and ~80% over 500 cycles with a charge cut-off voltage of 4.3 V. This study offers a promising approach to enable ether-based electrolytes for high-voltage Li metal battery applications.",battery
The authors defined a roadmap for investigating the genetic covariance between structural or functional brain phenotypes and risk for psychiatric disorders. Their proof-of-concept study using the largest available common variant data sets for schizophrenia and volumes of several (mainly subcortical) brain structures did not find evidence of genetic overlap.,non-battery
"Lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes with high capacity and binder free structure were synthesized from carbon nanofibers that contained silicon nanoparticles (Si@CNF). The particle filled nonwoven structures were produced by an electrospinning and subsequent carbonization process. Pristine Si@CNF composites had Si nanoparticles exposed on the fiber surface. As produced, the Si nanoparticles could become detached from the nanofiber surface during cycling, causing severe structural damage and capacity loss. In order to prevent Si from detaching from the nanofiber surface, the Si@CNF composite was then treated with a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique to make Si completely coated with a carbon matrix. The carbon coated Si@CNF (Si@CNF-C) composites were synthesized with different Si contents (10, 30, and 50wt%) for different CVD treatment times (30, 60, and 90min). It was found that the initial coulombic efficiency of Si@CNF-C could be increased via the amorphous carbon by stabilizing solid-electrolyte-interface (SEI) formation on surface. The capacity and cyclic stability were improved by the CVD carbon coating, especially for the 30wt% Si@CNF-C composite with 90min CVD coating, a CVD amorphous carbon coating of less than 1% by weight on Si@CNF composites contributed to more than 200% improvement in cycling performance. Results indicate that the CVD carbon coating is an effective approach to improve the electrochemical properties of Si@CNF composites making this a potential route to obtain high-energy density anode materials for LIBs.",battery
"In micro-hybrid vehicles, the starter battery is subject to heavy cyclic loads. Results of these cyclic loads are vertical concentration gradients (acid stratification). For this study, it was analyzed systematically how different temperatures influence the formation and reduction of acid stratification. To this end, flooded lead-acid batteries were cycled during a cycle test with 17.5% depth of discharge at −5°C, 3°C, 27°C, and 60°C. To determine the extent of acid stratification caused by the cycling, the acid density values of the test batteries cycled at four different temperatures were measured using acid density monitoring. The acid densities were measured hourly in 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, 60%, 80%, and 100% sections in the direction of the perpendicular z-axis of the battery. The measurements showed that the extent of acid concentration gradients is dependent on the temperature, with acid stratification caused by an uneven distribution of current over the height of the plates. Furthermore, it was established that battery discharging as well as battery charging causes an inhomogeneous acid density distribution in the battery electrolyte.",battery
"The use of highly concentrated lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSi) electrolyte in ethyl acetate (EA) is reported here. Li[Ni0.33Mn0.33Co0.33]O2/graphite (NMC(111)/graphite) and Li[Ni0.42Mn0.42Co0.16]O2/graphite (NMC(442)/graphite) pouch cells filled with a 3:32:65 (molar ratio) of LiPF6:LiFSi:EA electrolyte, were successfully cycled between 2.8–4.2V and 2.8–4.4V, respectively at 40°C over a period of several weeks without dramatic capacity loss. Cells filled with the highly concentrated LiFSi:EA electrolyte demonstrated surprisingly low impedance compared to a conventional electrolyte composed of organic carbonates after 400–800h of cycling at 40°C. LiFSi was the most effective salt in reducing the amount of ethyl acetate consumed at the negative electrode during the first charge compared to LiPF6 and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSi) at equivalent molar ratios. The work reported here shows that highly unconventional solvents can be used in full Li-ion cells without any cyclic carbonates at all, provided high concentrations of the appropriate electrolyte salt are used.",battery
"The corrosion resistance of Wiron®88, a Ni–Cr–Mo alloy, was evaluated in liquid growth media in the absence and presence of the Streptococcussobrinus and Streptococcus mutans strains. Open circuit potential measurements, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, as well as electronic microscopy coupled to electron diffraction spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), were the main techniques used in this study. It was concluded that the presence of S. sobrinus and S. mutans have only a slight effect on the corrosion resistance of the Wiron®88 alloy, with the S. mutans being slightly more aggressive. For both strains the corrosion resistance Rp is of the same order (kΩ cm2). After 24 h immersion the S. sobrinus lead to and Rp of 11.02, while the S. mutans lead to of 5.59 kΩ cm2. SEM/EDS studies on the Wiron®88 samples, with 24 days of immersion, at 37 °C, have confirmed bio-corrosion of the alloy occurring through the dissolution of Ni as Ni2+ and formation of chromium and molybdenum oxides. The bacterial adhesion to the surface is not uniform.",non-battery
"Low cycling stability and poor rate performance are two of the distinctive drawbacks of most electrode materials for sodium (Na) ion batteries due to the large size of the Na ions. The TiO6 octahedrons interconnect with each other by edges or corners to form both layer- and tunnel-structured sodium titanates (NTO). Such open structures make NTO promising anode materials for sodium (Na) ion batteries. Herein, (conduction and binder) additive-free NTO nanotube array chemically engraved on a Ti foil is used as an electrode and exhibits outstanding rate performance and long-term cycling stability. When a current density of 3200mAg−1 (i.e., one complete cycle in one minute) is applied, the array delivers a reversible capacity of 42mAhg−1. Even after 5000 galvanostatic (400mAg−1) cycles, the electrode retains a capacity of 55mAhg−1. These excellent performances are attributed to the open structure and the nano-architecture of the NTO nanotube arrays.",battery
"Layered rocksalt type oxides, such as Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2, are widely used as the cathode active materials of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Because the nickel ions are associated with the role of the charge compensation at discharge and charge, the 61Ni Mössbauer measurements at 6 K using synchrotron radiation were performed to reveal the role of Ni. The Ni ions of the active materials play two roles for the redox process between the charge and discharge states of lithium-ion batteries. Half of the total Ni ions change to the low-spin Ni 3+ with Jahn-Teller distortion from the Ni 2+ ions of the discharge state. The remainder exhibit low-spin state divalent Ni ions.
",non-battery
"This paper aims to demonstrate a novel electrochemical energy storage device, a hybrid Na-ion capacitor with organic electrolyte. Sodium manganese oxide having formula Na0.4MnO2 has been chosen and synthesized as the most suitable battery-type positive electrode, while activated carbon (AC) has been utilized as the capacitor-type negative electrode. Due to the application of propylene carbonate based organic electrolyte, the maximum safe operating voltage of the device has been established as high as 2.7 V, giving rise to a specific capacitance of 17.4 F g−1, significantly higher as compared to the analogous symmetrical EDLC measured in our laboratory based on AC electrodes in the same electrolyte.",battery
"In this study we examine the multi-dimensional structure of environmental behavior and its potential domains. Factor analysis reveals six behavioral domains: civic actions, policy support, recycling, transportation choices, behaviors in a household setting and consumerism. We use the Connectedness to Nature and Inclusion of Nature in Self scales to measure connection with nature, the New Environmental Paradigm to measure ecological worldviews, and Environmental Motives Scale to assess people’s environmental concern. We further explore the predictive power of connectedness to nature, ecological worldview, and environmental concern for explaining the diverse behavioral domains. Connectedness to nature and ecological worldview were more predictive of civic actions, recycling, household behaviors, and consumerism than were environmental concerns. In the case of policy support and transportation choices, environmental concerns explained more variance than the other constructs.",non-battery
"We studied the charge and discharge characteristics of commercial LiCoO2-based 18650 cells by using various electrochemical methods, including discharging at constant power, ac impedance spectroscopy, and dc-voltage pulse. At 20°C, these cells deliver 8.7–6.8Wh of energy when discharged at a power range of 1–12W between 2.5 and 4.2V. Ragone plots show that the effect of discharge power on the energy is significantly increased with decreasing of the temperature. For example, energy of the cell is entirely lost when the temperature downs to −10°C and the discharge rate still remains at 10W. Impedance analyses indicate that the total cell resistance (R cell) is mainly contributed by the bulk resistance (R b, including electric contact resistance and electrolytic ionic conductivity), solid electrolyte interface resistance (R sei), and charge-transfer resistance (R ct). Individual contribution of these three resistances to the cell resistance is greatly varied with the temperature. Near room temperature, the R b occupies up to half of the cell resistance, which means that the rate performance of the cell could be improved by modifying cell design such as employing electrolyte with higher ionic conductivity and enhancing electric contact of the active material particles. At low temperature, the R ct, which is believed to reflect cell reaction kinetics, dominates the cell resistance. In addition, galvanosatic cycling tests indicate that the charge and discharge processes have nearly same kinetics. The performance discrepancy observed during charging and discharging, especially at low temperatures, can be attributed to these two factors of: (1) substantially higher R ct at the discharged state than at the charged state; (2) asymmetric voltage limits pre-determined for the charge and discharge processes.",battery
"One of the most remarkable aspects of our species is that while we show surprisingly little genetic diversity, we demonstrate astonishing amounts of cultural diversity. Perhaps most impressive is the diversity of our technologies, broadly defined as all the physical objects we produce and the skills we use to produce them. Despite considerable focus on the evolution of technology by social scientists and philosophers, there have been few attempts to systematically quantify technological diversity, and therefore the dynamics of technological change remain poorly understood. Here we show a novel Bayesian model for examining technological diversification adopted from palaeontological analysis of occurrence data. We use this framework to estimate the tempo of diversification in American car and truck models produced between 1896 and 2014, and to test the relative importance of competition and extrinsic factors in shaping changes in macro-evolutionary rates. Our results identify a four-fold decrease in the origination and extinction rates of car models, and a negative net diversification rate over the last 30 years. We also demonstrate that competition played a more significant role in car model diversification than either changes in oil prices or gross domestic product. Together our analyses provide a set of tools that can enhance current research on technological and cultural evolution by providing a flexible and quantitative framework for exploring the dynamics of diversification.",non-battery
"The bi-component ZnO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposites are prepared via a facile and scalable synthesis method by controlling the ratio of Zn to Co in the synthesis stage. The ZnO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposites built from the interconnecting porous nanosheets possess loose porous nanostructures with abundant open space and electroactive surface sites. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium ion batteries, the ZnO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite electrode exhibits high capacity, good cycling stability (1086mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1 after 80 cycles and 847mAhg−1 at 500mAg−1 after 200 cycles), and excellent rate capability (∼538mAhg−1 at 3200mAg−1), which is superior to most of the previously-reported ZnO-based or ZnCo2O4-based electrode materials. The superior electrochemical performances of the ZnO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposites are attributed to the loose porous structure, which can buffer the volume expansion and increase the contact area between the electrode and electrolyte. Moreover, a strong synergistic effect between the Zn and Co occurs during the lithiation/delithiation process, where the Zn and Co are acting as mutually beneficial matrix ions to effectively alleviate the large mechanical stress caused by the severe volume change, and thus bring about high and stable capacity.",battery
"Determining the changing rate of water consumption through altering parameters such as water tariffs can help water companies select appropriate water policies. This paper is intended to find the proper relation between the water price elasticity of demand and some social, economic and climatic variables that are released annually by international organizations like the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank. By using genetic algorithm, different combinations of water price elasticity of demand and variables like gross domestic product, per capita gross domestic product, gross national income, precipitation, human development index, average temperature and household size have been analyzed. It was found that the absolute price elasticity of water demand has positive relationships with precipitation and price of water. It has also been found that the gross national income, average percent of consumers who have secondary education and human development index have a negative relation with the absolute price elasticity of water demand.
",non-battery
"The effect of lithium iodide (LiI: 0–85wt%) on the electrochemical behavior of agarose-based polymer electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) was investigated. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) were employed to characterize the interactions between polymer matrix and salt and the morphology of the agarose electrolytes, respectively. From the AC impedance spectra study, it was determined that the conduction behavior of the agarose-based polymer electrolyte matches the “salt-in-polymer” like behavior of low LiI content (0–25wt%) and “polymer-in-salt” like behavior of high LiI content (25–85wt%). Detailed analysis of characteristic electrochemical processes occurring in DSSC with these agarose electrolytes was also obtained by employing the EIS technique. The impedance spectra showed that the electron lifetime of DSSC was shortened with increasing LiI concentration, while the charge transfer resistance and charge recombination resistance were reduced when LiI concentration was increased.",battery
"In this work we compare electrochemical cycling stability of Fe containing Li rich phase Li1.2Ni0.13Fe0.13Mn0.54O2 (Fe–Li rich) with the well-known Co containing Li rich composition Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 (Co–Li rich). During the first charge, the activation plateau corresponding to removal of Li2O from the structure is smaller (removal of 0.6 Li) in the case of Fe–Li rich compared to Co–Li rich composition (0.8 Li removal). Consequently, the Fe compound shows better capacity retention; for example, after 100 cycles Fe–Li rich compound exhibits 20% capacity degradation where as it is about 40% in the case of Co–Li rich phase. The electrochemical and microscopy studies support the fact that compared to Co–Li rich compound, the Fe–Li rich composition display smaller voltage decay and reduced spinel conversion. XPS studies on charged/discharged Fe–Li rich samples show participation of Fe+3/Fe+4 redox during electrochemical cycling which is further supported by our first principles calculations. Also the temperature dependent magnetic studies on charge-discharged samples of Fe–Li rich compound point out that magnetic behavior is sensitive to cation oxidation states and Ni/Li disorder.",battery
"With the rapid growing number of automobiles, new energy vehicle is becoming one of approaches to mitigate the dependence of the auto industry on petroleum so as to reduce pollutant emissions. The Chinese government has promulgated a number of policies from the perspectives of industrial development, development plans, demonstration projects, fiscal subsidies and tax incentives with an aim to promote the new energy vehicle industry. This paper presents a comprehensive and critical review of the policy framework for new energy vehicles. The analysis shows that electric vehicle has been assigned a top priority in the future development of the automobile industry in China. Policy guidance and planning has played a vital role to the growth of new energy vehicle industry. However, this industry faces significant challenges related to technologies, industrial chain and social factors. Some core technologies are still in its infancy. Similarly, the market share of new energy vehicles is very small in spite of the preferential policies. The construction of supporting facilities and infrastructures has to be accelerated in order to accommodate the growing demands. There is a long way to go for the industrialization and popularization of new energy vehicles in China.",battery
"The fuel cell hybrid vehicle provides an efficient and low-emission alternative for the internal combustion engine vehicle. The energy management strategy (EMS) commands the power split between the power sources and is crucial to the hybrid vehicles. In this work, we propose an adaptive EMS based on Pontryagin's Minimal Principle for a fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicle, in which the co-state adaptation is performed by driving cycle prediction. In order to improve the co-state estimation accuracy, an improved Markov based velocity prediction is proposed considering the driving behavior under different driving patterns. Moreover, the driving pattern is recognized online based on a support vector machine method, which is optimized by particle swarm optimization. We build a combined driving cycle to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy, simulation results under three cases show that the proposed strategy can foresee the driving behaviors and update the co-state reasonably. Comparing with the rule-based EMS, the proposed strategy achieves a better fuel economy with a hydrogen consumption reduction by 4% and a relatively low average power change rate of fuel cells. Moreover, it achieves a close performance to the offline optimal algorithms.",battery
"Sodium-based batteries are being considered to replace Li-based batteries for the fabrication of large-scale energy storage devices. One of the main obstacles is the lack of safe and conductive solid Na-ion electrolytes. A Na-ion polymer based on the (4-styrenesulfonyl(trifluromethylsulfonyl) imide anion, Na[STFSI], has been prepared by a radical polymerization process and its conductive properties determined. In addition, a number of multi-component polymers were synthetized by co-reaction of two monomers: Na[STFSI] and ethyl acrylate (EA) at different ratios. The structural and phase characterizations of the polymers were probed by various techniques (DSC, TGA, NMR, GPC, Raman, FTIR and Impedance spectroscopy). Comparative studies with blends of the homopolymers Na[PSTFSI] and poly(ethylacrylate) (PEA) have also been performed. The polymers are all thermally stable up to 300°C and the ionic conductivity of EA copolymers and EA blends are about 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than that of Na[PSTFSI]. The highest conductivity measured at 100°C was found for Na[PSTFSI-blend-5EA] at 7.9×10−9 Scm−1, despite being well below its Tg. Vibrational spectroscopy indicates interaction between Na+ and the EA carbonyl groups, with a concomitant decrease in the sulfonyl interaction, facilitating Na+ motion, as well as lowering Tg.",battery
"Finding the optimal size and locations for Photovoltaic (PV) units has been a major challenge for distribution system planners and researchers. In this study, a framework is proposed to integrate Geographical Information Systems (GIS), mathematical optimization, and simulation modules to obtain the annual optimal placement and size of PV units for the next two decades in a campus area environment. First, a GIS module is developed to find the suitable rooftops and their panel capacity considering the amount of solar radiation, slope, elevation, and aspect. The optimization module is then used to maximize the long-term net profit of PV installations considering various costs of investment, inverter replacement, operation, and maintenance as well as savings from consuming less conventional energy. A voltage profile of the electricity distribution network is then investigated in the simulation module. In the case of voltage limit violation by intermittent PV generations or load fluctuations, two mitigation strategies, reallocation of the PV units or installation of a local storage unit, are suggested. The proposed framework has been implemented in a real campus area, and the results show that it can effectively be used for long-term installation planning of PV panels considering both the cost and power quality.",battery
"Thermal runaway hazards related to adiabatic runaway reactions in various 18650 Li-ion batteries were studied in an adiabatic calorimeter with vent sizing package 2 (VSP2). We selected two cathode types, LiCoO2 and Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2, and tested Li-ion batteries to determine the thermal runaway features. The charged 18650 Li-ion batteries were tested to evaluate the thermal hazard characteristics, such as the initial exothermic temperature (T 0), self-heating rate (dT/dt), pressure rise rate (dP/dt), pressure–temperature profiles, maximum temperature (T max) and pressure (P max), which are measured by VSP2 with a customized stainless steel test can. The thermal reaction behaviors of the Li-ion battery packs were shown to be an important safety concern for energy storage systems for power supply applications. The thermal abuse trials of the adiabatic calorimetry methodology used to classify the self-reactive ratings of the various cathodes for Li-ion batteries provided the safety design considerations.",battery
"Neurological illnesses, including cognitive impairment, memory decline and dementia, affect over 50 million people worldwide, imposing a substantial burden on individuals and society. These disorders arise from a combination of genetic, environmental and experiential factors, with the latter two factors having the greatest impact during sensitive periods in development. In this Review, we focus on the contribution of adverse early-life experiences to aberrant brain maturation, which might underlie vulnerability to cognitive brain disorders. Specifically, we draw on recent robust discoveries from diverse disciplines, encompassing human studies and experimental models. These discoveries suggest that early-life adversity, especially in the perinatal period, influences the maturation of brain circuits involved in cognition. Importantly, new findings suggest that fragmented and unpredictable environmental and parental signals comprise a novel potent type of adversity, which contributes to subsequent vulnerabilities to cognitive illnesses via mechanisms involving disordered maturation of brain ‘wiring’.",non-battery
"In the present paper, we address brain–behaviour relationships in children with acquired aphasia, by reviewing some recent studies on the effects of focal brain lesions on language development. Timing of the lesion, in terms of its occurrence, before or after the onset of speech and language acquisition, may be a major factor determining language outcome. However, it is still unclear which are the effects of aphasia occurring between 2 and 5years of age, a time window which is crucial for acquiring and automatizing the basic rules of native language. A comprehensive review of the literature on acquired childhood aphasia precedes the description of long-term follow-up (20years) of two identical twins, one of whom became aphasic at 3years and 4months after infarction of the left sylvian artery. Psycholinguistic analysis and fMRI data show a slow and incomplete recovery from non-fluent aphasia associated to an intra-hemispheric organization of language. These data, which support the potential but also the limits of neural plasticity during language development, are discussed in the light of the literature on the time-course and neural bases of acquired childhood aphasia.",non-battery
"Instructors often try out innovative interventions (INTRs) in their classrooms to promote student engagement and learning interest. While such efforts are commendable, thinking through how individual and environmental characteristics influence interest development in learners is crucial to meeting such teaching objectives. In this study, we examined the role of personal interest, students’ perceptions of meaningfulness (MNG) and the instructional utility of an innovative hands-on learning module in the development of triggered and maintained situational interests in an engineering classroom that used hands-on learning modules. Participants were undergraduate students enrolled in an engineering classroom who were taught fluid mechanics concepts using an innovative instructional approach. Results of the study indicate that the instructional INTR and the MNG learning material were significant predictors of situational interest. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.",non-battery
"Alkali metal anodes (Li, Na, K) are highly promising for enabling high-energy-density rechargeable batteries due to their high theoretical capacities and low redox potentials. Although extensive studies have been performed on Li-metal, dendrite growth and serious interface issues are still fundamental challenges for practical alkali metal batteries (AMBs). Here, we report an in situ-formed graphite intercalation compound (GIC) framework that enables Na–K liquid alloy to be used in ultra-stable and high-capacity anodes, attributed to the synergy of fast electron and mass transport of the GIC networks associated with the self-healing behavior of the Na–K alloy. The Na–K composite electrode is highly stable; it sustains repeated stripping/deposition over 5000 hours at 20 mA cm−2 and achieves stable electrodeposition even at 80 mA cm−2 and 16 mA h cm−2. When coupled with various cathodes, versatile AMBs are realized with long cycling and high operating voltages. This framework electrode design presents new insight into developing dendrite-free alkali metal anodes.
",battery
"In this paper, we compared the electrochemical performances of ordered MnO2-Graphene (MnO2-GO) oxide with the disordered system of the same composite. The ordered system is fabricated using electrospinning while the disordered system is fabricated dropcasting the same precursor under similar synthesis condition. This fiber-like ordered structure exhibits excellent electrochemical properties both in terms of specific capacitance and cyclic stability because of excellent connectivity between the individual nanoparticles. The electrospun sample having MnO2: GO = 5:2 (by weight) demonstrates the highest specific capacitance of 892.8 F g−1 whereas the disordered sample having same ratio of MnO2 and GO demonstrates 546.9 F g−1 at 2 mV s−1. To correlate the superior electrochemical performance of the ordered sample compared to the disordered one, room temperature dielectric measurements are performed which reveals various parameters like conductivity; diffusivity and mobility of charge carriers. An asymmetric supercapacitor device is fabricated using the fiber-like ordered structure as an active electrode. The device offers maximum power density of 2.8 kW kg−1 and maximum energy density of 96.75 Wh kg−1 with a 93.3% retention after 5000 GCD cycles.",battery
"Despite the fact that cognitive impairment rated with clinical rating scales has been shown to be a poor proxy for cognitive functioning measured with a performance-based assessment battery, studies are still using this approach to predict aspects of outcome in schizophrenia. In the current study 106 outpatients with chronic schizophrenia who had been stable both from a symptomatic and a medication perspective for a period of 6 months before study inclusion were investigated to assess the relationship between a clinical rating of cognitive impairment and the actual performance on neuropsychological tests. The cognitive component of the PANSS was compared to results from a neuropsychological test battery which was selected to cover domains known to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Correlations of the cognitive component of the PANSS with the individual neuropsychological tests were low. They ranged between 0.19 and 0.35. None of them was sufficiently high to indicate that the cognitive component of the PANSS adequately covers the cognitive dimension measured by the respective neuropsychological test. These data clearly show that clinical assessment of cognitive deficits by the PANSS is not a viable alternative to neuropsychological testing to obtain information about cognitive functioning in schizophrenia.",non-battery
" Editor, ulrich.knorra@springer.com",non-battery
"An intrinsically polar molybdenum disulfide/graphitic carbon nitride porous nanosheets (MoS2/g-C3N4) has been designed as the sulfur host to improve the performance of lithium-sulfur (Li–S) batteries. The strong chemical interaction of lithium polysulfides with MoS2 and nitrogen rich g-C3N4 restrict the shuttling effect of polysulfides, showing stable cycling and excellent rate performance of Li–S batteries by delivering a specific capacity of 430mAh/g after 400 cycles at 8C rate with a low capacity-fading rate of 0.028% per cycle. For the cathode with high areal loading of 4.3 mg/cm2, it gives a very good capacity retention with a decay rate of 0.070% per cycle after 500 cycles at 0.5C. The dramatic improvement in lithium-ion diffusion is responsible for the high rate capability. The cells also exhibit an effective suppression of self-discharge. They deliver a specific discharge capacity retention of 93.60% and maintain cycling stability for 500 cycles at 1C with 0.08% per cycle decay rate after 10 days of resting. The results demonstrate that integration of both physical entrapment and chemical interaction with polysulfides could be an effective strategy for developing high performance Li–S batteries.",battery
"LaNiO3 coatings on nickel-foam supports were prepared by brush painting. The electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Comparative studies were performed with LaNiO3-pelleted electrodes. The roughness factors were determined by CV and found to be 5,208 ± 350 and 4,037 ± 250 for the pelleted and coated electrodes, respectively. EIS measurements confirm the results obtained by CV. Values lower than 0.3 were calculated for the morphology factors for both electrodes, indicating low electrochemical porosity. The experimental method used in this work to synthesise the oxide coupled with the use of Ni foam as support has proved to be very effective in producing oxide electrodes with surface areas higher than those referred to in relevant literature.",battery
"This study tested the hypothesis that the cognitive antecedents of word recognition are uniquely domain-specific and unrelated to higher-order domain-general cognitive abilities. This hypothesis was evaluated in a longitudinal study of 349 Hebrew-speaking children (mean age: 6.0 years) who were tested on a battery of domain-specific (phonological awareness, phonological memory, visual-orthographic processing, and early literacy) and domain-general tasks (general intelligence, higher-order reasoning, and language) at the end of kindergarten. Word recognition and reading comprehension were assessed at the end of Grade 1. Whereas the kindergarten domain-specific measures accounted for significant and substantial variance in word recognition (33%), the domain-general measures explained only 5% of the variance. Furthermore, the contribution of domain-specific variables to word recognition remained unaltered even after controlling for all domain-general and higher-order language tasks. Reading comprehension, in contrast, was predicted by both print-specific skills (51%) and domain-general abilities (44%). These findings strongly support the notion of word recognition modularity in a well-encapsulated orthography.",non-battery
"Application of in situ Mössbauer spectroscopy for studying catalysts and catalytic processes is discussed. Examples are presented to illustrate the potentials of the method by describing studies on supported heterogeneous catalysts performed with 119Sn and 57Fe spectroscopies in cases with certain metals and alloys, oxides and porous substances. The results are interpreted in comparison to the catalytic performance.",non-battery
"Here we report the preparation of LiFePO4 cathode for lithium ion battery in the aqueous solvent with polyacrylic acid (PAA) as a binder. Its performances were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), charge–discharge cycle test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and compared with the cathode prepared in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent by using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a binder. It is found that the cathode prepared in the aqueous solvent shows better performances than that in NMP solvent, including the better reversibility, the smaller resistances of solid electrolyte interphase and charge exchange, the less polarization, higher capacity and cyclic stability for lithium ion intercalation in or de-intercalation from LiFePO4. The aqueous solvent is also more environmental friendly and cheaper than NNP. In addition, PAA is less costly than PVDF. Consequently, the preparation of LiFePO4 cathode in the aqueous solvent by using a PAA binder provides lithium ion battery with improved performances at a less cost and in a more environmental friendly way.",battery
"From 2002 to 2007, more than 400,000 photovoltaic (PV) solar home systems (SHS) were sold in northwestern China under the US$316 million World Bank/Global Environment Facility-supported Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP). REDP has been hailed as a best practice example in SHS deployment for its unprecedented scale and the combination of technology improvement and market development support components to strengthen the country’s renewable energy industry. While the World Bank has itself conducted post-project evaluations, our paper presents the first independent review with the intent of determining if anticipated project impacts have been sustained. We adopt a case study format supported by in-depth interviews with the project’s relevant stakeholder groups and find that solar home systems (SHS) provide monetary and non-monetary benefits to users and that their portability complements the lifestyle of the region’s nomadic herders. However, we also find that purchasing decisions are still based on price more than quality, after-sales service networks remain weak, and households in REDP’s coverage area are gradually gaining access to hydropower-based grid electricity.",battery
"This article reviews the use of micro-organisms as catalysts at the electrodes of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The principle of MFCs and their intended use for water treatment and clean electricity production is discussed. We address the different microbial structure and metabolic pathways found in prokaryote (bacteria) and eukaryote (yeasts) that allow the understanding of why electron transfer is possible between a microbe and an electrode. The different mechanisms of microbe–electrode electron transfer are discussed: direct electron transfer or through natural nanowires (pili), mediated electron transfer by natural or artificial redox mediator and finally direct redox transformation of excreted metabolites at the electrodes. This is followed by a review of the different bacteria that have been found and studied in MFCs mainly in the anodic compartment but also more recently in the cathodic side of the fuel cells. A perspective on the possible advantages and challenges of the use of yeasts in MFCs is provided, as this aspect has not been thoroughly studied so far. The fourth section of the review focuses on how to improve the performance and sustainability of MFCs through the functionalisation of the electrode surface, for instance with the covalent grafting of redox mediators and/or enzymes.
",battery
"Globally there is profuse literature on the continuous developments of box type solar cookers and solar ovens. A lot of research work has been carried out in recent passed years in the world which clearly shown the utilization of solar energy towards the greatest needs of mankind obviously solar cooking, fuel saving, non-polluting environment and to save and produce electricity. In the present literature the efforts have been made to focus on diverse developments of box type solar cooker till now. An attempt has been made to optimize the various major parameters such as geometries of box-cooker, glazing system, cooking vessels design, heat storage, insulation, mirror boosters and financial feasibility of solar cooker box. All the discussed factors have been taken into account in the fabrication of a simple solar box cooker and a good improvement has been found in the performance of box cooker with efficient working in low ambient temperatures. A wiper type mechanism to remove vapor droplets from the bottom of glazing, during the cooking process has been introduced and discussed with a new designed cooking vessel. The investigational testing of the fabricated box cooker has been carried out under the climate conditions of Moradabad (latitude – 28°58′north and longitude – 78°47′east) Uttar Pradesh.",battery
"The challenge of increasing low-temperature performances of anodes for Li-ion batteries is faced by preparing graphite–tin composite electrodes. The anodes are prepared by mixing partially oxidized graphite with nanometric Sn powder or by coating the oxidized graphite electrode with a thin Sn layer. Long-term cycling stability and intercalation/deintercalation performances of the composite anodes in the temperature range 20°C to −30°C are evaluated. Kinetics is investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, in the attempt to explain the role of Sn in reducing the overall electrode polarization at low temperature. Two possible mechanisms of action for bulk metal powder and surface metal layer are proposed.",battery
"Operating a passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) with high methanol concentration is desired because this increases the energy density of the fuel cell system and hence results in a longer runtime. However, the increase in methanol concentration is limited by the adverse effect of methanol crossover in the conventional design. To overcome this problem, we propose a new self-regulated passive fuel-feed system that not only enables the passive DMFC to operate with high-concentration methanol solution without serious methanol crossover, but also allows a self-regulation of the feed rate of methanol solution in response to discharging current. The experimental results showed that with this fuel-feed system, the fuel cell fed with high methanol concentration of 12.0M yielded the same performance as that of the conventional DMFC running with 4.0M methanol solution. Moreover, as a result of the increased energy density, the runtime of the cell with this new system was as long as 10.1h, doubling that of the conventional design (4.4h) at a given fuel tank volume. It was also demonstrated that this passive fuel-feed system could successfully self-regulate the fuel-feed rate in response to the change in discharging currents.",battery
"Lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitor emerges as a promising candidate to bridge the performance gap between lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors. However, for current lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitor systems, high energy storage is usually accompanied with the sacrifice of high power density due to the mismatched kinetics between the sluggish lithium intercalation in anode and the rapid ion adsorption/desorption at cathode. In this work, we design a simple and controllable synthesis of holey carbon nanolayers with targeted porosity as both anode and cathode to achieve rapid electrochemical kinetics in lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitors. The mesoporous structure, enlarged interlayer spacing and excellent electrical conductivity of anode ensure greatly mitigated lithium diffusion. Simultaneously, the hierarchical porous texture and large external active surface area of cathode contribute to an outstanding capacity of 140 mAh g−1 and better rate capability. The lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitor based on holey carbon nanolayers shows a high energy density up to 181 Wh kg−1, and still preserves a remarkable energy density of 114 Wh kg−1 even at an ultra-high power density of 65 kW kg−1. This work illustrates the pertinence of porosity and morphology manipulation as a competitive strategy for rational fabrication of lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitor electrodes with high power density.",battery
"Double doped spinel LiCoxNiyMn2−x−yO4 (x = y = 0.25) have been synthesised via sol–gel method using different chelating agents viz., acetic acid, maleic acid and oxalic acid to obtain 5 V positive electrode material for use in lithium rechargeable batteries. The sol–gel route endows lower processing temperature, lesser synthesis time, high purity, better homogeneity, good control of particle size and surface morphology. Physical characterizations of the synthesized powder were carried out using thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The electrochemical behaviour of the calcined samples has been carried out by galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling studies in the voltage range 3–5 V. The XRD patterns reveal crystalline single-phase spinel product. SEM photographs indicate micron sized particles with good agglomeration. The charge–discharge studies show LiCo0.25Ni0.25Mn1.5O4 synthesized using oxalic acid to be as a promising cathode material as compared to other two chelating agents and delivers average discharge capacity of 110 mA h g−1 with low capacity fade of 0.2 mA h g−1 per cycle over the investigated 15 cycles.
",battery
"Carbon nanomaterials are receiving worldwide attention because of their multi-faceted superiority in thermal conductivity, flame retardancy, mechanical stability, electrical conductivity, and biocompatibility. In this review, a survey of the literature on extending performance of epoxy resins based on carbon nanomaterials is presented. The structure-performance relationships for different carbon nanomaterials modified epoxy are closely analyzed. The performance extension in mechanical, electrical, thermal conductivity, flame retardancy, antidegradation, and tribological properties of epoxy are reviewed in detail. Other application areas including biocompatibility, biodegradability, gas barrier properties, shape memory, and electromagnetic interference shielding are touched. The challenges and opportunities in carbon nanomaterials functionalized epoxy composites are also discussed.",non-battery
"One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures of vanadium- and iron-doped manganese oxides, Mn1−x M x O2 (M=V and Fe), are synthesized via one-pot hydrothermal reactions. The results of X-ray diffraction studies and electron microscopic analyses demonstrate that all the present 1D nanostructured materials possess α-MnO2-type structure. While the vanadium dopants produce 1D nanorods with a smaller aspect ratio of ∼3–5, iron dopants produce 1D nanowires with a high aspect ratio of >20. X-ray absorption spectroscopy clearly shows that the dopant vanadium ions are stabilized in tetravalent oxidation state with distorted octahedral symmetry, while the iron ions are stabilized in trivalent oxidation state with regular octahedral symmetry. Significant local structural distortion and size mismatch of dopant vanadium ions are responsible for the low aspect ratio of the vanadium-doped nanorods through the less effective growth of a 1D nanostructure. According to electrochemical measurements, doping with Fe and V can improve the electrode performance of 1D nanostructured manganate and such a positive effect is much more prominent for the iron dopant. The present study clearly indicates that doping with Fe and V provides an effective way of tailoring the crystal dimension and electrochemical properties of 1D nanostructured manganese oxides.",battery
"In the last years, the opinion summarization task has gained much importance because of the large amount of online information and the increasing interest in learning the user evaluation about products, services, companies, and people. Although there are many works in this area, there is room for improvement, as the results are far from ideal. In this paper, we present our investigations to generate extractive and abstractive summaries of opinions. We study some well-known methods in the area and compare them. Besides using these methods, we also develop new methods that consider the main advantages of the ones before. We evaluate them according to three traditional summarization evaluation measures: informativeness, linguistic quality, and utility of the summary. We show that we produce interesting results and that our methods outperform some methods from literature.",non-battery
"Recently, the necessity of parallel ultra-high definition (UHD) video processing has been emerging, and the usage of the computing systems that have asymmetric processors, such as ARM big.LITTLE, is actively increasing. Thus, a new parallel UHD video processing method optimized for asymmetric multicore systems is essential. This paper proposes a novel High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) Tile partitioning method for the parallel processing by analyzing the computational power of asymmetric multicores. (1) The proposed method analyzes the computing power of asymmetric multicores and (2) the regression model of computational complexity per video resolution. Lastly, (3) the model determines the optimal HEVC Tile resolution for each core and partitions and allocates the Tiles to suitable cores. Experimental results with the test sequences of common test condition (CTC) show that the decoding speed improved by 17 % with implemented multi-threading module on ARM asymmetric multicore systems.",non-battery
"The structure and electrochemical properties of LiNi x Mn2−x O4 cathode materials for lithium ion batteries were studied by the means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests. The cathodes with different Ni contents (LiNi x Mn2−x O4, x =0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) were synthesized by a spray-drying method and showed a single-phase spinel structure without any impurity. The amount of Ni has a large effect on the electrochemical characteristics. Capacity values of different voltage ranges (4- and 5-V ranges) change obviously with amount of Ni-doped. Also, the total discharge capacities increase with the Ni content, and all of them have good cycle stability.",battery
"Predicting transient behavior of lead-acid batteries during charge and discharge processes is an important factor in many applications including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The conventional mathematical models, which are used to predict the battery dynamics, are either inaccurate or time-consuming. In this study, an improved and efficient mathematical model for simulation of flooded lead-acid batteries based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM) has been introduced which inherits the accuracy of CFD model and the physical understanding of ECM. This approach makes the numerical procedure very efficient and easy to implement. Moreover, because of simplification of boundary conditions (BC's), it is very fast which makes it quite suitable for real-time simulations. The present approach is verified by previous CFD models and experimental data.",battery
"Imaging with a high-speed camera at a resolution of 10–20μm has been used for the direct observation of the anodic dissolution of aluminium alloys containing Sn and Ga. The imaging allows confirmation that hydrogen bubble evolution occurs from the Sn inclusions within rounded pits during both open circuit corrosion and anodic dissolution. Using microelectrodes with only a few Sn inclusions in their surface, it is shown that the evolution of H2 is not continuous and may be correlated with a potential oscillations between −1.50V (where H2 evolution occurs) and significantly less negative potentials (where no H2 is evolved). It is proposed that this potential shift is associated with pH changes resulting from H2 evolution itself.",battery
"The object of this study is to stabilize spent alkaline batteries and to recover useful metals. A blend of dolomite, limestone, and cullet was added to act as a reductant and a glass matrix former in vitrification. Specimens were vitrified using an electrical heating furnace at 1400°C and the output products included slag, ingot, flue gas, and fly ash. The major constituents of the slag were Ca, Mn, and Si, and the results of the toxicity leaching characteristics met the standards in Taiwan. The ingot was a good material for use in production of stainless steel, due to being mainly composed of Fe and Mn. For the fly ash, the high level of Zn makes it economical to recover. The distribution of metals indicated that most of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Ni moved to the ingot, while Al, Ca, Mg, and Si stayed in the slag; Hg vaporized as gas phase into the flue gas; and Cd, Pb, and Zn were predominately in the fly ash. Recovery efficiency for Fe and Zn was >90% and the results show that vitrification is a promising technology for reclaiming spent alkaline batteries.",non-battery
"Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) are emerging as a promising energy storage technology because of their low cost and high energy density. However, the large size of K+ ions hinders the reversible electrochemical potassium (de)insertion in the host structure, limiting the selection of suitable electrode materials for KIBs. Herein, we designed and exploited a new layered oxide, P3-type K0.69CrO2 (hereafter denoted as P3-K0.69CrO2), as a high-performance cathode for KIBs for the first time. The proposed P3-K0.69CrO2 cathode was successfully synthesized via an electrochemical ion-exchange route and exhibited the best cycling performance for a KIB cathode material to date. A combination of electrochemical profiles, ex situ X-ray diffraction, and first-principles calculations was used to understand the overall potassium storage mechanism of P3-K0.69CrO2. Based on a reversible phase transition, P3-K0.69CrO2 delivers a high discharge capacity of 100 mA h g−1 and exhibits extremely high cycling stability with ∼65% retention over 1000 cycles at a 1C rate. Moreover, the K-ion hopping into the P3-K0.69CrO2 structure was extremely rapid, resulting in great power capability of up to a 10C rate with a capacity retention of ∼65% (vs. the capacity at 0.1C).
",battery
"Abstractct Green marketing has become an important method for companies to remain profitable and competitive as the public and governments are more concerned about environmental issues. However, most online shopping environments do not consider product greenness in their recommender systems or other shopping tools. This paper aims to propose the use of recommender systems to aid the green shopping process and to promote green consumerism basing upon the benefits of recommender systems and a compliance technique called foot-in-the-door (FITD). In this study, the architecture of a recommender system for green consumer electronics is proposed. Customers’ decision making process is modeled with an adaptive fuzzy inference system in which the input variables are the degrees of price, feature, and greenness and output variables are the estimated rating data. The architecture has three types of recommendation: information filtering, candidate expansion, and crowd recommendation. Ad hoc customization can be applied to tune the recommendation results. The findings are reported in two parts. The first part describes the potentials of using recommender systems in green marketing and the promotion of green consumerism; the second part describes the proposed recommender system architecture using green consumer electronics as the context. Discussion of the proposed architecture and comparison with other systems are also included in this part. The proposed architecture provides a capable platform for personalized green marketing by offering customers shopping advices tailored to their preferences and for the promotion of green consumerism.",non-battery
"Background Sarcopenia is defined as a progressive and generalized loss of muscle mass with either a loss of muscle strength or a loss of physical performance but there is no recommendation regarding the diagnostic tools that have to be used. In this study, we compared the prevalence of sarcopenia assessed using different diagnostic tools. Methods To measure muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance, we used for each outcome two different diagnostic tools. For muscle mass, we used Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) and bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA); for muscle strength, we used a hydraulic dynamometer and a pneumatic dynamometer; for physical performance we used the Short Physical Performance Battery test (SPPB test) and the walk speed. Eight diagnostic groups were hereby established. Results A total of 250 consecutive subjects were recruited in an outpatient clinic in Liège, Belgium. Estimated prevalence of sarcopenia varied from 8.4% to 27.6% depending on the method of diagnosis used. Regarding muscle mass, BIA systematically overestimated muscle mass compared to DXA (mean estimated prevalence with BIA=12.8%; mean prevalence with DXA=21%). For muscle strength, the pneumatic dynamometer diagnosed twice more sarcopenic subjects than the hydraulic dynamometer (mean estimated prevalence with PD=22.4%; mean estimated prevalence with HD=11.4%). Finally, no difference in prevalence was observed when the walking speed or the SPPB test was used. A weak overall kappa coefficient was observed (0.53), suggesting that the 8 methods of diagnosis are moderately concordant. Conclusion Within the same definition of sarcopenia, prevalence of sarcopenia is highly dependent on the diagnostic tools used.",non-battery
"We describe the preparation of two-dimensionally patterned polyaniline (PANI) thin films via microtransfer molding and electropolymerization techniques. This procedure yields reproducible conducting polymer patterns with excellent feature periodicity, making them useful as diffraction gratings. The fabricated polymer gratings were characterized via tapping-mode atomic force microscopy. Spectroelectrochemistry was used to characterize the optical properties associated with various intrinsic PANI redox states. In accordance with the Kramers–Kronig relation for change-in-absorptivity and change-in-index-of-refraction, electrochemically induced changes in refractive index (detected via changes in diffraction efficiency) were observed to coincide with electrochemically-induced changes in the PANI electronic absorption spectrum. In addition, the higher oxidation states of PANI and the associated changes in refractive index proved accessible via chemical oxidation. Beyond the novelty of a chemically-switchable transmission grating, the response of this system points to the possibility of developing diffraction-based chemical sensing schemes.",battery
"A hybrid electrochemical capacitor (EC) with enhanced energy density is realized by integrating functionalized carbon nanotube (FCNT) electrodes with redox-active electrolyte that has a neutral pH value (1 M Na2SO4 and 0.5 M KBr mixed aqueous solution). The negative electrode shows an electric double layer capacitor-type behavior. On the positive electrode, highly reversible Br−/Br3 − redox reactions take place, presenting a battery-type behavior, which contributes to increase the capacitance of the hybrid cell. The voltage window of the whole cell is extended up to 1.5 V because of the high over-potentials of oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions in the neutral electrolyte. Compared with raw CNT, the FCNT has better wettability in the aqueous electrolyte and contributes to increase the electric double layer capacitance of the cell. As a result, the maximum energy density of 28.3 Wh kg−1 is obtained from the hybrid EC at 0.5 A g−1 without sacrificing its power density, which is around 4 times larger than that of the electrical double layer capacitor constructed by FCNT electrodes and 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. Moreover, the discharge capacity retained 86.3% of its initial performance after 10000 cycles of galvanostatic charge and discharge test (10 A/g), suggesting its long life cycle even at high current loading.",battery
"The objective of the present study was to establish a clinical/personality profile of Turkish patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (TR-OCD). Methods. A neurocognitive/clinical test battery was administered to 17 patients with TR-OCD. Results. TR-OCD patients presented with major psychiatric syndromes (especially mood and generalized anxiety disorders) and personality disorders (particularly paranoid, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, histrionic), and obtained higher scores on measures of core OCD symptoms (i.e., obsessional ideation, compulsive cleaning/washing, mental neutralizing), depressive symptoms, schizotypal personality features, and impulsiveness relative to normative controls. TR-OCD patients did not differ significantly from normative controls on checking, doubting, ordering, and hoarding subscales, and on measures of venturesomeness and empathy. Conclusions. Lack of insight, suspiciousness, and rigidity associated with schizotypal, paranoid, and obsessive-compulsive personality features may have contributed to treatment failure.",non-battery
"Facile synthesis of high efficient bi-functional oxygen catalysts is important for large-scale application of rechargeable metal-air batteries. Herein, an ethanol-water mediated co-precipitation approach is applied to fabricate Co–Mn–Ni (CMN) ternary spinel oxides with uniform 1D structure. Their catalytic activities toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are investigated by the rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) techniques. The ternary spinel oxide with the Co/Mn/Ni atomic ratio of 2:3:1 (CMN-231) exhibits the best bi-functional activities among the as-prepared ternary, binary and unitary spinel oxides (△E is as low as 0.88 V), which can be attributed to its reasonable element composition, mesoporous nanorod structure, strong oxygen-adsorption ability and good charger-transfer capability. In addition, the CMN-231 catalyst demonstrates a strong stability during long-term operation. This well-designed catalyst is applied in a homemade zinc-air battery, and exhibits good charge–discharge performances (voltage gap is 0.9 V at 50 mA cm−2) and remarkable cycling stability.",battery
"Most low-temperature fuel cells are based on the hydrogen fuel cell in some form, with its high power density and clean oxidation to yield no carbon-containing products. However, due to issues of compression and storage, research has been on-going into alternative “hydrogen-storage” compounds that can deliver similar performance in a more convenient form. The nitrogen hydrides, ammonia and hydrazine, have been candidate materials for fuels for nearly 50 years, but rapid advances in the past 5–6 years have shown them to be front-runners in the race for commercial, high-performance, portable fuel cells. In this review, we briefly summarise the recent advances in ammonia and hydrazine fuel cells.
",battery
"The fabrication of flexible freestanding electrodes with superior electrochemical performance is challenging now in consumer electronics miniaturization. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and scalable synthesis of hollow silicon nanosheets, which then hybridizes with rGO into flexible films by layer-by-layer assembly process. The resulting Si/rGO films, when applied as a free-standing LIBs anode, exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 904 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 (about 2 times higher than theoretical value of graphite anode), and meanwhile maintain a long cycle life (650 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles). In addition, a flexible full battery has also been assembled based on the flexible film as an anode and the commercial LiCoO2 as a cathode, which impressively delivers a high specific capacity of 700 and 613 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 after 15 cycles in flat and bent state, respectively. Such intriguing electrochemical performances can be mainly attributed to the two-dimensional hollow nanostructure of silicon and their strong synergistic effect with rGO. It is reckoned that our Si/rGO films are a promising anode for advanced flexible LIBs.",battery
"A high capacity alkaline redox storage chemistry is explored based on a novel Fe6+/B2− chemistry. The alkaline anodes based on transition metal borides can deliver exceptionally high electrochemical capacity. Over 3800mAh/g discharge capacity is obtained for the commercial available vanadium diboride (VB2), much higher than the theoretical capacity of commonly used zinc metal (820mAh/g) alkaline anode. Coupling with the super-iron cathodes, the novel Fe6+/B2− battery chemistry generates a matched electrochemical potential to the pervasive, conventional MnO2–Zn battery, but sustains a much higher electrochemical capacity. Stability enhancement of super-iron boride battery is also studied. A zirconia coating effectively prevents both the decomposition of boride anodes and the passivation of Fe(VI) cathodes, and sustains facile both anodic and cathodic charge transfer. Reversibility of boride anodes is demonstrated with TiB2 and VB2. It is shown that these two boride anodes exhibit the reversibility in a certain extent.",battery
"In 2014 the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted the global technical regulation No. 15 concerning the Worldwide harmonized Light duty Test Procedure (WLTP). Having significantly contributed to its development, the European Commission is now aiming at introducing the new test procedure in the European type-approval legislation for light duty vehicles in order to replace the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) as the certification test. The current paper aims to assess the effect of WLTP introduction on the reported CO2 emissions from passenger cars presently measured under the New European Driving Cycle and the corresponding test protocol. The most important differences between the two testing procedures, apart from the kinematic characteristics of the respective driving cycles, is the determination of the vehicle inertia and driving resistance, the gear shifting sequence, the soak and test temperature and the post-test charge balance correction applied to WLTP. In order to quantify and analyze the effect of these differences in the end value of CO2 emissions, WLTP and NEDC CO2 emission measurements were performed on 20 vehicles, covering almost the whole European market. WLTP CO2 values range from 125.5 to 217.9g/km, NEDC values range from 105.4 to 213.2g/km and the ΔCO2 between WLTP and NEDC ranges from 4.7 to 29.2g/km for the given vehicle sample. The average cold start effect over WLTP was found 6.1g/km, while for NEDC it was found 12.3g/km. For a small gasoline and a medium sized diesel passenger car, the different inertia mass and driving resistance is responsible 63% and 81% of the observed ΔCO2 between these two driving cycles respectively, whereas the other parameters (driving profile, gear shifting, test temperature) account for the remaining 37% and 19%.",battery
"The safety issues of lithium batteries caused by liquid organic electrolyte have been driving people to seek safer solid-like electrolytes. Herein, we report effort to employ Polyurethane acrylate (PUA) elastomer and Succinonitrile (SN)-based plastic crystal electrolyte (PCE) to fabricate a composite PCE (CPCE) by solution blending followed by rapid UV curing. During fabrication process, the phase separation between PUA and SN-based PCE can be suppressed by adding Tetrahydrofuran (THF). Consequently, the improved compatibility results in an improved mechanical strength in the CPCE and makes PUA impart the good stretching and resilient properties to the CPCE. The optimized CPCE presents a maximum stretching strain of 90.6% and can bear cyclic stretching-releasing test. Besides, the CPCE exhibits a high ionic conductivity of 0.91 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 30 °C and a wide electrochemical stability window of 4.8 V. Thus, this stretchable CPCE could be used in flexible batteries for emerging applications such as wearable electronic devices and flexible sensors.",non-battery
"Objective To examine the neurologic and neurophysiologic findings and neurologic symptoms in 12 women with Fabry disease and to study the relationship between the subjective symptoms and the findings on the various tests done. Methods Neurography, vibratory and thermal quantitative sensory testing (QST), skin biopsy for measuring intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD). Heart rate variability (HRV) and sympathetic skin response (SSR) tests for detecting autonomic dysfunction, pain-, depression- and somatic symptom questionnaires and clinical examination. Results Only two women had no persistent symptoms or signs of polyneuropathy, 10 had symptoms of small fiber neuropathy. Neurological examination was normal in most patients. Five patients had decreased IENFD or thermal hypoesthesia in QST. In QST, Aδ-fiber function for innocuous cold was more often impaired than C-fiber function. Conventional nerve conduction studies were mostly normal. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) incidence was increased, 25% had symptomatic CTS. Conclusions Heterozygous women carrying the gene for Fabry disease have symptoms and findings of small-fiber polyneuropathy more often than has previously been considered. The prevalence of CTS is also increased. Significance While the clinical diagnosis of small-fiber neuropathy is difficult, the diagnostic yield can be increased using a combination of thermal QST and IENFD measurements.",non-battery
"Employing the theorem that matching impedance produces maximum power transfer, the current study develops a low-cost and highly efficient “maximum power point tracker for a solar cell unit,” for the purpose of allowing a solar cell to achieve optimal power transfer under different solar intensities and temperatures. Circuit control takes a single-chip microprocessor as the core and the booster circuit design undergoes the solar cell charging operation even though the solar cell output voltage is lower than the rated storage battery voltage. Experiments conducted in this study prove that the tracker this study develops effectively enhances the utilization efficiency of a solar cell. When a solar cell is at an output voltage above 30% of the rated voltage, it can charge a storage battery. When it reaches above 80% of the rated voltage, its power conversion efficiency can reach above 85%. The charge and discharge management mechanism of the device also avoids excessive charge and discharge of the storage battery, and extends storage battery longevity.",battery
"We demonstrate a novel method to manufacture non-toxic supercapacitors with aqueous electrolyte by solution processing techniques. The supercapacitors are fabricated on flexible substrates by applying ink layers on top of each other resulting to a monolithic structure. In this way the whole component including current collectors, electrodes and separator can be implemented on one substrate without the need to align and seal two separately fabricated electrodes. Biopolymer chitosan has an important role since it acts both as separator and activated carbon electrode binder. This work facilitates an easier manufacturing of thin supercapacitor structures e.g. for Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor network applications. The capacitance range of our components is 0.26–0.43 F and equivalent series resistance 12–32 Ω.",battery
" Protein aggregates can be found in peripheral organs, such as the heart, kidney, and pancreas, but little is known about the impact of peripherally misfolded proteins on neuroinflammation and brain functional recovery following ischemic stroke.",non-battery
"Electrification of villages from the main grid leads to large investments and losses, and this forms the basis of decentralized Hybrid Energy System. In order to evaluate the techno-economic performance of hybrid energy system for remote rural area electrification, a mixed integer linear mathematical programming model (time-series) has been developed to determine the optimal operation, optimal configuration including the assessment of the economic penetration levels of photovoltaic array area, and cost optimization for a hybrid energy generation system consisting of small/micro hydro based power generation, biogas based power generation, biomass (fuelwood) based power generation, photovoltaic array, a battery bank and a fossil fuel generator. An optimum control algorithm written in C++, based on combined dispatch strategy, allowing easy handling of the models and data of hybrid energy system components is presented. A special feature of the proposed model is that a cost constant (cost/unit) for each of the proposed resource is introduced in the cost objective function in such a way that resources with lesser unit cost share the greater of the total energy demand in an attempt to optimize the objective function. To demonstrate the use of model and algorithm, a case study for a rural remote area is also presented.",battery
"In this work, carbon-coated hierarchical acanthosphere-like Li4Ti5O12 microspheres (denoted as AM-LTO) were prepared via a two-step hydrothermal process with low-cost glucose as the organic carbon source. The hierarchical porous microspheres had open structures with diameters of 4–6 μm, which consisted of a bunch of willow leaf-like nanosheets. Each nanosheet was comprised of Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles that are 20 nm in size and coated by a thin carbon layer. When applied as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the AM-LTO presented outstanding rate and cycling performance due to its unique morphologies. A high capacity of 145.6 mAh g−1 was achieved for AM-LTO at a rate of 40C (1C = 175 mAh g−1). In contrast, the sample synthesized without glucose as carbon source (denoted as S-LTO) experienced an obvious structural collapse during the hydrothermal reaction and presented a specific capacity of only 67 mAh g−1 at 1C, which further decreased to 14 mAh g−1 at 40C. Further morphological growth of the acanthosphere-like Li4Ti5O12 microspheres and their excellent performance as an anode in LIBs were also discussed in this work.",battery
"Worldwide, over 1.1 billion people have no access to electricity. The consequences for the affected people include health hazards from fuels used for lighting, limits to learning when it gets dark, a short productive day and high expenditures on lighting alternatives. Since 85% of affected people live in rural areas in developing countries, increasing access to electricity through grid supply is logistically and financially challenging. As a potential solution to this issue off-grid solar chargers have been gaining popularity. This technology is under continuous development to achieve lower costs, faster battery charge and more electricity generation to prolong light hours. This review contains a comprehensive analysis of possible improvements to solar lights and the role solar PV concentrators can play in it. It aims to provide the reader with a critical comparison of existing solar PV concentrators and to consider the advantages and drawbacks if applied to portable solar systems used in developing countries. From this review, static nonimaging concentrators have been identified as best suited since they are easy to operate and maintain and have shown high reliability. A detailed comparison of existing static nonimaging concentrators is presented in this work and their suitability for being deployed in portable solar systems in developing countries is evaluated. It concludes that the existing designs need adjustment if to be used for this purpose. Thus, novel concentrator designs for portable solar systems for developing countries are needed to facilitate more off-grid solar power generation. It is the aim therefore of this review to stimulate more research in this field.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most advanced electrochemical energy storage technology due to a favourable balance of performance and cost properties. Driven by forecasted growth of the electric vehicles market, the cell production capacity for this technology is continuously being scaled up. However, the demand for better performance, particularly higher energy densities and/or lower costs, has triggered research into post-lithium-ion technologies such as solid-state lithium metal, lithium–sulfur and lithium–air batteries as well as post-lithium technologies such as sodium-ion batteries. Currently, these technologies are being intensively studied with regard to material chemistry and cell design. In this Review, we expand on the current knowledge in this field. Starting with a market outlook and an analysis of technological differences, we discuss the manufacturing processes of these technologies. For each technology, we describe anode production, cathode production, cell assembly and conditioning. We then evaluate the manufacturing compatibility of each technology with the lithium-ion production infrastructure and discuss the implications for processing costs.",battery
"A tin antimony based electrode has been synthesized in the form of nanometric particles housed into the pores of a protective, amorphous carbon matrix. Electrochemical results, obtained using this material as the working electrode in a lithium cell, suggested that the electrochemical process involves both SnSb intermetallic and Sn metal, present in the carbon matrix. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the optimized nanostructure prevents the mechanical drawbacks, associated with the volume changes during the alloying processes, which normally affect this class of materials. Finally, a lithium ion battery based on the SnSb–C electrode as the anode and lithium iron phosphate, LiFePO4, as the cathode, showed very promising performance.",battery
"Nitrogen-doped (N-doped) carbon has great potential in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, since N-doping can not only enhance the reaction activity of the cathode but also suppress the shuttle effect. Unfortunately, the N-C interface as a critical chemical active site is still short of a deep and detail understanding owing to the difficulty of interfacial structure engineering on the molecular scale. In this work, an interwoven coaxial cable network with ultrahigh nitrogen content of 9.56 wt% has been successfully fabricated through engineering a rationally designed Schiff-base chemistry. This in-situ bottom-up strategy enables the targeted heteroatom doping throughout the entire networks on molecular scale. Thus, a homogenous interface between nitrogen and carbon matrix can be achieved even at such a high doping level, which is demonstrated to play the key role in facilitating the chemical absorption of sulfur/polysulfides, and eventually improving the cycling stability of the electrode. Consequently, the composite demonstrates outstanding long cycling performance with a high specific capacity of 729 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles and a superior rate capability. The bottom-up strategy for fabricating the N-doped carbon networks will open up a new avenue for deeply understanding the critical role of interface in rational designing of N-doped carbon materials.",battery
"We construct and analyze a dynamic model of chain growth across multiple markets from an ecological perspective using computational and mathematical techniques. Our model consists of firms that possess intrinsic qualities and hedonic spatial attributes. Consumers purchase from firms based upon quality and hedonic distance. We find that the existence of chains creates an environment favorable to additional chains. In other words, chains beget chains. We also find that even though creating successful new firms becomes harder over time, chaining successful new firms becomes easier. Both phenomena result from the creation of common niches across markets.",non-battery
"Organic–inorganic hybrid electrolytes based on di-ureasil backbone structures by reacting poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (ED2000) with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate (ICPTES), followed by co-condensation with methoxy(polyethylenoxy)propyl trimethoxysilane (MPEOP) in the presence of LiClO4 were prepared and characterized by a variety of techniques. The hybrid electrolytes showed good resistance to crystallization and excellent conductivity for use in lithium-ion batteries, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and impedance measurements, respectively. The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity exhibited a VTF (Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher)-like behavior for all the compositions studied and a maximum ionic conductivity value of 6.9×10−5 Scm−1, a relatively high value for solid polymer electrolytes, was achieved at 30°C for the hybrid electrolyte with a [O]/[Li] ratio of 16. A microscopic view of the dynamic behavior of the polymer chains (13C) and the ionic species (7Li) was provided by the 1H and 7Li line widths measured from 2D 1H–13C WISE (Wideline Separation) and variable temperature 7Li static NMR, respectively, to elucidate the influence of the mobility of the polymer chains and the charge carriers on the observed ionic conductivity. The present salt-free hybrid electrolyte after plasticization with 1M LiClO4 in EC/PC solution exhibited a swelling ratio of 275% and reached an ionic conductivity value up to 8.3×10−3 Scm−1 at 30°C, which make it a good candidate for the further development of advanced rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.",battery
" Evidence suggests that elective cardiac patients are at risk of functional and psychological deterioration in the time preceding surgery. This poses a risk to successful post-operative rehabilitation. This prospective one-group pre-test, post-test evaluation was designed to assess a clinical Pre-operative Rehabilitation (PREHAB) home-based exercise programme, to optimise pre-operative physical function and frailty in patients awaiting elective Coronary Artery By-Pass Graft (CABG) or Valve Surgery.",non-battery
"Rechargeable metal–air batteries are widely considered as the next generation high energy density electrochemical storage devices. The performance and rechargeability of these metal–air cells are highly dependent on the positive electrode material, where oxygen reduction and evolution reactions take place. Here, for the first time, we provide a detailed account of the kinetics and rechargeability of sodium–air batteries through a series of carefully designed tests on a treated commercial carbon material. Surface area and porous structure of the positive electrode material were controlled in order to gain detailed information about the reaction kinetics of sodium–air batteries. The results indicate that discharge capacity is linearly correlated with surface area while morphology of the solid discharge product is strongly dependent on specific surface area and pore size. Furthermore, it was found that the chemical composition of discharge products as well as charging overpotential is affected by discharge reaction rate.
",battery
"The α-Fe2O3/C composites have been successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal carbonization glucose method using pickled iron oxide red as raw materials, which is the recycled product after treating the pickling wastewater. The NaOH is used as an additive to assist carbonization of glucose to obtain the high-quality carbon coating layer. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscope are used to characterize the structure and morphology of the samples. To characterize the surface chemical composition and bonding configuration of α-Fe2O3/C, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is detected. The Electrochemical properties are optimized by the orthogonal tests, revealing that the hydrothermal reaction time has the most significant influence on the electrode capacity, followed by the hydrothermal reaction temperature, the amount of glucose added and the concentration of NaOH. As anode material for lithium ion battery, the initial discharge/charge capacity of α-Fe2O3/C electrode can reach 2640.1/2151.4 mAh g−1 with initial coulomb efficiency of 81.49% at a current density of 100 mA g−1, and even after 80 cycles maintain the capacity of 1529.5 mAh g−1, which far exceeds the theoretical capacity (1007 mAh g−1) of α-Fe2O3 electrode.",non-battery
"Objective To explore the association between demographic factors and functional performance measures of patients with acute stroke in an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) and falls during the IRF stay and to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of functional outcome measures in identifying fallers. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Inpatient rehabilitation facility. Participants Individuals with acute stroke admitted to hospital-based IRF (N=139). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Odds ratios were used to examine the relationship between fall frequency and functional outcome measures (National Institute of Stroke Scale, neglect [Item #11], Berg Balance Scale, Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement mobility and Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement lower extremity subscales [STREAM-LE], Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Dynamic Gait Index, and Stroke Impact Scale). Receiver operator characteristic analysis with area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of each functional outcome measure to distinguish patients who fell vs those who did not fall in the IRF. Results A total of 23 patients (16.2%) fell during the IRF hospitalization. Patients who did and did not fall did not differ in terms of age, sex, stroke type, or stroke location. Only the STREAM-LE was associated with falls (odds ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99). Area under the curve was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.51-0.82). With a positivity cutoff point of 12, sensitivity and specificity were 73.3% (95% CI, 54.6%-92.2%) and 50.0% (95% CI, 39.9%-59.2%), respectively. The diagnostic odds ratio was 3.4. Conclusions The STREAM-LE score at admission to IRF may identify patients with acute stroke who are more likely to fall during their stay. However, the search for measures with greater diagnostic accuracy should continue.",non-battery
"This article presents a new control model for the optimal next day management of a PV-battery system using a geometrical analysis method under two electricity tariff schemes. The method is visual, simple and reduces calculation times by determining the control scheme only once a day, using 24-h forecasting of PV output and demand. The optimization goal of this method is to minimize the customer’s daily expenditure on electricity from the grid. The cases studied in this work validate the effectiveness of this geometrical method which would be applicable in many countries with different tariff mechanisms. From a comparison of the control model under two tariffs, the results show that under a flat retail tariff (ReT), the battery needs only to store the surplus PV energy for later use, but under a Time-of-Use (ToU) ReT, the battery controller should optimize the battery state of charge according to the level of demand during peak and shoulder times.",battery
"A study of seepage occurring in an adit at the Nopal I uranium mine in Chihuahua, Mexico, was conducted as part of an integrated natural analogue study to evaluate the effects of infiltration and seepage on the mobilization and transport of radionuclides. An instrumented seepage collection system and local automated weather station permit direct correlation between local precipitation events and seepage. Field observations recorded between April 2005 and December 2006 indicate that seepage is highly heterogeneous with respect to time, location, and quantity. Seepage, precipitation, and fracture data were used to test two hypotheses: (1) that fast flow seepage is triggered by large precipitation events, and (2) that an increased abundance of fractures and/or fracture intersections leads to higher seepage volumes. A few zones in the back adit recorded elevated seepage volumes immediately following large (>20 mm/day) precipitation events, with transit times of less than 4 h through the 8-m thick rock mass. In most locations, there is a 1–6 month time lag between the onset of the rainy season and seepage, with longer times observed for the front adit. There is a less clear-cut relation between fracture abundance and seepage volume; processes such as evaporation and surface flow along the ceiling may also influence seepage.",non-battery
"We demonstrate that liquid-feed flame spray pyrolysis (LF-FSP) processing provides non-aggregated nanopowders that can be used immediately to tape cast, producing thin films (<100 μm) of Li+ ion conducting membranes when sintered. Glass-ceramic or sol–gel processing methods are commonly used for such but require additional high-energy milling and/or calcining to obtain powder feedstock. Li1+x+y Al x Ti2−x Si y P3−y O12 (x = 0.1, 0.3/y = 0.2, 0.4) nanopowders were prepared by LF-FSP with a primary focus on the effects of Al0.3/Si0.4 doping on conductivities. Furthermore, the effects of excess Li2O on Al0.3/Si0.4 doped materials were studied. Li1.7Al0.3Ti1.7Si0.4P2.6O12 pellets sintered to 93–94% of theoretical density and samples with varying excess Li2O contents all show superionic conductivities of 2–3 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature. Li2O lowers both the crystallization temperatures and temperatures required to sinter. Total conductivities range from 2 × 10−3 to 5 × 10−2 S cm−1 in the temperature span of 25°–125 °C. Small grain sizes of 600 ± 200 nm were produced. Initial attempts to make thin films gave films with thicknesses of 52 ± 1 μm on sintering just to 1000 °C. Measured conductivities were 3–5 × 10−4 S cm−1; attributed to final densities of only ≈88%.",battery
"The past two decades have seen a tremendous surge in scientific interest in the extent to which certain types of training—be it aerobic, athletic, musical, video game, or brain trainer—can result in general enhancements in cognitive function. While there are certainly active debates regarding the results in these domains, what is perhaps more pressing is the fact that key aspects of methodology remain unsettled. Here we discuss a few of these areas including expectation effects, test–retest effects, the size of the cognitive test battery, the selection of control groups, group assignment methods, difficulties in comparing results across studies, and in interpreting null results. Specifically, our goal is to highlight points of contention as well as areas where the most commonly utilized methods could be improved upon. Furthermore, because each of the sub-areas above (aerobic training through brain training) share strong similarities in goal, theoretical framework, and experimental approach, we seek to discuss these issues from a general perspective that considers each as members of the same broad “training” domain.
",non-battery
"Battery life is an important, yet technically challenging, issue for battery development and application. Adequately estimating battery life requires a significant amount of testing and modeling effort to validate the results. Integrated battery testing and modeling is quite feasible today to simulate battery performance, and therefore applicable to predict its life. A relatively simple equivalent-circuit model (ECM) is used in this work to show that such an integrated approach can actually lead to a high-fidelity simulation of a lithium-ion cell's performance and life. The methodology to model the cell's capacity fade during thermal aging is described to illustrate its applicability to battery calendar life prediction.",battery
"This paper introduces an online coordination approach for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) charging in smart hybrid AC/DC distribution systems. The goal of the proposed method is to optimally charge the PHEVs in order to maximize the PHEV owners' satisfaction without violating the network constraints. The charging costs, which represent the PHEV owners' satisfaction in this work, are based on real-time pricing. The proposed approach includes consideration of PHEV owners' requirements, PHEV batteries' characteristics, and hybrid distribution system limitations. Moreover, a sliding window concept is introduced to facilitate managing the PHEV charging and the system interlinking converters in real-time. A 38-bus test system has been modified to include DC links and used to validate the developed online charging scheme. The test results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.",battery
"We demonstrate the effects of reduced cation ordering on the electrochemical properties of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4. LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 is treated with nitric acid to reduce the degree of cation ordering. Nitric acid treatment induces partial oxidation of Ni2+ to Ni3+ as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thanks to this oxidation, the 16d octahedral site in LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 is quite void of cation ordering and its structure is partially changed to more disordered spinel engaged in Fd3m. This structural change is accompanied by significantly enhanced electrochemical performances in rate capability as well as cyclic retention. Actually, nitric acid treated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 can deliver about 87% of the initial capacity (129 mAh g−1) even after 100 cycles even at 55 °C.",battery
"Due to the various seasonal, monthly and daily changes in meteorological data, it is relatively difficult to find a suitable model for Photovoltaic power supply (PVPS) system. This paper deals with the modelling and simulation of a PVPS system using an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Scheme (ANFIS) and the proposition of a new expert configuration PVPS system. For the modelling of the PVPS system, it is required to find suitable models for its different components (ANFIS PV generator, ANFIS battery and ANFIS regulator) that could give satisfactory results under variable climatic conditions in order to test its performance and reliability. A database of measured climate data (global radiation, temperature and humidity) and electrical data (photovoltaic, battery and regulator voltage and current) of a PVPS system installed in Tahifet (south of Algeria) has been recorded for the period from 1992 to 1997. These data have been used for the modelling and simulation of the PVPS system. The results indicated that the reliability and the accuracy of the simulated system are excellent and the correlation coefficient between measured values and those estimated by the ANFIS gave a good prediction accuracy of 98%. Additionally, test results show that the ANFIS performed better than the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), which has also being tried to model the system. In addition, a new configuration of an expert PVPS system is proposed in this work. The predicted electrical data by the ANFIS model can be used for several applications in PV systems.",battery
"Iron oxide, a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries, has a high theoretical specific capacity but exhibits poor cycling performance and rate capability. To resolve these issues, 150 nm sized carbon coated, hollow Fe3O4 nanoellipsoids are designed in this study. Owing to the relatively high utilization ratio of Fe3O4 and the buffer provided by the carbon layer, this composite has enhanced lithium ion storage properties and long cycle life. From half-cell measurements, the capacity is found to be in excess of 400 mAh g−1 even after 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1. And then, a facile and practical strategy is used to gain a relatively high compressed density (∼1.87 g cm−3), so the volumetric capacity of the Fe3O4@C electrode can be further enhanced by subjecting it to compression. In the full cell test, the Fe3O4@C electrode has a specific capacity of 400 mAh g−1 and volumetric capacity of 749 mAh cm−3 after 100 cycles. The improvement in cycling stability can be attributed to minimal volume expansion and the stability of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, over the nanoparticles. Finally, the evolution of solid-electrolyte interphase layer is indirectly monitored and the progressive loss of active lithium is quantitatively measured.",battery
"The Fe/V redox flow battery has demonstrated promising performance with distinct advantages over other redox flow battery systems. Due to the less oxidative nature of the Fe(III) species, hydrocarbon-based ion exchange membranes or separators can be used. Daramic® microporous polyethylene separators were tested on Fe/V flow cells using sulphuric/chloric mixed acid-supporting electrolytes. Among them, separator C exhibited good flow cell cycling performance with satisfactory repeatability over a broad temperature range of 5–50 °C. Energy efficiency (EE) of C remains around 70% at current densities of 50–80 mA cm−2 in temperatures ranging from room temperature to 50 °C. The capacity decay problem could be circumvented through hydraulic pressure balancing by means of applying different pump rates to the positive and negative electrolytes. Stable capacity and energy were obtained over 20 cycles at room temperature and 40 °C. These results show that extremely low-cost separators ($1–20 m−2) are applicable in the Fe/V flow battery system with acceptable energy efficiency. This represents a remarkable breakthrough: a significant reduction of the capital cost of the Fe/V flow battery system, which could further its market penetration in grid stabilization and renewable integration.",battery
"A simple analysis of the polarization resistance of the electrodes as function of the loading mass for various cycling rates allows identifying the fading mechanism on cycling of NiSb2, a typical conversion material: pulverization of active mass and further degradation of the electronic wiring at high rate and agglomeration of the active mass at low rate. Such rate-control of the degradation mechanism might reflect a thermodynamic instability of interfaces in the lithiated compound, which would however be in kinetic competition with the Lithium de-insertion. The analysis of the electrode polarization resistance fingerprint to rapidly identify the failure mechanism in a composite electrode can be generalized to other active materials.",battery
"A series of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 samples with α-NaFeO2 structure belonging to the R 3 ¯ m D3d 5 space group were synthesized using tartaric acid as a chelating agent by wet-chemical method. Different acid to metal-ion ratios R have been used to investigate the effect of this parameter on the physical and electrochemical properties. We have characterized the reaction mechanism, the structure, and morphology of the powders by TGA, XRD, SEM and TEM imaging, completed by magnetic measurements, Raman scattering spectroscopy, and complex impedance experiments. We find that the LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 sintered at 900°C for 15h with an acid to metal-ion ratio R =2 was the optimum condition for this synthesis. For this optimized sample, only 1.3% of nickel-ions occupied the 3b Wyckoff site of the lithium-ions sublattice. The electrochemical performance has been investigated using a coin-type cell containing Li metal as the anode. The electronic performance is correlated to the concentration of the Ni(3b) defects that increase the charge transfer resistance and reduce the lithium diffusion coefficient. The optimized cell delivered an initial discharge capacity of 172mAhg−1 in the cut-off voltage of 2.8–4.4V, with a coulombic efficiency of 93.4%.",battery
"In Turkey, it is common to move to seasonal vacation homes/second homes during summer months. Electrical energy demand of these homes, which are usually located in the coastal regions where solar radiation is high, can be met by renewable energy sources. In this study, meeting electrical energy demand of off-grid vacation homes via photovoltaic/wind/fuel cell hybrid energy systems is investigated from a techno-economical perspective. 24 different simulations were performed in the HOMER software under geographic and climatic conditions of Çeşme, İzmir that has relatively high solar and wind energy potential for Turkey conditions and is a place where seasonal vacation homes are located. Two occupancy scenarios (seasonal and regular) of the households were investigated under two storage options (hydrogen and battery) and each storage option consisted of six hybrid system configurations (three 100% renewable + three minimum 95% renewable). As a result, the levelized cost of electricity (COE) of off-grid renewable energy systems are found to be above the cost of grid electricity, however, a lot less when compared to previous years. The techno-economic analysis showed that, battery storage, which is a more mature technology, is still economically superior to hydrogen storage.",non-battery
"Increasing energy prices have led to a renewed interest in development of electric vehicles. At the same time, many customers may view an electric vehicle as an inferior alternative to the gasoline-powered car, due to limited range, length of time required to recharge the car, and limited availability of the related infrastructure. Further, commercially available and well-tested hybrid vehicle technology provides substantial fuel economy without requiring additional infrastructure investment; moreover, hybrid cars do not suffer from the range issue. This paper offers a first formal model of adoption of electric vehicles. We show that, depending on the values of the model's parameters, a situation can arise where some of the commuters purchase an electric vehicle as their second car, in addition to purchasing a regular gasoline-powered car. At the same time, improvements in fuel economy similar to development of a hybrid vehicle technology can lead to wide-spread adoption of a hybrid vehicle as household's only car. This paper will provide a framework model to analyze the question of electric vehicle adoption, which will be expanded in future research.",non-battery
 A correction to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-020-01676-y.,non-battery
"This study was designed to investigate the effects of inquiry chemical experiment in chemistry teaching in promoting preservice teachers’ critical thinking skills. A pretest and posttest experimental design with a comparison group was employed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Ten chemical experiments were selected, and 42 chemical preservice teachers aged at 19-22 voluntarily participated in the research. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was used to assess the level of preservice teachers’ critical thinking skills. The CCTST pre and post scores of the preservice teachers in chemical inquiry experiments training have significant differences, which show that the inquiry chemical experiment has certain promoter action to the preservice teachers’ critical thinking skills. The findings indicated that the implementation of inquiry chemical experiment improved critical thinking skills of the preservice teachers significantly.",non-battery
"Methamphetamine (METH) is a highly addictive psychostimulant, and cessation of use is associated with reduced monoamine signalling, and increased anxiety/depressive states. Neurons expressing the neuropeptide, relaxin-3 (RLN3), and its cognate receptor, RXFP3, constitute a putative ‘ascending arousal system’, which shares neuroanatomical and functional similarities with serotonin (5-HT)/dorsal raphe and noradrenaline (NA)/locus coeruleus monoamine systems. In light of possible synergistic roles of RLN3 and 5-HT/NA, endogenous RLN3/RXFP3 signalling may compensate for the temporary reduction in monoamine signalling associated with chronic METH withdrawal, which could alter the profile of ‘behavioural despair’, bodyweight reductions, and increases in anhedonia and anxiety-like behaviours observed following chronic METH administration. In studies to test this theory, Rln3 and Rxfp3 knockout (KO) mice and their wildtype (WT) littermates were injected once daily with saline or escalating doses of METH (2 mg/kg, i.p. on day 1, 4 mg/kg, i.p. on day 2 and 6 mg/kg, i.p. on day 3–10). WT and Rln3 and Rxfp3 KO mice displayed an equivalent sensitivity to behavioural despair (Porsolt swim) during the 2-day METH withdrawal and similar bodyweight reductions on day 3 of METH treatment. Furthermore, during a 3-week period after the cessation of chronic METH exposure, Rln3 KO, Rxfp3 KO and corresponding WT mice displayed similar behavioural responses in paradigms that measured anxiety (light/dark box, elevated plus maze), anhedonia (saccharin preference), and social interaction. These findings indicate that a whole-of-life deficiency in endogenous RLN3/RXFP3 signalling does not markedly alter behavioural sensitivity to chronic METH treatment or withdrawal, but leave open the possibility of a more significant interaction with global or localised manipulations of this peptide system in the adult brain.
",non-battery
"On the foundation of LiNiCoMn quaternary phase diagram, a series of manganese-based cathode materials LiδNi0.25-zMn0.75-zCo2zOy (0 ≤ δ ≤ 1.75, z = 0, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.25) have been designed and systematically studied. These materials are synthesized via a carbonate co-precipitation route and followed by a solid-state reaction. The effects of cobalt and lithium contents on phase transformations morphologies, and electrochemical behaviors of the cathode materials are overall compared and evaluated. The results reveal that, with δ increases, structures of the materials present phase evolution from spinel phase (δ ≤ 0.5) to integrated composite of spinel and layered phase (Fd 3 ¯ m and R 3 ¯ m, 0.5 < δ < 1.5) and then to a pure layered phase (R 3 ¯ m and C2/m, δ ≥ 1.5). In addition, size of primary particle and roughness of the secondary particles are also affected by δ value. Moreover, it is found that the initial discharge capacity and cycle stability of the cathode materials can be improved by a proper amount of cobalt substitution for both spinel and layered structure. These studies on the LiNiMnCo quaternary phase diagram provide a new insight into the research and development of the cathode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"The energy crisis and environmental degradation are currently two vital issues for global sustainable development. Rapid industrialization and population explosion in India has led to the migration of people from villages to cities, which generate thousands tons of municipal solid waste daily, which is one of the important contributors for environmental degradation at national level. Improper management of municipal solid waste (MSW) causes hazards to inhabitants. The management of MSW requires proper infrastructure, maintenance and upgrade for all activities. The MSWM (municipal solid waste management) system comprises with generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of solid wastes. In the present study, an attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive review of MSW management to evaluate the current status of waste to energy facilities for sustainable management, which will be helpful in tackling this huge quantity of waste and the problem of energy crisis. A critical review of known MSW management practices/processes in Indian scenario, which will give an idea to investors about the market potential, the maturity of the practicing technologies, and the environmental and economical aspects was also evaluated with its advantages and disadvantages.",battery
"Diffusion tensor imaging suffers from an intrinsic low signal-to-noise ratio. Bootstrap algorithms have been introduced to provide a non-parametric method to estimate the uncertainty of the measured diffusion parameters. To quantify the variability of the principal diffusion direction, bootstrap-derived metrics such as the cone of uncertainty have been proposed. However, bootstrap-derived metrics are not independent of the underlying diffusion profile. A higher mean diffusivity causes a smaller signal-to-noise ratio and, thus, increases the measurement uncertainty. Moreover, the goodness of the tensor model, which relies strongly on the complexity of the underlying diffusion profile, influences bootstrap-derived metrics as well. The presented simulations clearly depict the cone of uncertainty as a function of the underlying diffusion profile. Since the relationship of the cone of uncertainty and common diffusion parameters, such as the mean diffusivity and the fractional anisotropy, is not linear, the cone of uncertainty has a different sensitivity. In vivo analysis of the fornix reveals the cone of uncertainty to be a predictor of memory function among older adults. No significant correlation occurs with the common diffusion parameters. The present work not only demonstrates the cone of uncertainty as a function of the actual diffusion profile, but also discloses the cone of uncertainty as a sensitive predictor of memory function. Future studies should incorporate bootstrap-derived metrics to provide more comprehensive analysis.",non-battery
"Fabrication of novel electrode architectures with nanostructured ultrathin catalyst layers is an effective strategy to improve catalyst utilization and enhance mass transport for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, we report the design and construction of a nanostructured ultrathin catalyst layer with ordered Pt nanotube arrays, which were obtained by a hard-template strategy based on ZnO, via hydrothermal synthesis and magnetron sputtering for PEMFC application. Because of the crystallographically preferential growth of Pt (111) facets, which was attributed to the structural effects of ZnO nanoarrays on the Pt nanotubes, the catalyst layers exhibit obviously higher electrochemical activity with remarkable enhancement of specific activity and mass transport compared with the state-of-the-art randomly distributed Pt/C catalyst layer. The PEMFC fabricated with the as-prepared catalyst layer composed of optimized Pt nanotubes with an average diameter of 90(±10) nm shows excellent performance with a peak power density of 6.0 W/mgPt at 1 A/cm2, which is 11.6% greater than that of the conventional Pt/C electrode.",battery
"Additives in the negative active-material of lead–acid batteries were examined to determine whether they could prevent progressive accumulation of lead sulfate (PbSO4) in negative plates during high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) operation. This phenomenon is caused by progressive growth of PbSO4 particles and a lack of conductive paths near these PbSO4 particles. Barium sulfate (BaSO4) particles in various sizes and synthetic lignin were added to the negative active-material to control PbSO4 particle size during HRPSoC cycle-life. Some types of carbon fibres were also added to form conductive paths around the PbSO4 particles. Synthetic lignin was found to be the most effective additive for improving battery life in HRPSoC cycle-life tests, whereas the other factors such as BaSO4 size or carbon fibre extended less influence. The growth rate of PbSO4 particles per cycle was much lower in a cell with synthetic lignin than in a cell with natural lignin.",battery
"As post-lithium ion batteries, both sodium ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium ion batteries (PIBs) possess great potential for large scale energy storage. However, the improvements of both SIBs and PIBs for practical applications are facing great challenges in the development of high-performance electrode materials. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of alkalized Ti3C2 (a-Ti3C2) MXene nanoribbons attained by continuous shaking treatment of pristine Ti3C2 MXene in aqueous KOH solution. Benefited from the expanded interlayer spacing of a-Ti3C2, narrow widths of nanoribbons as well as three-dimensional interconnected porous frameworks for enhanced ion reaction kinetics and improved structure stability, the resulting a-Ti3C2 anodes showed excellent sodium/potassium storage performance, for example, high reversible capacities of 168 and 136mAhg−1 at 20mAg−1 and 84 and 78mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1 were obtained for SIBs and PIBs, respectively. Notably, a-Ti3C2 possessed outstanding long-term cyclability at high current density of 200mAg−1, delivering a capacity of ~ 50mAhg−1 for SIBs and ~ 42mAhg−1 for PIBs after 500 cycles, which outperformed most of reported MXene based anodes for SIBs and PIBs. Moreover, this alkalization strategy could be extended as a universal approach for fabricating various alkalized MXene-based frameworks derived from a large family of MAX phases for numerous applications, such as catalysis, energy storage and conversion.",battery
"The electrochemical aluminum storage of anatase TiO2 nanotube arrays in AlCl3 aqueous solution is investigated. It is firstly demonstrated that aluminum ions can be reversibly inserted/extracted into/from anatase TiO2 nanotube arrays in AlCl3 aqueous solution due to the small radius steric effect of aluminum ions, indicating a potential application in aluminum ion batteries.
",battery
" Being born with very low birth weight (VLBW: ≤1500 g) is related to long-term disability and neurodevelopmental problems, possibly affecting mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, studies in young adulthood yield mixed findings. The aim of this study was to examine mental health and HRQoL at 23 years, including changes from 20 to 23 years and associations with motor skills in VLBW young adults compared with controls.",non-battery
"The internal gas distribution system utilised for supplying fresh reactants and removing reaction products from the individual cells of a fuel cell stack can be designed in a parallel, a serial or a mixture of parallel and serial gas flow configuration. In order to investigate the interdependence between the internal stack gas distribution configuration and single cell as well as overall stack performance, a small laboratory-scale fuel cell stack consisting of identical unit cells was subject to operation with different gas distribution configurations and different operating parameters. The current/voltage characteristics measured with the different gas distribution configurations are analysed and compared on unit cell- as well as on stack-level. The results show the significant impact of the internal stack gas distribution system on operation and performance of the individual unit cells and the overall stack.",battery
"A new monomer; N-(2-(thiophen-3-yl)methylcarbonyloxyethyl) maleimide (NMT) was synthesized. The chemical structure of the monomer was characterized by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. Electrochemical polymerization of NMT was performed in acetonitrile (AN)/borontrifloride ethylether (BFEE) solvent mixture (1:1, v/v) where tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TBAFB) was utilized as the supporting electrolyte. The resulting conducting polymer was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, thermal analyses and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Electrical conductivity was measured by the four-probe technique. The spectroelectrochemical behavior and switching ability of P(NMT) film were investigated by UV–Vis spectrophotometry. P(NMT) revealed color changes between yellow and blue in the reduced and oxidized states respectively.
",battery
"UML sequence diagrams are visual representations of object interactions in a system and can provide valuable information for program comprehension, debugging, maintenance, and software archeology. Sequence diagrams generated from legacy code are independent of existing documentation that may have eroded. We present a framework for static generation of UML sequence diagrams from object-oriented source code. The framework provides a query refinement system to guide the user to interesting interactions in the source code. Our technique involves constructing a hypergraph representation of the source code, traversing the hypergraph with respect to a user-defined query, and generating the corresponding set of sequence diagrams. We implemented our framework as a tool, StaticGen (supporting software: ",non-battery
"The analytical formulation presented here is for the prediction of the performance of a solid-state lithium anode/lithium-insertion cathode cell that is limited by solid-state diffusion in the cathode active material. Transient, dimensionless solid-state lithium-ion concentration-incorporating group profiles have been computed for a cell whose performance is controlled by lithium-ion diffusion in the cathode active material. The analytical equation for the voltage loss associated with solid-state lithium-ion diffusion and the resultant solid-state lithium-ion concentration profile in the cathode active material has been developed. To provide examples of the application of the developed formulation, generated numerical data are shown in the form of plots. Preliminary determination of the lithium ion diffusion coefficient in a dilithium phthalocyanine cathode active material from cell discharge data, and the determination of the activity coefficient and reversible cell voltage of an aerogel-based LiV2O5 cathode active material as a function of lithium intercalation have been performed.",battery
"The purpose of this study was to identify differences between genetically undefined (GU) early-onset Parkinson’s disease (EOPD) patients and carriers of Parkin mutations on non-motor symptoms (NMSs). EOPD patients (N = 261) underwent targeted sequencing of Parkinson’s disease (PD) related genes. Among them, 53 cases carried homozygous or compound heterozygous Parkin mutations (Parkin group) while 208 did not carry known causative PD mutations or risk factors of GBA or Parkin heterozygous mutations (GU group). NMSs were evaluated by face-to-face interviews, self-completed questionnaires and results on a neuropsychological battery. Linear regression and logistic regression models were applied to assess the predictors of NMSs. Parkin patients had younger ages of onset (AOO) (p < 0.001), longer disease durations (p < 0.001) and lower grades of Hoehn and Yarh (H&Y) (p = 0.007). Results on the neuropsychological battery showed a shorter time in Trail Making Test (TMT) (part B) in Parkin patients (p = 0.034) compared to GU patients. After adjusting for AOO, disease duration, H&Y, and levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD), there was a higher depression index on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (p = 0.013) and better performance (p = 0.038) on executive function in the Parkin group compared to the GU group. No significant differences were found for autonomic functions, sleep-wake problems or other domains of cognitive function. Our study showed that the Parkin mutation status might be a good predictor of symptoms of depression without an impact on executive function. While these findings need to be confirmed in larger cohorts, they identify a need to screen for depression.",non-battery
"A liquid-based sol–gel method was developed to synthesize nanocarbon-coated Li3V2(PO4)3. The products were characterized by XRD, SEM and electrochemical measurements. The results of Rietveld refinement analysis indicate that single-phase Li3V2(PO4)3 with monoclinic structure can be obtained in our experimental process. The discharge capacity of carbon-coated Li3V2(PO4)3 was 152.6mAh/g at the 50th cycle under 1C rate, with 95.4% retention rate of initial capacity. A high discharge capacity of 184.1mAh/g can be obtained under 0.12C rate, and a capacity of 140.0mAh/g can still be held at 3C rate. The cyclic voltammetric measurements indicate that the electrode reaction reversibility is enhanced due to the carbon-coating. SEM images show that the reduced particle size and well-dispersed carbon-coating can be responsible for the good electrochemical performance obtained in our experiments.",battery
"Fine-sized, well-crystallized LiMnPO4 and two Cu-doped derivatives (2% and 5% Cu2+ doping) are readily prepared via a hydrothermal route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) combined with structural analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), specific surface area analysis, and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests are applied to characterize these materials. The structure analysis shows that only a negligible amount of Cu2+ ions (0.2%) occupy the Li sites in the 2% Cu-doped material, while a considerable amount of Cu2+ ions (1.8%) occupy the Li sites in the 5% Cu-doped one. The electrochemical tests show that the 2% Cu-doped LiMnPO4 displays an improved electrochemical performance compared with the undoped LiMnPO4, while the 5% Cu-doped LiMnPO4 exhibits a decreased activity.",battery
"In the present work, an interconnected sandwich carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite was prepared by template method and carbon thermal vapor deposition (TVD). The carbon conductive layer can not only efficiently improve the electronic conductivity of Si-based anode, but also play a key role in alleviating the negative effect from huge volume expansion over discharge/charge of Si-based anode. The resulting material delivered a reversible capacity of 1094 mAh/g, and exhibited excellent cycling stability. It kept a reversible capacity of 1050 mAh/g over 200 cycles with a capacity retention of 96%.",battery
"Developing highly efficient oxygen electrode is particular important in the application of electrochemical energy conversion and storage technologies. In this work, we report the synthesis of highly dispersed CoSx nanocrystals anchored on N-doped mesoporous carbon (CoSx@NMC) network electrode. CoSx@NMC, derived from Fe/Co dual tuning nitrogen/sulfur-containing polymer as carbon precursor, manifests discrete dual-active-sites endowing excellent bifunctional catalytic activity toward both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The zinc-air battery system assembled from this CoSx@NMC electrode exhibits an open circuit voltage of 1.44V (vs. Zn/Zn+) and a peak power density of 269.7 mW cm−2. Notably, it exhibits a super stability in the galvanostatic discharge of 5 mA and 50 mA, and the voltage could be maintained stable at 1.25V over 90h galvanostatic discharge. Rechargeable zinc-air battery delivers an excellent cycling stability beyond 1288 charge/discharge cycles. The superior electrochemical catalytic properties for ORR/OER are attributed to the strongly coupled pyridine-N, graphitic-N and nanoscale CoSx, which can promote the simultaneous exposure of both OER and ORR active centres. Further investigations reveal that the microstructure of the mesoporous carbon might experience a structural remodeling during the charge/discharge process.",battery
"US-based Pall Corp has developed a filter dispenser which, it claims, simplifies membrane handling and maximises work-flow in high throughput microbiology testing laboratories.",non-battery
"The software routines for data sampling and processing that are implemented on-board telemetry devices (tags) called Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) enable the simultaneous collection of biological and in-situ environmental data by animal-platforms over periods of weeks to months, despite severe energy and bandwidth limitations imposed by their relatively small size. This extended operational lifetime is made possible by the use of software protocols on-board the tags that manage sensors, data collection, storage, compression and transmission to ensure that the most useful data are sent at appropriate resolution while minimizing redundancy. While tag software is tailored to the particular species under study and the questions being addressed with a given field deployment, the philosophy behind Sea Mammal Research Unit Instrumentation Group (SMRU-IG) software protocols is to adopt a general set of principles to achieve the best results within the energy and bandwidth constraints. Here, we discuss these and review the general protocol that is used to simultaneously collect information on geographical movements, diving behaviour and in-situ oceanographic information from marine mammals.
",non-battery
"The metal-to-semiconductor transition has been noticed in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with various novel electronic and structural characteristics. The prospective and scope of GNRs for an array of implications could be spread significantly by this transition. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we studied the electronic and transport properties of zig-zag GNRs doped with lithium (Li) along with different edge morphology. Zig-zag nanoribbons are known to exhibit metallic behaviour without using spin. The structural properties, namely, edge state, doping and ribbon width, can be considered to affect the electronic properties of GNR structures. In this study, the changes in the electronic properties by doping a Li atom with various atomic percentages (16.6%, 33.3%, 50% and 66.6%) were investigated. Calculations were done by employing the local density approximation (LDA) based on DFT. In the presence of unique edge states, the edge-modified systems exhibit a noticeable change with prominent and better Li mobility. As a result, it has been observed that substituting two Li atoms at the carbon edges is more predominant compared to other doping configurations. We expect that our peculiar results will have potential applications in energy conversion, solar cells and thermoelectric devices.
",non-battery
"Magnesium alloy stent has been employed in animal and clinical experiment in recent years. It has been verified to be biocompatible and degradable due to corrosion after being implanted into blood vessel. Mg–Y–Gd–Nd alloy is usually used to construct an absorbable magnesium alloy stent. However, the corrosion resistant of as cast Mg–Y–Gd–Nd alloy is poor relatively and the control of corrosion rate is difficult. Aiming at the requirement of endovascular stent in clinic, a new biomedical Mg–Zn–Y–Nd alloy with low Zn and Y content (Zn/Y atom ratio 6) was designed, which exists quasicrystals to improve its corrosion resistance. Additionally, sub-rapid solidification processing was applied for preparation of corrosion-resisting Mg–Zn–Y–Nd and Mg–Y–Gd–Nd alloys. Compared with the as cast sample, the corrosion behavior of alloys in dynamic simulated body fluid (SBF) (the speed of body fluid: 16 ml/800 ml min−1) was investigated. The results show that as sub-rapid solidification Mg–Zn–Y–Nd alloy has the better corrosion resistance in dynamic SBF due to grain refinement and fine dispersion distribution of the quasicrystals and intermetallic compounds in α-Mg matrix. In the as cast sample, both Mg–Zn–Y–Nd and Mg–Y–Gd–Nd alloys exhibit poor corrosion resistance. Mg–Zn–Y–Nd alloy by sub-rapid solidification processing provides excellent corrosion resistance in dynamic SBF, which open a new window for biomedical materials design, especially for vascular stent application.
",non-battery
"In this study the effect of the carbon coating on the electrochemical properties of LiFePO4 as a cathode for Li-ion batteries were investigated. The carbon-coated LiFePO4 particles were synthesized by the mechanochemical process and one-step heat treatment. Microscopic observations using SEM and TEM revealed that the carbon coating reduced the particle size of the LiFePO4. The carbon-coated LiFePO4 showed much better performances in terms of the discharge capacity and cycle stability than bare LiFePO4. It was confirmed that the carbon coating decreased the migration distance of Li-ion and enhanced the charge transfer from CV and ac impedance measurements. The improved electrochemical properties of the carbon-coated LiFePO4 were, therefore, attributed to the reduced particle size and enhanced electrical contacts by carbon.",battery
"In this study, the poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/p-benzoquinone (pBQ) gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) is synthesized well with LiTFSI/TEGDME for Li-air battery (LAB) applications. The PVDF/pBQ GPEs are characterized by electrochemical analysis and compared to the PVDF GPE. We confirm that pBQ molecule in PVDF GPE shows redox mediate behavior during charge-discharge process. Employing PVDF/pBQ GPE for LAB leads to an improved cycleability from 2 to over 30. In addition it results in a charge voltage decrease from around 4.2V to around 3.3V. The energy cycle efficiency (ECE) is improved about 15%. The pBQ accelerates to the formation of an amorphous phase on synthesized PVDF GPE matrix by acting inhibitor for polymerization. It leads to ionic conductivity improvement of synthesized GPE from 2.83 mScm−1 to 4.98 mScm−1.",battery
"Wildfire smoke is an increasing environmental health threat to which children are particularly vulnerable, for both physiologic and behavioral reasons. To address the need for improved public health messaging this review summarizes current knowledge and knowledge gaps in the health effects of wildfire smoke in children, as well as tools for public health response aimed at children, including consideration of low-cost sensor data, respirators, and exposures in school environments. There is an established literature of health effects in children from components of ambient air pollution, which are also present in wildfire smoke, and an emerging literature on the effects of wildfire smoke, particularly for respiratory outcomes. Low-cost particulate sensors demonstrate the spatial variability of pollution, including wildfire smoke, where children live and play. Surgical masks and respirators can provide limited protection for children during wildfire events, with expected decreases of roughly 20%  and 80% for surgical masks and N95 respirators, respectively. Schools should improve filtration to reduce exposure of our nation’s children to smoke during wildfire events. The evidence base described may help clinical and public health authorities provide accurate information to families to improve their decision making.",non-battery
"This work presents a detailed study of the electrochemical performance of polyphosphazene based electrolyte membranes consisting of a linear polymer with –(NPR2)– units, grafted with ethylene oxide side chains of the type R = –(OCH2CH2)3OCH3 and containing LiTFSI and LiBOB as dissolved lithium salts. The average molecular weight was 105 g mol−1. Mechanical stability was achieved by UV induced in-situ cross-linking of the thin polymer electrolyte films. Favorable properties of this type of polymer electrolytes are the good thermal and electrochemical stability of the electrolyte membranes, the broad electrochemical stability window ranging between 0 V and 4.7 V versus the Li/Li+ reference and a very good interface stability at lithium metal electrodes where a stable SEI was formed during initial contact. Total ionic conductivities up to 10−4 S cm−1 were measured at 30 °C. The transference numbers of lithium ions at 50 °C ranged between 0.06 and 0.07 and hence are lower by a factor of about three as compared to other typical polymer electrolytes. Nevertheless, the partial lithium ion conductivity estimated from the product of total conductivity and lithium ion transference number is as high or slightly higher compared to PEO based polymer electrolytes.",battery
"Cognitive function in schizophrenia has been associated with different sociodemographic and clinical variables. Substance use disorder (SUD) history has also been associated with cognition in schizophrenia; however, contradictory results have been found regarding its influence on cognitive function. Our aim was to study the relationship between executive function and a) age, b) duration of illness, c) number of psychotic episodes, d) positive symptoms, and e) negative symptoms, in a sample of schizophrenic patients, and secondly to study whether these relationships persisted after stratification of the sample according to the presence or absence of SUD history. A final sample of 203 schizophrenic patients were evaluated for psychotic symptoms using the PANSS, and assessed using a neuropsychological battery to calculate a composite executive function score. Linear regression analyses were performed, with this executive score as the dependent variable, and age, duration of illness, number of psychotic episodes, positive PANSS score and negative PANSS score as independent variables. For the total sample, the regression model showed three variables to be significant predictors of the executive score: age (p =0.004), number of episodes (p =0.027), and PANSS negative score (p =0.003). However, once the sample was stratified, the regression model showed age (p =0.011) and number of episodes (p =0.011) to be predictor variables for the executive score in the group of schizophrenic patients with SUD history, while age (p =0.028) and PANSS negative score (p =0.006) were predictors in the group of schizophrenic patients without such history. These findings highlight the importance of considering SUD history in studies of cognitive function in schizophrenia.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary Types of metal-air batteries discussed in this chapter are zinc-air primary batteries, zinc-air secondary batteries, and aluminum-air secondary batteries. Zinc-air cells also have applications in navigation aids. McGraw Edison, for example, supply the Carbonaire range of batteries covering the following applications: short lights of all types, such as reef lights and lights on fixed structures Further, aluminium-air batteries have a high power density. This has led to proposals for their use in the following applications: marine lights, toys, reserve lights, and range extenders for lead-acid vehicle batteries.",battery
"Dye-sensitized solar cells are promising candidates as supplementary power sources; the dominance in the photovoltaic field of inorganic solid-state junction devices is in fact now being challenged by the third generation of solar cells based on dye-sensitized, nano-porous photo-electrodes and polymer electrolytes. Polymer electrolytes are actually very favorable for photo-electrochemical solar cells and in this study poly(acrylonitrile)–MgI2 based complexes are used. As ambient temperature conductivity of poly(acrylonitrile)–salt complexes are in general low, a conductivity enhancement is attained by blending with the plasticizers ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate. At 20°C the optimum ionic conductivity of 1.9×10−3 Scm−1 is obtained for the (PAN)10(MgI2) n (I2) n/10(EC)20(PC)20 electrolyte where n =1.5. The predominantly ionic nature of the electrolyte is seen from the DC polarization data. Differential scanning calorimetric thermograms of electrolyte samples with different MgI2 concentrations were studied and glass transition temperatures were determined. Further, in this study, a dye-sensitized solar cell structure was fabricated with the configuration Glass/FTO/TiO2/Dye/Electrolyte/Pt/FTO/Glass and an overall energy conversion efficiency of 2.5% was achieved under solar irradiation of 600Wm−2. The I–V characteristics curves revealed that the short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage and fill factor of the cell are 3.87mA, 659mV and 59.0%, respectively.",battery
"This study examined how the participant’s self-esteem and social physique anxiety affected the emotional reactions to viewing their own virtual body and willingness to participate in the virtual experience in the future. Three-dimensional body scanning technology was used as a virtual reality tool. Ninety-three (51 males and 42 females) subjects participated in the experiment, who were 18+ years old, both genders, and had no history of musculoskeletal or mental problems. The experiment consisted of the three phases, including the pre-scanning survey, 3D body scanning, and post-scanning evaluation. The results verified causal relationships that led to certain types of emotions after viewing the 3D virtual body and the willingness to participate in a future session, within the domains of self-esteem and social physique anxiety. Specifically, self-confidence (positive dimension of self-esteem) was strongly associated with positive emotions. The “other-oriented” perspective of social physique anxiety exhibited positive correlations with negative emotions. The participants who showed positive emotions indicated a strong willingness to participate in another session of 3D body scanning in the future, but those with negative emotions also showed their positive willingness to participate in the future session. It signified that regardless of their emotional responses (positive or negative) to viewing their 3D virtual body, the participants were willing to experience their 3D virtual body in the future. The findings suggested that this virtual reality approach could be used as a potentially effective, clinical tool for patients with body image-related disorders. Study limitations and future research were also discussed.
",non-battery
"Recent experiments have revealed that external bending breaks the symmetry of lithiation in germanium nanowires. However, the effects of external stress on lithiation in silicon and the associated underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we have performed a series of large-scale atomistic simulations based on a newly developed reactive force field (ReaxFF) to investigate the effects of external stress on the interfacial reactions and diffusion (two dominant processes during lithiation) of silicon anodes. The simulation results quantitatively show the variations in the migration velocity of the phase boundary (i.e., the reaction front during lithiation) and the diffusivity of lithium (in crystalline and amorphous lithiated silicon) as a function of the external stress and indicate that the tensile stress accelerates the lithiation rate while the compressive stress retards it. Furthermore, comparing the large-scale ReaxFF-based simulations and previous ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations indicated that large samples and long duration times are crucially important and indispensable for accurately calculating the diffusivity of amorphous lithiated silicon under external stress. These results not only provide a fundamental understanding of the intimate coupling between mechanical stress and lithiation kinetics but also open avenues for optimizing batteries to control/alter the lithiation rate of silicon anodes by applying external mechanical stresses.",battery
"Background Practical, reliable “real world” measures of cognition are needed to supplement neurocognitive performance data to evaluate possible efficacy of new drugs targeting cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Because interview-based measures of cognition offer one possible approach, data from the MATRICS initiative (n =176) were used to examine the psychometric properties of the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS) and the Clinical Global Impression of Cognition in Schizophrenia (CGI-CogS). Method We used classical test theory methods and item response theory to derive the 10-item Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI) from the SCoRS and CGI-CogS (“parent instruments”). Sources of information for CAI ratings included the patient and an informant. Validity analyses examined the relationship between the CAI and objective measures of cognitive functioning, intermediate measures of cognition, and functional outcome. Results The rater's score from the newly derived CAI (10 items) correlate highly (r =.87) with those from the combined set of the SCoRS and CGI-CogS (41 items). Both the patient (r =.82) and the informant (r =.95) data were highly correlated with the rater's score. The CAI was modestly correlated with objectively measured neurocognition (r =−.32), functional capacity (r =−.44), and functional outcome (r =−.32), which was comparable to the parent instruments. Conclusions The CAI allows for expert judgment in evaluating a patient's cognitive functioning and was modestly correlated with neurocognitive functioning, functional capacity, and functional outcome. The CAI is a brief, repeatable, and potentially valuable tool for rating cognition in schizophrenia patients who are participating in clinical trials.",non-battery
"In this article, the welfare of the laying hen is used to illustrate a proposed approach to regulation of the welfare of animals. The probable replacement of the present cage systems to a range of management systems in the future needs to be guided by regulations that act as a reference point and are not dependent on defining facilities and systems that are in a state of flux. The challenges for regulators include: (1) to develop regulations that achieve welfare outcomes consistent with current scientific thinking, meet public expectations for the welfare of hens, are readily understood and accepted by those who must abide by them, and are effective tools for those who have to enforce them; (2) to write regulations that strike a balance among the often conflicting social, ethical, economic and production management considerations in a way that does not stifle innovation and remain relevant in an environment of constant change; (3) to exercise judgment on the prioritization of normal behaviors and the welfare compromise of failing to provide for them; and (4) to decide what are the priority behaviors that must be provided for as a minimum requirement and what additional provisions constitute “best practice.” We believe future regulations should focus on defining welfare outcomes for the hen based on known needs in a manner that requires those outcomes to be delivered, rather than requiring that facilities and management systems have particular specified features.",non-battery
"Effective thermal management of photovoltaic cells is essential for improving its conversion efficiency and increasing its life span. Solar cell temperature and efficiency have an inverse relationship therefore, cooling of solar cells is a critical research objective which numerous researchers have paid attention to. Among the widely adopted thermal management techniques is the use of thermoelectric generators to enhance the performance of photovoltaics. Photovoltaic cells can convert the ultra-violent and visible regions of the solar spectrum into electrical energy directly while thermoelectric modules utilize the infrared region to generate electrical energy. Consequently, the combination of photovoltaic and thermoelectric generators would enable the utilization of a wider solar spectrum. In addition, the combination of both systems has the potential to provide enhanced performance due to the compensating effects of both systems. The waste heat produced from the photovoltaic can be used by the thermoelectric generator to produce additional energy thereby increasing the overall power output and efficiency of the hybrid system. However, the integration of both systems is complex because of their opposing characteristics thus, effective coupling of both systems is essential. This review presents the concepts of photovoltaics and thermoelectric energy conversion, research focus areas in the hybrid systems, applications of such systems, discussion of the most recent research accomplishments and recommendations for future research. All the essential elements and research areas in hybrid photovoltaic/thermoelectric generator are discussed in detailed therefore, this review would serve as a valuable reference literature.",battery
"The fuel economy of 31 MPG (based on combined city and highway) and Environment labels are being affixed to new vehicles after 2013 model year, as mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most of the fuel-efficient 2016 model year passenger cars are hybrid electric vehicles. Hybrids combine the best features of the internal combustion engine with an electric motor powered by batteries and can significantly improve fuel economy. Plug-in hybrids are plugged into wall outlet for battery recharging or driven by electric motor for relatively longer distance. The all-electric vehicles are propelled by electric motor powered using rechargeable battery packs, emitting no tailpipe pollutants. Among various battery technologies, Li-ion battery system is the more preferable one for the automotive applications due to their relatively higher energy density. This review examines various aspects of Li-ion batteries related to performance, durability, energy management and safety related to automotive applications. The review also discusses about the possibility of automotive Li-Ion batteries towards second life in stationary applications.",battery
"Lithium Iron (II) Silicate, Li2FeSiO4, is a promising cathode material for Li-ion battery applications. Its carbon composite Li2FeSiO4/C was synthesized by a simple dry ball-milling process combined with high- temperature treatment, using citric acid as carbon source, and characterized by temperature-dependence. Powder X-ray diffraction shows that it crystallizes in a monoclinic structure with (P21/n) symmetry. 57Fe Mössbauer effect studies in the temperature range 16.5–298 K were carried out. The temperature dependence of the isomer shifts was used to estimate the effective vibrating mass, Meff, yielding a value of ~87 g mol−1 for Fe in the FeO42-- moiety. This is due to the significant covalency of the Fe-0 bond in the orthosilicate composite. The temperature dependence of the recoil-free fraction (spectral areas), when combined with the effective vibrating mass calculation, yields the “Mössbauer lattice temperature” of θM = 165 K Low temperatures reveals that paramagnetic Li2FeSiO4/C becomes antiferromagnetic at 16.5 K.",non-battery
"Following the 2005 Kyoto protocol, developed countries made commitments to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, mostly by integrating renewable energy technologies into their power production systems. It is a more challenging procedure for third world countries, including Lebanon, that have limited means and potential to achieve such goals. This paper assesses the status of renewable energy systems in developing countries, and concentrates on the solar photovoltaic energy production due to its abundant availability in these countries relatively to other clean energy production methods. Comparisons of developing countries׳ achievements and goals each according to their economical, political and social considerations are conducted. Projects ranging from small scale standalone systems such as microgrids and minigrids to large scale energy production stations will be presented by dividing the countries into categories that share similar constraints and limitations in the integration of such installations. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the state of energy generation based on photovoltaic systems in Lebanon in contrast to other developing countries.",battery
"In sodium ion battery, cathode material is the key factor affecting the cycle life, safety and energy density, so the development of high performance embedded sodium cathode material is always the top priorities in this aspect. Among cathode material candidates, the iron-manganese based transition metal oxides attracts lots of attentions due to the relevant high specific capacity (190 mAhg−1); however, their wide application is still hampered by the phase transition at high voltage. In this study, we successfully synthesize a P2-type Na0.6Li0.2Fe0.2Mn0.6O2 through the self-combustion reaction (SCR) method, which shows high stability during cycling. The capacity of the Na0.6Li0.2Fe0.2Mn0.6O2 is 167 mAhg−1 at the current density of 1/15 C, which shows 78% capacity retention over 100 cycles. At 1C current density, the material still maintains a specific capacity of 90 mAhg−1 at 250 cycles. It is suggested that the addition of Li improves the structural stability of the iron-manganese based transition metal oxides and the average working voltage.",battery
" Since long-term survivorship is now a reality for an increasingly number of people with a history of cancer, understanding their quality of life (QoL) can inform health care policy as well as help supporting individual patients. This study was aimed to quantify QoL of this specific population in comparison with data provided for both the general population and cancer patients and to assess QoL association with several sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological variables.",non-battery
"Aqueous rechargeable magnesium-ion batteries with low cost of magnesium resources have a potential to meet growing requirements for electric energy storage resulted from the similar electrochemical properties to lithium. The Mg1.1Mn6O12·4.5H2O named as magnesium octahedral molecular sieves (Mg-OMS-1) owns nanobelt structures as a cathode material for aqueous magnesium-ion battery. The morphology and structure of Mg-OMS-1 are measured by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The mechanism of magnesium-ion insertion/deinsertion from this host material and the theory specific capacity of Mg-OMS-1 are determined by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Mg-OMS-1 displays an excellent battery behavior for Mg2+ insertion and deinsertion in the magnesium-salt aqueous electrolyte. The initial discharge capacity of Mg-OMS-1 electrode can reach 248.8 ± 0.5 mAh g−1 at 10 mA g−1 in the 0.2 mol dm−3 Mg(NO3)2 aqueous electrolyte. Even back to 10 mA g−1 after the rate performance, the discharge capacity can achieve 214.1 ± 0.5 mAh g−1. The specific capacity retention rate is 90.4% after cycling 200 times at 100 mA g−1 in the 0.5 mol dm−3 Mg(NO3)2 electrolyte with a columbic efficiency of 99.7 ± 0.1% in the 5 times experiments.",battery
"The dissolution process of Mn from LiMn2O4 cathode into an electrolyte solution accompanied on electrochemical cycling at various temperature was studied for the first time by in situ methods using a combination of total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) analysis and a capillary technique. When the in situ cell was cycled at 50°C, the Mn concentrations measured on the 5th, 10th and 15th cycles were determined to be 11, 56 and 393ppm, respectively. The concentration of Mn in the cell was shown to be the highest at the center of both electrodes. It was also found that dissolution of Mn from the cathode material takes place during the charge rather than the discharge process. Mn K-XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) spectra of the electrolyte solution revealed that Mn exists as Mn2+.",battery
"Many neurons release classical transmitters together with neuropeptide co-transmitters whose functions are incompletely understood. Here we define the relationship between two transmitters in the olfactory system of C. elegans, showing that a neuropeptide-to-neuropeptide feedback loop alters sensory dynamics in primary olfactory neurons. The AWC olfactory neuron is glutamatergic and also expresses the peptide NLP-1. Worms with nlp-1 mutations show increased AWC-dependent behaviors, suggesting that NLP-1 limits the normal response. The receptor for NLP-1 is the G protein-coupled receptor NPR-11, which acts in postsynaptic AIA interneurons. Feedback from AIA interneurons modulates odor-evoked calcium dynamics in AWC olfactory neurons and requires INS-1, a neuropeptide released from AIA. The neuropeptide feedback loop dampens behavioral responses to odors on short and long timescales. Our results point to neuronal dynamics as a site of behavioral regulation and reveal the ability of neuropeptide feedback to remodel sensory networks on multiple timescales.
",non-battery
"Li4Ti5O12/AB/MWCNTs material was fabricated through a facile solid-state reaction. The structure and morphology of Li4Ti5O12/AB/MWCNTs material were determined by XRD and SEM. The electrical conductivity of the composite is improved by imbedding Li4Ti5O12 particles into the conductive AB/MWCNTs network. The electrochemical properties of the Li4Ti5O12/AB/MWCNTs composite was measured by charge–discharge tests, cyclic voltammogram (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Compared with the pristine Li4Ti5O12 sample, Li4Ti5O12/AB/MWCNTs material exhibits an excellent high rate performance and cycling performance, which is due to the decrease of particle size and the increase of electrical conductivity of the material. The discharge capacities were 116 and 102mAhg−1 at the charge–discharge rates of 20 and 30C, respectively. After 1000 cycles at 2C, the discharge capacity of the composite maintained 163mAhg−1.",battery
"This article describes a direct current (DC) isolated network that is infed with distributed generation from renewable sources and cogeneration units. The sources are connected to the network via DC/DC converters to keep the voltage within a defined range and to ensure the required power flow. The consumption is directly connected to the DC network, without any DC/DC converter. The storage is located at a single point in the network. A simulation analysis based on a DC-network model shows that it is possible to operate a DC network with standard elements used for the generation side as well as for the consumption side. The key elements are the DC/DC converters, which control the voltage of the network and optimize the operation of the sources.",battery
"A rarely studied motive for engaging in face-to-face arguing is to display one’s identity. One way people can manage their impressions is to give reasons (arguments) for their commitments. This appears to be the first study to focus on this reason for arguing. 461 undergraduates recalled an episode in which they had argued to display own identity. They filled out trait measures as well as instruments describing the episode. Identity display arguments do not require controversy, are not very emotional episodes, can partly serve many communication goals, and are polite. People who have high predilection to argue for identity display are both self- and other-oriented, although the correlations with self-oriented measures are stronger. This study not only describes episodes containing arguments for identity display, but also indicates the balance between self- and other-orientations that are involved.
",non-battery
"The load-following capability of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell was studied by measuring the cell voltage response to a sinusoidal current load with large amplitude and varying frequency. A mathematical model was developed, incorporating mass transport and capacitive effects as well as the membrane resistance. The model was capable of separating the faradaic and capacitive currents and predicting the observed hysteresis. At frequencies of the sinusoidal current load below 1 Hz, no appreciable hysteresis in the polarisation curve was observed. When increasing the frequency above 1 Hz, a hysteresis appeared at current densities below 0.2 A cm−2. The model related this hysteresis to capacitive effects. When using air as the cathode feed, hysteresis in the current density range 0.5 A cm−2 and higher appeared above 1 Hz compared to 100 Hz for pure oxygen. The model revealed that hysteresis observed in this current density range was caused by oxygen transport limitations.",battery
"The development of marine water quality criteria (WQC) in China has been insufficient because data on the toxicity of pollutants for marine organisms based on the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method are lacking. The Chinese aquatic environmental quality standards, including those for seawater, were derived from the developed countries. Therefore, establishing Chinese marine WQC is crucial for identifying the sensitivity of marine species in China and will improve their protection from threats. Mercury (Hg) is one of the primary pollutants commonly exceeding Chinese seawater quality standards. Several countries have developed their marine WQC for inorganic Hg in the past decades, but no study has been conducted in China. In this study, 45 acute toxicity and 14 chronic toxicity data of inorganic Hg on the marine species which inhabit in China were obtained mainly from the ECOTOX database, the CNKI, and the Google Scholar. The acute and chronic hazardous concentrations for 5% of the species (HC5) were calculated based on the best-fit distribution model Sweibull. The criteria for maximum and continuous concentrations of 1.30 and 0.66 μg/L, respectively, for inorganic Hg to protect marine organisms in China were derived by halving the HC5 values. The criteria were comparable to those of the United States, Australia, and the European Union countries, indicating the general applicability of WQCs developed based on the classical SSD method using different species groups. This study may provide valuable information for assessing marine ecological risk in China.",non-battery
"In this study, the effects of exposing the rotifer Philodina roseola to the pesticide carbofuran were investigated. Its range of sensitivity to potassium dichromate, the acute toxicity of active ingredient carbofuran and of carbofuran dosed as its commercial form, Furadan® 350 SC were determined. Chronic toxicity of carbofuran dosed as Furadan® 350 SC on P. roseola survival and fecundity were also studied. The sensitivity of P. roseola to K2Cr2O7 ranged from 29.52 to 64.67 mg L−1, averaging 47.10 mg L−1. The 48-h EC50 were 13.36 ± 2.63 mg L−1 for carbofuran and 89.32 ± 6.52 mg L−1 for commercial form. Chronic toxicity tests showed that the survival of this rotifer was not affected by the carbofuran dosed as Furadan® 350 SC at the concentrations tested and that at 1.56 and 3.12 mg L−1 their fecundity was higher than in the absence of this commercial product, characterizing the hormesis phenomenon. The sensitivity profile of several species to carbofuran indicated that P. roseola is more susceptible to this pesticide than the fish Clarias batrachus, the bacterium Vibrio fischeri, the protozoan Paramecium caudatum and the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, although the acute toxicity of carbofuran dosed as Furadan® 350 SC to P. roseola is much lower than that of active ingredient carbofuran. The results also imply that the exacerbated use of pesticides and the constant, accelerated expansion of agricultural activity will make aquatic non-target species even more vulnerable. Furthermore, the relevant role of benthic organisms in aquatic environments justifies the inclusion of P. roseola and other benthic species in toxicity screening for risk assessment, regarding this environmental compartment.",non-battery
"The materials that are used to make electrodes and their internal structures significantly affect microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance. In this study, we describe a carbon nanotube (CNT)–sponge composite prepared by coating a sponge with CNTs. Compared to the CNT-coated textile electrodes evaluated in prior studies, CNT–sponge electrodes had lower internal resistance, greater stability, more tunable and uniform macroporous structure (pores up to 1 mm in diameter), and improved mechanical properties. The CNT–sponge composite also provided a three-dimensional scaffold that was favorable for microbial colonization and catalytic decoration. Using a batch-fed H-shaped MFC outfitted with CNT–sponge electrodes, an areal power density of 1.24 W m−2 was achieved when treating domestic wastewater. The maximum volumetric power density of a continuously fed plate-shaped MFC was 182 W m−3. To our knowledge, these are the highest values obtained to date for MFCs fed domestic wastewater: 2.5 times the previously reported maximum areal power density and 12 times the previously reported maximum volumetric power density.
",battery
"Measuring the well-being of citizens has become established practice in many advanced democracies. In the move to go beyond GDP, indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) have come to the fore, and are increasingly seen as providing a ‘yardstick’ to guide public policy. A strong version of this position is that SWB can (and should) provide the sole basis on which to design and evaluate public policy. This article argues that the increasing dominance of the subjective definition of well-being is problematic, and amounts to a hegemony of happiness. The article examines the fundamental assumptions behind different accounts of well-being, and develops a critique of the ‘strong position’ that sees SWB as the ultimate guide for public policy. First, the connections between the modern debate and classical schools of thought are discussed, and the strong Benthamite SWB approach is contrasted with the alternative Aristotelian capabilities approach. Next, the article examines current practice, using the UK’s Measuring National Well-being Programme as a case study. Finally, the article concludes that SWB has questionable legitimacy as a summary indicator of objective quality of life, and does not, on its own, provide a reliable metric for public policy. The capabilities approach, which takes a pluralist perspective on well-being and prioritises freedom and opportunity, offers a richer and more useful foundation for policy.
",non-battery
"Radiation effects induced by gamma rays on battery performance were investigated by measuring the capacity and resistance of a series of battery coin cells in-situ directly under gamma radiation and ex-situ. An experimental setup was developed to charge and discharge batteries directly under gamma radiation, equipped with precise temperature control, at The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab. Latent effects induced by gamma radiation on battery components directly influence their performance. Charge and discharge capacity and overall resistance throughout a time span of several weeks post irradiation were monitored and compared to control groups. It was found that exposure to gamma radiation does not significantly alter the available capacity and the overall cell resistance immediately, however, battery performance significantly decreases with time post irradiation. Also, batteries exposed to a higher cumulative dose showed close-to-zero capacity at two-week post irradiation.",battery
"The present investigation reports, the synthesis of manganese oxide (α-Mn2O3) nanobundles using thermal decomposition and its physicochemical characterization. The α-Mn2O3 nanobundles have been prepared using manganese oxalate dihydrate powders as precursor in the presence of oleylamine and triphenylphosphine as solvent and capping agent. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis demonstrated Mn2O3 nanobundles compose of nanospheres with diameter 30nm. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Manganese oxide nanocrystals have been prepared under different condition. The controlled experimental results showed that the use of oleylamine and triphenylphosphine as the solvent and capping agent in the chemical process played important role in the formation of the final products.",non-battery
"Three-dimensional (3D) network structure has been envisioned as a superior architecture for lithium ion battery (LIB) electrodes, which enhances both ion and electron transport to significantly improve battery performance. Herein, a 3D carbon nano-network is fabricated through chemical vapor deposition of carbon on a scalably manufactured 3D porous anodic alumina (PAA) template. As a demonstration on the applicability of 3D carbon nano-network for LIB electrodes, the low conductivity active material, TiO2, is then uniformly coated on the 3D carbon nano-network using atomic layer deposition. High power performance is demonstrated in the 3D C/TiO2 electrodes, where the parallel tubes and gaps in the 3D carbon nano-network facilitates fast Li ion transport. A large areal capacity of ~0.37mAh·cm−2 is achieved due to the large TiO2 mass loading in the 60µm-thick 3D C/TiO2 electrodes. At a test rate of C/5, the 3D C/TiO2 electrode with 18nm-thick TiO2 delivers a high gravimetric capacity of ~240mAhg−1, calculated with the mass of the whole electrode. A long cycle life of over 1000 cycles with a capacity retention of 91% is demonstrated at 1C. The effects of the electrical conductivity of carbon nano-network, ion diffusion, and the electrolyte permeability on the rate performance of these 3D C/TiO2 electrodes are systematically studied.",battery
"This paper reviews the current status of soft robots in biomedical field. Soft robots are made of materials that have comparable modulus of elasticity to that of biological systems. Several advantages of soft robots over rigid robots are safe human interaction, ease of adaptation with wearable electronics and simpler gripping. We review design factors of soft robots including modeling, controls, actuation, fabrication and application, as well as their limitations and future work. For modeling, we survey kinematic, multibody and numerical finite element methods. Finite element methods are better suited for the analysis of soft robots, since they can accurately model nonlinearities in geometry and materials. However, their real-time integration with controls is challenging. We categorize the controls of soft robots as model-based and model-free. Model-free controllers do not rely on an explicit analytical or numerical model of the soft robot to perform actuation. Actuation is the ability to exert a force using actuators such as shape memory alloys, fluid gels, elastomers and piezoelectrics. Nonlinear geometry and materials of soft robots restrict using conventional rigid body controls. The fabrication techniques used for soft robots differ significantly from that of rigid robots. We survey a wide range of techniques used for fabrication of soft robots from simple molding to more advanced additive manufacturing methods such as 3D printing. We discuss the applications and limitations of biomedical soft robots covering aspects such as functionality, ease of use and cost. The paper concludes with the future discoveries in the emerging field of soft robots.",non-battery
"In this paper, operating benefits from demand-side load management are evaluated for a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Power Plant (FCPP). For reliability modeling and evaluation of the PEM FCPP, a state-space generation model for a stand-alone PEM fuel cell that calculates the system availability and the expected energy not supplied (EENS) index has been developed. A systematic technique and detailed computer simulation software for a stand-alone PEM fuel cell station reliability assessment have been built. The suggested technique can be used for practical engineering applications to provide information for stand-alone FC generating station planning, design, and operation. The simulation results are obtained using the MATLAB software for a 5kW stand-alone PEM fuel cell that supplies a typical residential house.",battery
"About 72 million households in rural India do not have access to electricity and rely primarily on traditional biofuels. This research investigates how rural electrification could be achieved in India using different energy sources and what the effects for climate change mitigation could be. We use the Regional Energy Model (REM) to develop scenarios for rural electrification for the period 2005–2030 and to assess the effects on greenhouse gas emissions, primary energy use and costs. We compare the business-as-usual scenario (BAU) with different electrification scenarios based on electricity from renewable energy, diesel and the grid. Our results indicate that diesel systems tend to have the highest CO2 emissions, followed by grid systems. Rural electrification with primarily renewable energy-based end-uses could save up to 99% of total CO2 emissions and 35% of primary energy use in 2030 compared to BAU. Our research indicates that electrification with decentralised diesel systems is likely to be the most expensive option. Rural electrification with renewable energy tends to be the most cost-effective option when end-uses are predominantly based on renewable energy, but turns out to be more costly than grid extensions when electric end-use devices are predominantly used. This research therefore elaborates whether renewable energy is a viable option for rural electrification and climate change mitigation in rural India and gives policy recommendations.",battery
"A hybrid nanocomposite of FeF3·0.5H2O and MWCNTs is synthesized as a high–performance cathode material for room–temperature sodium–ion batteries. The composite exhibits remarkably high capacity (197mAhg−1) and stable cycle performance (148mAhg−1 at the 100th cycle with a 0.05C rate) accompanying with the unique nanostructure of the material and the incorporation of MWCNTs. The addition of MWCNTs not only increases the conductivity of the active material but also plays a role to design a unique morphology where nano-sized FeF3·0.5H2O particles are grown both inside and outside of the MWCNTs. The sodium diffusion coefficient of the composite material is determined by galvanostatic intermittent titration technique during dis/charging and the values are in the range of 10−12–10−14 cm2 s−1 which are lesser than lithium diffusion coefficient of FeF3 (10−10–10−12 cm2 s−1). In situ X–ray diffraction coupled with ex situ high resolution transmission electron microscopy is employed to investigate the phase transition behavior. The results reveal both crystalline and amorphous phases upon Na insertion. Furthermore, ex situ NEXAFS spectroscopy (at the F K–edge and Fe L3–edge) is conducted at different potential steps to determine the change in oxidation state and local structure. NEXAFS spectra reveal the conversion reaction mechanism and reversibility of the material as evidenced by the de/formation of NaF during de/sodiation process. The combined study of in situ XRD and NEXAFS will give valuable information on de/sodiation reactions in FeF3·0.5H2O.",battery
"Conventional state of health (SoH) estimation is often based on the capacity or resistance of lithium-ion cells. However, online capacity or resistance measurements are rarely achievable in electric vehicles. An alternative indicator should replace capacity and resistance to make online SoH diagnosis more manageable. In this paper, we introduce a novel SoH indicator, which is extracted from the cell temperature variation rate curve during the constant current charge process. There are two observable cooling areas in the temperature variation rate curve. The distance between these two areas, defined as t min, could serve as a gauge for cell SoH if electrode active material loss is negligible during the operation. In order to validate the assumption, test data from both calendar aging and cycle life tests on a commercial lithium-ion pouch cell is utilized. From the 544 aging data units, a linear correlation is observed between t min and SoH with a product-moment correlation coefficient of 0.954. The same correlation is found for all the tested cells under different aging conditions, which makes t min a promising indicator for SoH estimation.",battery
"Nickel sulfide nanoparticles (NPs) are first synthesized by virtue of a unique H2O/CS2 interface under mild hydrothermal treatment. Electrochemical data reveals that the as-synthesized NiS NPs themselves own poor supercapacitive behavior at initial cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycles in 2M KOH solution, while a specific capacitance of 893Fg−1 can be surprisingly obtained at a current density of 5Ag−1 just after continuous 320 CV cycles. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared techniques demonstrate that what is really responsible for the good electrochemical capacitance in the KOH aqueous solution is the new electrochemically formed Ni(OH)2 phase, rather than NiS NPs themselves. The Ni(OH)2 is slowly formed during the continuous CV cycling process, in which the electrochemically induced phase transformation from NiS to Ni(OH)2 phase takes place. Furthermore, the new Ni(OH)2 phase demonstrates the great ability of delivering large specific capacitance at high rates.",battery
"The Canadian Government's National Research Council laboratory in Boucherville, Quebec, has been active in wide-ranging PM R&D and technology transfer for over 30 years. Consulting Editor Joseph Capus visited the facility to learn what topics were being pursued currently. Recent achievements include binder-lubricant developments, die-wall lubrication, and the creation of metal and non-metallic foams, patented Bioglass being the latest successful innovation.",non-battery
"LaCoO3 fibers were synthesized through the calcination of an electrospun polymer-metal precursor fiber. The electrochemical performance of these fibers for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions was characterized in a KOH solution. Additionally, the electrochemical properties were compared with those of a conventional PtRu/C catalyst and a LaCoO3 powder, which was synthesized using the Pechini method. The LaCoO3 fibers had a greater surface area compared with the powder, whereas the crystal structures of the fibers and powder were notably similar. The LaCoO3 fibers demonstrated better electrochemical properties compared with the LaCoO3 powder, which was attributed to the increased surface area and number of active sites in the fibers.
",battery
"There are various ways to measure attitudes toward democracy. But what does democracy mean? Here, it is inquired into democracy as concept by getting insight into people’s understanding of it. In the paper, first, a four-dimensional concept is theoretically proposed. Furthermore, it is assumed that word-based questionnaires only provide limited access to the four dimensions of meaning. Consequently, a visualbased methodology is developed and applied. In the empirical part of the study, German citizens were invited to draw and verbally explain their images of democracy. This research yields evidence for following assumptions: (1) visual research reveals that democracy is indeed perceived as multifaceted concept in society together with reinforcement of results found by word-base methodologies; (2) the visual approach brings new insights to the realm of democratic theory; and (3) the four-dimensional approach is a possible framework to cluster the variety of definitions that might be offered by ordinary citizens to the concept of democracy.",non-battery
"In this study, nanoporous zirconia (ZrO2) and titania (TiO2) coatings are shown to stabilize the cycling performance of lithium-ion batteries with LiMn2O4 spinel cathodes. The effect of firing temperature on the coating pore size is discussed and the resulting performance of the coated cathodes is evaluated. Stabilization mechanisms, such as neutralization of acidic electrolytes by ZrO2 and TiO2 coatings, are examined. It is proposed that the establishment of a complex nanoporous network for lithium-ion transport results in a more uniform current distribution at the particle surface, thereby suppressing capacity fade that may be associated with surface instabilities of the spinel electrode.",battery
"The practical performances and thermal stability of Li-ion polymer batteries with LiNi0.8Co0.2O2, mesocarbon microbead-based graphite, and poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN)-based gel electrolytes are reported. The gel electrolyte, which shows a fire-retardance by itself as well as good chemical stability effectively improved thermal stability of the Li-ion polymer battery up to 170°C. We also found that the mesocarbon microbead-based graphite showed better coulombic efficiency even though the gel electrolyte contained PC and GBL. An evaluation of cell performances showed that the electrodes and the gel electrolyte were promising material for a next-generation Li-ion polymer battery.",battery
"A non-destructive estimation of the state-of-charge (SoC) of batteries facilitates optimum utilization of the battery for a given application, as well as evaluation of its state-of-health. Among various methods, a.c. impedance spectroscopy over a wide range of frequencies provides a variety of parameters which are functions of the SoC of a given battery. These parameters and their variation with SoC depend on the type of battery and on the experimental conditions. The impedance data of sealed commercial cells are rather tedious to analyze since the results are generally the combined parameters of both the positive and the negative electrodes. Separation of the parameters which correspond to the individual electrodes involves assumptions, the validity of which is open to question. Nevertheless, systematic linear and reproducible variations of measurable or computable impedance parameters with battery condition are useful indicators of the SoC in a non-destructive way. The present review consolidates the literature on the prediction of the SoC of batteries by means of a.c. impedance measurements.",battery
"In this study, the lithium ion battery (LIB) additive 1,3-propane sultone (PS) was investigated using capillary electrophoresis (CE) connected to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Q-TOF MS). In the first part, PS was thermally aged with the organophosphates dimethyl phosphate (DMP), diethyl phosphate (DEP) or triethyl phosphate (TEP) at 60°C for one month. It was observed that PS reacted with traces of water, with organophosphates, with decomposition products of the organophosphates and polymerized to long-chain decomposition products. Due to the large number of in part similar decomposition products, it was not possible to baseline separate them from each other. The structures of the decomposition products were identified and the deviations of the detected m/z-ratios of the decomposition products to the calculated m/z-ratios were lower than 3.0ppm. Moreover, one of the most interesting aspects was the formation of DEP in the aged samples of TEP and PS. In the second part, PS was mixed with DMP, DEP or TEP in the LIB electrolyte and aged at 60°C for one month. In these samples, decomposition products were determined, formed by reaction of PS with carbonates, organophosphates and DMP, DEP or TEP. In these electropherograms, the decomposition products were baseline separated. In this study, the high reactivity of PS with different electrolyte compounds from the electrolyte was shown in battery research for the first time.",battery
"Thin films of manganese oxides have been deposited on Cu foils by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering under different conditions. Crystalline MnO films cannot be obtained but Mn3+/M4+ oxides are formed when the growth proceeds under the Ar atmosphere, due to the oxidation of MnO. While they can be obtained under the Ar:H2 (95:5 vol%) reduction atmosphere at both room temperature and 500 °C. The latter films in thickness of ∼0.5 μm exhibit an initial coulombic efficiency of 75%, reversible capacities of 380 μAh cm−2 μm−1 (∼700 mAh g−1) at 4 μA cm−2 (∼0.05 C) after 100 cycles, and 230 μAh cm−2 μm−1 (∼428 mAh g−1) at 20 C. These values demonstrate that the sputtering-grown MnO films here exhibit excellent cyclability and rate performance in comparison to the reported data of MnO anodes. Pure phase with low oxidation state and certain porosity could be favorable factors accounting for such improved electrochemical performance.",battery
"Lower prices and increased supply of natural gas from hydraulic fracturing could lead to widespread use of natural gas in transportation. There are three primary ways that natural gas could be used in personal vehicles: compressed natural gas (CNG) in a combustion engine, as a source of hydrogen for a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), and to generate electricity for a battery electric vehicle (BEV). In this work, we compare these three paths by analyzing their current and theoretical maximum well-to-wheels (WTW) exergy efficiencies. Each pathway begins with the extraction of natural gas and ends with delivery of work to the vehicle’s wheels. The best current and theoretical maximum well-to-wheels exergy efficiencies for CNG, FCEV, and BEV pathways are found to be 31%/63%, 25%/87% and 44%/84% respectively. The largest exergy destruction for the CNG pathway occurs within the vehicle’s internal combustion engine (ICE) plant, which has a best current efficiency of 35%. For the FCEV pathway the main current sources of exergy destruction are the reforming stage and within the fuel cell engine plant, with best current efficiencies of 69% and 50% respectively. For the BEV pathway, the largest exergetic loss occurs during the conversion from natural gas to electricity at a combined cycle power plant, with a best current efficiency of 59%. While the theoretical maximum succeeds in identifying process steps that limit efficiency, it does not inform how much progress could be made to improve efficiency with what effort.",battery
"Sodium-ion capacitors with unique characteristics such as higher energy density than electrical double-layer capacitors, higher power density than rechargeable batteries, and abundant sodium resources represent current research trend in developing large-scale electrical energy storage technology. One of the key challenges presently facing the development of this technology is the imbalanced kinetics between the sluggish Faradaic sodium insertion in the anode and the fast capacitive ion adsorption on the cathode. Here we demonstrate the sol-gel synthesis of a novel, high-rate, stable composite anode material for sodium-ion capacitors (NICs). The composite consisted of Nb2O5 nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix (denoted by m-Nb2O5/C). Sodium-ion capacitors employing the m-Nb2O5/C anode and a commercial activated carbon as the cathode showed an admirable performance, delivering high energy densities in a wide range of power densities (73 Wh kg−1@250 W kg-1 and 16.8 Wh kg−1@20 kW kg−1). These favourable cell characteristics are attributed to the properties of the m-Nb2O5/C anode: the mesoporous structure that facilitates electron and ion transport, the presence of the niobium carbide interlayer between the Nb2O5 nanoparticles and the surrounding graphitic carbon that additionally improves the electron conductivity, and the predominant capacitive charge storage mechanism.",battery
"In this work, an effective approach to engineer Si and crystal SiO2 nanoparticles with carbon for high performance electrochemical energy storage was presented. We designed an intercalated carbon mixed SiO2&Si nanoparticles/carbon multilayer structure on the Cu current collector for an electrochemically stable and high energy density Si based electrode and carried out by alternately depositing C and SiO2&Si by plasma decomposition of CH4 and SiH4. This design allows for increasing mass loading per geometric area and improving the energy density. The structure and chemical composition of the composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, etc. The electrode with 12 layers exhibited an excellent cycling retention and a reversible areal capacity of ∼ 0.46 mAh/cm2 at a current rate of 52μA/cm2, which is much higher than most of previously reported values of various other materials. The versatile approach for fabricate the intercalated SiO2&Si/carbon films electrodes presented in this work can be extended to a variety of energy conversion and storage applications.",battery
"A porous-microspheres Li–Si film (PMLSF) is prepared by multi-step constant current (MSCC) electrodeposition on Cu foil. Its structure and morphology are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). As negative electrodes of lithium-ion batteries, the PMLSF electrode delivers the first gravimetric and geometric charge capacities of 2805.7mAhg−1 and 621.9μAhcm−2 at the current density of 25.5μAcm−2, and its initial coulombic efficiency is as high as 98.2%. When the PMLSF electrode is cycled in VC-containing electrolyte, the superior cycling performance can be obtained. After 50 cycles, 96.0% of its initial capacity is retained at the current density of 50.0μAcm−2. Electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) research confirms the positive effect of VC additive on the behavior of the PMLSF electrode.",battery
"SnO2 is a well-studied anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, it undergoes severe capacity fading because of a large volume change (∼300%) during cycling. Composites of SnO2 with electro-conductive graphene would deliver improved capacity and rate performance. Nevertheless, achieving the theoretical capacity of SnO2 is still elusive, mainly because of disintegration of the active material from graphene and severe aggregation of SnO2, or Sn nanoparticles produced upon cycling. To surmount these limitations, in this work, nanocomposites containing ultra-fine sized SnO2 nanoparticles (UFSN) with reduced graphene oxide and amorphous carbon were synthesized in a single step at low temperature and environmentally benign way, in which ascorbic acid was employed as the carbon source and reducing agent. UFSN could decrease the lithium ion diffusion path length. As a result of effective buffering effect afforded by the mesoporous structure against volume change and improved lithium ion diffusivity, the ternary nanocomposite achieves ultra-high capacity of 1245mAhg−1 after 210 cycles at 100mAg−1 and excellent cycling stability. Since the proposed approach is facile, straightforward, and highly reproducible, it is anticipated that this system would be a potential alternative to the conventional graphite anode for LIBs.",battery
"Ag/β-AgVO3 hybrid nanorods have been successfully prepared by a facile one-step solid-state approach and their electrochemical performance has been evaluated as cathode materials for lithium batteries (LBs). The effects of calcinations temperatures to the morphologies of the material and the content of Ag in the hybrid have been investigated. The Ag/AgVO3 hybrid synthesized at 420 °C shows well-separated nanorods anchored with Ag nanoparticles. The existence of Ag nanoparticles has been demonstrated to improve the conductivity of the electrode. As a cathode material for lithium batteries, it exhibits high specific capacity, good rate capability and improved cycle stability. Initial specific discharge capacities of 242, 228, 203, 202, 198 mA h g−1 can be achieved at the current densities of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 mA g−1, respectively. The superior performance is attributed to the combined effect of the electron conductivity improvement by the Ag nanoparticles and the well-separated β-AgVO3 nanorod structures. The results demonstrate the advantages of the Ag/AgVO3 hybrid for primary lithium batteries, and the possible application in rechargeable lithium batteries.",battery
"Recent studies have suggested antidepressant involvement in synaptic plasticity, possibly mediated by neurotrophins and neuropeptides. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide and neuromodulator. Since its discovery, PACAP has been extensively investigated with regard to its neurotrophic properties including regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, a neurotrophin postulated to be involved in the mechanism of antidepressant action and etiology of affective disorders. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, we demonstrate in this paper a robust upregulation of BDNF messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in rat primary cortical neurons following a 6-hour incubation with PACAP, and subsequently elevated BDNF expression after prolonged treatment. Additional experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of antidepressants on the expression of PACAP, its receptors and BDNF. In rat hippocampal neurons, prolonged (72-hour) treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors paroxetine and citalopram significantly up-regulated BDNF and PACAP expression and down-regulated PACAP receptor (PAC1 and VPAC2) expression; the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine had an opposite effect. These alterations in BDNF expression correlated negatively with PAC1 and VPAC2 expression, and positively with PACAP mRNA levels. Thus, our findings suggest the possible involvement of PACAP signaling in the neuronal plasticity induced by antidepressant treatment.
",non-battery
"Abstract Biomass has been used as a fuel source ever since humanity learned to make fire and served as the primary source of energy before fossil fuels became common in the twentieth century. Biomass is still the dominant source of energy for one billion of the poorest people. Biofuels are attractive for a number of reasons - plants act as `solar panels', capture carbon, and store energy. Their large-scale adaptation as energy source for modern industrial societies hinges on the solar utilization efficiency of plants. Plants appear to have similar efficiencies in capturing solar radiation as the most efficient solar panels that can be deployed at large scale, but the plants' own metabolism combined with the 'metabolism' of the infrastructure to produce biofuel from biomass yields a very low solar utilization. The climate vulnerability of biomass as renewable energy source is largely similar to food crops. Slight differences might be expected for different biofuel types. First generation biofuels might be more vulnerable due to constrains on deploying often energy intensive agricultural practices that can offset adverse climate impacts. Second generation biofuels are likely to be more resilient than food crops since their feedstock comes from marginal lands that are more close to natural vegetation.",non-battery
It is shown that the rate performance of a lithium battery composite electrode may be compromised by poor internal connectivity due to defects and inhomogeneities introduced during electrode fabrication or subsequent handling. Application of a thin conductive coating to the top surface of the electrode or to the separator surface in contact with the electrode improves the performance by providing alternative current paths to partially isolated particles of electroactive material. Mechanistic implications are discussed and strategies for improvement in electrode design and fabrication are presented.,battery
"FeSi6/graphite composite was prepared by mechanical ball milling. The FeSi6 alloy particles consist of an electrochemically active silicon phase and inactive phases FeSi2, distributed uniformly in the graphite matrix. The composite anode offers a large reversible capacity (about 800mAhg−1) and good cycleability, due to the buffering effect of the inactive FeSi2 phase and graphite layers on the volumetric changes of Si phase during lithium–Si alloying reaction. Since FeSi6 alloy is a low-cost industrial material, this alloy compound provides a possible alternative for development of high capacity lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Commonality in product line design refers to using identical product features or modules in multiple products. The use of commonality in product line extensions is a growing practice in many industries. We consider vertical product line extensions to lower- and higher-end products, and study the effects of identical feature levels on consumers’ evaluation of original products. Using a between-subject experimental design, we examine the effect of commonality using the bicycle as the example product. This experiment is then extended to eight different service and manufactured products. Results show that in many cases identical feature levels increase the perceived similarity between original and extension products. This influences the valuation of original products: valuation of the original low-end product increases while valuation of the original high-end product decreases. However, the amount of valuation change is not necessarily the same for the original low- and high-end products. This valuation change occurs regardless of buyers’ knowledge level of the product and is sometimes moderated by a large difference in a differentiated feature. This study suggests the importance of accounting for the demand-side effect of commonality in product design decisions. Change in customers’ valuation may call for an adjustment in price—the price of a high-end product may have to be lowered due to valuation discount, and the price of a low-end product could be raised to take advantage of valuation premium. This change in valuation does not occur for every feature in every product. Therefore, by properly selecting the features that are identical, a firm may be able to take advantage of valuation premium without sacrificing valuation discount and enjoy the economies of scale in manufacturing and logistics due to commonality.",non-battery
"In this paper, the chlorination of In2O3 has been studied using gaseous chlorine as chlorinating agent. The results of the thermodynamic analysis for the reaction of In2O3 chlorination indicate that this reaction is possible throughout the entire studied temperature range. The progress of the chlorination was followed measuring the mass changes for isothermal and non-isothermal experimental assays. The effect of temperature, reaction time, flow rate and partial pressure of Cl2 was investigated. The solids were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The results of the chlorination assays showed that the reaction between In2O3 and Cl2 starts approximately at 400°C, with a mass loss of 50% at 620°C, and that, for temperatures between 500 and 650°C, the reaction rate increases along with the reaction temperature. The calculated values for the apparent activation energy and for the order of reaction were 125.5kJ/mol and 0.91, respectively. The model 1−(1− α)0.4 = Kt is the best represents the experimental data.",non-battery
"The development of a high autonomy purely electrical public mean of transportation is not currently viable because the required energy implies a very high battery weight. However, this weight would be significantly reduced if these batteries could be charged at the bus stops along the route, for instance using a contact-less power transfer system. An ICPT (Inductive Coupling Power Transfer) system with a large air gap has been developed and built for an electric vehicle battery charger. The practical sizing, the best compensation topology and the operational frequency have been studied in order to obtain maximum efficiency. The study has been focused on defining the prototype implementation process, validating the theoretical results and analyzing the influence of frequency deviation with respect to the resonant frequency and the effect of gap variation and misalignment in the behaviour of the system.",battery
"In this work structural and transport properties of layered LiNi1−y−z Co y Mn z O2 (y =0.25, 0.35, 0.5 and z =0.1) cathode materials are presented. In the considered group of oxides, LiNi1−y−z Co y Mn z O2, there is no clear correlation between electrical conductivity and the a parameter (M–M distance in the octahedra layers). A non-monotonic modification of electrical properties of Li x Ni0.65Co0.25Mn0.1O2 cathode materials is observed upon lithium deintercalation.",battery
"A novel graphite felt electrode modified with tungsten trioxide (WO3) was developed to improve the electrochemical performance of graphite felt toward the VO2 +/VO2+ redox pair. WO3 was prepared using a hydrothermal method, and the morphology of WO3 structures was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical property of WO3-modified graphite felt toward VO2 +/VO2+ was carefully characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The hydrogen-vanadium redox flow battery (H-VRFB) test indicates that single cells using 1.1 mg cm−2 WO3-modified graphite felt exhibited excellent performance at 70 mA cm−2, and the corresponding coulombic, voltage, and energy efficiencies were 99.1%, 88.66% and 87.86%, respectively.",battery
"Experiments were conducted to evaluate a silicon accelerometer as an implantable sound sensor for implantable hearing aids. The main motivation of this study is to find an alternative sound sensor that is implantable inside the body, yet does not suffer from the signal attenuation from the body. The merit of the accelerometer sensor as a sound sensor will be that it will utilize the natural mechanical conduction in the middle ear as a source of the vibration. With this kind of implantable sound sensor, a totally implantable hearing aid is feasible. A piezoresistive silicon accelerometer that is completely encapsulated with a thin silicon film and long flexible flex-circuit electrical cables were used for this study. The sensor is attached on the middle ear ossicles and measures the vibration transmitted from the tympanic membrane due to the sound in the ear canal. In this study, the sensor is fully characterized on a human cadaveric temporal bone preparation.
",non-battery
"One step sol–gel route was developed for synthesizing Li2ZnTi3O8/C nanocomposite, in which a thin layer of carbon was coated on the surface of Li2ZnTi3O8 nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were high crystalline and their size was found to be ca. 20–30nm. The synthesized Li2ZnTi3O8/C nanocomposite was used as an anode for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and exhibited a high reversible charge–discharge capacity, excellent cycling stability and high rate performance. A large capacity of 284mAhg−1 can be kept after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.2Ag−1. These results can be attributed to the intrinsic characteristics of Li2ZnTi3O8/C nanocomposite. A thin layer of carbon on the surface of Li2ZnTi3O8 nanoparticles could improve significantly the conductivity and the anode made of nanoparticles greatly decreased the diffusion distance for lithium ions and electrons in the solid state.",battery
"The specific and unique amorphous nickel hydroxide nanostructures were synthesized via a simple and straightforward electrochemical way. By simply tuning the soft templates and applying a suitable current density, a specific and unique microstructure is obtained. The diameter of the Ni(OH)2 nano-sphere is greatly influenced by the current density, the sample obtained at 1 mA•cm−2 is about 200nm while the size of that assembled at 6 mA•cm−2 is less than 20nm. However, the Ni(OH)2 film prepared at the current density of 2 mA•cm−2 showed the best electrochemical performance for the highly porous surface morphology which contributed to the uniform morphology obtained at this current density. The maximum specific capacitance can be achieved as high as 1460F•g−1 in 2M NaOH at the scan rate of 2mV•s−1. Such impressive electrochemical properties can be ascribed to the highly porous microstructures and disorder of the amorphous phase which was considered for the better accommodation of repeated volume changes associated with doping-undoping process. The high specific capacitance and remarkable rate capability of amorphous transition metal oxides nanostructures show broad prospect for potential applications in energy conversion and storage devices.",battery
"This article presents results of studies, carried out on chemical and electrochemical processes, resulting in energy and capacity losses in vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). Two mechanisms, concerning losses, were evaluated: hydrogen evolution and imbalance of vanadium ions in electrolytes. Capacity losses of the battery were measured as the reduction of total electric charge, obtained from battery in discharging process, during charging/discharging cycle operation. Charge losses were verified using chronoamperometry measurements, where the electric current was measured and used to quantify the losses while keeping the battery at constant voltage. Methods for compensation of capacity losses and rebalancing of the battery were investigated and discussed. An electrolysis cell was developed to compensate the losses of charge in one half-cell only and, therefore, to rebalance the electrolytes.",battery
"Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) present with impaired functioning of the dorsal visual stream relative to the ventral visual stream. As such, little attention has been given to ventral stream functions in WS. We investigated colour processing, a predominantly ventral stream function, for the first time in nineteen individuals with Williams syndrome. Colour discrimination was assessed using the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test. Colour categorisation was assessed using a match-to-sample test and a colour naming task. A visual search task was also included as a measure of sensitivity to the size of perceptual colour difference. Results showed that individuals with WS have reduced colour discrimination relative to typically developing participants matched for chronological age; performance was commensurate with a typically developing group matched for non-verbal ability. In contrast, categorisation was typical in WS, although there was some evidence that sensitivity to the size of perceptual colour differences was reduced in this group.",non-battery
"Silicon suboxides (SiOx, 0 < x < 2) have been shown commercial prospect in lithium-ion batteries because of relative high capacity and mild volume expansion. However, few methods are available to prepare oxygen-tunable SiOx. Herein, we introduce a bottom up strategy to realize the consecutively regulation of oxygen content in SiOx via stepwise oxidizing silicane/siloxene precursor. Experimental results show that x value rapidly increases up to 1.5 and then rises extremely to 2.0 with minor slope. Furthermore, theory calculations indicate oxygen is preferentially inserted into Si–Si bonds to form buckled Si–O–Si limited to SiO1.5H with higher driving force than the following Si–OH formation which is well consistent with the experimental results. Virtually, nominal SiOx is substantially the mixture of Si, SiO0.5, SiO, SiO1.5 and SiO2 with SiO1.5 as the predominate component. Among the representative SiOx samples, SiO1.47 exhibits the optimal electrochemical performance with reversible capacity of around 700 mAh g−1 and almost 100% capacity retention at 0.5C (1C = 1500 mA g−1) after 300 cycles because of higher Li-ions diffusivity and less fracture. In addition, 95.4% capacity retention is achieved after 100 cycles at 0.2C in full-cell system.",battery
"We demonstrate the fabrication of flexible electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs) containing uniformly distributed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and iron oxide (FeO x ) nanoparticles (NPs) as a composite material for lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes. The uniform incorporation of CNTs and FeO x NPs within the CNFs was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Embedding even a small amount of CNTs (0.1wt%) in the CNFs increased the LIB performance by a factor of two compared with pure CNFs. The specific capacity was also increased, by 25%, when an iron source (iron (III) acetylacetonate) was added at a concentration of 2wt%. The FeO x -CNT/CNF electrode maintained a capacity of 1008 mAh∙g−1 at a current density of 100 mA∙g−1 after 100 cycles. Further, the high-performance anode material was freestanding, flexible, and lightweight. This makes it suitable for next-generation LIBs, which must deliver high power over long periods while also being light and flexible.",battery
" Nickel oxide on directly grown carbon nanofibers (CNF-NiO) electrodes were fabricated and used as cathodes for hydrogen production by water electrolysis and as electrode materials for supercapacitors. Tafel polarization from the CNF-NiO electrodes showed an improvement in the hydrogen evolution reaction. This was attributed to the increment of the electrochemically active surface area, conductivity, and the synergy effects between the nickel oxide, carbon nanofibers, and nickel foam substrate. When used for supercapacitor applications, these electrodes showed a specific capacitance of ca. 776.20 ± 26 mF cm−2 at a current density 3 mA cm−2. These electrodes prepared using a facile method also exhibited a capacitance retention of 89% even after 3000 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of 89% when cycled at 20 mA cm−2. Considering the simplistic approach of the electrode preparation, the stability, and the capacitance, this method opens an avenue to try various metal oxide deposit on the directly grown CNF template.",battery
"In the USA, gun deaths occur at a rate that is 25 times higher than that of other developed countries (Grinshteyn and Hemenway in Am J Med 129(3):266–273, 2016. ",non-battery
"Hierarchical iron sulfide nanocubes consisting of multiple iron sulfide-carbon core-shell nanoparticles coated with few-layer graphene (Fe1-xS@C/rGO) were prepared by a two-step in-situ transformation strategy employing Prussian blue (PB) as a starting material. The hierarchical nanocubes delivered an outstanding rate capability of 323 mAh g−1 at the current density of 10 A g−1 when used as the anode of sodium ion half cells. An iron-based sodium-ion full cell composed of a hierarchical Fe1-xS@C/rGO anode and PB cathode had a capacity of 323 mAh g−1 for 150 cycles. We attributed the good sodium ion storage properties of the Fe1-xS@C/rGO nanocubes to the stable hierarchical building structures and the high graphitization degree of carbon obtained during the transformation process. The graphene-coated nanocube structures inhibited the agglomeration of iron sulfide-carbon core-shell nanoparticles and accommodated the huge volume expansion that occurred during cycling. The high graphitization degree of carbon endowed Fe1-xS@C/rGO nanocubes with high electronic conductivity, facilitated sodium ion accessibility, and increased mechanical durability.",battery
"A high penetration of rooftop solar photo-voltaic (PV) units can cause both slow and fast voltage fluctuations when connected to the low voltage (LV) distribution feeder due to the random variations in the solar PV power output versus load demand. These unacceptable fluctuations can be alleviated by using energy storage systems integrated with the solar PV units. In this paper, a novel heuristic control strategy is proposed to alleviate both the slow and fast voltage fluctuations in the connected LV distribution feeder; using a hybrid energy storage system. In the proposed method; the integrated battery storage will be dynamically charged to mitigate the voltage rise during mid-day, and discharged during the evening peak hours, and the integrated super capacitor storage will be simultaneously charged or discharged to control the fast fluctuations in the PV inverter to be within a specified magnitude. An energy sharing method between the battery storage and the super capacitor storage is proposed to provide undisrupted control for the fast fluctuations during passing cloud. The proposed control strategies have been verified on a distribution feeder system and the results have been reported.",battery
"X-ray powder diffraction (XPD) and neutron powder diffraction (NPD) measurements in combination with theoretical calculations were performed on discharged and charged positive material of the Ni hydroxide electrode. The Ni(OH)2 in the battery material is disordered to a large extent and show large contributions of amorphous phases. The results of this investigation indicate similar local structures for the discharged and the charged phases. During charging, the c-direction remains essentially unaffected, whereas the ab-plane shows a high degree of disorder resulting in the disappearance of the [100] peak. A NPD pattern was used for indexing and refining of unit cell parameters. A revised conventional unit cell for the charged β-structure is proposed; hexagonal crystal system with a=2.98(1) and c=4.69(7)Å. We propose a structural model of the charged phase as consisting of disordered separate domains in the ab-plane. The conventional γ-phase is proposed to constitute of a modification of the β-NiOOH structure and is usually supposed to contain vacancies/defects in the c-direction. We show in this paper that the γ-phase may also be interpreted as consisting of partial systematic defects in the ab-plane. This phase can be indexed with an orthorhombic cell: a=7.50(2), b=4.83(2) and c=3.97(1)Å, respectively.",battery
"Since the mid-seventies Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of research and development into solar energy. For example, two major international joint research and development (R&D) programs were funded, in cooperation with the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany, aimed at developing renewable energy technology and demonstrating its applications by designing and installing several pilot projects. After more than 20 years of research and development it now becomes essential to evaluate these R&D activities in order to determine their benefits to the scientific community, the country, and society in general. This paper therefore presents an evaluation of a number of research projects in terms of their technical and economical performance and feasibility. The paper also discusses the various lessons that have been learned through the operation and maintenance of these projects, and considers the various reasons underlying either their success or failure.",battery
"Recently, copper sulfide (CuS) quite arouses researchers' interest due to its high theoretical capacity and excellent electroconductivity. However, poor cycling stability seriously limited the application in supercapacitors. In addition to the improvement of cycling performance, it is also a challenge to develop electrode materials with energy density. Herein, RGO/CuS composite is prepared successfully by solvothermal reaction methods. By the observation using FESEM and TEM, CuS microstructure displays regular and tiny nanoparticles, which are supported by RGO sheets. After the electrochemical measurements, RGO/CuS composite exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 946 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1 and 906 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, respectively. The excellent cycling stability is also achieved and it maintains 89% retention after 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1. RGO/CuS composite also possesses high energy density of 105.6 W h kg−1 at the power density of 2.5 kW kg−1, which indicates that RGO/CuS composite has a bright future as electrode materials for supercapacitors.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary The primary sources of a successful business are its core competencies and its business model, which builds on its core competencies. Core competencies result from the collective learning in a firm, especially the ability to coordinate diverse skills and streams of technologies within the organization. The five dimensions of a business model (customer selection, value capture, differentiation and strategic control, scope, and channels) are linked as an integrated design. The best business model is the one that is designed for customer relevance and high profitability. The four categories for measuring environmental performance are materials use, energy consumption, waste output, and pollutant releases. A corporation provides value to its customers and needs new measures of customer value related to materials, energy, waste, and pollutant output. The value chain begins with the corporation's assets, core competencies, and organizational capital. A value chain is most efficient when there are fewer transactions between producers and their final customers. This chapter concludes with a discussion about the managing of the value chain.",non-battery
"Abstract When 26.8Ah (1Faraday) of electrcity pass through an electrochemical cell, 1g equivalent of mass is formed or dissolved at the electrodes through the electrochemical reaction. The electrochemical equivalent weights of the active materials in a lead–acid cell per Ah are 3.866g Pb Ah−1 (for the Pb/PbSO4 electrode) and 4.463g PbO2 Ah−1 (for the PbO2/PbSO4 electrode). The total weight of the positive or negative active material in a cell is equal to the sum of the weights of the energetic (Ge ) and skeleton (Gs ) structures. There are three parameters used for calculating the actual amount of active materials needed for producing a cell of a given capacity: active mass utilization coefficient (η); active mass weight coefficient per Ah (β); specific capacity of positive active mass (PAM) or negative active mass (NAM) per kg active mass (σ). The working concentration region of H2SO4 in the cell is between 1.5 and 5.0M (i.e., from 1.10 to 1.25 relative density). It can generate 72Ah of electricity. Examples for the following calculations are presented in the chapter: 1. active materials in a 50Ah SLI cell at 50% utilization of PAM and 45% NAM utilization; 2. paste composition; 3. amounts of H2O and H2SO4 in a lead–acid cell; 4. active materials for various types of lead–acid batteries; 5. volumes of H2O and H2SO4 solution needed for paste preparation; 6. quantity of electricity needed for formation of the cured plates; 7. potentials of Hg/HgSO4 and Ag/Ag2SO4 reference electrodes (used for measuring cell electrode potentials) at different H2SO4 concentrations and temperatures.",non-battery
" Dynamic windows based on the reversible electrodeposition of metals are the promising alternatives to those based on other technologies such as electrochromic materials. In this article, we use spectroelectrochemistry to study Cu and Pb electrodeposition and dissolution as related to dynamic window electrolytes. The presence of Cl− in the aqueous electrolyte accelerates the deposition and dissolution processes, and leads to the formation of Cu–Cl equilibria that evolve during electrode cycling. The electrolyte only supports reversible metal deposition after cycling, a process known as electrolytic conditioning. We demonstrate that the conditioning process increases the concentration of Cu–Cl complexes in the electrolyte, which facilitates reversible and kinetically facile electrodeposition. The conditioned electrolyte enables the construction of 25 cm2 dynamic windows harnessing reversible metal electrodeposition that exhibit uniform tinting, minute-order switching times, and high optical contrast.",battery
"Uniform carbonaceous spheres covered with MnO2 nanoparticles (CMnO2-1) or nanosheets (CMnO2-2) were successfully prepared via a facile in situ seed-assisted method which could accomplish the controlled fabrication of the composites with tunable morphology and mass loading of MnO2. When employed as active materials for supercapacitor electrodes, CMnO2-2 exhibited larger specific capacitance, higher rate capability and better cycling stability than CMnO2-1 due to the fast ion penetration and smaller charge-transfer resistance. It is believed that these results may provide an alternative way to improve the redox kinetics and reversibility of metal oxides-based pseudocapacitors.",battery
"The extensive changes to Internet over the last decade have transformed its fundamental characteristics. From a network of computers developed for military purposes, it has become a network of people keen to share their knowledge and user experience. Over the coming years, this situation will inevitably change further, as the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes firmly established and even everyday objects acquire “intelligence” and the capacity of sharing information about themselves with people and other objects. This will have a significant impact on people’s lives and on the decision-making process carried out within businesses. The purpose of this work is to outline the main traits of this evolution, illustrating the elements that compose the architecture of the Internet of Things, looking, in particular, at its reverberations in other fields of application and, finally, giving an indication of the impact that it will inevitably have on businesses and individuals, from a marketing prospective.
",non-battery
"A commercial version of the magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) technique became available in 1996. At that time, ITC research team started to investigate the MRS technique with respect to its appropriateness to groundwater investigations. MRS is the only non-invasive surface geophysical technique with an inherent selectivity to free hydrogen and, therefore, to groundwater. The signal amplitude inversion allows quantifying free water content as a function of depth and signal decay rate inversion characterizes pore size with depth. The technique is limited in its depth investigation capability mainly by the size of its excitation/sensing loop, by the electric conductivity of the media, by the ambient noise level and by the Earth's magnetic field value. Two field cases illustrate MRS applications. A conglomeratic aquifer within metamorphic fractured rock sequence in Portugal shows the MRS response in a low porosity environment and unconsolidated porous aquifer system in the Netherlands, presents an opposite case of high porosity environment.",non-battery
"The techniques of transcatheter embolization of unwanted blood vessels in patients with congenital heart disease have evolved considerably during the past 25 years. There are many different anatomical lesions requiring different approaches and devices. The main types of devices used can be classified into particles, coils, and plugs. It is important for the operator to be familiar with a range of these devices. The results of transcatheter embolization are usually excellent, and technical problems and complications can usually be overcome by attention to detail and persistence. The types of devices in common use and their clinical applications are discussed.",non-battery
"The interactive effects of mixed pollutants in sewage wastewater on biomarker responses were investigated using wild male African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in Morogoro, Tanzania. A total of 58 fish were used, of which 21 were from Mindu dam (reference site) and 22, 9 and 10 from Mafisa, Mazimbu and Mzumbe sewage ponds, respectively. Liver somatic index (LSI) and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were significantly greater (two- to threefold) and (five- to sixfold), respectively, in fish from all sewage ponds. Haemoglobin concentration and gill filament 7-ethoxyresurufin O-deethylase (EROD) activities were significantly higher (1.2-fold and twofold, respectively) in fish from Mzumbe sewage ponds than in fish from Mindu dam, whereas liver EROD activity was significantly higher in fish from Mzumbe and Mafisa sewage ponds (5-fold). A HPLC method for determination of enzymatically formed p-nitrophenyl-glucuronide (PNPG) was developed and applied to measure UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UGT) activities that was significantly higher in fish from all sewage ponds (2–2.5-fold) than in fish from Mindu dam. Kinetic characteristics and assay dependence of UGT were studied with microsomal preparations. Metallothionein (MT) content was significantly lower (three- to fourfold) in fish from sewage ponds than in fish from Mindu dam, and corresponded with cumulative levels of cadmium, lead and mercury. Condition factor, vitellogenin (Vtg), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in plasma, eyes and brain, haematocrit, plasma protein and cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were comparable in fish from sewage ponds and Mindu dam. Although specific pollutants other than the metals were not identified by chemical analysis, application of a suite of biomarkers in C. gariepinus demonstrated that all sewage ponds were contaminated by pollutants of public health concern.",non-battery
"We synthesized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode materials by using ammonia-mediated carbonate precipitation, and we studied how the ammonia concentration during synthesis (0.1–0.5mol/L) affected the structural, physicochemical, and electrochemical characteristics of the prepared materials. X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement reveal that the amount of Li/Ni antisite defects in the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 depend much on the ammonia concentration. The LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 prepared at 0.3mol/L has the fewest Li/Ni antisite defects. This sample also delivers the best electrochemical performance, retaining a capacity of 133.5 mAh g−1 after 20 cycles at 0.1C. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirms that the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 prepared at 0.3mol/L has lower charge transfer resistance, correlating with its better ion diffusion kinetics than the other materials.",battery
"This research is aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of generating electric power utilizing the pulsating energy of ascending aorta with a flexible and implantable piezoelectric generator (PG) through in vitro and in vivo studies. In the in vitro study, the max output voltage (Vmax), current (Imax) and power (Pmax) of the PG were 10.3V, 400nA and 681nW respectively. The quantity of electric charging by one pulse was about 7–9nC. Factors affecting its output performance were investigated with single variable experiments. We further implanted the PG to wrap around the ascending aorta of a porcine to investigate the output performance in vivo. The Vmax and Imax of the implanted PG were 1.5V and 300nA under the heart rate of 120bpm and the blood pressure of 160/105mmHg. The instantaneous output power was 30nW with a long-lasting duration of 700ms and 77.8% duty ratio. The implanted PG could charge for a 1μF capacitor to 1.0V within 40s.",battery
"Based on physicochemical properties of the scraps of spent aerospace magnetic materials, a roasting – magnetic separation followed by sulfuric acid leaching process was proposed to extract cobalt. Roasting was performed at 500 °C to remove organic impurity. Non-magnetic impurities were reduced by magnetic separation and then the raw material was sieved into desired particle sizes. Acid leaching was carried out to extract cobalt from the scraps and experimental parameters included agitation speed, particle size, initial concentration of sulfuric acid and temperature. Agitation speed higher than 300 r/min had a relatively small impact on the cobalt extraction. As the particle size reduced, the content of cobalt in the raw material decreases and the extraction of cobalt by acid leaching increased at first and decreased afterwards. Raising the initial concentration of sulfuric acid and temperature contributed to improve the cobalt extraction and the influence of temperature was more remarkable. SEM image revealed that the spent aerospace magnetic materials mainly existed in the sliced strip flake with a loose surface and porous structure. Under the experimental condition, the leaching rate of cobalt from the scraps in sulfuric acid solution could be expressed as ln(−ln(1 − α)) = lnk + nlnt. The apparent activation energy was found to be 38.33 kJ/mol and it was mainly controlled by the surface chemical reaction.",non-battery
"Germline mutations of TSC1 (harmartin) and TSC2 (tuberin) are known to cause tuberous sclerosis (TSC), an autosomal dominant disorder with severe neurological and systemic manifestations. In addition, increasing data indicate aberrant patterns of allelic variants in patients with lesion-associated epilepsy, but absence of other stigmata of TSC. Animal models of TSC suggested that mutations in the TSC2 gene, even in absence of manifest neuropathological changes, induce aberrant neuronal activity. On this basis, we have carried out a mutational analysis of TSC1 and TSC2 in patients with pharmarcoresistant focal epilepsy without evidence of epileptogenic lesions on neuroradiological and histopathological examination (n =10). SSCP analysis revealed an allelic variant of TSC2 to be significantly increased (exon 41: 50.0% vs controls 14%, P =0.0132), which previously was reported to be increased in gangliogliomas and mineralized focal cortical dysplasia as well. Our data suggest allelic imbalances of TSC2 in nonlesional focal epileptic tissue.",non-battery
"Composite membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) {P(VdF-HFP)} and different composition of silica have been prepared by electrospinning polymer solution containing in situ generated silica. These membranes are made up of fibers of 1–2μm diameters. These fibers are stacked in layers to produce fully interconnected pores that results in high porosity. Polymer electrolytes were prepared by immobilizing 1M LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate (EC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) in the membranes. The composite membranes exhibit a high electrolyte uptake of 550–600%. The optimum electrochemical properties have been observed for the polymer electrolyte containing 6% in situ silica to show ionic conductivity of 8.06mScm−1 at 20°C, electrolyte retention ratio of 0.85, anodic stability up to 4.6V versus Li/Li+, and a good compatibility with lithium metal resulting in low interfacial resistance. A first cycle specific capacity of 170mAhg−1 was obtained when the polymer electrolyte was evaluated in a Li/lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cell at 0.1C-rate at 25°C, corresponding to 100% utilization of the cathode material. The properties of composite membrane prepared with in situ silica were observed to be comparatively better than the one prepared by direct addition of silica.",battery
"A critical challenge for the practical use of the layered O3-type binary nickel manganese oxides for sodium-ion batteries is the poor structural stability during extended cycling. The approaches of constructing O3/P2 hybrid composites can partially improve the cycling stability, but general approaches sacrifice the advantages of high capacity and low cost of the O3-type cathodes due to excessive sodium deficiency and lithium substitution. Here, we rationally design a serial of novel O3-majority hybrid Na0.9-x Ni0.45Mn0.55O2 (x = 0.02, 0.04 and 0.08) cathodes, which exhibit high capacities while maintaining exceptional long-term stability. Particularly, the optimized O3/P2 Na0.88Ni0.45Mn0.55O2 composite delivers 106.7 mA h·g−1 with 71.1% capacity retention after 250 cycles at 1 C (1C = 150 mA g−1), the cyclability is 32% higher than that of the O3Na0.9Ni0.45Mn0.55O2 cathode; and it also delivers a initial discharge capacity of 75.9 mA h·g−1, maintaining 72.4% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 10 C. More importantly, the post-cycling analyses demonstrate O3/P2 hybrid phases successfully suppress the structural degradation of Na0.9Ni0.45Mn0.55O2 during battery operation. This study provides new perspectives in designing high performance cathodes for sodium-ion batteries.",battery
"Lithium-sulfur batteries have been considered as one of the most promising candidate for replacing Li-ion batteries because of its extremely high energy density and theoretical specific capacity of sulfur cathode. However, the “shuttle effect” caused by soluble long-chain lithium polysulfides (LiPS) has impeded further development of Li–S batteries. In this work, nanosized MoS2 quantum dots (MoS2 QDs) were decorated on three-dimensional (3D) structure of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to form aerogels for sulfur host, in which the MoS2 QDs provide much more unsaturated bonds to enhance chemical absorption with LiPS and rGO acts as an electron transfer pathway as well as physical absorption with LiPS. Impressively, the rGO-MoS2 QDs/S electrodes have reached an ultra-low capacity fade rate of 0.011% per cycle during 300 cycles at 2 C with an average coulomic efficiency of nearly 100%. We believe that our reasonably designed unique nanostructure can reveal its potential for high performance of Li–S batteries.",battery
"Valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries that have aged on a float charge at constant voltage occasionally suffer from thermal runaway. Operating conditions for a VRLA battery have been simulated by changing the electrolyte saturation level in the separator and the ambient temperature. The charge current, battery temperature and cell overpressure were measured during current-limited constant-voltage charging. The experiments show that applied voltage, saturation level and ambient temperature are significant variables in the oxygen cycle. However, the saturation level of the electrolyte in the separator pore volume is critical. When it is lower than 80%, thermal runaway occurs readily. Significant corrosion of the positive grid and poor conductivity between the grid and the active mass (AM) is also found in aged VRLA batteries, and many inactive PbSO4 crystals appear on the negative plates. As a result, both positive and negative plates have a very high resistance, which can accelerate thermal runaway.",battery
Researchers at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory have developed a technique for making photovoltaic polymer thin films with external quantum efficiencies 10 times greater than previously achieved.,non-battery
" Many health effects of oils rich in oleic acid (OA, 18:1 n9) seem to be opposite those of arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4 n6), i.e. concerning cardiovascular risk. In recent studies in humans and in the rat we observed that percentages of OA and AA were inversely related, raising the question of whether the inverse association is a general one, and how it might be explained. In the present work we examine whether percentages of OA and AA are inversely associated in breast muscle lipids of chickens, and whether alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) may be related to the OA/AA ratio.",non-battery
"A hybrid network CuS monolith cathode, consisting of the microporous network formed by CuS sheets and particles on three-dimensional macroporous monolith Cu foam, is synthesized by a facile in situ melt-diffusion strategy without binder for Li-ion batteries. The cathode shows an abnormal capacity of 185.1 and 468.3 mAh g−1 CuS for the first and 100th cycle at a current rate of 0.2 C (1 C = 560 mA g−1), respectively. And it could recover 83.9% of the capacity after cycled at various current rates, demonstrating an excellent rate capability which outperforms many other currently available CuS cathodes.",battery
"Oxidative stress-induced damage to neurons may contribute to cognitive deficits during aging and in neurodegenerative disorders. Schizophrenia has a range of cognitive deficits that may evolve from oxidative stress, and this study examines this association of oxidative stress with cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. We recruited 296 chronic schizophrenia patients and 181 healthy control subjects and examined the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) in both groups. Schizophrenia symptoms were assessed using the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS). Our results showed that TAS levels were significantly lower in patients than controls (179.6±81.0U/ml vs. 194.8±46.0U/ml, p<0.05). Cognitive scores on the RBANS and nearly all of its five subscales (all p<0.001) except for the Visuospatial/Constructional index (p>0.05) were significantly lower in schizophrenia patients than normal controls. For the patients, TAS was inversely associated with some domains of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, such as Attention and Immediate Memory. Our findings suggest that oxidative stress may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and its associated cognitive impairment.",non-battery
"A detailed post-mortem analysis was carried out for commercial lithium ion batteries stored at 4.2 V and 4.0 V at 60 °C. Complementary electrochemical and physical–analytical investigations revealed that the most significant aging processes for the cells aged at 4.2 V were loss of cycleable lithium, decomposition of the electrolyte and loss of active cathode material (LiMn2O4/Li(Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2)O2). The cells aged at 4.0 V also exhibited loss of cycleable lithium, but at a smaller extent. In fact, the aged anodes did not show significant changes compared to the new anode. Electrochemical impedance measurements including symmetric laboratory test cells gained from new and aged cells revealed valuable information about changing charge-transfer processes. The 4.2 V-cathode and both aged anodes surprisingly exhibited a decreased charge-transfer resistance, while the 4.0 V-cathode’s charge-transfer resistance increased.",battery
"Today there are new interests in using metallic lithium as anode materials in lithium batteries because of its extremely large theoretical specific capacity. However, the low cycle efficiency and the lithium dendrite formation during repeated charge/discharge cycles hinder the practical application of metallic lithium anodes. Herein, we report a distinctive ZrO2/POSS multilayer deposited on PE separators by a simple layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly process to enable excellent rate capability and cycle life of lithium metal batteries. The ZrO2/POSS multilayer on PE separators weakens the solvation effect of lithium ions and significantly enhances the electrolyte uptake of separators, which is responsible for the enhanced ionic conductivity and Li+ transference number, as well as the improved Li/electrolyte interfacial stability. These advantageous characteristics of the resulting PE separators effectively decrease the electrode polarization and protect lithium metal anodes against lithium dendrites formation during repeated charge/discharge cycles, endowing LiCoO2/Li unit cells with both excellent electrochemical performance and high safety. The fundamental understanding on the effects of the micro/nano structures and properties of separators on the important electrochemistry processes at electrode/electrolyte interface of battery systems may lead to new approaches to tackle the intrinsic problems of Li metal anodes for energy storage applications.",battery
"Electrochemical properties of all-solid-state lithium batteries using lithium borohydride (LiBH4) as a solid electrolyte are presented for the first time. Despite its high conductivity and good compatibility with a lithium electrode, LiBH4 has not been considered suitable for practical applications partly due to its high reducing capability when used with metal oxides. In our investigation, it was confirmed that contact between this hydride solid lithium ion conductor and LiCoO2 results in a large interfacial resistance, and therefore significant capacity loss. In an attempt to minimize this effect, an intermediate Li3PO4 layer was employed. Our results indicate a significant improvement in both the rate and the cycle performance of LiBH4 solid electrolyte batteries, suggesting that LiBH4 can be used in practical applications as an electrolyte in all-solid-state lithium batteries.",battery
"With the Pb doping content at Sr-site increasing, a series of Sr1-xPbxLi2Ti6O14 (x=0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) are synthesized by a simple solid-state reaction. It is found that the reversible capacity and rate capability experience a parabolic course from SrLi2Ti6O14 to PbLi2Ti6O14. Among all the as-prepared samples, Sr0.5Pb0.5Li2Ti6O14 shows the best cycling and rate properties. It delivers an initial charge capacity of 163.2mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1 with the capacity retention of 96.08% after 100 cycles. In addition, it can also deliver a reversible capacity of 141.8mAhg−1 at 700mAg−1. The superior electrochemical properties of Sr0.5Pb0.5Li2Ti6O14 are attributed to the reduced charge transfer resistance and increased lithium-ion diffusion coefficient after doping. Besides, in-situ X-ray diffraction is also performed to investigate the lithium-ion insertion/extraction behaviors of SrLi2Ti6O14, Sr0.5Pb0.5Li2Ti6O14 and PbLi2Ti6O14. The observed results confirm that Sr0.5Pb0.5Li2Ti6O14 has good structural stability and reversibility for repeated lithium storage.",battery
"Rechargeable zinc ion battery is considered as a very promising energy storage system due to its high safety, low cost, and environmentally friendliness. Vanadium oxides with high capacity, good rate performance, and excellent cycle life are important cathode materials for zinc ion batteries. Herein, V10O24.12H2O(VOH) with large interlayer spacing and high valence state is prepared by a facile hydrothermal method and used as the cathode material in zinc ion battery. The Zn/VOH battery delivers a capacity of 327 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, and exhibit excellent cycling performance with high retention capacity (115 mAh g−1) after 3000 cycles at 1 A g−1. Zinc ion and proton insertion mechanism is proposed by exploring the evolutions of the phase and morphology. Zinc ion and proton insertion mechanism is verified by different zinc salt electrolytes. The reaction kinetics tests of Zn/VOH (galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)) indicate that the zinc ion insertion process has fast reaction kinetics and the proton insertion process slows down the reaction kinetics. The research of Zn/VOH system expand the cathode material of zinc ion battery and enrich the comprehension of zinc ion battery reaction mechanism.",battery
"The telecommunication and data communication businesses are experiencing strong growth and so is the demand for batteries for back-up power. The stationary lead-acid battery is the type that dominates these applications. This presentation will give some guidelines for battery scientists who want to apply their technology to back-up power. The opinion of the author is that the advanced batteries that are in the frontline today are poorly adapted to the needs of back-up power for networks. If developers of these advanced batteries are to stand a chance of achieving success in the network power market they must focus on reliability, volumetric energy density and cost.",battery
"The cathode/electrolyte interface stability is the key factor for the cyclic performance and the safety performance of lithium ion batteries. Suppression of consuming key elements in the electrode materials is essential in this concern. In this purpose, we investigate a facile strategy to solve interfacial issue for high-voltage lithium ion batteries by adding an oxidable fluorinated phosphate, Bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) Phosphite (BTFEP), as a sacrificial additive in electrolyte. We demonstrate that BTFEP additive could be oxidized at slightly above 4.28V which is a relatively lower voltage than that of solvents, and the oxidative products facilitate in-situ forming a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film on the cathode surface. The results manifest the SEI film validly restrains the generation of HF and the interfacial side reaction between high-voltage charged LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) and electrolyte, hence, the dissolution of Mn and Ni is effectively suppressed. Finally, the cyclic performance of LNMO after 200 cycles was remarkably improved from 68.4% in blank electrolyte to 95% in 1wt% BTFEP-adding electrolyte.",battery
"The effects of external compression on the performance and ageing of NMC(1/3)/Graphite single-layer Li-ion pouch cells are investigated using a spring-loaded fixture. The influence of pressure (0.66, 0.99, 1.32, and 1.98 MPa) on impedance is characterized in fresh cells that are subsequently cycled at the given pressure levels. The aged cells are analyzed for capacity fade and impedance rise at the cell and electrode level. The effect of pressure distribution that may occur in large-format cells or in a battery pack is simulated using parallel connected cells. The results show that the kinetic and mass transport resistance increases with pressure in a fresh cell. An optimum pressure around 1.3 MPa is shown to be beneficial to reduce cyclable-lithium loss during cycling. The minor active mass losses observed in the electrodes are independent of the ageing pressure, whereas ageing pressure affects the charge transfer resistance of both NMC and graphite electrodes and the ohmic resistance of the cell. Pressure distribution induces current distribution but the enhanced current throughput at lower pressures cell does not accelerate its ageing. Conclusions from this work can explain some of the discrepancies in non-uniform ageing reported in the literature and indicate coupling between electrochemistry and mechanics.",battery
"Iron titanium oxide (Fe1.5Ti0.5O3) nanoparticles with the diameter of about 150nm were prepared by hydrothermal process and further heat treatment at 300°C for 2h. The morphology, structure and electrochemical performance of Fe1.5Ti0.5O3 nanoparticles as anode material for lithium-ion batteries were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and a variety of electrochemical testing techniques. It was found that, compared with TiO2 and Fe2O3, the iron titanium oxide electrode exhibited higher specific capacity of 734.9mAhg−1 after 50 cycles at the current density of 50mAg−1, good cycle stability and high-rate performance, suggesting that the Fe1.5Ti0.5O3 nanoparticle synthesized by this method is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"TiO2 nanocrystals/graphene hybrids (TiO2-G) with ultrafine TiO2 nanocrystals (~7 nm in size) conformally coated on ultrathin graphene nanosheets (~ 2 layers thick) were successfully prepared via a facile one-pot solvothermal route under mediated conditions. With the feature of large surface area, abundant mesopores and high thermal stability, the TiO2-G nanohybrids exhibited large reversible Li-ion storage capacity with excellent cycling stability (629 mAh·g−1 after 400 cycles at a current of 60 mA·g−1) and good rate capability (184 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 3 A·g−1) due to the synergetic effects and strong interactions between the components, showing great promise in applications for advanced energy storage devices.",battery
"Anodically formed tin oxide typically displays a self-ordered porous structure with a large degree of cracking. In addition, its surface pores are frequently closed, especially in the case where the deposited tin film is anodized. Herein, we report a simple way of eliminating virtually all the inner cracks and ensuring that the surface pores are totally open, leading to well-defined one-dimensional anodic tin oxide. The current efficiency ratio of oxygen gas generation to tin oxide formation and the amount of charge allocated for pore initiation are suggested to be the key factors affecting the internal crack development and pore opening, respectively. Pulsed anodization proved to be quite an effective way to create a well-defined structure with few inner cracks and completely open pores.",battery
" Systematic reviews have shown that, although well prepared, the Consensus Guidelines have failed to change clinical practice. In the healthcare district of Castelnovo né Monti (Reggio Emilia, Italy), it became necessary for the GPs and Clinical Pathologists to work together to jointly define laboratory profiles.",non-battery
"Polypyrrole (PPy) films (2μm) containing titanate nanotubes (TiNT) were deposited from 0.5moldm−3 pyrrole (Py) and 1gdm−3 of TiNT in 0.1moldm−3 aqueous oxalic acid on 904L stainless steel (SS) 0.1mm thickness at 298K. Electron microscopy showed that the nanotubes were adsorbed on the PPy surface and uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix. The PPy/TiNT composite contained <10wt.% titanates which showed an increase of 53% hardness compared with polypyrrole alone. The TiNT provide nucleation centres to catalyze the polymerization of pyrrole and can adsorb up to 240mgg−1 of the monomer. The corrosion rates for SS, SS/PPy and SS/PPy/TiTN composites, evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry and open-circuit potential measurements in 3% w/v NaCl, were 1.61, 0.008 and 0.004mgdm−2 day−1, respectively, indicating that corrosion rates of stainless steel decreased by up to three orders of magnitude in the presence of the composite films.",battery
"LiNi1−y Co y O2 samples are prepared by a sol–gel method at various cobalt concentrations (y-value) by sintering at 800°C for a period of 10h. An X-ray diffraction technique is used to examine the structural properties of the samples. The sample with a y-value of 0.25 has the largest initial discharge capacity and shows the best cycling performance. It is concluded that this performance results from better hexagonal ordering, crystallinity, and smaller particle size with good particle-size distribution compared with other samples. Li x Ni0.75Co0.25O2 samples with different lithium content are also prepared and it is found that Li1.05Ni0.75CO0.25O2 shows the best electrochemical performance. This suggests that the presence of excess lithium prevents the exchange of Ni2+ ions at lithium sites.",battery
"The structures and stabilities of As2-doped Si n (n =1–7) clusters have been investigated at the B3LYP level of theory, incorporating the 6-311+G∗ basis set. An isosceles triangle is predicted to be the lowest-energy structure of the As2Si cluster, whereas the global minimum of As2Si2 possesses an As–As-butterfly structure. The ground state structures for As2Si3, As2Si4 and As2Si5 are all bipyramids: trigonal, tetragonal and pentagonal, respectively, which could have important applications as building blocks to synthesize silicon nanowires. The most stable isomer of As2Si6 possesses a tricapped trigonal bipyramid structure. The lowest energy structure of As2Si7 can be viewed as a substitutional structure of the tricapped trigonal prism Si9 isomer. In the majority of the lowest energy isomers, the two As atoms tend to be separated from each other, in order to maximize the number of Si–As bonds, and therefore locate at the axial vertex or face-capping atomic positions, especially for As2Si4–As2Si7. According to results of the incremental binding energies, the HOMO–LUMO gaps and the vertical ionization potentials, the As2Si3 and As2Si6 clusters are relatively stable compared to their neighbors. Natural bond orbital analyses suggest that delocalized electrons and multi-centered bonds play an important role in stabilizing the low-energy As2Si n structures.",non-battery
"Nickel and nickel oxide nanocrystals in their pure phase are carefully embellished by a facial method on oxygen-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (O-MWCNTs) using nickel nitrate (NN) was effectively accomplished for the first time by calcining them in hydrogen, nitrogen and air, respectively, at suitable temperatures. Nickel and nickel oxide nanocrystals impregnated O-MWCNTs were examined for its structure and morphology by various techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The nanocrystals on the O-MWCNTs were determined of 15–20 nm size. Decorated nanocrystals on CNT’s have potential applications in semiconductor industries.
",non-battery
" Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on a graphite-negative electrode plays an important role in lithium-ion batteries. The roles of the SEI involve a passivation of a solvent co-intercalation reaction, but why the SEI can suppress the solvent co-intercalation reaction is not fully understood. In this study, the solvent co-intercalation behavior against various SEI-covered graphite electrodes was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and in situ Raman spectroscopy. Ethylene carbonate (EC)-treated, vinylene carbonate (VC)-treated, and untreated graphite electrodes were compared in a dimethoxyethane (DME)-based electrolyte solution. Whereas the DME co-intercalation constantly proceeded from 1.2 to 0.6 V versus Li/Li+ for the untreated graphite electrode, the co-intercalation was relatively suppressed above 0.8 V versus Li/Li+ for the EC-treated and VC-treated graphite electrodes. Below 0.7 V versus Li/Li+, the VC-treated electrode exhibited higher passivation ability than the EC-treated one. In addition, the co-intercalation behavior in electrolyte solutions containing an SEI-reagent in advance was also investigated. In this case, the passivation ability was further improved.",battery
"Photovoltaic systems are renewable energy sources with various applications and their implementations in energy production and saving are verified. Installing those systems onto merchant marine vessels could prove to be an efficient way of minimizing fuel costs and simultaneously protecting the environment by reducing significant carbon dioxide emissions. This paper examines the feasibility of installing solar panels onto vessels and also calculated the payback period from the adopted investment with respect to fuel oil savings. Thus, the two important parameters incorporated in the parametric analysis are the solar radiation density and the fuel cost. In order to calculate the energy production of the solar installation systems, the globe is divided in six different zones, according to solar radiation density (Stackhouse and Whitlock, 2008). For one square meter of the considered solar panels the peak output power is taken equal to 130W (Kagaraki, 2001). The payback period of the investment depends greatly on the fuel prices. For a reasonable fuel price annual increase at about 10–15% the estimated payback period varies from 16 to 27 years. The more the fuel oil increases, the methodology reveals that the payback period converges to a minimum of 10 years. When using any storage media such as hydrogen, the methodology shows that the payback period increases and this depends on the proportion of the energy stored and from the storage media itself.",non-battery
"In this essay, we provide an overview of how production systems can be re-engineered to improve the welfare of the animals involved. At least three potential options exist: (1) engineering their environments to better fit the animals, (2) engineering the animals themselves to better fit their environments, and (3) eliminating the animals from the system by growing meat in vitro rather than on farms. The morality of consuming animal products and the conditions under which agricultural animals are maintained remain highly contentious, and when concerns about animal welfare are coupled with concerns about sustainability and global food security, the problem of welfare in animal agriculture constitutes “a wicked problem,” because it is unlikely that any proposed solution will simultaneously address all the issues of concern. In the final section of this essay, we offer some observations on how debate over reforms in animal agriculture could proceed going forward.
",non-battery
"The aim of this research is to examine the effect of alloying elements in positive plate composition of a lead-acid battery on its self-discharge and delivered current density in discharge state performances. To elucidate, a positive and negative lead-acid battery plates of two alloys namely Pb–Ca–Ag and Pb–Sb are investigated through electrochemical measurements in battery solution. Higher delivered current density of Pb–Ca–Ag cell in compare with Pb–Sb cell is observed for 25 days of 33 measurement days. The evolution of couple potential for both cases shows that the Pb–Ca–Ag cell potential achieves a value in the potential range of water stability after 25 days while in case of Pb–Sb cell, it remains well beyond the water stability potential domain for 33 days of measurements. Further investigations demonstrate that Pb–Sb cell current density is mainly caused by Pb oxidation reaction on negative plate while both anodic and cathodic polarizations (mixed polarization) are responsible in the case of Pb–Ca–Ag cell.",battery
"We report a rare case of fatal intoxication in a 40-year-old man caused by injection of a fluid containing organic mercury, allegedly in an attack with a syringe fixed to the tip of an umbrella. The man suffered from severe neurological symptoms and progressive multiorgan failure and died 10 months later in refractory status epilepticus. Autopsy revealed severe brain atrophy and non-specific kidney damage. Neuropathological examination showed neuronal loss especially in the occipital lobe, distinct granule cell necrosis in the cerebellum and Wallerian degeneration in the brainstem. Postmortem toxicological analysis revealed extremely increased levels of mercury in liver and kidney tissue as well as methylmercury levels in peripheral blood.",non-battery
"Thermal management system is a key component to maintain the performance of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Cooling technology based on phase change materials with single-phase transition range has been proposed by many researchers but the temperature control of batteries is not ideal for high charge/discharge rates and cycle tests. Herein, we designed a novel phase change material consisting of paraffin with dual-phase transition ranges (around 34 °C and 48 °C), expanded graphite (thermal conductivity = 40 W/m K), and epoxy resin with a mass ratio of 5:2:3. This material was combined with graphite film (in-plane thermal conductivity of 1400 W/m K) to prepare a thermal management module. Graphite film and expanded graphite form an excellent heat conduction structure. Epoxy resin endows this composite with satisfactory mechanical properties, even at 70 °C. The paraffin provides a double buffer effect that minimizes the temperature increase of the batteries and the temperature differences between the batteries in the pack due to the broad phase transition range. As a result, the maximum temperature of the batteries is 33 °C and the maximum temperature difference between the batteries is only 1.4 °C, even at the highest 4C discharge rate. In addition, the maximum temperature of the batteries is only 44.8 °C after six extreme cycles.",battery
" Plants from the genus Ocimum are used as folk medicine for treating various diseases including inflammatory and immune-related diseases. Numerous reports have suggested plant extracts and their constituents as possible anti-inflammatory agents. Here, in vitro evidence of Ocimum labiatum’s immune-enhancing and antioxidant properties is presented for the first time.",non-battery
"The graphene-coated carbon fiber cloth (CC@Gr) anchored with nanosized Co3O4 particles was successfully fabricated. According to the results of structural characterization, it was observed that the graphene-coated carbon fibers are able to anchor much higher amount of Co3O4 nanoparticles than graphene-free carbon fibers. The composite was applied as free-standing anode for lithium ion batteries, and it exhibits enhanced energy storage capability. A high reversible specific capacity of nearly 400mAhg−1 at a current density of 100mAg−1 can be achieved based on the total mass of Co3O4 and CC@Gr fibers (mass ratio=16:84). In addition, the composite demonstrates excellent rate performance and superior cycling stability.",battery
"Spherical bare nickel sulfide and nickel sulfide–carbon composite powders are prepared by a one-step spray pyrolysis. Submicron bare nickel sulfide particles with a dense structure have mixed crystal phases of NiS, Ni7S6, and Ni x S6. The nickel sulfide–carbon composite powders prepared from a spray solution containing 0.1 M sucrose have a main crystal structure of Ni7S6 phase with small impurity peaks of NixS6 phase. A nickel oxide–carbon composite powder is first formed as an intermediate product in the front part of the reactor at 800 °C. Fast decomposition of thiourea at this high temperature results in the evolution of hydrogen sulfide gas, which then forms the nickel sulfide–carbon composite powders by direct sulfidation of nickel oxide under the reducing atmosphere. Nickel sulfide nanocrystals with a size of a few nanometers are uniformly distributed inside the spherical carbon matrix. The nickel sulfide–carbon composite powders prepared with 0.1 M sucrose have an excellent discharge capacity of 472 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 1000 mA g−1, even after 500 cycles, with the corresponding capacity retention measured after the first cycle being 86%.",battery
"We propose a simple procedure for introducing a pseudo-reference electrode (PRE) to lithium ion batteries using isometric lithium metal placed between the cathode and anode, and we successfully obtained the cathode and anode voltage profiles, individual interfacial impedances, and the misalignment of the operation range between the cathode and anode after cycle operation. The proposed procedure is applicable to lithium ion battery systems using a solid electrolyte to prepare two cells with a lithium counter electrode. We determined the capacity decrease of a solvent-free lithium ion polymer battery consisting of a LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC), a polyether-based solid polymer electrolyte (SPE), and a graphite (Gr) with the proposed PRE over 1000 cycles. The capacity retention of the [Gr|SPE|NMC] cell reached 50% at the 1000th cycle upon the optimization of cell preparation, and we found that the main factor of the capacity decrease was the continuous irreversible loss of active lithium at the graphite anode, not the oxidation of the SPE. Our findings suggest that we should reconsider combining a polyether-based SPE with a conventionally used 4 V class cathode and a graphite anode to develop an innovative, safe, and low-cost battery for the expected large lithium ion battery systems for stationary use.",battery
"Objectives. To identify the significance of cerebral microbleeds (CMB) in the diagnosis of the main cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases with cognitive impairments (CI). Materials and methods. MRI scans (1.5 T, T2* regime, gradient echo) were performed in 120 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), and vascular dementia to study CMB, their influence on the state of cognitive functions, and links with signs of vascular and neurodegenerative brain lesions. Neuropsychological studies were performed using the Montreal and Addenbrooke scales, including assessment of speech activity, the clock drawing test, and the pictures test. Results and discussion. CMB were detected in more than 1/3 patients with neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular pathologies; cortical CMB were mostly seen in neurodegenerative pathology and subcortical in cerebrovascular pathology, and these locations can be used for differential diagnosis. Single subcortical CMB were seen in 48% of patients with LBD, and these were accompanied by smaller numbers of lacunar infarcts and a lower severity of leukoaraiosis. In AD with additional signs of LBD and cerebrovascular disease, CMB was encountered more frequently (60%) and was a criterion for mixed pathology. Conclusions. Leukoaraiosis has great clinical significance in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases with CI, if accompanied by CMB. The presence of CMB is a marker for severe CI and a predictor for mixed pathology in CMB located cortically-subcortical and the corresponding neuropsychological profile.
",non-battery
"Unlike previous HF etching of Si oxides to produce porous Si a new concept for the preparation of porous SiOx was suggested adopting Si as a pore generating agent and Si oxides as template using NaOH solution. The heat treatment of pristine SiO at 900°C provided nano-crystalline Si within the SiOx matrix. The nano-crystalline Si was dissolved to provide pore size of 200∼500nm, while most of the SiOx matrix remained as a template during NaOH etching. The surface area of the etched SiO was increased more than 5 times compared with not-etched SiO. The porous SiOx anode exhibited a stable reversible capacity of about 1240 mAh g−1 over 100 cycles at 0.2C.",battery
"The lead-acid battery is often the weakest link in photovoltaic (PV) installations. Accordingly, various versions of lead-acid batteries, namely flooded, gelled, absorbent glass-mat and hybrid, have been assembled and performance tested for a PV stand-alone lighting system. The study suggests the hybrid VRLA batteries, which exhibit both the high power density of absorbent glass-mat design and the improved thermal properties of the gel design, to be appropriate for such an application. Among the VRLA-type batteries studied here water loss for the hybrid VRLA batteries is minimal and charge-acceptance during the service at high temperatures is better in relation to their AGM counterparts.
",battery
"In 1994 we commenced deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamus for patients with severe tremor. This was done under the guidance of Professor Alim Benabid from Grenoble, France, who pioneered the technique. In the beginning we commenced DBS of the thalamus for patients with severe tremulous Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and in one case, severe post-traumatic tremor. In all, we had 28 patients for whom the procedure was performed for tremulous Parkinson’s disease, six patients with essential tremor and one patient with post-traumatic tremor. In 1997, again under the guidance of Professor Benabid, we commenced bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation (STN) for patients with severe Parkinson’s disease. We were the second unit in Australia to become established for these procedures. A total of 45 patients have undergone STN DBS and have been followed up on a regular basis by the same neurologist (DOS). The surgical complications and long-term complications, including hardware problems will be reviewed retrospectively, as well as the long-term benefits of these surgical procedures.",non-battery
"This study examined the relation between emergent literacy skills, teachers’ reports of behavioral problems, and word reading achievement in a community sample of French students. Family background was investigated and included familial antecedents of reading difficulties (Fa/Rd) and parents’ educational level. The analyses explored the pattern of concurrent relations between behavioral, familial and emergent literacy measures in a sample of 812 preschoolers, and their predictive power in explaining word reading achievement in a sub-sample of 150 children followed from kindergarten to fifth grade. Word reading at fifth grade was predicted by kindergarten measures of phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Teachers’ reports of inattention symptoms at each grade level were associated with early reading skills and with subsequent word reading. Fa/Rd were concurrently and longitudinally associated with emergent literacy skills, teachers’ reported inattention and word reading. These results indicate that children with a family history of reading difficulties are at increased risk for the co-occurrence of reading difficulties and attention problems from kindergarten onward. These findings confirm the shared influence of Fa/Rd on the comorbidity between inattention symptoms and reading difficulties in a non-diagnosed community sample of preschool children followed through late elementary school.",non-battery
"A simple method has been developed to prepare graphene/activated carbon (AC) nanosheet composite as high-performance electrode material for supercapacitor. Glucose solution containing dispersed graphite oxide (GO) sheets is hydrothermally carbonized to form a brown char-like intermediate product, and finally converts to porous nanosheet composite by two-step chemical activation using KOH. In this composite, a layer of porous AC coats on graphene to from wrinkled nanosheet structure, with length of several micrometers and thickness of tens of nanometer. The composite has a relatively high packing density of ∼0.3 g cm−3 and large specific surface area of 2106 m2 g−1, as well as containing plenty of mesopores. It exhibits specific capacitance up to 210 F g−1 in aqueous electrolyte and 103 F g−1 in organic electrolyte, respectively, and the specific capacitance decreases by only 5.3% after 5000 cycles. These results indicate that the porous graphene/AC nanosheet composite prepared by hydrothermal carbonization and chemical activation can be applied for high performance supercapacitors.",battery
"We report the interfacial study of a silicon/carbon nanofiber (Si/CNF) nanocomposite material as a potentially high performance anode for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. The carbon nanofiber is hollow, with a graphitic interior and turbostratic exterior. Amorphous silicon layers were uniformly coated via chemical vapor deposition on both the exterior and interior surfaces of the CNF. The resulting Si/CNF composites were tested as anodes for Li ion batteries and exhibited capacities near 800 mAh g− 1 for 100 cycles. After cycling, we found that more Si had fallen off from the outer wall than from the inner wall of CNF. Theoretical calculations confirmed that this is due to a higher interfacial strength at the Si/C-edge interface at the inner wall than that of the Si/C-basal interface at the outer wall. Based upon the experimental analysis and theoretical calculation, we have proposed several interfacial engineering approaches to improve the performance of the electrodes by optimizing the microstructure of this nanocomposite.",battery
"The size of a functioning “system” rather than the individual components determines the success of many miniaturization efforts. While most of the existing micro fuel-cell research has been focusing on the fuel-cell stack, our approach has been to systematically eliminate all the ancillary components with the goal of miniaturizing the full system. In this paper, we present a miniature fuel-cell system that combines the self-pumping of fuel and self-generation of oxidant altogether in a box-shape device of a few centimeters. Since the fuel is pumped on demand inside the system without requiring any external assistance, the device is self-sufficient and portable. Furthermore, the oxygen is generated on demand inside the system without requiring the ambient air, so that the device can be stacked in multiple. Constructed simply as liquids in a solid container, this active fuel-cell system resembles a battery to the user.",battery
"Aims To examine whether baseline neurocognition and social cognition predict vocational outcomes over 6months in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) enrolled in a randomised controlled trial of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) versus treatment as usual (TAU). Methods 135 FEP participants (IPS n =69; TAU n =66) completed a comprehensive neurocognitive and social cognitive battery. Principal axis factor analysis using PROMAX rotation was used to determine the underlying cognitive structure of the battery. Setwise (hierarchical) logistic and multivariate linear regressions were used to examine predictors of: (a) enrolment in education and employment; and (b) hours of employment over 6months. Neurocognition and social cognition factors were entered into the models after accounting for premorbid IQ, baseline functioning and treatment group. Results Six cognitive factors were extracted: (i) social cognition; (ii) information processing speed; (iii) verbal learning and memory; (iv) attention and working memory; (v) visual organisation and memory; and (vi) verbal comprehension. Enrolment in education over 6months was predicted by enrolment in education at baseline (p =.002) and poorer visual organisation and memory (p =.024). Employment over 6months was predicted by employment at baseline (p =.041) and receiving IPS (p =.020). Better visual organisation and memory predicted total hours of paid work over 6months (p <.001). Conclusions Visual organisation and memory predicted the enrolment in education and duration of employment, after accounting for premorbid IQ, baseline functioning and treatment. Social cognition did not contribute to the prediction of vocational outcomes. Neurocognitive interventions may enhance employment duration in FEP.",non-battery
"Abstract Obtaining a complete biopotential acquisition system suitable for the real-world use of an intelligent wheelchair is still an open problem without a satisfactory solution. It is perhaps the single block that may be hindering the final step for use of this technology outside controlled environments. We introduce the basic electronic instrumentation background needed to understand the state of the art in acquisition equipment and the challenge of electromagnetic interference and artifacts. We then analyze the particularities of measurement on a mobile wheelchair and comment on available solutions, finally suggesting a sample practical design for a medium complexity multichannel acquisition system.",non-battery
"Renewable energy sources have a huge potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the dependence on fossil fuels in the energy sector. However, the energy output of these sources is variable and raises concerns regarding the electric grid reliability. Therefore, the deployment of energy storage would play a key role in enabling the integration of these sources in the electric grid. This paper proposes methods for determining the optimal operation and sizing of energy storage systems. The main purpose of the operation strategy is to maximize the revenues of the renewable farm. The sizing model, on the other hand, has a purpose to minimize the cost of the hybrid system while meeting the service requirement. Both methods were formulated as non-linear programming optimization models. To verify the effectiveness of these methods; case studies have been presented. Finally, this paper proposes an economical analysis to determine the cost added by the storage to each KWh of stored energy.",battery
"Nanocomposite of Li2ZnTi3O8/carbon nanobelt was successfully synthesized through a simple synthetic route using titanate nanobelts as a precursor, in which a thin carbon layer of ca. 2–3nm was formed on the surface of Li2ZnTi3O8 nanobelts. This material was used as an anode material for Li-ion storage and demonstrates a large reversible charge-discharge capacity of 247.6mA h g−1 after 200cycles at 0.2 A g−1, which is much greater than that of pure Li2ZnTi3O8 nanowires. At the same time, this material also exhibits excellent rate capability with a capacity of ca. 178.0mA h g−1 even at a current density as high as 2 A g−1. These excellent properties might be attributed to its high electronic conductivity due to a thin carbon layer on the surface of nanobelts and one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure can facilitate the electron transport along the long dimension, meanwhile, Li+ can be transport fast along the two short dimensions.",battery
"Conductivity hysteresis and room temperature ionic conductivities >10−3 S/cm were recently reported for electrolytes prepared from blends of an amphiphilic comb copolymer, poly[2,5,8,11,14-pentaoxapentadecamethylene (5-hexadecyloxy-1,3-phenylene)] (polymer I), and a linear multiblock copolymer, poly(oligotetrahydrofuran-co-dodecamethylene) (polymer II), following thermal treatment [F. Chia, Y. Zheng, J. Liu, N. Reeves, G. Ungar, P.V. Wright, Electrochim. Acta 43 (2003) 1939]. To investigate the origin of these effects, polymers I and II were synthesized in this work, and the conductivity and thermal properties of the individual polymers were investigated. AC impedance measurements were conducted on I and II doped with LiBF4 or LiClO4 during gradual heating to 110°C and slow cooling to room temperature. Significant conductivity hysteresis was seen for polymer II, and was similarly observed for poly(tetrahydrofuran) (PTHF) homopolymer at equivalent doping levels. From thermogravimetic analysis (TGA), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and 1H NMR spectroscopy, both polymer II and PTHF were found to partially decompose to THF during heat treatment, resulting in a self-plasticizing effect on conductivity.",battery
"3D-ordered porous nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon (NS/C) is synthesized from the functionalized fluidic acrylonitrile telomer (ANT) as C, N and S source. The dispersed PdCuW nanoparticles with an average size of 5.25 nm are supported on the walls of the NS/C by a glycol reduction method. Compared with 20%Pd black (Pd/C), NS/C and 20%Pd-NS/C, it is found that PdCuW-NS/C composite with 11.4 wt% Pd exhibits superior catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution. Moreover, PdCuW-NS/C possesses higher capacities, lower overpotentials and better cyclic stability as cathode materials for Li-O2 batteries; the cyclic retention of more than 70 cycles are achieved at 300 mA g−1 with the restricted capacity at 500 mAh g−1.",battery
"The long forms of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) exon III repeat polymorphism (L-DRD4) have been linked in some studies to the adult personality trait of novelty seeking (NS), as well as to infant personality traits related to interest and activity. The current investigation extends the results of our previous longitudinal study on 1- to 5-month-old neonates assessed by the Early and Revised Infancy Temperament Questionnaire (EITQ/RITQ), in which we found a significant correlation between the DRD4 polymorphism and the adaptability trait at 1 month of age. In this study, we examined the relationship between children′s behavior at 3 years of age, measured with the Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS), and DRD4 exon III repeat polymorphism. We found a significant association between the behavioral dimension of intensity of reaction and DRD4 genotypes. Current data failed to confirm the association with the adaptability trait. None of the extraversion and/or exploratory behavior measures was related to the L-DRD4 allele, as expected. In contrast, children with 4/7 genotypes showed worse response to new stimuli compared with 4/4 genotypes. This study corroborates only in part previous results on the link between the DRD4 gene and human temperament.
",non-battery
"Preventing the establishment of ectoparasitic poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) populations is key in ensuring welfare and egg production of laying hens and absence of allergic reactions of workers in poultry facilities. Using the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point method, a panel of experts identified hazards and associated risks concerning the introduction and spread of this mite in poultry facilities. Together we provide an overview of possible corrective actions that can be taken to prevent population establishment. Additionally, a checklist of the most critical control points has been devised as management tool for poultry farmers. This list was evaluated by Dutch and British poultry farmers. They found the checklist feasible and useful.",non-battery
"The past decade has seen some very significant changes in the supply and the demand for lead. One of the most obvious developments is the emergence of China—both as the world’s largest producer of primary lead and as a very significant consumer. Perhaps less obvious have been the increasing role of secondary lead in meeting demand for refined metal and the rapid growth in demand for industrial batteries, which have helped to sustain an annual average growth rate in Western World consumption of 3.4% between 1993 and 2000. Patchy knowledge about the lead industry in China has made it difficult to anticipate developments there and has created uncertainty in the global market. This uncertainty, and lead’s poor environmental image, largely undeserved as it may be today, has meant few companies outside the lead business want to be seen participating in it. This is just one factor accounting for the very limited increase in lead mine production for the foreseeable future. With around 75% of lead now being used in batteries and a very high global scrap recycling rate, it is probable that most, if not all, growth in lead demand can be met without an overall increase in mine production. The challenge for the lead industry will be to ensure that sufficient recycling capacity is in place in the right parts of the world to process an increasing quantity of battery and other lead-bearing scrap. Huge investment in the world’s telecommunications infrastructure and IT networks in the second half of the 1990s created a major market for industrial lead-acid batteries. With the collapse of the market for telecommunications equipment in 2001, lead consumption has fallen sharply and has revealed the extent to which demand growth in recent years has been dependent on this sector.",battery
"The effect of Zn2+ substitution on the electrochemical performance and the structural evolution upon cycling of Na3Ni2SbO6 and Na3Zn0.5Ni1.5SbO6 is reported. Samples were synthesized by solid state route and characterised by ex-situ X-ray diffraction and ex-situ 23Na solid state NMR, the results show that the partial substitution of Ni2+ by Zn2+ alters the superstructure symmetry and leads to a disordered lattice. This structural reorganisation has direct consequences on the electrochemical performances of Na3Zn0.5Ni1.5SbO6 with an average voltage of ∼3.3 V and with a specific capacity increase up to 145 mAh.g−1 at C/10. We observe that Zn2+ cations are inhomogeneously distributed in the structure, leading to different Na+ environments which are characterized by NMR. The phase transitions observed at high voltage in Na3Ni2SbO6 are suppressed in Na3Ni1.5Zn0.5SbO6 resulting in a smooth electrochemical profile with a low polarization. The presence of an irreversible phase at the end of the discharge was also detected in the undoped material.",battery
"Coprecipitation was applied to prepare Mg–Mn hydroxide precursor for optimal synthesis of Mg-doped Li–Mn–O spinel. The as-obtained precursor was then mixed with LiOH followed by an annealing at 850 oC for 15h. The spinel prepared from coprecipitated precursor can deliver over 100mAhg−1 at a discharge rate as high as 10C (1.2Ag−1) and retain 100% of the initial capacity in the 45th cycle while the spinel prepared directly from the as-purchased metal salts yields both smaller initial capacity and lower capacity retention after cycling. It was found that the crystallinity is higher and the charge transfer resistance is lower for the spinel prepared via coprecipitated precursor, which maybe resulted from the more homogeneous distribution of metal ion in such a spinel, than that in the spinel prepared from as-purchased reagents.",battery
 To explore the relationship between body weight status and neurocognitive functioning in soldiers.,non-battery
"LiCo1/3Mn1/3Ni1/3O2 hollow spheres with an average outer diameter of 300nm and a wall thickness of about 50nm are prepared by using carbon spheres as template. They demonstrate excellent electrochemical performance, including high discharge capacity and rate capability. At a current rate of 0.2C (34mAg−1, 0.34mAcm−2), cathode materials constituted by the hollow spheres display a discharge capacity of 175.4mAhg−1. Even at a current rate of 10C (1700mAg−1, 17mAcm−2), the discharge capacity also keeps at 91.5mAhg−1. The reasons lie in that the hollow structure has a large surface to contact with liquid electrolyte, resulting in a better electrochemical performance at high charge/discharge rate.",battery
"Kindling in rats produces enduring behavioral changes that parallel the psychobehavioral disturbances frequently accompanying temporal lobe epilepsy. Some evidence suggests that the site of kindling is an important determinant of the type of behavioral changes observed following kindling, although this variable has not been systematically investigated. In the present experiments, the effects of amygdaloid kindling were assessed on a battery of behavioral tests we used previously to assess the effects of kindling in dorsal hippocampus or perirhinal cortex. Three generalized seizures were kindled with stimulation in or near the basolateral amygdala. One week later, rats were tested successively on measures of anxiety, activity, object recognition memory, and spatial working memory over a period of 3 weeks. Amygdaloid kindling produced increased anxiety, but spared all other behaviors assessed. This pattern of results is partially distinct from the previously described effects of perirhinal cortical kindling, which increases anxiety but also impairs object recognition memory, and is completely distinct from dorsal hippocampal kindling, which selectively increases activity and impairs spatial working memory. The observations suggest that kindling of distinct highly interconnected temporal lobe sites produces distinct patterns of behavioral comorbidity. The underlying mechanisms are thus most likely localized to intrinsic circuits at the site of seizure origination.",non-battery
"Cuprous sulfide (Cu2S) is attractive electrode material for lithium-ion battery because of its high capacity and energy density. Interestingly, the cycling stability of cuprous sulfide is poor in the carbonate-based electrolytes used in lithium ion battery industry but excellent in ether-based electrolyte. In this study, we have compared the electrochemical performance of commercially available cuprous sulfide in various kinds of carbonate-based electrolytes. Our results show that the specific capacity of Cu2S electrode fades quickly in cyclic carbonate-based electrolytes, but a much better electrochemical performance in linear carbonate-based electrolytes. In linear carbonate-based electrolyte (1M LiPF6 in EMC), it exhibits a specific discharge capacity of 242.8mAhg−1 after 50 cycles with coulombic efficiency of 99.6%. Our study suggests that the poor cycling performance of Cu2S in cyclic carbonate-based electrolytes is mainly due to the higher reactivity of cyclic carbonates with polysulfides on the surface of the electrode than linear carbonates, which was confirmed for the first time by our experiment studies and theoretical calculation.",battery
"We present two different ways to fabricate nitrogen-doped graphene (N-graphene) and demonstrate its use as a metal-free catalyst to study the catalytic active center for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). N-graphene was produced by annealing of graphene oxide (G-O) under ammonia or by annealing of a N-containing polymer/reduced graphene oxide (RG-O) composite (polyaniline/RG-O or polypyrrole/RG-O). The effects of the N precursors and annealing temperature on the performance of the catalyst were investigated. The bonding state of the N atom was found to have a significant effect on the selectivity and catalytic activity for ORR. Annealing of G-O with ammonia preferentially formed graphitic N and pyridinic N centers, while annealing of polyaniline/RG-O and polypyrrole/RG-O tended to generate pyridinic and pyrrolic N moieties, respectively. Most importantly, the electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst was found to be dependent on the graphitic N content which determined the limiting current density, while the pyridinic N content improved the onset potential for ORR. However, the total N content in the graphene-based non-precious metal catalyst does not play an important role in the ORR process.
",battery
"Natural resources such as ores and rocks contain natural radioactive nuclides at various concentrations. If these resources contain high concentrations of natural radioactive nuclides, workers handling them might be exposed to significant levels of radiation. Therefore, it is important to investigate the radioactive activity in these resources. In this study, concentrations of radioactive nuclides in Th, Zr, Ti, Mo, Mn, Al, W, Zn, V, and Cr ores used as industrial raw materials in Japan were investigated. The concentrations of 238U and 232Th were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), while those of 226Ra, 228Ra, and 40K were determined by gamma-ray spectrum. We found the concentrations of 238U series, 232Th series, and 40K in Ti, Mo, Mn, Al, W, Zn, V, and Cr ores to be lower than the critical values defined by regulatory requirements as described in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Guide. The doses received by workers handling these materials were estimated by using methods for dose assessment given in a report by the European Commission. In transport, indoor storage, and outdoor storage scenarios, an effective dose due to the use of Th ore was above 4.3×10−2 Svy−1, which was higher than that of the other ores. The maximum value of effective doses for other ores was estimated to be about 4.5×10−4 Svy−1, which was lower than intervention exemption levels (1.0×10−3 Svy−1) given in International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 82.",non-battery
"Neuronal injury elicits potent cellular responses from glia, but molecular pathways modulating glial activation, phagocytic function and termination of reactive responses remain poorly defined. Here we show that positive or negative regulation of glial responses to axon injury is molecularly encoded by unique isoforms of the Drosophila melanogaster engulfment receptor Draper. Draper-I promotes engulfment of axonal debris through an immunoreceptor tyrosine–based activation motif (ITAM). In contrast, Draper-II, an alternative splice variant, potently inhibits glial engulfment function. Draper-II suppresses Draper-I signaling through a previously undescribed immunoreceptor tyrosine–based inhibitory motif (ITIM)-like domain and the tyrosine phosphatase Corkscrew (Csw). Intriguingly, loss of Draper-II–Csw signaling prolongs expression of glial engulfment genes after axotomy and reduces the ability of glia to respond to secondary axotomy. Our work highlights a novel role for Draper-II in inhibiting glial responses to neurodegeneration, and indicates that a balance of opposing Draper-I and Draper-II signaling events is essential to maintain glial sensitivity to brain injury.
",non-battery
"Sn/SnO2@C composite nanofibers were successfully fabricated by a facile annealing strategy. The composite consists of an amorphous carbon matrix encapsulating carbon nanotubes decorated by ultrafine (<10nm) SnO2 nanoparticles, with submicron Sn particles incorporated in the entangled networks of the composite nanofibers. When used as anode material for lithium ion batteries, the Sn/SnO2@C composite nanofibers exhibited high initial charge capacity of 756mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1, excellent high-rate capacity of 190mAhg−1 at 5Ag−1, and excellent capacity retention of 591mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at 100mAg−1. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy mapping, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were applied to investigate the origins of the excellent electrochemical Li+ storage properties of Sn/SnO2@C. It could be deduced that the ductile carbon matrix and free spaces in the composite nanofiber networks can effectively accommodate the strain of volume change during cycling, prevent the aggregation and pulverization of Sn/SnO2 particles, keep the whole structure stable, and facilitate electron and ion transport through the electrode.",battery
"In this paper, we present a new efficient composite electrocatalyst, manganese dioxide-supported silver bismuthate (Ag4Bi2O5/MnO2), for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. The new electrocatalyst was characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical measurements indicate that the Ag4Bi2O5/MnO2 composite is a very efficient electrocatalyst for ORR in alkaline media. The physical and electrochemical characterization results suggest that the high activity is ascribed to the support effects from MnO2 and the synergetic effects among Ag4Bi2O5 and MnO2. The analysis of rotating disk electrode (RDE) results shows that the ORR occurs via a four-electron pathway on the surface of the Ag4Bi2O5/MnO2 electrocatalyst. This electrocatalyst was further tested in a designed zinc–oxygen (Zn–O2) battery. This battery can offer a discharge time of 225h at 120mAcm−2, increasing by more than 492% as compared with pure MnO2 electrocatalyst. It demonstrates that this inexpensive Ag4Bi2O5/MnO2 electrocatalyst is a viable alternative to platinum electrocatalyst for energy conversion devices.",battery
"Synthesis of α-MnO2 nanorods grown on porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) sheets via a facile hydrothermal treatment gives a porous composite exhibiting higher activity for an air cathode than the individual component of α-MnO2 or porous g-C3N4 for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The porous g-C3N4/α-MnO2 composite also exhibits better performance in a Li-air battery than pure α-MnO2 or XC-72 carbon catalysts, which includes superior discharge capacity, low voltage gap and high cycle stability. The α-MnO2 nanorods catalyze the OER and the porous g-C3N4 sheets catalyze the ORR.",battery
" Although videos of surgical procedures are useful as an educational tool, the recording of trauma surgeries in emergency situations is difficult. We describe an inexpensive and practical shooting method using a commercially available head-mounted video camera.",non-battery
"Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, which is characterized by progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. There is a growing consensus that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress play a crucial role in PD pathogenesis. Sirtuin3 (SIRT3) is the major mitochondria NAD+-dependent deacetylase that acts as a regulator of mitochondrial protein function; it is essential for maintaining mitochondrial integrity. Although SIRT3 was reported to have anti-oxidative stress activity in an in vitro study, there is no explicit in vivo evidence for the involvement of SIRT3 in the etiology of PD. The present study shows that SIRT3 null mice do not exhibit motor and non-motor deficits compared with wild-type controls. However, SIRT3 deficiency dramatically exacerbated the degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mice. SIRT3 null mice exposed to MPTP also exhibited decreased superoxide dismutase 2, a specific mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme, and reduced glutathione peroxidase expression compared with wild-type controls. Taken together, these findings strongly support that SIRT3 has a possible role in MPTP-induced neurodegeneration via preserving free radical scavenging capacity in mitochondria.
",non-battery
" Silicon anode, even with its theoretically high specific capacity, has only seen a limited commercial adoption in lithium-ion battery (LIB) due to the durability issues. The performance of a silicon anode in a LIB is enhanced when a small amount of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) is added to the battery electrolyte. In this article, we analyze the effect of FEC additive on the silicon anode in both the half- and full cell configuration. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to unravel crucial intrinsic properties of the cell. It detects a fourfold drop in the cell impedance upon addition of FEC. We also employed density functional theory (DFT)-based models to understand and complement the experimental findings. At the DFT level, the solvation energy of Li+ in the ethylene carbonate (EC) electrolyte is − 224.34 kJ mol−1 whereas that in the FEC electrolyte is − 202.96 kJ mol−1. This implies that the electrolyte with the FEC additive may act as a better carrier of Li+ that with the EC additive alone.",battery
" The selective lignin-degrading white-rot fungi are regarded to be the best lignin degraders and have been widely used for reducing the saccharification recalcitrance of lignocellulose. However, the biological delignification and conversion of lignocellulose in biorefinery is still limited. It is necessary to develop novel and more efficient bio-delignification systems.",non-battery
"The poly(vinylidene co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) polymer has received a great attention as an alternative to the commercial separator in energy devices. Therefore, a ternary hybrid membrane PVDF-HFP/polyaniline (PANI)/graphene oxide (GO) (10 wt%, 25 wt%, and 40 wt%) was synthesized and characterized as a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) for lithium ion battery. The thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis and mechanical strength tests have carried out to see the potential of GO in alteration of mechanical and thermal properties of PVDF-HFP membrane; additionally, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), electrochemical stability, porosity, and electrolyte uptake have also performed to investigate the effect of GO addition on the performance of PVDF-HFP polymer matrix. The PVDF-HFP/PANI membrane has resulted in highest ionic conductivity of 1.04 × 10−3 mS cm−1, whereas, the GO addition has remarkably enhanced the reduced tensile strength of PVDF-HFP/PANI membrane from 2.8 MPa to 8.8 MPa. In addition, the presence of GO has found more impressive and resulted in the highest porosity of 89.5% and an excellent electrolyte uptake of 367.4% with PVDF-HFP/PANI/GO ternary PEM. Therefore, the proposed PVDF-HFP/PANI/GO ternary hybrid membrane can be applied as PEM or a separator in energy devices.",battery
"Novel Li–Ti–Si–P–O–N thin-film electrolyte was successfully fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering from a Li–Ti–Si–P–O target in N2 atmosphere at various temperatures. XRD, SEM, EDX, XPS, and EIS were employed to characterize their structure, morphology, composition and electrochemical performances. The films were smooth, dense, uniform, without cracks or voids, and possessed an amorphous structure. Their room temperature lithium-ion conductivities were measured to be from 3.6×10−7 Scm−1 to 9.2×10−6 Scm−1, and the temperature dependence of the ionic conductivities fits the Arrhenius relation. This kind of electrolyte possessed good properties is a promising candidate material for solid-state thin-film lithium batteries.",battery
"A modified electroless plating technique was adopted to prepare the Sn compounds/mesophase graphite powders (MGP) composite electrode. Characterization of the composite material showed that multiphase Sn compounds were uniformly deposited on MGP. The multiphase composition which contained metallic Sn, SnP3 and SnP2O7 were expected to provide a higher spectator to Sn ratio for improved cycleability. During cycling between 0.001 and 1.5V, the charge capacity was greatly enhanced without appreciable fading. From the voltage profiles and cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves, it was revealed that the capacity fading was caused by either the formation of insulated LiP in the early stage or by aggregation of metallic Sn after prolonged cycling. For improving the cycleability, the cut-off voltage was lowered from 1.5 to 0.9V. Adjusting the voltage range was manifested to be an effective way for obtaining superior cycling performance in the Sn–P–O/MGP composite negative electrode. The capacity retention was as high as 96% of the highest capacity after charge/discharge between 0.001 and 0.9V for 45 cycles.",battery
"In this study, high-quality mesoporous Fe3O4 nanocages (MFONs) have been synthesized by a facile complex-coprecipitation method at 100°C with addition of triethanolamine and ethylene glycol. The as-prepared Fe3O4 nanocages possess a mesoporous structure and highly uniform dispersion. When used as an anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, MFONs anode shows high specific capacities and excellent cycling performance at high and low current rates. At a current density of 200mAg−1, the discharge specific capacities are 876mAhg−1 at the 2nd cycle and 830mAhg−1 at the 100th cycle. Even at the high current density of 1000mAg−1, MFONs anode still retains a stable capacity of 573mAhg−1 after 300 cycles. This superior electrochemical performance is attributed to the unique mesoporous cage-like structure and high specific surface area (133m2 g−1) of MFONs, which may offer large electrode/electrolyte contact area for the electron conduction and Li+ storage. Furthermore, the good mechanical flexibility of the mesoporous nanocages can readily buffer the massive volume expansion/shrinkage associated with the reversible electrode reaction. These results indicate that MFONs can be used as a promising high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Hybrid supercapacitors are being studied as a next-generation energy storage device that bridge supercapacitor and lithium-ion battery. However, an imbalance of two electrodes of hybrid supercapacitors, especially due to the slow lithium ion kinetics at anode is the one of the most important problems. To solve this problem, we have demonstrated optimized hybrid supercapacitor performance by applying the punched granule Li4Ti5O12 (P-LTO) via mechanical punching as a high power anode. The hybrid supercapacitors based on P-LTO anode and activated carbon delivers not only high specific capacity of 57 F/g and excellent long-term cycling of 99% after 14,000 cycles but also remarkable rate capability of 90.6% even at a high rate of 4 A/g, mainly due to i) increase in the total effective contact area, ii) efficient electrolyte impregnation and iii) effective dispersion of hydrogen fluoride attack.",battery
"Organic–inorganic hybrid electrolytes were prepared by co-hydrolysis and co-condensation of 3-glycidoxipropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) doped with lithium acetate as self-supported materials and thin-films. The effects of the relative molar content of LiAc on the physicochemical properties of electrolytes, such as morphology, thermal, chemical and electrochemical properties were investigated. Two and four probes test cells were designed for comparative studies of ionic conductivity of hybrid electrolytes using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Similar ionic conductivities were obtained using both measurement methods, reaching a maximum ionic conductivity value of around 10−6 S/cm at 25°C. The conductivity mechanism presents Arrehenius behavior with the increase of the temperature from 25°C to 120°C. The electrochemical stability window is found to be in the range of 0–5V, which ensures that hybrid organic–inorganic materials are potential electrolytes for solid-state rechargeable lithium ion batteries.",battery
"In this study, we propose an application for immersive virtual reality experiences, which integrates three-dimensional (3D) head-mounted displays (HMDs) with a precise indoor position tracking algorithm based on ultrasound. Our method provides a natural virtual reality experience with interaction by precisely matching the physical movements in the real world with those in the virtual environment, unlike other methods that require external input devices to move around in the virtual environment. Users can move within the assigned indoor space while carrying a wireless client device with the HMD, without the risk of colliding with obstacles or structures. The system is designed to provide the accurate 3D X, Y, and Z coordinate values of translational movements in real-time as well as the pitch, roll, and yaw values of rotational movements supported by the HMD, resulting in the six degrees of freedom required by immersive virtual reality. In addition, the system utilizes ultrasonic transducers in a grid format, which makes it simple to expand the position tracking coverage area, and supports simultaneous tracking of multiple users. Through experiments and a user study we show that the system obtains the accurate position of the moving objects and delivers a highly immersive virtual reality experience.",non-battery
"Carbon-supported cobalt–iron(II,III) oxide (Co–Fe3O4) hybrid nanoparticles (Co–Fe3O4/C) are prepared as efficient catalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media and in the cathode of the anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC). The ORR activity of Co–Fe3O4/C gives an electron transfer number of 3.99, revealing almost perfect four-electron transfer, over a very wide range of potentials of 0.1–0.8 V. Co–Fe3O4/C is more durable than Pt/C in alkaline media, undergoing almost no degradation in 10,000 s at 0.76 V (vs. RHE). The potential-cycling method shows that the rate of decline of Co–Fe3O4/C is only 5% decay after 10,000 cycles. The AEMFC using Co–Fe3O4/C also shows good performance and excellent durability in this study.",battery
"Developmental dyslexia is the most common learning disorder in children. Problems in reading and writing are likely due to a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors, resulting in reduced power of studies of the genetic factors underlying developmental dyslexia. Our approach in the current study was to perform exome sequencing of affected and unaffected individuals within an extended pedigree with a familial form of developmental dyslexia. We identified a two-base mutation, causing a p.R229L amino acid substitution in the centrosomal protein 63 kDa (CEP63), co-segregating with developmental dyslexia in this pedigree. This mutation is novel, and predicted to be highly damaging for the function of the protein. 3D modelling suggested a distinct conformational change caused by the mutation. CEP63 is localised to the centrosome in eukaryotic cells and is required for maintaining normal centriole duplication and control of cell cycle progression. We found that a common polymorphism in the CEP63 gene had a significant association with brain white matter volume. The brain regions were partly overlapping with the previously reported region influenced by polymorphisms in the dyslexia susceptibility genes DYX1C1 and KIAA0319. We hypothesise that CEP63 is particularly important for brain development and might control the proliferation and migration of cells when those two events need to be highly coordinated.
",non-battery
"Triclosan [5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol] is a widely used antimicrobial agent in personal care products, household items, medical devices, and clinical settings. Due to its extensive use, there is potential for humans in all age groups to receive life-time exposures to triclosan, yet data on the chronic dermal toxicity/carcinogenicity of triclosan are still lacking. The present study evaluated the toxicity of triclosan administered dermally to B6C3F1 mice for 13 weeks. Groups of 10 male and 10 female B6C3F1 mice received dermal applications of 0, 5.8, 12.5, 27, 58, or 125 mg triclosan per kg body weight (bw) daily for 13 weeks. The doses were administered in 1 ml ethanol per kg bw. All mice survived the 13-week treatment period. Body weights of female mice receiving 125 mg triclosan per kg bw per day weighed 94% (p < 0.05) of the female control mice; male mice administered 58 and 125 mg triclosan per kg bw per day weighed 91% (p < 0.05) and 82% (p < 0.01) of the control male mice. Liver weights were significantly increased in females receiving 58 and 125 mg triclosan per kg bw per day and in males in the 125 mg triclosan per kg bw per day dose group. A significant dose-dependent decrease in the levels of thyroxine and cholesterol was observed in both sexes. The highest dose of triclosan increased the percentage of reticulocytes in both sexes; in addition, the 58 mg triclosan per kg bw per day dose increased the percentage of reticulocytes in females. Skin lesions (dermal fibrosis and inflammation; epidermal hyperplasia, inflammation, necrosis, and ulceration, and parakeratosis) were observed in both sexes, with a dose-dependent increase in severity and incidence.
",non-battery
"Rapid industrialization results in the production of huge amounts of solid and/or liquid wastes, which is usually discharged into the nearby water bodies, leading to the damage of the important ecosystems and seafood products. Therefore, the present overview aims to highlight the issue of pollution of aquatic ecosystems and fish health. Heavy metals are widely used in every industrial application; therefore, they form the core group of pollutants of any industrial discharge. Some of the heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cr are essential as they form the cofactor for many of the enzymes and also needed in metabolic activities. On the contrary, their exceeding amount is also detrimental to both animals and human beings. Based on the current review, it has been observed that to monitor the health of indicator organism (fish), battery of bioassays or biomarkers are required. In addition to this rationale of using the few selected parameters such as condition indices, bioaccumulation, blood biochemistry, marker enzymes of tissue damage, oxidative stress, genotoxicity and histopathology in describing, the aquatic pollution has also been emphasized. All these parameters are significantly affected by heavy metals and hence proved as useful tools in biomonitoring or toxicity assessment studies. Since fishes are consumed by large mass of population due to their high protein and polyunsaturated fatty acid content, human health is also under danger.",non-battery
"A polybithiophene-carbon (PBT/C) composite was synthesized by ball-milling chemically polymerized polybithiophene with carbon nanofibers and found to have n-type redox properties with exceptional reversible capacity and cycling stability. The experimental results demonstrated that the as-synthesized (PBT/C) composite can realize a total two-electron redox capacity of ∼850mAhg−1 with half of the capacity delivered at a low potential plateau of 1.25V in Li+ electrolyte, possibly serving as a high capacity organic anode for Li-ion batteries. More significantly, the PBT/C composite can also be cycled in Na+-electrolyte, delivering a reversible redox capacity of ∼500mAhg−1 through the doping–dedoping reactions of Na+ ions into/from the polymer chains. These n-type redox performances suggest a possible application of the polymers of this type as high capacity and cycling-stable anodes for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.",battery
"Environmental concerns are growing and interest in environmental issues is increasing and the idea of generating electricity with less pollution is becoming more and more attractive. Unlike conventional generation systems, fuel of the solar photovoltaic energy is available at no cost. And solar photovoltaic energy systems generate electricity pollution-free and can easily be installed on the roof of residential as well as on the wall of commercial buildings as grid-connected PV application. In addition to grid-connected rooftop PV systems, solar photovoltaic energy offers a solution for supplying electricity to remote located communities and facilities, those not accessible by electricity companies. The interest in solar photovoltaic energy is growing worldwide. Today, more than 3500MW of photovoltaic systems have been installed all over the world. Since 1970, the PV price has continuously dropped [8]. This price drop has encouraged worldwide application of small-scale residential PV systems. These recent developments have led researchers concerned with the environment to undertake extensive research projects for harnessing renewable energy sources including solar energy. The usage of solar photovoltaic as a source of energy is considered more seriously making future of this technology looks promising. The objective of this contribution is to present the latest developments in the area of solar photovoltaic energy systems. A further objective of this contribution is to discuss the long-term prospect of the solar photovoltaic energy as a sustainable energy supply.",battery
"This paper presents a QRA-based approach for assessing and evaluating the safety of installations handling explosive substances. Comprehensive generic lists of immediate causes and initiating events of detonation and deflagration of explosive substances as well as safety measures preventing these explosions are developed. Initiating events and corresponding measures are grouped under the more general categories of explosion due to shock wave, explosion due to mechanical energy, thermal energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, and electromagnetic radiation. Generic accident sequences are developed using Event Trees. This analysis is adapted to plant-specific conditions and potentially additional protective measures are rank-ordered in terms of the induced reduction in the frequency of explosion, by including also uncertainty. This approach has been applied to 14 plants in Greece with very satisfactory results.",non-battery
"Carbon encapsulated graphite was prepared by coating polyurea on the surface of natural graphite particles via interfacial polymerization followed by a pre-oxidation at 250°C in air and a heat treatment at 850°C in nitrogen. FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to investigate the structure of the graphite before and after the surface modification. Galvanostatic cycling, dc impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry were used to investigate the electrochemical properties of the modified graphite as the anode material of lithium cells. The modified graphite shows a large improvement in electrochemical performance such as higher reversible capacity and better cycleability compared with the natural graphite. It can work stably in a PC-based electrolyte with the PC content up to 25vol.% because the encapsulated carbon can depress the co-intercalation of solvated lithium ion. The initial coulombic efficiency of C-NG and NG in non-PC electrolyte is 74.9 and 88.5%, respectively.",battery
"In this study, we design and fabricate a fuel cell system for application as a power source in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The fuel cell system consists of a fuel cell stack, hydrogen generator, and hybrid power management system. PEMFC stack with an output power of 100W is prepared and tested to decide the efficient operating conditions; the stack must be operated in the dead-end mode with purge in order to ensure prolonged stack performance. A hydrogen generator is fabricated to supply gaseous hydrogen to the stack. Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) is used as the hydrogen source in the present study. Co/Al2O3 catalyst is prepared for the hydrolysis of the alkaline NaBH4 solution at room temperature. The fabricated Co catalyst is comparable to the Ru catalyst. The UAV consumes more power in the takeoff mode than in the cruising mode. A hybrid power management system using an auxiliary battery is developed and evaluated for efficient energy management. Hybrid power from both the fuel cell and battery powers takeoff and turning flight operations, while the fuel cell supplies steady power during the cruising flight. The capabilities of the fuel-cell UAVs for long endurance flights are validated by successful flight tests.",battery
"A general analysis of the discharge process in stationary positive tubular plates of lead–acid batteries is described. In the experimental part, the influence of the rate of discharge and the sulfuric acid concentration on the potential/time (E/t) discharge curves, the variation of specific capacity and the plate resistance during the discharge transient was studied. The potential/time curves show the general pattern. The capacity is related to the complete discharge process and the plate resistance to the conditions in the transient plateau region of the potential/time curves. On this basis, it is shown that the tubular positive discharge behavior can be interpreted with a zone reaction model involving three steps. The first corresponds to the solid-state reaction from PbO2 to PbO, with passage of current; the second, when the current effectively moved to a deeper surface zone of the pore in the plate, to the chemical reaction between the PbO and H2SO4 giving fundamentally disrupted PbSO4, and the third, to a recrystallization of the disrupted PbSO4. With the help of this model, the effect of the depletion of H2SO4 in the macropores is also analyzed. All the results are interpreted on the basis of the model.",battery
 To assess the cross-sectional construct validity of the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) in lung transplantation.,non-battery
"A two-dimensional, transient heat-transfer model for different methods of heat dissipation is used to simulate the temperature distribution in lithium-ion batteries. The experimental and simulation results show that cooling by natural convection is not an effective means for removing heat from the battery system. It is found that forced convection cooling can mitigate temperature rise in the battery. Nevertheless, a non-uniform distribution of temperature on the surface of the battery is inevitable and this makes thermal management difficult. As a better means of suppressing increases in temperature, a heat pipe has been used to effect heat dissipation. The connection between the heat pipe and the battery wall pays an important role in heat dissipation. Inserting the heat pipe in to an aluminum fin appears to be suitable for reducing the rise in temperature and maintaining a uniform temperature distribution on the surface of the battery.",battery
"We investigated the microstructures of Au-deposited PtCo@Pt core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) and discussed enhancement of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) properties by Au termination of low-coordination sites of the Pt-shell. The Au-deposited PtCo@Pt NPs showed an improved electrochemical structural stability, together with slight increment in increased initial, pristine area-specific activity relative to the non-Au-deposited PtCo@Pt NPs. Atomic-level microstructural characterization was performed by a back-side illumination fluorescence X-ray absorption fine structure (BI-FXAFS) method and scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (STEM-EDS). The BI-FXAFS results indicated that compressive lattice strain in the Pt-shells of the PtCo@Pt NPs was almost unchanged by the subsequent Au deposition. Furthermore, STEM-EDS mapping of Pt, Co, and Au clearly showed that the deposited Au tended to localize at low-coordination sites of the Pt-shell surface, e.g., edges and corners. The atomic-level microstructural characterization conducted in this study demonstrated that effective Au surface terminations of the Pt-shell enhance the ORR durability of Pt-based core-shell type NP catalysts.",battery
" To clarify the association of circulating irisin with muscle, liver and bone, and to evaluate irisin as a biomarker for sarcopenia in postmenopausal women.",non-battery
"Wireless sensor networks composed of battery-powered sensor nodes are invaluable instruments for remote environment sensing. For sensor network applications, sensed readings are often collected in the form of aggregated data from a portion of a sensor network as requested by spatial aggregation queries. In a large distributed sensor network, queries can be issued from various locations at any time. Existing in-network query execution techniques execute queries independently that considerably overconsumes the precious energy of sensor nodes. As a result, the lifespan of a sensor network is inevitably shortened. In this paper, we propose a Materialized In-Network View (MINV) framework that precalculates aggregated data from clusters of sensor nodes as intermediate query results preserved in the network and made ready for queries. The executions of queries are performed as simple collections of these aggregated data. Thus, the quantities and sizes of messages transmitted among sensor nodes can be greatly reduced, thus prolonging the lifetime of a sensor network. Through extensive simulations, the effectiveness of our proposed framework is validated.",non-battery
"Efficient, durable and low cost electrocatalysts for O2 and CO2 reductions are required as alternate to expensive metal based catalysts in fuel cells and in the CO2 reduction process. Herein, we describe the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) composite (rGO-NiPc) as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for O2 and CO2 reductions. The composite material, rGO-NiPc is coated on glassy carbon (GC) electrode (GC/rGO-NiPc) and used as a low cost efficient electrocatalyst for O2 and CO2 reductions. The results show that the addition of rGO to NiPc increases the catalytic efficiency and electrochemical charge transfer rate of NiPc. GC/rGO-NiPc provides the low potentials, +0.25 and −0.11 V (vs RHE) for O2 and CO2 reductions, respectively in 0.1 M HClO4. Kinetic interpretation based on rotating disc electrode studies provides the support for the two electron pathway for CO2 reduction to CO in 0.1 M HClO4. Product analysis by 13C NMR confirms CO as the CO2 reduction product. GC/rGO-NiPc shows a facile four electron pathway for O2 reduction which can be exploited in fuel cells, metal-air batteries, chlor-alkali electrolyzers and oxygen sensing. In addition, GC/rGO-NiPc has efficient methanol tolerance capability for O2 reduction process which is suitable to use in fuel cells. Moreover, GC/rGO-NiPc shows the high operational stability more than an hour for both O2 and CO2 reductions in 0.1 M HClO4.",battery
"The aim was to learn about responsible management in private sector nano enterprises by telephone conversations with lead technologists and managers in companies in the US Midwest. The conversations took place between January and March of 2011. The marked increase starting in 2008 of prescriptive documents such as guidelines, codes of responsibility, and best practices in NanoEthicsBank offered an entry point for initiating the conversations. Had respondents noticed these documents and did they find them useful? Follow-up questions asked about the full life cycle of their products. The responses from 22 of the 25 organizations selected are categorized in 5 groups according to how they described their nano materials/business. A conception of responsible management in organizations is provided to underpin the analysis of the responses. This conception features virtues of concern, care, and foresight implied by a fundamental moral obligation. In the analysis, definitions from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Standards Organization (ISO) are used as a basis of comparison in assessing respondents’ claims. Two important gaps are identified. One gap is between actual practices and the prescriptive use of the conception of responsible management in organizations. The other gap is between the actual use of nano terminology and OECD definitions.
",non-battery
The organophosphorus compounds tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite (TMSP) and vinylene carbonate (VC) have been considered for use as functional additives to improve the electrochemical performance of Li1.1Mn1.86Mg0.04O4 (LMO)/graphite full cells. Our investigation reveals that the combination of VC and TMSP as additives enhances the cycling properties and storage performance of full cells at 60°C. The unique functions of the TMSP additive in the VC electrolyte are investigated via ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. The TMSP additive effectively eliminates trace water and hydrogen fluoride (HF) and produces a protective film on the LMO cathode that alleviates manganese dissolution at 60°C.,battery
"Sensor localization is demanded by wireless sensor networks, since the collected sensor data are meaningless if the position of the generating sensor is not available. The traditional approach of using GPS for location determination is not suitable for sensor networks, due to the increased costs and resource usage. For this reason, sensors exchange Radio Frequency messages, so as to measure their respective distances and determine their locations by means of multilateral triangulation with sensors of known positions, called anchors. Such an approach, however, is particularly vulnerable to several kinds of attacks aiming at causing wrong position estimations with a malicious intention. Such attacks can be tolerated with proper countermeasures, belonging to the so called secure localization, but this is achieved at the expenses of high costs in terms of exchanged messages and exhausted sensor resources, such as the battery. For these reasons, it is crucial to use the secure localization only when needed in order to extend considerably the life span of the sensors. Therefore, we propose to model the interaction of an anchor with a sensor as a signaling game, and to use such a formalization to discipline the use of secure positioning methods based on the received messages from the anchors. We have proved with simulations that such a solution is more efficient than a naive one of always applying secure localization.",non-battery
"Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is an attractive cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its low cost, high abundance, and relatively high theoretical capacity (294mAhg−1 with two lithium insertions/extractions per unit formula at 2.0–4.0V). However, practical applications of V2O5 are hampered by its poor structural stability, low electrical conductivity, and slow ion diffusion kinetics, resulting in poor long-term cycling stability and rate performance. In this study, V2O5 nanoparticles are synthesized by a fast sol-gel method with citric acid (C6H8O7) at 400, 500, 600, and 700°C. The thickness of the amorphous layers on the surface of the V2O5 nanoparticles is controlled from approximately 4–5 to 1–2nm by adjusting the calcination temperature. The V2O5 nanoparticles synthesized at 600°C show better electrochemical performances than the other samples. They exhibit a high initial discharge capacity of 276mAhg−1 between 2.1 and 4.0V at a rate of 1C, and good capacity retention of 83% after 50 cycles. Even at 10C rate, a discharge capacity of about 168mAhg−1 is obtained after 100 cycles. The excellent rate capability and cycling stability are also achieved at current densities of 0.5–20C.",battery
"Herein, we designed a versatile cell for operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) monitoring of chemical and physical transformations in liquid solutions and dispersions by fluorescence-yield detection. The cell operates under atmospheric pressure, and the composition of the gas phase can be varied, allowing monitoring of gas–liquid reactions. Samples can be examined as a flowing liquid-jet or as a sessile droplet. Both liquid-jet and droplet operations of the cell were demonstrated at the Ca K-edge through time-resolved studies of CaCO3 formation from CO2 and solid Ca(OH)2 in an aqueous suspension. The liquid-jet reaction was performed at 28 °C, and the droplet reaction was performed at ambient temperature, but both configurations had the scope to be modified for operations at higher temperatures. The liquid-jet volumes were recycled, permitting the use of the cell in a continuous sampling loop for process studies in larger reactor vessels. The jet supply tube was interchangeable, permitting adjustment of the jet size through the tubing bore size. Larger bore sizes minimized the pressure drop at the nozzle and thereby the risk of blockage of the liquid supply by the suspended particulates or growth of solid deposits. Sessile droplet operation enabled studies with minimal sample volumes and mechanical disturbances under controlled environmental conditions. The cell is portable and modular and is based on readily available standard vacuum equipment parts. Furthermore, the operation under a He atmosphere allows measurements above 4 keV, covering part of the tender X-ray range, and it is also applicable to the hard X-ray range.
",non-battery
"Numerous studies have been published on the psychosis prodrome and have explored a wide array of its many aspects. However, the set of risk factors identified by these various efforts is not homogenous across studies. This could be due to unique population factors or relatively small sample sizes. Only few studies were conducted on Asian populations, whose socio-cultural characteristics differ – in some cases remarkably – from those in western populations. Singapore is a highly dense city-state in South-east Asia, with low rates of substance abuse. The Longitudinal Youth at Risk Study (LYRIKS) commenced in Singapore in 2008, designed to comprehensively assess a group of ultra high risk (UHR) individuals and identify clinical, social, neuropsychological and biological risk factors unique to the local population. 173 UHR individuals were recruited from this single-site study over 4years. Here, we detail aspects of the study methodology and report on the baseline social and clinical characteristics of the sample population. 78% of the UHR sample suffered from a psychiatric disorder, with Major Depressive Disorder present in more than half of the sample. The mean Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score was 57.4, which indicated a moderate level of impairment. Although the recruited sample did not differ significantly by social and clinical characteristics when compared to previously published reports, the conversion rate to psychosis was 3.5% (n=6) at 6months. Follow-up measures are currently underway to assess longitudinal incidence of psychosis and impact of risk factors on cognition, functioning and remission.",non-battery
" The term sepsis is used to designate a systemic condition of infection and inflammation associated with hemodynamic changes that result in organic dysfunction. Gestational sepsis can impair the development of the central nervous system and may promote permanent behavior alterations in the offspring. The aim of our work was to evaluate the effects of maternal sepsis on inflammatory cytokine levels and synaptic proteins in the hippocampus, neocortex, frontal cortex, and cerebellum of neonatal, young, and adult mice. Additionally, we analyzed the motor development, behavioral features, and cognitive impairments in neonatal, young and adult offspring.",non-battery
"The discovery and validation of biomarkers in neurological and neurodegenerative diseases is an important challenge for early diagnosis of disease and for the development of therapeutics. Epilepsy is often a consequence of brain insults such as traumatic brain injury or stroke, but as yet no biomarker exists to predict the development of epilepsy in patients at risk. Given the complexity of epilepsy, it is unlikely that a single biomarker is sufficient for this purpose, but a combinatorial approach may be needed to overcome the challenge of individual variability and disease heterogeneity. The goal of the present prospective study in the lithium–pilocarpine model of epilepsy in rats was to determine the discriminative utility of combinations of phenotypic biomarkers by examining their ability to predict epilepsy. For this purpose, we used a recent model refinement that allows comparing rats that will or will not develop spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE). Potential biomarkers included in our study were seizure threshold and seizure severity in response to timed i.v. infusion of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and behavioral alterations determined by a battery of tests during the three weeks following SE. Three months after SE, video/EEG monitoring was used to determine which rats had developed SRS. To determine whether a biomarker or combination of biomarkers performed better than chance at predicting epilepsy after SE, derived data underwent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. When comparing rats with and without SRS and sham controls, the best intergroup discrimination was obtained by combining all measurements, resulting in a ROC area under curve (AUC) of 0.9592 (P<0.01), indicating an almost perfect discrimination or accuracy to predict development of SRS. These data indicate that a combinatorial biomarker approach may overcome the challenge of individual variability in the prediction of epilepsy.",non-battery
"Movement disorders are frequently encountered in the clinic, but establishing the correct diagnosis can be problematic, especially if the clinical presentation is complex. In this article, Adbo et al. provide a practical guide to pattern recognition in movement disorders and discuss how a clinically classified syndrome might be translated into an etiological diagnosis.",non-battery
"Objectives Sleep and vigilance disorders are among the most commonly reported symptoms following a concussion. The aim of the study was thus to investigate the effects of sport-related concussions on subjective and objective sleep quality. Methods Ten concussed athletes and 11 non-concussed athletes were included. Concussed athletes had a history of 4.6±2.1 concussions with at least one concussion during the last year. They were recorded for two consecutive nights in the laboratory and during a 10-min period of wakefulness. They completed questionnaires related to sleep quality and symptoms as well as neuropsychological tests and the CogSport computer battery. Results Concussed athletes reported more symptoms and worse sleep quality than control athletes, but no between-group differences were found on polysomnographic variables or on REM and NREM sleep quantitative EEG variables. However, concussed athletes showed significantly more delta activity and less alpha activity during wakefulness than did control athletes. Conclusion In spite of the subjective complaints in sleep quality of concussed athletes, no change was observed in objective sleep characteristics. However, concussions were associated with an increase in delta and a reduction in alpha power in the waking EEG. Sport-related concussions are thus associated with wakefulness problems rather than sleep disturbances.",non-battery
" Open fractures frequently result in serious complications for patients, including infections, wound healing problems, and failure of fracture healing, many of which necessitate subsequent operations. One of the most important steps in the initial management of open fractures is a thorough wound irrigation and debridement to remove any contaminants. There is, however, currently no consensus regarding the optimal approach to irrigating open fracture wounds during the initial operative procedure. The selection of both the type of irrigating fluid and the pressure of fluid delivery remain controversial. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effects of irrigation solutions (soap vs. normal saline) and pressure (low vs. high; gravity flow vs. high; low vs. gravity flow) on re-operation within one year among patients with open fractures.",non-battery
"This investigation examined vagal modulation of arousal, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), as a moderator of the covariance between interpretation biases and anxiety disorder symptom severity in a diverse sample of clinically anxious youth. A sample of 105 children with anxiety disorders (Mage = 10.07 years, SD = 1.22; range = 8–12 years; 57.1% female; 61.9% ethnic minority) and their mothers completed a battery of measures assessing interpretation biases and anxiety disorder symptom severity. Children also completed a behaviorally-indexed assessment of interpretation biases and participated in an anxiety-provoking speech task. Physiological assessment of RSA was collected at baseline (i.e., baseline RSA) and during the speech task (i.e., challenge RSA). The interaction between challenge RSA and both self-reported and behaviorally-indexed interpretation biases (adjusting for baseline RSA) was significant (ΔR2 = .05 and .04 respectively) in relation to maternal report of child anxiety symptoms. Specifically, among children with low (vs. high) challenge RSA, greater self-reported interpretation biases were significantly associated with maternal report of more severe child anxiety symptoms, and greater behaviorally-indexed interpretation biases were marginally associated with maternal report of more severe child anxiety. Interactions predicting child self-report of anxiety symptoms were not significant. Greater child interpretation biases coupled with lower challenge RSA were associated with maternal report of more severe child anxiety symptoms. Future work should examine whether interventions targeting RSA weaken the association between interpretation biases and anxiety symptoms in youth.
",non-battery
"The rapid charging or discharging characteristics of battery energy storage system is an effective method to realize load shifting in distribution network and control the fluctuations of load power substantially. However, the type selection and capacity configuration of the batteries will be directly related to the economy of energy storage system for load shifting in the distribution network. An optimized model of hybrid battery energy storage system based on cooperative game model is proposed in this paper, in which lead-acid battery, lithium ion battery and vanadium redox flow battery are respectively regarded as the participants of the cooperative game model, the cost and benefit models are established in their corresponding game strategy spaces. The Nash equilibrium solutions of each game model obtained by genetic algorithm are applied to the planning and design of battery energy storage station with the most economical types of the batteries and the optimal capacity configuration of energy storage station. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and provide a theoretical basis for the planning and design of battery energy storage station.",battery
"Herein, we report for the first time synthesis and electrochemical supercapacitance performance of 3-D hierarchical porous “Green” carbon derived from Pongamia pinnata seed oil extract cake and its activation using different amounts of KOH. Also, nanocomposites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with various weight percentages of Ni and Co were prepared by hydrothermal method. Physico-chemical properties of “Green” carbon and nanocomposites were analyzed by Powder X-ray Diffraction, Brunner Emmett Teller surface area, Scanning Electron Microscopy-Elemental Dispersive Spectrum, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Raman techniques. KOH activated carbon was found associated with combination of micropores & mesopores while the nanocomposite with mixture of spinel NiCo2O4 and Ni(OH)2. Porous carbon activated with 2:1::KOH:C (KC2) and the nanocomposite with 1:1 Ni & Co (NC1) exhibited excellent electrochemical performance in three electrode system. Further, fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor (AS) device Ni-Co-MWCNT (NC1)//KC2 exhibited specific capacitance (Cs) of 177 F/g as determined by cyclic voltammetry at 10 mV/s and retained 90% even at 3000th cycle in life cycle test conducted at high current density of 50 A/g. In order to evaluate its practical performance, the AS device was charged to 1.8 V at 5 A/g and used successfully to power a calculator for more than 1 h.",battery
"Porous CuO nanosphere films have been successfully prepared through post-heat treatment of Cu2(OH)2CO3 nanosphere films, which were formed on copper foil immersed in a water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion. The electrochemical performance of the porous CuO nanosphere film as anode materials for lithium ion batteries indicates that at the current density of 0.1C, it exhibits higher initial coulombic efficiency (70.4%) and reversible discharge capacity (799.7mAhg−1 after 100cycles) than the CuO nanorod film on copper foil, which was obtained via aqueous solution oxidation reaction followed by post-heating in N2 flow. The excellent performance can be attributed to the novel porous nanosphere structure grown on the current collecting substrate, which could not only shorten the diffusion path of lithium ion and provide appropriate contact area between electrode and electrolyte, but also increase the electrical conductivity of the electrode. More generally, the strategy based on synthesis within confined reaction media, rather than direct synthesis in bulk solution, offers a new approach to the design of micro/nanostructured transition metal oxides grown on the current collecting substrate used as anodes in lithium ion batteries with enhanced electrochemical performance.",battery
"Nanocomposite of benzenesulfonic functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes doped polyaniline (PANi/f-MWCNTs) was synthesized via a low-temperature in situ polymerization method. The PANi/f-MWCNTs composite has a thin film of PANi coating uniformly on the surface of the f-MWCNTs. The electrochemical results show that PANi/f-MWCNTs nanocomposite possesses good rate response, which could ascribe to the uniform structure and the better conductivity of composite as well as the in situ doping/de-doping process between the benzenesulfonic acid groups of f-MWCNTs and PANi chain. In addition, the composite also has better capacity and cyclability than PANi/p-MWCNTs composite. It could attribute to the presence of f-MWCNTs, which makes more electrolyte contact with PANi to participate in faradaic redox reactions and dopes with the PANi polymer chain through the benzenesulfonic acid groups to form stable polyemeraldine salts.",battery
"A multi-functional electrochromic material which modulates light over a wide spectral range and stores electrical energy is an intriguing substance, which would lead to a variety of novel applications, such as smart windows for energy-efficient buildings, solar power storage, nonemissive displays, electronic paper, optoelectronic switches, and variable-reflectance mirrors/surfaces. Developing such a versatile material entails merging the electrochromic phenomenon with electrical-chemical energy conversions in an electrochromic-battery platform. However, the challenges related to transition metal oxide electrochromic-batteries include poor energy storage, low optical contrast, and high fabrication cost. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of aqueous nanocrystalline colloidal molybdenum oxide in a matrix of tungsten molybdenum oxide (MoO3-W0.71Mo0.29O3) for solution-processed fully reversible switching electrochromic-battery electrodes. The hybrid material exhibits both 50% optical contrast modulation over a wide optical bandwidth and an improved Columbic efficiency. An 8 × 8 cm2 energy storing smart (ESS) window is assembled to demonstrate a functional prototype that can power an LED for more than 10 min when charged under −2.5 V for 1 min. The enhanced electrochromic performance, high energy storage capacity, simple solution processability, versatility for large area fabrication, and low cost make this nanocrystalline MoO3-W.71Mo.29O3 composite a promising material with the potential to be deployed ubiquitously in energy-efficient smart window architectures.",battery
"The corrosion behavior of solid solution Mg-xSn (x = 1, 5, 10 wt%) alloys is explored as a function of Sn content in chloride-containing conditions. A suite of in situ electrochemical techniques and an in situ scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) is utilized to assess free corrosion rates and the extent of cathodic activation. The latest advances in improving the corrosion resistance of Mg alloys have demonstrated that micro-alloying with As or Ge can greatly lower corrosion rates compared to pure Mg and retard cathodic activation to a substantial degree. To broaden the options for suitable non-toxic alloying elements beyond Ge, the current article demonstrates a decreasing corrosion rate by 77%, 85% and 95% for Sn additions of 1%, 5% and 10% (wt%) respectively, when compared to HP Mg freely corroding in 0.6 M aqueous NaCl. A corrosion film formed on Mg-10Sn which displays superior barrier properties. Polarization resistance (Rp) values consistently one order of magnitude greater than that obtained on HP Mg, and the other Mg-Sn alloys, over a 24 h immersion period is demonstrated. Furthermore, the extent of cathodic activation for Mg-10Sn is shown to be reduced by 94% relative to HP Mg. The work presented herein provides advancements in the understanding of corrosion resistant Mg alloys and is pertinent to the potential use of Mg-Sn alloys in transport applications, battery electrode materials and as a candidate sacrificial anode for the cathodic protection of Mg alloy AZ31B-H24. Prospects for protection are discussed.",battery
"The publisher regrets [29] X.W. Low, J.S. Chen, P. Chen, L.A. Archer, One-Pot Synthesis of Carbon-Coated SnO2 Nanocolloids with Improved Reversible Lithium Storage Properties, Chem. Mater., 21 (2009), p. 2868. The corrected version is [29] X.W. Lou, J.S. Chen, P. Chen, L.A. Archer, One-Pot Synthesis of Carbon-Coated SnO2 Nanocolloids with Improved Reversible Lithium Storage Properties, Chem. Mater., 21 (2009), p. 2868. The publisher would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.",battery
"Objective The aim of the present study was (1) to evaluate the extent and nature of sleep disorder-related symptoms in the older primary care patient population and (2) to differentiate a pattern of self-reported symptoms that identify patients who should be referred to the sleep clinic for further evaluation. Method One hundred ninety-six older adults recruited from family practice centers were administered a brief symptom survey measure. All were invited to participate in an extensive self-report evaluation, consultation with a sleep medicine specialist, and an overnight polysomnographic study. Results A substantial number of older primary care patients report symptoms related directly or indirectly to physiological sleep disorder. Over 30% of total reported some insomnia, 40% daytime sleepiness, and 10% apnea. Those participants who agreed to pursue further aspects of the study protocol endorsed a higher number and greater severity of primary sleep disorder symptoms than those who declined to continue beyond the first phases. Participants who chose to pursue polysomnography (13% of total) had a very high rate (88.5) of diagnosed sleep disorder. Conclusion This study suggests that an older patient, male or female, who both endorses medically unexplained daytime sleepiness, fatigue, or other sleep disorder related symptoms and agrees to further evaluation, including overnight polysomnography, is at substantial risk for physiologically based sleep disorder. In the future, a brief, validated measure, such as the Sleep Symptom Checklist used in this study, would be an important part of the diagnostic process.",non-battery
"Three mini-bomb calorimeters of different types have been built with the common characteristics: 5cm3 of bomb volume, 10mg of sample, ∼420JK−1 of energy equivalent. These calorimeters can be calibrated by the electric method with the standard deviation of the mean of 0.02%. The results of burning reference material — benzoic acid (BA39i) by using the calorimeters 2 and 3 are in agreement with the recommended value, however, that by using the calorimeter 1 is 0.24% larger. A check experiment shows that the stirring effect in this calorimeter is not enough during the heating period. The energies of combustion of C60 and C70 have been determined by using the calorimeter 2.",non-battery
"The amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in emotional processing. GABA-ergic inhibition within the mPFC has been suggested to play a role in the shaping of amygdala activity. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala–mPFC circuits and their relevance to emotional processing remain unclear. To investigate this circuit, we obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and proton MR spectroscopy in 21 healthy subjects to assess the potential relationship between GABA levels within mPFC and the amygdala–mPFC functional connectivity. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2). Partial correlations were used to measure the relationships among the functional connectivity outcomes, mPFC GABA levels and STAI-Y2 scores. Age, educational level and amount of the gray and white matters within 1H-MRS volume of interest were included as nuisance variables. The rs-fMRI signals of the amygdala and the vmPFC were significantly anti-correlated. This negative functional coupling between the two regions was inversely correlated with the GABA+/tCr level within the mPFC and the STAI-Y2 scores. We suggest a close relationship between mPFC GABA levels and functional interactions within the amygdala–vmPFC circuit, providing new insights in the physiology of emotion.
",non-battery
"Two-dimensional MXene-based materials are potential of presenting unique catalytic performances of electrocatalytic reactions. The surface functionalization of MXene-based catalysts is attractive for developing efficient electrocatalysts toward nitrogen reduction reaction. Herein, we reported a Ti3C2Tx MXene with a medium density of surface functionalized fluorine terminal groups, as an excellent N2 reduction reaction electrocatalyst with enhanced adsorption and activation of N2. The Ti3C2Tx MXene catalyst showed a production rate of ammonia as 2.81 × 10–5 μmol·s−1·cm−2, corresponding to a partial current density of 18.3 μA·cm−2 and a Faradic efficiency of 7.4% at − 0.7 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in aqueous solutions at ambient conditions, substantially exceeding similar Ti3C2Tx MXene catalysts but with higher or lower densities of surface fluorine terminal groups. Our work suggests the capability of developing surface functionalization toolkit for enhancing electrochemical catalytic activities of two-dimensional MXene-based materials.",non-battery
"This paper presents the results of the application of model (developed in part I) and simulation algorithm (developed in part II) for determining the techno-economics of battery storage type hybrid energy system intended to supply the load of a rural remote area having a cluster of nine villages (grid isolated). The hour-by-hour simulation model is intended to simulate a typical one month period of system operation. For simulation purpose, hourly solar insolation data and load data have been generated and used as an input data. Demand side management (DSM) is used in this study to smooth out the daily peaks and fill valleys in the load curve to make the most efficient use of energy sources. The economic analysis has resulted in the calculation of optimized hourly, daily, and monthly system unit cost of proposed hybrid energy system. The obtained results represent also a helpful reference for energy planners in Uttarakhand state and justify the consideration of hybrid energy systems more seriously.",battery
"The electrochemical performances of magnesium, magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium and magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium–yttrium as the anode of magnesium–hydrogen peroxide semi-fuel cells have been studied by methods of potentiodynamic, potentiostatic and electrochemical impedence measurements. The surface morphologies of magnesium and its alloys have been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been found that magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium and magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium–yttrium electrodes are less corrosion resistant than that of magnesium electrode in 0.7molL−1 NaCl solution and the corrosion current density decreases with the following order: magnesium<magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium–yttrium<magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium. The magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium–yttrium anode is more active than magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium and magnesium. The magnesium–hydrogen peroxide semi-fuel cell with magnesium–lithium–aluminum–cerium–yttrium anode shows better performance than that with Mg–Li–Al–Ce and Mg.",battery
"Key issues relating to the past, current and upcoming technologies of solar-powered aircraft are reviewed with the intent to assess the technology trend and offer a prediction for the next decade. The paper looks into the design issues comprising of structures, systems, propulsion, aerodynamics, and system integration for solar-powered aircraft. Additionally, the technological status which includes structural materials, photovoltaic systems, battery and power management systems in the case of solar aircraft, would be considered. Finally, technology trend issues would be assessed summarizing into a predictive outlook. The applicable technologies in the design of solar powered aircraft has evolved over the years, hence an overview is presented.",battery
"Intermittent renewable power production from wind and sun requires significant backup generation to cover the power demand at all times. This holds even if wind and sun produce on average 100% of the required energy. Backup generation can be reduced through storage – averaging in time – and/or grid extensions – averaging in space. This report examines the interplay of these technologies with respect to the reduction of required backup energy. We systematically explore a wide parameter space of combinations of both technologies. Our simple, yet informative approach quantifies the backup energy demand for each scenario. We also estimate the resulting total system costs which allow us to discuss cost-optimal system designs.",battery
"Lightweight and mechanically compliant energy storage devices have attracted tremendous interest due to the increasing demand for flexible and miniaturized electronics. Recently, micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) have advanced rapidly as potential micro-sized power sources, but it is still challenging to build the micro-device using cost-effective technologies for large-scale manufacture. Here, we developed a simple solution-processible method to fabricate microelectrode patterns using a water-dispersible graphene/sulfonated polyaniline (rG/SP) as the active MSC material. The highly stabilized rG/SP dispersion in aqueous solution enables the direct thin-film deposition on flexible substrates and the formation of interdigital patterns by plasma etching. The as-fabricated solid-state MSC delivers an ultrahigh areal capacitance of 3.31mF/cm2 and volumetric stack capacitance of 16.55F/cm3 with excellent rate and cycling performance. Furthermore, the rG/SP based MSC demonstrates a superior energy density of 1.51mWh/cm3 while maintaining high power density. The micro-device also shows superior mechanical stability with 96.5% of capacitance retained under different bending and twisting conditions, which makes it suitable specifically for portable and wearable electronic applications.",battery
"This paper proposes a model that enables consideration of the realistic anisotropic environment surrounding an active material particle by incorporating both diffusion and migration of lithium ions and electrons in the particle. This model makes it possible to quantitatively evaluate effects such as fracture on capacity degradation. In contrast, the conventional model assumes isotropic environment and only considers diffusion in the active particle, which cannot capture the effect of fracture since it would predict results contradictory to experimental observations. With the developed model we have investigated the effects of active material electronic conductivity, particle size, and State of Charge (SOC) swing window when fracture exists. The study shows that the low electronic conductivity of active material has a significant impact on the lithium ion pattern. Fracture increases the resistance for electron transport and therefore reduces lithium intercalation/deintercalation. Particle size plays an important role in lithium ion transport. Smaller particle size is preferable for mitigating capacity loss when fracture happens. The study also shows that operating at high SOC reduces the impact of fracture.",battery
"Purpose: To evaluate the safety and kinetics of prophylactic intracameral cefuroxime in cataract surgery. Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, St. Eriks Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Methods: In a nonrandomized observer-masked best-case trial, the visual rehabilitation and the evolution of laser flare intensity and corneal endothelial cell density after cataract surgery were assessed in 45 patients receiving intracameral cefuroxime and in 45 control patients. Immunoglobulin E-mediated sensitivity was evaluated using a skin prick test to cefuroxime in a screening program comprising all cataract patients operated on in 1997. Intracameral concentrations of cefuroxime in samples retrieved 30 seconds (n = 10) and 1 hour (n = 9) postoperatively were evaluated in an observer-masked fashion with a microbiological assay. Results: Intracameral cefuroxime did not have a statistically significant effect on postoperative visual acuity, induced laser flare intensity, or endothelial cell loss compared with nonadministration of intracameral antibiotic prophylaxis. Three positive skin prick tests to cefuroxime were found in the 5813 screened cataract patients. The median aqueous humor concentration of cefuroxime at 30 seconds was 2742 mg/L, declining to 756 mg/L 1 hour after drug instillation. Conclusions: Intracameral cefuroxime 1 mg appears safe in terms of local toxicity. Immunoglobulin E-mediated allergy to cefuroxime is rare in the cataract population. The treatment achieved high aqueous concentrations even 1 hour after surgery.",non-battery
"Lightweight polymer–carbon composites with high specific electrical conductivity at a carbon content below 40vol.% were developed. The electrical and mechanical properties and the hydrogen permeability of carbon fiber and particle reinforced liquid crystalline polymers were examined. Vectra® A 950, SIGRAFIL® carbon fibers and Vulcan® XC 72 R carbon black were employed. The composites are found to have sufficient mechanical properties and a hydrogen permeability low enough to be utilised as bipolar plate material in fuel cell applications. The density of the new composite is 20% lower than the density of commercial bipolar plates made from carbon reinforced polymeric composite materials, due to the lower carbon content. The current density at 0.5V in an operating fuel cell is only 20% lower compared to commercial materials with more than 80vol.% carbon content and meets the requirements for bipolar plate application.",battery
"The purpose of this paper is to study metal separation from a sample composed of a mixture of the main types of spent household batteries, using a hydrometallurgical route, comparing selective precipitation and liquid–liquid extraction separation techniques. The preparation of the solution consisted of: grinding the waste of mixed batteries, reduction and volatile metals elimination using electric furnace and acid leaching. From this solution two different routes were studied: selective precipitation with sodium hydroxide and liquid–liquid extraction using Cyanex 272 [bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphoric acid] as extracting agent. The best results were obtained from liquid–liquid extraction in which Zn had a 99% extraction rate at pH 2.5. More than 95% Fe was extracted at pH 7.0, the same pH at which more than 90% Ce was extracted. About 88% Mn, Cr and Co was extracted at this pH. At pH 3.0, more than 85% Ni was extracted, and at pH 3.5 more than 80% of Cd and La was extracted.",non-battery
"Wild type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) is a phosphatase which belongs to protein phosphatase type 2C family, which have been predominantly linked to cell growth and to cellular stress signaling. Numerous downstream targets of Wip1 have been identified, and genetic studies confirm that some play a part in tumorigenesis. Recent evidence highlights a new role for Wip1 in the regulation of NF-κB p65, which indicated that it might play a critical role in immune system. However, its regulation role in central nervous system (CNS) remains poorly understood. To elaborate whether Wip1 was involved in CNS injury, we performed a neuroinflammatory model by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) lateral–ventral injection in adult rats. Wip1 expression was strongly upregulated in active astrocytes in inflamed brain cortex. In vitro studies indicated that the upregulation of Wip1 may be involved in the subsequent astrocytic activation following LPS exposure, and knockdown of Wip1 in primary astrocytes by siRNA showed that Wip1 inhibited the synthesis of TNF-α. Collectively, these results suggested that Wip1 may be important in host defense in CNS immune response, which might provide a potent therapeutic target of neuroinflammation.",non-battery
"In this work, we have fabricated a novel hybrid electrochemical energy storage device with composite cathode containing LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 and activated carbon (AC), and graphite anode. The specific energy increases with the content of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 in composite cathode. The hybrid device possesses a specific energy 5.7 times higher than that of the electrical double layer capacitor. Meanwhile, the hybrid device can deliver 62.6% and 42.1% of its capacity at the rate of 30C and 50C, respectively. A 107.8-mAh hybrid device has been assembled, and the specific energy of 36.2 Wh kg−1 can be achieved at an average specific power of 39.1 W kg−1, even 8.9 Wh kg−1 at 2380 W kg−1. Combining the high specific energy with the high power capability, the (LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 + AC)/graphite hybrid system has demonstrated high performances for electrochemical energy storage applications.",battery
"Past studies describe numerous endophenotypes associated with schizophrenia (SZ), but many endophenotypes may overlap in information they provide, and few studies have investigated the utility of a multivariate index to improve discrimination between SZ and healthy community comparison subjects (CCS). We investigated 16 endophenotypes from the first phase of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia, a large, multi-site family study, to determine whether a subset could distinguish SZ probands and CCS just as well as using all 16. Participants included 345 SZ probands and 517 CCS with a valid measure for at least one endophenotype. We used both logistic regression and random forest models to choose a subset of endophenotypes, adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, site, parent education, and the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test. As a sensitivity analysis, we re-fit models using multiple imputations to determine the effect of missing values. We identified four important endophenotypes: antisaccade, Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs 3-digit version, California Verbal Learning Test, and emotion identification. The logistic regression model that used just these four endophenotypes produced essentially the same results as the model that used all 16 (84% vs. 85% accuracy). While a subset of endophenotypes cannot replace clinical diagnosis nor encompass the complexity of the disease, it can aid in the design of future endophenotypic and genetic studies by reducing study cost and subject burden, simplifying sample enrichment, and improving the statistical power of locating those genetic regions associated with schizophrenia that may be the easiest to identify initially.",non-battery
"Listening and reading comprehension of paragraph-length material are considered higher-order language skills fundamental to social and academic functioning. Using ecologically relevant language stimuli that were matched for difficulty according to developmental level, we analyze the effects of task, age, neuropsychological skills, and post-task performance on fMRI activation and hemispheric laterality. Areas of supramodal language processing are identified, with the most robust region being left-lateralized activation along the superior temporal sulcus. Functionally, this conjunction has a role in semantic and syntactic processing, leading us to refer to this conjunction as “comprehension cortex.” Different from adults, supramodal areas for children include less extensive inferior frontal gyrus but more extensive right cerebellum and right temporal pole. Broader neuroanatomical pathways are recruited for reading, reflecting the more active processing and larger set of cognitive demands needed for reading compared to listening to stories. ROI analyses reveal that reading is a less lateralized language task than listening in inferior frontal and superior temporal areas, which likely reflects the difficulty of the task as children in this study are still developing their reading skills. For listening to stories, temporal activation is stable by age four with no correlations with age, neuropsychological skills or post-task performance. In contrast, frontal activation during listening to stories occurs more often in older children, and frontal activation is positively correlated with better performance on comprehension questions, suggesting that the activation of frontal networks may reflect greater integration and depth of story processing.",non-battery
"In August 2017, a multidisciplinary team conducted the first archaeological survey of the deep water (242 m) wreck of the ex-USS Bugara (SS/AGSS331) using the remotely operated vehicles Argus and Hercules. The survey provided 8 h of direct observation with video and still camera documentation of the wreck, which previously had been identified by sonar and a brief ROV survey of portions of the hull in 2001. The 2017 assessment added considerably to an understanding of changes to Bugara after it sank while under tow in 1971. Bugara, a World War II-era submarine, served at the end of that conflict and through the Cold War. The submarine reflects a series of modifications to “modernize” it within the context of the Cold War. The examination of the wreck, along with additional archival research, offers more details not only on the probable cause of the sinking but also on subsequent site formation processes. The characterization of the wreck resulted in a reassessment of the site as more than an obsolete vessel accidentally lost when relegated to target practice. The archival record, now declassified, shows that Bugara’s loss also reflects its ultimate use, within the context of the Cold War, as a target for the Mark 48 torpedo, a newly developed “sub and ship killing” weapon designed in the late 1960s and tested through 1971 to take out Soviet deep-diving nuclear submarines and high-performance surface ships.
",non-battery
"In this work, (1−x)CdO–xSnO2 nanocomposites (≤ 0.15) have been synthesized via hydrothermal route. The structural study reveals that CdO nanostructures possess crystalline phase and cubic structure. The CdO–SnO2 nanocomposites possess both cubic and orthorhombic structure with good crystallinity. The crystallite size in the nanocomposites was found to be in the range of 9.6–19.6 nm. Field emission scanning electronic microscopy and high-resolution tunnelling microscopy analysis confirm the presence of both cubic and orthorhombic structures which is also confirmed from X-ray diffraction studies. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies confirm that CdO–SnO2 nanocomposites possess the characteristics band of both CdO and SnO2 nanostructures. The UV–visible absorption studies confirm that the optical absorption band in CdO–SnO2 nanocomposites possesses both blue and red shift as compared to that of CdO nanostructures. Photoluminescence spectroscopy studies reveal the appearance of strong emission peak at 513, 469 and 369 nm corresponding to green, blue and violet emission spectrum, respectively, in CdO–SnO2 nanocomposites. The FTIR studies confirm the presence of hydroxyl and water functional group due to atmospheric water vapours and chemical bonding in CdO and CdO–SnO2 nanocomposites. Raman spectroscopy confirms the presence of Raman bands of both CdO and SnO2 phases in the CdO–SnO2 nanocomposites.",non-battery
"Cognitive impairment is common in first-episode psychosis (FEP); however, the relationship between duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and neurocognition remains controversial, and no studies have examined the relationship between DUP and social cognition. This study involved secondary data analysis of baseline data from a randomised controlled trial of supported employment; 122 out 146 young people with FEP met inclusion criteria for this study. Results showed that DUP was not associated with neurocognitive or social cognitive performance. Results do not provide support for the neurotoxicity hypothesis of psychosis.",non-battery
"An emerging body of literature points to the prominent role of the frontal lobes in the retrieval of verbs, whereas production of common and proper nouns arguably is mediated primarily by posterior and anterior temporal regions, respectively. Although the majority of studies examining the neuroanatomic distinctions between verb and noun retrieval have relied on action naming tasks (naming depicted activities, e.g., running) as indicators of verb retrieval abilities, recent studies have utilized an action (verb) verbal fluency measure, the Action Fluency Test (AFT), to assess verb retrieval. Findings from these studies suggest that action fluency is sensitive to the integrity of fronto-subcortical neural circuitry and that it is a valid measure of executive and language functions. The AFT is an easily administered executive function measure, but no normative data for the AFT or other action fluency tasks has been published. This study was undertaken to provide initial AFT normative data for a sample of 145 healthy elderly subjects. As education is significantly correlated with AFT scores, the normative data are stratified by educational level.",non-battery
"A hydroponic experiment was carried out to localize lead accumulation in tobacco roots and leaves. Plants were grown for seven days in Hoagland's solution supplemented with different concentrations of lead nitrate [Pb(NO3)2]: 0.0 (control), 10μM, 100μM, and 500μM. Growth was inhibited in plants treated with 100μM, and 500μM. Light and electron microscopic studies showed that lead accumulated mainly in cell walls and vascular tissues of roots of plants exposed to 100μM, and 500μM lead nitrate. In contrast, roots exposed to 10μM lead nitrate did not show any detectable accumulation of lead in the roots. The TEM images confirmed the presence of lead outside the epidermis of the roots in the form of electron dense clusters of fine needles. No lead was detected in the leaves. However, plants exposed to 100μM lead nitrate were characterized by the presence of ferritin clusters in the chloroplasts. This suggests a protective mechanism by the plant to prevent oxidative damage caused by Pb. Plants exposed to 500μM lead nitrate showed mesophyll cells containing altered chloroplasts with disrupted thylakoid systems.",non-battery
"The effect of annealing temperature T ann on mixed proton transport and charge transfer-controlled oxygen reduction in gas diffusion electrodes used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) was investigated in 1M H2SO4 solution using AC-impedance spectroscopy and potentiostatic current transient technique. For this purpose, the gas diffusion electrodes were annealed at different temperatures ranging from 140° to 180°C in order to control the proton transport resistance distribution across the active catalyst layer (ACL). For the annealed gas diffusion electrodes with different proton transport resistance distributions, the measured impedance spectra exhibited a straight line inclined at a constant angle higher in absolute value than 45° to the real axis at high frequencies, followed by a depressed arc at low frequencies. From the quantitative analysis of the measured impedance spectra based upon the transmission line model (TLM) modified with the proton transport resistance distribution, it was found that as T ann increased, the average proton transport resistance R ave and the standard deviation σ of the proton transport resistance distribution increased as well. Furthermore, as T ann rose, the charge transfer resistance R ct increased and simultaneously the double layer capacitance C dl decreased due to the smaller electrochemical active area A ea. From the analysis of the cathodic current transients measured during nitrogen blowing, it was noted that as T ann increased, the current decayed more rapidly with time, suggesting that the larger values of R ave and σ kinetically impede proton transport through the Nafion membrane within the ACL due to the wider RC time constant distribution.",battery
"Carbon nanotubes have received a great attention in the last years thanks to their remarkable structural, electrical, and chemical properties. Nowadays carbon nanotubes are increasingly found in terrestrial and aquatic environment and potential harmful impacts of these nanoparticles on humans and wildlife are attracting increasing research and public attention. The effects of carbon nanotubes on aquatic organisms have been explored by several authors, but comparatively the information available on the impact of these particles on soil organisms is much less. Earthworms have traditionally been considered to be convenient indicators of land use impact and soil fertility. The aim of this work was to study the integrated response of a suite of biomarkers covering molecular to whole organism endpoints for the assessment of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) effects on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) exposed to spiked soil. Results showed that cellular and biochemical responses, such as immune cells morphometric alterations and lysosomal membrane destabilization, acetylcholinesterase inhibition and metallothionein tissue concentration changes, showed high sensitivity to MWCNTs exposure. They can improve our understanding and ability to predict chronic toxicity outcomes of MWCNTs exposure such as reproductive alterations. In this context although more investigation is needed to understand the mechanistic pathway relating the biochemical and cellular biomarker analyzed to reproductive alterations, the obtained results give an early contribution to the future development of an adverse outcomes pathways for MWCNTs exposure.
",non-battery
"Overcharge safety is the most crucial problem facing especially large-sized lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) packs owing to the inevitable inhomogeneity of charge-state for each cell. We propose a fresh safety strategy to avoid overcharging, i.e. the use of a solid-state anti-overcharge additive to perform an intrinsic overcharge protection. The mechanism is triggered from a solid-state composite cathode obtained by typically mixing a pre-selected transition-metal oxide with a certain cathodes thus constituting a composite cathode. The effectiveness of this strategy is demonstrated with an example of LiCoO2/CuO (95:5 by weight) composite, which exhibits high-potential (up to 5 V vs. Li+/Li) and long-period (month-level) anti-overcharge performance. It is found that the additive does not hurt the electrochemical cycling performance under normal operational conditions. This novel safety strategy is simple and flexible, which may open a new window to develop safer LIBs systems.",battery
"Supercapacitors are known to suffer from relatively low energy density and stability, which hampers their substitution for existing batteries. Here, we report an outstanding positive electrode platform for supercapacitor having both high energy density and high power density as well as good stability, by fabricating a low resistance Ohmic contact between Ni(OH)2 active materials and a 3-D current collector, nanoporous gold (NPG). The Ni(OH)2/NPG electrode was optimized by finely adjusting the portion of two different parts of the deposited Ni(OH)2, one part in direct contact with the NPG and the other part on top of the NPG. The optimized Ni(OH)2/NPG electrode exhibited 2223F/cm3 of volumetric capacitance (considering both the active material and the current collector) at a current density of 5A/g, values which are beyond the theoretical capacitance value, and the device retained 90% capacitance of the initial value at 500A/g and after 30,000 cycles, respectively. This electrode showed an excellent energy density of 98Wh/kg and power density of 50kW/kg in a Ni(OH)2/NPG//MnO2/NPG two electrode supercapacitor system. The excellent performance of the Ni(OH)2/NPG electrode is attributed not only to the increased surface area of the Ni(OH)2 active materials, but also to the favorable path for charge transport created between the Ni(OH)2 and the gold electrode due to the presence of Ohmic contact, which eventually leads to the good kinetic properties and good stability.",battery
" A well-characterized method has not yet been established to reproducibly, efficiently, and safely isolate large numbers of clinical-grade multipotent human neural stem cells (hNSCs) from embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Consequently, the transplantation of neurogenic/gliogenic precursors into the CNS for the purpose of cell replacement or neuroprotection in humans with injury or disease has not achieved widespread testing and implementation.",non-battery
"Cage-like LiFePO4 microspheres are synthesized by a solvothermal reaction–calcination process, using Fe(NO3)3·9H2O as iron source and ethylene glycol/water as co-solvent medium. The microsphere is the assembly of LiFePO4 nanoparticles with an open porous structure, thus the carbon coating can be easily introduced on the surface of the nanoparticles by the chemical vapor deposition of C2H4 during calcination process. When used as the cathode materials for the lithium-ion batteries, the resultant cage-like LiFePO4/C microsphere shows high capacity and good cycle stability (160 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C over 300 cycles), as well as good rate capability (120 mAh g−1 at 10 C). The desirable electrochemical performance can be attributed to high rate of ionic/electronic conduction and the high structural stability arising from the interconnected open pores, carbon-coated nanoparticles and microsized structure.",battery
" Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an important electrode reaction for several power sources. However, the reaction is sluggish and expensive noble-metal catalyst are generally needed. The high price of the noble metals has severely hindered the wide application of the related power sources. Therefore, it is a significant challenge to develop the low-cost and efficient non-precious metal electrocatalysts (NPMC) towards ORR. Herein, a typical biomass waste-pine needles has been used as precursor to prepare a porous carbon material, exhibiting superior catalytic activity toward ORR. An onset and half wave potential of ~ 0.96 and 0.72 VRHE were obtained in the alkaline solution, respectively. Furthermore, the activity of obtained NPMC can be further improved when it is mixed with the commercial carbon black. Our present results demonstrated that the biomass, such as pine needles, can be employed as promising carbon precursors for NPMC toward ORR.",battery
"The formation of mossy lithium and lithium dendrites so far prevents the use of lithium metal anodes in lithium ion batteries. To develop solutions for this problem (e.g., electrolyte additives), operando measurement techniques are required to monitor mossy lithium and dendrite formation during electrochemical cycling. Here we present a novel battery cell design that enables operando electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. It is shown that time-resolved operando EPR spectroscopy during electrochemical cycling of a lithium-metal/LiFePO4 (LFP) cell provides unique insights into the lithium plating/dissolution mechanisms, which are consistent with ex situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. To demonstrate the viability of the operando EPR method, two cells using different electrolytes were studied. When using an electrolyte containing fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) additive, a higher reversibility of the lithium anode and reduced formation of micro-structured (mossy/dendritic) lithium were observed.
",battery
"This article contrasts three dimensions of economic voting, namely valence, positional and patrimony voting. Whereas the first two dimensions have been frequently explored, the patrimony variable has scarcely been tested as an explanatory variable of voting behaviour. It measures the electors' assets (both risky and non-risky), and seeks to capture the elector's wealth at election time. Using the 2011 post-election survey carried out in Portugal following the June elections, the data show that comparing of the three dimensions, valence is the most important. It was found that patrimony variables, although not significant in a comprehensive vote model, are important explanatory factors of party identification, itself a key variable of vote choice in Portugal.",non-battery
"Sub-micron Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3 (LATP) ceramic powder is synthesized by a co-precipitation method which can be applied for mass production. A pure Nasicon phase is confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis and the primary particle size of the product is 200–500nm. The sinterability of LATP is investigated and the relative density of 97% reached at a sintering temperature as low as 900°C for 6h. The bulk lithium ionic conductivity of the sintered pellet is 2.19×10−3 Scm−1, and a total conductivity of 1.83×10−4 Scm−1 is obtained.",battery
With the objective of identifying the hurdles currently preventing a widespread application of fuel cell technology in passenger cars an assessment of technical and economic parameters is carried out. Patent and publication analysis is used to assess current status of fuel cell technology regarding its position on technology life cycle. S-curve methodology leads to the conclusion that further scientific activity is to be expected but for today's low-temperature PEM fuel cell technology might level by 2015. Technical analysis identifies power density and platinum loading as parameters for which further improvements are necessary in order to satisfy future customer needs. A detailed cost evaluation suggests that in future for high production volumes (approx. 1 million vehicles cumulative) significantly lower costs for fuel cell stacks (12–40$kW−1) and systems (35–83$kW−1) will be viable. Reducing costs to such a level will have to be the main focus for upcoming research activities in order to make fuel cell driven road vehicles a competitive alternative.,battery
"Monofluorinated solvents exert the polar effect on various properties. We have investigated the electrolytic properties of fluoromethyl methyl carbonate (FMMC, monofluorinated dimethyl carbonate) and its application to lithium rechargeable batteries. We describe the dependence of electrolytic conductivity on the temperature, the molar concentrations of three lithium salts, and the molar fractions of the binary solvents. The conductivities of the FMMC solutions were higher than those of the dimethyl carbonate (DMC) counterparts at low concentrations of the lithium salts but lower at high concentrations. The threshold concentration, below which monofluorination evoked the increase in the conductivity, depended on the degree of ionic dissociation of the lithium salt. The anodic stability of FMMC was higher than that of DMC. The deintercalation and intercalation of Li+ in a LiCoO2 cathode proceeded more stably in an ethylene carbonate (EC)–FMMC (molar ratio 1:1) binary solution containing 1moldm−3 LiPF6 than in the EC–DMC counterpart. The cycling efficiency of a lithium anode and the performance of Li/LiCoO2 coin cells were investigated by using the EC–chain carbonate binary solutions. The use of FMMC as the co-solvent improved the charge–discharge characteristics.",battery
"In this study, we demonstrate up to 30% increase in power density of carbon paper electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) by introducing perforations into the structure of electrodes. A CO2 laser was used to generate holes ranging from 171 to 421 μm diameter, and hole densities from 96.8 to 649.8 holes cm−2. Perforation of the carbon paper electrodes was observed to improve cell performance in the activation region due to thermal treatment of the area around the perforations. Results also demonstrate improved mass transport, resulting in enhanced peak power and limiting current density. However, excessive perforation of the electrode yielded a decrease in performance due to reduced available surface area. A 30% increase in peak power density (478 mW cm−2) was observed for the laser perforated electrode with 234 μm diameter holes and 352.8 holes cm−2 (1764 holes per 5 cm2 electrode), despite a 15% decrease in total surface area compared to the raw un-perforated electrode. Additionally, the effect of perforation on VRFB performance was studied at different flow rates (up to 120 mL min−1) for the optimized electrode architecture. A maximum power density of 543 mW cm−2 was achieved at 120 mL min−1.",battery
" Using a magnesiothermic reduction process, the successful conversion of hierarchically organized meso/macroporous silica monoliths to self-supporting macroporous silicon networks comprising interparticle mesoporosity has been demonstrated. By careful variation of reaction time and temperature, the final network structure can be controlled to a large degree. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images indicate that the cellular silicon structure is built up from aggregated 1–15 nm sized crystalline silicon particles aggregated to struts that form macropores of approximately 2 µm diameter.",non-battery
" The two associations, CFK Valley e. V. and Carbon Composites e. V. (CCeV), are merging to form the world's largest network for fiber-based, multi-material lightweight design under the name Composites United e. V. It will comprise some 400 members and international representatives in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Japan, South Korea, China and India. The new organization will be based in Berlin (Germany), with existing offices in Augsburg and Stade (Germany) being retained and overseeing the association's technical management. The merger was approved on February 28, 2019, when the general assemblies of both organizations unanimously gave approval without any dissenting votes. For historical reasons, the associations focus on different industries, but both partners consider the new synergies as economically expedient and politically desirable.The Managing Directors of CFK Valley, Gunnar Merz (left) and  CCeV, Alexander Gundling (right)© CCeV",non-battery
"In this paper, we survey two kinds of mathematics-based battery models intended for use in hybrid and electric vehicle simulation. The first is circuit-based, which is founded upon the electrical behaviour of the battery, and abstracts away the electrochemistry into equivalent electrical components. The second is chemistry-based, which is founded upon the electrochemical equations of the battery chemistry.",battery
"The pony-size Cu nanoparticles confined in mesoporous C-N were directly synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using floating Cu atoms. The mesoporous C-N with high surface area not only stabilized the dispersed Cu nanoparticles but also improved the electrocatalytic activity of the Cu by changing the electronic structure of Cu. Combining the strong interaction between Cu nanoparticles and mesoporous C-N and the quantum size effect of Cu nanoparticles, the obtained Cu@C-N exhibited the catalytic activity superior to the reported Cu nanoparticles-based catalysts and commercial Pt/C-JM catalyst with a half-wave potential of 0.84 V for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. Additionally, it also showed remarkable catalytic stability and excellent methanol-tolerant property during the ORR process.",battery
"Abstract Fitness tracking bands are systems applicable to the ubiquitous monitoring of human health. These systems connect to the body for analyzing the body’s metabolism effects and record one or more physiological parameters. The recorded data is then transmitted to a base station, which may be a PC, smartphone, or other electronic embedded device. To understand the data, a user has to be acquainted with the metabolism effects of the body, but in most the cases the user is not. Moreover, the devices use secondary methods to measure metabolism effects, which do not give proper analysis of the body during a workout. In addition, a few of the devices are wired or are made up of smart fabrics, which make the user uncomfortable and increase the cost of the system. The designed system must have some important features for users, such as being easy to use, long lasting, and socially acceptable. The power consumption of the system is also a critical factor for realizing all of the aforementioned features of the system. The physical size of the battery required determines the device size and operating lifetime, which in turn affects its ease of use and sets the usability index of the device to an acceptable level.",non-battery
"Many factors have been associated with the development of schizophrenia, yet few studies have looked at these same factors in individuals considered at risk for schizophrenia, but who have not yet reached diagnostic threshold. The rate of obstetrical complications was assessed as part of a comprehensive battery in subjects at risk (N =52), or in the first episode of schizophrenia (N =18), and in normal comparison subjects (N =43). The rate of obstetrical complications was increased in the at risk (46%) and first episode (39%) samples compared to the normal comparison (19%) group, however, follow-up analyses were only significant between the at risk and normal comparison subjects. Obstetrical complications may be an important risk factor in identifying vulnerable subjects and ultimately may, along with other risk factors, be part of an algorithm for determining likelihood of developing schizophrenia.",non-battery
"In this work, a kind of flower-like ZnAl LDH/CNTs composite is fabricated by in-situ growth method. The as-prepared material is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM),transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption and desorption curves. The results of XRD and FTIR prove that ZnAl LDH growing on carbon nanotubes have been synthesized with the classic hexagonal flaky structure. Morphological analysis also clearly shows that ZnAl LDH grows vertically on the surface of carbon nanotubes and forms a kind of unique flower-like structure. The special structure not only enables CNTs to constitute high conductive network, enhancing the conductivity of the material to suppress its electrochemical polarization, but also provides more active sites for the uniform distribution of zinc species, which can reduce the stacking phenomenon of traditional ZnAl LDH sheets and increase its specific surface area. Moreover, ZnAl LDH/CNTs composite exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, including stable discharge voltage platform, high specific capacity and superior cycle stability. Although 800 cycles have been achieved, the specific capacity of the electrode of ZnAl LDH/CNTs still remains 336.35 mAh g−1 at 1C current density, with a retention rate of 94.38%. This work provides a kind of novel and attractive hydrotalcite material for zinc–nickel secondary battery.",battery
"Research indicates a robust association between personality and substance use and misuse. The high prevalence and pervasive detrimental impacts of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and smoking of tobacco necessitate more studies designed to identify factors closely associated with these outcomes in specific populations. The analyses reported in the present paper concern the relative utilities of five measures of personality and personality pathology rated by three sources (self, informant, and interviewer) in predicting AUD and regular smoking in a representative sample of 987 older adults, an understudied and uniquely vulnerable population. All measures and sources contributed to the predictions, with notable parallels as well as some important differences identified across substances and sources of information. In particular, low agreeableness robustly predicted AUD and smoking across self- and informant-reports. High interviewer-rated borderline personality pathology also strongly predicted AUD. Model fit indices suggested that measures of personality and personality pathology have stronger utility in predicting AUD as compared to regular smoking. These findings have important implications for the assessment of older adults in research and clinical settings and for the understanding of enduring risk factors for substance misuse later in life. Multi-source personality information is valuable for generating a complete picture of the relationship between personality and substance misuse.",non-battery
"A solid state battery based on polyaniline (PANI), Zinc (Zn) and a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) is reported for the first time. Poly (ethylene oxide)–zinc sulphate-nanoclay-H2O based GPE was used as the separator. The GPEs with a varying composition of salt were evaluated for their electrochemical performance. The highest conductivity at ambient temperature for the GPEs was found to be 5.54 × 10−4 S cm−1. Cyclic voltammetry and impedance studies, with the Zn/GPE/Zn cell, showed reversibility with respect to Zn/Zn2+ couple. The battery showed a capacity of 43.9 Ah kg−1 of PANI and a coulombic efficiency higher than 100%. However, a decrease in capacity was observed for the system during the cycling.",battery
"We describe our recent progress on a novel method to prepare Ti1.4V0.6Ni hydrogen storage alloy covered with nanostructured Co3O4 by utilizing zelolitic imidazolate framework 67 (ZIF-67) as the template. Ti1.4V0.6Ni@C@Co3O4 composite is prepared through a dopamine self-polymerization and a facile precipitation reaction with the subsequent thermal treatment. This specific composite structure combines the high conductivity of carbon together with the promising catalytic property of nanostructured Co3O4, therefore the enhanced electrochemical activity and stability are realized. As a result, Ti1.4V0.6Ni@C@Co3O4 composite electrode possesses a capacity conservation rate of 56.1% after 300 charging/discharging cycles, remarkably larger than that of Ti1.4V0.6Ni (25.3%). Moreover, a study of the kinetics demonstrates that nanostructured Co3O4 coating accelerates the charge-transfer reaction of the electrode. These results prove that coating with carbon and nanostructured Co3O4 is a potential method for enhancing electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of hydrogen storage alloys.",battery
"A novel locally and densely sulfonated dianhydride with four sulfonic acid groups, 1,6,7,12-tetra[4-(sulfonic acid)phenoxy]perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (SPTDA), was successfully synthesized by direct sulfonation of the parent dianhydride, 1,6,7,12-tetraphenoxyperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTDA). Sulfonated copolyimides were prepared from SPTDA, nonsulfonated dianhydride 4,4′-binaphthyl-1,1′,8,8′-tetracarboxylic dianydride, 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (a) or dodecane-1,12-diamine (b). The synthesized copolymers, with the –SO3H group on the polymer side chain, possess high molecular weights and high viscosities, and they form tough, flexible membranes. The copolymer membrane with an ion exchange capacity of 2.69mequiv.g−1 had a proton conductivity of 0.126Scm−1 at 20°C and 0.292Scm−1 at 100°C; the latter is much higher than that of Nafion® 117 under the same conditions. The mechanical properties of the copolymer membranes were almost unchanged after accelerated water stability testing at 140°C for 100h; this indicates excellent hydrolytic stability of the synthesized copolyimides.",battery
"Phospho-olivine LiFePO4 cathode materials were prepared by hydrothermal reaction at 150°C. Carbon black was added to enhance the electrical conductivity of LiFePO4. LiFePO4-C powders (0, 3, 5 and 10wt.%) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). LiFePO4-C/solid polymer electrolyte (SPE)/Li cells were characterized electrochemically by charge/discharge experiments at a constant current density of 0.1mAcm−2 in a range between 2.5 and 4.3V vs. Li/Li+, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and ac impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that initial discharge capacity of LiFePO4 was 104mAhg−1. The discharge capacity of LiFePO4-C/SPE/Li cell with 5wt.% carbon black was 128mAhg−1 at the first cycle and 127mAhg−1 after 30 cycles, respectively. It was demonstrated that cycling performance of LiFePO4-C/SPE/Li cells was better than that of LiFePO4/SPE/Li cells.",battery
"Multi-mode hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have become popular in recent years because of their high efficiency and excellent overall performance. However, the introduction of multiple operating modes has led to some issues, e.g., mode shift problems, which are not observed in conventional HEVs with a single mode. Similar to a gear shift map in conventional vehicles, the mode shift map in multi-mode HEVs needs to be properly designed. In this study, the energy management algorithm of a multi-mode HEV is optimized using dynamic programming (DP) considering the mode shift frequency and energy losses. A mode shift map is then extracted from the operating points of the DP results using the support vector machine (SVM). By combining the derived mode shift map and the equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS), a real-time control strategy is proposed for the online energy management of the multi-mode HEV. The results of a case study show the effectiveness of the proposed mode shift map and energy management strategy.",battery
"Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) using hard carbon as negative electrode hold the promise of being low cost alternative to lithium ion batteries (LiBs). However, the Na+ storage mechanism in hard carbons is not fully understood yet and the attribution of Na storage in the sloping and plateau regions of the sodiation/desodiation curves remains still controversial. The current work employs N2, Kr and CO2 gases to correctly assess the changes in hard carbon porosity induced by different pyrolysis temperature of cellulose. The sloping capacity was found to decrease with the decrease of the specific area of ultramicropores measurable only by CO2 adsorption, while the plateau capacity demonstrated an opposite behavior. The high temperature derived carbons (> 1400°C) present no porosity which disqualifies the attribution of plateau region to the adsorption of Na+ in the nanopores but rather the insertion between the pseudo-graphitic domains. Temperature programmed desorption coupled with mass spectrometry (TPD-MS) was performed to determine the nature and the quantity of oxygen surface functional groups followed by oxygen chemisorptions to assess the amount of carbon edge defects expressed by active surface area (ASA) values. A decrease in the amount of oxygen groups and active surface area with the increase of the pyrolysis temperature was observed which is accompanied by a decrease of the sloping capacity. These results shed light in the storage mechanisms, the sloping region being ascribed mainly to the interaction of Na+ with carbon edge defects and adsorption in the microporosity while the plateau region assigned to the intercalation of Na+ in the pseudo-graphitic nanodomains.",battery
"With the establishment of the internet of things (IoT) and the rapid development of advanced microsystems, there is a growing demand to develop electrochemical capacitors (ECs) to replace bulky electrolytic capacitors on circuit boards for AC line filtering, and as a storage unit in energy autonomous systems. For this purpose, ECs must be capable of handling sufficiently high signal frequencies, display minimum energy loss through self-discharge and leakage current as well as maintaining an adequate capacitance. Here, we demonstrate ECs based on mechanically flexible, covalently bonded graphite/vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (graphite/VACNTs) hybrid materials. The ECs employing a KOH electrolyte exhibit a phase angle of −84.8°, an areal capacitance of 1.38 mF cm−2 and a volumetric capacitance (device level) of 345 mF cm−3 at 120 Hz, which is among the highest values for carbon based high frequency ECs. Additionally, the performance as a storage EC for miniaturized systems is evaluated. We demonstrate capacitive charging/discharging at μA current with a gel electrolyte, and sub-μA leakage current reached within 50 s, and 100 nA level equilibrium leakage within 100 s at 2.0 V floating with an ionic liquid electrolyte.",battery
"A glucose microfluidic fuel cell with outstanding performance at zero flow condition is presented. Polarization tests showed that bimetallic materials based in silver (AuAg/C as anode, PtAg/C as cathode) exhibit tolerance to byproducts and crossover effect. This allowed achieving one of the highest power densities reported for glucose fuel cells, up to a value of 630 μW cm−2 using two separated laminar flows of reactants. Furthermore, the tolerance to crossover effect caused by the selectivity of PtAg/C to oxygen reduction reaction in presence of glucose permitted using a single flow containing a mixture of glucose/oxygen, yielding a performance as high as 270 μW cm−2. Microfluidic fuel cell was further evaluated with a simulated body fluid solution that contained salts commonly present in the human blood plasma, reaching a power of 240 μW cm−2 at zero flow. These results envisage the incorporation of this fuel cell as a portable power source in Lab-on-a-Chip devices without the need of external pumps.",battery
"Flexible and freestanding sulfur electrode is of great importance for the fabrication of high-performance flexible lithium-sulfur batteries. However, electrodes with high sulfur loading usually exhibit unsatisfactory mechanical flexibility and inferior electrochemical stability. Herein, we report a high sulfur loading multilayer electrode with good flexibility, which is constructed using reduced graphene oxide and conductive polymer film by a simple multilayer coating method. The prepared electrode possesses high flexibility and electrochemical performance under sulfur loading of 6.1 mg cm−2 and sulfur content of 60% in the entire electrode. The electrode can even release a reversible capacity of 559 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at a rate current density of 2 C, corresponding to a capacity decay rate of 0.057% per cycle. The stable electrochemical properties are due to the fact that conductive polymer films and reduced graphene oxide sheets could effectively inhibit the dissolution and diffusion of the polysulfide compounds.",battery
"Construction of well-defined three-dimensional (3D) assembled architectures is an effective strategy to improve the electrochemical reaction kinetics of sodium-ion storage. Herein, 3D hierarchical VS2 microrods assembled by nanosheets comprised of small VS2 nano-grains are controllably synthesized by a facile in-situ chemical etching approach. Results show that the addition amount of ethanol serving as the etching agent has a great influence on the oriented growth and size (thickness-to-diameter ratio) of VS2 nano-grains. Moreover, (001)-oriented VS2 nano-grains with larger thickness-to-diameter ratio expose more layer-edges and unsaturated S-edges, and then dramatically improve the intercalation kinetic, eventually leading to the enhancement of rate performance and cycling capacity. When applied as anode for sodium ion batteries, this material affords a high capacity of 255 and 230 mAhg−1 even at a high rate of 1.0 and 2.0 A g−1, and a reversible capacity of 350 mAhg−1 is still achieved after the following cycling test of 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1. The controllability and simplicity of the in-situ chemical etching approach, combined with the superior sodium storage properties present a promising strategy for the development of versatile synthesis techniques for energy storage applications.",battery
"Research on behavioral HIV risk reduction interventions for injection drug users (IDUs) has focused on primary outcomes (e.g., reduced injection drug use, increased condom use) but has not fully examined the respective roles played by intervention components on these primary outcomes. In this paper, we present a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach in which we specify the causal pathways leading from theory-based intervention components to risk reduction outcomes among a sample of primarily IDUs (n = 226) participating in an inner-city community-based methadone maintenance program. Similar pathways were found leading to both drug- and sexual-related risk reduction outcomes. Findings suggest the importance of targeting participants' risk reduction motivation and behavioral skills versus employing more passive informational strategies. Findings also indicate that our intervention may be optimized by focusing more on participants' risk reduction motivation within the sexual-related content and placing equivalent emphasis on participants' risk reduction knowledge, motivation, and behavioral skills within the drug-related content. By quantifying the specific linkage between intervention components and risk reduction outcomes, our SEM findings offer empirical guidance for optimizing this intervention. This strategy may also serve as a useful theory- and data-driven means to inform the refinement of other behavioral interventions.
",non-battery
"ABSTRACT In perspective of the incoming CO2 emission regulation, the on board heat management is becoming even more relevant to assure the engine performance improvement minimizing the impact on the vehicle lay out, cooling drag and cost. The paper highlights the benefit of dual level heat rejection system where, the front module constituted by heat exchangers carrying different fluids (e.g. water-glycol, air, refrigerant fluid…), is replaced by a two coolant-to-air exchangers module and where the charge air cooler and condenser are liquid cooled. This approach allows to review the engine bay design allowing a deeper integration level: the charge air cooler can be integrated in the air intake manifold while the condenser can be placed near the compressor minimising the tube lengths and refrigerant charge. In addition, the coolant thermal inertia reduces the temperature fluctuations of the engine intake air temperature. These effects compensates the introduction of an intermediate temperature level allowing to reduce the overall vehicle fuel consumption in real use and could enable the front aerodynamic improvement. The experimental results show that it is possible to reduce the fuel consumption of up to the 4% when the air conditioning is operating and to reduce the refrigerant charge of up to the 30%. In the paper is described the system concept and the experimental results related to an application on a Fiat 500 are discussed highlighting the benefits and the open issues.",non-battery
"Porous LiFePO4 particles have been investigated as cathode materials for lithium ion batteries by introducing supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). First we produced LiFePO4 through hydrothermal method. Then scCO2 was introduced to change the morphology of the particle. By controlling the experiment parameter, porous LiFePO4 was finally obtained. A solid-to-porous transformation mechanism was supposed based on the dissolution of LiFePO4. Electrochemical measurements showed that porous structure greatly improved the performance of LiFePO4.",battery
"In hens the effects of expeller/cakes from rapeseed, linseed, and hemp seed were investigated on feed intake, laying performance and fatty acid composition of egg yolk. A total of 216 individually caged laying hens were allocated to nine dietary treatments (5, 10, 15 % cake) and fed for six laying months. For feed intake, egg mass production and feed-to-egg mass ratio at 15 % dietary cake level a significant lower performance was shown compared with the 5 and 10 % cake level groups. Also interaction was significant for all these parameters, indicating that the cake level acted differently for the three cakes. The egg mass production was lower in the linseed cake than in the hempseed groups and the hens fed the linseed cake needed significantly more feed per kg egg mass compared with both the other cakes tested. Increasing dietary level of all oil seed cakes lowered the yolk percentage and increased the egg white percentage. Increased dietary levels of all three oil seed cakes lowered the percentages of most saturated fatty acids and also the percentages of the monounsaturated fatty acids. The linoleic acid and the linolenic acid as polyunsaturated fatty acids were heightened by increasing the cake levels from 5 to 10 and 15 % in the diet. The results allow the conclusion that compound feeds with up to 10 % of cakes does not negatively influence the laying performance of hens and provides the possibility of the enrichment of yolk fat with polyunsaturated fatty acids.",non-battery
"The present study deals with genotoxicity assessment of freshwaters using caged carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carps were transplanted from a fish-farm to three differently polluted sites in eastern Croatia. Two polluted sites were situated in the river Drava, downstream from the cities of Belišće and Osijek, while the reference site was in the Nature Park Kopački rit, a preserved wetland area with limited anthropogenic influence. Exposure lasted for 3 weeks and was repeated for 3 years (2002–2004). DNA damage was assessed in erythrocytes of the exposed animals by the Comet assay and micronucleus test (MNT). In order to evaluate possible differences in stress responses to polluted water in situ and in aquaria a laboratory exposure was performed with water from the studied location in the second year of the study. Carp from the sites with high anthropogenic influence (Belišće and Osijek) had higher average DNA damage as expressed in both the MNT and Comet assay. Of the two, the Comet assay appeared to be more sensitive following both caging and aquaria exposures. The results from this study suggest that 3 weeks caging exposure of C. carpio may be a useful strategy to monitor for genotoxic agents in freshwater ecosystems.
",non-battery
"Battery performance strongly depends on the choice of the electrolyte-solvent system. Lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) is a highly interesting novel electrolyte. Information on physico-chemical properties of solutions of LiFSI, however, is scarce. Therefore, the density, shear viscosity, and electrical conductivity of solutions of LiFSI in three pure solvents that are interesting for battery applications: dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethylene carbonate (EC), and propylene carbonate (PC), were studied experimentally at temperatures between 273 K and 333 K at 1 bar and concentrations of LiFSI up to 0.45 mol mol−1 in the present work. Empirical correlations of the experimental data are provided. The comparison of the data of this work with the corresponding LiPF6 data underpins the attractiveness of LiFSI as an electrolyte in lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Lithium/manganese dioxide primary batteries use heat treated manganese dioxide (HEMD), a defect pyrolusite structure material as the cathode active material. Ion exchange of the structural protons in electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) with lithium before heating results in formation of a lithium containing γ-MnO2. Increased lithium hydroxide concentration and increased temperature lead to increased lithium levels. At 80°C with a combination of LiOH and LiBr, almost all of the structural protons in MnO2 are replaced by lithium resulting in a γ-MnO2 phase substantially free of protons and containing about 1.8% Li. This highly substituted lithium containing MnO2 is reduced at between 3.5 and 1.8V and has a capacity of 250mAhg−1. There are two reduction processes, one at 3.25 and the other at 2.9V. TGA studies reveal two processes during heat treatment. Heating the lithium substituted MnO2 to 350–400°C results in a partially ordered HEMD-like MnO2 (LiMD) phase with higher running voltage and superior discharge kinetics. Continued heating of the lithiated manganese dioxide to 450–480°C under oxygen partial pressure can result in formation of a mixed phase containing both HEMD and a new, ordered MnO2 phase (OMD). The intimately mixed HEMD/OMD composition has a discharge voltage near 2.9V with a capacity about 220mAhg−1. Heating exhaustively lithiated MnO2 to 350–400°C results in formation of the partially ordered LiMD MnO2 phase as with the previous partially lithium substituted MnO2. Additional heating of the highly lithium substituted MnO2 to 450–480°C under oxygen results in formation of the new OMD phase in substantially pure form. Discharge of the new OMD phase shows it has a discharge capacity near 200mAhg−1 between 3.4 and 2.4V versus lithium in a single, well-defined discharge process. OMD demonstrated good cycling against Li with no indication of formation of LiMn2O4 spinel after 80 deep discharge cycles.",battery
"Making composites of low-dimension oxides and carbons is one of the most effective strategies towards better energy storage materials. Among various carbons, biomass derived carbons with many distinguishing features show great advantages. We report herein a highly ordered mollusc-shell derived 3D carbon networks (MSDCN) for high-performance composite electrode materials. When Ni(OH)2 is chosen as a conjoined component, the obtained Ni(OH)2/MSDCN composite exhibits a high specific capacity of 81 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 30 A g−1, and shows no obvious capacity fading during long life cycling at 6 A g−1. Symmetric solid-state energy storage devices based on Ni(OH)2/MSDCN are also assembled, which demonstrates a high energy density of 10.7 W h kg−1 at a power density of 0.51 KW kg−1 with good cycling stability over 10000 cycles. Red light-emitting diode (LED, 2 V) can be easily lightened by the prepared solid-state devices. Meanwhile, the successful synthesis of Co3O4 nanocube/MSDCN and MnO2 nanowire/MSDCN composites further reveal the high application potential of the MSDCN for high performance energy storage devices.",battery
" Existing instruments for measuring mobility are inadequate for accurately assessing older people across the broad spectrum of abilities. Like other indices that monitor critical aspects of health such as blood pressure tests, a mobility test for all older acute medical patients provides essential health data. We have developed and validated an instrument that captures essential information about the mobility status of older acute medical patients.",non-battery
"The present study examined preschool neuropsychological measures as predictors of school-age attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants included 168 children (91 males) who completed neuropsychological measures at ages 3 and 4, and who were evaluated for ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder at age 6. The Conners’ Kiddie Continuous Performance Test (K-CPT), NEPSY Statue subtest, and a delay aversion task significantly distinguished at-risk children who later did and did not meet criteria for ADHD, with poor to fair overall predictive power, specificity, and sensitivity. However, only the K-CPT ADHD Confidence Index and battery added incremental predictive validity beyond early ADHD symptoms. This battery approach, which required impairment on at least 2 of the 3 significant measures, yielded fair overall predictive power, specificity, and sensitivity, and correctly classified 67 % of children. In addition, there was some support for the specificity hypothesis, with evidence that cool executive function measures (K-CPT and Statue subtest) tended to predict inattentive symptoms. These findings suggest that neuropsychological deficits are evident by preschool-age in children with ADHD, but neuropsychological tests may still misclassify approximately one-third of children if used alone. Thus, neuropsychological measures may be a useful component of early ADHD assessments, but should be used with caution and in combination with other assessment methods.",non-battery
"Energy storage technologies provide an alternative solution to the problem of balancing power generation and power consumption. Redox flow cells are designed to convert and store electrical energy into chemical energy and release it in a controlled fashion when required. Many redox couples and cell designs have being evaluated. In this paper, redox flow systems are compared in the light of characteristics such as open circuit potential, power density, energy efficiency and charge-discharge behaviour. The key advantages and disadvantages of redox flow cells are considered while areas for further research are highlighted.",battery
"Solid polymer electrolytes are promising candidates to replace the extensively used flammable liquid electrolytes in lithium batteries. However, pure polymer electrolytes seldom meet practical requirements because of their relatively low ionic conductivity and poor mechanical properties. Herein, we report a garnet (Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12, LLZTO)-doped composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) membrane for high performance lithium batteries. The CPE is composed of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (POEGMA) polymer with the addition of ceramic particles LLZTO. It not only has high ionic conductivity of 1.00 × 10−3 S cm−1 after the activation of liquid electrolyte at room temperature, but also surprisingly restrains the growth of Li dendrites. Its electrochemical stability window is up to 4.7 V (vs. Li+/Li). Moreover, LiFePO4/Li batteries using the CPE exhibit excellent cycling performance and superior rate capability.",battery
"The rising adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) leads to the temporal alignment of their electricity and mobility demands. However, mobility demand has not yet been considered in electricity planning and management. Here, we present a method to estimate individual mobility of PEV drivers at fine temporal and spatial resolution, by integrating three unique datasets of mobile phone activity of 1.39 million Bay Area residents, census data and the PEV drivers survey data. Through coupling the uncovered patterns of PEV mobility with the charging activity of PEVs in 580,000 session profiles obtained in the same region, we recommend changes in PEV charging times of commuters at their work stations and shave the pronounced peak in power demand. Informed by the tariff of electricity, we calculate the monetary gains to incentivize the adoption of the recommendations. These results open avenues for planning for the future of coupled transportation and electricity needs using personalized data.",battery
"LiMn2O4 was examined as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, working together with a room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte, obtained by dissolution of solid lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiNTf2) in liquid N-methyl-N-propylpiperidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (MePrPipNTf2), with the formation of a liquid LiNTf2–MePrPipNTf2 system. The Li/LiMn2O4 cell was tested by galvanostatic charging/discharging and by impedance spectroscopy. The LiMn2O4 cathode showed good cyclability and Coulombic efficiency in the presence of 10wt.% of vinylene carbonate (VC) as an additive to the ionic liquid. The flash point of the LiNTf2–MePrPipNTf2–VC(10%) electrolyte was estimated to be above 300°C.",battery
"Cadmium-induced cellular toxicity has been related to necrosis and/or caspase-dependent apoptosis. In the present study, we show that, on cadmium exposure, the human hepatocarcinoma Hep3B cells undergo caspase-independent apoptosis associated with nuclear translocation of endonuclease G and apoptosis-inducing factor, two mitochondrial apoptogenic proteins. Release of these proteins is likely related to calcium-induced alteration of mitochondrial homeostasis. Indeed, it was first preceded by a rapid and sustained increase in cytoplasmic calcium and then by a coincident loss in mitochondrial membrane potential and production of reactive oxygen species. Bapta-AM (acetoxymethyl ester of 5, 5′-dimethyl-bis (o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid), a calcium chelator, blocked all these events and prevented cadmium-induced apoptosis. Production of reactive oxygen species was inhibited by ruthenium red and rotenone, two mitochondrial inhibitors, and by diphenyleneiodonium, a flavoprotein inhibitor, which also prevented both loss in mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis. In addition, Bapta-AM and diphenyleneiodonium were found to almost totally block decreased expression of the mitochondrial anti-apoptotic nuclear factor-κB-regulated bcl-xL protein in cadmium-treated cells. Taken together, our results show that cadmium induces Hep3B cells apoptosis mainly by calcium- and oxidative stress-related impairment of mitochondria, which probably favors release of apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G.",non-battery
"Harvesting multi-mode energies from our living environment is an effective approach for solving the power source issue of the sensors and some personal electronics. Usually, the mechanical, thermal, and solar energies can be extensively found in our living environment. However, these energies are not always available at the same time, which is depending on the weather, working conditions, and some other cases. The concept of a hybrid energy cell is to develop a technology to individually or simultaneously scavenge multi-mode energies from environment, so that the sensors or other devices can sustainably work without the external power sources. In this article, we review the investigations about the hybrid energy cells that include the energy harvesting units such as the piezoelectric nanogenerator, triboelectric nanogenerator, pyroelectric nanogenerator, thermoelectric generator and solar cells. The fabricated hybrid energy cells have been utilized to light up some electronics and for some self-powered electro-chemical applications. The obtained energies can be also stored in Li-ion battery, where the hybrid structure between the nanogenerator and the Li-ion battery exhibits the better charging performance than that of the conventional charging method. These investigations are of critical importance for sensing, medical science, environmental monitoring, defense technology, and even personal electronics.",battery
"The chemical phenomena occurring at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces profoundly determine the cycle behavior of a lithium ion battery. In this work, we report that silicon-based anodes can attain enhanced levels of capacity retention, rate performance and lifespan when a versatile protective layer of, F-doped anatase (TiO2−xFx), is applied towards taming the interfacial chemistry of the silicon particles. With careful choice of titanium fluoride as a precursor, internal voids can be generated upon in-situ fluoride etching of the native oxide layer and are used to alleviate the mechanical stress caused by volume expansion of silicon during cycling. In the course of F-doping, part of the Ti4+(d0) ions in anatase are reduced to Ti3+(d1), thereby increasing charge carriers in the crystal structure. Hence, the multifunctional F-doped TiO2−x coating, not only minimizes the direct exposure of the Si surface to the electrolyte, but also improves the electronic conductivity via inter-valence electron hopping. The best-performing composite electrode, Si@TiO2−xFx-3, delivered a satisfactory performance in both half-cell and full-cell configurations. Furthermore, we present a study of 1) the Si valence change at the buried interface using synchrotron based hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and 2) the phase transformation of the electrode monitored in operando using X-ray diffraction. Based on these characterizations, we observe that the Li+ conducting intermediate phase (LixTiO2−xFx) formed inside the surface coating enables deep lithiation and delithiation of the silicon during battery operation, and thus increase the capacity that can be accessed from the electrodes.",battery
"A new type of non-aqueous redox couple without carbon additives for flow batteries is proposed and the target anolyte chemistry is demonstrated. The so-called “Solid Dispersion Redox Couple” incorporates solid electroactive materials dispersed in organic lithium-ion battery electrolyte as its flowing suspension. In this work, a unique and systematic characterization approach has been used to study the flow battery redox couple in half cell demonstrations relative to a lithium electrode. An electrolyte laden with Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) has been characterized in multiple specially designed lithium half cell configurations. The flow battery redox couple described in this report has relatively low viscosity, especially in comparison to other flow batteries with solid active materials. The lack of carbon additive allows characterization of the electrochemical properties of the electroactive material in flow without the complication of conductive additives and unambiguous observation of the electrorheological coupling in these dispersed particle systems.",battery
" Expectations held by patients and health professionals may affect treatment choices and participation (by both patients and health professionals) in therapeutic interventions in contemporary patient-centered healthcare environments. If patients in rehabilitation settings overestimate their discharge health-related quality of life, they may become despondent as their progress falls short of their expectations. On the other hand, underestimating their discharge health-related quality of life may lead to a lack of motivation to participate in therapies if they do not perceive likely benefit. There is a scarcity of empirical evidence evaluating whether patients’ expectations of future health states are accurate. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy with which older patients admitted for subacute in-hospital rehabilitation can anticipate their discharge health-related quality of life.",non-battery
"Fibers connecting fronto-temporal and fronto-medial structures that pass through the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) subserve executive and psychomotor functioning. Both of these functions are adversely affected in schizophrenia, and may be abnormal at illness onset. In a study of first-episode psychosis, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and cognitive testing to examine ALIC integrity. Fourteen early psychosis patients and 29 healthy volunteers were included. Symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndromes Scale (PANSS). All structural and diffusion scans were acquired on a GE Signa 1.5T scanner. A T1-weighted 3D FSPGR Inversion Recovery imaging series was acquired for manual seeding in structural space. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed, and all DTI images were co-registered to structural space. Seeds were manually drawn bilaterally on the coronal plane at a specified location. Diffusion images were post-processed for subsequent Tract-based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) analysis. First-episode psychosis patients had significantly smaller fronto-medial and fronto-temporal AIC tract volumes compared to healthy volunteers on the left and the right (p-values<0.04). No differences in mean fractional anisotropy (FA) were seen within either left or right tracts (p-values>0.05), nor did TBSS reveal any other differences in FA values between groups in other regions. Relationships between tract volumes and symptom severity were not observed in this study.",non-battery
"To simulate lead-acid battery (LAB) charging has never been an easy task due to the influences of: (1) secondary reactions that involve gas evolution and recombination and grid corrosion, (2) prior end-of-discharge (EOD) and rest conditions; and (3) complexity caused by charging algorithm. In this work, successful results have been obtained with considerations of internal oxygen cycle and gas phase in the valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) cells. The success is first attributed to the satisfactory validation of a mathematical model that has been able to simulate discharge regimes with various rates consistently. The model has been subsequently used to simulate a galvanostatic charge regime performed at C/10. The results give a better understanding of the role each electrode played in the polarization, the nature of the polarization (constituted by reaction kinetics and mass transport), and the charging efficiency. We were able to extrapolate the simulation results to rates beyond what the model has been validated for, and the results are still consistent, confirming some experimental observations, notably the maximum charging rate specified by most LAB manufacturers.",battery
"Thin films of copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) have been reproducibly electrodeposited on conductive substrates according to two different potentiostatic methods, here denoted as A and B. For both methods two consecutive steps are involved, the first being the electrodeposition of a thin Cu layer, the second its partial dissolution and formation of CuHCF in presence of hexacyanoferrate anion, giving as result a two layers film (CuHCF on Cu metal). The main difference, instead, consists in the applied potential values and their application times, featuring Method A lower potentials but longer processing times. Structural insights have been achieved by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) measurements, from which we can deduce the presence of Prussian blue (PB) impurities in Method A, while Method B leads to a pure CuHCF phase. Two analytical applications have been considered, ion exchange and H2O2 sensing. Ion exchange has been first assayed and, although CuHCF-A shows a higher stability towards multivalent cations, CuHCF-B is suitable for small hydrated ions. PB impurities in CuHCF-A boost its sensing towards H2O2, making it more adapted to this employment.",battery
"We suggest a step-by-step approach to addressing issues of PROs in meta-analyses. Systematic reviewers should begin by asking themselves if trials have addressed all the important effects of treatment on patients’ quality of life. If the trials have addressed PROs, have investigators chosen the appropriate instruments? In particular, does evidence suggest the PROs used are valid and responsive, and is the review free of outcome reporting bias? Systematic reviewers must then decide how to categorize PROs and when to pool results.
",non-battery
"Organic electrode materials offer a new opportunity to develop high energy/power density, low-cost, environmentally benign sodium ion batteries (SIBs). For many years this category of materials has not been considered as a potential electrode candidate for SIBs mainly because excessive research focused on inorganic materials due to their successful commercialization in the proven lithium ion battery (LIB) technologies. However, recently, many promising advancements have been made in the field of organic cathode and anode materials for SIB applications. This review for the first time consolidates and provides insights into the different sodium storage mechanisms observed in various categories of organic electrode materials. We believe that the fundamental understanding of the redox mechanisms that govern the electrochemical performances of SIBs is necessary to design new materials/electrodes and is beneficial for enhancing the existing properties of investigated compounds.
",battery
"Conventional positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, such as intercalation and conversion compounds, feature a host structure to reversibly insert and conduct lithium ions. Now, electrochemically activated transition metal oxide-lithium fluoride composite materials are shown to be a promising class of positive electrodes.",battery
"Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly experienced by individuals with non-central nervous system cancers throughout the disease and treatment trajectory. CRCI can have a substantial impact on the functional ability and quality of life of patients and their families. To mitigate the impact, oncology providers must know how to identify, assess, and educate patients and caregivers. The objective of this review is to provide oncology clinicians with an overview of CRCI in the context of adults with non-central nervous system cancers, with a particular focus on current approaches in its identification, assessment, and management.
",non-battery
"Room-temperature stationary sodium-ion batteries have attracted great attention particularly in large-scale electric energy storage applications for renewable energy and smart grid because of the huge abundant sodium resources and low cost. In this article, a variety of electrode materials including cathodes and anodes as well as electrolytes for room-temperature stationary sodium-ion batteries are briefly reviewed. We compare the difference in storage behavior between Na and Li in their analogous electrodes and summarize the sodium storage mechanisms in the available electrode materials. This review also includes some new results from our group and our thoughts on developing new materials. Some perspectives and directions on designing better materials for practical applications are pointed out based on knowledge from the literature and our experience. Through this extensive literature review, the search for suitable electrode and electrolyte materials for stationary sodium-ion batteries is still challenging. However, after intensive research efforts, we believe that low-cost, long-life and room-temperature sodium-ion batteries would be promising for applications in large-scale energy storage system in the near future.
",battery
"In this paper, porous Ni-substituted Co3O4 (ternary NiCo2O4) nanowires are synthesized via a simple microemulsion technique combined with a post thermal treatment. The as-prepared NiCo2O4 exhibits porous one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure, which preserves the morphology of the precursor. Moreover, the NiCo2O4 nanowires possess large surface area (53.6m2 g−1), pore volume (0.241cm3 g−1) and pore size (16.5nm). The porous 1D nanostructures and large surface area have huge benefits for practical applications in supercapacitors. Due to the well-aligned 1D nanowire microstructure and a higher electrical conductivity, these ternary NiCo2O4 electrodes possess high specific capacities of 1197Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 and capacitance retentions of 625Fg−1 at 8Ag−1. After 2000 cycles, the NiCo2O4 electrode can maintain 91.4% of its highest value, which demonstrates its superior cyclic stability performance. Also, the NiCo2O4 electrode exhibits high capacity retention when fast charging. These results show that the porous NiCo2O4 nanowires may be a promising electrode material for high performance electrochemical capacitors.",battery
"The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of heavy metal pollution in the urban pond near to the coal mining region (India). The water, sediment, and fish samples were collected and analysed to assess the associated health risk. In the sediment, geoaccumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), and pollution load index (PLI) were calculated. The estimated daily dietary intake (EDI) for As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were calculated for adults and children on the basis of an average amount of fish consumed by the Indian people. The associated health hazard with the consumption of fish from the urban pond was also assessed in terms of target hazard quotients (THQs). The concentration of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb in the muscles of Labeo rohita were found to be 0.33, 0.26, 0.19, and 3.9 mg kg−1, respectively. The observed metal concentrations in the fish muscles were higher than the limits set by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) except for Cd and Hg. The values of THQs were found to be maximum for Hg (3.31) followed by As (1.93), Pb (1.7), and Cd (0.26) in the case of children. The results indicate that the concentrations of Hg, As, and Pb are at an alarming stage and present a high health risk condition especially in the case of children.",non-battery
"Pyrolysis gradually becomes a promising green method to dispose the sewage sludge who has brought serious problems to environment. In this study, hierarchical porous hollow carbon nanospheres are directly obtained by specific carbonization/activation procedures using sewage sludge as the only precursor for the first time. The resultant carbon possesses tailor-made hierarchically porous structure with larger surface area (1518.40 m2 g−1), high pore volume (1.21 cm3 g−1), and rich oxygenic functional groups, which is favorable for lithium ion diffusion and can better enhance the ionic conductivity in an electrode system. As anode for li-ion battery, the carbon displays superior discharge capacity, which reaches 1168.9 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 287.1 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1. And the capacitance retention is 98.7% over 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1. Therefore, it is anticipated that such a pollutants-derived carbon can facilitate the development of new green and sustainable pathways for the construction and design of well-defined porous carbon nanospheres to ease energy and environmental issues.",battery
"The composite of fluorine-doped SnO2 anchored on reduced graphene oxide (F-SnO2/rGO) has been synthesized through a hydrothermal method. F-SnO2 particles with average size of 8 nm were uniformly anchored on the surfaces of rGO sheets and the resulting composite had a high loading of F-SnO2 (ca. 90%). Benefiting from the remarkably improved electrical conductivity and Li-ion diffusion in the electrode by F doping and rGO incorporation, the composite material exhibited high reversible capacity, excellent long-term cycling stability and superior rate capability. The electrode delivered a large reversible capacity of 1037 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at 100 mA g−1 and high rate capacities of 860 and 770 mAh g−1 at 1 and 2 A g−1, respectively. Moreover, the electrode could maintain a high reversible capacities of 733 mAh g−1 even after 250 cycles at 500 mA g−1. The outstanding electrochemical performance of the as-synthesized composite make it a promising anode material for high-energy lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Demands of increased energy density and high-safety of lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries are growing for advanced electronics, electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Nickel-rich layered oxides such as LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) are appealing as promising high-capacity cathode materials. Their reversible capacity increases further by charging to higher voltages than conventional 4.2 V, which is however difficult to make because of unstable cathode-electrolyte interface and structural degradation. Herein, we report the combination of NCM811 cathode active material with non-aqueous functional polyimide binder to imparts enhanced thermal stability and highly stable interface originating from in situ building-up of surface protective polyimide layer at cathode through monodentate metal-carboxylate chemical bonds during slurry preparation, which permits to charge to 4.4 V despite in commercial electrolyte without any additive. This unique active material-binder combination not only suppresses metal-dissolution and cathode degradation and produces increased reversible capacity higher than 200 mAh g−1 but also provides unprecedented non-flammable characteristics contrary to the case of conventional binder, enabling a stable operation of higher energy and safer batteries.",battery
"Liquid metal batteries (LMBs) are an attractive choice for grid-scale energy storage. However, LMBs suffer from magnetically induced instabilities in the tri-layered liquid system, which leads to interfacial instabilities and even short circuit. In present research, working processes of a 23 Ah Li||Sb–Sn LMB at various discharge rates (0.2 C, 0.4 C and 0.8 C) are simulated by a 2-D axisymmetric model considering magnetic fluid dynamics and electrochemical reactions. A magnetically induced flow is observed in the model. The flow promotes the mass transfer and optimizes the electrochemical performance of the LMB, while it causes electrolyte deformation and fluid instabilities. A thin electrolyte reduces ohmic losses and optimizes electrochemical performance, but increases the short circuit risk.",battery
"A surface coating of SiO2 is applied to a Ni rich LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material in a bid to improve its electrochemical and thermal properties. A uniform coating is achieved through a wet process using nano-sized SiO2 powder, and though the coated electrode is found to exhibit a reduced rate capability, its cycle performance at a high temperature of 60 °C is greatly enhanced. The effect of this SiO2 coating is further investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which confirms that it suppresses the growth of interfacial impedance during progressive cycles. The SiO2 coating also demonstrates good HF scavenging ability, producing a subsequent reduction in the degradation of the active core material. The thermal properties of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 are also improved by the SiO2 coating due to a reduction in the direct contact between the electrode and electrolyte. On the basis of these results, SiO2 coating is considered a viable surface modification method for improving the electrochemical and thermal properties of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2.",battery
"Straightforward and scalable fabrications of energy storage electrode materials with high electrochemical performance are of great interest for applications in batteries and supercapacitors. Herein, we report a one-step process for producing high-performance NiO/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposites using a ball mill based method, which is simple, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. Graphite oxide (GO) and nickel power were pulverized in a ball mill, to produce NiO/RGO nanocomposites. GO played an important role in promoting a redox reaction between GO and metallic nickel, which produced a strong bond between the as-formed Ni oxide and RGO. The electrochemical performances of NiO/RGO were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge measurement, and impedance spectroscopy. The NiO/RGO electrodes exhibited high specific capacitance (590Fg−1 at 1Ag−1), a high rate capability (88% retention at a high rate of 15Ag−1), and an excellent cycling stability (100% retention after 1000 charge/discharge cycles).",battery
"Transition metal oxides have been considered as promising lithium storage materials that undergo a conversion reaction, exhibiting high specific capacity. However, capacity fading during cycling is the most serious obstacle for their commercialization. In order to overcome this, we have added PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate) to Mn2O3 nanowires. PEDOT:PSS was successfully coated onto Mn2O3 nanowires while maintaining the structure of Mn2O3. The coating of PEDOT:PSS reduced the resistance of the surface and protected the surface electron channels from the pulverization effect of the charge–discharge operation. α-Mn2O3/PEDOT:PSS showed excellent cyclability with a reversible capacity of 1450mAhg−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 100mAg−1. An increase in capacity was observed with continuous cycling, which may be attributed to further oxidation of the manganese species and a reversible reaction of the gel-like polymer on the manganese surface. The results demonstrate that PEDOT:PSS enhances the electrochemical activity by providing electron channels and prevents pulverization caused by the charge and discharge process.",battery
"X-ray analytical instrument manufacturer PANalytical has developed a new high-performance diffractometer. The Empyrean features a new X-ray source, goniometer, sample stages and radiation enclosure. Importantly, the instrument also introduces the world's first 3D detection system, PIXcel3D. It can measure powders, thin films, nanomaterials and 3D objects. Users can switch between application setups using the company's PreFIX modules. Empyrean says the diffractometer delivers accurate and quality data with powder samples and can measure thin films using high-resolution epitaxy analysis. With nanomaterials, it can measure the size and shape of crystalline domains within the material, and structural analysis of near amorphous materials are all possible. Empyrean also offers PDF (pair distribution function), SAXS (small angle X-ray scattering), and the ability to monitor the evolution of crystalline phases in situ using the slurry flow cell stage. Using PANalytical's diffractomer. The diffractometer also incorporates what the company says is the world's first 3D detection system, called PIXcel3D. It can be used as a CT scanner performing non-destructive analysis of structures such as pharmaceutical formulations, electronic components (batteries, ICs, capacitors) and geo- and archaeological samples. www.panalytical.com",non-battery
"As one of the next-generation electric energy storage devices, new-born Na-ion capacitors gain more and more attention due to their merits inherited from batteries and capacitors. Herein, we propose an efficient method to prepare two tailored carbons as cathode and anode materials for high-performance Na-ion capacitors. As low-cost biowaste, fish scale (with hydroxyapatite inside) is specifically chosen as the precursor and pyrolyzed with potassium hydroxide. Due to the synergetic effect of potassium hydroxide and hydroxyapatite, well-defined hierarchical structures with interconnected pores can be realized. Moreover, the collagen within fish scale acts as precursor to form carbons with heteroatoms. By simply adjusting potassium hydroxide dosage and pyrolysis temperature, two N,O-doped hierarchical porous carbons are obtained and further employed as cathode and anode materials, respectively. The hierarchical porous carbon electrodes exhibit superior electrochemical performance in half cells due to the hybrid energy-storage features induced by rich heteroatoms and unique porosity. Consequently, the assembled Na-ion capacitor using these two hierarchical porous carbon electrodes delivers high energy density (103.2 W h kg−1), power density (15.9 kW kg−1) and long cycling lifetime (81.1% of the initial capacitance over 2500 cycles).",battery
Decision on alternative-fuel vehicles is one of the most important problems for fleet operations. In this paper we propose a hierarchical hesitant fuzzy linguistic model that captures hesitant linguistic evaluations of multiple experts on multiple criteria for alternative-fuel vehicles. We apply the proposed model on the alternative-fuel vehicle selection problem of a home health care service provider in the USA. The results show that an electric vehicle is the best fit for the application in today’s conditions. We also show robustness of the decision through a sensitivity analysis as well as analyze three scenarios representing possible changes in conditions.,non-battery
"Measurements of dc conductivity on solvent-free, low dimensional polymer electrolyte complexes with lithium salts using Li metal electrodes and giving σ=10−3 Scm−1 at 25–40°C are reported. The materials are blends of the amphiphilic helical polyethers poly[2,5,8,11,14-pentaoxapentadecamethylene(5-alkyloxy-1,3-phenylene)], coded CmO5 or (I) (where m=16, 18 or equimolar 12/16 mixture is the number of carbon atoms in the n-alkyl side chains), and a polytetrahydrofuran copolymer (II) with various Li salts. Heptamer segments of II are in equimolar proportion to the repeating units of I. In Li∣ I:II:Lisalt∣Li cells, dc conductivities of 1×10−3 to 3×10−3 Scm−1 are achieved by an apparent ‘self-tracking’ process from a low level (10−7–10−6 Scm−1) over 12 to 24h. The dc results are complemented by ac impedance spectroscopy measurements with ITO electrodes that show a ‘transformation’ from the low level up to 6×10−4 Scm−1 at 20°C after a heating excursion to 100°C. The ac data also demonstrate temperature-independent conductivity, with σ=8×10−5 Scm−1 at −5°C. X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and molecular dynamics modelling suggest a structure that would allow Li+ to be mobile in the polyether helices of I whilst anions are mobile in the unimpeded spaces between them. Ions transfer between the pathways of I via a matrix of II when the polymers are intimately blended.",battery
"Much progress has been made in developing high capacity lithium ion battery electrode materials such as silicon anodes. With the powerful nanomaterial design approach, cycle life of silicon anodes has been increased significantly. However, nanomaterials have three major issues to be addressed, including severe side reactions due to a large surface area, low tap density and poor scalability. Nanostructured Si secondary clusters (nano-Si SC) are promising for reducing side reactions and increasing tap density, yet the scalability and tap density could still be further improved. Here, we propose a mechanical approach for SC fabrication to address all the problems. With the mechanical approach, >20 g of nano-Si SC per batch was produced even at our university lab scale, with >95% yield. Moreover, much denser packing of nanostructures can be achieved (1.38 g cm−3, pellet form), which gives much higher tap density (0.91 g cm−3, powder form) and better electrical contact. Accordingly, over 95% of initial capacity is retained after 1400 cycles at 1C, with an average specific capacity of ∼1250 mA h g−1. Stable cycling with >2 mg cm−2 of areal mass loading (∼3.5 mA h cm−2) is obtained. After uniformly integrating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into SCs, intracluster electrical conductivity is further improved. As a result, notably enhanced rate capability is attained, with a high reversible specific capacity of ∼1140 mA h g−1 and ∼880 mA h g−1 at 2C and 4C, respectively.
",battery
"This essay develops its idiosyncrasy by concentrating primarily on the trend of body hacking. The practitioners, self-defined as body hackers, self-made cyborgs or grinders, work in different ways to develop functional and physiological modifications through the contributions of technology. Their goal is to develop by themselves an empirically man-technique fusion. These dynamic “scientific” subcultures are producing astonishing innovations. From pocket-sized kits that sample human DNA, microchip implants that keep tabs on our internal organs, blood sugar levels or moods, and even 3D printers that produce tailored hip replacements, the technical innovations of the body hacking trend are beginning to filter into mainstream use, and the repertoire increases every day. These physical transformations with intersecting techniques actively challenge long-held normative beliefs about what bodies do, what they should look like and how they should behave. They provide an alternative discourse on man’s correlation with the world and its biocenosis. Sculpting oneself has become an existential data. Medical technoscience crystallizes the effectiveness of new powers over the organism. Scientific temptation to recreate and enhance the human according to its normative principles has brought up experimental practices that have become the edge of a radical activism operating in the core of western societies, which will be the theme of this paper.",non-battery
"The impact of calendering process on the geometric characteristics and electrochemical performance of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC) electrode was investigated in this study. The geometric properties of NMC electrodes with different calendering conditions, such as porosity, pore size distribution, particle size distribution, specific surface area and tortuosity were calculated from the computed tomography data of the electrodes. A synchrotron transmission X-ray microscopy tomography system at the Advanced Photon Source of the Argonne National Laboratory was employed to obtain the tomography data. The geometric and electrochemical analysis show that calendering can increase the electrochemically active area, which improves rate capability. However, more calendering will result in crushing of NMC particles, which can reduce the electrode capacity at relatively high C rates. This study shows that the optimum electrochemical performance of NMC electrode at 94:3:3 weight ratio of NMC:binder:carbon black can be achieved by calendering to 3.0g/cm3 NMC density.",battery
"Ageing is related to significant declines in cognitive functioning. This effect can have a serious impact on the physical and psychological health of older adults as well as their quality of life. One phenomenon linked to cognitive deficits, particularly attention, that has been demonstrated to emerge with ageing is over-selectivity. Over-selectivity occurs when behavior is controlled by a limited number of stimuli in the environment. Mindfulness is a construct that specifically targets attention and awareness of the present moment. The current study aimed to remediate over-selectivity in an elderly population by means of a focused attention/mindfulness induction. The results of this study indicated that the level of emergent over-selectivity in an elderly population was significantly reduced after a focused attention induction when compared to an unfocused attention induction. The findings are discussed in terms of the efficacy of mindfulness training in reducing over-selectivity.",non-battery
"Thermal management is a routine but crucial strategy to ensure thermal stability and long-term durability of the lithium-ion batteries. An air-flow-integrated thermal management system is designed in the present study to dissipate heat generation and uniformize the distribution of temperature in the lithium-ion batteries. The system contains of two types of air ducts with independent intake channels and fans. One is to cool the batteries through the regular channel, and the other minimizes the heat accumulations in the middle pack of batteries through jet cooling. A three-dimensional anisotropic heat transfer model is developed to describe the thermal behavior of the lithium-ion batteries with the integration of heat generation theory, and validated through both simulations and experiments. Moreover, the simulations and experiments show that the maximum temperature can be decreased to 33.1 °C through the new thermal management system in comparison with 42.3 °C through the traditional ones, and temperature uniformity of the lithium-ion battery packs is enhanced, significantly.",battery
"Heavy metal pollution in water emerges as a severe socio-environmental problem originating primarily from the discharge of industrial wastewater. In view of the toxic, non-biodegradable, and persistent nature of most of the heavy metal ions, remediation of such components becomes an absolute necessity. Biosorption is an emerging tool for bioremediation that has gained momentum for employing low-cost biological materials with effective metal binding capacities. Even though biological materials possess excellent metal adsorption abilities, they show poor mechanical strength and low rigidity. Other disadvantages include solid–liquid separation problems, possible biomass swelling, lower efficiency for regeneration or reuse, and frequent development of high pressure drop in the column mode that limits its applications under real conditions. To improve the biosorption efficiency, biomasses need to be modified with a simple technique for selective/multi-metal adsorption. This review is intended to cover discussion on biomass modification for enhanced biosorption efficiency, mechanism studies using various instrumental/analytical techniques, and future direction for research and development including the fate of spent biosorbent. In most of the previously published researches, difficulty of the process in scaling up has not been addressed. The current article outlines the application potential of biosorbents in the development of hybrid technology integrated with membrane processes for water and wastewater treatment in industrial scale.",non-battery
"Porous carbon spheres (PCSs) are prepared via a facile hydrothermal carbonization and chemical activation route with pectin as the biomass precursor. The as-obtained PCSs present a large specific surface area (2440m2 g−1), well-balanced micro/mesoporosity with narrow pore size distribution and high content of oxygen-containing functional groups. The structure features make the PCSs an ideal electrode material for electrochemical energy storage. As electrode material for supercapacitors, the PCSs exhibit a high specific capacitance, good rate capacity and cycling stability. Furthermore, the PCSs show attractive property as support material for Pt electrocatalysts. Pt nanowires (PtNWs) grown on the PCSs interconnect with each other to form a porous nanowires network structure. The three-dimensional (3D) hybrid catalyst material consisting of PtNWs network supported on PCSs exhibit superior catalytic activity and stability towards both methanol and ethanol electro-oxidation in acidic media. In addition, owing to the rich presence of surface oxygen groups on PCSs, the CO-poisoning tolerance of the supported Pt nanowires is greatly promoted.",battery
"Phenomenological approaches on the basis of simple model potentials for the description of various situations where the atom is spacially confined, such, e.g., as atoms inside a C60-like environment or in impenetrable cavities of small radii are reviewed along with the trends in modifications in structure and photoionization of such confined atoms.",non-battery
"LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) cathode has wide operation voltage window. Dissolution behavior of the NCM cathode at different charge states in 1M LiPF6/EC:DEC (1:1) electrolyte is determined with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique. Electrochemical cycling performance of the NCM-based cells in the electrolyte with different charge voltage limits is correlated with the dissolution of the active material. With increasing charge voltage limit, specific capacity and energy density of the electrode are significantly enhanced. However, cycle life of the cell based on NCM cathode and meso-carbon micro-bead (MCMB) anode is compromised at cutoff voltages >4.3V. Mechanisms of the capacity decay for the full cell cycled with high charge voltage limit are investigated. Impedance rise of the graphite anode, which is resulted from deposition of the dissolved metal ions from the NCM cathode, is specified to be the main factor responsible for the cell failure. SEM observation and EDX analysis confirm the presence of Mn, Co, and Ni elements on the MCMB anode surface when the cell is cycled with high charge voltage limits.",battery
"Design and preparation of capable anode materials is key to the development potassium-ion battery. In this study, N-doped biomorphic carbon is prepared from walnut septum by pyrolysis and then used as potassium-ion battery anode materials. The target carbon exhibits hierarchical porous structures with a specific surface area of 99.6 m2 g−1 and an interlayer spacing of 0.376 nm. When used as anode for potassium-ion battery, the N-doped hierarchical porous carbon exhibits high initial reversible capacity of 263.6 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 with an initial coulombic efficiency of 55.1%. At a high current density of 1 A g−1, it still shows ultralong cycling stability with a discharge capacity of 119.9 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles. The excellent performance is attributed to the improved ions diffusion kinetics and electrons conductivity derived from hierarchical porous structures, large interlayer spacing, and nitrogen doping. Further calculation by cyclic voltammetry indicates that the mixed mechanisms of capacitance and ion-diffusion explain potassium-ion storage. At a low scan rate ion-diffusion behaviors provide an almost identical capacity with capacitance, and capacitive behaviors become dominant mechanisms with an increase in scan rate. The results would offer a new way to develop hard carbon anodes for potassium-ion battery.",battery
Unknown,non-battery
"NH4V3O8/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composites are synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. All the samples show the flake-like morphology with the width of up to 5μm and thickness of 500nm and the CNTs are clearly observed on the surface of modified NH4V3O8. It is found that incorporation of 0.5wt% CNTs into NH4V3O8 could greatly improve its discharge capacity and cycling stability. It delivers a maximum discharge capacity of 358.7mAhg−1 at 30mAg−1, 55mAhg−1 larger than that of the pristine one. At 150mAg−1, the composite shows 226.2mAhg−1 discharge capacity with excellent capacity retention of 97% after 100 cycles. The much improved electrochemical performance of NH4V3O8 is attributed to incorporation of CNTs, which facilitates the interface charge transfer and Li+ diffusion.",battery
"As the energy density of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) continues to increase, their safety has become a great concern for further practical large-scale applications. One of the ultimate solution of the safety issue is to develop intrinsically safe battery components, where the battery separators and liquid electrolytes are critical for the battery thermal runaway process. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the rational materials design on battery separators and liquid electrolyte towards the goal of improving the safety of LIBs. Also, some strategies for further improving safety of LIBs are also briefly outlooked.",battery
"Nanohybrid polymer electrolytes (NHPE) with ceramic particles have attracted significant attention owing to their improvement in electrochemical performance. However, particle aggregation and weak nanoparticle/polymer matrix interaction restrict their further application in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). We demonstrate a facile in-situ polymerization/crystallization method to synthesize a homogeneous TiO2-grafted NHPE with a cross-linked branching structure, comprised of ion-conducting poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMEM) and non-polar stearyl methacrylate (SMA). This technique is different from existing methods of blending functionalized ceramic particles into the polymer matrix. Highly monodispersed TiO2 nanocrystals enhance the effective interfacial interactions between particles and polymer matrix, which suppress the crystallization of ethylene oxide (EO) groups and facilitate forming continuously interconnected ion-conducting channels. Moreover, an increased dissociation degree of Li salt can also be achieved. The TiO2-grafted NHPE exhibits superior electrochemical properties with an ionic conductivity of 1.1 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 30 °C, a high lithium ion transference number and excellent interfacial compatibility with the lithium electrode. In particular, a lithium-ion battery based on TiO2-grafted NHPE demonstrates good C-rate performance, as well as excellent cycling stability with an initial discharge capacity of 153.5 mAh g−1 and a capacity retention of 96% after 300 cycles at 1 C (80 °C).",battery
" Conventions established for battery cycling were originally from the domain of chemists and material scientists interested in characterizing the battery materials. Involvement in studies with large energy storage batteries for residential energy systems outfitted with renewables demonstrated that such scenarios were very different compared to cycling regimes used for battery characterization. Transient, irregular power production and storage coupled with stochastic electrical demand result in battery usage where frequent switching between charge and discharge modes occurs. Further, energy storage control systems favor maintaining the battery in an elevated state of charge. In view of these different circumstances, experiments to characterize battery performance for a more generalized and comprehensive operating environment were developed which explored varying amplitudes of battery cycles, as well isolating a full range of instantaneous depth of discharge levels with very small amplitude cycles. To investigate the operations on a mechanistic level, numerical simulations with a pseudo-2D electrochemical model were run to discover what is occurring inside the electrodes under these conditions. It was found that localized degradation effects vary significantly across the battery capacity range, and that the net extent of degradation increased with the duration of uninterrupted charging or discharging. Analysis was performed to find a good correlation between the measured cell degradation with time-dependent transport of electrolyte phase lithium ions in the anode as a driver for SEI formation. These findings have some bearing on claims being made about pulse charging regimes under development aimed at allowing fast charging with minimal cell capacity loss penalties.",battery
"The development of portable power banks by using triboelectric nanogenerator-based technology has been a subject of great interest. However, when the potential wide range of future applications of such devices is considered, their heavy use of nanomaterials, polymers, and micro/nano fabrication technologies will increase the cost of and the energy consumed during production; moreover, their improper disposal may harm the environment. Here, we demonstrate portable card-type triboelectric nanogenerators (Card-TENGs) assembled by using less problematic, readily available materials through a top-down approach. The Card-TENGs are fabricated mainly from paper, including card paper and printer paper, which can greatly reduce the fabrication cost and the risk to the environment. Electricity can be generated simply by shaking the Card-TENGs, and Card-TENGs can be combined to form single and multilayer structures, which will enhance their electrical output. Furthermore, the as-fabricated Card-TENGs can be easily integrated into packs to increase the total output for lighting LEDs arrays and powering calculators.",battery
"Solid-state synthesized LiNi0.5−y M y Mn1.5O4 spinels, where M=Fe, Mg, Al, or Cu, and y=0.0–0.4, have been studied as high-voltage cathode materials. Powder X-ray diffraction studies showed that all the substituents displayed a propensity for the 8a tetrahedral site at high concentrations. Cyclic voltammetric studies showed electrochemical activity around 4V as well as above 4.4V. While the 4-V activity was related solely to the Mn4+/Mn3+ couple, the 5-V activity was due to the redox reactions of Ni and the other transition metal ions. The co-substituents reduced the 5-V capacity and shifted the redox potentials in the 5-V region to higher values. At high concentrations, the co-substituents tended to occupy the 8a sites, which may lead to a blockage of lithium transport during the charge–discharge processes. LiNi0.4Fe0.1Mn1.5O4 registered the best performance with a first-cycle capacity of 117mAh/g and 78% capacity retention over 60 cycles. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies showed a decrease in the charge transfer resistance at high deintercalation levels.",battery
"Layered Ni-rich LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 (LNCMO) materials are prepared by calcining the mixture of Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2(OH)2 precursor (co-precipitation method) and Li salts (Li2CO3). Two different caicination atmosphere (air and oxygen) are adopted to obtain final two samples of LNCMO-A (air) and LNCMO-O (oxygen) to individually investigate the influence of oxygen instead of air atmosphere on the structure and electrochemical behavior of the LNCMO materials. Both two samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical charge/discharge tests including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). XRD and SEM results show the LNCMO-O sample possesses relatively smaller Li+/Ni2+ cation mixing, better layer-structure ordering and smaller primary particle size. The electrochemical charge/discharge test results show the LNCMO-O sample exhibits superior discharge capacity (184.6mAhg−1 at 0.1C), higher cycling retention (91.4% after 100 cycles at 0.5C) and promoted rate performance. Further XPS, CV and EIS analyses on the promotion mechanism demonstrate that the oxygen-atmosphere calcination is important and beneficial to improve the electrochemical performance for Ni-rich LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 material.",battery
"The effectiveness of respiratory protection is dependent on many factors, including the duration and times during the day when it is worn. To date, these factors could only be assessed by direct observation of the respirator user. We describe the novel use of a data-logging temperature and humidity sensor (iButton Hygrochron) located inside a facemask to quantify respirator wear-time through supervised experiments (Phase 1) and an unsupervised wearing trial (Phase 2). Additionally, in Phase 1 the in-mask temperature was compared with measurements of exhaled breath temperature. We found humidity responds more rapidly than temperature to donning a mask, so it was considered a more sensitive measure of wear-time, particularly for short durations. Supervised tests showed that this method can provide accurate and precise estimates of wear-time, although the approach may be unsuitable for use in situations where there is high ambient humidity. In-mask temperature is closely associated with exhaled breath temperature, which is linked to lung inflammation. This technique could provide a useful way of evaluating the effectiveness of respirators in protecting health in real-life situations.",non-battery
 Investigate the effects of long-term regular aerobic exercise to physical fitness and quality of life in older women.,non-battery
"The present investigation examined whether coping-oriented motives to use marijuana, as measured by the Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM; Simons et al. in J. Couns. Psychol. 45:265–273, 1998), were uniquely related to affect-based psychological vulnerability factors among marijuana users. Participants were 131 adult current marijuana users (72 women, Mage = 20.14, SD = 3.37 years). As hypothesized, after controlling for gender, cigarettes smoked per day, past 30-day marijuana use, total years of marijuana use, and alcohol consumption, coping motives were significantly and incrementally related to negative affect-based psychological vulnerability factors. No other marijuana use motives demonstrated a similar type of relationship to the dependent variables, providing a high degree of explanatory specificity. These data suggest that coping-oriented motives to use marijuana may be an important explanatory construct in better understanding marijuana and psychological vulnerability relations.
",non-battery
"In order to gain a better understanding of the crashworthiness of lithium-ion cells, a test-setup for dynamic impact and crush tests has been designed. An experimental study was carried out using prismatic automotive cells comprising increasing levels of manufacturing quality and specific energy made of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide as the cathode active material. Different loading scenarios and more than four orders of magnitude of deformation rates were applied to specimens at fully charged state. The presented work describes the test program, the experimental setup and an objective evaluation method, which finally allows for a detailed summary of the observed mechanical behavior. A distinct strain-rate dependence of hardening, failure parameters, and compressibility of the cells is found. No significant dependence on cell type and state of charge could be observed. The results constitute essential new insights into the material behavior of EV battery cells during a crash event.",battery
"In recent years, smartphone devices are becoming progressively popular across a diverse range of users. However, user diversity creates challenges in smartphone application (app) development. The diversity of users is often ignored by designers and developers due to the absence of requirements. Owing to this, many smartphone users face usability issues. Despite that, no dedicated platform found that guide smartphone app designers and developers regarding human universality. The aim of this research is to explore the requirements of diverse users in smartphone apps and provide usability guidelines. The objectives of this research are achieved by following two scientific approaches. The human diversity requirements are located by conducting usability tests that investigated the requirements in the form of usability issues. The systematic literature review (SLR) process is followed in order to resolve the discovered usability issues. Both approaches resulted in a list of usability issues and guidelines. The usability tests returned 27 problems while the SLR came with a comprehensive set of universal usability guidelines that were grouped into eleven categories. The study concluded with some major outcomes. The results show evidence of critical usability problems that must be addressed during the design and development of smartphone apps. Moreover, the study also revealed that people with disabilities were three times severely affected by usability problems in such apps than people of different ages and their needs must be considered a top priority in the development of smartphone apps.
",non-battery
"A new member of the plastic crystal, pyrazolium imide family, N,N′-diethyl-3-methylpyrazolium bis-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (DEMPyr123) was prepared. It showed a single, plastic crystalline phase that extends from 4.2°C to its melting at 11.3°C. When 10mol% LiTFSI salt was added, the mixture showed ionic conductivities reaching 1.7×10−3 Scm−1 at 20°C, in the liquid state and 6.9×10−4 Scm−1 at 5°C, in the solid, plastic phase. A wide electrochemical stability window's of 5.5V was observed by cyclic voltammetry of the molten salt mixture. Batteries were assembled with LiFePO4/Li4Ti5O12 electrodes and the salt mixture as an electrolyte. They showed a charge/discharge efficiency of 93% and 87% in the liquid and the plastic phase, respectively. The capacity retention was very good in both states with 90% of the initial capacity still available after 40 cycles. In general, the batteries showed good rate capability and cycle life performance in the ionic liquid phase that were sustained when the electrolyte transformed to the plastic phase. Comparison of the battery results with those of a classic (non-plastic crystal) ionic liquid has proven the advantage of the dual state of matter character in this electrolyte.",battery
"In this paper, we present an interactive edutainment system for the children that leverages multimedia and RFID technologies in a seamless manner. The proposed system allows children to learn about new objects/entities by tapping on physical objects through a specially designed RFID-Bluetooth based Tangible User Interface (TUI) tool. The output of the system is delivered as a set of appropriate multimedia representations related to the objects being tapped. The TUI uses RFID technology for object identification and Bluetooth communication to transmit data to the computer where the system’s software is running. We incorporated our system in three games that allow children of different ages to benefit from the system’s functionalities and encourage them to interact with it.
",non-battery
"A composite positive electrode in an all-solid-state battery is prepared by mixing LiCoO2 particles and Li2S–P2S5 solid electrolytes. Raman spectroscopy is conducted for the composite positive electrodes before and after the initial charging process. Raman spectral changes are observed, which corresponds to structural changes of LiCoO2 particles during the charge test. However, some spectra indicate that several LiCoO2 particles show no structural changes although the cell is fully charged. A local state-of-charge (SOC) distribution map of the composite electrode is obtained by Raman mapping. The mapping image after the charge test shows that distributions of reactions exist in the composite positive electrode.",battery
"One possible way to increase the energy density of Li secondary batteries is to replace the commercialized carbonaceous anodes (such as graphite ones) with Li anodes due to their extremely high theoretical specific capacities, low densities, and lowest negative values of electrochemical potential. Despite these advantages of Li metal anodes, the uncontrolled deposition of dendritic, mossy, and granular Li particles decreases the Coulombic efficiency of Li batteries and causes various safety issues, which limits their scope of practical applications. To solve this problem, a surface-patterned Li metal anode covered with an alumina-based composite protection layer is developed in this work. Subsequently, the composite protection layer composition is optimized, and the electrochemical properties of the resulting micro-patterned Li metal anode are investigated. Due to the existence of a synergistic effect between the surface-patterned Li metal anode and the composite protection layer coating, the deposition of Li ions is effectively controlled, which prevents the formation of dendritic, granular, and moss-like Li particles after multiple deposition cycles even at relatively high current densities (up to 2.4 mA cm−2).",battery
"Monocrystalline copper(II) oxide nanoparticles were made by scalable flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption (BET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES). Their primary particle diameter was closely controlled from 6 to 50 nm by varying the FSP conditions. Their electrochemical performance as Li-ion battery materials was tested in composite electrodes vs. Li-metal. Near theoretical specific charges were obtained for intermediate CuO sizes of 20 and 50 nm (d BET). In contrast, larger, commercially available CuO (d BET = 670 nm) exhibited significantly lower practical specific charge due to incomplete oxidation in the delithiation cycle as indicated by the remaining Cu and Cu2O by XRD and XANES analysis.",battery
"The electrochemical quartz crystal nanobalance (EQCN) was employed to study the adsorption and electropolymerization of 4-aminoindole on platinum and gold electrodes in different acidic media. It was found that a spontaneous deposition of an electrochemically active layer occurs at platinum which is accelerated in the presence of oxygen, while no such effect was observed at gold. Electrooxidation of 4-aminoindole by potential cycling up to 0.6V leads to the formation of multilayer films at both Pt and Au electrodes. The electrogravimetric responses of these polymeric films are similar to those of the spontaneously formed adsorbed multilayer. At higher positive potential further oxidation takes place resulting in a different polymeric material which remains attached to the metal surface but shows no redox activity. The results of attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopic (ATR-IR) and EQCN measurements attest that the amino group remains intact during the electrooxidation at lower potentials, however, due to its protonation counterions (anions) are present also in the reduced layer. The mechanism of the redox transformations of poly(4-aminoindole) involves electrochemical–chemical–electrochemical steps. The overoxidation phenomenon and stability of the polymer in different electrolytes are shown.",battery
" Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent psychiatric condition associated with significant disability, mortality and economic burden. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT) are found to be equally effective for patients with depression. However, many patients do not respond sufficiently to either treatment. To offer individualized treatment, we need to know if some patients benefit more from one of the two therapies. At present little is known about what patient characteristics (moderators) may be associated with differential outcomes of CBT and PDT, and through what therapeutic processes and mechanisms (mediators) improvements occur in each therapy mode. Presently only theoretical assumptions, sparsely supported by research findings, describe what potentially moderates and mediates the treatment effects of CBT and PDT. The overall aim of this study is to examine theoretically derived putative moderators and mediators in CBT and PDT and strengthen the evidence base about for whom and how these treatments works in a representative sample of patients with MDD.",non-battery
"The first record of tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi, in Japan was made in 2010. These mites have since caused serious damage to the colonies of Japanese honey bees, Apis cerana japonica. In the present study, to control the mites on Japanese honey bees with l-menthol, an agent used for European honey bees, Apis mellifera, we investigated (1) the seasonality of menthol efficacy, (2) the overwintering mortality of menthol-treated colonies, and (3) the menthol residue in honey under field conditions in cooperation with private beekeepers of Japanese honey bees. Seasonal menthol efficacy was tested by applying 30 g of l-menthol for 1 month in different seasons. Mite prevalence was measured by dissecting the honey bee thorax. Overwintering mortality was monitored during winter after checking the mite prevalence in autumn, and was compared with that of untreated colonies reported in our previous study. The residual level of menthol in honey was measured by GC–MS. The results showed that the menthol-treated colonies had a smaller rate of increase in mite prevalence than the untreated colonies. The effects of menthol were highest in March and April. The winter mortality was depressed by menthol treatment. Honey samples extracted from the menthol-treated colonies included 0.4 ppm of menthol residue on average. Our findings suggest that menthol treatment is effective for controlling the tracheal mites on Japanese honey bees.",non-battery
"Studies of subtypes of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have provided inconsistent support for the discriminant validity of the combined type (ADHD-C) and predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I). A large sample of children and adolescents with ADHD (N = 410) and a comparison group without ADHD (N = 311) were used to test the internal and external validity of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), a dimension characterized by low energy and sleepy and sluggish behavior. SCT scores were then incorporated in analyses of ADHD subtypes to test whether the discriminant validity of ADHD-C and ADHD-I could be improved by including SCT symptoms as part of the criteria for ADHD-I. Factor analyses of parent and teacher ratings indicated that six SCT items loaded on a factor separate from symptoms of ADHD and other psychopathology, providing important support for the internal validity of SCT. The external validity of SCT was supported by significant associations between SCT and measures of functional impairment and neuropsychological functioning when symptoms of ADHD and other psychopathology were controlled. However, contrary to initial predictions, high levels of SCT did not identify a subgroup of ADHD-I that was clearly distinct from ADHD-C. Instead, the current results suggest that DSM-IV inattention and SCT are separate but correlated symptom dimensions that are each independently associated with important aspects of functional impairment and neuropsychological functioning.
",non-battery
"Lithium-battery energy storage systems (LiBESS) are increasingly being used on electric mobility and stationary applications. Despite its increasing use and improvements of the technology there are still challenges associated with cost reduction, increasing lifetime and capacity, and higher safety. A correct battery thermal management system (BTMS) design is critical to achieve these goals. In this paper, a general framework for obtaining optimal BTMS designs is proposed. Due to the trade-off between the BTMS's design goals and the complex modeling of thermal response inside the battery pack, this paper proposes to solve this problem using a novel Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) approach. A theoretical case of a module with 6 cells and a real case of a pack used in a Solar Race Car are presented. The results show the capabilities of the proposal methodology, in which improved designs for battery packs are obtained.",battery
"Background Insulin resistance is known to be the most important pathogenic factor in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We performed a prospective study to analyze the associations of baseline and changes in fasting insulin levels with future development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in nondiabetic adults over a 5-year period. Methods This study was performed in 4954 subjects who did not have diabetes or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and who participated in a health checkup program in both 2003 and 2008. The presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was defined by ultrasonographic examination. Subjects were divided into 4 groups according to the baseline quartiles of fasting insulin and dichotomized fasting insulin levels at baseline and after 5 years: low-low, low-high, high-low, high-high. Results After 5 years, 644 subjects (13%) developed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The odds ratio (OR) for development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease increased as the quartiles of the baseline fasting insulin levels increased from the first to the fourth quartile (1.00 vs. 0.99, 1.44, 1.65, respectively). The OR for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was 2.5-fold higher in the high-high group and 1.6-fold higher in the low-high group compared with that of the low-low group. The OR for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease increased as the quartile of changes in fasting insulin level over the 5-year period increased. Conclusion High baseline and continuously increasing fasting insulin levels were the independent determinants for future development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease during a 5-year follow-up in nondiabetic healthy adults.",non-battery
"Poultry manure (PM) contains a large proportion of phosphorus (P) in mineral-associated forms that may not be readily available for plant uptake. In addition, PM application influences both chemical and biotic processes, and can affect the lability of native soil P. To investigate the effects of PM on soil P availability, we grew ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in greenhouse pots amended with poultry manure. Biomass was harvested at 4, 8, and 16 weeks following PM application, with soil separated into rhizosphere and bulk fractions. Soil was sequentially extracted by H2O, 0.5 M NaHCO3, 0.1 M NaOH, and 1 M HCl, and inorganic P (Pi) and enzymatically hydrolyzable organic P (Poe) were quantitated. Root P concentrations were 37% higher and total P uptake 59% higher with PM application than Control. At week 16, there was 30% more labile-Pi (H2O- plus NaHCO3-Pi) in the rhizosphere with PM than in Control. Phosphodiesterase activity increased with PM application. Furthermore, acid phosphomonoesterase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, and phosphodiesterase activities were all higher in the rhizosphere than in bulk soil at week 16 with PM, indicating that increased labile-Pi was due primarily to stimulation of soil phosphatases to mineralize NaOH-Poe. Soil pH increased with PM application and plant growth, and may have promoted P availability by decreasing sorption of Al- and Fe-associated inorganic and organic phosphates. These results demonstrate that whereas PM application may initially increase NaOH and HCl-Pi, these fractions can be readily changed into labile-P and do not necessarily accumulate as stable or recalcitrant P in soil.",non-battery
"Advanced Zn–air batteries (ZABs) with ultrahigh cycle life, which also harness energy with bifunctional electrochemical reactions, are significantly challenging for the commercialization of hybrid/electric vehicles and wearable electronics. Herein, we demonstrated robust aqueous and flexible ZABs with novel three-dimensional dual-linked hexaiminobenzene metal–organic framework (Mn/Fe-HIB-MOF)-based bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts and superionic functionalized bio-cellulose electrolytes (64 mS cm−1). The well-defined quintet-shelled hollow sphere MOFs possess a hierarchical porous structure, excellent packing density with a surface area of 2298 m2 g−1, and chemical stability as compared to conventional MOFs. Mn/Fe-HIB-MOF exhibited superior bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity (0.627 V) with half-wave potential (0.883 V) for oxygen reduction and overpotential (280 mV@10 mA cm−2) for oxygen evolution reactions, outperforming commercial Pt/C and RuO2. Their favorable oxygen reactions and surface electronic structures were confirmed by density functional theory. Significantly, the Mn/Fe-HIB-MOF cathode demonstrated the highest lifetimes reported to date for rechargeable ZABs, namely 1000 h (0.75 V voltage gap@10 mA cm−2) over 6000 cycles and 600 h (efficiency ∼65.24%@25 mA cm−2) over 3600 cycles with excellent flexibility for liquid and all-solid-state flexible ZABs, respectively. These promising results illustrate the great potential of these novel hexaiminobenzene MOFs and superionic bio-cellulose membranes for the commercial implementation of rechargeable ZABs.
",battery
Unknown,non-battery
"Electric motors are replacing combustion engines in vehicles thanks to the tremendous progress in battery development, but issues remain in navigating transportation with battery technologies.
",battery
"The use of biomass for the production of electrical energy is a promising technological solution for those countries where there are problems with the disposal of agricultural waste and/or the production of low-cost energy. The gasification and/or pyrolysis of the biomass produces a gas rich in hydrogen that can be used in a fuel cell system to produce electrical energy with reduced environmental impact and significant energy recovery. In this work, a study of the pyrolysis of Brazilian sugarcane bagasse was carried out. The experimental process consisted of the pyrolysis of the biomass material in a batch pyrolysis reactor. In some runs the biomass was dry, while in others it was pre-treated by the addition of water. It was noted that the water added to the biomass before the pyrolysis process resulted in a decrease in the quantity of steam added to the fuel cell feeding gas, necessary to avoid carbon deposition, and in an increase in cell power, but, at the same time, caused a decrease in the quantity of syngas produced. Then, the composition of the gas obtained from the experimental pyrolysis of the sugarcane was inserted in a simulation tool of a molten carbonate fuel cell system in order to estimate the feasibility of the entire process in terms of operating conditions and electrical performance. The present study indicates that the syngas obtained from the sugarcane biomass (about 40%) can be converted into electricity using a fuel cell system with a high efficiency.",battery
"Background Very preterm children (<32 weeks of gestation) are characterized by impaired white matter development as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA). This study investigates whether altered FA values underpin the widespread motor impairments and higher incidence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in very preterm children at school-age. Methods Thirty very preterm born children (mean (SD) age of 8.6 (0.3) years) and 47 term born controls (mean [SD] age 8.7 [0.5] years) participated. Motor development was measured using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. A score below the 15th percentile was used as a research diagnosis of DCD. FA values, as measure of white matter abnormalities, were determined for 18 major white matter tracts, obtained using probabilistic diffusion tensor tractography. Results Large-sized reductions in FA of the cingulum hippocampal tract right (d = 0.75, p = .003) and left (d = 0.76, p = .001), corticospinal tract right (d = 0.56, p = .02) and left (d = 0.65, p = .009), forceps major (d = 1.04, p < .001) and minor (d = 0.54, p = .02) were present in very preterms, in particular with a research diagnosis of DCD. Reduced FA values moderately to strongly related to motor impairments. A ROC curve for average FA, as calculated from tracts that significantly discriminated between very preterm children with and without a research diagnosis of DCD, showed an area under curve of 0.87 (95% CI 0.74–1.00, p = .001). Conclusions This study provides clear evidence that reduced FA values are strongly underpinning motor impairment and DCD in very preterm children at school-age. In addition, outcomes demonstrate that altered white matter FA values can potentially be used to discriminate between very preterm children at risk for motor impairments, although future studies are warranted.",non-battery
"The conversion behavior of soluble Pb(II) to deposited PbO2 on platinum in methanesulfonic acid solution was studied with voltammetry and compared with those on glassy carbon and lead oxides. The effects of methanesulfonic acid concentration and Pb(II) concentration, and temperature were considered. The conversion reaction of Pb(II) to PbO2 on platinum is irreversible and has a high overpotential, more than 300mV. Low concentration of methanesulfonic acid, high concentration of Pb(II) and high temperature will favor the conversion reaction of Pb(II) to PbO2. The conversion reaction depends to a great extent on electrode materials. It is more difficult for the conversion reaction of Pb(II) to PbO2 to take place on glassy carbon than on platinum. However, the conversion reaction of Pb(II) to PbO2 becomes easy when it takes place on lead oxides, which was formed by reducing PbO2 under different potentials.",battery
"This paper reports a hydrothermal conversion of MnOOH needles into orthorhombic LiMnO2 nanorods for lithium ion battery application. XRD investigation indicated phase conversion during the Li ion incorporation, and several intermediate phases were formed during the hydrothermal reaction. SEM observation of the sample powder revealed morphological changes during the process, showing that LiOH, not only worked as the Li ion source during the incorporation, but also served as the corrosive media to create nanorod like shape. TEM observation revealed the single crystalline nature of the nanorods and a preferred growth direction along b axis direction was also determined. o-LiMnO2 nanorods prepared by such hydrothermal routine showed high electric capacity and stable cyclability at current density of 1/10C, indicating potential application in the lithium ion battery field.",battery
"Cyclic voltammograms show that the reversibility of the manganese dioxide (MnO2) electrode is improved by means of using partially reduced samples. The crystal lattice of the intermediate is transformed by reduction. Formation of the manganous ion is very limited before the electrode potential reaches −0.4V (versus Hg/HgO), thus the formation of Mn3O4 is prevented. The addition of Ni(OH)2 to partially reduced samples can further improve the reversibility of the MnO2 electrode, Ni(OH)2 delays the 2e− discharge step and decreases the opportunity for the co-existence of Mn(III) and Mn(II) ions and, thereby, prevents the formation of Mn3O4. The capacity retention of a cathode of partially reduced MnO2 (pr-MnO2) or pr-MnO2+Ni(OH)2 is much better than that of the MnO2 cathode. This demonstrates the feasibility of using pr-MnO2 as a cathode material.",battery
" Work related upper limb disorders constitute 45% of all occupational diseases and are a significant public health problem. A subgroup, non specific arm pain (NSAP), remains elusive in terms of understanding its pathophysiological mechanisms with its diagnosis based on the absence of specific clinical findings. One commonly proposed theory is that a neural tissue disorder is the primary dysfunction in NSAP and findings from previous studies lend some support to this theory. However, it is not clear if changes identified are simply a consequence of ongoing pain rather than due to specific neural changes. The presence of neuropathic pain has been investigated in several other musculoskeletal conditions but currently, there is no specific diagnostic tool or gold standard which permits an unequivocal diagnosis of neuropathic pain. The purpose of this study is to further describe the somatosensory profiles in patients with NSAP and to compare these profiles to a group of patients with MRI confirmed cervical radiculopathy who have been previously classified as having neuropathic pain.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary Case-based reasoning (CBR) is an appropriate approach to deal with internal control since experience drawn from specific business case studies is in most instances more valuable than generalized textbook knowledge. At the same time, internal control evaluation is a domain where there is a potential combinatorial explosion because of the existence of many features associated with each case of internal control. ControlSCAPE has shown that CBR is an appropriate approach to business problem solving when the problem domain is unstructured and involves significant amounts of tacit knowledge. The main benefit of ControlSCAPE is the significant benefit to Deloitte & Touche clients. The ControlSCAPE techniques, resulting audit work, and discussions always help the client identify control performance gaps. Workshops with clients can then be organized by holding one or more sessions with the client's staff to generate ideas on control performance opportunities. Part of these sessions can be used to identify the change drivers and business objectives and then help brainstorm with the client on the aspects of the system of control that are strong, and on where it can be improved. Potentials for improvement are always detected. A second benchmark can be done as a follow-up a few months after the first benchmark to see if the ratings improve. Case-based input also allows accountants to relate to typical or atypical cases rather than to hypothetical models.",non-battery
"Thin films of cobalt–nickel alloys were galvanostatically deposited onto steel substrates from gluconate baths. Cathodic polarization curves were determined for the parent metals and Co–Ni alloy. The effects of bath composition, current density and temperature on cathodic current efficiency (CCE) and alloy composition were studied. The deposition of Co–Ni alloy is of anomalous type, in which the less noble metal (Co) is preferentially deposited. The CCE of codeposition is high and increases with increase in temperature and current density, but it decreases as the [Co2+]/[Ni2+] ratio in the bath increases. The percentage of Co in the deposit increases with increasing cathodic current density, temperature and increasing Co2+ ion concentration. The structure and surface morphology of the deposit were studied by XRD, ALSV and SEM. The results showed that the alloys consisted of a single solid solution phase with a hexagonal close packed structure.",battery
"Not long ago I was looking through some of my grandfather's papers when I came across a newspaper clipping from the front page of the Denver Post dated August 20, 1946. The main upper fold headline, in all caps, was “RADIO-PHONE HOOKUP BEGUN IN COLORADO.” The article described an experimental project carried out by Mountain Bell, then the local telephone company in Colorado. It dealt with the provision of radio-based telephony to residents of Cheyenne Wells, a small town on the high plains of eastern Colorado, near the Kansas border (Figure 1.1). The article started by stating: “For the first time anywhere in the worldwide Bell system, that grand old institution, the party line ‘went radio’ at Cheyenne Wells, Colo., Tuesday noon.” While there had been radio-based communication using Marconi's wireless radio for some time prior to this, here was radio-based telephony being applied to the needs of common individuals. The technology was not being used to send messages from ships or to broadcast baseball games, as in the case of commercialized radio stations. Rather it was being applied to the mediation of interaction between private individuals. Indeed this was one of the ancestors of modern radio-based mobile telephony. 1 1 In this book, the terms mobile telephone and mobile telephony are used as synonymous with cellular telephone and cellular telephony, the terms more commonly used in the United States. I prefer the former, for a couple of reasons. First, mobile telephone is the popular form of reference in many countries. In addition, cellular telephony refers to a technology, whereas mobile telephony perhaps better reflects the social dimensions of the technology.",non-battery
"Battery-powered unmanned aerial vehicle based video sensing system is more cost-saving and energy-saving than traditional aircraft based systems. However, high-volume real-time sensing data is more vulnerable in unmanned system than that in manned system. Meanwhile, the computation and energy resources in such system are very limited, which restricts the use of complex encryption process on video data. Therefore, how to achieve confidentiality of video data under limited resources efficiently needs to be addressed. Firstly, resources constraints with their development trends in video sensing system are studied. Secondly, an information-utility-value-oriented resource-efficient encryption optimization model under resources constraints is given. Thirdly, based on this model, a video-compression-independent speed-adjustable lightweight encryption scheme with its improved version is proposed. Fourthly, a DSP and ARM based embedded secure video sensing system is designed, and the proposed encryption scheme has been implemented in it. In addition, theoretical analyses based on information theory and experimental analyses on throughputs show that the proposed encryption schemes can meet the real-time requirements of system under the tight resources constraints.",non-battery
"This article deals with the ability of fractional modeling to describe the bounded diffusion behavior encountered in modern thin film and nanoparticles lithium battery electrodes. Indeed, the diffusion impedance of such batteries behaves as a half order integrator characterized by the Warburg impedance at high frequencies and becomes a classical integrator described by a capacitor at low frequencies. The transition between these two behaviors depends on the particles geometry. Three of them will be considered in this paper: planar, cylindrical and spherical ones. The fractional representation proposed is a gray box model able to perfectly fit the low and high frequency diffusive impedance behaviors while optimizing the frequency response transition. Identification results are provided using frequential simulation data considering the three electrochemical diffusion models based on the particles geometry. Furthermore, knowing this geometry allows to estimate the diffusion ionic resistance and time constant using the relationships linking these physical parameters to the structural fractional model parameters. Finally, other simulations using Randles impedance models including the charge transfer impedance and the external resistance demonstrate the interest of fractional modeling in order to identify properly not only the charge transfer impedance but also the diffusion physical parameters whatever the particles geometry.",non-battery
"The existing lithium ion battery model in Multiphysics (MP) software (COMSOL Inc., Palo Alto, CA) is extended to include the thermal effects. The thermal behavior of a lithium ion battery is studied during the galvanostatic discharge process with and without a pulse.",battery
"Extracellular proteases from 8 Antarctic psychrotolerant Pseudomonas sp. strains were purified and characterised. All of them are neutral metalloproteases, have an apparent molecular mass of 45kDa, optimal activity at 40°C and pH 7–9, retaining significant activity at pH 5–11. With the exception of P96-18, which is less stable, all retain more than 50% activity after 3h of incubation at pH 5–9 and show low thermal stability (their half-life times range from 20 to 60min at 40°C and less than 5min at 50°C). These proteases can be used in commercial processes carried out at neutral pH and moderate temperatures, and are of special interest for their application in mixtures of enzymes where final thermal selective inactivation is needed. Results also highlight the relevance of Antarctic biotopes for the isolation of protease-producing enzymes active at low temperatures.",non-battery
"The periodic deposition of redox-active polyoxometalate(POM) nanocrystals on single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using ultrasonication is reported. The new method allows the controlled formation of 1D POM/CNT nanocomposites where crystals of redox-active POMs of tunable size and shape are deposited at regular intervals on the CNTs. The nanostructure and chemical features of the composite can be tuned through the ultrasonication intensity and time as well as the chemical make-up of the polyoxometalates and their counter-cations. The materials obtained show excellent electrochemical performance as anode materials in lithium-ion- batteries (LIBs) featuring discharge capacities of 850 mA h g−1 for up to 100 cycles.The modular nano-fabrication approach can open new avenues for the bottom-up”wiring” of functional molecular materials to electrically conductive substrates.
",battery
"Wireless sensor networks represent a new generation of real-time embedded systems with significantly different communication constraints from the traditional networked systems. With their development, a new attack called a path-based DoS (PDoS) attack has appeared. In a PDoS attack, an adversary, either inside or outside the network, overwhelms sensor nodes by flooding a multi-hop end-to-end communication path with either replayed packets or injected spurious packets. Detection and recovery from PDoS attacks have not been given much attention in the literature. In this article, we consider wireless sensor networks designed to collect and store data. In a path-based attack, both sensor nodes and the database containing collected data can be compromised. We propose a recovery method using mobile agents which can detect PDoS attacks easily and efficiently and recover the compromised nodes along with the database.",non-battery
"Despite remarkable recent advances in the field of solid electrolytes for lithium ion batteries, there is still considerable room for improvements with respect to ionic conductivity, cost and electrochemical stability. This study tests systematically how much Sn in the superionic conductor Li10SnP2S12 can be replaced by Si or Al, while retaining its tetragonal structure. For comparison, also the known superionic conductors Li10SnP2S12, Li10GeP2S12, and Li10SiP2S12 are synthesized and characterized with respect to their grain and grain boundary resistances. The results show that due to the negligible grain boundary resistance of the new compound Li10Si0.3Sn0.7P2S12, its total Li+ ion conductivity is only 10–20% lower than that of the expensive superionic conductor Li10GeP2S12 and about four times higher than that of Li10SiP2S12.",battery
"Silicon nanowires (NWs) have been reported as a promising anode that demonstrated high capacity without pulverization during cycling, however, they present some technical issues that remain to be solved. The high aspect ratio of the NWs and their small contact areas with the current collector cause high electrical resistance, which results in inefficient electron transport. The nano-size interface between a NW and the substrate experiences high shear stress during lithiation, causing the wire to separate from the current collector. In addition, most reported methods for producing silicon NWs involve high-temperature processing and require catalysts that later become contaminants. This study developed a new self-aligned Cu–Si core–shell NW array using a low-temperature, catalyst-free process to address the issues described. The silicon shell is amorphous as synthesized and accommodates Li-ions without phase transformation. The copper core functions as a built-in current collector to provide very short (nm) electron transport pathways as well as backbone to improve mechanical strength. Initial electrochemical evaluation has demonstrated good capacity retention and high Coulombic efficiency for this new anode material in a half-cell configuration. No wire fracture or core–shell separation was observed after cycling. However, electrolyte decomposition products largely covered the top surface of the NW array, restricting electrolyte access and causing capacity reduction at high charging rates.",battery
"Recent research into lithium ion battery storage particles has seen the development of many models to predict lithiation stresses generated during operation, and their effects on performance. Due to computational considerations most of the particles studied have idealized geometry with smooth surfaces, such as spheres. In reality, storage particles used in battery electrodes are acicular and have sharp edges and corners. In order to study the effect of these edges and corners on the generation of lithiation stress, we perform a parameter study on the development of lithiation strain and the resulting stress in cubic-shaped particles. We use a previously developed coupled stress-diffusion model, as well as three non-dimensional parameters, to quantify the stress response of cubic-shaped particles as a function of their material properties. Our results show that a change in material properties can lead to differences in both the value of maximum stress as well as its location in the particle. Both lithium insertion into and extraction from the particle are considered.",non-battery
" Household air pollution from solid fuels is a leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. Pregnant women’s exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), two components of solid-fuel smoke, is associated with adverse birth outcomes. Even with improved solid-fuel stoves, exposure to PAHs and VOCs remains high. Therefore, cleaner cooking fuels need to be prioritized.",non-battery
"The Raman spectra of a suite of geological mineral specimens which are relevant to Martian planetary exploration are reported under different conditions of spectral resolution at a fixed laser excitation wavelength of 1064nm. As found with an earlier study of biomolecular systems, the observed Raman spectra are significantly altered under different conditions of spectral resolution; in particular, the discrimination between several minerals no longer becomes possible as the spectral resolution decreases beyond 16cm−1. These results have important implications for the construction and evaluation of miniaturised Raman spectrometers for space flight missions and incorporation into instrumentation for landers and rovers being proposed for missions to Mars in the next decade.",non-battery
"This article examines the visions on nanosciences and nanotechnologies (N&N) disseminated by a group of Brazilian scientists to legitimize this emergent field of research. For this purpose we analyzed reports on N&N published by the Journal of Science, edited daily by the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science, from 2002 to 2007, covering the period in which the main events in domestic N&N research policy took place. Our analysis shows that researchers on N&N are spreading visions of progress, efficiency and competitiveness related to the advances in this field, giving little attention to issues such as potential risks, and economic, social and ethical implications of these technologies.",non-battery
"An effective battery thermal management (BTM) system is required for lithium-ion batteries to ensure a desirable operating temperature range with minimal temperature gradient, and thus to guarantee their high efficiency, long lifetime and great safety. In this paper, a heat pipe and wet cooling combined BTM system is developed to handle the thermal surge of lithium-ion batteries during high rate operations. The proposed BTM system relies on ultra-thin heat pipes which can efficiently transfer the heat from the battery sides to the cooling ends where the water evaporation process can rapidly dissipate the heat. Two sized battery packs, 3 Ah and 8 Ah, with different lengths of cooling ends are used and tested through a series high-intensity discharges in this study to examine the cooling effects of the combined BTM system, and its performance is compared with other four types of heat pipe involved BTM systems and natural convection cooling method. A combination of natural convection, fan cooling and wet cooling methods is also introduced to the heat pipe BTM system, which is able to control the temperature of battery pack in an appropriate temperature range with the minimum cost of energy and water spray.",battery
"The current research priorities about spinel lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) mainly focus on the improvement of specific capacity and rate capacity due to the intrinsic issues of Li4Ti5O12, such as low specific capacity and poor electrical conductivity, which limit the practical application of Li4Ti5O12 anodes in lithium-ion batteries. Herein, it is demonstrated that the Li4Ti5O12 with improved performance can be obtained by proper hierarchical structure construction and TiO2 in-situ decoration. In consequence, it delivers a high reversible specific capacity of 162.5 and 148.6mAhg−1 at 50 and 200mAg−1 after 900 and 2400 cycles, respectively. In addition, a capacity of 110.8mAhg−1 could be retained at a high rate of 20C even after 5000 cycles, exhibiting improved rate property and ultra-long life. This work may pave the way to facilely prepare advanced Li4Ti5O12-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"We synthesized polycrystalline Ti2Nb10O29 nanofibers (NFs) via a simple post-annealing process of as-electrospun polymeric NFs as an anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). During the first discharge/charge process, the Ti2Nb10O29 NFs annealed at 900°C exhibited insertion/extraction capacities of up to 344 and 304mAhg−1, corresponding to 19.1 and 16.7mol Li+ per formula unit, respectively. This material exhibited excellent rate capability (93mAhg−1 at 15Ag−1) and a higher average diffusion coefficient (DLi =∼1.5×10−12 cm2 s−1) than Ti2Nb10O29 powder (∼6.9×10−13 cm2 s−1). This performance can be attributed to the unique nanostructure of firmly interconnected, highly crystalline Ti2Nb10O29 nano-grains, which facilitates the Li+ and electron transport. The kinetics obtained from current-voltage curves indicate a mixture of diffusion-limited and capacitive processes. The suggested electro-spinning/post annealing approach can effectively provide a simple route towards high-quality Ti2Nb10O29 NF-based anodes for high-performance LIBs.",battery
"In natural two-dimensional (2D) materials (such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides and transition metal carbides), energy and power density are inevitably hindered by Li ion diffusion perpendicular to the compact atomic layer. At the same time, their cycling stability is affected by side reactions due to the large specific surface area and high activity of surface atoms. Here we report the preparation of a new 2D carbon rich framework called fluoride graphdiyne (F-GDY). The experiments, together with theoretical calculations, show that extraordinarily high reversible capacity (1700 mA h g−1) and extremely stable cycle performance (9000 cycles) are achieved by the reversible transition between C–F semi-ionic bonds and ionic bonds at the plateaus of 0.9 V. This bottom-up strategy offers a versatile approach to the rational design of ultra-stable flexible 2D materials through solution-based processability for application in the efficient electrodes of high performance rechargeable batteries.
",battery
"Carbon-coated LiMn0.4Fe0.6PO4 composites (LiMn0.4Fe0.6PO4/C) were synthesized for use as cathode materials in lithium batteries. The composites were synthesized by a mechanical activation process that consists of high-energy ball milling for 10h, followed by thermal treatment at different temperatures. The structure, particle size and surface morphology of these cathode active materials were investigated by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis, energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), high-resolution Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The firing temperature was observed to affect morphology, particle size, elemental distribution, structure of the residual carbon, and consequently the electrochemical properties of the composites. LiMn0.4Fe0.6PO4/C synthesized at 600°C possessed the most desirable properties and it exhibited the best performance when used as cathode in lithium batteries at room temperature. The cell, comprising cathode of this composite, exhibited the initial discharge capacities of 144.5mAhg−1 (85.0% of theoretical capacity) and 122.0mAh g−1 (71.8%), respectively, at 0.1 and 1 C-rates. The cathode showed good cycle stability without substantial capacity fade up to 50 cycles.",battery
"Nafion®-stabilized Pt nanoparticle colloidal solution is synthesized through ethylene glycol reduction. Pt/Nafion® added with carbon black as electric conduction material (labeled Pt/Nafion®-XC72) shows excellent electrochemical property compared with Pt/C. After a 300-cycle discharging durability test, the cell performance of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with the Pt/Nafion®-XC72 and Pt/C catalysts indicates a 29.9% and 92.2% decrease, respectively. The charge transfer resistances of Pt/Nafion®-XC72 and Pt/C increase by 27.2% and 101.9%, respectively. The remaining electrochemically active surface area of Pt is about 61.7% in Pt/Nafion®-XC72 and about 38.1% in Pt/C after the durability test. The particle size of Pt/C increases from about 5.1 nm to about 10.8 nm but only from 3.6 nm to 5.8 nm in the case of Pt/Nafion®-XC72. These data suggest that Pt/Nafion®-XC72 as a catalyst can enhance the durability of PEMFCs compared with Pt/C.",battery
"This review summarizes key imaging studies that were presented in the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2016 related to the fields of nuclear cardiology, cardiac computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance, and echocardiography. This bird’s eye view will inform readers about multiple studies from these different modalities. We hope that this general overview will be useful for those that did not attend the conference as well as to those that did since it is often difficult to get exposure to many abstracts at large meetings. The review, therefore, aims to help readers stay updated on the newest imaging studies presented at the meeting.
",non-battery
"All-solid-state Li-ion batteries are currently attracting considerable research attention as they present a viable opportunity for increased energy density and safety when compared to conventional liquid electrolyte-based devices. The Li-rich anti-perovskite Li3−xOHxCl has generated recent interest as a potential solid electrolyte material, but its lithium and proton transport capabilities as a function of composition are not fully characterised. In this work, we apply a combination of ab initio molecular dynamics and 1H, 2H and 7Li solid-state NMR spectroscopy to study the mobility of lithium ions and protons in Li3−xOHxCl. Our calculations predict a strongly exothermic hydration enthalpy for Li3OCl, which explains the ease with which this material absorbs moisture and the difficulty in synthesising moisture-free samples. We show that the activation energy for Li-ion conduction increases with increasing proton content. The atomistic simulations indicate fast Li-ion diffusion but rule out the contribution of long-range proton diffusion. These findings are supported by variable-temperature solid-state NMR experiments, which indicate localised proton motion and long-range Li-ion mobility that are intimately connected. Our findings confirm that Li3−xOHxCl is a promising solid electrolyte material for all-solid-state Li-ion batteries.
",battery
"The design of the actuating mechanism of a biologically inspired flapping wing UAV is addressed. Several configurations able to reproduce the desired flapping-wing kinematics are analyzed and an optimization study is conducted to select the best configuration. The optimization results are used as the starting point for the design of the different structural components of the flapping mechanism. During the mechanism design stage, the linkages are optimized to match the desired wing’s motion during a flapping cycle. A structural and durability analysis is then conducted to verify that the mechanism and its components are able to withstand the aerodynamic and inertial loads.",non-battery
"A new funnel-type autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) docking system that can be connected to a cabled ocean observatory network is developed to charge AUVs undersea. The main features of the system include non-penetrating power and data transfer without any auxiliary actuators, auto-orientation adjustment of the entrance, magnetic clamping of the AUV, and ultra-short baseline (USBL) and computer vision integrated navigation. A homing control method based on cross-track error for USBL navigation is proposed. Its design goal is to rapidly eliminate cross-track errors and change the behavior of the AUV smoothly without losing USBL signal in lateral current. The prototype system was tested in a water pool. Light tracking, docking, and clamping were successful. The battery of the AUV was effectively charged by the non-penetrating power transfer component at 144W, during which the non-penetrating data transfer component worked properly.",non-battery
"The electrodeposition of lead from very alkaline media has been studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry under stationary and convective conditions. Experimental parameters like lead concentration and temperature have been varied. From NaOH 6M the metal deposition takes place at about −0.90V versus SCE far from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) which is seen at −1.30V, but both processes are favoured by the lead content increase and the NaOH concentration decrease. The analyses of the chronoamperometric responses support the view of a 3D growth and suggest a substantial influence of lead concentration on the type of nucleation. Progressive nucleation is observed for the deposition from solutions with low content in lead but as this concentration increases a tendency towards instantaneous nucleation is revealed. The voltammetry with the rotating platinum disc electrode has confirmed that the lead electrodeposition is a mass transfer controlled process, and also allowed the estimation of diffusion coefficients.",battery
" Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) plays a vital role in renewable energy conversion for the development of hydrogen-based energy sources. Lately, heterostructures through hybridizing MXenes with two-dimensional materials have been successfully fabricated and attract much attention due to the exceptional performance as electrodes for Li ion storage and electrocatalysts for HER. Herein, we constructed heterostructures of CoNx-graphene (CoNx-G, x = 2 and 4) supported by MXenes (Ti3C2F2 and Ti3C2O2) monolayer as highly active electrocatalysts for HER. The theoretical results show that the CoN2-G/Ti3C2O2 heterostructure exhibits a high performance for HER with an over-potential (Ƞ) of only 0.33 V, and the rate-limiting step is determined to be the initial water dissociation process in alkaline media. The outstanding performance of CoN2-G/Ti3C2O2 is strongly attributed to the interfacial coupling between CoN2-G and the MXene substrate. Our finding demonstrates that the sluggish hydrogen evolution process in alkaline media can be facilitated by taking advantage of the fast charge transfer kinetics and interfacial coupling of MXenes.",battery
"As a prototypical photocatalyst, TiO2 is a material of scientific and technological interest. In photocatalysis and other applications, TiO2 is often reduced, behaving as an n-type semiconductor with unique physico-chemical properties. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the understanding of the fundamental properties and applications of excess electrons in reduced, undoped TiO2. We discuss the characteristics of excess electrons in the bulk and at the surface of rutile and anatase TiO2 focusing on their localization, spatial distribution, energy levels, and dynamical properties. We examine specific features of the electronic states for photoexcited TiO2, for intrinsic oxygen vacancy and Ti interstitial defects, and for surface hydroxyls. We discuss similarities and differences in the behaviors of excess electrons in the rutile and anatase phases. Finally, we consider the effect of excess electrons on the reactivity, focusing on the interaction between excess electrons and adsorbates.",non-battery
"Stable operation of rechargeable lithium-based batteries at low temperatures is important for cold-climate applications, but is plagued by dendritic Li plating and unstable solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI). Here, we report on high-performance Li metal batteries under low-temperature and high-rate-charging conditions. The high performance is achieved by using a self-assembled monolayer of electrochemically active molecules on current collectors that regulates the nanostructure and composition of the SEI and deposition morphology of Li metal anodes. A multilayer SEI that contains a lithium fluoride-rich inner phase and amorphous outer layer effectively seals the Li surface, in contrast to the conventional SEI, which is non-passive at low temperatures. Consequently, galvanic Li corrosion and self-discharge are suppressed, stable Li deposition is achieved from −60 °C to 45 °C, and a Li | LiCoO2 cell with a capacity of 2.0 mAh cm−2 displays a 200-cycle life at −15 °C with a recharge time of 45 min.",battery
"To supply continuous energy to the load, the stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems in most of the cases require energy buffer where common choice becomes lead acid batteries. However, supplying a large burst of current even for small time duration may result in battery destruction and life degradation. An alternate solution to this problem is to use ultracapacitor (UC) alone or in conjunction with the batteries. Due to non-linear behavior, ultracapacitors are difficult to model. In this paper, the Averaging Point Method (APM) is proposed to model the ultracapacitor. The Averaging Point Method takes into account the dynamic behavior of the ultracapacitor, generally neglected by different researchers. The ultracapacitor is modeled with nonlinear and linear factors, temperature dependency and time-dependent behavior of UC capacitance. Quantities of tests were conducted at 10F, 150F, 200F, 350F, 470F 2.7V ultracapacitors, furthermore on 20F 12V UC utilizing distinctive rating solar panels to charge UCs. Different hybrid storage applications using ultracapacitor battery combination are also discussed with relative merits and demerits of both storage devices. The extensive reproduction work completed utilizing MATLAB/Simulink® programming demonstrates a lot of similitudes between the recreations and exploratory results. The proposed model is valuable to comprehend UC conduct when associated with PV panels as an additional vitality cradle.",battery
"A novel Li-ion polymer battery (Li-IonPB) based on LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 as a cathode and an alternative composite anode (CA) is proposed for future application in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). A micro-Li-ion polymer cell is prepared in situ inside the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) sample pan, and the exothermic heat development is compared with that of the micro-lithium-solid polymer electrolyte cell. The thermal decomposition of both cells is further investigated from a qualitative point of view.",battery
"Maternal immune activation (MIA) induced by lipopolysaccharides or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid injections can induce behavioral abnormalities in adult mouse offspring. Here, we used the soluble tachyzoite antigen from Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that infects approximately two billion people, to induce MIA in mice. The adult male offspring showed autism-relevant behaviors and abnormal brain microstructure, along with a pro-inflammatory T-cell immune profile in the periphery and upregulation of interleukin-6 in brain astrocytes. We show that adoptive transfer of regulatory T (Treg) cells largely reversed these MIA-induced phenotypes. Notably, pathogen-activated maternal Treg cells showed greater rescue efficacy than those from control donors. Single-cell RNA sequencing identified and characterized a unique group of pathogen-activated Treg cells that constitute 32.6% of the pathogen-activated maternal Treg population. Our study establishes a new preclinical parasite-mimicking MIA model and suggests therapeutic potential of adoptive Treg cell transfer in neuropsychiatric disorders associated with immune alterations.",non-battery
"The use of MEMS implantable drug delivery pump device enables one to program the desired drug delivery profile in the device for individualized medicine treatment to patients. In this study, a MEMS drug delivery device is prepared and employed for in vivo applications. 12 devices are implanted subcutaneously into Kunming mice for evaluating their long term biocompatibility and drug-delivery efficiency in vivo. All the mice survived after device implantation surgery procedures. Histological analysis result reveals a normal wound healing progression within the tissues-to-device contact areas. Serum analysis shows that all measured factors are within normal ranges and do not indicate any adverse responses associated with the implanted device. Phenylephrine formulation is chosen and delivered to the abdominal cavity of the mice by using either the implanted MEMS device (experimental group) or the syringe injection method (control group). Both groups show that they are able to precisely control and manipulate the increment rate of blood pressure in the small animals. Our result strongly suggests that the developed refillable implantable MEMS devices will serve as a viable option for future individualized medicine applications such as glaucoma, HIV-dementia and diabetes therapy.
",non-battery
"Recent advances in MRI have provided the opportunity to map changes in hemodynamics that correspond to cognitive and sensory operations. These advances in noninvasive, low-risk, imaging environments have extended the traditional role of medical imaging into new domains that include investigations into the interplay between brain anatomy, physiology, and function. This interplay is mandatory for examination of the complex effects of diffuse damage caused by traumatic brain injury. Functional MRI (fMRI) provides relatively high-resolution indirect assessment of neuronal activity. Three main factors interact to affect the quality of fMRI data that is acquired: (1) MRI hardware, (2) the paradigm (or experimental) design, and (3) subject cooperation. This article focuses on paradigm design and subject cooperation.",non-battery
"The contribution of endogenous nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) to neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism has been evaluated in haloperidol-treated mice. Pharmacological blockade of N/OFQ receptors (NOP) via systemic administration of 1-[(3R,4R)-1-cyclooctylmethyl-3-hydroxymethyl-4-piperidyl]-3-ethyl-1,3-dihydro-2H benzimidazol-2-one (J-113397, 0.01–10 mg/kg i.p.) or central injection of [Nphe1,Arg14,Lys15]N/OFQ-NH2 (UFP-101, 10 nmol i.c.v.) attenuated (0.8 mg/kg) haloperidol-induced motor deficits as evaluated by a battery of behavioral tests providing complementary information on motor parameters: the bar, drag and rotarod tests. A combined neurochemical and behavioral approach was then used to investigate whether the substantia nigra reticulata could be involved in antiakinetic actions of J-113397. Microdialysis combined to the bar test revealed that haloperidol (0.3 and 0.8 mg/kg i.p.) caused a dose-dependent and prolonged elevation of immobility time (i.e. akinesia) which was associated with an increase in nigral glutamate and a reduction in GABA release. Conversely, J-113397 (1 mg/kg) alone reduced glutamate and elevated nigral GABA release, and when challenged against haloperidol, counteracted its behavioral and neurochemical effects. Microdialysis coupled to behavioral testing also demonstrated that NOP receptor knockout mice were resistant to haloperidol (0.3 mg/kg) compared to wild-type mice, lack of response being associated with a reversal of glutamate release facilitation into inhibition and no change in nigral GABA release. This study provides pharmacological and genetic evidence that endogenous N/OFQ contributes to haloperidol-induced akinesia and changes of amino acid transmission in mice. Moreover, it confirms the view that NOP receptor antagonists are capable of reversing akinesia across species and genotypes and may prove effective in relieving neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism.",non-battery
"Electrodeposited thin films of manganese dioxide, prepared using chronoamperometry on a platinum substrate in an electrolyte of MnSO4 in H2SO4, possess a significantly higher capacitance compared to the literature materials (>2000Fg−1 which is at least a 250% increase in performance) when cycled over a 0.8V potential window in an aqueous electrolyte of 0.5M Na2SO4. This excellent performance is discussed in terms of the manganese dioxide electrodeposition mechanism, in particular the growth mechanism under the preferred slow mass transport of electro-active species, and its effects on morphology. Furthermore, the origin of the enhanced capacitance is discussed, in which case we have proposed arises from contributions made by hydroxyl groups on the manganese dioxide nano-particulate surface, in addition to the fast redox reactions that are necessary for pseudo-capacitance.",battery
"Lithium metal is among the most sought-after anode chemistries for next-generation electrical energy storage due to its high theoretical capacity (3860mAhg−1) and low reduction potential (− 3.04V vs S.H.E.). To realize its promise, reactive Li anodes must be paired with high-energy conversion cathodes, such as sulfur or oxygen. Chemical and physical instability at both electrodes pose formidable challenges to development of practical lithium metal batteries. These instabilities are compounded by problems with active material loss and anode passivation when Li is paired with conversion cathodes, such as elemental sulfur. Here, we report on design principles and a process for creating artificial solid electrolyte interphases composed of ionic shields that are able to stabilize electrochemical processes at both the anode and cathode of Li-S electrochemical cells. We show that ASEI composed of negatively-charged nanoparticles on Li stabilize deposition of Li at the anode by multiple fundamental mechanisms. A similar concept is used to design interphases composed of positively charged conductive nanoparticles at the cathode and shown to be effective at intercepting dissolved polysulfide anions and for enhancing sulfur reutilization. We combine the two ASEI design strategies to create Li-S cells based on high-loading sulfur cathodes and demonstrate their long-term cycling stability.",battery
"Two novel metal–organic coordination polymers with the formulas [Zn(btdc)(2,2′-bpy)] n (1) and {[Cd2(btdc)2(2,2′-bpy)]·DMF} n (2) have been solvothermally synthesized by the assembly of mixed ligands, H2btdc and 2,2′-bpy with Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and Cd(NO3)2·4H2O, respectively, where H2btdc=2,2′-bithiophene-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid, 2,2′-bpy=2,2′-bipyridine, and DMF= N,N′-dimethylformamide. Complex 1 is composed with one-dimensional (1D) infinite zigzag polymeric coordination chains, which are further stacked into 3D supramolecular architecture by π–π stacking interaction. Complex 2 possesses 2D layers with the thickness about 1.2nm, these layers forming a 3D network through π–π stacking interactions. In complex 1, the btdc ligand exists in stable trans conformation and the conformation of btdc ligand in complex 2 is of both trans and cis. Furthermore, these two complexes show enhanced fluorescent emission in comparison with H2btdc ligand.",non-battery
"Objective To compare clinical, laboratory, lifestyle, and sociodemographic parameters and cardiac risk in antipsychotic-treated patients with and without metabolic syndrome (MS). Methods A multicenter cross-sectional study in which 117 psychiatrists recruited antipsychotic-treated outpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder. MS was diagnosed when 3 or more of the following criteria were met: waist circumference >102 cm (men)/>88 cm (women); serum triglycerides ≥150 mg/dl; HDL cholesterol <40 mg/dl (men)/<50 mg/dl (women); blood pressure ≥130/85 mmHg; fasting blood glucose ≥110 mg/dl. The 10-year cardiovascular (CV) risk was assessed by the Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) function (CV mortality) and the Framingham function (any-CV-event). Results 1452 evaluable patients (863 men, 60.9%), aged 40.7±12.2 years and with a mean duration of illness of 15.5±10.8 years (mean±SD), were included. MS was present in 24.6% [23.6% (men), 27.2% (women); p =0.130]. Overall 10-year risks were 0.9±1.9 (SCORE) and 7.2±7.6 (Framingham). Coronary heart disease (CHD) 10-year risk was higher in MS patients: 6.6% vs 2.8% showed high/very-high CV mortality risk (SCORE≥3%), and 44.2% vs 12.9% high/very-high CV event risk (Framingham≥10%) (p <0.001). MS patients also had more psychopathology (PANSS) and greater severity (CGI). Conclusions MS is highly prevalent in antipsychotic-treated patients and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and psychopathology.",non-battery
"This paper develops a simple but innovative integrated optimization approach (IOA) for deriving the best solutions of component sizing and control strategies of a hybrid energy system (HES) which consists of a lithium battery and a supercapacitor module. To implement IOA, a multiple for-loop structure with a preset cost function is needed to globally calculate the best hybridization and energy management of the HES. For system hybridization, the optimal size ratio is evaluated by maximizing the HES energy stored capacity at various costs. For energy management, the optimal power distribution combined with a three-mode rule-based strategy is searched to minimize the total consumed energy. Combining above two for-loop structures and giving a time-dependent test scenario, the IOA is derived by minimizing the accumulated HES power. Simulation results show that 6% of the total HES energy can be saved in the IOA case compared with the original system in two driving cycles: ECE and UDDS, and two vehicle weights, respectively. It proves that the IOA effectively derives the maximum energy storage capacity and the minimum energy consumption of the HES at the same time. Experimental verification will be carried out in the near future.",battery
"The pathophysiology of cervical dystonia is not completely understood. Current concepts of the pathophysiology propose that it is a network disorder involving the basal ganglia, cerebellum and sensorimotor cortex. These structures are primarily concerned with sensorimotor control but are also involved in non-motor functioning such as the processing of information related to the chemical senses. This overlap lets us hypothesize a link between cervical dystonia and altered sense of smell and taste. To prove this hypothesis and to contribute to the better understanding of cervical dystonia, we assessed olfactory and gustatory functioning in 40 adults with idiopathic cervical dystonia and 40 healthy controls. The Sniffin Sticks were used to assess odor threshold, discrimination and identification. Furthermore, the Taste Strips were applied to assess the combined taste score. Motor and non-motor deficits of cervical dystonia including neuropsychological and psychiatric alterations were assessed as cofactors for regression analyses. We found that cervical dystonia subjects had lower scores than healthy controls for odor threshold (5.8 ± 2.4 versus 8.0 ± 3.2; p = 0.001), odor identification (11.7 ± 2.3 versus 13.1 ± 1.3; p = 0.001) and the combined taste score (9.5 ± 2.2 versus 11.7 ± 2.7; p < 0.001), while no difference was found in odor discrimination (12.0 ± 2.5 versus 12.9 ± 1.8; p = 0.097). Regression analysis suggests that age is the main predictor for olfactory decline in subjects with cervical dystonia. Moreover, performance in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a predictor for gustatory decline in cervical dystonia subjects. Findings propose that cervical dystonia is associated with diminished olfactory and gustatory functioning.",non-battery
"A worm-like mesoporous structured iron-based fluoride (Fe1.9F4.75·0.95H2O) is successfully synthesized for the first time by a rapid microwave irradiation heating route using ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BmimBF4) as fluorine source and iron (III) nitrate nonahydrate (Fe(NO3)3·9H2O) as iron source. By controlling the amount of ionic liquid, a series of nanostructured iron-based fluoride materials with different morphologies are obtained. A possible formation mechanism related to the role of the ionic liquid is proposed. The electrochemical performances of the worm-like mesoporous structured iron-based fluoride as cathodes for rechargeable lithium batteries are investigated. A high discharge plateau around 2.7 V at the first cycle, a reversible discharge capacity as high as 145 mAh g−1 at a current density of 14 mA g−1 and a good rate performance with a high rate capacity of 125 mAh g−1 even at 71 mA g−1 are obtained.",battery
"Fins are surface extensions used to increase the rate of heat transfer from a heated surface to the surrounding cooler fluid or from a heated fluid to the surface. In this article, we describe new families of straight and pin fins for which the temperature distribution along the fin as well as fin effectiveness and efficiency can be computed in closed form. The profile of the new straight fin is a circular arc centered on the fin’s longitudinal axis, while the profile of the new pin fin is a more complex concave parametric curve. Although the pattern of temperature distribution in these fins is remarkably similar to that in the classic straight and pin fins of constant thickness, the geometry of the new fins is strikingly different; in particular, the maximum length of the new fins is finite. We also discovered that both classic fins of constant thickness and novel fins described in this work have the following equivalence property: if the ratio of the heat transfer coefficient on the fin’s tip to that on the lateral surface is not too high, then the temperature distribution for a fin with a non-adiabatic boundary condition at the tip is identical to that for a longer fin of the same kind with adiabatic tip. Our analysis of heat transfer by fins is only based on standard homogeneity, steady-state, and one-dimensionality assumptions. In particular, we completely dispense with the “length-of-arc” assumption that underlies most of the previous works.",non-battery
"A novel flexible and lightweight Fe2O3-based lithium-ion battery anode has been developed by growing porous α-Fe2O3 nanorods onto carbon nanotubes–graphene foam (CNT–GF). The CNT–GF 3D network provides a highly conductive, high surface areas and lightweight scaffold for the active Fe2O3 nanorods. Such unique electrodes for lithium-ion battery exhibit an 80% initial columbic efficiency, high-rate capabilities, and >1000mAh/g capacities at 200mA/g up to 300 cycles without obvious fading. These properties can be attributed to the fast electrochemical reaction kinetics and electron transport rendered by the conductive 3D network. Our structural design protocol can be extended to many other nanostructured metal oxides or sulfides, and thus provides a new strategy for construction of high-performance electrodes for energy storage.",battery
"Hollow carbonized polypyrrole (PPy) spheres are synthesized using poly(methyl methacrylate–ethyl acrylate–acrylic acid) latex spheres as sacrificial templates. The hollow spherical carbonized PPy/sulfur composite cathode materials are prepared by heating the mixture of hollow carbonized PPy spheres and element sulfur at 155 °C for 24 h. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations show the hollow structures of the carbonized PPy spheres and the homogeneous distribution of sulfur on the carbonized PPy shells. The hollow spherical carbonized PPy/sulfur composite with 60.9 wt.% S shows high specific capacity and excellent cycling stability when used as the cathode materials in lithium/sulfur cells, whose initial specific discharge capacity reaches as high as 1320 mA h g−1 and the reversible discharge capacity retains 758 mA h g−1 after 400 cycles at 0.2C. The excellent electrochemical properties benefit from the hollow structures and the flexible shells of the carbonized PPy spheres.",battery
"Spinel lithium manganese oxide, LiMn2O4, prepared by the sol–gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent under different (i) pH conditions, (ii) molar ratio of citric acid to total metal ion, (iii) amount of water, (iv) calcination temperature, and (vi) starting materials. The effects of various synthetic parameters on the purity of this oxide are analysed by means of X-ray diffraction measurements. The results show that pure LiMn2O4 can be prepared from nitrate salts as starting materials at a low temperature of 600°C. The optimum pH and molar ratio of chelating agent to total metal ions are 6.0 and 1.0, respectively.",battery
"China has a big population and all countryside are being urbanized recently, more and more buildings are being built with careful considerations of energy saving. Building integrated energy systems are thought to be of priority importance. There are extended energy storage researches and developments for buildings, such as building materials for stabilization of room temperature using the daily and night temperature difference in north China, desiccant materials integrated with buildings used for constant relative humidity control in south China. Solar thermal energy storage using specialized design of hot water tank, phase change materials (PCMs) or pebble stones have been well studied and demonstrated, whereas chemical energy storage capability had been also considered with potential applications. The development of electric battery storage for Photovoltaic (PV) is also highlighted as it is a good opportunity for smart grid development. In modern commercial building, uninterruptible power supplies using rechargeable battery packs and thermal energy storage are currently two of the most common applications for energy storage, while other storage technologies are still at the research stage. The above development of building integrated energy storage opportunities in China are described and analyzed, some demonstration projects are shown in this paper.",battery
"The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the importance of electricity production models based on the environmental impacts from a brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) plant. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to compare the environmental burdens of a BWRO plant with three different electricity production models in the United States, Singapore, and Spain. Input and output flows of BWRO plants are based on a study done by Munoz; life cycle inventories (LCIs) for the United States and Spain are adopted from Ecoinvent Database, while LCI for the Singapore electricity supply scheme is developed for the first time. The results highlight Singapore, the country with unique fuel mixes for electricity generation, achieves relatively better environmental savings in most impact categories at the current stage due to a high percentage of natural gas in the fossil fuel matrix. Results from uncertainty analysis further recognize the significance of this advantage. Furthermore, the results indicate the antiscalant application, power plant efficiency, and fuel exploration and production are also highly associated with the environmental performance of BWRO plant in certain categories. This work provides the first reference to conduct LCA of BWRO plant in Southeast Asia. It also provides a good reference for potential strategies to relieve environmental impacts of the RO desalination process.
",battery
Novel polymer-in-ionic liquid electrolytes (PILEs) have been developed for solid state electrochemical actuators based on polypyrrole. The active polymer electrodes are readily oxidized/reduced without degradation in the PILE. It was found that the actuator cycle life is significantly enhanced in the PILE as is the ‘shelf life’ of the device.,battery
"The major hurdle of room temperature sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) for large-scale energy storage applications lies in developing new electrode materials with higher energy/power densities and improved durability. This work presents a novel Na-P3/Li2MnO3 layered composite cathode with an alternating heteroepitaxial nanostructure fabricated by an in-situ composition modulation route. XRD structural refinement, synchrotron XAS and aberration-corrected HAADF-/ABF-STEM were employed to understand the structure evolution accompanying Li substitution. It is revealed that the in-situ formation of Li2MnO3 (Li-O’3) changes the crystallographic and chemical features of the neighboring Na-P3 layered matrix significantly and leads to the alternating Na-P3/Li-O’3 heteroepitaxial nanostructure. This alternating heteroepitaxial nanostructure delivers an extremely high reversible capacity of ~ 210 mAh g−1 between 1.5 and 4.5V vs. Na/Na+, much improved cycling stability and excellent electrode kinetics. Its enhanced electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the effective suppression of the P3-P3’’ phase transition and subsequent amorphization upon cycling to 4.5V.",battery
"Silicon (Si) has attracted much attention as a promising anode material for Li ion battery because of its high theoretical specific capacity and low working potential. However, Si has shown poor cycling behavior and reversibility, which result from its huge volume change and the following pulverization. In this study, an electrospinning method was adopted to synthesize Pitch-incorporated into Si/Carbon nanofibers (Si/Pitch CNFs), which has high crystalline carbon network compared to other Si/Carbon nanofibers without the carbon matrix obtained from the decomposition of pitch. We demonstrated that this high crystalline carbon network in the form of nanofiber has two kinds of merits: it not only reduced the diffusion length for Li ion transport thanks to its 1D morphology but also helped to tolerate high strain of Si and maintain electron transport throughout the entire electrode. As a result, Si/Pitch CNFs showed a greatly enhanced kinetic performance, even at 10C, thus showing its feasibility as a high-power material for future applications like electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage systems (ESS).",battery
"Modern, small-scale renewable energy technology has the potential to enable and sustain rural livelihoods, particularly in developing countries remote locations without access to the grid. Yet, the provision of rural energy to isolated communities might not achieve the desired long-term result unless its development is part of wider national policy geared to sustainable development and social equity. This article shows how a combination of technology and policy targeted at the improvement of livelihoods in rural areas is the best solution for maximising the capacity of renewable energy to deliver services. It pinpoints the transforming processes and the institutions participating in the delivery of energy technology. This work draws on the Cuban experience of renewable energy technology, that country’s efforts to improve quality of life for remote populations, and its pledge to promote environmental sustainability. Using a sustainable livelihoods approach, the results of a survey in a rural community are analysed in the framework of existing assets and policies. The article describes how it is not only local users who benefit from a comprehensive technical, social and environmental energy approach. The same governmental administration that promotes such services has much to gain from technology that works well, benefits the poor in remote locations and protects the environment within its larger policy promoting sustainable and egalitarian society.",non-battery
"Aiming at the development of a monolithic integrated all-solid-state self-rechargeable power unit, we perform a V-I characteristics compatibility study for the integration of such a device having a thin-film silicon multi-junction photovoltaic (PV) module and a thin-film solid Li//lithium phosphorus oxynitride//LiCoO2 battery. The battery and PV module are connected to mimic a monolithic module-to-storage cell device and the performance of this device in various temperature conditions has been tested. Few issues regarding the matching of the battery and PV module characteristics are identified for improvement. The concept of the integrated all-solid-state PV-battery solution appears viable especially in three-terminal device configuration.",battery
"An adequate theory of happiness or subjective well-being (SWB) needs to link at least three sets of variables: stable person characteristics (including personality traits), life events and measures of well-being (life satisfaction, positive affects) and ill-being (anxiety, depression, negative affects). It also needs to be based on long-term data in order to account for long-term change in SWB. By including personality measures in the 2005 survey, the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) became the first available dataset to provide long-term evidence about personality and change in one key measure of SWB, namely life satisfaction. Using these data, the paper suggests major revisions to the set-point theory of SWB; revisions which seek to account for long-term change. Previously, theory focused on evidence that individuals have their own set-point of SWB and revert to that set-point once the psychological impact of major life events has dissipated. But the new SOEP panel data show that significant minorities record substantial and apparently permanent upward or downward changes in life satisfaction. The paper aims to explain why most people’s SWB levels do not change, but why a minority do. The main new result, which must be regarded as tentative until replicated, is that the people most likely to record large changes in life satisfaction are those who score high on the personality traits of extraversion (E) and/or neuroticism (N). These people in a sense ‘roll the dice’ more often than others and so have a higher than average probability of recording long-term changes. Data come from the 3130 SOEP respondents who rated their life satisfaction every year from 1985 onwards, among whom 2843 also completed a set of questions about their personality in 2005.",non-battery
"Inattentive behavior is considered a core and pervasive feature of ADHD; however, an alternative model challenges this premise and hypothesizes a functional relationship between working memory deficits and inattentive behavior. The current study investigated whether inattentive behavior in children with ADHD is functionally related to the domain-general central executive and/or subsidiary storage/rehearsal components of working memory. Objective observations of children’s attentive behavior by independent observers were conducted while children with ADHD (n = 15) and typically developing children (n = 14) completed counterbalanced tasks that differentially manipulated central executive, phonological storage/rehearsal, and visuospatial storage/rehearsal demands. Results of latent variable and effect size confidence interval analyses revealed two conditions that completely accounted for the attentive behavior deficits in children with ADHD: (a) placing demands on central executive processing, the effect of which is evident under even low cognitive loads, and (b) exceeding storage/rehearsal capacity, which has similar effects on children with ADHD and typically developing children but occurs at lower cognitive loads for children with ADHD.
",non-battery
"Arachidonic acid, a fatty acid component of neuronal cell membranes, forms the backbone of endogenous ligands of the endocannabinoid system. The lipid nature of this system may make it particularly susceptible to changes in fat content of the diet, which may, in turn, affect endocannabinoid tone and subsequent changes in receptor expression or activity. The latter would also be expected to affect responses to exogenous cannabinoids. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of a high-fat diet on sensitivity to the pharmacological effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). Male and female Long-Evans rats were fed either a diet of standard rodent chow or chow enhanced with corn oil. Subsequently, they were repeatedly assessed for Δ9-THC-induced hypomobility, catalepsy and hypothermia. Female rats that received the high-fat diet beginning in adolescence or in adulthood became significantly less sensitive to the effects of Δ9-THC on motor behavior, but not its hypothermic effects, with faster development of decreased sensitivity in female rats that began the high-fat diet as adults. In contrast, diet-induced differences either did not occur, or were less pronounced, in male rats of both ages. After acute injection, brain and blood levels of Δ9-THC and its two primary metabolites were similar regardless of diet. Combined with the fact that diet differentially affected only some of the measures, these results suggest that pharmacokinetic differences cannot fully account for the effects of the high-fat diet on response to Δ9-THC. Further, these results suggest that dietary fat content may represent an important consideration in predicting the effects of marijuana in females.",non-battery
"Investigating the structure of a material is the first essential step in understanding its macroscopic properties. Getting insights of the interatomic and inter/intra-molecular interactions that influence the stability and the chemical behavior of a given compound allows its application in the best possible conditions and opens the way to design new materials with tailored properties. Neutron diffraction is a fundamental tool in structural characterization. Few examples concerning chemical crystallography, will be given to illustrate the properties that make neutrons the ideal probe for locating light atoms in the presence of heavy, electron-rich ones, and accurately determine atomic position and displacement parameters.",non-battery
"Tic disorders are heterogeneous, with symptoms varying widely both within and across patients. Exploration of symptom clusters may aid in the identification of symptom dimensions of empirical and treatment import. This article presents the results of two studies investigating tic symptom clusters using a sample of 99 youth (M age = 10.7, 81% male, 77% Caucasian) diagnosed with a primary tic disorder (Tourette’s disorder or chronic tic disorder), across two university-based outpatient clinics specializing in tic and related disorders. In Study 1, a cluster analysis of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) identified four symptom dimensions: predominantly complex tics; simple head/face tics; simple body tics; and simple vocal/facial tics. In Study 2, these clusters were shown to be differentially associated with demographic and clinical characteristics. Findings lend support to prior research on tic phenomenology, help to organize treatment goals, and suggest symptom dimensions of tic disorders for further evaluation.
",non-battery
"A simple and effective approach for the tight anchoring of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) to the surface of supercritical-alcohol-reduced graphene oxide (SRGO) is developed. The MoS2-SRGO composites are synthesized by the one-pot deposition of MoO2 on SRGO and simultaneous reduction of GO to SRGO in supercritical methanol followed by sulfurization. The obtained MoS2-SRGO composites contain a crystalline MoS2 phase comprising 11–14 layers of MoS2. In addition, the composites have mesoporous structures with high porosities, ranging between 55 and 57%. In comparison with bare MoS2 and SRGO, the MoS2-SRGO composites have enhanced electrochemical performances due to their mesoporous structures and the synergetic effect between MoS2 and SRGO sheets. When tested as the anode in a secondary lithium battery, it shows high reversible capacity of 896 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 after 50 cycles, a high rate capacity of 320 mAh g−1 at a high charge-discharge rate of 2.5 A g−1, and long-term cycling of 724 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 after 200 cycles. This unique synthetic approach effectively and tightly anchors MoS2 nanoparticles to the SRGO surface, resulting in improved structural integrity, electron transfer efficiency between the SRGO sheets and MoS2, and Li-ion diffusion kinetics.",battery
"Metal oxide nanostructures hold enormous potential for electrochemical applications. While thin films of polymer-modified metal oxide electrodes have been widely investigated, there have been a few studies on polymer-modified nanopowders. We report the synthesis of pure molybdenum trioxide (MoO3), pristine and aged nanobelts using hydrothermal method with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images reveal the nanobelts to have dimensions of 1–5μm in length and 100–600nm in diameter. The electrochemical measurements show that PEG-used aged MoO3 nanobelts have higher specific charge capacity than the PEG-free MoO3 and PEG-used pristine MoO3 nanobelts.",battery
"Transition metal oxide Cu2O anode is still not meeting the current market demands due to the low theoretical capacity and poor cycle stability. We herein report the synthesis of a nanoporous GeO2/Cu/Cu2O network by a straightforward dealloying method. The resulting material possesses high porosity which served to alleviate the stress incurred during lithiation/delithiation volume variation and presents good conductivity for fast electron transfer. Enhanced electrochemical performance is observed when measured as an anode material, delivering 715 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 after 50 cycles and offered 504 mAh g−1 even at a high current density of 1600 mA g−1 after 150 cycles. Furthermore, the material also demonstrates excellent rate performance of 812, 782, 741, 695, 635 and 552 mAh g−1 at 100, 200, 500, 800, 1600 and 3200 mA g−1 current densities, respectively. The enhanced Li storage performances could be ascribed to the reticular ligament with high porosity, the increased conductivity by Cu as well as the improved capacity from GeO2. Moreover, this work provides us a new material design strategy to fabricate various porous composite anodes with high capacity through a straightforward dealloying method in future for lithium-ion battery applications.",battery
"The implantation of pacemakers (PM) in neonates and infants requires particular consideration of small body size, marked body growth potential, and the decades of future pacing therapy to be expected. The aim of this study is to quantify the complications of implantation and outcome occurring at our center and to compare these with other centers. Retrospective analysis of 52 consecutive patients undergoing PM implantation at a single tertiary care center within the first year of life. PMs were implanted at a median age of 3 months (range 0–10 months). Structural heart defects were present in 44 of 52 patients. During a median follow-up time of 40.4 months (range 0.1–114 months), measurements for sensing, pacing thresholds, and lead impedance remained stable. No adverse pacing effect was observed in left ventricular function or dimensions over time. There were 20 reoperations in 13 patients at a median time of 4.7 years (range 0.05–8.2 years) after implantation, for end of battery life (n = 10), lead dysfunction (n = 3), device dislocation (n = 3), infection (n = 3), and diaphragmatic paresis (n = 1). No PM-related mortality occurred. Epicardial pacemaker implantation in neonates and infants is an invasive but safe and effective procedure with a relatively low risk of complications. Our current implantation technique and the use of bipolar steroid-eluting electrodes, which we prefer to implant on the left ventricular apex, lead to favorable long-term results.
",non-battery
"Degradation of Lithium-ion batteries is a complex process that is caused by a variety of mechanisms. For simplicity, ageing mechanisms are often grouped into three degradation modes (DMs): conductivity loss (CL), loss of active material (LAM) and loss of lithium inventory (LLI). State of Health (SoH) is typically the parameter used by the Battery Management System (BMS) to quantify battery degradation based on the decrease in capacity and the increase in resistance. However, the definition of SoH within a BMS does not currently include an indication of the underlying DMs causing the degradation. Previous studies have analysed the effects of the DMs using incremental capacity and differential voltage (IC-DV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The aim of this study is to compare IC-DV and EIS on the same data set to evaluate if both techniques provide similar insights into the causes of battery degradation. For an experimental case of parallelized cells aged differently, the effects due to LAM and LLI were found to be the most pertinent, outlining that both techniques are correlated. This approach can be further implemented within a BMS to quantify the causes of battery ageing which would support battery lifetime control strategies and future battery designs.",battery
"Nickel alloys containing optimum amounts of chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) are widely used in the chemical processing industries due to their tolerance to both oxidizing and reducing conditions. Unlike stainless steel (SS), Ni–Cr–Mo (W) alloys exhibit remarkably high uniform corrosion resistance in major concentrated acids, like hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). A higher uniform corrosion resistance of Ni–Cr–Mo (W) alloys, compared to other alloys, in concentrated acids can be attributed to the formation of protective oxide film of Mo and W in reducing acids, and Cr oxide film in oxidizing solutions. The localized corrosion resistance of Ni–Cr–Mo (W) alloys, containing high amount Cr as well as Mo (or Mo + W), is also significantly higher than that of other commercially available alloys. The present study investigates the role of alloying elements, in nickel alloys, to uniform corrosion resistance in concentrated acids (HCl, HCl + oxidizing impurities and H2SO4) and localized corrosion performance in chloride-rich environments using ASTM G-48 test methodology. The corrosion tests were conducted on various alloys, and the results were analyzed using weight loss technique and electrochemical techniques, in conjunction with surface characterization tools.",non-battery
"Objectives To determine whether objective (neuropsychological tests) and subjective measures (questionnaires) of executive functions (EFs) are associated in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and to determine to what extent level of participation and quality of life (QoL) of patients with PD can be predicted by these measures of EFs. Design Correlational research design (case-control and prediction design). Setting Departments of neuropsychology of 3 medical centers. Participants A sample (N=136) of patients with PD (n=42) and their relatives, and controls without PD (n=94). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures A test battery measuring EFs. In addition, patients, their relatives, and controls completed the Dysexecutive Questionnaire, Brock Adaptive Functioning Questionnaire, and Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale – time management questionnaires measuring complaints about EFs. Participation and QoL were measured with the Impact on Participation and Autonomy scale and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39, respectively. Results Patients with PD showed impairments in EFs on objective tests and reported significantly more complaints about EFs than did controls without PD. No associations were found between patients' performances on objective and subjective measures of EFs. However, both objective and subjective measures predicted patients' level of participation. In addition, subjective measures of EFs predicted QoL in patients with PD. Conclusions These findings show that objective and subjective measures of EFs are not interchangeable and that both approaches predict level of participation and QoL in patients with PD. However, within this context, sex needs to be taken into account.",non-battery
"Lithium-rich layered oxide materials are very promising but with some weaknesses, which limit their commercialization, such as large irreversible capacity loss at the first cycle, continuing discharge capacity and voltage fading. Among these, voltage fading is one of the most serious problems for their final practical applications. Herein, we successfully synthesized hollow spherical Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 cathode material with MnO2 hollow spheres as the templates. The as-prepared sample was spherically secondary particles with hollow cavities. It showed improved cycle stability, rate capability, and suppression of voltage fading. After 100 cycles at 1 C, the retention of average discharge voltage could reach up to 97.0% (the average voltage loss was only 0.103 V). It can be attributed to the hollow structure which could release the stress of lithium removal, leading to the suppressed migration of transition metal ions into the lithium layers and the transformation from layered phase to spinel-like phase.",battery
" Reliable cognitive assessment for Indigenous Australians is difficult given that mainstream tests typically rely on Western concepts, content and values. A test’s psychometric properties should therefore be assessed prior to use in other cultures. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the reliability and acceptability of four cognitive tests for Australian Aboriginal people.",non-battery
"The micron-sized LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 (LMFP) mesocrystals with high volumetric density were successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method. The LMFP mesocrystals, composed of ∼30-nm-sized nanocrystallites, exhibit a high tap density of ∼1.2g/cm3. The synthesis of such nano-sized crystals was rendered by ascorbic acid which serves as surface-energy modifier. Interestingly, the ascorbic acid also directed the primary nanocrystals to anisotropic aggregations, and the growth mechanisms were rationally identified by TEM and x-ray diffraction. For reversible Li insertion/extraction, the interconnected particles within the mesocrystals were coated by conductive carbon, and the enhancement of the electrochemical properties (i.e. high specific capacity and good rate capability) was assessed by galvanostatic cycling. We believe that this work provides one of the routes to design electrochemically-favorable meso/nano-structures, which is of great potential for improving the battery performance by tuning the morphology of particles at the multi-length scale.",battery
"An understanding of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) that forms on the lithium-metal surface is essential to the further development of rechargeable lithium-metal batteries. Currently, the formation of dendrites during cycling, which can lead to catastrophic failure of the cell, has mostly halted research on these power sources. The discovery of ionic liquids as electrolytes has rekindled the possibility of safe, rechargeable, lithium-metal batteries. The current limitation of ionic liquid electrolytes, however, is that when compared with conventional non-aqueous electrolytes the device rate capability is limited. Recently, we have shown that the addition of a zwitterion such as N-methyl-N-(butyl sulfonate) pyrrolidinium resulted in enhancement of the achievable current densities by 100%. It was also found that the resistance of the SEI layer in the presence of a zwitterion is 50% lower. In this study, a detailed chemical and electrochemical analysis of the SEI that forms in both the presence and absence of a zwitterion has been conducted. Clear differences in the chemical nature and also the thickness of the SEI are observed and these may account for the enhancement of operating current densities.",battery
"Silver oxide film was electrodeposited onto the indium tin oxide (ITO) glass. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the structure. The argentic oxide was identified to be AgO. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) were obtained on the AgO film after the 514.5-nm laser activation. Ag nanoparticles produced from the photo-active decomposition of AgO was the substrate responsible for the enhancement of Raman signal of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid. The evolution of 4-MBA SERS spectra with time was observed due to development of Ag nanoparticles against the activation time. SERS spectra of 4-MBA, p-aminothiophenol (PATP) and benzoic acid (BA) were analyzed to determine the adsorption and orientation behaviors of above molecules. Both the electromagnetic and chemical enhancement mechanisms were proposed to be responsible for the observed enhancement of Raman signals. The enhancement factor for 4-mercaptopyridine (4-MPY) was estimated on the order of magnitude of 103.",non-battery
"This paper presents a detailed review of a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, in conjunction with various charging strategies of electric vehicles (EVs), and analyzes their impacts on power distribution networks. It is shown in this study that a vehicle, equipped with the ability of a V2G application, offers various features such as regulation of active power, support for reactive power, load balancing, current harmonics filtering etc. However, the technology of V2G also creates challenging issues, for instance, degradation of batteries, communication overhead between an EV and a grid, changes in whole infrastructure of a distribution network. In particular, the impacts of the EVs that are based on their penetration levels and charging profiles are discussed in detail. Moreover, an extensive analysis is also presented on coordinated/un-coordinated charging, delayed charging, off-peak charging and intelligent scheduling in a distribution network (DN). Our study also shows that the economic benefits of a V2G technology heavily depend on the strategies of charging and vehicle aggregation.",battery
"In future active distribution networks (ADNs), microgrids (MGs) may have the possibility to control the power dispatched to the ADN by coordinating the output power of their multiple renewable generation units and energy storage units (ESUs). In this way, each MG may support the active distribution network, while promoting the penetration of renewable energy sources in a rational way. In this paper, we propose a tie-line power flow control of a hybrid MG, including photovoltaic (PV) generator, small wind turbines (WT), and ESUs. Firstly, the structure of the hybrid PV/WT/ESU MG is presented. In this power architecture, the battery is directly connected to the PV side through a DC/DC converter, thus reducing the number of conversions. Secondly, a hierarchical control is proposed to coordinate all those elements of the MG, making the tie-line power flow constant for a period of time, e.g. 15min. Also, a method to calculate the tie-line power flow to be exchanged between the MG and the ADN is explored, and a power ramp rate is given between different dispatch intervals. Finally, a simulation model of the hybrid MG is built and tested. Simulation results show that the proposed hierarchical control strategy can select the proper operational mode and achieve seamless transfer between different modes. It also presents power curtailment functionality when the difference between the WT/PV output power and tie-line exchanged power flow is too large.",battery
"Huntington’s disease (HD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder that has no cure. Although treatments can often be given to relieve symptoms, the neuropathology associated with HD cannot be stopped or reversed. HD is characterized by degeneration of the striatum and associated pathways that leads to impairment in motor and cognitive functions as well as psychiatric disturbances. Although cell and rodent models for HD exist, longitudinal study in a transgenic HD nonhuman primate (i.e., rhesus macaque; HD monkeys) shows high similarity in its progression with human patients. Progressive brain atrophy and changes in white matter integrity examined by magnetic resonance imaging are coherent with the decline in cognitive behaviors related to corticostriatal functions and neuropathology. HD monkeys also express higher anxiety and irritability/aggression similar to human HD patients that other model systems have not yet replicated. While a comparative model approach is critical for advancing our understanding of HD pathogenesis, HD monkeys could provide a unique platform for preclinical studies and long-term assessment of translatable outcome measures. This review summarizes the progress in the development of the transgenic HD monkey model and the opportunities for advancing HD preclinical research.
",non-battery
"In addition to high energy, batteries need to possess high power and to be able to operate in all climates. Here, the authors present an electrochemically active monolayer-coated current collector that is used to produce high-performance Li metal batteries under low-temperature and high-rate-charging conditions.
",battery
"Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions are important in the global atmospheric chemistry and their feedbacks to global warming are uncertain. Global warming is expected to trigger vegetation changes and water table drawdown in boreal peatlands, such changes have only been investigated on isoprene emission but never on other BVOCs. We aimed at distinguishing the BVOCs released from vascular plants, mosses and peat in hummocks (dry microsites) and hollows (wet microsites) of boreal peatland microcosms maintained in growth chambers. We also assessed the effect of water table drawdown (−20cm) on the BVOC emissions in hollow microcosms. BVOC emissions were measured from peat samples underneath the moss surface after the 7-week-long experiment to investigate whether the potential effects of vegetation and water table drawdown were shown. BVOCs were sampled using a conventional chamber method, collected on adsorbent and analyzed with GC–MS. In hummock microcosms, vascular plants increased the monoterpene emissions compared with the treatment where all above-ground vegetation was removed while no effect was detected on the sesquiterpenes, other reactive VOCs (ORVOCs) and other VOCs. Peat layer from underneath the surface with intact vegetation had the highest sesquiterpene emissions. In hollow microcosms, intact vegetation had the highest sesquiterpene emissions. Water table drawdown decreased monoterpene and other VOC emissions. Specific compounds could be closely associated to the natural/lowered water tables. Peat layer from underneath the surface of hollows with intact vegetation had the highest emissions of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and ORVOCs whereas water table drawdown decreased those emissions. The results suggest that global warming would change the BVOC emission mixtures from boreal peatlands following changes in vegetation composition and water table drawdown.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses numerous types of nickel batteries, such as nickel-cadmium secondary batteries, nickel-hydrogen and silver-hydrogen secondary batteries, and sodium-nickel chloride secondary batteries. There are two types of nickel-cadmium batteries: sealed and open. Both sealed and open nickel-cadmium batteries are based on similar chemical reactions. The sealed type is designed to be maintenance free and under normal conditions will not release gas, whereas an open battery is designed to release gases when necessary, and requires topping up and, in some cases, a complete electrolyte change. The basic nickel-hydrogen system consists of a catalytic gas electrode (negative) coupled with a nickel electrode (positive). These cells use a nickel positive electrode that is similar to those used on aerospace nickel-cadmium cells. The nickel-zinc secondary batteries comprise a positive nickel electrode of the sintered or pasted type similar to that used in the nickel-cadmium battery. The zinc electrode is usually prepared from powdered zinc oxide, often mixed with a Teflon binder, and pressed on to an expanded silver grid. Sodium-nickel chloride secondary battery is a relatively new type of rechargeable battery operating at 200-300°C with an emf of about 2.6V at operating temperatures and with possibilities for electric vehicle propulsion.",battery
"Summary The identity of protease(s), which would degrade bacterial cell division protein FtsZ in vivo, remains unknown. However, we had earlier demonstrated that Escherichia coli metalloprotease FtsH degrades E. coli cell division protein FtsZ in an ATP- and Zn2+-dependent manner in vitro. In this study, we examined FtsH protease-mediated degradation of FtsZ in vitro in detail using seven different deletion mutants of FtsZ as the substrates, which lack different extents of specific regions at the N- or C-terminus. FtsH protease assay in vitro on these mutants revealed that FtsH could degrade all the seven deletion mutants irrespective of the deletions or the extent of deletions at the N- or C-terminus. These observations indicated that neither the N-terminus nor the C-terminus was required for the degradation of FtsZ, like already known in the case of the FtsH substrate σ 32 protein. The recombinant clones expressing full-length FtsZ protein and FtsZ deletion mutant proteins would be useful in investigating the possibility of FtsZ as a potential in vivo substrate for FtsH in ftsH-null cells carrying ftsH suppressor function and ectopically expressed FtsH protease.",non-battery
"Li–Mn–O oxides were synthesized by mechanochemistry from a stoichiometric mixture of Li2O and MnO2 using various grinding times (0<t milling<15h). X-ray diffraction patterns of the ground samples (t milling <10 h ) exhibit the same features as LiMn2O4 spinel structure (SG: Fd3m) with, however, a slight discrepancy in the lattice parameter (a cub) suggesting a non-stoichiometry of the Li–Mn–O oxides. a cub increases with milling time to reach for 8h of grinding a value of 8.24Å similar to stoichiometric LiMn2O4. As a matter of fact, after 8h of milling, mechanosynthesized Li–Mn–O spinel-type oxide shows quasi-identical electrochemical performances as high temperature LiMn2O4 ground for 1h.",battery
"A facile high-temperature solid phase approach is employed to coat lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) layer on the concentration gradient Li[Ni0.73Co0.12Mn0.15]O2 material with Ni-rich core and Ni-poor surface. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrate that LiPON forms an even coating with ∼4nm of thickness on the surface without destroying the bulk structure of Li[Ni0.73Co0.12Mn0.15]O2 material. The LiPON-coated concentration gradient Li[Ni0.73Co0.12Mn0.15]O2 material exhibits a capacity retention of 87.3% at 25°C after 1000 cycles and 89.9% at 55°C after 250 cycles, which is 36.1% and 17.2% higher than that of pristine Li[Ni0.73Co0.12Mn0.15]O2 material, respectively, under the same operating conditions. This significantly improved cycling performance is ascribed to the noncrystalline LiPON layer on the surface, which provides a reliable interface protection. The LiPON coating is an effective approach to enhancing the electrochemical performance of electrode materials for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Improving the reaction kinetics of cathode and preventing the dissolution of polysulfides are two of the key strategies of developing the high-performance lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, we propose a multi-porous conductive architecture through bridging conductive TiN nanoparticle over the surface of CNT-S composite. The as-prepared TiN@CNT-S composite cathode delivers the superior initial specific capacity of 1269mAhg−1 at 0.05C and as high as 586mAhg−1 at 2C. The reversible capacity of the TiN@CNT-S composite cathode is about two times higher than the bare cathode without TiN conductive bridging at 1C over 400 cycles. A high areal capacity of 4.0mAhcm−2 was realized for the TiN@CNT-S composite cathode with a high areal sulfur loading of 5.4mgcm−2 at a current rate of 0.5C over 50 cycles. The enhancements in the electrochemical performances are mainly ascribed to the TiN bridged highly conductive structure; the formation of the strong chemical interaction of S-N-Ti bond for polysulfides trapping provided by the chemically polar TiN, which is verified by the ultraviolet visible (UV) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries are attractive for vehicle electrification or grid modernization applications. In these applications, battery packs are required to have multiple-cell configurations and battery management system to operate properly and safely. Here, a useful equivalent circuit model was developed to simulate the spontaneous transient balancing currents among parallel strings in a battery system. The simulation results were validated with experimental data to illustrate the accuracy and validity of the model predictions. Understanding the transient behavior of such cell and string balancing in a parallel circuit configuration is very important to assess the impacts of current fluctuation and cell variability on a battery system's performance, regarding durability, reliability, safety, abuse tolerance and failure prevention, including possible short circuit or open circuit conditions. Additional features and advantages, including the ability to assessing impacts on the performance of the string assemblies from string swapping or cell/module replacement in the strings, could be realized to aid battery management, maintenance and repair.",battery
"The effect of additives of transition metal cations (Zn2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, and Mn 2+) on the passivation of lithium metal anode in Li–S batteries was investigated. The effects of transition cation additives on improving rate capability and Coulombic efficiency were observed in the following order: Zn2+ > Cu2+ > Co2+ > Ni2+ > Mn2+ > no salt. With Zn additives, less-accumulation of sulfur and smoother surfaces were observed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) compared to that without additives. The result is consistent with Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance (EQCM) measurement, where less increase in mass changes of the anode for Zn additive as compared to Cu and no additive. The findings can be attributed to transition metal sulfides deposited on lithium surface cooperate with lithium sulfide and electrolyte decomposition product resulting in a smoother and more robust solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) films. The enhanced homogeneity of passivation layer greatly hinders the parasitic reactions between lithium metal and polysulfides as well as organic electrolyte, reducing the loss of active material and improving Coulombic efficiency. On the other hand, the uniform and mechanically strong SEI film introduces less undesired lithium plating and further accumulation on active sites, which significantly enhance the long-term stability due to improved surface morphology and chemistry. The results of this study provide a facile method of in-situ chemical formation of passivation layer protecting the lithium metal in batteries.",battery
"To study the diversity, distribution and community structure of endophytic fungi, a medicinal plant Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Presl., was selected from ayurvedic garden of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, India. Differences were observed between the endophytic myco-population of young and mature tissues of leaf, stem and petiole. The leaf segments with midrib (43.93 %, Isolation Frequency) were found to have more endophytic isolates than the vein less foliar segments (21.21 %), however, the segments with lateral veins (34.84 %) are comparatively closer to the midrib segments in endophytic recovery. The mature tissues are found to harbor more endophytic diversity than the young ones. It was observed that some endophytes restrict the probable invasion of other endophytes in their respective tissues, and thus defend their tissue specificity. The endophytic microbes obtained in this study are evaluated for their antimicrobial activity, against an array of human and plant pathogens. Pestalotiopsis sp. showed significant inhibitory activity against Phytophthora cryptogea (57.7 %), Pythium aphanidermatum (54.5 %) and Microsporum nanum (51.4), while Phomopsis sp. inhibited P. aphanidermatum moderately. This preliminary work not only resolutes the understanding about plant-endophytes interactions and distribution within the host, but also provides platform for screening and isolation of novel natural antimicrobial compounds, that may be utilized in designing novel drugs for sustainable relief to the mankind.
",non-battery
"The potentiostatic deposition of porous Ag foams from a new stable thiocyanate based bath using hydrogen bubbles as a dynamic template during deposition was investigated. The influence of the electrolyte content, deposition potential and deposition time on the micro- and nanoscale morphology of the Ag form was examined. The formation of three main morphological forms on the nanoscale level: dendrites, a framework of identical particles, and agglomerates of inhomogeneous particles with big Ag granules distributed on the foam surface, was demonstrated by the analysis of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data. The quality of the structures obtained was examined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). It was found that the experimental parameters had a huge effect on the morphology of Ag on both the micro- and nanoscale. The structures with the most efficient geometry from the technological point of view were obtained with the correct combination of parameters, viz. high concentrations of NH4 + and Ag+ in conjunction with a sufficient deposition potential and time. Foams with roughness factors as high as 1100 were obtained, showing a high geometrical area normalized double-layer capacitance and relatively high gravimetric capacitance of 22mFcm−2 and 2.4Fg−1, respectively.",battery
"The efficient transmission of redox-active electrolyte between redox flow battery (RFB) tanks and their reactors is essential to utilizing charge capacity in grid-scale installations. Emerging redox-active electrolyte chemistries with high viscosity motivate operating RFBs near stoichiometric flow conditions, challenging the utilization of charge capacity due to convective transport limitations. In this work we use numerical simulation to resolve convective transport within RFB tanks that are free-flowing or configured with baffles by solving the laminar vorticity transport equation and transient species diffusion in two dimensions. Dead zones within free-flowing tanks are found to limit capacity utilization, while baffles are shown to enhance capacity utilization by eliminating dead zones for baffles that nearly span the tank. Utilization is maximized at a particular Péclet number, which depends on the effective length and throat of the serpentine flow path produced by baffles. These effects are shown to result from competition between transverse and longitudinal diffusive transport relative to the local flow.",battery
"Interfacial charge transfer is a fundamental issue in both science and technology of the batteries. In this report, interfacial alkali-ion transfer between the cyanide-bridged coordination polymer (Prussian blue analogue, PBA) electrode and organic electrolytes was investigated. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) suggested that alkali-ion transfer at the K0.1Mn[Fe(CN)6]0.7·3.6H2O (MnFe-PBA) electrode–electrolyte interface involves two processes. One process could be interpreted as the ion transfer between the Outer Helmholtz Plane (OHP) and Inner Helmholtz Plane (IHP) including the solvation/desolvation process, the other could be interpreted as that between the IHP and electrode, including ad-ion diffusion on the electrode surface. Temperature dependence of the charge transfer resistances gave the activation energy for each process. The activation energy for Li-ion transfer between the OHP and IHP in propylene carbonate (PC) electrolyte is almost constant at the composition range of 0.1< x <0.6 in Li x MnFe-PBA, which is comparable to that in ethylene carbonate (EC)-diethyl carbonate (DEC) electrolyte. In contrast, the activation energy for Li-ion transfer between the IHP and electrode depends largely on the Li-ion concentration in the PBA electrode. However, the averaged value for Li-ion transfer is higher than that for Na-ion transfer. This result indicated that Li-ion on the PBA surface diffuses with higher potential barrier than Na-ion. Furthermore, the effect of the interfacial charge transfer resistance was evaluated by the high charge/discharge rate experiments.",battery
"Recent advances and continued research in energy storage systems suggest that storage management in grid-connected applications is an area of increasing importance. Hence, this paper proposes a novel voltage-based storage control scheme which reduces network stress and is capable of increasing customer remuneration where variable energy pricing schedules are implemented. The scheme charges the battery during instances of low load and discharges during peak load using only locally available data. The scheme is also capable of adapting to changes in load behaviour throughout the year and is capable of identifying whether local load is dependent on the working week. The scheme is verified both in the small-signal environment and in the steady-state load flow environment using MATLAB. Two case studies covering a typical residential and commercial load profile are conducted to investigate the performance of the proposed scheme.",battery
" In the UK young people attending child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are required to move on, either through discharge or referral to an adult service, at age 17/18, a period of increased risk for onset of mental health problems and other complex psychosocial and physical changes. CAMHS transitions are often poorly managed with negative outcomes for young people. Better preparation may improve outcomes and experience. This study aimed to co-produce, with young people who had transitioned or were facing transition from CAMHS, a CAMHS Transition Preparation Programme (TPP), deliverable in routine NHS settings.",non-battery
"Advances in the stability and efficiency of electronic structure codes along with the increased performance of commodity computing resources has enabled the automated high-throughput quantum chemical analysis of materials structure libraries containing thousands of structures. This allows the computational screening of a materials design space to identify lead systems and estimate critical structure–property limits which should prove an invaluable tool in informing experimental discovery and development efforts. Here this approach is illustrated for lithium ion battery additives. An additive library consisting of 7381 structures was generated, based on fluoro- and alkyl-derivatized ethylene carbonate (EC). Molecular properties (e.g. LUMO, EA, μ and η) were computed for each structure using the PM3 semiempirical method. The resulting lithium battery additive library was then analyzed and screened to determine the suitability of the additives, based on properties correlated with performance as a reductive additive for battery electrolyte formulations.",battery
"Histidine decarboxylase (HDC), the unique enzyme responsible for histamine generation, is highly expressed in myeloid cells, but its function in these cells is poorly understood. Here we show that Hdc-knockout mice show a high rate of colon and skin carcinogenesis. Using Hdc-EGFP bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mice in which EGFP expression is controlled by the Hdc promoter, we show that Hdc is expressed primarily in CD11b+Ly6G+ immature myeloid cells (IMCs) that are recruited early on in chemical carcinogenesis. Transplant of Hdc-deficient bone marrow to wild-type recipients results in increased CD11b+Ly6G+ cell mobilization and reproduces the cancer susceptibility phenotype of Hdc-knockout mice. In addition, Hdc-deficient IMCs promote the growth of tumor allografts, whereas mouse CT26 colon cancer cells downregulate Hdc expression through promoter hypermethylation and inhibit myeloid cell maturation. Exogenous histamine induces the differentiation of IMCs and suppresses their ability to support the growth of tumor allografts. These data indicate key roles for Hdc and histamine in myeloid cell differentiation and CD11b+Ly6G+ IMCs in early cancer development.
",non-battery
"The traditional view on cerebellar functioning has recently been challenged by results from neuroanatomical, neuroimaging and clinical studies. In this contribution, eighteen patients with primary cerebellar lesions (vascular: n =13; neoplastic: n =5) were systematically investigated by means of an extensive neuropsychological test battery. Fifteen patients (83%) presented with a broad variety of cognitive and linguistic deficits following cerebellar damage. Disturbances of attention (72%), executive functioning (50%) and memory (50%) were most commonly found. Analyses of our results tend to support the hypothesis of a lateralization of cognitive modulation within the cerebellum, the right cerebellar hemisphere being associated with logical reasoning and language processing and the left cerebellum mediating right-hemispheric functions including attentional and visuo-spatial skills. In addition, nine patients (50%) presented with frontal-like behavioural and affective alterations. In an attempt to determine the working-mechanism underlying cerebellar-induced cognitive and affective disturbances, all patients were investigated by means of quantified Tc-99m-ethylenecysteine dimer (ECD) single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) studies. From a semiological point of view, damage to the cerebellum can cause a broad spectrum of clinically significant cognitive and affective disturbances. From a pathophysiological point of view, quantified SPECT data, reflecting the phenomenon of cerebello-cerebral diaschisis, support the functional impact of the cerebellar lesion on cortical functioning through disruption of cerebello-cerebral connections.",non-battery
"Nanostructured silicon is promising for high capacity anodes in lithium batteries. The specific capacity of silicon is an order of magnitude higher than that of conventional graphite anodes, but the large volume change of silicon during lithiation and delithiation and the resulting poor cyclability has prevented its commercial application. This challenge could potentially be overcome by silicon nanostructures that can provide facile strain relaxation to prevent electrode pulverization, maintain effective electrical contact, and have the additional benefits of short lithium diffusion distances and enhanced mass transport. In this review, we present an overview of rechargeable lithium batteries and the challenges and opportunities for silicon anodes, then survey the performance of various morphologies of nanostructured silicon (thin film, nanowires/nanotubes, nanoparticles, and mesoporous materials) and their nanocomposites. Other factors that affect the performance of nanostructured silicon anodes, including solvent composition, additives, binders, and substrates, are also examined. Finally, we summarize the key lessons from the successes so far and offer perspectives and future challenges to enable the applications of silicon nanoanodes in practical lithium batteries at large scale.
",battery
"North-east India is co-endemic for Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria, and disease transmission is perennial and persistent. This study reports the results of a field-based village scale trial of deltamethrin incorporated long-lasting polyethylene netting (Netprotect®) conducted in P. falciparum predominant pocket of Assam, north-east India to assess operational feasibility, acceptability and sustainability against disease vectors and malaria transmission. The study monitored the residual efficacy of the long-lasting net in relation to serial washings in the laboratory and malaria prevalence in experimental villages for the first year of investigations from September 2008 to June 2009. The mosquito vector populations of Anopheles minimus were observed to be highly susceptible to deltamethrin (0.05%), and follow up investigations revealed that the vector mosquito had virtually disappeared in Netprotect® intervention villages. Concurrently, there was consistent decline in malaria cases in Netprotect® villages and transmission reduction was statistically significant compared to untreated net (net without insecticide) and no-net control villages for the corresponding study period. The contact cone-bioassay investigations against malaria transmitting mosquito species revealed that the bioavailability of the insecticide on the net fiber was persistent up to 20th serial wash resulting in ≥80% mortality. Community compliance and acceptance were high, and users reported decreased nuisance due to biting mosquitoes. It was concluded that deltamethrin incorporated polyethylene long-lasting netting was safe, wash-resistant, and assessed to be an operationally feasible, community-based intervention for sustainable management of disease vectors to prevent malaria transmission.",non-battery
" Rechargeable lithium ion batteries with nonaqueous electrolyte solutions have been widely used for powering consumer electronic devices such as cellular phones and laptop computers [1]. However, it is apparently more difficult to make larger lithium ion batteries inherently safe. This is mostly due to the reactivity of the electrode materials with the nonaqueous electrolyte solution constituents. In comparison with cells containing organic electrolyte solutions, rechargeable lithium ion batteries with aqueous electrolyte solutions have many advantages such as low cost of both materials and manufacturing, intrinsic safety and environmental friendliness. This has attracted many researchers [2–12] since its inception [13–15]. This type of battery consists of intercalation compounds for lithium ions as active electrode materials and an aqueous electrolyte solution. Because the stability window of aqueous electrolyte solutions is much smaller than that of non-aqueous solutions, the selection of intercalation materials which de/intercalate lithium ions at a suitable electrode potential is a key factor for the performance of the aqueous battery cell. There are few compounds with flat charge/discharge curves that can be used as positive and negative electrode materials. In addition, the combination of negative and positive electrodes of a rechargeable lithium battery in aqueous electrolytes is of importance in order to obtain good electrochemical performance.",battery
"The Borre probe is a unique tool for overcoring stress measurements. It allows three-dimensional stress determination in deep (500m or more), water-filled boreholes. The probe has been used extensively worldwide for the last 25 years, and has proven to be a reliable tool for measurements in both shallow and deep boreholes. In this paper, the present version of the Borre probe and the measurement procedure is described in detail. The case record of the probe is presented, along with comparisons with results from other stress measurement methods, providing a qualitative verification of the method. Some of the potential error sources are discussed. This includes choice and application of adhesive, gauge misorientation and microcracking. Testing and the implementation of quality control procedures help to minimize the effect of these errors. Examples of typical measurement precision are presented and discussed. A new version of the probe that allows more efficient measurements through wireline pilot hole drilling, as well as improved strain data recording during overcoring is also described.",non-battery
"Manganese dioxide/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MnO2/MWCNTs) were synthesized by chemically depositing MnO2 onto the surface of MWCNTs wrapped with poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate). Then, polyaniline (PANI) with good supercapacitive performance was further coated onto the MnO2/MWCNTs composite to form PANI/MnO2/MWCNTs organic–inorganic hybrid nanoarchitecture. Electrochemical performance of the hybrid in Na2SO4–H2SO4 mixed acidic electrolytes was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronopotentiometry (CP) in detail. Comparative electrochemical tests revealed that the hybrid nanoarchitecture could operate in the acidic medium due to the protective modification of PANI coating layer onto the MnO2/MWCNTs composite, and that its electrochemical behavior was greatly dependent upon the concentration of protons in the acidic electrolytes. Here, PANI not only served as a physical barrier to restrain the underlying MnO2/MWCNTs composite from reductive-dissolution process so as to make the novel ternary hybrid material work in acidic medium to enhance the utilization of manganese oxide as much as possible, but also was another electroactive material for energy storage in the acidic mixed electrolytes. It was due to the existence of PNAI layer that an even larger specific capacitance (SC) of 384Fg−1 and a much better SC retention of 79.9% over 1000 continuous charge/discharge cycles than those for the MnO2/MWCNTs nanocomposite were delivered for the hybrid in the optimum 0.5M Na2SO4–0.5M H2SO4 mixed acidic electrolyte.",battery
"Structural and electronic modification of titanium oxide (TiO2) nanomaterials induced by the co-introduction of fully disordered glass phase and oxygen vacancies can lead to remarkable advances in the electrode performance in emerging energy storage systems. We report on the effective co-creation of fully amorphous nanofibers (NFs) composed of black TiO2-x and conductive carbons throughout the NF structure, and evaluate the materials as potential anodes in sodium-ion batteries. The black TiO2-x nanofiber is successfully fabricated by electrospinning a precursor solution followed by a two-step sequential thermal treatment in an air and reducing atmosphere. The NF electrode could deliver approximately two-fold higher 2nd discharge capacity and an excellent kinetic performance even under high rates compared to that delivered by anatase-structured white TiO2 NFs used as reference, because of (i) an inherent free volume in the glass phase corresponding to the enlarged Na+ sites, (ii) increased electrical conductivity (low bandgap) resulting from the presence of Ti3+, (iii) introduction of conductive carbon agents around the TiO2-x domain, and (iv) one-dimensional NF feature allowing numerous Na+ reaction sites at the electrochemical interface. We also elucidate the morphological and structural changes in the nanofibers after discharge and charge by ex-situ characterizations.",battery
"Coatings of pure and Zr, Sn, Li, Ti and Mo doped niobium pentoxide have been prepared by the sol–gel process and deposited on ITO-coated glass using the dip coating technique. Their structure, morphology and electrochromic (EC) properties have been studied. The coatings are transparent and, depending on the nature and amount of the doping and the sintering temperature, they present a brown, gray or blue color after Li insertion. The EC properties of 4×8 cm2 size coatings, tested up to 5000 cycles, are highly stable with a coloration efficiency measured at 550 nm ranging between 16 and 28 cm2/C. Same size devices have been built with the configuration glass/FTO/pure or doped Nb2O5/liquid electrolyte/TiO2–CeO2/FTO/glass. In agreement with a theoretical estimation and with this choice of counterelectrode (IS), only Nb2O5:0.4 Mo coatings could be considered. For a fixed thickness (180 nm) of the IS electrode, the transmittance response of the device was found to increase with the thickness of the EC layer. The maximum change of the photopic transmission was 0.3 with an Li+ charge exchange of 18 mC/cm2. The devices were stable up to about 15,000 potentiostatic cycles performed between ±2.5 V, 120 s.",battery
"Cleaner production (CP), as one of the effective schemes for energy saving, emission reduction and pollution abatement, was introduced into China in late 1980s, and gradually recognized as the essential strategy for industrial transformation and environmental protection. There are two crucial milestones of CP development in China, the promulgations of the Law of People׳s Republic of China on Promoting Cleaner Production on June 29th, 2002, and the promulgation of the Amendment of the Law of People׳s Republic of China on Promoting Cleaner Production on February 29th, 2012, respectively. However, due to significant regional differences between various areas, along with huge divergences in economic development and social structure, there are remarkable disparities between the depth, broadness and key points of CP development among various areas. Hence, through the literature review and statistical analysis, the purpose of this study is to firstly illustrate the progress, problems and prospects of CP development in China. Secondly, through spatial and temporal analysis, the geographical characteristics, regional differences, time variation and industries allocation of CP development in China were analyzed. Thirdly, the emphases of CP implementation for different industries in various areas were revealed to further demonstrate the regional characteristics of CP development in China. And finally, some suggestions were proposed to promote the regionalized CP management system for future CP development in China.",battery
"Palladium nanoparticle–graphene nanosheet composite (PdNP–GN) is demonstrated as an efficient electrode material in energy storage applications in supercapacitors. Palladium nanoparticle (PdNP) decorated graphene nanosheet (GN) composite was synthesized via a chemical approach in a single step by the simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide (GO) and palladium chloride from the aqueous phase using ascorbic acid as reducing agent. The materials were characterized by scanning and high resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy which demonstrate that the metal nanoparticles have been uniformly deposited on the surface of graphene nanosheets. The synthesized material has been analyzed by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectrometry and chronopotentiometry using 1M KCl as the supporting electrolyte for its application in electrochemical double layer supercapacitors. PdNPs-GN composite showed improved electron transfer kinetics and superior capacitive performance with large specific capacitance of 637Fg−1, excellent cyclic performance and maximum energy and power densities of 56 Wh kg−1 and 1166Wkg−1, respectively at a current density of 1.25Ag−1. This highlights the importance of the synergetic effects of electrochemically efficient Pd nanoparticles and graphene for energy storage applications in supercapacitors.",battery
The contribution contains the comparison levels of mathematical literacy of pupils with mild intellectual disabilities and intact pupils. The test tasks of international research TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) have been used for data collection. There are pupils with mild intellectual disability at the 4th class of the 1st stage of primary school in the research group; the results have been compared with Czech pupils of the same class.,non-battery
"In this paper, a hovering-type autonomous underwater vehicle called Cyclops is introduced. Because of the symmetric body structure and thruster configuration of Cyclops, it is specially designed to utilize a lawnmower trajectory without changing its heading direction. This movement is effective at reducing the dead reckoning error and obtaining source images with homogeneous optical characteristics for underwater image mosaicing.",non-battery
"A composite lithium battery electrode of LiMn2O4 in combination with a gel electrolyte (1 M LiBF4/24 wt% PMMA/1:1 EC:DEC) has been investigated by galvanostatic cycling experiments and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at various temperatures, i.e. −3<T<56°C. For analysis of EIS data, a mathematical model taking into account local kinetics and potential distribution in the liquid phase within the porous electrode structure was used. Reasonable values of the double-layer capacitance, the exchange-current density and the solid phase diffusion were found as a function of temperature. The apparent activation energy of the charge-transfer (∼65 kJ mol−1), the solid phase transfer (∼45 kJ mol−1) and of the ionic bulk and effective conductance in the gel phase (∼34 kJ mol−1), respectively, were also determined. The kinetic results related to ambient temperature were compared to those obtained in the corresponding liquid electrolyte. The incorporated PMMA was found to reduce the ionic conductivity of the free electrolyte, and it was concluded that the presence of 24 wt% PMMA does not have a significant influence on the kinetic properties of LiMn2O4.",battery
"Refuse trucks play an important role in the waste collection process. Due to their typical driving cycle, these vehicles are characterized by large fuel consumption, which strongly affects the overall waste disposal costs. Hybrid hydraulic refuse vehicles offer an interesting alternative to conventional diesel trucks, because they are able to recuperate, store and reuse braking energy. However, the expected fuel savings can vary strongly depending on the driving cycle and the operational mode. Therefore, in order to assess the possible fuel savings, a typical driving cycle was measured in a conventional vehicle run by the waste authority of the City of Stuttgart, and a dynamical model of the considered vehicle was built up. Based on the measured driving cycle and the vehicle model including the hybrid powertrain components, simulations for both the conventional and the hybrid vehicle were performed. Fuel consumption results that indicate savings of about 20% are presented and analyzed in order to evaluate the benefit of hybrid hydraulic vehicles used for refuse collection.",non-battery
"Although attention problems have often been described in children with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), the use of different methodological approaches, neuropsychological tests, and heterogeneous experimental groups has prevented identification of the selective areas of attention deficit in this population. In this study, we investigated several components of attention in children with CAE using a unique computerized test battery for attention performance. Participants included 24 patients with CAE and 24 controls matched for age and sex. They were tested with a computerized test battery, which included the following tasks: selective attention, impulsivity, focused attention, divided attention, alertness, and vigilance. Compared with healthy controls, patients with CAE made more commission errors in the Go/No-Go task and more omission errors in the divided attention task. Childhood absence epilepsy patients also showed decreased reaction times in measures of selective attention and a great variability of reaction times in alertness and Go/No-Go tasks. Our findings suggest that patients with CAE were impaired in tonic and phasic alertness, divided attention, selective attention, and impulsivity.",non-battery
"The kinetics of the electrochemical lithium insertion reaction in nano-sized rutile TiO2 has been investigated using ac impedance spectroscopy. The experimental data are obtained for a rutile compound synthesized via a solution technique and characterized by a morphology corresponding to spherical particles made of a large number of very thin nanorods 20nm thick. The results are discussed as a function of the Li content x for 0< x ≤0.8 in Li x TiO2, the temperature over the range 10–50°C and the number of discharge–charge cycles. The significant linear decrease of the chemical diffusion coefficient D Li vs. the lithium content and the high values of D Li found in the composition range 0< x ≤0.5 are discussed and related with the electrochemical behaviour of the nano-sized material. From comparison with the bulk material, a promoting effect of the morphology on the kinetic characteristics is evidenced. For the first time an experimental evaluation of the activation energy for Li diffusion in nano-sized rutile TiO2 is obtained; the value of 0.35eV being much lower than that reported from computational experiments for the micro-sized oxide. This work also demonstrates a new system takes place from the second cycle, characterized by a significant improvement of Li diffusion by a factor five and allowing high rates to be used.",battery
"Controlling the ion/electron-transfer reaction at the electrode|electrolyte (solid/liquid) interface is a necessary and vitally important point for improving the operation of various electrochemical devices. In this paper, we propose a polymer coating technique which enhances the Li+ ion-transfer reaction at the LiCoO2|electrolyte interface, and confirm the effects of the polymer coating by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and AC impedance techniques. The results from the experiments indicated that the application of an F-introduced polymer on the LiCoO2 (LCO) surface decreased the activation barrier for Li+ ion transfer. Besides the electrochemical studies, the present computational results indicated that the Li+ exchange process between two states, which are both solved with ethylene carbonate (EC) and coordinated with an F-introduced polymer, might occur due to the close energy levels of Li+ stability. Accordingly, we inferred that the transition state of this exchange process promotes the observed decrease in activation energy for the interfacial Li+-transfer reaction.",battery
"Local level waste authorities and their officials directly interact and serve the people on behalf of higher governments. Given the influential positions they have on the quality of life of the citizens, these local waste authorities deserve more attention from researchers. This study throws light on the factors related to local waste management and administrators that have caused waste management failures in three mainland Chinese cities. Based on a survey conducted in 2002–2003, it was found that waste administrators in these cities are not professionally competent in their jobs and they are also not confident in using economic instruments to address waste management issues in their cities. These local waste authorities are generally under-funded, and funding politics has to some extent eroded the incentives to carry out the instructions of higher waste authorities. The community at large also does not respect local waste management work. The residents frequently litter, are unobservant of waste collection times and are unwilling to pay for waste collection service. All of these are handicapping environmentally sound waste management.",non-battery
" Due to the depletion of fossil resources and their environmental impact, woody biomass has received much attention as an alternative resource. Lignin, as the third most abundant biopolymer from biomass, is now considered as an excellent alternative feedstock for chemicals and materials. The conversion of lignin to the value-added products is a key process to achieve an integrated biorefinery of woody biomass. Among these value-added products, lignin-based derivatives with good surface activity can be applied to enhance the conversion of cellulose into fermentable sugars, which not only decrease the cost of bioethanol production, but also reduce the environmental pollution and green house effect resulting from the burning of fossil resources.",non-battery
"Platinum–niobium catalysts were prepared as candidates for CO tolerant anode catalysts for low and high temperature PEM fuel cells (PEMFCs). Three different compositions were prepared by the formic acid method, from platinum (hexachloroplatinic acid) and niobium (niobium chloride) precursors on Vulcan XC-72R carbon black. Deposition of the niobium was found to be quite difficult, and only a fraction of the desired composition was achieved. Mean particle sizes were all in the nanometric range, between 2 and 3 nm. Diffraction patterns display neither insertion of niobium within the crystalline structure of platinum, nor any crystalline phase associated to that material. Nevertheless, the presence of Nb displays a noticeable effect on the CO tolerance of the catalyst firstly revealed by a reduction of the CO stripping onset potential. Fuel cell results, operating with Nafion® at low temperature (80 °C) and H2 + 100 ppm of CO as fuel, and with H3PO4-doped ABPBI, at high temperature (150 °C) and H2 + 20,000 ppm of CO, display an enhancement in the performance compared to pure platinum, so niobium may be an interesting material for increasing the tolerance to carbon monoxide in PEMFC. Finally, CO/O2 polarisation curves display a decrease in the current density in the presence of Nb, confirming that the enhanced CO tolerance can be attributed to a strong electronic effect that weakens the Pt–CO adsorption strength.
",battery
"The present paper analyzes development patterns in research networks and technology as well as their co-evolution by the example of the currently highly transformative German automotive industry. We therefore introduce a consistent network-based approach for measuring change in research networks and the technological composition of patents. Our results show that the applied method is particularly useful for identifying structural similarities and main structural changes in research and patent networks. Further, the investigation of the co-evolutionary processes indicates that, regarding the German automotive industry, changes in technology lead to structural changes in the research network.
",non-battery
"Sodium borohydride's properties make it a good source of hydrogen for use with a fuel cell for an on-demand system that is easily controllable and has no idle costs. Previous work, as described in the literature, indicated that ruthenium (Ru) is an efficient catalyst for generating hydrogen from sodium borohydride. Tests were conducted to evaluate catalyst loading with the results of these tests indicating that the hydrolysis rate is affected by the loading of the catalyst. It was also apparent that the substrate surface is not completely occupied by Ru at the lower loadings, and that increased loadings are needed to optimize the reaction rate. A differential rate test with a fixed bed reactor was also conducted. It was observed that temperature has a significant effect on the rate of reaction. Feed rate also affected the rate of reaction with lower feed rates (longer residence time in the reactor) having higher reaction rates. A bench-top hybrid system was also developed and tested. This test bed demonstrated how a system based on a chemically generated hydrogen-fed proton exchange membrane fuel cell could be integrated with batteries to provide a hybrid power system that can meet the demands of a highly varying electrical load up to four times the rated output of the fuel cell.",battery
"With increasing life expectancy, the number of very elderly patients requiring surgery and anaesthesia is increasing. Age, co-morbidity and altered pharmacokinetics clearly need to be considered in assessment of surgical risk but even in the apparently well older person there is a loss of physiological reserve that may be overlooked on cursory examination. Cognitive impairment after surgery may seriously hinder older people. This paper looks at these factors in detail and provides some remedies.",non-battery
"This paper examines the joint effects of mobile phone technology, knowledge creation and diffusion on inclusive human development in 49 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions for the period 2000–2012. The net effects of interactions between the mobile phone, knowledge creation and diffusion variables are positive indicating that the combined effects of these variables improve inclusive human development in SSA countries. Further analysis dividing the dataset into a number of fundamental characteristics based on economic, legal, religion and political stability associated with African economies show that mobile phone penetration and associated innovation in SSA improve inclusive human development irrespective of the country’s level of income, legal origins, religious orientation and the state of the nation. The pupil-teacher ratio exerts a negative influence on the outcome variable which is favourable for inclusive human development because higher ratios denote lower education quality since more pupils are accommodated by fewer teachers. The study contributes to innovation diffusion theory and economic development literature.
",non-battery
"Dicarboxylic acid compounds, i.e. succinic acid (SUA), adipic acid (ADA) and sebacic acid (SEA), are used as electrolyte additives in the alkaline ethylene glycol solution for AA5052 aluminium-air batteries. It shows that the addition of dicarboxylic acids lowers the hydrogen gas evolution rate of commercial AA5052 aluminium alloy anode. AA5052 aluminium alloy has wide potential window for electrochemical activity and better discharge performance in alkaline ethylene glycol solution containing dicarboxylic acid additives. ADA has the best inhibition effect for the self-corrosion of AA5052 anode among the three dicarboxylic acid additives. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) reveals that dicarboxylic acids and aluminium ions can form coordination complexes. Quantum chemical calculations shows that ADA has a smaller energy gap (ΔE, the energy difference between the lowest unoccupied orbital and the highest occupied orbital), indicating that ADA has the strongest interaction with aluminium ions.",battery
"Polymer–ceramic composite electrolytes are emerging as a promising solution to achieving high ionic conductivity, optimal mechanical properties, and good safety for developing high-performance all-solid-state rechargeable batteries. In this work, we report a garnet (Li7La3Zr2O12)-based hybrid solid electrolyte (HSE) membrane designed for high performance solid-state lithium batteries for the first time. The composite HSE membrane is composed of LLZO particles and PVDF–HFP polymer matrix. The solid-state lithium battery with this HSE membrane, Li metal anode and LiFePO4 cathode exhibits an initial reversible discharge capacity of 120mAhg−1 at a charge/discharge current density of 0.5C at room temperature. This solid-state battery is used to store the energy harvested by a TENG at different rotation rates. The solid state battery can efficiently store the pulsed energy, especially for output at high frequencies.",battery
"The aim of this study is to examine the status of rare earth elements (REE) contained in the chemical compounds that make up the powder of spent fluorescent lamps, with a view of their recovery. The status of REE in the as-received powder, as well as in a few size-class fractions of it, has been established. This way, only those size-class fractions containing high REE concentrations can be considered in a recovery process. The investigation has been carried out using particle-size, chemical, TGA/DTA, XRPD, SEM-EDS and EMPA analyses. The last technique enabled to establish the status of REE within the lattice of the chemical compounds present in the powder. The fineness of the as-received powder and the higher REE concentration in the finest size-classes suggest that physical methods of separation should not be used to separate the REE-containing chemical compounds from each other. Leaching methods seem more suitable with a material of such size.",non-battery
" This study has examined the effect of water on the electrodeposition of copper from a deep eutectic solvent (DES). Initial physiochemical measurements showed that the viscosity and resistivity of the DES decreased with added water in the range 1–15 wt%. This reduction in viscosity resulted in an increase in the mass transfer limiting current, without narrowing the electrochemical window or altering the speciation of the copper chloro-complexes. This shows that metal deposition rates can be increased by water additions. The effect of water on the electrochemical kinetics of the Cu(I) and Cu(II) chloro-complexes was also studied. It was found that the kinetics of the Cu(I)/Cu(0) reaction is largely irreversible, while the Cu(II)/Cu(I) couple was quasi-reversible. The rate constants for Cu(II)/Cu(I) and Cu(I)/Cu(0) reactions were accelerated by water additions, although the transfer coefficients remained unchanged. The effect of increased deposition rates, electrolyte conductivity and reaction kinetics on deposit uniformity was estimated and subsequently verified by experiments. It was found that, although higher deposition rates could be achieved, the thickness of the deposit was non-uniform since the Wagner numbers remained relatively low.",battery
"Whether or not a current account deficit sustainable has important implications for policy. If the current account deficits of a nation is sustainable, then it implies that the government should have no incentive to default on its international debt. In this article we examine whether or not the current account deficits for the OECD countries can be characterized by a unit root process with regime switching. The econometric methodology allows us to distinguish periods that are associated with unsustainable outcomes from those in which the intertemporal national long-run budget constraint (LRBC) holds. Among the main results, it is found that it is very likely that the LRBC will not hold for the Australia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, New Zealand, Portugal or Spain, thus signifying a red signal that the current account deficits observed during the period were probably not on a sustainable path.",non-battery
"The synergistic effects of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and zinc oxide (ZnO) have been investigated as alkaline electrolyte additives for the AA5052 aluminium alloy anode in aluminium-air battery by the hydrogen evolution test, the electrochemical measurements and the surface analysis method. The combination of CMC and ZnO effectively retards the self-corrosion of AA5052 alloy in 4 M NaOH solution. A complex film is formed via the interaction between CMC and Zn2+ ions on the alloy surface. The carboxyl groups adsorbed on the surface of aluminium make the protective film more stable. The cathodic reaction process is mainly suppressed significantly. AA5052 alloy electrode has a good discharge performance in the applied electrolyte containing the composite CMC/ZnO additives.",battery
"Co3O4 & LiCoO2 complex cladding layer with nutty-cake structure effectively improves high rate and storage properties of high nickel material LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA), using a simple one-step wet-coating process, and the degradation of NCA is successfully restrained. The structure and morphology of samples are demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and field-emission high resolution transmission electron microscope (FEHRTEM). The elemental composition and distribution are determinate by energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). In comparison with pristine NCA, 0.25wt.% Co3O4-modified NCA has a better electrochemical performance with more capacity of approximate 30mAhg−1 at 1C after 150 cycles. At 5C and 10C, it also exhibits better capacity retentions and higher capacities. After exposed to the air for 100 days, 0.25wt. % Co3O4-modified NCA still shows better electrochemical performance than pristine NCA stored at the same condition. The improved comprehensive performance of Co3O4 & LiCoO2 coated NCA is related with the facile coating method in which Co3O4 is formed and the lithium impurity on NCA surface is consumed to produce LiCoO2 concurrently during calcining process. The reaction mechanism of Co3O4 & LiCoO2 composite layer is analyzed using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).",battery
CRISPR-Display is a modular and flexible platform that targets natural or synthetic noncoding RNA domains to specific genomic loci for functional studies and synthetic biology.,non-battery
"For certain prosumer cameras, like the 30D, Canon offers two options for creative controls. Dubbed the Basic Zone and the Creative Zone, they are meant to be utilized by photographers of varying skill levels to produce great photographs. The Basic Zone, for example, uses icons to indicate automated imaging modes while the Creative Zone requires a deeper knowledge of how things work in a camera.",non-battery
"LiMn1−1.5xCexPO4/C (x=0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) are synthesized by an efficient solvothermal synthesis in water/diethylene glycol system. The structures and morphologies of all samples are studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results suggest that trivalent Ce3+ doping has no influence on the valence state of Mn2+ in LiMnPO4/C. The Ce-doped LiMn1−1.5xCexPO4/C (x≠0) materials show better cycling stability and high rate capability than the pristine LiMnPO4/C (LCe0). The Ce3+ doping content has an obvious influence on the electrochemical performances of LiMn1−1.5xCexPO4/C. After 50 cycles at 0.1C, the LiMn0.955Ce0.03PO4/C (LCe3) exhibits the highest discharge capacity of 132.3mAhg−1 (95.4 % of its initial discharge capacity), while LCe0 delivers only 115.1mAhg−1 (85.5 % capacity retention). And LCe3 also has the best high rate capability, which can still deliver 78.2mAhg−1 at 10C in comparison with 49.6mAhg−1 of LCe0. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements suggest that Ce3+ doping not only improves the electronic conductivity of LiMnPO4/C, but also facilitates the diffusion of lithium ion in bulk materials.",battery
"Electrodes of bismuth were prepared and tested as anodes for lithium ion batteries, with different particle sizes and binders, while varying the amount of active material in the mixture. Bismuth has been chosen as a “model” metal to investigate the influence of particle size on the electrochemical performance of the bismuth electrode since the potential window of Li–Bi alloys formation is relatively “high” (0.8–0.6V) and prevents other components within the electrode from being electrochemically active versus lithium in this potential window. It appears that the use of nanosized particles with large amount of binder improves the electrode cyclability but that other problems are highlighted while using such electrodes.",battery
"The purpose of this study was to monitor the dynamics of gases such as CO2 and CH4 in a soil profile with sufficient temporal resolution to observe possible diurnal variations. A computer-controlled device called a membrane probes array (MPA) was developed that consisted of 9–12 individual membrane probes installed at various soil depths. Each probe was made of a stainless steel pipe with a 1mm orifice covered with a silicone membrane. Soil gases diffuse through the membrane at a rate proportional to the ambient soil gas concentration. To measure diffusion rates, the probes are flushed with N2 one-by-one at regular time intervals and accumulated gas is detected as a spike with IR and FID analyzers. The longer the period between flushings the higher the gas accumulation and the lower the detection limit for a particular soil gas. The developed MPA agreed well with conventional manual gas sampling in West-Siberian mesotrophic fen. In peat cores with intact Carex-Sphagnum vegetation incubated under constant temperature, water level and artificial light:dark (14:10) cycles, regular diurnal oscillations of soil CO2 and CH4 occurred in the upper part of the peat core down to 19cm. Gas content in the top layer (3cm) grew during the light phase, and returned back during the dark phase. In layers further down in the soil, the same events were observed but with progressively increased time delay and lower amplitude. The obtained data agreed with the hypothesis that diurnal variations in soil CO2 and CH4 content are caused by periodic changes in intensity of root exudation that provide a major C- and energy source for soil microorganisms including methanogens. At a soil depth of 23cm, where the peak of gas bubbles occurred, the signal for both gases became chaotic and not related to the light:dark cycle.",non-battery
"The effect of platinum co-sputtering on the characteristics of amorphous V2O5 films, grown by dc reactive sputtering, is investigated. The co-sputtering process influences the growth mechanism as well as the characteristics of the V2O5 films. Glancing-angle X-ray diffraction (GXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results indicate that the microstructure of the V2O5 films is affected by the rf power of the co-sputtered platinum. In addition, it is found that the platinum co-sputtered V2O5 cathode film exhibits better cycleability than an undoped V2O5 cathode film. This is due to the absence of short-range order, which is generally present in undoped V2O5 cathode films. Possible explanations are given to describe the dependence of the cycleability V2O5 films on the platinum rf power and the growth mechanism of the V2O5 film.",battery
"The growing production of high-tech devices is strongly associated to a great waste of natural resources and to environmental contamination caused either by the production process of such devices as the quick disposal of them. Cell phones have stood out from the most commercialized electronic devices, which have increased the demand for rechargeable batteries which are afterward discarded before the end of its useful life. The main objective of this paper is to improve a methodology for classify the amount of NiMH and Li-Ion batteries discarded still in operating condition through concepts given to the cells. Tests with 3 NiMH and 3 Li-Ion different battery models were done. This paper also aimed to promote the efficient use of batteries cells through their reuse in academic activities related to the manufacturing of prototypes. It presents the construction of an illuminator and of a portable power supply. The results obtained showed that approximately 40% of NiMH cells and 45% of Li-Ion cells assessed were in operational condition, with charge capacity between 62% and 90%, when compared to a new cell. Such results warn about the waste of natural resources and the proposal to test the same before the final disposal.",battery
"Existing anode technologies are approaching their limits, and silicon is recognized as a potential alternative due to its high specific capacity and abundance. However, to date the commercial use of silicon has not satisfied electrode calendering with limited binder content comparable to commercial graphite anodes for high energy density. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of a next-generation hybrid anode using silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon. This architecture allows compatibility between silicon and natural graphite and addresses the issues of severe side reactions caused by structural failure of crumbled graphite dust and uncombined residue of silicon particles by conventional mechanical milling. This structure shows a high first-cycle Coulombic efficiency (92%) and a rapid increase of the Coulombic efficiency to 99.5% after only 6 cycles with a capacity retention of 96% after 100 cycles, with an industrial electrode density of >1.6 g cm−3, areal capacity loading of >3.3 mAh cm−2, and <4 wt% binding materials in a slurry. As a result, a full cell using LiCoO2 has demonstrated a higher energy density (1,043 Wh l−1) than with standard commercial graphite electrodes.",battery
"Understanding the polarization behavior of the battery electrodes is critical to the development of high-performance lithium batteries. However, for lithium | solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) interfaces no kinetic data have been reported beyond the linear regime, which is why it has not been possible to assess the influence of this interface on the overall battery performance at higher current densities. In this work, a technique based on millisecond current pulses is presented, which enables the deconvolution of the interface and bulk effects, allowing the determination of the lithium | polystyrene-block-polyethyleneoxide (PS-b-PEO) interface kinetics over both linear and non/-linear regimes. Our results indicate that the kinetics roughly follow a hyperbolic sine law rather than a Butler-Volmer behavior. The data are described to a high degree of accuracy by a multistep model based on ion transport through a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and two charge-transfer steps described by the Butler-Volmer equation. Hence, it is suggested that the kinetics of the lithium | PS-b-PEO interface are controlled by three distinct processes occurring in series.",battery
"Supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) fluid, which has gas-like diffusivity, extremely low viscosity, and near-zero surface tension, is used to synthesize SnO2 nanoparticles (a 1-nm diameter is achievable), which are uniformly dispersed and tightly anchored on graphene nanosheets (GNSs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The discharge capacity, rate capability, and cyclic stability of the synthesized SnO2/GNS and SnO2/CNT nanocomposites are compared. This study also tunes the SCCO2 temperature (and thus its fluid density) and finds that this factor crucially affects the SnO2 size and distribution, determining the resulting electrochemical properties. The sodiation/desodiation mechanism of the SnO2/GNS electrode is examined using synchrotron ex situ X-ray absorption and X-ray diffraction techniques, together with transmission electron microscopy. We confirm that while the oxide conversion reaction is reversible, the sluggish Sn–Na alloying/dealloying reaction is responsible for the lower measured capacity as compared to the theoretical value. The first-cycle efficiency loss is mainly attributed to the trapping of Na in the electrode surface solid electrolyte interphase layer.",battery
"Hierarchical structure SnO2 with two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets building blocks was employed as support material for Pt nanoparticles (NPs). The SnO2 supported Pt catalyst was synthesized through a facile aqueous phase process using sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. The as-prepared Pt–SnO2 catalyst exhibited remarkably improved electrocatalytic activity and stability toward methanol oxidation, in comparison with that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst and the commercial SnO2 nanopowder supported Pt catalyst. The superior catalytic performance may arise from the unique multiscale structure and morphology of the SnO2 support, which process extraordinary promotional effect on Pt catalyst.",battery
"Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and triethyl(2-methoxyethyl)phosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TEMEP-TFSI) are investigated as protective additives for high voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode materials. The capacity retention of Li/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cells is improved by adding these additives to the base liquid electrolyte. The self-extinguishing time and DSC results demonstrate that the addition of TEMEP-TFSI to the base electrolyte is effective in reducing the flammability of the electrolyte solution and improving the thermal stability of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrode. TEM and XPS analyses of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrode reveal that DMAc and TEMEP-TFSI participate in the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrode, and the resulting SEI layer effectively suppresses electrolyte decomposition.",battery
"Membranes are of interest for a wide variety of applications such as gas separation, water desalination, fuel cells and batteries. Because the flux across a membrane scales inversely with the membrane thickness, a thick membrane is required to achieve high selectivity, at the expense of permeability. New ultrathin membranes which promise to offer high selectivity and high permeability are highly desirable. Elemental sulfur can provide five times higher capacity than existing Li-ion cathode materials based on transition metal oxides or phosphates. Various problems have hindered the practical use of this highly attractive cathode including the insulating nature of sulfur which retards its reduction and poor electrode stability resulting in an irreversible capacity loss due to polysulfide migration from the cathode to the anode. Here we show the proof of concept for a 5 nm multilayer membrane self-assembled from commercial polyelectrolytes to encapsulate a carbon/sulfur composite and maintain the performance even at discharge rates five times more rapid than its non-encapsulated counterpart.
",battery
"One of the challenges for improving the performance of lithium ion batteries to meet increasingly demanding requirements for energy storage is the development of suitable cathode materials. Cathode materials must be able to accept and release lithium ions repeatedly (for recharging) and quickly (for high current). Transition metal oxides based on the α-NaFeO2, spinel and olivine structures have shown promise, but improvements are needed to reduce cost and extend effective lifetime. In this paper, recent developments in cathode materials for lithium ion batteries are reviewed. This includes comparison of the performance characteristics of the promising cathode materials and approaches for improving their performances.",battery
"There is a renewal of interest in the use of metals that are capable of alloying with lithium as negative-electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. These metals can supply larger capacities than graphite but their main disadvantage consists in their very limited cycle life. Indeed, they present considerable volume variations during alloying, which lead to a mechanical degradation of the electrode. The concept of an active phase stabilizing matrix was introduced. We propose in this study to associate a metal able to alloy lithium to graphite by using new preparation methods involving graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) as precursors. In one case, antimony pentachloride SbCl5 was reduced by the stage I KC8 GIC. In another case, C12SbCl5 and C24SbCl5 GICs were reduced either by gaseous caesium or by activated sodium hydride NaH. Actually, these methods led to the attention of antimony-based graphite composites in which antimony particles are deposited on the surface and edges of graphite layers or embedded in an organic matrix. Both morphological and structural characteristics of such composites were studied by transmission electron microscopy. Examination of their electrochemical properties as regards lithium insertion showed that they present interesting performances because the reversible capacity is increased by comparison with that of pure graphite and the stability of the metal is preserved throughout the cycling. The combination of graphite and antimony prevents the metal against cracking and pulverization that occur generally during alloying/dealloying cycles. Antimony-graphite composites prepared via SbCl5 reduction by KC8, via C12SbCl5 reduction by gaseous caesium or via C24SbCl5 reduction by activated NaH display improved reversible capacities of 420, 490 and 440mAhg−1, respectively.",battery
"Ionic liquid (IL) modified reduced graphene oxide (rGO–IL) nanosheets anchoring manganese oxide (Mn3O4) are synthesized via a facile solution-based growth mechanism and applied to a Zn–air battery as an effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this study, the IL moiety in these composites increases not only the conductivity of the system, but also the electrocatalytic activity compared to pristine rGO, together with the synergic effect of facilitating the ORR with the intrinsic catalytic activity of Mn3O4. Based on the Koutecky–Levich plot, we suggest that the ORR pathway of these composites is tunable with the relative amount of Mn3O4 nanoparticles supported onto the graphene sheets; for example, the ORR mechanism of the system with a lower Mn3O4 (19.2%) nanoparticle content is similar to a Pt/C electrode, i.e., a one-step, quasi-4-electron transfer, unlike that with a higher Mn3O4 (52.5%) content, which undergoes a classical two-step, 2-electron pathway. We also demonstrate the potential of these hybrid rGO–IL/Mn3O4 nanoparticles as efficient catalysts for the ORR in the Zn–air battery with a maximum peak power density of 120 mW cm−2; a higher performance than that from commercial cathode catalysts.
",battery
"Noncoding RNAs play diverse roles throughout biology and exhibit broad functional capacity. To investigate and harness these capabilities, we developed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Display (CRISP-Disp), a targeted localization method that uses Cas9 to deploy large RNA cargos to DNA loci. We demonstrate that functional RNA domains up to at least 4.8 kb long can be inserted in CRISPR guide RNA at multiple points, allowing the construction of Cas9 complexes with protein-binding cassettes, artificial aptamers, pools of random sequences and natural long noncoding RNAs. A unique feature of CRISP-Disp is the multiplexing of distinct functions at multiple targets, limited only by the availability of functional RNA motifs. We anticipate the use of CRISP-Disp for ectopically targeting functional RNAs and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes to genomic loci.
",non-battery
"Electrochemically induced cyclization of bromoamides to β-lactams has been achieved in room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). The use of volatile, organic solvents (VOCs) and of supporting electrolytes may be avoided. Proton exchange reaction between amide substrates and suitable electrogenerated bases gives rise to a C4 carbanion which undergoes cyclization to β-lactam via intramolecular nucleophilic substitution (C3–C4 bond formation). β-Lactams have been isolated in good to elevated yields. The “non innocent” nature of the RTILs (imidazolium-based salts) is considered. Proton exchange reaction between N-dialkylimidazolium cation and EGB yielding N-heterocyclic carbene is discussed.",battery
"Carbon-coated silicon has been synthesized by a thermal vapor deposition method using silicon powder and toluene/benzene vapors carried by a nitrogen carrier gas. It has been investigated under different charging/discharging modes. In all cases, the silicon lattice undergoes gradual destruction during lithium insertion/extraction. Lithium ion extraction from the silicon host matrix did not lead to the formation of an ordered silicon structure. In addition, no new ordered phases were detected. Impedance spectroscopy was applied to monitor the changes during the first lithium insertion/extraction. The results suggest that the material behaves differently than the typical single phase well-defined structures, from which is possible to extract the diffusion coefficient at all lithium insertion levels. Impedance spectra rather detected the phase transition and connected changes in the roughness of the phase boundaries between the Si/C and C/electrolyte. Estimation of the diffusion coefficient was possible only after deeper lithium insertion/extraction when the spectra pattern followed the predictions of the Randless model.",battery
"Precursors of the crystalline antiperovskites A3−xHxOCl (A = Li or Na and 0 < x < 1) can be rendered glass/amorphous solid Li+ or Na+ electrolytes by the addition of water to its solvation limit with/without the addition of a small amount of an oxide or hydroxide. The solvated water is evaporated as HCl and 2(OH)− = O2− + H2O. The O2− attracts a Li+ or Na+ to form dipoles; the remaining Li+ or Na+ are mobile. The Li+ or Na+ ionic conductivities of the glass/amorphous solids have activation energies ΔHm < 0.1 eV and a room-temperature conductivity comparable to that of the best organic liquid electrolytes. Measurements of the dielectric loss tangent versus frequency show two overlapping resonances at room temperature with the Ba-doped Li-glass; they are nearly overlapping at temperatures 41 °C < T < 141 °C in the Ba-doped Na-glass. Galvanostatic charging of a symmetric Cu/Na-glass/Cu cell for 1 h showed a remarkable self-charge on switching to open circuit; charging for 15 h followed by discharging at an applied −0.1 mA of the symmetric cell showed, in the discharge mode, a replating of sodium on the anode at a positive cell current of +0.07 mA for over 15 h. A model for these behaviors is proposed. A symmetric Li/Li-glass/Li cell was cycled to demonstrate plating of Li on a current collector from the Li-glass electrolyte.
",battery
"Publisher Summary Biomass is the organic matter that can be converted to useful energy forms such as heat or liquid fuels. Biomass energy, the chemical energy stored in organic plant matter, is derived from solar power via photosynthesis. Biomass can be only a partial answer to the global energy need because of two fundamental constraints: its high water requirements and the inherent low photosynthetic efficiency of converting solar energy into the chemical energy of plant matter. High water requirements constrain biomass production mainly to regions where rainfall is adequate to support commercial yields, whereas the low photosynthetic efficiency can lead to land-use competition with food production. The combustion of biomass or biofuels produces air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates such as soot and ash. The amount of pollution emitted per unit of energy generated varies widely by technology, with wood-burning stoves and fireplaces generally the worst offenders.",non-battery
"The unending demand for portable, flexible, and even wearable electronic devices that have an aesthetic appeal and unique functionality stimulates the development of advanced power sources that have excellent electrochemical performance and, more importantly, shape versatility. The challenges in the fabrication of next-generation flexible power sources mainly arise from their limited form factors, which prevent their facile integration into differently shaped electronic devices, and from the lack of reliable electrochemical materials that exhibit optimized attributes and suitable processability. This review describes the technological innovations and challenges associated with flexible energy storage and conversion systems such as lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors, along with an overview of the progress in flexible proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and solar cells. In particular, recently highlighted cable-type flexible batteries with extreme omni-directional flexibility are comprehensively discussed.
",battery
"Seeking advanced and safer lithium-ion battery with sustainable characteristic is significant for the development of electronic devices and electric vehicles. Herein, a new porous TiO2 nanobundles (PTNBs) is synthesized though a scalable and green hydrothermal strategy from the TiO2 powders without using any high-cost and harmful organic titanium-based compounds. The PTNBs exhibits an extremely high lithium storage capacity of 296 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, where the capacity can maintain over 146 mAh g−1 even after 500 cycles at 1000 mA g−1. To pursue more reliable Li-ion batteries, full batteries of PTNBs/LiNixMn1-xO4 (x = 0, 0.5) using spinel structured cathode are constructed. The batteries have the features of sustainability and deliver high capacities of 112 mAh gcathode −1 and 102 mAh gcathode −1 with stable capacity retentions of 99% and 90% over 140 cycles. Note that the energy densities can achieve as high as 267 and 270 Wh kgcathode −1 (535 and 540 Wh kganode −1) respectively, which is feasible to satisfy diverse requirements for energy storage products. We believe that the universal synthetic strategy, appealing structure and intriguing properties of PTNBs is applicable for wider applications, while the concept of sustainable strategy seeking reliable and safer Li-ion battery can attract broad interest.",battery
"Purpose Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have difficulty participating in role-pretending activities. The concept of adaptive play makes play accessible by modifying play materials for different needs or treatment goals for children with CP. This study examines the affective expressions and imagination in children with CP as a function of ordinary versus adaptive pretend play. Method The Affect in Play Scale-Brief Rating measured the affective expression and imagination for 29 children with CP and 29 typically developing children (mean age=7.34 years). Two groups of children were observed while playing with a standard set of ordinary toys for ten times and with a standard procedure of adaptive pretend play for ten times. Result The results show significantly different affective expressions and imagination between the two groups. Typically developing children displayed much more affective expression and imagination. However, a more positive influence of affective expression and imagination occurred in children with CP than in typically developing children. In repeated measures analysis, the frequency of positive affective expression and imagination of children with CP was higher when pretending with adaptive toys. Conclusion Adaptive pretend play can promote more role-pretending behaviors and a sense of environmental control during the manipulating process for children with CP.",non-battery
 Little is known about health risks associated with electronic cigarette (EC) use although EC are rising in popularity and have been advocated as a means to quit smoking cigarettes.,non-battery
"The residual lithium compounds on the surface of Ni-rich layered LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2 materials are detrimental to their electrochemical properties. This study reports a mild polyaniline (PANI) washing method to effectively reduce the residual lithium compounds on the surface of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 material without any harmful effects on its structural integrity. After the PANI washing process, the rate and cycling performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 material are significantly enhanced. The as-obtained LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 material exhibits a discharge capacity of 160.65mAhg−1 and a capacity retention of 86.95% after 100 cycles at 55°C and the current rate of 2C, which are much higher than those of pristine material (131.57mAhg−1 and 74.90%). The performance enhancement mechanism is the reduction of surface residual lithium compounds due to the PANI washing process, leading to the improvement of lithium ions diffusion and electron transport. Furthermore, some PANI can be left and coated on the surface of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 material via the washing process, which forms more stable interface film, resulting in even better cycling capability. This study provides a promising strategy for the surface modification of Ni-rich layered oxide materials for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The study concerns a part of the research work developed within the project GreenCamp, funded by the Regione Toscana and aiming at defining a model of sustainable management and competitive territorial campsite cluster. The main objective of the study was a sustainable mobility system for the customers of 3 campsites, located in a protected area, through the evaluation of the economic and environmental sustainability. In order to assess the connection between the 3 campsites and the coastal area as well as the nearby Regional Park of Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli, two alternatives for a sustainable mobility have been assessed: a diesel-powered tourist train and an electric tourist train. The comparison between the two alternatives has been carried out by an Environmental Impact Study, through the analysis of the main biotic and abiotic components as well as of the social-economic aspects. The results of the study depicted the strengths and opportunities of both solutions, by also taking into account some weakness and threats. Nevertheless, through some compensation and mitigation measures, both solutions proved to be viable.",battery
"Functional nanofibrous polymer membranes were prepared by incorporating poly(2-aminothio phenol) (P2AT) stabilized Au NPs onto electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) nanofibers (designated as P2AT-Au NPs@PVdF-NFM). The preparation of P2AT-Au NPs@PVdF-NFM involves two steps: loading of 2AT (monomer) into electrospun PVdF nanofibrous membrane and polymerization of 2AT by gold chloride. P2AT and Au NPs were simultaneously formed into the electrospun PVdF-NFM. Transmission electron microscope image of P2AT-Au NPs@PVdF-NFM informs the presence of Au NPs (with sizes ~10 nm) onto PVdF-NFM.
",non-battery
"The variegated coffee bug Antestiopsis thunbergii Gmelin is a key pest of Coffea arabica in East Africa. Although the bug feeds on various parts of the coffee plant, it has a strong preference for mature green berries which are essential for the bug to complete its life cycle, reproduce and enhance its longevity. To locate mature green coffee berries, we hypothesized that second instar nymphs, which are the most mobile and active feeding immature stage of the bug, must rely on key volatile compounds emitted by the host for recognition. We tested this hypothesis using behavioral and electrophysiological assays and chemical analysis. In olfactometer assays, the second instar nymphs were strongly attracted to volatiles emitted from mature green berries but avoided those from ripe coffee berries of C. arabica. Coupled gas chromatography–electroantennographic detection (GC/EAD) isolated five antenally active components from mature green berries volatiles, four of which were identified by coupled GC–mass spectrometry as toluene, anisole, methyl 3-ethyl-4-methylpentanoate and (5S,7S)-conophthorin. In concentration assays, in which second instar nymphs did not respond to toluene, they were strongly attracted to anisole, methyl 3-ethyl-4-methylpentanoate and (5S,7S)-conophthorin, and a blend from the three compounds at concentrations lower or equivalent to the natural volatile extract. Our results suggest that the blend from these three compounds allows host recognition in second instar nymphs of the variegated coffee bug and is a candidate kairomone for monitoring the pest in coffee plantations.
",non-battery
"To address the demand for high-rate anodes for lithium ion batteries, herein, crumpled MoS2/nitrogen-doped carbon hybrid sheets (CMNCS) were synthesized via a modified mix-bake-wash method. Material characterization proved that CMNCS comprised sheets with few-layer thickness that were composed of homogenously distributed MoS2 and N-doped carbon matrix with numerous mesopores. CMNCS offers the morphological advantage of 3D interconnected electron pathways and an enlarged ionic contact area for improving the rate performance. Furthermore, the N-doped carbon matrix in CMNCS plays a role in enhancing the electrical conductivity as well as suppressing volume changes during cycling. The CMNCS demonstrated a reversible discharge capacity of 264 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 and a stable cycle life with a discharge capacity of 324.2 mAh g−1 and coulombic efficiency of 99.7%, even after the 1000th cycle at 4 A g−1. These results indicate that CMNCS offers great potential as an anode material for lithium ion batteries that require high current and stable cycle life.",battery
"In this paper, a recently proposed single-solution memetic computing optimization method, namely three stage optimization memetic exploration (3SOME), is used to implement a self-tuning PID controller on board of a mobile robot. More specifically, the optimal PID parameters minimizing a measure of the following error on a path-following operation are found, in real-time, during the execution of the control loop. The proposed approach separates the control and the optimization tasks, and uses simple operating system primitives to share data. The system is able to react to modifications of the trajectory, thus endowing the robot with intelligent learning and self-configuration capabilities. A popular commercial robotic tool, i.e. the Lego Mindstorms robot, has been used for testing and implementing this system. Tests have been performed both in simulations and in a real Lego robot. Experimental results show that, compared to other online optimization techniques and to empiric PID tuning procedures, 3SOME guarantees a robust and efficient control behaviour, thus representing a valid alternative for self-tuning control systems.",non-battery
"The tavorite polymorph of LiFeSO4F has attracted considerable attention as a cathode material for lithium ion batteries due to interesting structural and electrochemical characteristics. For the analysis of such iron-based electrode materials, Mössbauer spectroscopy has become an important and highly useful tool. In this work, we perform a detailed Mössbauer study of pristine tavorite LiFeSO4F prepared by an optimized synthesis in tetraethylene glycol as reaction media. In contrast to many reported results, we demonstrate the use of an asymmetric fitting model for the inner doublet of the spectrum, which is coupled to the structural properties of the compound. Moreover, we discuss a new approach of ascribing the Fe2 + -doublets to the two distinct crystallographic iron sites of tavorite LiFeSO4F by comparing the Mössbauer signal intensities with the expected f-factors for the corresponding iron atom.",non-battery
"Lithium ion chemical diffusion coefficients in 6LiMn2O4 thin sputtered films (∼2μm) were determined by the depth profiles of 7Li concentration after adopting the potential step in 7LiClO4/propylene carbonate solution by using secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Lithium chemical diffusion coefficient via bulk (D bulk) and grain boundary diffusion coefficient normalized with width (dD gb) were determined as 1.23×10−15 m2 s−1 and 6.55×10−20 m3 s−1, respectively.",battery
"The behavior of a Pt electrode/solution of lithium perchlorate and lithium hexafluorophosphate in a γ-butyrolactone (GBL) interface has been investigated by using in situ FTIR spectroscopy and single reflection ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The bands due to free GBL and GBL solvated to lithium ions in the solution were confirmed by the single reflection ATR-FTIR spectra. The dependence of potential on the concentration of GBL and solvated GBL in the vicinity of a Pt electrode was investigated. In the FTIR spectra, the reversible changes in the concentration of free GBL and solvated GBL in the diffuse double layer were observed with change in potentials. As the potential decreased, the free GBL concentration increased, while the concentration of the GBL solvated to lithium ions decreased. The reverse phenomenon was observed as the potential increased. Thus, it can be concluded that the equilibrium shifts from Li+(GBL)4 to Li+(GBL)3 and GBL as the potential decreases. It became clear for low potentials that the product material contained lithium ions in irreversible reactions.",battery
"Metallic Ag2F phase has been successfully synthesized through the mechanochemical reaction of Ag and AgF. Its unique metallic character leads to a good electronic conductivity of 7.89×10−2 Scm−1. The efficacy of silver molybdenum oxyfluoride (SMOF) composites consisting of various conducting matrices (carbon black, Ag2F and Ag) for lithium battery was investigated through discharge rate studies. Results indicate that Ag2F phase can be utilized as an alternative conductive additive with a high density.",battery
"Some of the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia are already detectable before the onset of the disease, and could help to identify individuals at higher risk of psychosis. In patients with schizophrenia, semantic verbal fluency (VF) is more impaired than phonological fluency. We investigated whether the same profile is present in young patients at Ultra High Risk of psychosis (UHR). One hundred and fifty six young patients (15–30y.o.) consecutively seeking help at our specialized youth mental health center with no definite psychiatric diagnoses were recruited and assessed with the CAARMS. Individuals meeting the criteria for UHR were compared to the remaining patients considered as Help Seeker Controls (HSCo). UHR individuals had a lower mean total semantic fluency score than HSCo. This effect was significant for each semantic category (‘animals’ and ‘fruits’). By contrast, there were no differences in phonological fluency scores between UHR and HSCo either in the total score or when each letter (‘P’ and ‘R’) was considered separately. Semantic but not phonological VF differentiated UHR individuals from non-psychotic help-seeking young adults. These results suggest that semantic deficits are present during the prodromal phase, prior to clinical expression of full-blown psychosis, and suggest that prodromes could be associated with alteration in temporal brain areas.",non-battery
"Since one of the main drawbacks of Li4Ti5O12 as a negative-electrode material is its low electronic conductivity, several researchers have attempted to improve the conductivity by narrowing the band gap through transition-metal doping. Herein, we report another, more significant effect of doping in addition to the band gap narrowing, namely, an anomalous decrease in the structural disorder in Li4Ti5O12 upon Cr3+-ion doping. Although it is generally recognized that doping with heterogeneous elements increases the structural disorder, the Cr3+-ion doping in Li4Ti5O12 demonstrated an unexpected structural phenomenon. From the results of various structural analyses using a synchrotron beam, such anomalous structural changes were revealed to originate from charge redistribution at nearby Ti4+ ions. Finally, the capacity was markedly enhanced, especially at high C-rates (125 mA h g−1 for 10C charge/10C discharge, 145 mA h g−1 for 1C charge/50C discharge) because of both the band gap narrowing and the increased ionic diffusivity due to the decreased structural disorder, but was decreased instead for too-high doping levels.
",battery
"We created a unique SnO2–Graphene Dual Aerogel (SnO2/GDA) nanocomposite with exquisite lithium and sodium ion battery anode performance (LIB, NIB NAB SIB). In parallel we employed electrochemical methods to be the first to analyze the transition from kinetic control to diffusion control for the conversion reaction (SnO2+4Li++4e−↔Sn+2Li2O) vs. for the alloying reaction (Sn+xLi++xe−↔Li x Sn, x≤4.4). The material displays a high reversible capacity (1299mAhg−1 for Li at 0.1Ag−1, 448mAhg−1 for Na at 0.05Ag−1), very good cycling life (148% after 450 cycles for Li, 82% from 20 to 200 cycles for Na), and superb rate capacity retention (450mAhg−1 for Li at 25Ag−1, 184mAhg−1 for Na at 1 Ag−1). In fact, these rate capabilities are among the most favorable reported in literature for each system.",battery
"An extended-power pinch analysis (EPoPA) is proposed as a means of extending the power pinch analysis (PoPA) for optimal design of renewable energy systems with battery and hydrogen storage (RES-BH). The EPoPA concept is based on the storage of wasted electricity that cannot be stored by the battery bank designed by PoPA. This energy is stored in the form of hydrogen and is discharged in the form of electricity when the external electricity source is needed. EPoPA graphical and numerical tools are introduced to determine the minimum required external electricity source, wasted electricity sources, and appropriate hydrogen storage system capacity of the RES-BH system during first and normal operation years. Furthermore, the integration of the RES-BH system with a diesel generator as a high reliable system is investigated in view point of economic. The optimal sizes of diesel generator and hydrogen storage system components, such as electrolyzer, fuel cell and hydrogen tank are obtained with the minimization of the total annual cost (TAC) of the system. The implementation results of the EPoPA tools on three possible case studies indicate that EPoPA, unlike other process integration methodologies such as PoPA, is able to optimally design RES-BH systems.",battery
"Prussian white (a reduced state of Prussian blue) was electrochemically deposited on a polycrystalline Pt electrode from an acidic solution of ferricyanide. Electrochemical measurements showed that the formation of Prussian white on platinum electrode was a self-terminated process. A compacted PB film can be formed by using both potential scanning and potentiostatic methods as confirmed by AFM measurement. In situ FTIR measurements were carried out to explore the formation mechanism. The new band arising at 2075cm−1 is assigned to the characteristic absorbance of CN of Prussian white, while the band at 2104cm−1 is due to the absorbance of CN of Prussian blue. A possible mechanism of electrodeposition of Prussian white was discussed.",battery
"Optimizing the power demand for smart home appliances in a smart grid is the primary challenge faced by power supplier companies, particularly during peak periods, due to its considerable effect on the stability of a power system. Therefore, power supplier companies have introduced dynamic pricing schemes that provide different prices for a time horizon in which electricity prices are higher during peak periods due to the high power demand and lower during off-peak periods. The problem of scheduling smart home appliances at appropriate periods in a predefined time horizon in accordance with a dynamic pricing scheme is called power scheduling problem in a smart home (PSPSH). The primary objectives in addressing PSPSH are to reduce the electricity bill of users and maintain the stability of a power system by reducing the ratio of the highest power demand to the average power demand, known as the peak-to-average ratio, and to improve user comfort level by reducing the waiting time for appliances. In this paper, we review the most pertinent studies on optimization methods that address PSPSH. The reviewed studies are classified into exact algorithms and metaheuristic algorithms. The latter is categorized into single-based, population-based, and hybrid metaheuristic algorithms. Accordingly, a critical analysis of state-of-the-art methods are provided and possible future directions are also discussed.",battery
"Present work proposes a unique and simple method for synthesizing small and uniform Barium sulfate particles within a novel auxiliary solution based on the glycerol. Glycerol acts as a molecular spacer and prevents growth and agglomeration of the synthesizing particles. Barium sulfate is the isomorph of PbSO4 and provides the centers for nucleation of PbSO4 particles during the discharge process. Smaller particles of BaSO4 leads to more and smaller PbSO4 particles per volume of Negative Active Material (NAM). Therefore, electrochemical reactions including oxidation (discharge) and reduction (charge) are performed utterly in deeper parts of the NAM. The battery containing synthesized BaSO4 exhibits much better capacity, cranking performance, charge acceptance and cycle-life in relation to the reference battery. After cycling test, NAM of the battery is investigated with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) to study the particle size and morphology of it. More, uniform and smaller PbSO4 particles are produced at discharge state. Through the complete reduction process, PbSO4 particles completely turn back to the spongy Pb on the negative electrode which reduces the “sulfation” of the electrodes. Consequently, synthesized Barium sulfate particles with the proposed method, improve the overall performance of the lead-acid battery.",battery
"The corrosion process of iron in 1M LiPF6 solution using an ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate (EC/DEC) mixture solvent is studied using gravimetric and electrochemical methods. The electrochemical technique employed is electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS, and a special electrode arrangement is used in a pouch cell. The electrochemical and gravimetrical data match reasonably well, indicating a decreasing corrosion rate with time of exposure. The EIS data are analysed using a transmission line model that accounts for the shifts observed in the high frequency limit of the impedance. The data presented suggest that PF 6 − corrodes Fe to Fe2+ that further evolves to Fe3+, forming porous structures based on FeF3. The formation of Fe3+ has also been confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS analysis. In the presence of non-oxidising salts (e.g., LiBOB, LiBF4), the Fe corrosion rate decreases.",battery
"Despite small body size and high metabolic rate, bats are exceptionally long-lived mammals. This longevity, the ecological, behavioral and morphological diversity, and the unique life history traits of this multispecied order of mammals make bats well-suited as model systems for aging research. Including bats in comparative investigations may provide insight into universal mechanisms of senescence as well as reveal mechanisms that confer resistance to expected senescent processes. In this chapter we provide a general description of this extraordinary order of mammals within the context of their potential use for aging research. We describe general methodologies including captive care, capturing and aging techniques as well as some of the health precautions researchers should observe when working with bats. We conclude with a brief summary of the current state of longevity and senescence research on bats and potential future lines of research. Probably most useful is a list of resources we have included, which can provide initial information and direction for researchers interested in using bats as a model system.",non-battery
"Currently, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries become increasingly attractive because of their high theoretical energy density and high theoretical specific capacity. In this work, high-sulfur-loading Al2O3 doping of a ZnO-modified carbon nanotube (AZO@S/CNT) composite is synthesized via the hydrothermal method and subsequent high-temperature solid-state reaction. Al2O3-doped ZnO (AZO) induces a strong chemical interaction between polysulfides to restrain the “shuttle effect.” In addition, we use a novel method to enhance the electronic conductivity of the cathode material. The Al2O3 doping of ZnO can increase the electron density in ZnO, and thus enhance its electronic conductivity. The initial discharge capacity of the cathode with 60-wt.% S reaches 1100 mAh g−1 and the recycle capacity still remains 700 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 C with a capacity fade rate of 0.18% per cycle, offering a potential candidate for practical application of high-energy-density Li-S batteries in the future.",battery
"Two miniature electrochemical capacitors, of high power and sufficient energy capacity, are prepared using photolithography and transferred to a plastic substrate. The preparation procedure involves, inverting a 60μm thick interdigital pattern of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) with a Scotch tape, such that the pre-sputtered gold layer at the bottom effectively collects interfacial charge. The equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the symmetric CNT capacitor measures 0.40Ωcm2, while that of the asymmetric capacitor with a positive α-Co(OH)2/CNT electrode measures 0.45Ωcm2, much less than the as-grown CNT capacitor. Electrodeposited α-Co(OH)2 enhances the cell capacitance significantly, especially in a wide potential window. When operated at current density 20Ag−1 and window 1.8V, the cell capacitance of asymmetric capacitor measures 62.6Fg−1, much higher than that of symmetric capacitor 8.7Fg−1. But the symmetric CNT capacitor displays a better power performance because of a lower ESR. At current density 30Ag−1, its power density reaches 20.6kWkg−1 with energy density 2.2Whkg−1. In contrast, the asymmetric capacitor stores more energy, at 30Ag−1, it exhibits power density 11.4kWkg−1 and energy density 7.8Whkg−1.",battery
"This contribution deals with pore diffusion influences on the dehydrogenation kinetics of perhydro-N-ethylcarbazole (H12-NEC). The reaction is of high interest in the context of hydrogen storage in the N-ethylcarbazole (NEC)/perhydro-N-ethylcarbazole (H12-NEC) Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) system. The hydrogen content of H12-NEC is 5.8 wt% and total dehydrogenation releases for each mL of H12-NEC more than 600 mL of H2. Further optimization of H12-NEC dehydrogenation catalysis requires a better understanding of the role of mass transfer effects. Pore diffusion effects have been studied by preparing egg-shell catalysts (Pt/γ-alumina layer on α-alumina core) of different active layer thicknesses (24 –88 μm). It has been found that even at very thin catalyst layers (24 μm) the kinetic regime is limited to 235 °C, thus pore diffusion effects the dehydrogenation in almost all commercial catalysts strongly.
",battery
"A series of PbO2 coatings on planar carbon substrates has been prepared by anodic deposition in aqueous methanesulfonic acid (MSA) under galvanostatic conditions. The effect of four experimental parameters, i.e., lead(II) methanesulfonate and MSA concentrations, current density, and temperature was analysed. Surface characterisation by XRD, SEM-EDX, and AFM has provided information about the structural (phase distribution, degree of crystallinity, and crystallite size), morphological (crystallite shape, degree of porosity), and tribological (surface roughness) properties of the PbO2 coatings, respectively. Electrochemical studies based on linear and cyclic voltammetry allowed comparison between electrodes prepared in MSA and classical electrodes prepared in HNO3. Pure α- or β-PbO2 and α+β mixtures were obtained depending on the conditions, being temperature the most influential deposition parameter. A temperature rise caused a transition to pure β-PbO2 and led to a higher degree of crystallinity with a progressive increase of crystallite size, always within the range of 10–30nm, as well as to a remarkably higher roughness, from smooth (35–50nm rms) to rough (up to 500nm rms) surfaces. Low MSA and high lead(II) methanesulfonate concentrations were required to avoid the formation of excessively porous powdery coatings, as well as cracks, pits, and holes. Most of the coatings obtained in MSA were uniform, nanocrystalline, and moderately rough. Their electrocatalytic behaviour was comparable to that of the electrodes prepared in HNO3, showing an O2-overpotential of +0.66V in 0.05M Na2SO4 at pH 3.0. Such coatings can then be envisaged as suitable anodes for energy and water treatment applications. Prolonged electrolysis has shown their stability against leaching.",battery
"In this paper, reaction engineering principles are utilized to analyze process conditions for producing sufficient hydrogen in an ammonia decomposition reactor for generating net power of 100W in a fuel cell. It is shown that operating the reactor adiabatically results in a sharp decrease in temperature due to endothermic reaction, which results in low conversion of ammonia. For this reason, the reactor is heated electrically to provide heat for the endothermic reactions. It is observed that when the reactor is operated non-adiabatically, it is possible to get over 99.5% conversion of ammonia. The weight of absorbent to reduce ammonia to p p b levels is calculated. An energy balance on the reactor exit gas indicates that there is sufficient heat available to vaporize enough water to achieve 100% relative humidity in the fuel cell. A suitable fuel cell stack is designed and it is shown that this stack is able to provide the necessary power to electrically heat the reactor and produce net power of 100W.",battery
"A three-dimensional thermal model has been developed to gain better understanding of thermal behavior of battery cells in a pack under simulated driving cycles. The numerical approach incorporates a three-dimensional CFD pack-level sub-model, a one-dimensional battery pack network sub-model, and a three-dimensional thermal and electrochemical coupled cell/module level sub-model so that the battery non-uniform heat generation rate, the battery temperature distribution as well as battery temperature variation across a pack can be quickly predicted. In particular, the flow profiles of each individual battery cooling channel are calculated using the three-dimensional CFD sub-model. Using the predicted flow profiles of the cooling channel as flow boundary conditions the thermal behavior of battery cells is predicted using the one-dimensional battery pack network sub-model and the cell/module level thermal sub-model, in which both electrochemical reaction and double layer effect of battery cells are considered. The thermal behavior of battery cells is correlated through physical tests. Finally, the effects of the cooling flow of battery pack and the design of battery pack cooling system on non-uniformity of individual battery cell temperature and battery cell temperature variation across the pack under simulated US06 driving cycles are studied and discussed.",battery
"To meet the demands for high power micro-electronic devices, two silicon-based micro-direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) stacks consisting of six individual cells with two different anode flow fields were designed, fabricated and evaluated. Micro-electronic–mechanical-system (MEMS) technology was used to fabricate both flow field plate and fuel distribution plate on the silicon wafer. Experimental results show that either an individual cell or a stack with double serpentine-type flow fields presents better cell performance than those with pin-type flow fields. A μDMFC stack with double serpentine-type flow fields generates a peak output power of ca. 151mW at a working voltage of 1.5V, corresponding to an average power density of ca. 17.5mWcm−2, which is ca. 20.7% higher than that with pin-type flow fields. The volume and weight of the stacks are only 5.3cm3 and 10.7g, respectively. Such small stacks could be used as power sources for micro-electronic devices.",battery
"The study of the electrochemical reaction mechanism of lithium with NiSb2 intermetallic material is reported here. The nickel diantimonide prepared by classic ceramic route is proposed as possible candidate for anodic applications in Li-ion batteries. The electrochemical characterisation of NiSb2 versus Li+/Li0 shows a reversible uptake of 5 lithium per formula unit, which leads to reversible capacities of 500mAhg−1 at an average potential of 0.9V. From ex situ XRD and 121Sb Mössbauer measurements it was shown that during the first discharge the orthorhombic NiSb2 phase undergoes a pure conversion process (NiSb2 +6 Li+ +6e− →Ni0 +2Li3Sb). During the charge process that follows, the lithium extraction from the composite electrode takes place through an original conversion process, leading to the formation of the high pressure NiSb2 polymorph. This highly reversible mechanism makes it possible to sustain 100% of the specific capacity after 15 cycles.",battery
"During the discharge process of non-aqueous lithium-air batteries, a solid product, Li2O2, forms in the pores of the porous cathode, and eventually causes the discharge process to cease. During the charge process, solid Li2O2 needs to be electrochemically oxidized. The morphology of the discharge product is, therefore, critically related to the capacity and reversibility of the battery. In this work, we experimentally show that for a given design of the cathode, the shape of the discharge product Li2O2 at a given discharge current density remains almost unchanged with a change in the operating temperature, but the size decreases with an increase in the temperature. We also demonstrate that the product shape varies with the discharge current density at a given temperature. The practical implication of these findings is that the capacity, charge voltage, and cyclability of a given non-aqueous lithium-air battery are affected by the operating temperature.",battery
"We report here the integration of high voltage Li3V2(PO4)3/C cathode material and nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets, which has led to high-speed electron and Li-ion transfer channels. The hybrid materials are synthesized through a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The Li3V2(PO4)3/C with typical size of 50–100nm are uniformly anchored on the nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets. The hybrid nanocomposites as cathode material for lithium-ion batteries exhibit a specific discharge capacity of 191.5mAhg−1 at 0.1C within the voltage range of 3.0–4.8V; 172.6mAhg−1 and 160.5mAhg−1 at higher rates of 5C and 10C, respectively. More importantly, it shows a stable cycling performance with 87.3% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 20C. Thus, we can speculate that the nitrogen-doped graphene decorated Li3V2(PO4)3/C is a promising cathode material for use in high-rate and ultralong cycle-life lithium-ion batteries. Meanwhile, this synthesis strategy and design conception for Li3V2(PO4)3 could be employed to develop other cathode or anode materials for advanced energy storage.",battery
"Carbon nanotubes are one of the most prominent materials in research for creating electrodes for portable electronics. When coupled with metallic nanoparticles the performance of carbon nanotube electrodes can be dramatically improved. Microwave reduction is an extremely rapid method for producing carbon nanotube-metallic nanoparticle composites, however, this technique has so far been limited to carbon nanotube soot. An understanding of the microwave process and the interactions of metallic nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes have allowed us to extend this promising functionalisation route to pre-formed CNT electrode architectures. Nanoparticle reduction onto pre-formed architectures reduces metallic nanoparticle waste as particles are not formed where there is insufficient porosity for electrochemical processes. A two-fold increase in capacitive response, stable over 500 cycles, was observed for these composites, with a maximum capacitance of 300 F g−1 observed for a carbon Nanoweb electrode.
",battery
"Lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (LATP)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite fiber-based membranes were prepared by electrospinning dispersions of LATP particles in PAN solutions. The electrolyte uptakes of the electrospun LATP/PAN composite fiber-based membranes were measured and the results showed that the electrolyte uptake increased as the LATP content increased. The lithium ion conductivity, the electrochemical oxidation limit and the interface resistance of liquid electrolyte-soaked electrospun LATP/PAN composite fiber-based membranes were also measured and it was found that as the LATP content increased, the electrospun LATP/PAN composite fiber-based membranes had higher lithium ion conductivity, better electrochemical stability, and lower interfacial resistance with lithium electrode. Additionally, lithium//1M LiPF6/EC/EMC//lithium iron phosphate cells using LATP/PAN composite fiber-based membranes as the separator demonstrated high charge/discharge capacity and good cycle performance.",battery
" Among laboratory technicians, the prevalence of neck and shoulder pain is widespread possibly due to typical daily work tasks such as pipetting, preparing vial samples for analysis, and data processing on a computer including mouse work - all tasks that require precision in motor control and may result in extended periods of time spent in static positions.",non-battery
"This study attempts to apply a back-propagation network (BPN) for multi-sensors data fusion in a wireless sensor networks (WSNs) system with a node-sink mobile network structure. This investigate is to finish the factory monitoring at environment monitoring services (EMS). These practice wireless sensor network circuits include temperature, humidity, ultraviolet, and illumination four variable measurement components. These data fields of each sensor nodes contain the properties and specifications of that signal process rules, the remote engineers can manage the multi-sensors data fusion using the browser, and the WSNs system then classification the data fusion database via the Internet and mobile network. Moreover, The BPN training approach is significant that improves data fusion system in accuracy and classification with parallel computing for data fusion efficiency. The final phase of the classification fusion system applies parallel BPN technology to process data fusion, and can solve the problem of various signals states. This study is considered implemented on the Yang-Fen Automation Electrical Engineering Company as a case study. The experiment is continued for six months, and engineers are also used to operating the web-based classification fusion system. Therefore, the cooperative plan described above is analyzed and discussed here. Finally, these papers propose the tradition methods compare with the innovative BPN methods.",non-battery
"In this research, we propose the thermal power generation fault diagnosis and prediction model based on deep learning and multimedia systems. The application of multimedia technology in the power dispatching communication system not only greatly enhances the stability and reliability of the power system, but also enriches the application of science and technology in the power system. It is one of the main directions for the development of power communication and information processing systems. The paper’s novelty and contribution are major reflected from the three aspects. First, we optimize the traditional neural network model to fix it more suitable for multimedia applications. We improve the forecasting accuracy; and then for each type of sample of B-neural network model, the up-front of meteorological data. Second, the deep neural network is optimized for better evaluation efficiency. The number of convolution kernels in each convolutional layer in the network is different. The more the number of the post-convolution kernels, the more efficient the model will be. Therefore, the multi-kernel structure is proposed. Third, we integrate the multimedia into the prediction scenario to visualize the data and results. The experiment result is conducted to validate the performance of the proposed method. Results compared with the other state-of-the-art models demonstrate the robustness of our method.
",non-battery
"Graphical AbstractFlow chart of genetic tests
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by bradykinesia, tremor and rigidity (Yamamura et al. 1973). Furthermore, it is a complicated, multi-systematic disease that integrates these motor symptoms with non-motor symptoms (Schapira et al. 2017; Del Tredici et al. 2002). It is these non-motor symptoms (NMSs), including mood disorders, neuropsychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, autonomic dysfunctions, and gastrointestinal problems, which often affect patients’ quality of life (Chen et al. 2013; Rodriguez-Violante et al. 2017).
",non-battery
"Obtaining the cooperation of citizens to participate in separate waste collection is essential to create a recycling-oriented society. In this research, the degree of change in the citizen participation rate, which occurs when the contents of political measures such as the raising of awareness, provision of information, and the conditions of collection services were changed, was estimated together with the effect on the reduction in environmental load. A questionnaire survey was conducted, targeted at residents of Itabashi Ward, while logistic regression analyses were also conducted to create predictive models for recycling behavior, and sensitivity analyses of the models were carried out to estimate the increase in citizen participation rate achievable through the implementation of various political measures. It was found that the effect of “thorough perception of information” was the largest, followed by “minimization of evaluation of trouble” and “thorough perception of efficacy of measures.” The effect of the improvement in the citizen participation rate on the reduction in environmental load was also evaluated quantitatively by life cycle inventory analyses. It was indicated that “maximization of perception of information” had the greatest effect. However, the reduction effect with “paper packs” and “PET bottles” was relatively small compared with that of “bottles/cans.”",non-battery
"This chapter introduces the various job positions in theatrical sound and explains the hierarchies and role expectations. The positions covered are sound designer, associate designer, assistant designer, production sound, A1 or head sound, A2 or deck sound, and monitor mixer, and the author is careful to delineate the sometimes subtle differences in the roles and duties belonging to each position. Each of the positions is broken down further in its roles, distinguishing between such aspects as musical theatre sound vs. straight play sound, and technical sound vs. conceptual sound. Level of experience needed for each position is also discussed, and some examples of well-known names of people filling each type of position are given. Keywords A1/head sound, A2/deck sound, assistant sound designer, associate sound designer, conceptual sound design, head sound, monitor mixer, musical theatre sound designer, production sound, theatre sound designer, sound engineer, sound mixer, sound operator, straight play sound designer, technical sound design, theatre sound score design, theatre sound system design",non-battery
The authors examined the differential roles of GluN2A and GluN2B in modulating synaptic plasticity and behavior. This study provides insight into how gene duplication events during evolution can produce new functional consequences.,non-battery
"Widespread adoption of smart IoT devices is accelerating research for new techniques to make IoT applications secure, scalable, energy-efficient, and capable of working in mission-critical use cases, which require an ability to function offline. In this context, the novel combination of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and distributed intelligence (DI) is seen as a practical route towards the decentralisation of IoT architectures. This paper surveys DI techniques in IoT and commences by briefly explaining the need for DI, by proposing a comprehensive taxonomy of DI in IoT. This taxonomy is then used to review existing techniques and to investigate current challenges that require careful attention and consideration. Based on the taxonomy, IoT DI techniques can be classified into five categories based on the factors that support distributed functionality and data acquisition: cloud-computing, mist-computing, distributed-ledger-technology, service-oriented-computing and hybrid. Existing techniques are compared and categorized mainly based on related challenges, and the level of intelligence supported. We evaluate more than thirty current research efforts in this area. We define many significant functionalities that should be supported by DI frameworks and solutions. Our work assists system architects and developers to select the correct low-level communication techniques in an integrated IoT-to-DLT-to-cloud system architecture. The benefits and shortcomings of different DI approaches are presented, which will inspire future work into automatic hybridization and adaptation of DI mechanisms. Finally, open research issues for distributed intelligence in IoT are discussed.
",non-battery
"Unattended Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) operate in autonomous or disconnected mode: sensed data is collected periodically by an itinerant sink. Between successive sink visits, sensor-collected data is subject to some unique vulnerabilities. In particular, while the network is unattended, a mobile adversary (capable of subverting up to a fraction of sensors at a time) can migrate between compromised sets of sensors and inject fraudulent data. In this paper, we provide two collaborative authentication techniques that allow an UWSN to maintain integrity and authenticity of sensor data–in the presence of a mobile adversary–until the next sink visit. Proposed schemes use simple, standard, and inexpensive symmetric cryptographic primitives, coupled with key evolution and few message exchanges. We study their security and effectiveness, both analytically and via simulations. We also assess their robustness and show how to achieve the desired trade-off between performance and security.",non-battery
"The electrochemical behavior of SiO negative electrodes for lithium ion batteries is thermodynamically and experimentally investigated. The analysis of the reaction pathway and the calculation of the reaction potentials during the Li insertion/extraction reactions are carried out by the construction of the ternary phase diagram for the Li–Si–O system. In the initial reaction of Li insertion, metallic Si and lithium silicates are formed above 0.37 V vs. Li/Li+ as a conversion reaction of the SiO negative electrode. Further Li insertion produces Li–Si alloys as reversible reaction phases. The decomposition of the Li4SiO4 phase begins before the formation of the Li–Si alloy is completed. The measured electrode behavior of the SiO negative electrode basically agrees with the thermodynamic calculations, especially at a low reaction rate; deviations can be ascribed to kinetic factors and electrode resistance. The values of over 1898 mA h g−1 and 71.0% were obtained for the discharge capacity and the coulombic efficiency, respectively. Furthermore, the overvoltage for an amorphous SiO electrode was smaller than that for a disproportionated SiO electrode into Si and SiO2 phases.",battery
"Energy storage is increasingly seen as a valuable asset for electricity grids composed of high fractions of intermittent sources, such as wind power or, in developing economies, unreliable generation and transmission services. However, the potential of batteries to meet the stringent cost and durability requirements for grid applications is largely unquantified. We investigate electrochemical systems capable of economically storing energy for hours and present an analysis of the relationships among technological performance characteristics, component cost factors, and system price for established and conceptual aqueous and nonaqueous batteries. We identified potential advantages of nonaqueous flow batteries over those based on aqueous electrolytes; however, new challenging constraints burden the nonaqueous approach, including the solubility of the active material in the electrolyte. Requirements in harmony with economically effective energy storage are derived for aqueous and nonaqueous systems. The attributes of flow batteries are compared to those of aqueous and nonaqueous enclosed and hybrid (semi-flow) batteries. Flow batteries are a promising technology for reaching these challenging energy storage targets owing to their independent power and energy scaling, reliance on facile and reversible reactants, and potentially simpler manufacture as compared to established enclosed batteries such as lead–acid or lithium-ion.
",battery
"A carbonaceous thin film electrode was prepared by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition, and lithium-ion transfer at the interface between the resultant thin film electrode and the electrolyte was studied by AC impedance spectroscopy. On the Nyquist plots, semi-circles assigned as charge (Li+ ion) transfer resistance were observed in the intermediate frequency region. The charge-transfer resistance was dependent on electrode potential. The activation energy for lithium-ion transfer through interface between the electrode and the electrolyte was evaluated, and the value was very large. Hence, it is concluded that a high-energy barrier of activation exists at the interface between the electrode and the electrolyte.",battery
 Meratrim is a blend of two plant extracts obtained from Sphaeranthus indicus flower heads and Garcinia mangostana fruit rinds. Previous studies have demonstrated that Meratrim is effective for weight management in obese individuals. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of Meratrim in managing body weight in healthy overweight subjects.,non-battery
"The interfacial layer formed between a lithium-ion conducting solid electrolyte, Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZ), and LiCoO2 during thin film deposition was characterized using a combination of microscopy and electrochemical measurement techniques. Cyclic voltammetry confirmed that lithium extraction occurs across the interface on the first cycle, although the nonsymmetrical redox peaks indicate poor electrochemical performance. Using analytical transmission electron microscopy, the reaction layer (∼50nm) was analyzed. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that the concentrations of some of the elements (Co, La, and Zr) varied gradually across the layer. Nano-beam electron diffraction of this layer revealed that the layer contained neither LiCoO2 nor LLZ, but some spots corresponded to the crystal structure of La2CoO4. It was also demonstrated that reaction phases due to mutual diffusion are easily formed between LLZ and LiCoO2 at the interface. The reaction layer formed during high temperature processing is likely one of the major reasons for the poor lithium insertion/extraction at LLZ/LiCoO2 interfaces.",battery
Unknown,non-battery
"The electrochemical performance of lithium–sulfur batteries with LiClO4 DOL/DME as electrolyte was investigated. Impedance and SEM analysis indicated that too high content of DME(Dimethoxy ethane) in electrolyte could raise the interfacial resistance of battery due to the impermeable layer formed on the surface of the sulfur cathode, which led to bad cycle performance, while the increase of DOL(1,3-dioxolane) could change those phenomena. The optimal composition of electrolyte was DME:DOL = 2:1 (v/v). With this electrolyte, the lithium–sulfur battery obtained a high initial discharge capacity of 1,200 mA h g−1 and still remained 800 mA h g−1 after 20 cycles.
",battery
"A mesoporous MoSe2/C composite is synthesized through a nano-casting technique along with heat treatment. Nano-silica particles are used as templates to create mesopores. Homogeneously dispersed Molybdenum and selenium particles in the starch substrate are reacted with each other to formed MoSe2 nanosheets when subjected to heat-treatment. Meanwhile, the starch is carbonized into carbon. The mesoporous MoSe2/C composite is investigated as an anode material for both lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). It presents good storage capacity for both lithium ions and sodium ions. Under the current density of 200 mA g−1, the mesoporous MoSe2/C composite exhibits reversible capacity of 618 mA h g−1 for LIBs and 360 mA h g−1 for SIBs after 300 cycles. The superior electrochemical performance could be ascribed to the mesoporous structure of MoSe2/C composite which provides sufficient space for accommodating huge volumetric expansion and the charge product, selenium.",battery
"Solid state electrolytes are of great importance in electrochemical devices such as lithium ion batteries and dye sensitized solar cells as they are safer and eliminate the need for extensive sealing issues. Polyethylene oxide (PEO) is a known solid electrolyte for Li ion batteries; however, its mechanical strength starts deteriorating at higher temperatures. In this work we have used electrospinning technique to form PEO nano-fiber mats with a novel cellulosic reinforcement material named GELPEO. The reinforced fiber mats show a two-fold increase in the tensile strength and up to five times increase in the Young's modulus. Thermal behavior studies revealed that the electrolyte is stable at temperatures above 200 °C and thus can be safely used in Li batteries. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed formation of thinner fibers with the addition of GELPEO in PEO. Ionic conductivity of the order of 10−4 S/cm is achieved for both PEO and PEO/GELPEO samples at 100 °C.",battery
"Lithium loss resulting from positive electrode deterioration and lithium accumulation within the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) at the negative electrode leads to charge capacity loss in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). We present a novel method to quantify origins of capacity loss resulting from positive electrode degradation and lithium immobilization within the SEI by comparative lithium depth profiles using Lithium Nuclear Reaction Analysis (Li-NRA). Li(Ni0.4Mn0.4Co0.2)O2/artificial graphite (NMC442/AG) pouch cells were cycled with electrolytes containing 1M LiPF6 in either 1:1 ethylene carbonate (EC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) or DMC with 3% vinylene carbonate (VC) SEI former. Lithium accumulated rapidly within the SEI in cells containing EC as compared to cells containing VC. Lithium loss from the positive electrode occurred at a linear rate, after formation, which was independent of electrolyte composition tested. The technique and methods provide quantitative insight into the impact of materials on capacity loss.",battery
"Nuclear medicine procedures are part of the evaluation armamentarium used in patients with suspected or confirmed infection. The strength of functional imaging modalities rests on their being non-invasive tests that provide pathophysiological information early in the course of disease. Their limitations, related to a somewhat low specificity of radiotracers and image resolution, have largely been overcome over the last 15 years following the introduction of the hybrid SPECT/CT technology. SPECT/CT is redefining the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected or known infectious and inflammatory processes involving the musculoskeletal system as well as those with infectious and inflammatory disease located in various soft-tissue sites. Furthermore, it has been shown that in addition to improving diagnostic accuracy (by adding specificity to the inherent high sensitivity of single-photon emission tomography), SPECT/CT leads to changes in the subsequent clinical management of patients. The main indications for SPECT/CT in infection, as well as updated literature data on this topic, are presented in the following review.",non-battery
"LiBH4-based complex hydrides have attracted much attention as solid electrolytes that are highly compatible with Li metal anode, because of their reducing character and deformable nature. However, the compatibility of LiBH4-based complex hydrides following the formation of a stable interface with Li metal has not yet been fully verified. In this study, electrochemical and mechanical stabilities of LiBH4 and Li4(BH4)3I complex hydride solid electrolytes against Li metal were investigated. Li plating/stripping test performed for 100 cycles and cyclic voltammetry indicated their favorable electrochemical stabilities. Scanning electron microscopy and fast charge–discharge tests revealed the formation of a mechanically tight and durable interface between these solid electrolytes and the Li metal anode. To demonstrate the adequacy of the LiBH4-based complex hydride solid electrolyte for all-solid-state batteries with Li metal anode, an all-solid-state Li–S battery with a Li4(BH4)3I solid electrolyte was assembled and electrochemically tested. The battery showed reversible discharge and charge abilities. This study provides useful insights into a strategy that can be applied to develop complex hydride solid electrolytes.",battery
"ABSTRACT In this paper we report a novel architecture of three-dimension (3D) carbon framework to encapsulate tetrahedron ZnO nanocrystals that serves as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The ZnO@C composites are prepared via a simple internal-reflux method combined with subsequent calcination in argon. The amorphous carbon is formed on the surface of the ZnO crystals by in situ carbonization of the surfactant, which leads to a strong connection between the carbon framework and the active materials and guarantees faster charge transfer on the electrode. The ZnO crystal calcined at 500°C (ZnO@C-5) possesses regular tetrahedron shape with a side length of 150-200nm and all of them are uniformly anchored among the network of amorphous carbon. The developed ZnO@C structures not only improve the electronic conductivity of the electrode, but they also offer a larger volume expansion of ZnO during cycling. As a result, the ZnO@C-5 demonstrates a higher reversible capacity, ultralong cycle life and better rate capability than that of the ZnO@C-7 and pure ZnO crystals. After 300 cycles, the ZnO@C-5 demonstrates a high capacity of 518mAhg−1 at a current density of 110.7mAg−1. Moreover, this simple approach prepared the 3D composites architecture could shed light on the design and synthesis of other transition metal oxides for energy storage.",battery
"Concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury, incidence rates have reached epidemic levels and impaired postural control is a cardinal symptom. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the linear and non-linear assessments of post-concussion postural control. The current acute evaluation for concussion utilizes the subjective balance error scoring system (BESS) to assess postural control. While the sensitivity of the overall test battery is high, the sensitivity of the BESS is unacceptably low and, with repeat administration, is unable to accurately identify recovery. Sophisticated measures of postural control, utilizing traditional linear assessments, have identified impairments in postural control well beyond BESS recovery. Both assessments of quiet stance and gait have identified lingering impairments for at least 1 month post-concussion. Recently, the application of non-linear metrics to concussion recovery have begun to receive limited attention with the most commonly utilized metric being approximate entropy (ApEn). ApEn, most commonly in the medial-lateral plane, has successfully identified impaired postural control in the acute post-concussion timeframe even when linear assessments of instrumented measures are equivalent to healthy pre-injury values; unfortunately these studies have not gone beyond the acute phase of recovery. One study has identified lingering deficits in postural control, utilizing Shannon and Renyi entropy metrics, which persist at least through clinical recovery and return to participation. Finally, limited evidence from two studies suggest that individuals with a previous history of a single concussion, even months or years prior, may display altered ApEn metrics. Overall, non-linear metrics provide a fertile area for future study to further the understanding of postural control impairments acutely post-concussion and address the current challenge of sensitive identification of recovery.",non-battery
"Graphene oxide (GO) based glassy carbon (GC) electrode has been prepared. Firstly, p-nitrophenyl (NP) modified GC (NP/GC) electrode was prepared via the electrochemical reduction of its tetraflouroborate diazonium salt. After the formation of NP/GC electrode, the negative potential was applied to NP/GC electrode to reduce the nitro groups to amine. p-Aminophenyl (AP) modified GC (AP/GC) electrode was immersed into a graphene oxide solution containing 1-ethyl-3(3-(dimethlyamino)propyl)-carbodiimide. Hence, we constructed GO terminated AP modified GC (GO/AP/GC) electrode. NP/GC, AP/GC and GO/AP/GC electrodes were characterized sequentially using cyclic voltammetry (CV) in the presence of 1.0mM of potassium ferricyanide in 0.1M KCl. In addition, GO and GO/AP/GC surfaces were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The GO/AP/GC electrode was used for the analysis of Cd(II) and Cu(II) ions by adsorptive stripping voltammetry. The linearity range and the detection limit of Cd(II) and Cu(II) ions were 1.0×10−11–5.0×10−10 M and 3.3×10−12 M (S/N=3), respectively.",battery
"This work applies in situ Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to the study of surface redox on LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 during charging and overcharging. We observe that all three transition metals are surface redox active, and that oxygen oxidation occurs for voltages above ≈4.2 V O2 loss above ≈4.7 V, mediated by carbon redox, leads to partial reduction of the transition metals at the surface during overcharging.",battery
"Recently, different and unexpected electrochemical behaviours have been demonstrated for M x Sb electrodes (M = Li, Na) in Li/Na ion batteries. Despite a similar thermodynamic stability of the hexagonal and cubic polymorphs of Li3Sb, mostly cubic Li3Sb is observed at the end of discharge. In contrast, mostly the hexagonal Na3Sb polymorph is observed when cycling the Na/Sb, in agreement with its higher thermodynamic stability compared to the cubic polymorph. This polymorph selectivity is here investigated by means of simple thermodynamic and electrostatic considerations using first-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. We show that the Na-based polymorphs are more ionic than their Li-based homologues, despite less ionic Na/Sb interactions. We establish a direct correlation between the relative compactness and stability of the M3Sb polymorphs to rationalize the preference of the hexagonal structure type for the most ionic compounds of the M3Sb series (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs). The M−Sb interactions are further linked to the different electrochemical behaviours of the M x Sb electrodes through Madelung constant calculations. This method is based on the knowledge of only one given M x Sb composition and thus allows rationalizing the different intermediate compositions achieved through electrochemical cycling. To validate our method, we finally provide the first-principles computed phase stability diagrams which further reveal two new phases for both Li–Sb and Na–Sb systems.",battery
"The success of a brand extension depends largely on the similarity between the brand and its extension product. Recent psychological and neuroscientific evidence supports a dual-process model that distinguishes taxonomic feature-based similarity from thematic relation-based similarity. In addition to providing a parsimonious organizational framework for prior brand extension research, this dual-process model also provides novel predictions about the processing and evaluation of taxonomic brand extensions (e.g., Budweiser cola) and thematic brand extensions (e.g., Budweiser chips). Results indicate that taxonomic and thematic similarities independently contribute to branding professionals' and lay consumers' evaluations of real and hypothetical brand extensions (Studies 1A and 1B). Counter-intuitively, thematic brand extensions are processed more rapidly (Study 2), judged more novel, and evaluated more positively than taxonomic extensions (Study 3). When induced to consider the commonalities between the brand and the extension product, however, taxonomic extensions are judged more novel and evaluated more positively (Study 3). Implications for brand extension and marketing more generally are discussed.",non-battery
"Lithium-ion cells can unintentionally be exposed to temperatures outside manufacturers recommended limits without triggering a full thermal runaway event. The question addressed in this paper is: Are these cells still safe to use? In this study, externally applied compression has been employed to prevent lithium ion battery failure during such events. Commercially available cells with Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) cathodes were exposed to temperatures at 80°C, 90°C and 100°C for 10h, and electrochemically characterised before and after heating. The electrode stack structures were also examined using x-ray computed tomography (CT), and post-mortems were conducted to examine the electrode stack structure and surface changes. The results show that compression reduces capacity loss by −0.07%, 4.95% and 13.10% respectively, measured immediately after the thermal testing. The uncompressed cells at 80°C showed no swelling, whilst 90°C and 100°C showed significant swelling. The X-ray CT showed that the uncompressed cell at 100°C suffered de-lamination at multiple locations after test, and precipitations were found on the electrode surface. The post-mortem results indicates the compressed cell at 100°C was kept tightly packed, and the electrode surface was uniform. The conclusion is that externally applied compression reduces delamination due to gas generation during high temperature excursions.",battery
"Chlorination roasting was used to extract lithium as lithium chloride from β-spodumene. The roasting was carried out in a fixed bed reactor using calcium chloride as chlorinating agent. The mineral was mixed with CaCl2 on a molar ratio of 1:2. Reaction temperature and time were investigated. The reactants and roasted materials were characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The mineral starts to react with CaCl2 at around 700°C. The optimal conditions of lithium extraction were found to be 900°C and 120min of chlorination roasting, under which it is attained a conversion degree of 90.2%. The characterization results indicate that the major phases present in the chlorinating roasting residue are CaAl2Si2O8, SiO2, and CaSiO3.",non-battery
"MP-124, a novel poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) inhibitor that competes with the binding of the PARP substrate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), is being developed as a neuroprotective agent against acute ischemic stroke. MP-124 increased structural chromosomal aberration in CHL/IU cells, but showed negative results in the bacterial reverse mutation test, and the rat bone marrow micronucleus (MN) and the rat liver unscheduled DNA synthesis tests after the intravenous bolus injection. Thus, MP-124 did not appear to be direct-acting mutagen. Since, PARP-1 is a key enzyme in DNA repair, the effect of continuous PARP-1 inhibition by MP-124 was further examined in the rat MN test under 24-h intravenous infusion, and an increase in micronucleated immature erythrocytes (MNIE) was observed. The increase was clearly reduced by co-treatment with nicotinic acid, which resulted in increased intracellular NAD levels. This is consistent with the established activity of MP-124 as a competitive inhibitor of PARP and provides strong evidence that the DNA-damaging effect that leads to the increase in MNIE is a secondary effect of PARP-1 inhibition. This mechanism is expected to result in a threshold for the induction of MNIE by MP-124, and allows for the establishment of a safe margin of exposure for the therapeutic use of MP-124.",non-battery
"This study explores the feasibility of using a relatively rapid technique, die-sinking micro-electrical discharge machining, to fabricate miniature metallic bipolar plates. The flow field is a three-pass serpentine structure, of which both the rib and channel widths are 500μm and the channel depth is 600μm (aspect ratio=1.2) in a reaction area of 20mm×20mm. The material-removal rate of the proposed method can reach up to 7.2mm3 min−1. However, a high material-removal rate also increases the surface roughness of flow channels. In single-cell tests, the peak power densities are 674mWcm−2 and 647mWcm−2 for flow channels with a surface roughness of 0.715μmRa and 0.994μmRa, respectively. Though the increase in surface roughness lowers cell performance, the effect is not statistically significant.",battery
"This article gives an overview of the important properties and design characteristics of electrolyte used in thermally activated (thermal) batteries. The basic physical properties of the main compositions are reviewed. The properties of electrolytes such as melting point, ionic conductivity, surface tension, density, thermal characteristics, and moisture sensitivity were analyzed in relation with the functioning of the batteries. Solubility data of alkali metals, sulphides, and oxides were compiled and analyzed. The important parameters of separator pellets are discussed in terms of both electrical and mechanical properties as they pertain to thermal-battery design and functioning. A number of lower-melting electrolytes are presented along with key physical properties for possible use in applications requiring lower operating temperatures such as borehole power supplies.",battery
"Calcitriol, the hormonal form of vitamin D3, sensitizes breast cancer cells to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent cytotoxicity induced by various anticancer modalities. This effect could be due to increased generation of ROS and/ or to increased sensitivity of the target cells to ROS. This work examined the effect of calcitriol on the damage inflicted on breast cancer cells by the direct action of ROS represented by H2O2. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with H2O2 resulted in activation of caspase 7 as well as induction of caspase-independent cell death. Both were enhanced by 48–72 h of pretreatment with calcitriol. This effect was not due to modulation of H2O2 degradation or to a specific effect on OH-mediated cytotoxicity. The H2O2-induced drop in mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c were enhanced by calcitriol. These findings indicate that calcitriol sensitizes breast cancer cells to ROS-induced death by affecting event(s) common to both caspase-dependent and -independent modes of cell death upstream to mitochondrial damage.",non-battery
"Battery safety is a key focus in the design of electrified vehicles. Here, the authors survey literature approaches for modelling and testing battery safety under abuse conditions, and propose a multi-physics modelling and testing framework for real applications.
",battery
"A one-pot facile hydrothermal synthesis of fluorine-doped CoFe2O4 sphere (FS-CoFe2O4)/graphene sheet (GS) composites, based on the Ostwald ripening mechanism, is presented in this work. Incorporation of fluorine in CoFe2O4/GS improves ion diffusion by forming a highly porous structure that serves as an electrolyte reservoir during the redox reactions and facilitates charge transfer in the electrode material. The influence of the fluorine concentration on the relationship between structure and electrochemical performance of CoFe2O4/GS is also studied. The FS-CoFe2O4/GS composite exhibits a high specific capacity of 288 C g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1, along with an excellent rate capability of 80% (230 C g−1 at a current density of 10 A g−1). Moreover, the FS-CoFe2O4/GS composite is used to assemble a hybrid supercapacitor, which exhibits a high operating voltage of 1.6 V and delivers a high energy density of 28.4 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 0.9 kW kg−1, as well as an outstanding cycling performance (90% capacity retention after 20,000 cycles, in which the GSs support FS-CoFe2O4 for the whole duration of the cycling tests). The present study can open up a new avenue for exploiting fluorine as a dopant in high-performance hybrid supercapacitors.",battery
"A motivation is a telling hallmark of negative symptomatology in schizophrenia, and it impacts nearly every facet of behavior, including inclination to attempt the difficult cognitive tasks involved in cognitive remediation therapy. Experiences of external reward, reinforcement, and hedonic anticipatory enjoyment are diminished in psychosis, so therapeutics which instead target intrinsic motivation for cognitive tasks may enhance task engagement, and subsequently, remediation outcome. We examined whether outpatients could attain benefits from an intrinsically motivating instructional approach which (a) presents learning materials in a meaningful game-like context, (b) personalizes elements of the learning materials into themes of high interest value, and (c) offers choices so patients can increase their control over the learning process. We directly compared one learning method that incorporated the motivational paradigm into an arithmetic learning program against another method that carefully manipulated out the motivational variables in the same learning program. Fifty-seven subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomly assigned to one of the two learning programs for 10 thirty-minute sessions while an intent-to-treat convenience subsample (n =15) was used to account for practice effect. Outcome measures were arithmetic learning, attention, motivation, self competency, and symptom severity. Results showed the motivational group (a) acquired more arithmetic skill, (b) possessed greater intrinsic motivation for the task, (c) reported greater feelings of self competency post-treatment, and (d) demonstrated better post-test attention. Interestingly, baseline perception of self competency was a significant predictor of post-test arithmetic scores. Results demonstrated that incorporating intrinsically motivating instructional techniques into a difficult cognitive task promoted greater learning of the material, higher levels of intrinsic motivation to attempt the demanding task, and greater feelings of self efficacy and achievement to learn.",non-battery
"Metal cobalt has infinite potential for super performance aqueous alkaline batteries. But it is a high degree of requirements to design and synthesize composites to solve the common problems than Co materials. Hence towards that end, Co@N-rich carbon hybrids (CoNC) have been designed and prepared via an in-situ, facile and effective method. By doping abundant nitrogen (about 5wt%), the mesoporous carbon shells provide more active sites, enhanced electrical conductivity and electrode infiltration, and avoid the Co nanoparticles agglomeration and serious electrode dissolution. When used as the electrode for the aqueous alkaline battery, the CoNC hybrids deliver outstandingly higher discharge capacity, superior high-rate ability, and stable cycling ability. A high discharge capacity of 625mAhg−1 has been delivered at 500mAg−1 and reduced to 455.7mAhg−1 after 150 cycles for the CoNC electrode. Even the current increases up to 5Ag−1, the capacity still remains at 461.3mAhg−1, manifesting the fascinating high-rate discharge ability. Importing the rich nitrogen species makes a significant difference to give full play a positive role on the aqueous alkaline battery, which as well guides a new direction towards high-rate power batteries.",battery
"The present work shows the electric and dielectric study of ceramic composites made from cobalt titanate CoTiO3 (CoTO) and vanadium oxide (V2O5), by complex impedance spectroscopy. The CoTO was obtained by solid state reaction, the structural properties of the CoTO and the composites were discussed using X-ray diffraction and the electric and dielectric study to possible applications in radio frequency was made by measurements analysis of impedance spectroscopy at room temperature and with temperature variation. The analysis of the diffractogram of the CoTO synthesis showed the formation of only a single phase of CoTO without presence of spurious phases and analysis of the diffractograms of the composites after sintering process revealed the formation of a secondary phase [Co3V2O8]. The CoTO study showed the electrical and dielectric properties of impedance (Z′), dielectric permittivity (ε′), conductivity (σ) and activation energy (Ea), where they were studied in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 1 MHz and temperature (280–440 °C). The results indicate that CoTO electroceramics and ceramic composites presented a thermo-activated charge transfer process in the studied temperature range and the electrical results were modeled through equivalent circuit configurations composed of two and three associations in parallel with R-CPE, representing the electric responses of the grain, grain boundary and electrode effect presented by the studied electroceramics.",non-battery
"Objective To examine the validity of factor analytically based summary scores that were developed using the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Emotion Battery (NIHTB-EB); (ie, psychological well-being, social satisfaction, negative affect) normative sample in individuals with neurologic conditions. Design Cross-sectional, observational cohort. Setting Community. Participants A total of 1036 English-speaking adults from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox (NIHTB) normative project and 604 community-dwelling adults with neurologic conditions including spinal cord injury (SCI n=209), traumatic brain injury (TBI n=184), and stroke (cerebrovascular accident [CVA] n=211) (N=1640). Intervention Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The NIHTB-EB. Results A series of univariate analyses comparing summary scores across the 4 groups (SCI, TBI, CVA, normative group) were conducted to identify group differences. Base rates (defined as >1 SD toward the problematic direction) were also identified. The normative group demonstrated better emotional functioning characterized by greater social satisfaction and psychological well-being (normative group > SCI, TBI, CVA; P’s <.0001), and less negative affect (normative group < SCI, P=.016; normative group < TBI, P<.001; normative group < CVA; P=.034) compared with each neurologic group. Using base rates to identify problematic emotions for the 3 summary scores, there were higher rates of problematic emotions on all 3 summary scores for the neurologic groups compared with the normative group. Conclusions The NIHTB-EB summary scores demonstrate an increased prevalence of problematic emotions among individuals with 3 neurologic conditions, and might be useful for identifying individuals with similar conditions and potentially in need of psychological support.",non-battery
"The main features of cyclic voltammograms (CVs) of thin electrochromic films based on a-WO3 were investigated. First, the chemical capacitance is defined in terms of the electrochemical potential variation with the insertion level, x, and is measured under galvanostatic (chronopotentiometry) quasi-equilibrium conditions. An equilibrium capacitance increasing rapidly with respect to insertion level or negative potential is observed, respectively C ch∝x a at x>10−3(a≈0.74) and C ch∝V α (α≈3). Simulation methods used to generate the observed CVs are described in detail. Major CV peaks can be simply understood as charging and discharging of the variable capacitor, in conjunction with a distortion of the voltage scale due to a series transport process. Therefore a simple RC equivalent circuit allows us to explain the principal CVs characteristics of lithium intercalation and deintercalation in amorphous films.",battery
"Objective The aim of the research was to investigate auditory processing abilities in children with reading disorders using electrophysiological and behavioral tasks. Methods Differences in auditory processing between control, compensated (age appropriate reading skills with a history of reading disorder), and reading disordered groups were systematically investigated. Results The reading disorder group had significantly lower results than control and compensated reader groups for most tests in the reading and auditory processing test battery. All children with a reading disorder did not pass at least one behavioral test of auditory processing, and hence would be diagnosed clinically as having an auditory processing disorder (APD). The reading disorder group also had significantly smaller /ga/-evoked mismatch negativity (MMN) area than the control group. Compensated and control groups had similar results for the electrophysiological and behavioral auditory processing tests. Correlation analyses showed that reading fluency and accuracy and nonword scores (measured using Castle and Coltheart's word/nonword test) correlated significantly with most APD measures. Conclusions The general profile of auditory processing deficits in children with reading disorder was a combination of deficits on frequency patterns (i.e. frequency pattern test) and absent or small /ga/-evoked MMN. Significant results from the correlation analyses support the co-morbidity of reading and auditory processing disorders. Significance Children with reading disorders are likely to have auditory processing disorders.",non-battery
"Modern cryptographic algorithms play an irreplaceable role in data communication systems for various areas of applications. These algorithms are the backbone of data protection and secrecy for highly sensitive and classified data. The selection of a suitable crypto-algorithm will dynamically affect the lifespan and performance of a device in terms of battery-life, hardware memory, computation latency and communication bandwidth. In the current developments of the resource constrained environments, the trend is shifting towards lightweight algorithmic hardware designs. To select a suitable cryptographic algorithm for an application or an environment, the understandings of both the algorithmic requirements in terms of hardware and the specifications of the development platform intended has to be established. However, there are numerous ciphers in the literature that has various functionality, specifications and strength. Moreover, there are numerous literatures that cover the trend and specifications of security solutions in hardware constrained environment, employing known cryptographic algorithms. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of modern symmetric cryptographic solutions used in resource constrained environment (RCE), including literatures from the area of wireless sensor network (WSN), radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless identification and sensing platform (WISP) and other resource constrained platforms. This paper aims to provide a survey of the ciphers that were used in the past, and what are the ciphers that are currently active, and their respective specifications and applications in the area of modern world RCEs. On top of that, descriptive summaries of (a total of 100 symmetric ciphers) modern block ciphers (38), involution ciphers (6), lightweight block ciphers (28) and stream ciphers (28) are included and discussed, and an overview of the current contributions of various literatures, comparison and analysis of modern ciphers from the hardware and software perspective are also discussed.",non-battery
" The relevance of persistent cognitive deficits to the pathogenesis and prognosis of bipolar disorders (BD) is understudied, and its translation into clinical practice has been limited by the absence of brief methods assessing cognitive status in Psychiatry. This investigation assessed the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S) for the detection of cognitive impairment in BD.",non-battery
"A conceptually new and general strategy was, for the first time, proposed to significantly boost the electrocatalytic activity of metal-free pure carbon nanotubes (CNTs) towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by simple polymer wrapping without introducing any heteroatom dopants, functional groups, or edge defects into the graphitic structure. Our strategy is straightforward, efficient, green, and easy to be scaled up. After wrapping pure CNTs with a certain class of electrochemically inert polymers (i.e. poly(ethylene-alt-maleic acid), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(ethylene glycol)) with polar oxygen-containing groups (i.e. –COOH, –OH, –COOCH3, –O–) through noncovalent interactions, a series of advanced metal-free composite membrane catalysts were easily achieved, which yielded unexpected, surprisingly high OER activity – on par with the commercial noble RuO2 catalyst, though pure CNTs have rather poor OER activity. Combined experimental and computational studies revealed that the observed superb OER activity could be attributed to a synergistic effect of intrinsic topological defects in the CNTs as active centers and the coated polymer layer as a co-catalyst to optimize the adsorption energies of intermediates for improving the OER energetics.
",battery
"Watanabe S, Amimoto K. Generalization of prism adaptation for wheelchair driving task in patients with unilateral spatial neglect. Objectives To verify the efficacy of prism adaptation as a practical means of rehabilitation for subjects with unilateral spatial neglect by conducting goal-directed tasks in the presence of similar visual flankers in the right hemispace using an activity of daily living, namely, wheelchair operation. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Rehabilitation center located in Japan. Participants Patients with unilateral spatial neglect (N=10). Intervention Prism adaptation. Main Outcome Measures A midpoint-directed task in which the subject faces the center of 2 symbols placed in front and moves the wheelchair toward it, and a goal-directed task in which the subject must differentiate a single target from multiple symbols and move the wheelchair toward it. Results In the midpoint-directed task, there was a significant shift in the reach position bias from +27.7cm prior to prism adaptation to +3.1cm after prism adaptation (P<.01). In the goal-directed task, the time taken to reach the outer left target decreased from 21.2 seconds prior to prism adaptation to 11.8 seconds after prism adaptation, and the difference between placement of the targets was eliminated. Conclusions Prism adaptation exhibited the potential to generalize the effects on activities of daily living such as driving a wheelchair and to ameliorate unilateral spatial neglect even in the presence of right-hemispace flankers. Prism adaptation is an effective therapeutic modality in rehabilitation because it prevents the appearance of neglect symptoms despite situational or contextual changes.",non-battery
"The effects of adaptation to prisms displacing rightwards the field of vision on omission errors, and on perseveration and other graphic productions in a line cancellation task, were assessed in nine right-brain-damaged patients with left unilateral spatial neglect. Prism adaptation improved both neglect, as indexed by omission errors, and perseveration behaviour, up to a delay of 60 min. No correlation was found between omission and perseveration errors in all assessments. The suggestion is made that perseveration and other complex graphic productions made by right brain-damaged-patients with left spatial unilateral neglect is due to a defective monitoring of complex motor behaviour, frequently associated to cerebral damage involving the right frontal lobe. Interpretations of perseveration behaviour in terms of allochiria and directional hypokinesia are considered, and their limits discussed.",non-battery
"The electrolysis of water is considered a promising route to the production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources. Electrolysers based on proton exchange membranes (PEMs) have a number of advantages including high current density, high product gas purity and the ability to operate at high pressure. Despite these advantages the high cost of such devices is an impediment to their widespread deployment. A principal factor in this cost are the materials and machining of flow plates for distribution of the liquid reagents and gaseous products in the electrochemical cell. We demonstrate the production and operation of a PEM electrolyser constructed from silver coated 3D printed components fabricated from polypropylene. This approach allows construction of light weight, low cost electrolysers and the rapid prototyping of flow field design. Furthermore we provide data on the operation of this electrolyser wherein we show that performance is excellent for a first generation device in terms of overall efficiency, internal resistances and current–voltage response. This development opens the door to the fabrication of light weight and cheap electrolysers as well as related electrochemical devices such as flow batteries and fuel cells.
",battery
"We characterized high-power lithium-ion cells in terms of performance and cycle- and calendar life at 45°C. Among other parameters, we measured the C/25 capacity every 4 weeks during the test. Differentiation of the C/25 voltage versus capacity data with respect to capacity yielded dV/dQ curves. Analysis of Q 0 dV/dQ curves has shown that capacity fade in high-power lithium-ion cells can be complex. From the analysis, the anode material in a significant fraction of the cells showed two types of capacity loss. The loss of accessible material tended to happen early in cell life, either during formation or during the first 4 weeks of testing. Most likely this was caused by a physical rather than chemical process. After 4 weeks, the principal cause of capacity loss was side reactions.",battery
"Almost 90 % of disease-associated genetic variants found using genome wide association studies (GWAS) are located in non-coding regions of the genome. Such variants can affect phenotype by altering important regulatory elements such as promoters, enhancers or repressors, leading to changes in gene expression and consequently disease, such as thyroid cancer and allergic diseases. A number of allergy and atopy related diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis are related to histamine receptors; however, these diseases are not fully characterized at the molecular level. Moreover, candidate gene based studies of common variants known as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) located in the coding regions of these receptors have given mixed results. It is important to complement these approaches by identifying and characterising non-coding variants in order to further elucidate the role of these receptors in disease. Here we present an analysis of histamine receptor genes using the tool AnNCR-SNP to characterise variants in non-coding genomic regions. AnNCR-SNP combines bioinformatics and experimental data sets from various sources to predict the effects of genetic variation on gene expression regulation. We find many SNPs located in areas of open chromatin, overlapping with transcription factor binding sites and associated with changes in gene expression in expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) experiments. Here we present the results as a catalogue of non-coding variation in histamine receptor genes to aid histamine researchers in identifying putative functional SNPs found in GWAS for further validation, and to help select variants for candidate gene studies.",non-battery
"On 15 July 2000 the first MITA satellite was launched from Plesetsk. The main purpose of this mission is its in-flight validation, since MITA is going to be used as standard platform for small missions. In this paper the main MITA bus characteristics are reported, together with the description of the launch and the first commissioning phase. This article will describe the in-orbit results and the performances of the MITA platform.",non-battery
"We introduce a comprehensive finite-element analysis (FEA) computational model to accurately predict the thermo-mechanical stresses at heterogeneous joints and components of large-size sodium sulfur (NaS) cells during thermal cycling. Quantification of the thermo-mechanical stress is important because the accumulation of stress during cell assembly and/or operation is one of the critical issues in developing practical planar NaS cells. The computational model is developed based on relevant experimental assembly and operation conditions to predict the detailed stress field of a state-of-the-art planar NaS cell. Prior to the freeze-and-thaw thermal cycle simulation, residual stresses generated from the actual high temperature cell assembly procedures are calculated and implemented into the subsequent model. The calculation results show that large stresses are developed on the outer surface of the insulating header and the solid electrolyte, where component fracture is frequently observed in the experimental cell fabrication process. The impacts of the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of glass materials and the thicknesses of cell container on the stress accumulation are also evaluated to improve the cell manufacturing procedure and to guide the material choices for enhanced thermo-mechanical stability of large-size NaS cells.",battery
"Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive, impairing, life-limiting disorder of childhood. Little is known about how siblings adapt to this. The aim of this study is to document psychosocial adjustment in siblings of patients with DMD. Healthy siblings (11–18years old) of young people with DMD attending a specialist paediatric centre and their parent/main carer took part. Parents, siblings and teachers completed a battery of questionnaires: (i) to assess psychiatric risk the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); (ii) to measure general wellbeing: SF-36; (iii) to document DMD illness disability: Functional Disability Inventory (FDI); (iv) to assess family function and life stresses for the unaffected sibling: Family Assessment Device (FAD), Family Burden Interview Schedule and Life Events Checklist. Forty six/77 eligible siblings (24 females/22 males); (mean age 14years (SD 2.3)) took part. Although their mean psychological functioning and wellbeing questionnaire scores were comparable to normative data, there was a trend for more siblings scoring at high-risk for psychological (mainly emotional) problems. Weak/moderate associations with psychological symptoms in siblings varied according to informant and included the following factors: closeness in age to the affected sibling; older sibling age; extent of wheelchair use, burden of illness on family interactions, and siblings reporting high impact of illness on their lives. Psychological symptoms were also associated with less sibling involvement in patient care, with broader psychosocial and family disadvantage and with life stresses. Siblings have an increased risk for emotional problems, which appears influenced by specific illness factors.",non-battery
"Poly(2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole) (PDMcT)/sulfonated graphene conductive composite (PDMcT/SGS) was synthesized through in situ oxidative polymerization in the presence of the water-soluble sulfonated graphene sheets (SGS). Raman spectra revealed the existence of the π–π interaction between thiadiazole rings and basal planes of SGS. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the submicron-sized petals and nanofibers of PDMcT grew onto the surface of SGS. As evidenced by the cyclic voltammetry results, the incorporation of SGS has significantly improved the electrochemical activity and cyclability of PDMcT. The discharge capacity of PDMcT/SGS composite, measured with the charge–discharge tests, was 268 mAh g−1 at the first cycle and 124 mAh g−1 after 10 cycles.
",battery
"Observations and modeling are used to assess potential impacts of sediment releases due to dam removals on the Hudson River estuary. Watershed sediment loads are calculated based on sediment-discharge rating curves for gauges covering 80% of the watershed area. The annual average sediment load to the estuary is 1.2 Mt, of which about 0.6 Mt comes from side tributaries. Sediment yield varies inversely with watershed area, with regional trends that are consistent with substrate erodibility. Geophysical and sedimentological surveys in seven subwatersheds of the Lower Hudson were conducted to estimate the mass and composition of sediment trapped behind dams. Impoundments were classified as (1) active sediment traps, (2) run-of-river sites not actively trapping sediment, and (3) dammed natural lakes and spring-fed ponds. Based on this categorization and impoundment attributes from a dam inventory database, the total mass of impounded sediment in the Lower Hudson watershed is estimated as 4.9 ± 1.9 Mt. This represents about 4 years of annual watershed supply, which is small compared with some individual dam removals and is not practically available given current dam removal rates. More than half of dams impound drainage areas less than 1 km2, and play little role in downstream sediment supply. In modeling of a simulated dam removal, suspended sediment in the estuary increases modestly near the source during discharge events, but otherwise effects on suspended sediment are minimal. Fine-grained sediment deposits broadly along the estuary and coarser sediment deposits near the source, with transport distance inversely related to settling velocity.
",non-battery
"The properties of calcium zincate as negative electrode materials for secondary batteries were examined by powder microelectrode, cyclic voltammetry, charge–discharge cycle measurements and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The results show that the cycleability of calcium zincate is obviously superior to that of ZnO and that of the mixture of ZnO and Ca(OH)2 (the molar ratio of Zn:Ca=2:1). Calcium zincate forms zinc metal during the charging and exhibits an initial discharge capacity 230mAhg−1. With the discharge cut-off voltage of 1.0V, the discharge capacity of the experimental Zn/NiOOH cell does not decay much during 500 cycles, exhibiting good prospect for practical use.",battery
"Life-cycle design (LCD), the application of life-cycle concepts to the design phase of product development, is emerging as a valuable tool for incorporating environmental impacts and trade-offs as a criterion in product/process design. Because LCD is used as an internal decision-support tool and is often customized to meet firm-specific needs, its strengts, successes and limitations remain largely undocumented. Companies practicing, or inclined to adopt LCD methods have not benefitted from methodological advancements achieved by other firms, and opportunities for cross-fertilization across firms have been limited. An examination of LCD practices at three firms—IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and Armstrong World Industries, Inc.—provides insight into how these methods evolve, as well as a glimpse into the dynamics of organizational innovation in relation to corporate environmental management. Four ingredients are essential to initiating or sustaining a successful LCD program: 1) a pragmatic, flexible approach that avoids “analysis paralysis”; 2) program buy-in from multiple levels in the company; 3) supplier involvement and information exchange to support material and/or process decisions; and 4) inclusion of staff from various business functions to ensure that LCD is not merely another environmental initiative.",non-battery
"Novel inorganic film modified electrodes have been prepared by chemical deposition of a thin palladium pentacyanonitrosylferrate (PdPCNF) film on the surface of aluminum substrate. The modification process including the electroless deposition of metallic palladium on the aluminum electrode surface from PdCl2+25% ammonia solution and chemical derivatization of deposited palladium to the PdPCNF film in 0.1 M Na2[Fe(CN)5NO]+0.5 M KNO3+HNO3 solution (pH 1.5–2.5), are described. The aluminum-based modified electrodes exhibit, one pair of well-defined voltammetric peaks which correspond to the Fe(III)/Fe(II) transition in complex structure. The effect of pH, ammonium, alkali metal and alkaline earth metal cations of supporting electrolyte on the electrochemical characteristics of the modified electrode was studied in detail. Diffusion coefficients of hydrated ammonium and alkali metal cations in the film (D), transfer coefficient (α) and transfer rate constant for electron (k s), were determined. The high stability of this modified electrode makes it attractive in practical application.",battery
"This paper looks at some of the different practical cyborgs that are realistically possible now. It firstly describes the technical basis for such cyborgs then discusses the results from experiments in terms of their meaning, possible applications and ethical implications. An attempt has been made to cover a wide variety of possibilities. Human implantation and the merger of biology and technology are important factors here. The article is not intended to be seen as the final word on these issues, but rather to give an initial overview. Most of the experiments described are drawn from the author’s personal experience over the last 15 years.",non-battery
"Daily levels of particulate matter (PM) in the ambient air (PM 2.5 and PM 10) were measured in a northern city of Thailand (Chiang Mai) from March 1998 to October 1999. Twenty-four-hour air particulate matter samples were collected each day with Airmetric Minivol portable air samplers. Monthly averages of PM 2.5 from four stations in Chiang Mai varied from 15.39 to 138.31μg/m3 and 27.29 to 173.40μg/m3 for PM 10. The PM 2.5 annual average was 58.48mg/m3 and PM 10, 86.38μg/m3. Daily PM 2.5 (24h values) during the winter months in Chiang Mai frequently exceeded 200–300μg/m3. The maximum concentrations of PM 2.5 (24h average) in Chiang Mai air from December 1998 to April 1999 were 2.8-, 3.5-, 4.2-, 6.5- and 3.2-fold higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), PM 2.5, 24h standard of 65μg/m3. From May to October, the mean 24h levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 were at acceptable levels. The data shows that during the winter season (December to March), levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in the Chiang Mai atmosphere are very high, and there may be significant health implications associated with these high concentrations. During the summer season, the fine particles were generally within the acceptable levels. To our knowledge, these are the first measurements of PM 2.5 to be reported for the city of Chiang Mai and they indicate considerable ambient fine particle exposures to the Chiang Mai population. In addition, dichloromethane extracts of airborne particulate matter PM 2.5 or PM 10 collected in the months of winter in the city of Chiang Mai were mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100 without metabolic activation. The mutagenicity appeared to track particle concentrations and increased in the presence of S9 mix.",non-battery
"The degradation behavior of semicrystalline PEO on silica (SiO2) nanoparticles as a function of silanol density, hydrophobicity and nanoparticle size was investigated under N2 purge by derivative thermogravimetric analysis (dTGA) for adsorption amounts at or below plateau adsorption. The PEO was adsorbed onto colloidal (Stöber) onto 100nm colloidal that had been heat-treated to vary the silanol density or hydrophobically modified, (CH3)3–SiO2, and onto 15, 40 and 100nm SiO2 made by a water-glass process. Either one or two degradation peaks, T d , were observed for the adsorbed PEO, one at ∼180–210°C and one at ∼250–300°C. The degradation peak at 180–210°C appeared either at high adsorption amounts for the 100nm SiO2, on the 15nm SiO2, and on hydrophobically modified SiO2, where PEO not directly hydrogen-bonded with SiOH was expected. The degradation peak at 250–300°C correlated with SiOH density of the SiO2, and thus SiOH/CO contacts, and the peak position increased with increase in SiOH density. With decreasing adsorption amount for the 100nm SiO2, the 180–210°C peak decreased with respect to the 250–300°C peak. Thus, the freer PEO segments appeared to degrade at lower temperatures than the H-bonded segments. However, both T d s were well below those observed for neat PEO, which occurs at ca 388°C. This may arise since PEO is oxidatively unstable, and the volatile degradation products of the relatively small number of PEO chains on the high surface area SiO2 are removed quickly, resulting in more rapid degradation.",non-battery
"We have studied the electrochemical behavior of Tb0.11V2O5 electrodes in propylene carbonate and LiClO4. The techniques used in the study were cyclic voltammetry, discharge/charge polarization, FTIR and XRD. The Tb0.11V2O5 compound was prepared using the xerogel route and the composite electrodes were membranes prepared with PVDF-binder and carbon. The results show that the Tb doping improves the electrochemical performance of V2O5 due to the bonding of the earth-rare ions and the residual H2O in the V2O5 structure. The capacity fading was reduced, the specific reversible capacity was 330mAg−1 (C/4, cut-off 3.7–2.0V) and the voltage presented a large plateau at 2.5V for the Tb0.11V2O5 electrodes. The charge transfer between Li and Tb0.11V2O5 does not involve the oxidation–reduction of the Tb3+ ions.",battery
"Biomarkers have the potential to be used to assess the impact of anthropogenic discharges in marine waters. We have used a suite of biomarkers spanning from enzymatic to histopathological alterations and general stress responses to assess the short- and long-term impact on mussels Mytilus edulis of heavy fuel oil no. 6 and styrene. Mussels were exposed for 5 months, with a refilling of the exposure system, to a water soluble fraction of heavy fuel and, then, kept for a month in clean water for recovery. In a second experiment, mussels were exposed to styrene for 19 days and maintained in clean water for up to 4 months. Chemical body tissue levels reflected the weathering processes of these compounds. Acyl-CoA oxidase activity was induced in oil-exposed mussels after refilling, whereas styrene inhibited it after 19 days of exposure and after 2 weeks in clean water. Gamete development and alkali-labile phosphate levels suggest that neither oil nor styrene behaved as endocrine disruptors. Neutral red retention time was lower in treated groups than in controls. Lysosomal membrane stability was significantly reduced in exposed groups and recovered after withdrawal of oil but not after removal of styrene. Neither oil nor styrene exposure affected the condition index except for the reduction seen in mussels exposed to oil for 1 month. Biomarker response index discriminated exposed mussels, which showed higher values, and returned to control levels after recovery. Results obtained from these pilot experiments can help to identify relevant monitoring tools to assess the impact of oil and chemicals in marine spill scenarios.",non-battery
"In summer 2012, a landfill liner comprising an estimated 1.3 million shredded tires burned in Iowa City, Iowa. During the fire, continuous monitoring and laboratory measurements were used to characterize the gaseous and particulate emissions and to provide new insights into the qualitative nature of the smoke and the quantity of pollutants emitted. Significant enrichments in ambient concentrations of CO, CO2, SO2, particle number (PN), fine particulate (PM2.5) mass, elemental carbon (EC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were observed. For the first time, PM2.5 from tire combustion was shown to contain PAH with nitrogen heteroatoms (a.k.a. azaarenes) and picene, a compound previously suggested to be unique to coal-burning. Despite prior laboratory studies' findings, metals used in manufacturing tires (i.e. Zn, Pb, Fe) were not detected in coarse particulate matter (PM10) at a distance of 4.2 km downwind. Ambient measurements were used to derive the first in situ fuel-based emission factors (EF) for the uncontrolled open burning of tires, revealing substantial emissions of SO2 (7.1 g kg−1), particle number (3.5 × 1016 kg−1), PM2.5 (5.3 g kg−1), EC (2.37 g kg−1), and 19 individual PAH (totaling 56 mg kg−1). A large degree of variability was observed in day-to-day EF, reflecting a range of flaming and smoldering conditions of the large-scale fire, for which the modified combustion efficiency ranged from 0.85 to 0.98. Recommendations for future research on this under-characterized source are also provided.",non-battery
"Interconnecting “things” and devices that takes the form of wearables, sensors, actuators, mobiles, computers, meters, or even vehicles is a critical requirement for the current era. These inter-networked connections are serving the emerging applications home and building automation, smart cities and infrastructure, smart industries, and smart-everything. However, the security of these connected Internet of things (IoT) plays a centric role with no margin for error. After a review of the relevant, online literature on the topic and after looking at the market trends and developments, one can notice that there are still concerns with regard to security in IoT products and services. This paper is focusing on a survey on IoT security and aims to highlight the most significant problems related to safety and security in the IoT ecosystems. This survey identifies the general threat and attack vectors against IoT devices while highlighting the flaws and weak points that can lead to breaching the security. Furthermore, this paper presents solutions for remediation of the compromised security, as well as methods for risk mitigation, with prevention and improvement suggestions.
",non-battery
Nanoparticles of lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) spinel oxides have been synthesized from aqueous solutions of metal acetate containing citric acid as a chelating agent by a sol–gel method. The influence of calcination temperature on the physicochemical properties of LiMn2O4 powders in air atmosphere has been analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron microscopic techniques. The thermal behavior of the material has been examined by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Two sharp and well-defined peaks obtained from cyclic voltammetry of Li/1M LiPF6-EC/DEC electrolyte/LiMn2O4 cell reveal that the LiMn2O4 particles are highly crystalline and insertion–extraction mechanism occur at two stages in the 4V region.,battery
"Purpose This study was designed to raise awareness of the materials, devices, and Internet resources available to improve adherence to use of medications for the treatment of glaucoma and to review new devices under development. Methods A review of current indexed literature and Internet resources was conducted. Results A variety of educational brochures, pamphlets, and fact sheets promoting adherence to ocular hypotensive medications are available through multiple organizations and are easily accessed and ordered on the Internet. Video and Web-based patient educational tools have been designed to support patient adherence to glaucoma management plans and promote open dialogue between patients and providers. Reminder and recall systems that integrate with office software can be sent to cell phones as well as e-mails and personal digital assistant (PDAs), alerting patients to upcoming appointments and reminding them to instill their drops. Bottle devices with dosing support (timers with audible and visual signals and dispensing aids) and electronic monitoring have been shown to promote adherence. New products currently under development to improve the delivery of medications include nanoparticles, punctal plugs, and contact lenses that release glaucoma medications. Conclusions Many educational materials, services, Internet resources, and devices are available to optometrists to encourage patient adherence to glaucoma treatment and management.",non-battery
"This article makes use of survey data collected in 1992 and 2007 to examine the question of whether or not Postmaterialism is gradually becoming manifest in Hong Kong and to explore the applicability of Postmaterialist theory to this affluent Chinese society. Our findings basically support the hypotheses of the theory that the continued socioeconomic development of Hong Kong is giving rise to a populace that is increasingly inclined towards Postmaterialism. Younger people are more Postmaterialist than their seniors. In addition, Postmaterialists are more likely than Materialists to support the ‘new politics’ and democracy. Nevertheless, Hong Kong is far from being a Postmaterialist society. Multivariate regression analysis also revealed that the Materialist/Postmaterialist orientation is neither related to age nor to formative security.",non-battery
"Here, we report all-solid-state spiral wire-type stretchable supercapacitors (WSSCs) based on wire-type MnO2/graphene (Gr)/Ni electrode, in which a corroded Ni wire serves as substrate, Gr as buffer layer for depositing of MnO2 and KOH-polyvinyl alcohol gel as the solid-state electrolyte. Through interface engineering (surface corrosion and addition of buffer layer), interface contact, equivalent series resistance (ESR) and electrochemical performance of the wire-type electrode are greatly improved. The WSSC exhibits good electrochemical performance and stretchability. Linear (volumetric) specific capacitance of the spiral WSSC reaches 31.48 mF cm−1 (0.45Fcm−3). Maximum linear energy density (power density) reaches 2.80μWhcm−1 (0.54mWcm−1). The capacitance retention is about 92% after deformed at 100% tensile strain. Furthermore, the spiral WSSC has a smaller size and can be easily integrated with electrical wire in electric equipment as a backup power supply, which avoid damage of device or data as sudden power failure occurs.",battery
"The evaluation of floating currents is a powerful method to characterize capacity fade induced by calendaric aging and enables a highly resolved representation of the Arrhenius relation. The test arrangement is simple and could constitute a cheap alternative to state-of-the-art calendaric aging tests including check-up tests. Therefore the currents to maintain a constant voltage are evaluated. This method is validated by analyzing nine cylindrical 8 Ah LiFePO4|Graphite battery cells during calendaric aging at 25 °C, 40 °C and 60 °C at 3.6 V (100% SOC). The 3.6 V are kept by applying constant voltage while the floating currents are logged. The floating currents correlate with the rate of capacity loss measured during capacity tests. The floating currents reveal to be rather constant at 25 °C, linearly increasing at 40 °C and decreasing from a higher level at 60 °C. Additional tests with three test cells, with the temperature rising from 40 to 60 °C in steps of 5 K, exhibit non-constant currents starting from 50 °C on with high variations amongst the tested cells. Once stored above 50 °C, the cells exhibit increased floating currents compared to the measurement at the same temperature before exceeding 50 °C.",battery
"Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) offer the potential to reduce both oil imports and greenhouse gas emissions, but high upfront costs discourage many potential purchasers. Making an economic comparison with conventional alternatives is complicated in part by strong sensitivity to drive patterns, vehicle range, and charge strategies that affect vehicle utilization and battery wear. Identifying justifiable battery replacement schedules and sufficiently accounting for the limited range of a BEV add further complexity to the issue. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed the Battery Ownership Model to address these and related questions. The Battery Ownership Model is applied here to examine the sensitivity of BEV economics to drive patterns, vehicle range, and charge strategies when a high-fidelity battery degradation model, financially justified battery replacement schedules, and two different means of accounting for a BEV's unachievable vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are employed. We find that the value of unachievable VMT with a BEV has a strong impact on the cost-optimal range, charge strategy, and battery replacement schedule; that the overall cost competitiveness of a BEV is highly sensitive to vehicle-specific drive patterns; and that common cross-sectional drive patterns do not provide consistent representation of the relative cost of a BEV.",battery
"A new method for chemical deposition of NiO x H y -based films was developed. The films obtained have electrochromic properties and good adhesion to the substrate. The precursor sol consists of an alcoholic solution of NiCl2 and Ti alcoxide. Films deposited on indium–tin-oxide substrates were prepared by dip coating. The electrochromic efficiency of thin films prepared under different conditions was determined. We report on the effects of (a) Ni concentration, (b) Ti content and (c) temperature of firing on the electrochromic efficiency. Electrochromic efficiencies measured at λ=632.8 nm of films with different thicknesses (∼100–200 nm) range from 10 to 42 cm2 C−1, with a variation in transmittance up to 30%. The colouring response time is strongly dependent on Ti content. For Ti-doped films this time is 5–80 times longer than for undoped ones. The variations in monochromatic transmittance during voltammetric cycles suggest that all the electric charge consumed by redox reactions is involved in the colouring process.",battery
"Stainless steel is quite attractive as bipolar plate material for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Passive film on stainless steel protects the bulk of it from corrosion. However, passive film is composed of mixed metal oxides and causes a decrease in the interfacial contact resistance (ICR) between the bipolar plate and gas diffusion layer. Low ICR and high corrosion resistance are both required. In order to impart low ICR to stainless steel (SUS304), carbon-coating was prepared by using plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Carbon-coated SUS304 was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Anodic polarization behavior under PEFC operating conditions (H2SO4 solution bubbled with H2 (anode)/O2 (cathode) containing 2ppm HF at 80°C) was examined. Based on the results of the ICR evaluated before and after anodic polarization, the potential for using carbon-coated SUS304 as bipolar plate material for PEFC was discussed.",battery
"Cerebellar volume declines with aging. Few studies have investigated age differences in regional cerebellar volume (RCV) and their association with motor and cognitive function. In 213 healthy older adults, we investigated the association of age with motor skills, cognition and RCV. Subsequently, we studied the association of RCV with motor skills and cognition. RCVs were derived from T1-weighted MRI scans using the automated SUIT segmentation method and clustered using principal component analysis (PCA). Motor skill (manual dexterity, tapping speed, bimanual visuomotor coordination, grip force) and cognition (mental rotation, verbal memory, inhibition, mental flexibility) were assessed. Behavioral measures were clustered into compounds using PCA: left hand motor skill, right hand motor skill, verbal memory and mental flexibility, and mental rotation & inhibition. Volume of the rostral middle frontal gyri (rMFG) and premotor areas (PMA) were related to performance for reference. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and education. Volume of the cerebellar anterior lobe and top of the superior posterior lobe were positively associated with motor skill. Volume of the bottom part of the posterior superior lobe and the inferior posterior lobe was positively associated with cognition. PMA volume was associated with cognition and motor skill and rMFG volume with motor skill. Although these results did not survive FDR correction, their effect sizes suggest that regional cerebellar volume selectively contributes to cognitive and motor skill. Effect sizes of cerebellar associations with performance were similar to those of rMFG/PMA and performance suggesting parallel contributions to performance.",non-battery
"As a conversion-type active material, we investigated the electrochemical properties and the discharge-charge reaction mechanisms of a TiF3 having the same symmetry as FeF3. First, the insertion reaction of TiF3 proceeded at an average voltage of 2.0 V. Once the voltage of the conversion reaction declined to 0.5 V, the generated metallic Ti was indexed to a cubic system with the Im-3m space group, which is different from the stable structure of metallic Ti with the P63/mmc space group. Moreover, upon recharging to 4.0 V after the conversion reaction, the structure had an amorphous phase of LixTiF3. It is known that, on the first discharge, FeF3 first shows a reversible insertion reaction with 1 Li and then a conversion reaction with the other 2 Li. These results demonstrated that TiF3 had the following overall discharge-charge reaction, which was distinct from that of FeF3: TiF3 + 3Li → 3LiF + Ti ⇄ (3-x)Li+ + LixTiF3 (amorphous phase).",battery
"The purpose of this paper is to develop novel molten salts based on sulfonium, thiophenium, and thioxonium cations as electrolytes for EDLCs. We evaluated various kinds of the salts, with tetrafluoroborate (BF4) and bis(trifluorometanesulfonyl)amide (TFSA) anions, including several kinds of ionic liquids. The cell using the electrolyte containing diethylmethylsulfonium (DEMS)–BF4 salt had the higher capacitance and the lower DC-IR value than those containing conventional salts such as 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI)–BF4 and N,N,N-triethyl-N-methylammonium (TEMA)–BF4 at 243K and 2V. The capacitance and DC-IR at low temperature depended strongly on the structure, particularly on the size of each ion. We also examined the durability of cells by continuous charging at 333K and 2.5V. The stabilities of sulfonium-, thiophenium-, and thioxonium-based electrolytes were much inferior to that of EMI–BF4.",battery
"Hybrid wind-photovoltaic stand-alone systems have proven to be suitable to electrify isolated communities autonomously. Moreover, the use of a combination of microgrids and individual systems has been demonstrated to be very adequate. There are a few tools to assist their design but they only consider economical and technical characteristics. However, the management of the system and the security of supply, both at a community level, are key aspects to design appropriate electrification systems for end-users, thus ensuring projects' long-term sustainability, especially in rural areas of developing countries. In this context, this paper develops a mathematical model to optimise the design of wind-photovoltaic projects combining microgrids and individual systems, and including the aforesaid key issues as constraints. Thus, the aim is to minimise the cost while meeting the technical but also the management and the security of supply constraints. Finally a validation is carried out in the real community of Alto Peru (Peru), proving that the two studied aspects allow obtaining electrification solutions with some benefits that strongly compensate the obtained slight cost increases.",battery
"The quality of coke affects the performance of the blast furnace, factors affecting coke quality include coal properties, coal charge granulometry and carbonization conditions. The coke properties include the size analysis, cold strength (Micum Indices-M40, M10) and hot strength (Coke Reactivity Index-CRI, Coke Strength after Reaction-CSR) properties and structural properties such as coke structure and texture. Structural properties comprise the porosity, pore-cell wall thickness and pore sizes, while textures consist of the carbon forms in the coke. In present work, advanced method such as image analysis method was used to interpret coke microstructure. Conventional methods such as determination of coke porosity by measurement of real and apparent density and mercury porosimetry have a number of limitations. Coke size, magnification, number of image frames captured, process of pellet preparations and coke properties such as M40, M10, CRI and CSR (low, medium and high values) were taken as variables for experimental purposes. The coke structure parameters such as porosity, length, perimeter, breadth, roundness, pore-wall thickness and pore size distribution of the pores were determined by image analysis method. This method provided average porosity in addition to pore-wall thickness and pore-size distribution. The pore wall thickness measurement by image analysis method provided significant correlations with M40, CRI and CSR values. This explained the usability of image analysis for coke structure measurement.
",non-battery
"Combining semiconductor photocatalysts with carbon nanostructures has been extensively investigated due to their enhanced photochemical conversion activity. While many nanocomposite synthesis methods have been reported, the emerging use of photocatalytic reactions in synthesizing these carbon-based semiconductor composites and even pure carbon nanomaterials is increasingly capturing the attention of the research community. Being categorized under photocatalysis, these carbon-based nanomaterials are designed by either utilizing the conduction band electron or valence band hole of a photocatalyst. This perspective surveys the literature, discusses the principle of the method and highlights the recent progress in the development of this synthetic method. Ongoing challenges and new possible solutions encountered in this research area are outlined.
",battery
"Because of its high theoretical capacity, MnSe has been identified as a promising candidate as the anode material for sodium-ion batteries. However, its fast capacity deterioration due to the huge volume change during the intercalation/deintercalation of sodium ions severely hinders its practical application. Moreover, the sodium storage mechanism of MnSe is still under discussion and requires in-depth investigations. Herein, the unique thorn ball-like α-MnSe/C nanospheres have been prepared using manganese-containing metal organic framework (Mn-MOF) as a precursor followed by in situ gas-phase selenization at an elevated temperature. When serving as the anode material for sodium-ion battery, the as-prepared α-MnSe/C exhibits enhanced sodium storage capabilities of 416 and 405 mAh g−1 at 0.2 and 0.5 A g−1 after 100 cycles, respectively. It also shows a superior capacity retention of 275 mA h g−1 at 10 A g−1 after 2000 cycles, and a rate performance of 279 mA h g−1 at 20 A g−1. Such sodium storage properties could be attributed to the unique structure offering a highly efficient Na+ diffusion kinetics with a diffusion coefficient between 1 × 10–11 and 3 × 10–10 cm2 s−1. The density functional theory calculation indicates that the fast Na+ diffusion mainly takes place on the (100) plane of MnSe along a V-shaped path because of a relatively low diffusion energy barrier of 0.15 eV.
",non-battery
"As an alternative approach to the conventional deposition and photolithographic processes, the laser digital patterning (LDP) process, which is also known as the laser direct writing process, has attracted considerable attention because it is a non-photolithographic, non-vacuum, on-demand, and cost-effective electrode fabrication route that can be applied to various substrates, including heat-sensitive flexible substrates. The LDP process was initially developed using noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as Au and Ag because such materials are free from oxidation even in a nanosize configuration. Thus, the NPs must be fused together to form continuous conductive structures upon laser irradiation. However, common metals are easily oxidized at the nanoscale and exist in oxidized forms owing to the extremely large surface-to-volume ratio of NPs. Therefore, to fabricate conductive electrodes using common metal NPs via the LDP process, laser irradiation should be used to sinter the NPs and simultaneously induce additional photochemical reactions, such as reduction, and defect structure modification to increase the conductivity of the electrodes. This review summarizes recent studies on the LDP process in which metal oxide NPs, such as ITO, ZnO, CuO, and NiO, were exclusively utilized for fabricating conductive electrodes. The outlook of the LDP process for these materials is also discussed as a method that can be used together with or as a replacement for conventional ones to produce next-generation transparent conductors, sensors, and electronics.",non-battery
"Cognitive deficits are increasingly recognized as a core dimension rather than a consequence of schizophrenia (SCZ). The previous evidence supports the hypothesis of shared genetic factors between SCZ and cognitive ability. The objective of this study was to test whether and to what extent the variation of disease-relevant neurocognitive function in a sample of SCZ patients from the previous clinical interventional studies can be explained by SCZ polygenic risk scores (PRSs) or by hypothesis-driven and biomedical PRSs. The previous studies have described associations of the SNAP25 gene with cognition in SCZ. Likewise, the enrichment of several calcium signaling-related gene sets has been reported by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in SCZ. Hypothesis-driven PRSs were calculated on the basis of the SNAP-25 interactome and also for genes regulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), an activator of the signal transduction of protein kinase C (PKC) enzymes. In a cohort of 127 SCZ patients who had completed a comprehensive neurocognitive test battery as part of the previous antipsychotic intervention studies, we investigated the association between neurocognitive dimensions and PRSs. The PRS for SCZ and SNAP-25-associated genes could not explain the variance of neurocognition in this cohort. At a p value threshold of 0.05, the PRS for PMA was able to explain 2% of the variance in executive function (p = 0.05, uncorrected). The correlation between the PRS for PMA-regulated genes and cognition can give hints for further patient-derived cellular assays. In conclusion, incorporating biological information into PRSs and other en masse genetic analyses may help to close the gap between genetic vulnerability and the biological processes underlying neuropsychiatric diseases such as SCZ.",non-battery
"Functionalized conducting carbonaceous materials were easily prepared from sucrose and the clay mineral sepiolite. In a microwave assisted first step, sucrose is transformed into caramel that penetrates into the pores of sepiolite. A second step consists in the controlled thermal treatment of the intermediate caramel–sepiolite nanocomposites in the absence of oxygen to obtain carbon–sepiolite materials. These products were characterized as graphene-like nanostructured materials that can be further functionalized by grafting reactions using different organoalkoxysilanes. In this way, sulfonate groups that can act as cation exchanger were anchored to the carbon–sepiolite solids, following two different routes that involved the use of (2-phenylethyl)trichlorosilane and 2-(4-chlorosulfonylphenyl)-ethyltrichlorosilane. The graphene-like sepiolite nanocomposites can be used as electrode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries, showing better cyclability and Li-insertion properties than the nanostructured carbon without the silicate counterpart. The sulfonate derivatives, showing simultaneously ion-exchanging ability and conducting behavior, were used to develop ion-selective electrodes with specificity towards monovalent cations. The potential use of other organosilanes can open way to the development of other multifunctional materials for application in electrochemistry and other research fields.",non-battery
"Self-discharge is an important performance factor when using supercapacitors. Voltage losses in the range of 5–60% occur over two weeks. Experiments show a dependency of the self-discharge rate on various parameters such as temperature, charge duration and short-term history. In this paper, self-discharge of three commercially available supercapacitors was measured under various conditions. Based on different measurements, the impact of the influence factors is identified. A simple model to explain parts of the voltage decay is presented.",battery
" In this study, the effects of dispersion time and mixing methodology on electrochemical performance of flowable carbon electrodes have been investigated. Specifically, 20 different cases have been tested by systematically changing the mixing time (1.5, 3, 4.5, 8, 15 min), the mixing methodology (stir-bar vs. high-speed shear mixing), and the electrode composition (activated carbon (AC) only and AC with multi-walled carbon nanotube slurries). Each case was subjected to direct current conductivity and cyclic voltammetry measurements to identify the contribution of studied parameters on the dispersion and electrochemical performance. Results indicate that up to 60% difference in conductivity can be observed by changing mixing time and methodology for the same electrode composition. Additionally, capacity differences up to 90% within the same slurry composition have been noticed by slightly changing the electrode preparation protocol. Such major discrepancy in electrochemical performance with minimal changes in the electrode preparation highlights the significance of the degree of particle dispersion in these systems and the necessity for establishing an optimal slurry preparation protocol to achieve the best performance for a selected composition and application.",battery
"This paper introduces an artificial human joint working as testing machine for the experimental characterization of piezoelectric transducers for wearable applications. The diffusion of portable medical devices and low-power communication systems for telemedicine and telehealth is leading to the development of self-powered diagnostic systems supplied by small wearable generators. Laboratory tests are needed before the validation on human body for instance, to measure electric outputs, material properties and transducers reliability, as well as dedicated test benches must be designed and built. This work contributes to define experimental methodologies and test benches for the characterization of materials and electro-mechanical response of piezoelectric transducers. The proposed testing machine contributes to improve the effectiveness of harvesters design by providing preliminary data about performances, endurance and reliability. The same data are not easy to obtain from direct tests on the body due to the long test duration and the high repeatability and accuracy in imposing the movements. Additionally, the managing and control of multiple testing parameters is also needed, e.g. in design-of-experiments approaches. The functionality of the testing machine, which has been previously designed and built, has been proved with some qualitative measurements on piezo foil transducers coated with polymer.
",non-battery
"Models of sex allocation theory suggest that when sons and daughters have different reproductive values to their parents, parents overproduce offspring of higher value to maximize their reproductive success. Empirical testing of these models remains inconclusive. We investigated whether parents of the Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyana), a cooperatively breeding bird, controlled offspring sex ratios and whether they exhibited sex-specific food allocation among nestlings. Our results showed that offspring sex ratios at hatching and fledging did not deviate from equivalent ratio in both cooperative groups and bi-parental nests. No factors were significantly correlated with offspring sex ratios at hatching, indicating that parents did not control their offspring sex ratios. However, parents adopted two postnatal strategies to control the growth pattern of nestlings. First, they delivered more food to their sons than their daughters to ensure the survivorship of their sons. Second, they adjusted the feeding rates and food allocation time per feeding bout according to the offspring sex ratios and positively responded to the begging behavior of nestlings to increase the survivorship of the daughters. Our findings suggest that the postnatal strategies adopted by the parents, in terms of sex-specific allocation of food to offspring, may play a greater role than the prenatal strategies, i.e., the control of offspring sex ratios, in the enhancement of reproductive success.
",non-battery
"The article deals with the optimization of an anode based on commercial manganese oxide. Several parameters are considered in order to enhance capacity, rate capability and long-term cycleability. Particularly, Polyacrylic Acid as a green binder with enhanced mechanical features is proposed, while Vinylen Carbonate is added to a standard carbonate-based electrolyte system in order to enhance the stability of passivation layer and of electrode/electrolyte interface. The role of a reversible “gel-like” layer toward interfacial stability is investigated as well. Several structural, morphological and electrochemical investigation techniques are applied in order to fully characterize the behavior of baseline and modified electrodes and cells. This process results in an optimized system able to deliver, in a half-cell vs. metal Li, specific capacity values up to 725mAhg−1 at 1C-rate, stable for 100 cycles, and relevant rate capability, confirming a major influence of electrode and electrolyte formulation toward electrochemical performance.",battery
" During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Netherlands, the demand for intensive care beds exceeded availability within days. Initially, patients were redistributed regionally by ground transport. When transport over longer distances became necessary, we initiated a new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operation. We hypothesize that the transport of contagious COVID-19 patients is feasible and safe for patients and HEMS personnel.",non-battery
"This work proposes an acid-base machine consisting of insertion electrodes for protons and alkaline metal ions placed in electrolytic solutions with different pH values and alkaline ion concentrations to harvest energy from a neutralization reaction. We simulate energy harvesting during acidic wastewater treatment with base (KOH) by using phosphomolybdic acid and nickel hexacyanoferrate as the negative and the positive electrodes, respectively, in aqueous H2SO4 and K2SO4 solutions. In this configuration, the machine harvests energy from a change in the free energy related to changes in the proton and in the potassium ion concentrations after neutralization reactions, with feedback from the saline solution resulting from neutralization. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy diagrams provide insight into the practical proton and potassium ion electroinsertion reversibility in acidic and neutral media. Based on the charge/discharge curves at pH = 2 and pH = 5.8, the acid-base machine harvests ca. 10 kJ per mol of electro-inserted protons in the first cycles. These results demonstrate that the methodology is viable for sustainable growth—it can harvest energy from wastewater treatment, a practice that can be especially profitable for the industrial sector, which produces great amounts of wastewater.",battery
"Aging of lithium-ion cells is an inevitable phenomenon limiting the lifetime. Undesirable side reactions during cycle or calendar aging may affect the performance of all components of the lithium-ion cell. This results in a decreased capacity and an increase in the overall cell impedance. Based on electrochemical and physical characterization methods, the aging behavior during calendar aging of a 18650-cell, containing a blend of LiMn2O4 and Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 (NMC) as cathode material and graphite as anode material was systematically investigated. To understand how the safety behavior of a lithium-ion cell changes with aging, accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were applied. With these methods the thermal stability behavior of the complete lithium-ion cell and its respective cathode and anode material were investigated. The focus of this work was it to generate first cause–effect relations between the aging under one exemplary aging condition and the thermal stability of a lithium-ion battery both on cell and material level.",battery
"Decay of mitochondria and oxidative stress are associated with normal aging, but many neurodegenerative diseases, and particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are characterized by a significant increase in the intensity of these traits. Recent data suggest the possible contribution of heme deficiency to the progressive derangement of mitochondria in AD brain; shortage of heme, and particularly of heme-a, actually leads to loss of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX), abnormal production of reactive oxygen species and altered amyloid precursor protein metabolism. We reasoned that differences in the amount and/or functioning of COX assembly subunit 10 (COX10) and 15 (COX15), the key enzymes involved in heme-a biosynthesis, could be linked to variations of the individual risk to develop AD. We analyzed their mRNA expression in the hippocampus from AD patients and controls, investigated the existence of nucleotide variations in their DNA sequences and analyzed their distribution in large groups of AD and control individuals. COX 15 mRNA was significantly more abundant in the cerebral tissue of AD patients (3.18 ± 1.70 vs. 1.22 ± 0.66 µg, normalized dose, P = 0.01). The IVS-178G>A SNP in COX10 and the c+1120C>T SNP in COX15 were significantly less represented in the patient group (P < 0.001 and P = 0.017, respectively) with respective odd ratios of 0.22 and 0.59, suggesting a possible protective role toward the risk for AD.
",non-battery
"Porous metals are very popular functional materials that have been used for various fields due to their attractive properties such as high porosity, controllable permeability, and high specific surface area, etc. This study provides an overall review of the fabrication, characterization and application of the porous metal materials (PMMs) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) applications. Metal foams, porous metal sinters, metal meshes and perforated metals are included. Such materials have been used as flow distributor/flow field, current collector, gas diffusion backing and also catalyst support. Different applications require different dominant characteristics of the PMMs. Although the feasibility of using the PMMs for PEMFC applications have been comprehensively validated by both modeling and experimental investigations, there still exists plenty of scope to explore the in-depth mechanisms concerning how and how much the PMMs contribute to the fuel cell performance. This work not only summarizes the development of this subject, but also analyzes the challenges that must be overcome in the future. Moreover, a systematical optimization link for active functional design (AFD) of PEMFC-oriented PMMs is also presented.",battery
"Hard-carbon materials are considered as one of the most promising anodes for the emerging sodium-ion batteries. Here, we report a low-cost, scalable waste tire-derived carbon as an anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Tire-derived carbons obtained by pyrolyzing acid-treated tire at 1100 °C, 1400 °C and 1600 °C show capacities of 179, 185 and 203 mAh g−1, respectively, after 100 cycles at a current density of 20 mA g−1 in sodium-ion batteries with good electrochemical stability. The portion of the low-voltage plateau region in the charge-discharge curves increases as the heat-treatment temperature increases. The low-voltage plateau is beneficial to enhance the energy density of the full cell. This study provides a new pathway for inexpensive, environmentally benign and value-added waste tire-derived products towards large-scale energy storage applications.",battery
"The study assesses the contamination, classification and phytotoxicity of foundry waste. The presented results are a part of the research on the agrotechnical use of foundry waste. Landfilled foundry waste (LFW) and dust samples were taken from one of the Polish foundries. An analysis of the waste and its leachate composition was conducted. Phytotoxicity tests were carried out using Lepidium sativum. The aim of the phytotoxicity study was to evaluate germination and root growth after 72 h and the accumulation of heavy metals after 7 days. LFW was least contaminated with heavy metals and metalloids compared to dust. The composition of the foundry dusts depended on the unit of the foundry, from which it was collected. It was found that electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) was the most polluted by heavy metals among the dust samples. According to the requirements of Polish regulations most of tested waste were classified as non–hazardous, and EAFD as hazardous waste due to high Pb concentration in leachate. Phytotoxicity tests have shown a low phytotoxicity of the leachate from most of the tested waste. The results of the accumulation test showed that an excess of metal and metalloids in leachate was not directly related to its accumulation in plants. A negative correlation between EC, Cu, Co, Fe, Pb, Cr, K, Na, sulfate, fluoride, ammonia, phenol and formaldehyde concentration in leachate and GI was found. It was stated that the Fe, Mn, As and Se in plants was significantly correlated with concentrations in leachate.
",non-battery
"Alpha-cyclodextrin glucosyltransferase (α-CGTase, EC 2.4.1.19) is an amylolytic enzyme used for the production of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), a novel, soluble dietary fiber, from food-grade starch. The safety of an α-CGTase preparation obtained by batch fermentation from a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli K12 harboring the α-CGTase gene from Klebsiella oxytoca strain M5a1 was examined. In a 13-week subchronic toxicity study in rats, the administration by gavage of the α-CGTase preparation at levels of up to 20ml/kg bw/day, corresponding to a total organic solids dosage of 260mg/kg bw/day, did not cause any systemic toxic effect. Some signs of irritation were observed in the respiratory tract which occurred, however, in one sex only and/or were not dose-related. Accordingly, these changes were considered to be an unspecific consequence of the reflux and aspiration of the dosing solution. There was no evidence of a genotoxic activity in Ames tests and a chromosome aberration test in cultured human lymphocytes. It is concluded that the examined α-CGTase preparation is safe when used for the production of α-CD.",non-battery
"To optimize the safety of batteries, it is important to understand their behaviours when subjected to abuse conditions. Most early efforts in battery safety modelling focused on either one battery cell or a single field of interest such as mechanical or thermal failure. These efforts may not completely reflect the failure of batteries in automotive applications, where various physical processes can take place in a large number of cells simultaneously. In this Perspective, we review modelling and testing approaches for battery safety under abuse conditions. We then propose a general framework for large-scale multi-physics modelling and experimental work to address safety issues of automotive batteries in real-world applications. In particular, we consider modelling coupled mechanical, electrical, electrochemical and thermal behaviours of batteries, and explore strategies to extend simulations to the battery module and pack level. Moreover, we evaluate safety test approaches for an entire range of automotive hardware sets from cell to pack. We also discuss challenges in building this framework and directions for its future development.",battery
"Introduction Surgical programs often rely on objective measures of medical school cognitive performance, including United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE) scores and class rank, to predict success of an applicant in their training program. Although job applicants in non-medical fields often undergo dexterity testing prior to being hired, this has not been widely used in the selection process for surgical residency applicants. Thus, successful identification of applicants likely to succeed in surgical fields remains elusive. Given this difficulty, we wondered if performance on tests of manual dexterity would correlate with USMLE board scores and medical school class rank. Methods Fourth year medical students underwent a clinical study of dexterity testing using the Stromberg Dexterity Test (gross motor), the O'Conner Tweezer Test (fine motor), and the MIST-VR laparoscopic simulator (Mentice Corporation, Gothenberg, Sweden). Performance times were compared with USMLE Step I & II scores and class rank, as well as a self-assessment of manual dexterity. Results A total of 113 medical students participated. Gross motor dexterity was significantly correlated with class rank (P = 0.04) and USMLE Step I score (P = 0.04). Fine motor dexterity and MIST-VR performance did not correlate with class rank or USMLE scores. Self-assessment of good manual dexterity correlated with faster performance times on the MIST-VR laparoscopic simulator (0.0174). Conclusions Gross motor skill is associated with objective measures of medical school cognitive performance, such as class rank and USMLE scores. Furthermore, self-assessment of dexterity may predict baseline laparoscopic abilities. Further research is necessary to determine whether such dexterity testing could be helpful in identifying applicants who possess the ability to develop into competent surgeons.",non-battery
"Here we report chemically-exfoliated V5S8 and graphite hybrid nanosheets (ce-V5S8–C) as a novel anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). It exhibits much improved sodiation capacity, rate capability, reversibility and stability compared to other major SIB anode materials.
",battery
"Net methane (CH4) flux across the ecosystem-atmosphere boundary is governed by two counteracting processes, CH4 oxidation and production. Recent research on CH4 cycling has focused on net CH4 fluxes, however, the separate processes of CH4 oxidation and production may vary at local scales and respond differently to environmental change. Here, we separate CH4 oxidation and production, measured as emission, in situ using CH4 oxidation inhibition combined with a novel in situ 13CH4 labeling experiment to determine the rate of soil oxidation of atmospheric CH4. The study was conducted in a subarctic heath ecosystem with three characteristic plant community types: moist mixed species heath, dry Carex-dominated heath, and wet Eriophorum-dominated fen. We further explored the projected climate change effects of increased temperature and enhanced leaf litter input. The CH4 oxidation inhibition experiment revealed significant potential CH4 emission despite net CH4 uptake. Total CH4 oxidation and potential CH4 emission rates differed significantly between plant communities, demonstrating high local-scale variation in CH4 fluxes. Climate treatments did not affect CH4 oxidation rates, however, warming tended to increase potential CH4 emission, indicating that climate change may affect oxidation and production rates asymmetrically. Near-surface soil oxidation of atmospheric CH4 was successfully traced using 13C stable isotope labeling in situ. CH4 oxidation rates ranged widely, yet preliminarily suggested some degree of substrate limitation. Accounting for the local-scale variation in CH4 fluxes and the relative importance of the separate processes of CH4 oxidation and production will contribute importantly to predicting changes in landscape-scale CH4 budgets and climate feedbacks.
",non-battery
"This paper evaluates the environmental effects of low power PV lighting products, which are increasingly used in rural areas in South East Asia, by means of a life cycle analysis (LCA). The main goals of the project are to determine (1) the environmental impacts, (2) which parts are contributing to environmental impacts that occur, and (3) the accuracy of an LCA of these PV products. The study is based on an entrepreneurial case in Cambodia. Three PV lighting products with a nominal power of 0.7 Wp, 4.5 Wp and 40 Wp respectively, have been compared with three alternatives for lighting services. The LCA was executed with Simapro software using the Ecoinvent 2.1 database and applying the ReCiPe 2008 method for the impact assessment. An important conclusion of the study is that solar PV lighting products have less environmental impact than conventional lighting solutions, such as lighting services from kerosene lamps and compact fluorescent lamps powered by car batteries. The environmental profile of small size PV lighting products can be improved by approximately 50% by recycling of the batteries. From an evaluation of the accuracy of an LCA of PV lighting products, it can be concluded that impacts of these PV lighting products are lower or comparable to those of lighting by compact fluorescent lights powered by electricity from the grid in the South East Asian context. As such, they offer an environmentally beneficial lighting service for off-grid households.",battery
"All solid-state thin film batteries of lithium-iodine can be simply fabricated by coating a thin solid LiI(HPN)2 electrolyte layer on the surface of an Li plate and then exposing its surface to I2 vapor, which then shows improved rate performance and rechargeability. A compound of I2-LiI(HPN)2 can serve as a new cathode for Li/I2 batteries.
",battery
"As with many cancer treatments, tumor treating fields (TTFields) target rapidly dividing tumor cells. During mitosis, TTFields-exposed cells exhibit uncontrolled membrane blebbing at the onset of anaphase, resulting in aberrant mitotic exit. Based on these criteria, at least two protein complexes have been proposed as TTFields’ molecular targets, including α/β-tubulin and the septin 2, 6, 7 heterotrimer. After aberrant mitotic exit, cells exhibited abnormal nuclei and signs of cellular stress, including decreased cellular proliferation and p53 dependence, and exhibit the hallmarks of immunogenic cell death, suggesting that TTFields treatment may induce an antitumor immune response. Clinical trials lead to Food and Drug Administration approval for their treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Detailed modeling of TTFields within the brain suggests that the location of the tumor may affect treatment efficacy. These observations have a profound impact on the use of TTFields in the clinic, including what co-therapies may be best applied to boost its efficacy.",non-battery
"Nanoplatelets of metal oxides with interesting porous structure were obtained by thermal treatment of Ni/Al hydrotalcite. Structural and surface properties of the porous oxides were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM and HRTEM), and N2 adsorption–desorption. The electrochemical performance of the electrodes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and constant current charge–discharge measurements. Ni/Al hydrotalcite calcined at 450 °C (NA-450) displayed a maximum specific capacitance (419.0 F g−1) due to the porous structure with the highest specific surface area (142.3 m2 g−1) and small pore size (4.4 nm). The present study shows the potential of NiO nanoplatelets composite material for electrochemical pseudo-capacitors.",battery
"Ni-rich layered lithium transition metal oxides are promising cathode materials for the next generation high energy density lithium ion batteries. However, high Ni content leads to severe side reactions at cathode/electrolyte interface, coupled with mechanical disintegration significantly degrading the electrochemical performance and safety. Surface coating and grain boundary (GB) engineering can respectively protect surface layer and suppress cracking issue, but direct comparisons of the individual effect of the two methods at different cycling conditions has not been fully explored. Moreover, the two methods have never been coupled together previously, let alone their coupling effect. Herein, we take LiNi0·8Mn0·1Co0·1O2 as a model material and utilize atomic layer deposition coating and annealing protocol to demonstrate the individual and coupling effects of surface coating and GB engineering on cycling stability. GB engineering is found to be more effective than surface coating in enhancing cycling stability due to suppressed intergranular cracks. Promisingly, coupling GB engineering and surface coating, we can achieve superior cycle stability even upon high voltage cycling (91% retention after 200 cycles at 2.7–4.7 V), which demonstrates the importance to simultaneously alleviate surface degradation and bulk disintegration in design of advanced cathode materials.",battery
"The shuttle behavior of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and sluggish electrochemical conversion from LiPSs to Li2S lead to poor cycling performance, which is the major problem hindering the practical applications of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, we developed a one-pot carbothermal reduction method to synthesize new CoO nanoparticles decorated Co9S8 (Co9S8/CoO) heterostructures with well-defined interfaces, in which CoO shows strong adsorption function and Co9S8 has significant electrocatalysis function. The Co9S8/CoO heterostructures with rationally structural design can not only improve the chemical capturing between CoO and LiPSs but also facilitate the electrocatalytic activity of Co9S8 involving the reaction from soluable LiPSs to insoluble Li2S2 and subsequent solid-solid reaction from Li2S2 to Li2S. The synergistic adsorption-electrocatalysis function is verified by both theoretical calculations and electrochemical characterizations. The Li-S cell with the Co9S8/CoO-Graphene coated separator exhibits a coulombic efficiency of approximately 100% and delivers a specific capacity of 925 mA h g−1 with a fade rate of 0.049% per cycle over 1000 cycles under a high S loading (2.5 mg cm−2). This work provides an emerging view on the design of heterostructures with synergistic adsorption and electrocatalysis function for application in Li-S batteries and catalysis fields.",battery
"This paper includes a review of the different computer tools that can be used to analyse the integration of renewable energy. Initially 68 tools were considered, but 37 were included in the final analysis which was carried out in collaboration with the tool developers or recommended points of contact. The results in this paper provide the information necessary to identify a suitable energy tool for analysing the integration of renewable energy into various energy-systems under different objectives. It is evident from this paper that there is no energy tool that addresses all issues related to integrating renewable energy, but instead the ‘ideal’ energy tool is highly dependent on the specific objectives that must be fulfilled. The typical applications for the 37 tools reviewed (from analysing single-building systems to national energy-systems), combined with numerous other factors such as the energy-sectors considered, technologies accounted for, time parameters used, tool availability, and previous studies, will alter the perception of the ‘ideal’ energy tool. In conclusion, this paper provides the information necessary to direct the decision-maker towards a suitable energy tool for an analysis that must be completed.",battery
"Although pumped hydro storage is seen as a strategic key asset by grid operators, financing it is complicated in new liberalised markets. It could be argued that the optimum generation portfolio is now determined by the economic viability of generators based on a short to medium term return on investment. This has meant that capital intensive projects such as pumped hydro storage are less attractive for wholesale electricity companies because the payback periods are too long. In tandem a significant amount of wind power has entered the generation mix, which has resulted in operating and planning integration issues due to wind’s inherent uncertain, varying spatial and temporal nature. These integration issues can be overcome using fast acting gas peaking plant or energy storage. Most analysis of wind power integration using storage to date has used stochastic optimisation for power system balancing or arbitrage modelling to examine techno-economic viability. In this research a deterministic dynamic programming long term generation expansion model is employed to optimise the generation mix, total system costs and total carbon dioxide emissions, and unlike other studies calculates reserve to firm wind power. The key finding of this study is that the incentive to build capital-intensive pumped hydro storage to firm wind power is limited unless exogenous market costs come very strongly into play. Furthermore it was demonstrated that reserve increases with increasing wind power showing the importance of ancillary services in future power systems.",battery
"One of the major sources of capacity loss in all-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) is the undesired transport of active vanadium species across the ion-exchange membrane, generically termed crossover. In this work, a novel system has been designed and built to investigate the concentration- and electrostatic potential gradient-driven crossover for all vanadium species through the membrane in real-time. For this study, a perfluorosulphonic acid membrane separator (Nafion® 117) was used. The test system utilizes ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy to differentiate vanadium ion species and separates contributions to crossover stemming from concentration and electrostatic potential gradients. It is shown that the rate of species transport through the ion-exchange membrane is state of charge dependent and, as a result, interaction coefficients have been deduced which can be used to better estimate expected crossover over a range of operating conditions. The electric field was shown to increase the negative-to-positive transport of V(II)/V(III) and suppress the positive-to-negative transport of V(IV)/V(V) during discharge, with an inverse trend during charging conditions. Electric-field-induced transport coefficients were deduced directly from experimental data.",battery
"This report unravels the dependence of the microstructure and electrochemical performances of Li-rich layered transition metal oxide (LLMO) on the molecular structure of polymer templates for the formation of oxalate precursor. A representative LLMO, Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13, is synthesized by co-precipitation method, and three samples, LLMO-PVP, LLMO-PEG and LLMO-PVA, are obtained with polymer templates, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), respectively. The physical and chemical properties of the resulting products are analyzed with SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, ICP, and XPS, and their electrochemical performances as cathode of Li-ion battery are evaluated with EIS, GITT and charge/discharge tests. It is found that LLMO-PVP exhibits the best performances, followed by LLMO-PEG, while LLMO-PVA behaves poorest. This difference is ascribed to the various microstructures of the resulting products, which are determined by the molecular structure of polymer templates.",battery
"Thio-Lithium Superionic Conductor (Thio-LISICON) Li10GeP2S12 equivalent Li10SnP2S12 (LSPS) is comparable in ionic conductivity yet with a lower cost as an electrolyte for all solid-state batteries (ASSBs). ASSBs with LSPS solid electrolyte (SE), lithium-indium alloy anode, and LiCoO2 (LCO) cathode were successfully fabricated and their electrochemical performance at 60 °C was examined. Atomic layer deposition of Li3NbO4 on LCO was conducted to improve the interfacial stability. The Li3NbO4 coating effectively improves the cycle stability of the ASSB. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests indicate a rapid growth of charge transfer resistance upon cycling for the cell with the uncoated LCO, primarily due to the surface instability and build-up of a space charge layer. However, the ASSBs with Li3NbO4 coated LCO show a more stable interface with a negligible impedance increase upon cycling, attributable to the buffering and passivating roles of the Li3NbO4 coating. The interfacial microstructure was analyzed to elucidate at the underlying reasons for the impedance increase and the pivotal role of the Li3NbO4 coating.",battery
"Li-S batteries, though promising for long-distance electrical vehicles, are still not practically viable mainly due to the short cycling life arising from the polysulfide shuttle. Herein, we demonstrate a Li/polysulfide battery with 3D nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid aerogel as the binder-free and self-standing host for liquid polysulfide-containing catholyte. Hetero-dopants of nitrogen and CNT additives are found to significantly improve the electrochemical performances due to the abundant active catholyte/electrolyte interfaces, high rate charge-transfer paths, and spatially uniform depositing/stripping of reactants. The final hybrid aerogel achieves long cycling stability (0.11% capacity fading rate for 400 cycles) and high rate capability (767mAh/gsulfur at 2C rate) at a high areal sulfur loading weight of ~6mg/cm2.",battery
"Differential effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is more commonly determined by tolerability than efficacy. Cognitive effects of AEDs can adversely affect tolerability and quality of life. This study evaluated cognitive and EEG effects of lacosamide (LCM) compared with carbamazepine immediate-release (CBZ-IR). A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, two-period crossover, fixed-dose study in healthy subjects compared neuropsychological and EEG effects of LCM (150mg, b.i.d.) and CBZ-IR (200mg, t.i.d.). Testing was conducted at screening, predrug baseline, the end of each treatment period (3-week titration; 3-week maintenance), and the end of each washout period (4weeks after treatment). A composite Z-score was derived for the primary outcome variable (computerized cognitive tests and traditional neuropsychological measures) and separately for the EEG measures. Other variables included individual computer, neuropsychological, and EEG scores and adverse events (AEs). Subjects included 60 healthy adults (57% female; mean age: 34.4years [SD: 10.5]); 44 completed both treatments; 41 were per protocol subjects. Carbamazepine immediate-release had worse scores compared with LCM for the primary composite neuropsychological outcome (mean difference=0.33 [SD: 1.36], p=0.011) and for the composite EEG score (mean difference=0.92 [SD: 1.77], p=0.003). Secondary analyses across the individual variables revealed that CBZ-IR was statistically worse than LCM on 36% (4/11) of the neuropsychological tests (computerized and noncomputerized) and 0% of the four EEG measures; none favored CBZ-IR. Drug-related AEs occurred more with CBZ-IR (49%) than LCM (22%). Lacosamide had fewer untoward neuropsychological and EEG effects and fewer AEs and AE-related discontinuations than CBZ-IR in healthy subjects. Lacosamide exhibits a favorable cognitive profile.",non-battery
"Management of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), a long-lived flatfish, is complicated by possible ontogenic and sex-specific variation in migration. Archival tags promise the ability to help uncover long-term movement patterns at the individual level, if the tags can be retained and recovered from healthy fish. We examined fifteen individuals (69–90 cm fork length) for long-term physiological response to intracoelomic implantation of three types of archival tags: fully internal, internal with right angle protruding light stalk, and internal with straight protruding light stalk. Tags represented 0.05–0.16% of initial fish weights. Fish were reared at 10.8 ± 1.1°C for 59 weeks post-surgery. One fish died after 39 weeks from thermal stress unrelated to the surgical procedure. Temporal variation in behavior of tagged fish was indistinguishable from that of controls (n = 15 tagged, 5 controls). Treatment and control-group fish grew at similar rates. No tag expulsion or physiological response was evident in the individual that died at 39 weeks, but nine of eleven individuals dissected at the end of 59 weeks had developed internal responses. These responses ranged from deposition of fibrous protein and/or calcitic material on tag surfaces to partial or full tag encapsulation in either the visceral peritoneal layer (fully-internal tags) or the intestinal mesenteries (stalk-bearing tags). The responses were within the range reported for other pleuronectids implanted with tags of similar configuration and may have implications for design and interpretation of long-term tagging studies. Encapsulation may reduce the probability of tag recoveries even in the absence of tag expulsion, especially in species eviscerated at sea.
",non-battery
"Dual-phase Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 nanocrystallines are prepared by a hydrothermal process and subsequent heat treatment. The as-prepared Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 nanocrystallines measure around 15–25nm in size and have abundant phase interfaces. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that dual-phase Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 exhibit good electrochemical performance over individual single-phase Li4Ti5O12, especially at high current rates. Initial discharge capacities of dual-phase Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 nanocrystallines are 241 and 202mAhg−1 at discharge rates of 0.2 and 5C, respectively. Even after 50 cycles at 20C, the capacity still remains 140mAhg−1, which is four times greater than that of single-phase Li4Ti5O12 (29mAhg−1). The high electrochemical performance indicates that dual-phase Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 nanocrystallines are highly promising anode materials for lithium ion battery applications.",battery
" Outdoor production of poultry is rapidly increasing, which could be associated with increased risks for exposure to different environmental sources of Salmonella. We report a comparison on the occurrence of Salmonella during 2007–2015 in broilers and laying hens in outdoor and indoor production subjected to the same requirements for the prevention and control of Salmonella as applied in Sweden.",non-battery
"A PV/T system faces the difficulty of high-temperature dissipation as a result of low heat-exchange efficiency and winter freezing challenges that badly influence the performance of the system and even damage the PV/T. These problems can be addressed by using of the PCM in a PV/T system. The PCM can absorb heat in the daytime to reduce the operating temperature of the PV cell, and release heat at night to prevent the system from freezing in winter. In this study, a PV/T with PCM was designed and constructed by the authors. A series of experiments were done to compare the performance of the PV/T with PCM with a normal water-pipe-based PV/T during the daytime and night respectively. Physical-mathematical models were developed to simulate the transient performance of the PV/T with PCM. The data was analyzed, compared and validated with the experimental results. The results for the daily electrical efficiencies of the PV/T with PCM and water-pipe-based PV/T are 12.1% and 11.9% respectively, while the thermal efficiencies of two systems are 42.3% and 44.5% respectively. Also, the temperature of the PV/T with PCM is obviously higher at night in winter. This shows that PCM can improve the performance of a PV/T system. The results reveal good agreements between model simulation and experimental measurement with sufficient confidence. The design parameter analysis shows that the PV/T with single melting-temperature PCM panels can hardly meet the two requirements which are cooling the collector during daytime and preventing it from freezing at night. The study also reveals that increasing the thickness of the PCM can improve the collector’s antifreeze function.",battery
"Polymer electrolyte has been considered to eliminate the safety issue that caused by the lithium dendrite growth in the liquid electrolyte for the high-energy lithium metal battery. However, the practical applications of polymer electrolyte are still impeded by the low Li ionic conductivity, weak interfacial compatibility, low thermal stability and narrow electrochemical window. In this study, we have proposed a novel modified silyl-terminated polyether based polymer electrolyte by a cross-linking fabrication method. With a three-dimensional network structure, the amorphous polymer electrolyte has high ionic conductivity (~ 0.36mScm−1) at room temperature, much higher thermal stability (Tm = 379°C), high lithium ion transference number (~ 0.65), stable electrochemical window up to 5.0V (vs. Li+/Li) and an excellent compatibility to the electrode. With LiFePO4 cathode and this polymer electrolyte, the lithium metal battery delivers the high specific capacity of ~ 130mAhg−1 at 1C rate over 300 cycles, and ~ 105mAhg−1 at 3C rate with a superb cycling stability over 600 cycles at room temperature. We believe that this polymer electrolyte is a promising candidate for the practical applications and brings a new way to develop the high performance electrolyte for the lithium metal battery.",battery
"To address the challenge of interfacial contact between the solid electrolyte and electrode with a cost-efficient solution, we demonstrate a novel cathode-supported solid electrolyte membrane framework for advanced all solid state Li ion batteries. The solid electrolyte is directly cast on the cathode layer to enhance the wetting ability of solid electrolyte onto the cathode and reinforce the interfacial adhesion. Results show that the as-fabricated LiFePO4/Li solid state battery displays superior battery performances, e.g., an initial discharge capacity of 125 mA h g−1 at 0.1C at room temperature can be achieved. The proposed electrolyte framework represents a promising strategy for mass production of high performance all solid state batteries based on Li metal anodes.
",battery
"A lighting professional's choice of tools is as personal as her wardrobe. Some of us dress in style while others are more concerned with comfort. Still, everyone has the same basic pieces of clothing—shoes, socks, shirt, pants, and sometimes even underwear.",non-battery
 Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with a significantly increased risk of motor vehicle accidents in addition to such cognitive impairments as attention and memory deficits. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of upper airway surgery for OSA on driving and cognitive function.,non-battery
" Starch is the second most abundant plant-derived biomass and a major feedstock in non-food industrial applications and first generation biofuel production. In contrast to lignocellulose, detailed insight into fungal degradation of starch is currently lacking. This study explores the secretomes of Aspergillus nidulans grown on cereal starches from wheat and high-amylose (HA) maize, as well as legume starch from pea for 5 days.",non-battery
"This research demonstrates a flexible one-pot strategy for fabricating three-dimensional (3D) boron/nitrogen-doped networks of carbon nanotubes(CNTs)/carbon nanosheets “Line-in-Wall” hybrids (LIW-NB) based on the space-confined template method. In the synthesis, the high rate of freezing step and freeze-dried process enable the CNTs and carbon-heteroatoms sources confined in the limited space of the self-assembled NaCl salts, which are then heat-treated to obtain a B/N-doped network constructed by “Line-in-Wall” type of carbon hybrids. By combining the 3D B/N-doped carbon nanosheets network and CNTs in this unique pattern, the LIW-NB integrates advantages of three aspects: first, the doped heteroatoms enhancing electrochemical properties of carbon matrix; second, the warp-proof nanosheets supplying high specific surface area; and the extracted and embedded CNTs serving as electron conductive paths and reinforcing the whole architecture. As a result, the 3D LIW-NB shows excellent electrochemical properties: as the electrode of supercapacitors, LIW-NB exhibits high specific capacity at different current densities (389Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 and 129Fg−1 at 20Ag−1); as the lithium ion battery anode, it possesses high reversible storage capacity (1165mAhg−1 at 0.1Ag−1) and stable long cycle performance at high rate (1000 cycles at 2Ag−1).",battery
"Objective To improve surgical practice, there are several different approaches to simulation. Due to wearable technologies, recording 3D movies is now easy. The development of a virtual reality headset allows imagining a different way of watching these videos: using dedicated software to increase interactivity in a 3D immersive experience. The objective was to record 3D movies via a main surgeon's perspective, to watch files using virtual reality headsets and to validate pedagogic interest. Material and methods Surgical procedures were recorded using a system combining two side-by-side cameras placed on a helmet. We added two LEDs just below the cameras to enhance luminosity. Two files were obtained in mp4 format and edited using dedicated software to create 3D movies. Files obtained were then played using a virtual reality headset. Surgeons who tried the immersive experience completed a questionnaire to evaluate the interest of this procedure for surgical learning. Results Twenty surgical procedures were recorded. The movies capture a scene which is extended 180° horizontally and 90° vertically. The immersive experience created by the device conveys a genuine feeling of being in the operating room and seeing the procedure first-hand through the eyes of the main surgeon. All surgeons indicated that they believe in pedagogical interest of this method. Conclusions We succeeded in recording the main surgeon's point of view in 3D and watch it on a virtual reality headset. This new approach enhances the understanding of surgery; most of the surgeons appreciated its pedagogic value. This method could be an effective learning tool in the future.",non-battery
"The fabrication and performance evaluation of a miniature 6-cell PEMFC stack based on Micro-Electronic-Mechanical-System (MEMS) technology is presented in this paper. The stack with a planar configuration consists of 6-cells in serial interconnection by spot welding one cell anode with another cell cathode. Each cell was made by sandwiching a membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) between two flow field plates fabricated by a classical MEMS wet etching method using silicon wafer as the original material. The plates were made electrically conductive by sputtering a Ti/Pt/Au composite metal layer on their surfaces. The 6-cells lie in the same plane with a fuel buffer/distributor as their support, which was fabricated by the MEMS silicon–glass bonding technology. A small hydrogen storage canister was used as fuel source. Operating on dry H2 at a 40mlmin−1 flow rate and air-breathing conditions at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, the linear polarization experiment gave a measured peak power of 0.9W at 250mAcm−2 for the stack and average power density of 104mWcm−2 for each cell. The results suggested that the stack has reasonable performance benefiting from an even fuel supply. But its performance tended to deteriorate with power increase, which became obvious at 600mW. This suggests that the stack may need some power assistance, from say supercapacitors to maintain its stability when operated at higher power.",battery
"The critical factors that determine the performance and lifetime of solid-state batteries (SSBs) are driven by the electrode–electrolyte interfaces. The main challenge in fabricating all-oxide cathode composites for garnet-based SSBs has been lowering the thermal processing window in which both good contact and low interfacial resistance can be achieved. Here, we report an alternative ceramic processing strategy that enables the fabrication of all-oxide composite cathodes at an unusually low processing temperature without the use of extra sintering additives or a fluid electrolyte (polymer-gel or liquid electrolyte). We present specific examples of the most common LiFePO4 and LiCoO2 cathodes with a Li-garnet (Li7La3Zr2O12, LLZO) solid-electrolyte. We demonstrate an infiltration step to directly synthesize the LiCoO2 cathode from metal salts in a porous LLZO scaffold, resulting in the formation of a composite cathode such as LiCoO2–LLZO on top of a dense LLZO solid electrolyte at a low processing temperature of 700 °C. A promising discharge capacity of 118 mA h g−1 (3–4.05 V) with a low interfacial resistance of 62 Ohm cm2 is realized for LiCoO2 with a lithium anode, whereas critical phase instabilities for LiFePO4 are uncovered. Our findings encourage a move away from synthesis techniques that employ particle mixing and sintering to fabricate composites. We provide a blueprint for circumventing adverse interphase reactions according to chemistry and ceramic thermal processing budgets in the preparation of these ceramic interfaces as well as for increasing the number of reaction sites for high-performing composite cathodes for Li-garnet SSBs. In addition, the ceramic methods presented are scalable and mass manufacturable for the large-scale production of such composite cathodes for future industry.
",battery
"This paper presents a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell model suitable for water management analysis. In order to be integrated into a complete fuel cell vehicle simulation for real-time control and energy management designs, Energetic Macroscopic Representation is used. An experimental validation is performed and electric and gaseous behaviors are studied in particular. The integration of the developed model into a vehicle simulation, in which the FC is used as a range extender, demonstrates the use of the model and allows the study of the behavior of this system.",battery
"The growing popularity of Li-ion batteries in the field of energy storage necessitates the constant development of methods for improving their performance. To address this task, this study describes the effect of transition metal (TM = Al, Co, Fe) phosphate coatings on the electrochemical performance of Li1.0Ni0.8Co0.15Mn0.05O2 positive electrode materials, highlighting the importance of the TM/P mole ratio, and reveals that decreased amounts of Li residuals were observed for all coated samples. Considering Li residual removal as well as capacity and capacity retention upon cycling, the most effective surface modification was achieved in the case of a 1:1 Co/P coating, which increased initial capacity and capacity retention by 10mAhg−1 and 3%, respectively, as compared to the uncoated sample. Moreover, the beneficial effect of the above Co/P coating is also confirmed for the more Ni-rich Li1.0Ni0.91Co0.06Mn0.03O2.",battery
"In this study, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was performed during the first charge of a graphite/lithium metal test cell. The graphite electrode was separated from the lithium metal electrode by a porous polyethylene membrane maintaining polysiloxane-based electrolyte with the dissolved lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB). Analysis of the EIS data indicated that films with distinct electrical properties were present on the graphite surface. The value of each component in the equivalent circuit used in the data analysis depended on the cell voltage. The magnitude of the resistance and capacitance of the surface films changed at 1.8V and 1.4V, and the magnitude of the charge transfer resistance and double-layer capacitance changed at ∼1.8V. The results of the EIS analysis correlated with the observed morphological changes of the graphite surface, which included formation of an island-like film and a gel-like film, as reported previously [H. Nakahara, A. Masias, S.Y. Yoon, T. Koike, K. Takeya, Proceedings of the 41st Power Sources Conference in Philadelphia, 14–17 June, 2004, p. 165].",battery
"High-performance Zn-Al layered double hydroxide nanosheets-coated spherical ZnO@C composite is successfully fabricated for use as advanced anode materials of zinc-based rechargeable batteries. It is interestingly found that the spherical ZnO@C-ZnAl layered double hydroxide (15%) composite with a proper coated content of ZnAl layered double hydroxide shows a superior cycling performance, satisfactory volume specific capacity and enhanced high-rate properties. After 400 cycles at 1C/1C and 200 cycles at 1C/5C, the ZnO@C-ZnAl layered double hydroxide (15%) exhibits enhanced capacity retention of 81.6%. In contrast, the pristine ZnO shows low capacity retention of only 46.3% after 200 cycles at 1C/1C. These performance improvements can be mainly attributable to the synergistic effect of the surface coating with Zn-Al layered double hydroxide and in-situ doping with carbon. The coated Zn-Al layered double hydroxide nanosheets can modify the“dissolution-deposition” process of ZnO anode and the doped C can enhance its electronic conductivity, eventually leading to the reduced electrochemical resistance, improved reaction reversibility, and enhanced structural stability. As a result, it is believed that the spherical ZnO@C-ZnAl layered double hydroxide (15%) composite is a promising advanced anode material for zinc-based rechargeable batteries.",battery
"Among patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a wide range of non-motor symptoms (NMS) are evident. We assessed markers of NMS and explored their behavioral correlates with the tremor-dominant (TD) and postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD) subtypes. 110 non-demented patients with PD were evaluated and stratified into the PIGD and TD subtypes and, using stricter criteria, into predominant subgroups: p-PIGD (n = 31) and p-TD (n = 32). Non-motor signs that were assessed included cognitive function (pen and paper and a computerized battery), autonomic function (NMSQest and SCOPA-AUT), mood, and sleep. Health-related quality of life was evaluated using the PDQ-39. The p-PIGD subgroup had a higher score on the NMSQest (p = 0.033) and a higher score (i.e., worse) on the PDQ-39 (p-PIGD: 26.28 ± 12.47; p-TD: 16.93 ± 12.22; p = 0.004), compared to the p-TD subgroup, while these measures did not differ in the larger PIGD and TD group. The p-PIGD subgroup used more sleep medications compared to the p-TD subgroup (1.0 ± 1.39 vs. 0.41 ± 0.94, p = 0.05, respectively). Most cognitive scores were similar in both subgroups; however, the visuospatial components of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the computerized catch game were significantly worse among the p-PIGD subgroup. Mild associations were found between certain non-motor symptoms, but not cognitive function, and the PIGD score. Non-demented patients from the PIGD subtype experience more non-motor symptoms and poorer quality of life compared to the TD subtype. These findings suggest that the clinical management of non-motor and motor symptoms in patients with PD may be enhanced by a personalized approach.
",non-battery
"Lithium-selenium (Li-Se) batteries are of great interest as a representative family of electrochemical energy storage systems because of their high theoretical volumetric capacity and considerable electronic conductivity. However, the main drawback of Se electrodes is the rapid capacity fading caused by the dissolution of polyselenides upon cycling. Here, we report a simple, economical, and effective method for the synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous carbon with a hollow tubular structure as a host matrix for loading Se and trapping polyselenides. The as-obtained porous tubular carbon shows a superior specific surface area of 1786 m2 g−1, a high pore volume of 0.79 cm3 g−1, and many nanostructured pores. Benefiting from the unique structural characteristics, the resulting hierarchical porous carbon/Se composite exhibits a high capacity of 515 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C. More importantly, a remarkable cycling stability over 900 cycles at 2 C with a capacity fading rate of merely 0.02% per cycle can be achieved. The 3D hollow porous tubular carbon can be also used for other high-performance electrodes of electrochemical energy storage.",battery
"This paper outlines the establishment of a new and stable cell line, designated GBM-HSF, from a malignant glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) removed from a 65-year-old Chinese woman. This cell line has been grown for 1 year without disruption and has been passaged over 50 times. The cells were adherently cultured in RPMI-1640 media with 10 % fetal bovine serum supplementation. Cells displayed spindle and polygonal morphology, and displayed multi-layered growth without evidence of contact inhibition. The cell line had a high growth rate with a doubling time of 51 h. The cells were able to grow without adhering to the culture plates, and 4.5 % of the total cells formed colonies in soft agar. The cell line has also been found to form tumors in nude mice and to be of a highly invasive nature. The cells were also partially characterized with RT-PCR. The RT-PCR revealed that Nestin, β-tubulin III, Map2, Klf4, Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and CD26 were positively transcribed, whereas GFAP, Rex1, and CD133 were negatively transcribed in this cell line. These results suggest that the GBM-HSF cell line will provide a good model to study the properties of cancer stem cells and metastasis. It will also facilitate more detailed molecular and cellular studies of GBM cell division and pathology.
",non-battery
"With a layered crystal structure and good Li+ storage performance, vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is potentially a high-energy and cost-effective cathode material for Li-ion batteries (LiBs). Networks of two-dimensional V2O5 nanosheets (2D V2O5 NS), with large interlayer distance, are ideal for enhancing the Li+ diffusion kinetics and thus for building high power LiBs. However, the lack of a simple, scalable and environmentally friendly route to nanosheet production still hinders the development of V2O5 applications. Here we demonstrate, liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) of commercial V2O5 powder in environmental friendly solvents (water and ethanol) to achieve large quantities of 2D V2O5 NS dispersions. The V2O5 NS are of high-quality whose interlayer spacing can be well manipulated, ranging from 4.4Å to 11.5Å in ethanol and water (forming NS xerogel), respectively. Ultrasonic aerosol printing of V2O5 NS xerogel/single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) blended dispersions resulted in large-area, flexible, and binder-free hybrid electrodes, which showcase a high discharge capacity of 370mAhg−1 at 0.05C, high energy density (555Whkg−1) and power density (2175Wkg−1), etc. These properties can be attributed to the synergistic effects between the expanded hydrated NS and the conductive SWCNT matrix; the latter improves the reversible phase transition reactions of the NS, enhances the ion diffusion kinetics, maintains the electrode's mechanical integrity and provides electron transport pathways. The Li+ storage mechanism was investigated, suggesting the capacity was majorly contributed by the non-diffusion controlled process (pseudocapacitive). We believe the LPE/aerosol printing approach is environmentally green, general and scalable, and could be extended to other layered transitional metal oxides or dichalcogenides for fabrication of corresponding flexible, binder-free, conductive composites for energy storage systems.",battery
"Individual differences in intelligence (cognitive abilities) are a prominent aspect of human psychology, and play a substantial role in influencing important life outcomes. Their phenotypic structure—as described by the science of psychometrics—is well understood and well replicated. Approximately half of the variance in a broad range of cognitive abilities is accounted by a general cognitive factor (g), small proportions of cognitive variance are caused by separable broad domains of mental function, and the substantial remainder is caused by variance that is unique to highly specific cognitive skills. The heritability of g is substantial. It increases from a low value in early childhood of about 30%, to well over 50% in adulthood, which continues into old age. Despite this, there is still almost no replicated evidence concerning the individual genes, which have variants that contribute to intelligence differences. Here, we describe the human intelligence phenotype, summarise the evidence for its heritability, provide an overview of and comment on molecular genetic studies, and comment on future progress in the field.
",non-battery
"In order to analyze the potential of amorphous Al-based alloys as anode materials for Li-ion batteries, the electrochemical performance of amorphous Al86Ni8La6 and Al86Ni8Y6 is investigated. Powders of these two alloys, produced via melt spinning and subsequent ball milling, were found to be amorphous. However, only minor Li-ion transfer is observed during the electrochemical cycling process. Etched samples show an improved electrochemical behavior. For annealed and thereby crystallized alloys a significantly enhanced Li-ion transfer was found compared to amorphous material. The crystallization is characterized by an electrochemically inactive and an electrochemically active part depending on the annealing temperature, and therewith on the degree of long range order. The available free volume in the amorphous materials is considered to be essential for supplying interstitial-like space as diffusion paths for additional Li-ions, because lattice site changes, as usual for diffusion in the crystalline state, are not preferential in the amorphous state. The density of the amorphous material measured by helium pycnometry was found to be just slightly lower compared with crystalline material.",battery
"Lithium-ion-conducting solid electrolytes show promise for enabling high-energy secondary battery chemistries and solving safety issues associated with conventional lithium batteries. Achieving the combination of high ionic conductivity and outstanding chemical stability in solid electrolytes is a grand challenge for the synthesis of solid electrolytes. Herein we report the design of aliovalent substitution of Li4SnS4 to achieve high conduction and excellent air stability based on the hard and soft acids and bases theory. The solid electrolyte of composition Li3.833Sn0.833As0.166S4 has a high ionic conductivity of 1.39 mS cm−1 at 25 °C. Considering the high Li+ transference number, this phase conducts Li+ as well as carbonate-based liquid electrolytes. This research also addresses the compatibility of the sulfide-based solid electrolytes through chemical passivation.
",battery
Promising composite (carbon-nanosilicon) anodic matrices are obtained for lithium batteries. Very small composite powders with a specified surface area are produced.,non-battery
"A combined theoretical/numerical/experimental program is outlined for extending the internal length gradient (ILG) approach to consider time lags, stochasticity, and multiphysics couplings. Through this extension, it is possible to discuss the interplay between deformation internal lengths (ILs) and ILs induced by thermal, diffusion, or electric field gradients. Size-dependent multiphysics stability diagrams are obtained, and size-dependent serrated stress–strain curves are interpreted through combined gradient-stochastic models. When differential equations are not available for describing material behavior, a Tsallis nonextensive thermodynamic formulation is employed to characterize statistical properties. A novel multiscale coarse-graining technique, the equation-free method (EFM), is suggested for bridging length scales, and the same is done for determining ILs through novel laboratory tests by employing specimens with fabricated gradient micro-/nanostructures. The extension of ILG framework to consider fractional derivatives and fractal media is explored. Three apparently different emerging research areas of current scientific/technological/biomedical interest are discussed: (i) plastic instabilities and size effects in nanocrystalline (NC)/ultrafine grain (UFG) and bulk metallic glass (BMG) materials; (ii) chemomechanical damage, electromechanical degradation, and photomechanical aging in energetic materials; (iii) brain tissue and neural cell modeling. Finally, a number of benchmark problems are considered in more detail. They include gradient chemoelasticity for Li-ion battery electrodes; gradient piezoelectric and flexoelectric materials; elimination of singularities from crack tips; derivation of size-dependent stability diagrams for shear banding in BMGs; modeling of serrated size-dependent stress–strain curves in micro-/nanopillars; description of serrations and multifractal patterns through Tsallis q-statistics; and an extension of gradient elasticity/plasticity models to include fractional derivatives and fractal media.",non-battery
"Smart home systems are designed as platforms for connecting sensors, home appliances, and devices to exchange data and, ultimately, to provide useful services to home residents. However, such systems are vulnerable to Cybersecurity attacks that can affect the reliability and integrity of the delivered services. Sensors, planted at smart homes or equipped with smart appliances, are highly exposed to identity theft. Intruders can recognize through the understanding of the exchanged data, their locations, or knowing their associated services. Such information might make the home resident vulnerable to life attacks. Therefore, protecting sensors identities in smart home systems is of high interest in this domain. This paper introduces a novel technique that protects sensors’ identity from being recognized through cordless communication environments. Our proposed approach utilizes a three-phase technique that controls a synchronized queue among connected sensors and keeps their identity hidden from outsiders. The proposed approach preserves the linearity of time that is required to manage the protection of the home network. To validate the performance of our proposed approach, we conducted experiments on four different smart homes datasets. Furthermore, we performed a sensitivity analysis to measure how our proposed approach is affected by different environmental variables. The results indicated that the proposed approach provides a significant performance in protecting sensors identities in smart home area networks. Furthermore, during the sensitivity analysis, we found that our proposed technique’s performance is highly affected by the threshold value that defines each sensor’s time interval.",non-battery
 The purpose of this study was to access the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) injection in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA).,non-battery
"The shape of catalysts has been regarded as a crucial physical factor to determine its catalytic activity in various applications. However, very little is known about the catalyst shape-dependent activities for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the cathode of Li–O2 battery. Hence, we synthesized Pt3Co nanocube (NC) for the comparison with Pt3Co nanoparticle (NP) by regulating the ratio of reducer (hexadecanediol; HDD) amount. Consequently, we could report on very high capacity (10,000mAh gcarbon −1), superb rate capability (3500mAh gcarbon −1 at 2000mA gcarbon −1) and high reversibility of Lithium–O2 batteries using Pt3Co NC catalysts. Particularly, the Pt3Co NCs catalyst exhibited a low OER potential of 3.1V, providing the highest round trip efficiency of ~86.5% at a current density of 200mA gcarbon −1, which is much superior to NPs catalyst.",battery
"This study investigates the possibility of using and developing hydrokinetic power to supply reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity to rural, remote and isolated loads in rural South Africa where reasonable water resource is available. Simulations are performed using the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) and the results are compared to those from other supply options such as standalone Photovoltaic system (PV), wind, diesel generator (DG) and grid extension. Finally the paper points out some major challenges that are facing the development of this technology in South Africa.",battery
" Health technology assessment and healthcare decision-making are based on multiple criteria and evidence, and heterogeneous opinions of participating stakeholders. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) offers a potential framework to systematize this process and take different perspectives into account. The objectives of this study were to explore perspectives and preferences across German stakeholders when appraising healthcare interventions, using multi-criteria assessment of a heart pulmonary sensor as a case study.",non-battery
"Potassium chloride (KCl) and potassium bromide (KBr) tracers were used to explore the role of geologic structure on groundwater recharge and flow at the Fractured Rock Research Site in Floyd County, Virginia, USA. Tracer migration was monitored through soil, saprolite, and fractured crystalline bedrock for a period of 3 months with chemical, physical, and geophysical techniques. The tracers were applied at specific locations on the ground surface to directly test flow pathways in a shallow saprolite and deep fractured-rock aquifer. Tracer monitoring was accomplished with differential electrical resistivity, chemical sampling, and physical monitoring of water levels and spring discharge. KCl, applied at a concentration of 10,000 mg/L, traveled 160 m downgradient through the thrust fault aquifer to a spring outlet in 24 days. KBr, applied at a concentration of 5,000 mg/L, traveled 90 m downgradient through the saprolite aquifer in 19 days. Tracer breakthrough curves indicate diffuse flow through the saprolite aquifer and fracture flow through the crystalline thrust fault aquifer. Monitoring saline tracer migration through soil, saprolite, and fractured rock provided data on groundwater recharge that would not have been available using other traditional hydrologic methods. Travel times and flowpaths observed during this study support preferential groundwater recharge controlled by geologic structure.
",non-battery
"The Beck Self-Concept Inventory for Youth (BYI-S; Beck et al. in Manual for the Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment, 2001) was administered to 100 adolescents (12–17 years old) who experienced sexual abuse. An iterated principal-factor analysis found that the BYI-S represented two highly correlated (r = .53) factors corresponding to the Self-Esteem and Competency dimensions that Steer, Kumar, Beck, and Beck (J Psychopathol Behav Assess 27:123–131, 2005) found with child psychiatric outpatients. Item analyses were used to derive two six-item subscales measuring Self-Esteem and Competency that had coefficient αs > .80. The Self-Concept total and subscale scores were differentially correlated with various psychosocial characteristics of the youth. Low Self-Esteem scores were associated with total number of posttraumatic symptoms and self-reported anger, whereas low Competency scores were related to externalizing behavior problems. The BYI-S was discussed as being a useful instrument for assessing the self-concepts of youth who have experienced sexual abuse.
",non-battery
"Atmospheric humidity, an abundant source of water, is widely considered as a redundant resource demanding expense of energy to maintain it under comfortable levels for human habitation. Until now, there have only been a few attempts to harness humidity for applications such as water collection and hygro-induced movements. Herein, we report an unprecedented moisture scavenging gel that is capable of absorbing around 230% of its weight with water from humid atmospheres. Additionally, the gel has humidity-triggered changes in optical, electrical, and electrochemical properties that can be exploited for a wide range of applications such as thermo-hygroscopic windows, infrared radiation (IR) blocking windscreen, and construction of an electrochemical cell for energy harvesting. Integration of a thermo-hygroscopic window and IR blocking windscreen leads to extensive energy savings in buildings. Furthermore, the applicability of the gel as a conducting medium in flexible electronic substrates enables reusability of printed circuit boards, mitigating the volume of solid electronic wastes and the energy required for their disposal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at harnessing ambient humidity as a sustainable resource for energy conservation and harvesting.
",battery
"To compound with conductive agents is the common strategy to address the low electric conductivity of redox conversion type anode materials; however, it brings on the complex techniques and thus increases the practical cost. This paper reports a less efficiency-cost method through partial element substitution which can significantly enhance the electric conductivity of the host materials. Specifically, partial Ni substitution into MnCO3 with different x values, corresponding to Ni x Mn1-x CO3 porous submicrospheres (x = 0, 0.2, 0.25, 0.33), were fabricated through one-pot solvothermal route and tested as anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The substitution of Ni in the composites mainly serves as the following objectives: increasing the electric conductivity and improving the structural integrity. By comparison, the Ni x Mn1-x CO3 sample at x = 0.25 value shows the optimal electrochemical behaviors: it delivers specific capacities of 709 mAh g−1 for 500th cycle at a high rate of 1.0 A g−1, and 549 mAh g−1 for 1000th cycle at 2.0 A g−1; more impressively, it also shows an excellent rate performance, exhibiting a 509 mAh g−1 at 5.0 A g−1 during the rate capability testing. These results demonstrated a cost-efficient way to ameliorate conversion-type negative electrode materials with high capacity and long life-span in LIBs.",battery
"New system of optical soliton signal generation with a high frequency band is presented. Microring resonator can be used to generate soliton signals with high frequency of GHz. These signals can be transmitted via a wireless network system known as WiMAX, which is providing broadband wireless access up to 50 km. The soliton pulses are more stable with less loss during propagation which is good candidate compare to other current optical waves used in optical communication. In this study, soliton pulses with full width at half maximum of 3 MHz and FSR of 85 MHz could be generated using an add/drop filter system which is used to generate high frequency signals, required for wireless network systems. These pulses can be used as carrier signals in order to transmit information codes without significant changes, thus improving transmission quality and delivery of the right information.
",non-battery
"Mesoporous nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal and soft-templating method through quasi-reverse-micelle mechanism. The physicochemical properties of the NiCo2O4 materials were characterized via X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectra, and nitrogen sorption isotherms measurements. The electrochemical performances of the NiCo2O4 electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. The obtained NiCo2O4 materials exhibit typical mesoporous structures, with an average particle size of about 200 nm, a specific surface area of 88.63 m2 g−1, and a total pore volume of 0.337 cm3 g−1. The facile electrolytes penetration for the mesoporous structures favors high-performance of the NiCo2O4 electrode. The NiCo2O4 electrode shows a high specific capacitance (591 F g−1 at 1 A g−1), high-rate capability (248 F g−1 at 20 A g−1), and a good cycling behavior for tested 3,000 cycles, indicating a promising application for electrochemical capacitors.
",battery
"An aluminum–sulfur battery comprised of a composite sulfur cathode, aluminum anode and an ionic liquid electrolyte of AlCl3/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride is described. The electrochemical reduction of elemental sulfur has been studied in different molar ratios of the electrolyte, and aluminum tetrachloride ions have been identified at the electroactive ionic species. The Al/S battery exhibits a discharge voltage plateau of 1.1–1.2 V, with extremely high charge storage capacity of more than 1500 mAh g−1, relative to the mass of sulfur in the cathode. The energy density of the Al/S cell is estimated to be 1700 Wh kg−1 sulfur, which is competitive with the most attractive battery chemistries targeted for high-energy electrochemical storage. Characterization by means of SEM, XRD and XPS of the battery components reveal complete dissolution of sulfur-based discharge products to the electrolyte. The low cost, natural abundance and high volumetric energy density of both anode and cathode materials define a research path for new materials and cell designs for next-generation Al/S battery systems.",battery
"Rechargeable aqueous battery is very attractive as a promising alternative energy storage system, based on its safety and environmental-friendly properties. An aqueous rechargeable Na-Zn hybrid battery is assembled by using Prussian blue nanocubes and metallic zinc as cathode and anode, respectively. This Na-Zn cell delivers a high specific capacity of 73.5 mA h g−1 and a good cycling stability (ca. 80% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 300 mA g−1) due to the impressive structure stability of Prussian blue nanocubes. These remarkable features are realized by a simple synthetic method and a feasible battery manufacturing process, which can provide guidance for the development of rechargeable batteries in a large scale.",battery
"Exposure to prenatal adversity is associated with aggression later in life. Individual differences in autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning, specifically nonreciprocal activation of the parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic (SNS) nervous systems, increase susceptibility to aggression, especially in the context of adversity. Previous work examining interactions between early adversity and ANS functioning in infancy is scarce and has not examined interaction between PNS and SNS. This study examined whether the PNS and SNS moderate the relation between cumulative prenatal risk and early physical aggression in 124 children (57% male). Cumulative risk (e.g., maternal psychiatric disorder, substance (ab)use, and social adversity) was assessed during pregnancy. Parasympathetic respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and sympathetic pre-ejection period (PEP) at baseline, in response to and during recovery from emotional challenge were measured at 6 months. Physical aggression and non-physical aggression/oppositional behavior were measured at 30 months. The results showed that cumulative prenatal risk predicted elevated physical aggression and non-physical aggression/oppositional behavior in toddlerhood; however, the effects on physical aggression were moderated by PNS and SNS functioning. Specifically, the effects of cumulative risk on physical aggression were particularly evident in children characterized by low baseline PNS activity and/or by nonreciprocal activity of the PNS and SNS, characterized by decreased activity (i.e., coinhibition) or increased activity (i.e., coactivation) of both systems at baseline and/or in response to emotional challenge. These findings extend our understanding of the interaction between perinatal risk and infant ANS functioning on developmental outcome.",non-battery
"Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is involved in the generation of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and the maintenance of the cellular redox balance. The biological effects of G6PD deficiency in nucleated cells were studied using G6PD-deficient human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF). In contrast to that of normal HFF, the doubling time of G6PD-deficient cells increased readily from population doubling level (PDL) 15 to 63. This was accompanied by a significant increase in the percentage of G1 cells. The slow-down in growth preceded an early entry of these cells into a nondividing state reminiscent of cellular senescence. These cells exhibited a significant increase in level of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining. The importance of G6PD activity in cell growth was corroborated by the finding that ectopic expression of active G6PD in the deficient cells prevented their growth retardation and early onset of senescence. Mechanistically, the enhanced fluorescence in dichlorofluorescin (H2DCF)-stained G6PD-deficient cells suggests the possible involvement of reactive oxygen species in senescence. Taken together, our results show that G6PD deficiency predisposes human fibroblasts to retarded growth and accelerated cellular senescence. Moreover, G6PD-deficient HFF provides a useful model system for delineating the effects of redox alterations on cellular processes.",non-battery
"Polycrystalline and mesoporous bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) micro-sponge-balls of 4–7 μm in diameter comprising of 58–65 (±2) nm upright standing petals, separated by 100–700 (±50) nm crevices, are synthesized directly onto 3D Ni-foam at room-temperature (27 °C) using Tritonx-100 surfactant-mediated soft wet chemical method. After knowing the phase purity, surface area, pore-size distribution, micro-sponge-ball-type surface morphology, elemental analysis and binding energy confirmations of Bi2O3, a material with quasi-faradaic redox reactions responsible for supercapattery type behavior, are measured and explored. At a low scan rate, the specific capacitance of Bi2O3 sponge-ball electrode, measured from 0.4 to 1.80 A g−1 current density, decreases from 559 to 211 F g−1 which is equivalent to a capacity from 155 to 58 mAh.g−1. An asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device assembly of Bi2O3 sponge-ball electrode with graphite i.e. Bi2O3//graphite demonstrates excellent electrochemical properties with 8 Wh kg−1 energy density at 2040 W kg−1 power density, and about 80% cycling retention over 5000 redox cycle operations. A demonstration of LED with full-bright intensity during discharge process of the Bi2O3//graphite ASC device suggests its practical potentiality and industrial viability.",battery
"The present investigation describes the results of a research project (P.R.I.M.E.) aimed at testing the performance and the environmental impact of an electric city car in Italian cities. The vehicle considered in the project is the Daimler AG Smart ForTwo Electric Drive. A Smart ED vehicle was tested at the University of Salento for six months over different driving conditions (routes, traffic, use of auxiliaries). A data acquisition system has been designed on purpose and assembled on board to provide information about driving cycle and energy flows. The system was also used to evaluate the losses of energy during recharges due to the battery cooling system. The experimental tests were used to identify the average, minimum and maximum consumption of electricity in the Smart ED in Lecce according to driving conditions and in particular according to the usage of auxiliaries. The measured data of electric consumption have been used to quantify the emissions of CO2 and pollution of the vehicle using information about the Italian electricity production mix of each recharging event and the emissions factors of the Italian power plants with an innovative and comprehensive methodology.",battery
"LaNi5 intermetallic-hydride forming compound and several metal-substituted derivatives have been compared in terms of cycling behavior observed by means of the cavity microelectrode (CME) at high scan rates (50mVs−1). LaNi3.55Mn0.4Al0.3Co0.75 was found to have a stable behavior over 1000 cycles, whereas, the capacity of LaNi5 decreases after only 200 cycles. The performances for the mono-substituted compounds are intermediate. The rechargeability decreases according to the following order: LaNi4.6Mn0.4>LaNi4.7Al0.3>LaNi4.25Co0.75>LaNi5. This study demonstrates the capability of the CME to check numerous battery materials in a very short period of time, which allows to bring out the effect due to the corrosion of the material.",battery
"This work describes a hydrometallurgical process to recover rare earth and basemetals from spent NiMH batteries. Laboratory tests were conducted by using NiMH powders obtained in an industrial scale grinding process after a preliminary sieving (<500 μm). The most important metals present in the initial powder were nickel (29% w/w), manganese (13% w/w), zinc (8% w/w) and rare earths (lanthanum and cerium, (5% w/w); other elements were iron (1% w/w), potassium and cobalt (2.5% w/w). The results obtained showed that two sequential leaching steps were needed to dissolve almost completely lanthanum and cerium present in the samples. In the leaching experiments three parameters were studied and optimized according to a factorial experiment: sulfuric acid concentration, acid citric concentration and temperature. The average dissolution yields after the second leaching step were 100% for manganese, cobalt, zinc and rare earths and 99% for Ni. A total recovery of RE 99% was obtained after selective precipitation. Rare earths were recovered by selective precipitation with sodium hydroxide at pH less than 2 after leaching: in these conditions a precipitate composed of lanthanum and cerium sulphates are produced. A suitable flowsheet to recover RE from NiMH spent batteries with recoveries larger than 99% has been proposed.",battery
"The concept of party identification is one of the most used indicators in election studies worldwide. However, not much is known about the meaning of party identification. This article explores why adherents identify with a political party. Based on existing notions of partisanship, a coding scheme is derived and an open-ended question from a large-N German survey is analyzed. By using Latent Class Analysis, seven meaning types of adherents are identified whose shares differ heavily by party. Most adherents base their identification either on ideological grounds or evaluative reasons, which has a meaningful impact on the parties’ possibilities for ideological change and partisan stability.",non-battery
"In this present study, macroporous PVDF/microfiber composite gel polymer electrolyte with an interpenetrating network structure was prepared by phase inversion method. The structure and electrochemical performance of the composite membrane were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, stress-strain testing, charge/discharge testing etc. These results exhibit that its electrochemical and mechanical properties were improved by introducing the microfiber network into the macroporous PVDF matrix to form an interpenetrating network structure. The results from electrochemical measurements show that the composite gel electrolyte is stable, and the cells with the PVDF/microfiber network composite membrane have higher discharge capacities and better cycling stability than that assembled with pure macroprous PVDF membrane.",battery
"We report the effect of Y substitution for Nb on Li ion conductivity in the well-known garnet-type Li5La3Nb2O12. Garnet-type Li5La3Nb2−x Y x O12−δ (0≤x≤1) was prepared by ceramic method using the high purity metal oxides and salts. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance (Li NMR) and AC impedance spectroscopy were employed for characterization. PXRD showed formation of single-phase cubic garnet-like structure for x up to 0.25 and above x =0.25 showed impurity in addition to the garnet-type phases. The cubic lattice constant increases with increasing Y content up to x =0.25 in Li5La3Nb2− x Y x O12−δ and is consistent with expected ionic radius trend. 7Li MAS NMR showed single peak, which could be attributed to fast migration of ions between various sites in the garnet structure, close to chemical shift 0ppm with respect to solid LiCl and which confirmed that Li ions are distributed at an average octahedral coordination in Li5La3Nb2− x Y x O12− δ . Y-doped compounds showed comparable electrical conductivity to that of the parent compound Li5La3Nb2O12. The x =0.1 member of Li5La3Nb2− x Y x O12− δ showed total (bulk + grain-boundary) ionic conductivity of 1.44×10−5 Scm−1 at 23°C in air.",battery
"Objectives/Background There is good documentation of the impact of insomnia on daytime cognitive function based on self-reports, but not on neuropsychological test performance. The study investigated the association of difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS), and early morning awakening (EMA) complaints with daytime domain-specific neuropsychological performance in older adults. Participants/Methods Participants were 859 older adults (mean 71.9 years) in the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies. They were interviewed and assessed at community-based eldercare activity centres and completed a sleep survey questionnaire and a battery of neuropsychological tests (Digit span, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Story memory, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Color Trails Test (1 and 2), Block design, and Verbal fluency). Results Insomnia complaints were present in 18.0% (n = 155) of participants. Controlling for the presence of other insomnia complaints, psychosocial and medical variables, and depression, EMA was independently and significantly associated with worse executive functioning (p = 0.031). DIS and DMS were not independently associated with poorer performance on any cognitive domain. Conclusion The association of EMA among older adults with decreased executive functioning and underlying mechanistic factors should be further investigated.",non-battery
"Nanocrystalline lithium iron silicate/carbon (Li2FeSiO4/C) composites were successfully prepared by impregnation of a commercial porous carbon using ethanolic solutions of the different metallic precursors, followed by thermal annealing at 600 °C. The effects of Li2FeSiO4 loading content on the structure and organization of the Li2FeSiO4/C composites at the nanoscale were investigated. Through optimization of the synthesis conditions, small Li2FeSiO4 nanocrystals (4–12 nm) are formed and well dispersed in the porous conductive carbon. The electrochemical performances of these composites were tested as positive electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. The Li2FeSiO4/C composite with the lowest Li2FeSiO4 loading exhibits the best rate capability with a significant capacity contribution from carbon. It was found that the presence of carbon delays the lowering of the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox voltage usually reported for Li2FeSiO4 (from 3.1/3.0 to 2.8/2.7 V vs. Li+/Li), due to a stabilization effect of the initial Li2FeSiO4 crystal structure. For the Li2FeSiO4/C composite (81/19 weight ratio), a discharge capacity of 81 mAh g−1 can be achieved at 55 °C for a charge/discharge rate of 2C, with 86% capacity retention after 500 cycles, showing the positive effect of the porous carbon addition for long term cycling stability.",battery
"This paper reviews the literature on the synthesis of carbon nanotube- and nanofiber-supported Pt electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell catalyst loading reduction through the improvement of catalyst utilization and activity, especially focusing on cathode nano-electrocatalyst preparation methods. The features of each synthetic method were also discussed based on the morphology of the synthesized catalysts. It is clear that synthesis methods play an important role in catalyst morphology, Pt utilization and catalytic activity. Though some remarkable progress has been made in nanotube- and nanofiber-supported Pt catalyst preparation techniques, the real breakthroughs have not yet been made in terms of cost-effectiveness, catalytic activity, durability and chemical/electrochemical stability. In order to make such electrocatalysts commercially feasible, cost-effective and innovative, catalyst synthesis methods are needed for Pt loading reduction and performance optimization.",battery
"A simple freeze-drying-assisted method is used to prepare various porous Mn-doped Na3V2(PO4)3/C composites. Rietveld refinement and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) are applied to probe the real substitute site of Mn and demonstrate that Mn ions successfully occupy the V sites. The Mn2+/Mn3+ doping in the vanadium site of Na3V2(PO4)3 causes the lattice volume to expand with enlarged Na ion diffusion channels, which benefits Na+ transportation and increases the ionic conductivity of Na3V2(PO4)3. Furthermore, due to the charge compensation, the presence of Mn2+ in Na3V2(PO4)3 leads to the formation of V4+, which improves the intrinsic conductivity and stabilizes the NASICON framework. Through the XPS results of the electrode under the fully charged or discharged states, the small and reversible plateau at ca. 3.85 V of the Mn-doped Na3V2(PO4)3 electrode is ascribed to the activation of the Mn2+/Mn3+ redox couple. An optimized performance is achieved for Na3V1.8Mn0.2(PO4)3/C, which exhibits a capacity of 106.8 mAh g−1 at 1 C and 77.8 mAh g−1 at up to 30 C. Even more impressive, a high capacity retention of 82% was achieved at 30 C after 10000 cycles.",battery
"Citizens in Eastern Europe are less satisfied with life than their peers in other countries. This happiness gap has persisted over time, despite predictions to the contrary by earlier scholars. It holds after controlling for a variety of covariates, such as the standard of living, life expectancy and Eastern Orthodox religion. Armed with a battery of surveys from the early 1990s to 2014, we argue that the happiness gap is explained by how citizens in post-communist countries perceive their governments. Eastern Europeans link their life satisfaction to higher perceived corruption and weaker government performance. Our results suggest that the transition from central planning is still incomplete, at least in the psychology of people.",non-battery
" Of all patients with low back pain, 85% are diagnosed as ""non-specific lumbar pain"". Lumbar instability has been described as one specific diagnosis which several authors have described as delayed muscular responses, impaired postural control as well as impaired muscular coordination among these patients. This has mostly been measured and evaluated in a laboratory setting. There are few standardized and evaluated functional tests, examining functional muscular coordination which are also applicable in the non-laboratory setting. In ordinary clinical work, tests of functional muscular coordination should be easy to apply. The aim of this present study was to therefore standardize and examine the inter-rater reliability of three functional tests of muscular functional coordination of the lumbar spine in patients with low back pain.",non-battery
"The link between language and false belief (FB) understanding has been the focus of considerable debate regarding which language component (semantics, general language, or complementation) is necessary for FB development. We examined the relative roles of complementation and receptive vocabulary in FB development in Korean-speaking and English-speaking children. FB understanding, memory for complements involving the verbs think, say and want, and receptive vocabulary were measured at three time points in 59 Korean-speaking children and 72 English-speaking children. A multi-level growth model indicated that the development of receptive vocabulary and separately the development of think understanding uniquely predicted the development of FB understanding. Neither say nor want was associated with FB understanding. The same pattern was found for Korean- and English-speaking children. The results provide evidence for the role of general language in FB understanding and against the unique role of sentential complementation.",non-battery
"Binder-free electrodes of Si nanoparticles@reducedgrapheneoxidesheets(Si@rGO) for lithium ion batteries were facilely fabricated by scraping the mixture of commercial Si powder, graphene oxide and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) onto nickel foam and following a heat treatment. It was shown that the Si@rGO electrode performs an excellent electrochemical behavior. Even at a current density as high as 4A/g, a reversible capacity of 792mAh/g was obtained after 100 cycles. A small amount of PVP additive plays important roles, it not only increases the viscosity of the mixture paint in the coating process, but also improves the conductivity of the overall electrode after carbonization.",battery
"The lithium secondary batteries with high power density need the electrode materials with both high specific capacity and high tap-density. LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode material is a very promising candidate to replace the commercialized LiCoO2 for lithium secondary batteries. Spherical Ni0.8Co0.2(OH)2 powders were prepared via a “controlled crystallization” method using NiSO4, CoSO4, NaOH and NH3·H2O. Spherical LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders with order layered structure were easily synthesized by firing LiOH·H2O and the spherical Ni0.8Co0.2(OH)2 in oxygen at 750°C for 8h. The relation among the “controlled crystallization” conditions and the Ni0.8Co0.2(OH)2 and LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders’ structure, particle morphology, particle size, particle size distribution, and tap-density was investigated. It is shown that with the suitable “controlled crystallization” conditions, the tap-density of the spherical LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders can be improved as high as 3.24gcm−3, which is remarkably higher than the non-spherical LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 powders available as commercial cathode materials. The cathode materials also show high reversible specific capacity and long cycling life. The high-density spherical LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode materials can greatly improve the power density of the lithium secondary batteries.",battery
"When designing a high energy density battery, one of the critical features is a high voltage, high capacity cathode material. In the development of Mg batteries, oxide cathodes that can reversibly intercalate Mg, while at the same time being compatible with an electrolyte that can deposit Mg reversibly are rare. Herein, we report the compatibility of Mg anodes with α-V2O5 by employing magnesium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide in diglyme electrolytes at very low water levels. Electrolytes that contain a high water level do not reversibly deposit Mg, but interestingly these electrolytes appear to enable much higher capacities for an α-V2O5 cathode. Solid state NMR indicates that the major source of the higher capacity in high water content electrolytes originates from reversible proton insertion. In contrast, we found that lowering the water level of the magnesium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide in diglyme electrolyte is critical to achieve reversible Mg deposition and direct evidence for reversible Mg intercalation is shown. Findings we report here elucidate the role of proton intercalation in water-containing electrolytes and clarify numerous conflicting reports of Mg insertion into α-V2O5.",battery
"Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) has recently been identified as a separate disease but diagnosis can be difficult, in particular the differentiation from related dementias of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD). Careful cognitive assessment may aid differential diagnosis between these different types of dementia and can provide theoretical insight into the nature of the underlying impairments. Recent reviews on DLB have primarily dealt with medical issues of clinical diagnostic criteria, pathology, epidemiology and treatment (Ballard, 2004; Barber et al., 2001; Cercy and Bylsma, 1997; Cummings, 2004; Kaufer, 2004; McKeith, 2002; McKeith et al., 2004a; Rampello et al., 2004) and only a few papers have reviewed cognitive impairments in DLB (Collerton et al., 2003; Lambon-Ralph et al., 2001; Simard et al., 2000). The present paper is more specifically targeted to a neuropsychological audience. It provides an uptodate, detailed and comprehensive review of the available evidence regarding visual and olfactory perception, attention, cognitive fluctuation, frontal-executive functions, working memory, episodic memory, and semantic memory in DLB relative to AD and PDD. In addition, an attempt is made to relate available data to current theoretical frameworks of cognition. Implications for future research and clinical issues such as the problem of differential diagnosis, and the relation between cognitive impairments and clinical features of visual hallucinations and cognitive fluctuation will be discussed.",non-battery
"LiMn2O4 films with vertically aligned holes were formed by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) and subsequent annealing. Different surface morphologies, such as dense grains, 1μm-diameter pores with 1μm-thick walls, and 5μm pores with 3μm walls, were formed by varying the lithium sources in the precursor solution. The randomly oriented pores in the films prepared using ESD were rearranged in vertical stacks after annealing to produce crystalline LiMn2O4. This process would be suitable for constructing three-dimensional interfaces between active materials and solid-state electrolytes.",battery
"Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) is well known as a zero strain material inherently, which provides excellent long cycle stability as a negative electrode for lithium ion batteries. However, the low specific capacity (175mAhg−1) limits it to power batteries although the low electrical conductivity is another intrinsic issue need to be solved. In this work, we developed a facile hydrothermal and ion-exchange route to synthesize the self-supported dual-phase Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 nanowire arrays to further improve its capacity as well as rate capability. The ratio of Li4Ti5O12 to TiO2 in the dual phase Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 nanowire is around 2:1. The introduction of TiO2 into Li4Ti5O12 increases the specific capacity. More importantly, by interface design, it creates a dual-phase nanostructure with high grain boundary density that facilitates both electron and Li ion transport. Compared with phase-pure nanowire Li4Ti5O12 and TiO2 nanaowire arrays, the dual-phase nanowire electrode yielded superior rate capability (135.5 at 5C, 129.4 at 10C, 120.2 at 20C and 115.5mAhg−1 at 30C). In-situ transmission electron microscope clearly shows the near zero deformation of the dual phase structure, which explains its excellent cycle stability.",battery
"Lithium-sulfur (LiS) batteries have been considering as a very promising energy storage system since their high theoretical specific capacity and energy density. Nevertheless, the practical commercialization of LiS batteries is hindered by their poor cycle stability and fast capacity fading. Herein, a carbonized bacterial cellulose/titania (CBC/TiO2) modified separator is designed to restrain the shuttle effect of LiS cells with its strong physical and chemical adsorption of polysulfides. Cells with CBC/TiO2 modified separator show an initial discharge capacity of 1314mAhg−1 at 0.2C, and the capacity retention is 1048.5mAhg−1 after 50cycles. A discharge capacity of 475mAhg−1 is obtained after 250cycles at 2C. And during the rate test, LiS cells can deliver a discharge capacity of 537.1mAhg−1 at 2C. The outstanding electrochemical performance of LiS cells with CBC/TiO2 modified separator shows a new approach for the application of LiS batteries.",battery
"Nickel-based oxide cathode material taking out from lithium-ion cell after storage for 2 years at 45°C is analyzed by electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM-EELS) and the result of STEM-EELS is compared with cobalt-based oxide cathode material which is treated as same manor as nickel-based oxide cathode material. The Ni-L2,3 energy-loss near-edge structure (ELNES) spectra of nickel-based oxide cathode material show peak positions similar to original material before storage. This result indicates that nickel-based oxide material has no significant change in the surface structure. On the other hand, a remarkable shift to low energy is observed in the Co-L2,3 ELNES spectra of the cobalt-based oxide cathode material after storage. The cycle test at 60°C under the conditions of aggressive driving cycle (US06) mode for the nickel-based oxide cathode/graphite cell is also carried out. It is clear that cycle performance of the nickel-based oxide cathode/graphite cell is dependent on the depth of discharge (DOD).",battery
"High-performance supercapacitors materials (a-GNS/NiAl-LDH) was fabricated via in situ growth of NiAl-layered double hydroxide (NiAl-LDH) nanoflakes on well-activated graphene nanosheets (a-GNS). Graphene oxide was exfoliated and reduced using the microwave irradiation, alkali corrosion and thermal annealing in sequence. The resulting a-GNS is of large BET surface area of up to 3026m2 g−1 and excellent conductivity. The as-prepared a-GNS/NiAl-LDH was characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectrum. The results indicated NiAl-LDH nanoflakes are well dispersed on the wrinkled graphene nanosheets. Further, the apparent electron transfer rate constant (k s) and electrochemical performance of a-GNS/NiAl-LDH as electrode material for supercapactiors were also investigated. The k s value was found to be 0.0885cms−1, which is more than 2.5-fold that of pure NiAl-LDH. The a-GNS/NiAl-LDH provides a maximum specific capacitance of 1730.2Fg−1 at current density of 0.1Ag−1. The specific capacitance can remain 790Ag−1 when the current density increase to 10Ag−1, which is more than 6- and 3-fold that of pure NiAl-LDH (116.3Fg−1) and common GNS/NiAL-LDH (260.6Fg−1) made from the graphene produced by the chemical reduction of graphene oxide, respectively. The capacitance can keep at least 99.2% at current density of 5Ag−1 after 500 cycles. These demonstrated that the use of a-GNS obviously improve the specific capacitance, high-current capacitive behavior and cycle stability.",battery
"Supercapacitors have attracted great attention as advanced energy storage devices. However, the low energy density and high cost of electrode materials are the downsides for their practical applications. Here, we introduce a facile and low-cost strategy to develop honeycomb-like Ni3S2 nanosheet arrays (NSAs) as a redox-type electrode for aqueous hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs). Owing to the porous structure of NSAs, the Ni3S2 electrode can show excellent electrochemical performance in 2 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. A high specific capacity of 151.2 mAh g−1 has been achieved at the current density of 3 A g−1. To demonstrate their further applications, HSCs have been assembled with activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode and the assembled devices can successfully work within a large voltage range of 0–1.6 V and deliver a maximum energy density of 35.2 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 491 W kg−1.",battery
"We present here a novel simple method for the synthesis of highly pure TiO2(B). The fast microwave-assisted synthetic route allows facile scale-up of the process. Aiming at an application of the titania polymorph as negative electrode for Li-ion batteries, we have prepared a Fe-containing TiO2(B) and tested the electrochemical performances of both pure and Fe-containing materials. Fe insertion in TiO2(B) allows enhancing capacity and rate capability.",battery
"Wilm's tumor protein 1 (WT1), a protein implicated in various cancers and developmental disorders, consists of two major isoforms: WT1(−KTS), a transcription factor, and WT1(+KTS), a post-transcriptional regulator that binds to RNA and can interact with splicing components. Here we show that WT1 interacts with the novel splicing regulator RBM4. Each protein was found to colocalize in nuclear speckles and to cosediment with supraspliceosomes in glycerol gradients. RBM4 conferred dose-dependent and cell-specific regulation of alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs transcribed from several reporter genes. We found that overexpressed WT1(+KTS) abrogated this effect of RBM4 on splice-site selection, whereas WT1(−KTS) did not. We conclude that the (+KTS) form of WT1 is able to inhibit the effect of RBM4 on alternative splicing.",non-battery
"Nanostructured NiCo2O4 spinel was fabricated with a facile, low-cost coprecipitation process. The ethylene glycol was applied to serve as a stabilizer to govern over the nucleation, growth, and agglomeration processes. The influence of the calcination time was also studied on the coprecipitation reaction. Both the reaction conditions have statistically significant effects on the size distribution, crystallinity, electronic conductivity and the electrochemical performances of the products. The optimized, 5–10nm NiCo2O4 spinel, calcinated at 375°C for 8h, had excellent crystallinity and electric conductivity. It showed a superior-specific capacitance of 671Fg−1 at a current density of 1Ag−1. The delay in the specific capacitance was insignificant, after a 7000-cycle test, revealing the high stability of the product. The simplicity and practicability of the modified coprecipitation process may facilitate the successful commercial applications in electrochemical capacitors for nanostructured NiCo2O4 spinel.",battery
"Accurate knowledge of lithium content within the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer and anode would significantly enhance the current understanding of the lithium ion battery (LIB) degradation mechanisms, enabling knowledge-based improvements in the technology. For the first time, we have demonstrated the capabilities of highly selective Lithium Nuclear Reaction Analysis (Li-NRA) as a non-destructive depth profiling technique for quantifying Li within the SEI and anode without accurate knowledge of the composition, which is unavailable with other depth profiling techniques. The Li-NRA technique detects the gamma radiation resulting from a nuclear reaction at characteristic resonance energy between an incident high-energy proton and Li. The intensity of γ-ray is directly proportional to the Li content, and the energy of the incident proton is increased stepwise to depth profile the sample. We performed Li-NRA on the carbonaceous negative electrodes of commercial LIB coin cells at varying states of charge (SOC) and states of health (SOH) conditions. We used three simple models for the composition of SEI and anode material to show concurrence between theoretical and experimental value for Li content at varying SOC conditions, estimated the average SEI layer thickness, and correlated the residual Li content within the SOH samples with electrochemical data.",battery
"With the successive advent of piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), the harvest of ambient mechanical energy has become more high-efficient, low-lost and simpler for self-powered systems. Introducing lightweight alternative power source to bionic micro aerial vehicle (BMAV) which is widely used for military surveillance or monitoring air pollution and so on, is the forefront of the research hotspots. However, there is still no design applying the two kinds of nanogenerator (NG) together in BMAV to collect the flapping mechanical energy more efficiently. In this paper, we demonstrate a hybrid flexible nanogenerator (HFNG) based on the combination of triboelectric and piezoelectric devices in BMAV. It not only can solve the problem of power supply, but also make the BMAV intelligent to monitor the changes of specific environmental factors. The newly designed HFNG can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of 80 V, short-circuit current of 3.0 μA with the instantaneous output power density of 34.1 mW/m2 when the flapping frequency of BMAV (f) is 14 Hz. The rectified output of HFNG has been applied to charge the commercial capacitor, rechargeable battery and drive light-emitting diodes. It was also demonstrated that HFNG can be used for testing the lift force (L) of BMAV. Moreover, the output performances of HFNG have been proved to be sensitive to temperature, humidity, alcohol concentration and PM2.5 in the environment.",battery
"Optical constituents as suspended particulate matter (SPM), chlorophyll (Chl-a), colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and grain sizes were obtained on a transect in the arctic fjord-type estuary Kangerlussuaq (66°) in August 2007 along with optical properties. These comprised diffuse attenuation coefficient of downwelling PAR (Kd(PAR)), upwelling PAR (Ku(PAR)), particle beam attenuation coefficient (cp), and irradiance reflectance R(−0, PAR). PAR is white light between 400 and 700 nm. The estuary receives melt water from the Greenland Inland Ice and stations covered a transect from the very high turbid melt water outlet to clear marine waters. Results showed a strong spatial variation with high values as for suspended matter concentrations, CDOM, diffuse attenuation coefficient Kd(PAR), particle beam attenuation coefficients (cp), and reflectance R(−0, PAR) at the melt water outlet. Values of optical constituents and properties decreased with distance from the melt water outlet to a more or less constant level in central and outer part of the estuary. There was a strong correlation between inorganic suspended matter (SPMI) and diffuse attenuation coefficient Kd(PAR) (r2 = 0.92) and also for particle beam attenuation coefficient (cp; r2 = 0.93). The obtained SPMI specific attenuation—Kd*(PAR) = 0.13 m2 g−1 SPMI—and the SPMI specific particle beam attenuation—cp* = 0.72 m2 g−1—coefficients were about two times higher than average literature values. Irradiance reflectance R(−0, PAR) was comparatively high (0.09−0.20) and showed a high (r2 = 0.80) correlation with Ku(PAR). Scattering dominated relative to absorption—b(PAR)/a(PAR) = 12.3. Results strongly indicated that the high values in the optical properties were related to the very fine particle sizes (mean = 2–6 μm) of the suspended sediment. Data and results are discussed and compared to similar studies from both temperate and tropical estuaries.
",non-battery
"Hierarchical porous gold films with a well-defined bimodal architecture have been made by electrodepositing gold at a constant current around a close-packed assembly of raspberry-like latex spheres (1200/60nm) followed by template removal. Electrodeposition was stopped when the gold was either ½ layer or 1½ layer thick as evident from oscillations in the potential vs time traces. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show the hierarchical pore structure with an ensemble of small ∼20nm openings located in a large ∼1200nm diameter macropore. Prior to electrochemical characterization, the electrodes were cleaned either chemically and/or via UV radiation and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to evaluate the presence of residual polystyrene. Of the three cleaning methods investigated, sonication in chloroform–acetone followed by UV radiation proved best. The surface area of the hierarchical porous gold electrodes, determined by integrating the area under the gold oxide peak, was 4× larger than a bare gold electrode and 2× larger than a macroporous gold electrode prepared using unimodal, 1200nm diameter latex spheres as the template. The electrochemical performance of the electrodes relative to the macroporous gold and flat gold was undertaken using cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the non-Faradaic current scales linearly with electrode area while the Faradaic current of a diffusing electrochemically reversible redox probe (ferrocene methanol) does not. For an adsorbed redox couple (ferrocene hexanethiol), the voltammetric wave shapes and surface coverage were different for the different electrodes.",battery
"Production of hydrogen using aluminum and aluminum alloys with aqueous alkaline solutions is studied. This process is based on aluminum corrosion, consuming only water and aluminum which are cheaper raw materials than other compounds used for in situ hydrogen generation, such as chemical hydrides. In principle, this method does not consume alkali because the aluminate salts produced in the hydrogen generation undergo a decomposition reaction that regenerates the alkali. As a consequence, this process could be a feasible alternative for hydrogen production to supply fuel cells. Preliminary results showed that an increase of base concentration and working solution temperature produced an increase of hydrogen production rate using pure aluminum. Furthermore, an improvement of hydrogen production rates and yields was observed varying aluminum alloys composition and increasing their reactive surface, with interesting results for Al/Si and Al/Co alloys. The development of this idea could improve yields and reduce costs in power units based on fuel cells which use hydrides as raw material for hydrogen production.",battery
"The frontal lobes are critical for cognitive control over both abstract actions and motor plans. On the basis of the behavioral deficits of lesions patients, the authors report that there is a hierarchical organization of cognitive control, with rostral areas being required for decisions about more abstract actions and caudal areas being required for decisions about more concrete actions.",non-battery
"This study shows that excitatory neurons in the ventral hippocampus that express the serotonin receptor 2c gene control attention through direct innervation of the mouse equivalent of the Edinger–Westphal nucleus.
",non-battery
"Safe and reliable operation of a Li-ion battery requires control and often management of the thermal envelope. In this context, a two-dimensional, transient mathematical model comprising conservation of charges, species, and energy together with electroneutrality, constitutive relations and relevant initial and boundary conditions for a spiral-wound cylindrical Li-ion battery is derived and solved numerically for passive thermal management with and without a phase change material (PCM) at various galvanostatic discharge rates. Two-way coupling of the electrochemical and thermal equations of change is attained through heat generation terms and temperature-dependent physical properties. Within this framework, the electrochemical and thermal behavior is discussed in terms of edge effects arising from the design of the spiral-wound structure and variations in heat generation in the functional layers. In addition, the cell performance with passive thermal management through a PCM is shown to lower the overall temperature of the cell at discharge rates around 5C-rates, provided the PCM layer is thick enough to provide cooling during the entire discharge. The model can be employed for wide-ranging parameter studies as well as multi-objective optimization of not only design parameters pertaining to the spirals but also, for example, for design of the thickness of the PCM layer.",battery
"Surface segregation in metal oxides can greatly influence the oxygen transport and surface oxygen exchange kinetics critical to the performance of solid-state devices such as oxygen permeation membranes and solid oxide fuel/electrolytic cell electrodes. Unfortunately detecting elemental distributions at the atomic scale near the surface remains challenging, which hampers the understanding of underpinning mechanisms and control of surface segregation for the design of high-performance materials. Using the coherent Bragg rod analysis (COBRA) method, we report the first direct 3D atomic imaging of a 4 nm-thick “La0.8Sr0.2CoO3–δ”/SrTiO3 epitaxial film. Of significance, energy differential COBRA revealed pronounced Sr segregation (La1−xSrxCoO3−δ, x ∼ 0.4) in the four unit cells from the top surface while complete Sr depletion was detected in the five unit cells from the “La0.8Sr0.2CoO3−δ”/SrTiO3 interface. The drastic strontium compositional changes in the film were associated with large changes in the atomic positions of apical oxygen sites in the perovskite structure. Such Sr segregation tendencies toward the surface were also found in nominal “La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ” thin films, which can greatly enhance the surface oxygen exchange properties of oxides. The results presented here show that COBRA and the differential COBRA methods can be used to investigate a variety of electrochemically active systems providing atomic scale structural and chemical information that can help understand the physical and chemical properties of these systems and serve as a basis for comparison with DFT calculations.
",battery
We demonstrate a novel Li-ion hybrid electrochemical capacitor (Li-HEC) assembled using 1D nanofibers of a high voltage spinel insertion electrode (LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4) and an activated carbon (AC) counter electrode in an organic electrolyte. A scalable electrospinning technique was employed to produce 1D nanofibers of the high voltage spinel electrode. Structural and morphological features of the nanofibers were studied using various characterization techniques. Performance of spinel and AC electrodes were evaluated in half-cell configurations with metallic Li. A Li-HEC assembly with optimized mass loading delivered a maximum energy density of ~19Whkg−1 while retaining ~81% of the initial value after 3000 cycles.,battery
"Lithium-ion batteries are now well known and widely available commercially. The vast majority use lithium cobalt oxide or variants as the cathode material. This has the advantage of good performance but the cost of the cobalt is high and it is slightly toxic. Iron would be preferable on grounds of cost and safety but unfortunately lithium iron oxides cannot be cycled. Iron compounds are cheap and iron sulphides can readily be obtained as minerals, without the need for chemical synthesis. However, to make a lithium-ion battery, the cathode material must contain lithium so the iron sulphide must be lithiated to use this as a cathode material. This can be synthesised by literature methods involving solid state syntheses at high temperature for long times. New syntheses have been developed which are much quicker and easier. Results on cycling of lithium-ion cells using lithiated iron sulphide prepared by the new method will be described using laboratory and envelope (pouch) cells. Because of the use of cheaper materials, these should be preferable to existing technology, particularly for larger size applications, such as electric vehicles.",battery
"Research exploring cognitive processing associated with Williams Syndrome (WS) has suggested that executive functioning deficits exist across the developmental spectrum. Such executive functions include problem solving, planning, dividing attention and inhibiting responses. Within a framework of executive functions, the aim of the current study was to explore attentional lapse and inhibition skills in older adults with WS (n =20; aged 36–61yr) and consider the implications of deficits within this group. Participants with WS were compared to typical adults of the same chronological age and typical older adults (aged 65+yr) to consider attentional changes seen in the ageing process. The study employed a sustained attention to response task known to assess inhibition and attentional lapse but which had not previously been used with this population. Compared to both groups of typical matches, the results indicated atypicalities of attention and inhibition in adults with WS. Specifically, compared to the typical matches, adults with WS failed to withhold a response (showing inhibition deficits), had problems re-engaging attentional control processes after making an error and showed a generalised deficit of concentration and task engagement. We conclude that further attention should be paid to the cognitive capacity of older individuals with WS in order to consider the everyday challenges faced by this group and to provide adequate intervention and support for daily living.",non-battery
"A silicon/disordered-carbon powder was applied as the negative electrode material in Li ion batteries. The thermal characteristics of the Si/C electrode mixed with or without the electrolyte were investigated by DSC. Both lithiated (with capacity of 1120mAhg−1) and delithiated Si/C electrode powder showed exothermic peaks in DSC curves due to the reactions between the Li in the electrode and the SEI. The lithiated electrode caused much larger exothermic heat than the delithiated one, especially when they were mixed with the electrolyte. By changing the ratio between the lithiated Si/C electrode and the coexisting electrolyte, the thermal behavior of the mixture could be studied in detail. At about 290°C, a mixture containing 0.5mg lithiated Si/C electrode and 0.5μl electrolyte showed the most drastic exothermic heat of 2.2J among all mixtures due to a direct reaction between the residual lithiated electrode and the solvent of the electrolyte after the thermal breakdown of the SEI. Under this condition, the heat value based on the electrode weight was 4.4Jmg−1, and that based on capacity was 5.1JmAh−1. These values of graphite were estimated to be 1.9Jmg−1 and 5.8JmAh−1, respectively. The generated heat was found to be very sensitive to the electrode/electrolyte ratio.",battery
"The decarbonization of the electricity supply in isolated and remote energy systems is an open challenge in the transition to a sustainable energy system. In this paper, the possibility to increase the penetration of renewable energy sources for electricity generation on the island of Terceira (Azores) is investigated through the installation of a utility-scale energy storage facility. The electric power dispatch on the island is simulated through a unit commitment model of the fossil and renewable power plants that has the objective of minimizing the cost of electricity generation. Battery energy storage is employed to partially decouple production and supply, and to provide spinning reserve in case of sudden generator outage. Two technological options, namely lithium-ion and vanadium flow batteries, are compared in terms of net present value and return on investment, with the aim of supporting the decision-making process of the local utility. The economic evaluation takes also into account the degradation of the battery performance along the years. The results, obtained in a future-price scenario, show that both the technologies entail a positive investment performance. However, vanadium flow batteries have the best results, given that they can produce a net present value that exceeds 430% of the initial capital invested after 20 years, with a return on investment higher than 35%. In this scenario, the renewable share can reach up to 46%, compared to the current 26%.",battery
"We present an overview of progress towards single-chip RFID solutions. To date heterogeneous integration has been appropriate for non-biological systems. However, for in-vivo sensors and even drug delivery systems, a small form factor is required. We discuss fundamental limits on the size of the form factor, the effect of the antenna, and propose a unified single-chip RFID solution appropriate for a broad range of biomedical in-vivo device applications, both current and future. Fundamental issues regarding the possibility of single cell RF radios to interface with biological function are discussed.
",non-battery
"The α- and γ-phases of MnO2 prepared by electrolysis of MnSO4 and M x SO4 (where M=Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+ or Mg2+) in aqueous solutions at various pH and voltage E v values under ambient conditions have been systematically studied. The structures of powdery MnO2 produced are found to depend on the radius of the M z+ counter cation in addition to the pH and E v conditions. In order to achieve the α-phase for MnO2 formation under neutral pH condition, the radius of counter cation must be equal to or greater than 1.41Å, the size of the K+ cation. The relative concentration ratio of [MnO4 −]transient/[Mn2+], which is related to the pH–E v conditions, also affects the structure of MnO2 produced with counter ions smaller than K+. For samples prepared in acidified solution with the counter ions of Li+, Na+ or Mg2+ at 2.2V, the electrolysis products display the γ-MnO2 phase while those prepared at 2.8V electrolysis produce a mixture of γ-MnO2 and α-MnO2 phases. Single phase of α-MnO2 is identified in the 5V electrolysis products. Furthermore, the valence state of manganese was found to decrease as the applied voltage was reduced from 5.0 to 2.2V. This implies that the lower [MnO4 −]transient/[Mn2+] ratio or the less oxidative condition is responsible for the non-stoichiometric MnO2 structure with oxygen deficiency.",battery
"Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on plasticized sodium carboxymethyl cellulose/polyethylene oxide (CMC/PEO) were successfully prepared using solution casting method. The prepared SPEs were investigated using different spectroscopic techniques. Ultraviolet–Visible absorption spectra (UV–Vis) revealed that changing PEO content in the polymer matrix causes the optical band gap energy to change and decrease. These changes indicate that there is a transfer of charge carriers within the polymer matrix. The variations occurring in the major structural units within the prepared CMC/PEO SPEs are retraced using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). FTIR results revealed that the polymeric materials suffer changes in their chemical structures and that complexation occurred between the individual polymers due to blending. Correlation between UV–Vis optical band gap and FTIR outcomes is established. Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to study the conduction mechanism for the prepared SPEs. Impedance results showed that the CMC/PEO sample with blending ratio of 80/20 wt% (sample named B2) possesses the highest ionic conductivity of 1.18E−06 S/cm and the lowest activation energy of approximately 0.67 eV at ambient temperature.
",non-battery
"The electrochemical properties of polyaniline (PANI) can be altered by coupling the polymer with aryldiazonium ions. The ions are synthesized by diazotization of aromatic primary amines (1-aminoanthraquinone, sulphadiazine and 4-cyanoaniline) bearing functional groups which are then linked to the polyaniline backbone. All materials produced are electroactive, suggesting that the reaction involves coupling of the diazonium ion with the aromatic rings and not nucleophilic substitution by the aminic nitrogen of PANI on the aryl cations. The electrochemical properties of the modified polymers are different to those of PANI, likely due to electronic and steric effects of the attached groups. Reductive degradation of the azo linkages, using dithionite ion, removes the attached moieties leaving primary amino groups attached to the polyaniline backbone. In that way, the effect of the attached groups on the electrochemical properties of PANI is eliminated. FTIR spectroscopy measurement of the different polymers supports the proposed mechanism. Using the method a polymer containing redox (anthraquinone) groups, which could be used for charge storage, is obtained. Additionally a material containing sulphadiazine moieties, which can be released in vivo by bacterial activity, is also produced. The molecule is a well-known sulfa drug with bacteriostatic activity. The reaction sequence seems to be of general application to modify polyanilines, by attaching functional groups, and then to produce a PANI backbone bearing primary amino groups. Evidence is presented on the kinetic control of attached group removal.",battery
"This paper presents an analytical model of piezoelectric vibration energy harvester consists of shape memory alloy (SMA) plate which can tune the resonant frequency. As the energy harvester should be tuned to excitation frequency to drive the maximum power, the temperature of SMA is varied to tune the natural frequency of the composite beam. In addition to SMA, it also consists of the piezoelectric layer, substructure layer, and tip mass. Using Euler–Bernoulli beam assumption, equations for the frequency response of voltage, current, and power outputs with temperature are obtained. From the parametric study, it is observed that the tuning of natural frequency is 25–26%, for the first three modes of vibration in short- and open-circuit conditions.",non-battery
"A thorough characterisation of three different commercial positive active materials for nickel batteries was carried out both from the crystal chemical and the electrochemical point of view. All the samples had similar physical characteristics and consisted of mixtures of graphite and β-nickel hydroxide with diverse doping levels. Two different electrode technologies (pasted and pocket plate) were used in all cases. Surprisingly, the best capacity values in pocket plate technology (with no extra conducting additives) were supplied by sample A, that is, the one with the lowest doping level. These good performances were attributed to a higher degree of homogeneity in carbon distribution. This hypothesis was confirmed by milling treatments carried out on sample C that did indeed significantly improve its homogeneity and its electrochemical behaviour. In summary, this work shows that homogeneity is clearly an underestimated factor in industrial active materials. Indeed, instead of more expensive dopant addition, low cost milling processes can be used to obtain commercial active materials with improved capacities.",battery
"The implementation of the Government Accounting Standards Board’s Statement 45 mandates disclosure of “other post-employment benefits” (OPEB) in a standardized format. The mandate provides an opportunity to analyze noninformation impacts of mandatory disclosures, as key components of the information were already publicly available. We find that this mandate is associated with a significant 15 and 73 basis-point increase in yield spreads among tax-exempt and taxable bonds, respectively. This effect is particularly pronounced for riskier bonds—nonrated and longer maturity taxable bonds. However, states that do not follow the GASB 45 recommendation of prefunding the OPEB obligations face a greater increase in their yield spreads.
",non-battery
Li2CoPO4F cathode materials have been synthesized by a two-step method combining a sol-gel route and solid state reaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the Li2CoPO4F was well-crystallized in orthorhombic crystal structure with Pnma space group. From the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image; the lattice fringes of {001} and {100} are well-resolved. HRTEM image and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern reveal the highly crystalline nature of Li2CoPO4F having an ordered orthorhombic crystal structure. The Co atoms chains of Li2CoPO4F have been observed using high angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra indicate the symmetry and stability of the Li2CoPO4F structure. The Li2CoPO4F cathode materials delivered an initial discharge capacity of 91 mAhg−1 at C/10 rate with good cyclic performance. The discharge profile of Li2CoPO4F shows a plateau at 5.0V; revealing its importance as potentially high-voltage cathode.,battery
"With a worldwide trend towards the efficient use of renewable energies and the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market, the importance of rechargeable battery technologies, particularly lithium-ion batteries, has steadily increased. In the past few years, a major breakthrough in electrolyte materials was achieved by simply increasing the salt concentration in suitable salt–solvent combinations, offering technical superiority in numerous figures of merit over alternative materials. This long-awaited, extremely simple yet effective strategy can overcome most of the remaining hurdles limiting the present lithium-ion batteries without sacrificing manufacturing efficiency, and hence its impact is now widely felt in the scientific community, with serious potential for industrial development. This Review aims to provide timely and objective information that will be valuable for designing better realistic batteries, including a multi-angle analysis of their advantages and disadvantages together with future perspectives. Emphasis is placed on the pathways to address the remaining technical and scientific issues rather than re-highlighting the many technical advantages.",battery
"The performance of Cell-Batt® Li-ion cells and Sony 18650 cells using non-stoichiometric spinel and LiCoO2, respectively, as positive electrode material has been studied under several modes of charging. During cycling, the cells were opened at intermittent cycles and extensive material and electrochemical characterization was done on the active material at both electrodes. Capacity fade of spinel-based Li-ion cells was attributed to structural degradation at the cathode and loss of active material at both electrodes due to electrolyte oxidation. For the Sony cells both primary (Li+) and secondary active material (LiCoO2)/C) are lost during cycling.",battery
"The leopard shark, Triakis semifasciata, is an abundant nearshore elasmobranch, ranging from Baja California, Mexico to Oregon, USA. Mature female leopard sharks have been observed aggregating in shallow embayments throughout California; however, it is unclear why only females aggregate in these shallow areas. The goal of this study was to determine if mature female leopard sharks selectively occupy the warmest areas of a shallow embayment, if free-ranging leopard sharks' body temperatures are significantly warmer during the day than at night, and to quantify temporal use of these shallow habitats. Visual observations of sharks' fine-scale movements within the shallows of Big Fisherman's Cove Marine Life Refuge (Santa Catalina Island) aggregation site indicated that sharks preferred the warmest areas of the embayment and moved to warmer locations over the course of the day (p <0.05). Active and passive acoustic tracking, along with archival transponder technology (Vemco: V13, V13-R256, VX32TP-CHAT tags respectively) of 16 sharks caught and tagged within this aggregation were used to monitor core body temperature, swimming depth, and movements. Sharks had significantly higher core body temperatures in the late afternoon (1700 h–2000 h) during the summer, showed increased fidelity to thermal refuges during the day and increased movement away from these refuges at night (χ 2, p <0.05). Seasonal variations in warm, shallow water usage were also observed. Elevated core body temperature of mature female leopard sharks using warm shallow embayments will likely augment metabolic and physiological functions such as digestion, somatic growth, and possibly reproduction.",non-battery
"Vanadium manganese oxides with Mn content up to 33 at% were synthesized by a low temperature hydrothermal route allowing for the preparation of both anodic and cathodic materials for Li-ion batteries. Low amounts of manganese (below 13 at%) lead to the formation of elongated particles of layered hydrated vanadium oxides with manganese and water intercalated between the V2O5 slabs, while for higher Mn content of 33 at%, monoclinic MnV2O6 is formed. Former materials are suitable for high energy cathodes while the latter one is an anodic compound. The material containing 10 at% Mn has the composition Mn0.2V2O5·0.9H2O and shows the best cathodic activity with 20% capacity improvement over V2O5·0.5H2O. Lithiated MnV2O6 with Li5MnV2O6 composition prepared electrochemically was evaluated for the first time as anode in a full-cell against Mn0.2V2O5·0.9H2O cathode. An initial capacity ca. 300 A h kg−1 was measured with this battery corresponding to more than 500 Wh kg−1. These results confirm the prospect of using Li5MnV2O6 anodes in lithium-ion batteries as well as high-capacity layered hydrated vanadium oxides cathodes such as V2O5·0.5H2O and Mn0.2V2O5·0.9H2O.",battery
"Many factors affect the electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4. Among these factors the amount of Mn3+ is an important factor which largely influences the capacity and capacity fading. However, it is difficult to detect the amount of Mn3+ by chemical titration method. In this research we try to relate the amount of Mn3+ with the lattice parameter. Lattice parameter is easy to measure. Therefore, if the amount of Mn3+ can be deduced by the lattice parameter, it will be very helpful to control and design the electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4. The results show a good relationship among the lattice parameter, the amount of Mn3+ and the capacity. Thus, lattice parameter could be used to deduce the electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4, although many works are still needed to construct a firm relationship.",battery
"High energy-high power dendrite-free Lithium (Li) metal full batteries is successfully proposed. V3O7·H2O nanoribbons/graphene hybrids cathode is fabricated via a facile one-step hydrothermal synthetic strategy. Si3N4 submicron-wire membrane, fabricated by a modified catalyst-assisted pyrolysis of polyurea silazane method, is proposed to reduce the local flux of Li+ moving toward the anode and effectively extend the physical path of dendrite growth, so as to achieve the non-dendritic Li growth. The morphologies of the repeated Li deposition/stripping onto Li metal anode with Si3N4 membrane display a dendrite-free morphology. Our experimental and simulation results show the resulting V3O7·H2O/graphene‖Si3N4/Li cell delivers a high energy density of 810.8 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 86.2 W kg−1, and still retains 383.4 Wh kg−1 even at a high power density of 10648.9 W kg−1, which holds a great potential in new energy field, such as electric vehicles and even to megawatt-scale energy storage systems.",battery
"The effects of the presence of additives like lead and tungstate ions in flowing alkaline zincate solutions on suppressing spongy zinc electrogrowth are examined. The results show that the two additives with optimal concentrations in flowing electrolytes can suppress spongy zinc initiation and propagation. And, the two additives can bring about more uniform and compact deposits and, thereby, reduce spongy zinc growth. The influence of lead and tungstate ions on the zinc deposition/dissolution is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. It also shows that the addition of the two additives is largely a blocking action, and the co-deposition of lead and zinc ions may occur. The performance of the zinc-air flow battery with zinc regeneration electrolysis is determined. It shows that by the addition of 0.6M Na2WO4 or 10−4 M to 10−3 M lead, compact or mixed compact–spongy zinc deposits are created and the favorable charge/discharge performance of the battery is achieved with an energy efficiency of approximately 60%.",battery
"Soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria, are sessile, suspension-feeding bivalves that are preyed upon by the exotic green crab, Carcinus maenas. Clams evade crab consumers by burrowing deeper into the sediment after perceiving a threat from a nearby predator. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of signals that M. arenaria use to detect predators and the types of behaviors clams use to avoid being eaten. In a field study, clams increased their burial depth in the presence of green crab predators consuming conspecifics that were caged nearby, and also increased burial depth after artificial tactile stimulation in the laboratory assay. These results indicate that clams can use chemical and mechanical cues to detect potential predatory threats. We performed a field study to examine the difference in survivability of clams that had burrowed deeper into the sediment in response to predators vs. control clams that were burrowed less deeply. Significantly higher survival rates were observed in clams that had initially burrowed more deeply, suggesting that increasing burial depth is a valid predator avoidance strategy. Some bivalves also alter their pumping rates in the presence of predators, making them less apparent and providing more structural defense by covering soft tissue, and we measured pumping time of soft-shell clams in the presence and absence of predators, when burrowing was not an option for escape. Soft-shell clams did not alter their pumping time in the presence of green crab predators, possibly because they employ a burrowing method called “hydraulic” or “jet-propelled” burrowing, where it is necessary for the clam to pump in order to burrow. Chemical signals and tactile cues instigated behavioral changes in M. arenaria, and this change in behavior (increasing burial depth) increased clam survival in the field.",non-battery
"Hair mineral analysis has become an interesting diagnostic tool in biomonitoring of exposure to toxic elements in the assessment of health and nutritional status. The most inconvenient of this matrix is the lack of sufficient information to define normal ranges of metal levels in a general healthy population. In this study, segmental hair analysis was used to depict a chronological scheme of exposure to arsenic, cobalt, cadmium, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel and lead in a 16-year-old girl showing signs of potential intoxication. The quantitative results obtained from consecutive segments of hair proved the exposure to chromium. In particular, segment A (0–6 cm), approximately reflecting the last 6 months of exposure, resulted in the chromium level at 5.60 µg/g. The technique of segmental analysis allowed us to establish “intra-individual” physiological variation ranges for each heavy metal hair concentration. As a consequence, these “confidence” intervals could be used as individualized references to highlight the occurrence of atypical metal levels in any specific hair segment, possibly identifying a period of anomalous exposure and/or intoxication.
",non-battery
" In this work, reduced graphite oxide (rGO) with a long-range-ordered layered structure and an expanded interlayer spacing is synthesized and utilized as an anode for sodium ion storage. Unlike Na+-solvent co-intercalation in flake graphite, the interaction between Na-ions and graphene layers of the rGO shows a capacitive behavior. All the surface defects, pores, and functional groups generated on the surface of rGO can contribute to additional capacity of sodium storage. Thereby, a reversible capacity of 145.7 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a rate performance of 131.7 mAh g−1 at 1.8 A g−1 could be obtained. Capacity retention of 87.7 % after 900 cycles at 400 mA g−1 was also achieved. Further enhancement in cycling stability, with little capacity decay after 1500 cycles, was obtained after incorporating Ag onto the surface of the rGO. The rGO-Ag anode delivered higher energy density and power density as compared to rGO at the same current density. Even at a power density of 5493 W kg−1 (3A g−1, 24 C), the energy density was as high as 236.2 Wh kg−1. These results contribute to the development of a low-cost, high-performance sodium ion storage devices.",battery
"Based on the analysis of the existing State of charge (SOC) Estimation Algorithms of batteries, this paper proposes a hybrid estimation algorithm according to the UKF method, the Ah method and the open circuit method in SOC estimation of battery pack which consists of 320 batteries. The “buckets effect” exists between series batteries and the differences between each cell were also been taken into consideration during estimating the SOC of power batteries. Finally, the hybrid estimation algorithm was applied to estimate SOC of battery pack under ECE driving cycles. The result shows that the error of the hybrid estimation algorithm is less than 5%.",battery
"Thin film SnO2 electrode has been prepared for the first time by using a novel facile and low-cost ink-jet printing technique. Wet ball-milling was employed to stabilize SnO2 nano particles and conducting agent acetylene black (AB) using two kinds of polymeric hyperdispersants CH10B and CH12B, respectively, to prepare the stable colloid as “ink”. The morphology, structure, composition and electrochemical performance of SnO2 thin film electrodes were investigated in detail by SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, cyclic voltammograms (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements. SEM images show uniform distribution of as-printed SnO2 thin film electrodes. The thickness of monolayer thin film electrode was about 770–780nm by TEM observation. The thickness of SnO2 thin film could be increased by repeating the printing procedure on the Cu foil substrate. The average thickness of 10-layer SnO2 thin-film electrode after compression for electrochemical measurement was about 2.3μm. High initial discharge capacity about 812.7mAh/g was observed at a constant discharge current density of 33μA/cm2 in a potential range of 0.05–1.2V. It is expected that ink-jet printing is a very feasible, simple, convenient and inexpensive way to prepare thin film electrode for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The goal of this study is to make a high-performance cathode in a simple way, so that it can better serve marine sediment microbial fuel cells. We design a cathode by combining graphene with carbon fiber through a binder, and apply it for the first time to these cells, to improve the electrochemical performance of these cells while increasing the specific surface area of the cathode. This cathode shows excellent performance in a laboratory simulated marine environment. The specific surface area of graphene modified polyacrylonitrile fiber cathode reaches 41.13 m2/g, 1.5 times larger than that of the blank cathode (26.98 m2/g). Its capacitance and exchange current density are 6.1 times and 16.4 times higher than that of theblank cathode, respectively. The anti-polarization ability of the modified cathode was significantly improved, and the maximum power density of the cell equipped with the G/P cathode (2.12 kW/kg) is 6.24 times that of the blank (0.34 kW/kg). In terms of stability, it is quite resistant to prolonged seawater immersion or scouring. This excellent mechanical stability can extend the cells’ life and reduce replacement costs.",battery
"A series of novel organic-ligand-doped sodium bis(oxalate)-borate complexes, including sodium bis[salicylato(2-)]-borate (NBSB), sodium[salicylato benzenediol]borate (NBDSB), sodium bis[oxalate]-borate (NBOB) and its derivatives NBOB(C2H2O4)0.2, NBOB(C7H4O3)0.2, NBOB(C7H4O3)0.6, NBOB(C6H6O2)0.15 and NBOB(C6H6O2)0.3 fabricated by solid-state reaction are firstly developed as new-type electrolytes for sodium ion batteries. These resulting sodium boron salts possess good solubility in an abroad range of organic solvents (such as PC, AN, DMF, PC + AN, PC + DMF), tailored thermal stability from 300 to 353 °C, improved ion conductivity (>1 × 10−3 S cm−1), environmental friendliness and low cost. Therefore, we believe that these new-type sodium boron salts show great potential as a new class of electrolyte for high-performance sodium ion batteries.",battery
"In the future, rescuing lost, ill or injured persons will increasingly be carried out by autonomous drones. However, discovering humans in densely forested terrain is challenging because of occlusion, and robust detection mechanisms are required. We show that automated person detection under occlusion conditions can be notably improved by combining multi-perspective images before classification. Here, we employ image integration by airborne optical sectioning (AOS)—a synthetic aperture imaging technique that uses camera drones to capture unstructured thermal light fields—to achieve this with a precision and recall of 96% and 93%, respectively. Finding lost or injured people in dense forests is not generally feasible with thermal recordings, but becomes practical with the use of AOS integral images. Our findings lay the foundation for effective future search-and-rescue technologies that can be applied in combination with autonomous or manned aircraft. They can also be beneficial for other fields that currently suffer from inaccurate classification of partially occluded people, animals or objects.",non-battery
"Li-ion batteries are commonly used in portable electronic devices due to their outstanding energy and power density. A remaining issue which hinders the breakthrough e.g. in the automotive sector is the high production cost. For low power applications, such as stationary storage, batteries with electrodes thicker than 300 μm were suggested. High energy densities can be attained with only a few electrode layers which reduces production time and cost. However, mass and charge transport limitations can be severe at already small C-rates due to long transport pathways. In this article we use a detailed 3D micro-structure resolved model to investigate limiting factors for battery performance. The model is parametrized with data from the literature and dedicated experiments and shows good qualitative agreement with experimental discharge curves of thick NMC-graphite Li-ion batteries. The model is used to assess the effect of inhomogeneities in carbon black distribution and gives answers to the possible occurrence of lithium plating during battery charge. Based on our simulations we can predict optimal operation strategies and improved design concepts for future Li-ion batteries employing thick electrodes.",battery
" Reduced sleep quality is a common complaint among patients with chronic pain, with 50-80% of patients reporting sleep disturbance. Improvements in pain and quality of life measures have been achieved using a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural therapy pain management programme (CBT-PMP) that aims to recondition attitudes to pain, and improve patients' self-management of their condition. Despite its high prevalence in patients with chronic pain, there is very limited objective evidence for the effect of this intervention on sleep quality. The primary research objective is to investigate the short-term effect of a multidisciplinary CBT-PMP on subjective (measured by Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index) and objective sleep quality (measured by Actigraphy) in patients with chronic pain by comparison with a control group. The secondary objectives will investigate changes in function and mood, and then explore the relationship between objective and subjective sleep quality and physical and psychological outcome measures.",non-battery
"Li-ion batteries are already used in many nomad applications, but improvement of this technology is still necessary to be durably introduced on new markets such as electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) or eventually photovoltaic solar cells. Modification of the nature of the active materials of electrodes is the most challenging and innovative aspect. High voltage spinel oxides for Li-ion batteries, with general composition LiMn2−x M x O4 (M a transition metal element), may be used to face increasing power source demand. It should be possible to obtain up to 240Whkg−1 at cell level when combining a nickel manganese spinel oxide with graphite (even more with silicon/carbon nanocomposites at the anode). Specific composition and material processing have to be selected with care, as discussed in this paper. It is demonstrated that ‘LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4’ and LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4 have remarkable properties such as high potential, high energy density, good cycle life and high rate capability. Choice of the electrolyte is also of primary importance in order to prevent its degradation at high voltage in contact with active surfaces. We showed that a few percents of additive in the electrolyte were suitable for protecting the positive electrode/electrolyte interface, and reducing the self-discharge. High voltage materials are also possibly interesting to be used in safe and high power Li-ion cells. In this case, the negative electrode may be made of Li4Ti5O12 or TiO2 to give a ‘3V’ system.",battery
"In this work, the effect of hybrid cerium acetate/L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) inhibitor on the self-corrosion inhibition and battery performance of Al-0.5Mg-0.1Sn-0.1Ga anode alloy is studied by experimental methods including hydrogen evolution tests, electrochemical measurements and surface analysis combined with theoretical methods including density functional theory calculation, crystal morphology simulation and Monte Carlo simulation. Results show that the hybrid inhibitor is cathodic inhibitor that effectively inhibits self-corrosion while slightly affecting the anode activity. An optimal efficiency of 77.85% is obtained by adding 10 mM of cerium acetate and 8 mM of L-Glu. At the current density of 20 mA cm−2 with optimal concentration, the discharge voltage and the capacity density increase from −1.737 V and 2,298.851 mAh g−1 to −1.835 V and 2,985.075 mAh g−1, respectively. Combining experimental with theoretical studies, indicate that the inhibition mechanism is that cerium acetate forms Ce(OH)3 in the alkaline electrolyte; and is then adsorbed on the alloy surface by the geometric covering effect, which promotes the adsorption of L-Glu. The Ce(OH)3/L-Glu and Al/L-Glu composite films effectively suppress the self-corrosion while slighting affecting the anode activity.",battery
"Owing to the high specific capacity and high voltage, Ni-rich (LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2, LNCM811) cathode has been considered as one of the most promising candidate cathode materials for next generation lithium ion batteries, whereas severe capacity fading greatly hinders its practical application. Notably, the compatibility of Ni-rich materials with LiBF4-containing electrolyte has not yet been realized. Herein, 1 M LiPF6-based electrolyte with introducing 2 M LiBF4 is proposed to dramatically improve the cyclic stability of high voltage LNCM811/Li half-cell. Addition of high concentrated LiBF4 improves the moisture stability of electrolyte, which hinders the generation of harmful by-product HF, resulting in improved interfacial stability of LNCM811. Lithium plating/stripping reaction of Li/Li symmetric cell confirms that the enhanced cyclic stability is ascribed to the improved interfacial stability of LNCM811 instead of lithium electrode. Morphology and composition characterization results reveal that LiBF4 participates in the CEI film-forming reaction, resulting in suppressed oxidation of electrolyte and interfacial structural destruction of LNCM811.",battery
"Mesoporous materials, due to its potential for advanced applications in catalysis and nanoscience, have attracted much attention in the past decade. In this work, mesoporous lithium aluminate (next called MLA) nanosheets with high specific surface area were prepared by a hydrothermal method using hex-adecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the template. A novel PEO-based composite polymer electrolyte has been developed by using MLA powders as the filler. The electrochemical impedance showed that the conductivity was improved simultaneously. A high conductivity of 2.24×10−5 Scm−1 at 25°C was obtained. The lithium polymer battery using this novel composite polymer electrolyte and with lithium metal and LiFePO4 employed as anode and cathode, respectively, showed high discharge capacity (more than 140mAhg−1 at 60°C) and excellent cycling stability as revealed by galvanostastically charge/discharge cycling tests. The excellent electrochemical performances at low temperature of the cells were obtained, which was attributed to the high surface area and channels structure of the filler. The excellent properties of the solid-state lithium battery suggested that, PEO16–LiClO4–MLA composite polymer electrolyte can be used as a candidate material for lithium polymer batteries.",battery
"Cameroon is blessed with a vast potential of renewable energy resources: solar, biomass, hydropower, wind and geothermal energies. These resources are currently poorly valorized. The country depends mainly on hydropower for its electricity supply and traditional biomass for its energy consumption. This dependency on hydropower causes acute power shortage nationwide, especially in remote communities where grid access is limited. Rural electrification is mainly conducted through costly grid extensions, small hydro and diesel plants with enormous health and environmental effects. This study assesses the feasibilities of hybrid renewable power systems for remote applications in Southern Cameroons using the climate data of Wum. HOMER was used to perform the comparative analysis. Nine hybrid systems were considered in this study based on the following components: PV module, wind turbine, micro-hydro turbine, diesel generator, battery, charge controllers, and inverters. Two energy sources and storage battery characterized each system. The PV/diesel/small hydro/battery was found to be the most viable economic system for Southern Cameroons with a 0.443$/kWh energy cost. The optimum system was proven to be very resilient to variations in streamflow, interest rate, fuel price, and PV cost. This outcome was found to be highly relevant to policy makers and investors in Cameroon.",battery
"Hybrid Co x Ni1−x (OH)2 nanosheets have been successfully synthesized via a facile microwave-assisted synthetic route. The size of Co x Ni1−x (OH)2 nanosheets decreases with the increase of nickel amount; however, the layered crystal structure can be maintained at any ratios of Co:Ni due to the chemical and physical similarities between these two elements. The lattice spacing of the hexagonal nanosheets can be slightly varied by adjusting the ratios of Co:Ni. The hybrid Co0.2Ni0.8(OH)2 hexagonal nanosheets deliver a high capacity of above 1170 F g−1 at a current density of 4 A g−1. The higher specific capacitance of Co0.2Ni0.8(OH)2 nanosheets than their monometallic counterpart could be attributed to the enhancement of the electro-active sites participated in the redox reaction due to the possible valence interchange or charge hopping between Co and Ni cations. These results indicate the importance of layered hydroxide nanosheets with tuned transition-metal composition for high-performance energy storage devices.",battery
"Fast charging capability is a high demand feature of lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles; however, current lithium ion battery technology does not meet electric vehicles fast charging requirements. In this work, it demonstrates that surface modification of graphite using amorphous Al2O3 is an efficient way to improve the fast charging capability of graphite anode materials for lithium ion batteries. Surface-engineered graphite with 1 wt% Al2O3 exhibits a reversible capacity of about 337.1 mAh g−1, even at a high rate of 4000 mA g−1, corresponding to 97.2% of the capacity obtained at a current density of 100 mA g−1. Full cell tests adopting LiCoO2 cathodes and Al2O3-coated graphite anodes confirm that the introduction of amorphous Al2O3 can improve the fast charging capability of graphite anode materials. Wettability tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis reveal that this fast charging improvement results from the increased electrolyte wettability on the graphite that is induced by the Al2O3 layer on its surface. Our approach is a practical means to attaining enhanced fast charging capabilities from graphite anode materials for use in high power lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The polarization behaviour of zinc in alkaline solution has been investigated using atomic emission spectroelectrochemistry. By independently measuring the oxidation rate of zinc (electrical current) and the rate of Zn2+ dissolution (partial elemental current) it is possible to calculate the amount of insoluble zinc cations produced at any instant. Assuming the insoluble cations are present as a zinc oxide film, the growth of this film as a function of potential and time was determined. On the basis of kinetic evidence, it was found that at least three forms of zinc based oxide/hydroxide films form during polarization experiments. Type I oxide formation occurs when the metal/electrolyte interface becomes locally saturated with Zn2+ ions. Type II oxide forms on the metal surface underneath the film of Type I oxide but has little inhibiting effect on zinc dissolution. Type III oxide is produced in much smaller quantity and results in a transition to the passive state. This may be due to a potential induced transition of Type II→Type III oxide.",battery
"Workers’ wellbeing at work is a central theme for the development of institutions and enterprises. Within this debate, a central issue relates to the search for the best ways to organize lunch-breaks and food services for employees. In the past, canteens had a crucial role for workers, yet the last twenty years have marked a profound transformation of the European economy, with the effect of diversifying workers’ foodways and their food-related practices while at work. Based on the research “Eating at Work” conducted by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in 2015–2016, this paper analyses the consumer behavior at lunch of almost 9400 workers, from ten different European countries. By exploring the workers’ foodways during lunch-breaks and how they answer to their individual needs in terms of nutrition, socialization, productivity and overall satisfaction, the paper points out that the lunch-break has major implications in boosting wellbeing at work, thus suggesting the essential role canteens have the potential to carry out.
",non-battery
"The chemical composition of Danish household waste was determined by two approaches: a direct method where the chemical composition (61 substances) of 48 material fractions was determined after hand sorting of about 20tonnes of waste collected from 2200 households; and an indirect method where batches of 80–1200tonnes of unsorted household waste was incinerated and the content of the waste determined from the content of the outputs from the incinerator. The indirect method is believed to better represent the small but highly contaminated material fractions (e.g., batteries) than the direct method, because of the larger quantities included and the more homogenous material to sample from. Differences between the direct and the direct methods led to corrections in the of heavy metal concentration of a few fractions. The majority of the energy content of the waste originates from organic waste like paper, cardboard and organic fractions. The single fraction contributing most to the total energy content is the non-recyclable plastic fraction, contributing 21% of the energy content and 60% of the chlorine content, although this fraction comprises less than 7% by weight. Heavy metals originate mainly from inert fractions, primarily batteries.",non-battery
"Radon decay rate data from 2007–2011, measured in a closed canister with one gamma counter and two alpha detectors, were made available for analysis by the Geological Survey of Israel (GSI). Sturrock et al. have published several papers in which they claim that decay rate variations in the gamma counter can be associated with solar rotation. They assert influences by solar and cosmic neutrinos on beta decay and draw unsubstantiated conclusions about solar dynamics. This paper offers an alternative explanation by relating the daily and annual patterns in the radon decay rates with environmental conditions. Evidence is provided that the radon measurements were susceptible to solar irradiance and rainfall, whereas there is no indication that radioactive decay is influenced by the solar neutrino flux. Speculations about solar dynamics based on the concept of neutrino-induced beta decay are ill-founded.",non-battery
"A cone-shaped MS inlet and on-line electrochemistry (EC) were used to enhance the ionization efficiency in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) of purine bases. A pathway of positive ion mode ESI may involve oxidation of purine bases, guanine, adenine, xanthine and hypoxanthine, by 1e−, 1H+ processes. The electrospray process generates dimers of purine bases that are detected in ESI MS as protonated ions, except for xanthine, for which a protonated radical dimer is detected. Thus electrochemical oxidation of purine bases during ESI may generate reactive radicals that can subsequently dimerize. Dimer formation is facilitated in ESI MS when the carrier solution pH is high. The positive ion mode ESI MS ionization is consistent with the reactivity of the bases toward oxidation. Furthermore, the formation of the protonated ions, and Na+ and K+ adducts of the bases, expected in positive ion ESI MS, are observed. In addition, unusual H-bonding of purine bases guanine and xanthine is confirmed by ESI MS. Application of low EC voltage to the on-line EC cell in EC/ESI MS improves the sensitivity and correlates with the decrease of the intensity of the dimers, possibly as a result of their further oxidation.",battery
"Considerable irreversible capacity loss of LaNi3.6Co0.7Mn0.4Al0.3 electrode was observed after standing at 100% or 95% depth of discharge (DOD) in open circuit for 2 or 5 days, respectively. The mechanism was systematically studied. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed considerably increased charge transfer resistance (R ct) for the electrodes after standing. X-ray diffraction (XRD), open-circuit potential (OCP), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy disperse X-ray analyzer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses were conducted to investigate the details during standing. The results demonstrated that there were two successive oxidations occurred, which acted as the conjugated reactions for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), on the alloy surface during the standing process. The first oxidation was attributed to the electrochemical desorption of hydrogen, which was essentially the self-discharge process of electrode and irrelevant to the irreversible capacity decay. The second one corresponded to the oxidation of elemental Ni with flocculent deposits on the alloy surface, which primarily determined the rapid capacity and kinetics deterioration of the alloy electrode.",battery
"A series of novel sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether ketone)s containing pendant phenyl moieties (SPPEK-Ps) are synthesized and thoroughly characterized. The chemical structures of the polymers are confirmed by 1H NMR and FTIR analysis. The physicochemical properties and single cell performance of SPPEK-P membranes are systematically evaluated, revealing that the membranes are thermally, chemically and mechanically stable. The area resistances of SPPEK-P-90 and SPPEK-P-100 are 0.75 Ω cm2 and 0.34 Ω cm2, respectively. SPPEK-P membranes are impermeable to the bulky hydrated VO2+ ion and exhibited low V3+ ion permeability (SPPEK-P-90, 2.53 × 10−5 cm min−1) (Nafion 115 membrane: 9.0 × 10−4 cm min−1). Tests of SPPEK-P-90 in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) demonstrate a comparable columbic efficiency (CE) and energy efficiency (EE) to that of Nafion 115, where the CE is 98% and the EE is 83% at 60 mA cm−2. Moreover, the SPPEK-P-90 membrane exhibits stable performance in cell over 100 charge-discharge cycles (∼450 h).",battery
"In the present work, a fractional order Lord & Shulman model of generalized thermoelasticity with voids subjected to a continuous heat sources in a plane area has been established using the Caputo fractional derivative and applied to solve a problem of determining the distributions of the temperature field, the change in volume fraction field, the deformation and the stress field in an infinite elastic medium. The Laplace transform together with an eigenvalue approach technique is applied to find a closed form solution in the Laplace transform domain. The numerical inversions of the physical variables in the space-time domain are carried out by using the Zakian algorithm for the inversion of Laplace transform. Numerical results are shown graphically and the results obtained are analyzed
.",non-battery
"Glass-like Si–O–C composites have recently attracted considerable attention because of their potential as high capacity anode for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. However, the existence of Si–C bonds in Si–O–C phase restricts in a certain degree the electrochemical activity of silicon. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis and electrochemical performance of SiO x –C dual-phase glass consisting of amorphous SiO x and free carbon phases and without Si–C bonds in SiO x phase. Dual-phase glass synthesis is achieved through a simple sol–gel route. The SiO x –C dual-phase glass electrode delivers high reversible capacity of 840 mAh g−1 for 100 cycles and exhibits excellent rate-capability. The superior electrochemical properties can be attributed to the unique dual-phase glass structure that the amorphous SiO x phase well-disperses and dense-contacts with free carbon component at nanoscale level. The SiO x phase with a lower O/Si ratio contributes the high reversible capacity while the well-contacted free carbon provides a good electronic conductivity for electrode reaction. In addition, the free carbon component can alleviate the volume change of SiO x component during discharge/charge process, which ensures an enhanced structural stability and an excellent cycling performance.",battery
Small electroactive particles are important materials in many technical processes. A new method to investigate single micro particles with diameters in the range of 10 μm is presented. Small numbers of these particles are fixed on a gold sheet and investigated by a capillary-based droplet cell. Cyclovoltammograms of different samples (cementite or Ni(OH)2 particles) are presented as examples.,battery
"The LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 spinel is an attractive cathode candidate for next generation lithium-ion batteries as it offers high power capability with an operating voltage of ∼4.7 V and a capacity of ∼135 mA h g−1. However, its commercialization is plagued by severe capacity fade, particularly at elevated temperatures, in full cells employing a graphite anode. This perspective article provides an overview of the recent developments on understanding various factors that influence the electrochemical performance of the high-voltage spinel cathodes. The factors include the degree of cation ordering, Mn3+ content, morphology, and surface planes/compositions in contact with the electrolyte, which are influenced by synthesis and annealing conditions as well as cation doping. For example, samples with a {111} family of surface planes show superior performance. Recent magnetic measurements and examination of discharge profiles below 3 V have become valuable to get a more precise measure of the degree of cation ordering. Also, surface modifications and electrolyte additives have shown marginal gains. Although acceptable performances have been obtained in half-cells with a metallic lithium anode, capacity fade is seen in full cells with a graphite anode due to metal dissolution at the high operating voltage of 4.7 V and Li+ consumption by the steadily forming solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer promoted by Mn/Ni deposition on the graphite surface. Based on the current understanding, future directions are pointed out.
",battery
"The design of new homes includes many safety features intended to protect occupiers from injury or ill health within the home, however the effectiveness of these primary intervention measures is likely to be affected by user behaviour. This study examined the interaction between user activity and dwelling design and how this might affect health and safety. It aimed to identify how people use features within new homes and how this may limit the protection afforded by building design, codes and regulations. Forty, home-based, semi-structured, in-depth interviews and home inspections were conducted with individuals recently inhabiting a new home. A range of behaviours were reported in relation to building features including fire doors, pipes and cables, and loft access, which may lead to increased risk of injury or ill-health. For example, occupiers described interfering with the self-closing mechanisms on fire doors and drilling into walls without considering the location of services. They also reported knowingly engaging in unsafe behaviour when accessing the loft, increasing their risk of falls. The accounts suggest that designers and builders need to give greater consideration to how occupier behaviour interacts with building features so that improvements in both design and occupier education can lead to improved health and safety.",non-battery
"The Sn-based intermetallic compounds possess a high specific energy density, but their most important challenge to be used as anodes in lithium ion batteries consists in the mechanical fatigue caused by volume change during lithium intercalation and extraction processes. The current paper presents a facile procedure to prepare macroporous Sn–Co alloy film electrode through a colloidal crystal template method together with electroplating on a Ni-coated Cu sheet substrate. The structure and electrochemical properties of the macroporous Sn–Co alloy films were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and galvanostatic cycling. The results illustrated that the macroporous Sn–Co alloy film electrode can deliver a reversible capacity as high as 610mAhg−1 up to 75th cycle. In comparison with the Sn–Co alloy film directly deposited on Ni-coated Cu sheet substrate, the macroporous structure of the Sn–Co alloy electrode prepared by the present procedure has enhanced significantly the capacity and the cyclic performance. It has demonstrated that the macroporous structure has played an important role, in addition to the alloying effect, to overcome the effect of volume expansion during charge/discharge cycling of Sn-based alloy anodes.",battery
"The accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children remains challenging. A myriad of common childhood diseases can present with similar symptoms and signs, and differentiating between exposure and infection, as well as infection and disease can be problematic. The paucibacillary nature of childhood TB complicates bacteriological confirmation and specimen collection is difficult. In most instances intrathoracic TB remains a clinical diagnosis. TB infection and disease represent a dynamic continuum from TB exposure with/without infection, to subclinical/incipient disease, to non-severe and severe disease. The clinical spectrum of intrathoracic TB in children is broad, and the classification of clinical, radiological, endoscopic, and laboratory findings into recognized clinical syndromes allows a more refined diagnostic approach in order to minimize both under- and over-diagnosis. Bacteriological confirmation can be improved significantly by collecting multiple, high-quality specimens from the most appropriate source. Mycobacterial testing should include traditional smear microscopy and culture, as well as nucleic acid amplification testing. A systematic approach to the child with recent exposure to TB, or with clinical and radiological findings compatible with this diagnosis, should allow pragmatic classification as TB exposure, infection, or disease to facilitate timely and appropriate management. It is important to also assess risk factors for TB disease progression and to undertake follow-up evaluations to monitor treatment response and ongoing evidence supporting a TB, or alternative, diagnosis.",non-battery
"The development of efficient and cheap anode materials for the utilization in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential for energy-conversion technologies. In this study, hierarchically porous Co3O4 architectures with honeycomb-like structures are synthesized by employing cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67-Co) as metal source and sacrificial template. After a simple one-step calcination process, the ZIF-67-Co precursor can be chemically transformed into the Co3O4 architectures with abundant porosity and oxygen vacancy. These easily obtained and earth-abundant Co3O4 architectures present high performance toward the electrochemical water splitting for evolving molecular oxygen, affording a small OER onset potential, large anodic current and long-term durability in 0.1 M KOH solution, which are comparable to the electroactive noble- and transition-metal oxygen evolution catalysts previously reported. These merits suggest that the ZIF-derived Co3O4 architectures are promising electrocatalysts for OER from water splitting.",battery
"The purpose of this paper is to review the requirement for potentially scarce or hazardous metals used in a wide range of electric vehicle batteries, in order to provide datasets that could be used as a basis for a variety of assessments of electric vehicles and batteries, such as life-cycle assessments (LCA) and material availability assessments. It is an explicit objective to make the calculations and assumptions transparent so that the datasets can easily be recalculated with different assumptions. We investigate the requirement for metals of nine types of batteries: Li-metal(V), Li-ion(Mn, Ni and Co), NaNiCl, NiMH(AB2 and AB5), NiCd and PbA, which contain seven potentially scarce or hazardous metals/group of metals: lithium, nickel, cobalt, vanadium, cadmium, lead and mischmetal (rare-earth elements). We provide datasets for both near-term and improved technology of the requirement for metals per kWh battery as well as per battery electric vehicle.",battery
"Heterogeneous electrochemical phenomena, such as (photo)electrochemical water splitting to generate hydrogen using semiconductors and/or electrocatalysts, are driven by the accumulated charge carriers and thus the interfacial electrochemical potential gradients that promote charge transfer. However, measurements of the “surface” electrochemical potential during operation are not generally possible using conventional electrochemical techniques, which measure/control the potential of a conducting electrode substrate. Here we show that the nanoscale conducting tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever can sense the surface electrochemical potential of electrocatalysts in operando. To demonstrate utility, we measure the potential-dependent and thickness-dependent electronic properties of cobalt (oxy)hydroxide phosphate (CoPi). We then show that CoPi, when deposited on illuminated haematite (α-Fe2O3) photoelectrodes, acts as both a hole collector and an oxygen evolution catalyst. We demonstrate the versatility of the technique by comparing surface potentials of CoPi-decorated planar and mesoporous haematite and discuss viability for broader application in the study of electrochemical phenomena.",battery
"The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a well-known ligand-activated cytoplasmic transcription factor that contributes to cellular responses against environmental toxins and carcinogens. AhR is activated by a range of structurally diverse compounds from the environment, microbiome, natural products, and host metabolism, suggesting that AhR possesses a rather promiscuous ligand binding site. Increasing studies have indicated that AhR can be activated by a variety of endogenous ligands and induce the expression of a battery of genes. AhR regulates a variety of physiopathological events, including cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, adhesion and migration. These new roles have expanded our understanding of the AhR signalling pathways and endogenous metabolites interacting with AhR under homeostatic and pathological conditions. Recent studies have demonstrated that AhR is linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this review, we summarize gut microbiota-derived ligands inducing AhR activity in patients with CKD, CVD, diabetic nephropathy and RCC that may provide a new diagnostic and prognostic approach for complex renal damage. We further highlight polyphenols from natural products as AhR agonists or antagonists that regulate AhR activity. A better understanding of structurally diverse polyphenols and AhR biological activities would allow us to illuminate their molecular mechanism and discover potential therapeutic strategies targeting AhR activation.",non-battery
"Magnetorotational Instability (MRI) has long been considered a possible mechanism to transport angular momentum allowing fast accretion in astrophysical objects, but its standard form with a vertical magnetic field has never been experimentally verified. The authors present an experimental demonstration of a spring-mass analogue of the standard MRI using water as working fluid and a spring to mimic the action of magnetic fields.
",non-battery
"Dysfunction in the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and it has been postulated that treatments that increase nAChR activity may improve symptoms of the disorder. We investigated the effects of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and allosteric nAChR modulator, galantamine, on cognitive performance and clinical symptoms when added to a stable antipsychotic medication regimen in nonsmoking outpatients with schizophrenia in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design. Participants were randomized to receive either galantamine (n =10) up to 32 mg/day or identical placebo (n = 10) for 8 weeks and completed a cognitive battery at baseline and week 8 and clinical scales at baseline, week 4 and week 8. The primary outcome measure was attentional performance as measured by the d' measure in the Continuous Performance Test — Identical Pairs (CPT-IP) Version. Contrary to our hypothesis, galantamine treatment was associated with inferior performance on the CPT-IP, on the three-card Stroop task, and on the Letter–Number Span task without reordering. Galantamine had no effect on clinical symptoms. In summary, galantamine treatment, at a dose of 32 mg/day, was well tolerated but was not effective as an adjunctive treatment for cognitive deficits in stable nonsmokers with schizophrenia.",non-battery
" Age-related muscle and fat mass (FM) changes are ethnicity specific. We aimed to develop a cut-point for the muscle mass component of sarcopenia for black South African (SA) women, and to assess its predictive value, in comparison to established cut-points, to identify functional ability among older black SA women.",non-battery
"The structural evolution of Li3V2(PO4)3/C upon cycling in different potential ranges was studied via XRD. The results reveal that the repeated charge/discharge processes would cause the loss of crystallinity and irreversible expansion of unit cell volume, both of which are related to the applied upper limit of potential. The highest degree of the crystallinity loss and irreversible expansion of unit cell volume of the Li3V2(PO4)3/C sample cycled in the range of 3.0-4.8V is considered to be partially responsible for the worst cycling performance among the three operating potential regions. On the contrary, no marked expansion of unit cell volume is observed when the upper limit of potential is extended from 4.3V to 4.6V. Accordingly, the Li3V2(PO4)3/C sample cycled in 3.0-4.6V delivers extra 17-37 mAh g−1 specific capacity over that of 3.0-4.3V with reasonable cycling stability. Therefore, the potential range of 3.0-4.6V would be the best operating potential region for the practical applications of Li3V2(PO4)3.",battery
"The reactivity between charged Li[NixMnyCoz]O2 (NMC, with x + y + z = 1, x:y:z = 1:1:1 (NMC111), 4:4:2 (NMC442), 5:3:2 (NMC532), 6:2:2 (NMC622) and 8:1:1 (NMC811)) and traditional carbonate-based electrolytes at elevated temperatures was systematically studied using accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC). The ARC results showed that the upper cut-off potential and NMC composition strongly affect the thermal stability of the various NMC grades when traditional carbonate-based electrolyte was used. Although higher cut-off potential and higher Ni content can help increase the energy density of lithium ion cells, these factors generally increase the reactivity between charged NMC and electrolyte at elevated temperatures. It is hoped that this report can be used to help guide the wise selection of NMC grade and upper cut-off potential to achieve high energy density Li-ion cells without seriously compromising cell safety.",battery
"Research on the cathode catalysts of lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries is one of the most important branches to commercialize these batteries to overcome the sluggish kinetics during both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, a high performance catalyst based on a bimetallic Pt–Cu alloy is investigated for Li–O2 batteries using first-principles calculation. The theoretical prediction shows that the Pt–Cu alloy is much more effective than the pure Pt according to the electrochemical performance. In particular, the effectiveness of the catalytic property is maximized in the case of the PtCu (111) surface which greatly reduces the large overpotentials of the original Li–O2 batteries during the OER/ORR. It is identified for the first time that the charge overpotentials are affected mainly by the inherent surface charge character of the alloy catalyst. It is observed that the more negatively charged PtCu (111) surface can act as a weakly positively charged surface for the adsorption of Li–O intermediates and thus result in weak ionic bonding of the intermediates on the surface. As a result, the dominant factor improving the catalytic performance is clearly demonstrated, providing insight into the design of an efficient catalyst for Li–O2 battery technologies.",battery
"The paper presents the practical results of measuring different types of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) and lithium titanate (LTO) batteries during the loading by charging/discharging cycles, with particular emphasis on cell heating and thermal capacity of the entire system. Finally, it presents recommendations on the operating conditions of LiFePO4 cells and batteries.",battery
"Overcharge of lithium-ion batteries can lead to the deposition of lithium ions on the surface of graphite electrodes. The phenomenon of lithium deposition causes reduced electrochemical performance and presents safety concerns for lithium-ion batteries in high-power applications. This study presents a technique using neutron radiography (NR) for in situ visualization of the effects of overcharge in a graphite/NCA (LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2) lithium-ion cell. Patterns of deposition of solid material on the surface of the graphite electrode observed in the radiographs were confirmed by direct observation of the electrode. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to verify the elemental contents of the deposited material. NR is shown to be a promising tool for the study of lithium-ion batteries in high-power applications.
",battery
"The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of age on thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) in essential tremor (ET). Tremor, cognition, mood and adverse events in patients with thalamic DBS for ET were evaluated in 26 consecutive patients with established standardized methods for tremor and cognition. Twelve patients <70 and 14 patients ≥70 years were included and followed for 2 years. Clinical outcomes did not differ significantly. DBS seems to be safe and effective for ET independent of age.",non-battery
"Hierarchical chestnut-like manganese cobalt oxide (MnCo2O4) nanoneedles (NNs) are successfully grown on nickel foam using a facile and cost-effective hydrothermal method. High resolution TEM image further verifies that the chestnut-like MnCo2O4 structure is assembled by numerous 1D MnCo2O4 nanoneedles, which are formed by numerous interconnected MnCo2O4 nanoparticles with grain diameter of ∼10 nm. The MnCo2O4 electrode exhibits high specific capacitance of 1535 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and good rate capability (950 F g−1 at 10 A g−1) in a 6 M KOH electrolyte. An asymmetric supercapacitor is fabricated using MnCo2O4 NNs on Ni foam (MnCo2O4 NNs/NF) as the positive electrode and graphene/NF as the negative electrode. The device shows an operation voltage of 1.5 V and delivers a high energy density of ∼60.4 Wh kg−1 at a power density of ∼375 W kg−1. Moreover, the device exhibits an excellent cycling stability of 94.3% capacitance retention after 12000 cycles at 30 A g−1. This work demonstrates that hierarchical chestnut-like MnCo2O4 NNs could be a promising electrode for the high performance energy storage devices.",battery
"Electrochemical hydrogen charge/discharge measurements of the as-milled alloys were carried out under galvanostatic conditions. It was found that with increased milling time the discharge capacity increased and reached a value of 230 mAh g−1 for the 30 h milled sample, which is a substantially higher value than those published for this alloy composition. The cycle life of the alloy with the finest nanostructure is, however, shorter compared to the coarser nanostructures.
",battery
"A capacitive deionization process utilizing flow-electrodes (FCDI) was designed and evaluated for use in seawater desalination. The FCDI cell exhibited excellent removal efficiency (95%) with respect to an aqueous NaCl solution (salt concentration: 32.1 g L−1), demonstrating that the FCDI process could effectively overcome the limitations of typical CDI processes.
",battery
"This paper reports on the electrochemistry of a new series of layered manganese oxide cathodes for lithium-ion cells. The layered structure is stabilized by the partial substitution of the manganese by chromium and lithium atoms and by the partial or complete oxidation of the manganese to the +4 oxidation state. The series covers the range of compositions Li x Cr y Mn2−y O4+z for which 2.2<x<4, 0<y<2 and z≥0.",battery
"Lithium vanadium oxide has been synthesized as an anode material for lithium ion batteries by spray pyrolysis technique. The precursor prepared by spray pyrolysis is sintered at 1000°C under 10% H2/Ar atmosphere. Highly crystallized hexagonal lithium vanadate, Li1+x VO2, is obtained without any impurities. The product has mean particle size of 7–8μm. Lattice parameters of as-prepared powders vary largely according to Li/V ratio. The powder having the lowest c/a ratio shows the largest discharge capacity. Optimum x value is 0.2 in the view point of the discharge capacity (294mAhg−1) and the cycle retention (>90%, after 25 cycles). Structural change of as-prepared lithium vanadate is investigated by ex situ X-ray diffraction analysis on charged electrodes at various state of charge (SOC). Lithium vanadate undergoes two step phase transition during charging process and its main peak gets broader as the charge state gets higher. This peak broadening is explained by the breaking down of particles at high SOC.",battery
"The ionic liquid 1-allyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium chloride was investigated as an additive to an ethylmagnesium bromide Grignard solution, for use as an advanced electrolyte in rechargeable Mg batteries. Electrochemical studies showed that the addition of the ionic liquid significantly enhanced the anodic limit of the Grignard solution by about 1V and improved the coulombic efficiency and the kinetics of Mg deposition-stripping reactions on the negative electrode. We have also demonstrated that the Grignard solution containing the ionic liquid works well as an electrolyte in a prototype cell consisting of a Mo6S8 Chevrel phase cathode and a Mg metal anode, where the original Grignard electrolyte does not function properly.",battery
"A novel three-dimensional (3D) Co3O4@Co(OH)2 hybrid nanostructure is synthesized by using two-step hydrothermal and electrodeposition methods. The composite can be employed as an efficient electrode of a high-performance supercapacitor. Scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that Co(OH)2 nanosheets can grow both in the space and on the tops of Co3O4 nanotubes. In comparison with the sole Co3O4 nanotubes and Co(OH)2 nanosheets, the hybrid Co3O4@Co(OH)2 electrode with a naturally formed nanostructure exhibits much improved battery-type performances in a 3molL−1 KOH electrolyte solution, as evidenced by the high specific capacity of 1876 Cg−1 at a current density of 5mAcm−2. A good retention capability is also demonstrated, 83.1% of initial capacity value is maintained after 1000 cycles at a current density of 25mAcm−2. The observed high performances of Co3O4@Co(OH)2 hybrid electrode with the 3D nanostructure make it attractive for the development of high-efficiency electrochemical energy storage devices.",battery
"Contrasting results have been reported concerning the association of a splice-site polymorphism (rs10774671) in OAS1 with multiple sclerosis (MS). We analysed two OAS1 regions encompassing alternatively spliced exons. While the region carrying the splice-site variant is neutrally evolving, a signature of long-standing balancing selection was observed across an alternative exon 7. Analysis of variants in this exon identified an insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs11352835, A/−) that originates predicted products with distinct C termini. This variant is located along the major branch of the haplotype genealogy, suggesting that it may represent the selection target. A case/control study for MS indicated that rs11352835 is associated with disease susceptibility (for an allelic model with the deleted allele predisposing to MS, OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.072–1.513, p = 0.010). No association was found between rs10774671 and MS. As the two SNPs are in linkage disequilibrium in Europeans, the previously reported association between rs10774671 and MS susceptibility might be driven by rs11352835, possibly explaining the contrasting results previously observed for the splice-site polymorphism. Thus, we describe a novel susceptibility variant for MS in OAS1 and show that population genetic analyses can be instrumental to the identification of selection targets and, consequently, of functional polymorphisms with an effect on phenotypic traits.",non-battery
"Lithium sulfur battery is considered one of the most promising rechargeable energy storage devices due to its ultrahigh theoretical energy density and specific capacity. It still cannot be applied because of some key problems. In particular, the shuttle effect of soluble polysulfide compounds leads to the rapid attenuation of battery capacity, short cycle life and serious self-discharge effect. TiO2 quantum dots and polysulfide compounds have strong interactions and can capture soluble polysulfide compounds, thus inhibiting the shuttle effect. Herein, we introduce a battery separator based on TiO2 quantum dots modified multi walled carbon nanotubes to solve the shuttle effect and adapt to the expansion of electrodes during charging and discharging. The interlayer has abundant spacing and excellent conductivity. This strategy can significantly improve the stability of lithium sulfur batteries. As a result, Li-S cells with MWCNTs@TiO2 quantum dots modified separator deliver an initial capacity of 1083 mAh g−1 and keep a cycle capacity of 610 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles at the rate of 838 mA g−1, which maintains an average capacity decay of only 0.072% per cycle. This simple and effective method can greatly improve the application capacity of lithium sulfur batteries.",battery
"In this work, the electrochemistry of the tris(2,2‘-bipyridine) complex of iron(II) was investigated, in order to develop a better understanding of the behaviour of this complex. Two ionic liquids (ILs), based on the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation and two ILs based on the 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium cation, as well as three conventional aprotic solvents were used. The semi-integral electroanalysis was used to aid the interpretation of the results. The iron(II) complex presented a reversible oxidation reaction and three reduction reactions, which are normally considered to be reversible, however our results demonstrate that this is not always the case, with the reversibility of the reactions being highly dependent on the solvent used. A novel method for synthesising iron(III) tris(2,2‘-bipyridine) is reported, and mixtures of the iron(II) and iron(III) complexes were used to determine the standard rate constants of the oxidation reaction. The long term stability of solutions of the iron(III) complex is also studied in this work, which is very important for possible electrochemical applications of this complex, such as in battery electrolytes.",battery
" Over 3 million stillbirths occur annually in sub Saharan Africa; most occur intrapartum and are largely preventable. The standard of care for fetal heart rate (FHR) assessment in most sub-Saharan African settings is a Pinard Stethoscope, limiting observation to one person, at one point in time. We aimed to test the functionality and acceptability of a wireless FHR monitor that could allow for expanded monitoring capacity in rural Southwestern Uganda.",non-battery
"LiFePO4/polyacenes (PAS) composite is synthesized by iron oxyhydroxide as a new raw material and phenol–formaldehyde resin as both reducing agent and carbon source. The mechanism of the reaction is outlined by the analysis of XRD, FTIR as well as TG/DSC. The results show that the formation of LiFePO4 is started at 300°C, and above 550°C, the product can be mainly ascribed to olivine LiFePO4. The electrochemical properties of the synthesized composites are investigated by charge–discharge tests. It is found that the prepared sample at 750°C (S750) has a better electrochemical performance than samples prepared at other temperatures. A discharge capacity of 158mAhg−1 is delivered at 0.2C. Under high discharge rate of 10C, a discharge capacity of 145mAhg−1 and good capacity retention of 93% after 800 cycles are achieved. The morphology of S750 and PAS distribution in it are investigated by SEM and TEM.",battery
"Electrochemically prepared poly(methyl)thiophene is characterized by cyclic voltammetry and galvanometry with an activated carbon counter-electrode. It is then used as a cathode in a laminated plastic asymmetric hybrid electrochemical device with a nano-structured Li4Ti5O12 anode. This device displays the specific power of a supercapacitor, with a higher specific energy of 10Wh/kg, and better cycle-life than a Li-ion battery. The matching ratio of the active materials was found to strongly influence cycle-life.",battery
"Composites with conducting polymers (ICPs) as a matrix were electrodeposited on anodes of platinum or carbon black filled polypropylene from a stirred electrolyte with dispersed particulate materials (concentration c E) such as copper phthalocyanine or carbon black (CB). The solvent (H2O or CH3CN) contained the monomer (pyrrole or bithiophene) and the supporting electrolyte, 0.1 M LiClO4. The concentration c C in the composite increases in proportion to log c E, starting from a threshold value c E,O. c C-Values of 2–60% are found, depending on the nature of the dispersed material; c E,0 varies widely, from 1 mg dm−3 to 1 g dm−3. A codeposition mechanism could be derived, consisting of two steps: I. Temkin type strong adsorption of the particle and II. charge transfer. II was treated as an activated, potential dependent process. In case of the polypyrrole/CB-composite c C decreases with increasing BET-surface. This is rationalized in terms of a synchronous charge of the electrochemical double layer capacitance of the CB particles. PPy as a matrix is superior over polybithiophene, were oligomers are dissolving. High insertion rates (c C) are obtained in comparison to other systems.",battery
"The local heat generation in a single stack lithium ion battery cell was investigated as a function of the C-rate and state of charge (SoC). For that purpose, a custom build electrochemical cell design developed for local in-operando temperature measurements is used. The local temperature evolution in both electrodes and the separator is compared with local heat generation rates calculated from galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) measurements. The impact of reversible and irreversible heats is evaluated as a function of the C-rate and the SoC. The results reveal substantial differences in the local heat generation rates of the individual components of the battery cell related to their kinetic and thermodynamic properties. Significant SoC dependencies of the local reversible and irreversible heat generation are reflected by both the local temperature measurements and the heat generation rates calculated from GITT. A distinct asymmetry between charging and discharging is revealed which results from the intrinsic asymmetry of the reversible heat as well as differences in the kinetic limitations of the lithiation and delithiation of active materials. This study indicates, that the heat generation rates of the individual cell components should be considered accurately in order to build up basics for targeted material-, design- and thermal management optimization to handle thermal issues in large battery packs.",battery
"The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of Pd-coated Mg y Sc(1− y) thin film electrodes are investigated. These thin film electrodes can be described as a two-layer structure, in which the Pd and Mg y Sc(1− y) layer contribute to the overall electrochemical response. In order to identify the response of the Pd layer in the two-layer system, thin films consisting of solely Pd, with identical thickness and orientation, were measured. Based on the fact that the chemical potentials of the individual layers of the Pd-coated Mg y Sc(1− y) thin films are equal at equilibrium, the exact hydrogen concentration in each layer could be determined. It is shown that during the major part of the hydrogen extraction process of the Mg y Sc(1− y) thin films, the composition of the Pd topcoat is close to PdH0.001. The kinetics of the surface reactions was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and showed that, when cross-correlating the results of Mg y Sc(1− y) thin films (y =0.65−0.85) and pure Pd films, the surface kinetics are completely dominated by the Pd topcoat. Additionally, it was shown that the charge transfer reaction, and not the absorption reaction is the rate-determining step. The impedance response, dominating the overall kinetic impedance at the hydrogen-depleted state, could be linked to the transfer of hydrogen across the Pd/Mg y Sc(1− y) interface in the two-layer thin film electrode.",battery
"Abstract A closed-loop system for autonomous management of disease symptoms can provide better care for patients who have chronic illnesses, and improve the healthcare system with personalized medicine and lower costs. Wireless electronics play a key role in forming a closed-loop network between body and computer. Computers can continuously utilize detected physiological signals from body, analyze conditions by adaptive algorithms, and directly deliver therapeutic stimulation to the tissues. Two examples are introduced in this chapter, including neural and gastric electrical stimulation applications targeting management of neurological and gastric disorders. System designs and experimental results illustrate the feasibility of the feedback-based stimulation to alleviate symptoms. Wireless signal transduction and wireless power transfer mechanisms across tissues make it possible to eliminate battery in the implants for long-term use and reduce implant size for endoscopic implementation. Practical considerations for efficient wireless power transfer with small antennas are discussed.",non-battery
"Bifacial photovoltaics are widely investigated with the aim of reducing the amount of silicon used and increasing conversion efficiencies. The output power of bifacial photovoltaics depends on the quantity of solar radiation incident on the reverse face. Furthermore, controlling the orientation can distribute the times of peak power output in the morning and afternoon to better match the demand. In this study, the demand patterns of individual houses or the whole Hokkaido region were analyzed assuming the substitution of a conventional large-scale electric power system with one using bifacial photovoltaics. The supply–demand balances and electrical storage capacities were investigated. When comparing a large scale solar power plant (mega-solar power plant) using monofacial photovoltaics or vertical bifacial photovoltaics (in which the orientation could be adjusted), the supply–demand could be better balanced for individual houses in the latter case, thereby allowing the storage capacity to be reduced. A bifacial solar module was modeled by 3D-CAD (three dimensional computer aided design) and thermal fluid analysis. The module temperature distribution of bifacial photovoltaics was calculated with respect to the environmental conditions (wind flow, direct and diffuse solar radiation, etc.) and internal heat generation, as well as the orientation of the solar panels. Furthermore, the output power of bifacial photovoltaics can be easily obtained from the analysis result of modular temperature distribution and the relation between temperature and output power.",battery
"The threshold and direction of excitability changes induced by low- and high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the primary motor cortex can be effectively reverted by a preceding session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a phenomenon referred to as “metaplasticity”. Here, we used a combined tDCS–rTMS protocol and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in healthy subjects to provide direct electrophysiological evidence for metaplasticity in the human visual cortex. Specifically, we evaluated changes in VEPs at two different contrasts (90 and 20 %) before and at different time points after the application of anodal or cathodal tDCS to occipital cortex (i.e., priming), followed by an additional conditioning with low- or high-frequency rTMS. Anodal tDCS increased the amplitude of VEPs and this effect was paradoxically reverted by applying high-frequency (5 Hz), conventionally excitatory rTMS (p < 0.0001). Similarly, cathodal tDCS led to a decrease in VEPs amplitude, which was reverted by a subsequent application of conventionally inhibitory, 1 Hz rTMS (p < 0.0001). Similar changes were observed for both the N1 and P1 component of the VEP. There were no significant changes in resting motor threshold values (p > 0.5), confirming the spatial selectivity of our conditioning protocol. Our findings show that preconditioning primary visual area excitability with tDCS can modulate the direction and strength of plasticity induced by subsequent application of 1 or 5 Hz rTMS. These data indicate the presence of mechanisms of metaplasticity that keep synaptic strengths within a functional dynamic range in the human visual cortex.",non-battery
"Binary nickel–cobalt oxy-hydroxides (denoted as NCOH) with tunable crystal phases are prepared from an atomic mixture of Ni(OH)2 + Co(OH)2 in the 1:2 ratio (denoted as (Ni/2Co)(OH)2) through a microwave-assisted hydrothermal annealing (MAHA) method. The (Ni/2Co)(OH)2 powders are synthesized through a sol–gel process from an aqueous solution containing NiCl2·6H2O and CoCl2·6H2O. The MAHA process is demonstrated to be a novel and promising method for transforming/tuning the crystal phase and size of NCOH at relatively low annealing temperatures in short time. The MAHA temperature and time are varied to transform the crystalline phases from a hydroxide mixture to NiCo2O4 nanocrystals, which can be quantified by a crystalline index (denoted as CI) value obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The higher content and larger size of NiCo2O4 nanocrystals are, the longer electrochemical activation time is needed. The rate of phase transformation can be enhanced by adding microwave adsorbents, graphene oxide (GO), to obtain a NiCo2O4/RGO composite with reduced crystal size (RGO: reduced GO). The variation in the crystalline index and the effect of the potential window on the specific capacitance of NCOH powders are systematically compared and discussed in this work.",battery
"A facile method for preparing mesoporous perforated Co3O4 nanoparticles with hollow channels and a thin carbon layer was newly designed and achieved with sacrificial carbon nanotube (CNT) templates. The threaded Co3O4 nanoparticles on the CNTs were fabricated through a hybridization process, and a subsequent calcination process produced mesoporous perforated Co3O4 nanoparticles. With a finely tuned calcination, CNTs were sacrificed to generate hollow channels in the Co3O4 nanoparticles and to provide a carbon source for the formation of a few nm-thick carbon layer on the surface of the Co3O4 nanoparticles simultaneously. The prepared mesoporous perforated Co3O4 nanoparticles with a robust electronic conductive layer enabled not only an enhanced electrochemical reactivity from the greatly increased contact area between the electrolyte and electrode but also a high electronic conductivity of the overall electrode so that excellent electrochemical performances (1115.1 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles; 595.9 mA h g−1 @ 5 C rate) were successfully achieved in the anode application of a lithium-ion battery.",battery
"Publisher Summary Energy is no less crucial to the environmental dimensions of human well-being than to the economic ones. Energy use and environmental problems are strongly interrelated. Energy systems are critical to the economy of nations and are slow to change. At the same time, environmental issues are critical to energy planning because environmental constraints and the costs of coping with them are as important as resource scarcity or the monetary costs of energy technology. Investments in energy efficiency are the most cost-effective way to simultaneously reduce the risks of climate change, oil import interruption, and local air pollution, and to improve the productivity of the economy. Energy and economics interact directly through supply and demand, prices, and capital investments.",non-battery
"Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter produced from tryptophan and abnormal levels of these molecules have been associated with several disorders, notably depression, migraine, bipolar disorder, anxiety and schizophrenia. In the present work, we have developed a novel electrochemical sensor using SnO2-SnS2 nanocomposite for selective and simultaneous determination of depression biomarkers serotonin (SE) and tryptophan (Trp) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). The SnO2-SnS2 composite prepared by hydrothermal method was characterized by powder XRD, FE-SEM, FITR, UV–Visible, CV, EIS and SWV techniques. The SnO2-SnS2 modified glassy carbon electrode (SnO2-SnS2/GCE) exhibited two well defined oxidation peaks at 0.43 and 0.83V corresponding to SE and Trp respectively in phosphate buffer saline at pH7. Under optimum conditions, linear relationships between the peak currents and concentrations were obtained in the range of 0.1–700μM for SE and 0.1–800μM for Trp with the lowest detection limits (3s/m) of 45 and 59nM respectively. Significant peak to peak separations and higher peak currents make this electrode suitable for simultaneous detection of the two important neurochemicals SE and Trp. The sensor was successfully applied for the detection of SE in human blood samples and Trp in spirulina with high recovery percentage.",battery
"Time-of-use electricity tariffs are gradually being introduced around the world to expose consumers to the time-dependency of demand, however their effects on peak flows in distribution networks, particularly in areas with domestic energy storage, are little understood. This paper presents investigations into the impact of time-of-use and time-of-export tariffs in residential areas with various penetrations of battery storage, rooftop solar PV, and heat pumps. By simulating battery operation in response to high resolution household-level electrical and thermal demand data, it is found that home batteries operating to maximise cost savings in houses signed up to time-dependent tariffs cause little reduction in import and export peaks at the low voltage level, largely because domestic import and export peaks are spread out over time. When operating to maximise savings from the first three-tier time-of-use tariff introduced in the UK, batteries could even cause increases in peak demand at low voltage substations, if many batteries in the area commence charging at the start of the overnight off-peak price band. Home batteries operating according to time-dependent electricity tariffs significantly miss out on the potential peak shaving that could otherwise be achieved through dedicated peak shaving incentives schemes and smarter storage control strategies.",battery
"ABSTRACT Investigations on several B, C and D-segment vehicles were done to evaluate the impact of an engine encapsulation on the cooling down behaviour of the engine. Approximately 7K higher temperatures measured in the powertrain after 12 hours cooling down can be expected of such a concept. Main target of heat storage in the powertrain is to reduce CO2 emissions during engine restart due to elevated oil and coolant starting temperatures. Estimations based on measurements and calculations done on a C-segment diesel car resulted in a CO2 reduction of about 1.5 percent in the NEDC cycle after 9 hours cooling down. Two different encapsulation approaches where tested and compared to each other. Assets and drawbacks of both approaches in terms of heat storage capability, thermal safety and weight balance were investigated.",non-battery
"In this study, BaFeO4 was prepared from K2FeO4 and characterized by SEM, XRD, IR, and TG. BaFeO4 is insoluble in pure water and its solubility increases with the increase in the concentration of KOH solution. The measured solubility of BaFeO4 is higher than that of K2FeO4 in saturated KOH solution at 25°C, and may be due to the presence of a higher concentration of carbonate in the concentrated KOH solution. BaFeO4 has been found to decompose both in dry environment and in KOH solution. The instability of BaFeO4 is studied in detail by means of constant current discharge, XPS, XRD, and IR spectra. The reason why BaFeO4 is not stable is discussed in this paper.",battery
" Cognitive remediation (CR) has shown significant promise in addressing the cognitive deficits that accompany serious mental illness. However, this intervention does not appear to completely ameliorate the cognitive deficits that accompany these illnesses. D-cycloserine (DCS), an NMDA receptor partial agonist, has been shown to enhance the therapeutic benefits of learning-based psychosocial interventions for psychiatric disorders. Thus, the goal of this study is to examine the utility of combining cognitive remediation and d-cycloserine in the treatment of cognitive deficits among individuals with bipolar disorder.",non-battery
"Solution processed perovskite semiconductors have developed rapidly over the past decade to yield excellent performance in both solar cell and light emitting diode devices. Both of these device types are prepared using similar materials and architectures, raising the possibility of perovskite based light emitting solar cells. Recent reports have indicated that some low band gap perovskite solar cells are able to emit infrared light efficiently, however, intermediate band gap perovskite solar cells which emit visible light have not, to the best of our knowledge been deliberately designed or extensively characterized. In this work, we have investigated the use of different electron transport layers in order to minimize energetic barriers to electron injection and extraction in methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3) films. We demonstrate that through appropriate band structure engineering, MAPbBr3 can be used to make such “peroptronic” light-emitting solar cells, which simultaneously exhibit efficient solar cell power conversion efficiencies over 1% and 0.43 lm W−1 green light emission.
",battery
"In ecotoxicology, critical effect concentrations are the most common indicators to quantitatively assess risks for species exposed to contaminants. Three types of critical effect concentrations are classically used: lowest/ no observed effect concentration (LOEC/NOEC), LCx (x% lethal concentration) and NEC (no effect concentration). In this article, for each of these three types of critical effect concentration, we compared methods or models used for their estimation and proposed one as the most appropriate. We then compared these critical effect concentrations to each other. For that, we used nine survival data sets corresponding to D. magna exposition to nine different contaminants, for which the time-course of the response was monitored. Our results showed that: (i) LOEC/NOEC values at day 21 were method-dependent, and that the Cochran–Armitage test with a step-down procedure appeared to be the most protective for the environment; (ii) all tested concentration–response models we compared gave close values of LC50 at day 21, nevertheless the Weibull model had the lowest global mean deviance; (iii) a simple threshold NEC-model both concentration and time dependent more completely described whole data (i.e. all timepoints) and enabled a precise estimation of the NEC. We then compared the three critical effect concentrations and argued that the use of the NEC might be a good option for environmental risk assessment.",non-battery
"Membrane potentials and brain plasticity are basic modes of cerebral information processing. Both can be externally (non-invasively) modulated by weak transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Polarity-dependent tDCS-induced reversible circumscribed increases and decreases in cortical excitability and functional changes have been observed following stimulation of motor and visual cortices but relatively little research has been conducted with respect to the auditory cortex. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the effects of tDCS on auditory sensory discrimination in healthy participants (N = 12) assessed with the mismatch negativity (MMN) brain event-related potential (ERP). In a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled design, participants received anodal tDCS over the primary auditory cortex (2 mA for 20 min) in one session and ‘sham’ stimulation (i.e., no stimulation except initial ramp-up for 30 s) in the other session. MMN elicited by changes in auditory pitch was found to be enhanced after receiving anodal tDCS compared to ‘sham’ stimulation, with the effects being evidenced in individuals with relatively reduced (vs. increased) baseline amplitudes and with relatively small (vs. large) pitch deviants. Additional studies are needed to further explore relationships between tDCS-related parameters, auditory stimulus features and individual differences prior to assessing the utility of this tool for treating auditory processing deficits in psychiatric and/or neurological disorders.",non-battery
"Objective This cross-sectional study explored the relationships between daily activity performance, attention, memory, executive functions and community functioning in people with schizophrenia. More specifically, this study attempted to verify the hypothesis that functional limitations in the performance of daily activities negatively affect community functioning in people with schizophrenia. Methods Eighty-two individuals with schizophrenia living in the community were recruited for the study. The Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis was used to assess participants’ functional capacity during a meal preparation task. Visuo-spatial associative memory, spatial working memory, planning, visuo-motor coordination, and selective attention were evaluated as well. Community functioning was assessed with the Independent Living Skills Survey (ILSS) and the Multnomah Community Ability Scale (MCAS). Results Correlations revealed significant associations between functional capacity and visuo-spatial associative learning, spatial working memory, planning and negative symptoms. Planning skills during meal preparation were found to be associated with MCAS. After regression analyses, only visuo-spatial memory, negative symptoms, education and familiarity with meal preparation explained variation in functional capacity. Conclusions The findings of the current study suggest that visuo-spatial associative learning, negative symptoms, education and familiarity with task are among the important factors for functional capacity. Planning skills necessary for efficient task performance were also found to be those most determinant for community functioning. Rehabilitation interventions should consider these underlying strength and deficits when developing strategies to help people with schizophrenia build functional skills essential for community living.",non-battery
"This paper focuses on the emergence of spiral waves in a specific morpho-electrochemical reaction-diffusion model on a sphere. This study fits in the framework of the morphological control of material electrodeposited onto spherical particles that is crucial to the energetic efficiency of the recharge process as well as to the durability of energy storage devices. The spherical geometry for the electrode surface is of notable practical interest since spheres are the shape of choice for flow batteries and metal-air devices [35]. Motivated by this technological framework, in this paper we extend the results on pattern formation in [27] to include investigations on the spiral wave phenomenology. We show that spiral waves emerge because of the interplay between two specific model parameters: one regulating the oscillatory dynamics in the kinetics and the other one related to the domain size. We present systematic numerical simulations based on the finite element method LSFEM [45,50] accompanied by the computation of suitable indicators that allow to characterize and compare the spatio-temporal features. Interestingly, the model also supports a mechanism of spirals break up leading to a complex spatio-temporal phenomenology. The findings of our study have been validated with experimental results on Ag-In and Ag-Co electrodeposition.",non-battery
"All-solid-state polymer electrolyte (SPE) matrices prepared by molecular design are still needed to be further perfected with excellent performance. In this paper, a controlled-structure discotic liquid crystal (DLC)-based six-arm star copolymer was designed and synthesized from a DLC initiator (2,3,6,7,10,11-hexakis(2-bromoisobutyryloxy)triphenylene) via the sequential atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA). Here, this class of discotic liquid crystal star polymer is applied as an SPE in LIBs for the first time. By solution casting, a suitable self-standing SPE film composed of the six-arm copolymer and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI)) can be easily formed, and the film shows long-range molecular orientation after annealing. It is confirmed that the electrolyte shows wide electrochemical window (5.1 V) and high lithium-ion transference number (0.37). Especially, the ionic conductivity (1.46 × 10−4, S cm−1, 30 °C) of the obtained SPE is more than 8 times higher than that of the corresponding linear copolymer electrolytes. Furthermore, the results of battery performance demonstrate that the polymer electrolyte displays eminently reversible electrochemical reaction and outstanding cycling performance. The present work not only shows the advantages of DLC-based star SPE for LIBs but also paves the way for the design of SPE with excellent performances.",battery
"To improve the cycling performance of spinel LiMn2O4, Al-doped LiMn2O4, LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4, is synthesized using Mn1.9Al0.1O3 precursor and LiOH·H2O via a low temperature solid-phase reaction. The Mn1.9Al0.1O3 precursor, prepared from the electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) and Al(OH)3, is composed of spherical particles with an average diameter of 300nm, and has a large interspace. Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) indicates the Al element is well distributed in Mn1.9Al0.1O3 and LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images show that the LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 sample has a high crystallinity with sizes ranging from 300 to 500nm. Electrochemical properties of LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 are studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic charge-discharge. The results show that LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 possesses better rate and cycling capabilities than LiMn2O4 at both 25°C and 55°C. At a rate of 5C, the capacity retention ratio of the LiMn1.9Al0.1O4 electrode after 100 cycles is about 95% at 25°C and about 90% at 55°C.",battery
"ABSTRACT The use of air conditioning for vehicles in hot climates is a significant contributor to both overall fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions. It can be seen, however, that much of the energy required by the air conditioning goes not into cooling the occupants but cooling the vehicle structure. Most air conditioning loads are highest after the vehicle has soaked in the sun for a period of time. Consequently, the focus must be on limiting heat penetration into the vehicle in order to reduce the peak and steady state cooling loads. For this paper a modelling approach is used to assess the impact of various palliative countermeasures. A Radtherm heat transfer model was constructed for a saloon type vehicle to mimic a solar soak and subsequent pull-down for a simulated climatic chamber test. The base vehicle air conditioning load was identified before various material changes to the vehicle structure were implemented. The impact of each, and the results for an optimum combination, is presented in terms of average interior air and selected component surface temperatures at the end of the soak and pull-down periods. Additionally, the impact of forced ventilation pre-conditioning for the soak period, as may be driven by an integrated solar panel, was also investigated.",non-battery
"Tidal marsh functions are driven by interactions between tides, landscape morphology, and emergent vegetation. Less often considered are the diurnal pattern of tide extremes and seasonal variation of solar insolation in the mix of tidal marsh driver interactions. This work demonstrates how high-frequency hydroperiod and water temperature variability emerges from disparate timescale interactions between tidal marsh morphology, tidal harmonics, and meteorology in the San Francisco Estuary. We compare the tidal and residual flow and temperature response of neighboring tidal sloughs, one possessing natural tidal marsh morphology, and one that is modified for water control. We show that the natural tidal marsh is tuned to lunar phase and produces tidal and fortnight water temperature variability through interacting tide, meteorology, and geomorphic linkages. In contrast, temperature variability is dampened in the modified slough where overbank marsh plain connection is severed by levees. Despite geomorphic differences, a key finding is that both sloughs are heat sinks in summer by latent heat flux-driven residual upstream water advection and sensible and long-wave heat transfer. The precession of a 335-year tidal harmonic assures that these dynamics will shift in the future. Water temperature regulation appears to be a key function of natural tidal sloughs that depends critically on geomorphic mediation. We investigate approaches to untangling the relative influence of sun versus tide on residual water and temperature transport as a function of system morphology. The findings of this study likely have ecological consequences and suggest physical process metrics for tidal marsh restoration performance.
",non-battery
"A sensing platform with NiFe2O4 nanoparticles integrated into carbon paste for the electrochemical determination of nitrite has been developed. Spinel NiFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesised via a simple solvent deficient method and investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), for their structural and morphological characteristics. The NiFe2O4 integrated carbon paste electrode (NiFe2O4-CPE) displayed enhanced catalytic activity towards oxidation of nitrite than the bare electrode in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH-7 owing to the synergistic effect arising from the mixed metals. The electrochemical response of NiFe2O4-CPE under the influence of several parameters such as effect of scan rate, catalyst-carbon ratio and the concentration of analyte was studied. The oxidation of nitrite was found to be a diffusion controlled process as the oxidation currents varied linearly with scan rate and concentration of the analyte. The diffusion coefficient and rate constant for nitrite oxidation was found to be 3.71 × 10−5 cm2 s−1 and 9 × 108 cm3 mol−1 s−1 respectively. The sensing platform demonstrated a nitrite detection limit of 0.1236 μM (S/N = 3) with a wide linear range between 0.1 and 1000 μM and a sensitivity of 7.9617 μA μM−1 cm−2.",battery
"Hierarchical dumbbell-shaped lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) mesocrystals were successfully fabricated via a simple one-step, rapid, additive-free solvothermal route. A mixture of dimethylformamide/ethylene glycol (DMF/EG) has been utilized as the co-solvent and found to play an important role in the formation of the hierarchical mesostructure. The obtained dumbbell-shaped mesocrystals consist of self-assembly LiFePO4 nanorods each with 2–3 μm in length and 30–50 nm in diameter. Further temperature treatment was applied to increase the crystallinity of the LiFePO4 mesocrystals. A high lithium ion intercalation capacity of 140 mA h g−1 was exhibited by the LiFePO4 mesocrystal when tested under a discharge rate of 17 mA g−1, which should be attributed to the fast intercalation reaction and easy mass and charge transfer offered by the large specific surface and short diffusion distance of dumbbell-shaped mesoporous composed of nano-sized LiFePO4 rods. The nanorods can be carbon coated in-situ by adding sucrose during the solvothermal process and the LiFePO4/C mesocrystals showed an improved electrochemical property at higher rates and good cyclic performance.",battery
"Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) surveys are commonly based on spraints (otter faeces) as an index of use intensity, habitat preference, and to a certain degree, population density. We were interested to know: (1) Does the number of fresh spraints correlate to the number of visits? (2) Can spraints be indicative of activity levels? (3) Is the absence of fresh spraints indicative of no visits? We used videotaping that provided a true picture of otter nocturnal activity at marking sites and compared our findings with the number of fresh spraints the following morning. This enabled us to correlate the number of spraints with the number of otter visits during the night and assess the validity of spraints as an activity index. We carried out a total of 59 videotaping nights and counted spraints in 29 sprainting sites between September 2002 and March 2004. We found a positive correlation between the proportion of nights a latrine was visited and the proportion of nights fresh spraints were deposited. The number of fresh spraints/night/site was positively correlated with the number of otter visits/night/site. Latrines visited on more nights had a higher number of fresh spraints per night visited. However, in about half the nights where no spraints were found, visits were recorded. Spraints are generally a good indicator of use intensity of a specific latrine and consequently a possible indicator of activity level and habitat preference. Understanding what determines scent-marking behaviour and its relationship to actual activity and presence can improve our ability to assess otter populations and design management protocols.",non-battery
"In cultured A6 monolayers from distal Xenopus kidney, external Ni2+ stimulated active Na+ uptake via the epithelial Na+ channel, ENaC. Transepithelial capacitance measurements ruled out exocytosis of ENaC-containing vesicles underlying the Ni2+ effect. Na+ current noise analysis was performed using the neutral Na+-channel blocker 6-chloro-3,5-diamino-pyrazine-2-carboxamide (CDPC) and amiloride. The analysis of CDPC-induced noise in terms of a three-state channel model revealed that Ni2+ elicits an increase in the number of open channels as well as in the spontaneous open probability. While Ni2+ had no influence on CDPC-blocker kinetics, the macroscopic and microscopic blocking kinetics of amiloride were affected. Ni2+ turned out to compete with amiloride for a putative binding site but not with CDPC. Moreover, external Na+—known to compete with amiloride and so producing the “self-inhibition” phenomenon—and Ni2+ exerted mutually exclusive analogous effects on amiloride kinetics. Na+ current kinetics revealed that Ni2+ prevents ENaC to be downregulated by self-inhibition. Co2+ behaved similarly to Ni2+, whereas Zn2+ did not. Attempts to disclose the chemical nature of the site reacting with Ni2+ suggested cysteine but not histidine as reaction partner.",non-battery
"Lithium-ion batteries are multiscale systems with processes occurring at different scales. We start from a mathematical model derived on the microscale level of a single battery cell [Latz et al., NMA’10, 2011, pp. 329–337] where we can resolve the porous structure of the electrodes. Direct numerical simulations on this scale lead to a huge number of degrees of freedom and, consequently, very high computational costs. From an application perspective, it is often sufficient to predict the macroscopic properties of the electrodes. Therefore, we derive homogenized macroscopic equations with effective transport coefficients for the concentration of lithium ions in the electrolyte, potential in the electrolyte, and potential in the solid particles. These upscaled equations are coupled via the Butler–Volmer interface conditions to a microscale equation for the concentration of lithium ions in the electrode particles. We follow the idea developed by Ciucci and Lai [Transport Porous Med 88(2):249–270, 2011] and extend their analysis by computing the asymptotic order of the interface exchange current densities, which is an important factor in the homogenization study of the problem. We also perform a numerical homogenization and run extensive numerical simulations in order to validate the derived upscaled model. The numerical experiments show very good agreement between the homogenized model and the microscale one. Hence we are able to predict the macroscopic properties of the porous electrodes and capture the small-scale effects on the large scales without fully resolving all the microscale features.
",non-battery
"This paper presents an improved optimization method for sizing standalone photo-voltaic (PV) systems. Numerical methods for optimization and configuration of array size, charge controller, storage battery capacity, and power inverter of PVs are implemented using MATLAB and hourly meteorological data and load demand. DC voltage operation is also optimally selected. Loss of load probability analysis is conducted to set the benchmark for determining all possible PV arrays and battery capacities. Then, the optimum design is proposed based on the lowest levelized cost of energy and net present value. The case study refers to the meteorological data of Yemen and the typical load role of the domestic sector in Yemen. Results show that the net present value of 6.6024 kWh/day PV system for Yemen is 22224 USD, while the cost of energy generated by the proposed system is 0.403 USD/kWh and the loss of load probability ( L L P ) is equal to 0.130%.",battery
"The electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C samples synthesized by different carbon sources varies considerably, the structural difference of residual carbon in LiFePO4/C accounts for the performance variation. Higher performance is associated with a larger ratio of graphitic carbon, which exhibits better electronic conductivity than amorphous carbon. To improve the electronic conductivity, we prepared LiFePO4/(C+G) composites by a one-step solid-state method, in which natural graphite is used as reducing agent and conducting additives. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), Raman microprobe spectroscope and other electrochemical methods. The results show that reversible capacity and rate performance of LiFePO4 are improved considerably by the two-phase carbon coating. Therefore, LiFePO4/(C+G) composites are a promising candidate for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Budgets of nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and particulate organic carbon (POC) were constructed from data collected on-board a Lagrangian, profiling float deployed between April 4 and May 25, 2008, as part of the North Atlantic Bloom Experiment. These measurements were used to estimate net community production (NCP) and apparent export of POC along the float trajectory. A storm resulting in deep mixing and temporary suspension of net production separated the bloom into early (April 23–27) and main (May 6–13) periods over which ∼264 and ∼805mmolCm−2 were produced, respectively. Subtraction of the total POC production from the NCP yielded maximum estimates of apparent POC export amounting to ∼92 and 574 mmolCm−2 during the early and main blooms, respectively. The bloom terminated the following day and ∼282 mmolCm−2 were lost due to net respiration (70%) and apparent export (30%). Thus, the majority of the apparent export of POC occurred continuously during the main bloom and a large respiration event occurred during bloom Termination. A comparison of the POC flux during the main bloom period with independent estimates at greater depth suggest a rapid rate of remineralization between 60 and 100m. We suggest the high rates of remineralization in the upper layers could explain the apparent lack of carbon overconsumption (C:N>6.6) in the North Atlantic during the spring bloom.",non-battery
"Well-defined orthorhombic LiMnO2 was synthesized using LiOH and γ-MnOOH starting materials at 1000°C in an argon flow by quenching process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the compound showed an orthorhombic phase of a space group with Pmnm (a=2.806 Å, b=5.750 Å, and c=4.593 Å). The prepared compound was composed of particles of about 5–15 μm diameter with a bar-shape and small spherical one of about 1–2 μm. It showed very small initial discharge capacity of about 34 mA h g−1 in the (3+4) V region at room temperature. However, after 12 h grinding, the LiMnO2 delivered 201 mA h g−1 in the first cycle and still delivered 200 mA h g−1 after 50 cycles at room temperature. We found that the initial discharge capacity of LiMnO2 agreed well with its specific surface area by Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) analysis. Especially, the grinding treatment played an important role to activate the lithium insertion–extraction into the LiMnO2 layer in the 3 V region.",battery
"Presenting Author details:anabarajasvelez@hotmail.com C/Antoni Pujades, 42 (Sant Boi De Llobregat), 08830 Barcelona, Spain, Tel.: +34 6406350x2347; fax: +34 630 53 19. Background: Different studies of first psychotic episodes (FPE) have tried to describe the onset of psychosis. We examine whether FPE with onset during adolescence and childhood (ages 7–17) differ significantly from those with young–adult onset (ages 18–65) in neurological soft signs (NSS) and psychopathology; also, we assess if NSS are associated with negative psychotic symptoms and cognitive functioning in the onset of a FPE. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 28 consecutive cases with a FPE. Inclusion criteria: two or more psychotic symptoms; age range 7 to 65 years; first visit to a centre participating in the study; less than 6 months since first contact with services. Instruments used were a clinical and socio-demographic questionnaire, a battery assessing symptoms, and neurological evaluation scale (NES) and a battery of cognitive tests. Data were analyzed using the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman's correlations by the SPSS. Results: Age of onset distribution was 46.4% adult onset psychosis and 53.6% early onset psychosis having found significant differences between the two groups on measures of NES (p=0.019). NES total score correlates with negative symptoms (r=0.416; p=0.043) and cognitive variables: impulsivity (CPT index, r=0.443, p=0.044), executive functioning (Stroop Color–Word Test, r=−0.522, p=0.018; TMTB, r=−0.636; p=0.003) and working memory (subtests of WAIS/WISC: digit span, r=−0.54, p=0.014; arithmetic, r=−0.599, p=0.007; letter–number sequencing, r=−0.501, p=0.029). Conclusions: A higher level of neurobiological abnormalities in early onset of psychosis could underlie cognitive deficits, especially concerning attention, working memory and executive functioning, and may be related to a prominent negative symptomatology.",non-battery
"Bamboo-like carbon nanotubes containing sulfur (BCNT-S) were prepared through the carbonization and the activation of sulfonated polymer nanotubes in CO2. The BCNT-S showed a remarkably high specific capacitance of 259Fg−1 at the current density of 1Ag−1, while 97.7% of its initial capacitance was retained after 1000 cycles at the current density of 5Ag−1. In contrast, amorphous carbon without S had a specific capacitance of 129Fg−1 at 1Ag−1, which was only about half of that of the BCNT-S. Therefore, the introduction of a trace amount of sulfur (1.66%) could greatly enhance the specific capacitance of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In addition, the high specific capacitance and excellent cycling stability of the BCNT-S were also benefited from its high specific surface area and bamboo-like tubular morphology.",battery
"We report here on the moisture and water stability of the promising Na-ion anode material Na2Ti3O7. Spontaneous Na+/H+ exchange is detected by PXRD after air exposure, forming solid solution compounds of the form Na2−xHxTi3O7 (0 < x < 2). By controlled ion exchange in aqueous solution two mixed compositions are prepared and their composition and structure are characterized with a panel of techniques. Both mixed compositions crystallize in C2/m space group like H2Ti3O7, and therefore Na+/H+ exchange is found to involve a structural transition from AA stacking of [TiO6] layers to AB stacking sequence. The electrochemical behaviour of the mixed compositions vs. Na+/Na is studied as well as that of an electrode of pure Na2Ti3O7 prepared in water media. The water-processed electrode is shown to exhibit a superior cycling stability and therefore the results obtained highlight the potential of Na2Ti3O7 as a green, low cost anode material for NIBs.",battery
"Gel polymer electrolytes are prepared using poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) polymer matrix and 1- propyl-3-methyleimidazolium bis(trifluromethylesulfonyl)-imide ionic liquid and also by adding lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide salt and plasticizer mixture (ethylene carbonate: propylene carbonate in the ratio 1:1). Thermal and electrical properties of these electrolytes are first investigated. The electrical conductivity of these electrolytes is analyzed over a wide frequency range using a universal power law coupled with modified Poisson-Nernst-Planck model for electrode polarization. All electrolytes show excellent thermal stability up to 340 °C, high ionic conductivity (∼1 × 10−3 S cm−1) and wide potential window (∼4.0 V). Supercapacitors are fabricated with these electrolytes using activated carbon as electrodes and their electrochemical properties are studied. The cyclic voltammetry curves show almost box-like shape corresponding to an ideal and reversible capacitive characteristic. The specific capacitance of supercapacitors increases with the addition of lithium salt and plasticizer mixture. The cycle stability of these supercapacitors up to 4000 cycles confirms their electrochemical stability. A lithium ion coin cell is also fabricated using electrolytes containing plasticizer mixture. At ambient temperature, the fabricated cell delivers high specific discharge capacity (∼165.8 mAh g−1) for the first discharge cycle at a constant current rate C/12.",battery
"Different cobalt containing materials obtained from the thermal decomposition of two organic precursors, cobalt–acetylacetonate and cobalt–tetrametoxyphenylporphyrin, and Co3O4 prepared by thermal decomposition of cobalt carbonate have been characterised by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM). It has been found that the cobalt precursor, the organic macrocycle and the active carbon are simultaneously needed during the heat treatment in inhert atmosphere. Their contemporaneous presence is useful to obtain a material on which the dispersed metal is able to catalyse reactions that produce pores or tunnels inside the carbon, thus resulting in an enhanced contact area. The organic macrocycle is only partially decomposed and the residual fraction could enhance the conductivity.",battery
"Amorphous and nanocrystalline Mg-based alloys (Mg60Ni25)100−x Nd x (x =2, 5, 10, 15) were prepared by rapid solidification. The microstructure of the as-quenched ribbons was characterized by TEM, X-ray and electron diffraction. The electrode properties of these alloys were measured. The experimental results showed that the discharge capacities increased with increasing Nd atomic content and the optimum Nd content is between in 10–15mol%. The highest discharge capacity reached more than 580mAhg−1 at the discharge current densities of 50mAg−1 for (Mg60Ni25)90Nd10 samples. The nanocrystalline (Mg60Ni25)98Nd2 alloy showed the lowest discharge capacity compared to the other Mg–Ni–Nd amorphous alloys. The alloy (Mg60Ni25)90Nd10 displays the broadest discharge potential flat from 1.3 to 1.0V. It was conformed that the increase of discharge capacities is not only a function of the sample composition but strongly influenced by the amorphous phase proportion in the alloys.",battery
"The structure design and synthesis of precursors is a key factor to improve the electrochemical properties of Ni-rich cathode materials. However, for the core-shell precursors, the structural evolution in the lithiated process and its effect on the structure and electrochemical properties of the final products has not been clearly elucidated. Herein, three LiNi0.88Co0.12O2 materials are synthesized from three different structured precursors, namely the completely coated 0.88Ni(OH)2@0.12Co(OH)2, the semi-coated & semi-doped 0.94Ni0.936Co0.064(OH)2@0.06Co(OH)2, and the completely doped Ni0.88Co0.12(OH)2, respectively. Unexpectedly, the core-shell structures of the completely coated and semi-coated & semi-doped precursors disappears, and the radial concentration distributions of Ni and Co are almost uniform in spherical LiNi0.88Co0.12O2 particles obtained by sintering with LiOH·H2O, no matter the precursor is coating type or doping type. Even so, the LiNi0.88Co0.12O2 material synthesized from the 0.88Ni(OH)2@0.12Co(OH)2 precursor still has the best electrochemical properties with the specific discharge capacity of 215 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C (20 mA g−1) and the capacity retention of 88.6% after 100 cycles. The reason is that the cobalt hydroxide coating layer on the surface of precursor acts as a barrier to decrease the diffusing rate of lithium ions into the core material, which leaves enough time to make Ni2+ be oxidized to Ni3+ as many as possible. This work not only synthesizes a high-performance LiNi0.88Co0.12O2 material, but also clearly reveals the reaction mechanism and provides valuable references for synthesizing high-performance LiNi1-x-yCo x MnyO2 (NCM) or LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) materials.",battery
"In this study, nano-crystalline LiCoO2 was coated onto the surface of Li1.05Ni0.35Co0.25Mn0.4O2 powders via sol–gel method. The influence of the coating on the electrochemical behavior of Li1.05Ni0.35Co0.25Mn0.4O2 is discussed. The surface morphology was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nano-crystallized LiCoO2 was clearly observed on the surfaces of Li1.05Ni0.35Co0.25Mn0.4O2. The phase and structural changes of the cathode materials before and after coating were revealed by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). It was found that LiCoO2 coated Li1.05Ni0.35Co0.25Mn0.4O2 cathode material exhibited distinct surface morphology and lattice constants. Cyclic voltammetry (2.8–4.6V versus Li/Li+) shows that the characteristic voltage transitions on cycling exhibited by the uncoated material are suppressed by the 7wt.% LiCoO2 coating. This behavior implies that LiCoO2 inhibits structural change of Li1.05Ni0.35Co0.25Mn0.4O2 or reaction with the electrolyte on cycling. In addition, the LiCoO2 coating on Li1.05Ni0.35Co0.25Mn0.4O2 significantly improves the rate capability over the range 0.1–4.0C. Comparative data for the coated and uncoated materials are presented and discussed.",battery
"Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a secular behavioral medicine program that has roots in meditative spiritual practices. Thus, spirituality may partly explain Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction outcomes. Participants (N = 279; M (SD) age = 45(12); 75% women) completed an online survey before and after an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that, following Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, the relationship between enhanced mindfulness and improved health-related quality of life is mediated by increased daily spiritual experiences. Changes in both spirituality and mindfulness were significantly related to improvement in mental health. Although the initial mediation hypothesis was not supported, an alternate model suggested that enhanced mindfulness partly mediated the association between increased daily spiritual experiences and improved mental health-related quality of life (indirect effect: β = 0.07, P = 0.017). Effects on physical health-related quality of life were not significant. Findings suggest a novel mechanism by which increased daily spiritual experiences following Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction may partially explain improved mental health as a function of greater mindfulness.
",non-battery
"Solid state catalysts play a critical role in peroxide alkali metal–O2 cells. However, the underlying mechanism behind the catalytic activity remains controversial due to the different nature of oxygen reduction and evolutions reactions (ORR, OER) in non-aqueous cells compared to those in classic aqueous based reactions. In the present study, we reveal a detailed spectroscopic and electrochemical picture of the mechanism of catalytic activity in Na– and Li–O2 cells. We demonstrate that ORR and OER catalytic activity in alkali metal–O2 cells primarily originates from the stabilization of O2− intermediates on the catalyst surface during the electrochemical reaction. Monitoring the electronic state of the solid state catalyst during the ORR and OER revealed a dynamic interaction occurring between the catalyst and the discharge product. The morphology and composition of discharge products is also illustrated to be influenced by solid state catalysts. The findings of the present study suggest that catalysts with a higher oxygen-bonding capability may exhibit a higher catalytic activity in alkali metal–O2 cells.
",battery
"Charge–discharge properties of a new type of all solid-state lithium cell are presented, which comprises a conductive nano-sulfur composite (NSC) cathode, composite polymer electrolyte based on poly(ethylene oxide), LiN(CF3SO2)2 and nano-sized TiO2 filler and lithium anode. The cell exhibits high discharge capacity up to 600mAhg−1 (referred to the NSC active material, EO/Li=8 for polymer electrolyte) at the second cycle and about 385mAhg−1 at the 40th cycle at operation temperature of 70°C. The electrochemical characteristics of the nano-composite polymer electrolyte, related to the performance of cells, are also examined in detail.",battery
"A graphene-like nanomaterial, carbon nano-fragments (CNFs), is obtained using the graphite anodes of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as carbon source, and its morphology, structure, functional groups, and reactivity are characterized to evaluate the properties and potential applications. The interlayer space increase, layer distortion, and remnant lithium of the waste lithium-intercalated graphite are utilized to prepare the oxidized CNFs (ox-CNFs) through a chemical oxidation and ultrasonic crushing process. These ox-CNFs exhibit a size distribution of 15nm to 2μm and excellent hydrophilicity, and disperse well in an aqueous suspension. Under the hydrothermal condition at 180°C for 12h, the ox-CNFs are converted into a suspension of reduced CNFs (re-CNFs), or a cylindrical aggregate when the concentration exceeds 2 mg·mL−1. The spectroscopic results demonstrate that there are abundant edges, defects, and functional groups existing on the CNFs, which affect their reactive, electronic, and electrochemical properties. Thereinto, the vacuum-dried ox-CNFs film can be converted from an insulator to a conductor after a chemical reduction by hydroiodic acid. And the re-CNFs modified glass carbon electrode (re-CNFs/GCE) exhibits enhanced electrocatalytic activity of about 8 times than the GCE to the oxidation reaction of dopamine. Furthermore, with the addition of the carboxylic ox-CNFs in aniline, the CNFs/polyaniline composite discharges a capacitance of 356.4 F·g−1 at 2 mV·s−1, an increase of 80.5% compared to the polyaniline. This preparation entails not only novel carbon nanomaterials but also an excellent disposal method of spent graphite, showing special significance in materials innovation and environmental science.",battery
"Choosing between different scenarios commonly requires decision making based on multiple criteria. For example finding the most sustainable agricultural production system requires evaluation of many indicators in fields as diverse as environment, animal welfare and economics. A new and transparent method to such problems based on piecewise linear functions is described, and compared to other approaches. This paper presents a decision support tool which allows to (1) group indicators in a hierarchy, (2) define the acceptability of indicator values between unacceptable and desirable values, (3) define the relative importance of indicators, and (4) combine the individual indicators’ acceptabilities using various degrees of compromising into a final acceptability score for each of the investigated scenarios. The tool contains a visual module to study the comparison of scenarios in the bivariate case, which allows to get familiar with the concepts behind the balancing of indicators. The developed method and software tool are useful for decision support in processes where policy makers and scientists are interacting to arrive at optimal decisions.",non-battery
"The cubic ZnFe2O4 with the spinel structure is prepared by the urea combustion method. Powder X-ray diffraction and HR-TEM studies confirm the single-phase nature with particle size in the range, 100–300nm. A stable and reversible capacity, 615(±10)mAhg−1 (5.5moles of Li per mole of ZnFe2O4) when cycled in the range, 0.005–3.0V vs. Li at a current of 60mAg−1(0.1C) has been achieved between 15 and 50 cycles. The underlying reaction mechanism contributing to the observed capacity is the combination of ‘de-alloying–alloying’ and ‘conversion’ reactions of ‘LiZn–Fe–Li2O composite’. Ex situ HR-TEM and SAED data on the charged-electrode confirmed the proposed reaction mechanism.",battery
"This paper provides an insight into the specifications for electric double layer capacitor systems (EDLCs), design issues and production technology. It focuses on systems with power ratings far in excess of 100 kW and with short cycle times. As a result, a major topic of interest is EDLC cooling. Several cooling concepts are compared with each other based on experimental data. This is done for four EDLC configuration types. Mechanical aspects and diagnostics of the electric and thermal system are also covered.",battery
"Capsaicin is the active substance responsible for the pungent sensation produced by red pepper. In order to approach the underlying genetic mechanism for preference of red pepper, we conducted a 12-h, 1-bottle intake test of capsaicin solution using both male and female animals from the Mishima battery of mouse strains: 10 wild-derived inbred strains (PGN2, BFM/2, HMI, CAST/Ei, NJL, BLG2, CHD, SWN, KJR, MSM), 1 strain derived from the so-called fancy mouse (JF1), and 3 widely used laboratory strains (C57BL/6J, DBA/1J and BALB/cAnN). The concentration of capsaicin was increased from 0.5 to 15 μM successively. Gender differences were not observed in this test, but we found striking strain differences in capsaicin intake. Relative to baseline water intake, C57BL/6J and DBA/1J consumed 10%, whereas two wild strains, KJR and MSM, ingested approximately 60% of the 15-μM capsaicin solution. In a 2-bottle fluid preference test, both C57BL/6J and MSM strains reject capsaicin fluid even at the 0.5-μM concentration, which indicates that the receptors for capsaicin in these strains recognize capsaicin at a similar level. Thus, the strain differences at higher capsaicin concentrations in the 1-bottle test may reflect differences in central nervous system response to the capsaicin solution. The genetic difference in intake of capsaicin observed in these strains may provide a useful tool for identifying genes underlying response to red pepper in mice and other mammalian species.",non-battery
"Poly(hexyl viologen dichloride) (PHV-Cl) is described as a high energy density (ED) material in magnesium-based electrolytes. When coupled with Mg metal in all phenyl complex (APC) electrolytes, PHV-Cl cathodes demonstrate anion-transport behaviors with the reduction/oxidation of viologen units. This dual-ion type cell delivers a relatively high ED with reasonable stability during repeated charge/discharge (C/D) when compared with previously reported inorganic/organic cathodes in magnesium-ion batteries (MIBs). PHV-Cl shows a capacity of 171 mAh g−1 at an average discharge potential of 1.33 V vs. Mg/Mg2+, resulting in a significantly high ED (227 mWh g−1). The high ED characteristics of PHV-Cl are retained during repeated C/D cycles (201 mWh g−1 after 50 C/D) in contrast to the relative instability of other previously reported organic cathodes. Herein, the electrochemical performance of PHV-Cl in various types of electrolytes is also described. This work suggests that viologen-based cathodes with anion-transport properties could be implemented to achieve high levels of ED and stability via a dual-ion mode in MIBs, particularly with currently available electrolytes that are compatible with magnesium metal.",battery
"Objective Verify whether Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty (PTA) may affect neural conduction properties in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, thereby modifying patients’ disability, with prospective neurophysiological, urodynamic, clinical and subjective well-being evaluations. Methods In 55 out of 72 consecutively screened MS patients, the following procedures were carried out before (T0), at 2–6 months (T1) and at 6–15 months (T2) after a diagnostic phlebography, eventually followed by the PTA intervention if chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) was diagnosed: clinical/objective evaluation (Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS), ratings of subjective well-being, evaluation of urodynamic functions and multimodal EPs (visual, acoustic, upper and lower limbs somatosensory and motor evoked potentials). Results The number of dropouts was relatively high, and a complete set of neurophysiological and clinical data remained available for 37 patients (19 for urological investigations). The subjective well-being score significantly increased at T1 and returned close to basal values at T2, but their degree of objective disability did not change. Nevertheless, global EP-scores (indexing the impairment in conductivity of central pathways in multiple functional domains) significantly increased from T0 (7.9 ± 6.0) to T1 (9.2 ± 6.3) and from T0 to T2 (9.8 ± 6.3), but not from T1 and T2 (p > 0.05). Neurogenic urological lower tract dysfunctions slightly increased throughout the study. Conclusions The PTA intervention did not induce significant changes in disability in the present cohort of MS patients, in line with recent evidence of clinical inefficacy of this procedure. Significance Absence of multimodal neurophysiological and functional testing changes in the first 15 months following PTA suggests that conduction properties of neural pathways are unaffected by PTA. Current findings suggest that the short-lived (2–6 months), post-PTA, beneficial effect on subjective well-being measures experienced by MS patients is likely related to a placebo effect.",non-battery
"A comprehensive study is reported entailing optimization of sodium ion electrolyte formulation and compatibility studies with positive and negative electrode materials. EC:PC:DMC and EC:PC:DME were found to exhibit optimum ionic conductivities and lower viscosities. Yet, hard carbon negative electrode materials tested in such electrolytes exhibit significant differences in performance, rooted in the different resistivity of the SEI, which results in too large polarization and concomitant loss of capacity at low potentials when DME is used as a co-solvent. EC0.45:PC0.45:DMC0.1 was found to be the optimum composition resulting in good rate capability and high capacity upon sustained cycling for hard carbon electrodes. Its compatibility with positive Na3V2(PO4)2F3 (NVPF) electrodes was also confirmed, which led to the assembly of full Na-ion cells displaying an operation voltage of 3.65 V, very low polarisation and excellent capacity retention upon cycling with ca. 97 mA h g−1 of NVPF after more than 120 cycles together with satisfactory coulombic efficiency (>98.5%) and very good power performance. Such values lead to energy densities comparable to those of the current state-of-the-art lithium-ion technology.
",battery
"Activated Carbon (AC) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) are investigated as components of LiFePO4 (LFP)-based bi-material electrodes for hybrid devices. Firstly, the influence of their different morphological and porosimetric characteristics is correlated to the electrochemical performance. Furthermore, kinetic aspects are carefully studied (by means of galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry), in order to address the processes which determine the power performance. The results indicate that, independently from the carbon, under high current loads the electrode kinetics are limited by the transport of reactant to the LFP particles. In such conditions CNT allow, better than AC, rapid electrons and Li+ ions flow through the open network established in the electrode, thus enabling superior high rate performance, especially during pulsed operation.",battery
"Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) includes a range of approaches aimed at supporting or replacing speech for children and others for whom natural speech is not sufficient to meet their needs. For some children it also offers a support to the process of language learning. A wide range of medical conditions may lead to a child requiring AAC, either temporarily or on a more permanent basis. AAC systems may be unaided or aided, in the sense of requiring some form of equipment. They vary on the level of technology required from none to specialized computer-based devices offering synthesized speech output. Management of children requiring AAC must involve parents and a multidisciplinary team of health and education professionals, in addition to active involvement on the part of the child.",non-battery
"A novel approach to large bandgap semiconductor materials design is demonstrated. Based on a thermodynamical growth control concept, a low temperature aqueous thin film growth technique is presented to produce, at large scale and low cost, novel metal oxide-based nano- to micro-structures. Three-dimensional arrays consisting of building blocks of controlled morphologies, sizes and orientations, engineered from molecular to nano-, meso- or microscopic scales are generated onto various substrates. Semiconductor technology and in particular, photovoltaics and photocatalysis, shall be beneficiary of such designed arrays. Promising improvements in terms of overall efficiency and manufacturing costs as well as better fundamental understandings of their electronic structure are foreseen with the use of such purpose-built materials. To cite this article: L. Vayssieres, C. R. Chimie 9 (2006) .",non-battery
"Lithium transport through Li1−δ Mn2O4 electrode during the lithium intercalation involving the disorder to order phase transition was investigated by numerical analysis of the current transient. All the measured current transients showed non-Cottrell behaviour during the whole lithium intercalation, and the relationship between the initial current level and the applied potential drop followed Ohm’s law. The current transient was numerically simulated based upon the ‘cell-impedance controlled’ lithium transport at various applied potential steps. The current transient theoretically calculated well coincided with that transient experimentally measured in value and shape. The typical current transient showed two ‘quasi-current plateaux’ separated by a steep current drop in value, indicating the coexistence of the disordered and ordered phases, as confirmed from the concentration profile across the electrode. From the experimental and theoretical results, it was strongly inferred that lithium transport through the Li1−δ Mn2O4 electrode is governed by the ‘cell-impedance controlled’ constraint during the whole lithium intercalation involving the ordering of lithium ion.",battery
"The interrelationship between the ability to inhibit incoming redundant input (gating out) and the ability of the brain to respond when the stimulus changes (gating in), has not been extensively examined. We administered a battery of auditory evoked potential tests to a group of chronic, medicated schizophrenia patients (N =12) and a group of healthy subjects (N =12) in order to examine relationships between “gating out” measures (suppression with repetition of the P50, N100, and P200 evoked responses), and the mismatch negativity (MMN) and the P300 event related potentials as measures of “gating in”. Gating ratios for N100 and P200 in a visual attention paired-click task differed significantly between groups. Mismatch negativity and P300 potential amplitudes were also significantly reduced in the patient group. When including all subjects (N =24) a negative correlation was found between the P50 gating and the amplitude of the MMN. In healthy subjects this correlation was significantly stronger compared to schizophrenia patients. While no significant correlation was noted between the amplitudes of the P300 and any gating measures when all 24 subjects were included, a significant negative correlation was seen between the P200 gating and the P300 amplitudes in schizophrenia patients; an opposite trend was noted in healthy subjects. Finally, a positive correlation was seen between the P300 and MMN (to abstract deviance) amplitudes in healthy subjects, but the opposite was found in patients. These results suggest that further study of these interrelationships could inform the understanding of information processing abnormalities in schizophrenia.",non-battery
"The study that we conducted with students in secondary education in Morocco was aimed at:- Revealing some of students’ misconceptions relating to physical and chemical transformation in general, and especially the concept of redox-Check if students use their knowledge appropriately and if they can recognize redox phenomena in everyday life and distinguish it from other chemical transformations, such as acid-base reactions, precipitation, dissolution and even the physical transformations.-Check if the basic concepts constitute an obstacle to the understanding of the model when they are not assimilated by the students. -Propose a didactic approach to contribute to the improvement of the teaching of the concept of redox in high school.",non-battery
Unknown Page numbers followed by f indicate illustrations; those followed by t indicate tables; those followed by b indicate boxes.,non-battery
"The culture of animal cells is key to much of basic research today and an important starting point for therapeutic applications. But each cell type has its own quirks. Some cells are happy with most media and protocols, but others can become the bane of a scientist's existence with their seemingly inexplicable needs. Caitlin Smith reports.
",non-battery
"This paper presents the failure investigation of lead-acid battery grids received from a local battery manufacturer. Distortion, cracking, and brittleness were observed in as-cast grids. These battery grids were gravity cast by re-melting of locally made Pb–Sb ingots. However, similar distortion and brittleness were not observed in grids of similar design cast by re-melting of imported Pb–Sb ingots. Spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy, SEM–EDS analysis, and microhardness measurements were carried out on both types of grids to find out the root cause of failure. It was concluded that the distortion and cracking were mainly caused because of coarse dendritic microstructure with interdendritic and intercellular segregation produced by either high pouring temperature or low cooling rates employed during casting. This conclusion suggests that the casting parameters may have differed for the two types of ingots used. However, another contributing factor was thermal stresses induced during solidification and the brittleness of the locally produced ingots which contained a high arsenic content.",non-battery
"This paper presents a model of a lead-acid battery developed with bond graphs. The bond graph structure is used to reproduce the behavior of reversible electrochemical cells in charging conditions or in discharging conditions. The work presented here has been applied to the particular case of lead-acid battery, so widely used in the automotive industry as standard 12V batteries and as traction batteries in electrical or hybrid vehicles. The model considers each half-cell independently. For each half-cell the main electrode reaction and the electrolysis reaction of water are considered, that will be the hydrogen evolution reaction in the negative electrode and the oxygen evolution reaction in the positive. Electrochemical principles are considered in order to consider the main phenomena that appear in the battery, like the equilibrium potential, and the overpotential, modeled by means of the activation or charge transfer and the diffusion mechanisms. Each one of this phenomena are modeled with their corresponding bond graph elements and structures, showing the correspondence between bond graph elements and its physical interpretation in this field. First, an isothermal model has been developed in order to show the behavior of the main phenomena. A more complex model has also been developed including thermal behavior. This model is very useful in the case of traction batteries in electrical and hybrid vehicles where high current intensities appear. Some simulation results are also presented in order to show the accuracy of the proposed models and the differences of behavior if thermal effects are considered.",non-battery
"Artificial upwelling can lift nutritious deep ocean water to sunlit layer, as a result, it is able to promote primary production and is being paid more and more attention all over the world. Kinds of artificial upwelling method have been invented in recent years, however, few of them can fulfill the requirement of desired flow rate and balanced budget. The design of an air-lift artificial upwelling device powered by hybrid energy system is presented in this paper, where solar, wind and wave energy is exploited together to induce artificial upwelling. The preliminary results of an open sea trial lasted for 7 days have demonstrated that the hybrid system assembled in a floating platform with surface area of 12.5m2 can lift 4234m3 deep seawater from more than 20m depth. In particular, the operation based on optimal dispatch strategy showed that the unit cost of induced artificial upwelling is only 0.005 US $/m3. The work presented in this paper constitutes a step towards the development of an advanced hybrid energy system used for artificial upwelling.",non-battery
"In this paper‎, ‎a formulation is developed for sizing of a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) in different applications‎. ‎Here‎, ‎the HESS is a combination of Lithium battery and Ultra-Capacitor (UC)‎, ‎which is useful for many high energy and high power applications such as Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and renewable energy‎. ‎The sizing formulas are based on initial cost and 10-years battery replacement cost which is arranged as an optimization problem‎. ‎For battery replacement cost‎, ‎the Lithium battery capacity depletion formulas are studied for a LiFePO4 battery‎. ‎As a case study‎, ‎application of HESS in a Series Hybrid Electric Bus (SHEB) is considered‎. ‎The results show by the addition of UC‎, ‎the Lithium battery life is improved significantly‎. ‎Furthermore‎, ‎the optimum sizing of the HESS is dependent to the SHEB driving cycle‎. ‎Therefore‎, ‎considering the power profile of the HESS in its sizing process may reduce HESS cost‎. ‎This effect is studied in three different cycles of the SHEB‎. ‎In addition‎, ‎the formulation is applied to cycle-based optimization of the Power Distribution Control Strategy (PDCS) of the HESS by dynamic programming‎. ‎The results show the optimum PDCS has better LiFePO4 battery life in comparison with the conventional PDCS‎.",battery
" Ubiquitination-mediated M1/M2 macrophage polarization plays important roles in the pathogenesis of immune disease. However, the regulatory mechanism of ubiquitination during M1/M2 macrophage polarization following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has not been well studied.",non-battery
" Pain conditions of the musculoskeletal system are very common and have tremendous socioeconomic impact. Despite its high prevalence, musculoskeletal pain remains poorly understood and predominantly non-specifically and insufficiently treated.",non-battery
"Amidst changing climates, understanding the world’s water resources is of increasing importance. In Ontario, Canada, low water conditions are currently assessed using only precipitation and watershed-based stream gauges by the Conservation Authorities in Ontario and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Regional groundwater-storage changes in Ontario are not currently measured using satellite data by research institutes. In this study, contributions from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data are compared to a hydrogeological database covering southern Ontario from 2003 to 2013, to determine the suitability of GRACE total water storage estimates for monitoring groundwater storage in this location. Terrestrial water storage data from GRACE were used to determine monthly groundwater storage (GWS) anomaly values. GWS values were also determined by multiplying groundwater-level elevations (from the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network wells) by specific yield. Comparisons of GRACE-derived GWS to well-based GWS data determined that GRACE is sufficiently sensitive to obtain a meaningful signal in southern Ontario. Results show that GWS values produced by GRACE are useful for identifying regional changes in groundwater storage in areas with limited available hydrogeological characterization data. Results also indicate that GRACE may have an ability to forecast changes in groundwater storage, which will become useful when monitoring climate shifts in the near future.
",non-battery
"A saturated solution of 2.3 M sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in trimethyl iso-butyl phosphonium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide ionic liquid shows a high conductivity (0.94 mScm−1 at 50 °C), low ion association, and a wide operational temperature window (−71 °C–305 °C) making it a promising electrolyte for sodium battery applications. Cycling with P2- and O3-Na2/3[Fe2/3Mn1/3]O2 cathode display excellent performance at 50 °C outperforming conventional organic solvent based electrolytes in terms of capacities (at C/10) and long term cycle stability (at C/2). Post analysis of the electrolyte shows no measurable changes while the sodium metal anode and the cathode surface shows the presence of electrolyte specific elements after cycling, suggesting the formation of a stabilizing solid electrolyte interface. Additionally, cycling changes the topography and particle morphology of the cathode. Thus, the electrolyte properties and cell performance match or outperform previously reported results with the additional benefit of replacing the hazardous and flammable organic solvent solutions commonly employed.",battery
"Objective: Present the design of a neuropsychological battery for the detection of main cognitive deficits in school aged children with ADHD. Methods: The neuropsychological battery created for the present study consists of 13 subtests that were designed based on the main neuropsychological deficits described in recent literature regarding ADHD in school aged children and it has been applied to 10 children and adjustments have been made in its design. The tests are as follows: 1. Synkinetic movements (Motor overflow). 2. Gait. 3. Synchronized movements. 4. Delay aversion. 5. Reaction time (Go/No-go task). 6. Planning. 7. Working Memory. 8. Set- shifting. 9. Temporal processing. 10. Interference control. 11. Social Cognition. 12. Rapid naming. 13. Processing speed. Results: Until now, the battery has only been applied on a small sample to make adjustments on the application parameters, because some of the subtests are automated. Conclusion: Covering the evaluation of deficient functions in children with ADHD, the test battery is expected to make an important contribution to diagnostic evaluations, after its validation process and standardization.",non-battery
"The research presented in this paper shows that Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) issues associated with home appliances, such as TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and personal computers, are linked in the WEEE flow and recycling systems and are important to matters of public policy and regulation. In this paper, the sources and generation of WEEE in China are identified, and WEEE volumes are calculated. The results show that recycling capacity must increase if the rising quantity of domestic WEEE is to be handled properly. Simultaneously, suitable WEEE treatment will generate large volumes of secondary resources. Environmental problems caused by the existing recycling processes have been investigated in a case study. Problems mainly stem from open burning of plastic–metal parts and from precious metals leaching techniques that utilize acids. The existing WEEE flow at the national level was investigated and described. It became obvious that a considerable amount of obsolete items are stored in homes and offices and have not yet entered the recycling system. The reuse of used appliances has become a high priority for WEEE collectors and dealers because reuse generates higher economic profits than simple material recovery. The results of a cost analysis of WEEE flow shows that management and collection costs significantly influence current WEEE management. Heated discussions are ongoing in political and administrative bodies as to whether extended producer responsibilities policies are promoting WEEE recycling and management. This paper also discusses future challenges and strategies for WEEE management in China.",non-battery
"An improved solid-state coordination method namely wet coordination has been developed to synthesize carbon-coated monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 rapidly at a low temperature of 600°C in 1h. The structure of the sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX). The diffusion coefficient of the lithium ions was measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochemical behavior of the sample exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 130mAhg−1, which is very close to its theoretical capacity of 132mAhg−1 under 95mAg−1 (0.67C) in the range of 3.3–4.3V (vs. Li/Li+). These results suggest that wet coordination is a promising method for large-scale production of carbon-coated Li3V2(PO4)3.",battery
"Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) is one of the most promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries because of its stability, safety, and high reversible capacity. However, the sluggish Na-ion diffusion and poor electronic conductivity of NVP often hinder electrochemical performance, thus requiring compositing with carbon materials, such as graphene to improve the material. In this work, the effect of doping species of graphene on the electrochemical performance of NVP/graphene composites was systematically investigated and vigorously compared. 3D porous NVP fabricated by sol-gel method with 3 nm of carbon coating layers was deposited on graphene sheets with different surface functionalities (GO, N-rGO and P-rGO). NVP/N-rGO composites have low charge transfer resistance and high Na+ diffusion coefficient than that of NVP powder, NVP/P-rGO, and NVP/GO, which delivered a specific capacity of 113.9 mAh g−1 at 0.5C with a capacity retention up to 88.42% after 5000 cycles at 20 C. The superior sodium storage performance derives from the pyridinic and pyrrolic N doping in graphene, which triggers defective and active site numbers but maintains moderate graphitization to accelerate the Na+ and electron transportation.",battery
" A high prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is reported in children born extremely preterm (EP), but an even larger proportion of survivors are affected by subclinical difficulties than meet diagnostic criteria. The aims of this study were to investigate autistic traits associated with the broader autism phenotype in a cohort of young adults born EP, and explore how these traits relate to emotion recognition, empathy and autism symptom presentation in childhood. The prevalence of autism diagnoses was also investigated.",non-battery
"This study demonstrates an organic electrolyte-based rechargeable zinc-ion battery (ZIB) using Prussian blue (PB) analogue potassium nickel hexacyanoferrate K0.86Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.954(H2O)0.766 (KNF-086) as the cathode material. KNF-086 is prepared via electrochemical extraction of potassium ions from K1.51Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.954(H2O)0.766 (KNF-151). The cell is composed of a KNF-086 cathode, a zinc metal anode, and a 0.5 M Zn(ClO4)2 acetonitrile electrolyte. This cell shows a reversible discharge capacity of 55.6 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C rate with the discharge voltage at 1.19 V (vs. Zn2+/Zn). As evidenced by Fourier electron density analysis with powder XRD data, the zinc-inserted phase is confirmed as Zn0.32K0.86Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.954(H2O)0.766 (ZKNF-086), and the position of the zinc ion in ZKNF-086 is revealed as the center of the large interstitial cavities of the cubic PB. Compared to KNF-086, ZKNF-086 exhibits a decreased unit cell parameter (0.9%) and volume (2.8%) while the interatomic distance of d(Fe-C) increased (from 1.84 to 1.98 Å), and the oxidation state of iron decreases from 3 to 2.23. The organic electrolyte system provides higher zinc cycling efficiency (>99.9%) than the aqueous system (ca. 80%). This result demonstrates an organic electrolyte-based ZIB, and offers a crucial basis for understanding the electrochemical intercalation chemistry of zinc ions in organic electrolytes.",battery
"Much interest has been focused on testing technology for structural architectures since the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. The elastic wave method with hammering has been used for these tests so far. However, less stability of hammering and its response makes it difficult to detect deterioration and crack accurately. The other ultrasonic method with a piezoelectric device also has its limitations in the inhomogenous materials because the ultrasonic wave attenuates rapidly in them. A low frequency measurement in the frequency domain will be a solution to this, though it has been thought to be difficult because it requires large dimension of oscillator. A metal magnetostrictive material, whose magnetostrictive driving force is large, was employed and processed. The material has almost same the level of Young's modulus with steel. We applied additional compression stress on the device to enhance oscillating efficiency extraordinarily, by utilizing its strength which enabled the generation of a wide bandwidth of elastic wave even at low frequency in small size. Accordingly, it has become possible to measure the structures with a continuous elastic wave or pulse by controlling its frequency and power. To date tunnels, piles and roads have been measured and tested successfully by this new method, which is expected to be applied to various types of structures and materials.",non-battery
"Olivine structure LiFePO4 attracted much attention as a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries. The overwhelming advantage of iron-based compounds is that, in addition to being inexpensive and naturally abundant, they are less toxic than Co, Ni, and Mn. Its commercial use has already started and there are several companies that base their business on lithium phosphate technology. Still, there is a need for a manufacturing process that produces electrochemically active LiFePO4 at a low cost. Therefore the interest in developing new approaches to the synthesis of LiFePO4 did not fade. Here is presented a review of the synthesis procedures used for the production of LiFePO4 powders along with the highlights of doped and coated derivatives. Apart from already established conventional routes of preparation, numerous alternative procedures are mentioned.",battery
" Carbon-supported Au–Ni–Cu, Au–Ni, Au–Cu and Au nanoparticles were synthesised using a polyol reduction method. The prepared nanoparticle catalysts were used as anode electrocatalysts in direct borohydride–hydrogen peroxide fuel cells. The physical properties of the as-prepared electrocatalysts were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and TEM analyses showed that the average size of the particles was approximately 10–20 nm. Cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to analyse the borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR) on Au/C, Au–Cu/C, Au–Ni/C and Au–Ni–Cu/C. The results showed that the catalytic activity for BOR decreased in the order Au2–Ni1–Cu1/C > Au1.5–Ni1–Cu1/C > Au1–Ni1/C > Au1–Cu1/C > Au/C. Single-cell direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) tests also attested that the Au2–Ni1–Cu1/C anode catalyst exhibited better performance than the Au–Cu/C, Au–Ni/C and Au/C anode catalysts. Therefore, the ternary Au2–Ni1–Cu1/C catalyst can be a potential anode catalyst for DBFCs.",battery
"A novel sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membrane embedded with the short-carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotube (we name it as SPEEK/SCCT membrane) for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) has been prepared with low capacity loss, low cost and high energy efficiency. The mechanical strength, vanadium ions permeability and performance of the membrane in the VRB single cell were characterized. Results showed that the SPEEK/SCCT membrane possessed low permeability of vanadium ions, accompanied by higher mechanical strength than the Nafion 212 membrane. The VRB single cell with SPEEK/SCCT membrane showed 7% higher coulombic efficiency (CE), 6% higher energy efficiency (EE) but lower capacity loss in comparison with the one with Nafion 212. The good cell performance, low capacity loss and high vanadium ions barrier properties of the blend membrane is of significant interest for VRB applications.",battery
"The film formation behaviour of lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB), a new electrolyte salt for lithium batteries, on graphite, carbon black and lithium titanate is reported. LiBOB is actively involved in the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) at the anode. Part of this formation is an irreversible reductive reaction which takes place at potentials of around 1.75 V vs Li/Li+ and contributes to the irreversible capacity of anode materials in the first cycle. Carbon black interacts strongly with LiBOB-based electrolytes, which results in strong film formation and loss of electronic conductivity within the composite electrode. In LiBOB-based electrolytes the electrode kinetics increase in the order: carbon black  << fine particulate graphite ~ metal powder, due to decreased film formation of the conductive additive. The influence of various solvents, surfactant additives, and potential impurities was also studied.
",battery
"This paper reports the effect of chimneys in reducing indoor air pollution in a lung cancer epidemic area of rural China. Household indoor air pollution concentrations were measured during unvented burning (chimneys blocked) and vented burning (chimneys open) of bituminous coal in Xuan Wei, China. Concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) and of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) were measured in 43 homes during normal activities. The use of chimneys led to significant decreases in indoor air concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) by 66% and of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) by 84%. The average BaP content of PM10 also decreased by 55% with the installation of a chimney. The reduction of indoor pollution levels by the installation of a chimney supports the epidemiology findings on the health benefits of stove improvement. However, even in the presence of a chimney, the indoor air concentrations for both PM10 and BaP still exceeded the indoor air quality standards of China. Movement up the energy ladder to cleaner liquid or gaseous fuels is probably the only sustainable indoor air pollution control measure.",non-battery
"Since the gel polymer electrolytes based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) host have not been sufficient to fulfil the requirements as a separator of current lithium polymer battery, a new polymer host copolymerized with PAN, polyacrylonitrile-co-bis[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl]itaconate (abbreviated as PANI), was synthesized in expectation of enhanced trapping ability of liquid electrolytes. Electrical, electrochemical, thermal and mechanical studies have been carried out on PAN and PANI blended gel polymer electrolytes, complexed with ethylene carbonate (EC) and γ-butyrolactone (BL) containing LiClO4 salt. The addition of PANI as a host polymer in the PAN-based gel polymer electrolytes has beneficial effects such as higher ionic conductivity, better thermal and electrochemical stabilities and enhanced ability of trapping organic solvent, possibly due to ion chelating ability of itaconate unit, though it shows less mechanical rigidity caused by amorphization of the PAN matrix.",battery
"Tris(trimethylsilyl)borate (TMSB) is used as an electrolyte additive for high voltage lithium-rich oxide cathode of lithium ion battery. The interfacial natures of Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2/carbonate-based electrolyte are investigated with a combination of electrochemical measurements and physical characterizations. Charge/discharge tests show that the cyclic performance of Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 in a mixed carbonate electrolyte is significantly improved by using TMSB. After 200 cycles between 2 V and 4.8 V (vs. Li/Li+) at 0.5 C rate, the capacity retention of Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 is only 19% in the blank electrolyte, while it is improved to 74% when 0.5% TMSB is applied. The results from physical characterizations demonstrate that this excellent cyclic performance is attributed to the improved interfacial stability of Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2/electrolyte due to the thin and protective film generated by TMSB.",battery
"Rational and precise control of the structure and dimension of electrode materials is an efficient way to improve their electrochemical performance. In this work, solvothermal or co-precipitation method is used to synthesize lithium-rich layered oxide materials of Li1.2Mn0.56Co0.12Ni0.12O2 (LLO) with various morphologies and structures, including microspheres, microrods, nanoplates, and irregular nanoparticles. These materials exhibit strong structure-dependent electrochemical properties. The porous hierarchical structured LLO microrods exhibit the best performance, delivering a discharge capacity of 264.6mAhg−1 at 0.5C with over 91% retention after 100 cycles. At a high rate of 5C, a high discharge capacity of 173.6mAhg−1 can be achieved. This work reveals the relationship between the morphologies and electrochemical properties of LLO cathode materials, and provides a feasible approach to fabricating robust and high-performance electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"A stable magnesium battery has been developed based on a magnesium anode, a poly(dioxyethane thiophene) (PEDOT) cathode and a near-saturated aqueous solution of LiCl, MgCl2, or mixture of these salts at pH of 11. This combination leads to a low water activity in the electrolyte, which thus suppresses the hydrogen evolution reaction on Mg, as well as producing a stable oxy-hydroxide film which protects the metal surface from freely corroding. The conducting polymer cathode is reduced somewhat during the discharge process, however, appears to be readily re-oxidised (as determined from the resistance) by the oxygen present in the cell. The cell is therefore primarily a Mg/O2 battery, however, the PEDOT appears to enhance the performance, in particular the discharge voltage.",battery
"The concept that blood cells arising from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) can be subdivided into two major lineages, a myelo-erythroid and a lymphoid lineage, has long persisted. Indeed, it has become almost axiomatic that the first branch point from the HSC produces two progenitors, one for myelo-erythroid cells and the other for lymphoid cells. However, recent studies have provided a battery of findings that cannot be explained by this classical model. We will outline how this classical model arose before describing how we came to propose an alternative ‘myeloid-based model’, in which myeloid potential is retained in erythroid, T, and B cell branches even after these lineages have segregated from each other.",non-battery
"The rate of many chemical and energy transformation processes depends on the kinetics of charge and mass transfer in porous electrodes, but rational design of efficient nanostructured electrodes is hindered by an inability to quantify effects of micro/nano-structures of real devices. Here we report a framework for detailed simulations conformal to 3D micro/nano-scale reconstructions of porous structures, obtained from phase-sensitive x-ray nanotomography, using COMSOL and iso2mesh packages coordinated with custom code for automated feature recognition, meshing, refinement, equation assignment, and solution. This computational framework is illustrated in visualizing 3D surface activity of an operating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrode under low and high bias along two important transport pathways (bulk and surface), showing the effect of local nanostructured morphology on global electrochemical response and demonstrating cathodic activation of bulk La1−x Sr x MnO3±δ (LSM). The methodology is flexible with possibilities for superimposition of mechanical, thermal, and other processes and for incorporation of inputs from multi-scale calculations. It has potential to serve as a platform for rational design of complex nanostructured hetero-foam devices with desired functionalities.",battery
"Durability testing of solid oxide cell electrodes in reversing-current and constant-current operation modes is presented. (La0.8Sr0.2)0.98MnO3−δ–Zr0.84Y0.16O2−γ (LSM–YSZ) symmetric cells were tested at 800 °C in air with current densities of 0.5 and 1.5 A cm−2, with current cycle periods of 1 and 12 h. A continuous increase in both ohmic and polarization resistance was observed, via Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), for cells tested with a reversing current of 1.5 A cm−2, whereas cells tested at 0.5 A cm−2 showed no measurable resistance increase. The resistance degradation was explained by delamination in the electrode, observed by post-test Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), near the interface with the electrolyte for the 1.5 A cm−2 cells, but not for those tested at 0.5 A cm−2. Current cycle period also impacted the degradation observed at 1.5 A cm−2: both the rate of resistance increase and the extent of post-test delamination decreased on going from constant current mode to a 12 h period to a 1 h period. The results indicate that lower current densities and reversing-current operation are desirable to maximize the lifetime of solid oxide cells.
",battery
Previous work has shown that in vitro thymulin treatments have the ability to enhance natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. The purpose of the experiments presented here was to examine the in vivo effects of thymulin on avian NK cell activity in response to a viral infection. Five and a half-week-old K-strain chickens infected with avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) served as the model for these experiments. Daily thymulin injections began at varying time points prior to or post-infection. The controls received daily injections of the ZnCl2-containing carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC) diluent. A 51Cr-cytolytic release assay was used to determine the activity of the NK cells harvested via lung lavage from the respiratory tracts of infected chickens. The results of these experiments showed that in vivo thymulin treatments enhance NK cytotoxicity. The greatest enhancement of NK cytotoxicity was observed at 10 days post-infection in those chickens that began receiving thymulin after infection. These results suggest that thymulin may not only have a role in enhancing immunosurveillance but also in enhancing the response of the innate immune system following infection. Dose–response experiments found that the 50 ng/100 g body weight (Bwt) dose significantly depressed the cytolytic activity of the NK cells in comparison to either the 10 ng/100 g Bwt dose or the control.,non-battery
" The health and social care sector (HCS) is currently facing multiple challenges across Europe: against the background of ageing societies, more people are in need of care. Simultaneously, several countries report a lack of skilled personnel. Due to its structural characteristics, including a high share of part-time workers, an ageing workforce, and challenging working conditions, the HCS requires measures and strategies to deal with these challenges.",non-battery
"Objectives Patients' ideas about the nature, cause, and treatment of their illnesses are part of the complex process of coping with illness. To date, limited research on subjective theories of illness in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been performed. The aim of the study was to investigate patients' subjective theories of illness and how these are related to clinical and psychological outcome criteria, in particular IBS symptom severity and quality of life. Methods Eighty-eight patients with IBS, as defined by Rome III criteria, were administered a battery of questionnaires to collect the following data: sociodemographic variables, subjective theories of illness (Subjektive Krankheitstheorien, Cause Questionnaire), anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), quality of life (SF-12), and IBS symptoms (Questionnaire for Gastrointestinal Symptoms). Results Almost all patients reported theories of illness reflecting their subjective causal assumptions. The most frequently mentioned causal factors were physical illness, intrapsychic factors, and stress. Patients with mainly somatic attributions had higher IBS symptoms scores (P<.05) and reduced physical quality of life. Intrapsychic attributions were associated with reduced mental quality of life and enhanced physical quality of life (P<.01). All correlations were independent of gender, age, and irritable bowel subgroups. Conclusions Subjective theories of illness can have significant implications for IBS symptom severity, as well as for physical and mental quality of life.",non-battery
"International research has demonstrated that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth have elevated rates of suicide and self-harm. What is missing from the evidence base, however, is qualitative research investigating LGBT youth perspectives. This is a sensitive subject area presenting ethical, methodological and epistemological challenges, especially in relation to over-sampling the ‘visible’ sections of a hidden population, retrospective reporting, and capturing complex emotions. We report on our use of qualitative online methodology to examine Internet forums where LGBT youth discuss self-harming. We found that this methodology can address some research dilemmas by generating: (a) diverse samples in terms of sexuality and gender identities; (b) a different type of data, immediate and unmediated by researchers; and (c) complex psychosocial emotional data. We argue that this online data can enhance our understanding of the links among hard-to-reach youth, suicide, self-harm, sexuality and gender, which is crucial to developing effective and appropriate suicide prevention strategies and mental health policies.",non-battery
"Objective To investigate the maturation of long-latency auditory evoked potentials (LLAEP) from 6 to 48months in infants with a family history of language impairment (FH+) and control infants (FH−). Methods LLAEPs of seventeen FH+ infants were compared to 28 FH− infants at 6, 9, 12, 16, 24, 36 and 48months. Participants received a passive oddball paradigm using fast- and slow-rate non-linguistic auditory stimuli and at 36 and 48months completed a battery of standardized language and cognitive tests. Results Overall, the morphology of LLAEP responses differed for fast- versus slow-rate stimuli. Significant age-related changes in latency and amplitude were observed. Group differences, favoring FH− infants, in the rate of maturation of LLAEPs were found. Responses to fast-rate stimuli predicted language abilities at 36 and 48months of age. Conclusions The development of LLAEP in FH+ children is modulated by differences in the rate of maturation as well as variations in temporal processing abilities. Significance These findings provide evidence for the role of non-linguistic auditory processes in early language development and illustrate the utility of using a perceptual-processing skills model to further our understanding of the precursors of language development and impairment.",non-battery
 There is renewed interest in blood product use for resuscitation stimulated by recent military experience and growing recognition of the limitations of large-volume crystalloid resuscitation.,non-battery
"Previous studies report that acquired prosopagnosia is frequently associated with topographic disorientation. Whether this is associated with a specific anatomic subtype of prosopagnosia, how frequently it is seen with the developmental variant, and what specific topographic function is impaired to account for this problem are not known. We studied ten subjects with acquired prosopagnosia from either occipitotemporal or anterior temporal (AT) lesions and seven with developmental prosopagnosia. Subjects were given a battery of topographic tests, including house and scene recognition, the road map test, a test of cognitive map formation, and a standardized self-report questionnaire. House and/or scene recognition were frequently impaired after either occipitotemporal or AT lesions in acquired prosopagnosia. Subjects with occipitotemporal lesions were also impaired in cognitive map formation: an overlap analysis identified right fusiform and parahippocampal gyri as a likely correlate. Only one subject with acquired prosopagnosia had mild difficulty with directional orientation on the road map test. Only one subject with developmental prosopagnosia had difficulty with cognitive map formation, and none were impaired on the other tests. Scores for house and scene recognition correlated most strongly with the results of the questionnaire. We conclude that topographic disorientation in acquired prosopagnosia reflects impaired place recognition, with a contribution from poor cognitive map formation when there is occipitotemporal damage. Topographic impairments are less frequent in developmental prosopagnosia.",non-battery
"In this study, a new parameter having influence on the TiO2 nanotubes formation process is reported. Except of previously mentioned and well-known anodizing parameters such as voltage, time of anodizing, type of electrolyte, temperature, etc., samples’ configuration in the electrochemical cell represents an important factor in the anodizing procedure. The electrochemical anodization is a group of interconnected processes and factors, each one of them having its specific weight on the final result. It was observed that the very short distance in between two titanium plates connected to the anodic terminal of the electrochemical cell is the decisive factor for creating superimposed TiO2 nanotube layers. More precisely, it was found that the configuration of two parallel Ti plates being in close contact to each other, mounted to the anodic terminal and in parallel with the graphite cathode, favors the formation through electrolysis of multi-layered TiO2 nanotubes. The microscopic observation of multi-layered TiO2 nanotubes was performed through the removal of the upper layer of nanotubes using sonication. This peculiar result was interpreted using existed theories such as First Fick’s law and Nerst diffusion layer in combination with recently published research findings related to the effect of inter-electrode distance.",battery
"Mixed silicon–graphite composites were studied as an anode material for LIB. Estimation of the capacity of the composite as a function of silicon mass fraction as well as the lithium mole fraction in the final Li–Si alloy was performed. Based on this estimation, appropriate cycling test was introduced. Possible cycling stability region in terms of Si mass fraction, mole fraction of Li in the Li–Si alloy and average particle size was evaluated.",battery
"Potassium and sodium-ion transfer kinetics were compared for the intercalation reactions into the KVPO4F positive electrode material in acetonitrile- and ethylene carbonate-based electrolytes, which implied the formation of different electrode/electrolyte interface structures. The presence of surface layers was found to result in a significantly more pronounced effect on the ion transfer kinetics for K+ compared with Na+, while the barrier layers in K+ electrolytes were demonstrated to be less resistive. Difficulties associated with the stabilization of the electrode material/potassium electrolyte interface under high operating potentials require the application of higher voltage electrolytes. The kinetic trends in three high voltage electrolytes were compared for the potassium (de)intercalation reaction, and the general obstacles to developing a high-voltage potassium-ion battery were identified.",battery
"Plate-like Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite is synthesized via a solution route followed by solid-state reaction. The Li3V2(PO4)3/C plates are 40–100nm in thicknesses and 2–10μm in lengths. TEM images show that a uniform carbon layer with a thickness of 5.3nm presents on the surfaces of Li3V2(PO4)3 plates. The apparent Li-ion diffusion coefficient of the plate-like Li3V2(PO4)3/C is calculated to be 2.7×10−8 cm2 s−1. At a charge–discharge rate of 3C, the plate-like Li3V2(PO4)3/C exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 125.2 and 133.1mAhg−1 in the voltage ranges of 3.0–4.3 and 3.0–4.8V, respectively. After 500 cycles, the electrodes still can deliver a discharge capacity of 111.8 and 97.8mAhg−1 correspondingly, showing a good cycling stability.",battery
"The distributions of current density and potential of automotive negative plate were studied by measuring the IR drop in the H2SO4 solution between the positive and negative plates. At the beginning of discharge, the distributions of current density, potential and polarization resistance are uniform. In the later stage, high polarization appears at the top and bottom of the negative plate and the current density falls very quickly in these regions. Therefore, high polarization resistance of the active mass increases very quickly at both the top and bottom of the negative plate. It is mainly caused by the passivation of the negative plate which obviously decreases by constant current charge. At low temperature, at the end of 3 C discharge, the highest polarization and the lowest current density appear farthest away from the lug and at the top of the negative plate.",battery
"A new blue-emitting phosphor, Sr1− x Pb x ZnO2, was prepared by a novel adipic acid templated sol–gel route. Photoluminescence and crystalline properties were investigated as functions of calcination temperatures and the Pb2+ doping levels. It was found that under UV excitation with a wavelength of 283 or 317nm, the phosphors gave emission from 374 to 615nm with a peak centered at 451nm. This broad-band was composed of UV and the visible range was attributed to an impurity-trapped exciton-type emission. The maximum emission intensity of the Sr1− x Pb x ZnO2 phosphors occurred at a Pb concentration of x=0.01. The decay time was observed to be ∼33ms for the compound doped with 1mol% Pb prepared at 1000°C. Diffuse reflectance spectra revealed the characteristic absorption peaks and the bandgap energy of SrZnO2 was found to be 3.4eV. SEM analysis indicated that phosphor particles have an irregularly rounded morphology and the average particle size was found to be approximately 1μm.",non-battery
"The changes in the properties of lithium–sulphur cell components (electrolyte, sulphur and lithium electrodes) during cycling are studied by AC impedance spectroscopy. It is shown that during the charge and discharge of lithium–sulphur cells the conductivity of the electrolyte is changed. We believe that the observed changes in the electrolyte conductivity can be explained by the formation of soluble lithium polysulphides by electrochemical reactions. The properties of the electrolyte significantly influence the rate of the electrochemical processes which occur both on the sulphur and lithium electrodes in lithium–sulphur cells.",battery
"Nano-structured silicon anodes are attractive alternatives to graphite in lithium-ion batteries; however, despite recent progress in nano-engineered composites, its use remains limited. One of the issues, particularly in silicon-dominated anodes, is the poor Coulombic efficiency of lithium–silicon processes. Previous studies have shown that repeating the amorphous–crystalline hysteretic lithium–silicon phase transformations can abruptly improve irreversibility and eventually minimize cumulative irreversible lithium consumption in exchange of certain parasitic capacity sacrifice. Here, we reveal mechanism behind the phenomenon that the single phase transformation spontaneously and pseudo-topologically transforms nano-structured silicon into quantum-scale frameworks without gravimetric loss. The way it forms is clearly distinct from ever explored formation mechanism of porous nano-structures such as (electro)chemical etching, Kirkendall voiding, and percolation theory. Further, we implanted the structural transformation feature into lithium-ion full cells, largely redesigning the conventional one, by modulating cathode/anode capacity loading balance and prelithiation dose in the anode to embed the unique feature in the cells. We show that the cell preferentially triggers the efficient irreversibility-depletion phenomenon upon cycling and consequently outperforms conventional silicon-based cells.",battery
"In our continued efforts to find an electrically rechargeable zn/air secondary battery, we report the unique behavior of a zinc oxide anode in the presence of additives such as phosphoric acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid and citric acid. These additives were added to the electrolyte, which is an 8.5M KOH solution containing 25g of ZnO and 3000ppm of polyethylene glycol in 1l of water. In zn/air systems there are two main problems namely the hydrogen overpotential and dendrite formation during recharging. Investigations have studied in detail both of the problems in order to overcome them. The results obtained in presence of additives are compared with the behavior of the electrolyte 8.5M KOH in the absence of additives. It has been concluded that the hydrogen overpotential is raised enormously while dendrite formation is reduced to some extent. Out of the four acids studied, the order of increase in hydrogen overpotential is: tartaric acid>succinic acid>phosphoric acid>citric acid. The prevention of dendrite formation follows the order: citric acid>succinic acid>tartaric acid>phosphoric acid.",battery
" Epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic consumption of fruit-based flavonoids is associated with cognitive benefits; however, the acute effects of flavonoid-rich (FR) drinks on cognitive function in the immediate postprandial period require examination. The objective was to investigate whether consumption of FR orange juice is associated with acute cognitive benefits over 6 h in healthy middle-aged adults.",non-battery
"In this work, Lithium rich layered oxide Li1.17Ni0.2Co0.05Mn0.58O2 (LNCMO) is prepared and coated with Li3V2(PO4)3 (LVP) by a chemical deposition method. The surface modification with LVP is introduced into Li-rich layered oxides LNCMO for the first time. After 100 cycles of charging and discharging at various rates, the Li3V2(PO4)3-coated Li1.17Ni0.2Co0.05Mn0.58O2 (LVP-coated LNCMO) (5wt%) still provides a large capacity of 261.4mAhg-1, much higher than the pristine LNCMO (211.5mAhg-1). At 5C rate, the LVP-coated LNCMO exhibits a stable cyclic capacity of 153.4mAhg-1, higher than 114.1mAhg-1 of the pristine LNCMO. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis demonstrates the LVP coating layer can suppress interaction between the cathode surface and the electrolyte and enhance the kinetics of lithium-ion diffusion, contributing to the stable cyclic performance with more cyclic capacity as well as at the high current density.",battery
"In this work we discuss the mitigation of H2 accumulation upon cycling within a Li-ion battery (LIB) by the use of an hydrogen selective getter (i.e. Suisorb™). This getter has been tested in electrochemical cells constituted by a Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) negative electrode material, a LiFePO4 (LFP) positive electrode material and a common liquid electrolyte (1 M solution of LiPF6 ethylene carbonate/dimethyl-carbonate) absorbed on a Celgard separator. LTO and LFP electrode performance has been analysed in lithium half cells and in full Li-ion configurations by galvanostatic cycling. The gas release within the LIB, assembled without and with the insertion of the getter, has been studied by electrochemical pressure tests to monitor the internal pressure within the cell and by gas chromatography to study the speciation of the gas. The modification of the electrode surface composition has been analysed by photoemission spectroscopy and the alteration in the morphology of the aluminium counter-collectors by electron microscopy. The incorporation of the Suisorb™ getter within LTO/LFP LIBs mitigates the accumulation of molecular hydrogen upon cycling, limits the LiPF6 hydrolysis and LiF formation and decreases the aluminium counter-collector pitting corrosion upon cycling. Furthermore also the battery performance are enhanced by the use of Suisorb™.",battery
"The effect of current-collector structure on the performance of a passive micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is reported. The system consists mainly of a membrane electrode assembly, two current-collectors, two gaskets and two end-plates. It does not include any pump and the delivery of fuel and air is realized completely by natural convection and diffusion, which significantly decreases the complexity and lowers the cost of the micro DMFC. The performance of the micro DMFC with different current-collectors is tested and compared. The results indicate that the exposure ratio of the anode current-collector should be higher than that of the cathode counterpart to ensure good fuel delivery at the anode and to minimize the contact resistance at the cathode.",battery
"The crucial role of gap junctions, which are composed of connexin (CX) protein, in auditory functions has been confirmed by numerous studies. In this study, we investigate the prevalence and phenotype/genotype correlation of connexin (CX) gene family variants in a cohort of children with nonsyndromic hearing loss (HL). A total of 253 unrelated children with nonsyndromic HL were screened for the presence of variants in 6 genes of the CX gene family. The prevalence of CX gene variants in 253 patients was 19.7% (50/253). We found the frequency of a sloping audiometric configuration was significantly higher for children with GJB2 and GJB3 variants than for those with GJB4 and GJC3 variants (Adjusted OR = 4.89, p < 0.001). Conversely, the frequency of a flat audiometric configuration was significantly higher for children with GJB4 and GJC3 variants than for those with GJB2 and GJB3 variants (adjusted OR = 7.76, p < 0.001). The relative frequencies of multiplex families was significantly higher for children with GJB3 variants than for those with GJB2, GJB4, and GJC3 variants (Adjusted OR = 11.33, p = 0.003). Our results suggest the variants of GJC3, GJB4, and GJB3 may be the common genetic risk factor, after variants of GJB2, for the development of nonsyndromic HL in Taiwan. These data can be effectively applied to direct the clinical evaluation of children with CX gene variants.",non-battery
"Tris(trimethylsilyl) borate (TMSB) is used as electrolyte additive to overcome the severe capacity fading of LiCoPO4 cathode at high voltage. The presence of TMSB effectively improves the cyclic stability of LiCoPO4 cathode in Ethylene carbonate (EC)-based electrolyte between 3V and 5V, when the electrolyte contains with 1wt% TMSB shows the best cycle performance. For instance, LiCoPO4 cathode delivers an initial discharge capacity of 144mAhg−1 at 0.1C and with a capacity retention of 76% after 50cycles, while it's only 132mAhg−1 and 45% for that in normal electrolyte without TMSB. The linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results indicate that TMSB oxidizes preferentially to normal electrolyte and forms a stable SEI film on LiCoPO4 surface at the first cycle which effectively reduces the electrode polarization. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results reveal that the stable SEI film alleviates the growth of SEI layer on the LiCoPO4 surface and relieves the resistance increase to facilitate Li-ion transfer the interface between electrode and electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal that a 20nm film can be observed on the cathode surface after 50cycles as the electrolyte containing with 1wt% TMSB. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) patterns confirm that the oxidation products of TMSB participate in the SEI film formation. The enhancement of electrochemical performances is attributed to the thin and steady protective SEI film that originates from TMSB, which stabilizes the interface of the cathode and electrolyte, suppresses the continuous decomposition of normal electrolyte at 5V high voltage and relieves the resistance increase to facilitate Li-ion transfer at the interface during the cycling process.",battery
"Tris(trimethylsilyl)borate (TMSB) is applied to suppress the self-discharge of charged LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (LNCM) under high potential. The contribution of TMSB is understood via physical and electrochemical characterizations. It is found that the charged LNCM under 4.5V suffers serious self-discharge: potential drops to 0.5V and crystal structure collapses, but this self-discharge is effectively suppressed by applying TMSB in a standard (STD) electrolyte. Different from the failure from cycling, which is caused mainly by the electrochemical oxidation decomposition of electrolyte, the self-discharge results from the interaction between charged LNCM and electrolyte. TMSB is preferentially oxidized in comparison with STD electrolyte, generating a solid electrolyte interphase film on LNCM, which avoids the direct contact between LNCM and electrolyte and thus suppresses the self-discharge of the charged LNCM.",battery
"High-rate performances of a lithium-ion battery after storage at elevated temperature are investigated electrochemically by means of three-electrode system. The high-rate capability is decreased significantly after high-temperature storage. A 3C discharge capacities after room-temperature storage and 60°C storage are 650 and 20mAh, respectively. Lithium-ion diffusion in lithium cobalt oxide cathode limits the battery's capacity and the results show that storage temperature changes this diffusion behavior. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that many defects are directly observed in the cathode after storage compared with the fresh cathode; the structural defects block the diffusion within the particles. Electrochemical impedance and polarization curve indicate that mass-transfer (diffusion) dominates the discharge capacity during high-rate discharge.",battery
"The mechanism of the increasing of resistance of lithium-ion batteries using Li(Ni,Co)O2 based material as positive electrode materials was investigated. The increase in resistance of cells with Li(Ni,Co)O2 material and artificial graphite was observed in cycling test at 60°C. It was found that the increasing of resistance was mainly attributed to that at positive electrode by ‘reconstructed method’. In order to examine the mechanism of the increasing of resistance of positive electrode, the morphological changes of positive particles and local structure of Li(Ni,Co)O2 material were investigated. The clearance and crack were observed at grain boundary inside particle after cycle by FIB (focused ion beam) technique. The change of local structure around Co-atom was observed during charge–discharge process at 60°C by in situ XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopic) analysis method. It was considered that the morphological and local structural changes of positive material cause the increasing of resistance.",battery
The possibility of using a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) to accurately recognise and predict the onset of Parkinson’s disease tremors in human subjects is discussed in this paper. The data for training the RBFNN are obtained by means of deep brain electrodes implanted in a Parkinson disease patient’s brain. The effectiveness of a RBFNN is initially demonstrated by a real case study.,non-battery
"Commercially available lithium ion batteries (LIBs) of the 18650 cell format were aged with different cycling protocols. After cell opening and electrolyte extraction, the obtained electrolyte was characterized with respect to the occurring organic aging products. Therefore, gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with standard liquid injection as well as solid phase microextraction (SPME) was applied. The composition of the pristine electrolyte and the main decomposition products have already been discussed in a preceding study. However, the SPME method provides access to study aging products, which are present in lower concentrations. Structural elucidation was done for several signals of interest. For ongoing validation of previously unknown compounds, selected standards were synthesized in order to compare fragment patterns and retention times. Three carbonates with butoxy-moieties were identified, although the longest carbon chain in the constituents of this specific electrolyte are the C2 chains of ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) and ethylene carbonate (EC). Furthermore, the longest chain in standard carbonate based electrolytes in general is the C3-chain of propylene carbonate (PC). Thus, the formation of a carbon-carbon bond during cycling of LIB electrolytes has to be considered. In addition to the well-known transesterification reactions the occurrence of this type of reaction leads to a variety of new carbonate based decomposition products. Hence, their presence has to be taken into account with respect to possible influences on the interphases formed at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces.",battery
"Catholyte in all-vanadium redox-flow battery (VRFB) which consists of vanadium salts dissolved in sulphuric acid is known to be stabilized by phosphoric acid to slow down the thermal aging at temperatures higher than 40 °C. To reveal the role of phosphoric acid, the thermally-induced aggregation is investigated using variable-temperature 51V, 31P, 17O, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results indicate that the thermal stabilization of vanadium(V) electrolyte is attained by the involvement of monomeric and dimeric vanadium(V) species in the reaction with phosphoric acid which is concurrent to the formation of neutral hydroxo-aqua vanadium(V) precipitation precursor. The dimers are stabilized by counter ions due to association reaction or if such stabilization is not possible, precipitation of vanadium pentoxide is favored. The evolution of particles size distributions at 50 °C in electrolyte samples containing 1.6 M vanadium and 4.0 M total sulphate and the pathways of precipitate formation are discussed. The optimal total phosphate concentration is found to be of 0.15 M. However, the induction time is assumed to be dependent not only on the total phosphate concentrations, but also on the ratio of total vanadium(V) to sulphate concentrations.",battery
"This paper presents a novel synthetic approach to synthesizing metal phosphides. Both bulk and supported Ni2P, Cu3P, MoP, and InP were synthesized by thermal decomposition of their metal oxide and hypophosphite precursors. Mechanistic studies of Ni2P were carried out using a separated-bed tube reactor, and the result indicates that NiO is reduced by PH3 (produced from decomposition of NaH2PO2) at 300°C. Ni2P hollow spheres were successfully synthesized by this method, which indicates that it is possible to synthesize metal phosphides with special morphology by using metal oxides with special morphology as precursors.",non-battery
"Solar water splitting directly converts solar energy into H2 fuel that is suitable for storage and transport. To achieve a high solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency, elaborate strategies yielding a high photocurrent in a tandem configuration along with sufficient photovoltage should be developed. We demonstrated highly efficient solar water splitting devices based on emerging low-cost Sb2Se3 photocathodes coupled with semitransparent perovskite photovoltaics. A state-of-the-art Sb2Se3 photocathode exhibiting efficient long-wavelength photon harvesting enabled by judicious selection of junction layers was employed as a bottom absorber component. The top semitransparent photovoltaic cells, i.e., parallelized nanopillar perovskites using an anodized aluminum oxide scaffold, allowed the transmittance, photocurrent, and photovoltage to be precisely adjusted by changing the filling level of the perovskite layer in the scaffold. The optimum tandem device, in which similar current values were allocated to the top and bottom cells, achieved an STH conversion efficiency exceeding 10% by efficiently utilizing a broad range of photons at wavelength over 1000 nm.
",battery
"Simple, green and cost effective method is used for the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles, wherein remnant water (ideally kitchen waste) collected from soaked Bengal gram beans (Cicer arietinum L.) extract is reacted with TiCl4. Biosynthesized TiO2 (Bio-TiO2) nanoparticles with uniform size distribution (free of aggregation even after calcination) were obtained as a result of the stabilizing molecules naturally present in the extract. The morphology, crystal structure and phase composition, specific surface area and pore size distribution of Bio-TiO2 were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and BET surface area measurement system. Li-insertion properties were evaluated as anodes in the half-cell configuration (Li/Bio-TiO2) and it is found to demonstrate reversible insertion of 0.61 mol at a current density of 33 mA g−1. The half-cell displayed a good cyclability and retained 98% of its initial reversible capacity even after 60 galvanostatic cycles.",non-battery
"A lithium-ion battery employing a novel phase change material (PCM) thermal management system was designed for an electric scooter. Passive thermal management systems using PCM can control the temperature excursions and maintain temperature uniformity in Li-ion batteries without the use of active cooling components such as a fan, a blower or a pump found in air/liquid-cooling systems. Hence, the advantages of a compact, lightweight, and energy efficient system can be achieved with this novel form of thermal management system. Simulation results are shown for a Li-ion battery sub-module consisting of nine 18650 Li-ion cells surrounded by PCM with a melting point between 41 and 44°C. The use of aluminum foam within the PCM and fins attached to the battery module were studied to overcome the low thermal conductivity of the PCM and the low natural convection heat transfer coefficient. The comparative results of the PCM performance in the presence of Al-foam and Al-fins are shown. The battery module is also simulated for summer and winter conditions. The effect of air-cooling on the Li-ion battery was also studied. These simulation results demonstrate the successful use of the PCM as a potential candidate for thermal management solution in electric scooter applications and therefore for other electric vehicle applications.",battery
"A novel ordered mesoporous carbon hybrid composite, CoO/CMK-3, is prepared by an infusing method using Co(NO3)2·6H2O as the cobalt source. The products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and N2 adsorption–desorption analysis techniques. It is observed that the CoO nanoparticles are loaded in the channels of mesoporous carbon. The mesopore structure of CMK-3 is destroyed gradually with increasing of the CoO content. The electrochemical properties of samples as the anode materials for lithium-ion batteries are studied by galvanostatic method. The results show that the CoO/CMK-3 composites have higher reversible capacities (more than 700mAhg−1) and better cycle performance in comparison with the pure mesoporous carbon (CMK-3). Based on the above results, a mechanism is proposed to explain the reason of such a substantial improvement of electrochemical performance in the CoO/CMK-3 composites.",battery
"Lithium metal is a promising anode candidate for the next-generation higher energy density batteries. In this work, a detailed study is carried out to clearly explore the influence of separator wettability on ionic conduction and interface properties for lithium-metal anode batteries. Firstly, polyphenol and polyamine are facilely assembled on the surface of polyethylene (PE) separator with the assistant of periodate. Wettability and electrolyte uptake of the polyphenol-polyamine treated PE separator improves significantly, which resulted in the increase of ionic conductivity and lithium-ion transference number (from 0.37 to 0.49). Subsequently, galvanostatic measurements and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) are performed on Li symmetric cells to investigate the effect of separator wettability on interface properties. It is found that the modified PE separator favors the electrochemical process by providing lower interfacial resistance, better interface compatibility, and more uniform deposition of Li+, which correspondingly mitigate the formation of Li dendrites. Finally, lithium-metal anode cells (LiCoO2 (LCO)/Li) assembled with different separators are tested, and superior battery performance is displayed in case of the polyphenol-polyamine treated substrate. These results are expected to be instructive for the design of more durable Li electrodes.",battery
"Discharge properties of more than 40 Li–LiCoO2 solid-state thin-film batteries with cathode film thickness from 50nm to 4μm have been examined with respect to the lithium diffusion in the cathode. For all but the thinnest cathodes or very low current densities, the discharge capacity from 4.2 to 3.0V is limited by the lithium diffusivity in Li x CoO2 and the ultimate formation of a resistive layer at the interface as x approaches 1.0. Measurements of the equilibrium open circuit potential and ac impedance upon deep discharge support this model. Promoting a higher diffusion for the 0.96<x<1.0 phase would greatly enhance the energy achievable by the thin-film batteries. The lithium diffusion rate in the cathode films is observed to be sensitive to subtle variations in the synthesis conditions when crystallized at temperatures ≤700°C.",battery
"Propargyl methanesulfonate (PMS) is chosen as an electrolyte additive to study the interfacial performance between the electrolyte and spinel lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO) electrode. The result displays that PMS can improve cyclability of Li/LTO cell. Very interestingly, a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film is formed above 1.0V in the voltage range of 3.0–0V. The observations are explained in terms of PMS include triple-bonded compounds and SO3. The triple-bonded compounds were able to produce a characteristic SEI with dense and low impedance, which can effectively suppress the decomposition of electrolyte, HF generation and LiF formation upon cycling. The SO groups may acts as the weak base site to hinder the reactivity of PF5. Accordingly, the incorporation of PMS into the electrolyte can remarkably enhance the cyclic performance of the Li/LTO cell.",battery
"The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Version (SPQ-B), which includes cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized domains, was developed as a concise, self-report measure of schizotypy. This analysis was conducted to: (1) determine the internal consistency reliability of SPQ-B total and subscale scores, (2) use confirmatory factor analysis to assess the three-factor model as well as a single-factor solution, and (3) examine a measure of concurrent criterion validity of SPQ-B scores. The study was conducted at a large, urban, university-affiliated, public-sector health system in the southeastern United States. Data were obtained from 118 participants, including 61 biological relatives of patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder, and 57 non-psychiatric controls. Relatives and controls did not differ significantly on SPQ-B total or subscale scores (or on the full 74-item SPQ total or subscale scores). Internal consistency reliability was adequate for the total SPQ-B score and the interpersonal subscale but was less than ideal for the cognitive-perceptual and disorganized subscales. Regarding the confirmatory factor analysis, though the three-factor solution yielded reasonably good fit to the data, the single-factor solution provided equal fit. Correlations between the three subscales ranged from .63 to .74. With regard to criterion validity, correlations between the SPQ-B total and subscale scores and schizotypy scores derived from a semi-structured, interview-based assessment revealed correlations generally ranging from .40 to .60. The SPQ-B may be a useful brief screening measure of schizotypy, though some limitations in its psychometric properties were evident in this sample. It may be advisable to use total SPQ-B scores rather than subscale scores in some situations, or to use factor analytic techniques to study the instrument's latent structure in specific samples.",non-battery
"We investigated whether pre-operative MRI measures of focal brain atrophy could predict cognitive decline occurring after deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). For that purpose, we prospectively collected data of 42 consecutive patients with PD who underwent bilateral STN-DBS. Normalized brain structure volumes and cortical thicknesses were measured on pre-operative T1-weighted MRI. Patients were tested for their cognitive performances before surgery and 1 year after. After controlling for age, gender, pre-operative disease severity, change in dopaminomimetic dose after surgery and contact location, we found correlations: (1) between the variation of the total Mattis dementia rating scale (MDRS) score and left lateral ventricle volume (p = 0.032), (2) between the variation of the initiation/perseveration subscore of the MDRS and the left nucleus accumbens volume (p = 0.042) and the left lateral ventricle volume (p = 0.017) and (3) between the variation of the backward digit-span task and the right and left superior frontal gyrus thickness (p = 0.004 and p = 0.007, respectively). Left nucleus accumbens atrophy was associated with decline in the initiation/perseveration subscore with the largest effect size (d = − 1.64). Pre-operative left nucleus accumbens volume strongly predicted postoperative decline in the initiation/attention subscore (AUC = 0.92, p < 0.001, 96.3% sensitivity, 80.0% specificity, 92.9% PPV and 92.9% NPV). We conclude that the morphometric measures of brain atrophy usually associated with cognitive impairment in PD can also explain or predict a part of cognitive decline after bilateral STN-DBS. In particular, the left accumbens nucleus volume could be considered as a promising marker for guiding surgical decisions.",non-battery
"Renewable distributed generation introduced as an environmental friendly alternative energy supply while it provided the power system with ever-growing technical benefits such as loss reduction and feeder voltage improvement. The evaluation of the effects of small residential photovoltaic and wind DG systems on various system operating indices and the system net load is complicated by both the probabilistic nature of their output and the variety of their spatial allocations. The increasing penetration of renewable distributed generation in power systems necessitates the modeling of this stochastic structure in operation and planning studies. An advanced stochastic modeling of the system requires multivariate uncertainty analysis involving non-normal correlated random variables. Such an analysis is to epitomize the aggregate uncertainty corresponding to spatially spread stochastic variables. In this paper, an integration study of photovoltaics and wind turbines, distributed in a distribution network, is investigated based on the stochastic modeling using Archimedean copulas as a new efficient tool. The basic theory concerning the use of copulas for dependence modeling is presented and focus is given on an Archimedean algorithm. A comprehensive case study for Davarzan area in Iran is presented after reviewing Iran's renewable energy status. This study shows an application of the presented technique when large datasets, assuming 10-min interval between data points of PV, wind and load profiles, are involved where a deterministic study is not trivial.",battery
"Vinyl-functionalized SiO2 particles of different sizes are synthesized and coated onto both sides of a polyethylene separator to prepare a reactive composite separator for lithium-ion polymer cells. The SiO2-coated composite separators exhibit excellent thermal stability due to the presence of heat-resistant silica particles. By using these reactive composite separators and a gel electrolyte precursor, lithium-ion polymer cells composed of a graphite negative electrode and a LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 positive electrode are assembled by in-situ chemical cross-linking, and their cycling performance is evaluated. The cells assembled with a reactive composite separator exhibit superior cycling performance to cell prepared with a conventional polyethylene separator due to the strong interfacial adhesion between the electrodes and separator, as well as suppression of deleterious reactions during cycling.",battery
"Interfacial reactions at positive electrodes and organic electrolytes interface for Li-ion batteries are studied by AC impedance methods. Thin film electrodes with flat and smooth surface are prepared by pulsed laser deposition, and the Li-ion transfer is investigated at structurally ordered interface. Charge transfer resistances attributed to Li-ion transfer at the interface are observed. The charge transfer resistances on LiMn2O4 thin film electrode are much smaller than those on c-axis orientated LiCoO2 thin film electrode, indicating that the charge transfer resistances are influenced by the number of active sites at the interface. Irrespective with positive electrode materials, activation energies evaluated from the temperature dependence of Li-ion transfer resistances are almost similar (about 50 kJ mol−1). These large activation energies suggest the existence of large energy barrier for Li-ion transfer at the interface between positive electrodes and organic electrolytes. After several charge–discharge cycles, some differences in the charge transfer resistances are observed; the increases in resistances on LiMn2O4 thin film electrode are smaller than those on LiCoO2 thin film electrode.",battery
"Li-O2 batteries with super-high theoretical energy density are attracting extensive attention. However, the sluggish oxygen reduction/evolution reaction, the huge volume change from O2/Li2O2 conversion and the undesired electrolyte decomposition in cathode limit their performance. Herein we show design and synthesis of RuO2-coated ordered mesoporous carbon nanofiber arrays by using a natural crab shell template as a catalyst for Li-O2 battery, exhibiting several advantage features. First, the ordered mesopores in nanofibers facilitate electrolyte penetration and electron/ion transfer. In addition, the macro-sized voids between the nanofibers provide efficient buffer space for O2/Li2O2 accommodation and improve O2 diffusion. Furthermore, the uniform RuO2-coating layer alleviates undesired electrolyte decomposition and enhances the surface electronic conductivity. As a result, the battery displays high performance, including high capacity (20600 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1), high rate (9750 mAh g−1 at a current density of 1000 mA g−1) and long-life (300 cycles at a fixed capacity of 1000 mAh g−1).",battery
"This chapter focuses on the benefits of integrating environmental sensor products with Enterprise Security Management (ESM). Environmental sensors are intended to alert and respond to physical threats to IT systems and prevent disasters such as water leakage, temperature increases, and emmisions of dangerous gases from causing a massive outage. According to the Wall Street Journal”, Downtime costs the average Fortune 500 company. $50,000/minute”. Server rooms overheating or wiring closets filling up with water can and will cause outages and downtime for businesses. Because the ultimate goal of any IT professional is to ensure that critical systems are available, it doesn't matter whether the threat is caused by a hacker or the environment. With an early warning system and strategic policies in place you can achieve and maintain operational efficiencies.",non-battery
"Narrowing the gap between theoretical and actual capacity in key Li-based battery systems can be achieved through improvements in both electronic and ionic conductivities of materials, via addition of conductive species. Additives do, however, penalize both volumetric and gravimetric properties, and also limit liquid transport and high rate performance. In this work, we developed a technique to design and optimize cathode system based directly on the relationships among ionic and electronic conductivities and specific energy, for a range of commercially viable cathode electrochemistries and additives. Our results quantify trade-offs among ionic and electronic conductivity, and conductivity and specific energy. We also provide quantitative relationships for improved utilization and specific power, with higher specific energy. Finally, we provide quantitative guidance for the design of high energy density Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 cells using conductive additives, and also provide guidelines for the design of cathode systems, based directly on solid and liquid phase transport limitations. Future work will focus on higher rates of performance, and will be based on analyses here.",battery
"The present study was aimed at verifying whether the presence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affects executive functions in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Two groups of children with ADHD were selected for the study according to the presence or absence of GAD. The first group of 28 children with ADHD with GAD (mean age: 9 ± 1.2; males/females: 24/4) was matched for gender, age, IQ, psychiatric comorbidity with a second group of 29 children with ADHD without GAD (mean age: 8.8 ± 0.7; males/females: 26/3). The two groups with ADHD were compared to 28 typically developing children (mean age: 8.3 ± 1.3; males/females: 23/5) on different measures involving processes especially important in inhibitory control such as rule maintenance, stimulus detection, action selection and action execution. Our results indicated that, differently from children with ADHD with GAD, only the group with ADHD without GAD showed a deficit in inhibitory control. Comorbid subgroups should be differentiated, especially, to develop specific and efficient therapeutic interventions in ADHD.",non-battery
"The definition and description of student success programs in the literature (e.g., orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, etc.) suggest underlying programmatic similarities. Yet researchers to date typically depend on ambiguous labels to delimit studies, resulting in loosely related but separate research lines and few generalizable findings. To demonstrate whether or how certain programs are effective there is need for more coherent conceptualizations to identify and describe programs. This is particularly problematic for community colleges where success programs are uniquely tailored relative to other sectors. The study’s purpose is to derive an empirical typology of community college student success programs based on their curricular and programmatic features. Data come from 1047 success programs at 336 U.S.-based respondents to the Community College Institutional Survey. Because programs might be characterized by their focus in different curricular areas and combinations of foci, we used factor mixture modeling, a hybrid of factor analysis and latent class analysis, which provides a model-based classification method that simultaneously accounts for dimensional and categorical data structures. Descriptive findings revealed extensive commonalities among nominal program types. Inferential analysis revealed five factors (types) of program elements, combined in unique ways among four latent program types: success skills programs, comprehensive programs, collaborative academic programs, and minimalist programs. We illustrate how the typology deconstructs nominal categories, may help unify different bodies of research, and affords a common framework and language for researchers and practitioners to identify and conceptualize programs based on what they do rather than by their names.
",non-battery
"Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) measurement is conducted with a Li4Ti5O12 (lithium titanium oxide, LTO)-coated quartz crystal electrode in a carbonate electrolyte (ethylene carbonate + dimethyl carbonate; 50: 50 vol%) containing 1 M LiPF6. In-situ monitoring of the mass change during the charge and discharge of the LTO electrode can be achieved quantitatively because of the “zero-strain” property of LTO with Li+ insertion and the probably low reactivity between LTO and the electrolyte. The local changes of viscosity and density of the electrolyte contacting the LTO electrode are detected via the resonance resistance of the quartz crystal electrode, suggesting the local concentrations of Li+ and counter anion changed significantly during insertion and extraction of Li+ in the organic electrolyte.",battery
"Confining the dissolution and diffusion of polysulfide is considered a key factor in the realization of high-performance lithium-sulfur battery. Here, we report a polydopamine (pDA) coated sulfur-carbon composite with a unique hierarchical tower-like structure (S-HTC@pDA) for lithium sulfur cathode. The internal layer by layer structure is capable of uniformly dispersing of sulfur, providing a continuous electronic conductive path and shortening the Li+ transport distance, while the external pDA coating can inhibit the diffusion of polysulfide. Benefited from the smart design, the S-HTC@pDA electrode achieved an excellent cycling stability, realizing a high discharge capacity of 916 mAh g−1 at the first cycle and a capacity retention of 79.4% after 500 cycles at 1 C. Therefore, this work provides a new concept in structure design for high performance lithium sulfur cathodes.",battery
Hybrid composites of polypyrrole (PPy) and silver vanadium oxide (SVO) used for lithium primary batteries were chemically synthesized by an oxidative polymerization of pyrrole monomer on the SVO surface in an acidic medium. The composite electrode exhibited higher discharge capacity and better rate capability as compared with the pristine SVO electrode. The improvement in electrochemical performance of the composite electrode was due to PPy which accommodates lithium ions and also enhances the SVO utilization. Chronoamperometric and ac-impedance measurements indicated that lithium intercalation proceeds under the mixed control by interfacial charge transfer and diffusion. The enhanced SVO utilization in the composite electrode results from a facilitated kinetics of interfacial charge transfer in the presence of PPy.,battery
"As an alternative approach to the conventional deposition and photolithographic processes, the laser digital patterning (LDP) process, which is also known as the laser direct writing process, has attracted considerable attention because it is a non-photolithographic, non-vacuum, on-demand, and cost-effective electrode fabrication route that can be applied to various substrates, including heat-sensitive flexible substrates. The LDP process was initially developed using noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as Au and Ag because such materials are free from oxidation even in a nanosize configuration. Thus, the NPs must be fused together to form continuous conductive structures upon laser irradiation. However, common metals are easily oxidized at the nanoscale and exist in oxidized forms owing to the extremely large surface-to-volume ratio of NPs. Therefore, to fabricate conductive electrodes using common metal NPs via the LDP process, laser irradiation should be used to sinter the NPs and simultaneously induce additional photochemical reactions, such as reduction, and defect structure modification to increase the conductivity of the electrodes. This review summarizes recent studies on the LDP process in which metal oxide NPs, such as ITO, ZnO, CuO, and NiO, were exclusively utilized for fabricating conductive electrodes. The outlook of the LDP process for these materials is also discussed as a method that can be used together with or as a replacement for conventional ones to produce next-generation transparent conductors, sensors, and electronics.
",non-battery
"Quantitative assessment of behavioural patterns is frequently used in rodent toxicity studies, however only limited approaches are available for monkeys. Often qualitative behavioural scoring using functional observation batteries (FOBs) is performed, with difficulties like poor reproducibility or lack of sensitivity. In this study, we investigated whether quantitative behavioural monitoring can be applied to group-housed cynomolgus monkeys. Video-tracking EthoVision® XT system and special analysis software were used to evaluate diazepam (i.v. 1mg/kg) related behavioural changes in group-housed animals. Recordings were made predose and at the anticipated time of maximum drug exposure (T max). General parameters such as distance travelled and velocity did not reveal the known sedative effects of diazepam. However, inspection of the automatically generated track images indicated that diazepam-treated animals had more a meandering movement pattern suggesting that diazepam induced a loss of balance which was regained by corrective movements. Therefore, parameters revealing specific aspects of the meandering movement pattern such as velocity profiles and turn angles have been analyzed and revealed an increase in the curvature and in the number of directional changes of the movement path.",non-battery
Innovative analytically based method to calculate corrected fuel consumption of parallel and series hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) at balanced energy content of the electric storage devices is proposed and validated in the paper. The proposed analytical method is generally applicable and features highly accurate corrected fuel consumption results. It enables calculation of the corrected fuel consumption out of a single fuel consumption test run in a single analytic post-processing step. An additional fuel consumption test run might be needed to obtain highly accurate results if ratio of the energy content deviation of the electric storage devices to the energy used for vehicle propulsion over the test cycle is high. Proposed method enables consideration of non-linear energy flow changes and non-linear HEV component efficiency changes caused by the energy management strategy or by the component characteristics. The method therefore features highly accurate results out of the minimum number of fuel consumption test runs and thus optimizes workload for development or optimization of HEVs. The input data of the method are characteristic energy flows and efficiencies that are derived from the energy flows on selected energy paths of HEVs.,battery
"Fluorine-doped Li(Ni0.5Mn0.5)O2 or Li(Ni0.5+0.5z Mn0.5−0.5z )O2−z F z (0≤ z ≤0.2) has been synthesized by a solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the synthesized materials had layered α-NaFeO2-type structure ( R 3 ¯ m ) ; the Rietveld analysis revealed that lattice parameters (a and c of hexagonal setting) and degree of cation mixing increased with increasing fluorine content (z). Initial discharge capacity of the cathode materials increased with z, showed maximum at z =0.02, and decreased afterwards. At the same time, impedance of the cathode materials decreased with z, reached minimum at z =0.02, and then increased afterwards. Among the materials prepared and studied in this work, Li(Ni0.51Mn0.49)O1.98F0.02 exhibited the best electrochemical properties in terms of capacity (151mAhg−1), impedance (67Ωcm2) and cycleability (no capacity fading up to 40 cycles).",battery
"A high temperature ethanol-fed polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell has been implemented by using H3PO4-doped m-polybenzimidazole as polymeric electrolyte. Commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C and Pt3Sn/C catalysts are used in the anode. The performance was assessed in terms of polarization curves at different temperatures, feeding the cell with a high concentration ethanol solution (water/ethanol mass ratio of 2). The product distribution was measured with the support of a gas chromatograph. The use of bimetallic catalysts increased the current density. PtRu/C showed the best performance up to 175 °C, but it is outperformed by Pt3Sn/C at 200 °C. In terms of oxidation products, higher temperatures and current densities favour the oxidation of ethanol. However, Pt3Sn/C promoted the generation of more oxidized products compared to PtRu/C (in which most of the ethanol is oxidized to acetaldehyde), especially at high temperature. This accounts for the large current density. In terms of complete oxidation of ethanol to CO2, Pt/C was by far the most efficient catalyst for C–C scission, achieving percentages of 56 % of CO2, although operating above 175 °C dramatically boosted an undesirable methanation process that slashed the efficiency. The combination of fuel cell results and product distribution helped to suggest the different oxidation routes on the surface of the different catalysts.",battery
"Confining sulfur in high-surface-area carbon is a widely adapted approach in Li–S batteries, but it often results in low sulfur utilization and low energy density. Now, controlled nucleation of discrete Li2S particles on a network of low-surface-area carbon fibres provides a possible solution to the endemic problems of Li–S batteries.",battery
"The ‘legend’ of DSA® (Dimensionally Stable Anodes), one of the greatest technological breakthrough of the past 50 years of electrochemistry, is reviewed with the aim to emphasise the reasons for their success. In this respect, the industrial success, which came first, was due to factors differing from those responsible for the successive boom of fundamental research on the same materials. This article scrutinises these factors highlighting the aspects which make these materials so much intriguing.",battery
Ab-initio calculations based on density functional theory have been performed to study the optical properties of the Li intercalated graphene and MoS,non-battery
"Objective The present investigation sought to examine the simultaneous effects of anxiety sensitivity and pain-related anxiety on fear and anxious responding to a 10% carbon dioxide enriched air challenge. Methods Participants included 247 adults (53% women; mean age=21.91 years, S.D.=8.41) recruited from the community. At the laboratory, participants were administered a structured clinical interview, completed a battery of self-report measures, and underwent a 10% carbon dioxide enriched air challenge. Results Both anxiety sensitivity and pain-related anxiety were significantly and uniquely predictive of post-challenge panic attacks, total post-challenge panic attack symptoms, and intensity of cognitive panic attack symptoms. Anxiety sensitivity, but not pain-related anxiety, also was predictive of post-challenge physical panic symptoms. The observed significant effects for both anxiety sensitivity and pain-related anxiety were evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by gender, age, current level of nonspecific bodily pain, and negative affectivity. Neither anxiety sensitivity nor pain-related anxiety was significantly predictive of change in anxiety focused on bodily sensations or heart rate. Conclusion Results suggest that anxiety sensitivity and pain-related anxiety, although related to one another, may be independently important variables underlying fear reactivity to bodily sensations.",non-battery
"Based on the tungsten hydrate structure model, we report the strategy to fabricate hierarchically structured WO3·0.33H2O/graphene composites through a facile hydrothermal approach. The structure characteristics, conversion reaction mechanism as well as the electrochemical properties are carefully investigated. The hierarchical architectures assembled by nanorods or nanobricks of about 20 nm thickness combine the advantages of reduced length scale of Li ion diffusion derived from nanosizes and structural stability guaranteed by hierarchical features. In addition, compared with bare WO3·0.33H2O and anhydrous WO3, the WO3·0.33H2O/graphene composites exhibit the optimal performances with high rate capability and good cycle stability, which is attributed to synergistic effects of structural hydration and graphene: providing a more open charge transfer channel, forming a conductive pathway and accommodating the volume change. Such an improved lithium storage performance makes the graphene-based WO3·0.33H2O a promising anode candidate for lithium-ion battery applications.",battery
"We compared the CO2 exchange and its controls in the plant communities of a strongly patterned aapa mire, the Kaamanen fen in northern Finland. Based on a systematic vegetation inventory and an ordination analysis, four plant community types were chosen for the study: Ericales–Pleurozium string tops, Betula–Sphagnum string margins, Trichophorum tussock flarks and Carex–Scorpidium wet flarks. We measured plant community CO2 exchange with a closed chamber technique during the growing season of 2007 and early summer of 2008. Nonlinear regression models were used for simulating the CO2 exchange over the measurement period for different mire components and for the whole mire. The CO2 exchange dynamics distinguished two functional components in the mire: an ombrotrophic component (Ericales–Pleurozium string tops) and a minerotrophic component (other plant community types). Minerotrophic plant communities responded similarly to environmental controls, the most important of these being variation in leaf area and aerobic peat volume (water level). The ombrotrophic component dynamics were more obscure; frost and possibly peat moisture played a role. The minerotrophic communities functioned as effective CO2 sinks in the simulation, while the net CO2 exchange of the ombrotrophic community was close to zero. The smaller NEE of the ombrotrophic community was due to less efficient photosynthesis per unit leaf area in combination with high ecosystem respiration resulting from a large aerobic peat volume. Our study shows that a fen/bog functional dichotomy can also exist within one mire. Wet minerotrophic communities within northern mires can act as effective CO2 sinks.",non-battery
"Standard Amersil calendered ribbed separators based on the cold extrusion of PVC and silica have successfully been used in industrial lead acid batteries for over 30 years. The requirements of the battery industry for even more efficient separator systems have led Amersil to develop a new generation of highly porous polymeric material, well suited for traction as well as for stationary applications, both in flooded and gel VRLA technologies. The new polymeric separators are based on the unique Amersil production process and use the same raw materials of high chemical purity as the standard product, but the design has been optimised in order to improve the physical properties required to reach higher battery efficiency. Especially, the pore volume has been increased, the electrical resistance and acid displacement reduced to such an extent that the electrical output of batteries has been improved both in terms of higher capacity and longer cycle life. This paper shows the beneficial impact of the new Amersil separators on various types of industrial lead acid batteries.",battery
"There is growing interest in flexible, cost-effective, and binder-free energy storage devices to meet the special needs of modern electronic systems. Herein we report a general, scalable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach for the fabrication of nano-Fe3O4-anchored three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanofiber (CNFs) aerogels (Fe3O4@BC-CNFs). The preparation processes include the anchoring of Fe2O3 nanoparticles on bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers with intrinsic 3D network structure and subsequent carbonization at different temperatures. The aerogel carbonized at 600 °C (Fe3O4@BC-CNFs-600) is highly flexible and was directly used as working electrodes in lithium-ion batteries without metal current collectors, conducting additives, or binders. The Fe3O4@BC-CNFs-600 demonstrates greatly improved electrochemical performance in comparison to the bare Fe3O4 nanoparticles. In addition to its excellent flexibility, a stable capacity of 755 mAh g−1 for up to 80 cycles is also higher than most of carbon-Fe3O4 hybrids. The high reversible capacity and excellent rate capability are attributed to its 3D porous network structure with well-dispersed Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surfaces of CNFs.",battery
"Wheat straw is one of the major lignocellulosic plant residues in many countries including China. An attractive alternative is the utilization of wheat straw for bioethanol production. This article mainly studies a simple one-step wet milling with Penicillium simplicissimum and weak acid to hydrolysis of wheat straw. The optimal condition for hydrolysis was ball milling 48 h in citrate solvent (pH = 4) with P. simplicissimum H5 at the speed of 500 rpm and the yield of sugar increased with increased milling time. Corresponding structure transformations before and after milling analyzed by X-ray diffraction, transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and environmental scanning electron microscopy clearly indicated that this combined treatment could be attributed to the crystalline and chemical structure changes of cellulose in wheat straw during ball milling. This combined treatment of ball milling, mild acid, and fungus hydrolysis enabled the conversion of the wheat straw. Compared with traditional method of ball milling, this work showed a more simple, novel, and environmentally friendly way in mechanochemical treatment of wheat straw.
",non-battery
"Flow batteries show promise for very large-scale stationary energy storage such as needed for the grid and renewable energy implementation. In recent years, researchers and developers of redox flow batteries (RFBs) have found that electrode and flow field designs of PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) technology can increase the power density and consequently push down the cost of flow battery stacks. In this paper we present a macroscopic model of a typical PEMFC-like RFB electrode-flow field design. The model is a layered system comprised of a single passage of a serpentine flow channel and a parallel underlying porous electrode (or porous layer). The effects of the inlet volumetric flow rate, permeability of the porous layer, thickness of the porous layer and thickness of the flow channel on the flow penetration into the porous layer are investigated. The maximum current density corresponding to stoichiometry is estimated to be 377 mA cm−2 and 724 mA cm−2, which compares favorably with experiments of ∼400 mA cm−2 and ∼750 mA cm−2, for a single layer and three layers of the carbon fiber paper, respectively.",battery
"The research suggests that there is a penalty for invoking one’s sixth amendment right in a trial. This study uses Tobit models to empirically document the existence of a trial penalty, and we provide estimates of the magnitude of its effect. In a comparative analysis of three alternative trial settings, we find that courts treat defendants differently under alternative sets of rules. Thus, we provide some evidence that defendants might face discrimination in court. We find that the lengths of the sentences of those found guilty in jury trials are 11 years longer than those found guilty in bench trials or those taking plea bargains. Further, we find that women are more likely to be found guilty in bench trials than in jury trials and that prior convictions are directly related to jury convictions and unrelated to bench trials. In addition, gang affiliation is less likely to matter for bench trials.
",non-battery
"
Globally, heavy metal pollution is a major issue which has seriously threatened the sustainability of environment. The toxic heavy metals emerging from sources like, industries, tannery, sewage wastes and other metal discharging industries have been found to adversely affect the density, diversity and physiological activities of soil microbiota (Xie et al. 2016). Among various heavy metals, cadmium, a highly lethal metal is widely used in batteries, for coating, electroplating, PVC stabilizers and as a component in alloy formation in various industries (Sharma et al. 2015). Due to lack of regulatory policy for controlled and safe discharge, cadmium is added to the environment via many anthropogenic activities like combustion of metal ores, burning of wastes and by the use of fossil fuels. However, after it accumulates in soils, Cd can be absorbed by plants leading eventually to the disruption of food chain and indirectly affects human health (Rahimzadeh et al. 2017). Chromium is yet another toxic metal which is used in plating, alloy formation, tanning of animal hides, for inhibiting water corrosion, textile dyes and mordants, pigments, ceramics, refractory bricks, pressure-treated lumber etc. The overuse and abuse of Cr has however hugely dented human health by acting as carcinogenic and mutagenic element (Oliveira 2012). Nickel which is even though present in very low concentrations in the environment has been found to cause serious human health problems when present beyond threshold concentrations. For instance, Ni can cause- (i) genotoxicity (ii) several types of carcinomas (iii) toxic impacts on the immune system and (iv) damage to other metabolically active tissues (Das et al. 2018).
",non-battery
"Scandium doped LiScxMn2-xO4 compounds are synthesized by solid-state method, which show single phase with rod-like polyhedron morphology. The Sc-doping decreases the lattice parameter ‘a’ marginally due to the change in the inter-atomic distance of the metal oxide bonds as confirm by Rietveld refinement. In addition, the expansion of LiO4 tetrahedron and contraction of MnO6 octahedron by ∼0.01 Å upon doping are observed. The Sc2p3/2 peak at 402.5 eV and Sc2p1/2 peak at 407.2 eV in the XPS spectrum of LiSc0.06Mn1.94O4 confirms the presence of Sc in the spinel structure. The symmetric stretching of MnO bond of LiSc0.06Mn1.94O4 shifts lower value (∼4 cm−1) than that of LiMn2O4 indicating the occupancy of Sc3+ ion in the octahedral site. The diffusion coefficient value of LiSc0.06Mn1.94O4 (1 × 10−12cm2s−1) is one-order higher than that of undoped LiMn2O4 (1 × 10−13 cm2s−1). LiMn2O4 delivers a discharge capacity of 117 mAhg−1 at 1C with a capacity retention of 74% after 500 cycles, whereas under similar condition LiSc0.06Mn1.94O4 delivers a discharge capacity of 114 mAhg−1 with a capacity retention of >90%. LiSc0.06Mn1.94O4 also delivers excellent rate capability due to high diffusion coefficient and less charge transfer resistance compared to the parent compound. The structure and morphology of the Sc-doped electrode after 500 cycles remains intact without any formation of Mn-rich agglomeration suggest that the reduction of Mn2+ ion dissolution as well as Jahn-Teller distortion. Hence LiSc0.06Mn1.94O4 can be a potential cathode material for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"This study examined whether children with mathematical difficulties (MDs) or comorbid mathematical and reading difficulties have a working memory deficit and whether the hypothesized working memory deficit includes the whole working memory system or only specific components. In the study, 31 10-year-olds with MDs and 37 10-year-olds with both mathematical and reading difficulties were compared with 47 age-matched and 50 younger controls (9-year-olds) on a number of working memory tasks. Compared with the age-matched controls, both groups of children with MDs performed worse on tasks tapping the central executive (e.g., visual matrix span) and the phonological loop (e.g., word span). More important, the MD group performed worse than the younger controls on the counting span task, whereas the group with comorbid mathematical and reading difficulties performed worse on the counting span task and the visual matrix span task. These findings provide support for the assumption that children with MDs have a working memory deficit. More specifically, children with MDs have a central executive deficit connected to concurrent processing and storage of numerical and visual information.",non-battery
"The influence of paste density and curing temperature on soaking and formation was investigated by different analytical methods including X-ray, porosimetry, BET and SEM. The soaking was carried out in sulfuric acid with different gravity and the time was varied between 0.5 and 24 h. Plates cured at high temperature resulting in mainly tetrabasic lead sulfate (4BS) behave markedly different to those cured at low temperature having only tribasic lead sulfate (3BS). The behaviour of plates cured at medium temperature resulting in a mix of both 4BS and 3BS was between the two extremes. There was also some influence of the paste density but smaller than the effect of different curing conditions. The results can be explained by considering the different mass structure and pore size distribution of the respective plate version.",battery
"A silicon monoxide (SiO)-carbon composite prepared by ball-milling and pyrolysis is evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Electrochemical tests demonstrated that the first charge and discharge capacities of the material are about 1050 and 800mAhg−1, respectively, with a first-cycle efficiency of 76%. The disproportionation reaction of pure SiO into Si and SiO2 during pyrolysis is confirmed by means of XRD and 29Si MAS NMR. The cycle performance of this material shows an excellent reversible capacity retention of 710mAhg−1 over 100 cycles without any potential or capacity restrictions. This improved cycle performance is attributed to the stable microstructure, enhanced electrical contact afforded by the pyrolyzed carbon, and the amorphous phase transformation of the active material during cycling.",battery
"Amongst anode materials for lithium ion batteries, silicon's high theoretical capacity, environmental friendliness, low potential vs Li/Li+, material abundance and technological maturity, turn it to a strong candidate for the replacement of carbon-based anodes. In this work we studied the influence of various electrolyte solutions and additives to the silicon's stability over cycling. We have to use electrolyte solutions and additives that form a stable Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) layer, which protects silicon's integrity and prolongs its cycle life. In this work, we present the experimental results of half and full cells with silicon anodes with various electrolytes and additives. It becomes obvious that the electrolyte solution plays an immense role to the formation of SEI layer and thus, the electrochemical properties of silicon anodes.",battery
"Kesterite thin-film solar cells feature abundant non-toxic elements. Here, Antunez et al. present a process to simultaneously optimize the conversion efficiency and voltage over a wide range of light intensities appropriate for small-scale, distributed and indoor applications.
",battery
"Understanding how events throughout the annual cycle interact to influence individual fitness and hence population dynamics is crucial to optimize conservation strategies for migratory birds. Despite major advancements in technology, direct tracking devices for passerine songbirds are still limited by the need for recapturing tagged individuals. Stable-isotope analysis of bird tissue has the opportunity to supply information on a larger number of individuals, although it is limited by the indirect knowledge of the geographical position of the birds. In this study, we provide a first attempt to combine annual spatio-temporal data achieved from direct tracking with information on local environmental conditions by using stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N). We use this approach to investigate if environmental conditions at the wintering area in southern Africa influence timing of spring migration and carry-over to affect breeding performance in a long-distance migratory passerine bird, the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio). We found that individuals wintering in relatively moist conditions (depleted in δ13C) and at lower latitudes (closer to the breeding grounds) departed later on spring migration than individuals in more xeric habitats. However, the effect of non-breeding area conditions and latitude were not found at subsequent migration stages and late departing individuals spent fewer days on migration towards the breeding grounds. Although conditions in the non-breeding range have previously been suggested to influence population fluctuations in Red-backed Shrikes, we found no evidence of a carry-over effect on breeding performance. This study highlights the potential of combining different approaches when investigating seasonal interactions in migratory animals.
",non-battery
"Typhoons inflict large damage to societies, but are usually difficult to monitor in close proximity in real-time without expensive instruments. Here we study the possibility of using seismic waveforms on the seafloor and on land to monitor the turning of a far away or approaching typhoon. Up to 67% of the typhoons making landfall in Taiwan come from the eastern shore, so that we deployed broadband ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs) offshore eastern Taiwan in 2006 to study ground motion in close proximity to a typhoon. Typhoons generate ocean waves, which generate pressure signals in the water column before being transmitted to the seafloor as seismic waves and recorded by the OBSs. The ground motions on the seafloor correlate with locally increased (ocean) wave heights and wave periods, suggesting that the ground motions are mostly induced by in situ or nearby pressure fields, as shown by coherence function analyses. When a typhoon turns and changes wave-wave interaction near the source region, a new set of en echelon patterns develops which can be observed by OBSs and land stations. Similar features occur when a typhoon crosses a landmass and re-enters the ocean. The energy level ratio between the single-frequency and double-frequency microseisms also changes abruptly when the typhoon turns. These features can potentially help near real-time early warning with little cost to complement other conventional typhoon early warning methods.
",non-battery
" Practice-based research is not uncommon in healthcare. In fact, the way nurses and doctors train is through extensive and intensive practice [1]. In other words, practice-based research has been used to gain new knowledge partly by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice [2]. Practice based research networks have also been gaining on importance in healthcare as ways of addressing research questions informed by practicing clinicians. They aim to gather data and improve existing practices of primary care [3], practice-based research is not only about gaining new knowledge via practice and improving existing practices.",non-battery
"Ion channels are targets of various antiepileptic drugs. In cerebral presynaptic nerve endings Na+ and Ca2+ channels are particularly abundant, as they control neurotransmitter release, including the release of glutamate (Glu), the most concentrated excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter in the brain. Several pre-synaptic channels are implicated in the mechanism of action of the pro-convulsive agent, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). In the present study the effects of levetiracetam and other established and newer (vinpocetine) anti-epileptic drugs, as well as of the anti-depressant, sertraline on the increase in Ca2+ induced by 4-AP in hippocampal isolated nerve endings were investigated. Also the effects of some of the anti-seizure drugs on the selective increase in Ca2+ induced by high K+, or on the selective increase in Na+ induced by veratridine were tested. Sertraline and vinpocetine effectively inhibited the rise in Ca2+ induced by 4-AP, which was dependent on the out-in Na+ gradient and tetrodotoxin sensitive. Carbamazepine, phenytoin, lamotrigine and oxcarbazepine inhibited the rise in Ca2+ induced by 4-AP too, but at higher concentrations than sertraline and vinpocetine, whereas levetiracetam, valproic acid and topiramate did not. The three latter antiepileptic drugs also failed in modifying other responses mediated by the activation of brain presynaptic Na+ or Ca2+ channels, including Glu release. This indicates that levetiracetam, valproic acid and topiramate mechanisms of action are unrelated with a decrease in presynaptic Na+ or Ca2+ channels permeability. It is concluded that depolarized cerebral isolated nerve endings represent a useful tool to unmask potential antiepileptic drugs targeting presynaptic Na+ and/or Ca2+ channels in the brain; such as vinpocetine or the anti-depressant sertraline, which high effectiveness to control seizures in the animal in vivo has been demonstrated.
",non-battery
"Research examining the relationships between performance measures of emotional intelligence (EI), coping styles, and academic achievement is sparse. Two studies were designed to redress this imbalance. In each of these studies, both EI and coping styles were significantly related to academic achievement. In Study 1, 159 community college students completed the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping scales. Collectively, the coping variables significantly mediated the relationship between EI and grade point average (GPA) for Emotion Perception, Emotion Facilitation of Thought and Emotion Management (but not for Emotional Understanding). Problem-focused coping was the only single significant mediator, mediating the relationship between emotion management and GPA (but not other branches and GPA). In Study 2, 293 middle school students completed the Situational Test of Emotion Management for Youths (STEM-Y) and scales measuring the same three coping strategies. In this study, the coping variables again significantly mediated the relationship between emotion management and GPA. Once again, problem-focused coping was a significant mediator. Collectively, these results suggest that better educational outcomes might be achieved by targeting skills relating to emotion management and problem-focused coping.",non-battery
"Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of rapidly frozen biological specimens, or cryo-EM, would benefit from the development of a phase plate for in-focus phase contrast imaging. Several types of phase plates have been investigated, but rapid electrostatic charging of all such devices has hindered these efforts. Here, we demonstrate electron phase manipulation with a high-intensity continuous-wave laser beam, and use it as a phase plate for TEM. We demonstrate the laser phase plate by imaging an amorphous carbon film. The laser phase plate provides a stable and tunable phase shift without electrostatic charging or unwanted electron scattering. These results suggest the possibility for dose-efficient imaging of unstained biological macromolecules and cells.",non-battery
"Understanding of the impact of antipsychotic medications on cognition requires differentiating between treatment effects and practice effects. This prospective study examines expectations for change on neuropsychological assessments and possible differential practice effects in community dwelling schizophrenia patients (n =27) who are clinically stable and on a stable medication regimen when compared to demographically similar psychiatrically healthy controls (n =29). All participants were administered the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) twice over a period of four weeks. The use of Regression Based Norms for Change (RBNC) and Reliable Change Index (RCI) was completed to anchor estimates of meaningful change to a demographically similar control group. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the effects of time and diagnosis on MCCB composite scores. A repeated measures MANOVA was used to examine the effects of time and diagnosis, and their interaction for MCCB subtests. Estimates of meaningful change are provided. A significant main effect was observed for time; no significant interactions were observed. There was no support for differential practice effects. In the absence of any behavioral, cognitive, or pharmaceutical interventions, these findings suggest limited change in performance over time in either group.",non-battery
"Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are feasible for grid-scale applications due to their unique attributes such as safe, sustainable, and low-cost. However, it is limited by cathode materials, which requires a stable host structure and fast channel for zinc ions diffusion. Here, we develop various kinds of potassium vanadates (K2V8O21, K0.25V2O5, K2V6O16·1.57H2O and KV3O8) as cathodes for aqueous ZIBs. K2V8O21 and K0.25V2O5 with tunnel structure can maintain a stable structure and are conducive to the faster zinc ion diffusion during repeated cycles compared to the layered KV3O8 and K2V6O16·1.57H2O that suffer from structural collapse. The optimal K2V8O21 cathode exhibits excellent zinc storage performance, with a high capacity of 247 mA h g−1 at 0.3 A g−1 and a good rate at 6 A g−1 as well as excellent cyclic stability up to 300 cycles. The results suggest K2V8O21 is a very promising cathode for aqueous ZIBs, which could be extended to construct other high-performance cathode materials with a similar crystal structure (e.g. β-Na0.33V2O5, Li0.3V2O5, Ag0.33V2O5, etc.) for zinc storage.",battery
"Hybrid microwave synthesis has been applied for preparation of Li4Ti5O12, Li2Ti3O7, Li2TiO3 and LiTiO2 for the first time. Stepwise heating was used for avoiding the instantaneous release of gas by-product and obtaining well-shaped samples. The samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained samples have relatively uniform particle sizes. The electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12 and Li2Ti3O7 were investigated. The first discharge capacity of Li4Ti5O12 was 150mAhg−1 and 141mAhg−1 after 27 cycles and a very flat discharge and charge curve of Li4Ti5O12 was shown at about 1.56V. Similarly, Li2Ti3O7 exhibits good cycle performance. The initial discharge capacity is 118mAhg−1 and 30th cycle is still 112mAhg−1.",battery
 To validate physical activity estimates by the Sensewear Pro3 activity monitor compared with indirect calorimetry during simulated free living in patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hip pre or post total hip arthroplasty.,non-battery
The corrosion behaviors of perovskite La0.8Sr0.2Co0.3Fe0.7O3−δ (LSCF) in the sodium tetrasulfide melt have been studied to demonstrate its possibility to be used as a coating material for the positive current collector in the sodium sulfur battery (Na/S). The electrochemical techniques including potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are applied in the study. The results demonstrate that the corrosion process of the LSCF in sodium tetrasulfide melt is activation controlled. The corrosion current density of the LSCF is approximate 10 times smaller than that of the 316L stainless steel. Two compact corrosion layers which may act as a stable barrier retarding the corrosion process have formed on the surface of LSCF after immersed for 130 days. The promising results suggest that LSCF exhibits high corrosion resistance against molten sodium tetrasulfide and may be an appropriate candidate coating material for the positive current collector in Na/S battery.,battery
"Iron(III) protoporphyrin IX (Fe(III)P), adsorbed either on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) or on hydroxyl-functionalized SWCNT (SWCNT-OH), was incorporated within a Nafion matrix immobilized on the surface of a graphite electrode. From cyclic voltammetric measurements, performed under different experimental conditions (pH and potential scan rate), it was established that the Fe(III)P/Fe(II)P redox couple involves 1e−/1H+. The heterogeneous electron transfer process occurred faster when Fe(III)P was adsorbed on SWCNT-OH (∼11s−1) than on SWCNT (∼4.9s−1). Both the SWCNT-Fe(III)P- and SWCNT-OH-Fe(III)P-modified graphite electrodes exhibit electrocatalytic activity for H2O2 and nitrite reduction. The modified electrodes sensitivities were found varying in the following sequences: S SWCNT-OH-Fe(III)P =2.45mA/M≈ S SWCNT-Fe(III)P =2.95mA/M> S Fe(III)P =1.34mA/M for H2O2, and S SWCNT-Fe(III)P =3.54mA/M> S Fe(III)P =1.44mA/M> S SWCNT-OH-Fe(III)P =0.81mA/M for NO2 −.",battery
"This research investigated the relation between individual differences in inhibitory control and emotion regulation. Preschool children (N =53) ages 4–6 (M =5; 0) were assessed on brief batteries of inhibitory control of prepotent responses and emotion regulation. Individual differences in inhibitory control were significantly correlated with children's ability to regulate their emotions. This relation held up even after controlling for age and verbal ability, and persisted for both Emotion Understanding and “online” control of emotional expressions that were negative (Disappointing Gift) or positive (Secret Keeping). Parent report of children's self-control and emotion regulation corroborated the behavioral results. These findings suggest that executive control of attention, action, and emotion are skills that develop in concert in the preschool period. However, there was also evidence of a quadratic relation in which emotion regulation was optimal at intermediate levels of inhibition, highlighting the interplay of both cognitive control and temperament in socio-emotional functioning.",non-battery
"Harden RN. Chronic pain and opiates: a call for moderation. The prescription of opioid analgesics for chronic, nonterminal conditions continues as one of the most controversial and contentious issues in medicine. We have witnessed a full pendulum swing from the complete nihilism of the 1960s and 1970s to the careless zealotry of the 1990s. Neither extreme is good practice, and one hopes we are witnessing the dawn of a more moderate time of a sane and balanced appraisal of risk versus benefit in using these important tools. Overall Article Objective To present the case for thoughtful attention and moderation in prescribing opioids to treat chronic pain conditions.",non-battery
"Nitrous oxide emission (N2O) from applied fertilizer across the different agricultural landscapes especially those of rainfed area is extremely variable (both spatially and temporally), thus posing the greatest challenge to researchers, modelers, and policy makers to accurately predict N2O emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions from a rainfed, maize-planted, black soil (Udic Mollisols) were monitored in the Harbin State Key Agroecological Experimental Station (Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China). The four treatments were: a bare soil amended with no N (C0) or with 225 kg N ha−1 (CN), and maize (Zea mays L.)-planted soils fertilized with no N (P0) or with 225 kg N ha−1 (PN). Nitrous oxide emissions significantly (P < 0.05) increased from 141 ± 5 g N2O-N ha−1 (C0) to 570 ± 33 g N2O-N ha−1 (CN) in unplanted soil, and from 209 ± 29 g N2O-N ha−1 (P0) to 884 ± 45 g N2O-N ha−1 (PN) in planted soil. Approximately 75 % of N2O emissions were from fertilizer N applied and the emission factor (EF) of applied fertilizer N as N2O in unplanted and planted soils was 0.19 and 0.30 %, respectively. The presence of maize crop significantly (P < 0.05) increased the N2O emission by 55 % in the N-fertilized soil but not in the N-unfertilized soil. There was a significant (P < 0.05) interaction effect of fertilization × maize on N2O emissions. Nitrous oxide fluxes were significantly affected by soil moisture and soil temperature (P < 0.05), with the temperature sensitivity of 1.73–2.24, which together explained 62–76 % of seasonal variation in N2O fluxes. Our results demonstrated that N2O emissions from rainfed arable black soils in Northeast China primarily depended on the application of fertilizer N; however, the EF of fertilizer N as N2O was low, probably due to low precipitation and soil moisture.",non-battery
"In this study, it was the first report that Bacillus sp. CCZU11-1 was used for the biotransformation of 1,3-propanediol cyclic sulfate (1,3-PDS) and its derivatives. The catalytic performance of Bacillus sp. sulfatase in the biotransformation of 1,3-PDS was significantly improved by biocatalyst permeabilization and immobilization. Using cell permeabilization, the hydrolytic activity of the whole-cell biocatalyst was increased by 3.5-fold after 1.5 h of pretreatment with 10 % (v/v) toluene at 30 °C and pH 7.0. Biotransformation of 20 mM 1,3-PDS for 24 h, 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) could be obtained in the yield of 97.4 % under the optimized reaction condition. Additionally, the immobilized biocatalysts, permeabilized cells entrapped in calcium alginate, and cross-linked enzyme aggregates were further employed to biotansform 1,3-PDS. Moreover, the total operational time of the immobilized biocatalysts could reach above 240 h with high conversion rate (>90 %).",non-battery
"Three-dimensional (3D) SnS2/graphene aerogels (SnS2/G-As) have been successfully fabricated via an in situ macroscopy self-assembly of graphene sheets which embedded SnS2 nanoplates in a hydrothermal process, and then freeze-drying to maintain the 3D monolithic architectures. The graphene sheets in high concentration will be easily restacked into 3D architectures driven by combined hydrophobic and π–π stacking interactions during hydrothermal reduction process, meanwhile SnS2 facilitate stabilizing such novel graphene networks. The obtained SnS2/G-As show interconnected graphene networks, large surface area and large numbers of macropores. The novel 3D architectures in SnS2/G-As, which can provide rich sites for absorbing lithium ions and facilitate electrolyte contact as well as ionic diffusion, combined with the synergistic effect between the layered SnS2 and the graphene make SnS2/G-As achieve high reversible capacity (656 mA h g−1 with a coulombic efficiency of over 95% after 30 cycles) and excellent rate capability (240 mA h g−1 at the rate of 1000 mA g−1) when used as an anode in rechargeable LIBs.",battery
"In the US, Liming Dai, Professor of Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton, and fellow scientists, have taken a step towards creating efficient fuel cells that are more affordable to mass-produce than those based on platinum.",non-battery
"First principles calculations are employed to understand the effects of Al substitution on the electronic structure, ion dynamics properties, as well as structural stability of Na3V2-xAlx (PO4)3 cathode material. The results reveal that Al doping decreases the band gap energy and transforms the material from indirect to direct band gap electronic structure. Several Na-ion diffusion routes in the crystal structure are proposed and the one with lowest migration energy is identified, which shows one-dimensional transport characteristics along c-axis direction via a curved trajectory. The Al doping increases the Na ion migration energy and thus unfavorable for Na ion diffusion in the crystal. The opposite effects of Al doping on electronic and Na ionic conduction lead to the occurrence of an optimal Al doping level, at which the best electrode reaction kinetics can be expected. The experimental works of the synthesized Na3V2-xAlx (PO4)3 with x = 0–0.4 confirm the theoretical predictions. The sample Na3V1.8Al0.2(PO4)3 with appropriate Al doping exhibits the smallest electrode polarization and superior rate performance. Because of the enhanced binding energy with Al doping as indicated by computation work, the Na3V1.8Al0.2(PO4)3 material displays much stable long-term cycling performance compared to the pristine sample at different temperatures.",battery
"1 M LiPF6 dissolved in oligo(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether with a molecular weight, 500 g mol−1 (OEGDME500, 1 M LiPF6), was investigated as an electrolyte in experimental Al–Li/LiFePO4 cells. More than 60 cycles were achieved using this electrolyte in a Li-ion cell with an Al–Li alloy as an anode sandwiched between two LixFePO4 electrodes (cathodes). Charging efficiencies of 96–100% and energy efficiencies of 86–89% were maintained during 60 cycles at low current densities. A theoretical investigation revealed that the specific energy can be increased up to 15% if conventional LiC6 anodes are replaced by Al–Li alloy electrodes. The specific energy and the energy density were calculated as a function of the active mass per electrode surface (charge density). The results reveal that for a charge density of 4 mAh cm−2 about 160 mWh g−1 can be reached with Al–Li/LiFePO4 batteries. Power limiting diffusion processes are discussed, and the power capability of Al–Li/LiFePO4 cells was experimentally evaluated using conventional electrolytes.",battery
"In order to improve the electrochemical performance of Si as an anode material for Li ion secondary batteries, a biphasic layer composed of Co and Co3O4 was coated on Si particles by sol–gel method. Compared to Si, Co–Co3O4 coated Si showed the drastic improvement in several electrochemical properties, such as initial coulombic efficiency (55%→88%), cyclic efficiency and cycle life. The comparison between Co–Co3O4 coated Si and heat-treated Si without the coating let us know that the improvement of electrochemical properties only results from Co–Co3O4 coating layer. Little changed cyclic properties (cyclic efficiency and cycle life) of Co–Co3O4 coated Si even at a higher charge–discharge rate insinuated that Co–Co3O4 coating layer plays a crucial role in maintaining the electronic contacts between particles and conducting parts. When trying to measure a thickness variation of the electrodes each containing Si and Co–Co3O4 coated Si as active materials, it was notified that Co–Co3O4 coating layer can accommodate the volume expansion of Si during Li+ insertion, which has its original thickness almost recovered after Li+ extraction.",battery
"Since the last decade, research activities in the area of nano-materials have been increased dramatically. More than a 1000 of journal articles in this area have been published within the last 3 years. Materials scientists and researchers have realized that the mechanical properties of materials can be altered at the fundamental level, i.e. the atomic-scale. Carbon nanotubes (hereafter called ‘nanotubes’) have been well recognized as nano-structural materials that can be used to alter mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of polymer-based composite materials, because of their superior properties and perfect atom arrangement. In general, scientific research related to the nanotubes and their co-related polymer based composites can be distinguished into four particular scopes: (i) production of high purity and controllable nanotubes, in terms of their size, length and chiral arrangement; (ii) enhancement of interfacial bonding strength between the nanotubes and their surrounding matrix; (iii) control of the dispersion properties and alignment of the nanotubes in nanotube/polymer composites and (iv) applications of the nanotubes in real life. Although, so many remarkable results in the above items have been obtained recently, no concluding results have so far been finalized. In this paper, a critical review on recent research related to nanotube/polymer composites is given. Newly-adopted coiled nanotubes used to enhance the interfacial bonding strength of nanocomposites are also discussed. Moreover, the growth of nanotubes from nanoclay substrates to form exfoliated nanotube/nanoclay polymer composites is also introduced in detail.",non-battery
" Improving patients' health status is one of the major goals in COPD treatment. Questionnaires could facilitate the guidance of patient-tailored disease management by exploring which aspects of health status are problematic, and which aspects are not. Health status consists of four main domains (physiological functioning, symptoms, functional impairment, and quality of life), and at least sixteen sub-domains. A prerequisite for patient-tailored treatment is a detailed assessment of all these sub-domains. Most questionnaires developed to measure health status consist of one or a few subscales and measure merely some aspects of health status. The question then rises which aspects of health status are measured by these instruments, and which aspects are not covered. As it is one of the most frequently used questionnaires in COPD, we evaluated which aspects of health status are measured and which aspects are not measured by the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ).",non-battery
"A theory is proposed to explain and predict the electrochemical process during reaction between lithium ions and electrode materials. In the model, the process of reaction is proceeded into two steps, surface adsorption and diffusion of lithium ions. The surface adsorption is an instantaneous process for lithium ions to adsorb onto the surface sites of active materials. The diffusion of lithium ions into particles is determined by the charge-discharge condition. A formula to determine the maximum specific capacity of active materials at different charging rates (C-rates) is derived. The maximum specific capacity is correlated to characteristic parameters of materials and cycling – such as size, aspect ratio, surface area, and C-rate. Analysis indicates that larger particle size or greater aspect ratio of active materials and faster C-rates can reduce maximum specific capacity. This suggests that reducing particle size of active materials and slowing the charge-discharge speed can provide enhanced electrochemical performance of a battery cell. Furthermore, the model is validated by published experimental results. This model brings new understanding in quantification of electrochemical kinetics and capacity performance. It enables development of design strategies for novel electrodes and future generation of energy storage devices.",battery
"Hybrid energy systems are being utilized for supplying electrical energy in urban, rural and remote areas to overcome the intermittence of solar and wind resources. A hybrid renewable energy system incorporates two or more electricity generation options based on renewable energy or fossil fuel unit. The techno-economic analysis of the hybrid system is essential for the efficient utilization of renewable energy resources. Due to multiple generation systems, hybrid system analysis, is quite complex and requires to be analyzed thoroughly. This requires software tools for the design, analysis, optimization, and economic viability of the systems. In this paper, 19 softwares with their main features and current status are presented. The softwares studied are HOMER, Hybrid2, RETScreen, iHOGA, INSEL, TRNSYS, iGRHYSO, HYBRIDS, RAPSIM, SOMES, SOLSTOR, HySim, HybSim, IPSYS, HySys, Dymola/Modelica, ARES, SOLSIM, and HYBRID DESIGNER. The research work related to hybrid systems carried out using these softwares at different locations worldwide is also reviewed. The main objective of the paper is to provide the current status of these softwares to provide basic insight for a researcher to identify and utilize suitable tool for research and development studies of hybrid systems. The capabilities of different softwares are also highlighted. The limitations, availability and areas of further research have also been identified.",battery
"Investigation of electrode/electrolyte interface of 5V spinel material LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4 was carried out in the presence of glutaric anhydride additive, using combined magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. After exposure to LiPF6 in EC/DMC liquid electrolyte, oxidation state of +III or lower has been evidenced by EELS for Mn ions, indicating that the presence of glutaric anhydride additive in the electrolyte, not only modifies the interphase, but does not prevent chemical reactions with the active material. Further investigation of the influence of the additive upon storage and cycling was performed using combined 7Li and 19F MAS NMR. The native interphase formed by simple contact of the active material with the electrolyte is partially destroyed at high potential but the new appearing interphase is overall increasing upon cycling, independently from the presence of glutaric anhydride. The use of glutaric anhydride is nevertheless beneficial as it clearly restrains the formation of lithiated interphasial species and alters the interphase composition since the formation of fluorophosphates is promoted, lowering the relative amount of resistive LiF. Although resistive LiF can be formed in significant amount, it is removed by the DMC rinsing while fluorophosphates display a stronger adherence to the active material.",battery
"Salinity caused by land clearing is an important cause of land degradation in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Returning a proportion of the cleared land to higher water use perennial vegetation is one option for reducing or slowing the salinisation of land. Over the course of a year patterns of water use by Eucalyptus kochii subsp borealis (C. Gardner) D. Nicolle, a mallee eucalypt species, were monitored in three landscape positions with different water availability. One treatment had groundwater at 2 m, a second at 4.5 m and a third had groundwater below a silcrete hardpan thought to be impenetrable to roots. Hydraulic redistribution was observed in all landscape positions, and rates were positively correlated with the magnitude of soil water potential gradients within the soil. High rates of hydraulic redistribution, facilitated by abundant deep water may increase tree water use by wetting surface soils and reducing stomatal closure. This effect may be countered by increased soil evaporation of water moved from root to soil following hydraulic redistribution; the net volumes of redistributed water though lateral roots was calculated to be the equivalent of up to 27% of transpiration.",non-battery
"In order to get homogeneous layered oxide Li[Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3]O2 as a lithium insertion positive electrode material, we applied the metal acetates decomposition method. The oxide compounds were calcined at various temperatures, which results in greater difference in morphological (shape, particle size and specific surface area) and the electrochemical (first charge profile, reversible capacity and rate capability) differences. The Li[Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3]O2 powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), charge/discharge cycling, cyclic voltammetry and SEM. XRD experiment revealed that the layered Li[Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3]O2 material can be best synthesized at temperature of 800°C. In that synthesized temperature, the sample showed high discharge capacity of 190mAhg−1 as well as stable cycling performance at a current density of 0.2mAcm−2 in the voltage range 2.3–4.6V. The reversible capacity after 100 cycles is more than 190mAhg−1 at room temperature.",battery
"Bicycling at night is more dangerous than in the daytime and poor conspicuity is likely to be a contributing factor. The use of reflective markings on a pedestrian's major joints to facilitate the perception of biological motion has been shown to greatly enhance pedestrian conspicuity at night, but few corresponding data exist for bicyclists. Twelve younger and twelve older participants drove around a closed-road circuit at night and indicated when they first recognized a bicyclist who wore black clothing either alone, or together with a reflective bicycling vest, or a vest plus ankle and knee reflectors. The bicyclist pedalled in place on a bicycle that had either a static or flashing light, or no light on the handlebars. Bicyclist clothing significantly affected conspicuity; drivers responded to bicyclists wearing the vest plus ankle and knee reflectors at significantly longer distances than when the bicyclist wore the vest alone or black clothing without a vest. Older drivers responded to bicyclists less often and at shorter distances than younger drivers. The presence of a bicycle light, whether static or flashing, did not enhance the conspicuity of the bicyclist; this may result in bicyclists who use a bicycle light being overconfident of their own conspicuity at night. The implications of our findings are that ankle and knee markings are a simple and very effective approach for enhancing bicyclist conspicuity at night.",non-battery
"The optimal experimental conditions (sintering time is 4 h, the sintering temperature is 650 °C, and the mass percentage of citric acid and pickled iron oxide red is 80.25%) for the synthesis of LFP/C cathode materials were determined by orthogonal experiments. To further improve electrochemical performance, Cl-doped LiFePO4/C cathode material was successfully synthesized by high-temperature solid phase method using pickling iron oxide red and citric acid as the iron source and carbon source, respectively. The experimental results reveal that it is a practical method to prepare LiFePO4/C cathode material by pickling iron oxide red as raw material to reduce production cost. It is also proved that Cl doping can effectively change the microstructure, improve the structural stability and improve its rate performance, cycle performance and ion diffusion rate of LiFePO4. The initial capacity of Cl-doped LiFePO4/C electrode achieves 164.1 mAh g− 1 at 0.1C, which is about 96.53% of the theoretical capacity (170 mAh g− 1). The Cl-doped LiFePO4/C electrode material can achieve the reversible capacity of 105.3 mAh g− 1 with the capacity retention rate of 91.5% after 500 cycles at 10C, which is much higher than that of undoped LiFePO4/C (62.7%) electrode materials.",battery
"Supercapacitive behaviour of a novel functional material, nickel (II) octa [(3,5-biscarboxylate)-phenoxy] phthalocyanine (NiOBCPPc) upon covalent integration with phenylamine functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT-phenylamine) is reported for the first time. The supercapacitive behaviour of the hybrid (NiOBCPPc-SWCNT-phenylamine) was investigated using galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Using a more reliable galvanostatic charge–discharge method, the NiOBCPPc-SWCNT-phenylamine hybrid exhibited superior geometrical capacitance (∼186mFcm−2) compared to either NiOBCPPc (∼54mFcm−2) or SWCNT-phenylamine (∼74mFcm−2) at a current density of 138μAcm−2. The NiOBCPPc-SWCNT-phenylamine gave excellent stability of over 1000 charge–discharge continuous cycling.",battery
"Core-shell type olivine solid solutions, LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/C, are synthesized via a very simple and rapid microwave heating route with different carbon sources. The obatined LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/C materials are characterized thoroughly by various analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy instrument. The particle sizes and distribution of the carbon layer of BP2000 carbon black coated LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4 (LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/BP) are more uniform than that obtained from acetylene black (LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/AB) and Super P (LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/SP). Moreover, the LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/BP nanocomposite shows superior electrochemical properties such as high discharge capacity of 160mAhg−1 at 0.1C, excellent cyclic stability (143mAhg−1 at 0.1C after 30 cycles) and rate capability (76mAhg−1 at 20C), which are better than other two samples. Cyclic voltammetric and electrical tests disclose that the Li-ion diffusion, the reversibility of lithium extraction/insertion and electrical conductivity are significantly improved in LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/BP composite. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy illustrates that LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4/BP composite electrode possesses low contact and charge-transfer impedances, which can lead to rapid electron transport during the electrochemical lithium insertion/extraction reaction. It is believed that olivine solid solution LiFe1/3Mn1/3Co1/3PO4 decorated with carbon from appropriate carbon source is a promising cathode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Large-scale aligned CuO nanosheets on conductive carbon cloth were successfully synthesized by a facile two-step approach include magnetron sputtering and solution immersion. The in-situ growth mechanism for the CuO nanostructures is proposed. When tested as anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the CuO nanosheets delivers an initial capacity of 711.2mAhg−1 at 500mAg−1 and maintained 88% after 100 cycles. Even at 2000mAg−1, a stable capacity as high as 448.9mAhg−1 could be achieved. The obtained high performance is due to (1) 2D sheet-like structure with short diffusion length, fast electron transfer and efficient accommodation of volume expansion (2) carbon cloth substrate with high flexibility and conductivity (3) intermediate copper layer with enhanced mechanism adhesion (4) 3D hierarchical structure with large contact area between active material and electrolyte. Achieved electrochemical performance by directly growing ordered CuO nanosheets on conductive carbon cloth makes them promising anode for flexible LIB application.",battery
"Variations in cell properties are unavoidable and can be caused by manufacturing tolerances and usage conditions. As a result of this, cells connected in series may have different voltages and states of charge that limit the energy and power capability of the complete battery pack. Methods of removing this energy imbalance have been extensively reported within literature. However, there has been little discussion around the effect that such variation has when cells are connected electrically in parallel. This work aims to explore the impact of connecting cells, with varied properties, in parallel and the issues regarding energy imbalance and battery management that may arise. This has been achieved through analysing experimental data and a validated model. The main results from this study highlight that significant differences in current flow can occur between cells within a parallel stack that will affect how the cells age and the temperature distribution within the battery assembly.",battery
"Prospective memory or memory for actions to be performed in the future is critical to everyday life and yet has been virtually ignored by researchers until recently. Relative to typically studied retrospective memory tasks, prospective memory retrieval is self-initiated in the sense that a person must remember to perform an intended action without an external request to search memory. This self-initiated characteristic has implications for understanding how retrieval occurs, the storage dynamics of prospective memories, and the optimal encoding strategies. We comprehensively review major theories and evidence on these issues as well as explore developmental changes in prospective memory. Finally, we review the neural processes underlying prospective memory.",non-battery
"The present study reports a simple and cost effective chemical approach for conveniently synthesizing cupric oxide nanostructures (CuO-NSs). To promote confined and stable growth of CuO-NSs, hexamine (HMT) capping molecules were used in the reaction process. Addition of capping molecule could greatly influence the size confinement of CuO-NSs which in turn affects the optical properties. Significant variations in surface morphology were attributed to the presence of hydroxide anion in HMT during synthesis process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results indicated that much larger CuO-NSs are formed without using HMT. XRD analysis revealed that the sample without HMT gives higher crystallite size with less strain. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis with elemental mapping confirms the stoichiometric proportion of CuO-NSs. Micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results confirmed the effect of HMT on monoclinic structure. The optical properties of the prepared CuO-NSs were investigated using UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Optical band gap energy of CuO-NSs was increased with increasing HMT concentration from half to equimolar ratio. The PL spectra of CuO-NSs revealed the presence of emission bands in violet, blue-green and IR region due to band-gap expansion presence of oxygen vacancies and carrier localization effect in the defect levels. The PL results were in good agreement with TEM observations. Controllable morphology of CuO-NSs with adjustable optical properties has shown excellent applicability in many applications such as catalysts, gas sensors and solar cells.",non-battery
"This study investigates the large voltage range of symmetric carbon/carbon capacitors in environmentally friendly aqueous lithium sulfate electrolyte. A high over-potential related to the hydrogen sorption mechanism at the negative electrode contributes usefully to enhance the operating voltage up to 1.9 V with an excellent stability during 10000 charge/discharge cycles. Such a voltage value is two times higher than the values generally demonstrated with symmetric carbon/carbon capacitors in conventional aqueous media, while avoiding the disadvantages of the corrosive properties of acidic and basic electrolytes. Temperature programmed desorption analysis of the electrodes after long-term cycling gives the evidence that the maximum voltage is essentially limited by an irreversible electro-oxidation process at the positive electrode. If the potential of the positive electrode goes beyond a given value during cell operation, a massive electro-oxidation of carbon leads to a further deleterious increase of the maximum potential of the electrode and an increase of electrode resistance resulting in a decrease of capacitance. Inconvenience can be sidestepped by performing a controlled chemical oxidation of the carbon surface using hydrogen peroxide. As a consequence, the maximum potential of the electrode remains stable during operation of the cell at 1.9 V, and the system can be charged/discharged during 10000 cycles with very moderate loss of capacitance or increase of resistance.
",battery
"A well-known strategy to achieve higher energy density in lithium-based batteries consists in using metallic lithium as the anode, however, the problematics associated are many and well-known. One solution to enhance battery safety consists in protecting lithium by using a solid electrolyte. Herein the preparation of a new solid polymer composite electrolyte, encompassing room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) and ceramic powder is reported. The methacrylate monomer, easily reticulated by UV-curing allows to obtain a highly crosslinked 3D structure matrix, rich in ethoxy groups, fundamental for Li+ conduction. Encompassing of RTIL and ceramic particles allows an enhancement of the ionic conductivity as well as mechanical properties, therefore highly reducing lithium dendrite formation.",battery
"Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonosis and a significant cause of loss of health in human and animals. Conventionally, definitive diagnosis is done by isolation of brucellae which is time consuming, technically demanding and may be hazardous. The present study was aimed to develop PCR assay based on evolutionarily conserved outer membrane protein 22 gene for rapid diagnosis of Brucella spp. A set of primer was designed after multiple alignment of outer membrane protein 22 gene sequences by clustalW. PCR amplification resulted in single specific amplicon of 639 bp in all the Brucella strains tested. The primers were found to be highly sensitive and specific. PCR assay developed may be used for clinical diagnosis of Brucella infection.",non-battery
"The requirements for rechargeable batteries place high demands on the electrodes. Efficient storage means accommodating both ions and electrons, not only in substantial amounts, but also with substantial velocities. The materials’ space could be largely extended by decoupling the roles of ions and electrons such that transport and accommodation of ions take place in one phase of a composite, and transport and accommodation of electrons in the other phase. Here we discuss this synergistic concept being equally applicable for positive and negative electrodes along with examples from the literature for Li-based and Ag-based cells. Not only does the concept have the potential to mitigate the trade-off between power density and energy density, it also enables a generalized view of bulk and interfacial storage as necessary for nanocrystals. It furthermore allows for testable predictions of heterogeneous storage in passivation layers, dependence of transfer resistance on the state of charge, or heterogeneous storage of hydrogen at appropriate contacts. We also present an outlook on constructing artificial mixed-conductor electrodes that have the potential to achieve both high energy density and high power density.",battery
"The use of the Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance (EQCM) to study the proton intercalation performance of thin film Ni(OH)2 layers, nowadays widely used as cathode electrode material in rechargeable Ni(OH)2-based battery systems such as NiMH and NiCd, is reviewed. In addition, the impact of incorporating foreign metals in these layers on the electrochemical performance will be highlighted. Using EQCM much information can be obtained, as both the electrochemical response and accompanying mass changes can be measured simultaneously. EQCM was extensively used to investigate the effect of the conditions on the formation of Ni(OH)2 thin layers, the α-to-β modification changes and the details of the redox mechanism. The proposed redox mechanisms differ in whether H+ or OH− is transferred, the reactants and/or products are hydrated and cations from the solution take part in the reaction. By incorporation of other metals in the structure, the characteristics of thin Ni(OH)2 layers can be tuned. This affects the oxidation and reduction potential, the reversibility, the stability of the structure and the oxygen evolution side reaction. Co2+ and Fe2+ were shown to replace Ni-sites in the hydrous oxide lattice, thereby forming very dense structures with higher stability. However, structural changes still occur in most cases. Due to this inhomogeneity, the layers are usually a combination of different structures, depending on the distribution of the incorporated metal(s). Suppression of the oxygen evolution reaction is reported for Co, Pb, Pd, Zn and Mn. The effects of Co and Mn are shown to depend on the incorporated amount. Co shifts the standard redox potential for the oxygen evolution reaction towards more cathodic potentials and decreases the oxygen overpotential significantly. Light-weight rare-earth elements also catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction.",battery
"A nonlinear equivalent circuit model for lithium ion cells is developed where the circuit elements are based on electrochemical processes like charge transfer reaction, and variable resistances that are functions of the state variables. The potential drops are the natural state variables rather than cell state-of-charge (SOC). A commercial pouch cell consisting of composite positive and meso-carbon microbeads (MCMB) negative electrodes is analyzed. The state space model developed consists of the current balance which forms the state variable evolution equation and voltage balance which forms the output equation. The global set of parameters for a two pair resistor–capacitor circuit is calculated by solving the model equations consistently and minimizing the error with HPPC (Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization) pulse voltage at few SOCs. The entire HPPC protocol is predicted by the model accurately within an error of 50 mV. The model is validated using the full depth charge–discharge experiments. The model is used to resolve the overall cell potential into potential drops due to individual processes, yielding insights into controlling mechanisms. The variable resistor formalism enables cell voltage prediction without parameter re-estimation and hence can be developed as an on-board algorithm.",battery
"Many NiCoO2 flowers with an average diameter of about 4 μm were grown on the NiCoO2 flakes coated Ni foam (denoted as NiCoO2/Ni foam) through a simple hydrothermal method and confirmed by scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectrum measurements. The NiCoO2/Ni foam with high specific area and porosity was directly used as the working electrode without any binders. The measured specific capacitance of NiCoO2 grown on Ni foam is 756 F/g at 0.75 A/g using a three-electrode setup in 1 M KOH. Considering the high capacity of NiCoO2 and the good stability of rGO, the NiCoO2/Ni foam//rGO hybrid supercapacitor combining NiCoO2/Ni foam and rGO shows very good properties, such as high specific capacitance (82 F/g at 2 A/g based on the total mass of active materials), high energy density (25.7 Wh/kg at 1500 W/kg based on the total mass of active materials), good stability (about 90% capacitance retention after 2000-cycle at 100 mV/s), and low charge ion transfer resistance.",battery
"A series of LaMn1±xO3 perovskite (x=0, 0.05, 0.1) has been synthesized via a facile sol–gel method and applied as supercapacitor electrodes. The morphology, phase structure, composition, chemical states of constituents and electrochemical properties are investigated. As a result, all the LaMn1±x O3 samples revealed a single mesoporous phase of perovskite with typical pore sizes from 2 to 5nm. The nonstoichiometric LaMn1.1O3 sample showed much higher specific capacity (202.1mAhg−1/727.6Cg−1 at 1Ag − 1) than stoichiometric LaMnO3 perovskite (114.4 mAhg−1/411.8Cg−1 at 1Ag − 1). Detailed chemical analysis demonstrated that the presence of point defects such as oxygen and cation vacancies, and a high Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio contributed to the excellent electrochemical performance. Furthermore, the cycle stability analyses of the LaMn1±xO3 perovskite revealed that LaMn1.1O3 manifested an exceptionally high rate capability. These results prove that nonstoichiometric LaMn1.1O3 can be a promising material for supercapacitor electrodes.",battery
"This paper describes the fabrication, experimentation and simulation stages of converting a 165l domestic electric refrigerator to a solar powered one. A conventional domestic refrigerator was chosen for this purpose and was redesigned by adding battery bank, inverter and transformer, and powered by solar photovoltaic (SPV) panels. Various performance tests were carried out to study the performance of the system. The coefficient of performance (COP) was observed to decrease with time from morning to afternoon and a maximum COP of 2.102 was observed at 7 AM. Simulations regarding economic feasibility of the system for the climatic conditions of Jaipur city (India) were also carried out using RETScreen 4. It was observed that the system can only be economically viable with carbon trading option taken into account, and an initial subsidy or a reduction in the component costs – mainly SPV panels and battery bank.",battery
"The rate of voltage fade in 0.5Li2MnO3·0.5LiNi0.375Mn0.375Co0.25O2 cathodes was measured in half-cells in a temperature range of 25–55 °C. On the basis of the dependence of the values of the open-circuit potential with cycle count and temperature, the voltage fade phenomenon seems to consist of two chemical processes: one that can be described using a parabolic rate law and another that uses a linear-with-time law. As the cycling temperature increased, the relative contributions of the two processes changed. On the basis of the overall rate versus temperature data, we believe the two processes may be in competition with one another.",battery
"Heat is a ubiquitous energy resource, which is easily accessible from the environment. The pyroelectric effect, a phenomenon that converts temperature variation into electricity, enables a material to be operated like a heat engine between high and low temperatures and electric fields, producing electrical work. However, current literature focuses on material performances, with no energy stored by operating in such conversion cycles. This work presents a complete pyroelectric management system that both realized cycled energy conversion and a maximum harvested power up to 13.1 μW. We achieved this by integrating a laser heat source, an advanced pyroelectric device, a practical power interface, and an energy storage component together. A thin film Lead Zirconate Titanate device was fabricated to achieve very fast temperature response (∼0.1 ms). Thus, the energy conversion can be achieved in a much higher thermodynamic frequency (1 kHz), leading to a larger power density. The proposed power interface manages an optimized pyroelectric conversion cycle while recharging a battery, or a storage capacitor (up to 2.1 V). The results provide a promising method to harvest energy from waste-heat and have shown great potential to supply power to small-scale, distributed devices. In addition, the application of the laser source has also enabled the system to achieve wireless power transmission, which would enable a more flexible way to supply power to multiple devices.",battery
"Hollingsworth & Vose has acquired Raman FibreScience Private Limited (RFS), a Mysore, India-based company that specialises in advanced materials for filtration media and battery separator applications.",non-battery
"Solid polymer gel electrolytes composed of 75wt.% of the ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis-trifluoromethanesulfonylimide with 1.0M lithium bis-trifluoromethanesulfonylimide and 25wt.% poly(vinylidenedifluoro-hexafluoropropene) are characterized as the electrolyte/separator in solid-state lithium batteries. The ionic conductivity of these gels ranges from 1.5 to 2.0mScm−1, which is several orders of magnitude more conductive than any of the more commonly used solid polymers, and comparable to the best solid gel electrolytes currently used in industry. TGA indicates that these polymer gel electrolytes are thermally stable to over 280°C, and do not begin to thermally decompose until over 300°C; exhibiting a significant advancement in the safety of lithium batteries. Atomic force microscopy images of these solid thin films indicate that these polymer gel electrolytes have the structure of nano-sponges, with a sub-micron pore size. For these thin film batteries, 150 charge–discharge cycles are run for Li x CoO2 where x is cycled between 0.95 down to 0.55. Minimal internal resistance effects are observed over the charging cycles, indicating the high ionic conductivity of the ionic liquid solid polymer gel electrolyte. The overall cell efficiency is approximately 98%, and no significant loss in battery efficiency is observed over the 150 cycles.",battery
"A sol–gel method is employed to prepare high capacity Si–O–C materials. A blend of polysiloxane and divinylbenzene is uniformly spread in the ethanol solution of triethoxysilane and diethoxymethylsilane, which is then hydrolyzed, crosslinked and finally pyrolyzed at 1000 °C in a hydrogen atmosphere to obtain the final composite materials. The resultant materials, as indicated by elemental analysis, mainly consist of Si–O–C glass phase, in which the dominant silicon species is identified to SiO4 units by 29Si magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance and Si (2p) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Si–O–C materials exhibit a stable reversible capacity of ca. 900 mAh g−1, originating from lithium storage in SiO4 units, with a coulombic efficiency of 98.5%.",battery
"A central challenge in large scale sustainable hydrogen production by electrolyzing water is to develop efficient and economical electocatalysts with nanostructural materials. This work herein reports the facile solvothermal synthesis of MoS2/Co3S4 hollow nanostructural co-catalyst with high activity and stability for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by compositing cheap and HER-active MoS2 on Co3S4 HER catalyst. By morphology and structure modulations, this high-quality nanostructure, which is confirmed by several characterizing techniques, can be considered as excellent catalyst to split water into H2 in a wide pH range via the electric drive. Corresponding electrochemical measurement results of 55.6 mV dec−1 and 115.3 mV dec−1 Tafel slope in acid (pH = 0.3) and alkaline (pH = 14) media demonstrates our predictions. We believe that such performance improvement is mainly due to the much increased active sites for catalysis because of composition process and hollow structure. These findings open up an effective and propagable strategy for nanostructural HER catalysts synthesis.",battery
"In this study, we report the application of an inexpensive and easily prepared lead oxide–manganese oxide catalyst combined with Nafion (designated as Nf/PbMnO x ) as a highly efficient air-cathode for a zinc–air battery. We verify the mechanistic study of the reduction of O2 for Nf/PbMnO x in alkaline aqueous solution using rotating ring/disk electrode voltammetry, and also an electrochemical approach using a wall-jet screen-printed ring disk electrode. The presence of Nf/PbMnO x shows great catalytic activity for the disproportionation reaction of HO2 − to O2 and OH− with an overall 4e− reduction of O2 in the first reduction reaction. The 4e− reduction of O2 was eventually achieved at the Nf/PbMnO x through evidence from the slope of Koutecky–Levich plots. With these inherent features, we then fabricated the zinc–air battery with the Nf/PbMnO x catalyst and examine the performance for a practical application with air cathodes.",battery
"Recent results from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies provide evidence of a ventral-lexical stream and a dorsal-sublexical stream associated with reading processing. We investigated the relationship between behavioural reading speed for stimuli thought to rely on either the ventral-lexical, dorsal-sublexical, or both streams and white matter via fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) using DTI tractography. Participants (N = 32) overtly named exception words (e.g., ‘one’, ventral-lexical), regular words (e.g., ‘won’, both streams), nonwords (‘wum’, dorsal-sublexical) and pseudohomophones (‘wun’, dorsal-sublexical) in a behavioural lab. Each participant then underwent a brain scan that included a 30-directional DTI sequence. Tractography was used to extract FA and MD values from four tracts of interest: inferior longitudinal fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, arcuate fasciculus, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. Median reaction times (RTs) for reading exception words and regular words both showed a significant correlation with the FA of the uncinate fasciculus thought to underlie the ventral processing stream, such that response time decreased as FA increased. In addition, RT for exception and regular words showed a relationship with MD of the uncinate fasciculus, such that response time increased as MD increased. Multiple regression analyses revealed that exception word RT accounted for unique variability in FA of the uncinate over and above regular words. There were no robust relationships found between pseudohomophones, or nonwords, and tracts thought to underlie the dorsal processing stream. These results support the notion that word recognition, in general, and exception word reading in particular, rely on ventral-lexical brain regions.
",non-battery
"The ever-increasing demands for energy and environmental concerns due to burning fossil fuels are the key drivers of today's R&D of innovative energy storage systems. This paper provides an overview of recent research progress in graphene-based materials as electrodes for electrochemical energy storage. Beginning with a brief description of the important properties of single-layer graphene, methods for the preparation of graphene and its derivatives (graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide) are summarized. Then, graphene-based electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors and lithium-ion batteries are reviewed. The use of graphene for improving the performance of lithium–sulfur and lithium–oxygen batteries is also presented. Future research trend in the development of high-power-density and high-energy-density electrochemical energy storage devices is analysed.
",battery
"Introduction.– Le sclérose en plaques rémittente (SEP-R) évolue par poussées espacées de rémissions. Soixante pour cent des patients présentent des troubles cognitifs. Le natalizumab est indiqué en monothérapie dans les formes très actives de SEP-R. Objectifs.– L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier l’évolution des troubles cognitifs chez 100 patients atteints de SEP-r et traités par natalizumab. Méthodes.– Cent patients SEP-r, diagnostiqués selon les critères révisés Mc Donalds (2005), ont été inclus dans l’étude. Le profil psychologique a été évalué avec la BCcogSEP (version française de la Brief Repeatable Battery, incluant 8 tests cognitifs). Cette batterie a été administrée avant le début du traitement par natalizumab puis après un an de traitement. Résultats.– Avant le début du traitement, 62 % des patients présentent des troubles cognitifs définis par un score pathologique pour au moins quatre subtests de la BCcogSEP. Le profil est caractérisé au premier plan par un ralentissement de la vitesse de traitement de l’information et au second plan par une diminution des capacités en mémoire de travail et des fonctions exécutives. Après la seconde évaluation, réalisée chez 77 patients, 47 % présentent des troubles cognitifs, 27 patients ont améliorés leur score entre 25 et 50 %. Discussion.– Pour le moment, ces résultats ne nous permettent pas de conclure que l’amélioration cognitive est due au natalizumab. Plusieurs hypothèse telles que l’effet d’apprentissage, l’état général (psychologique et physique) du patient au moment des deux évaluations, pourraient expliquer cette augmentation des performances cognitives. Conclusion.– Pour mieux comprendre l’effet du natalizumab sur les fonctions cognitives des patients SEP-r, il est nécessaire de comparer les résultats à ceux obtenus par un groupe témoins de patients SEP, traités par immunomodulateurs.",non-battery
" Porous glass (PG) offers the ability to vary pore sizes and modify surfaces, allowing membranes to be tailored for a given electrochemical application. In this contribution, the application of PG in all-vanadium redox-flow batteries (VFB) and the effect of surface modification with sulfonic acid groups were investigated, and the results were compared with those from well-known polymeric membranes. The performance of native and surface-modified PG membranes with pore sizes ranging from 2 to 20 nm and thicknesses of 300 and 500 µm was investigated by examining their self-discharge behavior, polarization curves and area resistance. A maximum power density of 77 mW cm−2 at a current density of 110 mA cm−2 was observed with the modified membrane 505FDS, and this density is approximately half the power density achieved with Nafion™ 117. The results can be related to the small vanadium crossover, high conductivity and chemical stability. Therefore, the great potential of PG membranes as separators in VFBs was shown.",battery
"The electrochemical characteristic of the aqueous rechargeable lithium-ion battery has been widely investigated in efforts to design a green and safe technology that can provide a highly specific capacity, high efficiency and long life for high power applications such as the smart grid and electric vehicle. It is believed that the advantages of this battery will overcome the limitations of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery with organic electrolytes that comprise safety and create high fabrication cost issues. This review focuses on the opportunities of the aqueous rechargeable lithium-ion battery compared to the conventional rechargeable lithium-ion battery with organic-based electrolytes. Previously reported studies are briefly summarised, together with the presentation of new findings based on the conductivity, morphology, electrochemical performance and cycling stability results. The factors that influence the electrochemical performance, the challenges and potential of the aqueous rechargeable lithium-ion battery are highlighted in order to understand and maintained the excellent battery performance.",battery
" Living with a chronic disease often means experiencing chronic treatments and regular multidisciplinary monitoring as well as a profound life-changing experience which may impact all aspects of a patients life. The patient experience of chronic disease is frequently assessed by patient reported measures (PRMs) which incorporate patients perspectives to better understand how illness, treatment and care impact the entirety of a patient’s life. The purpose of this review was to collect and review different kinds of available PRM instruments validated for chronic patients, to produce an inventory of explored concepts in these questionnaires and to identify and classify all dimensions assessing chronic patients experience.",non-battery
"Vanadium-based compounds hold great promise as high capacity cathode candidate for future lithium rechargeable batteries. However, developing highly stable vanadium-based cathode materials with long cycle life remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a novel layered sodium vanadium oxide, NaVO3, as a promising cathode electrode contender. This material is capable of delivering a capacity of 224.8 mAh g−1 at the current density of 150 mA g−1, and a high rate capability of 85 mAh g−1 even at a high current density of 3 A g−1. Moreover, outstanding capacity retention of 77% after 1000 cycles is achieved. Ex situ characterizations verify that the excellent electrochemical performance of NaVO3 is attributed to superior structural stability and electrochemical reversibility upon long-term cycling. Furthermore, the lithium ion de/intercalation mechanism for NaVO3 is also revealed involving one electron transfer reaction between V5+ and V4+ redox couple. Considering the low cost and material sustainability as well as the outstanding electrochemical performances, we believe that NaVO3 is a highly promising cathode material for lithium rechargeable batteries and our findings may help to pave the way for developing vanadium-based layered structure materials for high-performance alkali and alkaline-earth ion batteries.",battery
"Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) are considered to be a better alternative for conventional vehicles in the matter of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and urban air pollution reduction. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely used methodology to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of vehicle technologies. In this study, we compare the life cycle environmental emissions of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matters (PM) of the BEV with the petrol and diesel vehicles. Unlike many other literatures, this study uses the real-world energy consumption data for the environmental assessment. In addition, this study explores the possible impact of the short term and long term fluctuations in the electricity mix and the vehicle charging profile, on the life cycle emissions performance of BEV. The influence of charging profile on the well-to-tank (WTT) emissions (i.e. emissions associated with electricity production) of BEV is discussed by using hourly emissions and different possible peak and off-peak charging time frames. The results of this study proves off-peak charging is a better option to reduce the life cycle emissions, compared to peak charging. When a BEV is charged during off-peak hours instead of peak hours, the well-to-tank CO2, SO2, NOX and PM emissions per km can be reduced significantly. Also, this study emphasizes the importance of taking driving behaviors of users and auxiliary energy consumption into account. This aspect is analyzed by comparing the empirical energy consumption and the corresponding WTT emissions of BEV, with the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standard values. The results reveal that the auxiliary energy consumption is responsible for, nearly a third of the WTT emissions.",battery
"Li-ion batteries have held a dominant position in the energy storage area for decades. However, due to the limitation of its chemistry, the energy density of Li-ion batteries is limited to ∼300 W h kg−1. In recent years, more attention has been paid to the Li-S batteries that are environmentally friendly, cost-effective and high energy density (theoretical value of cathode: ∼2600 W h kg−1). In this study, carbonized polydopamine (C-PDA)-coated hollow carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with TiO2 nanoparticles interspersed in the void space between the CNF skeleton and carbon coating layer were subtly designed. The C-PDA/TiO2/CNF composite (CTC) was integrated with the commercial separator as a polysulfide filter to achieve high-performance Li-S batteries. It is reveals that the CTC coating layer could effectively filter and reactivate the dissolved polysulfides to achieve a stabilized sulfur-based cathode. The Li-S battery assembled by this integrated separator and the regular cathode (sulfur/Ketjen black) with 72.7 wt% of sulfur achieved a high specific capacity and low decay rate (632.5 mAh g−1 at the first cycle and 0.06% per cycle) at 2.0C for 500 cycles. These good results indicate that the C-PDA/TiO2/CNF-modified separator could be a promising separator candidate for high performance Li-S batteries.",battery
"Greenhouse gas mitigation strategies are generally considered costly with world leaders often engaging in debate concerning the costs of mitigation and the distribution of these costs between different countries. In this paper, the analyses and results of the design of a 100% renewable energy system by the year 2050 are presented for a complete energy system including transport. Two short-term transition target years in the process towards this goal are analysed for 2015 and 2030. The energy systems are analysed and designed with hour-by-hour energy system analyses. The analyses reveal that implementing energy savings, renewable energy and more efficient conversion technologies can have positive socio-economic effects, create employment and potentially lead to large earnings on exports. If externalities such as health effects are included, even more benefits can be expected. 100% Renewable energy systems will be technically possible in the future, and may even be economically beneficial compared to the business-as-usual energy system. Hence, the current debate between leaders should reflect a combination of these two main challenges.",battery
"Herein, we investigated the synthesis of a bifunctional catalyst particle system for aqueous metal-air batteries. To target a system which possesses both, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) capabilities, γ-MnO2 microparticles were combined with NiFe layered double hydroxides (LDH) to a core-shell system. NiFe-LDH can be optimized in its constituency to yield a very low onset potential (at 10mA cm−2) for the oxygen evolution reaction of only 569mV vs. Hg/HgO. We investigated different coating processes (in-situ precipitation coating and sonochemical assisted coating) in order to create a bifunctional system of LDH shell@γ-MnO2 core. It was found that the overall catalytic functionality of the bifunctional system strongly depends on the coating process, as this ultimately determines the surface nature and thus the behavior in ORR and OER reactions, respectively, of this core-shell system.",battery
"Bismuth-modified amorphous manganese oxides were synthesized via a room temperature aqueous route. They were galvanostatically tested as intercalation cathodes for rechargeable lithium batteries at 1mAcm−2 between 1.5 and 4.3V. In sharp contrast to severe capacity fading of unmodified amorphous manganese oxide synthesized by the same route, a stable cycling performance of the bismuth-modified amorphous manganese oxide was observed. After an initial drop from 185 to 145mAhg−1 in around 10 cycles, the capacity of the bismuth-modified amorphous manganese oxide remains essentially unchanged for another 40 cycles. Based on results from X-ray diffraction and cyclic voltammetry (CV) characterization, it is suggested that an electrochemically active and stable local structure evolves inside the bismuth-modified amorphous manganese oxide upon initial cycling, leading to the stabilized cycling performance for subsequent cycles.",battery
"The hydroquinone monosulfonate-doped polypyrrole (PPy-HQS) nanowires were successfully fabricated by potentiostatic electropolymerization of pyrrole (Py) inside the pores of home-made through-hole anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes. The AAO templates with a nominal pore diameter of 80nm were prepared by a two-step anodization process. The potentiostatic electropolymerization of HQS-doped polymer nanowires was carried out in 0.1M NaClO4, or 0.1M LiClO4 or 0.1M citric acid containing 0.05M pyrrole and 0.05M potassium hydroquinone monosulfonate. The synthesized PPy-HQS nanowire arrays were tested as potential potentiometric pH sensors. It was found that pH sensors based on PPy-HQS nanowires exhibited better electrochemical performance toward pH sensing than those based on PPy-HQS thin films. The best potentiometric response to pH changes and a very good stability in time showed the sensor based on the PPy-HQS nanowires polymerized in a 0.1M LiClO4 solution.",battery
"We present an exclusively thermodynamics based derivation of a Butler–Volmer expression for the intercalation exchange current in Li ion insertion batteries. In this first paper we restrict our investigations to the actual intercalation step without taking into account the desolvation of the Li ions in the electrolyte. The derivation is based on a generalized form of the law of mass action for non ideal systems (electrolyte and active particles). To obtain the Butler–Volmer expression in terms of overpotentials, it is necessary to approximate the activity coefficient of an assumed transition state as function of the activity coefficients of electrolyte and active particles. Specific considerations of surface states are not necessary, since intercalation is considered as a transition between two different chemical environments without surface reactions. Differences to other forms of the Butler–Volmer used in the literature [1,2] are discussed. It is especially shown, that our derivation leads to an amplitude of the exchange current which is free of singular terms which may lead to quantitative and qualitative problems in the simulation of overpotentials. This is demonstrated for the overpotential between electrolyte and active particles for a half cell configuration.",battery
"Cigarette smokers with brain damage involving the insular cortex display cessation of tobacco smoking, suggesting that this region may contribute to nicotine addiction. In the present study, we speculated that molecules in the insular cortex that are sensitive to experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice might provide leads to ameliorate nicotine addiction. Using targeted lipidomics, we found that TBI elicited substantial increases of a largely uncharacterized lipid, N-acyl-glycine, N-oleoyl-glycine (OlGly), in the insular cortex of mice. We then evaluated whether intraperitoneal administration of OlGly would alter withdrawal responses in nicotine-dependent mice as well as the rewarding effects of nicotine, as assessed in the conditioned place preference paradigm (CPP). Systemic administration of OlGly reduced mecamylamine-precipitated withdrawal responses in nicotine-dependent mice and prevented nicotine CPP. However, OlGly did not affect morphine CPP, demonstrating a degree of selectivity. Our respective in vitro and in vivo observations that OlGly activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α) and the PPAR-α antagonist GW6471 prevented the OlGly-induced reduction of nicotine CPP in mice suggests that this lipid acts as a functional PPAR-α agonist to attenuate nicotine reward. These findings raise the possibility that the long chain fatty acid amide OlGly may possess efficacy in treating nicotine addiction.",non-battery
"Objective To investigate changes in cortical excitability and short-term synaptic plasticity we delivered 5Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the primary motor cortex in 11 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) before and after chronic therapy with rivastigmine. Methods Resting motor threshold (RMT), motor evoked potential (MEP), cortical silent period (CSP) after single stimulus and MEP facilitation during rTMS trains were tested three times during treatment. All patients underwent neuropsychological tests before and after receiving rivastigmine. rTMS data in patients were compared with those from age-matched healthy controls. Results At baseline, RMT was significantly lower in patients than in controls whereas CSP duration and single MEP amplitude were similar in both groups. In patients, rTMS failed to induce the normal MEP facilitation during the trains. Chronic rivastigmine intake significantly increased MEP amplitude after a single stimulus, whereas it left the other neurophysiological variables studied unchanged. No significant correlation was found between patients’ neuropsychological test scores and TMS measures. Conclusions Chronic treatment with rivastigmine has no influence on altered cortical excitability and short-term synaptic plasticity as tested by 5Hz-rTMS. Significance The limited clinical benefits related to cholinesterase inhibitor therapy in patients with AD depend on factors other than improved plasticity within the cortical glutamatergic circuits.",non-battery
An innovative solid–gas thermochemical multilevel sorption thermal battery is developed for cascaded solar thermal energy storage to enhance the versatility and working reliability of solar heat storage system by widening the working temperature range. Solar thermal energy can be stored in the form of bond energy of sorption potential at different cascaded temperatures resulting from solid–gas thermochemical multilevel sorption processes. The operating principle and working performance of the thermochemical multilevel sorption thermal battery for energy storage is described and analyzed. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the proposed thermochemical multilevel sorption thermal battery has the potential capacity for meeting the challenge of solar heat storage during the random variation of low and high solar insolation with time by using cascaded thermal energy storage technology. An energy density higher than 1200kJ/kg of reactant can be attained from the advanced energy storage system. The promising method can enhance the versatility and working reliability of solar heat storage due to its distinct advantages of high energy density and a wide range of solar collection temperature when compared with conventional heat storage methods. It has potential applications for energy management of renewable energy utilization and waste heat recovery in large-scale industrial processes.,battery
"In this work, we evaluated the chemical compatibility of 1.0m (molality) lithium bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB) 1:1 (w/w) propylene carbonate (PC)/ethylene carbonate (EC) liquid electrolyte with lithium metal and spinel LiMn2O4 cathode using storage and cycling tests at high temperatures. Impedance analyses show that LiBOB and lithium are very compatible due to the formation of a stable passivation layer on the surface of lithium. Cycling tests of Li/Cu and Li/LiMn2O4 cells, respectively, show that lithium can be plated and stripped in LiBOB-based electrolyte with more than 80% cycling efficiency, and that this electrolyte can support LiMn2O4 cycling reversibly up to 60°C without visible capacity loss. Using LiBOB-based liquid electrolyte and porous Kynar® membrane, microporous gel electrolyte (MGE) Li-ion cells were assembled and evaluated. Results show that the MGE cell presents an improved cycling performance compared with a liquid cell, especially at elevated temperatures. It is confirmed that the LiBOB-based gel electrolyte Li-ion batteries can be operated at 60°C with good capacity retention.",battery
"Preparation and properties of CuO nanoparticles as an important p-type semiconductor via a simple precipitation method at different reaction temperatures varying from 10 to 115°C using copper acetate as a starting material have been reported. In addition, we investigated the influence of the ultrasonic irradiation through synthesizing the nanosized CuO at 60°C. Samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM and UV-Vis techniques. XRD patterns of samples were identical to the single-phase pure CuO with a monoclinic structure. FT-IR spectra exhibited sharp peaks at around 519 and 598 cm−1 which can be assigned to vibrations of the Cu-O bond. Results indicated that properties of samples had great dependence on the temperature and ultrasonic irradiation. The crystallite size and crystallization increased with increasing the temperature from 10 to 115°C. The band gap of samples was estimated to be in the range of 1.9–2.9 eV that is larger than the reported value for the bulk CuO (1.85 eV). This study provides a simple method for the preparation of nanosized CuO with a better surface uniformity and a narrow size distribution. Synthesized CuO samples with adjustable and controllable optical properties make the applicability of copper oxide even more versatile.
",non-battery
"We report the synthesis of a new composite electrode based on nanosized-manganese oxide and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by electrophoretic deposition of CNTs on a stainless steel (SS) substrate followed by direct spontaneous reduction of MnO4 − ions to MnO2 to form the multi-scaled SS–CNT–MnO2 electrode. The resulting material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge in a 0.65M K2SO4 aqueous solution. The binderless SS–CNT–MnO2 nanocomposite electrode shows a very high specific capacitance of 869F/g of CNT–MnO2 and good stability during long galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the highest capacitance for manganese oxide electrode ever reported. In addition to its applicability in electrochemical capacitors, this methodology could be extended to develop other high performance nanocomposite material electrodes based on carbon nanotubes and metal oxide for the future generation of electrochemical power sources.",battery
"Upper and lower crop water stress index (CWSI) baselines adaptable to different environments and times of day are needed to facilitate irrigation scheduling with infrared thermometers. The objective of this study was to develop dynamic upper and lower CWSI baselines for corn and soybean. Ten-minute averages of canopy temperatures from corn and soybean plots at four levels of soil water depletion were measured at North Platte, Nebraska, during the 2004 growing season. Other variables such as solar radiation (Rs), air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (u), and plant canopy height (h) were also measured. Daily soil water depletions from the research plots were estimated using a soil water balance approach with a computer model that used soil, crop, weather, and irrigation data as input. Using this information, empirical equations to estimate the upper and lower CWSI baselines were developed for both crops. The lower baselines for both crops were functions of h, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), Rs, and u. The upper baselines did not depend on VPD, but were a function of Rs and u for soybean, and Rs, h, and u for corn. By taking into account all the variables that significantly affected the baselines, it should be possible to apply them at different locations and times of day. The new baselines developed in this study should facilitate the application of the CWSI method as a practical tool for irrigation scheduling of corn and soybean.
",non-battery
"A new experimental technique was developed for detecting structure changes at electrode/electrolyte interface of lithium cell using X-ray reflectometry and two-dimensional model electrodes with a restricted lattice-plane. The electrodes were constructed with an epitaxial film of LiCoO2 synthesized by pulsed laser deposition method. The orientation of the epitaxial film depends on the substrate plane; the 2D layer of LiCoO2 is parallel to the SrTiO3 (111) substrate ( ( 0 0 3 ) LiCo O 2 / / ( 1 1 1 ) SrTi O 3 ) , while the 2D layer is perpendicular to the SrTiO3 (110) substrate ( ( 1 1 0 ) LiCo O 2 / / ( 1 1 0 ) SrTi O 3 ) . The anisotropic properties were confirmed by electrochemical measurements. Ex situ X-ray reflectivity measurements indicated that the impurity layer existed on the as-grown LiCoO2 was dissolved and a new SEI layer with lower density was formed after soaking into the electrolyte. In situ X-ray reflectivity measurements indicated that the surface roughness of the intercalation (110) plane increased with applying voltages, while no significant changes in surface morphology were observed for the intercalation non-active (003) plane during the pristine stage of the charge–discharge process.",battery
"Nowadays UPS manufacturers demand batteries with very high specific power and relatively low specific energy, because most mains failures can be defined as “microfailures”, usually of the order of seconds. Due to this fact, it is not necessary to provide energy but power. Within a 3-year EU funded project, a new AGM valve-regulated lead–acid battery with weight and volume substantially reduced, as well as a substantial improvement in its reliability, is under development. These aspects can provide the achievement of a more efficient, safe and economic energy supply. Battery specific power is practically related to electrode area, so that its increase, and therefore an electrode thickness reduction, appear essential to achieve the project objectives. Furthermore, it is necessary to achieve a similar reduction in the conventional glass microfibre separator. But such thin material should have improved mechanical properties and can make the battery more prone to develop short circuits across the separator. In order to avoid this problem, a new microporous polyethylene membrane has been developed and tested, with excellent mechanical properties, high porosity and low pore size. For these reasons, the final separator configuration includes a combination of both materials, improved non-woven glass microfibre and the polyethylene membrane. Batteries are designed and assembled by Tudor (Exide Technologies) as battery manufacturer and will be tested in real conditions by MGE UPS Systems as end user. Daramic for the membrane and Bernard Dumas for the glass microfibre mat, have developed and supplied the separators, while the Inorganic Chemistry Department of Córdoba University carries out fundamental research studies on very thin electrodes.",battery
"This article examines the problem of estimating the aggregate load imposed on the power grid by the battery health-conscious charging of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The article begins by generating a set of representative daily trips using (i) the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) and (ii) a Markov chain model of both federal and naturalistic drive cycles. A multi-objective optimizer then uses each of these trips, together with PHEV powertrain and battery degradation models, to optimize both PHEV daily energy cost and battery degradation. The optimizer achieves this by varying (i) the amounts of charge obtained from the grid by each PHEV, and (ii) the timing of this charging. The article finally computes aggregate PHEV power demand by accumulating the charge patterns optimized for individual PHEV trips. The results of this aggregation process show a peak PHEV load in the early morning (between 5.00 and 6.00a.m.), with approximately half of all PHEVs charging simultaneously. The ability to charge at work introduces smaller additional peaks in the aggregate load pattern. The article concludes by exploring the sensitivity of these results to the relative weighting of the two optimization objectives (energy cost and battery health), battery size, and electricity price.",battery
"In this work, we report the synthesis of a novel hybrid electrochromic composite through nucleation and growth of ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires on graphene oxide sheets using a facile solvothermal route. The competition between the growth of tungsten oxide nanowires and the reduction of graphene oxide sheets leads to the formation of sandwich-structured tungsten oxide-reduced graphene oxide composite. Due to the strongly coupled effect between the ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires and the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets, the novel electrochromic composite exhibited high-quality electrochromic performance with fast color-switching speed, good cyclic stability, and high coloration efficiency. The present tungsten oxide-reduced graphene oxide composite represents a new approach to prepare other inorganic-reduced graphene oxide hybrid materials for electrochemical applications.",battery
"High specific surface area (SSA ∼2000m2/g) porous KOH-activated microwave exfoliated graphite oxide (‘a-MEGO’) electrodes have been tested in a eutectic mixture of ionic liquids (1:1 by weight or molar ratio N-methyl-N-propylpiperidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (PIP13-FSI) and N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (PYR14-FSI)) as electrolyte for supercapacitor applications. By optimizing the carbon/electrolyte system, outstanding capacitive performance has been achieved with high capacitance (up to 180F/g) and wide electrochemical window (up to 3.5V) over a wide temperature range from −50°C to 80°C. This is the first demonstration of a carbon–ionic liquid system capable of delivering capacitance in excess of 100F/g below room temperature. The excellent electrochemical response of the proposed couple shows that optimization of the carbon/electrolyte interface is of great importance for improving capacitive energy storage.",battery
"A reduction in industrial activity that mirrors the projected reduction in economic growth to below double figures in China has led to a sharp decline in demand for cobalt leading to the mothballing of one of the world's richest cobalt mines situated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reported the Financial Times in London. Cobalt miner, Camec (Central African Mining & Exploration Company plc), suspended activity at the Mukondo mine, with chief executive Andrew Groves remarking that, “it is almost as if there is a buyers' strike”, particularly as just six months ago, Chinese buyers were purchasing record quantities of cobalt and sending it to Chinese factories for processing. Cobalt is a versatile element finding uses across a spectrum of industries from aerospace, through chemicals to magnetics. It is vital component of superalloys widely used in modern turbofan jets, the rechargeable batteries that are key to future electric car technology, permanent magnets in loudspeakers, hearing systems and coatings for video tapes, as well as the hardmetal tooling industry and in defence in the shape of kinetic penetrator anti-tank ammunition. In a statement, the company called the decision: “A swift reaction to a sudden steep decline in cobalt demand from China, as well as a further decline in the copper price.” According to Reuters, the import price of cobalt in eastern China fell 16 % mid-November and reportedly fell again to almost $12 per pound by 21 November. Cobalt's price crash mirrors other industrial metals including aluminium, zinc, nickel and copper; the mining of which has also suffered suspension. Camec's Mukundo mine may resume production in early 2009 if prices recover.",non-battery
"Electric vehicles (EVs) suffer from significant driving range loss in subzero temperature environments due to reduced energy and power capability of Li-ion batteries as well as severe battery degradation due to Li plating. Preheating batteries to room temperature is an essential function of an effective battery management system. The present study employs an electrochemical–thermal coupled model to simulate, for the first time, the process of heating Li-ion batteries from subzero temperatures. Three heating strategies are proposed and compared using battery power, namely self-internal heating, convective heating and mutual pulse heating, as well as one strategy (AC heating) using external power. Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in terms of capacity loss, heating time, system durability, and cost. For heating using battery power, model predictions reveal that Li-ion batteries can be heated from −20°C to 20°C at the expense of only 5% battery capacity loss using mutual pulse heating with high-efficiency dc–dc converter, implying considerable potential for improved driving range of EVs in cold weather conditions. Moreover, the heating time can be reduced to within 2min by increasing cell output power using convective heating and mutual pulse heating. For external power heating, high frequency AC signal with large amplitude is a preferred choice, offering both high heating power and improved battery cycle life.",battery
"We have recently demonstrated that rodents treated intranasally with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) suffered impairments in olfactory, cognitive and motor functions associated with time-dependent disruption of dopaminergic neurotransmission in different brain structures conceivably analogous to those observed during different stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD). On the other hand, the proanthocyanidin-rich fraction (PRF) obtained from the bark of Croton celtidifolius Baill (Euphorbiaceae), a tree frequently found in the Atlantic forest in south Brazil, has been described to have several neurobiological activities including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which may be of interest in the treatment of PD. The present data indicated that the pretreatment with PRF (10 mg/kg, i.p.) during five consecutive days was able to prevent mitochondrial complex-I inhibition in the striatum and olfactory bulb, as well as a decrease of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the olfactory bulb and substantia nigra of rats infused with a single intranasal administration of MPTP (1 mg/nostril). Moreover, pretreatment with PRF was found to attenuate the short-term social memory deficits, depressive-like behavior and reduction of locomotor activity observed at different periods after intranasal MPTP administration in rats. Altogether, the present findings provide strong evidence that PRF from C. celtidifolius may represent a promising therapeutic tool in PD, thus being able to prevent both motor and non-motor early symptoms of PD, together with its neuroprotective potential.",non-battery
"Because toxicants rarely occur alone in the environment, a major challenge in risk assessment is to address the combined effects of chemicals on aquatic organisms. This work is aimed at investigating the joint toxicity action of binary mixtures of cadmium and arsenate on Gammarus pulex. Individuals were exposed during 240 h to four single arsenate or cadmium concentrations and binary mixtures of these metals according to a complete factorial plane. Observed mortality in binary mixtures was compared to observed mortality in single arsenate or cadmium exposures. In addition, interactive effects (antagonistic, additive or synergistic) were evaluated using a predictive model for the theoretically expected interactive effect of chemicals. For all the tested concentration combinations, we observed an antagonist ‘between-metals’ interaction on G. pulex mortality. This antagonistic effect was more marked for the lowest than for the highest (i.e. 1502.0 μgAsV L−1 and 28.5 μgCd L−1) tested concentrations of individual metals in binary mixtures. Metal concentrations in body tissues were evaluated and were significantly lower in binary mixtures than in single metal exposures at similar concentration, especially for combinations corresponding to the highest concentrations of both metals (1502.0 μgAsV L−1 and 28.5 μgCd L−1). Results were discussed in terms of (1) mechanisms of uptake and bioconcentration and (2) relationships between metal concentration in gammarid body and observed toxicity.",non-battery
"δ-MgCl2 has relevant applications in the field of electrochemical energy storage and Ziegler–Natta catalysis. Here, we clarify the short-range structural peculiarities that make the disordered phase δ-MgCl2 extremely chemically active relative to the higher lattice energy phases, α-MgCl2 and β-MgCl2. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results are included. These findings, demonstrate the existence of [MgCl2] n nanoribbons and active nanosurfaces in δ-MgCl2 and provide new insight about the nature of the bonding in the allotropic forms of MgCl2.",non-battery
"Recently, MoO2 has been widely studied as an anode material owing to its high theoretical capacity and stability. In this study, nano-sized MoO2 is successfully fabricated on three-dimensional porous carbon (3DPC) using a simple hydrothermal method followed by calcination. The composite exhibits higher surface area (171.6 m2 g−1) than that of bulk MoO2 (81.4 m2 g−1). For the first time, the novel MoO2/3DPC composite is tested in both sodium and potassium ion batteries. The MoO2/3DPC composite exhibits improved electrochemical performance than that of bulk MoO2 powder. In Na+ half cells, the specific charge capacity in the first cycle of the MoO2/3DPC composite at 0.1 A g−1 is ∼463 mAh g−1 and a reversible capacity of ∼367 mAh g−1 can be maintained after 200 cycles. In K+ half cells, the initial charge capacity is ∼350 mAh g−1 at 0.05 A g−1. In addition, a reversible charge capacity of as high as 213 mAh g−1 can be maintained after 200 cycles. The synergistic effect of 3DPC and nano-sized MoO2 improves the electrochemical performance. The unique 3D structure of porous carbon can increase the electrical conductivity and alleviate the absolute stress/strain. Results demonstrate that the MoO2/3DPC composite is one of the promising candidates for Na+/K+ storage.",battery
"Nano-sized spinel Li4Ti5O12 powders were synthesized by a sol–gel process. The cubic spinel structure without impurity phase of the synthesized Li4Ti5O12 powders was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The average grain size of the synthesized powders was found to be around 39nm. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has been performed on the Li4Ti5O12 electrode to investigate its change in the oxidation state and the local environment of the electrode during charging and discharging processes. The X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) analysis showed that the absorption edge energy shifts towards lower and higher energy, respectively, during discharge and charge processes, indicating the reversibility of the electrode is quite good. It was worthy to note that the discharging capacity and the charging capacity obtained for the nano-sized Li4Ti5O12 electrode in the potential range of 0.01–1.75V are 255 and 242mAhg−1, respectively. However, the specific charge capacity obtained in the potential range of 1.0–2.0V is 126mAhg−1. The spinel Li4Ti5O12 electrode maintains the cubic spinel structure for repeated cycling resulting in good cyclability and the capacity retention.",battery
"Anatase titania nanotube arrays were fabricated by means of anodization of Ti foil and annealed at 400°C in respective CO and N2 gases for 3h. Electrochemical impendence spectroscopy study showed that CO annealed arrays possessed a noticeably lower charge-transfer resistance as compared with arrays annealed in N2 gas under otherwise the same conditions. TiO2 nanotube arrays annealed in CO possessed much improved lithium ion intercalation capacity and rate capability than N2 annealed samples. At a high charge/discharge current density of 320mAg−1, the initial discharge capacity in CO annealed arrays was found to be as high as 223mAhg−1, 30% higher than N2 annealed arrays, ∼164mAhg−1. After 50 charge/discharge cycles, the discharge capacity in CO annealed arrays remained at ∼179mAhg−1. The improved intercalation capacity and rate capability could be attributed to the presence of surface defects like Ti–C species and Ti3+ groups with oxygen vacancies, which not only improved the charge-transfer conductivity of the arrays but also possibly promoted phase transition.",battery
"Poor insight is a ubiquitous phenomenon in psychosis with great repercussions on clinical practise and the outcomes of patients. Poor insight comprises “state” and “trait” components. This paper targeted predictors of global insight and insight dimensions at baseline in the drug-naïve status of first-episode psychosis patients and during a 6-month follow up after episode remission. Seventy-seven consecutive and previously unmedicated patients with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (FESSD) completed baseline and 6-month insight, premorbid, symptomatological and neuropsychological assessments. Insight measures served as dependent variables for a set of hierarchical multiple regression models. Premorbid personality abnormalities and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) significantly predicted ‘state’ and ‘trait’ insight global scores. Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) significantly predicted ‘state’ insight, measured as refusal of treatment at baseline. Moreover, premorbid personality abnormalities and DUP with minor contributions of demographic variables, cognitive functioning and psychopathological dimensions predicted ‘trait insight’, defined as insight after remission of the psychosis episode ‘Insight improver’ FESSD patients showed better late adolescent premorbid adjustment, lower personality disturbances (sociopathic, schizoid and schizotypy dimensions), shorter DUP, and lower positive, negative and disorganisation symptoms and better cognitive performance on the Trail Making B test at the 6-month follow-up assessment. Premorbid personality abnormalities and DUP were predictors of ‘state’ and ‘trait’ insight, both at global scores and dimension levels. Moreover, insight improvement in patients with FESSD was related to premorbid abnormalities (in both adjustment and personality), shorter DUP, fewer positive and negative symptoms and better performance in cognitive tests at the 6-month follow up.",non-battery
"Rational construction of high-performance electrode materials is crucial for advancement of sodium ion batteries (SIBs). In this work, for the first time, we explore the sodium ion storage performance of hydrogen molybdenum bronze (HMB). To perfect its performance, we controllably sandwich HMB into conductive vertical graphene (VG) skeleton and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) shell forming free-standing VG/HMB/PEDOT composite arrays with the help of powerful successive electrodeposition methods. HMB is completely compatible with VG and PEDOT, and intimately combined with them. Due to the unique integrated porous structure and omnibearing conductive network, the designed VG/HMB/PEDOT composite arrays show high sodium ion storage capacities (385mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1) and superior long-term cycling stability (320mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1 after 500 cycles) when used as anode of SIBs, much better than the VG/HMB and HMB/PEDOT counterparts. Our proposed fabrication strategy offers a new route for designing high-performance electrodes for applications in electrochemical energy storage and electrocatalysis.",battery
"This work aims at providing a guide for the calculation of investment and operation costs of a process to treat diluted streams of heavy metal ions. This process is composed of two stages: (1) a metal concentration stage by polymer supported ultrafiltration; (2) a polymer regeneration and metal recovery by electrodeposition. First of all, the most relevant parameters to be used in the process design will be correlated with the key working variables. Next, these parameters will be related with the cost of the main investment of the plant, providing Williams equations based on both literature and suppliers’ budgets. Finally, a detailed costs calculation for the most representative values of the working variables will be presented as example.",battery
"This paper presents new results on the assessment of sustainability indicators for renewable energy (RE) systems (solar PV, wind, phosphoric acid fuel cell, and solid oxide fuel cell). Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model and hybrid Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis/Additive Ratio Assessment (SWARA/ARAS) method are used in this study. Five sustainability criteria (resource, environmental, economic, social and technology) and fourteen sub-categories (area, material, energy-construction, energy-fuel, CO2-construction, CO2-fuel, capital-construction, capital-fuel, delivered cost of energy, current installed capacity, growth rate, capacity factor, system efficiency, and lifetime) are included in this analysis. The extended SWARA and ARAS hybrid method in addition to three energy experts are used in this study for the calculation of sustainability indicators. The final result of this process of ranking the four renewable energy technologies using SWARA-ARAS hybrid method based on the five sustainability criteria and the fourteen subcategories is: (1) wind energy systems (land-based), (2) solid oxide fuel cell, (3) phosphoric acid fuel cell, and (4) solar energy systems (poly-silicon). The MCDM model integrated with the hybrid SWARA/ARAS method is found to be a useful methodology for the sustainability assessment of renewable energy systems, sustainable energy development and decision-making for policy makers.",battery
"We employ a comparative phylogenetic analysis to gain insight into the recent evolutionary history of Macaca fascicularis, the long-tailed macaque. Mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal topologies both show that, in general, the deepest intraspecific bifurcations separate Indochinese and Sundaic forms of this species. Sumatran populations, however, are an exception: they carry one Y-chromosomal lineage that clusters with continental populations, and another that clusters with insular stocks. This discovery provides insight into two events in the history of M. fascicularis. First, the presence of the ‘continental’ Y-lineage on Sumatra is one of the strongest lines of evidence to date for recent (Late Pleistocene) gene flow between Indochinese and Sundaic populations. Second, since Sumatra is the only region known to carry ‘continental’ YDNA and ‘insular’ mtDNA, it is considered the most likely source of the Mauritian macaques—an important biomedical research stock that appears to carry this mtDNA/YDNA combination exclusively.",non-battery
"A system using a high-speed and high-precision X-ray inspection system for testing internal short circuits in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) was firstly developed for the safety test on LIBs. X-ray transmission moving images of the anode and cathode were obtained in the layered LIB structure. The nail-penetration test was chosen to test for the presence of an internal short circuit. This system would allow direct observation of smoke generation inside outside the battery, ballooning of the pouch, as well as changing layered structures of electrodes in real time. Since the results of a conventional nail-penetration test are indicated only by smoke generation, fire, or explosion, this new system allows electrode changes in the pouch to be observed for the first time. This system is expected to lead to great developments in the safety of LIBs.",battery
"We demonstrate the fabrication of freestanding and flexible MnO-decorated carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites as lithium-ion battery anode materials. They showed an initial capacity of 1131mAh·g−1 and a retention capacity of 923mAh·g−1 after 90 charge-discharge cycles under a current rate of 123mA·g−1. Decoration of MnO nanocrystals on the CNFs enhanced the lithium storage capacity of the composites. The optimal concentration of MnO was identified by varying its weight percentage from 0 to 7%. When the concentration was increased, more reaction sites for lithium ions were formed, which in turn increased the overall specific capacity. The intensity of the D band in the Raman spectra of the decorated CNFs was higher than that of the G band, indicating the enhanced diffusion of lithium ions. The plateau region of the discharge curve observed in the cases of higher MnO concentrations indicated the active reduction of MnO; consequently, a higher reversible capacity was achieved. These flexible and freestanding MnO-CNF nanocomposites can be used in lightweight, portable, and flexible batteries.",battery
"Background Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the most effective acute treatment for severe major depression, but with significant risk of adverse cognitive effects. Unidirectional electrical stimulation with a novel electrode placement and geometry (Focal Electrically Administered Seizure Therapy (FEAST)) has been proposed as a means to initiate seizures in prefrontal cortex prior to secondary generalization. As such, it may have fewer cognitive side effects than traditional ECT. We report on its first human clinical application. Method Seventeen unmedicated depressed adults (5 men; 3 bipolar disorder; age 53 ± 16 years) were recruited after being referred for ECT. Open-label FEAST was administered with a modified spECTrum 5000Q device and a traditional ECT dosing regimen until patients clinically responded. Clinical and cognitive assessments were obtained at baseline, and end of course. Time to orientation recovery, a predictor of long-term amnestic effects, was assessed at each treatment. Nonresponders to FEAST were transitioned to conventional ECT. Results One patient withdrew from the study after a single titration session. After the course of FEAST (median 10 sessions), there was a 46.1 ± 35.5% improvement in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD24) scores compared to baseline (33.1 ± 6.8, 16.8 ± 10.9; P < 0.0001). Eight of 16 patients met response criteria (50% decrease in HRSD24) and 5/16 met remission criteria (HRSD24 ≤ 10). Patients achieved full re-orientation (4 of 5 items) in 5.5 ± 6.4 min (median = 3.6), timed from when their eyes first opened after treatment. Conclusion In this feasibility study, FEAST produced clinically meaningful antidepressant improvement, with relatively short time to reorientation. Our preliminary work first in primates and now depressed adults demonstrates that FEAST is feasible, safe, well-tolerated and, if efficacy can be optimized, has potential to replace traditional ECT.",non-battery
"We show high activity in non-nitrogen doped and non-metal electrocatalysts based on carbon nanotubes with onset potential up to 0.73 V vs. RHE by the formation of hole defects on the walls of carbon nanotubes, followed by annealing under Ar atmosphere. From the power generation test, this catalyst can deliver a maximum output power of 55.68 mW (mg−1CNT cathode). Through temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and electrochemical analysis, the creation of new active sites is correlated with the removal of high temperature CO desorbing functionalities. Residual metal impurities were examined by the use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), high angle annular dark-field (HAADF) and electron energy loss (EELS) analysis. The extremely low amount of metal impurities and the absence of impurity coordination at the edge planes after electrochemical characterization suggest that it is unlikely that impurities directly contribute to ORR. We conclude by proposing that the origin of ORR activity is a result of carbon restructuring and the possible formation of topological defects during the removal of high temperature CO desorbing functional groups.
",battery
"In this work, a catalyst based on nanostructured Ru x Mo y Se z compounds was prepared by thermolysis of their carbonyl compounds in organic solvents. Evaluation of the catalytic activity was carried out via cyclic voltammetry on carbon paper. Synthesized catalyst was supported either by carbon black (Vulcan XC-72) or by polyaniline coated carbon black. The oxygen reduction activity and methanol tolerance of both electrodes was compared with commercial E-TEK 20% Pt–C electrode and polyaniline coated commercial E-TEK 20% Pt–C electrode. Characterisation of the catalysts was made using XRD and SEM. An important increase in the oxygen reduction reaction rate was observed using polyaniline coated carbon black matrix.",battery
"
        Hydrogen
        storage in liquid organic heterocycles is feasible thermodynamically and is attractive in terms of simplicity, safety, scalability, heat management and economy, but extensive catalyst development is needed to bring it to fruition.
",battery
"Pure Ni(OH)2, Al-substituted, Co-substituted, Al and Co co-substituted α-Ni(OH)2 were prepared by homogeneous precipitation from nickel nitrate solution in the presence of urea. The physical properties of the samples with different additives were examined by XRD and SEM. The XRD results show that the Ni(OH)2 samples with different additives prepared by this method are typical α-phases. The SEM results show that the pure Ni(OH)2 and Co-substituted sample display spherical particles with some degree of agglomeration. However, Al-substituted sample and Al and Co co-substituted sample are the aggregates of irregularly shaped particles. The results of galvanostatic charge–discharge experiments show that the addition of Co2+ decreases the discharge potential, but the addition of Al3+ and co-doping of Al3+ and Co2+ increase the discharge potential. The cycle stability of Al and Co co-substituted α-Ni(OH)2 is obviously improved compared with Al-substituted α-Ni(OH)2. The results of diffusion coefficient of proton ( D H + ) experiment show that the D H + values at different depth of discharge (DOD) are increased markedly by the doping of Al3+ or the co-doping of Al3+ and Co2+ and decreased by the doping of Co2+. The electrochemical transfer resistance (R t) value of Co-substituted sample increases at first and then decreases with the increase of DOD. However, R t increases with the increase of DOD for other samples.",battery
"Two studies investigate children's knowledge of internal parts and their endorsement of immanent causes for the behaviors of living and non-living things. Study 1, involving 48 preschoolers, showed that domain-specific knowledge of internal parts develops between ages 3 and 4. Study 2 included 43 4-year-olds, 30 8-year-olds, and 35 adults and showed that preschoolers do not endorse these internal parts as causally responsible for familiar biological events (e.g., movement, growth). Like adults and older children, however, preschoolers endorse an abstract cause, “its own energy,” for animals but not for machines. The results suggest that children recognize domain-specific internal parts as early as age 4 but that their causal attributions are not yet anchored in a detailed biological theory. Findings are discussed in terms of theory change and an essentialist assumption.",non-battery
"ABSTRACT A facile and efficient hydrolysis process was proposed to create graphene nanosheets-SnO2 nanocomposites (GSCS). The hydrolysis reaction results in the formation of pure phase SnO2 nanoparticle (∼10nm in size) uniformly dispersed on graphene sheets while simultaneously cause reduction of graphene oxide. The as-prepared materials were characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In the investigation of photocurrent response properties, it was found that the photocurrent of GSCS was 130μA/cm2, which is about 4 times higher than that of SnO2.",battery
"The proliferation of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), portable electronics and wireless sensing networks has raised the need for a new class of devices with self-powering capabilities. Vibration-based piezoelectric energy harvesters provide a very promising solution, as a result of their capability of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy through the direct piezoelectric effect. However, the identification of fast, accurate methods and rational criteria for the design of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices still poses a challenge. In this work, a level set-based topology optimization approach is proposed to synthesize mechanical energy harvesting devices for self-powered micro systems. The energy harvester design problem is reformulated as a variational problem based on the concept of topology optimization, where the optimal geometry is sought by maximizing the energy conversion efficiency of the device. To ensure computational efficiency, the shape gradient of the energy conversion efficiency is analytically derived using the material time derivative approach and the adjoint variable method. A design velocity field is then constructed using the steepest descent method, which is further integrated into level set methods. The reconciled level set (RLS) method is employed to solve multi-material shape and topology optimization problems, using the Merriman–Bence–Osher (MBO) operator. Designs with both single and multiple materials are presented, which constitute improvements with respect to existing energy harvesting designs.",non-battery
"The diffusion coefficient is a key property of materials. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a routine tool to determine the diffusion coefficient. Albeit being versatile for varied electrochemical systems and powerful in distinguishing multiple processes in a wide frequency spectrum, the EIS method usually needs a physical model in data analysis; misuse of models leads researchers to provide unwarranted interpretation of EIS data. Regarding diffusion, the simple and elegant formula developed by Warburg has been serving as the canonical model for more than a century. The classical Warburg model has very strict assumptions, however, it is used in a wide range of scenarios where assumptions may not be satisfied. It is the main purpose of the present article to define the boundary of applicability of the Warburg model and develop alternative models for cases beyond the boundary. In so doing, the Warburg model is revisited and its limitations and assumptions are scrutinized. Afterwards, new impedance models for more complicated and realistic scenarios are developed. The present article features: (1) generalization of the boundary condition when treating diffusion in bounded space and geometrical variants; (2) diffusion impedance in porous electrodes and fractals; (3) the effect of electrostatic interactions and coupling between diffusion and migration on the diffusion impedance in electrolytic solutions; (4) introduction of homotopy perturbation method to treat the convective diffusion; (5) physical interpretations of diffusion impedance behaviors.",battery
"The 1996 reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act required that each state in the US addresses the protection of public drinking water sources, including the development and implementation of a source-water assessment program. Such a program includes delineating source-water assessment areas, inventorying potential contaminant sources within this area, and determining the water system's susceptibility to contamination. The public was also involved in various phases of the program. Hawaii’s groundwater source assessment program is presented, along with an approach for implementation, which is consistent with federal requirements. The approach integrates groundwater models, aquifer databases, and a geographic information system. Source assessment areas were delineated by using numerical groundwater-flow models that used site-specific data to their fullest availability. The proposed approach is flexible enough to allow easy future updates as more sources are identified or as new information becomes available. The final product includes numerical scores that quantify the relative source susceptibility to contamination. Aquifer models developed in this study are potentially useful for future site-specific protection efforts or for other modeling purposes.
",non-battery
"Olivine LiFePO4/C cathode materials were synthesized by carbothermal reduction method at different temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), particle size analysis and charge–discharge test. The results showed that both the crystallization degree and particle size increased remarkably with the synthesis temperature increasing. The LiFePO4/C synthesized at 750°C showed a highest initial discharge specific capacity of 145mAhg−1 at 1C rate, which decreased to 60mAhg−1 after 500 cycles. However, the sample prepared at 850°C exhibited a lower initial discharge capacity of 135mAhg−1 at 1C rate, whose capacity could also reach 105mAhg−1 after 500 cycles. The material synthesized at lower sintering temperature had lower crystallization degree and plenty of nano-sized microstructure, leading to its higher electrochemical activity and initial discharge capacity. But at the same time, the lower sintering temperature also leads to the instability of the crystal structure and the solution of active materials, which results in the degradation of discharge capacity on long-time cycling. In short, synthesizing the material with perfect crystallization degree and moderate particle size is an effective way to improve the cycling performance of LiFePO4/C cathode materials.",battery
" Advancements in taxometric and dimensional approaches to personality psychopathology have pushed for refinements to the borderline personality disorder (BPD) phenotype, but proposed revisions to the diagnosis in major nosological systems hinge in part on evidence to support their validity. We review recent phenotypic and cognitive research on BPD and consider ways that changes to the phenotype may be validated using cognitive measures.",non-battery
"Benign external hydrocephalus in infants, characterized by macrocephaly and typical neuroimaging findings, is considered as a self-limiting condition and is therefore rarely treated. This review concerns all aspects of this condition: etiology, neuroimaging, symptoms and clinical findings, treatment, and outcome, with emphasis on management. The review is based on a systematic search in the Pubmed and Web of Science databases. The search covered various forms of hydrocephalus, extracerebral fluid, and macrocephaly. Studies reporting small children with idiopathic external hydrocephalus were included, mostly focusing on the studies reporting a long-term outcome. A total of 147 studies are included, the majority however with a limited methodological quality. Several theories regarding pathophysiology and various symptoms, signs, and clinical findings underscore the heterogeneity of the condition. Neuroimaging is important in the differentiation between external hydrocephalus and similar conditions. A transient delay of psychomotor development is commonly seen during childhood. A long-term outcome is scarcely reported, and the results are varying. Although most children with external hydrocephalus seem to do well both initially and in the long term, a substantial number of patients show temporary or permanent psychomotor delay. To verify that this truly is a benign condition, we suggest that future research on external hydrocephalus should focus on the long-term effects of surgical treatment as opposed to conservative management.
",non-battery
"Pb(100) and Pb(111) single crystals in 50mM H2SO4 aqueous solution have been investigated by in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM) under potential control. We have succeeded in observating high resolution images of Pb(100) and Pb(111) single crystals, as well as high resolution and morphological images of PbSO4 crystals formed on the Pb single crystals. We found that the top face of PbSO4 crystals formed on Pb(100) is PbSO4(001), while that on Pb(111) is PbSO4(100). We also found that the atomic rows along the [100] and [010] direction of PbSO4(001) surface were parallel with those along the [011] and [011&#x0304;] direction of the Pb(100) substrate, while those along the [010] and [001] direction of the PbSO4 (100) surface were parallel with those along the [011&#x0304;] and [1&#x0304;11] direction of the Pb(111) substrate.",battery
" Different animal models are used as fracture models in orthopaedic research prior to implant use in humans, although biomechanical forces can differ to a great extend between species due to variable anatomic conditions, particularly with regard to the gait. The rabbit is an often used fracture model, but biomechanical data are very rare. The objective of the present study was to measure axial forces, bending moments, and bending axis directly in the rabbit tibia in vivo. The following hypothesis was tested: Axial forces and bending moments in the mid-diaphysis of rabbit tibia differ from other experimental animals or indirectly calculated data.",non-battery
"Among tea polyphenols, the anti-initiating properties of polymeric black tea polyphenols (PBPs), the most abundant polyphenols in black tea, are poorly elucidated. Hence, this study was undertaken to investigate the effects of PBP extract on the induction of phase II enzymes. PBP extract induced transcriptional up-regulation of phase II enzymes in liver and lungs by increasing Nrf2-mediated antioxidant-responsive element (ARE) binding. PBP extract did not alter Nrf2 or Keap1 at the transcriptional level but may have increased their levels by posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation and decreased ubiquitination. PKC and PI3-kinase-mediated phosphorylation of Nrf2 seems to be critical for the release of Nrf2 from Keap1 and its subsequent nuclear translocation. mafK was found to be the heterodimeric partner of Nrf2 for binding to ARE sequences in liver upon PBP extract pretreatment. Differences in phosphorylation, activation of cellular kinases, and speculated heterodimeric binding partners of Nrf2 by PBP extract in hepatic and pulmonary tissues suggested the possibility of tissue-specific differences in the activation of Nrf2. Thus, we conclude that the pathway of PBP extract-induced ARE activity involves the activation of Nrf2 through phosphorylation by PKC and PI3-kinases in hepatic cells, which is critical for the increased stability of Nrf2 upon release from Keap1 and nuclear translocation, respectively.",non-battery
"α-Fe2O3 nanorods were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The as-prepared α-Fe2O3 nanorods have a high quality crystalline nanostructure with diameters in the range of 60–80nm and lengths extending from 300 to 500nm. The crystal structure of the α-Fe2O3 nanorods was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The α-Fe2O3 nanorod anodes exhibit a stable specific capacity of 800mAh/g. This indicates significantly improved electrochemical performance in lithium-ion cells, compared to that of commercial microcrystalline α-Fe2O3 powders.",battery
"This paper presents a new design concept of transmissions for the hybrid scooters. These transmissions consist of a one-degree-of-freedom planetary gear train and a two-degree-of-freedom planetary gear train to from a split power system and to combine the power of two power sources, a gasoline engine and an electric motor. In order to maximize the performance and reduce emissions, the transmissions can provide a hybrid scooter to run five operating modes: electric motor mode; engine mode; engine/charging mode; power mode, and regenerative braking mode. The main advantages of the transmissions proposed in this paper include the use of only one electric motor/generator, need not use clutch/brake for the shift of the operating modes, and high efficiency. The kinematics, power flow, and mechanical efficiency analyzes are performed; and according to these results, the evaluation of transmission power performances are accomplished.",battery
"A new alkoxide-based sol containing lithium isopropoxide, vanadylisopropoxide, di-n-butyl-phosphate, acetic-acid and polyvinylpyrrolidone, was used for the synthesis of monoclinic α-Li3V2(PO4)3/C composites by sol-gel and electrospinning techniques. The precursor mixture was highly soluble in organic solvents and thereby suitable for different synthesis techniques like sol-gel electrospinning or conventional sol-gel synthesis, to generate α-Li3V2(PO4)3/C nanocomposites with zero- and one-dimensionality. Electrospinning resulted in well-defined nanofibers and conventional sol-gel synthesis in polydisperse, isotropic nanoparticles. Phase composition and morphology in the composite nanostructures was examined by XRD, TGA, FT-IR, Raman, SEM and HR-TEM analysis. Comparative constant-current and cyclovoltammetric measurements of α-Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite applied as conventional film electrodes (nanoparticles and nanofibers) and self-supporting nanofiber electrodes revealed the influence of electrode texturing on the electrochemical performances. The nanofibrous self-supported electrodes showed superior cycling stability giving an initial discharge capacity of 124mAhg−1 at 0.2°C with retention of 95% after 50 cycles with rate variation in a voltage range of 3–4.3V.",battery
"The search for clean and renewable sources of energy represents one of the most vital challenges facing us today. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are among the most promising technologies for a clean and secure energy future due to their high energy efficiency and excellent fuel flexibility (e.g., direct utilization of hydrocarbons or renewable fuels). To make SOFCs economically competitive, however, development of new materials for low-temperature operation is essential. Here we report our results on a computational study to achieve rational design of SOFC cathodes with fast oxygen reduction kinetics and rapid ionic transport. Results suggest that surface catalytic properties are strongly correlated with the bulk transport properties in several material systems with the formula of La0.5Sr0.5BO2.75 (where B=Cr, Mn, Fe, or Co). The predictions seem to agree qualitatively with available experimental results on these materials. This computational screening technique may guide us to search for high-efficiency cathode materials for a new generation of SOFCs.",battery
" Ionic liquids have been extensively investigated in recent years either as a main medium or as an additive for various applications. In the present study, we have synthesized four room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazole (BMIM) family with different anions, including BF4−, PF6−, SCN−, and C2H6NO3S− (taurinate, denoted as Tau), and investigated their effect as additives on the electrochemical dissolution and deposition of Ni in the conventional Watts solution. Our electrochemical studies revealed that the addition of BMIM[SCN] significantly lowered the electrode potential for Ni dissolution compared to the rest of the RTILs as well as the Watts solution. The Ni anodes after the electrochemical dissolution and the Ti cathodes after the electrochemical deposition were further characterized using cyclic voltammetry to assess their electrochemical active surface areas (EASAs). It was found that the sample anodically dissolved in the Watts solution containing BMIM[SCN] had the highest EASA and that the nickel deposited on the Ti substrate in the Watts solution with BMIM[Tau] additive exhibited the highest EASA compared with the Ni deposition in all the other tested solutions. Our study has also shown that the addition of RTILs may affect the electrochemical nickel dissolution and deposition processes adversely or beneficially depending on the compositions of the RTILs.",battery
In this case report we present the sexual assault of a stuporous victim by a suspect who videotaped their encounter. We review the role of substance use and exam findings and discuss both victim and suspect factors that may lead to a negative examination of the victim.,non-battery
"Multiple substitution compounds with the formula LiNi0.8−y Ti y Co0.2O2 (0≤y≤0.1) were synthesized by sol–gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent. The effects of titanium substitution on the structural, electrochemical and thermal properties of the cathode materials are investigated. A solid solution phase (R-3m) is observed in the range of 0≤y≤0.1 for the titanium-doped materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that there are Ni3+, Ni2+, Co3+, Co2+ and Ti4+ five transition metal ions in titanium-doped materials. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicates that titanium substitution changes the materials’ structure with different cationic distribution. An increase of the Ni/Co amount in the 3a Li site is found with the addition of titanium amount. An improved cycling performance is observed for titanium-doped cathode materials, which is interpreted to a significant suppression of phase transitions and lattice changes during cycling. The thermal stability of titanium-doped materials is also improved, which can be attributed to its lower oxidation ability and enhanced structural stability at delithiated state.",battery
"Effect of powder size on the performance of Li-powder/LiV3O8 secondary cell has been studied. Li powder, synthesized via droplet emulsion technique, was used as the anode material in a coin cell (CR 2032) assembled in an Ar-filled glove box. Discharge-charge cycling was galvanostatically performed at 0.2 C-rate with cut-off voltages of 1.5–4.0V. Li powder with smaller particle size shows better cycling performance. The electrochemical properties (capacity versus cycle number, impedance) of the fabricated coin cells were evaluated. Based on the linear sweep voltammetry data, it was concluded that electrode with 15-μm powder size has larger surface area than electrodes with 35- and 55- μm powder size. Moreover, these electrodes produced larger current than that produced by Li foil electrode. The anode having 15-μm powder size had 12-fold larger surface area than the Li foil anode; its surface area was also larger than that of the Li powder anodes with larger particles. The superior cycle stability of this anode was because of its larger surface area.",battery
"Glyphosate (GLY) and imazethapyr (IMZT) are two herbicides commonly used worldwide, either alone or in mixtures. They represent key pesticides in modern agricultural management. The toxicity that results when employed as mixtures has not been characterized so far. Acute toxicity of the 48% GLY-based herbicide (GBH) Credit® and the 10.59% IMZT-based herbicide (IBH) Pivot® H alone and their binary combinations was analyzed in Rhinella arenarum tadpoles exposed in a semi-static renewal test. Lethal effects were determined using mortality as the end-point, whereas sublethal effects were determined employing the single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) bioassay. Based on mortality experiments, results revealed LC5096 h values of 78.18 mg/L GBH and 0.99 mg/L IBH for Credit® and Pivot® H, respectively. An increase in the genetic damage index (GDI) was found after exposure to Credit® or Pivot® H at 5 and 10% of LC5096 h values. The combinations of 5% Credit®-5% Pivot® H LC5096 h and 10% Credit®-10% Pivot® H LC5096 h concentrations significantly enhanced the GDI in comparison with tadpoles exposed only to Credit® or Pivot® H. Thus, the effect of interaction between GBH and IBH inducing DNA damage in R. arenarum blood cells can be considered to be synergistic.",non-battery
"The following series of papers presents an extensive assessment of the Electrically Heated Cigarette Smoking System EHCSS series-K cigarette vs. conventional lit-end cigarettes (CC) as an example for an extended testing strategy for evaluation of reduced exposure. The EHCSS produces smoke through electrical heating of tobacco. The EHCSS series-K heater was designed for exclusive use with EHCSS cigarettes, and cannot be used to smoke (CC). Compared to the University of Kentucky Reference Research cigarette 2R4F and a series of commercial CC, mainstream cigarette smoke of both the non-menthol and menthol-flavored EHCSS cigarettes showed a reduced delivery of a series of selected harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHC), mutagenic activity determined using the Salmonella typhimurium Reverse Mutation (Ames) assay, and cytotoxicity in the Neutral Red Uptake Assay. Clinical evaluations confirmed reduced exposure to HPHC and excretion of mutagenic material under controlled clinical conditions. Reductions in HPHC exposure were confirmed in a real-world ambulatory clinical study. Potential biomarkers of cardiovascular risk were also reduced under real-world ambulatory conditions. A modeling approach, ‘nicotine bridging’, was developed based on the determination of nicotine exposure in clinical evaluations which indicated that exposure to HPHC for which biomarkers of exposure do not exist would also be reduced.",non-battery
"Callous-unemotional (CU) traits designate an important subgroup of antisocial individuals at risk for early-starting, severe, and persistent conduct problems, but this construct has received limited attention among young children. The current study evaluated the factor structure, psychometric properties, and validity of scores on a comprehensive measure of CU traits, the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU), in relation to measures of antisocial/prosocial behavior and emotional processing, administered to preschool children. The sample included 214 boys (52 %) and girls (48 %, M age = 4.7, SD = 0.69) recruited from mainstream and high-risk preschools. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor structure including callous and uncaring dimensions from 12 of the 24 original ICU items. Scores on the parent- and teacher-reported ICU were internally consistent and combined CU scores showed expected associations with an alternate measure of CU traits and measures of empathy, prosocial behavior, conduct problems, and aggression. Preschool children high on CU traits were less accurate, relative to children scoring low, in recognizing facial expressions. They were also less attentionally engaged by images of others in distress when co-occurring conduct problems presented. Findings extend the literature by supporting the psychometric properties of the ICU among young children, and open several avenues for studying early precursors to this severe personality disturbance.",non-battery
"The Li-S batteries are a prospective battery technology, which despite to its currently remaining drawbacks offers useable performance and interesting features. The polysulfide shuttle mechanism, a characteristic phenomenon for the Li-S batteries, causes a significant self-discharge at higher state-of-charge (SOC) levels, which leads to the energy dissipation of cells with higher charge. In an operation of series-connected Li-S cells, the shuttle mechanism results into a self-balancing effect which is studied here. A model for prediction of the self-balancing effect is proposed in this work and it is validated by experiments. Our results confirm the self-balancing feature of Li-S cells and illustrate their dependence on various conditions such as temperature, charging limits and idling time at high SOC.",battery
Iron deficiency anaemia is one of the world's leading health problems causing personal illness and serious socio-economic consequences. A major iron powder producer has taken a lead in producing an iron food fortification supplement…,non-battery
"A facile electrochemical route was designed for successful deposition of α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O nanofilms on Ni foam (NF) here, employing NiCl2 solution as the electrolyte, which differed from the traditional route of the Ni(NO3)2 electrolyte. Experiments uncovered that under the deposition current density of 10 mA cm−2, the initial concentration of NiCl2 electrolyte strongly affected the phase of the final product. Metallic nickel was deposited at the low concentration and α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O was obtained at the high concentration. It was found that the amount of Cl− anions and the deposition current density were two important factors affecting the formation of α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O. Interestingly, the as-obtained α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O/NF exhibited highly efficient electrocatalytic activity in both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1.0 M KOH. In a two-electrode water-splitting device, the α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O/NF deposited at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 for 60 min was selected as the anode and the cathode simultaneously. The electrochemical measurements showed that the as-obtained α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O/NF electrode presented excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability matched with Pt/C/NF – RuO2/NF electrodes. Obviously, the present work provides a new path for fast preparation of highly efficient α-Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.",battery
"In this review, the aim is to present a complete outlook for innovative charging infrastructures. In a real smart grid scenario, these infrastructures are candidates to support the integration of electric and hybrid mobility with distributed energy sources. In this paper, at the outset, an analysis of the scientific and technical literature about main international standards and classifications has been provided. Also taken into consideration in this analysis are the expected challenges related to charging technologies for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, giving specific details on current and possible future trends for both stationary and dynamic inductive charging systems. In particular, for each charging level, traditional and more innovative power electronic architectures—equipped with the new technologies that support both slow and fast conductive charging operations for the new-generation road vehicle–have been reported, described and analysed in detail. The analysis has been conducted through a comparison of power architectures, in terms of efficiency, scalability and charging power/time of the vehicle battery packs. Specific attention has also been devoted to off-board DC fast-charging architectures, which play a fundamental role in the integration of stationary energy storage systems and renewable energy sources with the main grid. Finally, in this review, a wide range of the most interesting applications, technical experiences and international pilot projects have been summarized and discussed, with specific references to the new technologies mentioned above. The overview reported in this paper highlights the importance of a proper charging infrastructure, in combination with next generation energy storage technologies, to support the large-scale diffusion of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.",battery
" New approaches to control healthcare expenditures and increase access to quality care are required by decision-makers in high-income countries. One strategy is to reallocate tasks from doctors to nurses. Evidence suggests that quality, effectiveness and efficiency of task shifting are context sensitive and affected by implementation. However, little is known about implementability of task shifting in specialised healthcare. We aimed to identify factors perceived to influence implementation of doctor-to-nurse task shifting in a hospital setting and improve understanding of task shifting implementability by using theory-based frameworks for analysing behaviour. Nurse-led bone marrow examination exemplified task shifting from the medical to the nursing domain.",non-battery
"A stable and efficient FeS/nickel foam (NF) counter electrode for quantum dots-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) is first fabricated by electrochemistry deposition and characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), current voltage and impedance spectroscopy. The QDSC based on FeS/NF CE achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.39% attributing to the high fill factor (FF) of 0.58, and the PCE is much higher than that of based on FeS/FTO CE (2.76%) and other reported FeS CEs (1.76% and 3.34%). The phenomenon that the electrode can transform between FeS/NF (in the polysulfide electrolyte) and Fe2O3/NF (in the air) spontaneously is first reported. And the excellent stability in photoelectric performance of the CE is also demonstrated in the present work. Therefore, the FeS/NF is very promising as a stable and efficient CE for QDSCs.",battery
"Abstract The aim of this chapter is to prepare the reader to the journey into the direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) learning and deeper understanding. Therefore, a broad overview of the DAFC technology, as well as its definition, is provided. A brief comparison between fuel cells and batteries or combustion engines is made as well as a comparison between the DAFCs and its direct rival—the hydrogen PEMFC. The working principles of the DMFCs and DEFCs are presented together with the description of the two different types of fuel and oxidant supply in active and passive systems. The main advantages and disadvantages of the DAFCs are explained, stressing out the great potential of application in the portable sector. An introduction to the markets and target applications is then offered with the presentation of several examples of products already under commercialization. Finally, the main challenges of this technology are presented.",non-battery
 Practice guidelines recommend various types of exercise for chronic back pain but there have been few head-to-head comparisons of these interventions. General exercise seems to be an effective option for management of chronic low back pain (LBP) but very little is known about the management of a sub-acute LBP within sub-groups.,non-battery
"A facile synthesis method has been developed to prepare xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 (x = 0, 0.03, 0.07, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30) cathode materials, combining the advantages of the high specific capacity of the Ni-rich layered phase and the surface chemical stability of the Li-rich layered phase. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrochemical charge/discharge measurements confirm the formation of a Li-rich layered phase with C2/m symmetry. The high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) reveals a spatial relationship that the Li-rich nano-domain islands are integrated into the conventional Ni-rich layered matrix ( R 3 ¯ m ). Most importantly, this is the first time that Li-rich phase has been directly observed inside a particle at the nano-scale, when the overall composition of the layered oxide Li1+δNi1−y−z−δMnyMzO2 (M = metal) is Ni-rich (>0.5) rather than Mn-rich (>0.5). Remarkably, the xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 cathodes with optimized x value shows superior electrochemical performance at C/3 rate: an initial capacity of 190 mA h g−1 with 90% capacity retention after 400 cycles in a half cell and 73.5% capacity retention after 900 cycles in a pouch-type full cell.",battery
"A high performance binder-free SiOx/C composite electrode was synthesized by mixing SiOx particles and Kraft lignin in a cryo-mill followed by heat treatment at 600 °C. After the heat treatment, lignin formed a conductive matrix hosting SiOx particles, ensuring electronic conductivity, connectivity, and accommodation of volume changes during lithiation/delithiation. As the result, no conventional binder or conductive agent was necessary. When electrochemically cycled, the composite electrode delivered excellent performance, maintaining ∼900 mAh g−1 after 250 cycles at a rate of 200 mA g−1, and good rate capability. The robustness of the electrode was also examined by post-cycling SEM images, where few cracks were observed. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the comparatively small volume change of SiOx-based electrodes (160%) and the flexibility of the lignin derived carbon matrix to accommodate the volume change. This work should stimulate further interests in using bio-renewable resources in making advanced electrochemical energy storage systems.",battery
"Cerium fluoride (CeF3) coated lithium-rich layered Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 particles are synthesized using a facile chemical deposition route. The structural and electrochemical properties of pristine and CeF3-coated electrodes are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), galvanostatic charge/discharge tests, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results indicate that the cathode particles are uniformly covered with a CeF3 layer (∼10 nm thick) after 2 wt.% CeF3 surface coating. The coated electrode shows an enhanced initial coulombic efficiency of 80.8% compared to 75.2% for the pristine electrode. Moreover, the coated electrode demonstrates better cyclic performance, which exhibits capacity retention of 91.7% after 50 cycles compared with only 82.1% for the pristine one. Furthermore, the CeF3-coated electrode delivers a superior high-rate capacity of 103.1 mAh g−1 at 5C, higher than 82.2 mAh g−1 for the pristine one. The remarkably improved cycling stability and high-rate capacity of the surface-modified electrode is ascribed to the presence of a stable and thin CeF3 coating layer which effectively reduces the damage of electrode structure and suppresses the increase of impedance during cycling by preventing direct contact of electrode with electrolyte.",battery
"As one of the most promising anode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), SnO2 attracts wide research attention. The practical application of SnO2 anodes, however, is mainly hampered by huge volume variation during cycling and large initial irreversible capacity. In this paper, three-dimensional porous SnO2-Fe2O3 composite films have been fabricated using the electrostatic spray deposition technique. As an anode for LIBs, the hierarchical porous SnO2-Fe2O3 film possesses a high reversible capacity (1034.1 mAh g-1) and a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 82.9% at a current density of 0.2 A g-1. At the same time, it shows good capacity retention with a capacity of 1025.6 mAh g-1 after 240 cycles and excellent rate performance. The enhanced lithium storage performance should be attributed to the synergistic effect between SnO2 and Fe2O3, as well as the three-dimensional hierarchical porous structure. The results demonstrate that such a three-dimensional porous composite anode shows great potential for application in high-energy lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Invasive shrubs can increase ecosystem transpiration and potentially affect hydrology in forested ecosystems. We examined two adjacent sites in a wetland forest in northern Kentucky, USA. One site contained little Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle), while the other contained considerably more. Using Granier (thermal dissipation) and heat balance probes, transpiration was determined for trees, vines and shrubs at the two sites. Tree and vine transpiration in 2009 was usually 1–2 mm day−1, typical of that seen in humid temperate forests. Additional transpiration from L. maackii was roughly proportional to its basal area, and it totaled 1.0% of tree and vine transpiration from the site with less L. maackii cover and 6.0% from the site with considerable cover. This additional transpiration amounts to roughly 10% of stream flow draining the study area. As L. maackii basal areas at these sites are at the lower end of that seen in other invaded forests in the region, regional impacts on transpiration and hydrology may be larger than those reported here. We expect L. maackii to shorten the lives of ephemeral ponds and streams in wetlands and cause adverse impacts on the organisms, such as amphibians, that require these aquatic environments to complete their life cycle.",non-battery
"Recovery of metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has attracted worldwide attention because of issues from both environmental impacts and resource supply. Leaching, for instance using an acidic solution, is a critical step for effective recovery of metals from spent LIBs. To achieve both high leaching efficiency and selectivity of the targeted metals, improved understanding on the interactive features of the materials and leaching solutions is highly required. However, such understanding is still limited at least caused by the variation on physiochemical properties of different leaching solutions. In this research, a comprehensive investigation and evaluation on the leaching process using acidic solutions to recycle spent LIBs is carried out. Through analyzing two important parameters, i.e. leaching speed and recovery rate of the corresponding metals, the effects of hydrogen ion concentration, acid species and concentration on these two parameters were evaluated. It was found that a leachant with organic acids may leach Co and Li from the cathode scrap and leave Al foil as metallic form with high leaching selectivity, while that with inorganic acids typically leach all metals into the solution. Inconsistency between the leaching selectivity and efficiency during spent LIBs recycling is frequently noticed. In order to achieve an optimal status with both high leaching selectivity and efficiency (especially at high solid-to-liquid ratios), it is important to manipulate the average leaching speed and recovery rate of metals to optimize the leaching conditions. Subsequently, it is found that the leaching speed is significantly dependent on the hydrogen ion concentration and the capability of releasing hydrogen ions of the acidic leachant during leaching. With this research, it is expected to improve understanding on controlling the physiochemical properties of a leaching solution and to potentially design processes for spent LIBs recycling with high industrial viability.",non-battery
"Nano-scale (<100nm) Cu5Sn6 powders were prepared by a chemical method that used a NaBH4 solution to reduce the metal ions. A significant improvement in capacity retention was obtained in the nano-scale Cu6Sn5 alloy, compared to the alloy having micron-sized particles. The volumetric capacity of the nano-scale Cu6Sn5 alloy at 100 cycles was almost twice the theoretical capacity of graphite.",battery
" sarcopenia is a highly prevalent condition in elderly individuals which is characterized by loss of muscle mass and functions; recent results showed that it is also associated with inflammation. Rehabilitation protocols for sarcopenia are designed to improve physical conditions, but very scarce data are available on their effects on inflammation We verified whether in sarcopenic patients the inflammation is reduced by rehabilitation and investigated the biological correlates of such effect.",non-battery
"The differences of the cytogenotoxicity and proteins expression of human B-cell lymphoblastoid cells exposed to cigarette smoke condensates (CSCs) from two kinds of cigarettes were detected with CCK-8 assay, comet assay, protein microarray and western blot assay in vitro. Human B-cell lymphoblastoid cell line was exposed to CSCs from two cigarettes (which delivers approximately 3mg tar, 0.3mg nicotine, 3mg CO per cigarette for cigarette 1 and 15mg tar, 1.3mg nicotine, 15mg CO per cigarette for cigarette 2), and the exposure doses were 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 and 12.5×10−3 cigarettes/ml of CSCs for 24h in CCK-8 assay, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0 and 14.0×10−3 cigarettes/ml of CSCs for 4h in comet assay, and 10.0×10−3 cigarettes/ml of CSCs for 4h in protein levels analysis. The results of CCK-8 assay and comet assay in the present study suggested that the cytogenotoxicity in cigarette 2 group was significantly higher than that in cigarette 1 group. The results of protein microarray and western blot assay showed that there were the differences of the expression levels of four proteins (i.e., RAR-β, 14-3-3 sigma, XPF, and p57Kip2 Ab-7) between cigarette 1 group and cigarette 2 group. Hence, it is possible that the RAR-β, 14-3-3 sigma, XPF, and p57Kip2 Ab-7 proteins serve as the molecular biomarkers in studying the cytogenotoxicity induced by CSCs.",non-battery
"This paper presents results obtained with 4cm2 Carbon/Carbon supercapacitors cells in organic electrolyte. In the first approach, a surface treatment for Al current collector foil via the sol–gel route has been used in order to decrease the Al/active material interface resistance. Performances obtained with this original process are: a low equivalent series resistance (ESR) of 0.5Ωcm2 and a specific capacitance of 95Fg−1 of activated carbon. Then, supercapacitors assembled with treated Al foil and active material containing activated carbon/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different compositions have been studied. Galvanostatic cycling measurements show that when CNTs content increases, both ESR and specific capacitance are decreased. Fifteen percent appears to be a good compromise between stored energy and delivered power with an ESR of 0.4Ωcm2 and a specific capacitance of 93Fg−1 of carbonaceous active material. Finally, cells frequency behaviour has been characterized by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The relaxation time constant of cells decreases when the CNTs content increases. For 15% of CNTs, the time constant is about 30% lower as compared to a cell using pure activated carbon-based electrodes leading to a higher delivered power.",battery
"Correct interpretation of functional data obtained from various cell types of the cochlear nucleus (CN), a structure involved in auditory information processing, necessitates reliable cell identification. Our aim was to perform a quantitative morphological characterization of giant and pyramidal cells of the rat CN and identify parameters that are suitable for their adequate classification. Neurons were labeled with biocytin, visualized with a fluorescent marker, and three-dimensionally reconstructed from confocal images. The size and shape of the soma and dendritic tree of each neuron were characterized by 17 morphometric parameters. The variables were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis to determine their importance while discriminating between giant and pyramidal cells. Our results provide a new battery of morphometric data, which could not be obtained earlier, improve the chances of correct cell identification, make modeling experiments easier and more reliable, and help us to understand both the functions of individual CN neurons and the network properties of this nucleus. In addition, we demonstrate that even partial labeling and/or incomplete reconstruction of neurons may be enough for their correct identification if selected parameters describing the cell bodies and the proximal portions of the dendritic trees are utilized. We propose that our findings have specific relevance to studies which attempt cell identification after functional experiments resulting in incomplete labeling of the investigated neurons.
",non-battery
"The aim of the present study was to investigate idiom comprehension in school-age Italian children with different reading comprehension skills. According to our hypothesis, the level of a child's text comprehension skills should predict his/her ability to understand idiomatic meanings. Idiom comprehension in fact requires children to go beyond a simple word-by-word comprehension strategy and to integrate figurative meaning into contextual information. In a preliminary phase, we used a standardized battery of tests (Cornoldi & Colpo, 1998) to assess the ability of second graders and fourth graders to comprehend written texts. Three groups were identified at each age level: good, medium, and poor comprehenders. Children were then presented with familiar idiomatic expressions which also have a literal meaning (e.g., “break the ice”). Idioms were embedded in short stories: in Experiment 1 only the idiomatic interpretation was contextually appropriate, in Experiment 2 a literal reading of the string was also plausible in the context. A multiple-choice task was used in both experiments: children were asked to choose one answer among three corresponding to: (a) the idiomatic meaning; (b) the literal meaning; and (c) an interpretation contextually appropriate but not connected with the idiomatic or literal meaning of the idiom string. The results of both experiments showed that the ability to understand a text indeed predicted children's understanding of idioms in context. To verify whether possible improvements in children's comprehension skills might produce an increase in figurative language understanding, Experiment 3 was carried out. A group of poor comprehenders who participated in Experiments 1 and 2 was tested eight months later. The results of Experiment 3 showed that children whose general comprehension skills improved their performance on an idiom comprehension test.",non-battery
"Nitrogen-doped graphene hollow microspheres (NGHSs), synthesized through a template sacrificing method, have been employed as the anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The electrochemical results show that the NGHSs can exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 2716.4mAhg−1, which is significantly higher than the theoretical discharge capacity of graphite (372.0mAhg−1). Further analysis shows that the NGHSs can exhibit significantly high rate capacity, good reversibility, and excellent cycling stability, which clearly demonstrate the potential uses of the NGHSs as the anode material to boost both energy and power densities of LIBs. Their excellent electrochemical performance could be attributed to their specific microspherical hollow structure which consists of nitrogen-doped graphene. The nitrogen doping can greatly increase the reactivity and electrical conductivity of graphene-based carbonaceous materials and create more sites that are active for the Li+ ion adsorption, while the hollow microspherical structure allows a ready access of the electrolyte to the electrode surface, easier electron and ion transfer, and faster diffusion of electrolytes in and out of the electrode. In addition, the nitrogen-doped graphene and the specific hollow microspherical structure also make the NGHSs highly stable and can buffer against the local volume change during the Li+ detercalation and intercalation processes, which give the corresponding LIBs with better cycling stability.",battery
"Reducing the overall vehicle weight is an efficient, system-level approach to increase the drive range of electric vehicle, for which structural parts in auto-frame may be replaced by battery modules. Such battery modules must be structurally functional, e.g., energy absorbing, while the battery cells are not necessarily loading–carrying. We designed and tested a butterfly-shaped battery module of prismatic cells, which could self-unfold when subjected to a compressive loading. Angle guides and frictionless joints were employed to facilitate the large deformation. Desired resistance to external loading was offered by additional energy absorption elements. The battery-module behavior and the battery-cell performance were controlled separately. Numerical simulation verified the experimental results.",non-battery
"Lithium plating is a typical aging mechanism of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries at low temperatures and high charge rates. Therefore an instant detection method is needed for safe battery operation and to increase the life time. Detection of lithium plating during operation is only possible by nondestructive analysis of short-term plating effects. In this study, we present a new approach to detect, characterize, and quantify lithium plating in a commercial graphite/LiFePO4 battery. This is crucial for battery management systems (BMS) in real-world applications. The method is based on a high voltage plateau in the discharge profile after charging at plating conditions. This voltage plateau corresponds to the stripping of plated lithium from the graphite surface. It is shown that differential analysis of such voltage profiles provides a quantitative estimation of lithium plating. The correlation between lithium plating and stripping necessitates a distinction of reversible and irreversible plating. Effects of various operating conditions, i.e. charge temperature, state-of-charge (SOC), and charge current, on the plating behavior are investigated in order to elucidate this degradation mode. Furthermore, the presented approach allows for determination of the reversibility of lithium plating.",battery
"In this article, a methodology based on the analysis of granted patents useful to investigate strategies of technological innovation implemented by innovative firms is presented. This methodology adopts a conceptualization which considers technological innovation as an outcome of a change of either the technological components or a diverse combination of the components themselves. The methodology is applied to analyze the characters of the strategies of technological innovation pursued by 12 European firms in the human prosthesis industry. Undoubtly, the complexity of this industry offers interesting hints to study the implementation of technology strategies adopting the search concept. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical studies that considered this industry. Even though the methodology and the study presented have still an explorative nature, the results of the empirical analysis suggest several reasons to carry on a further investigation for a deeper comprehension of the innovation process in high-tech industries.",non-battery
"Solid state polymer electrolyte is a promising candidate for the next generation of all-solid-state lithium ion batteries due to its advantages of light weight, high stability to electrodes, non-flammable, sufficient mechanical strength to prevent lithium dendrite growth, and low cost. Here, through a facile and cost-effective route, two dimensional boron nitride (BN) is applied as an efficient additive in a polymer/salt hybrid electrolyte, which brings about high ionic conductivity, improved mechanical strength and intimate interfacial contact between the electrolyte and electrodes. A 1% BN addition into polymer/salt hybrid electrolyte membrane exhibits a high conductivity of 1.82 × 10−3 S/cm at room temperature. Indentation test shows the BN modified hybrid electrolyte possesses an enhanced hardness (4.99 MPa) and Young's modulus (0.133 GPa). The 1% BN modified hybrid electrolyte is demonstrated to effectively suppress the lithium dendrite growth during repeated striping and plating of lithium. As a result, the battery of lithium metal anode paired with LiFePO4 cathode and using the as-fabricated 1% BN enhanced polymer/salt hybrid electrolyte exhibits improved cycling performance with high Coulombic efficiency (over 98%).",battery
"The effects of different cell positive cans and separators on first-cycle Coulombic efficiency and long-term cycling stability of a high-voltage spinel cathode are investigated systematically. Compared to stainless steel (SS) positive cans, aluminum (Al)-clad SS-316 positive cans are much more resistant to oxidation at high voltages; therefore, the initial Coulombic efficiency of the batteries with Al-clad can is improved by more than 13%. Among the five separators studied in this work, the polyethylene (PE) separator exhibits the best electrochemical stability. The cells using LiCr0.05Ni0.45Mn1.5O4 as the cathode, an Al-clad positive can, and a PE separator exhibits a first-cycle Coulombic efficiency of about 90% and a capacity fading of only 0.01% per cycle.",battery
" In the past few years, thermally regenerative ammonia battery (TRAB) has been proposed as an effective tool to recover waste heat at temperatures below 130 °C. Most of the literature available is devoted to the power production step, with less attention being given to the regeneration step (e.g. the removal of ammonia from the anolyte). In this paper, the TRAB is analyzed with particular attention to the regeneration step and to the study of various generation of energy-regeneration cycles. It was shown that approximately 90 °C is necessary for the regeneration step due to the fact that ammonia is present in the anolyte mainly as a complex. Various cycles were performed with success, demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed regeneration step.",battery
"To overcome the range anxiety, one of the important strategies is to accurately predict the range or dischargeable time of the battery system. To accurately predict the remaining dischargeable time (RDT) of a battery, a RDT prediction framework based on accurate battery modeling and state estimation is presented in this paper. Firstly, a simplified linearized equivalent-circuit-model is developed to simulate the dynamic characteristics of a battery. Then, an online recursive least-square-algorithm method and unscented-Kalman-filter are employed to estimate the system matrices and SOC at every prediction point. Besides, a discrete wavelet transform technique is employed to capture the statistical information of past dynamics of input currents, which are utilized to predict the future battery currents. Finally, the RDT can be predicted based on the battery model, SOC estimation results and predicted future battery currents. The performance of the proposed methodology has been verified by a lithium-ion battery cell. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can provide an accurate SOC and parameter estimation and the predicted RDT can solve the range anxiety issues.",battery
" Consumption of telemetered fishes by piscivores is problematic for telemetry studies because tag detections from the piscivore could introduce bias into the analysis of telemetry data. We illustrate the use of multivariate mixture models to estimate group membership (smolt or predator) of telemetered juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), juvenile steelhead trout (O. mykiss), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and spotted bass (M. punctulatus) in the Sacramento River, CA, USA. First, we estimated two types of track statistics from spatially explicit two-dimensional movement tracks of telemetered fishes: the Lévy exponent (b) and tortuosity (τ). Second, we hypothesized that the distribution of each track statistic would differ between predators and smolts. To estimate the distribution of track statistics for putative predators and smolts, we fitted a bivariate normal mixture model to the mixed distribution of track statistics. Lastly, we classified each track as a smolt or predator using parameter estimates from the mixture model to estimate the probability that each track was that of a predator or smolt.",non-battery
"In this study, a Si–graphene composite, which is composed of nano Si particles and nano-sized multi-layer graphene particles, and micro-sized multi-layer graphene plate conductor, was used as the anode for Li-ion battery. The Si–graphene electrode showed the high capacity and stable cyclability at charge/discharge rate of C/2 in half cell tests. Nickel cobalt aluminum material (NCA) was used as a cathode in the full cell to evaluate the practicality of the new Si–graphene material. Although the Si–graphene anode has more capacity than the NCA cathode in this designed full cell, the Si–graphene anode had a greater effect on the full-cell performance due to its large initial irreversible capacity loss and continuous SEI formation during cycling. When fluoro-ethylene carbonate was added to the electrolyte, the cyclability of the full cell was much improved due to less SEI formation, which was confirmed by the decreases in the 1st irreversible capacity loss, overpotential for the 1st lithiation, and the resistance of the SEI.",battery
"In this work, hierarchical-structured copper sulfide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CuS/MWCNTs) are synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal process. The chemical composition and microstructure of CuS-MWCNTs are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and research as electrode matericals for high-performance supercapacitors by cyclic voltammogram, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. As expected, the CuS-MWCNTs exhibit a much higher specific capacitance up to 2831Fg−1, compared with 925.1Fg−1 for CuS and 555.6Fg−1 for MWCNTs. Furthermore, the CuS-MWCNTs hybrids also exhibit good cycling stability with more than 90% capacitance retention over 600 cycles. The enhancement of CuS/MWCNTs in supercapacitor performance not only attribute to their unique 3D structures with large specific surface area, but also their excellent conductivity, which facilitate efficient charge transport and promotes electrolyte diffusion.",battery
"Combining high specific surface area (SSA) and superior electrical conductivity together at bulk state is very important for carbon materials in capacitive energy storage applications. Herein, by applying molten sodium metal to activate natural cotton at a relatively low processing temperature (800°C), we have obtained hierarchically porous graphitic carbon fibers (HPGCFs) with SSA up to 1716m2 g−1 and a high degree of graphitization in the bulk state. This is advantageous compared to amorphous carbon fibers obtained by conventional thermal annealing and KOH-activation. The obtained HPGCFs show remarkable energy storage capability (61% capacitance retention from 1 to 60Ag−1). To further increase the capacitance value, anthraquinone (AQ) molecules have been selected to functionalize HPGCFs via π–π stacking interactions. Asymmetric supercapacitors have been assembled using HPGCFs as the positive electrode and AQ-HPGCFs as the negative electrode in aqueous H2SO4 solution. The device presents a large energy density (19.3Whkg−1 in the applied potential range between 0 and 1.2V) and ultrahigh power capability (up to 120Ag−1, a full charge–discharge within 0.8s).",battery
  is Chair of Systems Engineering and Multi-Material Design at the Institute of  Lightweight  Engineering and  Polymer Technology  at TU Dresden in Dresden (Germany).,non-battery
"Evidence of decreasing sediment supply to estuaries and coastal oceans worldwide illustrates the need for accurate and updated estimates. In the San Francisco Estuary (Estuary), recent research suggests a decrease in supply from its largest tributaries, implying the increasing role of smaller, local tributaries in sediment supply to this estuary. Common techniques for estimating supply from tributaries are based on gages located above head of tide, which do not account for trapping processes within the tidal reach. We investigated the effect of a tidal reach on suspended-sediment discharge for Corte Madera Creek, a small tributary of the Estuary. Discharge of water (Q) and suspended-sediment (SSD) were observed for 3 years at two locations along the creek: upstream of tidal influence and at the mouth. Comparison of upstream and mouth gages showed nearly 50 % trapping of upstream SSD input within the tidal reach over this period. At the storm time scale, suspended-sediment trapping efficiency varied greatly (range −31 to 93 %); storms were classified as low- or high-yield based on upstream SSD. As upstream peak Q increased, high-yield storms exhibited significantly decreased trapping. Tidal conditions at the mouth—ebb duration and peak ebb velocity—during storms had a minor effect on sediment trapping, suggesting fluvial processes dominate. Comparison of characteristic fluvial and tidal discharges at the storm time scale demonstrated longitudinal differences in the regulating process for SSD. These results suggest that SSD from gages situated above head of tide overestimate sediment supply to the open waters beyond tributary mouths and thus trapping processes within the tidal reach should be considered.",non-battery
"Fabrication and assembly of electrodes and electrolytes play an important role in promoting the performance of electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices such as batteries and supercapacitors. Traditional fabrication techniques have limitations in controlling the geometry and architecture of the electrode and solid-state electrolytes, which would otherwise compromise the performance. 3D printing, a disruptive manufacturing technology, has emerged as an innovative approach to fabricating EES devices from nanoscale to macroscale, providing great opportunities to accurately control device geometry (e.g., dimension, porosity, and morphology) and structure with enhanced specific energy and power densities. Moreover, the “additive” manufacturing nature of 3D printing provides excellent controllability of the electrode thickness with much simplified process in a cost effective manner. With the unique spatial and temporal material manipulation capability, 3D printing can integrate multiple nano-materials in the same print, and multi-functional EES devices (including functional gradient devices) can be fabricated. Herein, we review recent advances in 3D printing of EES devices. We focus on two major 3D printing technologies including direct writing and inkjet printing. The direct material deposition characteristics of these two processes enable them to print on a variety of flat substrates, even a conformal one, well suiting them to applications such as wearable devices and on-chip integrations. Other potential 3D printing techniques such as freeze nano-printing, stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, binder jetting, laminated object manufacturing, and metal 3D printing are also introduced. The advantages and limitations of each 3D printing technology are extensively discussed. More importantly, we provide a perspective on how to integrate the emerging 3D printing with existing technologies to create structures over multiple length scale from nano to macro for EES applications.",battery
"We have previously argued that the current borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis is over-inclusive and clinically and conceptually impossible to distinguish from the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This study involves 30 patients clinically diagnosed with BPD as their main diagnosis by three BPD dedicated outpatient treatment facilities in Denmark. The patients underwent a careful and time-consuming psychiatric evaluation involving several senior level clinical psychiatrists and researchers and a comprehensive battery of psychopathological scales. The study found that the vast majority of patients (67% in DSM-5 and 77% in ICD-10) in fact met the criteria for a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, i.e., schizophrenia (20%) or schizotypal (personality) disorder (SPD). The schizophrenia spectrum group scored significantly higher on the level of disorders of core self as measured by the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experiences Scale (EASE). The BPD criterion of “identity disturbance” was significantly correlated with the mean total score of EASE. These findings are discussed in the light of changes from prototypical to polythetic diagnostic systems. We argue that the original prototypes/gestalts informing the creation of BPD and SPD have gone into oblivion during the evolution of polythetic criteria.
",non-battery
"The dynamic performance is a very important evaluation index of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells used for real application, which is mostly related with water, heat and gas management. A commercial PEM fuel cell system of Nexa module is employed to experimentally investigate the dynamic behavior and transient response of a PEM fuel cell stack and reveal involved influential factors. Five groups of dynamic tests are conducted and divided into different stage such as start-up, shut-down, step-up load, regular load variation and irregular load variation. It is observed that the external load changes the current output proportionally and reverses stack voltage accordingly. The purge operation benefits performance recovery and enhancement during a constant load and its time strongly depends on the operational current level. Overshoot and undershoot behaviors are observed during transience. But the current undershoot does not appear due to charge double-layer effect. Additionally, magnitudes of the peaks of the voltage overshoot and undershoot vary at different current levels. The operating temperature responds fast to current load but changes slowly showing an arc-like profile without any overshoot and undershoot events. The air flow rate changes directly following the dynamic load demand. But the increased amount of air flow rate during different step-change is not identical, which depends on the requirement of internal reaction and flooding intensity. The results can be utilized for validation of dynamic fuel cell models, and regarded as reference for effective control and management strategies.",battery
"In this work we report the properties and electrochemical performance of composite electrodes containing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and activated carbon (AC) as the active materials. These composite electrodes display high capacity during cycles carried out at specific current as high as 17.2Ag−1. Moreover, even after 500 cycles carried out at 8.6Ag−1, the electrodes display capacity retention higher than 98%. The high performance of these composite electrodes can be explained by a positive influence of AC on the LFP performance. The presence of AC increases the conductivity, reduces the density and modifies the porosity of the electrodes. The “dilution” of the LFP particles (with respect to the electrodes containing only LFP) results in exceptional high rate performance. During cycles carried out at specific current higher than 12Ag−1, LFP–AC electrodes display two times higher specific capacities compared to electrodes containing only LFP as active material.",battery
"The mild combustion synthesis of cobalt vanadate involving the reaction of V2O5, Co(NO3)2 and glycine as starting materials is reported. The synthesized material is annealed at 550°C and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling techniques. XRD analysis indicates that the structure of the synthesized cobalt vanadate is amorphous. The initial delivered capacity is ∼275mAhg−1 in a Li//CoV2O5 cell at a current density of 0.05mAcm−2 when cycled between 2 and 4V using 1M LiClO4 in propylene carbonate as electrolyte. The capacity remains stable even after 10 cycles. The cobalt vanadate prepared by this new synthetic route is, therefore, a potential candidate for lithium secondary batteries.",battery
"Charge and discharge characteristics of lithium/polymer electrolyte/sulfur cells are presented. Three different electrolytes were studied, and cells were operated at temperatures ranging from ambient to about 100°C. The effects of the sulfur electrode composition and cycling regimen on both the potential profiles and the capacity fade rate were investigated. Cells prepared with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and operated at 90–100°C could be discharged to nearly the full theoretical 1672 mA h/g active material but with a high rate of capacity fade. Reducing the depth of discharge to 30% or less increased the cell lifetime. Room-temperature cells with poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether could be discharged to about 45% utilization of the sulfur and showed a much lower capacity fade rate after the second cycle. Several possible explanations for the high rate of capacity fade and the effect of the depth of discharge on this rate are presented.",battery
"Thermal energy harvesting technologies based on composite phase change materials (PCMs) are capable of harvesting tremendous amounts of thermal energy via isothermal phase transitions, thus showing enormous potential in the design of state-of-the-art renewable energy infrastructure. Great progress has been recently made in terms of enhancing the thermal energy storage capability, transfer rate, conversion efficiency and utilization of composite PCMs. Although there are some recent reviews on composite PCMs, they are mainly concentrated on the thermal transfer enhancement and conventional utilization of PCMs. There are few systematic reviews concerning optimization strategies of PCM for thermal energy conversion. In particular, advanced multifunctional utilization of PCMs is still in its infancy. Herein, we systematically summarize the optimization strategies and mechanisms of recently reported composite PCMs for thermal energy storage, thermal transfer, energy conversion (solar-to-thermal, electro-to-thermal and magnetic-to-thermal conversion) and advanced utilization (fluorescence emission, infrared stealth technologies, drug release systems, thermotherapy and thermal protection), including some novel supporting materials (BN nanosheets and metal organic frameworks (MOFs)). Simultaneously, we provide in-depth and constructive insights into the correlations between the structural optimization strategies and thermal performances of composite PCMs. Finally, future research trends, alternative strategies and prospects are also highlighted according to up-to-date optimization strategies.
",battery
"The surface structure and material composition of current collectors significantly affect the electrochemical performances of lithium-ion batteries. This study forms array-pattern blind holes and creates a layer of copper oxide (CuO) on the surface of thin copper plates using the chemical etching method. This copper plate is made into a CuO/Cu composite current collector with array-pattern porous structures for lithium-ion batteries. Using mesocarbon microbead graphite powders as the anode material, this new composite current collector is assembled into CR2032 coin half-cells for electrochemical tests. Batteries with this porous current collector exhibit high reversible discharge capacities of 383.9mAhg−1 at 0.5mA and 374mAhg−1 even after 0.2C and 0.5C rate cycles, whereas batteries with a complanate current collector deliver only 309.6mAhg−1 and 296.7mAhg−1. It is believed that the array-pattern blind holes coupled with the morphological effects of the oatmeal-like CuO significantly enhance the electrochemical performances of batteries in terms of reversible capacity, cycling stability, electrical conductivity and coulombic efficiency.",battery
"We reported here on the synthesis, the crystal structure and the study of the structural changes during the electrochemical cycling of layered LiNi0.1Mn0.1Co0.8O2 positive electrode material. Rietveld refinement analysis shows that this material exhibits almost an ideal α-NaFeO2 structure with practically no lithium–nickel disorder. The SQUID measurements confirm this structural result and evidenced that this material consists of Ni2+, Mn4+ and Co3+ ions. Unlike LiNiO2 and LiCoO2 conventional electrode materials, there was no structural modification upon lithium removal in the whole 0.42≤ x ≤1.0 studied composition range. The peaks revealed in the incremental capacity curve were attributed to the successive oxidation of Ni2+ and Co3+ while Mn4+ remains electrochemically inactive.",battery
"In this work, three categories of advanced carbon materials coated on current collector are investigated. The results indicate that carbon coating has a positive influence on the depolarization effect and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 cathode, different carbon coatings have drastically different influences, high rates in particular. The depolarization effect and rate performance show the following order: Graphene nanosheets (GNs)>Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)>Activated carbons (ACs), and the differences of rate capacities among them become more and more obvious with increasing rates. Especially for 5C, the discharge capacities values are 122mAhg−1, 114.8mAhg−1, 106.8mAhg−1 and 49.2mAhg−1 for LFP-GNs-Al, LFP-CNTs-Al, LFP-ACs-Al and LFP-Al, respectively. The enhancement is attributed to the carbon coating acting as a transport system of electron between cathode materials and current collector, resulting in reducing the contact impedance within the electrodes, thus providing a favorable balance between fast ion diffusion and increased electron transport.",battery
A solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) based on polyethylene oxide (PEO) is prepared by photocuring of polyethylene glycol acrylates. The conductivity is greatly enhanced by adding low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) dimethylether (PEGDME). The maximum conducticity is 5.1×10−4 Scm−1 at 30°C. These electrolytes display oxidation stability up to 4.5V against a lithium reference electrode. Reversible electrochemical plating/stripping of lithium is observed on a stainless steel electrode. Li/SPE/LiMn2O4 as well as C(Li)/SPE/LiCoO2 cells have been fabricated and tested to demonstrate the applicability of the resulting polymer electrolytes in lithium–polymer batteries.,battery
"It is widely recognized that the presence of residual moisture has significant detrimental effects on the performance of lithium ion batteries. Studies have shown that the positive active material can be a major source of moisture contributors to the overall cell moisture. The aim of the present study is to understand the factors affecting moisture uptake by the doped-lithium nickel cobalt oxide material from the casting solvent, acetone, and the ambient environment. As-is and the air-dried powders under various conditions (300°C for 24h, 500°C for 8h, and 500°C for 24h) were exposed to ambient and humid air for various lengths of time. Similarly, all these powders were exposed to extra dry (47ppm) and wet (5789ppm) acetone. Karl Fisher measurements at 160°C and 290°C show that humidity levels (80–85% relative humidity versus 20–25%) and the exposure times are the critical factors. Acetone wetness and the length of exposure in it do not contribute significantly to the moisture uptake by the active material. Cathode powder drying helps in minimizing the amount of moisture uptake from the environment.",battery
"This work reports a simple and cost-effective synthesis path to fabricate manganese dioxide nanostructures with controlled morphologies. Herein, we have used oleylamine as a reducing, surfactant, and structure directing agent. The treatment of MnO2 precursor with the varying concentration of oleylamine led to the formation of different morphologies of MnO2 (nanorods, nanoflowers and three-dimensional MnO2 spheres). The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized by various techniques and their electrochemical performances were studied. When used as an electrode material for supercapacitors, 3D-MnO2 exhibited a higher specific capacitance of 450 Fg−1 and admirable cyclic stability (~91.7%) after 5000cycles, which were higher than that of the other formulations. Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor was assembled by using as-prepared 3D-MnO2 and nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogels as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively. As-fabricated asymmetric device delivered specific capacitance of 49.44 Fg−1 at 1 Ag−1 an outstanding energy density of 20 Whkg−1 at 857.14 Wkg−1, and retained ~93.15% stability after 5000cycles. The obtained results showed that the as-synthesized 3D-MnO2 can be considered as the positive electrode material in supercapacitors.",battery
"Lithium metal anode is regarded as the ""holy grail"" due to its extremely high specific capacity, low density and low reduction potential. However, Li dendrite growth reduces coulombic efficiency and causes safety accidents synchronously. In this paper, a rational designed three-dimensional ordered macroporous Cu is used as current collector for Li metal anode with excellent electrochemical performance, which is prepared by colloidal template method combined with copper electrodeposition. The novel porous Cu/Li anode with the pore size of 450 nm can stably run for 750 h at 0.2 mA/cm2 with a small Li electroplating/stripping overpotential (<30 mV), and it exhibits a high coulombic efficiency of 93.3% over 120 cycles. The three-dimensional ordered macroporous structure with large specific surface area results in lower local current density and enhances electrochemical reaction kinetics, and benefits Li deposition inside pores. Especially, the Li layer on the arc area of outer pores acts as seed crystal for the subsequent Li deposition, which leads to Li uniform nucleation and dendrite suppression effectively.",battery
"Nowadays, 2D nanosheets or nanoplatelets have attracted great attention due to their wide applications. However, the synthesis of 2D α-Fe2O3 nanosheets with well-defined hexagonal shape is extremely challenging, because the selective growth along one specific facet is very hard to be realized. In our work, we studied the non-capping ligand mediated reaction within graphene layer chamber, and successfully synthesized α-Fe2O3 hexagonal nanoplatelets sandwiched between graphene layers (HP-Fe–G). These materials exhibit an improved electrochemical performance compared with the pre-existing α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles loaded graphene (G-Fe2O3) composites because of the uniqueness of such architectures: thin nanoplatelets, large enough sandwiched spaces to buffer the volume expansion and N-doped graphene. HP-Fe–G delivered an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 1100mAh/g after 50 cycles, thus higher than their theoretical value (926mAh/g); while G-Fe2O3 composites showed relatively low capacity retention even after only 20 cycles (582mAh/g). In addition, HP-Fe–G also reveal superior rate capability, 887mAh/g at 1C; in comparison, this value was only 135mAh/g at 1C for G-Fe2O3.",battery
"Objective To identify neuromuscular impairments most predictive of unfavorable mobility outcomes in late life. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research clinic. Participants Community-dwelling primary care patients aged ≥65 years (N=391) with self-reported mobility modifications, randomly selected from a research registry. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Categories of decline in and persistently poor mobility across baseline, 1 and 2 years of follow-up in the Lower-Extremity Function scales of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument. The following categories of impairment were assessed as potential predictors of mobility change: strength (leg strength), speed of movement (leg velocity, reaction time, rapid leg coordination), range of motion (ROM) (knee flexion/knee extension/ankle ROM), asymmetry (asymmetry of leg strength and knee flexion/extension ROM measures), and trunk stability (trunk extensor endurance, kyphosis). Results The largest effect sizes were found for baseline weaker leg strength (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 3.45 [1.72–6.95]), trunk extensor endurance (2.98 [1.56–5.70]), and slower leg velocity (2.35 [1.21–4.58]) predicting a greater likelihood of persistently poor function over 2 years. Baseline weaker leg strength, trunk extensor endurance, and restricted knee flexion motion also predicted a greater likelihood of decline in function (1.72 [1.10–2.70], 1.83 [1.13–2.95], and 2.03 [1.24–3.35], respectively). Conclusions Older adults exhibiting poor mobility may be prime candidates for rehabilitation focused on improving these impairments. These findings lay the groundwork for developing interventions aimed at optimizing rehabilitative care and disability prevention, and highlight the importance of both well-recognized (leg strength) and novel impairments (leg velocity, trunk extensor muscle endurance).",non-battery
"Due to their abundance and environmentally benign nature, iron and titanium present as the most attractive potential elements for use in rechargeable sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Accordingly, two structurally different Fe and Ti based compounds, stoichiometric NaFeTiO4 and sodium deficient NaxFexTi2-xO4 (where x = 0.9, and 0.8), are explored as anode materials for SIBs. Their structure and sodium storage capacity are systematically investigated by using combined structural and electrochemical analysis. Rietveld refinement analysis reveals that the sodium deficiency leads to the structural transformation from a single-tunnel structure (NaFeTiO4) to a zigzag-type double-tunnel structure (Na0.9Fe0.9Ti1.1O4 and Na0.8Fe0.8Ti1.2O4). The series of sodium deficient compounds bears systematic sodium ion vacancies in their structure up to 20%. Sodium deficiency in the NaxFexTi2-xO4 logically provides additional space for accommodating the excess sodium ions as such the NaxFexTi2-xO4 compounds with higher level of sodium deficiency show higher specific capacities than the stoichiometric NaFeTiO4. All the compounds exhibited very good electrochemical cycling stability, with minimal capacity loss during cycling. The present approach is a model example of improvement in the sodium storage capacity of the anode materials by tuning the chemical composition, and could facilitate the performance improvement of known or new electrode materials for SIBs.",battery
"In this paper, α-Fe2O3 microdisks (~1.1μm in diameter, ~150nm in thickness) have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method using a novel NaNO3–Na2SO4 crystal salts solution (CSS) containing CNTs fragments as template. Interestingly, the synthesized α-Fe2O3 microdisks exhibit a unique axial compressive property. The small-sized CNTs fragments in α-Fe2O3 microdisks could act as a robust framework for such assemblies and endow them the axial compressive property. Owing to the existence of CNTs fragments, the α-Fe2O3 microdisks are not easily destroyed. AFM results indicate that the α-Fe2O3 microdisks could be compressed to 10–50 times than the original thickness. Electrochemical studies show that the synthesized α-Fe2O3 microdisks exhibited good cyclic stability and rate performance. The α-Fe2O3 microdisks electrode delivers a reversible specific capacity of 632mAhg31 even at a high rate of 800mAg31. When returning to the initial rate of 100mAg31, the α-Fe2O3 microdisks electrode returns to a higher capacity (968mAhg31). The unique axial compressive property of α-Fe2O3 microdisks endows that they could alleviate the pulverization and structural destruction of electrodes during the lithium ion insertion and extraction process.",battery
"Mechanically alloyed Mg2Ni and a single air (oxygen) electrode are used as the anode and cathode, respectively, in a Mg2Ni|6M KOH|O2 rechargeable metal-hydride–air (MH–air) battery. The battery is tested for self-discharge by measuring the open-circuit voltage (OCV) and cycling characteristics. Battery degradation after charge–discharge cycling is characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analyses.",battery
"Effect of surfactants present in alkaline solutions on the capacitance of carbon electrodes has been studied. Different types of surfactants, i.e., sodium and lithium dodecyl sulphate as anionic surfactants, tetrapropylammonium bromide and iodide as cationic surfactants and polymer of polyethylene glycol and p-t-octylophenol (commercially called Triton® X-100) as non-ionic one have been selected for this target. Concentration of these electrolyte additives was 0.005molL−1. Decreasing the surface tension in the electrode/electrolyte interface allows better penetration of electrolyte into the pores. However, surfactants played a different role depending on the electrode polarity. Detailed analysis of capacitance versus current load, frequency dependence as well as self-discharge, cyclability and behaviour in wider voltage range proved especially a profitable effect of Triton® X-100 on capacitor operating in alkaline solution. Influence of surfactant concentration on capacitance properties was also investigated.",battery
"Background The use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of depression has been studied extensively over the last 15 years. In this time the vast majority of trials included assessment of cognition to determine whether the technique is cognitively safe. However, recent evidence suggests that the assessment of cognition could also have an important role to play in the prediction of antidepressant response. Objectives The current study conducted a post hoc analysis of the cognitive data from four clinical trials of rTMS for treatment resistant depression, with an aim to investigate the relationship between early cognitive changes and eventual depression improvement. Method Data from 137 patients were included in the analysis (62 male and 75 female, mean ages 41.86 ± 11.68 years). The primary outcome measure for all four studies was the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Clinical and cognitive assessments were undertaken at baseline, a midtime point, and at endpoint after 4 or 6 weeks of treatment. Results There was no cognitive deterioration after a treatment course of rTMS across the four depression trials. Initial improvements in performance on immediate visuospatial memory were significantly related to eventual reduction of depression severity, with visuospatial improvement being a significant predictor of degree of eventual improvement in a near significant regression model. Conclusions Traditionally cognitive batteries in rTMS trials are designed to provide a broad assessment of neuropsychological functioning across numerous cognitive domains; however, there is growing evidence that cognition may have a very important role to play as an early indicator of antidepressant response.",non-battery
"A polymer carbonization route was designed to synthesis carbon network-supported Fe3O4@C composites. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles with an average of ∼200nm were uniformly wrapped up in this novel carbon network. As an anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the Fe3O4@C composites present attractive properties with a high specific capacity of 730mAhg−1 at 2C after 300 cycles. The novel carbon network plays a key role in enhancing the electrochemical performance of the composites.",battery
"We investigated the effect of CO2 on layered Li1+z Ni1−x−y Co x M y O2 (M=Al, Mn) cathode materials for lithium ion batteries which were prepared by solid-state reactions. Li1+z Ni(1−x)/2Co x Mn(1−x)/2O2 (Ni/Mn mole ratio=1) singularly exhibited high storage stability. On the other hand, Li1+z Ni0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 samples were very unstable due to CO2 absorption. XPS and XRD measurements showed the reduction of Ni3+ to Ni2+ and the formation of Li2CO3 for Li1+z Ni0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 samples after CO2 exposure. SEM images also indicated that the surfaces of CO2-treated samples were covered with passivation films, which may contain Li2CO3. The relationship between CO2-exposure time and CO3 2− content suggests that there are two steps in the carbonation reactions; the first step occurs with the excess Li components, Li2O for example, and the second with LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 itself. It is well consistent with the fact that the discharge capacity was not decreased and the capacity retention was improved until the excess lithium is consumed and then fast deterioration occurred.",battery
"Lithiated perfluorosulfonate ionomer has been used as the binder for LiMn2O4 cathodes. Casted membranes of the lithiated ionomer exhibit ionic conductivity of 1.4×10−4 S/cm. Composite cathodes composed of LiMn2O4, carbon black and the ionomer binder have been fabricated. All components of the cathodes are well bound and dispersed as characterized by scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscope. The cathodes using the conventional poly-vinylidene fluoride binder have also been prepared for comparison. Under high rate (5 C-20C) and high temperature (60°C) operation, the LiMn2O4 cathodes with the ionomer binder exhibit higher capacity and improved cycling stability. As indicated by the electrochemical impedance spectra, the ionomer binder forms ion-conducting interface layers on the LiMn2O4 particles and results in lower interface resistance. It enables the cells utilizing the ionomer binder to achieve higher capacity and enhanced cycling stability even under harsh conditions.",battery
"A novel Pb x O y @SiO z /Carbon (PSC) composite has been synthesized and added with quantities between 0 wt% and 2 wt% to the negative active material of lead-acid batteries in this paper. Unique morphology of the obtained composite is detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), while the Pb x O y is coated by SiO2 firstly and then the obtained spherical particles are wrapped by amorphous carbon as a whole. The electrochemical characterizations are performed using a three-electrode system, and results show that the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can be inhibited compared with sole carbon. Finally, 2.0 V single-cell lead-acid batteries are assembled with 0 wt%–2 wt% PSC additive in the negative active materials (NAM). Battery with 0.5 wt% PSC exhibit the most superior performance including the highest capacity as well as the best high-rate partial state-of-charge (HRPSoC) cycling performance due to the integrative actions, which are investigated in detail in this paper.",battery
"With the advancement of the smart grid, the current energy system is moving towards a future where people can buy what they need, can sell when they have excess and can trade the right of buying to other proactive consumers (prosumers). Although the first two schemes already exist in the market, selling the right of buying — also known as negawatt trading — is something that is yet to be implemented. Here we review the challenges and prospects of negawatt trading in light of recent technological advancements. Through reviewing a number of emerging technologies, we show that the necessary methodologies that are needed to establish negawatt trading as a feasible energy management scheme in the smart grid are already available. Grid interactive buildings and distributed ledger technologies, for instance, can ensure active participation and fair pricing. However, some additional challenges need to be addressed for fully functional negawatt trading mechanisms in today’s energy market.",battery
"In this work, we prepare a highly catalytic and stabilized titanium nitride (TiN) nanowire array-decorated graphite felt electrode for all vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Free-standing TiN nanowires are synthesized by a two-step process, in which TiO2 nanowires are first grown onto the surface of graphite felt via a seed-assisted hydrothermal method and then converted to TiN through nitridation reaction. When applied to VRFBs, the prepared electrode enables the electrolyte utilization and energy efficiency to be 73.9% and 77.4% at a high current density of 300 mA cm−2, which are correspondingly 43.3% and 15.4% higher than that of battery assembled with a pristine electrode. More impressively, the present battery exhibits good stability and high capacity retention during the cycle test. The superior performance is ascribed to the significant improvement in the electrochemical kinetics and enlarged active sites toward V3+/V2+ redox reaction.",battery
"Neuroprosthetic technologies for therapeutic neuromodulation have seen major advances in recent years but these advances have been impeded due to electrode failure or a temporal deterioration in the device recording or electrical stimulation potential. This deterioration is attributed to an intrinsic host tissue response, namely glial scarring or gliosis, which prevents the injured neurons from sprouting, drives neurite processes away from the neuroelectrode and increases signal impedance by increasing the distance between the electrode and its target neurons. To address this problem, there is a clinical need to reduce tissue encapsulation of the electrodes in situ and improve long-term neuroelectrode function. Nanotopographical modification has emerged as a potent methodology for the disruption of protein adsorption and cellular adhesion in vitro. This study investigates the use of block copolymer self-assembly technique for the generation of sub-20 nm nanowire features on silicon substrates. Critically, these nanostructures were observed to significantly reduce electrical impedance and increase conductivity. Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells cultured on nanowire substrates for up to 14 days were associated with enhanced focal adhesion reinforcement and a reduction in proliferation. We conclude that nanowire surface modulation may offer significant potential as an electrode functionalization strategy.
",non-battery
"A Li2FeSiO4/C nanocomposite is prepared via solvothermal method in combination with carbon coating technology. The as-prepared Li2FeSiO4/C nanocomposite is a single phase Li2FeSiO4 with nano-tickness coated carbon layer and connected by the mutual cross-linked carbon conductive matrix. As cathode material for lithium ion battery, the composite delivers a discharge capacity of 154 mAh g−1 at 1C and exhibits good rate capability with a discharge capacity of 106 mAh g−1 at the rate of 10C, which is ascribed to the small particle size and enhanced electronic conductivity using carbon coating technology. The as-prepared Li2FeSiO4/C nanocomposite also behaves a good cycling stability with capacity retention of over 100 cycles.",battery
"Li2FeSiO4/C cathodes were synthesized by combination of wet-process method and solid-state reaction at high temperature, and effects of roasting temperature and modification on properties of the Li2FeSiO4/C cathode were investigated. The XRD patterns of the Li2FeSiO4/C samples indicate that all the samples are of good crystallinity, and a little Fe3O4 impurity was observed in them. The primary particle size rises as the roasting temperature increases from 600 to 750°C. The Li2FeSiO4/C sample synthesized at 650°C has good electrochemical performances with an initial discharge capacity of 144.9mAhg−1 and the discharge capacity remains 136.5mAhg−1 after 10 cycles. The performance of Li2FeSiO4/C cathode is further improved by modification of Ni substitution. The Li2Fe0.9Ni0.1SiO4/C composite cathode has an initial discharge capacity of 160.1mAhg−1, and the discharge capacity remains 153.9mAhg−1 after 10 cycles. The diffusion coefficient of lithium in Li2FeSiO4/C is 1.38×10−12 cm2 s−1 while that in Li2Fe0.9Ni0.1SiO4/C reaches 3.34×10−12 cm2 s−1.",battery
"It has recently been demonstrated that the use of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) can reduce the migration of vanadium ions through the membrane due to the Donnan exclusion effect among the positively charged functional groups and vanadium ions. However, AEMs are plagued by low chemical stability in harsh chemical environments. Here we propose and fabricate a pyridinium-functionalized cross-linked AEM for VRFBs. The pyridinium-functionalized bromomethylated poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) exhibits a superior chemical stability as a result of the strengthened internal cross-linking networks and the chemical inertness of the polymer backbone. Therefore, the membrane exhibits littler decay in a harsh environment for 20 days during the course of an ex situ immersion test. A cycling test also demonstrates that the VRFB assembled with the membrane enable to retain 80% of the initial discharge capacity over 537 cycles with a capacity decay rate of 0.037% cycle−1. Meanwhile, the membrane also shows a low vanadium permeability and a reasonably high conductivity in supporting electrolytes. Hence, all the measurements and performance tests reported in this work suggest that the membrane is a promising AEM for redox flow batteries to achieve excellent cycling stability and superior cell performance.",battery
" In many low- and middle-income countries, insufficient human resources limit access to oral health services. Shifting clinical tasks to less specialized health professionals, such as community health workers, has been used as a strategy to expand the health workforce, especially in remote or underserved locations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of periodontal examinations conducted by auxiliary nurse midwives in a rural home setting in Nepal.",non-battery
"Full-scale speed trials of a ship have been questioned for the uncertainty of speed and power measurements especially when the sea conditions differ from the ideal calm water conditions. Such uncertainty has been investigated by utilizing ITTC standard speed/powering trial analysis procedure through Monte Carlo simulations. A case study was conducted for a set of sea trials with 12 sister ships for which sea trial data were available for a range of displacement, water depth, water temperature, wind speed and wave height values. Precision errors were observed as the most influential error source for the whole speed range, even though their effects were more substantial at low speeds. Beaufort scale was observed as the most important elementary error source indicating the need for the best weather conditions for the most reliable sea trail predictions.",non-battery
"Hierarchical CoO nanosheets are grown on copper foils, by combining electro-deposition and self-sustained hydrothermal treatments and directly used as binder free anode electrodes of LIBs. CoO nanosheets are ∼50nm in thickness with several micrometers in width. The CoO nanosheets deposited on the copper foils were found to be single phase. The electrode delivers a capacity of ∼637mAhg−1 after 200 cycles at 0.1C and exhibits excellent rate capability, owing to the special hierarchical structure, preferable accommodation of strain, good conductivity and fast lithium ion diffusion. The capacity can be improved to ∼704mAhg−1 after carbon coating. The improved performance is investigated in detail. The results suggest that ameliorative conductivity, pseudocapacitance and the higher-oxidation-state component are responsible for the high capacity. More significantly, the strategy of CoO nanosheets fabrication not only can be extended to other substrates, such as carbon foams, carbon paper and carbon cloth, but can be applied to other materials, such as Fe3O4, NiO, etc.",battery
"Increasingly, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Product Stewardship (PS) frameworks are being adopted as a preferred policy approach to promote cost-effective diversion and recovery of post-consumer solid waste. Because the application of EPR/PS generally requires the creation of a separate and often parallel collection and/or management system, key to increasing the amount of waste recovered is to maximize the convenience of the collection system to maximize consumer participation. Convenient collection is often mandated in EPR/PS laws, however it is not defined. Convenience is a subjective construct rendering it extremely difficult to define. However, based on a dissection of post-consumer collection efforts under a generic EPR/PS system, this paper identifies and examines five categories of convenience – knowledge requirements, proximity to a collection site, opportunity to drop-off materials, the draw of the collection site, and the ease of the process—and the various factors of convenience within each of these categories. By using a simplified multiple criteria decision analysis, this paper proposes a performance matrix of criteria of convenience. Stakeholders can use this matrix to assist in the design, assessment, and/or implementation of a convenient post-consumer collection system under an EPR/PS framework.",non-battery
"The ageing of lithium-ion battery (LIB) is critical from the application perspective. In this paper, an electrochemical based electrical (ECBE) model is developed to link the model parameters to specific ageing mechanisms. Based on the model parameterization, we report on time resolved degradation processes of LIB during the cycle ageing. The sequence of internal components degradation mechanisms in graphite/lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) coin cells subjected to up to 1000 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles are revealed. It is found the LIB degradation proceeds according to a series of inter-connected processes, including: i) Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation on the graphite electrode surfaces; ii) LCO phase transformation from active hexagonal to less active spinel phases; iii) Joule heating due to the increased cell resistance resulting in cracking and re-formation of SEI together with surface spallation at the LCO electrode, as well as degradation of the separator; iv) Active Li losses owing to metal plating on the electrodes during overcharge and overdischarge; v) Exfoliation of the graphite anode and the degradation of LCO cathode; and vi) Intergranular contact disconnection within electrodes. These processes contribute to the overall decay in the storage capacity and the LIB terminal voltage differently as shown experimentally.",battery
"Attempts to dope Zn2+, Cu2+ or Ni2+ are made for Li2FeSiO4. The effects of dopant on the physical and electrochemical characteristics of Li2FeSiO4 were investigated. Zn2+ successfully entered into the lattice of Li2FeSiO4 and induced the change of lattice parameters. Compared with the undoped Li2FeSiO4, Li2Fe0.97Zn0.03SiO4 has higher discharge capacity, better electrochemical reversibility and lower electrode polarization. The improved electrochemical performance of Li2Fe0.97Zn0.03SiO4 can be attributed to the improved structural stability and the enhanced lithium ion diffusivity brought about by Zn2+ doping. However, Ni2+ and Cu2+ cannot be doped into the lattice of Li2FeSiO4. Cu and NiO are formed as impurities in the Cu- and Ni-containing samples, respectively. Compared with the undoped Li2FeSiO4, the Cu- and Ni-containing samples have lower capacities and higher electrochemical polarization.",battery
"While the market for supercapacitors is rapidly growing due to their high power density, their low energy density compared to batteries represents a great barrier for the future of this technology. The poorly understood chemistry of electrode-electrolyte interfaces implies that there is substantial room for improvement through a careful design of the materials involved. Here we present a unique approach for improving the energy density of supercapacitors through redox additive-assisted electrocatalytic in situ regeneration of the electrode active materials. By utilizing a quinone-based redox electrolyte and a nanostructured conjugated polyaniline electrode, we continually regenerate the reactants, resulting in a redox supercapacitor having an extremely high energy density of 1091Whkg−1 (based on the total mass of the electrode active materials and the redox additive) and a high power density up to 196kWkg−1. Considering the other outstanding properties of the polyaniline-naphthoquinone system, such as extreme flexibility (96% capacity retention after bending at an angle of 180° for 1000 cycles), non-flammability, and excellent cycling stability (84% capacity retention after 7000 cycles at 35Ag−1), such a well designed in situ regeneration of the electrode active materials makes this method a very promising approach towards the development of state-of-the-art energy storage devices.",battery
"Understanding (electro-)chemical reactions at the electrode–electrolyte interface (EEI) is crucial to promote the cycle life of lithium-ion batteries. In this study, we developed an in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) method, which provided unprecedented information on the oxidation of carbonate solvents via dehydrogenation on LiNixMnyCo1−x−yO2 (NMC). While ethylene carbonate (EC) was stable against oxidation on Pt up to 4.8 VLi, unique evidence for dehydrogenation of EC on LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NMC811) at voltages as low as 3.8 VLi was revealed by in situ FT-IR measurements, which was supported by density functional theory (DFT) results. Unique dehydrogenated species from EC were observed on NMC811 surface, including dehydrogenated EC anchored on oxides, vinylene carbonate (VC) and dehydrogenated oligomers which could diffuse away from the surface. Similar dehydrogenation on NMC811 was noted for EMC-based and LP57 (1 M LiPF6 in 3:7 EC/EMC) electrolytes. In contrast, no dehydrogenation was found for NMC111 or surface-modified NMC by coatings such as Al2O3. In addition, while the dehydrogenation of solvents was observed in 1 M electrolytes with different anions, they were not observed on NMC811 in the concentrated electrolyte (EC/EMC with 3.1 M LiPF6), indicating lithium coordination could suppress dehydrogenation. Dehydrogenation of carbonates on NMC811 accompanied with rapid growth of interfacial impedance with increasing voltage revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), while the electrode–electrolyte combinations without dehydrogenation did not show significant impedance growth. Therefore, minimizing carbonate dehydrogenation on the NMC surface by tuning electrode reactivity and electrolyte reactivity is critical to develop high-energy Li-ion batteries with long cycle life.
",battery
"In this paper, some electronic properties such as the electronic density of states (DOS), and energy band structure, and optical properties of the bulk and monolayer PtSe2 structure have been investigated based on the density functional theory (DFT) using full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method and the modified Becke-Johnson potential (mBJ). By changing the PtSe2 structure size from bulk to monolayer, there have been major changes in the electronic (DOS and band structure) and optical properties such as the dielectric function. The electronic results show that PtSe2 in the bulk state exhibits a metallic property, while its nanosheet state, PtSe2 is a semiconductor with an energy gap of about 1.5 eV. Band structure calculations showed that for PtSe2 structure in the bulk state the energy distance between Γ-point and the K-point is about 0.4 eV, so it is concluded that PtSe2 is a semi-metal. The optical properties results show that the largest damping region for electromagnetic waves for a bulk PtSe2 structure in the z-direction is equal to 14.02 eV. The volume plasmon energy of the PtSe2 monolayer is smaller than the plasmon energy of the bulk PtSe2. Also, the optical reflectivity of the bulk PtSe2 is larger than the optical reflectivity of the PtSe2 monolayer.
",non-battery
"Studies on neural and behavioral correlates of the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) strongly suggested interaction effects between the 5-HTTLPR genotype and environmental conditions on infant emotionality development. However, empirical studies that involve human infants are rare. The present study thus analyzed the interaction of the 5-HTTLPR genotype with the quality of maternal parenting behavior on the development of negative emotionality and fear in infancy. In a sample of 69 healthy firstborn infants, negative emotionality and fear were assessed at 4, 8, and 12 months using a multi-method approach. The quality of previous parenting has been operationalized as the quality of the mother–infant attachment relationship measured by the strange situation procedure at 18 months. Corresponding to hypotheses, to their caregiver insecurely attached infants who were homozygous for the s-variant of the 5-HTTLPR genotype developed a high level of negative emotionality and fear. The results thus are in line with the experimental results in the non-human primate model and point to a more pronounced susceptibility of s/s carrying infants to early rearing experiences.",non-battery
"This study examined Mn source effects on the electrochemical properties of Fe-substituted and Ni-substituted Li2MnO3 (Li1+x(Fe0.2Ni0.2Mn0.6)1−xO2, 0 < x < 1/3). Manganese sources of two kinds were selected: MnCl2·4H2O and KMnO4. Given the same preparation conditions, the chemical composition, transition metal distribution, and electrochemical properties of the two samples were compared. The sample obtained from KMnO4 exhibited better electrochemical performance, except for high-rate discharge characteristics, than that obtained from MnCl2. The origin of the different electrochemical performance was discussed to ascertain the unknown factor responsible for it. The full-cell performance was assessed using a single-layer laminate cell and mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) anode.",battery
"The aim of this paper is to evaluate the thermo-mechanical behavior of a multilayer section of a lithium-ion 18650 cell during discharge. Discharging experiments with the measurements of voltage, current output and surface temperature were conducted. The model, developed in the framework of macroscopic approach, accounts for the heat generation during the battery discharge as well as the thermal expansion of each material layer of the jelly roll and can. For sake of simplicity, the mechanical behavior is assumed linear elastic and isotropic, the layers are perfectly tied and the model does not include the lithiation expansion. However, the approach helps to point out the evolution of stresses at the interfaces of the multilayer assembly during complete discharge. It introduces the question of interface cohesion/contact ageing as cycling repeats.",battery
"A novel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) electrode with a hierarchical carbon-based conducting network has been developed for high rate lithium ion battery. The unique network is constructed by graphene sheets (GS) that are not only dispersed among (inter-) but also inside (intra-) LTO particles, together with a thin carbon layer wrapping around the LTO particles. The intraparticle GS promotes the electron transfer inside LTO particles while the interparticle GS together with carbon coating bridges the particles guaranteeing fast electron transfer among LTO particles, which construct a highway throughout the whole electrode sheet. Quantitatively, only a trace amount of GS (∼ 0.4 wt%) synergistic with carbon coating (∼0.8 wt%) contributes to a more effective conducting network in the produced LTO electrode and as a result much better performance as compared to the LTO case with similar carbon coating but free of GS. Due to the effectiveness of the conducting network, even with a tap density as high as ∼1.0gcm−3, the novel LTO possesses both excellent rate performance and cycling behaviors. The capacity of 123.5mA h g−1 is obtained at a charge/discharge rate as high as 30C and a very high capacity of 144.8 mAh g−1 is maintained even after 100 cycles at 10C. Due to such a low fraction of carbon and a high tape density, the novel LTO electrode has a great practical application value in both the power and energy storage lithium ion batteries.",battery
"In lithium-ion batteries, ZnFe2O4 as an anode has attracted wide attention due to high theoretical capacity. However, volume expansion of ZnFe2O4 during charging and discharging limits its commercial application. ZnFe2O4 is synthesized by one-step solvothermal method and subsequent heat-treatment process. Polypyrrole (PPy) prepared by chemical oxidation polymerization is in-situ coated onto the surface of spherical ZnFe2O4 to form ZnFe2O4@PPy, and used to enhance electronic conductivity and electrochemical performance of ZnFe2O4. This core-shell structure alleviates effectively volume expansion during charging and discharging, and accelerates movement of lithium ions and electrons, thus ZnFe2O4@PPy possesses good electrochemical performance with the discharge capacities of 1182 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 after 100 cycles and 906 mAh g−1 at 2000 mA g−1 after 500 cycles.",battery
"Nickel hydroxide is widely utilized for the cathode material of asymmetric supercapacitors due to high electrochemical performance and low cost. However, considering its poor electrical conductivity as well as short cycle life, Ni(OH)2 is not capable of applying to high performance supercapacitors. An efficient solution is to fabricate the activated graphene nanosheets (AGNSs)/spinule-like Ni(OH)2 composite by controllable complex-precipitation method. The electrochemical measurement results demonstrate that AGNSs/spinule-like Ni(OH)2 composite as cathode material for supercapacitor has high specific capacitance of 2450 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and excellence cycling capacity (1499 F g−1 after 5000 cycles at 10 A g−1). The asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) displays a superior energy density of 55.6 Wh Kg−1 at power density of 1628 W kg−1, as well as rate capacity. These excellent electrochemical properties are attributed to the synergy effect of activated graphene and nickel hydroxide.",battery
"Obesity is characterized by chronic inflammation of low grade. The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway favors the reduction of the inflammatory response. In this work the effect of stimulation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway on SHIRPA behavioral test and mitochondrial respiratory chain activity in obese mice was evaluated. The animals were paired in four groups: saline + control diet; donepezil + control diet; saline + high-fat diet and donepezil + high-fat diet. 5 mg/kg/day orally of donepezil or saline were given 7 days before the beginning of the diet until completing 11 weeks of the experiment. Food intake and body weight were measured. At the end of the experiment the animals were submitted to the SHIRPA behavioral test, soon after they were killed by decapitation, the open abdominal cavity and the mesenteric fat were removed. The hypothalamus, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and striatum were removed for evaluation of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. It can be observed that donepezil prevented weight gain and food consumption, as well as a tendency to prevent the accumulation of mesenteric fat in obese animals. There was no behavioral change in obese animals, nor did the influence of donepezil on these parameters. On the other hand, donepezil did not prevent inhibition of complex I activity, prevented the inhibition of complex II, and showed a tendency to prevent IV complex activity inhibited in obesity. With these results it can be concluded that the activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway is promising for the alterations found in obesity.
",non-battery
"Previously, a highly efficient reduced order model (ROM) for Li(MnNiCo)O2/Graphite polymer battery based on electrochemical principles has been developed for real time applications. The execution time is significantly reduced compared to that of the electrochemical thermal full order model while beginning of life of the battery with the approximately same accuracy can be predicted. However, prediction of the end of life associated with degradation effects of battery was not included. Our investigations on aging mechanisms of the Li(MnNiCo)O2 (MNC) lithium ion batteries have revealed that side reaction is the main cause among others for capacity and power fade of the battery. The production of the side reaction forms thin unsolvable layers that adhere to the surface of the graphite particles and grow as cycled, which is called solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Growth of the SEI leads to loss of the lithium ions, loss of the electrolytes and loss of the active volume fraction. These effects are described using the Butler-Volmer kinetics and aging parameters. Particularly, electrolyte solvent diffusion described by Fick's law is integrated into the degradation model, which results in quantifying the electrolyte solvent concentration in SEI. The exchange current density of the side reaction is formulated as a function of electrolyte solvent and lithium ion concentration, which justifies the reaction rate in the aspect of reactants. In addition, temperature dependency of the model parameters is also considered by adopting the energy equations. Finally, the degradation model is incorporated into the ROM. Performances of the integrated ROM are compared with the experimental data collected from a high power pouch type lithium ion polymer battery with Li [MnNiCo]O2/Graphite chemistry.",battery
"Changes in the composition of embedded pyrite (FeS2) particle electrodes in 1 M LiClO4 propylene carbonate solutions as a function of the applied potential have been examined in situ by S K-edge fluorescence X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), using a specially designed cell that minimizes attenuation of low energy X-rays. Pyrite electrodes that had been scanned from 3.0 V versus Li/Li+, i.e. close to the open circuit voltage, down to 1.0 V (fully discharged state, i.e. 4e−-reduction) and then half recharged (2e−-reoxidation) by scanning the potential in the positive direction up to 2.2 V versus Li/Li+, revealed features consistent with the presence of Li2FeS2, in agreement with in situ Fe K-edge results reported earlier by this research group. Moreover, only subtle changes were discerned between the in situ S K-edge XANES of the half-, and fully-recharged electrodes. This close resemblance may reflect similarities between the spectral signatures of Li2FeS2 and Fe1−x S (pyrrhotite), which is the main product of the discharge reaction. Evidence for the formation of elemental sulfur and Li2S, which are believed to be minor products of the reaction, was obtained from analysis of the first differential S XANES and selected difference spectra. The compositional variations of the embedded pyrite particles throughout the course of the electrochemical processes occur in the presence of a persistent sulfate coating.",battery
"The hydrogen-bromine redox flow battery's (H2 Br2 RFB) advantages of high energy capacity, high round-trip conversion efficiency and low cost, make it an optimal candidate for large-scale energy storage systems. The crossover of bromide species through the membrane degrades the performance of the H2 Br2 RFB by poisoning the catalyst responsible for the hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions. Herein we propose the new concept of a selective catalyst coating layer that mitigates the effect of bromide crossover. The polymerization of dopamine on the catalyst surface yields a nanoscale conformal polydopamine layer which acts as a semi-permeable barrier to block bromide species. The H2 Br2 RFB with the coated catalyst shows a low capacity fading of 6% at 300 mA cm−2 after exposure to 4.5 M charged electrolyte for 2 h. Even the beginning of life polarization curves show the benefit of catalyst coating with a high peak power of ∼550 mW cm−2. Hence, the catalyst coating opens a way to solve the crossover issue in H2 Br2 RFB technology.",battery
"The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a well-known ligand-activated cytoplasmic transcription factor that contributes to cellular responses against environmental toxins and carcinogens. AhR is activated by a range of structurally diverse compounds from the environment, microbiome, natural products, and host metabolism, suggesting that AhR possesses a rather promiscuous ligand binding site. Increasing studies have indicated that AhR can be activated by a variety of endogenous ligands and induce the expression of a battery of genes. AhR regulates a variety of physiopathological events, including cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, adhesion and migration. These new roles have expanded our understanding of the AhR signalling pathways and endogenous metabolites interacting with AhR under homeostatic and pathological conditions. Recent studies have demonstrated that AhR is linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this review, we summarize gut microbiota-derived ligands inducing AhR activity in patients with CKD, CVD, diabetic nephropathy and RCC that may provide a new diagnostic and prognostic approach for complex renal damage. We further highlight polyphenols from natural products as AhR agonists or antagonists that regulate AhR activity. A better understanding of structurally diverse polyphenols and AhR biological activities would allow us to illuminate their molecular mechanism and discover potential therapeutic strategies targeting AhR activation.
",non-battery
"We report here thermal behaviour and various components of heat loss of 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite cell at different testing conditions. In this regard, the total heat generated during charging and discharging processes at various current rates (C) has been quantified in an Accelerating Rate Calorimeter experiment. Irreversible heat generation, which depends on applied current and internal cell resistance, is measured under corresponding charge/discharge conditions using intermittent pulse techniques. On the other hand, reversible heat generation which depends on entropy changes of the electrode materials during the cell reaction is measured from the determination of entropic coefficient at various states of charge/discharge. The contributions of irreversible and reversible heat generation to the total heat generation at both high and low current rates are evaluated. At every state of charge/discharge, the nature of the cell reaction is found to be either exothermic or endothermic which is especially evident at low C rates. In addition, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements are performed on above 18650 cells at various states of charge to determine the components of internal resistance. The findings from the impedance and thermal loss analysis are helpful for understanding the favourable states of charge/discharge for battery operation, and designing better thermal management systems.",battery
"Implicit memory is generally supposed to be preserved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Yet, some implicit priming effects are impaired and others are not. The preserved/impaired priming effects are often interpreted according to the perceptual/conceptual or identification/production distinctions. Perceptual–identification priming paradigms shall be preserved and conceptual–production priming paradigms impaired. A third interpretation is yet possible based on the disconnection syndrome hypothesis which states that patients with AD should fail tasks requiring relatively complex brain communications. In this case, patients with AD should not demonstrated a significant perceptual priming effect in an identification task if this one involved complex brain communications. The present study tests this latter hypothesis with two cross-modal priming experiments using a categorization task. A visual meaningless mask presented with half of the auditory primes tested the nature of the cross-modal priming effect. The control group exhibited significant priming effects for unmasked primes. The interference effect of the mask demonstrated that the priming effect was perceptually driven. Patients with AD did not present any priming effect nor mask interference. The present findings therefore showed that perceptual priming using an identification task could be impaired in AD supporting the disconnection syndrome hypothesis.",non-battery
"Lithium metal–polymer electrolyte batteries with improved utilization of the active material at a moderate–low temperature (65°C) were realized. Low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, MW=2000) was used as the lithium-ion conductive matrix in the composite cathode. The cathode active material was crystalline V2O5. A blend of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, MW=4×106) and PEG was used as a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE). The transport properties of the SPE were evaluated at various temperatures. A specific conductivity as high as 1.0×10−4 Scm−1 was calculated at 45°C. The temperature dependence of the interfacial resistances between lithium/SPE and cathode material/PEG was evaluated. The lithium/SPE interfacial resistance decreases linearly with the temperature. The charge transfer resistance between the cathode material and PEG reaches a minimum at 60°C and it does not decrease with a further temperature increase. The data clearly show that the battery is able to work at a temperature as low as 60°C. The operating temperature was set at 65°C and the battery performance was evaluated at different discharge rates. An energy density of about 500 Whkg−1 and a power density of about 150 Wkg−1 were achieved cycling the cell in about 3.3 h at 0.20 mAcm−2. Prolonged cycling showed a capacity fading of about 0.45% per cycle. This value does not differ very much from the value found cycling the cell in liquid electrolyte. The fade in capacity was associated with an increase of cell resistance. The evolution of the lithium/SPE and cathode material/PEG interfaces resistances was monitored. The interfacial resistance increases with time, but its value is not so high as to explain the increase of the total resistance of the cell. Anyhow, this additional resistance could be responsible for the difference in the capacity fading when cycling the cell in polymer electrolyte instead of in liquid electrolyte.",battery
"The Li1+x V3O8 material was successfully synthesized at 450°C in short sintering duration by microwave sol–gel route. X-ray diffraction suggests oxygen defects in the lattice. Based on Randles–Sevcik formula, cyclic voltammograms measurements were conducted to measure Li+ ion diffusion coefficient. The material exhibits high discharge capacity of 250mAg−1 at 0.2mA/cm2 after 30 cycles in the range of 2.0–4.0V. Alternating current impedance tests show that the growth of the charge transfer resistance at 0.4mA/cm2 is more rapid than that of at 0.2mA/cm2 as the galvanostatical charge–discharge continues.",battery
"The aim of this work is to study the effect of CO2 under pressure on hybrid inorganic–organic polymer electrolytes, by using broad band dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in the frequency interval 40Hz–10MHz and in the temperature range of −80 to 120°C. Eleven inorganic–organic hybrid materials of the ORMOCERs type, with general formula {Al[O(CH2CH2O)8.7] ρ /(LiClO4) z } n were treated by applying CO2 at 293K and 5MPa. The results demonstrated that the CO2 treatment generally depressed the conductivity of about one order of magnitude. The decreased conductivity in treated complexes is explained in terms of a smaller anion-trapping ability of the Al centers. Residual CO2 molecules are likely to inhibit the interaction of the perchlorate anions with Al centers within the structure. Segmental motion of the polymer chains plays a crucial role in the conductivity of investigated samples, while the ion-hopping phenomenon is the most important charge transfer mechanism both in the pristine and CO2 treated materials. Equivalent conductivity studies have elucidated the different ionic species present at various salt concentrations and gave insight about the role of CO2 in modifying the transport properties of the samples.",battery
"In this work, a hydrothermal method has been exploited to synthesize porous δ-MnO2 nanosheets. The influence of hydrothermal temperature on the synthesis of δ-MnO2 has been investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical methods. The results show that the pure δ-MnO2 appears at the hydrothermal temperature from 130 to 170°C, and the hydrothermal temperature has a great influence on the morphology and BET surface area of as-prepared samples. The δ-MnO2 prepared at 150°C delivers high specific capacitances of 411Fg−1 at a scan rate of 5mVs−1 and 332.7Fg−1 at a current density of 0.5A g−1. The excellent supercapacitor performance is attributed to the porous nanosheets structure, which brings a large specific surface area, increases the active sites, and shortens the ion diffusion distance in δ-MnO2 electrodes. It is suggested that the optimal synthesizing temperature is 150°C in order to obtain pure δ-MnO2 with good electrochemical performance by hydrothermal method.",battery
"Carbon nanofibers (CNFs)/MnO2 nanocomposites were prepared as freestanding electrodes using in situ redox deposition and electrospinning. The electrospun CNFs substrates with porosity and interconnectivity enabled the uniform incorporation of birnessite-type MnO2 deposits on each fiber, thus showing unique and conformal coaxial nanostructure. CNFs not only provided considerable specific surface area for high mass loading of MnO2 but also offered reliable electrical conductivity to ensure the full utilization of MnO2 coatings. The effect of MnO2 loading on the electrochemical performances was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), impedance measurements and Galvonostatic charging/discharging technique. The results showed that an ultrathin MnO2 deposits were indispensable to achieve better electrochemical performance. The maximum specific capacitance (based on pristine MnO2) attained to 557F/g at a current density of 1A/g in 0.1M Na2SO4 electrolyte when the mass loading reached 0.33mg/cm2. This freestanding electrode also exhibited good rate capability (power density of 13.5kW/kg and energy density of 20.9Wh/kg at 30A/g) and long-term cycling stability (retaining 94% of its initial capacitance after 1500 cycles). These characteristics suggested that such freestanding CNFs/MnO2 nanocomposites are promising for high-performance supercapacitors.",battery
"Lithium ion batteries are a leading energy storage technology for electronic portable devices and hybrid electric vehicles. A long-standing challenge to understand Li ion transport is the fact that this light atom escapes direct detection by X-ray techniques (EDX, XRD and XAS) due to weak scattering and emission properties. Simultaneous characterisation of the structure, chemical composition (including Li) and elemental distribution in Li-ion battery materials can reveal the relationship between Li ion transport and structural effects (phase transformation, internal stress), and battery performance and degradation. Nanoscale mapping is achieved by multi-modal correlative microscopy combining focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) with Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). Mapping Li, Mn and Co nanoscale distributions reveals the micro-structural consequences of the electrochemical reaction, and allows identifying Li “trapping” sites within the structure that control materials properties, and open the way towards designing better Li-ion cathode materials with superior performance.",battery
"A facile graphite assisted approach is proposed to synthesize high performance LiMn2O4 nanostructures. Graphite plates with different sizes and thicknesses are found to have different influences on the structure, morphology and performance of LiMn2O4. Larger and thicker graphite plates result in 2-D porous LiMn2O4 nanoplates whereas smaller and thinner ones lead to the formation of dispersed nanoparticles. Despite the smaller lattice constant, the shorter LiO and longer MnO bonds, and the lower BET surface area compared to dispersed LiMn2O4 nanoparticles, LiMn2O4 nanoplates formed by primary nanoparticles with similar sizes and morphologies exhibit the superior performance because of the better interparticle electronic conductivity. LiMn2O4 nanoplates show the discharge capacity of 104 mAh g−1 at 50 C and the capacity retention of 70.0% after 1000 cycles for 1 C at RT, better than the corresponding values, 95 mAh g−1 and 64.5% for dispersed LiMn2O4 nanoparticles, respectively. The more superior performance of LiMn2O4 nanoplates compared to dispersed LiMn2O4 nanoparticles is particularly manifested in the case of lower percentage conductive additive, which is very significant for practical application. This simple, cost effective, green and up scalable approach can also be employed to synthesize other 2–D nanostructured materials.",battery
"The current paper reviews existing literature that relates to how body worn cameras might influence an officer’s memory of their interactions with the public, namely those that involve the use of force. Notably, most of this research does not come from the policing field but focuses on the impact of camera technology in other settings. Much of the available research supports the commonly held view that body worn cameras could be used to enhance memory for these interactions, particularly interactions that are complex or stressful. However, contrary to what people might expect, research also exists that suggests body worn cameras may actually have a detrimental effect on officer memory. Three major potential detriments: cognitive offloading, retrieval-induced forgetting and misinformation-type effects are highlighted. Future studies examining the impact of body worn cameras on officers’ memory are necessary. Ways forward are discussed.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a variety of methods proposed and used to reduce and in some cases to remove reconfiguration overhead, including various configuration architecture designs, scheduling, and caching techniques, and ways to reduce the configuration data size. The difficulty of clock speed increases and power consumption concerns motivate reconfigurable computing as an important technique to advance digital design, implementing compute-intensive application tasks in reconfigurable hardware. However, the performance and power penalty of reconfiguration has the real potential to overwhelm its benefits. In many cases, several approaches can be combined to further reduce the overhead. For example, relocation and defragmentation architectural features facilitate advanced configuration scheduling mechanisms that load configurations in advance of their use to minimize processor stall time during reconfiguration. Likewise, a configuration cache can be combined with a relocation- and defragmentation-enabled design that uses a staging area, providing a wide path to configuration memory to decrease transfer time. This in turn can be combined with wildcarding to allow multiple identical rows or columns to be configured simultaneously. Such combined methods allow reconfigurable computing system designers to effectively minimize reconfiguration overhead and to provide the full benefit of reconfigurable computing in future computing systems.",non-battery
"Using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, one can prepare methylated amorphous silicon thin-layer anodes for Li-ion batteries exhibiting good cyclability. The properties of that material are investigated here in view of this target application. In comparison with pure amorphous silicon prepared in the same conditions, the improvement is twofold: longer lifetime, and capability of working with thicker electrodes. For example, capacity retention after 100 cycles of 150 nm thick layers with 10% carbon content is almost 70% larger than that of pure a-Si layers. The observed improvement is attributed to mechanical softening of amorphous Si by incorporation of CH3 groups.",battery
"The compression of carbon felt electrodes for redox flow batteries leads to changes in the electrochemical performance and has a large effect on the pressure drop of electrolyte flow through the system. In this investigation, the authors have characterised the electrochemical performance of all-vanadium redox flow batteries by studying the effect of compression on the contact resistance, polarisation behaviour and efficiency. Contact resistance was seen to reduce from ca. 2.0Ωcm2 to 1.2Ωcm2 and an energy efficiency of 85% was obtained from a felt compressed to 75%. Moreover, X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been employed to study the microstructure of felt electrodes at compressions up to 70%, showing a linear decrease in porosity and a constant fibre surface area-to-volume ratio. The pressure drop was modelled using computational fluid dynamics and employing the 3D structure of the felts obtained from CT, revealing that a 60% increase in compression related to a 44.5% increase in pressure drop.",battery
"The inherent limited capacity of current battery technology is not sufficient for covering the increasing power requirements of widely extended portable devices. Among other promising alternatives, recent advances in the field of micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (μ-SOFCs) converted this disruptive technology into a serious candidate to power next generations of portable devices. However, the implementation of single cells in real devices, i.e. μ-SOFC stacks coupled to the required balance-of-plant elements like fuel reformers or post combustors, still remains unexplored. This work aims addressing this system-level research by proposing a new compact design of a vertically stacked device fuelled with ethanol. The feasibility and design optimization for achieving a thermally self-sustained regime and a rapid and low-power consuming start-up is studied by finite volume analysis. An optimal thermal insulation strategy is defined to maintain the steady-state operation temperature of the μ-SOFC at 973 K and an external temperature lower than 323 K. A hybrid start-up procedure, based on heaters embedded in the μ-SOFCs and heat released by chemical reactions in the post-combustion unit, is analyzed allowing start-up times below 1 min and energy consumption under 500 J. These results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of high temperature μ-SOFC power systems fuelled with hydrocarbons for portable applications, therefore, anticipating a new family of mobile and uninterrupted power generators.",battery
"Aqueous processing would reduce the costs associated with the making of the composite electrode. To achieve the incorporation and the dispersion of the carbon black (CB) conductive agent in aqueous slurries, a surfactant is needed. In this paper, three surfactants are compared, an anionic one, the sodium dodecyle sulphate (SDS), a non-ionic one, the isooctylphenylether of polyoxyethylene called commercially Triton X-100 and a cationic one, the hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), by using rheology and laser granulometry measurements on electrode slurries on one hand, and SEM observations, porosity and adhesion measurements and electrochemical testing on composite electrodes on the other hand. Ionic surfactants were found to be not suitable because a corrosion of the aluminium current collector occurred. The utilization of Triton X-100 favoured a more homogeneous CB distribution, resulted in a better electronic wiring of the active material particles and higher rate behavior of the electrode. Optimal electrochemical performances are obtained for an optimal surfactant concentration which depends on the BET surface area of the CB powder.",battery
"The Pechini process [Ceram. Bull. 68 (1989) 1002] is used to obtain fine tin oxide powders that reduce the specific volume change in Li+ insertion and extraction reactions. The suitability of these tin oxides as active materials for negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries is investigated. From elemental analysis, it is found that the templating polymer network is almost completely obliterated after heating at 500°C. The best tin oxide does not exhibit extensive crystallization of tin atoms even after 30 cycles of alloying and de-alloying reactions with Li. The structure and the specific capacity of the oxides are dependent on the heat treatment and remnants of the polymeric CH network can impose an unfavorable outcome. A capacity of 600mAhg−1, which is unchanged for 30 cycles, can be obtained from tin oxide heat treated at 1000°C. Composites of graphite and SnO2 are also prepared and exhibit synergistic interactions between graphite and tin oxide which are similar to those reported previously [Electrochem. Solid State Lett. 3 (2000) 167].",battery
"In this paper, the effects of carboxylic substituent position on their electrodeposition, morphology and capacitance properties were investigated for the first time. The results indicated that three carboxylic group substituted polyindole derivatives nanowires, namely poly(indole-5-carboxylic acid) (5-PICA), poly(indole-6-carboxylic acid) (6-PICA), and poly(indole-7-carboxylic acid) (7-PICA), were successfully electrochemically synthesized in acetonitrile containing 0.1M LiClO4, whereas poly(indole-4-carboxylic acid) (4-PICA) was difficult to be obtained. For 5-PICA, 6-PICA and 7-PICA nanowires, the diameters of nanowires demonstrated by the scanning electron microscopy were about 100nm, 50nm, and 30nm, respectively. Their specific capacitances and energy densities in 1.0M H2SO4 solution were measured to be 355Fg−1, 383Fg−1, 430Fg−1 at 2.5Ag−1 and 40.0, 43.1, 48.3Whkg−1 at a power density of 1125Wkg−1, respectively, and their specific capacitance retentions after 1000 charge/discharge processes reached 94.5%, 95.1%, and 96%, respectively. These results indicated that the position of the carboxylic substituent had remarkable impacts on the diameter sizes and electrochemical properties of these polymer nanowires. Furthermore, the three polymers with high specific capacitance and excellent stability would be strong candidates as electrode material for supercapacitors.",battery
"Chronic aphasia is a common consequence of a left-hemisphere stroke. Since the early insights by Broca and Wernicke, studying the relationship between the loci of cortical damage and patterns of language impairment has been one of the concerns of aphasiology. We utilized multivariate classification in a cross-validation framework to predict the type of chronic aphasia from the spatial pattern of brain damage. Our sample consisted of 98 patients with five types of aphasia (Broca's, Wernicke's, global, conduction, and anomic), classified based on scores on the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Binary lesion maps were obtained from structural MRI scans (obtained at least 6 months poststroke, and within 2 days of behavioural assessment); after spatial normalization, the lesions were parcellated into a disjoint set of brain areas. The proportion of damage to the brain areas was used to classify patients' aphasia type. To create this parcellation, we relied on five brain atlases; our classifier (support vector machine – SVM) could differentiate between different kinds of aphasia using any of the five parcellations. In our sample, the best classification accuracy was obtained when using a novel parcellation that combined two previously published brain atlases, with the first atlas providing the segmentation of grey matter, and the second atlas used to segment the white matter. For each aphasia type, we computed the relative importance of different brain areas for distinguishing it from other aphasia types; our findings were consistent with previously published reports of lesion locations implicated in different types of aphasia. Overall, our results revealed that automated multivariate classification could distinguish between aphasia types based on damage to atlas-defined brain areas.",non-battery
"This paper addresses the problem of estimating the present value of electrochemical internal variables in a lithium-ion cell in real time, using readily available measurements of cell voltage, current, and temperature. The variables that can be estimated include any desired set of reaction flux and solid and electrolyte potentials and concentrations at any set of one-dimensional spatial locations, in addition to more standard quantities such as state of charge. The method uses an extended Kalman filter along with a one-dimensional physics-based reduced-order model of cell dynamics. Simulations show excellent and robust predictions having dependable error bounds for most internal variables.",battery
"Power performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is generally controlled by the Li+ diffusion within crystalline framework of electrode materials, and thus nano-sized electrode materials with shortened diffusion length have been widely used to build high power LIBs. However, the undesired effects from nano-sized electrode materials, such as low tap density, low thermal stability and increased interface also discount the overall performance of LIBs. Accordingly, it is desired to develop high power LIBs with micro-sized electrode materials. Herein, we demonstrate that hard carbon displays fast Li-storage kinetics which is not controlled by Li+ diffusion in the crystalline framework. Furthermore, it is found that micro-sized spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and LiMn2O4 have high rate performance, owing to their three-dimensional channels for Li+ diffusion. Finally, the micro-sized spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (or Li1.1Mn2O4) and micro-sized hard carbon are used as cathode and anode, respectively, to fabricate the full cells that exhibit supercapacitor-like high power performance. The achieved results point a way to develop high power LIBs besides nano-sizing electrode materials.",battery
 Malaria and HIV are common infections in Africa and cause substantial morbidity and mortality in pregnant women. We aimed to assess the association of malaria with anemia in pregnant women and to explore the joint effects of malaria and HIV infection on anemia in pregnant women.,non-battery
"Declarative memory refers to the recall and recognition of factual information. In contrast, non-declarative memory entails a facilitation of memory based on prior exposure and is typically assessed with priming and perceptual-motor sequencing tasks. In this study, schizophrenia patients were compared to normal comparison subjects on two computerized memory tasks: the Word-stem Priming Test (n=30) and the Pattern Sequence Learning Test (n=20). Word-stem Priming includes recall, recognition (declarative) and priming (non-declarative) components of memory. The schizophrenia patients demonstrated an impaired performance on recall of words with relative improvement during the recognition portion of the test. Furthermore, they performed normally on the priming portion of the test. Thus, on tests of declarative memory, the patients had retrieval deficits with intact performance on the non-declarative memory component. The Pattern Sequence Learning Test utilizes a serial reaction time paradigm to assess non-declarative memory. The schizophrenia patients' serial reaction time was significantly slower than that of comparison subjects. However, the patients' rate of acquisition was not different from the normal comparison group. The data suggest that patients with schizophrenia process more slowly than normal, but have an intact non-declarative memory. The schizophrenia patients' dissociation on declarative vs. non-declarative memory tests is discussed in terms of possible underlying structural impairment.",non-battery
"Optimization of electrolyte composition for future traction batteries is presented in this paper. Extensive systematic studies of electrochemical performance, material utility and subsequently cost are reported in order to obtain optimal combination. Lithium salt of TDI anion (4,5-dicyano-2-trifluoromethanoimidazole) is used due to its superior thermal stability (compared to other commercially available lithium salts), stability in case of moisture presence, electrochemical stability and possible material savings when used in electrolyte. Critical selection of solvent mixtures is made with respect to the price of components. Conductivity dependence of salt concentration is shown. For all studied systems the increased conductivity region is observed in the salt low and broad concentration range of 0.3 to 0.8molkg−1. The structural and rheological explanation of the mentioned feature is performed. Lithium cation transference numbers are measured for highly conductive samples and used as the secondary parameter in the optimization procedure. The highest values are recorded for the very low salt content: 0.31molkg−1 LiTDI in EC:DMC (1:2 weight ratio) (σ =5.09mS cm−1, t Li+ =0.622) and 0.4molkg−1 LiTDI in EC:DMC:DME (8:16:1 weight ratio) (σ =6.17mS cm−1, t Li+ =0.648) giving the opportunity to substantial material savings in batteries.",battery
"Microinfusions of drugs directly into the central nervous system of awake animals represent a widely used means of unravelling brain functions related to behaviour. However, current approaches generally use tethered liquid infusion systems and a syringe pump to deliver drugs into the brain, which often interfere with behaviour. We address this shortfall with a miniaturised electronically-controlled drug delivery system (20 × 17.5 × 5 mm3) designed to be skull-mounted in rats. The device features a micropump connected to two 8-mm-long silicon microprobes with a cross section of 250 × 250 μm2 and integrated fluid microchannels. Using an external electronic control unit, the device allows infusion of 16 metered doses (0.25 μL each, 8 per silicon shaft). Each dosage requires 3.375 Ws of electrical power making the device additionally compatible with state-of-the-art wireless headstages. A dosage precision of 0.25 ± 0.01 μL was determined in vitro before in vivo tests were carried out in awake rats. No passive leakage from the loaded devices into the brain could be detected using methylene blue dye. Finally, the device was used to investigate the effects of the NMDA-receptor antagonist 3-((R)-2-Carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid, (R)-CPP, administered directly into the prefrontal cortex of rats during performance on a task to assess visual attention and impulsivity. In agreement with previous findings using conventional tethered infusion systems, acute (R)-CPP administration produced a marked increase in impulsivity.",non-battery
"A coupled electrochemical-mechanical model is developed and applied to predict transient three-dimensional stress fields within reconstructed Li x CoO2 cathode particles from commercial Li-ion batteries. The reconstructed particle geometries are derived from focused-ion-beam–scanning-electron-microscopy (FIB-SEM) experiments. The study uses three individual particles, representing typical sizes and shapes. The mechanical model incorporates measured anisotropic strain within the Li x CoO2 lattice and includes strains due to phase transformations. The stresses are generally found to be compressive in the particle interiors and tensile near the surfaces. Small-scale surface morphology, high Li concentration gradients, and phase transformations are found to have a major influence on the stresses, with particularly high tensile stresses near small protuberances and concave notch-like features on the electrode surfaces. The study considers 1C and 5C discharge rates. The qualitative behaviors are similar at different discharge rates, but the stress magnitudes are higher at higher discharge rates.",battery
"In this work, cobalt/cobalt oxide (Co-CoOx) core-shell nanoflakes were directly grown on flexible graphite felt (GF) using a facile one-step intense pulsed white light (IPWL) irradiation method. They were then used as a battery-type positive electrode for a high-performance asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor, which exhibited high rate capability and a long cycle life. The interconnected Co-CoOx thin nanoflakes grown on the GF offer large reaction sites and enough space for easy OH− ion transport due to their 3-dimensionally interconnected network structures. Cobalt metal at the core of the nanoflakes, directly connected to the current collector of the GF, provided pathways for electrons between the cobalt oxide and GF, leading to low internal resistance and high rate capability. The Co-CoOx/GF electrode had a high specific capacity of 108mAhg−1 at a specific current of 1Ag−1 and maintained a capacity of 71mAhg−1 at a high specific current of 20Ag−1. A two-terminal asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor, assembled using Co-CoOx/GF as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode with gel-electrolyte (PVA/KOH), exhibited an energy density of 30.1 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 0.86kWkg−1 and a high retention of 13.0 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 20.4kWkg−1. In addition, the asymmetric device showed excellent cycling stability, with 114% capacity retention after 10,000 cycles.",battery
"The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly changing the way in which we engage with technology on a daily basis. The IoT paradigm enables low-resource devices to intercommunicate in a fully flexible and pervasive manner, and the data from these devices is used for decision-making in critical applications such as; traffic infrastructure, health-care and home security, to name but a few. Due to the scarce resources available in these IoT devices, being able to quantify the reliability of them is a critical function. This report presents a detailed evolution of the area of reliability measurement, followed by an in-depth review of the state-of-the-art for quantification of reliability in the IoT, revealing the many challenges associated with this task. From this in-depth review, a set of key research directions for IoT reliability is determined. Despite the critical nature of the research area, at this current moment, this study is the first detailed review available in the area of assessing IoT reliability.
",non-battery
"CD44 is a cell surface adhesion molecule and its principal ligand is hyaluronic acid (HA), a key component of the brain’s extracellular matrix. CD44 levels are decreased in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of depressed individuals, and the CD44 gene has been identified in genome wide association study as a possible risk gene in suicidal behavior. In order to define the pathobiological mechanisms by which CD44 may affect behavior, we investigated the role of CD44 using male CD44 knockout (CD44KO) and wild-type mice that underwent chronic mild stress (CMS). Behavior was characterized using the sucrose preference and forced swim tests, open field, novel object recognition, social preference, and the elevated plus maze tests. Gene expression in hippocampus was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR. Brain monoamines and their metabolites were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography and serum HA and IL-1β levels were measured using ELISA and electrochemiluminescence assays. CD44KO mice were more susceptible to stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and displayed increased anhedonia and despair than the wild-type controls. The behavioral phenotype of stressed CD44KO mice was associated with reduced cortical serotonergic and striatal dopaminergic turnover. The hippocampal expression of the receptor for HA-mediated motility (RHAMM) was reduced in the non- stressed CD44KO mice compared with WT mice, in a value similar to that observed in WT mice following exposure to stress. Taken together, our experiments suggest that CD44 plays a key role in stress response in mice.",non-battery
"The effects of moisture contamination in the Li-O2 battery system were investigated by comparing the electrochemical performance and post-mortem analysis of batteries prepared under different atmospheres: sealed container in an ambient atmosphere vs. sealed container in a dry-room or in a glove-box. The performance of the cells strongly depended on the atmosphere; furthermore it was found that the performance degradation of the Li metal anode comes from moisture contamination from the feed lines. In an ambient atmosphere, the cells showed higher 1st discharge capacity, higher impedance and significant increase of the cell weight owing to contamination of the oxygen by moisture. Post-mortem analysis revealed that the deterioration of lithium metal anode leads to the cell failure mechanism, and this comes from the moisture contamination. It was found that the performance of Li-O2 batteries is very sensitive to even traces of moisture contamination and every single part of the cell design including the choice of fitting parts and water permeability of the fitting material should be verified in order to obtain credible and reproducible results. This finding supports the idea that protection of the lithium metal electrode is indispensable to realize the practical application of Li-O2 or Li-air batteries.",battery
" Flexible and mechanically robust fiber electrodes, for their application in wearable lithium-ion batteries, are prepared by one‐pot wet‐spinning of a liquid crystal dispersion of graphene oxide and manganese oxide (MnO2) nanowires. MnO2 nanowires, which are synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal reaction, are mixed with the graphene oxide aqueous dispersion and then assembled into the continuous fibers by the wet-spinning. The nanowire morphology and the high-aspect ratio of MnO2 contribute to maintain structural integrity of the fiber shape during the wet‐spinning process, as well as to achieve a high loading density of the active materials in the fiber. Furthermore, our simple one‐pot fiber electrode fabrication process allows for a more uniform distribution of the active materials throughout the fiber electrode, and a lower contact resistance between the MnO2 and graphene. The resulting fiber electrode delivers a high reversible capacity, excellent cycling performance, and good rate capability.",battery
"A number of methods are currently employed to assess the functional properties of CFTR channels and their response to pharmacological potentiators, correction of the defective CFTR trafficking, and vectorial introduction of new proteins. Here we review the most common methods used to assess CFTR channel function. The suitability of each technique to various experimental conditions is discussed.",non-battery
"As one of the highest specific capacity anode materials in lithium-ion batteries, the main technical issue for silicon (Si) based electrodes is the rapid capacity fading caused by the huge volume changes. Porous Si materials are reported to efficiently alleviate the side effects of volume fluctuation. However, the expensive precursor and complicated production process in previous reports limited their practical applications. Herein, we report a cost-efficient approach on the fabrication of porous Si via the low temperature aluminothermic reduction of low cost natural raw materials, combining the advantages of low temperature and natural materials. The porous structure of attapulgite-derived Si (Si ATP ) is well retained during the compositing process. The obtained composite electrode Si ATP /graphite@carbon (Si ATP /G@C) exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, with a reversible discharge capacity of 799 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. To demonstrate the versatility of the approach, another natural ore, mica (MIC), was also utilized to the fabrication of porous Si (Si MIC ). As expected, the Si MIC /graphite@carbon composite electrode also exhibits high specific capacity (697 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles), superior capacity retention (81% after 100 cycles based the 4th cycle), and outstanding rate capability.",battery
"This study focuses on CO2 and water vapor flux measurements, water use efficiency estimates and evapotranspiration modeling during the course of growth of a young banana crop in a screenhouse in northern Israel. An eddy covariance system was deployed at the center of the screenhouse during two growth periods of the banana crop: small and large plants. Results show that daily whole canopy evapotranspiration increased during the measurement period from 2.2 mm day−1 for the smaller plants to 3.4 mm day−1 for the larger plants. The increase in net daily CO2 consumption doubled during the same period, from about 11 to 21.5 g m−2 day−1 per unit ground area. Water vapor and CO2 fluxes per unit leaf area were independent of plant size and averaged with 51 and 0.29 g m−2 day−1, respectively. Consequently, water use efficiency, defined as the ratio between net vertical fluxes of CO2 and water vapor, was nearly constant during growth of the plants. Evapotranspiration models provided more accurate predictions for larger than for smaller plants. This was due to inadequate treatment of the partial cover of young plants, which could be overcome by the use of a crop coefficient. A modified Penman–Monteith evapotranspiration model adapted to the screenhouse environment, applied here for the first time to a banana screenhouse, was in better agreement with the measurements than an open canopy model.",non-battery
"Negative plate lugs of flooded lead-acid battery were corroded during partial state-of-charge (PSoC) pattern cycle life tests simulated from stop and go vehicle driving. Potential step was applied to Pb–Ca–Sn alloy electrode at various potential and time regimes, and the electrode surface was observed by in situ electrochemical atomic force microscope (EC-AFM) to investigate the corrosion mechanisms during the potential step cycles. It was found out that the severe corrosion occurs when the oxidation of Pb to PbSO4 and partial reduction of passive layer of PbSO4 take turns many times. It was also found out that the periodic full charge, the optimization of the alloy composition, addition of the material that may make the reaction mechanism change to electrolyte were effective to suppress the corrosion rate.",battery
"Intercalation property of PF6 − into graphitic carbon was studied for a hybrid capacitor with different ratio of cathode and anode amount. Graphene sheet distance increased with increasing PF6 − intercalation amount and it saturated at 0.4nm at high applied potential, which is corresponded to stage 2 structure. On the other hand, it was found that nano size pore into graphene sheet was introduced at higher applied potential with 20 times larger anode carbon and this nano porous carbon shows a large capacity for intercalation capacity of 147mAhg−1. The estimated energy density of the hybrid capacitor using carbon with nano bubble structure was ca. 400Whkg−1.",battery
"2-Phenylimidazole (PID), which is structurally different from previously reported compounds, has been studied as a film-forming additive for graphite anode in PC-based electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries. A 1.0moll−1 LiPF6/PC: DMC (1:1, v/v) electrolyte containing 3wt.% 2-phenylimidazole was capable of suppressing the co-intercalation of PC and inhibiting the decomposition of electrolytes during the first lithium intercalation. The cyclic voltammogram shows that the reduction potential of PID is about 1.65V vs. Li/Li+, forming a favorable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the graphite electrode. The morphologies and the chemical composition of the graphite electrode surface were characterized by SEM and XPS. The results show that a stable SEI film was formed on the surface of graphite by the addition of PID, which accounts for the excellent cycleability of the graphite electrode in PC-based electrolyte.",battery
"The high discharge potential of LiMnPO4, 4.1 V vs. Li/Li+, and its theoretical capacity of 170 mAh g−1 make it a promising candidate as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. But extremely low electronics conductivity, slow lithium diffusion kinetics, and the Jahn-Teller effect of Mn3+ limit the electrochemical performances of LiMnPO4. In this work, the pre-synthesized and defined FePO4·2H2O nanocrystallites are used as one of the raw materials to synthesize LiFe1−x Mn x PO4/C (x = 0.85, 0.75, 0.65) composites via solid-state reactions. The synthesized LiFe1−x Mn x PO4 samples show well-crystallized structures and have enhanced electrochemical properties. There exist two plateaus around 3.5 and 4.1 V on both of their charge and discharge curves. Among the samples, the Fe0.25Mn0.75PO4 one exhibits the longest high-voltage charge/discharge plateau at 4.10 V/4.05 V, and has an average discharge voltage of ∼3.78 V vs. Li/Li+ and a discharge capacity of ∼130 mAh g−1 at 0.05 C rate. For the Fe0.25Mn0.75PO4 sample, the noticeable improvement of its electrochemical performances is mainly attributed to iron substitution, the appropriate Mn/Fe ratio, and the well-ordered crystal structure forming by using FePO4·2H2O nanocrystallites as one of the raw materials.",battery
"Japanese chemicals giant Showa Denko has developed flexible plastic solar panels, according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The lightweight, flexible resin-based solar panels can apparently be bent and affixed over a range of applications. This is a short news story only. Visit www.re-focus.net for the latest renewable energy industry news.",non-battery
"Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2), including subtypes 2a, 2b and 2c, causes an acute enteric disease in both domestic and wild animals. Rapid and sensitive diagnosis aids effective disease management at points of need (PON). A commercially available, field-deployable and user-friendly system, designed with insulated isothermal PCR (iiPCR) technology, displays excellent sensitivity and specificity for nucleic acid detection. An iiPCR method was developed for on-site detection of all circulating CPV-2 strains. Limit of detection was determined using plasmid DNA. CPV-2a, 2b and 2c strains, a feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) strain, and nine canine pathogens were tested to evaluate assay specificity. Reaction sensitivity and performance were compared with an in-house real-time PCR using serial dilutions of a CPV-2b strain and 100 canine fecal clinical samples collected from 2010 to 2014, respectively. The 95% limit of detection of the iiPCR method was 13 copies of standard DNA and detection limits for CPV-2b DNA were equivalent for iiPCR and real-time PCR. The iiPCR reaction detected CPV-2a, 2b and 2c and FPV. Non-targeted pathogens were not detected. Test results of real-time PCR and iiPCR from 99 fecal samples agreed with each other, while one real-time PCR-positive sample tested negative by iiPCR. Therefore, excellent agreement (k =0.98) with sensitivity of 98.41% and specificity of 100% in detecting CPV-2 in feces was found between the two methods. In conclusion, the iiPCR system has potential to serve as a useful tool for rapid and accurate PON, molecular detection of CPV-2.",non-battery
"Adult bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells offer the potential to open a new frontier in medicine. Regenerative medicine aims to replace effete cells in a broad range of conditions associated with damaged cartilage, bone, muscle, tendon and ligament. However the normal process of immune rejection of mismatched allogeneic tissue would appear to prevent the realisation of such ambitions. In fact mesenchymal stem cells avoid allogeneic rejection in humans and in animal models. These finding are supported by in vitro co-culture studies. Three broad mechanisms contribute to this effect. Firstly, mesenchymal stem cells are hypoimmunogenic, often lacking MHC-II and costimulatory molecule expression. Secondly, these stem cells prevent T cell responses indirectly through modulation of dendritic cells and directly by disrupting NK as well as CD8+ and CD4+ T cell function. Thirdly, mesenchymal stem cells induce a suppressive local microenvironment through the production of prostaglandins and interleukin-10 as well as by the expression of indoleamine 2,3,-dioxygenase, which depletes the local milieu of tryptophan. Comparison is made to maternal tolerance of the fetal allograft, and contrasted with the immune evasion mechanisms of tumor cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are a highly regulated self-renewing population of cells with potent mechanisms to avoid allogeneic rejection.",non-battery
"Sodium-ion batteries are considered a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to its low cost and potential applications for large-scale energy storage. In this work, we focus on improving the Na-ion storage electrochemical performance of TiO2 anodes by using diglyme-based electrolyte solutions. Significantly better performances are observed for the first time in diglyme-based electrolyte solution, as compared to conventional carbonate electrolyte solutions with and without additives such as fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) and vinylene (VC). The best TiO2 electrode demonstrated a high specific capacity of 248 mA h g−1 at 25 mA g−1 current density, ∼100% coulombic efficiency, superior pseudocapacitive Na-ion storage, and good capacity retention on extended galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles. A full-cell assembled with TiO2 anode, Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode and NaPF6-diglyme electrolyte solution demonstrated an energy density as high as 440 W h kg−1. Superior electrochemical performance of TiO2 anodes in diglyme-based electrolyte is credited to the enhanced passivation and Na-ion conducting properties of polyether-based solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) compared to polycarbonate-based counterparts. Carbon coating also resulted in the reduced decomposition of both diglyme and carbonate based electrolyte solutions. These results potentially encourage the use of ether-based electrolyte solutions for further improving the electrochemical performance and commercialization of rechargeable Na-ion batteries.",battery
"An alternate rapid synthesis of BaFeO4 is demonstrated. Fe(VI) salts, including BaFeO4, are energetic cathode materials in super-iron batteries ranging from primary to secondary, and including aqueous and non-aqueous cells. Of the Fe(VI) salts, BaFeO4 sustains unusually facile charge transfer, of importance to the high power domain of alkaline batteries. Unlike previous syntheses, BaFeO4 preparation is demonstrated from all solid state room temperature reactants. This eliminates several synthetic procedural steps and improves stability to approach that of the rigorously stable chemically synthesized K2FeO4 salt.",battery
"Incidental capture in fisheries (“bycatch”) is a major threat to global marine biodiversity, especially to those species with low fecundity, such as albatrosses. Efforts to reduce bycatch have been undertaken in industrial fisheries, but the scale of seabird interactions with artisanal or small-scale fleets remains largely unknown. The island of Torishima (Japan) is an important breeding site for two albatross species (short-tailed Phoebastria albatrus and black-footed P. nigripes) and also lies in the range of the artisanal longline fishery for the splendid alfonsino Beryx splendens. In February–March 2017, we tracked 23 foraging trips of adult P. nigripes feeding chicks by Global Positioning System (GPS) and monitored the prevalence of fishing gear at the nests using a metal detector. The foraging range of these albatrosses was a maximum of 280 km from Torishima, and only 3.7% of the GPS locations occurred over the shallow habitats targeted by the alfonsino fishery (water depth 150–500 m), suggesting relatively low risks of interaction. However, 190 (54.3%) nests of P. nigripes contained fishing gear, among which 12 (3.4%) nests or chicks contained a hook or an unidentified metallic object. Six hooks were also collected from P. albatrus nests. All found hooks, except one, originated from the alfonsino fishery, indicating that both targeted albatross species actually interacted with this fishery at sea. Both research approaches provided data from returning birds only and did not reflect possible lethal cases at sea. Monitoring the sub-lethal effects of bycatch and encouraging small-scale fisheries to report gear lost at sea are two possibilities to further help quantify and reduce the impact of fisheries on seabirds.",non-battery
"Graphene, a two-dimensional carbon sheet with one atom thickness and one of the thinnest materials in universe, has inspired huge interest in physics, materials science, chemistry and biology. However, pure graphene sheets are limited for many applications despite their excellent characteristics and scientists face challenges to induce more and controlled functionality. Therefore graphene nanocomposites or hybrids are attracting increasing efforts for real applications in energy and environmental areas by introducing controlled functional building blocks to graphene. In this Review, we first give a brief introduction of graphene's unique physical and chemical properties followed by various preparation and functionalization methods for graphene nanocomposites in the second section. We focus on recent energy-related progress of graphene nanocomposites in solar energy conversion (e.g., photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical devices, artificial photosynthesis) and electrochemical energy devices (e.g., lithium ion battery, supercapacitor, fuel cell) in the third section. We then review the advances in environmental applications of functionalized graphene nanocomposites for the detection and removal of heavy metal ions, organic pollutants, gas and bacteria in the fourth section. Finally a conclusion and perspective is given to discuss the remaining challenges for graphene nanocomposites in energy and environmental science.
",battery
"The presence of a surface layer on lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO) anodes, which has been a topic of debate in scientific literature, is here investigated with tunable high surface sensitive synchrotron-based photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) to obtain a reliable depth profile of the interphase. Li||LTO cells with electrolytes consisting of 1 M lithium hexafluorophosphate dissolved in ethylene carbonate:diethyl carbonate (LiPF6 in EC:DEC) were cycled in two different voltage windows of 1.0–2.0 V and 1.4–2.0 V. LTO electrodes were characterized after 5 and 100 cycles. Also the pristine electrode as such, and an electrode soaked in the electrolyte were analyzed by varying the photon energies enabling depth profiling of the outermost surface layer. The main components of the surface layer were found to be ethers, P–O containing compounds, and lithium fluoride.",battery
"Electrochemically active polyluminol was synthesized using an oxidative chemical polymerization reaction. The chemically polymerized luminol (CpLum) exhibited reversible oxidation and reduction reactions with fast kinetics. From Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses, the polymerization occurred by the conversion of primary amine groups into secondary amine groups. The polymer contained benzoid and quinoid segments which were confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Thermal analysis revealed the semi-crystalline nature of CpLum, with two thermal events at 99°C and 152°C corresponding to a glass transition and a melting temperature. The interesting features and electrochemical activities may lead to applications in energy storage.",battery
"It is often taken for granted that metering is an unarguable ‘best practice’ when it comes to the quantitative management of groundwater resources. This paper revisits empirical evidence of the performance of meters on the ground, distinguishing between the logistical, financial, political and institutional factors that condition acceptability, implementation and monitoring. It is shown that metering should only be implemented when certain conditions are met. The options for technical and institutional improvements are reviewed. Then the paper turns to co-management arrangements between the state/administration and water user associations. It is argued that metering can play a key part in these arrangements rather than be, by default, an undesired nuisance. Hence, the distribution of the costs of meter installation, maintenance and monitoring should be construed as part of the balancing of costs and benefits, carrots and sticks, threats and opportunities, and of the roles of the states and water user associations. All must be designed to elicit collective action towards, and adherence to, sustainability targets.
",non-battery
"Background Animal and vegetable-based proteins differ on their effect on many health outcomes, but their relationship with unhealthy aging is uncertain. Thus, we examined the association between changes in animal and vegetable protein intake and unhealthy aging in older adults. Methods Data came from 1951 individuals aged ≥60 years recruited in the Seniors-ENRICA cohort in 2008-2010 (wave 0) and followed-up in 2012 (wave 1), 2015 (wave 2), and 2017 (wave 3). Dietary protein intake was measured with a validated diet history at waves 0 and 1, and unhealthy aging was measured with a 52-item health deficit accumulation index at each wave. Results Compared with participants with a >2% decrease in energy intake from vegetable protein from wave 0 to wave 1, those with a >2% increase showed less deficit accumulation over 3.2 years (multivariable β [95% confidence interval (CI)]: -1.05 [-2.03, -0.06]), 6 years (-1.28 [-2.51, -0.03]), and 8.2 years of follow-up (-1.68 [-3.27, -0.09]). No associations were found for animal protein. Less deficit accumulation over 8.2 years was observed when substituting 1% of energy from vegetable protein for an equal amount of carbohydrate or fat (-0.50 [-0.93, -0.07]), animal protein (-0.44 [-0.81, -0.07]), dairy protein (-0.51 [-0.91, -0.12]), or meat protein (-0.44 [-0.84, -0.04]). Conclusions Increasing dietary intake of vegetable protein may delay unhealthy aging when replacing carbohydrates, fats, or animal protein, especially from meat and dairy.",non-battery
"Objectives The study aim was to assess rater agreement of the Resistance Training Skills Battery (RTSB) for adolescents. The RTSB provides an assessment of resistance training skill competency and includes six exercises. The RTSB can be used to assess performance and progress in adolescent resistance training programmes and to provide associated feedback to participants. Individual skill scores are based on the number of performance criteria successfully demonstrated and an overall resistance training skill quotient (RTSQ) is created by summing the six skill scores. Design/methods The eight raters had varying experience in movement skill assessment and resistance training and completed a 2–3h training session in how to assess resistance training performance using the RTSB. The raters then completed an assessment on six skills for 12 adolescents (mean age=15.1 years, SD=1.0, six male and six female) in a randomised order. Results Agreement between seven of the eight raters was high (20 of the 21 pairwise correlations were greater than 0.7 and 13 of the 21 were greater than 0.8). Correlations between the eighth rater and each of the other seven raters were generally lower (0.45–0.78). Most variation in the assigned RTSB scores (67%) was between cases, a relatively small amount of the variation (10%) was between raters and the remainder (23%) was between periods within raters. The between-raters coefficient of variation was approximately 5%. Conclusions The RTSB can be used reliably by those with experience in movement skill assessment and resistance training to assess the resistance skill of adolescents.",non-battery
"Porous spherical LiMnPO4·2Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite was synthesized innovatively via spray-drying route using oxalate complex. X-ray diffraction patterns and energy dispersive X-ray results revealed that the composite was composed of LiMnPO4 and Li3V2(PO4)3. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed the porous spherical structure, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results exhibited that the surface of the microsphere was coated with carbon layer of about 5.1nm thickness. The mutual doping phenomenon between LiMnPO4 and Li3V2(PO4)3 was also confirmed by high resolution TEM and Fourier transform observation. Porous spherical LiMnPO4·2Li3V2(PO4)3/C delivered an initial capacity of 132.6mAhg−1 at 0.1C and noticeably enhanced high rate capacities at 1, 3 and 10C. Compared with solid spherical LiMnPO4·2Li3V2(PO4)3/C, cycle performance, high-rate performance and lithium ion intercalation performance of porous spherical LiMnPO4·2Li3V2(PO4)3/C were all significantly improved.",battery
"Sn–Sb–Co alloy films prepared via co-electroplating and post-electrodissolution treatment were studied as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The alloy was composed of pure Sn, Sn–Sb, and Sn–Co alloy phases. During post-electrodissolution, the easy dissolution of Sn phase resulted in an increase in Sb and Co contents. Electrochemical measurements showed improved initial capacity and capacity retention with increasing electrodissolution treatment time. For the sample subjected to 10 min of electrodissolution treatment, the capacity remained at 580 mAh g−1 at the 50th cycle. Post-electrodissolution was proven to be an effective method to improve the electrochemical performance of ternary Sn-based alloys.",battery
"Platinum single crystal electrodes, Pt(hkl), represent ideal materials where studying surface sensitive reactions such as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Moreover, there is a great interest in testing carbon supported electrocatalyts mixed with Nafion® ionomer in order to directly evaluate catalysts under practical fuel cell conditions. Thus, we provide a first imaging attempt by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to locally evaluate the electrocatalytic activity during ORR on a Pt(111) single crystal electrode decorated with spots of commercial carbon supported platinum nanoparticles entrapped in Nafion®. Both electrocatalysts present the same chemical composition and then, total surface area, particle size and crystallographic orientation at the electrode surface are the effects studied. Our SECM images prove that the peroxide pathway can also be considered a relevant reaction route on platinum electrodes. We agree with some recent reports pointing the Nafion® content and the three-dimensional surface electrode area as key factors to control for achieving a proper evaluation of the apparent number of electrons exchanged during ORR.",battery
"The effects of a pulse charging technique on charge–discharge behavior and cycling characteristics of commercial lithium-ion batteries were investigated by comparison with the conventional direct current (dc) charging. The impedance spectra and cycling voltammograms of Li-ion batteries cycled by both protocols have been measured. The individual electrodes in the batteries have also been examined using XRD and SEM. The results show that pulse charging is helpful in eliminating concentration polarization, increasing the power transfer rate, and lowering charge time by removing the need for constant voltage charging in the conventional protocol. Pulse charging interrupts dc charging with short relaxation periods and short discharge pulses during charging, and also improves the active material utilization giving the battery higher discharge capacity and longer cycle life. Impedance measurements show that the magnitude of the interfacial resistance of the batteries cycled both by pulse charging and dc charging is small. However, at the same number of cycles, the interfacial resistance of the pulse charged battery is larger than that of dc charged. The batteries after 300 cycles charged by pulse charging show higher peak currents during both forward and reverse scans indicating higher reversibility of the electrodes. XRD and SEM studies of the individual electrodes indicate that pulse charging maintains the stability of the LiCoO2 cathode better than dc charging and inhibits the increase in the thickness of the passive film on the anode during cycling.",battery
"Carbon Nanocapsules (CNCs) were investigated for their electrocatalytic performances for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline electrolyte. With an average diameter of 10–30 nm, the CNCs are composed of graphene layers encapsulating a hollow core. A gas diffusion electrode (GDE) made of CNCs revealed a much enhanced i–V polarization response than that of Vulcan XC72. However, its performance was moderately lower than that of Black Pearls 2000. In addition, the CNCs were impregnated with nanoparticles of Ag, MnOx and CoOx. The i–V and galvanostatic results of the catalyzed CNCs indicated significant improvements over that of noncatalyzed CNCs. For example, a Ag–CNC derived GDE was capable of delivering 1.03 and 0.88 V at current densities of 100  and 200 mA cm−2, respectively. Our study offers direct evidence that the CNCs not only exhibit unique electrocatalytic abilities but also function superbly as an electrocatalyst support.",battery
"LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 is redesigned into a new core-shelled Li[(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)2/7]core[(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)3/14]inner-shell[(Ni0.4Co0.2Mn0.4)1/2]outer-shellO2, in which LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 may deliver high capacity and LiNi0.4Co0.2Mn0.4O2 provides structural and thermal stability. To achieve such designed structure, double-shelled hydroxide precursors are firstly prepared via a co-precipitation route. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows that all precursors are of 6–10 μm spherical secondary particles developed from nanosheet-shaped primary particles. Energy disperse X-ray spectrum (EDS) on the surface of precursors, in combination with increase of particles size from core to shell during co-precipitation process, confirms the formation of core–shell structure as designed. The spherical morphology is preserved after lithiation at different temperatures from 800 °C to 900 °C while the morphology of primary particles changes from nano-sized plate to micron-sized rectangular-like shapes. EDS surface composition analysis of lithiated compounds also strongly suggests the formation of core–shell structure; nevertheless, diffusion of transition metal ions between the core and shell occurs and becomes severe with increase of sintering temperature. Consequently, the double-shelled materials especially prepared at 850 °C display the remarkably improved cycleability, rate capability, and thermal stability in contrast to normal one. The enhancement of those properties may be ascribed to structurally stable double shell components, especially outer shell.",battery
"Several multiple-ion-doped lithium nickel oxides with formula of LiMn x Co y Ni1−x−y O2 were synthesized via solid-state reactions at high temperature. These phase-pure LiMn x Co y Ni1−x−y O2 compounds have a layered hexagonal structure, and their electrochemical properties were systematically investigated. Typical cathodes can deliver a capacity in the range of 140–180mAh/g with fairly stable cyclability. The kinetics of lithium insertion in these cathodes were characterized via ac impedance measurements. These newly developed compounds show great promises as cathode materials for future lithium-ion batteries with low cost and less toxicity.",battery
"This work presents a systematic evaluation of the effect of dissimilar charging / discharging temperatures on the long-term performance of lithium iron phosphate / graphite based cells by using multi-factor analysis of variance. Specifically, the degradation of prototype pouch cells is presented in a range of charging and discharging temperatures from -20°C to +30°C, counting a total of 10 temperature combinations. In this manner, not only the effect of charging and discharging temperatures was analyzed, but also the correlations between them. Fitting of the data showed a quadratic relationship of degradation rate with charging temperature, a linear relationship with discharging temperature and a correlation between charging and discharging temperature. Cycling at the charge/discharge temperatures (+30°C, -5°C) produced the highest degradation rate, whereas cycling in the range from -20°C to +15°C, in various charge/discharge temperature combinations, created almost no degradation. It was also found that when Tc≅15°C the degradation rate is independent of Td. When Tc < +15°C, the higher degradation occurs at higher Td and at Tc > +15°C lower degradation occurs at higher Td.",battery
"All the Li metal anode-based batteries suffer from a high propensity to form Li dendrites. To prevent the formation of dendritic lithium on the electrodes, amorphous carbon coatings are deposited onto the surface of metallic lithium foil by magnetron sputtering technique. The electrochemical performances of the amorphous carbon-coated lithium (Li/C) electrodes are investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge tests, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The compact carbon coatings on the surface of lithium foil can suppress the growth of dendritic lithium during charge–discharge process. The thickness of amorphous carbon coating affects the electrode from two aspects; the thick coating can prevent the formation of dendritic lithium much efficiently, but lead to a large impedance of Li+ transfer.",battery
"The applications of carbon-based supercapacitors have been limited by their low energy storage density owing to their limited active storage sites. To overcome this limitation, amine-enriched porous carbon electrodes have been fabricated by the electrostatic fusion of amine-functionalized single-crystalline graphene quantum dots (GQDs) within conductive, vertically ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays as the collectors. The carbon films deliver ultrahigh specific capacitance (400–595Fg−1) even beyond the theoretical upper limit of single-layer graphene by inducing a high concentration of active amine moieties at edge. Symmetrical GQD supercapacitors in H2SO4 electrolyte offer energy density up to 21.8Whkg−1 and retain 90% of the initial capacitance after 10000 cyclic voltammetry tests. The results show that amine-enriched GQDs can function as a new kind of highly active, solution-processable, and low-cost pseudocapacitive materials applicable to high-performance supercapacitors.",battery
"The microstructural optimization of porous lithium ion battery electrodes has traditionally been driven by experimental trial and error efforts, based on anecdotal understanding and intuition, leading to the development of useful but qualitative rules of thumb to guide the design of porous energy storage technology. In this paper, an advanced data-driven framework is presented wherein the effect of experimentally accessible microstructural parameters such as active particle morphology and spacial arrangement, underlying porosity, cell thickness, etc., on the corresponding macroscopic power and energy density is systematically assessed. For the LixC6 | LMO chemistry, an analysis performed on 53356 battery architectures reported in the literature revealed that for commercial microstructures based on oblate-shaped particles, lightly textured samples deliver higher power and energy density responses as compared to highly textured samples, which suffer from large polarization losses. In contrast, high aspect ratio prolate-shaped particles deliver the highest energy and power density, particularly in the limit of wire-like morphologies. Polyhedra-based colloidal microstructures demonstrate high area densities, and low tortuosities, but provide no appreciable power and energy density benefit over currently manufactured particle morphologies. The developed framework enables to establish general microstructure design guidelines and propose optimal electrode microstructures based on the intended application, given an anode and cathode chemistry.
",battery
"Biosorption is a potential tool for the extraction of metals from contaminated water and recovery of precious metals, which is a convenient alternative to conventional processes. In the present study, molybdenum recovery by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain ZT-94 was evaluated. Additionally, the effects of pH initial concentration of molybdenum, contact time, adsorbent concentration, and temperature on the biosorption were investigated. As revealed by the results, the greatest amount of molybdenum sorption was achieved at pH 5. By increasing the concentration of molybdenum from 2 to 45 mg/l, the molybdenum removal increases from 71.13 to 150 mg/g dry weight of biomass, but biosorption efficiency decreased. Also, increasing the dry weight of biomass from 0.008 to 0.06 g/l degreased the biosorption efficiency from 20.68 to 85.69%. The results of molybdenum biosorption were evaluated by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The maximum biosorption capacity for molybdenum extraction was 150.497 mg/g and amount which is very suitable for a biosorbent. The biosorption was examined by scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Because of the elevated biosorption properties of molybdenum by this biosorbent, it can be concluded that Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain ZT-94 is a promising candidate for the removal and recovery of molybdenum from aqueous systems.
",non-battery
"For preparation of solid oxide fuel cell functional anode (Ni-YSZ) by electroless deposition technique, surface adsorption of metallic palladium (Pd0) on zirconia is the most important step during the sensitization process. For the sensitization process, the initial reaction kinetics are based on external mass transfer followed by intra-particle mass transfer phenomena. A kinetic model for the reversible sorption of Pd0 on zirconia is developed that incorporates an effectiveness factor (η) which estimates the extent of intra-particle mass transfer. Based on the proposed model, an expression for Pd0 uptake at equilibrium (p), an important property of YSZ, is developed. The theoretical kinetic model proposed is verified with experimental parameters like electrical properties of these functional anodes prepared under various sensitization conditions, e.g., agitation frequencies, equilibration time etc. Due to intra-particle mass transfer, the concentration gradient of Pd0 from the surface of YSZ to bulk is minimized which favours uniform deposition of Ni on YSZ. Consequently, during subsequent electroless deposition of metallic Ni, the concentration gradient of the same is reduced from the bulk to the YSZ surface and results in enhanced functionality in the cermet anode. The validation is correlated with the electrical properties and surface morphologies of these functional cermets.",battery
"The non-aqueous redox flow battery (NARFB) is a promising device for grid-scale energy storage. However, its electrochemical performance and long-term stability still need to be improved. This work shows that the electrochemical performance of NARFB can be remarkably enhanced by optimizing the supporting electrolyte and separator. The battery with 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BzNSN) as anolyte, 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1-methoxy-4-[2′-methoxyethoxy]benzene (DBMMB) as catholyte, tetraethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TEATFSI) as supporting electrolyte, and porous Daramic 250 separator delivers an average discharge capacity of 1.7 Ah L−1, voltage efficiency of 87.8%, Coulombic efficiency of 89.1%, and energy efficiency of 78.3% over 100 cycles at the current density of 40 mA cm−2 with 0.1 M active materials. The reasons for the capacity decay over cycling in terms of electrolyte leakage, crossover, and chemical decomposition are discussed.",battery
"LiCoPO4 based cathodes have been investigated in matter of electrochemical performance and thermal stability. The two-step characteristic of the charging process of LiCoPO4 cathodes is clearly illustrated. Investigations on the thermal stability of the partially delithiated and the fully delithiated cathode were performed by using simultaneous DSC-TG-MS. While the partially delithiated cathode shows a high thermal stability, the fully charged cathode decomposes between 160 and 260 °C. Furthermore, the influence of electrolyte, carbon coating and conductive additives on the decomposition temperature is discussed as well as the influence of the crystallite size of LiCoPO4.",battery
"The vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) is one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems deemed suitable for a wide range of renewable energy applications that are emerging rapidly to reduce the carbon footprint of electricity generation. Though the Generation 1 Vanadium redox flow battery (G1 VRB) has been successfully implemented in a number of field trials and demonstration projects around the world, it suffers from low energy density that limits its use to stationary applications. Extensive research is thus being carried out to improve its energy density and enhance its performance to enable mobile applications while simultaneously trying to minimize the cost by employing cost effective stack materials and effectively controlling the current operating procedures. The vast bulk of this research was conducted at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney during the period 1985–2005, with a large number of other research groups contributing to novel membrane and electrode material development since then. This paper presents a historical overview of materials research and development for the VRB at UNSW, highlighting some of the significant findings that have contributed to improving the battery's performance over the years. Relevant work in this field by other research groups in recent times has also been reviewed and discussed.",battery
"Ruthenium oxide particles were supported on graphene sheets (GS) by hydrothermal and low temperature annealing process. The GS was prepared from graphene oxide by an expansion process and different expanding temperatures were studied and polystyrene sulfonate sodium was used as dispersion agent of hydrophobic GS. Different Ru content of the RuO2/GS composites on the influence of the electrochemical properties was studied. Atomic force microscope analysis was applied to test the layers of GS. The morphology of GS and RuO2/GS composites were confirmed by field emission transmission electron microscopy analysis. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and liquid-nitrogen cryosorption were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the GS and RuO2/GS. The RuO2/GS (Ru:40wt%) composites used as electrode materials of supercapacitors exhibited a specific capacitance of 551F/g at 1A/g in 1M H2SO4 electrolyte. Besides, both the rate capability and cycle performance of RuO2/GS composites had a great improvement compared with GS.",battery
"In this article the spectroscopic studies basing on 1H, 13C, 27Al NMR combined with FT-IR and Raman investigations are applied to the methylalumoxane (MAO)–oligoethhyleneglycol (PEG-ME) reaction leading to the formation of the inorganic–organic heterocomposite polymeric electrolyte. This process is analyzed in terms of the stoichiometry, chemical reaction observed and Al coordination properties changes. As the studied system is extremely complicated some model reaction systems basing on MAO and CH3OH, AlMe3 and PEG-ME, AlMe3 and CH3OH and finally Al(i-Pr)3 and PEG-ME were also tested for comparison. A coordination change is observed for all alkiloaluminum compounds upon reaction progress starting from n =4 to n =6. Contrary, the reaction basing on the alcoxyaluminum compound does not reveal this phenomenon as the initial coordination number for aluminum is equal to six. Additionally, the optimal MAO to PEG-ME ratio was proved to be equal to six.",battery
"A polyaniline film coated on an electrode degrades and loses its thickness at potentials over than 0.7V versus SCE in acidic solutions, whereas it gains the thickness by polymerization in aniline-including solution at the same potential as in the degradation. A question arises as to whether the polymerization is accompanied with the degradation although the polymerization is obviously an opposite process to the degradation or the decomposition. In order to understand this contradiction, we made chronoamperometry, voltammetry and UV–vis spectrometry for polyaniline films at various concentrations of aniline. It was found that the decomposition occurred simultaneously with the polymerization. Competition between the polymerization and the decomposition varied mainly with concentrations of aniline and potentials, and its conditions were obtained.",battery
" Procrastination is a prevalent self-regulatory failure associated with stress and anxiety, decreased well-being, and poorer performance in school as well as work. One-fifth of the adult population and half of the student population describe themselves as chronic and severe procrastinators. However, despite the fact that it can become a debilitating condition, valid and reliable self-report measures for assessing the occurrence and severity of procrastination are lacking, particularly for use in a clinical context. The current study explored the usefulness of the Swedish version of three Internet-administered self-report measures for evaluating procrastination; the Pure Procrastination Scale, the Irrational Procrastination Scale, and the Susceptibility to Temptation Scale, all having good psychometric properties in English.",non-battery
" Screening and monitoring in pregnancy are strategies used by healthcare providers to identify high-risk pregnancies so that they can provide more targeted and appropriate treatment and follow-up care, and to monitor fetal well-being in both low- and high-risk pregnancies. The use of many of these techniques is controversial and their ability to detect fetal compromise often unknown. Theoretically, appropriate management of maternal and fetal risk factors and complications that are detected in pregnancy and labour could prevent a large proportion of the world's 3.2 million estimated annual stillbirths, as well as minimise maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.",non-battery
"This study was the first attempt to carry out a validation of a temperament test (TT) for shelter dogs that addressed the topics of inter- and intra-raters agreements, test-retest reliability, and validity. The TT consisted of 22 subtests. Each dog was approached and handled by an unfamiliar person and made to interact with a same- and an opposite-gender conspecific. Dogs were tested twice in the shelter and once in their new homes 4 months after adoption to evaluate consistency in behavioral assessment. Playfulness, trainability, problem solving abilities, food possessiveness, and reactivity to sudden stimuli were also evaluated. Testers scored dogs’ responses in terms of confidence, fearfulness, and aggressiveness. Results highlighted strengths and limits of this TT that was devised to help shelter staff in matching dogs’ personality and owners’ expectations. Methodological constraints when working with sheltered dogs are unavoidable; however, the test proved to be overall feasible, reliable, and valid although further studies are needed to address the critical issues that emerged.",non-battery
"One major limitation in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is the energy dissipation of the nodes and the lifetime of the node's battery. The traffic in a sensor network follows a many-to one pattern, where nodes nearer to the sink carry heavier traffic loads. Therefore, the nodes around the sink would deplete their energy faster, leading to what is known as an energy hole around the sink. The aim of this paper is to overcome the power constraints in WSN by wirelessly charging the nodes. We investigate both theoretically and through simulations whether the physical phenomenon of long-lifetime resonant electromagnetic states with localized slowly-evanescent field patterns can be used to transfer energy efficiently over multiple hops. We specify the hardware the modified sensor node needs in order to wirelessly transmit and receive energy and introduce a new layer called the charging layer into the sensor network protocol stack. Our results show that multi-hop wireless energy transfer can be done with an efficiency as high as 20% over 8 hops. The work in this paper is the first that addresses multi-hop wireless energy transfer in sensor networks and is the building block for our and other future research in this area.",non-battery
"This paper proposes a low-complexity online state of charge estimation method for LiFePO4 battery in electrical vehicles. The proposed method is able to achieve accurate state of charge with less computational efforts in comparison with the nonlinear Kalman filters, and also can provide state of health information for battery management system. According to the error analysis of equivalent circuit model with two resistance and capacitance, two proportional-integral filters are designed to compensate the errors from inaccurate state of charge and current measurements, respectively. An error dividing process is proposed to tune the contribution of each filter to the finial estimation results, which enhances the validation and accuracy of the proposed method. Recursive least squares filter can provide the state of health information and updates the parameters of battery model online to eliminate the errors caused by parameters uncertainty. The proposed method is compared with extend Kalman filter in regards to accuracy and execution time. The execution time of the proposed method is measured on Zynq board platform to validate its suitability for online implementation. In this paper, the proposed method is able to obtain less than 1% error for state of charge estimation.",battery
"This chapter reviews research using psychometric (correlational) methods and combined experimental-psychometric methods in the study of individual differences in episodic memory. Early individual-differences research was largely atheoretical, conducted within a broader pursuit of the factor-analytic structure of intelligence, and suggested some distinctions among various memory tasks, processes, and abilities, but also some commonalities and general memory abilities. In discussing more recent, theoretically motivated research, we focus on conceptual and empirical distinctions between short-term and working memory as revealed – or not – by individual-differences analyses, including individual-by-treatment interactions that harness the strengths of both correlational and experimental methods.",non-battery
"Solar energy is one of the cleanest sources of alternative energy. Due to high energy demand in one hand and environmental negative impact of fossil fuels, on the other hand, many countries consider the alternative energy sources as a suitable and feasible option in industry and domestic usage. It was discovered that the different applications of solar energy in industries are being accepted more than ever. The present study is a state of art on the numerous new and feasible technologies of solar energy applications in the agricultural sectors. It discusses about the importance of solar energy as environmental clean technologies and the most reliable energy source. This study covers different types of solar energy systems like as solar photovoltaic and solar thermal for pumping water, drying crops, cooling the storages and producing heating/cooling greenhouses. It has been proven that photovoltaic systems and/or solar thermal system would be the suitable options in agricultural application and especially for the distant rural area.",battery
"Recent years have witnessed an explosion of research and development efforts in the area of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC), perceived as the next generation clean energy source for automotive, portable and stationary applications. Despite significant progress, a pivotal performance/durability limitation in PEFCs centers on two-phase transport and mass transport loss originating from suboptimal liquid water transport and flooding phenomena. Liquid water blocks the porous pathways in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the catalyst layer (CL), thus hindering oxygen transport from the flow field to the electrochemically actives sites in the catalyst layer. Different approaches have been examined to model the underlying transport mechanisms in the PEFC with different levels of complexities. Due to the macroscopic nature, these two-phase models fail to resolve the underlying structural influence on the transport and performance. Mesoscopic modeling at the pore-scale offers great promise in elucidating the underlying structure-transport-performance interlinks in the PEFC porous components. In this article, a systematic review of the recent progress and prospects of pore-scale modeling in the context of two-phase transport in the PEFC is presented. Specifically, the efficacy of lattice Boltzmann (LB), pore morphology (PM) and pore network (PN) models coupled with realistic delineation of microstructures in fostering enhanced insight into the underlying liquid water transport in the PEFC GDL and CL is highlighted.
",battery
"Three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide (RGO) frameworks confined hollow spherical SnO2-Fe2O3@RGO nano-shells (3D h-SnO2-Fe2O3@RGO) are successfully obtained by hydrothermal reduction of h-SnO2-Fe2O3@GO in graphene oxide (GO) suspension. As anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the novel 3D h-SnO2-Fe2O3@RGO architectures demonstrate great improvement in cycling performance (∼830mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at 200mAg−1) and rate capability (∼550mAhg−1 at 1000mAg−1for 10 cycles) over that of hollow SnO2 spheres (h-SnO2), h-SnO2-Fe2O3, and 3D RGO frameworks wrapped hollow spherical SnO2@RGO nano-shells (3D h-SnO2@RGO). The 3D porous frameworks and coating graphene nano-shells serve as efficient electron and ion conductive networks as well as buffer for the large volume variation of hollow SnO2-Fe2O3 during cycling. Moreover, the hollow spherical metal oxide mesoporous nano-shells could enlarge the surface area, retard the volume change, prevent aggregation of nanosized active materials and graphene nanosheets.",battery
 There is a lack of practical research frameworks to guide the development of patient decision aids [PtDAs]. This paper described how a PtDA was developed using the International Patient Decision Aids (IPDAS) guideline and UK Medical Research Council (UKMRC) frameworks to support patients when making treatment decisions in type 2 diabetes mellitus.,non-battery
"This project involves the development of a prototype electrical generator for delivering and storing small amounts of electricity. Power is generated using the thermoelectric effect. A single thermoelectric generator (TEG) is utilised to convert a small portion of the heat flowing through it to electricity. The electricity produced is used to charge a single rechargeable 3.3V lithium–iron phosphate battery. This study investigates methods of delivering maximum power to the battery for a range of temperature gradients across the thermoelectric module. The paper explores load matching and maximum power point tracking techniques. It was found that, for the TEG tested, a SEPIC DC–DC converter was only beneficial for temperature gradients less than 100 °C across the TEG. At a temperature gradient of 150 °C, the effective resistance of the battery was close to the internal resistance of the TEG. For temperature gradients in excess of 100°C a DC–DC converter is not suggested and a simple charge protection circuit is sufficient.",battery
"This paper introduces a complete work-flow for the translation of dynamic isolated signs based on data acquired from a data-glove. A sign language translation system based on a wearable device represents indeed a more efficient solution with respect to cameras or position trackers for helping speech-impaired people on a daily basis. The paper describes the different steps required for a sign language translation, namely segmentation, feature extraction and classification, together with the custom data-glove used for data-acquisition. The paper presents also experimental results, comparing different machine learning classifiers and discussing their performances both in terms of translation accuracy and computational time. The proposed work-flow has been tested both on data acquired from a custom data-glove and on a public database, and it outperforms those of other works in literature. The reported analysis suggests a multi-layer perceptron neural network as the most suitable classifier for the realization of a wearable sign language translation system.",non-battery
"Recently, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) has been proposed as a suitable fish species for detecting both androgen- and estrogen-induced endocrine disruption by environmental pollutants. This relatively pollution-tolerant fish is present in most European streams and small rivers but also coastal and estuarian areas. The purpose of the present field study was to determine the extent to which multiple biomarkers in this fish species could distinguish between streams with different pollution levels. Sticklebacks were sampled in French rivers characterised by various urban, industrial or agricultural contaminations and in outdoor lotic mesocosms as reference site. Physiological parameters including condition factor and liver somatic index, biotransformation enzymes such as 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione-S-transferase, antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase and total glutathione (GSH) content and lipoperoxidation (as TBARS) showed several differences between sites. For example, fish from an heavily contaminated stream exhibited a 9-fold EROD induction associated to a decrease of GSH and a 3-fold increase of TBARS content in comparison to fish from uncontaminated sites. When fish were transferred from polluted river to clean water, some of these biomarkers rapidly returned to basal levels found in fish in the reference site while others, like TBARS levels were still high after 2 weeks of depuration. Based on multivariate analyses, the battery of biomarkers proved to differentiate all sites, with a very good classification rate for highly contaminated streams. Influence of fish gender and sampling period on biomarker responses was also observed and is discussed. The results of this field study provide additional support for the use of stickleback for in situ multi-biomarker assessment.
",non-battery
"To understand the mechanism of crack propagation in nano electrode materials due to lithium concentration variation during charging cycling, an analytical model is developed based on the diffusion induced stress evolution and crack propagation in a spherical particle electrode during phase transformation. In the model, the effect of the phase transformation on concentration variation, stress evolution and stress discontinuity is clarified. In addition, it has been found that concentration jumps result in hoop stress discontinuities, which can lead to crack at the interface. Then, the stress intensity factor is derived from the interface crack innano electrodes during galvanostatic charging. The stress intensity factors obtained indicate that interface crack will not propagate when stress intensity factor is less than the fracture toughness of electrode materials during lithiation. Significantly, failure mechanics criterion diagram with critical nanoparticle electrode size and current density is arrived. The present model maybe used to help the structural design for electrodes in lithium ion batteries.",battery
" The treatment of low-grade glioma is still debated. Surgery is the first-line approach, and the correct timing of radiation therapy has not yet been defined since “early” radiation therapy improves relapse-free survival but not overall survival. Since a longer progression-free survival is desirable, the main issue related to radiotherapy is the incidence of late neurocognitive toxicity.",non-battery
"A novel process called Liquid Source Misted Chemical Deposition (LSMCD) was used to synthesize Al-doped LiMn2O4 cathode films for Lithium microbatteries. The cathode films were characterized by XRD, SEM, cyclic volatmmetry, and charge/discharge test. LiMn1.8Al0.2O4 film crystallized at 800°C in rapid thermal annealing (RTA) for 5min under oxygen atmosphere exhibited more improved electrochemical rechargeability than spinel LiMn2O4 film because the substitution of Al3+ for Mn3+ increased MnO bonding strength in the spinel framework and suppressed the two-phase behavior of the unsubstituted spinel during the intercalation/deintercalation that is the origin of the failure mechanism in the 4V region. As a result, LiMn1.8Al0.2O4 film showed an initial discharge capacity of 52μAh/cm2 μm and no capacity fade over 100 cycles.",battery
"Autophosphorylation of αCaMKII is regarded as a ‘molecular memory’ for Ca2+ transients and a crucial mechanism in aversely, but less so in appetitively, motivated learning and memory. While there is a growing body of research implicating αCaMKII in general in behavioral responses to threat or fearful stimuli, little is known about the contribution of the autophosphorylation. The present study asked how αCaMKII autophosphorylation controls anxiety-like behavioral responses toward novel, potentially threatening stimuli. We tested homozygous and heterozygous T286A αCaMKII autophosphorylation deficient mice and wild types in a systematic series of behavioral tests. Homozygous mutants were more active in the open field test and showed reduced anxiety-related behavior in the light/dark test, but these findings were confounded by a hyperlocomotor phenotype. The analysis of elevated plus maze showed significantly reduced anxiety-related behavior in the αCaMKII autophosphorylation-deficient mice which appeared to mediate a hyperlocomotor response. An analysis of home cage behavior, where neither novel nor threatening stimuli were present, showed no differences in locomotor activity between genotypes. Increased locomotion was not observed in the novel object exploration test in the αCaMKII autophosphorylation-deficient mice, implying that hyperactivity does not occur in response to discrete novel stimuli. The present data suggest that the behavior of αCaMKII autophosphorylation-deficient mice cannot simply be described as a low anxiety phenotype. Instead it is suggested that αCaMKII autophosphorylation influences locomotor reactivity to novel environments that are potentially, but not necessarily threatening.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses manufacturing, as a general term referring to industry, is to make products that have been designed for certain application. Manufacturing has been influenced not only by the increased demands on producing routine products and creating new products but also by social, economic and even political changes. There are ever increasing demands on miniaturized/micro products/systems and components, e.g. MEMS (micro-electric-mechanical systems) and micro-systems, micro-reactors, fuel cells, micro-mechanical devices, and micro-medical components, which are now popularly used in vehicles, aircraft, telecommunication and IT facilities, home appliances, medical devices and implants. Micro-manufacturing concerns manufacturing methods, technologies, equipment, organizational strategies, and systems for the manufacture of products and/or features that have at least two dimensions that are within sub-millimeter ranges. Micro-manufacturing engineering is a general term which concerns a series of relevant activities within the chain of manufacturing micro-products/features, including design, analysis, materials, processes, tools, machinery, operational management methods, and systems.",non-battery
"This paper reviews the literature on the synthesis of carbon nanotube- and nanofiber-supported Pt electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell catalyst loading reduction through the improvement of catalyst utilization and activity, especially focusing on cathode nano-electrocatalyst preparation methods. The features of each synthetic method were also discussed based on the morphology of the synthesized catalysts. It is clear that synthesis methods play an important role in catalyst morphology, Pt utilization and catalytic activity. Though some remarkable progress has been made in nanotube- and nanofiber-supported Pt catalyst preparation techniques, the real breakthroughs have not yet been made in terms of cost-effectiveness, catalytic activity, durability and chemical/electrochemical stability. In order to make such electrocatalysts commercially feasible, cost-effective and innovative, catalyst synthesis methods are needed for Pt loading reduction and performance optimization.
",battery
"There is evidence that hourly variations in exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) may be associated with adverse health effects. Still there are only few published data on short-term levels of personal exposure to PM in community settings. The objectives of the study were to assess hourly and shorter-term variations in personal PM2.5 exposure in Helsinki, Finland, and to compare results from portable photometers to simultaneously measured gravimetric concentrations. The effect of relative humidity on the photometric results was also evaluated. Personal PM2.5 exposures of elderly persons were assessed for 24 h every second week, resulting in 308 successful measurements from 47 different subjects. Large changes in concentrations in minutes after cooking or changing microenvironment were seen. The median of daily 1-h maxima was over twice the median of 24-h averages. There was a strong significant association between the two means, which was not linear. Median (95th percentile) of the photometric 24-h concentrations was 12.1 (37.7) and of the 24-h gravimetric concentrations 9.2 (21.3) μg/m3. The correlation between the photometric and the gravimetric method was quite good (R2=0.86). Participants spent 94.1% of their time indoors or in a vehicle, where relative humidity is usually low and thus not likely to cause significant effects on photometric results. Even outdoors, the relative humidity had only modest effect on concentrations. Photometers are a promising method to explore the health effects of short-term variation in personal PM2.5 exposure.
",non-battery
 The aim of this study is to investigate the association of oral dryness with overall survival and determine the threshold points of moisture degree for predicting 7-day survival in palliative care patients.,non-battery
"In this work, an easy, reliable, effective approach for preparation of modified Boron Nitride (BN) from h-BN(Hexagonal boron nitride) was developed via liquid-phase exfoliation using a dopamine chemistry. Supramolecular interactions of the polydopamine (PDA) with h-BN has been used to achieve the facile surface modification of h-BN by forming a PDA shell on its surface. The successful and effective preparation of different h-BN-PDA hybrids has been confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, XRD, IR and TGA investigations. The PDA coating increases the dispersibility of these hybrids as filler in polymers. Since polymer-based thermal interface materials (TIMs) with excellent thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity are in high demand, epoxy composites filled with h-BN, BBN (Ball milled Boron Nitride), MBN (Modified Boron Nitride) and MBBN (Modified Ball milled Boron Nitride) were processed. The thermal conductivity is as high as 4 W/mK for MBBN as compared with 0.2 W/mK of neat epoxy. This method of producing multifunctional exfoliated h-BN provides eco-friendly, easy handling, and suitable as a unique paradigm for developing the next generation of thermal conductive devices and solution-processed semiconductors.",non-battery
"The electrochemical insertion of sodium ions into different types of hard carbons was achieved in electrolytes composed of ethylene carbonate as the solvent and NaClO4 as the salt. For all the materials studied the sodium uptake increases when the carbon highest heat treatment temperature (HTT) decreases. PAN-based carbon fibres appear to be suitable structures to allow significant sodium insertion. Thus, T650 ex-PAN fibres lead to a reversible capacity close to 209 mAh g−1. In that case, sodium insertion occurs in two main ways: one is the adsorption on the single graphene layers and the other is the concomitant insertion into the porosity that occurs below 0.1 V versus Na+/Na. This second mechanism, which is indicated by a low-voltage plateau on the electrochemical curves, allows significant insertion. The compared electrochemical study of two saccharose-coke samples corresponding to different regions of Dahn's classification underlines the importance of the carbon precursor and of the manufacture process. The reversible capacity is equal to 184 mAh g−1 for the sample heat treated at 800°C which presents a high hydrogen content whereas it is close to 145 mAh g−1 for the one characterized by a HTT of about 1500°C and a low hydrogen content. The best electrochemical performances are obtained for pyrolyzed cellulose carbons. Indeed, the reversible capacity is about 279 mAh g−1. Outgassing these carbons at 950°C results in such a decrease of the reversible capacity down to 145 mAh g−1. That can be related either to the thermal elimination of heteroelements or to modifications of the pore size distribution. Consequently, the most suitable hard carbon material for anodic applications in rechargeable sodium-ion batteries should both present a high residual hydrogen content and a significant microporosity.",battery
"Lithium iron phosphate mixed with nano-sized acetylene black (LiFePO4-AB) was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and subsequent high-energy ball-milling process. Different contents of AB were added to improve the electronic conductivity of LiFePO4. The structural and morphological performance of LiFePO4-AB was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and high-resolution transmission electron microscope. LiFePO4-AB/Li batteries were fabricated in an argon-filled glove box, and their electrochemical performance was analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and charge/discharge tests. The XRD results demonstrate that LiFePO4-AB has an olivine-type structure indexed to the orthorhombic Pnma space group. LiFePO4-AB/Li battery with 10 wt% AB shows the best high-rate discharge properties with the discharge capacities of 116 mAh g−1 at 1 C and 85 mAh g−1 at 10 C at room temperature.",battery
"The ionic liquid (IL) N-Methyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide ([Pyr1,1O1][FSA]) was synthesized, and its physicochemical and electrochemical properties were investigated with respect to its application as an electrolyte in lithium-ion secondary batteries operating over a wide temperature range. [Pyr1,1O1][FSA]/Li salt (0.34 mol kg−1) composites were prepared by adding lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (LiTFSA) into the IL. [Pyr1,1O1][FSA] and [Pyr1,1O1][FSA]/LiTFSA exhibited melting temperatures (T m) below −30 °C. [Pyr1,1O1][FSA] exhibited a higher ionic conductivity value as compared with that of the corresponding IL with only alkyl substituents. The electrochemical window for both [Pyr1,1O1][FSA] and [Pyr1,1O1][FSA]/LiTFSA was 5.1 V. Stable lithium deposition and dissolution occurred on a Ni electrode at 25 °C.",battery
"Performance optimization and cost reduction of a vanadium flow battery (VFB) system is essential for its commercialization and application in large-scale energy storage. However, developing a VFB stack from lab to industrial scale can take years of experiments due to the influence of complex factors, from key materials to the battery architecture. Herein, we have developed an innovative machine learning (ML) methodology to optimize and predict the efficiencies and costs of VFBs with extreme accuracy, based on our database of over 100 stacks with varying power rates. The results indicated that the cost of a VFB system (S-cost) at energy/power (E/P) = 4 h can reach around 223 $ (kW h)−1, when the operating current density reaches 200 mA cm−2, while the voltage efficiency (VE) and utilization ratio of the electrolyte (UE) are maintained above 90% and 80%, respectively. This work highlights the potential of the ML methodology to guide stack design and optimization of flow batteries to further accelerate their commercialization.
",battery
"This research aims at improving the lesson/training form, so that the instruction process becomes more efficient. The improvement consists of turning the lesson “classical” form into the “clepsydra” form, according to the following scheme: global effective - reduced effective - 1:1 effective - reduced effective - global effective. The “clepsydra” lesson/training structuring will induce an optimization of the training process and, implicitly, of the performances. The “clepsydra” can include all the lesson themes, respectively all the training components or, selectively, a certain theme (certain themes). We can notice the adversity degree differentiations between both the “clepsydra” halves and their sequences. Thus, if the first half has all the adversity degrees, the second one has semi-active and active adversity degrees, with the active adversity compulsoriness in the “clepsydra” last sequence. The adversity degree is related to the previously mentioned aspects and to the instruction level. Progress rate within the “clepsydra” structures is significantly better (15 to 30%).",non-battery
"In this work, the nitrogen doped graphene films with hierarchical network structures have been successfully fabricated via a robust routine of adjusting the content of large- and small-sized reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets in the graphene films, where the large-sized RGO sheets act as the backbone to form the well-connected network structures and small-sized RGO sheets act as the interlayer and interpore linkers to connect the large-sized RGO sheets and large pores. A maximum capacitance of 429.7 F g−1 is obtained for the optimized RGO electrode with small-sized RGO content of 40 wt%, which is 61.9% improvement compared to the RGO electrodes with pure large-sized RGO sheets. While, the specific surface area and electrical conductivity of the optimized RGO electrode are 36.1% and 26.2% improvement compared to the pure large-sized electrode. Therefore, we attribute the improved capacitance primarily comes from the increasing of specific surface area due to the formation of fine hierarchical structures and the better connection of the network structures (the increasing of electrical conductivity) for the optimized RGO electrode. Besides, the optimized RGO electrode exhibits good cycle, rate performance, power and energy density compared to the previous carbon based supercapacitor. Herein, we can precisely control the specific surface area and electrical conductivity of RGO electrode by simply adjusting the content of large- and small-sized RGO, which may shed useful insight for the design of high performance supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Our current knowledge about the anatomical substrate of impaired resting-state cortical oscillatory coupling in mild cognitive impairment is still rudimentary. Here, we show that both resting-state oscillatory coupling and its anatomical correlates clearly distinguish healthy older (HO) adults from individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). aMCI showed failures in neural-phase coupling of resting-state electroencephalographic alpha activity mostly evident between fronto-temporal and parietal regions. As oligomers of amyloid-beta (Aβ) are linked to synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we further investigated whether plasma concentrations of these oligomers (Aβ40 and Aβ42) accounted for impaired patterns of oscillatory coupling in aMCI. Results revealed that decreased plasma Aβ42 was associated with augmented coupling of parieto-temporal regions in HO subjects, but no relationship was found in aMCI. Oscillatory coupling of frontal regions was also significantly reduced in aMCI carriers of the ε4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) compared to ε4 noncarriers, although neither neuroanatomical nor plasma Aβ changes accounted for this difference. However, the abnormal pattern of oscillatory coupling in aMCI was negatively related to volume of the angular gyrus, and positively related to volume of the precuneus and the splenium of the corpus callosum. Previous evidence suggests that all these regions are neuropathological targets of AD. The current study takes that scenario one step further, suggesting that this anatomical damage could be responsible for disrupted cortical oscillatory coupling in aMCI. Together, these data shed light on how the MCI status modifies anatomo-functional relationships underlying coordination of large-scale cortical systems in the resting-state.
",non-battery
"A simple and novel strategy has been developed for the morphology-controlled synthesis of hierarchical CoS2 microspheres. The hierarchical mesoporous CoS2 architecture constructed by ultrathin nanosheets, when applied as electrode materials for supercapacitors, achieves a highest specific capacitance of 718.7Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 under a high mass loading, excellent rate capability (66.3% capacitance retention from 1Ag−1 to 20Ag−1), and good cycling stability (only a loss of 7.0% in the specific capacitance after 1000 cycles). Therefore, this work provides a promising approach for the rational design and synthesis of morphology-tunable micro/nanomaterials with superior properties for supercapacitors and other electrochemical applications.",battery
"Sorption technology has the potential to provide high energy density thermal storage units with negligible losses. However, major experimental and computational advancements are necessary to unlock the full potential of such storage technology, and to efficiently model its performance at system scale. This work addresses for the first time, the development, use and capabilities of neural networks models to predict the performance of a sorption thermal energy storage system. This type of models has the potential to have a lower computational cost compared to traditional physics-based models and an easier integrability into broader energy system models. Two neural network architectures are proposed to predict dynamically the state of charge, outlet temperature and therefore thermal power output of a sorption storage reactor. Every neural network architecture has been investigated in 32 different configurations for the two operating modes (hydration and dehydration), and a systematic training procedure identified the best configuration for each architecture and each operating mode. A campaign of test cases was thoroughly investigated to assess the performance of the proposed neural network architectures. The results show that the proposed model is capable to accurately replicate and predict the dynamic behavior of the storage system, with mean squared error estimators below 2 · 10−3 and 50 °C2 for the state of charge and the outlet temperature outputs, respectively. Our findings, therefore, highlight the potential of an artificial neural networks based modelling technique for sorption heat storage, which is accurate, computationally efficient, and with the potential to be driven by real time data.",battery
"Proton-conducting polymer electrolytes based on methacrylates were prepared by direct, radical polymerization of ethyl (EMA), 2-ethoxyethyl (EOEMA), and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). Samples with embedded solutions of phosphoric acid in propylene carbonate (PC), γ-butyrolactone (GBL), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and their mixtures were studied using impedance, voltammetrical and thermogravimetric methods. Membranes of long-term stability exhibit ionic conductivity up to 6.7×10−5 Scm−1 at 25°C reached for the sample PEMA–PC–H3PO4 (31:42:27mol.%). The accessible electrochemical potential window is 2.2–3V depending on the working electrode material (glassy carbon or platinum). The thermogravimetric analysis shows that the membranes are thermally stable up to 110–130°C.",battery
"Effective collaborative diagnosis, in a presentation environment, requires the presenter’s ability to control equipment at a distance. Conventional remote control multimedia presenters suffice for basic functionality of presentation applications. However, such factory-made remote controls are not particularly useful for a wider variety of applications, especially in the medical field where effective use of the systems and applications require the use of different keys. This paper reports the development of a USB (universal serial bus) remote control with customizable buttons, using RF (radio frequency) technology and allowing for effective control for a large range of manipulations on a workstation. Description of the implementation ideas and results achieved in the development of the firmware and hardware for such a technological tool for use in improving collaborative medical diagnosis and teaching are presented in this article.",non-battery
"Lithium ion batteries with an inorganic separator offer improved safety and enhanced reliability. The free-standing inorganic separators recently studied for lithium ion batteries are brittle and expensive. To address these issues, this paper reports the synthesis of a new and stable electrode-supported separator using a low-cost ceramic powder. Thin and porous α-Al2O3 separator films of thicknesses down to 40 μm were coated on Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) electrode by blade-coating a slurry of α-Al2O3, water and a small amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The performance of the LTO/Li cells with coated α-Al2O3 separator improves with decreasing PVA content. Cells with coated α-Al2O3 separator containing 0.4wt% PVA exhibit similar discharge capacity but better rate capability than those with commercial polypropylene (PP) or thick sintered α-Al2O3 separator. The coated α-Al2O3 separator does not react with LTO even after many charge/discharge cycles. Fabrication of the electrode-supported α-Al2O3 separator is scalable and cost-effective, offering high potential for practical application in industrial lithium ion battery manufacturing.",battery
"Although renewable energy resources are now being utilised more on a global scale than ever before, there is no doubt their contribution to the energy economy can still be greatly increased. Recently international support for developing these relatively new sources of energy has been driven by their benefits as assessed by reduced environmental impact, particularly reduced greenhouse gas emissions. After several decades of continuous but somewhat erratic funding for research and development of renewables, it is time to take stock of the key issues to be addressed in terms of implementation of major renewable energy programmes on a large scale worldwide. One of the first steps in this process is the identification and encouragement of reliable continuous markets both in developed and developing nations. Future energy policy and planning scenarios should take into account the factors necessary to integrate renewables in all their diverse forms into the normal energy economy of the country. Other critical factors in market development will include the mass production of high quality, reliable and reasonable cost technical products and the provision of adequate finance for demonstrating market ready and near market renewables equipment. Government agencies need to aid in the removal of legislative and institutional barriers hindering the widespread introduction of non-conventional energy sources and to encourage the implementation of government purchasing schemes. Recent moves by companies in Australia to market ‘green energy’ to customers should also aid in the public awareness of the ultimate potential of renewables leading to greater use in the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors.",battery
"Three rechargeable lithium cells have been fabricated using thin films of Li and sputter-deposited Li x Mn2−y O4 as the electrodes, and a LiPF6 organic liquid electrolyte. Cells were cycled up to 18 times between 4.5 and 2.5 V at 25°C both with and without the addition of the thin-film lithium phosphorus oxynitride solid electrolyte, known as Lipon. Of the cells tested, the Lipon film was most effective in maximizing the capacity and cycling efficiency when deposited in direct contact with the cathode; however, a significant improvement over the Lipon-free cell was also observed with Lipon sandwiched between layers of the liquid electrolyte. In the latter case, the Lipon was deposited onto a microporous polypropylene separator membrane.",battery
"Neuropsychological studies have shown that alcohol dependence is associated with neurocognitive deficits in tasks requiring memory, perceptual motor skills, abstraction and problem solving, whereas language skills are relatively spared in alcoholics despite structural abnormalities in the language-related brain regions. To investigate the preserved mechanisms of language processing in alcohol-dependents, functional brain imaging was undertaken in healthy controls (n=18) and alcohol-dependents (n=16) while completing a lexical semantic judgment task in a 3 T MR scanner. Behavioural data indicated that alcohol-dependents took more time than controls for performing the task but there was no significant difference in their response accuracy. fMRI data analysis revealed that while performing the task, the alcoholics showed enhanced activations in left supramarginal gyrus, precuneus bilaterally, left angular gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus as compared to control subjects. The extensive activations observed in alcoholics as compared to controls suggest that alcoholics recruit additional brain areas to meet the behavioural demands for equivalent task performance. The results are consistent with previous fMRI studies suggesting compensatory mechanisms for the execution of task for showing an equivalent performance or decreased neural efficiency of relevant brain networks. However, on direct comparison of the two groups, the results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons; therefore, the present findings need further exploration.",non-battery
"Studies of autobiographical memory in semantic dementia (SD) have yielded either a reversed temporal gradient or spared performances across the entire lifetime. This discrepancy might be owing to the fact that these studies did not take into account disease severity. Our aim was to study patterns of autobiographical memory impairment according to disease severity and to unravel their mechanisms in 14 SD patients, using an autobiographical memory task assessing overall and strictly episodic memories across the entire lifetime. We divided our patients in 2 subgroups of 7 patients each, one mild and one moderate according to their level of disease severity. The results indicated for the mild subgroup selective preserved performances for the most recent time period (last 12 months period) for both autobiographical memory scores. In the moderate subgroup, performances were impaired for both scores whatever the time period. Within-group comparisons across time periods showed a recency effect and a reminiscence bump in the mild subgroup and only a less important recency effect in the moderate subgroup, suggesting that with disease severity, old memories (reminiscence bump) tend to vanish and even recent memories are less well retrieved. A correlation analysis was carried out on the entire group, between the overall autobiographical memory score and performances provided by a general cognitive evaluation (semantic memory, executive functions, working and episodic memory). The results of this analysis reflect that mechanisms of disruption of autobiographical memory in SD predominantly involve a deficit of storage of semantic information in addition to faulty executive retrieval strategies. Finally, our result and those of the literature suggest the existence of 3 distinct autobiographical memory impairment patterns in SD according to disease severity: firstly preserved performances whatever the time period, secondly a reversed temporal gradient with a reminiscence bump and thirdly the appearance of a “step-function”.",non-battery
"Various electrochemical methods with different conditions were used to prepare lead dioxide (PbO2). The observation revealed that the morphology of deposited PbO2 could be controlled by simply changing deposition parameters. Under the condition of oxygen evolution, which dominates the electrode process, uniformly distributed high porous structured PbO2 was formed. The results indicated that large current density or high potential polarization should be one of the most important and necessary factors for forming high surface area PbO2 deposit. Only β-PbO2 was identified by X-ray diffraction measurement for the deposit prepared by present methods and solution. One potential application of this method is to prepare nanoscaled PbO2 parallel lines.",battery
"The spinel LiMgxMn2-xO4–2xF2x (x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2) samples are synthesized via a solid-state reaction route with the MgF2 as the dopant. The structure and performance of the samples are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results reveal that the LiMgxMn2-xO4–2xF2x (x= 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2) samples possess the typical octahedral structure with single phase. Especially, LiMg0.1Mn1.9O3.8F0.2 shows the highest initial discharge capacity of 121.1 mAh g−1, and the capacity retention is still as high as 89.2% even after 400 cycles at a rate of 1C under an elevated temperature of 55°C. Besides, it presents an excellent rate capability, a high discharge capacity of over 76.1 mAh g−1 is still obtained even at the high rate of 20C. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the Mg and F co-substitution can fundamentally ameliorate the Jahn-teller distortion of the conventional LiMn2O4, thus this is a very effective way for improving the elevated temperature capacity retention of LiMn2O4.",battery
"In this paper a novel combined battery model for state-of-charge (SoC) estimation in lead-acid batteries, based on extended Kalman filter (EKF) is presented. To obtain a more accurate SoC estimation technique, a combination of the two previously used models (RC and hysteresis battery models) is introduced; trying to compensate deficiencies of the individual models. The changes in the behavior of the battery are considered in the proposed SoC estimation method which makes it suitable for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified using an experimental test. This Kalman filter modeling approach is shown to give SoC estimation error within 2% compared with Ah counting method; therefore, better results are obtained in comparison with the other conventional methods.",battery
"River current energy conversion systems (RCECS) are electromechanical energy converters that convert kinetic energy of river water into other usable forms of energy. Over the last few decades, a number of reports on technical and economic feasibility of this technology have emerged. However, the potentials of this technology as an effective source of alternative energy have not yet been explored to a great extent. The underlying challenges of system design, operation and economics also lack proper understanding. In this article, starting with a definition of the RCECS, an overview of the technological advancements in the relevant field is provided. From a system engineering perspective, various merits and prospects of this technology along with pertinent challenges are discussed. The cross-disciplinary nature of approaching these challenges with an emphasis on the need for contributions from various technical and non-technical domains are also outlined in brief. This article may serve as a coherent literature survey or technology review that would provide better understanding of the subjacent issues and possibly rejuvenate research interest in this immensely potential field of energy engineering.",battery
"United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 ‘life below water’, is directed to the sustainable use and conservation of the oceans and marine resources. However, there is very limited information available on how the large-scale commercial fishing industry might contribute to the achievement of SDG 14. This paper shows engagement opportunities for the fishing industry, with a focus on fish harvesting, for the different targets of SDG 14. We find that the fish harvesting sector can contribute to almost all SDG 14 targets, except in the prohibition of certain forms of fishing subsidies. The fishing industry has the opportunity to implement practices that, for example, can help to reduce marine pollution or bycatch. More work is needed to provide specific reporting mechanisms for fisheries companies to assess their progress against the other SDGs.",non-battery
"The use of a latent heat storage system using phase change materials (PCMs) is an effective way of storing thermal energy and has the advantages of high-energy storage density and the isothermal nature of the storage process. PCMs have been widely used in latent heat thermal-storage systems for heat pumps, solar engineering, and spacecraft thermal control applications. The uses of PCMs for heating and cooling applications for buildings have been investigated within the past decade. There are large numbers of PCMs that melt and solidify at a wide range of temperatures, making them attractive in a number of applications. This paper also summarizes the investigation and analysis of the available thermal energy storage systems incorporating PCMs for use in different applications.",battery
"This paper investigates the state estimation of a high-fidelity spatially resolved thermal-electrochemical lithium-ion battery model commonly referred to as the pseudo two-dimensional model. The partial-differential algebraic equations (PDAEs) constituting the model are spatially discretised using Chebyshev orthogonal collocation enabling fast and accurate simulations up to high C-rates. This implementation of the pseudo-2D model is then used in combination with an extended Kalman filter algorithm for differential-algebraic equations to estimate the states of the model. The state estimation algorithm is able to rapidly recover the model states from current, voltage and temperature measurements. Results show that the error on the state estimate falls below 1% in less than 200 s despite a 30% error on battery initial state-of-charge and additive measurement noise with 10 mV and 0.5 K standard deviations.",battery
"In this work, the Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox couple is studied as an alternative half-cell electrolyte for Redox Flow Battery (RFB) applications. Copper is an abundant and environmentally friendly material that, in combination with appropriate complexing agents, can be solubilized at high concentrations in aqueous media. The effect of adding chlorides as complexing agents in different concentrations, as well as the effects of temperature, have been examined with the objective of increasing the chemical stability of copper chloro-complexes in solution as well as to improve upon the reversibility of these electrochemical reactions. Also, an important shift in potential towards more positive values has been observed when high concentrations of chlorides are used, deviating approximately 0.5 V from the standard redox potential of this couple. This allows for the application of this copper redox couple as a positive electrolyte for RFB technologies.",battery
"This article presents the results of a laboratory experiment and an online multi-country experiment testing the effect of motor vehicle eco-labels on consumers. The laboratory study featured a discrete choice task and questions on comprehension, while the ten countries online experiment included measures of willingness to pay and comprehension. Labels focusing on fuel economy or running costs are better understood, and influence choice about money-related eco-friendly behaviour. We suggest that this effect comes through mental accounting of fuel economy. In the absence of a cost saving frame, we do not find a similar effect of information on CO2 emissions and eco-friendliness. Labels do not perform as well as promotional materials. By virtue of being embedded into a setting designed to capture the attention, the latter are more effective. We found also that large and expensive cars tend to be undervalued once fuel economy is highlighted.
",non-battery
"A simple, economical and convenient mechano-thermal coating procedure for the production of LiCoO2 with improved cycling performance is described. The coating material was pre-formed nanoparticulate fumed silica. TEM studies with a 1.0wt.% silica-coated cathode suggested that the silica species partially diffused into the bulk of the cathode material. XRD studies showed a diminished lattice parameter c upon coating, indicating that a substitutional compound of the LiSi y Co1−y O2+0.5y type might have formed upon calcination. SEM images, R-factor values from XRD studies and electrochemical studies showed that a coating level of 1.0wt.% gave an optimal performance in capacity and cyclability. SEM images showed that above this level, the excess silica formed spherules, which got glued to the coated cathode particles. Galvanostatic cycling studies showed that at a coating level of 1.0wt.%, cyclability improved three and nine times for two commercial LiCoO2 samples.",battery
The influences of adding vanadium to the structure evolution and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 are systematically investigated by in-situ X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy. The results indicate that the addition of a small amount of vanadium (less than at 1%) significantly reduces the formation of non-crystalline (highly disordered) triphylite and remnant heterosite phases in the cathode of battery especially at the rate capability higher than 0.5C. The cycle stability of LiFePO4 cathode with vanadium additive after 80 cycles is improved by 14.9% compared to that without vanadium additive. Such an enhancement could be attributed to the ion diffusion kinetics being improved and inactive triphylite being reduced by the supervalent-vanadium additive in cathode during electrochemical redox cycles.,battery
" Interest is increasing in the application of standardised outcome measures in clinical practice. Measures designed for use in research may not be sufficiently precise to be used in monitoring individual patients. However, little is known about how clinicians and in particular, multidisciplinary teams, score patients using these measures. This paper explores the challenges faced by multidisciplinary teams in allocating scores on standardised outcome measures in clinical practice.",non-battery
"Fabricating high-performance anode materials is of great significance for the realization of advanced Na-ion batteries (SIBs). Poor rate capability and insufficient cycle stability are two main scientific issues urgently needing to be solved for sodium titanate (NaxTiyOz) anodes. In this paper, protonated titanate nanowire arrays are designed rationally as novel additive-free anodes for SIBs. Results reveal that the protonated strategy can controllablly regulate the lattice interlayer spacing of the titanate, which can not only effectively facilitate the Na-ion migration but also suppress the side reaction and inhibit the irreversible trapping of Na-ions in the crystal framework, leading to fast Na-ion diffusion kinetics. Moreover, the protonated titanate material experiences smaller changes in lattice parameters and unit-cell volume during long-term cycling than those of non-protonated material, resulting in less mechanical stresses and capacity loss in an anode. As expected, the protonated titanate material exhibits superior rate performance and ultralong lifespan when utilized as free-standing anode for SIB, remaining 85% capacity retention after 8000 cycles at 5.0Ag−1 (~ 23C). When assembled as full cell with Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode, high energy density (262.3Whkg−1) and power density (1748.9Wkg−1), excellent rate capability and superior cycle stability (260 cycles, 86%) can be achieved.",battery
"To investigate the effects of salt concentration, LiBF4 was incorporated into a PVdF–PVC based polymer blend and thin electrolytes were prepared by solution casting technique. The obtained thin films were subjected to various characterizations such as FTIR, XRD and TG/DTA analysis to study their complex behaviour, amorphicity and thermal stability, respectively. The ionic conductivities of the electrolytes were measured by AC impedance. A PVdF (80)–PVC (20)–LiBF4 (8wt%) polymer electrolyte was found to have high conductivity compared to other complexes. Similar investigations were also repeated with a LiClO4 salt in the above blend and the electrical conductivity was found to be higher in the polymer complex having 8wt% of salt concentration.",battery
"Intermetallic SnTe composites dispersed in a conductive TiC/C hybrid matrix are synthesized by high-energy ball milling (HEBM). The electrochemical performances of the composites as potential anodes for Li-ion batteries are evaluated. The structural and morphological characteristics of the SnTe–TiC–C composites with various TiC contents are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, which reveal that SnTe and TiC are uniformly dispersed in a carbon matrix. The electrochemical performance is significantly improved by introducing TiC to the SnTe–C composite; higher TiC contents result in better performances. Among the prepared composites, the SnTe–TiC (30%)–C and SnTe–TiC (40%)–C electrodes exhibit the best electrochemical performance, showing the reversible capacities of, respectively, 652 mAh cm−3 and 588 mAh cm−3 after 400 cycles and high rate capabilities with the capacity retentions of 75.4% for SnTe–TiC (30%)–C and 82.2% for SnTe–TiC (40%)–C at 10 A g−1. Furthermore, the Li storage reaction mechanisms of Te or Sn in the SnTe–TiC–C electrodes are confirmed by ex situ XRD.",battery
"The insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I)-calcineurin (CaN)-NFATc signaling pathways have been implicated in the regulation of myocyte hypertrophy and fiber-type specificity. In the present study, the expression of the CnAα, NFATc3, and IGF-I genes was quantified by RT-PCR for the first time in the breast muscle (BM) and leg muscle (LM) on days 13, 17, 21, 25, and 27 of embryonic development, as well as at 7 days posthatching (PH), in Gaoyou and Jinding ducks, which differ in their muscle growth rates. Consistent expression patterns of CnAα, NFATc3, and IGF-I were found in the same anatomical location at different development stages in both duck breeds, showing significant differences in an age-specific fashion. However, the three genes were differentially expressed in the two different anatomical locations (BM and LM). CnAα, NFATc3, and IGF-I messenger RNA (mRNA) could be detected as early as embryonic day 13 (ED13), and the highest level appeared at this stage in both BM and LM. Significant positive relationships were observed in the expression of the studied genes in the BM and LM of both duck breeds. Also, the expression of these three genes showed a positive relationship with the percentage of type IIb fibers and a negative relationship with the percentage of type I fibers and type IIa fibers. Our data indicate differential expression and coordinated developmental regulation of the selected genes involved in the IGF-I-calcineurin-NFATc3 pathway in duck skeletal muscle during embryonic and early PH growth and development; these data also indicate that this signaling pathway might play a role in the regulation of myofiber type transition.",non-battery
"Maricite NaFePO4 (m-NaFePO4) was investigated as a positive electrode material for intermediate-temperature operation of sodium secondary batteries using ionic liquid electrolytes. Powdered m-NaFePO4 was prepared by a conventional solid-state method at 873 K and subsequently fabricated in two different conditions; one is ball-milled in acetone and the other is re-calcined at 873 K after the ball-milling. Electrochemical properties of the electrodes prepared with the as-synthesized m-NaFePO4, the ball-milled m-NaFePO4, and the re-calcined m-NaFePO4 were investigated in Na[FSA]-[C2C1im][FSA] (C2C1im+ = 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, FSA− = bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide) ionic liquid electrolytes at 298 K and 363 K to assess the effects of temperature and particle size on their electrochemical properties. A reversible charge-discharge capacity of 107 mAh g−1 was achieved with a coulombic efficiency >98% from the 2nd cycle using the ball-milled m-NaFePO4 electrode at a C–rate of 0.1 C and 363 K. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy using m-NaFePO4/m-NaFePO4 symmetric cells indicated that inactive m-NaFePO4 becomes an active material through ball-milling treatment and elevation of operating temperature. X-ray diffraction analysis of crystalline m-NaFePO4 confirmed the lattice contraction and expansion upon charging and discharging, respectively. These results indicate that the desodiation-sodiation process in m-NaFePO4 is reversible in the intermediate-temperature range.",battery
"Lithium ion battery electrode materials generally experience significant volume changes during charging and discharging caused by concentration changes within the host particles. Electrode failure, in the form of fracture or decrepitation, may occur as a result of a highly localized stress, strain energy, and stress cycles over time. In this paper, we develop analytic expressions for the evolution of stress and strain energy within a spherically shaped electrode element under either galvanostatic (constant current) or potentiostatic (constant potential) operation when irreversible phenomena are dominated by solute diffusion resistance within host particles. We show that stresses and strain energy can evolve quite differently under potentiostatic vs. galvanostatic control. The findings of this work suggest the possibility of developing new battery charging strategies that minimize stress and strain energy and thus prolong battery life.",battery
"Silicon is one of the most promising anode materials for the next-generation high energy density lithium-ion batteries as its superior specific capacity and ultralow lithiation/delithiation voltage. Whereas, silicon suffers massive volume change during cycling, resulting in drastic pulverization of active material and iterative growth of solid electrolyte interphase, largely limiting their widely applications. To address the challenge, water-soluble glycinamide modified PAA (PAA-GA) is synthesized through a facile and low-cost coupling method as a polymer binder to assemble silicon anode for alleviating its huge volume change. The carboxyl and double amide groups of the PAA-GA can form hydrogen bonds with the hydration layer of silicon, and meanwhile the double amide groups of PAA-GA can form double hydrogen bonds via interchain cohesion. These strong supramolecular interactions are reversible and can recover the dissociated bonds more efficiently upon the elimination of the mechanical stress. The PAA-GA-based silicon electrodes exhibit excellent cycling stability and high coulombic efficiency, demonstrating the PAA-GA binder being great potential in fabricating high energy density silicon anodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"An attapulgite clay-supported cobalt-boride (Co-B) catalyst used in portable fuel cell fields is prepared in this paper by impregnation–chemical reduction method. The cost of attapulgite clay is much lower compared with some other inert carriers, such as activated carbon and carbon nanotube. Its microstructure and catalytic activity are analyzed in this paper. The effects of NaOH concentration, NaBH4 concentration, reacting temperature, catalyst loadings and recycle times on the performance of the catalysts in hydrogen production from alkaline NaBH4 solutions are investigated. Furthermore, characteristics of these catalysts are carried out in SEM, XRD and TEM analysis. The high catalytic activity of the catalyst indicates that it is a promising and practical catalyst. Activation energy of hydrogen generation using such catalysts is estimated to be 56.32kJmol−1. In the cycle test, from the 1st cycle to the 9th cycle, the average hydrogen generation rate decreases gradually from 1.27lmin−1 g−1 Co-B to 0.87lmin−1 g−1 Co-B.",battery
" Satellite tagging programs have provided detailed information about the migratory patterns of northeastern Pacific white sharks, revealing a seasonal migration between a vast offshore region and coastal aggregation sites. Although adult males undergo annual round-trip migrations, photo-identification programs have noted that sexually mature females may only visit coastal aggregation sites once every 2 years, a behavior that is presumably linked to an estimated 18-month gestation period. The whereabouts of females during their full 2-year migration were previously unknown, because of the limited battery capacity of satellite pop-up tags.",non-battery
"A composite electrode between three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) Li0.35La0.55TiO3 (LLT) and LiMn2O4 was fabricated by colloidal crystal templating method and sol–gel process. A close-packed PS beads with the opal structure was prepared by filtration of a suspension containing PS beads. Li–La–Ti–O sol was injected by vacuum impregnation process into the voids between PS beads, and then was heated to form 3DOM-LLT. Three-dimensionally ordered composite material consisting of LiMn2O4 and LLT was prepared by sol–gel process. The prepared composite was characterized with SEM and XRD. All solid-state Li-ion battery was fabricated with the LLT–LiMn2O4 composite electrode as a cathode, dry polymer electrolyte and Li metal anode. The prepared all solid-state cathode exhibited a volumetric discharge capacity of 220mAhcm−3.",battery
"Vanadium pentoxide/polyaniline (V2O5/PANi) composite films were prepared by a two-step electrochemical method and evaluated for their application in lithium batteries. As a first step the PANi film was potentiodynamically grown in an acid solution containing aniline monomer, and secondly vanadium oxide was oxidatively deposited on the polyaniline film in a temperature controlled VOSO4 solution. The increased current efficiency obtained with the larger anodic current in the high temperature solutions results in high contents of V2O5 in the composites, even if the oxidative dissolution of PANi also occurs. The large value of the diffusion coefficient estimated from the cyclic voltammograms for the composite film provides evidence for the synergistic effect of the conducting polymer and the inorganic composite. The cell exhibited excellent cycle stability with a high charge storage capacity. The large increase in the specific capacity for the composite film prepared in this work demonstrates that the conducting polymer in the composite acts as a binding and conducting element by contributing its electroactivity. The V2O5/PANi composite film cathodes show a large specific capacity (ca. 270mAh/g) and improved cyclability with an extremely small amount of capacity fading (ca. 3.4%) during repeated charge/discharge cycles.",battery
"The cDNA sequences encoding manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn–SOD) and catalase (CAT) were isolated in the freshwater bivalve Unio tumidus by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using degenerate primers. Quantitative real-time PCR approach was used to evaluate the mRNA expression patterns of SOD, CAT, selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (Se-GPx), pi class glutathione S-transferase (pi-GST) and metallothionein (MT), in the digestive gland of Unio tumidus transplanted from a control site to four stations in the Moselle River (M1–M4), for periods of 8 and 21 days. These sites were chosen upstream and downstream of populated areas. Chemical analysis performed on sediments from the Moselle river sites did not show high levels of pollutants. Decrease of SOD, CAT, Se-GPx and MT mRNA levels were observed at M3 site after a 21-day exposure compared to control site. These results suggest inefficiency of antioxidant systems affected by cytotoxic mechanisms and confirm an environmental perturbation. Organisms transplanted at M4 site showed a strong increase of biomarkers transcription levels after 21 days of exposure. These inductions could correspond to an adaptive response to an altered environment. Our results showed that biological approaches using multibiomarkers appear as essential tools complementary to measurement of contaminants, to detect environmental degradations.
",non-battery
"A special issue of the journal Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells has just been published, dedicated to Stanford R. Ovshinsky — one of the most illustrious photovoltaic pioneers.",non-battery
"The use of the high energy Li-ion battery technology for emerging markets like electromobility requires precise appraisal of their safety levels in abuse conditions. Combustion tests were performed on commercial pouch cells by means of the Fire Propagation Apparatus also called Tewarson calorimeter in the EU, so far used to study flammability parameters of polymers and chemicals. Well-controlled conditions for cell combustion are created in such an apparatus with the opportunity to analyse standard decomposition/combustion gases and therefore to quantify thermal and toxic threat parameters governing the fire risk namely the rate of heat release and the effective heat of combustion as well as the toxic product releases. Using the method of O2 consumption, total combustion heats and its kinetic of production were determined as a function of the cell state of charge unveiling an explosion risk in the case of a charged cell. The resulting combustion heat is revealed to be consistent with cumulated contribution values pertaining to each organic part of the cell (polymers and electrolytes) as calculated from thermodynamic data. The first order evaluation of the dangerousness of toxic gases resulting from fire induced combustion such as HF, CO, NO, SO2 and HCl was undertaken and stressed the fact that HF is the most critical gas originating from F-containing cell components in our test conditions.
",battery
"The effect of carbon-coating on the elevated temperature performance of Li|graphite half-cells is investigated for 1M LiPF6 in PC|EC|DEC (3:2:5) and 1M LiBF4 in EC|DMC (2:1) electrolytes (PC = propylene carbonate; EC = ethylene carbonate; DEC = diethyl carbonate; DMC = dimethyl carbonate). Carbon-coated graphite is prepared by mixing synthetic graphite particles with polyvinylchloride powders, followed by heating to 1000°C under a flow of argon gas. For LiPF6-based cells, when pre-cycled cells are stored at 80°C and then cycled at 30°C, the loss of charge after storage at elevated temperature is much less with carbon-coated graphite than with untreated graphite electrode. When cycled at 80°C without pre-cycling, the carbon-coated graphite electrode shows stable cycling behaviour, but untreated graphite results in premature cell failure. It appears that the carbon-coating preserves the graphite electrode even after storage at 60°C in LiBF4-based electrolyte. From cycling and storage tests, it is concluded that surface modification through carbon-coating is very effective for the improvement of electrochemical performance and thermal stability of graphite electrodes at elevated temperatures.",battery
"Iron hydroxyl phosphate, with the formula Fe1.5(PO4)(OH), used as a cathode material in lithium ion batteries, is synthesised by a sample hydrothermal method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and galvanostatical charge/discharge tests are employed to characterise the morphology, structure and electrochemical performance of the iron hydroxyl phosphate, respectively. FE-SEM shows that the morphologies are closely related to the hydrothermal temperatures at which they are synthesised. The morphologies, such as spherical, cubic, multi-armed and cross-like structures, could be easily regulated by adjusting the hydrothermal temperature. It is found that different morphologies of iron hydroxyl phosphate gave rise to different electrochemical performances. Compared to the others, iron hydroxyl phosphate spherical composites exhibit not only a high reversible capacity but also good cycling stability, with a reversible initial discharge specific capacity of around 176 mAh g−1 and a remaining 95% of the initial discharge specific capacity after 60 cycles at 0.1C. The improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the spherical morphology and smaller particle size, which increase the reaction interfaces and shorten the diffusion distance of the lithium ions.",battery
"Unknown ‘Note: Page numbers followed by “f” indicate figures, “t” indicate tables and “b” indicate boxes.’",non-battery
"Novel ternary Fe-Sn-P alloys prepared by simple single-step electrodeposition are investigated as promising anodes for Li-ion batteries. The Fe51Sn38P11 electrode, in particular, shows outstanding Li-storage properties, with initial specific discharge/charge capacities of 857.8 and 655mAhg−1, respectively. The reversible capacity remains stable at 427mAhg−1, even after 90 cycles, corresponding to a coulombic efficiency of 96% and a capacity retention of 65%. The cauliflower-like morphology of the above anode is well preserved after 90 cycles, suggesting that this alloy could significantly mitigate the electrode volume expansion by exerting a positive multiphase synergistic effect. The superior electrochemical performance of the ternary Fe-Sn-P alloys confirmed its potential as an alternative Li-ion storage anode; the large-scale suitability of the developed electroplating method provides an additional advantage.",battery
" Co3O4-doped TiO2 nanotube array electrodes were prepared by anodizing the Co–Ti alloys with different Co contents. Morphologies, elemental compositions, crystal structures, and electrochemical properties of the samples were characterized through scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical workstation. The effects of Co content, annealing temperature and testing electrolyte on the electrochemical properties of the electrodes were studied. Results show that the areal capacitance values of TiO2 nanotube arrays were obviously improved by doping with Co3O4. The electrochemical properties of Co3O4-doped TiO2 nanotube array electrodes were best when the Co content in the alloys was 9%; the annealing temperature was 100 °C and the testing electrolyte was 0.5 M Na2SO4. The Co3O4-doped TiO2 nanotube array electrodes prepared under the optimal conditions had a high areal capacitance value of 937.9 µF cm−2 when the scan rate was 10 mV s−1 and the electrodes exhibited good rate and superior cycling performance.",battery
"A high temperature ethanol-fed polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell has been implemented by using H3PO4-doped m-polybenzimidazole as polymeric electrolyte. Commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C and Pt3Sn/C catalysts are used in the anode. The performance was assessed in terms of polarization curves at different temperatures, feeding the cell with a high concentration ethanol solution (water/ethanol mass ratio of 2). The product distribution was measured with the support of a gas chromatograph. The use of bimetallic catalysts increased the current density. PtRu/C showed the best performance up to 175 °C, but it is outperformed by Pt3Sn/C at 200 °C. In terms of oxidation products, higher temperatures and current densities favour the oxidation of ethanol. However, Pt3Sn/C promoted the generation of more oxidized products compared to PtRu/C (in which most of the ethanol is oxidized to acetaldehyde), especially at high temperature. This accounts for the large current density. In terms of complete oxidation of ethanol to CO2, Pt/C was by far the most efficient catalyst for C–C scission, achieving percentages of 56 % of CO2, although operating above 175 °C dramatically boosted an undesirable methanation process that slashed the efficiency. The combination of fuel cell results and product distribution helped to suggest the different oxidation routes on the surface of the different catalysts.
",battery
"Energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction (EDXRD) is one of the few techniques that can internally probe a sealed battery under operating conditions. In this paper, we use EDXRD with ultrahigh energy synchrotron radiation to track inhomogeneity in a cycled high-capacity lithium iron phosphate cell under in-situ and operando conditions. A sequence of depth-profile x-ray diffraction spectra are collected with 40 μm resolution as the cell is discharged. Additionally, nine different locations of the cell are tracked independently throughout a second discharge process. In each case, a two-peak reference intensity ratio analysis (RIR) was used on the LiFePO4 311 and the FePO4 020 reflections to estimate the relative phase abundance of the lithiated and non-lithiated phases. The data provide a first-time look at the dynamics of electrochemical inhomogeneity in a real-world battery. We observe a strong correlation between inhomogeneity and overpotential in the galvanic response of the cell. Additionally, the data closely follow the behavior that is predicted by the resistive-reactant model originally proposed by Thomas-Alyea. Despite a non-linear response in the independently measured locations, the behavior of the ensemble is strikingly linear. This suggests that effects of inhomogeneity can be elusive and highlights the power of the EDXRD technique.",battery
"LiNi0.5−x Co2x Mn1.5−x O4 (0≤2x ≤0.2) was prepared by a spray dry process and comparative studies were carried out between the as-prepared series and the series re-annealed in O2. The cobalt substitution resulted in significant structural and electrochemical variations, such as the transformation of the space group from P4332 to F d 3 ¯ m , the increase in the occupancy of cobalt in the tetrahedral sites, and the change in the shape of the charge and discharge profiles, which are related to the progressive oxygen loss. Moreover, an improved rate capability and cyclic performance at high rate was observed for the sample with 2x ≥0.1.",battery
"We report all carbon-based high energy Li-ion capacitor from environmentally threatening bio-source, prosopis juliflora. The pyrolyzed carbon exhibits a few layers of graphene-like structure and tubular morphology with multiple inherent heteroatoms like N, S, and Ca. Presence of such heteroatoms are certainly beneficial to the betterment of electrical conductivity, and pore generation which eventually results in an enhancement in capacity/capacitance of carbonaceous materials. The electrochemical pre-lithiation strategy is used to mitigate the irreversibility observed, and eventually employed as a negative electrode in a hybrid configuration. This LIC delivered a high energy density of ∼216 and 185 Wh kg−1 at ambient (25 °C) and elevated temperature (55 °C) conditions, respectively. Further, ∼94% initial capacity is retained after 5000 cycles with minimum fading of 0.0013% per cycle at ambient temperature. This results clearly demonstrate that the surface functionality and heteroatom doping with tubular structure synergistically facilitates the Li+ and electron transport properties to realize higher energy density for this fascinating all carbon-based Li-ion capacitor.",battery
"Carbon nanotube (CNT) has been widely applied to transition metal oxides anodes for lithium ion batteries, acting as a buffer, hollow backbone and conductive additive. Since the presence of N in carbon materials can enhance the reactivity and electrical conductivity, N-doped carbon nanotube (N-CNT) might be a better choice than pure CNT, which is exemplified by coaxial manganese dioxide@N-doped carbon nanotubes as a superior anode. The electrochemical properties of MnO2@N-CNT are investigated in terms of cycling stability and rate capability. The nanocomposite can deliver a specific capacity of 1415mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at the current density of 100mAg−1, which is better than that of MnO2@commercial CNT and MnO2. The excellent performance might be related to the integration of hollow structure, one-dimensional nanoscale size as well as combination with N-doped carbon materials.",battery
"Spherical Li[Ni0.8Co0.2−x Mn x ]O2 (x =0, 0.1) with phase-pure and well-ordered layered structure have been synthesized by heat-treatment of spherical [Ni0.8Co0.2−x Mn x ](OH)2 and LiOH·H2O precursors. The structure, morphology, electrochemical properties, and thermal stability of Li[Ni0.8Co0.2−x Mn x ]O2 (x =0, 0.1) were studied. The average particle size of the powders was about 10–15μm and the size distribution was narrow due to the homogeneity of the metal hydroxide [Ni0.8Co0.2−x Mn x ](OH)2 (x =0, 0.1). The Li[Ni0.8Co0.2−x Mn x ]O2 (x =0, 0.1) delivered a discharge capacity of 197–202mAhg−1 and showed excellent cycling performance. Compared to Li[Ni0.8Co0.2]O2, Li[Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1]O2 exhibited greater thermal stability resulting from improved structural stability due to Mn substitution.",battery
"The activities in the battery field currently in progress in Italian academic and industrial laboratories will be briefly reviewed. After reporting the key achievements obtained in lead-acid batteries, the presentation will be focused on systems of more recent development with particular attention to the lithium batteries. Interestingly, there is in Italy quite an intense research and development activity on these new-concept batteries which are now the power sources of choice for popular electronic devices, e.g. cellular phones, and in prospect valid systems for powering electric vehicles. Basic research is carried out in various university and government centers with the aim of characterizing new lithium ion electrode and electrolyte materials. This intense research is backed by substantial development activity since few Italian industries are presently engaged in the production of lithium batteries of different size and characteristics. Italy is then well established in battery R&D, confirming the country’s historical involvement in the field since Volta’s pile invention in 1800.",battery
"Solar home systems (SHSs) are the real hope for electrification of the off-grid areas in Bangladesh by utilizing the solar energy in renewable and sustainable basis. This paper demonstrates the solar energy prospect, the present status and dissemination schemes of SHSs in off-grid and coastal areas of Bangladesh by several government and Non-government organizations (NGOs). The country has an average daily solar radiation ranges between 4–6.5kWh/m2. Currently, more than 3.8 million SHSs of capacity range 10–135Wp (watt peak) with a total capacity of 150MW have been disseminated in rural and isolated areas in Bangladesh. In this paper, ten case studies of capacity 20Wp, 30Wp and 42Wp were investigated to evaluate economic viability at two randomly selected villages in Sirajgonj district and Jessore district, Bangladesh. The analysis showed that the SHSs for small business enterprise and household with small income generation are economically viable rather than only household lighting.",battery
"In this work the high capacity anode material Sn4P3 for sodium ion batteries is investigated by electrochemical cycling and synchrotron-based hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) in order to elucidate the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) properties during the first 1.5 cycles. The electrochemical properties of tin phosphide (Sn4P3) when used as an anode material are first established in half cells versus metallic sodium in a 1M NaFSI in EC:DEC electrolyte including 5 vol% FEC as SEI forming additive. The data from these experiments are then used to select the parameters for the samples to be analysed by HAXPES. A concise series of five cycled samples, as well as a soaked and pristine sample, were measured at different states of sodiation after the initial sodiation and after the following full cycle of sodiation and desodiation. Our results indicate that the SEI is not fully stable, as both significant thickness and composition changes are detected during cell cycling.",battery
"Malaria continues to be a major infectious disease of the developing world and the problem is compounded not only by the emergence of drug resistant strains but also from a lack of a vaccine. The situation for tuberculosis (TB) infection is equally problematic. Once considered a “treatable” disease for which eradication was predicted, TB has re-emerged as highly lethal, multi-drug resistant strains after the outbreak of AIDS. Worldwide, the disease causes millions of deaths annually. Similarly, treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis have been impeded due to the potentially lethal side effects of the new and widely prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory compounds. Thais have utilized bioresources from plants and some microorganisms for medicine for thousands of years. Because of the need for new drugs to fight malaria and TB, with radically different chemical structures and mode of actions other than existing drugs, efforts have been directed towards searching for new drugs from bioresources. This is also true for anti-inflammatories. Although Thailand is considered species-rich, only a small number of potential bioresources has been investigated. This article briefly describes the pathogenesis of 2 infectious diseases, malaria and TB, and modern medicines employed in chemotherapy. Diversities of Thai flora and fungi and their chemical constituents with antagonistic properties against these 2 diseases are described in detail. Similarly, anti-inflammatory compounds, mostly cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, are also described herein to demonstrate the potential of Thai bioresources to provide a wide array of compounds for treatment of diseases of a different nature.",non-battery
"In order to study the electronic structure changes of the electrochemically delithiated Li1−x Fe0.5Co0.5PO4 system, in situ Fe and Co K-edge XAS and ex situ P K-edge XAS have been carried out during the first charging process. The Fe and Co K-edge XAS results showed that the major charge compensation at the metal sites during charge is achieved by the oxidation of Fe2+ ions at lower potential plateau (∼3.6V) and the oxidation of Co2+ ions at higher potential plateau (∼5.0V). The gradual shift of main edge features in P K-edge XANES spectra showed that PO bonds become less covalent during delithiation, due to the increased covalency of Fe3+ O bonds via the inductive effect. From the observation of pre-edge peaks, it is concluded that the electrochemical delithiation of Li1−x FePO4 result in the hybridization of P 3p states with the metal 3d states.",battery
"The paper discusses the interpretation of electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurement of charging and transport of electronic species in conducting polymers, as a function of the polymer potential. The charging is accessible via two independent methods of measuring the chemical capacitance, C μ: electrically, by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and optically, by the light absorption. The conductivity, σ, is measured by the microband electrode method. We formulate the models of the chemical capacitance for the formation of polarons and bipolarons in the presence of Gaussian disorder in the energy levels. This gives rise to the appearance of either one or two broad peaks in CV, depending on the formation energies of the polaron and bipolaron species. We also discuss the interpretation of the diffusion coefficient D p and conductivity in the presence of a broad disorder. We find that the relation σ = C μ D p is generally valid, and application of the generalized Einstein relation allows us to find also the properties of the carrier mobility, u p. A decrease of the mobility at very high carrier densities is expected because the density of states (DOS) is finite, and the transport is limited by the decrease of available empty transport sites. The observation of separate capacitance peaks for polarons and bipolarons is reported in a polydicarbazole based conducting polymer, namely poly[2,6-bis-carbazole-9-yl-hexanoic acid pentafluorophenol ester]. The measured conductivity displays the expected feature, on the basis of the model, of a decrease when the DOS is saturated at high oxidation levels.",battery
"To reach ambitious CO2 mitigation targets, the transport sector has to become nearly emission-free and the most promising option for passenger cars are battery electric vehicles (BEV) powered using renewable energy. Despite their important benefits, BEV still face technological barriers, mainly their limited battery range and the limited availability of public fast-charging infrastructure. These factors are hindering the diffusion of electric vehicles (EV). The question of how to address these technical barriers has been widely analyzed in the literature, but so far there has been no cost-efficiency comparison of longer battery ranges and more widespread fast-charging infrastructure that evaluates them both technically and economically. This paper aims to find cost-efficient ways to address limited battery ranges and availability of public fast-charging infrastructure. We focus on German passenger cars that are licensed to commercial owners, since these are an important first market for EV. Our results indicate that fast-charging infrastructure is very cost-efficient as it enables significant proportions of BEV in the fleet at low infrastructure density. The technically feasible maximum BEV shares in the commercial sector can only be achieved with longer battery ranges. However, longer battery ranges are currently associated with comparatively high additional costs.",battery
"Smart manufacturing is the next industrial revolution. The requirements from the manufacturing sector, and more generally, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has been one of the driving verticals for the design and development of new concepts and technologies. Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) is one such technology which provides ultra-low power and reliable communication in industrial scenarios. The heart of TSCH is the scheduling algorithm that creates a communication schedule for each node. This paper proposes a fuzzy based priority aware (FPAS) TSCH scheduling technique for scalable industrial IoT networks. The proposed technique supports service differentiation, to improve battery life and reduce latency. The algorithm uses fuzzy logic to determine the priority of a node. The allocation module allocates the required number of slots based on the priority and the amount of traffic generated. The proposed FPAS algorithm is compared with two existing state of the art scheduling functions (SF), scheduling function-zero (SF0) and low latency scheduling function (LLSF). The result shows that FPAS is more scalable than SF0 and LLSF, provides collision free communication and improves duty cycle by 7%, battery life by 28.26%, packet loss ratio by 94% and reduces latency by 74.63% and collisions by 89% respectively.",non-battery
"Hierarchical LiMn2O4 microspheres were prepared using urchin-like α-MnO2 as a self-sacrificial template. As the cathode material for lithium ion batteries, the electrochemical properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and charge/discharge experiments. The results indicated that the LiMn2O4 microspheres had high discharge capacity and excellent cycle stability. Furthermore, a new electrochemical biosensor was constructed by immobilization of bovine myoglobin (Mb) and LiMn2O4 in a thin film of chitosan (CTS) on the surface of carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE). Electrochemical behaviors of Mb entrapped in the film were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. A pair of well-defined redox peaks appears, which indicates a fast electron transfer rate of Mb with the underlying CILE. The electron transfer coefficient and electron transfer rate constant of Mb were calculated to be 0.47 and 1.04s−1, respectively. The Mb modified electrode showed good electrocatalytic ability toward the reduction of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) with a detection limit of 0.16mmolL−1 (3σ).",battery
"To enhance the specific capacity and cycling stability of manganese binoxide (MnO2) for supercapacitor, antimony (Sb) doped tin dioxide (SnO2) is coated on MnO2 through a sol-gel method to prepare MnO2 electrodes, enhancing the electrochemical performance of MnO2 electrode in sodium sulfate electrolytes. The structure and composition of SS-MnO2 electrode are characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-Ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). The electrochemical performances are evaluated and researched by galvanostatic charge-discharge test, cyclic voltammogram (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that SS-MnO2 electrodes hold porous structure, displaying superior cycling stability at large current work condition in charge-discharge tests and good capacity performance at high scanning rate in CV tests. The results of EIS show that SS-MnO2 electrodes have small internal resistance. Therefore, the electrochemical performances of MnO2 electrodes are enhanced effectively by Sb-doped SnO2 coating.",battery
"A novel LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4/C composite is synthesized via a sol–gel process. In this composite, acetylene black is embedded in LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4. The structure and morphology of the resulting composite are characterized with XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET, and its performance as the cathode of lithium ion battery is investigated by charge–discharge test and EIS, with a comparison of the sample prepared without embedding acetylene black. It is found that the embedded composite exhibits better performance than the non-embedded sample. The former delivers a reversible capacity of 160 mAh g−1, while the latter only 142 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C (1C = 150 mAh g−1 in the work). The embedded acetylene black not only functions as a barrier for the growing of LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 particles in the preparation process, which is important for the formation of nano-particles, but also helps build a stable conductive network, thus improving the charge–discharge performance of LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4.",battery
" An easy sol–gel method was devised to synthesize the carbon-wrapped Na0.67Ni0.17Ti0.67Co0.17O2 nanoparticles (NNTC/C), which served as anode material in the new type of sodium-ion batteries. Functioned as the sodium storage medium, the NNTC/C exhibited initial discharge/charge capacities of 122/110 mA h g−1 at the rate of 0.2 C in the voltage range of 0.2–2.5 V with capacity retention of almost 82% of its initial capacity after 500 cycles. It is indicated that among the component metals, redox association only exists between the Ti4+/Ti3+ couple and the Na+ insertion and extraction during the charge/discharge process. In addition, ex situ X-ray diffraction analysis illustrated a small fluctuation of cell volume in the cycling, suggesting a high level of reversible structural changeability and stability of the NNTC/C. The characterization results demonstrate that the NNTC/C is an ideal candidate as anode material for high-performance sodium-ion batteries.",battery
"Energy management is crucial in battery/ultracapacitor hybrid energy storage systems in electric vehicles. Rule based control is one typical strategy in real-time management, but its adaptability in dynamic load is quite poor. This paper aims to develop a practical energy management strategy with near-optimal performance in both energy-saving and battery life extending. Firstly, dynamic programming (DP) analysis is used to find out the optimal control mode. Three-segment control rules are then extracted from the DP results. A functional relationship is established between the power splitting parameters and load statistics. Finally, a load-adaptive rule based control strategy is proposed based on that. Two composite load cycles are tested for verification. Results show that compared with the ordinary rule based control strategy, the proposed strategy has the stronger capability of battery protecting and energy-saving under unknown load patterns, where the battery Ah throughput and total energy loss are reduced by 3.4%–15.7% and 3.0%–15.1%, respectively. The results are quite close to DP results, showing that the proposed strategy can achieve near-optimal energy management in real time with low computational cost.",battery
"Ni-rich mixed metal oxides (LiNi0.80Co0.15Mn0.05O2) as a high capacity cathode material for lithium ion battery are synthesized in two different heat-treatment atmospheres of air and oxygen, respectively. A cell with LiNi0.80Co0.15Mn0.05O2 heat-treated in the oxygen atmosphere shows better electrochemical performance of initial (193.7 mAh/g) and retention (185.2 mAh/g) capacities than a cell with the cathode material heat-treated in the air atmosphere (initial capacity: 185.2 mAh/g and retention capacity: 172.0 mAh/g). In order to find the reasons of the different electrochemical performance, the samples have been characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The structural differences are revealed at the nanometer scale from the experimental works of scanning transmission electron microscopy images mapped with orientation and reliability indices and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The NiO phase of the rock salt structure is considerably developed on the surfaces of the materials in the less oxidative environment of the air atmosphere; this is related to the poor electrochemical performances.",battery
"Background The criteria for identification of children with high risk of cerebral palsy are well documented, but the early identification of children at highest risk of minor motor deficits remains less clear. Aim To analyze the correlation between the quality of general movements (GMs) from term to twenty weeks postterm age and the motor competence between 5 and 6 years of age. Methods In the group of 45 preterm infants, the quality of GMs was assessed using Prechtl's method. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) was used to test motor competence between 5 and 6 years of age. The correlations between GMs and M-ABC results were analyzed. Results During writhing period, the sensitivity of GMs to identify children with definite motor problem was 0.86 for total impairment, 0.67 for manual dexterity, 0.89 for ball skills and 0.92 for balance. During fidgety period, the sensitivity was higher than during the writhing period: 1.00 for total impairment, 1.00 for manual dexterity, 1.00 for ball skills and 0.83 for balance, respectively. The specificity was low at both ages (total scoring 0.24 at term and 0.21 at 3 months corrected age). Conclusion The sensitivity of GMs to identify children with definite motor problems is higher at the fidgety than at the writhing period. The specificity of GMs at the term and fidgety age to predict later motor abilities is low.",non-battery
"Lithium metal has long been regarded as one of the most promising anode materials for future rechargeable batteries. However, the severe reaction of Li with carbonate electrolytes and the rapid growth of Li-dendrites at high current densities hinder its practical application in Li-metal batteries. Here we report a polar polymer protective layer to suppress highly corrosive cyclic carbonates by tuning polymer–solvent interactions. The CN groups of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer chains in the polar polymer network can effectively reduce high reactivity of the CO groups of carbonate solvents leading to a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer with higher inorganic components. In situ optical and electron microscopes demonstrate that the polar polymer network effectively restrained the formation and growth of Li-dendrites, which helps to stabilize the plating/stripping behavior of Li in a symmetric Li|Li cell and a Li|LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cell. This study provides a useful perspective of controlling electrolyte coordination to form a stable SEI layer in carbonate electrolytes for Li-metal batteries.
",battery
" Reduction or differences in facial expression are a core diagnostic feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet evidence regarding the extent of this discrepancy is limited and inconsistent. Use of automated facial expression detection technology enables accurate and efficient tracking of facial expressions that has potential to identify individual response differences.",non-battery
"As a most promising anode candidate, silicon has the shortcomings of low electron conductivity and high volume expansion of 300%, hindering its applications in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, one-dimension porous silicon nanowires (pSi-NWs) were prepared through a simple metal-assisted chemical etching process by using metallurgical silicon as raw material. To consolidate the structural integrity of pSi-NWs, a crossed carbon skeleton (c-Cs) was introduced into pSi-NWs via in-situ polymerization and carbonization process. The resultant pSi-NWs@c-Cs composite delivered the high capacity of 1253 mAh g−1 with good cycling stability as well as the notable rate capability (476 mAh g−1 at 4 A g−1), much superior to those of pSi-NWs and pSi-NWs@reduced graphene oxide composite. The enhanced electrochemical performance of pSi-NWs@c-Cs composite is attributed to the crossed carbon skeleton in constructing the advanced Si/C interface to more effectively improve the electron conductivity of pSi-NWs and acting as the protective shell to keep the structure integrity of pSi-NWs. As the additive of commercial graphite anode, 28% of capacity augment (460 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1) was realized by adding 20 wt% of pSi-NWs@c-Cs composite into graphite, demonstrating its promising applications in LIBs.",battery
"Pig bone derived carbon with a unique hierarchical porous structure was prepared by potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation. The effects of activation temperature on the textural properties of the pig bone based carbons were investigated. The hierarchical porous carbons exhibit the largest BET specific surface areas and pore volume when the activation temperature reaches 850 °C, and the carbon still maintains a highly hierarchical structure even when the temperature is up to 950 °C. The pig bone derived hierarchical porous carbon/sulfur composites have been tested as a novel cathode for lithium–sulfur batteries. The result shows that the cycle stability and the utilization of sulfur in the lithium–sulfur batteries have been largely improved. The hierarchical porous carbon/sulfur cathode has a high initial capacity of 1265 mAh g−1 and 643 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles, which is higher than that of the normal cathodes with compact structures.
",battery
"Postural control assessments are commonly administered to athletes as part of a pre-season screening. Establishing a baseline level of function permits the clinician to compare post-injury results to normal functioning during the return to play decision-making process. In the athletic setting, follow-up tests may be completed on the sideline immediately following injury. We sought to examine the effect of commonly administered external ankle joint support on postural control using the balance error scoring system (BESS) and the NeuroCom sensory organization test (SOT). Nineteen volunteers free from balance issues completed three sessions with varied ankle support: bilateral prophylactic ankle taping, laced bracing device, or barefoot. Each session included an initial balance assessment on the BESS and SOT, a 20min treadmill walk, and post-walk balance test. Fewer errors, indicating improved balance, were committed on the BESS during the barefoot condition than the braced ankle condition (p =0.044) at the pre-walk assessment. During the post-walk assessment, fewer errors were committed during the barefoot condition compared to the braced ankle condition (p =0.034) and the taped ankle condition (p =0.037). All ankle support conditions showed similar improvements in balance between the pre and post-walk assessments on the BESS (p <0.001) and SOT composite balance score (p =0.009). These findings indicate that ankle support devices may influence postural control on the BESS, but not on the NeuroCom SOT. Clinicians using the BESS as a balance assessment device at multiple time points should be consistent in the application of ankle support devices.",non-battery
" Shake flasks are widely used because of their low price and simple handling. Many researcher are, however, not aware of the physiological consequences of oxygen limitation and substrate overflow metabolism that occur in shake flasks. Availability of a wireless measuring system brings the possibilities for quality control and design of cultivation conditions.",non-battery
"Nickel oxide (NiO) nanotubes have been produced for the first time via a template processing method. The synthesis involved a two step chemical reaction in which nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) nanotubes were firstly formed within the walls of an anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) template. The template was then dissolved away using concentrated NaOH, and the freed nanotubes were converted to NiO by heat treatment in air at 350°C. Individual nanotubes measured 60μm in length with a 200nm outer diameter and a wall thickness of 20–30nm. The NiO nanotube powder was used in Li-ion cells for assessment of the lithium storage ability. Preliminary testing indicates that the cells demonstrate controlled and sustainable lithium diffusion after the formation of an SEI. Reversible capacities in the 300mAhg−1 range were typical.",battery
"The stabilities of the host and interfacial structure for layered LiNi x Co y Mn 1-x-y O2 cathode materials are critical for their electrochemical properties, especially at high voltage. This study reports the synergetic effect of the Zr and Ti elements on the LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cathode material (NCM523). The as-obtained Zr/Ti modified LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cathode material shows the excellent electrochemical performance at high voltage. It delivers 167.3 mAh·g−1 at 1 C over 3.0–4.4 V corresponding 94.20% capacity retention after 200 cycles. Moreover, the rate capability of Zr/Ti co-modified NCM523 at 16 C (3.0–4.4 V) rises to 139.4 mAh·g−1 and corresponding capacity retention (vs. 0.5 C) is 79.57%. In addition, its capacity retention reaches to 91.71% after 100 cycles at 1 C rate even at 3.0–4.6 V. Such superior electrochemical performances are ascribed to the Zr doping and Ti modification. The synergetic modifications of the Zr/Ti elements not only stabilize the crystal structure, but also absorb the lithium residues to form mixed Li4Ti5O12/Li2TiO3 coating layers, which strengthen the stability of the interfacial structure and the kinetic characteristics of the cathode materials.",battery
"Conductive additives, like carbon black or graphite, are essential components of lithium ion batteries due to the limited electrical conductivity of most electrode materials. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the optimized distribution of these materials within the electrode. A dry mixing process is used in order to prepare a conductive coating by depositing carbon black on the surface of Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 (NMC) cathode particles. It is demonstrated that this – from a theoretically point of view – favorable distribution does not allow the preparation of working electrodes without taking into account the role of the binder. After adding an organic binder to the slurry, the polymer deposits on top of the carbon shell during drying and inhibits the conductive contact between the particles. This can be avoided by a fraction of distributed carbon particles which are associated with the binder phase providing conductive paths through the isolating organic material. It is shown that carbon black and graphite are principally fulfilling this task, but both materials are leading to varying processing behavior and electrode properties.",battery
"The popularity of portable electronic devices and the ever-growing production of the same have led to an increase in the use of rechargeable batteries. These are often discarded even before the end of their useful life. This, in turn, leads to great waste in material and natural resources and to contamination of the environment. The objective of this study was thus to develop a methodology to assess and reuse NiMH battery cells that have been disposed of before the end of their life cycle, when they can still be used. For such, the capacity of these cells, which were still in good operating conditions when the batteries were discarded, was assessed, and the percentage was estimated. The results reveal that at the end of the assessment process, a considerable number of these cells still had reuse potential, with approximately 37% of all discarded and tested cells being approved for reuse. The methodology introduced in this study showed it is possible to establish an environmentally correct alternative to reduce the amount of this sort of electronic trash.",battery
"The active materials of the secondary Zn electrode containing a mixture powder of zinc oxide (ZnO) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) powders were prepared by a ball-milled method. The characteristic properties of active materials of ball-milled ZnO+Ca(OH)2 mixture powders were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) system, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The prepared Zn powder electrodes were by using the ball-milled active materials powder +2wt.% highly electronic conductive fillers, i.e., nano-copper or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) powder. The electrochemical properties of the secondary Zn electrodes without and with the conductive fillers were studied by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. It was found that the charge/discharge properties of the secondary Zn electrode could be improved when the nano-sized conductive fillers were added into the electrode. In fact, it may be due to the formation of a better electronic conduction path in the electrode matrix. In particular, it was found that the best electrochemical properties were the secondary Zn electrode with 2wt.% nano-copper fillers. According to the results, it is demonstrated here that the CV method is a quick technique to effectively evaluate the performance of a secondary Zn electrode.",battery
"TiO2 is one of the most exciting anode candidates for safe application in lithium ion batteries. However, its low intrinsic electronic conductivity limits application. In this paper, a simple sol–gel based route is presented to produce nanosize TiO2 fibers with 119 ± 27 nm diameters via electrospinning. Subsequent calcination in various atmospheres was applied to achieve anatase and anatase-rutile mixed phase crystallites with and without carbon coating. The crystallite size was 5 nm for argon calcined fibers and 13–20 nm for air calcined fibers. Argon calcined TiO2 nanofibers exhibited electronic conductivity orders of magnitude higher than those of air-calcined samples. Lithium diffusivity was increased by one time and specific capacity by 26.9% due to the enhanced conductivity. It also had a different intercalation mechanism of lithium. Hydrogen post heat-treatment was found to benefit electronic conductivity (by 3–4.5 times), lithium diffusivity (1.5–2 times) and consequently the high rate performance of the TiO2 nanofibers (over 80%). The inner mechanism and structure-property relations among these parameters were also discussed.",battery
"Haptic interaction is a new interactive mode in the interaction technology between human and touch screens. In this work, we present an image-based haptic interaction system on touch screens. A novel haptic pen is designed for haptic display of visual image. It generates force feedback and tactile feedback through electromechanical structure and piezoelectric ceramics respectively. Haptic model of image is built by image processing and haptic rendering. In image processing, the image is decomposed into geometry and textures by local total variation for distinguishing contour shape from surface details. And the contour lines are extracted from the geometry based on the adaptive flow-based difference-of-Gaussians algorithm. Then the height information of image is recovered via shape from shading algorithm and expressed by electromechanical structure. Textures and contour lines are displayed by piezoelectric ceramics. Finally, the haptic perception experiment is conducted to investigate effect of perception with different haptic pens and modes of haptic interaction.
",non-battery
"The thermal reaction of ternary electrolyte (1.0M LiPF6 in 1:1:1 ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate/diethyl carbonate) with mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) particles was investigated by the combined use of NMR, GC–MS, FTIR-ATR, TGA, XPS and SEM/EDS-element map. The thermal decomposition of ternary electrolyte is not inhibited by the presence of MCMB particles. The chemical composition and morphology of the surface of MCMB particles changes significantly upon storage in the presence of ternary electrolyte. Electrolyte decomposition products including oligocarbonates, oligoethylene oxides, polyethylene oxide (PEO), lithium fluorophosphates (Li x PO y F z ), and lithium fluoride are deposited on the surface of MCMB particles. The concentration of decomposition products on the surface of MCMB increases with increased storage time and temperature. The addition of dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) impedes the thermal decomposition of the electrolyte and deposition of electrolyte decomposition products on the surface of MCMB.",battery
"Mixed transition metal oxides with hierarchical, porous structures, constructed from interconnected nano-building blocks, are considered promising positive electrodes for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors. Here we report our findings in design, fabrication, and characterization of 3D hierarchical, porous quaternary zinc-nickel-aluminum-cobalt oxide (ZNACO) architectures assembled from well-aligned nanosheets grown directly on nickel foam using a facile and scalable chemical bath deposition process followed by calcination. When tested as a binder-free electrode in a 3-electrode configuration, the ZNACO display high specific capacity (839.2Cg−1 at 1Ag−1) and outstanding rate capability (~82% capacity retention from 1Ag−1 to 20Ag−1), superior to those of binary-component NiCo2O4 and ZnCo2O4 as well as single-component Co3O4 electrode. More remarkably, a hybrid supercapacitor consisting of an as-fabricated ZNACO positive electrode and an activated carbon negative electrode exhibits a high energy density of 72.4Whkg−1 at a power density of 533Wkg−1 while maintaining excellent cycling stability (~90% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 10Ag−1), demonstrating a promising potential for development of high-performance hybrid supercapacitors. Further, the unique electrode architecture is also applicable to other electrochemical systems such as batteries, fuel cells, and membrane reactors.",battery
" Understanding of the physical, functional and psychosocial health problems and needs of cancer survivors requires cross-national and cross-cultural standardization of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaires that capture the full range of issues relevant to cancer survivors. To our knowledge, only one study has investigated in a comprehensive way whether a questionnaire used to evaluate HRQoL in cancer patients under active treatment is also reliable and valid when used among (long-term) cancer survivors. In this study we evaluated, in an international context, the psychometrics of HRQoL questionnaires for use among long-term, disease-free, survivors of testicular and prostate cancer.",non-battery
"Security protocols operating over wireless channels can incur significant communication costs (e.g., energy, delay), especially under adversarial attacks unique to the wireless environment such as signal jamming, fake signal transmission, etc. Since wireless devices are resource constrained, it is important to optimize security protocols for wireless environments by taking into account their communication costs. Towards this goal, we first present a novel application of a signal-flow-based approach to analyze the communication costs of security protocols in the presence of adversaries. Our approach models a protocol run as a dynamic probabilistic system and then utilizes Linear System theory to evaluate the moment generating function of the end-to-end cost. Applying this technique to the problem of secret key exchange over a wireless channel, we quantify the efficiency of existing families of key exchange cryptographic protocols, showing, for example, that an ID-based approach can offer an almost 10-fold improvement in energy consumption when compared to a traditional PKI-based protocol. We then present a new key exchange protocol that combines traditional cryptographic methods with physical-layer techniques, including the use of “ephemeral” spreading codes, cooperative jamming, and role-switching. Utilizing signal flow analysis, we demonstrate that this new protocol offers performance advantages over traditional designs.",non-battery
"The discharge performance of the water-stable lithium electrode (WSLE) is improved by introducing the surface modification of the glass-ceramic plate (LAGP and LATP). The water-stable lithium electrodes are prepared with the NASICON-type glass-ceramic plates as protection layer, and using organic electrolyte as interlayer. The glass-ceramic plates with ionic conductivity of 4 × 10−4−5.7 × 10−4 S cm−1 are water-stable and 300–500 μm thick. The modified layer is deposited onto the glass-ceramic plates by RF magnetron sputtering from a Li4Ti5O12 target. The modified layer is analyzed by XRD, SEM-EDX, Raman and XPS. The Li-air test-cells are assembled with an SCE as reference electrode in aqueous solution. In the Li-air test-cells, the AC impedance and constant polarization potential measurements are carried out to identify the improvement of modification. The impedance of interface between the glass-ceramic plate and organic electrolyte decreases about 20–50%. Consequently, the discharge current is promoted about 70–80%. Then, by introducing interfacial modification of glass-ceramic plate, the power performance of WSLE is remarkably promoted.",battery
Novel ordered mesoporous cobalt hydroxide film (designated HI-e Co(OH)2) has been successfully electrodeposited from cobalt nitrate dissolved in the aqueous domains of the hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalline phase of Brij 56. Experimental electrodeposition parameters such as deposition potentials and deposition temperatures are varied to analyze their influences on the electrochemical capacitor behavior. The films are physically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the effects of deposition potentials and temperatures on the surface morphology and nanostructure. Electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronopotentiometry are applied to systematically investigate the effects of deposition potentials and temperatures on the capacitance of the films. The results demonstrated that the capacitive performance of the HI-e Co(OH)2 film achieved the highest value when it is electrodeposited at −0.75V under the deposition temperature of 50°C.,battery
"Na0.44MnO2 is one of the most promising cathode materials in the development of sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Here, a solid-state method is described for the synthesis of regular Na0.44MnO2 nanorods about 200nm in size at a low temperature without further annealing being required. In this work, we have investigated effects of different precursors on preparation of Na0.44MnO2 and found that the size and width of the Na0.44MnO2 nanorods were influenced by the MnCO3 precursors. The electrochemical properties for SIBs of Na0.44MnO2 nanorods synthesized from three different preparation methods were thoroughly researched. Na0.44MnO2 nanorods prepared by hydrothermal synthesis of MnCO3 (HS-Na0.44MnO2) produced a superior cathode material than other Na0.44MnO2 which uses commercial MnCO3 (C-Na0.44MnO2) and co-precipitation synthesis of MnCO3 (CP-Na0.44MnO2) as precursors. The HS-Na0.44MnO2 exhibits high discharge capacity (about 139.6mAhg−1), good cycling stability (98.2% after 40 cycles at the current density of 20mAg−1) and excellent rate performance, which is a much better performance than those in previous reports. The superior electrochemical performance of HS-Na0.44MnO2 is mainly due to the relatively smaller size, uniform morphology and excellent crystallinity. Furthermore, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the surface film resistance and charge transfer resistance of the HS-Na0.44MnO2 is smaller than others, which leading to the better electrochemical performance.",battery
"How to improve the power density of olivine LiFePO4 has recently become one of the most attractive topics of both scientific and industrial interests. Therefore, nanostructured electrodes have been widely investigated to satisfy such needs. However, the complicated and high-temperature sintering process is usually involved for preparing high-performance cathode materials based on high-quality crystals. In order to solve these problems, here, a promising LiFePO4/C composite electrode material is synthesized by an in situ carbothermal reduction method at low temperature using a low-cost Fe3+ salt as the iron source, soluble starch sol as carbon sources and reducing agent. The synthesized LiFePO4/C composite shows highly crystalline, ultrafine sphere-like particles and a desirable core–shell structure with uniform carbon film on the surface of nano-crystal LiFePO4, which could inherit the morphology of FePO4 precursor. Galvanostatic battery testing shows that LiFePO4/C composite delivers 161 and 122mAh/g at 0.2C and 5C rates, respectively, and exhibits desirable capacity retention after 500 cycles at 5C. Remarkably, even at a high current density of 20C, the cell still presents good cycle retention.",battery
"The emergence of Decentralized Energy Resources (DERs) and rising electricity demand are known to cause grid instability. Additionally, recent policy developments indicate a decreased tariff in the future for electricity sold to the grid by households with DERs. Energy Storage Systems (ESS) combined with Demand Side Management (DSM) can improve the self-consumption of Photovoltaic (PV) generated electricity and decrease grid imbalance between supply and demand. Household Energy Storage (HES) and Community Energy Storage (CES) are two promising storage scenarios for residential electricity prosumers. This paper aims to assess and compare the technical and economic feasibility of both HES and CES. To do that, mathematical optimization is used in both scenarios, where a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) schedules the allocation of energy from the PV system, battery and the grid in order to satisfy the power demand of households using a dynamic pricing scheme. The problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) with the objective of minimizing the costs of power received from the grid. Data from real demand and PV generation profiles of 39 households in a pilot project initiated by the Distribution System Operator (DSO) ’Enexis’ in Breda, the Netherlands, is used for the numerical analysis. Results show that the self consumption of PV power is the largest contributor to the savings obtained when using ESS. The implementation of different ESS reduces annual costs by 22–30% and increases the self-consumption of PV power by 23–29%. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed which shows how investment costs of ESS per kWh are crucial in determining the economic feasibility of both systems.",battery
"The construction of the anode materials with high-rate and long-life performance for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) still remains a great challenge due to their poor electronic conductivity and drastic volume changes during the lithiation and delithiation processes. Herein, we report nitrogen-doped carbon-coated MnO nanoparticles anchored on the interconnected graphene ribbons (IGR-MnO-C) as a anode for LIBs. As a result, the IGR-MnO-C exhibits a high reversible capacity (1055 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), excellent rate capability (547 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1) and stable cycling performance (550 cycles with 113% capacity retention at 0.5 A g−1). The strategy proposed in this work can be further extended to other transition metal oxides for the applications in supercapacitors, sodium-ion batteries and fuel cell.",battery
"Garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolytes were commonly prepared by two steps solid-state reaction method, which undergoes high temperature over 1000 °C and thus inevitable for lithium volatilization and formation of secondary phases. Here, we propose a new intergrain architecture engineering of a solution method, to avoid high temperature sintering for preparing lithium halide (LiX) coated garnet-type solid electrolytes, which contain Al and Ta co-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 (Li6.75La3Zr1.75Ta0.25O12, LLZTO) synthesized at 900 °C with cubic structure. Owing to the increased relative density, the improved formability, and the altered ion transport mode from point to face conduction by LiX coating on LLZTO grains, LiX-coated LLZTO samples demonstrate a good Li dendrite suppression ability and a high ionic conductivity that is three orders of magnitude higher than pristine LLZTO. In another way, this result demonstrates the critical role of the grain boundaries on the ion transport for oxide superionic conductors. The present coating method provides a new strategy to prepare brittle solid electrolytes avoiding high temperature sintering.",battery
"Canopy transpiration of mature Jeffrey pine was compared in ""mesic"" and ""xeric"" microsites differing in topographical position, bole growth, and the level of drought stress experienced. Diurnal and seasonal course of canopy transpiration was monitored with thermal dissipation probes in 1999 and 2000. Mid-canopy measures of diurnal foliar stomatal conductance (gs) were taken in June and August in 1999. In early summer, there was little difference between trees in either microsite with regard to gs (55 mmol H2O m−2s−1), canopy transpiration (4.0 l h−1), and total duration of active transpiration (12 h >0.03 l h−1). In late summer, xeric trees had a lower daily maximum gs (by 30%), a greater reduction in whole canopy transpiration relative to the seasonal maximum (66 vs 79%), and stomata were open 2 h less per day than in mesic trees. Based on leaf-level gas exchange measurements, trees in mesic sites had an estimated 46% decrease in O3 uptake from June to August. Xeric trees had an estimated 72% decrease over the same time period. A multivariate analysis of morphological and tissue chemistry attributes in mid-canopy elucidated differences in mesic and xeric tree response. Mesic trees exhibited more O3 injury than xeric trees based on reduced foliar nitrogen content and needle retention in mid-canopy.",non-battery
" Manganese oxides (MnOx) are expected to be highly active catalysts for O2 electroreduction. However, MnOx are prone to aggregation, thus reducing their catalytic active sites. Herein, a composite of spherical MnO2 coated with reduced graphene oxide (denoted as MnO2@RGO) was fabricated by a facile and green step galvanostatic electrodeposition. The obtained MnO2@RGO is composed of a RGO lamina shell (10 nm) and spherical MnO2 core (100 nm), which were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunner–Emmet–Teller (BET) measurement, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained composite exhibited a high specific surface area of 251.3 m2 g−1. The as-prepared MnO2@RGO composite displayed a more positive onset potential of 0.86 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), higher kinetic current density (11.23 mA cm−2 at 0.2 V), and higher electron transfer number in OH− solution (n ≈ 3.94) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) compared to MnO2 NPs scattered on the surface of RGO (MnO2/RGO), bulk MnO2 NPs, and RGO. The enhanced activity was further demonstrated by the lower Tafel slope (72 mV dec−1). Moreover, MnO2@RGO exhibited greater “tolerance to methanol,” “anti-CO poisoning” ability, and catalytic stability compared to commercial Pt/C catalyst. The results indicated that the prepared MnO2@RGO composite can be a potential low-cost and effective electrocatalyst for ORR.",battery
In this work we studied the thermal stability of single walled MoO3 nanotubes using Raman spectroscopy technique. By increasing the thermal treatment temperature we observed at about 210°C that the Raman spectrum characteristic of single walled MoO3 nanotubes changes and the new spectrum is identified to the MoO3 bulk orthorhombic phase (α-MoO3). In situ Raman measurements as a function of temperature increase confirm the collapse of the nanotube structure at about 210°C. Scanning electron microscopy images confirm the morphology changes in the single walled MoO3 nanotubes for samples treated at different temperatures.,non-battery
"Tin-based electrodes have attracted much attention because of their potential to offer high energy and power density while maitaining excellent cycling stability. Here we report our findings from the rational design and synthesis of a high-performance Cu6Sn5@SnO2–C electrode, a tin-based anode with a unique core/shell structure consisting of a tin–copper intermetallic (Cu6Sn5) core and a tin dioxide (SnO2)/carbon (C) shell. The hybrid structure was synthesized by a simple and cost-effective two-step process. When used as an electrode, the Cu6Sn5@SnO2–C hybrid nanocomposite demonstrated a reversible capacity of 619mAh/g after 500 cycles between 0.05 and 3.0V vs. Li/Li+ at 0.2A/g, with stable capacities of ~300mAh/g from the reversible conversion reaction of SnO2 in a potential range of 1.1–2.0V. Results suggest that the maximum volume change of the Cu6Sn5@SnO2–C electrode during cycling was relatively small (~12.7%) so that the Cu6Sn5 core components and the core/shell structure remained relatively stable over many cycles, leading to significantly enhanced reaction reversibility and cycling stability.",battery
"In this work, we for the first time investigate GeP5 as an anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Using a facile high energy mechanical ball milling (HEMM) method, we successfully synthesize pure GeP5 and GeP5/C nanocomposite at ambient temperature and pressure. According to XRD Rietveld refinement and first principle calculations, GeP5 possesses a two-dimensional layered structure similar to that of black P and graphite, and a high conductivity that is 10000 and 10 times that of black P and graphite, respectively. Serving as novel anode materials, both GeP5 and its carbon composite deliver an unprecedented high reversible capacity of ca. 2300 mA h g−1, combined with a high initial coulombic efficiency of ca. 95%. Ex situ XRD and CV tests demonstrate that GeP5 undergoes conversion and alloying type lithium storage mechanism and that its capacity is co-contributed to by both the Ge and P components. In addition, GeP5/C exhibits superior cycle stability and excellent high-rate performance with a capacity of 2127 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1. These properties suggest the promising application of these anode materials in next-generation high-energy and high-power LIBs.
",battery
"Sodium ion batteries are being highlighted as a promising energy storage system to resolve the critical issues associated with lithium ion battery usage due to a limited quantity of lithium resources on the earth. Although recent advances in sodium ion battery technology have been remarkable, the reversible capacities and cyclic performance of sodium ion batteries should be further advanced prior to their successful implementation. Herein, we demonstrate dual-textured Prussian blue nanocubes prepared via simple acid etching as a reliable sodium storage material. Taking advantage of their hybrid microstructure composed of porous and non-porous domains, dual-textured Prussian blue nanocubes exhibit high reversible capacities, good rate capabilities, and stable cyclic performance. Moreover, the nanocubes exhibit excellent dimensional stability even after 100 cycles, offering new opportunities for the development of robust and high-performance sodium rechargeable batteries.",battery
" Co-occurring musculoskeletal pain is common among people with persistent low back pain (LBP) and associated with more negative consequences than LBP alone. The distribution and prevalence of musculoskeletal pain co-occurring with persistent LBP has not been systematically described, which hence was the aim of this review.",non-battery
"We report on a novel, simple, and environmentally benign synthesis route for a free-standing reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) aerogel and its application as supporting electrode for the electrochemical redox reaction of sulphur in a catholyte-based lithium-sulphur battery. A mesoporous matrix is formed by a layers of r-GO, providing sites for electrochemical reactions and a highly conducting pathway for electrons. The highly porous structure is easily infiltrated by a catholyte solution providing a homogeneous distribution of the sulphur active material in the conductive graphene matrix and ensuring efficient electrochemical reactions. This is demonstrated by a high capacity, 3.4 mAh cm−2, at high mass loading, 3.2 mg cm−2 of sulphur in the cathode and in total the sulphur loading in the Li-S cell is even double (6.4 mg cm−2). Additionally, the presence of oxygen groups in the r-GO aerogel structure stabilizes the cycling performance and the Li-S cell with the fluorine free catholyte shows a capacity retention of 85% after 350 cycles.",battery
"Bus SA, Waaijman R, Nollet F. New monitoring technology to objectively assess adherence to prescribed footwear and assistive devices during ambulatory activity. Objective To assess the validity and feasibility of a new temperature-based adherence monitor to measure footwear use. Design Observational study. Setting University medical center and participants' homes. Participants Convenience sample of healthy subjects (n=11) and neuropathic diabetic patients at high risk for foot ulceration (n=14). Interventions In healthy subjects, the validity of the in-shoe attached adherence monitor was investigated by comparing its registrations of donning and doffing of footwear during 7 days to an accurately kept log registration. In diabetic patients, the feasibility of using the adherence monitor for 7 days in conjunction with a time-synchronized ankle-worn step activity monitor to register prescribed footwear use during walking was assessed. Furthermore, a usability questionnaire was completed. Main Outcome Measures For validity, the mean time difference and 95% confidence interval (CI) between moments of donning/doffing footwear recorded with the adherence monitor and in the log were calculated. For feasibility, technical performance, usability, and the percentage of steps that the footwear was worn (adherence) were assessed. Results The mean time difference between the adherence monitor and log recordings was 0.4 minutes (95% CI, 0.2–0.6min). One erroneous recording and 2 incomplete recordings were obtained in diabetic patients. Three patients reported discomfort with the step activity monitor, and 4 patients would not favor repeated testing. Patients used their footwear for between 9% and 99% of their walking steps. Conclusions The adherence monitor shows good validity in measuring when footwear is used or not, and is, together with instrumented monitoring of walking activity, a feasible and objective method to assess treatment adherence. This method can have wide application in clinical practice and research regarding prescribed footwear and other body-worn assistive devices.",non-battery
"All-solid-state sodium batteries with sulfide-based solid electrolytes are attracting attention as next-generation energy storage systems to replace Li-ion batteries, owing to their improved safety and the abundant sodium resources. Na3PS4-based materials, which have relatively high conductivities and favorable mechanical properties, make promising Na-ion solid electrolytes for realizing all-solid-state sodium batteries. However, it is essential to establish a further simple and effective protocol for manufacturing such solid electrolytes and composite electrodes. In this study, Na3-x PS4-x Cl x (x = 0, 0.0625) was prepared by a liquid-phase (suspension) process from Na2S, P2S5, and NaCl using 1,2-dimethoxyethane as a reaction media. Na3PS4 heated at 400 °C and Na2.9375PS3.9375Cl0.0625 heated at 480 °C exhibited Na-ion conductivities of 2.6 × 10−4 and 4.3 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 25 °C, respectively. A homogenous composite electrode was prepared with TiS2 active material and Na3PS4 solid electrolyte via the simple liquid-phase process, resulting in large contact areas between electrode and electrolyte particles. The electrode obtained by liquid-phase provided an all-solid-state cell with higher reversible capacity of 161 mAh g−1 than a conventional mechanically mixed electrode. Suspension syntheses of Na3-x PS4-x Cl x are useful for the simple production of solid electrolytes and are highly applicable to all-solid-state sodium batteries.",battery
"High demands to power performance, high cycle and calendar life as well can be met by NiMH batteries, making this battery system very suitable for HEV applications. The hydrogen storage alloy plays an important role with respect to power performance and life duration. Power performance and cycle life behaviour are related to each other by the electrochemical and mechanical properties of the alloy, via a more or less reciprocal relationship. In terms of power performance at medium-discharge rates, the charge transfer reaction at the hydrogen storage alloy interface was found to be crucial for the temperature-dependent behaviour of the cell, whereas at discharge rates above about 15C diffusion limitation was found especially at the negative electrode. The alloy corrosion is taking place in alkaline media, leading to the formation of surface films and a change of the chemical composition, especially in near surface regions of the alloy particles. Consecutive electrochemical cycles lead to mechanical stress and finally cracking of the alloy particles. Stability against corrosion and pulverisation on one hand and good electrochemical performance on the other hand both depend on the chemical composition of the alloy, its morphological properties and the cycling regime used.",battery
Unknown,non-battery
"Residential photovoltaic systems can reduce reliance on grid electricity, which may be desirable for numerous reasons. However, the economic viability of such systems is dependent on effective use of excess electricity generation, most often through net or bi-directional metering. With recent cost reductions in residential-scale lithium ion battery storage systems, these may be a practical alternative. In this work, we model the lifetime performance and economics of residential photovoltaics with lithium ion batteries across all 50 states in the U.S. We investigate in detail how photovoltaic size and battery capacity affect performance and cost metrics in California, Georgia, and Massachusetts. We find that with appropriate sizing, photovoltaic-battery systems can be more affordable than photovoltaics alone. We demonstrate that these systems may be competitive with grid prices when the federal investment tax credit and favorable financing terms are used, and we calculate the sell-back price required for bi-directional metering to reach cost parity with photovoltaic-battery systems in every state.",battery
"Red phosphorus (red-P) has been studied intensively due to its high theoretical capacity. However, it remains a challenge to achieve outstanding rate performance because of a large ion radius of Na+ and insulation of red-P. Herein, BaTiO3 (BTO) is used as functional additive to promote Na+ diffusion based on piezoelectric effect induced by volume expansion of red-P. Micro red-Phosphorus/BaTiO3/Graphene (red-P/BTO/G) composite is prepared via a ball-milling method. After 100 cycles, the discharge capacity remains 823 mAh·g−1. The good performance of micro red-P/BTO/G composite is attributed to the enhanced diffusion kinetics brought by BTO, which makes the speed 110 times faster than red-P/G composite. Moreover, an increased diffusion rate has been acquired through polarization of BTO in high voltage electric field to get aligned polarization direction, with the speed 1.8 times of unpolarized red-P/BTO/G material. The mechanism how BTO promotes Na+ diffusion in discharge process is explained in detail.",battery
"Efficient stretchable and flexible energy devices are urgently required due to their promising application in wearable devices. Although flexible solid-state zinc-air batteries have been developed in previous studies, no stretchable Zn-air batteries with large stretchability (> 20%) have been reported. We first present a planar rechargeable stretchable and flexible Zn-air battery array fabricated by layer-by-layer assembly of 2 × 2 electrode arrays, a polymer gel electrolyte, serpentine-shaped copper circuits, and a rubber substrate. Vertical Co3O4 nanosheets were fabricated by a binder-free and simple manner and were grown in situ on carbon cloth as an integrated cathode. The Zn-air battery array displayed stable electrochemical behaviors, with a large tensile strain of 100%. Furthermore, the battery array could be discharged stably at 1V at a high current density of 2mAcm–2 under high-frequency dynamic stretching (~ 100% strain per second) and bending conditions. In addition, by redesigning the arrangement of the electrode array, the stretchable Zn-air battery array could be configured to provide a wide range of output voltages, specifically from 1 to 4V. The resulting Zn-air battery array was sewn onto cloth and applied to power a green light band (3.0V) with 60 light-emitting diodes (LEDs), proving the feasibility of its application in wearable energy-storage electronics.",battery
"Hydroentangling nonwoven process has been attempted to fabricate carding fiber web/meltblown/carding fiber web (CMC) composite nonwoven fabrics with the view to improve the chemical stability and long-term performance of nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery. Hydrophilic polypropylene (PP) meltblown nonwoven fabric was prepared by adding hydrophilic additives in PP melt. Then it was sandwiched into two layers of carding PP fiber web and bonded by hydroentangling process. The mechanical strength, pore size, electrolyte absorption and retention capacity, chemical stability, and electrolytic resistance were investigated in comparison with a commercial sulfonated post-treated separator. The cell performance of hydroentangled CMC composite nonwoven fabrics before and after electrolyte storage was tested by using a stacked Ni-MH battery. These results indicate that hydroentangled CMC composite nonwoven fabric is a kind of promising materials to replace the traditional wet-laid nonwoven fabric as Ni-MH battery separator with better long-term cell performance.",battery
"The increasing demand for electric vehicles and large-scale smart grids has aroused great interest in developing high energy density storage devices. Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery has attracted much attention owing to its high theoretical energy density and abundance, but many challenges such as rapid capacity fade and low sulfur loading and utilization have impeded its practical use. Here, we present a free-standing TiO2 nanowire/graphene hybrid membrane for Li/dissolved polysulfide batteries with high capacity and long cycling life. Graphene membrane with high electrical conductivity is used as a current collector to effectively reduce the internal resistance in the sulfur cathode and physically immobilize the dissolved lithium polysulfides. The TiO2 nanowires introduced into the graphene membrane offer a hierarchical composite structure, in which the TiO2 nanowires not only have strong chemical binding with the lithium polysulfides, but also show a strong catalytic effect for polysulfide reduction and oxidation, promoting a fast redox reaction kinetics with high capacity and low voltage polarization. This hybrid electrode delivers a high specific capacity of 1327mAhg−1 at 0.2C rate, a Coulombic efficiency approaching 100%, high-rate performance of 850mAhg−1 at 2C rate, and long cyclic stability with a capacity of 1053mAhg−1 at 0.2C rate over 200 cycles, demonstrating great prospect for application in high energy Li–S batteries.",battery
" The generation of functional human epidermal melanocytes (HEM) from stem cells provides an unprecedented source for cell-based therapy in vitiligo. Despite the important efforts exerted to obtain melanin-producing cells from stem cells, pre-clinical results still lack the safety and scalability characteristics essential for their translational application.",non-battery
"Ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) containing 19.6 wt% hydrogen has been considered as a promising candidate for on-board hydrogen storage applications on the way to the ideal “hydrogen economy”. Whereas, how to control the energy of the hydrogen releasing and recycling of AB efficiently is the present challenge for its wide use. In this mini review, we highlight the preparation, dehydrogenation and regeneration of AB and briefly discuss the current developments, problems and feasible solutions in AB hydrogen storage chemistry.
",battery
"We demonstrate a simple method for enhancing the electrochemical performance of air electrodes of Li–air batteries using a polydopamine coating on the surface of carbon. A thin polydopamine layer on Ketjen black carbon clearly modified the surface properties of the air electrode, in turn resulting in improved electrolyte filling. The coating also passivates surface carbon defects, which may be helpful in suppressing parasitic reactions during cycling. Electrochemical tests of the electrode indicate that the introduction of the polydopamine layer is beneficial in that it increases the capacity, lowers the overpotential, and improves the cyclic performance of Li–air cells. These effects may be associated with the increased active catalytic area of the electrode, mostly resulting from the improved wetting characteristics. The suppression of parasitic reactions due to the passivation of carbon defects also contributes to the enhanced cyclic performance of the polydopamine-treated electrode.",battery
"Sulfone–ester mixed solvent electrolytes were examined for 5V-class high-voltage rechargeable lithium cells. As the base-electrolyte, sulfolane (SL)–ethyl acetate (EA) (1:1 mixing volume ratio) containing 1M LiBF4 solute was investigated. Electrolyte conductivity, electrochemical stability, Li+ ion solvation behavior and cycleability of lithium electrode were evaluated. 13C NMR measurement results suggest that Li+ ions are solvated with both SL and EA. Charge–discharge cycling efficiency of lithium anode in SL–EA electrolytes was poor, being due to its poor tolerance for reduction. To improve lithium charge–discharge cycling efficiency in SL–EA electrolytes, following three trials were carried out: (i) improvement of the cathodic stability of electrolyte solutions by change in polarization through modification of solvent structure; isopropyl methyl sulfone and methyl isobutyrate were investigated as alternative SL and EA, respectively, (ii) suppression of the reaction between lithium and electrolyte solutions by addition of low reactivity surfactants of cycloalkanes (decalin and adamantane) or triethylene glycol derivatives (triglyme, 1,8-bis(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)-3,6-dioxaoctane and triethylene glycol di(methanesulfonate)) into SL–EA electrolytes, and (iii) change in surface film by addition of surface film formation agent of vinylene carbonate (VC) into SL–EA electrolytes. These trials made lithium cycling behavior better. Lithium cycling efficiency tended to increase with a decrease in overpotential. VC addition was most effective for improvement of lithium cycling efficiency among these additives. Stable surface film is formed on lithium anode by adding VC and the resistance between anode/electrolyte interfaces showed a constant value with an increase in cycle number. When the electrolyte solutions without VC, the interfacial resistance increased with an increase in cycle number. VC addition to SL–EA was effective not only for Li/LiCoO2 cell with charge cut-off voltage of 4.5V but also for Li/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cells even with high charge cut-off voltage of 5V in Li/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cells.",battery
"A simple preparation of N-doped graphene/Li4Ti5O12–TiN (NG/LTO-TiN) from the polyethyleneimine-graphene oxide/Li4Ti5O12 (PEI-GO/LTO) is achieved through a solvothermal reaction in the presence of diethylenetriamine (DETA). The solvothermal reaction converts PEI-GO/LTO into corresponding NG/LTO-TiO2, which could be simultaneously converted into NG/LTO-TiN via reacting with DETA as an N source. It is proposed that the electrically conductive titanium nitride (TiN) is formed at the interface between the surfaces of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) and nitrogen doped graphene (NG). When used as an anode material for lithium ion battery (LIB), the NG/LTO-TiN exhibited superior rate capability in comparison to LTO, reduced GO/Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 (RGO/LTO-TiO2) and NG/LTO-TiO2 nanocomposites, with excellent cyclic stability up to 100 cycles. Moreover, the ionic diffusion coefficient is 3.6 × 10−12 cm2 s−1 for NG/LTO-TiN-94.3%, which is a higher value than that of the LTO (8.85 × 10−13 cm2 s−1), RGO/LTO-TiO2-93.5% (1.48 × 10−12 cm2 s−1), and NG/LTO-TiO2-94.2% (2.51 × 10−12 cm2 s−1) nanocomposites studied.",battery
"A passive micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for reducing volume and parasitic power is designed and fabricated using several integrated technologies. New bipolar plates with tapered channels at the anode and a pillar array at the cathode are first applied to a passive micro-DMFC. The substrate of the bipolar plates made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is hot embossed with two molds, fabricated by UV-LIGA and micro machining. To make the bipolar plates conductive and hydrophilic, a nickel layer is electroplated on the ABS plates, and three PDDA/PSS bi-layers are self-assembled onto the nickel layer. The bipolar plates are produced using hot embossing, a low cost, highly accurate batch process. A single cell is assembled to verify the self-pumping function, and it can generate a peak power density of 7.4mWcm−2 with a 3M methanol solution. The fuel cell is verified to work in three different orientations. When the fuel cell is placed horizontally, the self-pumping rate is about 0.1–0.15mLh−1. And the fuel cell can work through self-pumping for 5h under this condition.",battery
"About 90% of the people in the world carry a latent virus known to cause cancer. On the fiftieth anniversary of its discovery, researchers are considering joining up their experimental treatments against these malignancies. David Holmes reports.",non-battery
"Hybrid electrolytes aimed at application in sodium-ion batteries (SIB) consisting of an organic solvent mixture (EC:PC) and different ionic liquids (ILs); EMImTFSI, BMImTFSI, and Pyr13TFSI, and with the NaTFSI salt providing the Na+ charge carriers have here been extensively studied. The physico-chemical and electrochemical characterisation includes ionic conductivity, viscosity, density, cation coordination and solvation, various safety measures, and electrochemical stability window (ESW). Hybrid electrolytes with 10–50% of IL content were found to have ionic conductivities on par with comparable organic solvent based electrolytes, but with highly enhanced safety properties. A systematic Raman spectroscopy study of the cation coordination and solvation before and after electrolyte safety tests by ignition suggest that IL cations and TFSI remain stable when ignited while organic solvents are consumed. Finally, the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed when using hybrid electrolytes has both better mechanical and electrochemical stability than the SEI derived from pure IL based electrolytes. For a half-cell with a hard carbon (HC) electrode and a hybrid electrolyte with a composition of 0.8 m NaTFSI in EC0.45:PC0.45:Pyr13TFSI0.10 encouraging results were obtained for IL based electrolytes – ca. 182 mAhg−1 at C/10 over 40 cycles.",battery
"Severe durable changes may occur to the DNA structure caused by exogenous and endogenous risk factors initiating the process of carcinogenesis. By evidence, a large portion of malignancies have been demonstrated as being preventable. Moreover, the targeted prevention of cancer onset is possible, due to unique properties of plant bioactive compounds. Although genoprotective effects of phytochemicals have been well documented, there is an evident lack of articles which would systematically present the spectrum of anticancer effects by phytochemicals, plant extracts, and plant-derived diet applicable to stratified patient groups at the level of targeted primary (cancer development) and secondary (cancer progression and metastatic disease) prevention. Consequently, clinical implementation of knowledge accumulated in the area is still highly restricted. To stimulate coherent co-development of the dedicated plant bioactive compound investigation on one hand and comprehensive cancer preventive strategies on the other hand, the current paper highlights and deeply analyses relevant evidence available in the area. Key molecular mechanisms are presented to detail genoprotective and anticancer activities of plants and phytochemicals. Clinical implementation is discussed. Based on the presented evidence, advanced chemopreventive strategies in the context of 3P medicine are considered.",non-battery
"Based on the fact that PV systems are clean, environment friendly and secure energy sources, PV system installation has played an important role worldwide. However, the drawback of PV system is the high capital cost as compared to conventional energy sources. Currently, many research works are carried out focusing on optimization of PV systems so that the number of PV modules, capacity of storage battery, capacity of inverter, wind turbine capacity as well as diesel generator size optimally selected. In this paper, the current status of research on PV systems size optimization is reviewed taking into account standalone PV systems, hybrid PV/diesel generator systems, hybrid PV/wind systems, hybrid PV/wind/diesel generator systems as well as grid connected systems. In addition, size optimization techniques for the inverter in PV systems are reviewed. The outcome of this paper shows that the optimization of PV system is strongly depends on meteorological variables such as solar energy, ambient temperature and wind speed. Furthermore, the numerical methods are the mostly used methods. Meanwhile the artificial intelligence techniques have been employed recently to improve the process of PV system size optimization.",battery
"Publisher Summary In lead-acid secondary batteries the negative plates have a spongy lead as their active material, while the positive plates of the lead-acid cell have an active material of brown lead dioxide. The plates are immersed in an electrolyte of dilute sulphuric acid. There are two types of pates available: tubular and flat. The tubular positive consists of rods of antimonial lead, which are surrounded by sleeves of an inert porous material, such as terylene. The annular spaces in the tubes of the sleeves and around the rods are filled with the active material lead dioxide. In the case of the flat plate design, the plate is made from lead alloy grids with lattices containing lead dioxide. The negative plate of the tubular cell, which must match the electrical capacity of the positive plate to enable efficient chemical reaction to take place, is of a similar design to that of the flat plate positive, but the lattices in this case are filled with a sponge of pure lead. The positive and negative plates are placed into a container, each positive being placed next to a negative and so on. Further, charging is done by A passing a direct current through the cell in the opposite direction to that during discharge, liberating the acid from the plates, i.e. the concentration of acid in the electrolyte increases. This reverses the action of the discharge and restores the battery to its original charged condition. The capacity of the battery varies according to the current at which it is discharged. The higher the current being taken out of the battery, the lower the available capacity.",battery
"The anodic behavior of austenitic stainless-steel, SUS304, as a current collector of positive electrode in lithium-ion battery/capacitor has been investigated in organic electrolyte solutions based on a mixed alkyl carbonate solvent with different lithium salts. Stable passivation characteristics were observed for the stainless-steel in the LiPF6 solution, but pitting corrosion or active dissolution proceeded in the solutions containing other anions, BF4 -, (CF3SO2)2N- (TFSA-) and ClO4 -. The mass ratios of the dissolved metal species in the solutions of LiTFSA and LiClO4 were equivalent to that of the alloy composition, which suggests that no preferential dissolution occurs during the anodic polarization in these electrolyte solutions. An HF component formed by decomposition of PF6 - with the contaminate water will act as an F- source for the formation of a surface fluoride layer, that will contribute to the anodic stability of SUS304 in the LiPF6 solution. The anodic corrosion in the LiTFSA solution was suppressed in part by mixing the PF6 salt or adding HF in the electrolyte.",battery
"The porous structure of three-dimensional NiO microspheres on titanium carbide (NiO/Ti3C2Tx) is prepared by calcination of Ni-MOF/Ti3C2Tx in the air. The crystalline structure and morphology of the obtained hybrid are characterized with various tools such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface analyzer techniques. As-prepared NiO/Ti3C2Tx hybrid is used for two noteworthy applications in electrochemistry like supercapacitor and non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor. NiO/Ti3C2Tx electrode exhibited an enhanced specific capacity of 630.9C g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in comparison to pure NiO (376.8C g−1). Furthermore, the H2O2 sensing performance of the NiO/Ti3C2Tx modified glassy carbon electrode is evaluated in 0.5 M of NaOH solution and the electrode showed a low detection limit of 0.34 μM with a wider range of linear response 10 μM to 4.5 mM. The higher specific surface area and porosity of NiO/Ti3C2Tx allow more electro-active site for electrochemical redox reactions in the direction of H2O2 sensing and supercapacitor. Moreover, Ti3C2Tx prevents from fouling in 3D porous network and leaching effect, and beneficial for easy access of electrolyte ions and efficient electron transport to the electrode surface resulted in improved electrochemical applications.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries are in widespread use in electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Besides features like energy density, cost, lifetime, and recyclability the safety of a battery system is of prime importance. The separator material impacts all these properties and requires therefore an informed selection. The interplay between the mechanical and electrochemical properties as key selection criteria is investigated. Mechanical properties were investigated using tensile and puncture penetration tests at abuse relevant conditions. To investigate the electrochemical performance in terms of effective conductivity a method based on impedance spectroscopy was introduced. This methodology is applied to evaluate ten commercial separators which allows for a trade-off analysis of mechanical versus electrochemical performance. Based on the results, and in combination with other factors, this offers an effective approach to select suitable separators for automotive applications.",battery
"Indian cities are often characterized by poorly rendered services including waste management—the most ignored of all basic services, on account of various reasons. The situation worsens with increasing population pressure in urban centers. Kanpur is one such metropolitan city of North India, having an inefficient, outdated and unscientific waste management system. This paper attempts to assess the existing state of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Kanpur city with the aim of identifying the main obstacles to its efficiency and the prospects for improvisation of the solid waste management system in the city. The existing solid waste management system in the city is found to be highly inefficient. Primary and secondary collection, transportation and open dumping are the only activities practiced that too in a non-technical manner. This paper systematically assesses the obstacles in the existing solid waste management system in Kanpur city and also tries to assess the potentials for its improvisation.",non-battery
Unknown,non-battery
"To test the role of caspase 3 in apoptosis and in overall cell lethality caused by the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine, we compared the responses of MCF-7c3 cells that express a stably transfected CASP-3 gene to parental MCF-7:WS8 cells transfected with vector alone and lacking procaspase-3 (MCF-7v). Cells were exposed to increasing doses (0.15–1 μM) of staurosporine for periods up to 19 h. Apoptosis was efficiently induced in MCF-7c3 cells, as demonstrated by cytochrome c release, processing of procaspase-3, procaspase-8, and Bid, increase in caspase-3-like DEVDase activity, cleavage of the enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, DNA fragmentation, changes in nuclear morphology, and TUNEL assay and flow cytometry. For all of these measures except cytochrome c release, little or no activity was detected in MCF-7v cells, confirming that caspase-3 is essential for efficient induction of apoptosis by staurosporine, but not for mitochondrial steps that occur earlier in the pathway. MCF-7c3 cells were more sensitive to staurosporine than MCF-7v cells when assayed for loss of viability by reduction of a tetrazolium dye. However, the two cell lines were equally sensitive to killing by staurosporine when evaluated by a clonogenic assay. A similar distinction between apoptosis and loss of clonogenicity was observed for the cancer chemotherapeutic agent VP-16. These results support our previous conclusions with photodynamic therapy: (a) assessing overall reproductive death of cancer cells requires a proliferation-based assay, such as clonogenicity; and (b) the critical staurosporine-induced lethal event is independent of those mediated by caspase-3.",non-battery
"Composite membranes based on the protic plastic crystal N,N-dimethylethylenediammonium triflate [DMEDAH][TFO] and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers have been developed for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) under non-humidified conditions. The effect of addition of 5mol% triflic acid or 5mol% of the base N,N-dimethylethylenediamine on the thermal and transport properties of the material is discussed. The acid-doped plastic crystal reports more than double the ionic conductivity of the pure plastic crystal. The effects of doping the plastic crystal and the composites, with acid or base, on the ionic conductivity and fuel cell performance are reported. Composite membranes based on PVDF nanofibers and [DMEDAH][TFO] were tested in a single PEMFC. The results show the potential of these composite membranes to be used as electrolytes in this electrochemical application without external humidification.",battery
"A spinel lithium nickel manganese oxide (LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4) cathode material is synthesized with a modified oxalate co-precipitation method by controlling pH value of the precursor solution and introducing excessive Li source in the precursor. All the samples synthesized through this method are of Fd3m phase with a small amount of P4 3 32 phase. It is found that pH value of the precursor solution considerably affects the morphology, stoichiometry and crystallographic structure of the target material, thereby resulting in different amounts of Mn3+ (i.e., different degree of disorder). 5% excessive Li source in the precursor may compensate for the lithium loss during the high-temperature sintering process and eliminate the LixNi1-xO impurity phase. Under the optimized synthesis conditions, the obtained high-purity LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 spinel exhibits enhanced electrochemical performances. A reversible capacity of ca. 140 mAh g−1 can be delivered at 0.1C and the electrode retains 106 mAh g−1 at 10C rate. When cycled at 0.2C, a capacity retention of more than 98% is obtained in the initial 50 electrochemical cycles.",battery
"MoOx films composed of agglomerated nanoparticles were synthesized by potentiostatic electrodeposition on stainless steel collectors for charge storage electrodes working in aqueous electrolyte (1M H2SO4) and negative potential window. The agglomerated nanoparticles were amorphous in nature and possess mixed valance state. By optimizing the charge density applied during electrodeposition, the electrodes delivered maximum specific capacity of 228Cg−1 (507Fg−1) at 1Ag−1 for the sample electrodeposited at −0.3Ccm−2. This film showed very good rate capability and retained around 48% of specific capacity at 10Ag−1. The galvanostatic charge discharge cycling stability test showed 87% of initial capacity retained after 900 cycles, suggesting good stability behaviour. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements evidenced lower equivalent series resistance for the sample electrodeposited at −0.3Ccm−2 among the tested samples, revealing its better electrochemical performance. Aging of the electrode with higher specific capacity was also investigated by performing EIS after different cycles; the results revealed an increment on the overall resistance, thus clarifying the capacity degradation.",battery
"The public has access to a range of mobile applications (apps) for disasters. However, there has been limited academic research conducted on disaster apps and how the public perceives their usability. This study explores end-users’ perceptions of the usability of disaster apps. It proposes a conceptual framework based on insights gathered from thematically analyzing online reviews. The study identifies new usability concerns particular to disaster apps’ use: (1) content relevance depends on the app’s purpose and the proximate significance of the information to the hazard event’s time and location; (2) app dependability affects users’ perceptions of usability due to the life-safety association of disaster apps; (3) users perceive advertisements to contribute to their cognitive load; (4) users expect apps to work efficiently without unnecessary consumption of critical phone resources; (5) appropriate audio interface can improve usability, as sounds can boost an app’s alerting aspect; and, finally (6) in-app browsing may potentially enhance users’ impression of the structure of a disaster app. As a result, this study argues for focussed research and development on public-facing disaster apps. Future research should consider the conceptual framework and concerns presented in this study when building design guidelines and theories for disaster apps.
",non-battery
"Air pollution exposure and places where the exposures occur may differ in cities in the developing world compared with high-income countries. Our aim was to measure personal fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure of students in neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status in Accra, Ghana, and to quantify the main predictors of exposure. We measured 24-hour PM2.5 exposure of 56 students from eight schools in four neighborhoods. PM2.5 was measured both gravimetrically and continuously, with time-matched global positioning system coordinates. We collected data on determinants of exposure, such as distances of homes and schools from main roads and fuel used for cooking at their home or in the area of residence/school. The association of PM2.5 exposure with sources was estimated using linear mixed-effects models. Personal PM2.5 exposures ranged from less than 10 μg/m3 to more than 150 μg/m3 (mean 56 μg/m3). Girls had higher exposure than boys (67 vs 44 μg/m3; P-value=0.001). Exposure was inversely associated with distance of home or school to main roads, but the associations were not statistically significant in the multivariate model. Use of biomass fuels in the area where the school was located was also associated with higher exposure, as was household’s own biomass use. Paved schoolyard surface was associated with lower exposure. School locations in relation to major roads, materials of school ground surfaces, and biomass use in the area around schools may be important determinants of air pollution exposure.",non-battery
"Coating is commonly used to improve electrode performance in batteries, but it is challenging to achieve and maintain complete coverage of electrode particles during cycling. Here the authors present a coating-and-infusion approach on Ni-rich cathodes that effectively retards stress corrosion cracking.
",battery
"The layered Li[Ni(1−x)/3Mn(1−x)/3Co(1−x)/3Mo x ]O2 cathode materials (x =0, 0.005, 0.01, and 0.02) were prepared by a solid-state pyrolysis method (700, 800, 850, and 900°C). Its structure and electrochemical properties were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, cyclic voltammetry, and charge/discharge tests. It can be learned that the doped sample of x =0.01 calcined at 800°C shows the highest first discharge capacity of 221.6mAhg−1 at a current density of 20mAg−1 in the voltage range of 2.3–4.6V, and the Mo-doped samples exhibit higher discharge capacity and better cycle-ability than the undoped one at room temperature.",battery
"Vacuum deposited silicon film on a Ni foil substrate showed very stable Li charge/discharge performance in PC containing 1M LiClO4. The performance, however, became poorer rapidly with the increase in the film thickness. In an attempt to attain long cycleability with large capacity for the vacuum deposited thicker silicon film, surface morphology of the depositing substrate metal was examined. Filing with a sand paper was quite effective for providing longer cycleability as compared to the pristine Ni foil. Etching with aqueous solution of FeCl3 resulted in giving the surface roughened to a great extent. A 1.1μm thick silicon film deposited on the well-etched substrate maintained the specific capacity over 1500mAhg−1 even after 400 cycles with 1C rate constant current charge/discharge. The most roughened surface could be obtained by depositing electrolytically on a copper foil. The surface revealed a jammed group of tiny pyramid like steeple-crowned caps. A 3.6μm thick silicon film deposited on the copper substrate thus obtained maintained constantly around 2000mAhg−1 during 50 cycles.",battery
"Neurodevelopmental maturation takes place in a social environment in addition to a neurobiological one. Characterization of social environmental factors that influence this process is therefore an essential component in developing an accurate model of adolescent brain and neurocognitive development, as well as susceptibility to change with the use of marijuana and other drugs. The creation of the Culture and Environment (CE) measurement component of the ABCD protocol was guided by this understanding. Three areas were identified by the CE Work Group as central to this process: influences relating to CE Group membership, influences created by the proximal social environment, influences stemming from social interactions. Eleven measures assess these influences, and by time of publication, will have been administered to well over 7,000 9–10 year-old children and one of their parents. Our report presents baseline data on psychometric characteristics (mean, standard deviation, range, skewness, coefficient alpha) of all measures within the battery. Effectiveness of the battery in differentiating 9–10 year olds who were classified as at higher and lower risk for marijuana use in adolescence was also evaluated. Psychometric characteristics on all measures were good to excellent; higher vs. lower risk contrasts were significant in areas where risk differentiation would be anticipated.",non-battery
"Two different high-temperature calorimetry methods were used to determine the enthalpy of reaction for the reduction of Co3O4 to CoO. This reaction is particularly interesting for assessing the thermodynamics of the first step of the electrochemical half-cell reaction for conversion anodes based on Co3O4 at very low discharge currents. The enthalpy of reaction for the reduction of Co3O4 to CoO was determined to be ΔrH°=205.14±2.48kJ/mol and ΔrH°=204.46±3.17kJ/mol from transposed temperature drop and high-temperature oxide melt drop solution calorimetry, respectively. Using this data, the enthalpy of reaction for the first step of the half-cell reaction for Co3O4 at very low discharge currents involving the formation of Li2O and CoO was calculated as ΔrH°=−393.60±3.67kJ/mol and ΔrH°=−394.28±4.16kJ/mol from the transposed temperature drop and the high-temperature oxide melt drop solution calorimetry, respectively.",non-battery
"The lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered as one of the promising next generation energy storage devices due to the high theoretical specific capacity of sulfur (1675 mAh g−1), naturally available, low cost. However, the practical LSBs are impeded by the well-known ‟shuttle effect” combined with other technical drawbacks. The ‟shuttle effect” causes rapid capacity decay, severe self-discharging and low active material utilization. The polysulfide (PS) which has lone pair electrons in each sulfur atom is considered as Lewis base and shows strong affinity to various polar, Lewis acid and catenation interactive materials but very weakly interacts with the non-polar conductive carbons. The ‟shuttle effect” occurs due to the diffusion of high order PS from the cathode to the anode and then low-order PS back to the cathode. The PS is polar and, due to a lone pair of electrons associated with the sulfur atom, is considered a Lewis base. As such, the PS shows a strong affinity with various polar and Lewis acid materials. In addition, a more novel trapping can be performance through a catenation reaction. For LSBs to compete with the state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries (LIBs), the LSB areal capacity need to be ∼6 mAh cm−2 (which is proportional to sulfur loading). To achieve this target the PS shuttling needs to mitigate, which can be achieved through using functional materials. This review addresses the aforementioned phenomena by considering the PS phase interacts with the various functional materials and how this impacts areal capacity and cycling stability of LSBs.",battery
"Glass–ceramic and glass Li2S–GeSe2–P2S5 electrolytes were prepared by a single step ball milling (SSBM) process. Various compositions of Li4−x Ge1−x P x S2(1+x)Se2(1−x) with/without heat treatment (HT) from x =0.55 to x =1.00 were systematically investigated. Structural analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed gradual increase of the lattice constant followed by significant phase change with increasing GeSe2. HT also affected the crystallinity. Incorporation of GeSe2 in Li2S–P2S5 kept high conductivity with a maximum value of 1.4×10−3 Scm−1 at room temperature for x =0.95 in Li4−x Ge1−x P x S2(1+x)Se2(1−x) without HT. All-solid-state LiCoO2/Li cells using Li2S–GeSe2–P2S5 as solid-state electrolytes (SE) were tested by constant-current constant-voltage (CCCV) charge–discharge cycling at a current density of 50μAcm−2 between 2.5 and 4.3V (vs. Li/Li+). In spite of the extremely high conductivity of the SE, LiCoO2/Li cells showed a large irreversible reaction especially during the first charging cycle. LiCoO2 with SEs heat-treated at elevated temperature exhibited a capacity over 100mAhg−1 at the second cycle and consistently improved cycle retention, which is believed to be due to the better interfacial stability.",battery
"Comparative study of Li[CrTi]O4, Li[Li1/3Ti5/3]O4 and Li1/2Fe1/2[Li1/2Fe1/2Ti]O4 was carried out in order to understand zero-strain insertion mechanism. Degree of defect defined by the occupation of lithium ions at 16(d) sites in Fd 3 ¯ m is 0% in Li[CrTi]O4, 17% in Li[Li1/3Ti5/3]O4 and 25% in Li1/2Fe1/2[Li1/2Fe1/2Ti]O4. Electrochemical tests in non-aqueous lithium cells indicated that no fatal damage was observed with respect to XRD even for 25% defect of spinel-framework structure based on lithium titanium oxides. All samples examined here show the character of so-called zero-strain lithium insertion materials while Li1/2Fe1/2[Li1/2Fe1/2Ti]O4 is converted to a rock-salt structure of Li3/2Fe1/2[Li1/2Fe1/2Ti]O4 in which Fe3+ ions at the tetrahedral sites move to the octahedral sites by changing oxidation state on reduction. FT-IR and Raman spectral measurements were also carried out and the factors affecting zero-strain insertion mechanism were discussed.",battery
"Wearable solar charging systems are now developing rapidly. However, their insufficient overall efficiency and poor charging rate remain daunting challenges. Herein, we report the rational design of a wearable solar charging unit based on a miniature GaAs solar cell and an ultrafast rechargeable Zn micro-battery. This integrated system demonstrates a high overall efficiency of 23.11%. Upon solar charging for 5 s, the system delivers a continuous supply of power for 110 s at 0.5 mA cm−2, showing favorable fast charging performance characteristics. With the aid of in-depth characterization combined with theoretical simulations, the electrochemical energy storage mechanism of the zinc ion battery is elucidated as the synergy of hydroxyl anion intercalation with surface pseudocapacitive reaction. This work provides an innovative strategy to construct wearable solar charging units with high efficiency and advanced charging capabilities.
",battery
"Silicon is a promising anode material for next generation lithium secondary batteries. To significantly increase the energy density of state of the art batteries with silicon, new concepts have to be developed and electrode structuring will become a key technology. Structuring is essential to reduce the macroscopic and microscopic electrode deformation, caused by the volume change during cycling. We report pulsed laser structuring for the generation of hierarchical columnar silicon films with outstanding high areal capacities up to 7.5 mAh cm−2 and good capacity retention. Unstructured columnar electrodes form a micron-sized block structure during the first cycle to compensate the volume expansion leading to macroscopic electrode deformation. At increased silicon loading, without additional structuring, pronounced distortion and the formation of cracks through the current collector causes cell failure. Pulsed laser ablation instead is demonstrated to avoid macroscopic electrode deformation by initial formation of the block structure. A full cell with lithiated silicon versus a carbon-sulfur cathode is assembled with only 15% overbalanced anode and low electrolyte amount (8 μl mgsulfur −1). While the capacity retention over 50 cycles is identical to a cell with high excess lithium anode, the volumetric energy density could be increased by 30%.",battery
"The structure and electrochemical characteristics of melted composite Ti0.10Zr0.15V0.35Cr0.10Ni0.30 + x% LaNi4Al0.4Mn0.3Co0.3 (x = 0, 1, 5) hydrogen storage alloys have been investigated systematically. XRD shows that though the main phase of the matrix alloy remains unchanged after LaNi4Al0.4Mn0.3Co0.3 alloy is added, a new specimen is formed. The amount of the new specimen increases with increasing x. SEM-EDS analysis indicates that the V-based solid solution phase is mainly composed of V, Cr and Ni; C14 Laves phase is mainly composed of Ni, Zr and V; the new specimen containing La is mainly composed of Zr, V and Ni. The electrochemical measurements suggest that the activation performance, the low temperature discharge ability, the high rate discharge ability and the cyclic stability of composite alloy electrodes increase greatly with the growth of x. The HRD is controlled by the charge-transfer reaction of hydrogen and the hydrogen diffusion in the bulk of the alloy under the present experimental conditions.
",battery
"This paper examines the relationship between fiscal policy and the current account, drawing on a large sample of advanced, emerging, and low-income economies and using a variety of statistical methods: panel regressions, an analysis of large fiscal policy and current account changes, and panel vector autoregressions (VAR). On average, across estimation methods, a strengthening in the fiscal balance by 1 percentage point of GDP is associated with a current account improvement of about 0.3 percentage point of GDP. With our preferred estimation method (quarterly structural VAR using government consumption to identify fiscal policy shocks), the relationship is stronger, in the 0.3–0.5 range. The association is stronger in emerging markets and low-income countries; in economies that are more open to trade; and when the economy is somewhat overheated to begin with. The effect is, however, notably weaker during episodes of large fiscal policy and current account changes, suggesting that fiscal policy may have a more limited role in correcting large external imbalances.",non-battery
"The electrochemical behaviour and thermal stability of functional electrolyte additives for Li-ion batteries is investigated. The Li-ion cell systems is comprised of an anode of mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) and a cathode (LiCoO2) in a solution of 1.1M LiPF6 dissolved in ethylene carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate (EC:EMC; 4:6, v/v). Vinyl acetate (VA) and vinylene carbonate (VC) in an ionic electrolyte containing triphenylphosphate (TPP) are tested as functional electrolyte additives. The main analysis tools used in this study are cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cells containing VA or VC exhibit excellent irreversible capacity, coulombic efficiency, rate capability and cycleability. These features confirming the effectiveness of VC addition for improving both the cell performance and the thermal stability of electrolytes in TPP-containing solutions for Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Metallic antimony with high capacity, abundant and a very appropriate reaction potential is considered as a promising anode material for LIBs. But poor cycle performance due to the huge volume expansion during cycling process seriously hinders its practical application. Here, Sb nanoparticles encapsulated into carbon nanosheets were prepared by a facile and scalable method. And the carbon nanosheets can effectively buffer the volume expansion and inhibit the aggregation of Sb nanoparticles during the lithiation/delithiation process. Finally, the as-prepared Sb@C nanosheets display superior rate capability (418 mAh g−1 can be observed even at 5.0 A g−1) and long cycle stability (449 mAh g−1 can be maintained after 1000 cycle at 2.0 A g−1). Furthermore, when coupled with LiFePO4/C cathode, the Sb@C//LiFePO4/C full cell also exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance.",battery
"Patients who suffer from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) usually go through various socio-behavioral and pathophysiological changes that take place in the brain and other organs. Recently, consumption of unhealthy food and excess alcohol along with a sedentary lifestyle has become a norm in both developed and developing countries. Despite the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption, chronic and/or excessive alcohol intake is reported to negatively affect the brain, liver and other organs, resulting in cell death, organ damage/failure and death. The most effective therapy for alcoholism and alcohol related comorbidities is alcohol abstinence, however, chronic alcoholic patients cannot stop drinking alcohol. Therefore, targeted therapies are urgently needed to treat such populations. Patients who suffer from alcoholism and/or alcohol abuse experience harmful effects and changes that occur in the brain and other organs. Upon stopping alcohol consumption, alcoholic patients experience acute withdrawal symptoms followed by a protracted abstinence syndrome resulting in the risk of relapse to heavy drinking. For the past few decades, several drugs have been available for the treatment of AUDs. These drugs include medications to reduce or stop severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms during alcohol detoxification as well as recovery medications to reduce alcohol craving and support abstinence. However, there is no drug that completely antagonizes the adverse effects of excessive amounts of alcohol. This review summarizes the drugs which are available and approved by the FDA and their mechanisms of action as well as the medications that are under various phases of preclinical and clinical trials. In addition, the repurposing of the FDA approved drugs, such as anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, antidepressants and other medications, to prevent alcoholism and treat AUDs and their potential target mechanisms are summarized.",non-battery
"Summary Peripheral nerve injures are common and often result in impaired functional recovery. The majority of injuries involve the arm and/or the hand. The traditional treatment for peripheral nerve injuries is repair by using microsurgical techniques, either by primary nerve suture or nerve graft, but research to find more successful methods that could improve recovery is ongoing. Tubulisation has been investigated by several authors and is suggested as an alternative to microsurgical techniques. The resorbable poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) is one of the materials that has been previously tested experimentally. In this prospective, randomised, assessor-blinded clinical study, PHB was investigated as an alternative to epineural suturing in the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries at the wrist/forearm level of the arm. Twelve patients, with a complete, common, sharp injury of the median and/or ulnar nerve at the wrist/forearm level, were treated by either using PHB or microsurgical epineural end-to-end suturing. All patients were assessed using a battery of tests, including evaluation of functional, sensory and motor recovery by means of clinical, neurophysiological, morphological and physiological evaluations at 2 weeks and 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months after surgery. No adverse events or complications considered as product related were reported, and thus PHB can be regarded as a safe alternative for microsurgical epineural suturing. The majority of the methods in the test battery showed no significant differences between the treatment groups, but one should consider that the study involved a limited number of patients and a high variability was reported for the evaluating techniques. However, sensory recovery, according to the British Medical Research Council score and parts of the manual muscle test, suggested that treating with PHB may be advantageous as compared to epineural suturing. This, however, should be confirmed by large-scale efficacy studies.",non-battery
"The amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in emotional processing. GABA-ergic inhibition within the mPFC has been suggested to play a role in the shaping of amygdala activity. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala–mPFC circuits and their relevance to emotional processing remain unclear. To investigate this circuit, we obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and proton MR spectroscopy in 21 healthy subjects to assess the potential relationship between GABA levels within mPFC and the amygdala–mPFC functional connectivity. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2). Partial correlations were used to measure the relationships among the functional connectivity outcomes, mPFC GABA levels and STAI-Y2 scores. Age, educational level and amount of the gray and white matters within 1H-MRS volume of interest were included as nuisance variables. The rs-fMRI signals of the amygdala and the vmPFC were significantly anti-correlated. This negative functional coupling between the two regions was inversely correlated with the GABA+/tCr level within the mPFC and the STAI-Y2 scores. We suggest a close relationship between mPFC GABA levels and functional interactions within the amygdala–vmPFC circuit, providing new insights in the physiology of emotion.",non-battery
"The design and testing of a robotic analyzer for autonomous TCO2 measurement from oceanographic moorings is described. The analyzer employs a conductimetric method of TCO2 measurement wherein CO2 from an acidified sample diffuses across a semi-permeable membrane into a NaOH solution decreasing the conductivity of the base. The instrument is capable of ∼850 analyses over a period of at least six months. It is designed to operate to depths of at least 1000m. TCO2 calibration is based on in situ standardization throughout a deployment. We report both laboratory and in situ tests of the analyzer. In the laboratory automated analyses over a period of 38 days at temperatures ranging from 8° to 25°C yielded a TCO2 accuracy and precision of ±2.7μmol/kg. In situ tests were conducted at the WHOI dock with a deployment of 8 weeks at in situ temperatures of 5°–13°C. The accuracy and precision of TCO2 analyses over the deployment period, based on in situ calibration, was ±3.6μmol/kg. Laboratory tests of reagent and standard solution stability are also reported. Standards, based on Certified Reference Material were followed for periods of up to 2 years. In all cases TCO2 increased. Drift of the standards was the equivalent of ∼1 to 3μmol/kg per 6 months. The conductivity indicator solution was found to be stable for at least 2 months.",non-battery
"We report a left parietal damaged, acalculic, non aphasic patient who showed a specific deficit in reading Arabic and spelled-out numerals. Word reading was flawless, while he showed a severe impairment in reading meaningless strings of phonemes (phonological alexia). He also showed a dissociation between the preserved ability to retrieve knowledge about general facts and the impairment in retrieving cardinal, personal and non-personal numerical facts. These findings point to a separate organization in the brain of the numerical domain.",non-battery
"Olivine LiFePO4 has been produced using Fe2O3 raw material by mechanical alloying (MA) and subsequent firing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy analysis revealed that LiFePO4 prepared by MA had a well-ordered olivine-type LiFePO4 structure with an ionic state of Fe2+ by the reduction of Fe3+ precursor. It showed a maximum discharge capacity of 160mAhg−1 at C/20 (8.5mAg−1) when cycled from 2.5 to 4.3V. Compared to the LiFePO4 prepared by conventional solid-state method, MA synthesized LiFePO4 a displayed higher charge/discharge capacity and more stable cycle life because of the improvement of the electronic conductivity. It was originated from uniformly distributed fine particles and an increased specific surface area by MA process.",battery
"In this review, the technologies and working principles of different materials used in supercapacitors are explained. The most important supercapacitor active materials are discussed from both research and application perspectives, together with brief explanations of their properties, such as specific surface area and capacitance values. A review of different supercapacitor electrolytes is given and their positive and negative features are discussed. Finally, cell configurations are considered, pointing out the advantages and drawbacks of each configuration.",battery
" The purpose of the study is to report the results of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) after three types of initial treatment performed for complex proximal humeral fracture (PHF): conservative, reduction and internal fixation (RIF), or hemiarthroplasty.",non-battery
"Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), with benefits such as high energy efficiency, quick start capability and instantaneous refueling, is a promising power source to meet the ever-increasing power demand for portable electronic products. In this paper, a novel CO2-driven fuel-feed device was produced and equipped in a passive 8-cell DMFC twin-stack for long-term operation. It was shown that this fuel-feed device was capable of supplying methanol solution continuously in response to the change in discharging current of the stack. Stainless steel sheet was photochemically etched as current collectors based on MEMS techniques. Series interconnections between two neighbor cells were realized in banded configuration which avoided the external connection. TiN-plated mesh was placed between current collector and membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which was used to lessen the internal resistance of the stack. A peak power density of 16.9mWcm−2 was achieved with 4M methanol at ambient temperature and passive operation. The stack equipped with the fuel feed device successfully powered a sensor node for 39h with the consumption of 80ml of 4M methanol.",battery
"Electric fields (EFs) of around 100 mV/mm are present in normal healing wounds and induce the directional migration of epithelial cells. Reepithelialization during wound healing thus may be controlled in part by this electrical signal. In this study, the early transcriptional response of human epidermal keratinocytes to EFs is examined using microarrays. Increased expression of various chemokines, interleukins, and other inflammatory response genes indicates that EFs stimulate keratinocyte activation and immune stimulatory activity. Gene expression activity further suggests that interleukin 1 is either released or activated in EFs. Expression of the chemokine CCL20 steadily increases at 100 mV/mm over time until around 8 h after exposure. This chemokine is also expressed at field strengths of 300 mV/mm—above the level of endogenous wound fields. The early effects of EFs on epithelial gene expression activity identified in these studies suggest the importance of naturally occurring EFs both in repair mechanisms and for the possibility of controlling these responses therapeutically.",non-battery
"A new perspective in the use of electrochemical methods to deposit cobalt hydroxide thin films is presented. Ordered arrays of α-Co(OH)2 (hydrotalcite-like (Co-HT)) and β-Co(OH)2 nanoparticles were synthesized on transparent conductive oxide (TCO) substrates by localized cathodic electrogeneration of hydroxyl via the reduction of NO2 − (or NO3 −) ion precursors in solution containing Co2+ in very low concentration. The thin films, analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were found to be composed of vertically oriented platelets with the crystallographic c-axis parallel to the substrate surface. Turbostratic disorder was not observed in the films. UV/Vis spectra and thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) indicated distinct variation between the Co-HT structures. Films deposited at 60°C using a nitrite precursor generated uniform, vibrant-green mixed-valence Co-HT (Co2+/Co3+). Nitrate precursors yielded a “hydroxyl-deficient” Co-HT (Co2+ only). Films deposited at 95°C in nitrate solution yielded β-Co(OH)2. The films obtained in presence of nitrite were thicker than those obtained in nitrate. They were formed of β-Co(OH)2 and contained traces of Co-HT.",battery
"Malignant tumors and their various treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy can deleteriously affect a large number of cancer patients and survivors on multiple dimensions of psychosocial and neurocognitive functioning. Oncology researchers and clinicians are increasingly cognizant of the negative effects of cancer and its treatments on the brain and its mental processes and cognitive outcomes. Nevertheless, effective interventions to treat cancer and treatment-related neurocognitive dysfunction (CRND), also known as chemobrain, are still lacking. The paucity of data on effective treatments for CRND is due, at least partly, to difficulties understanding its etiology, and a lack of reliable methods for assessing its presence and severity. This paper provides an overview of the incidence, etiology, and magnitude of CRND, and discusses the plausible contributions of psychological, motor function, and linguistic and behavioral complications to CRND. Strategies for reliable neuropsychological screening and assessment, and development and testing of effective ways to mitigate CRND are also discussed.",non-battery
"The present study examined the factor structure of the Personality Assessment Inventory Antisocial Features scale (PAI-ANT) in a non-forensic sample of 1257 undergraduate students. One to four-factor models were tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with a four-factor solution exhibiting the best fitting model (Bentler 1995). Next examined was the convergent and discriminant validity of the PAI-ANT. Results indicated that the PAI-ANT four-factor model was significantly related to measures of general personality, pride, impulsivity, and attachment. Comparisons between the original three-factor model (as proposed by Morey 2007) and our derived four-factor model showed that both models generally had the expected pattern of relations for their respective factors although mixed findings were found for the sensation seeking and risk-taking scales. Findings for these scales indicated that individuals could crave excitement and also have some positive characteristics. The current findings suggest that the four-factor model of the PAI is the best way to interpret the PAI psychopathy scale, but that some caution is needed in interpreting the sensation seeking and risk-taking scales.",non-battery
"We argue that head movement, as an operation that builds head-adjunction structures in the syntax, has been used to model two empirically distinct classes of phenomena. One class has to do with displacement of heads (fully formed morphological words) to higher syntactic positions, and includes phenomena like verb second and verb initiality. The other class has to do with the construction of complex morphological words and is involved in various types of word formation. Based on the very different clusters of properties associated with these two classes of phenomena, we argue that they each should be accounted for by distinct grammatical operations, applying in distinct modules of the grammar, rather than by the one traditional syntactic head movement operation. We propose that the operation responsible for upward displacement of heads is genuine syntactic movement (Internal Merge) and has the properties of syntactic phrasal movement, including the ability to affect word order, the potential to give rise to interpretive effects, and the locality associated with Internal Merge. On the other hand, word formation is the result of postsyntactic amalgamation, realized as either Lowering (Embick and Noyer 2001) or its upward counterpart, Raising. This operation, we argue, has properties that are not associated with narrow syntax: it is morphologically driven, it results in word formation, it does not exhibit interpretive effects, and it has stricter locality conditions (the Head Movement Constraint). The result is a view of head movement that not only accounts for the empirical differences between the two classes of head movement phenomena, but also lays to rest numerous perennial theoretical problems that have heretofore been associated with the syntactic head adjunction view of head movement. In addition, the framework developed here yields interesting new predictions with respect to the expected typology of head movement patterns.",non-battery
"A novel two-step solvothermal approach was firstly applied to acquire ultrathin lithium iron (II) phosphate (LiFePO4) nanosheet (with thickness about 28 nm) with exposed (010) surface facets. The iron hydroxyl phosphate Fe3(PO4)2(OH)2 nanosheet fabricated in the first solvothermal step was proved to be effective template for ultrathin LiFePO4 formation after solvothermal lithiation in the second solvothermal step. Importantly, the two-step solvothermal lithiation could produce ultrathin nanosheets while one-step solvothermal based on Fe(II) fabrication could only produce nanoplate-like particles. The as-synthesized nanosheets has shortened Li-ion diffusion path and high robustness in the structure during high C-rate electrochemical tests. Based on comparison with bulk LiFePO4 and nano-plate LiFePO4, the LiFePO4 nanosheet exhibits quite high specific discharge capacity of 169, 165, 159, 142, and 121 mAh g−1, at C-rate of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 5C, respectively, and excellent cycling performance with capacity kept at 121 mAh g−1 with no obvious fading under 500 times cycles. The newly developed method can provide useful references to other olivine type LiMPO4 cathodes and even have potential to find more applications in the synthesis of functional materials.",battery
" Developments in electronic tagging technologies have provided unprecedented insight into the movements and behavior of marine predators. Concurrent information on the prey of these tracked animals, however, is mostly lacking. We developed and tested a prototype autonomous echosounder (aka the sonar tag) for deployment on large marine animals intended to provide quantification of their prey fields.",non-battery
"In e-learning environments, instructional design has evolved from “one instructional design for many learners” to “one design for one learner” or “many designs for one learner”. By using the capabilities of semantic web, World Wide Web led the interchange of information about data (e.i., metadata) as well as documents. Such capabilities also indicated a new kind of challenge for instructional designers to design a common framework that allows content to be shared and reused within and across applications.",non-battery
"Gas evolution has been examined for different types of battery-related electrode materials via in situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS). Besides standard graphite also a novel silicon-based negative electrode was examined and it was shown that the evolution of hydrogen and ethylene is considerably reduced on this material compared to graphite. Oxygen evolution was proven to happen on the oxidative reaction of a Li2O2 electrode, besides a certain oxidation of the electrolyte. The 4.5V plateau upon the oxidation of Li[Ni0.2Li0.2Mn0.6]O2 was likewise proven to be linked to oxygen evolution. Also in this case electrolyte oxidation was shown to be a side reaction. Layered positive electrode materials Li(Ni,Co,Al)O2 and Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2 were also examined. The influence of different parameters on the CO2 evolution in lithium-ion batteries was shown up. The amount of CO2 formation is increased by high temperatures and cell voltages, while the addition of vinylene carbonate (VC) decreases it. Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2 shows much less CO2 evolution than Li(Ni,Co,Al)O2.",battery
"In the present study, the cyto-genotoxic effects of 12 CSCs prepared from a diverse set of cigarettes on human B lymphoblastoid cells were compared using five in vitro assays. The cells were exposed to CSCs at doses of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, and 12.5×10−3 cigarette/ml for 24h in neutral red uptake and CCK-8 assays, at doses of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0×10−3 cigarette/ml for 3h in cell apoptosis assay, at doses of 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0, and 14.0×10−3 cigarette/ml for 4h in comet assay, and at doses of 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, and 8.0×10−3 cigarette/ml for 4h in micronucleus assay. The potency of 12 CSCs to induce corresponding toxic effects in each assay was calculated, and the correlations between the results in five assays were analyzed. Our investigation showed that the results of 12 CSCs in CCK-8 and cell apoptosis assays were positive, the results of 11 CSCs in neutral red uptake and comet assays were positive, and 9 CSCs could induce significantly the micronuclei in micronucleus assay. It was found that the potency to induce the cytotoxic effects among 12 CSCs ranged 9.694 folds in neutral red uptake assay and 6.43 folds in CCK-8 assay, the potency to induce cell apoptosis among 12 CSCs ranged 8.191 folds, the potency to induce DNA damage among 12 CSCs ranged 29.199 folds, the potency to induce micronuclei among 12 CSCs ranged 5.879 folds. Moreover, the good correlations were found between any two assays. It was suggested that the cyto-genotoxicity of CSCs from different brands of cigarettes varied greatly, comet assay might be a sensitive assay in assessing the genotoxicity induced by CSCs.",non-battery
"With an aim to understand the role of recently reported Ti-containing additives like TiB2 on the rechargeability of manganese oxide cathodes in alkaline cells, a redox reaction involving the chemical oxidation of Mn(OH)2 with H2O2 in KOH solution and a non-redox reaction involving the reaction of Mn(III) acetate with KOH have been carried out in the presence and absence of 1wt% TiB2 and 0.5wt% TiB2 +4.5wt% Bi2O3 additives. The solid products formed during the reactions have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction and a redox titration to determine the oxidation state of manganese while the filtrate has been analyzed to determine the amount of dissolved manganese with reaction time. The results suggest that irreversible reactions that follow the disproportionation reaction of dissolved Mn3+, which leads to the formation of electrochemically inactive phases like birnessite (δ-MnO2) and hausmannite (Mn3O4) and a consequent decline in capacity retention, are suppressed in the presence of the TiB2 additive, with the suppression being more effective when Bi2O3 is present along with TiB2.",battery
"Despite active developments, full-cell cycling of Li-battery anodes with >50 wt% Si (a Si-majority anode, SiMA) is rare. The main challenge lies in the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), which when formed naturally (nSEI), is fragile and cannot tolerate the large volume changes of Si during lithiation/delithiation. An artificial SEI (aSEI) with a specific set of mechanical characteristics is henceforth designed; we enclose Si within a TiO2 shell thinner than 15 nm, which may or may not be completely hermetic at the beginning. In situ TEM experiments show that the TiO2 shell exhibits 5× greater strength than an amorphous carbon shell. Void-padded compartmentalization of Si can survive the huge volume changes and electrolyte ingression, with a self-healing aSEI + nSEI. The half-cell capacity exceeds 990 mA h g−1 after 1500 cycles. To improve the volumetric capacity, we further compress SiMA 3-fold from its tap density (0.4 g cm−3) to 1.4 g cm−3, and then run the full-cell battery tests against a 3 mA h cm−2 LiCoO2 cathode. Despite some TiO2 enclosures being inevitably broken, 2× the volumetric capacity (1100 mA h cm−3) and 2× the gravimetric capacity (762 mA h g−1) of commercial graphite anode is achieved in stable full-cell battery cycling, with a stabilized areal capacity of 1.6 mA h cm−2 at the 100th cycle. The initial lithium loss, characterized by the coulombic inefficiency (CI), is carefully tallied on a logarithmic scale and compared with the actual full-cell capacity loss. It is shown that a strong, non-adherent aSEI, even if partially cracked, facilitates an adaptive self-repair mechanism that enables full-cell cycling of a SiMA, leading to a stabilized coulombic efficiency exceeding 99.9%.
",battery
"A hybrid power system is an emerging power generation technique which involves a combination of different energy systems, mostly renewables for optimal output configuration. In modern pursuit for renewable energy (RE) development, optimum conditions for the production and utilization of energy system are considered to be an indispensable feature for economic load dispatch. This is a rationalizing fact taking into consideration the rising price of energy for socio-economic development. Therefore, this paper reviews primary issues regarding the drivers and specific benefits of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES). Moreover, this paper presents discussions on the various renewable energy sources which can be explored for HRES implementation. Finally, the framework unfolds a vivid review on factors to be considered for designing and implementation of HRES in general including simulation and optimization software packages for making such analyses.",battery
Résumé Les dysfonctions cognitives postopératoires résiduelles sont des altérations durables des processus mentaux qui surviennent au-delà de sept jours après une intervention chirurgicale. Elles concernent plus de 10 % des sujets âgés de plus de 70 ans. Leur survenue est indépendante du type d’anesthésie pratiquée. Les dysfonctions cognitives pourraient être la conséquence d’une altération du capital neuronal des patients d’origine multifactorielle. Un processus de réadaptation est possible au cours du temps expliquant la régression de la fréquence des symptômes au fil des mois. Une stratégie globale de prise en charge doit être envisagée en préopératoire chez les patients à risque.,non-battery
"Numerous neurological consequences of alcoholism have been identified, including hepatic encephalopathy, Wernicke encephalopathy, Korsakoff syndrome, Marchaifava–Bignami disease and central pontine myelinosis. Here, Zahr et al. focus on Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome, exploring their position within a proposed spectrum of neurological disruption that begins with alcohol-related brain damage.",non-battery
"This paper presents a portable Raman sensor system based on a miniaturized optical bench with integrated 671nm microsystem diode laser as excitation light source for the rapid in situ detection of meat spoilage. The system comprises three main components. A handheld measurement head with a dimension of 210mm×240mm×60mm containing a laser driver electronics board, the Raman optical bench, and a battery pack as power supply serves for excitation as well as collection of the Raman signals in backscattering geometry. The signal detection is realized by a custom-designed miniature spectrometer with an optical resolution of 8cm−1 and a dimension of 200mm×190mm×70mm which is fiber-optically connected to the measurement head. To control the spectrometer as well as for data storage a netbook is applied. To point out the ability of the sensor system for the rapid identification of meat spoilage porcine musculus longissimus dorsi (LD) and musculus semimembranosus (SM) were used as test samples. Stored refrigerated at 5°C the meat cuts were investigated in time-dependent measurement series up to 3 weeks after slaughter. Meat Raman spectra with an integration time of 10s can be detected with an excitation laser power of 100mW at the sample. The spectral changes of the Raman data set during storage were analyzed by principal components analysis. Specific periods of age could be discriminated in the Raman spectra which correlate very well with bacterial growth kinetics determined by microbial reference analyses. Thus, fresh meat with low bacterial load can be identified and a discrimination of spoiled samples exceeding the threshold of 106 cfu/cm2 around day 7 post-mortem for both examined meat cuts was possible.",non-battery
"Li-ion battery failure becomes one of major challenges for reliable battery applications, as it could cause catastrophic consequences. Compared with capacity fading resulted from calendar effects, Li-plating induced battery failures are more difficult to identify, as they causes sudden capacity loss leaving limited time for failure diagnosis. This paper presents a new internal state variable (ISV) mapping approach to identify values of immeasurable battery ISVs considering changes of inherent parameters of battery system dynamics for Li-plating diagnosis. Employing the developed ISV mapping approach, an explicit functional relationship model between measurable battery signals and immeasurable battery ISVs can be developed. The developed model can then be used to identify ISVs from an online battery system for the occurrence identification of Li-plating. Employing multiphysics based simulation of Li-plating using COMSOL, the proposed Li-plating diagnosis approach is implemented under different conditions in the case studies to demonstrate its efficacy in diagnosis of Li-plating onset timings.",battery
"Portable ramps are generally used by wheelchair users, provide temporary solution to increase accessibility in their daily lives. Portable ramps should allow for modifications in terms of weight, length, load bearing capacity, ease of handling, storage and further design parameters. Different types of portable ramps can be found in the market; however, their modifications cannot go beyond just length modification, or they allow to select just some restricted width options. However, portable ramps are quite suitable for mass customization concept which helps to satisfy customer while being involved in design step. This study aims to determine the wheelchair users’ expectations and correspondingly to offer a smart mass customization design tool which potential users are able to interact with easily. To this end, a case study is conducted with a rollable ramp which is designed and developed within the scope of 1512 – Entrepreneurship Multi-phase Programme (Teknogirişim Sermaye Desteği Programı) of The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). The methodology and its implementation are described elaborately, and example of a parametric smart customization tool design are illustrated in this study. First, the preliminary study is explained briefly. Afterward, the desired modification parameters are determined with literature and patent survey as well as observation and interviews with the potential users. After systematic review and evaluation of user experiences, the model is assessed.
",non-battery
"In this paper, we present a new key term extraction system able to handle with the particularities of “support documents”. Our system takes advantages of frequency-based and thesaurus-based approaches to recognize two different classes of key terms. On the one hand, it identifies multi-domain key terms of the collection using Wikipedia as knowledge resource. On the other hand, the system extracts specific key terms highly related with the context of a support document. We use the frequency in language as a criterion to detect and rank such terms. To prove the validity of our system we have designed a set of experiment using a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) collection of documents. Since our approach is generic, minor modifications should be undertaken to adapt the system to other kind of support documents. The empirical results evidence the validity of our approach.",non-battery
"Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE) is a nonlesional condition associated with mutation of the gene coding for the α4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). The nAChR modulates aspects of memory and attention. We examined the neuropsychological phenotype of ADNFLE, with a particular emphasis on understanding the impact on frontal lobe functions. We used standard clinical tests as well as focused measures of frontal lobe function in a well-defined group of patients with ADNFLE. Their performance was compared with that of a group of age-, sex-, and education-matched control participants. Patients with ADNFLE showed impairments on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility against a background of well-preserved intellectual abilities. In accord with existing research, verbal memory impairments were identified in the patient group; the level of impairment on these tasks correlated with disease-related factors. In our study of ADNFLE associated with one mutation, cognitive flexibility appears to be the core cognitive deficit.",non-battery
"This paper studies the relation between party institutionalization and intra-party preference homogeneity in democracies. In weakly institutionalized parties, it cannot be taken for granted that party actors have similar policy views because they lack the capability or motivation to coordinate agreement and to recruit personnel in line with this agreement. This should matter most when other safeguards against preference heterogeneity are missing. Empirically, we explore the association between institutionalization and intra-party preference homogeneity at the level of candidates to the national legislature based on survey data. In a single-country study, we first look at the case of Germany in 2013 and 2017, contrasting the young and weakly institutionalized Alternative for Germany (AfD) with the older, established parties. In a second step, we study the link between party institutionalization and preference homogeneity in a cross-country analysis of 19 established democracies. We find that parties with high value infusion—parties whose candidates are committed to the party—are generally more homogenous in their policy preferences. Moreover, value infusion is more consequential when the issues in question are not constitutive for the party and when candidates are selected in a decentralized way. Similarly, routinization of internal party behavior—the second dimension of institutionalization that we account for—seems to contribute to preference homogeneity only when parties are less policy oriented and have decentralized candidate selection procedures.",non-battery
"Thermal initiation polymerization was used and optimized to prepare poly(methyl methacrylate) gel polymer electrolytes (PMMA-GPE). The impact of vinylene carbonate (VC) on the electrochemical performance of mesophase-pitch-based carbon fibers in PMMA-GPE for lithium-ion batteries was investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and charge–discharge test. As expected, adding VC with a proper concentration of 1 vol% into GPE results in better electrolyte conductivity, cycling performance, and reversible capacity. Combining with Scanning electron microscopy, LSV and CV, detailed EIS investigation was used in order to better understand the modified mechanisms of graphite electrode in GPE with VC. The results reveal that the improvement of electrochemical performance is mainly due to the effective inhibition on growth of the internal resistance, which mainly attributed to the solid electrolyte interphase with an electrochemically and structurally stability mainly formed by the reduction and polymerization of VC at higher potential as restraining the side reaction of the reduction and polymerization of matrix in GPE.",battery
"Mites, and especially soil-inhabiting ones, have been less studied than the other invertebrates used in bio-assays for the assessment of soil quality and the hazards of chemicals, although these organisms are included in the regulatory assessment scheme of pesticides. The recent advances in the development of test methods for soil mites groups have provided more information on their sensitivities towards chemicals, which needs to be presented for a more robust assessment of the current trends in soil mite ecotoxicology. Moreover, interestingly mite is the only taxa for which test methods were developed and standardized on predatory organisms. This review summarizes the different protocols for the assessment of chemicals using soil-inhabiting mites, including laboratory, semi-field and field studies. Among the data found in the literature, most of the chemicals assessed with mites were pesticides, while a few environmental samples were assessed with these organisms. Their sensitivities towards chemicals were then compared and discussed regarding other soil invertebrates. Finally, we conclude on the usefulness of soil mites in ecotoxicology, and provide future research trail in this area.
",non-battery
"Graphite–tin composites were produced by high-energy bail-milling. X-ray diffraction and HREM observation showed that graphite became amorphous and tin became nanocrystalline after the intensive ball milling. The element Sn was encapsulated in the ductile graphite matrix on a nanometer scale. Electrochemical tests show that the lithium storage capacity increases with the addition of Sn, which could be attributed to the reaction of Sn with Li to form Li x Sn alloys. The volume expansion due to the alloying process may be buffered by the amorphous graphite matrix. The C0.9Sn0.1 electrode can deliver a discharge capacity of 1250mAh/g in the initial cycle. Generally, the capacity of the ball-milled C, C0.9Sn0.1 and C0.8Sn0.2 electrodes decrease with cycling quite quickly, but the C0.9Sn0.1 and C0.8Sn0.2 electrodes have better cyclability than that of the ball-milled graphite electrode. The combination of C and Sn could be an anode material with high capacity for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Microstructures and electrochemical characteristics of La0.7Ce0.3Ni4.2Mn0.9−x Cu0.37(V0.81Fe0.19) x hydrogen storage alloys were investigated. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope results indicate that La0.7Ce0.3Ni4.2Mn0.9Cu0.37 alloy is single LaNi5 phase, and the alloys containing V0.81Fe0.19 consist of LaNi5 matrix phase and V–Mn–Ni secondary phase, and the abundance of secondary phase increases with increasing x value. The activation property of the alloy electrodes is improved by increasing V0.81Fe0.19 content. Maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrodes changes a little with increasing x value. HRD1200 first increases from 60.4% (x =0) to 70.8% (x =0.10), and then decreases to 56.6% (x =0.20). Cycling stability decreases with increasing x from 0 to 0.20. The adequate substitution of Mn by V0.81Fe0.19 can improve overall electrochemical performances of Co-free high-Mn AB5 alloy.",battery
" To assess the internal construct validity of the Perceived Impact of Problem Profile (PIPP), a patient based outcome measure based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), which assesses impact and distress, in an osteoarthritis (OA) cohort.",non-battery
"Lithium plating and dendrite formation can occur on the graphite surface at high current densities. What is more, graphite generates a 10% volume change during cycling, resulting in a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) crack and further electrolyte decomposition. Here, p-Toluenesulfonyl isocyanate (PTSI) as an electrolyte additive is evaluated to overcome the above problem of Li/graphite cells. The results show that the cycling capacity of Li/graphite cell with 0.5wt% PTSI is effectively enhanced at high current densities. Remarkably, we find that a stable SEI film derived from PTSI is generated on the graphite surface. The SEI film can obviously inhibit the reductive decomposition of electrolyte, electrode erosion and LiF formation upon cycling. This additive will provide new avenues for the rational engineering of advanced Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The structural, morphological and electrochemical properties of the hydrothermally prepared manganese oxide (MnO2) nanostructures are discussed in this paper. Interesting nanostructures of MnO2, mixture of nanostructured surface with a distinct plate-like morphology and nanorods, have been prepared by employing hydrothermal synthesis under mild conditions. The specific surface area of the prepared material was 132m2 g−1. Electrochemical properties of the synthesized nanostructured material were studied using galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry in a mild aqueous electrolyte that showed a high specific capacitance of 168Fg−1. In addition, the synthesized nanomaterial showed a good reversibility and cycling stability.",battery
"Tattoos are common and used extensively as either body art or cosmetic make-up; more rarely, they can be traumatic in nature. We have systemically analysed the literature for the patterns of red pigment tattoo reactions and their treatment options. Our search identified 18 articles; there was 1 non-randomised controlled trial, and the rest were small case studies. In total 139 patients were included within the studies. This review systematically analyses the different subsets of red tattoo reactions including lichenoid, dermatitis, granulomatous, pseudolymphomatous and miscellaneous reactions. The current evidence for the treatment for the above is presented. Dermatitis and lichenoid reactions appear to be the most common subtype of red pigment reactions with various treatment methods applied showing laser intervention to have some degree of success.",non-battery
"The use and scrap of lithium ion batteries, especially power lithium ion batteries in China, are increasing every year. Regeneration of spent battery materials is not only important for environmental protection and resource saving, but also for the production of high value-added materials. In this research, spent power lithium-ion battery cathode material LiNi1-xCoxO2 was acid-leached and a polymetallic leaching solution containing Li, Ni, Co, Al and Cu was obtained. Cu was extracted from the leachate by using CP-150 (2-hydroxy-5-nonyl salicylaldehyde oxime). The optimal conditions were found to be organic: aqueous phase ratio (O/A) = 2:1, extraction agent concentration of 30%, and pH = 3. The precursor was prepared by coprecipitation of the leachate after Cu removal. Then, cathode material of lithium nickel cobalt aluminate LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 was synthesized under the optimal conditions of n (precursor): n (lithium carbonate) = 1:1.1, calcination temperature of 800 °C for 15 h. The regenerated LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 product prepared under the optimized conditions was in a pure phase with a layered structure and a smooth surface morphology. The first charge specific capacity was 248.7 mAh/g, and the discharge specific capacity was 162 mAh/g. The interfacial impedance was 119 Ω. The 50th-cycle discharge specific capacity was 149.1 mAh/g, and the capacity retention rate was high as 92%. Therefore, the regenerated cathode material exhibited good performance.",non-battery
"To investigate the effect of non-graphitic carbon coatings on the thermal stability of spherical natural graphite at elevated temperature, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements are performed. Data from DSC studies show that the thermal stability of the surface modified natural graphite electrode is improved. The surface modification results in a decrease in the BET surface specific area. An improvement in coulombic efficiency and a reduction in irreversible capacity are also observed for the carbon-coated natural graphite. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms that carbon coating alleviates the release of intercalated lithium from natural graphite at an elevated temperature and acts as a protective layer against electrolyte attack.",battery
"The two main degradation mechanisms of the LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4/electrolyte interface are already known to be the electrolyte oxidation and the dissolution of transition metal ions. The impact of these two phenomena on the performances during cycling and after prolonged storage of accumulators is evaluated by modifying the cell configuration. The aim is to understand the mechanisms leading to the decrease in performances of the electrochemical cells. Storage of LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4/Li and LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4/Li4Ti5O12 accumulators confirms that there is no correlation between the ability of alkylcarbonate-based electrolytes to resist to their own oxidation at high potential and the decrease in cell electrochemical performances. This is mainly due to the transition metal ion dissolution from Li1-xNi0.4Mn1.6O4. The use of LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4/Li accumulators for storage tests is not suitable over a long period, owing to the reactivity of reducing lithium, particularly at high temperatures, hindering distinguishing differences between electrolytes. The use of the LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4/Li4Ti5O12 cells reveals that a temperature of 30°C with the EC/EMC electrolyte improves the cell performances after prolonged storage. However, the use of such cells induces Mn2+ and Ni2+ in larger amounts than in the LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4/Li cells, resulting in a minimal reversible capacity loss of 20% related to the total disappearance of the electrochemically active manganese (Mn+IV →Mn+III).",battery
"This paper presents the techno-economic design and analysis of a nanogrid system for five neighboring houses, using an energy-poor village in Gwagwalada-Abuja, Nigeria as a case study. It explores the possibility of different energy configurations – solar nanogrid (SNg), solar/wind nanogrid (SWNg), solar/diesel nanogrid (SDNg), solar/wind/diesel nanogrid (SWDNg) and diesel nanogrid (DNg) systems. The study uses the demand patterns obtained during a field survey to determine the aggregate load profile and the energy generation systems. It presents detailed capacities, annual energy, losses, battery state of charge (SoC), unmet demand, loss of load probability (LOLP), availability and the demand growth analyses. Results reveal that 5–14.5kW SNg can meet the users’ demand of∼12.5–36.5kWh/d achieving an availability of 99.2–99.6%. However, an availability of 100% was obtained for the hybrid options, including the DNg. These are 2.5–7kW PV and a 1.8–3.6kW wind generator; 5kW PV and 5kW diesel systems; 2.5PV, 1.8kW wind and 5kW diesel system; 2.5–5kW diesel generator systems. The results also demonstrate that the hybrid nanogrids achieves better battery profiles compared to the single-source option because of their complementary characteristics; thus, satisfying the battery constraint of SoC≥30% during the year. The initial cost of the DNg option is ∼6–22% of those of the renewable energy-based nanogrids. The study further reveals that nanogrids with diesel generators have relatively higher life cycle costs because of the fuel costs. Though renewable energy-based nanogrids have relatively higher initial capital costs, their life cycle costs are lower than those of the DNg. The research can be used for planning new electrification systems for rural communities around the globe.",non-battery
"The successful phase separation of P2- and O3-phase Na2/3Fe1/2Mn1/2O2 is demonstrated using co-precipitation method. Although P2-phase displays superior thermodynamic stability at 2/3Na and 1/2Fe:1/2Mn concentration, O3-phase can be stabilized by the means of kinetic control. The electrochemical performance evaluation with half- and full-cells prove that P2- and O3-phase exhibit comparable overall electrochemical performances when the concentrations of Na+ and transition metal constituents in the pristine state are the same. In fact, O3-phase exhibits a slightly larger reversible capacity while P2-phase exhibits slightly better average Coulombic efficiency and polarization under the same electrochemical testing conditions. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used for an in-depth analysis of charge transfer rate and conductivity. The ex situ XRD experiments of both electrodes at 25th cycle show that the pristine crystal structure is maintained under the experimental conditions which indicates the structural stabilities of both electrodes although the gradual capacity degradation is observed due to the complex reactions during the cycling.",battery
"Surface modification of LiNi0.4Mn0.4Co0.2O2 (442) compound with certain metal oxides viz., Al2O3, Bi2O3 and In2O3 has been attempted with a view to improve the structural and cycling stability, especially upon high voltage and high rate cycling conditions. In addition to HF scavenging effect, the protective metal oxide inter-connect layer restricts the number of oxide ion vacancies eliminated during the initial cycling of cathode, resulting in the reduced irreversible capacity loss of the first cycle. Among the surface modified cathodes, Bi2O3 coated LiNi0.4Mn0.4Co0.2O2 cathode exhibits appreciable specific capacity values of 196mAhg−1 (Q dc1) and 175mAhg−1 (Q dc100) with 89% capacity retention, thus evidencing the superiority of Bi2O3 modifier in improving the electrochemical behavior of pristine LiNi0.4Mn0.4Co0.2O2 cathode. Further, suitability of Bi2O3 coated LiNi0.4Mn0.4Co0.2O2 cathode for high voltage (5.0V) and high rate (3C) lithium intercalation and de-intercalation applications has been demonstrated up to 100 cycles. Based on the extent of improvement in electrochemical behavior, the cathodes under investigation could be arranged in the order: Bi2O3 coated>Al2O3 coated>In2O3 coated>uncoated LiNi0.4Mn0.4Co0.2O2 oxide.",battery
"Tavorite-structured lithium-metal-fluorophosphates for Li+ transition have been recognized as a good alternative to olivine-type cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. They show an exceptional ionic conductivity, excellent thermal stability and capacity retention. In this work, LiFePO4F with high purity is successfully synthesized by a two-step solid-state route. Rietveld refinement shows that open pathways for 3D ion transport exist in LiFePO4F and its discharged state (Li2FePO4F). Cyclic voltammetry data exhibit a clear indication of the Fe3+/2+ redox couple that involves a two-phase transition. Galvanostatic discharge-charge cycling was examined at the rates 0.1 - 5C up to 1000 cycles. The voltage plateaus on 2.71 / 2.86V indicate a low electrode polarization of 0.15V. This work attained the largest initial discharge capacity at the highest rate (1C) reported to date, and almost the same capacity retention at a tenfold higher rate (1C) than that (0.1C) within the maximum cycles of 100 reported to date.",battery
"Time estimation was examined in 148 older good and poor sleepers in analogue and naturalistic sleep settings. On analogue tasks, both “empty” time and time listening to an audiobook were overestimated by both good and poor sleepers. There were no differences between groups. “Empty” time was experienced as “dragging.” In the sleep setting, most poor sleepers underestimated nocturnal sleep and overestimated awake times related to their own sleep problem: sleep onset vs. sleep maintenance insomnia. Good sleepers did the opposite. Severity of sleep problem and size of time estimation errors were unrelated. Greater night-to-night wake time variability was experienced by poor than by good sleepers. Psychological adjustment was unrelated to time estimations and to magnification or minimization of sleep problems. The results suggest that for poor sleepers who magnify their sleep problem, self-monitoring can be of benefit by demonstrating that the sleep problem is not as severe as believed.
",non-battery
"Polymers are increasingly being used in implantable biomedical applications owing to their flexibility and compatibility with micro-fabrication processes. A liquid crystal polymer (LCP) is an inert, highly water-resistant polymer that is suitable for the encapsulation of electronic components and as a substrate material for fabricating neural interfaces. Therefore, the monolithic integration of a neural interface and electronics packaging is enabled by the use of an LCP, which has salient benefits in terms of performance and reliability. For these reasons, LCPs have been studied extensively as a base material for neural prosthetic devices. In this paper, we review recently developed enabling technologies, and demonstrate prototype devices and their performance capabilities. Lifetime estimations and technical challenges of LCP-based neural prosthetic devices are also described.
",non-battery
"Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a self-organized network, contains sensor nodes deployed in particular regions to gather the environmental parameters and communicate the information to the base station directly through intermediate nodes. In recent times, WSN has gained attention from wireless device manufacturers, researchers, and users for remotely accessing and monitoring the information in diverse environments. The scalability and routing are the major concerns of the network. Apart from that, the performance of WSN depends on network simulation parameters such as delay, throughput, packet delivery ratio (PDR), and control overhead. The research paper focused on the DSDV and OLSR routing protocol realization on the new hardware platform. The hardware chip of these protocols is designed in Xilinx ISE 14.7 software using VHDL, targeted on Virtex-5 FPGA. The node communication is verified on Modelsim 10.0 simulation software. The FPGA hardware and timing parameters are analyzed for different node clusters (N = 10, 20 …150) configuration. The OLSR routing protocol network performance parameters are used to build the machine learning prediction model using cluster tree regression, random forest regression, multiple regression, and K-means clustering. The K-means clustering predicted 99.12% and 98.50% accuracy in terms of the packet delivery ratio and throughput respectively.
",non-battery
"This study examines the effects of takeover defenses on the value implication of dividends. Using the framework of Fama and French in J Finance 53(3): 819–843 (1998), the paper shows that dividends paid by managers with strong managerial power resulting from takeover protection measures are more valued in the stock market. The results are consistent with the hypothesis of the agency costs of free cash flow built on by Jensen in Am Econ Rev 76(2): 323–329 (1986) in the sense that dividends are important to determine firm value by reducing the free cash flow that would otherwise be deployed for private benefits by entrenched managers. This paper also examines whether the incremental value effect of dividends in entrenched firms is attributable to a numerator effect (changes in the future cash flow) or a denominator effect (changes in the discount rate). The empirical results show that the dividend payout of such firms is more positively related to future performance and more negatively related to information risk, which supports both numerator and denominator effects.",non-battery
"It's desirable to design an ideal three-dimensional (3D) interpenetrating network as the current collector for providing efficient ion and electron transport. Herein, we report a facile method to fabricate a novel continuous 3D Ni porous nanoarchitecture via the reduction of Ni(OH)2 nanowall precursors. The as-formed continuous 3D Ni porous network as the conductive scaffold can support a highly electrolytic accessible surface area of redox active MnO2 nanosheets, and provide reliable electrical connections to the MnO2 layers. In comparison with the planar conducting substrates, this 3D scaffold not only can increase the mass loading of MnO2 active materials, but also facilitate the facile transport of electron and electrolyte ion. Thus, the 3D (MnO2/Ni) electrode exhibited higher specific capacitance (1169.6 F g−1 at 2 A g−1, closed to the theoretical value) and better long-term cyclability (only ∼5% loss after 1000 cycles) than that on the planar conducting substrate under the identical electrodeposition condition (611.6 F g−1 at 2 A g−1 and around 20% loss after 1000 cycles). These results suggest that such 3D Ni porous architecture is a promising current collector for high-performance electrochemical capacitor.",battery
"In this study, α-Fe2O3 nanorings@reduced graphene oxide (α-Fe2O3@rGO) composites have been prepared through a facile hydrothermal self-assembly process. This strategy achieved the effective reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to graphene as well as the homogenous distribution of α-Fe2O3 nanorings on the surface of crumpled graphene nanosheets. The α-Fe2O3@rGO composites exhibit a much higher specific capacity of 781mAhg−1 after 100cycles at the current density of 100mAg−1 and good rate capability than the pure α-Fe2O3 nanorings (225mAhg−1), outperforming the most of reported Fe2O3/graphene electrode materials previously. The excellent electrochemical performance of α-Fe2O3@rGO benefits from the synergistic effect between α-Fe2O3 nanorings and graphene nanosheets. Moreover, the present work will be contributed to the future development of diverse graphene-based metal oxide materials for lithium-ion batteries applications.",battery
"Determining the changing rate of water consumption through altering parameters such as water tariffs can help water companies select appropriate water policies. This paper is intended to find the proper relation between the water price elasticity of demand and some social, economic and climatic variables that are released annually by international organizations like the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank. By using genetic algorithm, different combinations of water price elasticity of demand and variables like gross domestic product, per capita gross domestic product, gross national income, precipitation, human development index, average temperature and household size have been analyzed. It was found that the absolute price elasticity of water demand has positive relationships with precipitation and price of water. It has also been found that the gross national income, average percent of consumers who have secondary education and human development index have a negative relation with the absolute price elasticity of water demand.",non-battery
"This paper investigates Taiwan's strategic promotion of the photovoltaic industry, along with the warm welcome it has extended to developments and competitive trends in global green energy technology. Through gaining a grasp of Taiwan's position as fourth globally in the photovoltaic industry and production potential, the author's main concern was with the role of the government, encouraging policies, installation incentive measures, the newest ‘Renewable Energy Development Act’, Science Park cluster effect strategy, initiating National Energy projects and actively promoting and improving the competitiveness of Taiwan's photovoltaic industry. The promotion of legislation and policy-orientated strategies are all a vital path to Taiwan catching up, learning and developing competitiveness in the area of science and technology related industries. Moreover, from the perspective of technological and industrial development trends, the author carried out a SWOT analysis of Taiwan's photovoltaic industry, pointing out that with the basic niche established through Taiwan's semiconductor and IC manufacturing and design, Taiwan's photovoltaic industry has the potential to take it one step further in the areas of R&D and the possibility of acquiring breakthroughs in international cooperation.",battery
"The present study assessed the use of a voice-detecting sensor interfaced with a scanning keyboard emulator to allow two boys with extensive motor disabilities to write. Specifically, the study (a) compared the effects of the voice-detecting sensor with those of a familiar pressure sensor on the boys’ writing time, (b) checked which of the sensors the boys preferred, and (c) conducted a social validation assessment of the boys’ performance with the two sensors, employing psychology students as raters. The difference in the boys’ overall mean writing time per letter across sensors was, by the end of the study, about 1.5s. This difference favored the pressure sensor for one of the boys and the voice-detecting sensor for the other boy. Both boys showed preference for the voice-detecting sensor. Moreover, the psychology students involved in the social validation assessment indicated that such sensor was more satisfactory, suitable, and educationally relevant than the pressure sensor, and represented the solution that they as raters supported more.",non-battery
"Several models have been developed to estimate the operating cell temperatures of photovoltaic (PV) modules because they directly affect the performance of each PV module. In this study, two prediction models used most commonly, the nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) model and the Sandia National Laboratory temperature prediction model (SNL), were investigated for their suitability in the prediction of PV module's temperatures for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installation in the tropical climate conditions of Thailand. It was found that, in general, the SNL model tends to give better results of temperature prediction than those of the NOCT model. Nevertheless, both models are strongly over-biased in temperature predictions. The discrepancies of the predictions are basically caused by the dissimilarity of the BIPV installation and the standard installation as specified by the models, rather than the effect of differences in climatic conditions between the temperate and tropical zones. In the worst case, it was found that the highest value of the mean bias error (MBE) is +8°C, or equivalent to +21% of the mean observed temperature, and the root mean square error (RMSE) is ±10°C, or equivalent to ±24% of the mean observed temperature. However, although these errors were large, their effects on the accuracy of the final prediction of the electrical power output generated by the PV module over a long term would not be great. The error of the expected generated energy output would not be more than 6% of the averaged actual energy output, which is acceptable for most applications.",battery
 Families with lower socioeconomic status (SES) often face problems with gaining access to health care services. Information is scarce on the relationship between SES and health care delivery for children suffering from chronic pain.,non-battery
"The information about concentrations of dioxin in pore water, ecotoxicity and DOC and TOC content can be key factor for the prediction of the fate of dioxins in the aquatic environment as well as an ecological risk assessment. The aims of the study were to assess the concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and ecotoxicity of pore water and to compare above results in relation to the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total organic carbon (TOC) content. The concentration of dioxins was assessed using an enzyme-linked immunoassay test, while the ecotoxicity of pore water was determined using a crustacean Daphnia magna and bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri. The studies were conducted on two different dammed reservoirs Rożnów (catchment basin of an agricultural character) and Rybnik (catchment basin of an industrial character) located in southern Poland. The concentration of dioxins in pore water was between 8.56 to 90.92 ng EQ/L, with a significantly higher concentration in the pore water from the Rożnów Reservoir than the Rybnik Reservoir. The DOC content in pore water was from 30.29 to 63.02 mg/L (Rożnów Reservoir) and from 35.46 to 60.53 mg/L (Rybnik Reservoir). Higher toxic responses were recorded for A. fischeri than for D. magna. Moreover a significantly higher toxicity for both tested organisms was indicated in pore water from the Rożnów Reservoir. Besides of TOC and DOC, the fine fractions of the sediments were particularly important in the concentration of dioxin in pore water. The other pore water parameters, such as pH and EC can influence the toxicity of water for organisms. The result indicate complex relationships between the PCDD/F, ecotoxicity and DOC, TOC concentration in pore water and confirms that these parameters are important in terms of water environmental contamination.",non-battery
"Street dust samples were collected from differing areas (industrial—medium traffic density, commercial—high traffic density, and residential 1 and 2—low traffic density) in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, and their major oxide and trace element compositions were determined. The results show significant concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cr in the Dhaka dusts, and some variations among the four sample groups. The samples in the commercial area had Pb concentrations two- to seven-fold those of the industrial and residential areas. Contents of Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cr in the industrial areas were greater than those in the commercial and residential areas. Levels of Pb, Cu, Ni, and Cr exceeded the maximum permissible limits for common soil. Increases in these anthropogenic trace metals in the surface environment can most likely be attributed to rapid urbanization and industrialization and increased vehicle emissions to the atmosphere. Elevated Zn concentrations in an industrial area can be ascribed to discharges of industrial activities, while elevated Zn abundances in commercial areas probably originate from traffic sources. The street dusts contaminated with Cu, Ni, and Cr occur mainly in industrial areas. However, Pb contamination in the Dhaka dusts is probably caused by Pb particles from vehicle emissions.",non-battery
"The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) greatly reduces the energy efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Here we report our findings in dramatically enhancing the ORR kinetics and durability of the state-of-the-art La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 (LSCF) cathode using a hybrid catalyst coating composed of a conformal PrNi0.5Mn0.5O3 (PNM) thin film with exsoluted PrOx nanoparticles. At 750 °C, the hybrid catalyst-coated LSCF cathode shows a polarization resistance of ∼0.022 Ω cm2, about 1/6 of that for a bare LSCF cathode (∼0.134 Ω cm2). Further, anode-supported cells with the hybrid catalyst-coated LSCF cathode demonstrate remarkable peak power densities (∼1.21 W cm−2) while maintaining excellent durability (0.7 V for ∼500 h). Near Ambient X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) analyses, together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, indicate that the oxygen-vacancy-rich surfaces of the PrOx nanoparticles greatly accelerate the rate of electron transfer in the ORR whereas the thin PNM film facilitates rapid oxide-ion transport while drastically enhancing the surface stability of the LSCF electrode.
",battery
"We investigated batteries using calcium as the transfer ion with a view to developing high energy density and safe ion-transfer type batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The electrochemical behavior of calcium electrodes in various kinds of electrolyte solution was investigated by means of galvanostatic measurements. The anodic dissolution proceeded easily, but there was no cathodic deposition in the solutions we tested in this study. As a result, we used Ca(ClO4)2 solute/acetonitrile solution to evaluate the calcium insertion behavior. Moreover, we examined electrochemical insertion and extraction reactions with respect to calcium ions using vanadium oxides as calcium host materials. Their discharge curves indicated that a calcium insertion reaction did indeed occur. Structural changes in vanadium oxides resulting from the insertion and extraction of calcium ions were observed for the first time.",battery
"In two studies, we examined the implications psychosocial constructions of parenting hold for an understanding of well-being. In studies 1 (N = 504) and 2 (N = 98) participants provided a list of personal goals and narratives about the experience of becoming parents, respectively. In both studies, measures of well-being were also completed. Goals were categorized on the basis of whether they contained reference to parenting as well as agentic and communal motivation, whereas stories were coded for themes of exploration and resolution. In Study 1, the proportion of parenting goals related positively with well-being, although this effect was rendered non-significant after accounting for the communal motivation of parenting goals. In Study 2, themes of exploration and resolution in parents’ narratives positively predicted well-being. Collectively, these results provide intimation of parenting’s “meaningfulness” within the current socio-cultural context.",non-battery
"Karmarkar A, Cooper RA, Liu H, Connor S, Puhlman J. Evaluation of pushrim-activated power-assisted wheelchairs using ANSI/RESNA standards. Objective To determine and compare performance of pushrim-activated power-assisted wheelchairs (PAPAW) (iGLIDE, e-motion, Xtender) on national standards. Design Engineering performance and safety evaluation. Setting A Veteran Affairs and university-based research center. Specimens Nine PAPAWs. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Static, dynamic stability, brake effectiveness, maximum speed, acceleration, retardation, energy consumption, static, impact, and fatigue strength. Results There was no significant difference among the 3 models in forward stability. The iGLIDE was the most stable, whereas the e-motion was the least stable model in the rearward stability tests. All PAPAWs performed equally on the slopes of 3° and 6° in the forward and rearward directions. Braking distance was the highest for e-motion (5.64±0.28m) and the lowest (1.13±0.03m) for the iGLIDE in forward direction. The average equivalent cycles of all PAPAWs were 318,292±112,776.6 cycles (n=8) on the fatigue tests. All PAPAWs passed the impact and static strength tests. Conclusions The standards of the American National Standards Institute and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America could act as quality assurance tool for wheelchairs. The standards for wheelchairs were first approved in 1990; after 17 years, exceeding the minimum values in the standards would be a reasonable expectation.",non-battery
"The field of biological cardiac pacing, which aims to improve upon, supplement and, eventually, to replace electronic pacing has come a long way since its inception more than a decade ago. Broadly, research has been focused on gene and cell therapy. In this Review, Rosen and colleagues highlight milestones achieved through the construction of a 'roadmap' in biological pacing, and discuss the barriers that remain to be overcome before clinical trials of biological pacing can be begun.",non-battery
Synchrotron X-ray absorption edge imaging with high energy resolution was applied to study aging of fuel cell catalyst materials. The combination of an imaging and a high X-ray energy resolution set-up allows acquiring spatially resolved XAS (XANES and EXAFS) spectra. We analyzed the two-dimensional distribution of Pt and Ru in fresh and aged fuel cell catalysts. Spatially resolved XAS images were taken at the RuK edge and at the PtL3 edge. Taking radiographs above and below the absorption edges provides quantitative information about the thickness of the catalytic materials and additional chemical information. A strong influence of the flow field channels and the structure of the gas diffusion layers on the thicknesses of the catalytic elements were found: a thinner catalyst layer was found below the ribs of the flow field geometries as well as under crossing points of fiber bundles of the woven gas diffusion layers.,battery
"The main focus of this study is to investigate the non-Muslim Malaysians’ attitudes and motivations towards learning Arabic as a foreign language. The study aims at examining the respondents’ attitudes towards learning foreign languages in general, towards learning Arabic language in particular and attitudes towards Arabic native speaker. This study also aims at investigating the motivational orientations among the NMMLAs in learning Arabic as a foreign language. The findings reveal that the NMMLAs’ held a high positive attitudes towards foreign languages, and held a moderate positive attitudes towards Arabic language and its native speakers. As to motivations, the respondents were instrumentally motivated to learn Arabic language with the need to fulfil the university requirement having the highest ranking whereas the intrinsic and integrative motivation came second with the same mean score . By conducting this research, it is hoped to widen the horizon of teaching Arabic in Malaysia, not only to Malay Muslims learners but also to non-Muslims.",non-battery
"This paper builds upon previous research to develop a new mixed integer linear program (MILP) for optimal PV-battery sizing and energy scheduling. Unlike previous formulations, the MILP optimises under both time-of-use (TOU) and demand tariff structures. Optimisation is based on the highest system net present value (NPV). One residential and one commercial customer are used as case studies to contrast optimisation under TOU and demand tariff structures. Optimal PV-battery sizing is not found to be affected by the tariff structures analysed. Optimal solutions under both tariffs prefer larger PV systems coupled with small battery systems. Energy consumption from the grid under TOU tariff optimisation reflects a scaled profile of the consumer’s energy demand curve. Peak consumption from the grid is heavily reduced under demand tariff optimisation to decrease the associated demand charge. In the residential case study, peak grid consumption over one year is reduced from 5.98 kWh to 2.25 kWh under demand tariff optimisation. In the commercial case study, peak grid consumption over one year is reduced from 450.3 kWh to 348.6 kWh. The reduction of peak grid consumption is achieved by using the stored energy in the battery.",battery
"The practical applications of Si electrodes in lithium-ion batteries are limited since they undergo large changes in volume during charge and discharge, and consequently become highly deteriorated. A novel binder system holding silicon particles together and preventing disintegration of the electrode during operation hence needs to be developed to enable reliable cycleability. In the current work, such a new polymer binder system, based on poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(ethylene glycol-co-benzimidazole) (PEGPBI), is developed for silicon anodes. The physical crosslinking using acid-base interactions between PAA and PBI, together with the ion-conducting PEG group, yields physical properties for the resulting PAA-PEGPBI-based anodes that are better than those of electrodes based on the currently available PAA binder, and yields good cell performances. A Si-based electrode with high loading levels of 1.0–1.3 mg cm−2 (0.7–0.91 Si mg cm−2) is reliably manufactured using specifically PAA-PEGPBI-2, which is made with 2 wt% of PEGPBI relative to PAA, and shows a very high capacity value of 1221 mAh g−1 at a rate of 0.5 C after 50 cycles, and a high capacity value of more than 1600 mAh g−1 at a high rate of 2 C.",battery
"The purpose of this study was to identify the different selective collection systems implemented in Spanish cities and to analyse the efficiency and extent to which the targets proposed by current law are met in each case. After defining the indicators to be used to quantify the efficiency of a selective collection system, a survey was designed to gather the information needed to calculate them. This survey was sent out to all Spanish cities with a population of over 50,000 inhabitants. Four different selective collection systems were also identified. For each of the four cases the indicators were calculated and analyzed to determine which one was the best system. The best values were obtained from the system with separation in five fractions: paper/cardboard, glass and lightweight packaging at drop-off points, organic waste and mixed waste in kerbside bins. Two regression models (linear and exponential) were developed in systems with enough data to explain and predict the variation in the amounts of materials that were separated correctly into containers, depending on the distance between containers and citizens. Nevertheless, the percentages of separation at source of paper/cardboard and lightweight packaging are still far from reaching the targets set by law.",non-battery
"Incorporation of ceria particles into the Ni matrix was found to improve the corrosion resistance of pure Ni coatings. With the aim of further improving the corrosion resistance of Ni-ceria, yttria was doped with ceria and used as distributed phase. About 8-mol% yttria doped ceria (8YDC) particles synthesized by a solution combustion process were dispersed in a nickel sulfamate bath and electrodeposition was carried out to prepare Ni–8YDC composite coatings at various current densities. The microhardness of the composite coatings was determined. Optical microscopy confirmed the incorporation of 8YDC particles into the Ni matrix. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize the corrosion behavior of the Ni–8YDC coatings. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) were used to characterize the corroded samples. The results were compared with those for Ni and Ni–CeO2 coatings. The wear behavior of Ni–8YDC was studied. Wear tracks were characterized by MicroRaman Spectroscopy.",battery
"A variety of biomimetic stimuli-responsive soft grippers that can be utilized as intelligent actuators, sensors, or biomedical tools have been developed. This review covers stimuli-responsive materials, fabrication methods, and applications of soft grippers. This review specifically describes the current research progress in stimuli-responsive grippers composed of N-isopropylacrylamide hydrogel, thermal and light-responding liquid crystalline and/or pneumatic-driven shape-morphing elastomers. Furthermore, this article provides a brief overview of high-throughput assembly methods, such as photolithography and direct printing approaches, to create stimuli-responsive soft grippers. This review primarily focuses on stimuli-responsive soft gripping robots that can be utilized as tethered/untethered multiscale smart soft actuators, manipulators, or biomedical devices.
",non-battery
"With an ever-increasing amount of options, the task of selecting machine learning tools for big data can be difficult. The available tools have advantages and drawbacks, and many have overlapping uses. The world’s data is growing rapidly, and traditional tools for machine learning are becoming insufficient as we move towards distributed and real-time processing. This paper is intended to aid the researcher or professional who understands machine learning but is inexperienced with big data. In order to evaluate tools, one should have a thorough understanding of what to look for. To that end, this paper provides a list of criteria for making selections along with an analysis of the advantages and drawbacks of each. We do this by starting from the beginning, and looking at what exactly the term “big data” means. From there, we go on to the Hadoop ecosystem for a look at many of the projects that are part of a typical machine learning architecture and an understanding of how everything might fit together. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of three different processing paradigms along with a comparison of engines that implement them, including MapReduce, Spark, Flink, Storm, and H2O. We then look at machine learning libraries and frameworks including Mahout, MLlib, SAMOA, and evaluate them based on criteria such as scalability, ease of use, and extensibility. There is no single toolkit that truly embodies a one-size-fits-all solution, so this paper aims to help make decisions smoother by providing as much information as possible and quantifying what the tradeoffs will be. Additionally, throughout this paper, we review recent research in the field using these tools and talk about possible future directions for toolkit-based learning.",non-battery
"Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) replaced oxygen (O2) as oxidant has been widely investigated due to its faster reduction kinetics, easier storage and handling than gaseous oxygen. The main challenge of using H2O2 as oxidant is the chemical decomposition. In this article, by using different C2H5OH/H2O volume ratio as the solvent, Co3O4 with different morphologies (nanosheet, nanowire, ultrafine nanowire net, nanobelts, and honeycomb-like) direct growth on Ni foam are synthesized via a simple solvothermal method for the first time. Results show that the introduction of ethanol could obviously improve the catalytic performance toward H2O2 electroreduction. The sample prepared in the solution with the C2H5OH/H2O volume ratio of 1:2 shows the best catalytic performance among the five samples and a current density of 0.214 A cm−2 is observed in 3.0 mol L−1 KOH + 0.5 mol L−1 H2O2 at −0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl KCl), which is much larger than that on the other metal oxides reported previously, almost comparable with the precious metals. This electrode of Co3O4 directly grown on Ni foam has superior mass transport property, which combining with its low-cost and facile preparation, make it a promising electrode for fuel cell using H2O2 as the oxidant.",battery
"In this study, we target to find a new composition for a layered mixed metal oxide, which has a high structural stability and a good electrochemical performance. Our strategy is to alter the transition metal composition focusing on the relative amounts of redox active Ni and Co to the inactive Mn, based on highly-stabilized LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2. X-ray absorption near-edge structure and X-ray diffraction analyses show that the degree of cation disorder decreases on increasing the ratio of Ni and Co to Mn, by the presence of Ni3+, suggesting that slightly higher Ni and Co contents lead to improved structural stability. Electrochemical studies demonstrate that LiNi0.4Co0.4Mn0.2O2 cathodes exhibit considerable improvements in both the reversible capacity and the rate capabilities at a voltage range of 2.5–4.6 V. In situ XRD measurements reveal that LiNi0.4Co0.4Mn0.2O2 maintains a single-phase and undergoes lesser structural variations compared to controlled compositions during a delithiation process up to 4.6 V, while achieving a high reversible capacity over 200 mAh g−1. As a result, LiNi0.4Co0.4Mn0.2O2 experiences fewer structural degradations during electrochemical cycling, which explains the excellent long-term cycling performance.",battery
"We demonstrate exceptional performance for steam electrolysis at intermediate temperatures (500–650 °C) using protonic ceramic electrolyte cells comprised of the proton-permeable, high-activity mixed conductor PrBa0.5Sr0.5Co1.5Fe0.5O5+δ (PBSCF) as the air electrode, the highly proton-conductive and chemically stable perovskite oxide BaZr0.4Ce0.4Y0.1Yb0.1O3 (BZCYYb4411) as the electrolyte, and a composite of Ni–BZCYYb4411 as the fuel electrode. Cells constructed from this material set have been shown previously to function efficiently in fuel cell mode. We demonstrate here reversible operation, enabling hydrogen production when excess electricity is available and immediate electricity generation from stored hydrogen when power demand is high. The cells are stable under cyclic operation and also under prolonged continuous operation in electrolysis mode, undergoing minimal loss in electrochemical characteristics after 500 h at 550 °C. Microstructurally optimized cells yield a remarkable current density of −1.80 A cm−2 at 600 °C and an operating voltage of 1.3 V, of which, based on an electrochemically deduced faradaic efficiency of 76%, −1.37 A cm−2 contributes to useful hydrogen.
",battery
"Improving the cycle life and reliability of a battery is an important issue in lithium-ion battery (LIB) applications. Except for the material properties of the battery electrodes, the morphological features of LIBs also have a great influence on battery performance. In order to identify the relation between the morphological features of the electrodes and the macroscopic battery performance, a two-dimensional (2D) lattice Boltzmann model of ion and electron transport within LIB porous electrodes is presented in this study. The proposed model is superior to previous finite element method (FEM)-based models by providing a more convenient geometry generation process and a more efficient calculation technique. In the simulation, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is utilized to solve the governing equations for ion and electron transport. The quartet structure generation set (QSGS) is employed to generate the electrode geometry with circular particles. The effects of the electrode micro-structure on the local concentration distribution, electric potential, and macroscopic discharge performance are investigated. Results show that the LBM is an optional approach in solving problems related to mass transport and electrochemical reactions. For the electrode particles, the obvious variations in local lithium concentration and electric potential prove that the electrode microstructure can influence the microscopic lithium transport; specifically, the lithium exchange is improved for smaller particle sizes. As for discharge performance, larger discharge depth can be achieved by a smaller cathode particle size and a larger cathode porosity. Meanwhile, a larger anode particle size and a smaller anode porosity both contribute to a larger discharge depth.",battery
"The identification of the Huntington's disease (HD) mutation as a CAG/polyglutamine repeat expansion enabled the generation of transgenic rodent models and gene-targeted mouse models of HD. Of these, mice that are transgenic for an N-terminal huntingtin fragment have been used most extensively because they develop phenotypes with relatively early ages of onset and rapid disease progression. Although the fragment models have led to novel insights into the pathophysiology of HD, it is important that models expressing a mutant version of the full-length protein are analysed in parallel. We have generated congenic C57BL/6 and CBA strains for the HdhQ150 knock-in mouse model of HD so that homozygotes can be analysed on an F1 hybrid background. Although a significant impairment in grip strength could be detected from a very early age, the performance of these mice in the quantitative behavioural tests most frequently used in preclinical efficacy trials indicates that they are unlikely to be useful for preclinical screening using a battery of conventional tests. However, at 22 months of age, the Hdh Q150/Q150 homozygotes showed unexpected widespread aggregate deposition throughout the brain, transcriptional dysregulation in the striatum and cerebellum and decreased levels of specific chaperones, all well-characterised molecular phenotypes present in R6/2 mice aged 12 weeks. Therefore, when strain background and CAG repeat length are controlled for, the knock-in and fragment models develop comparable phenotypes. This supports the continued use of the more high-throughput fragment models to identify mechanisms of pathogenesis and for preclinical screening.",non-battery
"Solar photovoltaic (PV) has the potential to make an important contribution to global sustainability, however, the misalignment between solar production and residential demand presents challenges for widespread PV adoption. Combining PV and storage is one way that this challenge can be overcome. In this work, we use one year of smart meter data from 369 consumers in three different US regions and calculate their economic benefits from both PV and coupled PV-battery systems. We consider a range of different electricity pricing schemes from the consumer regions, including both Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) and Net-Energy-Metering (NEM) policies. Significantly, our work uses real demand data, real PV generation data and optimizes each individual consumer’s battery operation to minimize their electricity bill. Furthermore, we study the effect of batteries on consumer self-sufficiency, which is important because increasing self-sufficiency is a primary motivating factor behind battery adoption. We find that PV is profitable for the majority of consumers with most current pricing scenarios but PV-battery systems are always less profitable. However, batteries can provide very significant increases in self-sufficiency and we find that a majority of consumers can exceed 70% self-sufficiency with a 20 kW h battery and a PV system that produces the equivalent of their consumption. This is compared to an average self-sufficiency of 35% with PV only. Finally, recognizing that a number of factors could lead to profitable batteries in future, we study the sensitivity of battery profitability to future electricity prices in a FIT scenario, also accounting for future decreases in PV and battery costs. We find that if PV-battery systems are to become better investments than PV-only for the majority of consumers, retail electricity prices above $0.40/kW h and FIT rates below $0.05/kW h are a likely requirement.",battery
"Lithium reduction at a graphite electrode in molten lithium chloride was studied at temperatures from 650 to 900°C using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It was found that, during cathodic polarization, lithium intercalation into graphite occurred before deposition of metallic lithium started. This process was confirmed to be rate-controlled by the diffusion of lithium in the graphite. When the cathodic polarization potential was more negative than that for metallic lithium deposition, exfoliation of graphite particles from the electrode surface was observed. This was caused by fast and excessive accumulation of lithium intercalated into the graphite, which produced mechanical stress too high for the graphite matrix to accommodate. The erosion process was abated once the graphite surface was covered by a continuous layer of liquid lithium. These results are of relevance to the mechanism of carbon nanotube and nanoparticle formation by electrochemical synthesis in molten lithium chloride.",battery
" More than 4 decades ago, Sociologist Daniel Bell in “The Coming of Post-industrial Society” [1] attempted to draw people’s attention to the impending transit of the United States’ from a smoke-stack, assembly line-industrial economy to something different -- quite different, a knowledge intensive creative economy, where entirely different skill-sets than those the ‘educational factories’ were dispensing to “future workforces” would be needed. Fundamentally, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tool-chest dominated ‘knowledge creation’ economies were going to present different societal challenges.",non-battery
"Modeling time-varying operations in complex energy systems optimization problems is often computationally intractable, and time-series input data are thus often aggregated to representative periods. In this work, we introduce a framework for using clustering methods for this purpose, and we compare both conventionally-used methods (k-means, k-medoids, and hierarchical clustering), and shape-based clustering methods (dynamic time warping barycenter averaging and k-shape). We compare these methods in the domain of the objective function of two example operational optimization problems: battery charge/discharge optimization and gas turbine scheduling, which exhibit characteristics of complex optimization problems. We show that centroid-based clustering methods represent the operational part of the optimization problem more predictably than medoid-based approaches but are biased in objective function estimate. On certain problems that exploit intra-daily variability, such as battery scheduling, we show that k-shape improves performance significantly over conventionally-used clustering methods. Comparing all locally-converged solutions of the clustering methods, we show that a better representation in terms of clustering measure is not necessarily better in terms of objective function value of the optimization problem.",battery
"Smoking prevalence is highly elevated in schizophrenia compared to the general population and to other psychiatric populations. Evidence suggests that smoking may lead to improvements of schizophrenia-associated attention deficits; however, large-scale studies on this important issue are scarce. We examined whether sustained, selective, and executive attention processes are differentially modulated by long-term nicotine consumption in 104 schizophrenia patients and 104 carefully matched healthy controls. A significant interaction of ‘smoking status’ × ‘diagnostic group’ was obtained for the domain of selective attention. Smoking was significantly associated with a detrimental conflict effect in controls, while the opposite effect was revealed for schizophrenia patients. Likewise, a positive correlation between a cumulative measure of nicotine consumption and conflict effect in controls and a negative correlation in patients were found. These results provide evidence for specific directional effects of smoking on conflict processing that critically dissociate with diagnosis. The data supports the self-medication hypothesis of smoking in schizophrenia and suggests selective attention as a specific cognitive domain targeted by nicotine consumption. A potential mechanistic model explaining these findings is discussed.",non-battery
"To date, many traditional Solar Home Systems (SHS) have consisted of separate components which required assembly by trained individuals and were also more susceptible to failure and maintenance. As a result, many SHSs in remote areas have not fulfilled their desired lifecycles or simply have not functioned at all. Thankfully, a solution to these problems has arrived—the newly developed Integrated Solar Home System (I-SHS). Within this new system all components such as the support structure, foundation, PV modules, charge controller, DC–AC converter and wiring are pre-assembled by the manufacturer. Benefits of the new system are ease of assembly and maintenance combined with an associated reduction in cost and failure—critical aspects to consider for remote and impoverished regions. Additionally, electrical yield was increased by 9% by a significant reduction of operating cell temperature. This was achieved by an integrated water tank, serving as a cooling unit and also providing the system’s foundation. This measure is neither expensive nor energy intensive, improves output of the system in an unproblematic way and allows for use of the heated water.",battery
"Sea turtles are highly susceptible to plastic ingestion and entanglement. Beach debris were surveyed along the most important sea turtle nesting beaches in Brazil (Costa dos Coqueiros, Bahia State). No significant differences among developed and undeveloped beaches were observed in terms of total number of items. Local sources (tourism activities) represented 70% of debris on developed beaches, where cigarette butts, straws, paper fragments, soft plastic fragments, and food packaging were the most abundant items. Non-local sources (domestic and fishing activities) accounted for about 70% of debris on undeveloped beaches, where the most abundant items were rigid plastic fragments, ropes, soft plastic fragments, caps, and polystyrene. The projected surface area of beach debris did not vary among developed and undeveloped beaches. Overseas containers accounted for about 25% of regional plastic pollution, implying that international pollution prevention agreements are not being respected off the Brazilian coast.",non-battery
"To improve the electrochemical activity of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based electrospun carbon nanofibers (ECNFs) toward vanadium redox couples, the multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Bi-based compound as electrocatalyst have been embedded in the ECNFs to make composite electrode, respectively. The morphology and electrochemical properties of pristine ECNFs, CNTs/ECNFs and Bi/ECNFs have been characterized. Among the three kinds of electrodes, the CNTs/ECNFs show best electrochemical activity toward VO2+/ VO 2 + redox couple, while the Bi/ECNFs present the best electrochemical activity toward V2+/V3+ redox couple. Furthermore, the high overpotential of hydrogen evolution on Bi/ECNFs makes the side-reaction suppressed. Because of the large property difference between the two composite electrodes, the CNTs/ECNFs and Bi/ECNFs are designed to act as positive and negative electrode for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), respectively. It not only does improve the kinetics of two electrode reactions at the same time, but also reduce the kinetics difference between them. Due to the application of asymmetric electrodes, performance of the cell is improved greatly.",battery
"In this work, the effects of Co substitution for Ni on the microstructures and electrochemical properties of Ti0.8Zr0.2V2.7Mn0.5Cr0.6Ni1.25−x Co x Fe0.2 (x =0.00–0.25) alloys were investigated systematically by XRD, SEM and electrochemical measurements. The structural investigations revealed that the main phases of all of the alloys were the C14 Laves phase in a three-dimensional network and the V-based solid solution phase with a dendritic structure. The lattice parameters and unit cell volumes of the two phases gradually increased with the increase of Co concentration. The relative abundance of the C14 Laves phase slightly increased from 47.3% to 49.6%, accordingly that of the V-based solid solution phase decreased, with the increase of x from 0.00 to 0.25. The crystal grain of the V-based solid solution phase was obviously refined after Co substitution. The electrochemical investigations showed that the proper substitution of Co for Ni improved the cycling durability of the alloy electrodes mainly due to the suppression of both the pulverization of the alloy particles and the dissolution of the main hydrogen absorbing elements (V and Ti) into the KOH solution. The cycling stability of the alloy electrode with x =0.1 was 79.8% after 200 cycles. However, the maximum discharge capacity (C max) was decreased from 340.5 to 305.6mAhg−1, and the high rate dischargeability (HRD) gradually decreased from 66.8% to 55.0% with increasing x from 0.00 to 0.25.",battery
"A new primary school Physical Education (PE) program was launched in 2007 in Turkey, in which the development of health-related physical fitness is one of the most important goals. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of inquiry-based learning model on the fitness components and fitness knowledge test in sixth grade students during the six-week health-related fitness program. Forty-six children from the sixth grade, aged between 11 to 12 years, participated in the study. The experimental group consisted of 23 children who participated in the program held one day a week for an 80-minute session, which was allotted for the Physical Education in the school. The control group (n=23) participated in the routine Physical Education program in the curriculum. One week before and after the study, a physical fitness test was employed in order to assess the subjects and controls. Health-related fitness components (cardio- respiratory endurance, abdominal strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition) were assessed with the Fitnessgram test battery.",non-battery
"MnO2 has been demonstrated to be an effective catalyst for Zn-air batteries, but suffers from cripplingly low cell performance due to its limited electrical conductivity. In this work, we report a facile process for preparing the MnO2/C air cathode by directly anchoring the MnO2 onto Ketjen Black (KB) via an in-situ redox reaction. It is demonstrated that a Zn-air battery installed with the proposed MnO2/KB air cathode outperforms that installed with a commercial Pt/C cathode. Specifically, the MnO2/KB cathode presents a more positive ORR onset potential and a larger current density compared with that of the Pt/C cathode. Under ambient air, the prepared MnO2/KB air cathode allows the battery to reach a peak power density of 133.17mWcm−2 when operated at a current density of 188.51mAcm−2, which is among the highest values in the literature. More impressively, the battery installed with the proposed cathode can be operated at a high current density of up to 100mAcm−2 with a voltage discharge plateau larger than 1.0V. These results indicate that the MnO2/KB electrode offers a promising option for both alkaline fuel cells and metal-air batteries.",battery
"In this chapter we diverge from the IBOC protocol stack as it is described in the NRSC-5 standard, delving into a discussion of the end points of the IBOC system: transmission system inputs at the starting end, and receivers at the destination. Chapters 3 through 11 addressed the IBOC protocol stack through the NRSC-5 standards documents themselves. Chapters 12 and 13 touched on how the IBOC waveform—the physical layer of the model—must be treated to radiate over the air properly. This chapter looks first at the IBOC broadcast facility (we'll call it Transmission), then at the IBOC receiver (Reception).",non-battery
"To understand the underlying factors affecting the seasonal variation of the methane concentration in a cool temperate freshwater marsh vegetated with Carex lasiocarpa in the Sanjiang Plain of northeast China, we measured methane emission from, and the concentrations of methane, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and acetate in, water samples taken from the standing water surface to the top of the gley soil layer in the C. laisocarpa marsh, before and after plants were covered with a black cloth at the three growing stages of June, July and August 2002. The methane oxidation rate was also measured in situ by applying acetylene, a methane oxidation inhibitor, to whole plants, and the methane production rate in water sampled in June and July was measured via the anaerobic incubation in the laboratory. The methane production rate in water samples was significantly correlated with acetate concentration rather than DOC concentration, whereas the mean acetate concentration in water samples was higher in June than in July and August. Hence, the low methane concentration in June did not result from a lack of acetate for methane production. The mean methane and DOC concentrations in water samples were enhanced by 22.3 and 31.1% in June, 2.1 and 5.0% in July, and 3.4 and 15.2% in August, respectively, after plants were covered with a black cloth. The methane oxidation rate and redox potential in the freshwater marsh decreased from June to July or August. These results suggest that there was more oxygen in the rhizome and rhizosphere in June than in July and August, which not only accentuated methane oxidation but also reduced methane production. Therefore, the high methane concentration in water in July and August could be ascribed to both an increase in temperature and a decrease in redox potential or oxygen concentration in the rhizosphere.
",non-battery
"Graphene has been reported with record-breaking properties which have opened up huge potential applications. Considerable amount of researches have been devoted to manipulating or modify the properties of graphene to target a more smart nanoscale device. Graphene and carbon nanotube hybrid structure (GNHS) is one of the promising graphene derivate. The synthesis process and the mechanical properties are essential for the GNHS based devices. Therefore, this review will summarise the recent progress of the highly ordered GNHS synthesis/assembly, and discuss the mechanical properties of GNHS under various conditions as obtained from molecular dynamics simulations.",non-battery
"After some general remarks, this paper presents a brief overview of the relationships among science technology and politics. This is followed by an examination of the seven most important technological revolutions of the past five centuries, laying a foundation for consideration of recent trends in US Research and Development and our investments within them. The paper concludes with an examination of the impact of President George W. Bush’s proposed budget for science and technology in the 2002 fiscal year. This paper is based on the Sheffield Lecture delivered by Dr. Bromley at Yale University, March 22, 2001.",non-battery
"A new thermally stable ternary mixture composed of ethylene carbonate, γ-butyrolactone and methyl propionate (1: 1: 1 by weight), named EGM, is proposed for use as an electrolyte with the new salt LiTDI at a concentration of 1 mol L−1. The EGM mixture has many advantages over the classical binary mixture EC/DMC (1:1 by weight) when LiTDI is used as single salt: (i) it remains liquid from −60 °C to 130 °C, (ii) it exhibits a higher conductivity (8.5 mS cm−1 vs. 6.8 mS cm−1 at 25 °C), (iii) a lower viscosity (2.4 mPa s vs. 2.8 mPa s at 25 °C) and, (iv) allows a better dissociation of LiTDI (37% vs. 31%). Cycling tests were performed using graphite/Li and LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC)/Li half-cells as well as graphite/NMC full cells. It was shown that this electrolyte provides fair capacity retention for both the graphite and the NMC electrode at high C rates: up to 10C for graphite/Li half-cells and up to 6C for NMC/Li half-cells. The graphite//LiTDI-EGM//NMC full cell was able to sustain more than 800 cycles with a capacity retention of 70%, which is more than what was obtained in the same conditions with a graphite//LiPF6-EC/DMC//NMC cell (560 cycles). The impact on the discharge capacities of high (60 °C) and low (−20 °C) applied temperatures is also discussed herein.",battery
"Composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) membranes, comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride–hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF–HFP), aluminum oxyhydroxide (AlO[OH] n ) of two different sizes 7μm/14nm and LiN(C2F5SO2)2 as the lithium salt were prepared using a solution casting technique. The prepared membranes were subjected to XRD, impedance spectroscopy, compatibility and transport number studies. Also Li Cr0.01Mn1.99O4/CPE/Li cells were assembled and their charge–discharge profiles made at 70°C. The incorporation of nanofiller greatly enhanced the ionic conductivity and the compatibility of the composite polymer electrolyte. The film which possesses a nanosized filler offered better electrochemical properties than a film with micron sized fillers. The results are discussed based on Lewis acid–base theory.",battery
"This paper presents a fuzzy logic model of regenerative braking (FLmRB) for modeling EVs’ regenerative braking systems (RBSs). The model has the vehicle’s acceleration and jerk, and the road inclination as input variables, and the output of the FLmRB is the regeneration factor, i.e. the ratio of regenerative braking force to the total braking force. The regeneration factor expresses the percentage of energy recovered to the battery from braking. The purpose of the FLmRB development is to create realistic EV models using as least as possible manufacturers intellectual property data, and avoiding the use of EV on-board sensors. To tune the model, real data was gathered from short and long-distance field tests with a Nissan LEAF and compared with two types of simulations, one using the proposed FLmRB, and the other considering that all the braking force/energy is converted to electric current and returned back to charge the battery (100% regeneration). The results show that the FLmRB can successfully infer the regenerative braking factor from the measured EV acceleration and jerk, and road inclination, without any knowledge about the EV brake control strategy.",non-battery
"The potential transient during pulse discharge is studied for ultra-thin silver oxide electrodes with special attention to the potential valleys. The potential valley appears in different ways depending on the history of charge and discharge undergone by the electrode and is attributed to highly resistive Ag2O layers. The latter may exist on the surface of silver substrate (current collector) or inside the particles of active material. Moreover, the resistive Ag2O layer may be partially reduced during current pulses and partially restored during pulse intervals, leading to complicated potential responses to the pulse discharge. To prevent the annoying potential valley, the silver electrode is suggested to be charged to an extent below the full conversion of Ag to Ag2O.",battery
"Poly(acrylonitrile–butyl acrylate) gel polymer electrolyte was prepared for lithium ion batteries. The preparation started with synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile–butyl acrylate) by radical emulsion polymerization, followed by phase inversion to produce microporous membrane. Then, the microporous gel polymer electrolytes (MGPEs) was prepared with the microporous membrane and LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate. The dry microporous membrane showed a fracture strength as high as 18.98MPa. As-prepared gel polymer electrolytes presented ionic conductivity in excess of 3.0×10−3 Scm−1 at ambient temperature and a decomposition voltage over 6.6V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for Li-ion batteries.",battery
"PV-Trombe wall (PVTW) is a novel version of Trombe-wall. Photovoltaic cells on the cover glazing of the PVTW can convert solar radiation into electricity and heat simultaneously. A window on the south façade can also introduce solar heat into the room in the winter season. Experiment has been conducted to study the temperature field of a building with both southern facing window and the PVTW. A dynamic numerical model is developed for the simulation of the whole building system. The temperature of the indoor air is found to be vertically stratified from the measurement. The nodal model is adopted to calculate the temperature profile in the room. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The different south façade designs affect the thermal efficiency of the PVTW significantly from the numerical simulation. With a southern facing window, the thermal efficiency of the PVTW is reduced by 27% relatively. The increase of PV coverage on the glazing can reduce the thermal efficiency of the TW by up to 17%. By taking account of electric conversion, the total efficiency of solar utilization is reduced by 5% at most while the glazing is fully covered with PV cells. The electric conversion efficiency of the PVTW achieves 11.6%, and is slightly affected by south façade designs.",battery
"The MedStream Programmable Infusion Pump, an intrathecal pump indicated for the treatment of chronic intractable pain and severe spasticity (CE-mark) or severe spasticity (US), has a highly accurate medication delivery (within 10 % of the programmed flow rate) and is certified for use in 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging systems (conditional). Performance of the telemetric link between external control-unit and implanted pump was assessed in sheep (in vivo) up to 26 weeks, resulting in 1040 communication sessions. The telemetric communication envelope (communication distance and maximum antenna tilt angles) and communication duration were characterized in an in vitro test. Capacitance measurements of the piezoelectric actuator of the valve, valve flow rates, and leak rates were measured in an in vitro cyclic accelerated aging test to assess reliability of the valve over 6,200 k cycles. The pump was well tolerated in vivo; all communication sessions between control-unit and pump were successful (P = 6.889 × 10−14). Mean communication distance between pump and control-unit was 3.8 cm, with the maximum antenna tilt angles being 40° (θy) and 50° (θx) for all test cases; the maximum communication duration was 5.5 s. Capacitance measurements, flow rates, and leak rates were within ±10 % range up to 6,200 k cycles corresponding to approximately 10 times the valve cycles over the specified service life of the pump (8 years), except for one flow-rate value, which can be explained by the measurement setup. These results demonstrate the reliability of the telemetry link and piezoelectric valve system of the MedStream Programmable Infusion Pump.",non-battery
"Previous studies have demonstrated impairments in attention, memory and executive functions in euthymic bipolar patients (BP) as well as their unaffected first-degree relatives, albeit in an attenuated form. Subsequently, cognitive deficits are discussed as a possible endophenotype of bipolar disorder. However, recent studies showed that only a subgroup of BP shows cognitive impairments. The aim of the present study was to investigate cognitive functioning in relatives compared to BP, to find out if the differentiation in a cognitive deficit vs. non-deficit subgroup is valid for relatives of BP, too. Therefore, the performance of 27 unaffected relatives of BP, 27 euthymic BP and 27 HC were compared using a neuropsychological test battery. The results showed that BP exhibited a reduced psychomotor speed and deficits in working memory compared to relatives and HC. Relatives performed significantly slower (psychomotor speed) as compared to HC (p = 0.024); performance in the other test measures lie between BP and HC. Furthermore, a detailed evaluation of the data indicated that only subgroups of BP and relatives exhibited cognitive impairments in the implemented tests. However, the deficit and non-deficit groups did not differ in sociodemographic and clinical variables from each other, possibly due to the small sample size. In conclusion, our results suggest that reduced psychomotor speed could serve as a potential endophenotype for bipolar disorder which should be investigated along the developmental trajectory of this disorder, also to examine whether abnormalities therein precede onset of the first mood episode. Furthermore, the division of relatives into subgroups aids in the identification of stable trait markers and high-risk bipolar groups and could enable early prevention strategies. As to that more research using distinct and homogeneous subgroups is necessary.",non-battery
"Two types of NiO–Li2CO3 nanocomposite electrodes have been prepared for the electrochemical decomposition studies. The thin film electrode with a thickness of 225 nm and grain size around 5–8 nm is prepared by a pulsed laser deposition method. The powder sample is prepared by a solution evaporation and calcination method with primary particle size in the range of 20–50 nm. Using ex situ TEM, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy and synchrotron based in situ XRD, the electrochemical decomposition of Li2CO3 phase in both types of the NiO–Li2CO3 nanocomposite electrodes after charging up to about 4.1 V vs Li+/Li at room temperature is clearly confirmed, but not in the electrode containing only Li2CO3. The NiO phase does not change significantly after charging process and may act as catalyst for the Li2CO3 decomposition. The potential of using NiO–Li2CO3 nanocomposite material as additional lithium source in cathode additive in lithium ion batteries has been demonstrated, which could compensate the initial irreversible capacity loss at the anode side.",battery
"The explosion and fire hazards associated with thermal runaway in lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells require monitoring internal temperature changes in seconds in order to ensure battery safety. Among the various techniques for internal temperature cell determination, only impedance-based temperature monitors have the characteristics necessary for rapid response. Here we discuss a novel method for prediction and prevention of thermal runaway in Li-ion batteries based on rapid (on the order of seconds) monitoring of cell impedance. The electrical impedance – a complex quantity – is represented by two real numbers, e.g., impedance amplitude and phase shift (φ). The phase shift φ at a specified frequency has a higher measurement resolution and is much less dependent on the size of Li-ion cells (Ah capacity). We demonstrate in this work emergence of characteristic changes in φ before and during a rapidly evolving thermal runaway event. We highlight the capability to predict and possibly prevent thermal runaway in a Li-ion cell by incorporating a phase-shift monitor in a battery management system.",battery
"We carried out a detailed study of the kinetics of oxidation of ferrocene (Fc) to ferrocenium ion (Fc+) in the non-aqueous lithium ion conducting electrolyte composed of a solution of 1M LiPF6 in 1:1 EC:EMC solvent mixture. This study using cyclic (CV) and rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry showed that the Fc0/Fc+ redox couple is reversible in this highly concentrated electrolyte. The ferrocene and ferrocenium ion diffusion coefficients (D) were calculated from these results. In addition, the electron transfer rate constant (k 0) and the exchange current density for the oxidation of ferrocene were determined. A comparison of the kinetic data obtained from the two electrochemical techniques appears to show that the data from the RDE experiments are more reliable because they are collected under strict mass transport control. A Tafel slope of c.a. 79mV/decade and a transfer coefficient α of 0.3 obtained from analysis of the RDE data for ferrocene oxidation suggest that the structure of the activated complex is closer to that of the oxidized specie due to strong interactions with the carbonate solvents. The experiments reported here are relevant to the study of redox reagents for the chemical overcharge protection of Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The cycling performance of a silicon/carbon composite anode has been significantly enhanced by using acrylic adhesive and modified acrylic adhesive as binder to fabricate the electrodes for lithium ion batteries. The capacity retentions of Si/C composite electrodes bound by acrylic adhesive and modified acrylic adhesive are 79% and 90% after 50 cycles, respectively. These two binders are electrochemically stable in the organic electrolyte in the working window. They also show larger adhesion strength between the coating and the Cu current collector as well as smaller solvent absorption in the electrolyte solvent than polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Furthermore, sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) plays an important role on improving the properties of acrylic adhesive, which increases the adhesive strength of acrylic adhesive and improves the activation of the electrodes.
",battery
"Benzodiazepines (BZDs; including the related Z-drugs) are frequently targets for deprescribing; long-term use in older people is harmful and often not beneficial. BZDs can result in significant harms, including falls, fractures, cognitive impairment, car crashes and a significant financial and legal burden to society. Deprescribing BZDs is problematic due to a complex interaction of drug, patient, physician and systematic barriers, including concern about a potentially distressing but rarely fatal withdrawal syndrome. Multiple studies have trialled interventions to deprescribe BZDs in older people and are discussed in this narrative review. Reported success rates of deprescribing BZD interventions range between 27 and 80%, and this variability can be attributed to heterogeneity of methodological approaches and limited generalisability to cognitively impaired patients. Interventions targeting the patient and/or carer include raising awareness (direct-to-consumer education, minimal interventions, and ‘one-off’ geriatrician counselling) and resourcing the patient (gradual dose reduction [GDR] with or without cognitive behavioural therapy, teaching relaxation techniques, and sleep hygiene). These are effective if the patient is motivated to cease and is not significantly cognitively impaired. Interventions targeted to physicians include prescribing interventions by audit, algorithm or medication review, and providing supervised GDR in combination with medication substitution. Pharmacists have less frequently been the targets for studies, but have key roles in several multifaceted interventions. Interventions are evaluated according to the Behaviour Change Wheel. Research supports trialling a stepwise approach in the cognitively intact older person, but having a low threshold to use less-consultative methods in patients with dementia. Several resources are available to support deprescribing of BZDs in clinical practice, including online protocols.
",non-battery
"At the heart of this article is a structural approach to narrative, based on the work of Propp, Labov, van Dijk, Halliday, and others. The article highlights the structural features of narrative—basically, the organization of the genre around the semantic template actor-action-actor (syntactically rendered as subject-verb-object but where, in narrative, the subject is typically a social actor and the verb a social action) and the modifiers of each element of this triplet, such as time and space of action—and shows how to implement this structure in a computer environment and how to use this methodological tool in socio-historical research (namely, the rise of Italian fascism, 1919–22). But, taking a cue from Halliday’s cover jacket of his An Introduction to Functional Grammar, with its representation of a color circle, the paper takes the reader on an intellectual journey from Newton to Goethe—and the quality versus quantity debate—to Goethe and Propp, to end, back home, with Simmel and Weber.",non-battery
"Copper oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using an eco-friendly, simple and cost effective green synthesis method mediated by maize (Zea mays L.) fresh husk extract. Pure reddish cubic Cu2O nanoparticles were obtained for the first time via this green synthesis route. The Cu2O nanoparticles were thermally oxidized to pure monoclinic CuO nanoparticles at 600 °C. The phases of the copper oxides were confirmed from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The calculated crystal sizes are 39.2, 20.0 and 22.5 nm for the un-annealed, 300 °C and 600 °C annealed copper oxide nanoparticles, respectively. The values of the bandgap energies obtained from diffuse reflectance of the nanoparticles are 1.95, 1.30 and 1.40 eV, respectively, for the unannealed, 300 °C, and 600 °C annealed copper oxide nanoparticles. The electrochemical properties were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge discharge (GCD) cycles and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The unannealed reddish Cu2O nanoparticles are very stable after 2500 GCD cycles and gave the highest specific capacitance of 252 F g−1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1. This shows that the reddish Cu2O nanoparticle is a promising material for electrochemical energy storage applications. An asymmetric device made using activated carbon anode and unannealed copper oxide as cathode gave a specific capacitance of 87 F g−1 at a current density of 0.125 A g−1 and high energy density of 39.3 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 737.0 W kg−1.",battery
"Sintering processes yield a mutual diffusion region at the electrode/solid electrolyte interface, which is considered as a crucial problem for developing large-sized all-solid-state rechargeable lithium batteries with high power density. This work focuses on the interface between LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NMC) and NASICON-structured Li+ conductive glass ceramics solid electrolyte (Li2OAl2O3 SiO2 P2O5 TiO2 GeO2: LATP sheet (AG-01)), and investigates the effects of sintering temperature on interfacial structure and interfacial resistance at the NMC/LATP sheet. Thin films of NMC were fabricated on the LATP sheets at 700 °C or 900 °C as a model system. We found that the thickness of the mutual diffusion region was almost the same, ca. 30 nm, in these two samples, but the NMC film prepared at 900 °C had three orders of magnitude larger interfacial resistance than the NMC film prepared at 700 °C. Around the interface between the NMC film prepared at 900 °C and the LATP sheet, Co in the NMC accumulates as a reduced valence and lithium-free impurity crystalline phase will be also formed. These two problems must contribute to drastic increasing of interfacial resistance. Formation of de-lithiated NMC around the interface and its thermal instability at higher temperature may be considerable reason to induce these problems.",battery
"This study designed an efficient, easily implementable online optimal control strategy for three-power-source hybrid electric powertrains. The energy improvement of optimal energy management and integrated optimal energy management/mode switch timing relative to the energy consumption in rule-based control was evaluated. First, a control-oriented vehicle model with seven subsystems was developed. For achieving rule-based control, the torque distribution among the engine, motor, and generator was designed according to performance maps of power sources. To conduct power allocation of three sources, two power-split ratios were obtained. Furthermore, for switching between three operation modes (hybrid, electric vehicle, and range extension modes), two hysteresis zones based on the required power and battery state-of-charge were used with four designed variables (boundaries). A global search method was used for the optimization. A cost function with a physical-constraint penalty was used to maximize the travel distance. A simulation performed using nested-structure for-loop programs showed that the mileage extension (energy improvement) for the optimal energy management and integrated optimal energy management/mode switch timing relative to the mileage in rule-based control for two driving cycles, NEDC and FTP-75, were [26.32%, 30.52%] and [17.22%, 20.68%], respectively. The improvements of CO2 reduction were [26.34%, 27.10%] and [23.47%, 24.12%], respectively, thus proving that this study significantly reduced energy consumption and pollutant emission by employing an easily designed control strategy. Online parameter tuning and implementation of optimal energy management in a real vehicle will be conducted in the future.",battery
"Cognitive deficits and psychological impairments are often associated with seizures. In order to describe the neuropsychological profiles of adult patients with epilepsy (PWEs) in Hong Kong China, a total of 186 PWEs were recruited with 102 being drug-responsive and 84 being drug-resistant. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and epilepsy-specific quality of life (QOL) were measured. Cognitive assessments consisted of intelligence, memory, verbal and visual abilities, and executive function. Neurocognitive impairments were prevalent among PWEs, and patients with drug-resistant epilepsy had significantly more impaired psychological and cognitive profiles. Thirty-nine percent and 30% of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression, respectively, versus 16% and 7% of patients with drug-responsive epilepsy. The most commonly occurring cognitive deficit was memory. Thirty-five percent to 47% of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy and 26% to 35% of patients with drug-responsive epilepsy were compromised in verbal recall memory. Our findings also suggested significant correlations between psychological well-being and cognitive performance. Patients who reported more psychological symptoms tended to perform worse in neurocognitive tests. Identification and management of neuropsychological difficulties in PWEs are important and should be included in primary epilepsy care.",non-battery
"Nanostructured electrode materials represent a promising path forward to dramatically improving the performance of both Li-ion and beyond Li-ion battery systems; however, difficulties in characterizing the structural and electrochemical changes that take place in nanoscale systems, which are often poorly crystalline or amorphous, make it difficult to develop design rules for synthesizing new materials with optimal performance. Bilayered vanadium oxide-based materials (BL-V2O5) are an ideal platform for understanding the underlying physicochemical properties that determine capacity in nanomaterials, with electrochemically-synthesized V2O5 (EC-V2O5) exhibiting particularly high capacities. In this work we provide evidence that the source of high practical capacity in EC-V2O5 is the presence of “structural hydroxyl groups” that are an intrinsic feature of the electrochemical synthesis method. Using both in situ and ex situ characterization methods, we demonstrate that structural OH species are highly stable and persist in the structure during reversible cycling. We hypothesize three important roles for structural OH groups: they maintain a sufficient interlayer spacing to allow the physical diffusion of cations over multiple cycles; they maintain a consistent solvating environment in the bilayer regardless of structural H2O content; and they reduce the symmetry of vanadium polyhedra to favor electron transfer over pseudocapacitive adsorption, making it possible to access close to theoretical capacity. These insights have broad implications for understanding the performance of a variety of hydrated oxide systems, and indicate that the formation of covalently-bound hydroxyoxide species can lead to further improvements in the performance of nanoscale materials.",battery
"A meteorological data-acquisition system is implemented based on an 80C32 microcontroller, which scans 10 sensors together at intervals programmable from one minute to one hour. The data are stored in a removable, non-volatile random access memory (NOVRAM) cartridge each day for one month and then transferred into a more powerful computer. This system is versatile and easily transportable. It has been used to supervise the growth of bananas in a greenhouse situated in a remote site near Tizi Ouzou. The production of bananas is found to be optimum for high values of relative humidity and temperature varying around 25°C within the greenhouse.",battery
"Efficient and cost-effective membranes to increase sustainability of electrochemical energy conversion systems consisting of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have received wide-range of attention. In this research, to investigate the feasibility of an anion exchange membrane for VRFBs, we fabricated a cost-effective poly(phenylene oxide)-based Im-bPPO membrane through facile preparation techniques. Physico-chemical and electrochemical measurements proved that the Im-bPPO membrane could be considered as a membrane candidate for VRFB applications. The Im-bPPO membrane exhibited good water uptake behavior and an ion exchange capacity of 0.71 meq/g. The anion exchange properties of the Im-bPPO membrane showed a reasonable proton conductivity of 12 mS/cm, which can facilitate proton transportation during unit cell operation. The presence of –OH functional group and water molecules in the membrane can induce proton transportation. Moreover, vanadium (V4+) ion crossover was significantly prohibited by the Im-bPPO membrane, which was considerably lower than the Nafion membrane. Vanadium permeability of the Im-bPPO membrane is 0.0678 × 10−7 cm2 min−1. A unique advantage of the Im-bPPO membrane is raising the Donnan exclusion effect during the unit cell operation, where the same charge of vanadium ion is repulsed by the Im-bPPO membrane. Furthermore, a reasonable VRFB unit cell performance was obtained by the Im-bPPO membrane. The coulombic efficiency of the Im-bPPO membrane (99.5%) is higher than that of the Nafion membrane (93%) under identical conditions during the 5th cycle, which can enhance the overall VRFB performance. This research work provides an insight into Im-bPPO-based anion exchange membranes for VRFB systems.",battery
"LiCoO2 powders synthesized by a sol/gel process followed by an annealing heat treatment in the range 400–900°C are systematically characterized using SEM, X-ray diffraction, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. The composition of the final powder is found to be controlled by the heat treatment temperature. A thorough multipeak fitting analysis of Raman spectra gives access for the first time to the quantitative estimation of the R-3m and Fd3m relative amounts in the LiCoO2 powders as a function of the post-annealing temperature. The gradual LT–HT phase transformation can therefore be observed: a pure Fd3m phase is obtained at 400°C, and then the two LiCoO2 forms coexist from 500°C to below 700°C, the R-3m relative amount increasing from 20% at 500°C to 90% at 600°C, to be 100% at 700°C. Cyclic voltammetric measurements confirmed this evolution, showing the typical behaviour of the high performance R-3m layered phase from 600°C. These results put forward an original and appropriate use of Raman spectroscopy in the field of electrode materials for lithium batteries.",non-battery
"The graphene–manganese oxide hybrid material has been prepared by solution-phase assembly of aqueous dispersions of graphene nanosheets and manganese oxide nanosheets at room temperature. The morphology and structure of the obtained material are examined by scanning electron microscopy, transition electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and N2 adsorption–desorption. Electrochemical properties are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. An asymmetric electrochemical capacitor with high energy and power densities based on the graphene–manganese oxide hybrid material as positive electrode and graphene as negative electrode in a neutral aqueous Na2SO4 solution as electrolyte is assembled. The asymmetrical electrochemical capacitor could cycle reversibly in a voltage of 0–1.7V and give an energy density of 10.03Whkg−1 even at an average power density of 2.53kWkg−1. Moreover, the asymmetrical electrochemical capacitor exhibit excellent cycle stability, and the capacitance retention of the asymmetrical electrochemical capacitor is 69% after repeating the galvanostatic charge–discharge test at the constant current density of 2230mAg−1 for 10,000 cycles.",battery
" As an adjunct to physical examination, ultrasound is a potentially attractive option for diagnosing pneumothoraces in the pre-hospital and retrieval environment – and could confer a benefit to patient safety. However, the published evidence supporting non-physicians use of ultrasound in this setting is limited.",non-battery
"A simple approach has been reported to prepare Sn nanoparticle/graphene nanosheets (G/Sn) as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. Sn nanoparticles with size of ∼5 nm are directly grown and uniformly distributed between graphene interlayers. Graphene nanosheets act as the reducing agent and supporting matrix. Optimized G/Sn electrode with appropriate Sn content exhibits improved capacity (838.4 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 after 100 cycles) and cycling stability (684.5, 639.7, 552.3 and 359.7 mAh g−1 at 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 A g−1 respectively after 100 cycles). The enhanced electrochemical performance should be related to the designed layer-by-layer (G/Sn/G) structure, the synergism between the elastomeric space and large area of graphene, and the excellent conductivity of the Sn nanoparticles.",battery
"This study reports of a multi-scale hierarchical lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode that shows a surprising increase in storage capacity at higher current rates from ∼3C to ∼8C. The anode, composed of forest-like vertically aligned carbon nanofibers coaxially coated with Si shells, is shown to obtain a storage capacity of 3000–3500 mAh (gSi)−1 and greater than 99% coulombic efficiency at a 1C (or C/1) rate, leading to remarkable stability over 500 charge–discharge cycles. In contrast to other studies, this hierarchical LIB anode shows superior high-rate capability where the capacity decreased by less than 7% from ∼C/8 to ∼3C rates and, more importantly, increased by a few percent from ∼3C to ∼8C rates, displaying a new phenomenon that becomes more evident after going through long cycles. Electron microscopy, Raman, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveal that the electrode structure remains stable during long cycling and that this enhanced property is likely associated with the combination of the unique nanocolumnar microstructure of the Si coating and the vertical core–shell architecture. It reveals an exciting potential to develop high-performance lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Nowadays, as set by the EU 20-20-20 targets, the reduction of primary energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector can be attained by increasing the use of renewable sources and improving energy efficiency. Many national and international research programs are aiming at developing innovative technologies and new energy management strategies in order to reach the targets set out in the 20-20-20 directive. In this context, a primary role is played by the Distributed Generation (DG), which refers to the electrical and thermal generation located near to the place of use, exploiting available renewable sources. One of the best way to exploit the emerging potential of DG is to take a system approach which views generation and associated loads as a whole concept called “microgrid.” The sources can operate in parallel to the grid or can operate in island, providing utility power station services. Utilization of waste heat from the sources will increase total efficiency, making the polygeneration microgrid more financially attractive and “smart” from the energy consumption standpoint. The “smartness” is also in the management system, where control strategies aiming at the optimization of technical, economical and environmental issues are typically implemented. This paper deals with smart microgrids, addressing basically the following topics: (1) to review methods, models, tools, technologies and research challenges in the specific field; (2) to present the University of Genoa Smart Polygeneration Microgrid (SPM), built with the financial contribution of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research at the decentralized Savona Campus facilities. The SPM produces energy at low emissions for the University and operates as a test-bed facility for research, testing and development of smart grid components.",battery
"Lead–antimony alloys with a wide range of Sb contents, pure Pb and pure Sb were subjected to sulfuric acid solutions to elucidate their electrochemical characteristics by cyclic voltammetry and corrosion potential measurements. A corrosion test with a Pb/Sb galvanic couple was also done. For Pb-rich α-phase alloys (<0.3 wt.% Sb), their electrochemical behavior was similar to that of pure Pb. On the other hand, for α+β phase alloys (>0.3 wt.% Sb) their behavior was quite different from those of α-phase alloys; (i) dissolution current of Sb was proportional to Sb contents; (ii) hydrogen overvoltage was decreased remarkably with increasing the Sb contents; (iii) the corrosion potential shifted and approached that of pure Sb with time. It is confirmed that the electrochemical behavior of Pb–Sb alloys is related to the electrochemical property of the individual phase involved in the internal galvanic couples formed.",battery
"Two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) without acidic protons, based on different cationic species (1-n-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium) (BMMI) and N-n-butyl-N-methylpiperidinium (BMP) using (CF3SO2)2N− (TFSI) as anion, were prepared by quaternization of their respective amines with an appropriate alkyl halide, followed by ion exchange reaction. All relevant properties of these ionic liquids, such as, thermal stability, density, viscosity, electrochemical behavior, ionic conductivity and self-diffusion coefficients for both ionic species, were determined at different temperatures. In spite of their ionic conductivity being lower than 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonylimide) (BMITFSI), the absence of an acidic proton in both compounds is crucial to maintain their chemical stability towards metallic lithium and, thereby, to make possible the safe assembly of lithium ion batteries. Both ionic liquids without acidic protons do not react with metallic lithium; on the other hand, the formation of carbene species when BMITFSI was exposed to Li was confirmed by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS).",battery
"Clinical results as well as cognitive performances after extracranial to intracranial (EC-IC) bypass in conjunction with contralateral carotid endarterectomy (CEA) are poorly understood. Data from 14 patients who underwent unilateral EC-IC bypass for atherosclerotic internal carotid artery (ICA)/middle cerebral artery (MCA) steno-occlusive disease in conjunction with CEA for contralateral cervical carotid stenosis were retrospectively reviewed. Postoperative results were evaluated by MRI imagings. Nine patients also underwent neuropsychological examinations (NPEs), including assessment by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) before and about 6 months after bilateral surgeries. Postoperative MRI follow-up (median, 8 months; interquartile range, 7–8 months) confirmed successful bypass in all patients, with no additional ischemic lesions on T2WI when compared with preoperative imaging. Further, MRA showed patent bypass and contralateral smooth patency at CEA portion in all patients. In the group rate analysis, all five postoperative NPE scores (Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, WMS-memory, WMS-attention, and Average scores of all those four scores) were improved relative to preoperative NPE scores. Performance IQ and Average score improvements were statistically significant. Clinical results after EC-IC bypass in conjunction with contralateral CEA were feasible. Based on the group rate analysis, we conclude that successful unilateral EC-IC bypass and contralateral carotid endarterectomy does not adversely affect postoperative cognitive function.
",non-battery
"This work employs a novel technique in which laponite clay-modified gold electrodes are used as the anode for direct methanol fuel cells. The platinum/laponite clay (Pt/Clay) films on indium tin oxide electrode were characterized by using scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Various contents of laponite clay (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt%) with constant platinum (Pt) catalyst content on modified gold electrodes were studied as an anode catalyst for methanol oxidation. The catalyst poisoning was observed as a function of time. The 1.0 wt% Pt/Clay-modified gold electrode shows the highest activity for methanol oxidation, 27.73 % higher than Pt only modified gold electrode at 2.5 min. The peak current of 1 % Pt/Clay-modified gold electrode is 3.50 % higher than the peak current of Pt only modified gold electrode at 57.5 min. The higher content of Pt/Clay-modified gold electrode shows strong resistance to catalyst poisoning. The Pt/Clay-modified gold electrode is a new and promising electrode for a direct methanol fuel cell and can replace existing commercial catalysts.",battery
"Cobalt (Co) nanoparticles anchored porous N-doped carbon nanosheets (Co@PNCS) were fabricated using a facile one-pot pyrolysis route and tested as high-performance cathode catalysts for Li-O2 batteries. The hierarchical structure was made of cobalt nanoparticles distributed in the crumpled porous carbon nanosheets. Uniformly distributed and exposed cobalt nanoparticles in the PNCS exhibited a higher electrocatalytic activity compared to Co nanoparticles anchored nitrogen-carbon materials (Co-N-C). Density function theory (DFT) calculations based on the interfacial model demonstrated that the active Co sites exhibited a more stable binding ability to discharge Li2O2 products than that of the active N sites, and Li2O2 could be reversibly formed and decomposed during cycling. Owing to optimal loadings of Co nanoparticles (16.03 wt%), the Co@PNCS-2 cathode exhibited a high specific capacity of 11,329 mAh g−1 and extended cycling life of 120 cycles, highlighting the great potential as cathode catalysts for Li-O2 batteries.",non-battery
"A facile scalable strategy is reported for the synthesis of a hybrid of lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12 or LTO) and 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PCA@CNTs). LTO platelets comprising of quasi-spherical nanoparticles afford short diffusion paths for electrolyte ions. PCA@CNTs, enhance the electrical conductivity of the nearly insulating LTO by 3 orders of magnitude, thus maximizing the ion-uptake capability of the hybrid. Symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitors with the LTO/PCA@CNTs hybrid supported over Ni foam substrates are assembled with a novel Li+ conducting alginate gel, in air without any inert conditions that are typically used for all LTO based devices. The gel shows an average ionic conductivity of ∼8.4 mS cm−1 at room temperature, and is found to be electrochemically stable over a wide operational voltage window of ∼2.5 V. Benefitting from the synergy of electrical double layer (EDL) storage afforded by PCA@CNTs, ion-storage by LTO through a redox reaction and EDL, and the ease ion-movement across the cell due to the open architecture of CNTs, the asymmetric LTO/PCA@CNTs hybrid cell outperforms the symmetric cells by a large margin. The best areal specific capacitance (SC), volumetric SC and energy density are ∼54 mF cm−2, ∼4.3 F cm−3 (at 0.5 mA cm−2) and ∼3.7 mWh cm−3 (at a power density of 49.6 mW cm−3) significantly enhanced for the asymmetric LTO/PCA@CNTs hybrid cell, compared to the symmetric- PCA@CNTs and hybrid cells. The design is simple to implement and can serve as a prototype to develop a range of yet unexplored LTO/carbon nanomaterial based supercapacitors.",battery
"Novel porous NiO hollow microspheres are fabricated by a facile two-step method involving the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of nickel oxalate precursors and subsequent thermal annealing in air. The as-prepared NiO microspheres are composed of loosely packed nanoparticles with diameters around 30–80nm, and have a main pore distribution from 3 to 20nm with a mean pore size of 5.7nm. When evaluated as anode material for lithium ion battery, the porous NiO hollow microspheres showed enhanced electrochemical performance with high lithium storage capacity, satisfactory cyclability and rate capacity. The reversible capacity of the NiO microspheres retained 380mAhg−1 after 30 cycles at 200mAg−1. Even when cycled at various rate for more than 60 cycles, the capacity could recover to 520mAhg−1 for the current of 100mAg−1. The good lithium-storage performance can be attributed to the unique porous architecture, which provides the structural flexibility for volume change and the routes for fast Li+ diffusion.",battery
"Spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (Fd-3m) powders are synthesized by a facile one-step sol-gel approach with a resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) resin as a chelating agent. The cross-linked metal-containing RF xerogel particles are sintered at different high temperatures from 750 to 950°C to produce several micron-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 powders. Electrochemical measurements suggest that the 850°C-sintered (in air) sample (Fd-3m phase) performs the best with a discharge capacity of 141 mAh g−1 at 0.1C and 110 mAh g−1 at 10C, and capacity-retention of 96.3% after 60 cycles at 0.25C and 89% after 200 cycles at 1C. For comparison, the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 sample sintered at 850°C in O2 (P4332 phase) presents limited rate performance (45 mAh g−1 at 10C) and higher values in both AC impedance and DC-method derived resistance. A characteristic double “w”-shape curve of DC resistance against cell potential can be possibly considered as an indicator to probe the material structure transition during the charge/discharge process of the cell.",battery
"The proton diffusion coefficient for both fresh and heat-treated (140 and 230°C, respectively) α and β-PbO2 electrodes was estimated at room temperature using Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique (GITT). PbO2 samples were prepared by electroformation of cured plates. HSbO3·xH2O with a conductivity of 3.29×10−3 Ω−1 cm−1, was used as solid protonic conductor (SPC) electrolyte. It was found that when structural water is removed, the capacity of both α and β-PbO2 electrodes decreases and the ohmic drop increases. The departure of structural water affects considerably the value of proton diffusion coefficient.",battery
"One of the major problems in the development of lithium-ion batteries is the relatively low capacity of cathode materials compared to anode materials. Owing to its high theoretical capacity, vanadium oxide is widely considered as an attractive cathode candidate. However, the main hindrances for its application in batteries are its poor capacity retention and low rate capability. Here, we report the development of multi-shelled vanadium oxide hollow microspheres and their related electrochemical properties. In contrast to the conventional cation-adsorption process, in which the metal cations adsorb on negatively charged carbonaceous templates, our approach enables the adsorption of metal anions. We demonstrate controlled syntheses of several multi-shelled metal oxide hollow microspheres. In particular, the multi-shelled vanadium oxide hollow microspheres deliver a specific capacity of 447.9 and 402.4 mAh g−1 for the first and 100th cycle at 1,000 mA g−1, respectively. The significant performance improvement offers the potential to reduce the wide capacity gap often seen between the cathode and anode materials.",battery
"Weight, computing load, sensor load and possibly higher drag may increase the energy use of automated electric vehicles relative to human-driven electric vehicles, although this increase may be offset by smoother driving. Here, we use a vehicle dynamics model to evaluate the trade-off between automation and electric vehicle range and battery longevity. We find that automation will likely reduce electric vehicle range by 5–10% for suburban driving and by 10–15% for city driving. The effect on range is strongly influenced by sensor drag for suburban driving and computing loads for city driving. The impact of automation on battery longevity is negligible. While some commentators have suggested that the power and energy requirements of automation mean that the first automated vehicles will be gas–electric hybrids, our results suggest that this need not be the case if automakers can implement energy-efficient computing and aerodynamic sensor stacks.",battery
"Drought is one of the major stresses limiting plant growth and productivity. Drought tolerance is regulated by multiple plant traits and examining the tolerance mechanisms from adapted species would assist in identification of novel pathways and superior genes. Since cellular tolerance is one of the major traits in drought acclimation we made in this study, an attempt to prospect candidate genes associated with the trait in drought hardy crop plant, finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn). A novel gravimetric approach was employed to simulate field level drought stress for examining stress responsiveness of a few selected genes implicated in different stress response pathways. Gene expression was studied initially by e-northern analysis, and subsequently in leaf tissues experiencing different levels of drought stress by semi-quantitative and quantitative RT-PCR. A few stress responsive genes identified include metallothionein, farnesylated protein ATFP6, protein phosphatase 2A, RISBZ4 and farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase which probably have crucial roles in imparting hardiness to finger millet. Taken together the results suggest that multiple cellular tolerance pathways operate in a coordinated manner in drought tolerant crops.",non-battery
"The cycle behaviour and rate performance of solid-state Li/LiFePO4 polymer electrolyte batteries incorporating the N-methyl-N-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (PYR13TFSI) room temperature ionic liquid (IL) into the P(EO)20LiTFSI electrolyte and the cathode have been investigated at 40°C. The ionic conductivity of the P(EO)20LiTFSI+PYR13TFSI polymer electrolyte was about 6×10−4 Scm−1 at 40°C for a PYR13 +/Li+ mole ratio of 1.73. Li/LiFePO4 batteries retained about 86% of their initial discharge capacity (127mAhg−1) after 240 continuous cycles and showed excellent reversible cyclability with a capacity fade lower than 0.06% per cycle over about 500 cycles at various current densities. In addition, the Li/LiFePO4 batteries exhibited some discharge capability at high currents up to 1.52mAcm−2 (2C) at 40°C which is very significant for a lithium metal-polymer electrolyte (solvent-free) battery systems. The addition of the IL to lithium metal-polymer electrolyte batteries has resulted in a very promising improvement in performance at moderate temperatures.",battery
"Nanoparticles of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) were synthesized by means of a citrate sol–gel combustion route. The particles were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Near spherical nanoparticles of around 100 nm were observed in SEM and TEM micrographs. XRD data indicated that the as-prepared nanoparticles presented pure phase of LiCoO2 with R-3m symmetry. The kinetics of electrochemical intercalation of lithium into the nanoparticles were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with special emphasis on the application potential as cathode material for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries. CV studies of the nanoparticles at slow scan rate of 0.1 mV s−1 between 600 and 820 mV versus Ag/AgCl, demonstrated that the nanoparticles represented well-defined reversible peaks. The non-linear chemical diffusion of lithium into the nanoparticles was explored by EIS. In this regards, the results were discussed based on an equivalent circuit, distinguishing the kinetic properties of lithium intercalation. The kinetic parameters of lithium intercalation were obtained using the equivalent circuit, which were in good agreement with the experimental results. The changes of kinetic parameters of lithium intercalation with potential were also discussed in detail.
",battery
"A High-Temperature Metal–Air Battery (HTMAB) that operates based on a simple redox reaction between molten metal and atmospheric oxygen at 600–1000 °C is presented. This innovative HTMAB concept combines the technology of conventional metal–air batteries with that of solid oxide fuel cells to provide a high energy density system for many applications. Electrochemical reversibility is demonstrated with 95% coulomb efficiency. Cell sealing has been identified as a key issue in order to determine the end-of-charge voltage, enhance coulomb efficiency and ensure long term stability. In this work, molten Sn is selected as anode material. Low utilization of the stored material due to precipitation of the SnO2 on the electrochemically active area limits the expected capacity, which should theoretically approach 903 mAh g−1. Nevertheless, more than 1000 charge/discharge cycles are performed during more than 1000 h at 800 °C, showing highly promising results of stability, reversibility and cyclability.",battery
"Two polymer electrolytes (PEs), one consisting of 1M LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate (EC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) (PEEC/DMC) and the other consisting of LiTFSI in room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide (EMITFSI) (PEIL), were prepared by using electrospun P(VdF-HFP) membranes. The PEs showed typical impedance spectroscopic responses with high conductivity and good anodic stability. The PEs were applied with carbon coated LiMn0.4Fe0.6PO4 cathode material prepared by sol–gel method. The charge–discharge kinetics of LiMn0.4Fe0.6PO4 cathode cells were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The excellent performance with high capacity and good cycle stability was observed for both the cells. The cell comprising of PEIL showed a better performance than the other cell. The cells having PEEC/DMC and PEIL delivered discharge capacities of 150 and 141mAhg−1, and 168 and 162mAhg−1, respectively, after cycle 1 and 50. The differences in the performance of the PEs originate from the differences in viscosity, ionic conductivity and also from the different levels of interactions of a RTIL and EC/DMC with the polymer. The evaluation of lithium ion diffusion coefficients shows its fast diffusion in both the cases, the trend of which changed with the increase in the number of cycles.",battery
"Sol–gel synthesized yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramic powders were coated on LiCoO2 cathode particles by a simple mechano-thermal process, calcined at 923K for 10h. The XRD patterns of YSZ-coated LiCoO2 revealed a single-phase hexagonal α-NaFeO2-type structure with R 3 ¯ m symmetry of the core material without any modification. The surface of LiCoO2 particles was coated with a uniform layer of YSZ that had an average thickness of ∼20nm, as observed from TEM images. The different binding energies of O 1s XPS data exhibited the presence of oxygen ions corresponding to the surface coated YSZ and LiCoO2. The galvanostatic cycling studies for the coated materials suggest that 2.0wt.% YSZ-coated LiCoO2 delivered a stable capacity of 160mAhg−1 between 2.75V and 4.4V vs. Li and a good cycle stability of about 142 cycles. The impedance growth was slower for LiCoO2 surface coated with YSZ, when cells were charged at 4.4V and 4.5V. DSC results illustrated that the oxygen evolution exothermic peak at about 458K was significantly smaller for YSZ-coated cathode materials.",battery
"We present a new design of a lithium gel-polymer battery, fabricated with a (LILP) composite consisting of a lithium salt dissolved in an ionic liquid (binary Li-IL) and an ultra high molecular weight ionic liquid polymer (ILP). This polymer, with a Mw of over a million, was prepared by the bulk radical polymerization of a novel ionic liquid monomer, N,N-diethyl-N-(2-methacryloylethyl)-N-methylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (DEMM-TFSI). The polymer could form a binary Li-IL solid at a concentration of only 5wt%. We selected high power-active electrode materials, and combined them with the LILP system. The demonstration vapor-free cell had a higher discharge performance than a conventional lithium polymer battery: at 40°C, it retained 83% of its discharge capacity at a 3C current, and relatively good cycle performance. This is the first report of to knowledge that a lithium ion cell with a LILP system performed, in terms of cell performance and cycle durability, at a level of practical utility.",battery
"New development and technological innovations make electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) more functional by using an increasing number of metals, particularly the critical metals (e.g. rare and precious metals) with specialized properties. As millions of people in emerging economies adopt a modern lifestyle, the demand for critical metals is soaring. However, the increasing demand causes the crisis of their supply because of their simple deficiency in the Earth’s crust or geopolitical constraints which might create political issues for their supply. This paper focuses on the sustainable supply of typical critical metals (indium, rare earth elements (REEs), lithium, cobalt and precious metals) through recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). To illuminate this issue, the production, consumption, expected future demand, current recycling situation of critical metals, WEEE management and their recycling have been reviewed. We find that the demand of indium, REEs, lithium and cobalt in EEE will continuously increasing, while precious metals are decreasing because of new substitutions with less or even without precious metals. Although the generation of WEEE in 2014 was about 41.9 million tons (Mt), just about 15% (6.5 Mt) was treated environmentally. The inefficient collection of WEEE is the main obstacle to relieving the supply risk of critical metals. Furthermore, due to the widespread use in low concentrations, such as indium, their recycling is not just technological problem, but economic feasibility is. Finally, relevant recommendations are point out to address these issues.",non-battery
"Theoretical ideas of sustainability of heritage are applied to a practical case study. The south western peninsula of England has a rich variety of coastal heritage, analysis of which is undertaken via the ‘fields’ of nature, landscape, buildings, sites, artefacts, activities and people. The value of treating the cultural heritage apart from the natural heritage is seriously questioned, particularly in a coastal context. Disputes relating to the preference for one type of heritage over another are identified. While major successes are demonstrated in landscape and urban conservation, numerous failures and challenges are also recognised. It is argued that, reflecting institutional dominance of the conservation agenda, the heritage most at risk is often that which carries most meaning for local people and traditional visitors. Relating the study to the sustainability dimensions of economic development and environmental protection, the paper questions whether these wider definitions of sustainability can be applied to coastal heritage, especially in a remote region.",non-battery
"In this study, a new parameter having influence on the TiO2 nanotubes formation process is reported. Except of previously mentioned and well-known anodizing parameters such as voltage, time of anodizing, type of electrolyte, temperature, etc., samples’ configuration in the electrochemical cell represents an important factor in the anodizing procedure. The electrochemical anodization is a group of interconnected processes and factors, each one of them having its specific weight on the final result. It was observed that the very short distance in between two titanium plates connected to the anodic terminal of the electrochemical cell is the decisive factor for creating superimposed TiO2 nanotube layers. More precisely, it was found that the configuration of two parallel Ti plates being in close contact to each other, mounted to the anodic terminal and in parallel with the graphite cathode, favors the formation through electrolysis of multi-layered TiO2 nanotubes. The microscopic observation of multi-layered TiO2 nanotubes was performed through the removal of the upper layer of nanotubes using sonication. This peculiar result was interpreted using existed theories such as First Fick’s law and Nerst diffusion layer in combination with recently published research findings related to the effect of inter-electrode distance.
",battery
"New ternary yttrium-based alloys belonging to the R–Y–Ni system (R=La, Ce), with general formula La1−x Ce x Y2Ni9 (0≤x≤1) have been synthesized, and their hydrogen absorption–desorption properties have been investigated through solid gas and electrochemical measurements. The thermodynamic data determined here (hydrogen absorption capacities and hydride formation pressures) are consistent with their application as negative electrode materials in alkaline medium. The electrochemical study shows promising results for La-rich compositions in terms of discharge capacity, rate capability and cycling behavior. The influence of cerium substitution on the negative electrode behavior is discussed.",battery
"We introduce a novel formulation concept to prepare high capacity graphite electrodes for lithium ion batteries. The concept is based on the capillary suspension phenomenon: graphite and conductive agent are dispersed in an aqueous binder solution and the organic solvent octanol is added as immiscible, secondary fluid providing the formation of a sample-spanning network resulting in unique stability and coating properties. No additional processing steps compared to conventional slurry preparation are required. The resulting ultra-thick electrodes comprise mass loadings of about 16.5 mg cm−2, uniform layer thickness, and superior edge contours. The adjustment of mechanical energy input ensures uniform distribution of the conductive agent and sufficient electronic conductivity of the final dry composite electrode. The resulting pore structure is due to the stable network provided by the secondary fluid which evaporates residue-free during drying. Constant current-constant potential (CC-CP) cycling clearly indicates that the corresponding microstructure significantly improves the kinetics of reversible Li+ (de-) intercalation. A double layer electrode combining a conventionally prepared layer coated directly onto the Cu current collector with an upper layer stabilized with octanol was prepared applying wet-on-wet coating. CC-CP cycling data confirms that staged porosity within the electrode cross section results in superior electrochemical performance.",battery
"In the present work, a new class of high entropy materials for energy storage applications is introduced. Multi-anionic and -cationic compounds are prepared by facile mechanochemistry using a recently designed multi-cationic transition-metal-based high entropy oxide as the precursor and LiF or NaCl as the reactant, leading to formation of lithiated or sodiated materials. Notably, the Li-containing entropy-stabilized oxyfluoride described herein (Lix(Co0.2Cu0.2Mg0.2Ni0.2Zn0.2)OFx) exhibits a working potential of 3.4 V vs. Li+/Li, enabling its use as a cathode active material. Unlike conventional (non-entropy-stabilized) oxyfluorides, this new material shows enhanced Li storage properties due to entropy stabilization, which, in general, facilitates tailoring the cycling performance by varying the constituent elements in yet unprecedented ways. In addition, we demonstrate that the concept of entropy stabilization is also applicable to Na-containing oxychlorides with a rock-salt structure, thus paving the way toward development of (next-generation) post-Li battery technologies.
",battery
"Unattended wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) are wireless sensor networks characterized by sporadic sink presence and operation in hostile settings. The absence of the sink for period of time prevents sensor nodes to offload data in real time and offers greatly increased opportunities for attacks resulting in erasure, modification, or disclosure of sensor-collected data. In this paper, we focus on UWSNs where sensor nodes collect and store data locally and try to upload all the information once the sink becomes available. One of the most relevant issues pertaining UWSNs is to guarantee a certain level of information survivability in an unreliable network and even in the presence of a powerful attackers. In this paper, we first introduce an epidemic-domain inspired approach to model the information survivability in UWSN. Next, we derive a fully distributed algorithm that supports these models and give the correctness proofs.",non-battery
"A theoretical impedance function for the anodic dissolution of nickel is developed by considering the hypothesis that there are two competitive anions which participate in the stabilization of the electrogenerated Ni(II) species. The experimental effect of chloride ion concentration on nickel electrodissolution process is analyzed by means of a mechanism that considers this competency. It is observed that an increased Cl− concentration causes an increase in Ni(I) surface concentration and a decrease in the kinetic constant rates of the considered mechanism. Moreover, an increased chloride concentration causes a flattening in the low frequencies inductive loop in the Nyquist plot recorded at relatively low stabilization potentials. In the active anodic dissolution/passive transition potential range chloride ions favours a salt layer precipitation which interferes with the passive layer formation.",battery
"In this contribution we present a soft matter solid electrolyte which was obtained by inclusion of a polymer (polyacrylonitrile, PAN) in LiClO4/LiTFSI–succinonitrile (SN), a semi-solid organic plastic electrolyte. Addition of the polymer resulted in considerable enhancement in ionic conductivity as well as mechanical strength of LiX–SN (X=ClO4, TFSI) plastic electrolyte. Ionic conductivity of 92.5%-[1M LiClO4–SN]:7.5%-PAN (PAN amount as per SN weight) composite at 25°C recorded a remarkably high value of 7×10−3 Ω−1 cm−1, higher by few tens of order in magnitude compared to 1M LiClO4–SN. Composite conductivity at sub-ambient temperature is also quite high. At −20°C, the ionic conductivity of (100− x)%-[1M LiClO4–SN]:x%-PAN composites are in the range 3×10−5–4.5×10−4 Ω−1 cm−1, approximately one to two orders of magnitude higher with respect to 1M LiClO4–SN electrolyte conductivity. Addition of PAN resulted in an increase of the Young's modulus (Y) from Y →0 for LiClO4–SN to a maximum of 0.4MPa for the composites. Microstructural studies based on X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggest that enhancement in composite ionic conductivity is a combined effect of decrease in crystallinity and enhanced trans conformer concentration.",battery
"KEYWORDS Hearing protector, stability, active control of sound, safety, wearable, human friendly",non-battery
"In this review paper we summarize recent research trends for polymer fuel cells (PEMFCs) that utilize various graphene materials described in articles published since 2007. We propose to analyze the influence of graphene in PEMFCs in three aspects: (i) as an electrode (anode or cathode), (ii) as an additive to polymer electrolyte and (iii) as a filler to bipolar plates along with some discussions on future research directions. In Section 2 of this review, we shortly present the fundamental processes of fuel cells along with important parameters such as hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions, polarization losses, exchange current density, open circuit voltage and efficiency for fuel cells. Additionally, with curt description of various kinds of fuel cells and types of polymers applied in PEMFCs. Moreover, we discuss briefly different synthetic routes of graphene and describe selected graphene properties (Section 3). In Section 4, we analyze in detail the possibilities of applied graphene or its derivatives in various places in PEMFCs. Graphene applied to PEMFCs has a significant contribution on the increased electrical or ionic conductivity, better mechanical durability and corrosion resistance, and higher electrochemical surface area, depending on the fuel cell component that is modified. For instance, taking into consideration the function of graphene in polymer fuel cells and based on the current review, the highest value of maximum power density of 0.742Wcm−2 was found for PEMFC with graphene utilized as an anode support. The promising results open the way for the usage of graphene as a prospective material for application in fuel cells. However, the main difficulty of graphene application is the fact that this material has to be sufficiently separated by additional compounds to prevent restacking of graphene sheets.",battery
"Fine powders of Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6−xMoxO2 (x=0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05) are prepared by a thermopolymerization method. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical measurements are carried out to characterize these samples. The maximum Mo-doping level to obtain a pure layered phase is 0.005. The Mo-doped samples show a great improvement in rate performance and cycling stability. For the optimal composition Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.59Mo0.01O2, it exhibits a discharge capacity of 245 and 110mAhg−1 at 0.1C and 5C, respectively. It retains a capacity of 229mAhg−1 at 0.1C after 204 cycles with a capacity retention of 93.2%. This study suggests that the partial substitution of Mn4+ with Mo6+ can improve both the rate capability and cycle performance of this high-capacity cathode material.",battery
"In situ and ex situ scanning electron microscopy of nano Si and SiO anode particles was carried out during the first cycles, and at various stages of charge. The particle size effects were explored in the range 0.1–20 μm, providing a new insight into the micro-structural evolution of the particles as a function of their size, and into the ‘mechanical’ resistance upon important volume change upon phase transformation of these anodes. For small particles, the failure of the battery comes from an electrochemical sintering that compacts the whole electrode, which results in its cracking. The particles keep their integrity when the discharge is stopped at a voltage 0.1 V, which corresponds to the chemical composition Li12Si7, while the particles are known to crack at deeper discharge up to Li22Si5. Replacing the Si particles by SiO particles in an attempt to avoid these structural effects did not help, because of the different chemical reactions during cycling, with the loss of oxygen.",battery
"Thermal management system is crucial for a Lithium-ion battery pack as cycle life, driving range of electric vehicle, usable capacity and safety are heavily dependent on the operating temperature. Optimum operating temperature of Lithium-ion battery pack is about 25–40 °C. Power availability of the battery pack may differ according to the operating temperature. Although air cooling is the simplest and cheapest cooling solution, the cooling capacity is still limited by the low specific heat capacity. This will cause large variation of temperature of cells across the battery pack. In this study, mist cooling is proposed for battery pack thermal management system. Experiments and numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the thermal performance of conventional dry air cooling and mist cooling. Simulation results are then validated with the experimental data. The simulation results show that mist cooling can offer lower and more uniform temperature distribution compared to dry air cooling. Mist cooling with mass flow rate of 5 gs−1 and 3% mist loading fraction is sufficient to ensure the surface temperature of the battery module maintained to below 40 °C. Therefore, mist cooling is a potential solution for the thermal management system of Lithium-ion battery pack.",battery
"Silicon (Si) has been considered as one of the most promising anodes in secondary high-energy rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical specific capacity and abundant reserves, whereas it suffers from an unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film and dramatic volume expansion. Herein, in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy (AFM) and visual videos were used to reveal the interphasial properties of SEI film and anisotropic dynamics upon lithiation/delithiation processes on the single-crystalline Si electrodes with different crystal plane orientations. Lithiation of Si (111) prefer to grow along the <121> direction in the XY plane with the shape of oriented rods, in contrast, that of Si (100) form cone-like structure with the axial direction of <100> perpendicular to the (100) surface. Quantitative dynamic processes elucidate the preferable reversibility in Si (111) system, revealing the corresponding structure-reactivity correlations.",battery
"Electrocatalytic reduction of O2 with dual catalysts of cobalt 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25-hexadecafluoro-29 H, 31H-phthalocyanine (CoPcF16) and MnOOH was studied in alkaline media with cyclic and rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) voltammetry. Cyclic voltammetric results show that CoPcF16 possesses a good catalytic activity for redox-catalyzing an apparent two-electron reduction of O2 with superoxide (O2 −) as an intermediate. The combined use of CoPcF16 with MnOOH which shows a bifunctional catalytic activity toward the sequential disproportionations of the reduction intermediate and product, i.e. O2 − and peroxide (HO2 −), eventually enables an apparent four-electron reduction of O2 to be achieved at a positively-shifted potential in alkaline media. The possibility of utilizing the dual catalysts for the development of practical alkaline air electrodes was further explored by confining the catalysts in active carbon (AC) and carbon black (CB) matrices that are generally used as the substrate for constructing air electrodes. The RRDE voltammetric results suggest that an apparent four-electron reduction of O2 reduction can be obtained at the as-prepared carbon-based air electrode at a potential close to that at the Pt-based air electrode, and that the as-prepared electrode shows a high tolerance against methanol and glucose crossover.",battery
"This paper considers the effect of direct democracy on quality of life in the American States. Specifically, it seeks to determine to what extent the use of the initiative affects satisfaction with life. The theoretical discussion draws upon traditional arguments over direct democracy, along with contemporary research on the quality of representation in the United States. The empirical results suggest that satisfaction varies positively with the extent to which initiatives are used. We also find that this relationship is mediated by income, such that the positive effects of direct democracy are most pronounced for those with the lowest income. The consequences for our understanding of direct democracy, public policy, and the study of life satisfaction are discussed.",non-battery
" Understanding how large carnivore guilds survive in human-dominated landscapes is key to inform strategies for their conservation in the face of global carnivore declines. Amur tigers and leopards are recovering across the China-Russia border. However, knowledge is limited about competitive interactions between two large cats in Northeast Asia.",non-battery
"Li3-xNaxV2-xTix(PO4)3/C (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07) have been prepared via a conventional sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that Li3-xNaxV2-xTix(PO4)3/C are successfully obtained with a monoclinic structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been performed to investigate the valence states of the doped elements. The morphologies of Li3-xNaxV2-xTix(PO4)3/C are investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Li2.97Na0.03V1.97Ti0.03(PO4)3/C exhibits the highest electrochemical properties among all the samples. It delivers an initial discharge capacity of 170.61 mAh g−1 and capacity retention of 72.66% after 100 cycles, while the uncoated Li3V2(PO4)3/C only delivers an initial discharge capacity of 164.08 mAh g−1 and capacity retention of 71.59% in the voltage range of 3.0–4.8 V. In addition, the results of cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique ensure that the ionic conductivity of Li2.97Na0.03V1.97Ti0.03(PO4)3/C is increased compared with the uncoated Li3V2(PO4)3/C.",battery
"We constructed a Li3V2(PO4)3/Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3/Li3V2(PO4)3 symmetric all solid-state Li-ion battery. Since the rechargeable capacity of Li3+x V2(PO4)3 anode is lower than that of Li3−x V2(PO4)3 cathode, the symmetric cell capacity is restricted by the anode capacity. So, the improvement of Li3+x V2(PO4)3 anode properties was tried using mechanical milling to uniformly mix Li3V2(PO4)3 and carbon. The charge and discharge capacity of Li3V2(PO4)3/C using mechanical milling was greatly increased compared to Li3V2(PO4)3/C using hand milling. The structure change with the insertion and extraction of lithium confirmed using ex-situ XRD measurements. The Li extraction/insertion of Li3V2(PO4)3 with a NASICON structure can proceed to the reversible expansion/contraction of the lattice due to the structural strength and flexibility of NASICON framework with the corner-sharing matrix. The discharge capacity of the all solid-state battery per Li3V2(PO4)3 in cathode weight achieved 92 mAh g−1 by good dispersion state of Li3V2(PO4)3 and carbon using mechanical milling.",battery
"Layered Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2–Spinel LiMn1.5Ti0.5O4 composite cathodes have been prepared by mechanically mixing process and investigated in this work. The unoccupied 16c sites of spinel LiMn1.5Ti0.5O4 can be used as a reservoir to store the Li+ ions that are lost during the activation of Li2MnO3 component in lithium-rich Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 material. As a consequence, the initial irreversible capacity loss (ICL) of lithium-rich Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 is significantly reduced in the presence of spinel LiMn1.5Ti0.5O4. When mixed with 35.7 wt% of LiMn1.5Ti0.5O4, the lithium-rich material shows an initial ICL of only 17 mAh g−1, and could still deliver an initial discharge capacity as high as 220 mAh g−1. More importantly, the composite materials show better cycling performance and rate capability as compared with the pristine Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2. The material with 35.7 wt% LiMn1.5Ti0.5O4 shows the best cycling stability, retaining 90% of the initial discharge capacity at the current density of 20mAg−1 after 40 cycles. The improved cycling stability and rate performance can be ascribed to the good conductivity of spinel LiMn1.5Ti0.5O4 with 3D fast Li+ diffusion path, which ensures the timely lithium ion intercalation and de-intercalation.",battery
"The promise of high energy density lithium–sulfur batteries with long cycle life is currently tempered by the rapid degradation of lithium-metal anodes with cycling. An in-depth understanding of the dynamical behavior in liquid electrolytes, including the mechanisms underlying depletion of lithium inventory and evolution of lithium interphases, is crucial to make Li–S batteries a reality. We use here an anode-free full cell configuration, pairing a Li2S cathode with a bare nickel current collector with no lithium metal on it, to quantitatively estimate the lithium inventory loss per cycle. Lithium inventory loss is shown to be the main factor limiting the overall cyclability of Li–S batteries. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements on the deposited lithium reveal the presence of substantial metallic lithium even after most of the active lithium inventory has been depleted. The trapped metallic lithium is rendered electrochemically inactive by the growth of a resistive electrolyte decomposition interphase on the lithium surface. The bulk of the deposited lithium is shown to be composed of various fully reduced interphasial components, including several hydrogen-containing species that show a substantial reduction in intensity with cycling. This indicates considerable gas evolution and is also correlated with the loss of lithium inventory. The use of an anode-free full cell configuration provides a framework for accurate assessment of the dynamics of lithium inventory depletion and characterization of the accompanying interphasial evolution with cycling. The insights gained will prove invaluable to the development of strategies for extending the cycle life of energy-dense Li–S batteries.
",battery
"The structural, electronic and ion transport properties of an amorphous member of the LiPON family with non-trivial composition and cross-linking are studied by means of electronic structure calculations within Density Functional Theory. By a combination of an evolutionary algorithm followed by simulated annealing and alternatively by a rapid quenching protocol, structural models of disordered Li5P4O8N3 are generated, which are characterized by a local demixing in Li-rich and Li-poor layers. These structures have a composition close to what is found experimentally in thin films and contain all the expected diversely coordinated atoms, namely triply- and doubly-coordinated nitrogens and bridging and non-bridging oxygens. The issue of ionic conductivity is addressed by calculating defect formation energies and migration barriers of neutral and charged point defects. Li+ interstitials are energetically much preferred over vacancies, both when the lithium reservoir is metallic lithium and LiCoO2. The competitive formation of neutral Li interstitials when LiPON is contacted with metallic Li results in the chemical reduction of LiPON and the disruption of the network, as recently observed in experiments.",battery
"Well-crystallized Mn3O4-anchored reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized via a facile, effective, energy-saving, and scalable microwave hydrothermal technique for potential application as supercapacitor material. Integrating these nanostructures resulted in a strong synergistic effect between the two materials, consequently leading to a hybrid composite with higher specific capacitance compared to the bare Mn3O4 nanoparticles. The results from different sorts of characterization indicate that the Mn3O4 particles were deposited and anchored on graphene sheets. The capacitance value of the rGO(31.6%)–Mn3O4 nanocomposite reached 153F/g, much higher than that of the bare Mn3O4 (87F/g) at a scan rate of 5mV/s in the potential range from −0.1V to 0.8V. More importantly, a 200% increase in capacitance was observed for the nanocomposite with cycling at 10mV/s due to electrochemical activation and the oxidization of Mn(II,III) to Mn(IV) during cycling, as verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. There is no observable capacitance fading up to 1000 cycles. The facile synthesis method and good electrochemical properties indicate that the nanocomposite could be an electrode candidate for supercapacitors.",battery
"Carboxylic acid group was introduced by radiation-induced grafting of acrylic acid (AAc) onto polyolefine nonwoven fabric (PNF), wherein the PNF comprises at least about 60% of a polyethylene having a melting temperature at ∼132°C and no more than about 40% of a second polypropylene having a lower melting temperature at ∼162°C, for a battery separator. The AAc-grafted PNF was characterized by XPS, SEM, DSC, TGA and porosimeter. The wetting speed, electrolyte retention, electrical resistance, and tensile strength were evaluated after grafting of AAc. It was found that the wetting speed, electrolyte retention, thickness, and ion-exchange capacity increased, whereas the electrical resistance decreased with increasing grafting yield. The tensile strength decreased with increasing grafting yield, whereas the elongation decreased with increasing grafting yield.",non-battery
"An SAR model of the induction of mutations at the tk± locus of L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells (MLA, for mouse lymphoma assay) was derived based upon a re-evaluation of experimental results reported by a Gene-Tox (GT) working group [A.D. Mitchell, A.E. Auletta, D. Clive, P.E. Kirby, M.M. Moore, B.C. Myhr, The L5178Y/tk± mouse lymphoma specific gene and chromosomal mutation assay. A phase III report of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gene-Tox Program, Mutation Res. 394 (1997) 177–303.]. The predictive performance of the GT MLA SAR model was similar to that of a Salmonella mutagenicity model containing the same number of chemicals. However, the structural determinants (biophores) derived from the GT MLA SAR model include both electrophilic as well as non-electrophilic moieties, suggesting that the induction of mutations in the MLA may occur by both direct interaction with DNA and by non-DNA-related mechanisms. This was confirmed by the observation that the set of biophores associated with MLA overlapped significantly with those associated with phenomena related to loss of heterozygosity, chromosomal rearrangements and aneuploidy. The MLA SAR model derived from the GT data evaluation was significantly more predictive than an SAR model previously derived from MLA data reported by the US National Toxicology Program [B. Henry, S.G. Grant, G. Klopman, H.S. Rosenkranz, Induction of forward mutations at the thymidine kinase locus of mouse lymphoma cells: evidence for electrophilic and non-electrophilic mechanisms, Mutation Res. 397 (1998) 331–335.]. Moreover, the latter model appeared to be more complex than the former, suggesting that the GT induction data was both simpler mechanistically and more homogeneous than that of the NTP.",non-battery
"The effect of simultaneous cobalt as well as aluminum doping was studied to understand their effect on the phase formation behavior and electrochemical properties of solution derived lithium nickel oxide cathode materials for rechargeable batteries. The discharge capacities of LiNi0.80Co0.20O2 and LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathodes, measured at constant current densities of 0.45mAcm−2 in the cut-off voltage range of 4.3–3.2V, were 100 and 136mAhg−1, respectively. LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 had better cycleability than the LiNi0.80Co0.20O2 cathodes. The retention of undesirable Li2CO3 phase both in LiNi0.80Co0.20O2 and LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathodes was argued to be responsible for the relatively lower discharge capacity of these materials.",battery
"Objective To compare nonreferred, emergency department (ED)-admitted mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) patients with and without self-reported cognitive complaints on (1) demographic variables and injury characteristics; (2) neuropsychological test performance; (3) 12-day self-monitoring of perceived cognitive problems; and (4) emotional distress, physical functioning, and personality. Methods (Neuro)psychological assessment was carried out 6 months post-injury in 79 patients out of a cohort of 618 consecutive MTBI patients aged 18–60, who attended the ED of our level I trauma centre. Cognitive complaints were assessed with the Rivermead Postconcussional Symptoms Questionnaire (RPSQ). In addition, patients monitored concentration problems and forgetfulness during 12 consecutive days. Results Self-reported cognitive complaints were reported by 39% of the patients. These complaints were strongly related to lower educational levels, emotional distress, personality, and poorer physical functioning (especially fatigue) but not to injury characteristics. Severity of self-reported cognitive complaints was neither associated with the patients' daily observations of cognitive problems nor with outcome on a range of neuropsychological tests. Conclusion Self-reported cognitive complaints were more strongly related to premorbid traits and physical and emotional state factors than to actual cognitive impairments. In line with previous work, this suggests that treatment of emotional distress and fatigue may also reduce cognitive complaints. Cognitive outcome assessment of symptomatic MTBI patients should not be restricted to checklist ratings only, but also include a (neuro)psychological screening. In addition, daily monitoring of complaints is a useful method to gather information about the frequency and pattern of cognitive problems in daily life.",non-battery
"Two highly active mud volcanoes located in 990–1,265 m water depths were mapped on the northern Egyptian continental slope during the BIONIL expedition of R/V Meteor in October 2006. High-resolution swath bathymetry and backscatter imagery were acquired with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)-mounted multibeam echosounder, operating at a frequency of 200 kHz. Data allowed for the construction of ~1 m pixel bathymetry and backscatter maps. The newly produced maps provide details of the seabed morphology and texture, and insights into the formation of the two mud volcanoes. They also contain key indicators on the distribution of seepage and its tectonic control. The acquisition of high-resolution seafloor bathymetry and acoustic imagery maps with an AUV-mounted multibeam echosounder fills the gap in spatial scale between conventional multibeam data collected from a surface vessel and in situ video observations made from a manned submersible or a remotely operating vehicle.",non-battery
"High performance hybrid phase Li2NaV2(PO4)3 (H-LNVP) composite consist of rhombohedral Li3V2(PO4)3 (60.9%), rhombohedral Na3V2(PO4)3 (31.6%) and monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 (7.5%) is successfully synthesized via a sol-gel method. The rhombohedral phase Li2NaV2(PO4)3 (R-LNVP) is also obtained for comparison. The H-LNVP delivers better electrochemical performance, higher Li+ diffusion coefficient and more stable structure than that of R-LNVP duo to the existence of small amount monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3. For the synthesised H-LNVP, there are 123.3mAhg-1 that can be delivered at 0.5C rate as cathode and 128.4mAhg-1 that can be delivered at 0.2Crate as anode. On this basis, a LNVP||LNVP lithium ion full cell is fabricated, with an output output potential of ∼2.48V and a specific discharge capacity of 99.3mA hg−1.",battery
"The ability to produce low-cost, hierarchically-structured and nanopatterned inorganic materials could potentially revolutionize the way we fabricate photovoltaic, energy storage, and optoelectronic devices. In nature, many organisms carry out the hierarchical assembly of metal oxide materials through cellular and biochemical processes that replicate periodic micro- and nanoscale features by a bottom-up approach at ambient conditions. For example, single-celled algae called diatoms produce a nanostructured amorphous silica skeleton called a frustule. The insertion of other metal oxide materials such as titanium or germanium dioxide into the nanostructure of the diatom frustule could potentially be utilized to fabricate new dye-sensitized solar cells, nanostructured battery electrodes, and electroluminescent display devices. The exploitation of diatom nanobiotechnology for the development of novel device concepts in these areas is overviewed.
",battery
"Li-rich layered oxides have been regarded as valuable cathode materials for high energy density lithium-ion batteries. However, high initial irreversible capacity, bad rate capability, as well as serious capacity fading and voltage decay hinder their commercial application. In this paper, a nano CoF2 protective layer is coated on the surface of Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 via a facial wet chemistry method. A high initial discharge capacity of 264.4 mAh g−1 is obtained for 0.5% CoF2-coated sample and 259.1 mAh g−1 for 1% CoF2-coated sample owing to the suppression of irreversible release of O2 and the contribution of electrochemical conversion of CoF2/LiF. Furthermore, 1% CoF2-coated sample exhibits the excellent rate capability of 167.5 mAh g−1 at 5 C rate, the superior cycling stability with the capacity retention of 241.0 mAh g−1 and the ameliorative voltage drop of 0.312 V at 0.1C after 100 cycles. The enhanced rate performance as well as stability of capacity and voltage can be attributed to the nano coatings which inhibit the electrolyte-electrode side reaction, enhance the electrochemical kinetics and mitigate structure transition from layered to spinel phase.",battery
"Over the last 40 years mankind has been facing new types of radiochemical environmental settings with every decade. During the last decade, biomonitoring was additionally focused on assessing associations between environmental exposure(s) and both early and late biological effects in children. Despite efforts to control and avoid child exposure to genotoxic agents the incidence of childhood cancers is increasing. Some cancers in adulthood may be the consequence of a multi-step process which starts with intrauterine and childhood exposure. This highlights the importance of a comprehensive interpretation of multiple health effects, especially considering recent studies suggesting that most health disorders are related to DNA changes. When exposed to genotoxic agents, a developing organism (fetus or child) is constantly being forced to reorganize into new equilibriums in order to adjust to a xenobiotic environment. In addition, the influence of sex hormones on radiochemical sensitivity is still unknown. For this reason special attention should be paid to puberty. The results of recent studies on animal models and follow up studies on children after nuclear accidents show long-lasting cytogenetic damage even after low dose exposures and their transgenerational persistance. To evaluate age-related difference and transplacental genotoxic potency fluconazole (FC) was investigated by in vivo micronucleus (MN) assay in adult mice, young mice and in transplacentally exposed newborn pups. Compared to the baseline values, FC caused no detectable genome damage in adult animals, but there was a significant increase in MN frequency in young animals and in newborn pups. Our study thus exemplifies an age-related chemosensitivity, and argues that cancer-promoting disturbances of complex prenatal developmental mechanisms and maturation during childhood require a new approach using systems biology.",non-battery
"Natural polymers are particularly interesting due to their richness in nature, very low cost and principally biodegradation properties. For these reasons different solid polymeric electrolytes (SPE) have been obtained using cellulose derivatives, starch, chitosan and rubber. This work presents the results of gelatin-based protonic SPEs, which were characterized by impedance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV–vis-NIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ionic conductivity results obtained for these SPEs were 4.5×10−5 S/cm and 3.6×10−4 S/cm at room temperature and 80°C, respectively. Temperature-dependent ionic conductivity measurements were taken to analyze the mechanism of ionic conduction in polymer electrolytes. Good conductivity results combined with transparency and good adhesion to the electrodes have shown that gelatin-based SPEs are very promising materials to be used as solid electrolyte in electrochromic devices.",battery
"ABSTRACT Thermoelectric generators (TEG) produce electric power from exhaust waste heat and support the battery charging of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), resulting in fuel efficiency improvements. During the Hi-CEPS EU Project, the potential of TEGs for HEV is evaluated. A detailed model of a TEG is developed and experimentally validated. A reduced model is implemented in a detailed HEV simulator developed under the LMS.IMAGINE.Lab AMESim® platform to investigate thermal engine warm up. Using the models validated, simulations are achieved for different driving cycles and ambient temperatures. Based on the results, the relevance of TEG technology is assessed, notably for gasoline engine applications.",non-battery
"Strategic remembering emerges gradually during the preschool years. Socialization practices, specifically mother–child social interactions, might provide the foundation for the development of skills necessary for effective organization of information in memory. In the current study, 48 mothers and their 40-month-olds were engaged in the process of remembering (i.e., study and recall) categorically related picture stimuli in a laboratory context. Children’s recall was reliably predicted by the way in which mothers structured both the study and recall periods of the deliberate memory task. Specifically, maternal verbal and physical behaviors that focused on organization of items, such as sorting items into distinct groups and providing the name of a category, were most beneficial in supporting children’s memory. Moreover, some mothers employed a number of different mnemonic techniques that emphasized categorical connections among items, suggesting systematic approaches in the manner in which mothers help children to learn effective ways of remembering.",non-battery
"Studies have shown that the temperature of the electrolyte solutions in the vanadium redox flow battery (VFB) has a significant impact on the battery performance. In this paper, a thermal model for the VFB has been developed on the basis of the conservation of energy to predict the battery temperature as a function of time under different operating conditions and structure designs. Simulations of battery and electrolyte temperature at both constant and varying environmental temperatures show that the presenting model is able to effectively forecast the fluctuation of the battery temperature in the presence of different charge and discharge currents. As expected, increasing current or reduced flow rate will increase the stack and electrolyte temperature. Thermal properties of the tank material and its surface area can however be adjusted to optimize heat transfer to the atmosphere to reduce overheating. This model can be employed to develop a model-based control system which will manage the electrolyte temperature in the optimal range. Further possible improvements to the model are also discussed.",battery
"Objectives To explore, identify and understand the contribution that biomedical and psychosocial factors make to the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children and youth with epilepsy using the CHEQOL-25. Methods We identified and measured variables that may influence HRQL; grouped the variables into four conceptual categories; and used simple and hierarchical linear regressions to model CHEQOL-25 as a function of these variable groupings. Participants were 8-15year olds with epilepsy and their parents. Results 131 child and parent pairs participated. Overall, the unique variances associated with the biomedical and psychosocial variables are R2 =0.22 and 0.29, respectively, for child self-reported HRQL and R2 =0.11 and 0.13, respectively, for parent-proxy report. Conclusions This study increases our understanding of factors that contribute to the expression of HRQL in this population. These results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size and large number of variables.",non-battery
"Intellectual impairment in addition to memory problems in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has been postulated to be a result of a mental decline caused by chronic epilepsy. Longer duration, however, is often confounded with earlier age at onset of epilepsy (AOE). IQ and memory were evaluated in 188 patients (age>16) with TLE with an AOE before age 14 (N =91) or after age 15 (N =97). Earlier AOE did not differentially affect memory aspects more associated with temporomesial structures, but it negatively affected IQ and aspects of memory that are more related to temporolateral and extratemporal lobe structures. As earlier AOE was also associated with lower educational levels and because one may not assume that these are lost with chronicity of epilepsy, the results can be interpreted as reflecting developmental hindrance of extratemporal lobe functions in early-onset TLE rather than cognitive decline due to a longer duration of epilepsy.",non-battery
"Understanding dendrite formation is key to advancing high-energy-density and safe metallic lithium batteries. With the help of cryogenic electron microscopy, heat is now suggested to play a crucial role in stabilizing lithium metal electrodes by suppressing dendrite growth.
",battery
"Copper oxide (CuO) is a favorable material for photovoltaic application where lattice defects/distortions play a significant role for shaping its optical and several other physical properties. In this study, pristine and lithium (Li) substituted CuO nanoparticle (1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 7.0 mol% of Li) have been prepared via an eco-friendly and cost-effective sol–gel method and a systematic study on the effect of Li ion substitution has been drawn. The Rietveld refinement results confirmed the Li ion substitution obsessed structural alteration from monoclinic to tetragonal symmetry (C2/c → I4/mmm). It was observed that the C2/c and I4/mmm synchronized phases continues up to 7%. Such structural alteration leads to fascinating optical properties due to destruction of parent phase. Moreover, lithium cations inhibit the crystal growth, which created various types of vacancy/defect states that essentially need to be investigated using SEM, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the native lattice alterations brought by size misalliance amid the host [Cu2+ (0.73 Å)] and the dopant [Li + (0.76 Å)] and the presence of oxygen vacancies created via Li substitution in CuO also results in the increment of deep level emission in photoluminescence spectra. The obtained results confirmed that Li ion substitution remarkably enhance optical properties, making such materials promising for device applications.",non-battery
"Biochars were produced from softwood chips (spruce–fir mix) and hemp stalk biomasses in an in-house-developed microwave pyrolysis reactor. A kilogram batch raw biomass mixed with 10 wt% microwave absorber was pyrolyzed at 60-min residence time. Microwave power levels were set at 2100, 2400, and 2700 W with optimum heating rates ranging 25–50 °C/min. The proximate analysis indicated a progressive gain in biochar carbon content with power level increase. Both biochars showed a H:C ratio of < 1.2 with a graphite-like structure, which is an important observation for their potential use as a filler in bio-composites structural strength increase. Fourier Transfer Infrared (FT-IR) spectra showed a major loss of functional groups as the power level increased. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and porosity distribution contained higher volume of smaller pores in the hemp biochar. The char hardness and Young’s modulus, obtained via nanoindentation technique and load–depth curve analysis, indicated that hemp biochar possessed a higher Young’s modulus and lower hardness than softwood chip biochar.",non-battery
"Presymptomatic individuals carrying the gene for Huntington’s disease (HD) provide researchers with a unique opportunity of learning more about the neuropathophysiology, symptom onset, behavioural functioning, and mediating factors of this fatal disease. In this review, we attempt to demonstrate that research over the last 8 years, since the isolation of the gene, has remained at large controversial. Although we are aware of some of the factors that can influence age at onset and disease progression, we are still unable to determine exactly when an individual will develop HD symptoms, and how fast these symptoms will progress. In an era rapidly advancing with respect to therapeutic intervention that could forestall the onset and progression of HD, systematic research with improved inclusion criteria is paramount. A greater understanding of the time course of the disease would be beneficial not only in monitoring the effectiveness of future treatments, but also in determining the most appropriate time to administer them. Finally, we present various ethical considerations, as well as put forward various recommendations that could assist in better diagnosing preclinical deficits in presymptomatic individuals.",non-battery
"Objective Schizophrenia is associated with reduced cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF), and impaired cognition is a core feature of the disorder. Despite their particular significance to schizophrenia disparately, the relationship between these two variables has not yet been thoroughly assessed. In this study we aimed to investigate naturally occurring associations between CRF and all cognitive domains within this patient population. Method Eighty outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders participated in the study. Neurocognition was assessed with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale version 4 General Ability Index (WAIS GAI) and the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Oxygen uptake was measured directly by analyzing O2 and CO2 content in expired air during a maximum exercise session on a treadmill using a modified Balke protocol. Clinical symptom load was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted, controlling for sex and age, and negative psychotic symptom levels. Results CRF explained a significant 8.2% and 9.1% of the variance in general intellectual ability and state-sensitive cognitive functioning respectively, beyond the impact of negative psychotic symptom load. Conclusion The study indicates a direct relation between CRF and cognition in schizophrenia. Impaired cognition is a difficult-to-treat expression of the disorder, and identifying modifiable factors possibly mediating cognition, such as CRF, is of great clinical value.",non-battery
"The effects of internal electrolyte resistance on the acceptance and delivery of charge by a series of 3 V, non-aqueous, double-layer capacitors have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and dc charging/discharging procedures conducted at different rates. The data obtained enable Ragone plots to be constructed for the performance of the capacitor modules. A series of four capacitor modules have been constructed using 2000 m2 g−1 carbon and containing tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in dry propylene carbonate as electrolyte at four concentrations: 1.0, 0.4, 0.2 and 0.08 M. The lower concentrations are chosen to introduce electrolyte starvation deliberately and thus to be able to investigate the effects of such conditions on the discharge/recharge behaviour of the capacitor modules. In dilute solutions, electrolyte starvation can become enhanced on charge by redistribution of cations and anions of the electrolyte due to adsorption of the ions at respective negative and positive surfaces of the capacitor electrode matrices, from the electrolyte bulk. The magnitude of such effects depends on the adsorption charge capacity in relation to the total electrolyte ion concentrations available in the device and to the potential attained at the termination of charging.",battery
" Sled towing has been shown to be an effective method to enhance the physical qualities in youth athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a 6-week sled towing intervention on muscular strength, speed and power in elite youth soccer players of differing maturity status.",non-battery
"This paper is about the relationship between nature conservation in theory and nature conservation in practice. I argue that in theory nature conservation is concerned with revealing presence and rendering the present eternal. In practice, the spaces and times of conservation are less clear. Conservationists work with matters of concern that are neither self-evident nor unproblematically co-present. Presence has to be made and re-made. These matters of concern, like rare species, do not always announce themselves to political ecology and they do not always perform to type. Such difficulties are analysed through discussion of practical work conducted in a UK city with field ecologists and nonhuman inhabitants. It is argued that a careful political ecology is one that is intent on making spaces for others that are not simply about presence, inclusion or accumulation. It also involves uncertainties, precautionary measures and looser forms of assemblage.",non-battery
"Pure monoclinic Li3M2(PO4)3 (M: Fe, V) powders (<1μm in diameter) were obtained by an original route that involved initial homogenization of precursors in aqueous solution followed by slow evaporation and annealing under controlled atmosphere at moderate temperatures. The crystal structure of Li3V2(PO4)3 was determined for the first time through Rietveld refinements of neutron diffraction data. As for Li3Fe2(PO4)3, Li is distributed within three crystallographic sites, fully occupied at room temperature. The values of the temperature factors on Li(2) and Li(3) sites (five-fold coordination) were found significantly higher than that of Li(1) (four-fold coordination). Li3V2(PO4)3 shows four reversible redox phenomena upon insertion of two Li+ (V3+/V2+ couple), at 1.98, 1.88, 1.73 and 1.70V vs. Li. By comparison, Li3Fe2(PO4)3 shows two reversible redox phenomena upon insertion of two Li+ (Fe3+/Fe2+ couple), at 2.88 and 2.73V vs. Li. Experimental capacities close to the theoretical ones were obtained after optimal composite electrode preparation through ball-milling. In situ X-ray diffraction showed very minor changes from Li3M2(PO4)3 to Li5M2(PO4)3. Additionally, Li is extracted from Li3V2(PO4)3 towards V2(PO4)3 (V4+/V3+ and V5+/V4+ couples) through four redox phenomena at 3.59, 3.67, 4.06 and 4.35V vs. Li. Despite all these phase transitions, the [M2(PO4)3] framework is remarkably stable on cycling, particularly for M: Fe, while partial vanadium dissolution into the electrolyte occurs either on deep reduction to 1.5V or deep oxidation to 4.6V vs. Li.",battery
"Supercapacitors (SCs) have shown great promise as a possible solution to the increasing world demand for efficient energy storage. Two types of mechanisms for SCs exist (double-layer and pseudocapacitive), and each type utilizes a wide variety of materials. In this review, a detailed overview of the mechanisms employed by SCs is provided in the introduction, and many studies are compared in order to determine which materials produce electrodes with high capacitance and cyclability in SCs, and to summarize and gauge the state of such research. The types of materials looked at include graphene and graphene nanocomposites, activated carbons from renewable materials, conducting polymers, and transition metal dichalcogenides. Additionally, different methods of activation that are meant to increase specific capacitance are examined. Among the dozens of materials found in the literature during this study, the ones that exhibited the highest specific capacitances are rGO/PANI (Reduced Graphene Oxide/Polyaniline), and PANI-NFS/GF (Polyaniline Nanofiber Sponge Filled Graphene Foam) demonstrated impressive performances. These materials all exceeded the current expectations of SCs by remarkable amounts, and more research into similar materials is highly encouraged. As more fundamental studies carried out for understanding the mechanisms of SCs, energy density and specific capacitance values continue to improve. Production of SCs from renewable materials encourage optimism for environmentally friendly options soon becoming feasible for use on larger scales.",battery
Do you know what constitutes hazardous waste and how to dispose of it correctly? Mhari Coxon RDH discusses waste segregation and management in dentistry.,non-battery
"TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) are considered as a potential SEI-free anode material for Li-ion batteries to offer enhanced safety. Organic solutions, dominatingly ethylene glycol (EG)-based, have widely been used for synthesizing TiO2 NTs via anodization because of their ability to generate long tubes and well-aligned structures. However, it has been revealed that the EG-produced NTs are composited with carbonaceous decomposition products of EG, release of which during the tube crystallization process inevitably causes nano-scale porosity and cracks. These microstructural defects significantly deteriorate the NTs' charge transport efficiency and mechanical strength/toughness. Here we report using ionic liquids (ILs) to anodize titanium to grow low-defect TiO2 NTs by reducing the electrolyte decomposition rate (less IR drop due to higher electrical conductivity) as well as the chance of the decomposition products mixing into the TiO2 matrix (organic cations repelled away). Promising electrochemical results have been achieved when using the IL-produced TiO2 NTs as an anode for Li-ion batteries. The ILNTs demonstrated excellent capacity retention without microstructural damage for nearly 1200 cycles of charge–discharge, while the NTs grown in a conventional EG solution totally pulverized in cycling, resulting in significant capacity fade.",battery
"The Cl-doping Li3V2(PO4)3/C (LVP/C) cathode materials were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The effects of Cl-doping amount on electrochemical properties, structure and morphology of Li3V2(PO4)3/C were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectrum and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that the Li3V2(PO4)2.88Cl0.12/C composite presents an excellent discharge capacity as high as 106.95mAhg−1 after 80 cycles at 8C. The same monoclinic structure of Li3V2(PO4)2.88Cl0.12/C sample can be obtained from XRD analysis while the particle size is smaller than that of pristine sample (x =0). The FTIR results further confirm the substitution of Cl− for PO4 3−. The reasons for the relatively enhanced capability are attributed to the decreased polarization and the reduced charge transfer resistance of electrode, with the suitable Cl-doping amount of x =0.12.",battery
"Abstract The decision to use a new material has technical, economic, and environmental consequences. The goal of this chapter is to help clarify quickly the use, possibilities, and problems of thermosets and composites. Consumptions, engineering and specific properties, costs of plastics and composites, are compared with metals and some other conventional materials. After some basic reminders concerning thermosets, thermoplastics, composites, and related processing methods, the designer’s main problems are examined, taking into account the economic, technical, marketing, sustainability, and environmental requirements. Recycling, plastics of renewable sources and some weaknesses of polymer materials end this chapter. The final choice of the design team will result from many iterations concerning the functional properties, the environmental constraints, the possibilities to produce the part in the required quantities, and the price. Market study specialists, associations and institutes are quoted to ease in-depth studies by the reader.",non-battery
"Reduction in cost of lithium ion batteries is essential to the cost walk of electrified vehicles. Electrode microstructure can significantly affect capacity and thus cost. The effect of structure – host–guest versus core–shell – on electrochemical characteristics of transition metal oxide/conducting polymer nanocomposites as the active component of the positive electrode of lithium batteries was studied using two types of polypyrrole based hybrids one prepared with vanadium oxide xerogel and the other with crystalline V2O5. It was shown that the host–guest structure can provide substantially higher stability under charge–discharge cycling, faster transport of lithium ions and allows redox processes at higher potentials.",battery
"Li and Mn-rich layered oxide cathodes although exhibit high specific capacities ≥240 mAh g−1, suffer from capacity fading and discharge voltage decay during prolonged cycling to potential higher than 4.5 V. This study aimed at exploring an interesting Co-free Li and Mn rich cathode material and to understand how the upper potential applied affects its capacity and average discharge voltage upon prolonged cycling. Li1.17Ni0.25Mn0.58O2 cathodes were explored in Li cells by galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling in several potential ranges. The specific capacity, capacity retention and average discharge voltage were compared with and without activation to 4.6–4.8 V when cycled to different upper potential limits. This cathode material exhibited a high discharge capacity of 242 mAh g−1 when cycled in the potential range of 2.3–4.6 V after activation to 4.8 V with gradual capacity fading and average discharge voltage decreasing from 3.62 V to 3.55 V during 100 cycles. When cycled in the potential range of 2.3–4.3 V after activation to 4.6 V, it exhibited a relatively stable capacity >160 mAh g−1 and stable average discharge voltage of 3.61 V, during 100 cycles. Thus, with optimized operating condition, the Li and Mn-rich cathode material Li1.17Ni0.25Mn0.58O2 is promising for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a complex pain disorder, characterized by diffuse pain and cognitive disturbances. Abnormal cortical oscillatory activity may be a promising biomarker, encouraging non-invasive neurostimulation techniques as a treatment. We aimed to modulate abnormal slow cortical oscillations by delivering transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and physiotherapy to reduce pain and cognitive symptoms. This was a double-blinded, randomized, crossover trial conducted between February and September 2018 at the Rehabilitation Unit of a teaching Hospital (NCT03221413). Participants were randomly assigned to tACS or random noise stimulation (RNS), 5 days/week for 2 weeks followed by ad hoc physiotherapy. Clinical and cognitive assessments were performed at T0 (baseline), T1 (after stimulation), T2 (1 month after stimulation). Electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral topographies recorded from 15 participants confirmed slow-rhythm prevalence and provided tACS tailored stimulation parameters and electrode sites. Following tACS, EEG alpha1 ([8–10] Hz) activity increased at T1 (p = 0.024) compared to RNS, pain symptoms assessed by Visual Analog Scale decreased at T1 (T1 vs T0p = 0.010), self-reported cognitive skills and neuropsychological scores improved both at T1 and T2 (Patient-Reported Outcomes in Cognitive Impairment, T0–T2, p = 0.024; Everyday memory questionnaire, T1 compared to RNS, p = 0.012; Montréal Cognitive Assessment, T0 vs T1, p = 0.048 and T0 vs T2, p = 0.009; Trail Making Test B T0–T2, p = 0.034). Psychopathological scales and other neuropsychological scores (Trail Making Test-A; Total Phonemic Fluency; Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised; Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure) improved both after tACS and RNS but earlier improvements (T1) were registered only after tACS. These results support tACS coupled with physiotherapy in treating FMS cognitive symptoms, pain and subclinical psychopathology.
",non-battery
"Semantic errors are a common type of slip of the tongue for normal speakers; they are also considered to be the hallmark of progressive diseases that affect semantic memory such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and semantic dementia. In unimpaired speakers, semantic errors have been shown to be affected by syntactic variables. For example, Marx (1999) has shown that speakers of a gendered language such as German tend to substitute a target with another word that shares the same grammatical gender with the target more often than chance would predict. This finding suggests that errors occur at a level at which lexical information about the target is activated and retrieved. Here, we assess whether such an effect of syntactic variables (gender) also holds in experimental tasks designed to induce errors in unimpaired speakers of Italian (another gendered language) and whether this effect can also be observed in the semantic errors produced in the same task by AD patients. We found that for the unimpaired speakers, the gender of the target word constrained the error committed, while this was not the case for the AD patients. We take this finding to suggest a different locus for the errors in the two populations: while the semantic errors by the unimpaired speakers occur because of mis-selection of a lexical entry due to lexical competition among semantically similar words, the errors by the AD patients occur because of insufficient activation of lexical representations.",non-battery
"This paper studies the important but unexplored relationship between R&D investment intensity and different components of stock price volatility. The total volatility of stock price is decomposed into a continuous component and a jump component. We find that firms with higher R&D investment intensity have less jump volatility of stock price. We explain the findings through a channel of stock liquidity and information disclosure. We argue that R&D-intensive firms prefer higher stock liquidity, and empirically document that they achieve higher stock liquidity by actively releasing R&D information. We apply a textual analysis technique and show that R&D-intensive firms voluntarily disclose more R&D information in 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filings, resulting in higher stock liquidity and hence less jump volatility of stock price. The negative relationship between R&D investment intensity and jump volatility of stock price is more pronounced for financially constrained firms, which have stronger incentives to release R&D information and hence increase stock liquidity. Propensity-score matching approach and instrumental variable approach are used to address endogeneity. A rich set of robustness tests are conducted to confirm the findings.",non-battery
"PURPOSE The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the evidence of abnormal functioning of the mirror neuron system (MNS) in children and adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), through examination of imitation, motor imagery, and neuroimaging literature. METHODS The following databases were comprehensively searched for relevant articles: CINAHL Plus, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Pubmed, and Web of Science. Full-text articles of all potentially relevant citations were obtained and assessed for eligibility by two authors. Outcome measures of interest at a motor behaviour level were any measures of imitation or motor imagery proficiency and, at a neurological level, were any measures of neural activity in MNS brain regions. Due to differences in outcome measures between studies and the variables reported, a narrative review was undertaken to synthesise findings from the studies. RESULTS Overall, 31 articles met the inclusion criteria. Children and adults with DCD display deficits imitating meaningful and novel gestures and demonstrate different response patterns to controls when undertaking complex motor imagery tasks. Children with DCD present reduced activation and connectivity of frontal, parietal, and temporal MNS regions. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary evidence indicates some deficit in the functioning of the MNS at a motor behaviour and neurological level. As no published neuroimaging studies have been designed specifically to explore MNS function, these results must be interpreted with caution. Further research to explore the MNS hypothesis in greater detail, particularly from a neuroimaging perspective, has the potential to provide information on the underlying mechanisms of DCD, inform future research into the aetiology of this disorder, and inform intervention approaches.",non-battery
"High-energy ball milling is used to recycle Si wafers to produce Si powders for negative electrodes of Li-ion batteries. The resulting Si powder consists in micrometric Si agglomerates made of cold-welded submicrometric nanocrystalline Si particles. Silicon-based composite electrodes prepared with ball-milled Si wafer can achieve more than 900 cycles with a capacity of 1200 mAh g−1 of Si (880 mAh g−1 of electrode) and a coulombic efficiency higher than 99%. This excellent electrochemical performance lies in the use of nanostructured Si produced by ball milling, the electrode formulation in a pH 3 buffer solution with CMC as binder and the use of FEC/VC additives in the electrolyte. This work opens the way to an economically attractive recycling of Si wastes.",battery
"High-energy ball milling was used to modify the physico-chemical and the electrochemical hydrogenation properties of Mg50Ti50 alloy via the addition of Pd. This was done by first ball milling Mg and Ti together for (20− x) hours. 3.3at.% Pd was then added and ball milling was resumed for x hours. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses revealed that the alloying of Pd with pre-milled Mg50Ti50 was initiated after only a few minutes and was completed after 5h of milling. The maximum discharge capacity of the Mg50Ti50–3.3at.% Pd electrode increased significantly with the milling time (from 35mAhg−1 for 5min to 480mAhg−1 for 20h of milling). The exchange current density increased with the milling time and was directly related to the Pd surface concentration, suggesting that Pd plays a key role in facilitating the charge-transfer reaction. In contrast, the incorporation of Pd had a minor effect on the hydrogen diffusion coefficient. The electrochemical pressure-composition isotherms revealed a significant destabilization of the hydride as the milling time with Pd increased. No significant improvement in the hydrogen storage properties of Mg50Ti50–Pd electrodes was observed for Pd concentrations higher than 3.3at.%.",battery
"In the field of materials for lithium ion batteries, the lithium iron phosphate LiFePO4 has been proven for use as a positive electrode due to its good resistance to thermal degradation and overcharge, safety and low cost. The use of nanostructured materials would improve its efficiency. This work shows the results of the synthesis of nanostructured materials with functional properties for lithium batteries through aerosol techniques. The Spray Pyrolysis method allows synthesizing nanostructured particles with spherical geometry, not agglomerates, with narrow distribution of particle size and homogeneous composition in respect to a precursor solution. Experimental techniques were focused on the morphological (SEM and TEM), structural (XRD and HRTEM-SAED), chemical (EDS) and electrochemical characterization.",battery
"The surface of spinel LiMn2O4 is modified with different quantities of a Mn4+-rich phase prepared by a facile sol-gel method to improve electrochemical properties at elevated temperatures. Impurity-free and uniform morphologies for the LiMn2O4 particles are demonstrated from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The Mn4+-rich phase modified on the surface of the LiMn2O4 alleviates the dissolution of manganese in the electrolyte, thus improving the cycling performance and rate capability relative to the bare LiMn2O4. 1wt.%-modified LiMn2O4 delivers a capacity retention of 92.7% and a discharge capacity of 113.5mAhg−1 after 200 cycles at 1C and 25°C, compared with that of 83.1%, and 100.8mAhg−1 for the bare LiMn2O4. In addition, after 100 cycles, a capacity retention of 88.6% at 1C is achieved for 1wt.%-modified LiMn2O4 at 55°C, which is higher than the 76.0% for the bare LiMn2O4. Furthermore, this sample shows the best rate capability among all samples. The Mn4+-rich phase is an appropriate candidate for modifying surfaces to suppress dissolution of manganese, thereby improving the electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4.",battery
"Short-term mechanical circulatory devices (e.g. percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass, percutaneous ventricular assist devices, etc.) can be initiated in emergency situations as a bridge to permanent implantation of ventricular assist devices in chronic end-stage heart failure. In the absence of first-person (patient) consent, presumed consent or surrogate consent should be used cautiously for the initiation of short-term mechanical circulatory devices in emergency situations as a bridge to permanent implantation of left ventricular assist devices. Future clinical studies of destination therapy with left ventricular assist devices should include measures of recipients' quality of end-of-life care and caregivers' burden.
",non-battery
"Rechargeable metal-ion batteries are considered promising electric storage systems to meet the emerging demand from electric vehicles, electronics, and electric grids. Thus far, secondary Li-ion batteries (LIBs) have seen great advances in terms of both their energy and their power density. However, safety issues remain a challenge. Therefore, rechargeable Al-ion batteries (AIBs) with a highly reliable safety advantage and active electrochemical performances have gathered intensive attention. However, the common issue for these two metal-ion batteries is the lack of cathode materials. Many advanced electrode materials reported provide greatly enhanced electrochemical properties. However, their inherent disadvantages—such as complicated fabrication procedures, restricted manufacturing parameters, and the requirement of expensive instruments—limits their potential for further applications. In this work, we demonstrate the high electrochemical activity of the lanthanide element, Sm, towards storing charges when used in both LIBs and AIBs. Lanthanide elements are often overlooked; however, they generally have attractive electrochemical properties owing to their unpaired electrons. We employed starch as both a low-cost carbon source and as a three-dimensional support for Sm metal nanoparticles. The composite product is fabricated using a one-pot wet-chemical method, followed by a simultaneous carbonization process. As a result, highly improved electrochemical properties are obtained when it is used as a cathode material for both LIBs and AIBs when compared to bare starch-derived C. Our results may introduce a new avenue toward the design of high-performance electrode materials for LIBs and AIBs.",non-battery
"Surface modification of Li[Ni0.35Co0.3Mn0.35]O2 as a cathode material of lithium–ion batteries was carried out by hydrothermal treatment using lithium lanthanum titanate ([Li,La]TiO3). The modified surfaces were analyzed by morphology observation using transmission electron microscopy and by element investigation using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was thereupon found that the [Li,La]TiO3-coated layer formed by the surface modification played a definitive role in suppressing the solid electrolyte interface during repeated charge and discharge cycles. In addition, the thermal stability was enhanced by coated layer, resulting in an increase of the onset temperature to occur an exothermic reaction during thermal runaway.
",battery
"Facile in-situ etching current collector prepares corresponding oxide or sulfide, which is directly used as faradic electrode material, supplying faster electron transportation and better connection, and thus displaying good supercapacitor performance. Here, we prepare CuxS via etching copper foam and investigate the influence of etching time on the morphology and electrochemical performance. The results show that compared with the nano-rod CuxS-1h/CF, nano-rod/wire CuxS-2h/CF and block/nanorod CuxS-4h/CF, the nano-rod/ribbon CuxS-3h/CF electrode exhibits the highest specific capacity (448.8Cg−1 at current density of 5mAcm−2). We fabricate asymmetric supercapacitor based on CuxS-3h/CF as positive electrode and AC as negative electrode to further evaluate the supercapacitor property and the device achieves a high energy density of 35 Wh kg−1 at power density of 266Wkg−1. Furthermore, the outstanding cycling stability of 88% capacitance retention after 5000 charge-discharge cycles more enable the CuxS-3h/CF become promising faradic electrode material.",battery
"Silicon oxycarbide (SiCO) is an amorphous molecular network of SiCO tetrahedra anchored to graphene-like carbon. The graphene forms a three dimensional cellular network with a domain size of ∼5 nm. Therefore nanometer thick films of SiCO grown on graphite may be expected to have unusual behavior. We grow these films on a bed of commercially available graphite fibers that serve the dual function of a current collector. The electrochemical behavior of the composite is measured as a function of the thickness of the SiCO films. Thick films approach the typical behavior of bulk SiCO (which has three times the capacity of graphite, but suffers from poor first cycle efficiency). However, films, approximately 100 nm thick, show high first cycle efficiency as well as high capacity. The composite performs better than the prediction from the rule-of-mixtures, which further substantiates the unusual behavior of the thin-film architecture. The Raman spectra of these thin films also differ from bulk SiCO. The development of thin graphite fibers, with a high surface to volume ratio that have the same capacity as the current graphite-powder technology, coupled with manufacturing of these thin-films by a liquid-polymer precursor based process, can propel these results toward commercialization.",battery
"We investigated (a) the fit and structural equivalence of Holland’s model of six vocational personality types in a sample of South African men (n = 139) and women (n = 268) using the South African Career Interest Inventory, and (b) mean score differences for men and women on these types. The results supported the fit and structural similarity of Holland’s model of vocational personality types for men and women but showed that the model fit the data better for women. The largest differences in the mean scores occurred on the Realistic scale. Implications of the results are presented.
",non-battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses applications of an open source desktop. The major application of open source desktops are graphical desktop, web browsers, office programs, professional applications (graphics, database front ends, Web designers), and personal applications (media players, games). A complete open source desktop with applications can be easily installed and demonstrated on a typical personal computer using Linux. These desktops are attractive, powerful, and easy to learn from scratch as Windows. Such desktops can be significantly less expensive than closed code systems, since they can save the operating system cost plus the cost of applications such as Microsoft Office. There is a possibility to build a desktop on Windows, where all the applications are open source. In situations where the operating system is already installed, such as on home computers, there is no savings to replace it with Linux, but there are huge cost savings from replacing applications such as Office with open source.",non-battery
"An innovative process was optimized to recover Co from portable Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB). Pilot scale physical pretreatment was performed to recover electrodic powder from LIB. Co was extracted from electrodic powder by a hydrometallurgical process including the following main stages: leaching (by acid reducing conditions), primary purification (by precipitation of metal impurities), solvent extraction with D2EPHA (for removal of metal impurities), solvent extraction with Cyanex 272 (for separation of cobalt from nickel), cobalt recovery (by precipitation of cobalt carbonate). Tests were separately performed to identify the optimal operating conditions for precipitation (pH 3.8 or 4.8), solvent extraction with D2EHPA (pH 3.8; Mn/D2EHPA=4; 10% TBP; two sequential extractive steps) and solvent extraction with Cyanex 272 (pH 3.8; Cyanex/Cobalt=4, 10% TBP, one extractive step). The sequence of optimized process stages was finally performed to obtain cobalt carbonate. Products with different degree of purity were obtained depending on the performed purification steps (precipitation with or without solvent extraction). 95% purity was achieved by implementation of the process including the solvent extraction stages with D2EHPA and Cyanex 272 and final washing for sodium removal.",non-battery
"This article deals with the properties of high-voltage cathode material LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 synthesized by a solid-state reaction method and the influence of doping this material by molybdenum. The samples – LiMo x + y Ni0.5 - x Mn1.5 - y O4 with different Mo contents (x = 0.00, 0.05, y = 0.00, 0.05) were successfully synthesized by two step annealing process and they were then investigated by SEM, EDS spectroscopy, thermo gravimetric analysis, cyclic voltammetry and charge–discharge tests at different loads and high temperature in lithium-ion cells with metal lithium as a counter electrode. Results showed that the initial discharge capacity and capacity during high temperature cycling of the LiMox + yNi0.5 - xMn1.5 - yO4 cathode were improved with addition of Mo when x = 0.05. Thermal analysis results suggested that the Mo doping slightly improved the stability of the crystal structure of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode which leads to an improved stability during high temperature galvanostatic cycling.",battery
"We aimed to explore the extent of neurodevelopmental difficulties in severely maltreated adopted children. We recruited 34 adopted children, referred with symptoms of indiscriminate friendliness and a history of severe maltreatment in their early childhood and 32 typically developing comparison children without such a history, living in biological families. All 66 children, aged 5–12 years, underwent a detailed neuropsychiatric assessment. The overwhelming majority of the adopted/indiscriminately friendly group had a range of psychiatric diagnoses, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and one third exhibited the disorganised pattern of attachment. The mean IQ was 15 points lower than the comparison group and the majority of the adopted group had suspected language disorder and/or delay. Our findings show that school-aged adopted children with a history of severe maltreatment can have very complex and sometimes disabling neuropsychiatric problems.",non-battery
"JEL classification codes: I3, J2
Information, though often costly or incomplete in reality, is central to the functioning of markets (e.g., Stigler 1961). Economists have long emphasized that improvements in information have the power to impact market performance and welfare, particularly in developing settings where informational problems are seen as key barriers for growth and development (e.g., Aker 2010). Labor market transactions are not an exception as they are characterized by high levels of mismatch, coordination problems, and asymmetric information affecting workers and firms alike (e.g., Autor 2001). Yet, traditional labor-market intermediaries (LMIs), such as public employment offices and temporary help agencies, which aim to reduce search costs and adverse selection problems, remain understudied in both developed and developing settings (Autor 2009).
",non-battery
"A new Na+ ion conducting polymer electrolyte, based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and sodium meta phosphate (NaPO3) is investigated. (PEO) n :NaPO3 polymer metal salt complexes with different [ethylene oxide]/Na ratios (n =3, 4, 6, 8 and 10) are prepared by the solution casting method. Dissolution of the salt into the polymer host is confirmed by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy. Further, interaction of the polymer chains with the metal salt is substantiated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity of the samples is measured over the temperature range 322–351K. The temperature dependent conductivity exhibits two different activation energies, below and above the softening point of the polymer. The composition (PEO)6:NaPO3 is found to exhibit the least crystallinity but the highest conductivity 2.8×10−8 Scm−1 at 351K. The electronic transport number, measured by the dc polarization technique, shows that the conducting species are ionic in nature. The effect of ethylene carbonate on the best conducting composition is investigated by DSC and impedance spectroscopy. The addition of 20wt.% ethylene carbonate, increases the amorphous phase and enhances the conductivity by two orders of magnitude.",battery
"The present paper reflects a work in progress toward a definition of circadian light, one that should be informed by the thoughtful, century-old evolution of our present definition of light as a stimulus for the human visual system. This work in progress is based upon the functional relationship between optical radiation and its effects on nocturnal melatonin suppression, in large part because the basic data are available in the literature. Discussed here are the fundamental differences between responses by the visual and circadian systems to optical radiation. Brief reviews of photometry, colorimetry, and brightness perception are presented as a foundation for the discussion of circadian light. Finally, circadian light (CLA) and circadian stimulus (CS) calculation procedures based on a published mathematical model of human circadian phototransduction are presented with an example.
",non-battery
"In this study, the performance of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is investigated using asymmetric electrode configurations with raw and functionalized (i.e., acid-treated and heat-treated) electrodes. The use of heat-treated electrodes in both half-cells is chosen as the baseline case for comparison, as this configuration shows the best performance. When the positive electrode in the baseline case is replaced with a raw or acid-treated electrode, the voltage efficiency is found to be comparable to that of the baseline case. However, in the case where the negative electrode in the baseline case is replaced with a raw or acid-treated electrode, a significantly lower efficiency is observed, suggesting that the negative half-cell reactions limit the performance of a VRFB. To further investigate this observation, an additional analysis is performed using cyclic voltammetry. The reaction kinetics data suggests that the poor performance of the negative half-cell is not due to the slow kinetics, but rather stems from the fact that the reduction reaction in the negative half-cell occurs at a potential that is very close to the onset of hydrogen evolution. The formation of hydrogen gas bubbles blocks the reaction sites and suppresses the favorable effects of functionalization in the negative half-cell.",battery
"In this paper a new two-round authenticated contributory group key agreement based on Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman protocol with Privacy Preserving Public Key Infrastructure (PP-PKI) is introduced and is extended to a dynamic authenticated contributory group key agreement with join and leave protocols for dynamic groups. The proposed protocol provides such security attributes as forward secrecy, backward secrecy, and defense against man in the middle (MITM) and Unknown key-share security attacks and also authentication along with privacy preserving attributes like anonymity, traceability and unlinkability. In the end, they are compared with other popular Diffie–Hellman and Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman based group key agreement protocols and the results are found to be satisfactory.
",non-battery
"Here we find that Nano-Si powder can catalyze the esterification reaction of citric acid and ethanol to form a highly viscous gel, which is carbonized to obtain a typical core-shell structured Si@C nanocomposite. The carbon layer is a dense micropore carbon layer and is uniformly coated on the surface of the Si particles, which can effectively prevent electrolyte permeation and acts as a mechanically frame to limit the silicon volume change. An optimum carbon weight is about 11%, the thickness of the carbon layer is about 4–7 nm. A diffusion-controlled behavior and a pseudocapacitive effect during the (de)lithiation processes can work together to provide significant electrochemical characteristics for Si@C-TC, which makes Si@C-TC electrode exhibits the initial charge capacity of 1854 mAh g−1 (667 mAh cm−3, CE of 72.3%) at 0.1 A g−1 and the capacity of 1131 mAh g−1 (407 mAh cm−3) over 200 cycles at 0.5 A g−1. This work provides an in-depth understanding of the effects of carbon layer in Si@C structure, and the obtained views are very important for the selection of the carbon layer in high performance Si@C electrodes.",battery
" Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition characterized by widespread pain, estimated to affect 2.4% of the Spanish population. Nowadays, there are no consistent epidemiological studies on the actual impact of the disease on work and family of these patients in a representative manner; therefore, the purpose of the study is to analyze the impact on family, employment and social environment in a representative sample of patients with FM attending Primary Public Care Centers in Spain.",non-battery
"Cyclic voltammograms, current transients at constant potential and potential decay transients have been used to study the formation of lead dioxide surface films in the presence of cobalt ions and their role in decreasing the oxidation rate of a lead alloy under steady state conditions typical of copper electrowinning. The observations in the present work indicate, consistent with the surface film model, that the formation of a continuous PbSO4 + α-PbO2 film on the surface of the lead alloy in the presence of cobalt ions hinders further oxidation of the metal. The protectiveness of the film is dynamic in the steady state; the film is continuously forming and dissolving. Also studied was the potential of the oxygen evolution reaction on α-PbO2 and β-PbO2 in 170 g L−1 H2SO4 with and without cobalt ions. The steady state potential for oxygen evolution on β-PbO2 in 170 g L−1 H2SO4 at 285 A m−2 decreased in the presence of cobalt ions and the steady state potential of β-PbO2 was essentially the same as that of (i) the Pb–Ca–Sn alloy and (ii) α-PbO2. The implication is that the potential of the Pb–Ca–Sn alloy is determined by the α-PbO2 and/or β-PbO2 on its surface.
",battery
"A new class of lithium trifluoroalkoxyborate salts Li[ROBF3] containing as the R substituent oligooxyethylene groups of various molecular weights in the form of a methyl monoether (RCH3(OCH2CH2) n ) (n =1, 2, 3 and 7) or propionitrile, has been obtained in the reaction of BF3 etherate with appropriate alcohol and butyllithium. The obtained salts are characterized by properties of room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) of viscosity dependent on the type of substituent in the alkoxy group. The room temperature ionic conductivity of neat salts is of the 10−4 Scm−1 order, and the best properties are characterized by the salt containing n =3 oxyethylene monomeric units. Optimal concentrations in aliphatic carbonates of the obtained salts were determined achieving ionic conductivities of the order of 10−3 Scm−1, slightly higher than that of analogous LiBF4 solutions. Solid polymer electrolytes containing 10 and 50mol% of borate salts and PEO in the form of flexible films have been determined. On the basis of DSC analysis it was found that borate salts at low concentration do not limit the tendency of PEO to crystallization, the share of the crystalline phase was over 60% which resulted in low ionic conductivity. The best properties were characterized by the system with the salt of n =7 oxyethylene monomeric units (T g =−53°C) and the system of high salt concentration (σ RT 10−5 Scm−1).",battery
"Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to the parts of the nervous system that normally signal pain. Attempts to classify neuropathic pain patients on the basis of disease etiology or lesion topography have met with limited success, and in this review Ralf Baron presents an alternative system based on molecular mechanisms. He discusses how this approach might lead to the development of more rational treatments for neuropathic pain.",non-battery
"Li-ion batteries made by the Lithylene technology were investigated after extensive cycling for a mechanistic understanding of the capacity fade phenomena. The batteries cycled 500 times at 0.5C were found to lose 13% of their original capacity, which was solely due to the loss of active materials. The negative electrode maintained its capacity to contain Li+ ions from the positive electrode. The loss of positive electrode materials was attributed to formation and thickening of the surface layer and structure disorder evidenced by XRD measurements. In situ impedance measurements revealed that the positive electrode was also responsible for the impedance rise upon cycling. The charge transfer resistance was found to be the most influential factor in the battery impedance, which increased exponentially during cycling. This increase was proved not due to the decrease of positive electrode surface area but resulted from growth of the surface layer.",battery
"The mechanism of lithium ion insertion in LiAl alloys and in LiMnO2 layered oxide into LiAl/LiMnO2 cells has been investigated by combining data from a variety of techniques including, electrochemical techniques (cycling voltammetry, galvano–potentiostatic cycling), acoustic emission (AE) technique and XRD analyses. The aim of this study was to consider the feasibility of the AE measurements for aging characterization of lithium-ion cell. The objective was to detect and to inquire the electrochemical and structural processes which appear into the negative lithium–aluminum electrode (lithium insertion/desinsertion of lithium ions and α/β intermetallic phase transformation) and into the positive LiMnO2 electrode (volume expansion, particle fragmentation). The acoustic emission was used like a nondestructive method for monitoring of the processes, occurring inside the cell. During the cycling, the acoustic emission events were much more intensive at the discharge process and they can be attributed to the phase transformation from α(LiAl) to β(LiAl) as well as to the intercalation of lithium ions in the MnO2 to LiMnO2.",battery
"This paper analyses the subjective well-being levels in Turkey between 2004 and 2014 by relying on Turkish Statistical Institute’s Life Satisfaction Surveys. This is the first study ever suggesting an alternative well-being approach for Turkish population based on subjective measures. Inspired from the Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness and Cummins et al.’s (2003) Australian Unity Well-Being Index approaches, we constructed several subjective well-being indexes for the first time in Turkey. The main findings of this study are as follows: (1) Despite GDP per capita (in current $) doubles between 2004 and 2014 period, constructed indexes show slight increments or stagnate around some level. (2) We found a slight support for Frey and Stutzer’s (2002a) argument that GDP per capita is insensible after some threshold. (3) National well-being indicators are found to be more volatile than individual well-being indicators, which hints that individuals may be using their informal social networks as a shelter from the economic and politic fluctuations in the country. (4) Much of the volatility in subjective well-being indexes are caused by psychological well-being indicators. Previous results indicate that as basic requirements of a society are met after some level of per capita income, non-materialistic aspirations- like happiness, freedom or justice-started to surpass materialistic aspirations. Same is true for Turkey- this led us to conclude that the reductionist approach of delegating the solution of social and ecological problems to economic growth process may lie beneath this dismal outcome in Turkey in the last decade. Thus, we recommend policy-makers to upkeep with the reform process which would make economic and political system more transparent and competitive, which in turn, help to ameliorate the channels through which individuals fulfil their aspirations.
",non-battery
"The Institute for Energy and Environment (IEE) at the University of Strathclyde has developed various fuel cell (FC) systems for stationary and vehicular applications. In particular the author is involved in the development of alkaline fuel cell (AFC) systems. To understand the dynamic behaviour of the system's key element, the alkaline fuel cell stack, a dynamic model was developed allowing the characterisation of the electrochemical parameters. The model is used to forecast the behaviour of the fuel cell stack under various dynamic operating conditions. The so-called Nernst potential, which describes the open circuit voltage of the stack, is calculated using thermodynamic theory. Electrochemistry theory has been used to model the sources of the electric losses within the FC, such as activation, ohmic and concentration losses. The achievable value of this paper is the first publication of a detailed dynamic AFC based on mass balance, thermodynamics and electrochemical theory. The effects of the load changes on various fuel cell parameters, such as electrolyte concentration and concentrations of dissolved hydrogen and oxygen were covered in this investigation using the author's model. The model allows a detailed understanding of the dynamic effects within the AFC during load change events, which lead to the experienced electric response of the overall FC stack.",battery
"A nanoporous nickel (Ni) substrate was successfully prepared by selective dissolution of copper (Cu) from a Ni–Cu alloy layer. It was noted that both the Cu etching and the Ni/Cu codeposition processes could be performed in the same solution. Afterwards, anodic deposition was carried out to disperse fibrous manganese (Mn) oxide onto the nanoporous Ni substrate. As a result, a novel oxide electrode with a high-porosity structure was fabricated by the totally electrochemical procedure, which is very simple and efficient. Pseudocapacitive performance of this oxide electrode was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry in 0.1M Na2SO4 solution. The data indicated that specific capacitance of the Mn oxide was as high as 502Fg−1, which was 85% higher than that deposited on a flat electrode. Capacitance retained ratio after 500 charge–discharge cycles of the Mn oxide was also significantly improved from 75 to 93% due to the use of the nanoporous substrate.",battery
"PolyFuel of Mountain View, California, USA, reports that it has now completed the penultimate stage of is multi-year development plan that aims to commercialise power supplies, based on fuel cells, for notebook PCs.",non-battery
"Objective The aim of this study was to ascertain whether high-dose intravenous (IV) iron sucrose could improve symptoms and change brain iron concentrations in idiopathic RLS. Methods The study was a randomized, parallel-group double-blind study of 1000mg iron sucrose given IV versus placebo. Primary measures of the clinical status were global rating scale (GRS) and periodic leg movements of sleep (PLMS). Primary measures of brain iron status were CSF ferritin and MRI-determined iron in the substantia nigra. Results At the time of the interim analysis there were 7 placebo and 11 iron-treated subjects. At 2-weeks post-treatment, iron treatment resulted in a small but significant increase in CSF ferritin and a decrease in RLS severity (GRS) but did not change PLMS or MRI iron index. None of the secondary outcomes changed with treatment. There was no single case of clear treatment benefit in any of the patients. This interim analysis revealed an effect size that was too small to allow for adequate power to find significant differences with the planed 36-subject enrollment for either the primary objective outcome of PLMS or any of the secondary outcomes. The study was stopped at this planned break-point given the lack of both adequate power and any indication for clinically significant benefit. Conclusions High-dose IV iron failed to demonstrate the robust changes reported in three prior open-label studies. Differences in iron formulation, dosing regiment, and peripheral iron status may explain some of the discrepancies between this and previous IV iron treatment studies.",non-battery
"Silicon (Si) has been perceived as a promising next-generation anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to its superior theoretical capacity. Despite the natural abundance of this element on Earth, large-scale production of high-purity Si nanomaterials in a green and energy-efficient way is yet to become an industrial reality. Spray-drying methods have been exploited to recover Si particles from low-value sludge produced in the photovoltaic industry, providing a massive and cost-effective Si resource for fabricating anode materials. To address such drawbacks like volume expansion, low electrical and Li+ conductivity and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, the recycled silicon particles have been downsized into nanoscale and shielded by a highly conductive and protective graphene multilayer through high energy ball milling. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements have revealed that the graphene wrapping and size reduction approach have significantly improved the electrochemical performance. It delivers an excellent reversible capacity of 1,138mAhg−1 and a long cycle life with 73% capacity retention over 150 cycles at a high current of 450mAg−1. The plentiful waste conversion methodology also provides considerable opportunities for developing additional rechargeable devices, ceramic, powder metallurgy and silane/siloxane products.",battery
"In 2015, observers argued that the fourth agricultural revolution had been initiated. This article focuses on one part of this high-tech revolution: the origin, development, applications, and user value of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Institutional changes connected to the UAS innovation are analyzed, based on a Swedish case study. The methods included autoethnography. The theoretical frame was composed by four perspectives: innovation, institutions, sustainability, and ethics. UAS can help farmers cut costs and produce higher quantity with better quality, and also has environmental benefits. However, this promising innovation was exposed to institutional forces and suddenly became subordinated the Act of Camera Surveillance. This study illuminates how legislative institutions can inhibit responsible innovation. The study shows that different ethical perspectives can collide with each other.",non-battery
"The acoustic startle reflex (ASR) is a short and intense defensive reaction in response to a loud and unexpected acoustic stimulus. In the rat, a primary startle pathway encompasses three serially connected central structures: the cochlear root neurons, the giant neurons of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (PnC), and the spinal motoneurons. As a sensorimotor interface, the PnC has a central role in the ASR circuitry, especially the integration of different sensory stimuli and brain states into initiation of motor responses. Since the basal ganglia circuits control movement and action selection, we hypothesize that their output via the substantia nigra (SN) may interplay with the ASR primary circuit by providing inputs to PnC. Moreover, the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) has been proposed as a functional and neural extension of the SN, so it is another goal of this study to describe possible anatomical connections from the PPTg to PnC. Here, we made 6-OHDA neurotoxic lesions of the SN pars compacta (SNc) and submitted the rats to a custom-built ASR measurement session to assess amplitude and latency of motor responses. We found that following lesion of the SNc, ASR amplitude decreased and latency increased compared to those values from the sham-surgery and control groups. The number of dopamine neurons remaining in the SNc after lesion was also estimated using a stereological approach, and it correlated with our behavioral results. Moreover, we employed neural tract-tracing techniques to highlight direct projections from the SN to PnC, and indirect projections through the PPTg. Finally, we also measured levels of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters in the PnC following lesion of the SN, and found that they change following an ipsi/contralateral pattern. Taken together, our results identify nigrofugal efferents onto the primary ASR circuit that may modulate motor responses.
",non-battery
"The multi-electron redox reaction of an organic radical based composite cathode comprised of poly(2,2,6,6- tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl methacrylate) (PTMA)-Ketjenblack is investigated using an in situ electrochemical-electron spin resonance (ESR) methodology. The experiments allow each electrochemical state to be associated with the chemical state (or environment) of the radical species upon the cell cycling. In situ ESR spectra of the composite cathode demonstrate a two-electron redox reaction of PTMA that is from an aminoxy anion (n-type, at 2.5–2.6 V vs. Li/Li+) via a radical (at 3.2–3.5 V vs. Li/Li+) to an oxoammonium cation (p-type, at 3.7–4.0 V vs. Li/Li+). In particular, an adjustable n-type doping process of PTMA is first observed during the discharging process. Moreover, two different local environments of radical species are found in the PTMA-Ketjenblack composite electrode that includes both concentrated and isolated radicals. These two types of radical species, showing similarities during the redox reaction process while behaving quite different in the non-faradic reaction of ion sorption/desorption on the electrode surface, govern the electrochemical behavior of PTMA based composite electrode.",battery
"We present, for the first time, a new material of symmetric electrochemical supercapacitor in which zinc oxide (ZnO) with carbon aerogel (CA) was used as active material. Physical properties of ZnO/CA composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that ZnO has single hexagonal structure and the grain size increases with increase of ZnO compository. The result of cyclic voltammetry indicates that the specific capacitance of ZnO/CA composite in 6M KOH electrolyte was approximately 25F/g at 10mV/s for 2:1 composition. AC impedance analysis reveals that ZnO with carbon aerogel powder enhanced the conductivity by reducing the internal resistance. Galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements were done at various current densities, namely 25, 50, 75, and 100mA/cm2. It was found that the cells have excellent electrochemical reversibility and capacitive characteristics in KOH electrolyte. The maximum capacitance of the ZnO/CA supercapacitor was 500F/g at 100mA/cm2. It has been observed that the specific capacitance is constant up to 500 cycles at all current densities, which implies that the dendrite formation was controlled.",battery
"Previous investigations have found that smokers with schizophrenia demonstrate reduced performance on cognitive tasks compared to non-smokers. However previous studies have not taken into account other environmental factors associated with cognitive functioning such as exposure to Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1). We examined these factors in a sample consisting of individuals with schizophrenia (n =773), bipolar disorder (n =493), or controls without a psychiatric disorders (n =548). Participants were assessed on a cognitive battery, the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), and had a blood sample drawn to measure seropositivity to HSV-1. Within each group linear regression models were constructed to determine whether cigarette smoking and HSV-1 seropositivity were jointly associated with cognitive functioning after adjusting for relevant covariates. Within the schizophrenia group, the effect size of lower total cognitive score was −0.279 (p <0.0001) for individuals who were both smokers and HSV-1 seropositive and a significant effect was found in all cognitive domains. The odds of being in the highest quartile of RBANS Total score were significantly lower for smokers (OR=0.58, 95% CI 0.41, 0.82, p =0.002). Smoking was not as consistently associated with levels of cognitive functioning in the bipolar disorder or the non-psychiatric control group. While experimental studies show that nicotine transiently improves functioning on sensory gating and attention tasks known to be deficient in schizophrenia, long-term nicotine exposure via smoking appears to have an adverse effect on cognitive functioning.",non-battery
Tin-containing nanometric and amorphous intermetallics and alloys are envisaged as negative electrodes for high-capacity lithium ion batteries. Nanocrystalline FeSn2 has been prepared by reduction of Sn2+ and Fe3+ in tetraethylene glycol at 185°C. Microcrystalline FeSn2 has been prepared at 490°C. The properties of nano-FeSn2 and micro-FeSn2 have been observed to be very different. The small particles size hinders the long-range magnetism and consequently the Mössbauer spectra are modified. The nanocrystalline particles of FeSn2 show exothermal effects in the DTA experiment that are not observed in the micrometric particles. Nanocrystalline FeSn2 exhibits a much better electrochemical behavior and electrode stability than microcrystalline FeSn2.,battery
"Cumulative technological culture can be defined as the progressive diversification, complexification, and enhancement of technological traits through generations. An outstanding issue is to specify the cognitive bases of this phenomenon. Based on the literature, we identified four potential cognitive factors: namely, theory-of-mind, technical-reasoning, creativity, and fluid-cognitive skills. The goal of the present study was to test which of these factors—or a combination thereof—best predicted the cumulative performance in two experimental, micro-society conditions (Communication and Observation conditions; n = 100 each) differing in the nature of the interaction (verbal, visual) allowed between participants. The task was to build the highest possible tower. Participants were also assessed on the four aforementioned cognitive factors in order to predict cumulative performance (tower height) and attractiveness. Our findings indicate that technical-reasoning skills are the best predictor of cumulative performance (tower height), even if their role may be restricted to the specific technological domain. Theory-of-mind skills may have a facilitator role, particularly in the Communication condition. Creativity can also help in the generation of novel ideas, but it is not sufficient to support innovation. Finally, fluid cognition is not involved in cumulative technological culture. Taken together, these findings suggest that domain-specific knowledge (i.e., technical-reasoning skills) remains critical for explaining cumulative technological culture.
",non-battery
"We report a patient (MT) with a highly specific alexia affecting the identification of letters and words but not numbers. He shows a corresponding deficit in writing: his letter writing is impaired while number writing and written calculation is spared. He has no aphasia, no visuo-perceptual or -constructional difficulties, or other cognitive deficits. A similar pattern of performance has to our knowledge only been reported once before [Anderson, S. W., Damasio, A. R., & Damasio, H. (1990). Troubled letters but not numbers. Domain specific cognitive impairments following focal damage in frontal cortex. Brain, 113, 749–766]. This study shows that letter and number reading are dependent on dissociable processes. More interestingly, it points to a common mechanism subserving the perception and production of letters. We suggest that a deficit in a visuo-motor network containing knowledge of the physical shape of letters might explain the pattern of performance displayed by MT.",non-battery
"Sugarcane bagasse, a waste product of the sugarcane industry can be used as a precursor for the preparation of carbon. In this study, a composite consisting of hierarchically functionalized porous carbon (FPC) and β-FeOOH was synthesized via a simple and effective hydrolysis method. The hydrothermal process before the carbonization and activation of the bagasse maintained the hierarchical interconnected porous structure of the sugarcane bagasse. A nitric acid (HNO3) functionalization treatment enabled an in-situ growth of β-FeOOH on the hierarchically structured bagasse. When tested as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, the obtained FPC/β-FeOOH composite showed a high discharge capacity of 898.8 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 after 350 cycles and achieved a specific capacity of 446.1 mAh g−1 at a current rate of 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles together with a remarkable coulombic efficiency of 99.9%. This excellent electrochemical performance of the FPC/β-FeOOH composite can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the interconnected porous structure of porous carbon and the electrochemically active tunnel type β-FeOOH nanorods. The strategy developed here is promising in design and fabrication of other composites having interconnected porous structures with high performance.",battery
"Being widely considered a powerful tool for improving the capacity retention and rate capability of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, surface modification has never been applied for obtaining truly high-rate spinels. The stoichiometric LiMn2O4 and a material containing the LiMn2O4 core and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 shell with the shell/core mass ratio of 0.1:1 have been synthesized by means of a citric acid aided route. The samples studied have been characterized using thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The specific discharge capacities of LiMn2O4/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and LiMn2O4 at I =0.5C equal to 107 and 110mAhg−1, respectively. The surface coated LiMn2O4/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 shows up an exceptional high-rate ability being able to retain ca. 25mAhg−1 at the current load of 9620mAg−1 (65C), which is 1.625 times higher than for the unmodified LiMn2O4. Such exceptional high-rate properties and better cycling ability of the core-shell LiMn2O4/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 compared to parent compounds prove good prospects of surface modification techniques in improving rate capabilities of spinel materials.",battery
"Executive functions and, in particular, Attentional (active) Working Memory (WM) have been associated with fluid intelligence. The association contrasts with the hypothesis that children with ADHD exhibit problems with WM tasks requiring controlled attention and may have a good fluid intelligence. This paper examines whether children who are intelligent but present ADHD symptoms fail in attentional WM tasks. The latter result would be problematic for theories assuming the generality of a strict relationship between intelligence and WM. To study these issues, a battery of tests was administered to a group of 58 children who all displayed symptoms of ADHD. All children were between the age of 8 and 11 years, and were described by their teachers as smart. Children were compared to a control group matched for age, schooling, and gender. The battery included a test of fluid intelligence (Raven’s Coloured Matrices), and a series of visuospatial WM tasks. Results showed that children with ADHD were high in intelligence but significantly lower than the controls in WM tasks requiring high attentional control, whereas there was no difference in WM tasks requiring low attentional control. Furthermore, only high attentional control WM tasks were significantly related to Raven’s performance in the control group, whereas all WM tasks were similarly related in the ADHD group. It is concluded that performance in high attentional control WM tasks may be related to fluid intelligence, but also to a specific control component that is independent of intelligence and is poor in children with ADHD.
",non-battery
"Sodium pyrophosphate tetrabasic (SPT) is employed as an inorganic additive in the positive electrolyte of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) to improve its long-term stability and electrochemical performance. The results of precipitation tests show that the long-term stability of positive electrolytes (2MV(V) solution in 4M total sulfates with 0.05M SPT additive) is improved compared to the blank one. UV-vis and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements also suggest that the addition of SPT can effectively delay the formation of precipitation in positive electrolytes, and no new substances are formed in V(V) electrolytes with SPT. The calcined precipitates extracted from the electrolytes with and without a SPT additive are identified as V2O5 by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. A VRFB single-unit cell employing positive electrolytes with an additive exhibits the high energy efficiency of 74.6% at a current density of 40mA cm2 at the 500th cycle at 20°C, compared to 71.8% for the cell employing the electrolyte without an additive. Moreover, the cell employing the electrolyte with an additive exhibits less discharge capacity fading during cycling in comparison with the pristine one. The disassembled cell without an additive shows a large number of V2O5 precipitation particles on the felt electrode after 500 cycles. Meanwhile, the felt electrode of the cell with an additive has little precipitation. That precipitation gives rise to an imbalance between the positive and negative half-cell electrolytes, which results in a significant capacity loss. The additive has shown positive results under limited laboratory short-term and small-scale conditions.",battery
"Publisher Summary Most consumers are naive about the security of their wireless phone calls. The level of security required by an individual consumer will most likely be much less than that required by a unbounded mobile communications (UMC) enterprise solution, but all must have some level of security. The security motivations of a consumer and an enterprise solution will be different. In today's cellular world, security is embedded within the system, and the user is not required to take any action when attaching to the mobile network. Authentication is performed not based on the user but rather on the device. Once past the device authentication phase, a security key exchange protocol sequence is completed, and all signaling and audio traffic from the mobile handset through the mobile network is automatically encrypted. In such a state, any person may use this phone, but all information transmitted or received will be secure.",non-battery
"We report facile, one step synthesis of disordered graphitic carbon by high temperature (1000°C) pyrolysis of indanthrone dye (ID). The pyrolysed carbon is disordered in nature and the same is clearly evidenced by various analytical techniques like X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Na-insertion properties of such indanthrone dye derived disordered graphitic carbon (IDDGC) is evaluated in half-cell assembly (Na/IDDGC). The test cell delivered a reversible capacity of ∼160 mAhg−1 at current density of 25mAg−1. In addition, excellent cycling profiles are noted for such IDDGC, which retains ∼67% of initial reversible capacity after 500 cycles. The present study clearly highlights the importance of disorder in the graphitic carbon for efficient Na-ion storage.",battery
"Despite extremely high capacity of Si-based anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIB), Si-based materials have shown a structural collapse caused by a volumetric expansion/contraction during the cycling process. The conventional electrode structure, which consists of active materials, a current collector, a conducting agent, and a binder, actually showed a low loading of active material due to the other heavy components. In this study, we prepared a 3D flexible Si-composite electrode consisting of core (Si)-shell (Si3N4) NPs (Si@Si3N4) and carbon nanofibers (denoted as Si-composite/CNF). The Si-composite/CNF was directly utilized as an anode in the absence of the other components was electrochemically evaluated using a coin-type cell. The Si-composite/CNF showed a high capacity of 665mAhg−1 at a fairly high current density of 10Ag−1 and an extremely low capacity loss for 2000 cycles.",battery
"A neuropeptidase, neprilysin (NEP), is a major amyloid (Aβ)-degrading enzyme involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The olfactory system is affected early in AD with characteristic Aβ accumulation, but data on the dynamics of NEP expression in the olfactory system are absent. Our study demonstrates that NEP mRNA expression in rat olfactory bulbs (OB), entorhinal cortex (ECx), hippocampus (Hip), parietal cortex (PCx) and striatum (Str) increases during the first postnatal month being the highest in the OB and Str. By 3 months, NEP mRNA levels sharply decrease in the ECx, Hip and PCx and by 9 months in the OB, but not in the Str, which correlates with declining olfaction in aged rats tested in the food search paradigm. One-month-old rats subjected to prenatal hypoxia on E14 had lower NEP mRNA levels in the ECx, Hip and PCx (but not in the OB and Str) compared with the control offspring and demonstrated impaired olfaction in the odour preference and food search paradigms. Administration to these rats of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, sodium valproate, restored NEP expression in the ECx, Hip and PCx and improved olfaction. Our data support NEP involvement in olfactory function.
",non-battery
"Electronic structure changes of sulfurs in amorphous TiS3 and MoS3 for positive electrodes of all-solid-state lithium batteries are examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES). The all-solid-state cell with amorphous TiS3 electrode shows the reversible capacity of about 510 mAh g−1 for 10 cycles with sulfur-redox in amorphous TiS3 during charge-discharge process. On the other hand, the cell with amorphous MoS3 shows the 1st reversible capacity of about 720 mAh g−1. The obtained capacity is based on the redox of both sulfur and molybdenum in amorphous MoS3. The irreversible capacity of about 50 mAh g−1 is observed at the 1st cycle, which is attributed to the irreversible electronic structure change of sulfur during the 1st cycle. The electronic structure of sulfur in amorphous MoS3 after the 10th charge is similar to that after the 1st charge. Therefore, the all-solid-state cell with amorphous MoS3 electrode shows relatively good cyclability after the 1st cycle.",battery
"This work was focused on studies of structural and electrochemical properties of the La-doped AB2-type Zr/Ti-based metal hydride anode alloys. The Ti0.2Zr0.8La0-0.05Ni1.2Mn0.7V0.12Fe0.12 alloys were characterized using SEM, EDS and XRD, which concluded that the major C15 Laves type AB2 compound co-exists with a minor La-Ni intermetallic. NPD study indicated that vanadium together with Ti and Zr partially fills the A site, while the rest of V together with Ni, Mn and Fe statistically fills the B site. NPD showed that in a trihydride (Ti,Zr,V)(Ni,Mn,Fe,V)2D2.9 D atoms occupy A2B2 tetrahedra. The alloys were characterized during high-rate discharge and on cycling. La addition resulted in a significant improvement of the activation performance caused by a catalytic influence of LaNi hydride. The highest content of La greatly accelerated the activation, but it also caused an obvious decrease in discharge capacity and cycling stability. The alloy with an optimized La addition (x = 0.03) demonstrated a maximum discharge capacity of 420 mAh g−1 and the discharge capacity maintained at 79% at 0.71 C, while the capacity retention after 500 cycles was also high, 63%. Based on the EIS results, we conclude that the decay of the alloy electrode is related to the irreversible capacity loss and its pulverization.",battery
"This study reports on the novel and sustainable synthesis of high value carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) from waste tyre rubber (WTR), using an innovative high temperature approach. As waste tyres are composed, primarily, of carbon – accounting for some 81.2wt% – they represent a promising source of carbon for many potential applications. However, cost-effective options for their processing are limited and, consequently, billions of waste tyres have accumulated in landfills and stockpiles, posing a serious global environmental threat. The rapid, high temperature transformation of low value WTR to produce valuable CNPs, reported here, addresses this challenge. In this study, the transformation of WTRs was carried out at 1550°C over different reaction times (5s to 20min). The structure and morphology of the resulting CNPs were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), N2 isothermal adsorption method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The formation of CNPs with diameters of 30 and 40nm was confirmed by Field Emission Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). Longer heating times also resulted in CNPs with regular and uniform spherical shapes and a specific surface area of up to 117.7m2/g, after 20min. A mechanism that describes the formation of CNPs through mesophase nuclei intermediate is suggested.",non-battery
"Sodium has been recently attracted considerable attention as a promising charge carrier, but this sudden attention has made the strategy of research somewhat hazy, as most research reports are indeed the examination of typical materials rather than following a solid roadmap for developing practical cells. Although the history of sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) is as old as that of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the potential of NIB had been neglected for decades until recently. Most of the current electrode materials of NIBs have been previously examined in LIBs. Therefore, a better connection of these two sister energy storage systems can shed light on the possibilities for the pragmatic design of NIBs. The first step is to realise the fundamental differences between the kinetics and thermodynamics of Na as compared with those of Li. In fact, tiny differences between the electrochemical behaviours of these systems can lead us to new practical ideas for designing suitable materials. Furthermore, NIBs should be considered as new opportunities for energy storage rather than replacing LIBs. Hence, the subtle strategy of research is to learn from LIBs but not replicate them when designing NIBs.",battery
"The behavior of polymer electrolytes in lithium batteries is reviewed in the context of molecular scale models as well as on the system scale. It is shown how the molecular structure of the electrolyte strongly influences ion transport through the polymer as well as across the interfaces and determines the values of a number of parameters needed for system models that can predict the performance of the battery (e.g. κ, D, t 0 + and i 0). The interaction of the electrolyte with the electrodes not only leads to transfer of the lithium ion across the interface but also to side reactions that profoundly influence the calendar and life cycle of the battery. Typically these electrochemically induced side reactions generate the SEI layer, but inherent instability of the bulk electrolyte may also play a role in the formation of surface layers. These various reactions can lead to changes in the mechanical properties of the separator and electrode structure that promote life-limiting phenomena such as dendrite growth, passivation and morphology changes. The rheological model of Eisenberg is drawn upon to show how the interactions of the electrolyte with surfaces can lead to distinct changes in mechanical and transport properties that may limit the battery performance and lead to diminished performance with time. The molecular level models may be combined with the rheological models to provide workable models of the interfaces and bulk electrolyte dynamics that in turn can be used to provide a more accurate level of performance prediction from the system models. This connects molecular structure with battery performance and guides the design and synthesis of new and better materials.",battery
"A new zero-strain LiCaFeF6 cathode material for reversible insertion and extraction of lithium ions is presented. LiCaFeF6 is synthesized by a solid-state reaction and processed to a conductive electrode composite via high-energy ball-milling. In the first cycle, a discharge capacity of 112 mAh g−1 is achieved in the voltage range from 2.0 V to 4.5 V. The electrochemically active redox couple is Fe3+/Fe2+ as confirmed by Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The compound has a trigonal colquiriite-type crystal structure (space group P 3 ¯ 1 c ). By means of in situ and ex situ XRD as well as X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy a reversible response to Li uptake/release is found. For an uptake of 0.8 mol Li per formula unit only minimal changes occur in the lattice parameters causing a total change in unit cell volume of less than 0.5%. The spatial distribution of cations in the crystal structure as well as the linkage between their corresponding fluorine octahedra is responsible for this very small structural response. With its zero-strain behaviour this material is expected to exhibit only negligible mechanical degradation. It may be used as a cathode material in future lithium-ion batteries with strongly improved safety and cycle life.",battery
"In this paper, tris(trimethylsilyl)borate (TMSB) is evaluated as an electrolyte additive for the self-discharge suppression of 4.9 V LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode for lithium ion battery. The effect of TMSB on the surface properties of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 is investigated via linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), charge–discharge test, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is found that the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode charged to 4.9 V (vs. Li/Li+) suffers a serious self-discharge in 1 mol L−1 LiPF6–EC/DMC (1:2, in weight), which can be suppressed effectively by adding 1 wt.% TMSB into the electrolyte. After storage for 20 days, the voltage of the charged cathode decreases from 4.7 to 0.5 V (vs. Li/Li+) in the additive-free electrolyte, while that remains almost unchanged in the TMSB-containing electrolyte. The self-discharge suppression of the charged LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode results from the preferential oxidation of TMSB and the subsequent formation of a protective solid electrolyte interphase film, which prevents electrolyte decomposition and protects LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 from destruction.",battery
"Tungsten carbides materials exhibit highly efficient activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) as promising non-precious electrocatalysts. Herein, a N-doped graphene (NG) supported tungsten carbides composite material (W x C/NG-10, x =1, 2, x is stoichiometric number of W, 10 is the mole quantity of tungsten in the precursors, mmol) was directly synthesized with a simple method by two-step calcining the mixture of sodium tungstate dihydrate (Na2WO4·2H2O), dicyandiamide (DCDA) and glucose anhydrous (GA), which was characterized by HRTEM, FE-SEM, XRD, XPS, EDX, BET and Raman, and estimated the electrocatalytic activity by the LSV, Tafel curves, and electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS). The investigations indicate that W x C/NG-10, as an electrocatalyst for HER, achieves a lower overpotential of only 77.82mV at the current density of 10mAcm−2 and a Tafel slope of 45.95mVdec−1 in 0.5molL−1 H2SO4 aqueous. Additionally, the W x C/NG-10 has also possessed an electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity in 1.0molL−1 KOH aqueous with a lower overpotential of 467.6mV and a Tafel slope of 36.2mVdec−1. And after 10000 cycles the electrocatalytic active of W x C/NG-10 decrease 24.63% and 19.35% for HER and OER, respectively. The modification of W x C has improved the activity of NG materials in electrocatalytic applications.",battery
"Phosphate-based compounds with the high working voltage, such as Li3V2(PO4)3, LiVPO4F and LiMnPO4, have been proposed as a new class of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. To improve the operating voltage of LiFePO4, we introduce LiVPO4F to prepare xLiFePO4·(1 − x)LiVPO4F (LFP–LVPF) composites through an aqueous precipitation and carbothermal reduction method. A series of LFP-LVPF composites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. The discharge capacity of LFP–LVPF composites for x:(1 − x) = 1:0, 0.99:0.01, 0.75:0.25, 0.5:0.5, 0.25:0.75 and 0:1 at a 0.2 C-rate is 153, 160, 132, 106, 92 and 78 mAh g−1, respectively. The discharge capacity decreases with increasing mole fraction of LVPF. Moreover, the operating voltage of LFP-LVPF composites for x:(1 − x) = 0.75:0.25, 0.5:0.5 or 0.25:0.75 is higher than that of LFP, and the charge/discharge plateaus around 4.35/4.15 V for LFP-LVPF composites become longer as the value of x decreases.",battery
"The BEACH study is a continuous national study of general practice activity. Each year approximately 1000 randomly sampled GPs provide data about 100 000 encounters. It contains data about pathology ordered at these encounters. In 2009-2010, GPs ordered 45.0 pathology tests/batteries per 100 encounters or 29.3 per 100 problems. At least one pathology test order was recorded at 17.7% of encounters (for 13.2% of problems managed), chemistry tests accounting for more than half of all pathology tests. Since 2000, rises in the number of tested problems and the number of problems managed at GP encounters contributed to overall increases in the proportion of encounters involving a pathology test, and the number of tests ordered by GPs. BEACH pathology data have been used to investigate: • the problems responsible for the highest volume and growth of testing in primary care and how GPs’ testing behaviour in the management of these problems has changed; • the extent to which GP-ordered pathology for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, lipid disorders, weakness/tiredness, ‘health checks’ and overweight/obesity aligned with testing recommended in inter/national guidance; • expected volume of GP-ordered testing in 2020 using patient age-sex-specific test rates, extrapolated using GP-attendance rates and national population projections.",non-battery
"This paper demonstrates a new modified precipitated silica (SiO2) and PAN/TMS – poly(acrylonitrile)/sulfolane – polymeric matrix as a composite gel polymer electrolyte for a lithium-ion battery. Synthetic inorganic material was obtained by the emulsion method with cyclohexane as the organic phase and sodium silicate solution as a precipitating agent. The characterisation included determination of dispersion and morphology of the systems (particle size distribution, scanning electron microscope images), as well as impedance analysis, cyclic voltammetry and charging/discharging. It was found that the silica fillers were homogeneously dispersed in the polymeric matrix, while conductivity and electrochemical stability of porous polymer electrolytes were enhanced. Applicability of the prepared gel electrolytes for the Li-ion technology was estimated on the basis of specific conductivity measurements. Basic electrochemical properties of the composite gel polymer electrolyte was also presented based on PVdF-HFP/TMS/LiPF6/SiO2. A significantly poorer capacity and conductivity were observed. The Li|GPE|LiMn2O4 cell using modified SiO2 in the composite gel polymer electrolyte PAN/TMS shows a high discharge capacity.",battery
"In the charged condition, batteries are in a state of high energy relative to that of the system in the discharged state. Hence, there is a ‘driving force’, corresponding to the free energy of discharge, which tends to spontaneously diminish the charge if some mechanisms for self-discharge exist. We determined the self-discharge of Li/LiCoO2 cells from the decline of their open-circuit voltage and the rate of loss of the discharge capacity. In addition, we studied ac impedance of Li/LiCoO2 cells. Prevention of self-discharge is especially important for munitions that have remained in a state of disuse. In the case of nanocrystalline LiCoO2, cycle performance is superior to coarse-grained LiCoO2. However, self-discharge performance is inferior to coarse-grained LiCoO2. A better cycle performance of up to 200 cycles might be due to a well-formed SEI layer and smaller particle size in nanocrystalline LiCoO2.",battery
"Acute chest pain is a common diagnostic and management problem that places a considerable burden on emergency departments (EDs). Amongst a large group of patients with a good prognosis exists a small number of individuals harbouring a high risk of potentially fatal recurrent ischaemic events in the short to medium term. Rapid identification of these high risk patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a challenge. The detection of a raised cardiac troponin (cTn) is an integral part of the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However there are numerous causes for a raised troponin in patients presenting to the ED. The diagnosis of AMI requires evidence of a rise and/or fall of cTn in association with clinical evidence of myocardial ischaemia. Few studies have addressed the implications of the use of delta troponin in the ED, where the focus of both rapid identification of patients with an AMI and exclusion of serious pathology is required in a heterogenous population. The presentation will focus on the evidence of use of delta troponin in the ED for the diagnosis of AMI and other conditions. Results from ED-based research will be presented.",non-battery
"Patient acceptance is one of the major barriers toward widespread use of mHealth systems. The aim of this study was to assess system operability and whole trial feasibility, including patients’ experience with their use of COMMODITY12 mHealth system under. Secondary study aims included assessment of several metabolic parameters as well as patient adherence to the treatment. This was a prospective parallel-arm randomized controlled trial in outpatients diagnosed with DM2, being treated in the primary care settings in Lodz region, Poland, with 6 weeks period of follow-up. Patients opinions were collected with 7-item questionnaire, assessing different aspects of system use, as well as EuroQol-5D-5 L questionnaire, assessing health-related quality of life. Sixty patients (female, 24, male, 36, mean age +/− SD 59.5 +/− 6.8) completed study. All four layers of the COMMODITY12 system proved to work smooth under real-life conditions, without major problems. All dimensions of experience with system use were assessed well, with maximum values for clearness of instructions, and ease of use (4.80, and 4.63, respectively). Health related quality of life, as assessed with cumulative utility measure, improved significantly in COMMODITY12 system users (P < 0.05). mHealth system modestly improved glycaemic and blood pressure control, assuring high level of patient adherence with overall adherence reaching 92.9 %. Study proved that the COMODITY12 system is well accepted by type 2 diabetes patients taking part in clinical trial, leading to several clinical benefits, and improved quality of life. Nevertheless, before future commercialisation of the system, several minor problems identified during the study need to be addressed.
",non-battery
"Alloy anode with good reversibility of lithium plating/stripping and long cycling stability is considered as promising anode materials. Here, Cu–Sn alloy is used as the substrate for Li deposition to induce the most densely packed arrangement of Li atoms, thus presenting high lithiophilicity and improving Li plating behaviors. The LiFePO4-based full cell with the as-prepared dendrite-free Li metal anode retained at 85 mAh g−1 with a high coulombic efficiency of 99.5% after 300 cycles, presenting a capacity retention of 79.4%. This strategy provides a new perspective to structure dendrite-free Li anode for the next-generation high-energy density batteries.
",non-battery
"Thin layers of Pd–Pt–Au alloys were prepared by metal codeposition at constant potential from chloride solutions. The process of hydrogen electrosorption into Pd–Pt–Au alloys was investigated in acidic solution (0.5M H2SO4) using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, also coupled with the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. It was found that Pd alloying with both Pt and Au decreases the maximum hydrogen solubility, but improves the kinetics of absorbed hydrogen oxidation, which is mirrored in a negative shift of the potential of hydrogen desorption peak and shorter hydrogen desorption time. In Pd–Pt–Au alloys the effect of absorption/desorption hysteresis and the stresses connected with hydrogen absorption are reduced in comparison with pure Pd. After prior hydrogen absorption in Pd–Pt–Au alloys, surface oxides are formed and reduced at potentials even by 200mV lower than before hydrogen treatment.",battery
"Non-flammable rechargeable aqueous sodium-ion batteries (RASB) made from natural abundant resources offer promising opportunities in large-scale energy storage, yet the low energy density as well as low voltage output and the limited cycle life hinder their practical applications. Here, we develop a high-voltage RASB based on rhombohedral zinc hexacyanoferrate as cathode materials, carbon-coated NaTi2(PO4)3 as anode materials and ternary NaClO4-H2O-polyethylene glycol (Na-H2O-PEG) as electrolyte to overcome these drawbacks. Such an RASB can deliver a high voltage output of 1.6 V with a specific energy density of 59 Wh kg−1 based on the total mass of active electrode materials. In addition, it possesses an excellent rate capability as an ultra-capacitor (2.7 kW kg−1). The capacity retention more than 91% is obtained after 100 cycles. Finally, a reversible phase transformation between rhombohedral Zn3[Fe(CN)6]2 and rhombohedral Na2Zn3[Fe(CN)6]2 that are accompanied by the insertion/extraction of sodium ion in zinc hexacyanoferrate is unveiled.",battery
"This paper describes studies on the reduction of birnessite thin layers electrodeposited onto a cheap transparent semiconductor substrate, tin dioxide (SnO2), in neutral sulphate solutions. A coupled approach based on electrochemical measurements (cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterisation allowed us to give information about reduction mechanism of birnessite in presence or absence of Mn(II) in solution. In absence of Mn(II), birnessite is reduced only at low potential (E =−0.6V) into β-MnOOH (feitkneichtite), if Q reduction is lower than Q synthesis, and in amorphous Mn(II) compound, if Q reduction is equal to Q synthesis. In presence of Mn(II) in solution, hausmannite (Mn3O4) was detected, and even at high potentials (E =0.15V). These results signify that a complex between Mn(III), coming from the reduction of Mn(IV) species, and Mn(II) present in solution, can be formed near the surface and leads to the formation of Mn3O4, a very resistive compound. These results are important for studies devoted to environmental applications, chemical sensors and also for energy storage.",battery
"A novel graphene-containing Li2FeSiO4 composite (Li2FeSiO4/C/G) has been synthesized successfully which shows superior performance when used as the cathode material for lithium ion batteries. The Li2FeSiO4/C precursor was synthesized via a modified sol-gel method and mixed with graphene oxide nanosheets which were then reduced by annealing to obtain electron conductive graphene. The structure characterizations by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) show that phase-pure Li2FeSiO4/C nanoparticles are mixed homogeneously with graphene nanosheets. When used as the cathode materials for rechargeable lithium ion batteries, the composite Li2FeSiO4/C/G shows superior large capacities and long-time cyclabilities. Specific discharge capacities of 310 mAh g−1, corresponding to 1.86 Li+ ions exchange per Li2FeSiO4 molecule, can be reached at the charging/discharging rate of 0.1C (1C=166mAg−1). At the high rate of 30C and 50C, the composite still shows ∼110 and ∼50 mAh g−1 discharge capacities after 1000 charging-discharging cyclings. These superior–the best up to now–performances of the composite are believed to be the cooperative result of the 3D conducting network, formed by the flexible and planar graphene nanosheets, and the nanoscale sizes of the carbon-coated Li2FeSiO4 particles.",battery
"As the use of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) further increases in the coming decades, a growing stream of batteries will reach the end of their service lives. Here we study the potential of those batteries to be used in second-life applications to enable the expansion of intermittent renewable electricity supply in California through the year 2050. We develop and apply a parametric life-cycle system model integrating battery supply, degradation, logistics, and second-life use. We calculate and compare several metrics of second-life system performance, including cumulative electricity delivered, energy balance, greenhouse gas (GHG) balance, and energy stored on invested. We find that second-life use of retired PEV batteries may play a modest, though not insignificant, role in California's future energy system. The electricity delivered by second-life batteries in 2050 under base-case modeling conditions is 15 TWh per year, about 5% of total current and projected electricity use in California. If used instead of natural gas-fired electricity generation, this electricity would reduce GHG emissions by about 7 million metric tons of CO2e per year in 2050.",battery
"The year 2008 saw the emergence of the first generation of commercial ocean energy devices, with the first units being installed in the UK and Portugal. This means that there are currently four ways of obtaining energy from sea areas, namely from wind, tides, waves and thermal differences between deep and shallow sea water. This paper focuses on current developments in offshore wind and ocean energy, highlighting the efforts currently underway in a variety of countries, principally some of the projects typically less talked about such as those in the Asian-Pacific countries. Finally, the growth potential of these industries will be assessed, using as a basis the historical trends in the offshore wind industry and extrapolating it to compute future growth potentials. Using this as a basis, the percentage of the world’s electricity that could be produced from ocean based devices is estimated to be around 7% by 2050, and this would employ a significant amount of people by this time, possibly around 1 million, mostly in the maintenance of existing installations. The paper will also evaluate the likely cost of production per kW of ocean energy technologies using a variety of learning factors.",battery
"The dual influences of the resource supply and protection in ecological environments will pose a significant challenge to China’s sustainable development. Solid waste management offers opportunities to improve profits by conserving resources and improving environmental performance. This paper examines municipal solid waste (MSW) management in urban Chongqing, the nation’s fourth largest municipality after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. In this paper, we will provide information on the quantity and composition of MSW, as well as give an overview of different methods for collection, transport, treatment and disposal of MSW. At present the daily amount of MSW generated per person is about 1.08kg; food waste accounts for about 59% of total MSW. MSW in Chongqing has a higher moisture content (64.1%) and a lower LHV (3728kJ/kg) than other cities in Asia, which is an obstruction for incineration. Landfills are the main method of disposal in Chongqing, but pollution caused by simple landfills and lack of backup MSW disposal capacity are becoming major problems in the main districts of Chongqing. In this paper, the challenges being faced and opportunities to MSW in Chongqing are analyzed and some suggestions are given for improving the MSW system in the future.",non-battery
Two large-scale resources for studying microRNA function are presented: one is a library of fluorescent sensors with a corresponding assay for global profiling of microRNA activity in different cell types; the other is a decoy library for suppressing microRNA activity individually or in pooled loss-of-function screens.,non-battery
"Definition, evaluation and management of concussion are contentious issues in sports medicine, and evidence-based guidelines on these issues are urgently needed. An updated practice parameter on sport-related concussion from the AAN is, therefore, timely. However, these new guidelines fail to meet the needs of clinicians in this field.
",non-battery
"Facile and scalable fabrication of high-performing sulfur cathodes is challenging in the commercialization of Li–S batteries. The authors report a strategy of simply burning Li foils in a CS2 vapour for the cathode design, which shows promising battery performance.
",battery
"Genetic factors may partly account for between-person differences in brain integrity in old age. Evidence from human and animal studies suggests that the dopaminergic system is implicated in the modulation of white-matter integrity. We investigated whether a genetic variation in the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism, which influences dopamine availability in prefrontal cortex, contributes to interindividual differences in white-matter microstructure, as measured with diffusion-tensor imaging. In a sample of older adults from a population-based study (60–87 years; n = 238), we found that the COMT polymorphism affects white-matter microstructure, indexed by fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity, of several white-matter tracts in the oldest age group (81–87 years), although there were no reliable associations between COMT and white-matter microstructure in the two younger age groups (60–66 and 72–78 years). These findings extend previous observations of magnified genetic effects on cognition in old age to white-matter integrity.",non-battery
"Doping with Sn and Ca is seen to improve the reversibility and charging efficiency of lead anodes used in lead acid batteries. However, one drawback of these materials is their increased corrosion rate as compared to pure lead anodes. In the present investigation, the dissolution of Pb–Sn and Pb–Sn–Ca alloys has been evaluated under different float charge conditions for extended periods of time. The float potential has been optimized based on minimum anode dissolution and oxygen evolution. Extended cycling studies show that doping with Sn maintains the reversibility of the anode. In order to minimize the weight of the anode, a small amount of Sn was coated on Pb by electrodeposition. The coated electrode reveals similar reversibility and dissolution characteristics as the Sn doped anode. Electrodeposition is seen to offer an inexpensive route for increasing the charging efficiency of Pb anodes in lead acid cells without increasing the weight of the battery.",battery
"The electrochemical behavior of mixed Ru–Sn oxides fabricated by a modified sol–gel process and a co-annealing method are systematically compared (using cyclic voltammetric and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic analyses), for the application of supercapacitors. Influences of annealing temperature and time on the specific capacitance and textural properties of oxides are also studied. Based on the quasi-linear dependence of voltammetric current density on the scan rate of CV (from 25 to 500mVs−1), the lowest proton diffusion resistance, and the high-frequency (∼426Hz) capacitive responses of the co-annealed composite (RTOCco) as well as its ease in composition control, co-annealing of hydrous RuO2 and SnO2 at 200°C for 2h is recommended as a promising and practical method for preparing mixed oxides in the supercapacitor application.",battery
"Poor stability of lithium metal anodes in liquid electrolytes hinders its practical application in rechargeable batteries with very high energy density. Herein, we present an approach to tackle the intrinsic problems of Li metal anodes from the standpoint of separators. By a facile and versatile method based on mussel-inspired surface chemistry, a hybrid polydopamine/octaammonium POSS (PDA/POSS) coating was spontaneously formed on the surface of PE separators through the self-polymerization and strong adhesion feature of dopamine. This ultrathin PDA/POSS coating endows PE separators with different surface characteristics while keeping its microporous structure almost unchanged. The altered surface characteristics influence the separator/electrolyte interaction, and lead to remarkable enhanced ionic conductivity (from 0.36 mS cm−1 to 0.45 mS cm−1) and Li+ ion transference number (from 0.37 to 0.47) of PE separators as well as the improved stability of lithium/electrolyte interface, which effectively decreases the electrode polarization and suppresses the lithium dendrites formation, contributing to superior C-rates capability and cycling performance of cells.",battery
"Surface structures of the bare and AlPO4-coated LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 particles in two electrolytes after 90°C for 4h storage were investigated using transmission electron microscope (TEM). The structure of bare LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 particles in common electrolyte has been destructed from the layered structure with space group R-3m at interior region to a rock-salt phase (Fm-3m) at edge of the surface layer of the cycled particles, while AlPO4-coated LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 particles in common electrolyte has been transformed into a spinel phase (Fd-3m) on the surfaces of the cycled particles. However, the surface structure of bare LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 particles in functional electrolyte has not been changed. The results showed that functional electrolyte can more effectively improve thermal stability of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode cells than the AlPO4 coating.",battery
"Cho et al. reported that coating LiCoO2 with oxides can improve the capacity retention of LiCoO2 cycled to 4.4V. Since that time, a number of other groups have confirmed that finding. This review article summarizes some of this early work and then focuses on work from our laboratory that helps clarify the role of the coating in cells charged to 4.5V. We confirm that 30% higher energy density than that accessed by LiCoO2 normally used in a commercial cell (upper cut-off potential of 4.2V) can be obtained with excellent capacity retention. An in situ XRD study proves that the mechanism for the improvement in capacity retention by coating proposed by Cho et al. is incorrect. Further experiments described here identify the suppression of impedance growth in the cell as the key reason for the improvement caused by coating. Other methods that are also able to suppress the impedance growth associated with repeated charging to 4.5V have been developed to improve the energy density of LiCoO2 without sacrificing capacity retention. Good capacity retention cannot be attained for cycling LiCoO2 above 4.5V with respect to Li metal, presumably because of the structural changes between the O3 phase and the H1-3 phase that occur near 4.55V.",battery
 To describe the feasibility and acceptability of a 6-month web-based multidomain lifestyle training intervention for community-dwelling older people and to test the effects of the intervention on both function- and lifestyle-related outcomes.,non-battery
"Progressive visual complaints related to visuospatial disorders, and less often to visuoperceptual disorders, may be the presenting and isolated manifestation of a focal degeneration in the posterior cortical areas, called posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). PCA is a clinical syndrome corresponding to a focal variant of Alzheimer's disease in 80% of cases. The predominant dysfunction in the occipitoparietal pathways results in predominant visuospatial disorders, manifesting primarily as dorsal simultanagnosia, alone or associated with other symptoms of Balint's syndrome. PCA is rare and affects young patients who are fully aware of their deficits. Diagnosis of PCA is often delayed, due to insidious onset and development of symptoms, and to poor awareness of the condition in the medical community. An earlier diagnosis requires both better knowledge of PCA among ophthalmologists and neurologists and better recognition of visual complaints, leading to simple bedside tasks that can tackle the syndrome.",non-battery
"Partial substitution of Mn in lithium manganese oxide spinel materials by Cu and Ni greatly affects the electrochemistry and the cycle life characteristics of the cathode. Substitution with either metal or a combination of both metals in the spinel lattice structure reduces the 3.9–4.2V potential plateaus associated with the conversion of Mn3+ to Mn4+. Higher potential plateau associated with oxidation of the substituted transition elements is also observed. These substituents also significantly alter the onset of Jahn–Teller distortions in the 3V potential plateau. Synchrotron based in situ X-ray absorption (XAS) was used to determine the exact nature of the oxidation state changes in order to explain the overall observed capacities at different potential plateaus. The studies on LiCu0.5Mn1.5O4 show single phase behavior in the 4–5V potential region with a good cycle life. Lower cycle life characteristic observed in cycling LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and LiNi0.25Cu0.25Mn1.5O4 versus Li metal are ascribed to coexistence of several phases in this potential region. However, LiCu0.5Mn1.5O4 shows onset of Jahn–Teller distortions in the 3V potential plateau, in contrast to LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and LiNi0.25Cu0.25Mn1.5O4 cathode materials.",battery
"Previously, we reported that oxidative stress caused by sulfur amino acid deficiency (SD) induces B cell translocation gene-1 (Btg-1), which belongs to the Apro family, in hepatocytes. In view of the impairment of immune function by protein restriction that causes SD, this study investigated whether SD or other oxidative stress inhibits iNOS and cytokine expression and induces Btg-1 in macrophages and explored the causal relationship of Btg-1 induction and repression of the genes. When macrophages were incubated in sulfur amino acid-deprived medium, lipopolysaccharide induction of iNOS, TNFα, IL-1β, and IL-6 was significantly decreased compared to control. Because AP-1 and NF-κB are the common transcription factors that regulate the genes encoding iNOS and cytokines, we examined AP-1 and NF-κB DNA binding activities and transactivation of the iNOS gene containing the DNA binding elements. Induction of the reporter gene pGL-miNOS-1588 comprising the −1.6 kb iNOS promoter in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages was inhibited 30–70% by SD or treatment with pro-oxidants, including tert-butylhydroxyquinone, buthionine sulfoximine, and 3-morpholinosydnonimine. Oxidative stress increased Btg-1 mRNA. SD-induced oxidative stress activated Btg-1 in macrophages, as evidenced by nuclear translocation of endogenous or green fluorescent protein-tagged Btg-1, which localized in the cytoplasm in the resting state. Expression of Btg-1 inhibited lipopolysaccharide-inducible AP-1 and NF-κB activities, repressing transactivation of the target gene pGL-miNOS-1588. These results provide evidence that oxidative stress induced by SD or pro-oxidants inhibits the expression of iNOS and cytokines in macrophages with Btg-1 activation and that the gene repression by oxidative stress may result from Btg-1-mediated inhibition of AP-1 and NF-κB activities.",non-battery
"Reduced levels of the cellular antioxidant glutathione are associated with premature skin aging, cancer and impaired wound healing, but the in vivo functions of glutathione in the skin remain largely unknown. Therefore, we analyzed mice lacking the modifier subunit of the glutamate cysteine ligase (Gclm), the enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of glutathione biosynthesis. Glutathione levels in the skin of these mice were reduced by 70 %. However, neither skin development and homeostasis, nor UVA- or UVB-induced apoptosis in the epidermis were affected. Histomorphometric analysis of excisional wounds did not reveal wound healing abnormalities in young Gclm-deficient mice, while the area of hyperproliferative epithelium as well as keratinocyte proliferation were affected in aged mice. These findings suggest that low levels of glutathione are sufficient for wound repair in young mice, but become rate-limiting upon aging.
",non-battery
"A polymer electrolyte based on microporous poly(vinylidene fluoride–co-hexafluoropropane) (PVdF–HFP) film was studied for use in lithium ion batteries. The microporous PVdF–HFP (Kynar 2801) matrix was prepared from a cast of homogeneous mixture of PVdF–HFP and solvents such as ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC). After evaporation of DMC and EMC, a sold film of the PVdF–HFP and the EC mixture was obtained. EC-rich phase started its formation in the PVdF–HFP/EC film at EC content of about 60 wt.% based on the total weight of PVdF–HFP and EC. The formation of the new phase resulted in the abrupt increase of the porosity of the PVdF–HFP matrix from 32 to 62%. The ionic conductivity of the film soaked in 1 M LiPF6–EC/DMC=1/1 was significantly increased from order of 10−4 S/cm to order of 10−3 S/cm at the EC content of 60 wt.%. Thermal and spectroscopic investigations showed that most of the EC interact with PVdF–HFP with the EC content being below 60 wt.%. MCMB/polymer electrolyte/LiCoO2 cells employing the microporous PVdF–HFP polymer film showed stable charging/discharging characteristics at 1C rate and good rate capability.",battery
"With wide application of electric vehicles and large-scale in energy storage systems, the requirement of secondary batteries with higher power density and better safety gets urgent. Owing to the merits of high theoretical capacity, relatively low cost and suitable discharge voltage, much attention has been paid to the transition metal sulfides. Recently, a large amount of research papers have reported about the application of transition metal sulfides in lithium ion batteries. However, the practical application of transition metal sulfides is still impeded by their fast capacity fading and poor rate performance. More well-focused researches should be operated towards the commercialization of transition metal sulfides in lithium ion batteries. In this review, recent development of using transition metal sulfides such as copper sulfides, molybdenum sulfides, cobalt sulfides, and iron sulfides as electrode materials for lithium ion batteries is presented. In addition, the electrochemical reaction mechanisms and synthetic strategy of transition metal sulfides are briefly summarized. The critical issues, challenges, and perspectives providing a further understanding of the associated electrochemical processes are also discussed.",battery
"MoO3 has been reported as attractive candidate of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In this article, a facile one-pot citric-nitrate method is proposed to synthesize MoO3/C nano-composite, which is of general applicability for other oxide/carbon anode materials. The synthesized MoO3/C presents a core–shell structure feature with a thin carbon layer coating on the surface of nano-crystalline MoO3. The MoO3/C anode exhibits superior electrochemical performance, a specific capacity of about 500 mAh g−1 in the voltage range of 0.01–3.0 V vs. Li/Li+ can be maintained after 100 cycles.",battery
"The chemical–physical properties of a ternary solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) system consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) and two salts, namely lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and the ionic liquid N-methyl-N-butyl-pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Pyr14TFSI), are reported in this work. The ternary phase diagram shows the composition limits of the thermodynamically stabilized amorphous phase where the polymer electrolyte achieved the maximum conductivity. The important conductivity threshold of 10−3 Scm−1 at 40°C is exceeded for these compositions. Two reasons for the high conductivity are identified; the decreased overall coordination to the Li+-ion and a T g as low as −67°C. Also presented is the thermal stability characterization of such polymer electrolytes. The amorphous phase seems to be thermodynamically unfavored; however, the recrystallization process is slow.",battery
"Objective Behavioral interventions designed to improve functioning of older patients with schizophrenia and other chronic psychotic disorders have the potential to significantly increase patients' independence and quality of life. This study evaluated a psychosocial intervention designed to improve everyday living skills of middle-aged and older outpatients with chronic psychotic disorders. Methods A total of 240 patients with a DSM-IV-based chart diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated in a 24-week, randomized controlled trial comparing a behavioral group intervention called “Functional Adaptations and Skills Training” (FAST; n =124) to a time-equivalent attention-control (AC; n =116) group focused on improving functional skills. Results Compared to participants randomized to AC, those in the FAST intervention demonstrated significant improvement in everyday living skills (p =.046) and social skills (p =.003), but not medication management skills (p =.268). Conclusions Results suggest that middle-aged and older patients with psychotic disorders may benefit from participation in interventions designed specifically to improve functional skills.",non-battery
"A novel cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, carbon-coated Li3V2(PO4)3 particles which anchored onto graphene sheets (Li3V2(PO4)3@C/graphene) have been prepared by a modified Pechini method. It is first proposed that the graphene oxide can act as a chelating agent in the reaction process. The nanocomposite is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and element analysis. The composite shows excellent C-rate performance, delivered capacities of 104, 91 and 85mAhg−1 at 5, 30 and 50C in the voltage range of 3.0–4.3V, respectively. Moreover, the cycling performance is also improved in higher voltage range of 3.0–4.8V. The capacity retention is 83% with the capacity of 131mAhg−1 at 10C after 100 cycles. The outstanding features are desirable and enable the material to be an excellent cathode for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"To save the risk during the pregnancies in remote areas (where women cannot approach the doctors in the urban areas for proper check-ups), the authors have proposed an IoT based remote monitoring of pregnant ladies where the data is collected at the cloud server. Machine learning techniques will be applied on the trimesters’ attributes to find out the reasons of mortality rate of the babies. The use of these advanced technologies in pregnant women care environment can absolutely eradicate the pregnancy complications and harmful incidents. An initial work towards this study is to assess mortality risk prediction in pregnant ladies using machine-learning algorithms for proper prediction and treatment on time. A dataset of 10,000 pregnant women is analysed in this study. Classification algorithms are used to check the death rate of new born babies based on the mother’s age. The survival ratio is presented by applying the various algorithms. Two class SVM model is presented as the most accurate prediction model which outperformed over boosted decision tree, average perceptron, decision forest, locally deep SVM, Bayes point machine, decision forest and logistic regression. Age of the mother and frequency of the pregnancy without proper gap (i.e. less than 3 years) make impact on the mortality rate of the babies. Among the various algorithms, the AUC value of decision forest is augmented at 91.4% whereas two class SVM shows significantly improved performance to 96.6%. The authors have proposed machine learning-based final model, death rate of infants, frequency of pregnancy and age of the mother were interrelated as notable risk factors for mortality in Indian ladies along with other issues.
",non-battery
"An explosion of a lithium–thionyl-chloride (Li–SOCl2) battery during production (assembly) leads to serious worker injury. The accident cell batch had been in a dry-air intermediate storage room for months before being readied with thionyl chloride electrolyte. Metallic lithium can react with atmospheric nitrogen to produce lithium nitride. Nodules of lithium nitride were found to be present on the lithium foil in other cells of the accident batch. The investigation attributed the explosion to the formation of porous lithium nitride during intermediate storage and a violent exothermal decomposition with the SOCl2–LiAlCl4 electrolyte triggered by welding. The literature is silent on hazards of explosion of Li–SOCl2 cells associated with the presence of lithium nitride. The silence is intriguing. Possible causes may be that such explosions are very rare, that explosions go unpublished precisely as this case initially did, or a combination of the two.",non-battery
"Time–activity data are traditionally collected by telephone interviews or through paper diaries, which are time consuming and costly. As a potential alternative that may greatly save staff time, a web survey to collect time–activity data was developed and tested in this study. We collected 24-h recall web diaries from 151 parents of young children mostly under 55 years of age (who also answered for their children) and 55 older adults (≥55 years of age) both on a weekday and a weekend day every 3 months during an 18-month period. The performance and reliability of the web surveys collected were evaluated, including the survey-completion rate, and the percentage of surveys with unreasonable time being reported as spent sleeping and with missing reports of being in transit between locations. We also compared the web-survey data with time–activity information we collected from the same subjects in telephone interviews and found that these data sources were fairly consistent with each other. However, we observed slightly more compliance issues for the web than the telephone survey, but most of these issues could be addressed and minimized by refining some questions or the survey interface. Our study suggests that it is critical to reduce participants' burden and improve survey interface design for optimal compliance and data quality. In conclusion, web surveys are a promising method to consider for time–activity data collection.
",non-battery
"Natural abundance and low cost of sodium resources bring forward the sodium-ion batteries as a promising alternative to widely-used lithium-ion batteries. However, insufficient energy density and low cycling stability of current sodium-ion batteries hinder their practical use for next-generation smart power grid and stationary storage applications. Electrospun carbon microfibers have recently been introduced as a high-performance anode material for sodium-ion batteries. However, electrospinning is not feasible for mass production of carbon microfibers due to its complex processing condition, low production rate and high cost. Herein, we report centrifugal spinning, a high-rate and low-cost microfiber production method, as an alternative approach to electrospinning for carbon microfiber production and introduce centrifugally-spun carbon microfibers (CMFs) and porous carbon microfibers (PCMFs) as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Electrochemical performance results indicated that the highly porous nature of centrifugally-spun PCMFs led to increased Na+ storage capacity and improved cycling stability. The reversible capacity of centrifugally-spun PCMF anodes at the 200th cycle was 242 mAh g−1, which was much higher than that of centrifugally-spun CMFs (143 mAh g−1). The capacity retention and coulombic efficiency of the centrifugally-spun PCMF anodes were 89.0% and 99.9%, respectively, even at the 200th cycle.",battery
"For lithium ion batteries (LIBs), low electronic conductivity of CuO leads to rapid capacity decay and poor structural stability. Herein, we successfully fabricate three-dimensional CuO nanoflake arrays coated Cu foam by facile and efficient electrochemical oxidation. When being applied as anode material for LIBs, the CuO electrodes deliver stable reversible capacities of 523.9 mA h g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, 376.1 mA h g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 and 322.7 mA h g−1 at 2.0 A g−1 with high coulombic efficiency (>99%) after 100 cycles. A long cycle life of up to 400 cycles at 2.0 A g−1 is also achieved with the retention capacity of 193.5 mA h g−1. Moreover, the electrode exhibits excellent rate capability and can regain its original capacities as reversing to the low current densities. Noticeably, on-line differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and in situ Raman measurements confirm the formation of solid electrolyte interface film and the conversion mechanism for the CuO electrodes, respectively. The superior lithium storage performance can be attributed to the favorable nanoflake structures with high surface area and the perfect electrical contact between CuO and Cu substrate.",battery
"The construction of advanced cathode materials is indispensable and vital for developing high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries. Herein, we develop a facile in-situ route to synthesize three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide supported Li2S/carbon composite (3D-rGO-Li2S/C). The Li2S/C nanoparticles are intimately anchored on the surface of 3D-rGO forming an integrated 3D porous composite. Due to the improved conductivity and reduced polysulfide dissolution, the 3D-rGO-Li2S/C cathode exhibits enhanced electrochemical performances with a high initial capacity of 819 mAh g−1 at 0.1C, as well as good cycling stability with a capacity retention of 415 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 1C. The integrated 3D conductive network is responsible for the enhancement of the electrochemical properties by providing fast ion/electron transfer and high mechanical stability.",battery
The sine wave discussed in Chapter 5 is an example of a periodic function or a function that repeats regularly. When current alternates periodically between positive and negative values it's known as alternating current (AC). AC electricity has some unique properties as we'll soon see.,non-battery
"Effect of the compactness of the lithium chloride layer formed on the carbon cathode on the electrochemical reduction of SOCl2 electrolyte in Li–SOCl2 primary battery was investigated using ac-impedance spectroscopy and potentiostatic current transient technique. From the facts that the straight lines of the Nyquist plots of the ac-impedance spectra and the peak-like runs of the plot of It 1/2 versus log t were observed from the pure carbon cathode, it was suggested that the porous layer of lithium chloride deposited on the pure carbon cathode was relatively compact enough to strongly impede the diffusion of SOCl2 through it, and hence the rate-controlling step for overall SOCl2 reduction is changed from the ‘interfacial reaction between the pure carbon cathode and electrolyte’ to the ‘diffusion of SOCl2 through the porous lithium chloride layer’. On the other hand, any of the straight lines of the Nyquist plots of the ac-impedance spectra and of the peak-like courses of the plot of It 1/2 versus log t can not be found in the Co–phthalocyanine (Pc)-incorporated carbon cathode. Thus, it was concluded that the porous layer of lithium chloride formed on the Co–Pc-incorporated carbon cathode was relatively porous enough to considerably facilitate the diffusion of SOCl2 through it, and hence the overall reduction rate of SOCl2 is governed by the ‘interfacial reaction between the Co–Pc-incorporated carbon cathode and electrolyte’ throughout the whole discharge of the Li–SOCl2 batteries.",battery
"This study developed an online suboptimal energy management system by using improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) for engine/motor hybrid electric vehicles. The vehicle was modeled on the basis of second-order dynamics, and featured five major segments: a battery, a spark ignition engine, a lithium battery, transmission and vehicle dynamics, and a driver model. To manage the power distribution of dual power sources, the IPSO was equipped with three inputs (rotational speed, battery state-of-charge, and demanded torque) and one output (power split ratio). Five steps were developed for IPSO: (1) initialization; (2) determination of the fitness function; (3) selection and memorization; (4) modification of position and velocity; and (5) a stopping rule. Equivalent fuel consumption by the engine and motor was used as the fitness function with five particles, and the IPSO-based vehicle control unit was completed and integrated with the vehicle simulator. To quantify the energy improvement of IPSO, a four-mode rule-based control (system ready, motor only, engine only, and hybrid modes) was designed according to the engine efficiency and rotational speed. A three-loop Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) was coded as the best case. The simulation results revealed that IPSO searches the optimal solution more efficiently than conventional PSO does. In two standard driving cycles, ECE and FTP, the improvements in the equivalent fuel consumption and energy consumption compared to baseline were (24.25%, 45.27%) and (31.85%, 56.41%), respectively, for the IPSO. The CO2 emission for all five cases (pure engine, rule-based, PSO, IPSO, ECMS) was compared. These results verify that IPSO performs outstandingly when applied to manage hybrid energy. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) implementation and a real vehicle test will be conducted in the near future.",battery
"LiFePO4 was synthesized by a high temperature method and high purity was confirmed by both powder X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis. It can deliver 136Ah/kg, 80% of theoretical capacity at 1mA/cm2 at high cathode load levels at room temperature; 100% capacity can be obtained by raising the temperature to 60°C or reducing the discharge rate to 0.1mA/cm2. The method of carbon addition/coating was not found to be critical, carbon black being as efficient as in situ formed carbon coatings. These materials suffer from a low volumetric energy density, which will seriously impact their possible application. Stabilized layered structures of manganese substituted nickel oxides, such as LiMn0.4Co0.2Ni0.4O2, show a behavior typical of a single phase intercalation reaction, and a reversible capacity of around 180Ah/kg with an upper voltage cut-off of 4.3V. Stabilized δ-structures of vanadium pentoxide show capacities approaching 300Ah/kg, but with a median discharge potential of 2.6V.",battery
"From mixed (anatase and rutile) bulk particles, anatase TiO2 nanotubes are synthesized in this study by an alkaline hydrothermal reaction and a consequent annealing at 300–400°C. The physical and electrochemical properties of the TiO2 nanotube are investigated for use as an anode active material for lithium-ion batteries. Upon the first discharge–charge sweep and simultaneous impedance measurements at local potentials, this study shows that interfacial resistance decreases significantly when passing lithium ions through a solid electrolyte interface layer at the lithium insertion/deinsertion plateaus of 1.75/2.0V, corresponding to the redox potentials of anatase TiO2 nanotubes. For an anatase TiO2 nanotube containing minor TiO2(B) phase obtained after annealing at 300°C, the high-rate capability can be strongly enhanced by an isotropic dispersion of TiO2 nanotubes to yield a discharge capacity higher than 150mAhg−1, even upon 100 cycles of 10C-rate discharge–charge operations. This is suitable for use as a high-power anode material for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor based on tris(2,2′-bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)3 2+)/electrospun carbon nanofiber (CNF)/Nafion composite films was demonstrated for the determination of atropine. The voltammetric and ECL behaviors of the presented sensor were investigated. The results indicated that the addition of CNF in the composite films could increase the current and ECL intensity of Ru(bpy)3 2+, which were subjected to diffusion-controlled processes. Under optimal experimental conditions, the proposed ECL sensor exhibited a wide linear range (r = 0.9967) of 1 × 10−7–1 × 10−4 M with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 1 × 10−7 M for atropine. The relative standard deviation for 1 × 10−5 M atropine is 2.86% (n = 7), and the present ECL sensor displayed outstanding stability. The ECL sensor was also utilized for the determination of atropine in urine samples, and the recovery was in the range of 81%–88%.",non-battery
"The spontaneous conversion of formal residential and commercial buildings into high-density, informal housing is a major policy issue in the inner cities of developing countries. Yet there remains little research material to date analysing the residence dynamics, environmental health and related policy implications of this form of settlement. This paper presents and compares findings from two preliminary studies of informal sub-divided housing in the cities of São Paulo, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa. It points to some of the policy implications of the work, in the light of broader debate on the management of informal settlements, and calls for further research examining this housing form within developing countries.",non-battery
"Herein, we report the synthesis of metallic molybdenum microspheres and hierarchical MoS2 nanostructures by facile template-free solvothermal and hydrothermal approach, respectively. The morphological transition of the Mo microspheres to hierarchical MoS2 nanoflower architectures is observed to be accomplished with change in solvent from ethylenediamine to water. The resultant marigold flower-like MoS2 nanostructures are few layers thick with poor crystallinity while spherical ball-like molybdenum microspheres exhibit better crystalline nature. This is the first report pertaining to the synthesis of Mo microspheres and MoS2 nanoflowers without using any surfactant, template or substrate in hydro/solvothermal regime. It is opined that such nanoarchitectures of MoS2 are useful candidates for energy related applications such as hydrogen evolution reaction, Li ion battery and pseudocapacitors. Inquisitively, metallic Mo can potentially act as catalyst as well as fairly economical Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrate in biosensor applications.",non-battery
"Transition metal sulfides (TMS) are considered as anode candidates for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to the high theoretical specific capacity and natural abundance. Herein, Co3S4@1T MoS2/NC-L hierarchical nanosheets, in which bimetallic sulfides are integrated into N-doped carbon, has been designed and prepared via calcination of leaf-like Co-ZIF (ZIF-L) precursor followed by hydrothermal sulfuration reaction. When evaluated as anode for SIBs, the Co3S4@1T MoS2/NC-L hierarchical nanosheets offer enhanced pseudocapacitance effect, fast Na+ kinetics in the heterogenous interface of bimetallic sulfides and small polarization, achieving an delightful reversible capacity of 595 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and rate capability of 338 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1. Moreover, the fine structural stability and mutual affinity of bimetallic sulfides under high cutoff voltage hinder the loss of sodium polysulfide during conversion reaction, promoting the long cycling stability of hierarchical nanosheets. Such bimetallic sulfides/N-doped carbon hierarchical nanosheet sheds new light on the construction of efficient anode material for SIBs.",battery
"This work concerns the interaction between hydrogen and iron in the cathodic potential region. It was motivated by the need for a better understanding of the hydrogen insertion mechanism in metals. Electrochemical deposits of iron with various thicknesses were carried out on a gold substrate and they were characterized by impedance measurements under hydrogen evolution conditions. The processes occurring at the surface and within the iron films deposited on a gold electrode were studied using various electrochemical techniques. The impedance and voltammetric behaviours were strongly dependent on the film thickness. The main result of this study is that the charge transfer resistance increases with the film thickness. A model of the adsorption–absorption of hydrogen into iron films was proposed. It considered two types of absorbed hydrogen in a sublayer richer in hydrogen than the bulk metal. There, the hydrogen transported in the film coexists with another one coming from a direct absorption mechanism and “trapped” in some sites. The two absorbed hydrogen are reversibly exchanged. The interaction of hydrogen with palladium and iron was compared. It was concluded that for iron, the insertion of hydrogen results from a competition between a one-step direct hydrogen absorption mechanism and the classical two-step indirect penetration in the metal via the adsorbed hydrogen. At the end, a possible explanation of the deep penetration of the direct hydrogen absorption in the metal, detected by the impedance analysis, is proposed. It is based on the imperfections of numerous first layers of the deposited metals on polycrystalline gold.",battery
"Tin dioxide (SnO2) is an attractive material for anodes in energy storage devices, because it has four times the theoretical capacity of the prevalent anode material (graphite). The main obstacle hampers SnO2 from practical application is the pulverization problem caused by drastic volume change (∼300%) during lithium-ion insertion or extraction, which would lead to the loss of electrical conductivity, unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation and consequently severe capacity fading in the cycling. Here, we anchored the SnO2 nanocrystals into three dimensional graphene gel network to tackle this problem. As a result of the three dimensional (3-D) architecture, the huge volume change during cycling was tolerated by the large free space in this 3-D construction, resulting in a high capacity of 1090 mAh g−1 even after 200 cycles. What's more, at a higher current density 5 A g−1, a reversible capacity of about 491 mAh g−1 was achieved with this electrode.",battery
"The fundamental goal of prosthesis is to achieve optimal levels of performance and enhance the quality of life of amputees. Socket type prostheses have been widely employed despite their known drawbacks. More recently, the advent of osseointegrated prostheses have demonstrated potential to be a better alternative to socket prosthesis eliminating most of the drawbacks of the latter. However, both socket and osseointegrated limb prostheses are prone to superficial infections during use. Infection prone skin lesions from frictional rubbing of the socket against the soft tissue are a known problem of socket type prosthesis. Osseointegration, on the other hand, results in an open wound at the implant-stump interface. The integration of infection sensors in prostheses to detect and prevent infections is proposed to enhance quality of life of amputees. Pathogenic volatiles having been identified to be a potent stimulus, this paper reviews the current techniques in the field of infection sensing, specifically focusing on identifying portable and flexible sensors with potential to be integrated into prosthesis designs. Various sensor architectures including but not limited to sensors fabricated from conducting polymers, carbon polymer composites, metal oxide semiconductors, metal organic frameworks, hydrogels and synthetic oligomers are reviewed. The challenges and their potential integration pathways that can enhance the possibilities of integrating these sensors into prosthesis designs are analysed.
",non-battery
"In this work, a high-performance composite catalyst comprised of IrO2 nanoparticles mounted on Co and N co-doped reduced graphene oxide (Co-N-rGO) is designed and successfully prepared for use in a Li-O2 battery. A battery with this catalyst as the cathode demonstrates very high capacity retention ability and cycling stability: it delivered a high reversible capacity of 11,731mAhg−1 after five cycles at 200mAg−1, and after 200 cycles with limited capacity of 600mAhg−1, the battery’s discharge terminal voltage remains over 2V and its energy efficiency still above 65%. Doping with Co and N, along with mounting the IrO2 nanoparticles, greatly enhances the catalyst’s performance. We suggest that its outstanding performance is attributable to the high surface area of rGO, the enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity arising from doping with Co and N, and the high dispersion and great promotion of IrO2 nanoparticles.",battery
"Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with liquid electrolytes and microporous polyolefin separator membranes are ubiquitous. Though not necessarily an active component in a cell, the separator plays a key role in ion transport and influences rate performance, cell life and safety. As our understanding of separator properties and the interactions between the separator and the electrolyte deepens, it becomes evident that there are opportunities for improving separators to help meet the greater demands that new applications place on LIB technology. Here, we review the impact of the separator structure and chemistry on LIB performance, assess characterization techniques relevant for understanding structure–performance relationships in separator membranes, and provide an outlook on next-generation separator technology. Insights from this Review indicate that LIB performance can be improved by taking into account the interplay of the separator with its surroundings and indicate that, in the future, separators will be designed to play a more active role in LIB operation. Current and emerging characterization techniques will play an important role in guiding this evolution in separator technology.",battery
" Postnatal and antenatal anti-D prophylaxis have dramatically reduced maternal sensitisations and cases of rhesus disease in babies born to women with RhD negative blood group. Recent scientific advances mean that non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD), based on the presence of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma, could be used to target prophylaxis on ""at risk"" pregnancies where the fetus is RhD positive. This paper provides the first assessment of cost-effectiveness of NIPD-targeted prophylaxis compared to current policies.",non-battery
"We report herein on recent studies related to nonaqueous magnesium electrochemistry and R&D of rechargeable magnesium batteries. Extensive attempts have been made to examine electrolyte systems based on ionic liquids as potential solutions for nonaqueous magnesium batteries. In general, magnesium electrodes are reactive with many imidazolium-based ionic liquids. In those liquids in which Mg electrodes are apparently stable, they develop a blocking passivation. It was possible to develop improved solutions for rechargeable magnesium batteries based on mixtures of THF, tetraglyme (where the high boiling point of the polyether improves the safety features), and complexes based on Lewis acid–Lewis base reactions between AlCl2R and MgR2 or RMgCl. The choice of the type of Lewis base, the R group and the appropriate acid–base ratios enables a reasonable specific conductivity to be obtained, 100% cycling efficiency of Mg electrodes, and a wide electrochemical window, up to 2.4V. This work included rigorous studies by Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, ICP, and a variety of electrochemical techniques. In parallel, Mg insertion cathodes based on cubic TiS2, NiS x , NiSSe and CuS x were also investigated.",battery
"Objective Investigate the immediate and residual impacts of sleep extension in tactical athletes. Methods A randomized controlled trial (Sleep extension = EXT vs Control = CON) was conducted on 50 (EXT: 20.12 ± 2.01 years vs CON: 19.76 ± 1.09 years) tactical athletes enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). Participants wore actigraphs for 15 consecutive nights and completed a cognitive/motor battery after seven habitual sleep nights, after four sleep extension nights, and after the resumption of habitual sleep for four nights. The CON group remained on habitual sleep schedules for the entire study. Results During the intervention, the EXT group significantly increased mean sleep time (1.36 ± 0.71 h, p < 0.001). After sleep extension, there were significant between-group differences on the mean score change since baseline in Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) reaction time (p = 0.026), Trail Making Test (TMT) – B time (p = 0.027), standing broad jump (SBJ) distance (p < 0.001), and motivation levels [to perform the cognitive tasks (p = 0.003) and the SBJ (p = 0.009)]; with the EXT group showing a greater enhancement in performance/motivation. After resuming habitual sleep schedules, significant between-group differences on the mean score change since baseline persisted on SBJ distance (p = 0.001) and motivation to perform the SBJ (p = 0.035), with the EXT showing greater enhancement in performance/motivation. Conclusion Increasing sleep duration in military tactical athletes resulted in immediate performance benefits in psychomotor vigilance, executive functioning, standing broad jump distance, and motivation levels. Benefits on motor performance were evident four days after resumption of habitual sleep schedules. Military tactical athletes aiming to optimize their overall performance should consider the impact of longer sleep durations when feasible.",non-battery
"Artemisia capillaris (AC) has been used as an alternative therapy in obesity, atopic dermatitis, and liver diseases through several biological activity including anti-steatotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Despite its ethnomedicinal benefits, no sufficient background information is available about the long-term safety and genotoxicity of the AC extract. Therefore, the present study was carried out to investigate the 13-week subchronic toxicity and genotoxicity of the AC extract according to the test guidelines published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the 13-week toxicity study using doses of 25, 74, 222, 667, and 2000 mg/kg body weight, oral administration of the AC extract in male and female rats did not result in any significant adverse effects in food/water consumption, body weight, mortality, hematology, serum biochemistry, organ weight and histopathology. Accordingly, the no-observed-adverse-effect level in rats of both genders was established for the AC extract at 2000 mg/kg/day, the highest dose level tested. In addition, the AC extract was not genotoxic in a battery of tests including Ames test, in vitro chromosome aberration assay and in vivo micronucleus assay. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the AC extract is considered as a safe traditional medicine for human consumption.",non-battery
"Calcium zincates are synthesized using ZnO and Ca(OH)2 in different alcohol solutions by the alcohol-thermal method. Through the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) analysis, the as-prepared samples with small particles are well-crystallized. Additionally, the morphologies of as-prepared calcium zincates are distinct in different reaction solvents such as ethanol, isopropanol and n-butanol, and the calcium zincates synthesized in the ethanol and isopropanol solutions have more excellent crystallinity. As the negative electrode materials for Ni–Zn batteries, the electrochemistry properties of calcium zincates are examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic charge–discharge testing techniques. The results imply that calcium zincates synthesized in the ethanol solution have lower polarization and better reversibility. The cycle performance analysis shows the as-prepared calcium zincates have a very greatly improvement in cycle life and discharge capacity compared with other methods. All of the test results show that the calcium zincates synthesized in the ethanol solution exhibit the best electrochemical performances.",battery
"The present work describes the preparation and electrochemical characterisation of titanium/iridium(IV) oxide: tantalum pentoxide (Ti/IrO2:Ta2O5) electrodes for vanadium redox flow battery applications. The electrode surface morphology is examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and their electrochemical behaviours are studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A charge–discharge study has been performed at different current densities using vanadium sulphate as an electrolyte medium (1.7 M V3.5+ and 4 M H2SO4), and as-prepared Ti/IrO2:Ta2O5 and pristine graphite are used as the anode and cathode, respectively. To better understand the behaviour of the electrodes and for comparison, a vanadium redox flow battery is also constructed using graphite as the anode as well as the cathode, and its charge–discharge performance is examined. The electrochemical study revealed that the Ti/IrO2:Ta2O5 electrodes exhibit slightly higher catalytic activity and long-term stability than the graphite electrode in highly concentrated sulphuric acid medium. The Ti/IrO2:Ta2O5 electrodes also exhibit slightly higher energy density (33 Wh L−1) than the graphite electrode (31.5 Wh L−1). However, the energy efficiency of Ti/IrO2:Ta2O5 electrode at 40 mA cm−2 is 81%, which is lower than that of the graphite electrode (86% at 40 mA cm−2).",battery
"The reaction mechanism of the new SEI additive 1-Fluoropropane-2-one in combination with the well-known SEI additive vinylene carbonate in propylene carbonate based electrolytes is investigated. Spectroscopic measurements support the proposition that 1-Fluoropropane-2-one is reduced first and that the reduced species then initiate vinylene carbonate decomposition. Cyclic voltammetry shows only a decomposition peak of the additive FA in the first cycle and does not show any evidence for subsequent vinylene carbonate decomposition at lower potential. NMR spectroscopy shows that after one cycle the signal representing the C-F bonds decreases. In situ Raman measurements show that the decomposition of vinylene carbonate occurs in the same potential range as 1-Fluoropropane-2-one, meaning that the VC decomposition is shifted to higher potentials. Finally, XPS measurements demonstrate that this electrolyte with two additives forms a LiF-rich SEI.",battery
"We perform X-ray and neutron total scattering measurements on a lithium-rich transition-metal oxide Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2 with a layered structure as a positive electrode material for a lithium ion battery, in order to reveal local atomic ordering in the samples prepared by different processes. By performing a reverse Monte Carlo modelling using both the real space and reciprocal space data, we can construct three-dimensional atomic configurations, which allows us to extract the quantitative information within and beyond the layers hidden in average structure obtained by crystallography. It is found that Li tends to be surrounded by Mn within the transition-metal layer. Moreover, it is indicated that Ni at the Li layer is preferable around Ni at the transition-metal layer, suggesting that NiO domain is formed. Such a formation of an inactive domain for Li+ diffusion can be suppressed by changing the preparation process, and the improvement of the positive electrode property is confirmed. We can conclude that the real space function obtained by a total scattering measurement is an indispensable tool to detect the formation of the NiO inactive domain, which provides a crucial guideline of preparation process optimization for better positive-electrode property.",battery
"A series of novel gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) based on a co-polymer matrix of methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (MPEGM) and hexadecal-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (HPEGM) are synthesized in this study using non-volatile tris(methoxypolyethyleneglycol) aluminate ester ((MPEG n )3-Al) as the plasticizer. Their thermal stability and ionic conductivity are studied by differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis and alternating current impedance techniques. The results show that all the synthesized GPEs possess excellent thermal stability and exhibit relatively high ionic conductivity. Among all the synthesized GPEs, one with the composition of 40wt% MPEGM, 10wt% HPEGM and 50wt% (MPEG7)3-Al exhibits the highest ionic conductivity, up to 0.59×10−3 Scm−1 at 30°C when the salt concentration is [Li]:[EO]=1:20. In addition, a coin cell based on this GPE, with LiFePO4 as cathode and metallic lithium as anode shows discharge capacities as high as 146mAhg−1 and 151mAhg−1 when cycled at 30°C and 50°C, respectively, under a current rate of 0.1C.",battery
"The purpose of this article is to provide an outlook for future research in semiconductor electrochemistry. A historical perspective is first presented to frame the recent scientific and technological progress that has been made in the field. The remainder of the article provides an overview of two selected research projects at the frontier of photoelectrochemistry. The first example discusses how exploitation of a deliberately nanostructured interface can provide useful enhancements to the kinetics of interfacial charge transfer events and can allow the use of catalysts without suffering concomitant efficiency losses. The second example discusses a model system that is useful for elucidating the interconnections between the chemical modification, electrical properties, and electrochemical behavior of photoelectrode surfaces.",battery
"The electrochemical performances of Li4Mn5O12 powders prepared via an aqueous sol-gel method using either citric acid or l-lysine as complexing and combusting agent are compared. At current rate of 0.1 C, a discharge capacity of 163 mAh g−1 and a good cyclability are obtained for powder cathode materials prepared with l-lysine and processed as composite electrode. Films of the corresponding Li4Mn5O12 were deposited by direct spray coating of precursors' solutions and subsequent thermal treatment at 400 °C. Films exhibit better electrochemical performances than powders with a discharge capacity of up to 165 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and a capacity retention of 95% after 100 cycles at 0.5 C and 89% after 100 cycles at 2 C. Increasing the active material loading up to 2 mg cm−2 leads to a small loss of cyclability, especially at high cycling rates, but a specific capacity of 275 μAh cm−2 is still achieved at 2 C. These values of specific capacities are higher than those observed in the literature for lithium manganese oxide films.",battery
"Power resulted form solar photo voltaic and wind turbine generators are reliant on the climate variations. Both the wind and solar systems are non-reliable if there are insufficient capacity storage units like storage batteries or backup units like diesel generators. The microgrids reliability increases when both systems (wind turbine and photo voltaic) are combined with the storage devices. The sufficient storage batteries bank capacity are needed to feed the load demands with power in cloudy and non-windy days. So the optimal placing of the components assigns to the required parts of hybrid microgrid. Also, this study reviews new ways of energy practice of hybrid sources. It presents the physical modelling of the renewable energy resources with numerous methodologies and principles of the optimization for the hybrid networks. Additionally, the hybrid sources are gaining popular and fame in the environmental crises and current scenario of energies. Based on this study, it has introduced a global survey on the present condition of optimization techniques especially that related to the isolated microgrid in the presented literature. The current trend of optimization for hybrid renewable sources demonstrations that artificial intelligence provides worthy optimization for the microgrid operations without an extensive long-term weather data.",battery
"A solid polymer electrolyte system based on poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) complexed with sodium chlorite (NaClO3) salt has been prepared by a solution — cast technique. Several experimental techniques, such as composition-dependence conductvity, temperature-dependence conductivity in the temperature range of 303–398K and transport number measurements, have been employed to characterize this polymer electrolyte system. The conductivity of the (PVP+NaClO3) electrolyte is about 104 times larger than that of pure PVP at room temperature. Transport number measurements show that the charge transport is mainly due to ions. An electrochemical cell with the configuration Na/(PVP+NaClO3)/(I2+C+electrolyte) has been fabricated and its discharge characteristics studied. The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current are 2.77V and 1.35mA, respectively. A number of other cell parameters are reported.",battery
"A novel and facile in-situ methodology has been developed to prepare well carbon-coated anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. The hydrolysis of tetrabutyl titanate has been effectively controlled in a collosol of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone dissolved with polyvinylidene fluoride. The as-resulted carbon-dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles distributed in ranges from 20 to 30nm in diameter have been obtained with a carbon content of 11.7wt%. This nanocomposite utilized as anode materials in lithium-ion battery can deliver a high reversible specific capacity of 218mAhg−1 at the current density of 0.2C (33.5mAg−1), and still exhibit 100mAhg−1 at 10C (1.68Ag−1), illustrating notable high-rate performances for the potential application in fast charge/discharge batteries.",battery
"In the present study we focus on the synthesis of homogeneous nickel oxide/manganese dioxide nanoparticles (NiO/MnO2 NPs) supported on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO NSs) for supercapacitors application. The homogeneous NiO-MnO2@rGO ternary hybrid was synthesized via simple, fast and facile approach using microwave irradiation process. The highly porous rGO NSs used to improve the performance of active electrode materials for high performance supercapacitors. In order to obtain high performance supercapacitors, there are several factors that must be achieved including a high porous surface area and high diffusion rate of the electrolyte inside active material. The structural and morphological studies of synthesized ternary hybrids material was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectra, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area. The extensive characterization shows that NiO/MnO2 NPs were homogeneously dispersed throughout the surface of rGO NSs. The pristine rGO NSs contains mesoporous structure with high surface area (570.45 m2/g) providing the supports of homogeneous dispersion of NiO/MnO2 NPs without aggregation. The mesoporous NiO-MnO2@rGO ternary hybrid exhibited a high specific capacity of 165.7 mAh/g with excellent long time cycling stability. The obtained result shows good specific capacity retention of 83.2% after 2000 continuous cyclic voltammetry and it shows no apparent decrease in the specific capacity after initial few cycles. It reveals that the NiO-MnO2@rGO ternary hybrids can be a promising electroactive material for supercapacitor applications.",battery
"The interaction of Eu3+ with Sb3+ ions during the room temperature synthesis of luminescent Sb2O3 nanorods is investigated using luminescence and vibrational spectroscopic techniques. Our results demonstrate that well crystalline, oriented Sb2O3 nanorods having length of around 3–4μm, a width of around 100–200nm and luminescence at around 390nm can be synthesized at room temperature. Incorporation of Eu3+ in these nanorods has been attempted and it is found that Eu3+ ions do not have any interaction with nanorods and their orientation. Detailed Eu3+ luminescence and XRD studies confirmed that a part of Sb3+ ions reacts with Eu3+ ions in the presence of hydroxyl ions (present in the medium) to form an amorphous antimony europium hydroxide compound. The amorphous compound on heating at high temperatures leads to its decomposition, giving hydrated Sb(V) oxides and Eu2O3 as major phases.",non-battery
"The sluggish redox kinetics and dissolution of polyselenide result in severe capacity attenuation of lithium-selenium (Li-Se) batteries, thus significantly limiting its practical application. In this study, we developed a facile annealing procedure to prepare CoSe2-porous carbon composites (CoSe2-PC) as a high-performance cathode material. The formation of CoSe2 nanoparticles in the carbon matrix was confirmed by high resolution transmission electron spectroscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Se@CoSe2-PC achieved a reversible capacity up to 408 mAh·g−1 after 100 charge-discharge cycles at the current rate of 1 C, a performance much higher than that of porous carbon alone. The catalytic effect of CoSe2 on the redox reaction dynamics of polyselenide was examined by cyclic voltammetric measurements using a symmetrical cell of Se@CoSe2-PC in the presence and absence of the polyselenide in the electrolyte, and this likely accounts for the high specific capacity and superior cycle performance of Se@CoSe2-PC based Li-Se batteries. Results from this work may open up a door for suppressing the dissolution of polyselenide and eventually realize Li-Se batteries of high capacity and cycle stability.",battery
"One-dimensional modeling was carried-out to predict the capacity loss of a 12V automotive lead-acid battery due to ageing. The model not only accounted for electrochemical kinetics and ionic mass transfer in a battery cell, but also considered the anodic corrosion of lead in sulfuric acid. In order to validate the modeling, modeling results were compared with the measurement data of the cycling behaviors of the lead-acid batteries having nominal capacity of 68Ah that are mounted on the automobiles manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company. The cycling was performed under the protocol of the constant-current discharge and the constant-voltage charge. The discharge rate of C/3 was used. The range of state of charge was between 1 and 0.85. The voltage was kept constant at the gassing voltage until the charge current tapered to 10mA. The retention capacity of the battery was measured with C/3 discharge rate before the beginning of cycling and after every 40 cycles of cycling. The modeling results were in good agreement with the measurement data.",battery
"These experiments were designed to investigate transcriptional effects in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after exposure in vivo to ionizing gamma radiation combined with subtoxic levels of aluminum (Al) and cadmium (Cd). Juvenile fish (35 g) in freshwater with or without Al and Cd (255 μgAl/L + 6 μgCd/L) were exposed to a 75 mGy dose of γ-irradiation, and induced responses were compared to those of controls. The transcriptional levels of eight genes encoding proteins known to respond to stress in fish were quantified in liver of fish exposed for 5 h to gamma radiation, to Al and Cd or to the combination of Al, Cd and gamma radiation. The studied genes were caspase 3B, caspase 6A, caspase 7, p53 (apoptosis), glutathione reductase (GR), phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), (oxidative stress), metallothionein (MT-A) (metal stress) and ubiquitin (Ubi) (protein degradation). The results showed that γ-irradiation alone induced significant upregulation of caspase 6A, GR, GSH-Px, MT-A and Ubi compared to the control group, while 5 h exposure to Al+Cd alone did not induce any of the studied genes compared to the control. No significant upregulation of the series of investigated genes could be observed in fish exposed to γ-irradiation in combination with Al+Cl. In conclusion, the results suggest that the presence of Al+Cd in the water counteracted the γ-irradiation effect by modifying the transcription of genes encoding proteins involved in the defense mechanisms against free radicals in the cells.",non-battery
"In this report, the electrochemical sodiation and desodiation in single crystalline alpha-MnO2 nanowires are studied dynamically at both single particle level using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and bulk level using in situ synchrotron X-ray. The TEM results suggest that the first sodiation process starts with tunnel-based Na+ intercalation, experiences the formation of Na0.5MnO2 as a result of tunnel degradation, and ends with the Mn2O3 phase. The inserted Na+ can be partially extracted out of the sodiated products, and the following cycles are dominated by the reversible conversion reaction between Na0.5MnO2 and Mn2O3. The Mn valence evolution inside a cycling coin using alpha-MnO2 nanowire electrode also exhibits partially reversible characteristic, agreeing well with the in situ TEM analysis. The sodiation is compared with lithiation in the same alpha-MnO2 nanowires. Both Na+ and Li+ interact with the tunneled structure via a similar tunnel-driven intercalation mechanism before Mn4+ is reduced to Mn3.5+. For the following deep insertion, the tunnels survive up to LiMnO2 (Mn3+) during lithiation, while the sodiation proceeds via a different mechanism that involves obvious phase transition and fast tunnel degradation after Mn’s valence is below 3.5+. The difference in charge carrier insertion mechanisms can be ascribed to the strong interaction between the tunnel frame and inserted Na+ possessing a larger ionic size than inserted Li+.",battery
"Selenium (Se)-based materials for sodium (ion) batteries are currently attracting extensive attentions owing to their fast kinetics and excellent cyclability; at the same time, achieving high Se content, which is crucial to maintain the competitive edge over other kinds of electrode materials, still remains a challenge. We developed a confined annealing method which allows us to convert pristine metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) directly into selenium/selenide/carbon composites. It is a simultaneous process of carbonization, selenization and Se vapor deposition, and the combination of elemental Se and selenide results in a record-high Se content of 76 wt%, enhanced capacity and rate capability (490 and 384 mA h g−1 at 0.1 and 2.0 A g−1) exceeding most documented Se-based materials. The produced composites also exhibit excellent cycle stability (no decay for 700 cycles at 2 A g−1), which is correlated to dominant capacitive charge transport mode and the MOF-derived robust structure. Our work not only offers a proof of concept that Se content can be maximized by confining Se through both vapor deposition and chemical bonding with transition metals, but also demonstrates a general and green selenization approach without using any toxic or flammable chemicals. The introduced method will probably prevail for its wide applicability on various metal-containing precursors, and even be expanded to the fabrication of sulfur- and phosphor-based composites.",battery
"We present a study on the application of magnetically actuated polymer micropillar surfaces in modifying the migration behaviour of cells. We show that micropillar surfaces actuated at a frequency of 1 Hz can cause more than a 5-fold decrease in cell migration rates compared to controls, whereas non-actuated micropillar surfaces cause no statistically significant alterations in cell migration rates. The effectiveness of the micropillar arrays in impeding cell migration depends on micropillar density and placement patterns, as well as the direction of micropillar actuation with respect to the direction of cell migration. Since the magnetic micropillar surfaces presented can be actuated remotely with small external magnetic fields, their integration with implants could provide new possibilities for in-vivo tissue engineering applications.",non-battery
"A liquid antimony (Sb) anode is examined at 1073 K in solid oxide fuel cells with single-crystal yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolytes. Cells featuring a smooth electrolyte surface (Sa = 0.69 nm) are operated under “battery” mode with dry Ar flow in the anode chamber to characterize the electrochemical oxidation of the metals by oxygen ions while avoiding the effects of the electrolyte surface morphology. The intrinsic anode polarization of the liquid Sb anode is obtained, revealing that the Sb anode polarization was the main cause of performance loss. Because liquid Sb2O3 can transfer oxygen ions, the reaction product Sb2O3 decreases the anode polarization and enhances the performance by increasing the effective reaction interface. The liquid three-dimensional electrode is formed by discharging. The anode polarization can be reduced by changing the ratio of Sb and Sb2O3 in the anode. Using 50% Sb + 50% Sb2O3 as the anode, the anode resistance is reduced to 0.8 Ω cm2, which is comparable to typical porous solid anodes.",battery
" Although digital technologies can mitigate the burdens of home healthcare services caused by an ageing population that lives at home longer with complex health problems, research on the impacts and consequences of digitalised remote communication between patients and caregivers is lacking. The present study explores how home healthcare professionals had experienced the introduction of digital medicine dispensers and their influence on patient-caregiver relationships.",non-battery
"For a number of NASA's future planetary and terrestrial applications, high energy density rechargeable lithium batteries that can operate at very low temperature are desired. In the pursuit of developing Li-ion batteries with improved low temperature performance, we have also focused on assessing the viability of using gel polymer systems, due to their desirable form factor and enhanced safety characteristics. In the present study we have evaluated three classes of promising liquid low-temperature electrolytes that have been impregnated into gel polymer electrolyte carbon-LiMn2O4-based Li-ion cells (manufactured by LG Chem. Inc.), consisting of: (a) binary EC+EMC mixtures with very low EC-content (10%), (b) quaternary carbonate mixtures with low EC-content (16–20%), and (c) ternary electrolytes with very low EC-content (10%) and high proportions of ester co-solvents (i.e., 80%). These electrolytes have been compared with a baseline formulation (i.e., 1.0M LiPF6 in EC+DEC+DMC (1:1:1%, v/v/v), where EC, ethylene carbonate, DEC, diethyl carbonate, and DMC, dimethyl carbonate). We have performed a number of characterization tests on these cells, including: determining the rate capacity as a function of temperature (with preceding charge at room temperature and also at low temperature), the cycle life performance (both 100% DOD and 30% DOD low earth orbit cycling), the pulse capability, and the impedance characteristics at different temperatures. We have obtained excellent performance at low temperatures with ester-based electrolytes, including the demonstration of >80% of the room temperature capacity at −60°C using a C/20 discharge rate with cells containing 1.0M LiPF6 in EC+EMC+MB (1:1:8%, v/v/v) (MB, methyl butyrate) and 1.0M LiPF6 in EC+EMC+EB (1:1:8%, v/v/v) (EB, ethyl butyrate) electrolytes. In addition, cells containing the ester-based electrolytes were observed to support 5C pulses at −40°C, while still maintaining a voltage >2.5V at 100 and 80% state-of-charge (SOC).",battery
" The use of prescription anti-obesity medication (AOM) is becoming increasingly common as treatment options grow and become more accessible. However, AOM may not be without a wide range of potentially negative impacts on patient functioning and well being. The Treatment Related Impact Measure (TRIM-Weight) is an obesity treatment-specific patient reported outcomes (PRO) measure designed to assess the key impacts of prescription anti-obesity medication. This paper will present the validation findings for the TRIM-Weight.",non-battery
"In this paper we report the combined, positive effect of triphenyloborane (BPh3) additive on conductivity and lithium cation transference numbers in poly(ethylene oxide) dimethyl ether (PEODME)–lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiCF3SO3, LiTf) electrolytes. The transport mechanism is discussed on the basis of impedance measurements, restricted diffusion t + measurements, ionic association semi-empirical quantitative estimation and spectroscopic studies. A substantial increase in the lithium transference number values in triphenylborane enriched composite electrolytes was observed in comparison with the pure PEODME–LiCF3SO3 electrolyte. This effect is assisted by ionic conductivity enhancement.",battery
"A hydrometallurgical route based on leaching-crystallization steps for the separation of metals Al, Co, Cu and Li from spent Li-ion batteries was evaluated in this paper. Once dismantled for the removal of both plastic and steel cases, the anode (containing mainly Cu) of such batteries was manually separated from the cathode (which contains Al, Co and Li) for the recovery of Cu. The metal content of both anode and cathode was assessed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and atomic absorption analytical methods. The cathode was firstly leached with NaOH for the selective removal of Al, followed by leaching with H2SO4 +H2O2 for the dissolution of the remaining Co and Li. The operating variables concentration of NaOH and concentration of H2O2 were found significant for the metal dissolution conditions investigated at basic and acid leaching operations, respectively. On the other hand, the variables temperature and concentration of H2SO4 showed minor effects at acid leaching step. Reaction schemes were proposed to describe basic and acid leaching operations. The recovery of Co from the acid liquor was carried out by crystallization. This hydrometallurgical route was found to be simple and adequate to separate metals for recycling purposes.",battery
"In this paper, we report a simple and practical composite structure for a nanogenerator (NG). The composite design using two kinds of piezoelectric materials, zinc oxide and poly(vinylidene fluoride), requires no more system size and complexity than for a single material, but improves the power density and sensitivity of the NG significantly. With no need of an external power source or batteries, the composite NG can efficiently convert the vortex motion in the atmosphere into electricity. Based on the Karman vortex street principle, ambient wind-speed measurements with the NG are demonstrated. Due to the simple structure, high sensitivity and good environment-friendly properties, the NG as an active sensor should play an important role in wireless environmental monitoring networks.
",battery
"During the last decade, ionic liquids (ILs) have received a considerable attention in different fields of nanotechnology applications. Their unique physicochemical properties have been highly utilized in electrochemistry, commonly in the form of IL-carbon nanomaterial (IL-CNM) hybrids. The synergistic combination of both components results in significant improvement for numerous electrochemical applications, including energy storage devices and sensor electrodes. The need for high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, high sensitivity, and catalytic activity was the key behind the extent of ILs usefulness and numerous applications. This review aims to provide an overview of the synthetic routes for electrochemical sensor fabrication based on IL-CNM hybrids. The differences in sensing performance between the electrode designs are also discussed. ILs can affect the structure and surface chemistry of CNMs, including carbon nanotube, graphene, and fullerene. IL-CNM-modified solid electrode was the most common and effective design used in academic research. However, the inclusion of biological components and metallic nanoparticles significantly affects electrode performance. The electrochemical techniques used for detection have varied based on several considerations related to electrode design and targeted analyte. They also play an important role in determining the sensor sensitivity and detection limit.",battery
"Reduction of lithium-ion battery (LIB) production costs is inevitable to make the use of LIB technology more viable for applications such as electric vehicles or stationary storage. To meet the requirements in today's LIB cost efficiency, our current research focuses on an alternative electrode fabrication method, characterized by a combination of double flame spray pyrolysis and lamination technique (DFSP/lamination). In-situ carbon coated nano-Li4Ti5O12 (LTO/C) was synthesized using versatile DFSP. The as-prepared composite powder was then directly laminated onto a conductive substrate avoiding the use of any solvent or binder for electrode preparation. The influence of lamination pressures on the microstructure and electrochemical performance of the electrodes was also investigated. Enhancements in intrinsic electrical conductivity were found for higher lamination pressures. Capacity retention of highest pressurized DFSP/lamination-prepared electrode was 87.4% after 200 dis-/charge cycles at 1C (vs. Li). In addition, LTO/C material prepared from the double flame spray pyrolysis was also used for fabricating electrodes via doctor blading technique. Laminated electrodes obtained higher specific discharge capacities compared to calendered and non-calendered blade-casted electrodes due to superior microstructural properties. Such a fast and industrially compelling integrative DFSP/lamination tool could be a prosperous, next generation technology for low-cost LIB electrode fabrication.",battery
"The legal risks associated with health research involving human subjects have been highlighted recently by a number of lawsuits launched against those involved in conducting and evaluating the research. Some of these cases have been fully addressed by the legal system, resulting in judgments that provide some guidance. The vast majority of cases have either settled before going to trial, or have not yet been addressed by the courts, leaving us to wonder what might have been and what guidance future cases may bring. What is striking about the lawsuits that have been commenced is the broad range of individuals/institutions that are named as defendants and the broad range of allegations that are made. The research community should take this early experience as a warning and should reflect carefully on practices where research involving human subjects is concerned.",non-battery
"Mechanical properties and conductivity were computed for several composite polymer electrolyte structures. A multi-phase effective medium approach was used to estimate effective conductivity. The Mori–Tanaka approach was applied for calculating the effective stiffness tensor of the composites. An analysis of effective mechanical properties was performed in order to identify the composite structures, which would be capable of blocking the dendrites forming in Li-ion battery when Li metal is used as anode. The stability parameter which combines both stiffness and compressibility of the electrolyte was used in the analysis. The calculations were done over the wide range of Young's modulus of the polymer matrix showing the threshold concentration of the filler necessary for the mechanical stability. The results can be used to formulate design criteria for solid electrolytes that would exhibit appropriate stiffness and compressibility to suppress lithium dendrite growth while maintaining high effective conductivities.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses numerous types of mercury-zinc batteries: mercury-zinc primary batteries and mercury-zinc cardiac pacemaker batteries. In mercury-zinc primary batteries button cells with solid cathodes are designed as anode limited. The anode is amalgamated powdered or gelled zinc and contains a gelling agent, and is housed in a triclad metal top with the copper in direct contact with the zinc. The anode is separated from the mercuric oxide cathode by a separator or absorbent material and a semi-permeable membrane barrier. The design of the absorbent/separator system depends on the intended use of the cell. An important application is hearing aid cells. In mercury-zinc cardiac pacemaker batteries anode consists of amalgamated zinc, which is in contact with the welded top assembly, the inner face of which is also amalgamated to achieve electrochemical compatibility with the anode. It is surrounded by the absorbent barrier, which is impregnated with a solution of sodium hydroxide saturated with zinc oxide. This type of electrolyte minimizes hydrolysis of the zinc, which causes production of hydrogen and results in capacity loss. The annular cathode consists of mercuric oxide mixed with silver powder, which forms a solid amalgam with the mercury appearing during discharge. It is in contact with the welded can assembly, which forms the positive terminal of the battery. The sealing ring and insulators, which divide the battery into two compartments, reduce the risk of short-circuit and electrical leakage.",battery
"The silicon@graphene composite as anode material was prepared by a spray–drying method combined with a low temperature reduction technology. XRD results show that the composite is composed of silicon and graphene confirmed by the FT–IR and Raman spectra. SEM and TEM results reveal that the silicon@graphene powders are the spherical shape with micron in diameter and graphene sheets are enwrapped with nano–silicon particles. The silicon@graphene composite shows an improved electrochemical performance, in which the sample can show the best electrochemical performance while the mass ratio of silicon and graphene oxide reaches to 1:4, delivering a high initial charge capacity of 1298.1mAh g−1 at 100mAg−1. Moreover, the sample can also show good rate performance, which indicates that it could be used as a promising anode material for Li–ion batteries.",battery
"Some mixtures of two active materials are utilized for the blended cathodes in lithium-ion batteries. The blended cathode and unitary cathodes were prepared by a layer compound, LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2, and a spinel compound, LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 as simple active materials in order to develop the method to estimate the capacities of the both active materials in the blended cathode. The differential curves (dQ/dV) clearly provided the information on the redox voltage region of the layer and the spinel compounds in the unitary and blended cathodes. A regression curve of the layer compound was partially calculated using the dQ/dV of blended cathode in the layered redox voltage region, and it was extrapolated until the mixed redox voltage region of the layer and spinel compounds. The capacity in the blended cathode was divided into the capacities of the active materials by this curve. This method was also successfully applied to the degraded blended cathode. This method proposed in this paper is a significant technique for degradation analysis of both active materials in the blended cathode without the need for the same active material lots as those of blended cathodes, using information on electrochemically active voltage ranges of each active material such as references.",battery
"A simplified model, to that produced previously by the authors, for the galvanostatic discharge of primary alkaline battery cathodes is presented. Laplace transform and perturbation methods are employed to obtain the leading order spatial and temporal behaviour of the porous cathode over two distinct size scales. It is shown that for a wide range of industrially relevant discharge conditions the time taken for KOH electrolyte to diffuse into a porous electrolytic manganese dioxide particle is fast compared with the cathodic discharge time and that ohmic losses within the graphite phase of the cathode can be considered to be negligible. Numerical solution of the simplified model equations is discussed and the results are validated against relevant experimental data.",battery
"Background Although many comprehensive batteries exist to evaluate the nature and degree of cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia, short batteries hold promise for rapidly screening and estimating deficits in global cognition. Recently, the Brief Neurocognitive Assessment (BNA) was established and has been shown to have similar validity and utility to a more comprehensive battery of cognitive tests in evaluating global cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia. The present study sought to further establish the validity of the BNA by comparing it with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Methods One-hundred seventy-six patients with schizophrenia and 300 healthy volunteers participated in the present study. Global cognition was evaluated using the MCCB composite score and estimated using the BNA. To examine practice effects and test–retest reliability, patients were re-assessed after 4weeks. Results The BNA was highly correlated with global cognition as evaluated by the MCCB in both the schizophrenia (r =0.82) and healthy control samples (r =0.75). Both instruments were similarly sensitive to deficits in global cognition in patients with schizophrenia relative to healthy controls. The BNA also demonstrated high test–retest reliability in patients with schizophrenia (r =0.87), comparable to the level observed with the MCCB (r =0.91). In addition, both the BNA and MCCB showed a similar level of practice effects (both Cohen's d=0.11), and both instruments demonstrated equivalent sensitivities to longitudinal change. Furthermore, scores from the BNA and MCCB were related to symptom severity and functional capacity to a similar degree. Conclusions The BNA provides clinicians and researchers with an efficient and reliable means by which to evaluate global neurocognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia by allowing estimation of performance on a more comprehensive standardized battery.",non-battery
"Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have been attracting growing attention due to the high theoretical energy density (2600 Wh kg−1). Nevertheless, the shuttle effect caused by the diffusion of polysulfides obstructs the further development of Li-S batteries. In this work, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with enriched polysulfides adsorption sites of pyridinic-N has been utilized as one kind of chemical adsorption materials to restrict the migration of polysulfides. The vacuum-filtration technique has been employed to cover an ultrathin g-C3N4 film onto the commercial polypropylene (PP) separator (denoted as g-C3N4 separator) which has an effective suppression of polysulfides travel without increasing the mass of the whole battery. Besides, this strategy is simple, straightforward, and effective. As a result, an excellent reversible capacity of 829 mA h g−1 is retained at 0.2C after 200 cycles, much better than that of the battery with a traditional PP separator. Meanwhile, when coupled with the g-C3N4 separator, the Li-S batteries also shows lower self-discharge rate. This result shows a great potential for the mass applications of g-C3N4 separator for Li-S batteries.",battery
"The lithium/sulfur battery is a promising electrochemical system with high capacity, which is well-known to undergo a complex multistep reaction during the discharge process. Two types of electrolytes including poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME)-based and 1,3-dioxolane (DOL)/dimethoxyethane (DME)-based electrolytes were investigated here. Furthermore, LiNO3 additive was introduced into the electrolyte in order to effectively eliminate the overcharge effect. The lithium sulfur battery with 1.0 M LiN(CF3SO2)2 in PEGDME with 0.1 M LiNO3 shows highly stable reversible capacity of 624.8 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles and improved average coulombic efficiency of 98%.",battery
"Due to increasing fossil fuel prices and their limited availability, the global energy focus is shifting towards renewable resources. However, the uptake of these resources by Pakistan is rather slow. Various factors such as political interference, social unacceptability and economic barriers are deterring the widespread use of these resources. In addition, there is a consensus in the literature that technological knowledge of solar PV in Pakistan is limited at best. Many studies have indicated technological shortcomings as one of the major barriers in PV growth, however very little or no work has been reported which could actually address these issues. This paper reviews the current state of affairs in solar PV with a focus towards the technological shortcomings. We highlight various inefficient practices in the system design which lead to un-optimized and unreliable systems, thus contributing towards the lack of social acceptability of PV. We also propose several modifications that should be added to the design process of such systems to make them more accurate and reliable. Conforming to proper design methodologies and detailed understanding of technological aspects will go a long way in making PV grow in Pakistan.",battery
"Due to its extremely high capacity, silicon (Si) is a potentially very useful anode material for lithium (Li) ion batteries. The key aim in the application of Si-based nanostructures to Li ion battery anodes is to improve their cyclic properties. To minimize volume expansion during the insertion and extraction of Li ions, we synthesized unique Si-iron (Fe) based nanomaterials connected by Ge nanostructures using chemical vapor deposition. The Si-Fe based new nanostructures showed a maximum capacity of about 689mAh/g and stable cyclic properties. These properties are due to their unique nano-composite structures composed by Si and metals.",battery
"The performance degradation and durability of a Li-ion battery is a major concern when it is operated under radiation conditions, for instance, in deep space exploration, in high radiation field, or rescuing or sampling equipment in a post-nuclear accident scenario. This paper examines the radiation effects on the electrode and electrolyte materials separately and their effects on a battery's capacity loss and resistance increase. A60Co irradiator (34.3 krad/h) was used to provide 0.8, 4.1, and 9.8 Mrad dose to LiFePO4 electrodes and 0.8, 1.6, and 5.7 Mrad to 1 M LiPF6 in 1:1 wt% EC:DMC electrolytes. This study shows that the coin cells assembled with irradiated components have higher failure rate (ca. 70%) than that of control group (ca. 14%). A significant battery capacity fade post irradiation was observed. The electrolyte also shows a darkened color a few weeks or months after irradiation. The discovery of this latent effect may be significant because a battery may degrade significantly even showing no sign of degradation immediately after exposure. We investigated electrolyte composition by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy prior and post irradiation. Polymerization reactions and HF formation are considered as the cause of the discoloration.",battery
"This manuscript discuss about the various DC-DC converter configurations with high voltage conversion ratio utilized in DC micro-grid structures. The presented DC-DC converter topologies play a major role globally in the power generation sector including micro-grid, because of its decreased number of semiconductor devices, maximum conversion efficiency, small in size and cost of manufacturing is less. In this manuscript the DC-DC converter are categorized in to isolated and Non-isolated topologies. The first group topography works with the presence of transformer and the second group works without the transformer. These converters are capable to provide the various stages of output range. Researchers utilize these converters in the area of renewable energy generation, electric vehicle, micro sources, charge pumping applications etc. Hence they also work to improve the efficiency and reliability with reduction in components numbers and economical aspect. In this manuscript, the various topography of DC-DC converter topologies utilized in micro-grid are reviewed and comparison is made based on voltage conversion ratio, duty ratio, efficiency along with the basic operating principle. This review also reveals the research gaps, current trends, and challenges in the last part.",battery
"The phase diagram of Li x NiO2 (0<x<1) and the evolution of the monoclinic distortion as a function of the lithium content are calculated using a combination of first-principles energy methods and statistical–mechanics techniques. As a function of the temperature different ordered Li x NiO2 structures appear in the phase diagram at x=0.25, 0.33, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.75. Noteworthy, a new and unsuspected phase, Li0.4NiO2, dominates the low-lithium region of the phase diagram. In agreement with experimental results, maxima in monoclinicity (a m/b m) are predicted to occur near Li0.75NiO2 and Li0.4NiO2. The coupling between the Li-vacancy ordering and the Jahn–Teller activity of Ni3+ ions plays a crucial role in the stability of ordered Li x NiO2 structures and is at the origin of the monoclinic distortion. As a result, the different electrochemical behavior of Li x NiO2 versus Li x CoO2 lies in the electronic nature of the involved transition metal cation.",battery
"We compared the results of two biologging techniques used to study the foraging behaviour of a colony of small inshore predators, little penguins (Eudyptula minor). The first technique involved the use of satellite transmitters and diving loggers deployed on separate individuals, which has been the conventional method of tracking the movements and behaviour of this species for >10years. The second technique combined a diving logger and a global positioning system (GPS) logger deployed on the same individual, which is similar to the biologging methods presently being developed and used for many other species. We then considered the value of each technique as a conservation tool operating at the small scale (foraging area <5000ha and duration <1day). We found that the separately deployed satellite transmitters significantly underestimated the penguins' foraging area size. However, the size of the foraging area and other foraging parameters, such as total distance travelled, were influenced by the degree of GPS location sub-sampling. Furthermore, only the combined diving and GPS loggers could confidently describe the diving behaviour of the penguins in relation to the sea floor and identify that they were using small areas of conservation interest (shipping channel) inside their foraging area. Hence, the method employed to assess habitat use at fine scales can influence conservation measures that rely upon the data collected. We suggest that researchers fast-track their adoption of high resolution multi-loggers for increased data confidence when tracking animals at a fine scale, but also consider the potential effect of sampling rate on the calculation of parameters of interest.",non-battery
"High-energy anode materials have attracted significant attention because of their potential applications in large-scale energy storage devices. However, they often suffer from rapid capacity fading due to the pulverization of the electrode and the breakdown of electric conductive network caused by the large volume changes of active material upon repeated lithium insertion and extraction. In this work, a new electrode composed of Si/C composite nanofibers was prepared, aiming at the improvement of cycling performance of Si anodes through the establishment of a stable electric conductive network for Si during cycling. By electrospinning, a three-dimensional network of carbon nanofibers, which possesses good elasticity to maintain the structure integrity and stable electric conductive network, is formed; by carbon coating, all Si nanoparticles are tightly bonded with carbon fibers to form a stable electric conductive pathway for electrode reactions. The nanofiber structure and the carbon coating on Si, combined with the binder, lead to a stable network structure that can accommodate the huge volume change of Si during the repeated volume expansion and contraction, thus resulting in excellent cycling performance.",battery
 To examine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and academic performance in children and adolescents.,non-battery
"The anode reaction mechanism and the crossover of a direct dimethyl ether fuel cell (DDMEFC) have been investigated. This was done by considering the anode products of the half-cell and DDMEFC experiments. It was found that the CO2 current efficiency of the DDMEFC was almost 1 at 30–80°C and that this value was higher than that of a DMFC. The main by-products of the DDMEFC were methyl formate and methanol whose amounts are negligibly small compared to CO2. With respect to crossover, the influence of DME on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was examined with a half-cell, and the amount of crossover of DME was measured while operating an actually constructed DDMEFC. From these experiments, it was found that DME does not influence the ORR as much as methanol under similar conditions. Furthermore, the amount of crossover of DME decreased with an increase in temperature and current density and it was one-half that of methanol on open circuit and at 80°C. The CO2 current efficiency of the DDMEFC is higher than that of a DMFC, and the influence of crossover in the DDMEFC is less than that in the DMFC. Since the temperature dependence of the reactivity of DME is larger than that of methanol, the higher output is expected for the DDMEFC at the elevated temperature. Therefore, the DDMEFC has a promising potential as a portable power source in the future.",battery
"Neutral red (Nr) is relatively non-toxic and is widely used as indicator dye in many biological test systems. It absorbs visible light and is known to act as a photosensitizer, involving the generation of reactive oxygen species (type-I reaction) and singlet oxygen (type-II reaction). The mutagenicity of Nr was determined in the Ames test (with Salmonella typhimurium strains TA1535, TA97, TA98, TA98NR, TA100, and TA102) with and without metabolic activation, and with and without photo-activation on agar plates. Similarly to the situation following metabolic activation, photo-mutagenicity of Nr was seen with all Salmonella strains tested, albeit with different effects between these strains. To our knowledge, Nr is the only photo-mutagen showing such a broad action. Since the effects are also observed in strains not known to be responsive to ROS, this indicates that ROS production is not the sole mode of action that leads to photo-genotoxicity. The reactive species produced by irradiation are short-lived as pre-irradiation of an Nr solution did not produce mutagenic effects when added to the bacteria. In addition, mutagenicity in TA98 following irradiation was stronger than in the nitroreductase-deficient strain TA98NR, indicating that nitro derivatives that are transformed by bacterial nitroreductase to hydroxylamines appear to play a role in the photo-mutagenicity of Nr. Photo-genotoxicity of Nr was further investigated in the comet assay and micronucleus test in L5178Y cells. Concentration-dependent increases in primary DNA damage and in the frequency of micronuclei were observed after irradiation.",non-battery
"This paper presents the design aspects and probabilistic approach for the generation reliability evaluation of an alternative resource: municipal waste water (MWW) based micro-hydro power plant (MHPP). Annual and daily flow duration curves have been obtained for design, installation, development, scientific analysis and reliability evaluation of the MHPP. The hydro-potential of the waste water flowing through sewage system of Brocha sewage plant of the Banaras Hindu University campus is determined to produce annual flow duration and daily flow duration curves by ordering the recorded water flows from maximum to minimum values. Design pressure, roughness of the pipe's interior surface, method of joining, weight, ease of installation, accessibility to the sewage system, design life, maintenance, weather conditions, availability of material, related cost and likelihood of structural damage have been considered for the design of a particular penstock for reliable operation of the developed MHPP. MWW and self-excited induction generator (SEIG) based MHPP is developed and practically implemented to provide reliable electric power to charge the battery bank. Generation reliability evaluation of the developed MHPP using the Gaussian distribution approach, safety factor concept, peak load consideration and Simpson 1/3rd rule has been presented in this paper.",battery
 Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is frequently overlooked. Adherence to treatment guidelines may be related to the patient’s views about illness. This study aimed at exploring patients’ views about CRF and determining whether they are congruent with best practice treatments.,non-battery
"Feedback from the industrial stake holders indicates that soft skills such as communication, teamwork and independent learning are required from the graduates in addition to good technical competency. Traditional curriculum delivery through lectures, assignment and projects does not provide adequate opportunity and avenue for students to develop their soft skills. Innovation on the traditional curriculum delivery is required to make learning more interesting and provide opportunity for development of soft skills. The department of chemical and process engineering (JKKP), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has been organizing Chem–E-Car competition since 2005 where student's participation is not mandatory and typically involves 2nd and 3rd year students. Students are given full freedom to choose their team member, to select the type of fuel or propulsion system and design their cars. These activities were carried out over a period of one and half month culminated with the Poster Presentation and Car competition. The top three teams that emerge winners from this competition represent UKM at the national level Chem-E-Car competition, an annual event organized by The Institution of Engineers Malaysia. The Chem-E-Car competition has been observed to provide opportunity for students to develop their soft skills such as team work, independent learning and communications. Thus, JKKP decided to formalize this event and integrated it into curriculum delivery as early as the first year through The Introduction to Chemical and Biochemical Engineering course beginning at the 2007-2008 academic year. This paper highlights the implementation on Chem-E-Car as part of the learning activities and the impacts on the students in their effort to achieve the learning outcomes. Over that past two academic sessions, the students have shown serious commitment and participation in this activity. The Chem-E-Car competition provides excellent opportunity for students to develop their soft skills.",non-battery
"This paper presents a fine particle emission profile for a large metallurgical coke production facility. The profile is developed from highly time-resolved, ambient air quality measurements made at a fence line site adjacent to the plant. A fence line approach was employed because the coke plant has hundreds of stacks and other emission points, making it difficult to develop an integrated, facility-wide emission profile using stack sampling techniques. Continuous or semi-continuous measurements of PM2.5 mass, PM10 mass, SO2, NO x , organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), particle size and number, 11 trace metals, wind direction and wind speed were made. Background pollutant levels were also measured. A combination of highly time-resolved meteorology and air quality data were used to determine when the coke facility emissions influenced the sampling site. Concentrations for most pollutants at the fence line site were one to two orders of magnitude higher than background levels when the facility plume heavily influenced the fence line site. Highly time-resolved measurements are essential to resolve these relatively short-duration, large spikes in pollutant concentrations. Simply measuring wind direction is insufficient. From these highly time-resolved measurements an average PM2.5 emission profile for the coke facility was developed. The profile is dominated by OC (40%±9% of PM2.5 mass emissions) and EC (25%±5% of PM2.5 mass emissions). Significant contributions of certain trace metals were also observed, including As, Zn, Se, and Pb. The particle emissions are dominated by the fine fraction, with PM2.5 estimated to contribute 84%±14% of the PM10 mass.",non-battery
"We report on the capacity fading mechanism of Li-ion batteries consisting of a graphite negative electrode and an olivine LiFePO4 positive electrode during long-term cycling. Laminated pouch type 1.5 Ah full cells are cycled 1000–3000 times at a rate of 4C and the full cells exhibit capacity losses of 10–15%. Half-cell study after full cell disassembly, using degraded electrodes, shows that considerable capacity loss occurs for the negative electrode even at low rates, but the total rate performance of the negative electrode is relatively better than that of the positive electrode. The initial capacity of the positive electrode is largely recovered under low rate conditions (0.1–0.5C), whereas a decline in the reversibility is observed at higher rates (1–5C). Loss of the active lithium source from the system is proposed as a primary source of capacity fading for the full cells. This loss is attributed to a change of the solid electrolyte interface during cycling as well as physical deterioration of the negative electrode due to the intrinsic volume change of the graphite electrode. On the other hand, the increased electrode resistance in the positive electrode is suggested to be the root cause of power fading.",battery
"Condition monitoring (CM) of wind turbine blades has significant benefits for wind farm operators and insurers alike. Blades present a particular challenge in terms of operations and maintenance: the wide range of materials used in their construction makes it difficult to predict lifetimes; loading is stochastic and highly variable; and access can be problematic due to the remote locations where turbines are frequently located, particularly for offshore installations. Whilst previous works have indicated that Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers are viable devices for measuring the vibrations from which diagnostic information can be derived, thus far there has been no analysis of how such a system would be powered. This paper considers the power requirement of a self-powered blade-tip autonomous system and how those requirements can be met. The radio link budget is derived for the system and the average power requirement assessed. Following this, energy harvesting methods such as photovoltaics, vibration, thermal and radio frequency (RF) are explored. Energy storage techniques and energy regulation for the autonomous system are assessed along with their relative merits. It is concluded that vibration (piezoelectric) energy harvesting combined with lithium-ion batteries are suitable selections for such a system.",battery
"Periodic arrays of n-GaAs nanowires have been grown by selective-area metal–organic chemical-vapor deposition on Si and GaAs substrates. The optical absorption characteristics of the nanowire-arrays were investigated experimentally and theoretically, and the photoelectrochemical energy-conversion properties of GaAs nanowire arrays were evaluated in contact with one-electron, reversible, redox species in non-aqueous solvents. The radial semiconductor/liquid junction in the nanowires produced near-unity external carrier-collection efficiencies for nanowire-array photoanodes in contact with non-aqueous electrolytes. These anodes exhibited overall inherent photoelectrode energy-conversion efficiencies of ∼8.1% under 100 mW cm−2 simulated Air Mass 1.5 illumination, with open-circuit photovoltages of 590 ± 15 mV and short-circuit current densities of 24.6 ± 2.0 mA cm−2. The high optical absorption, and minimal reflection, at both normal and off-normal incidence of the GaAs nanowire arrays that occupy <5% of the fractional area of the electrode can be attributed to efficient incoupling into radial nanowire guided and leaky waveguide modes.
",battery
"The purpose of the project was to see if there are differences in genetic variation among The Seeing Eye's breeds—golden retrievers (GR), German shepherds (GS), and Labrador retrievers (LR)—and to study whether differences in genetic variation are associated with selection response in the trainability score. Earlier studies indicated that the selection response in the trainability score was lowest in the GR population, which was the smallest of the 3 breeding populations at The Seeing Eye. Eighty blood samples from each of the 3 breeds at The Seeing Eye were analyzed for genetic variation using a battery of 20 microsatellites. The overall number of alleles varied from 7 to 16 for the microsatellites, and the overall heterozygosity was around 0.6. The average estimated within-breed heterozygosity was relatively similar in the analyzed LR and GR dogs, but it was significantly lower in the selected GS dogs. The studies of general genetic variation in these breeding populations did not support that the reason for a lower selection response in the GR was a result of low genetic variation. The study shows that surveillance of genetic variation in working dogs can add important information that can support breeding programs. When breeding for quantitative traits in dogs, it may be advantageous to survey genetic variation periodically to be sure that the level of genetic variation is not reduced.",non-battery
"In this study, carbon-encapsulated Li4Ti5O12 particles are prepared by a facile carbon formation strategy. Under the thermal hydrolysis of acetate in Ar atmosphere, Li4Ti5O12 particles are uniformly coated by amorphous carbon layer with the thickness of 4–6nm. The electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12@C are characterized as high rate anode material for lithium ion batteries. Electrochemical results show that Li4Ti5O12@C can respectively deliver the reversible lithium storage capacities of 155.0, 134.7 and 60.3mAhg−1 at 20, 600 and 1500mAg−1 in a narrow working window of 1.0–2.0V. Cycled in a broad potential range of 0.5–2.0V, Li4Ti5O12@C remains the reversible charge capacities of 158.2, 134.5 and 114.7mAhg−1 at 20, 600 and 1500mAg−1 with capacity retentions of 91.5%, 97.5% and 100%, respectively. Even working between 0.0 and 2.0V, Li4Ti5O12@C can still display outstanding electrochemical properties with the reversible capacities of 220.2, 200.6 and 205.1mAhg−1 at 20, 600 and 1500mAg−1.",battery
 Multiple trauma in mountain environments may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality compared to urban environments.,non-battery
All-solid-state lithium secondary batteries using LiCoO2 particles coated with amorphous Li2O–TiO2 films as an active material and Li2S–P2S5 glass-ceramics as a solid electrolyte were fabricated; the electrochemical performance of the batteries was investigated. The interfacial resistance between LiCoO2 and solid electrolyte was decreased by the coating of Li2O–TiO2 films on LiCoO2 particles. The rate capability of the batteries using the LiCoO2 coated with Li2Ti2O5 (Li2O·2TiO2) film was improved because of the decrease of the interfacial resistance of the batteries. The cycle performance of the all-solid-state batteries under a high cutoff voltage of 4.6V vs. Li was highly improved by using LiCoO2 coated with Li2Ti2O5 film. The oxide coatings are effective in suppressing the resistance increase between LiCoO2 and the solid electrolyte during cycling. The battery with the LiCoO2 coated with Li2Ti2O5 film showed a large initial discharge capacity of 130mAh/g and good capacity retention without resistance increase after 50 cycles at the current density of 0.13mA/cm2.,battery
"The increasing potential of wearable electronics has been motivating the development of self-powered devices to overcome the restriction imposed by conventional power supply. Herein, a kind of highly electronegative and conducting material of MXene nanosheet has been innovatively integrated with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) for electrospinning nanofibers film to fabricate flexible all-electrospun triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Silk fibroin (SF) was chosen for electrospinning nanofibers film to serve as electron donor for TENG with great triboelectricity and biocompatible nature. The MXene-based all-electrospun nanogenerator shows excellent stability and durability as well as extraordinary electrical performance, which supports an instantaneously maximum peak power density of 1087.6 mW/m2 as the load resistance is 5.0 MΩ. Moreover, beyond harvesting electrical power, the fabricated TENG was utilized for real-time monitoring various types of body motion. Lastly, we used the developed TENG to power electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) chip to actuate droplet transport. Considering the excellent triboelectric performance, ease of large-scale manufacturing, and environmental friendliness, this MXene-based all-electrospun TENG provides a promising solution for developing practical, flexible, and self-powered electronic devices.",battery
Electrochemical lithiation of Co2MnSi with a Heusler structure is investigated as a candidate negative electrode (anode) material for secondary lithium batteries. The electrode maintains a reversible discharge capacity of 112mAhg−1 for 50 cycles when cycled between 0.01 and 3V. It is proposed that the lithiation mechanism consists of two steps. Co2MnSi transforms to Heusler-type Li2MnSi during the first charge cycle and subsequent charge–discharge cycles involve the formation of a solid solution in Li x MnSi. The latter compound maintains its structural integrity throughout cycling to provide steady cycling behaviour. Magnetic measurements are also employed to substantiate further the structural changes during electrochemical cycling.,battery
"Electrochemical sensors and supercapacitors are two noteworthy applications of electrochemistry. Herein, we report the synthesis of SnFe2O4 microcubes and Fe2O3 nanorods through a facile microwave assisted technique which are employed in fabricating the electrodes for nonenzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor and supercapacitor applications. SnFe2O4 microcubes exhibited an enhanced specific capacitance of 172Fg−1 at a scan rate of 5mVs−1 in comparison to Fe2O3 nanorods (70Fg−1). Furthermore, the H2O2 sensing performance of the fabricated SnFe2O4 electrodes through chronopotentiometry studies in 0.1M PBS solution (at pH 7) with a wide linear range revealed a good sensitivity of 2.7mVμM−1 μg−1 with a lowest detection limit of 41nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. These results indicate that SnFe2O4 microcubes are excellent materials for the cost effective design and development of efficient supercapacitors as well as nonenzymatic sensors.",battery
"Power control algorithms are an important consideration in mobile ad hoc networks since they can improve network capacity and lifetime. Existing power control approaches in ad hoc network basically use deterministic or probabilistic techniques to build network topology that satisfy certain criteria (cost metrics), such as preserving network connectivity, minimizing interference or securing QoS constraints. In this paper, we will provide a survey of the various approaches to deal with power control management in mobile ad-hoc wireless networks. We will classify these approaches into five main approaches: (a) Node-Degree Constrained Approach, (b) Location Information Based Approach, (c) Graph Theory Approach, (d) Game Theory Approach and (e) Multi-Parameter Optimization Approach. We will also focus on an adaptive distributed power management (DISPOW) algorithm as an example of the multi-parameter optimization approach which manages the transmit power of nodes in a wireless ad hoc network to preserve network connectivity and cooperatively reduce interference. We will show that the algorithm in a distributed manner builds a unique stable network topology tailored to its surrounding node density and propagation environment over random topologies in a dynamic mobile wireless channel.",non-battery
"Transition metal oxides compositing with carbon materials have been developed as the potential anodes for lithium ion batteries, however, some expensive carbon resources and complex preparation steps have limit their practical application. To overcome these issues, herein a dandelion-like manganese multiple-oxides with simple fiber carbon was synthesized using simple carbon made from filter paper. From the microscopy observation, the morphology of as-prepared material both include the dandelion-like three-dimensional nanospheres and needle-type manganese oxides onto a carbon fiber substrate. When applied as the anodes, the fiber carbon-based manganese oxides electrode present an initial capacity of 1172.66 mAh g−1 discharged at a current density of 0.2 A g−1 and maintain over 900 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. Meanwhile they display excellent cycling stability at 0.5 A g−1 and 1A g−1 after 500 cycles. Actually the integrated three-dimensional nanostructure with fiber carbon as a stable skeleton enables fast transfer of electrons and ions, thus contributing to excellent electrochemical conductivity and admirable cycle stability. We provide a simple and practical method for manufacturing high performance anodes for lithium-ion batteries, especially in industrial use.",battery
"Little is known about the neurochemical pathology of vascular dementia (VD); it was suggested that cholinergic mechanisms play a role in the pathogenesis of VD, as well as been established for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A recently devised test of motor cortex excitability, the short latency afferent inhibition (SAI), has been proven to depend upon the activity of cholinergic circuits in the human brain. To evaluate, in vivo, the functional role of the cholinergic system in the cognitive dysfunction associated with VD, we used this test in 20 patients with subcortical ischemic VD (SIVD) and in 25 control subjects. Mean SAI was significantly reduced in the SIVD patients; however, individual data varied widely, with SAI responses ranging from normal to markedly reduced values. These findings provide physiological evidence for an important role for cholinergic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of VD. The evaluation of SAI, similar to that described in AD patients, could help in identifying those patients who are more likely to respond to treatment with cholinergic drugs.
",non-battery
"Infectious diseases remain the world’s top contributors to death and disability, and, with recent outbreaks of Zika virus infections there has been an urgency for simple, sensitive and easily translatable point-of-care tests. Here we demonstrate a novel point-of-care platform to diagnose infectious diseases from whole blood samples. A microfluidic platform performs minimal sample processing in a user-friendly diagnostics card followed by real-time reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) on the same card with pre-dried primers specific to viral targets. Our point-of-care platform uses a commercial smartphone to acquire real-time images of the amplification reaction and displays a visual read-out of the assay. We apply this system to detect closely related Zika, Dengue (types 1 and 3) and Chikungunya virus infections from whole blood on the same pre-printed chip with high specificity and clinically relevant sensitivity. Limit of detection of 1.56e5 PFU/mL of Zika virus from whole blood was achieved through our platform. With the ability to quantitate the target nucleic acid, this platform can also perform point-of-care patient surveillance for pathogen load or select biomarkers in whole blood.",non-battery
"Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is an important risk factor in the development of children that can have a significant academic and social impact. This reinforces the need for its timely identification using appropriate assessment methods and accurate screening tests. The commonly used standardized motor test for the DCD identification is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Test (M-ABC Test) (Henderson & Sugden, 1992). The aim of the present study was to examine if the M-ABC Test can be considered to be the “gold standard” for the motor assessment of children with the aforementioned disorder. For that purpose, a critical review of the extant literature regarding M-ABC Test's psychometric properties was conducted. Neither the test manual nor the studies reviewed provide support for the reliability and validity of the M-ABC Test results in children with DCD. Until sufficient evidence for its technical adequacy is accumulated, the M-ABC Test should not be used in isolation for children with DCD.",non-battery
"Ni-based LiNi(1−x−y)Co x Al y O2 (NCA) and LiCoO2 (LCO) cathode materials taken out of lithium-ion cells after storage for 2 years at 45 °C were analyzed by various spectroscopic techniques. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy exhibited that there was no difference between NCA and LCO. On the other hand, scanning transmission electron microscopy–electron energy-loss spectroscopy demonstrated there was a remarkably large difference between the two cathode materials. Ni-L2,3 energy-loss near-edge structure (ELNES) spectra of the NCA showed a peak at about 856.5 eV, which was assigned to trivalent nickel, was maintained even after storage, indicating that the NCA had no significant change in its surface structure during storage. On the other hand, in the Co-L2,3 ELNES spectra of the LCO a peak at about 782.5 eV, which was assigned to trivalent cobalt, significantly shifted to the lower energies after storage. These results suggest that crystal structure change of the active material surface is a predominant reason of deterioration during the storage test.",battery
"SUWIC’s unique mobile metals emissions monitoring laboratory has been used to measure metal pollutant spikes in the flue gas from a municipal solid waste incinerator, prior to gas clean-up. The laboratory has a heated sampling probe that extends into the plant, allowing the simultaneous on-line measurement of the concentrations of more than 30 metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma–Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP–OES). As little is known about temporal variation in metal concentrations, this capability is seen as a major advance. The graphs of continuous measurements show that the elemental loading is far from uniform, and that concentrations fluctuate far more than may have been conventionally expected. There are occasional significant spikes in the emission profiles for cadmium and mercury, which are believed to be due to specific items in the waste feed material. Continuous monitoring measurements are of significant value for those seeking to model metal behaviour in combustion and in pollution control devices.",non-battery
"The conversion of soluble cerium redox species in the zinc-cerium redox flow battery and other electrochemical processes can be carried out at planar and porous platinised titanium electrodes. The active area, current density, mass transfer coefficient and linear electrolyte flow velocity through these structures have a direct influence on the reaction yield and the relationship between cell potential and operational current density during charge and discharge of a flow battery. A quantitative and practical characterization of the reaction environment at these electrodes is required. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient, k m A e has been calculated for diverse electrode structures from limiting current measurements for Ce(IV) ion reduction in a laboratory, rectangular channel flow cell. This factor can be used to predict fractional conversion and required electrode dimensions. Platinised titanium felt shows superior k m A e values compared to other materials and is a practical, high performance electrode for the Ce(III)/Ce(IV) ion redox reaction.",battery
"The active hybridization technique provides an effective approach to combining the best properties of a heterogeneous set of power sources to achieve higher energy density, power density and fuel efficiency. Active hybrid power sources can be used to power hybrid electric vehicles with selected combinations of internal combustion engines, fuel cells, batteries, and/or supercapacitors. They can be deployed in all-electric ships to build a distributed electric power system. They can also be used in a bulk power system to construct an autonomous distributed energy system. An important aspect in designing an active hybrid power source is to find a suitable control strategy that can manage the active power sharing and take advantage of the inherent scalability and robustness benefits of the hybrid system. This paper presents an agent-based power sharing scheme for active hybrid power sources. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed agent-based power sharing scheme, simulation studies are performed for a hybrid power source that can be used in a solar car as the main propulsion power module. Simulation results clearly indicate that the agent-based control framework is effective to coordinate the various energy sources and manage the power/voltage profiles.",battery
"Local current density is an important parameter in battery modeling, which affects the performance of lithium-ion batteries. In this study, we take LiFePO4 cathode material as an example. A simplified mathematical model has been developed to study the internal mechanism of the electrode. According to the results of the model, the local current density distribution has a regular change at different time in the discharge process. The parameter “critical thickness” as an optimized variable has been presented for battery design. By qualitative analysis to estimate the critical thickness under different condition, we can optimize the design parameter of a battery according to the practical demand.",battery
"Novel sandwich-structured silicon-based anodes have been prepared to inhibit the fragmentation of silicon electrodes typically caused by the large volume changes that occur during charge/discharge processes. An electrostatic self-assembly method and hydrothermal dehydration are used to introduce a reduced graphene oxide layer (rGO) on the surface of silicon/carbon nanofibers (Si/CNFs), which prevent the exfoliation of nano-Si from the electrode bulk to the liquid electrolyte, reduce the electric contact loss, stabilize the electrode’s structural integrity, and improve electrochemical conductivity. The Si/CNFs@rGO exhibit superior electrochemical performance as an anode, retaining a high specific capacity of 1055.1mAhg−1 up to 130 cycles at 0.1Ag−1, with slight capacity loss. The Si/CNFs@rGO electrode also demonstrates outstanding rate behavior with a reversible capacity of 358.2mAhg−1 at 5Ag−1. Results indicate that the graphene layer significantly improves the electrochemical performance of the silicon/carbon nanofiber electrode.",battery
"Computational screening is a powerful tool used to identify solvents for application in EDLC electrolytes. One of the solvents recently introduced by this method, 3-cyanopropionic acid methyl ester, is herein successfully tested as electrolyte in combination with the salt 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium tetrafluoroborate ([Pyr14][BF4]). High salt concentrations, as well as operative voltages of 3.0V are possible with this combination, proving that this new solvent is indeed a promising new candidate for a new class of electrolyte materials for EDLCs.",battery
"In vertebrate development the Dickkopf protein family carries out multiple functions and is represented by at least four different genes with distinct biological activities. In invertebrates such as Drosophila and Caenorhabditis, Dickkopf genes have so far not been identified. Here we describe the identification and characterization of a Dickkopf gene with a deduced amino acid sequence closely related to that of chicken Dkk-3 in the basal metazoan Hydra. HyDkk-3 appears to be the only Dickkopf gene in Hydra. The gene is expressed in the gastric region in nematocytes at a late differentiation stage. In silico searches of EST and genome databases indicated the absence of Dkk genes from the protostomes Drosophila and Caenorhabditis, whereas within the deuterostomes, a Dkk-3 gene could be identified in the genome of the urochordate Ciona intestinalis. The results indicate that at an early stage of evolution of multicellularity Dickkopf proteins have already played important roles as developmental signals. They also suggest that vertebrate Dkk-1, 2 and 4 may have originated from a common ancestor gene of Dkk-3.
",non-battery
"The relations among driving-related psychosocial measures (e.g., driving comfort, attitudes toward driving) and measures of self-reported health were examined in the context of driver characteristics (i.e., age and gender) within the Canadian Driving Research Initiative for Vehicular Safety in the Elderly (Candrive II) baseline data, available for the cohort of 928 drivers, 70 years of age and older. Older members of the cohort had lower comfort scores and poorer perceptions of their driving abilities. Men reported significantly higher levels of driving comfort than women. When analyses including health were controlled for age and gender, significant relations with health status were evident for most of the psychosocial measures. These findings extend previous research and suggest that attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about driving may be influenced by health status and act as mediators in the self-regulation process.",non-battery
"The electrochemical properties of graphene are strongly depending on its synthesis. Between the different methods proposed so far, liquid phase exfoliation turns out to be a promising method for the production of graphene. Unfortunately, the low yield of this technique, in term of solid material obtained, still limit its use to small scale applications. In this article we propose a low cost and environmentally friendly method for producing multilayer crystalline graphene with high yield. Such innovative approach, involving an improved ionic liquid assisted, microwave exfoliation of expanded graphite, allows the production of graphene with advanced lithium ion storage performance, for the first time, at low temperatures (<0 °C), as low as −30 °C, with respect to commercially available graphite.",battery
"In this paper we report a novel architecture of hierarchical 3D porous carbon microspheres (PCM) to encapsulate ZnO-CoO nanoparticles that serves as an advanced anode for high-performance lithium-ion battery (LIB). The PCM is fabricated by a facile aerosol spray pyrolysis method, and ZnO-CoO composite nanoparticles are infiltrated into the PCM by a simple one-pot hydrothermal procedure (i.e., ZnO-CoO@PCM). The developed hybrid material provides several advantages: (1) partial replacement of CoO with ZnO to offer a low-cost and eco-friendly candidate anode, (2) a continuous and large surface area (1236 m2 g−1) carbon network for improved electrical conductivity and uniform dispersion of ZnO-CoO nanoparticles, and (3) porous structure for good electrolyte diffusion and fast Li-ion transport and to buffer the large volume expansion of the metal oxides. As a result, this new ZnO-CoO@PCM nanocomposite demonstrates a higher reversible capacity (1250 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at a current density of 100mAg−1), more excellent cycling stability, and better rate capability than a ZnO-CoO/PCM mixture and than a non-porous ZnO-CoO/carbon black mixture. The 3D porous nanocomposite architecture in this work could shed light on the design and synthesis of other metal oxides electrodes for energy storage.",battery
"On the basis of extreme similarity between the triangle phase diagrams of LiNiO2–LiTiO2–Li[Li1/3Ti2/3]O2 and LiNiO2–LiMnO2–Li[Li1/3Mn2/3]O2, new Li–Ni–Ti–O series with a nominal composition of Li1+z/3Ni1/2−z/2Ti1/2+z/6O2 (0≤ z ≤0.5) was designed and attempted to prepare via a spray-drying method. XRD identified that new Li–Ni–Ti–O compounds had cubic rocksalt structure, in which Li, Ni and Ti were evenly distributed on the octahedral sites in cubic closely packed lattice of oxygen ions. They can be considered as the solid solution between cubic LiNi1/2Ti1/2O2 and Li[Li1/3Ti2/3]O2 (high temperature form). Charge–discharge tests showed that Li–Ni–Ti–O compounds with appropriate compositions could display a considerable capacity (more than 80mAhg−1 for 0.2≤ z ≤0.27) at room temperature in the voltage range of 4.5–2.5V and good electrochemical properties within respect to capacity (more than 150mAhg−1 for 0≤ z ≤0.27), cycleability and rate capability at an elevated temperature of 50°C. These suggest that the disordered cubic structure in some cases may function as a good host structure for intercalation/deintercalation of Li+. A preliminary electrochemical comparison between Li1+z/3Ni1/2−z/2Ti1/2+z/6O2 (0≤ z ≤0.5) and Li6/5Ni2/5Ti2/5O2 indicated that charge–discharge mechanism based on Ni redox at the voltage of >3.0V behaved somewhat differently, that is, Ni could be reduced to+2 in Li1+z/3Ni1/2−z/2Ti1/2+z/6O2 while+3 in Li6/5Ni2/5Ti2/5O2. Reduction of Ti4+ at a plateau of around 2.3V could be clearly detected in Li1+z/3Ni1/2−z/2Ti1/2+z/6O2 with 0.27≤ z ≤0.5 at 50°C after a deep charge associated with charge compensation from oxygen ion during initial cycle.",battery
"The power electronic subsystems within electric vehicle (EV) powertrains are required to manage both the energy flows within the vehicle and the delivery of torque by the electrical machine. Such systems are known to generate undesired electrical noise on the high voltage bus. High frequency current oscillations, or ripple, if unhindered will enter the vehicle’s battery system. Real-world measurements of the current on the high voltage bus of a series hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) show that significant current perturbations ranging from 10Hz to in excess of 10kHz are present. Little is reported within the academic literature about the potential impact on battery system performance and the rate of degradation associated with exposing the battery to coupled direct current (DC) and alternating currents (AC). This paper documents an experimental investigation that studies the long-term impact of current ripple on battery performance degradation. Initial results highlight that both capacity fade and impedance rise progressively increase as the frequency of the superimposed AC current increases. A further conclusion is that the spread of degradation for cells cycled with a coupled AC–DC signal is considerably more than for cells exercised with a traditional DC waveform. The underlying causality for this degradation is not yet understood. However, this has important implications for the battery management system (BMS). Increased variations in cell capacity and impedance will cause differential current flows and heat generation within the battery pack that if not properly managed will further reduce battery life and degrade the operation of the vehicle.",battery
"An intimate hybrid of carbon black/nickel cobaltite (CB/NCO) is rationally designed and successfully synthesized via a facile two-step method. Due to the unique nanostructure and strong synergistic effects between individual components, the CB/NCO hybrid electrode delivers distinctly enhanced energy-storage properties, including a high specific capacity (604.4Cg−1 at 0.5Ag−1) and excellent rate capability (∼77.3% and 62.4% of initial capacity at 10Ag−1 and 20Ag−1, respectively). The excellent energy-storage properties of this low-cost hybrid can stand comparison with the hybrids of NiCo2O4 with various costly nanocarbons. An asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) is constructed using CB/NCO hybrid and activated carbon as the positive and negative electrode, respectively. The assembled ASC device exhibits a maximum energy density of 33.7Whkg−1 and a high power density of 12.2kWkg−1. Meanwhile, the ASC device also shows a satisfactory long cycle-life and long-term stability (∼90% capacitance retention after 50,000 charge-discharge cycles at 5Ag−1). On the premise of cost control, such a strategy may enlighten new design opportunities for high-performance energy storage devices based on inexpensive carbon-based materials.",battery
"Amorphous Mg0.9−x Ti0.1Pd x Ni (x =0.04–0.1) hydrogen storage alloys were prepared by mechanical alloying (MA). The effects of Pd substitution on the electrochemical properties of the Mg0.9−x Ti0.1Pd x Ni (x =0.04–0.1) electrode alloys were studied by cyclic charge–discharge, linear polarization, anodic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and hydrogen diffusion coefficient experiments. It was found that the cyclic capacity retention rate C 50/C 1 of the quaternary alloys was greatly improved due to the substitution of Pd for Mg. Mg0.8Ti0.1Pd0.1Ni electrode alloy retained the discharge capacity above 200mAhg−1 even after 80 charge–discharge cycles, possessing the longest cycle life in the studied quaternary alloys. The improvement of cycle life was ascribed to the formation of passive film on the surface of these electrode alloys. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis proved that the passive film was composed of Mg(OH)2, TiO2, NiO, and PdO, which synergistically protected the alloy from further oxidation. The Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) study revealed that the thickness of passive film increased with augmentation of the Pd content. The electrochemical impedance study of electrode alloys after different cycles demonstrated that the passive film became thicker during cycles and its thickness also increased with Pd content augmentation. It was also found that the augmentation of Pd content resulted in the decrease of exchange current density I 0 and the increase of the charge-transfer resistance R ct. With increasing the Pd amount in the Mg0.9−x Ti0.1Pd x Ni (x =0.04–0.1) electrode alloys, hydrogen diffusion coefficient D was gradually enhanced at first. Then, it decreased with augmentation of cycle due to the growth of passive film on the surface of the alloys.",battery
"Mechanical degradation caused by lithiation/delithiation-induced stress and large volume change is the primary cause of fast capacity fading of silicon (Si)-based electrodes. Although intensive efforts have been devoted to understanding electromechanically induced fractures of electrodes made of Si alone (e.g., Si particles, Si thin films, and Si wafers), the cracking behavior of Si/polymeric binders/carbon black composite electrodes is unclear and poorly understood. Here, we investigate, by in situ and ex situ techniques, the cracking behavior of Si composite electrodes made with different binders, including polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), sodium-alginate (SA), sodium-carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC), and Nafion. We found that extensive cracks form during the 1st delithiation process, which periodically open and close during subsequent lithiation/delithiation cycles at the same locations in the Si composite electrodes made with SA, Na-CMC, and Nafion. In contrast, a significantly fewer number of cracks form in the Si/PVDF electrodes after electrochemical cycling. A possible mechanism is proposed to help understand the effects of binders on the cracking behavior (e.g., crack spacing and island size) of Si composite electrodes. We also suggest possible approaches, including reducing the electrode thickness, patterning electrodes, and using highly recoverable binders, to inhibit cracks and improve the mechanical integrity of Si composite electrodes.",battery
"Concerning the large interfacial resistance of materials within solid-stated batteries (SSBs) caused by the unstable solid contact, an assistant ionic conductor is introduced to improve the interfacial Li+ transport of SSBs. The assistant ionic conductor is achieved by impregnating an ionic liquid (Li-IL) into a porous metal-organic framework (MOF) host. When integrated with LLZO solid-state electrolyte (SSE), the solidified Li-IL guest can make direct contact with the LLZO particles through the open channels in MOF host, which changes the original unstable solid-solid contact into “nanowetted” interfaces to boost Li+ transport. Benefited from the unique nanowetted interfaces, the hybrid SSE demonstrates a high ionic conductivity of 1.0 × 10−4 S cm−1 with a wide electrochemical window of 5.2 V, and also exhibits excellent compatibility with Li metal anode. Furthermore, the LLZO based LiCoO4 and LiFePO4 SSBs with the ionic conductor additive to favor the interfacial Li+ transport achieve high capacity retention of 97% after 150 cycles with reasonable rate capability. The good electrochemical performance is attributed to the effective Li+ transport networks established inside the SSBs by the ionic conductor through the nanowetted interfacial mechanism, which is proved to be a promising approach to the safe and high-power energy storage.",battery
"This paper develops a general model with which to evaluate flow uniformity and pressure drop within interdigitated-channel structures, especially in the context of redox flow batteries. The governing equations are cast in dimensionless variables, leading to a set of characteristic dimensionless parameter groups. The systems of governing equations are solved computationally, with the results presented graphically. Because the results are general, the underlying model itself is not needed to apply the quantitative design guidelines. However, the paper presents and discusses all the information required to recreate the model as needed.",battery
"Carbon beads have been prepared by the carbonization of naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde (NSF) resin. The procedures for the preparation have been described in detail. The electrochemical performance of NSF carbon beads as an anode material for lithium batteries has been correlated with some carbonization factors such as the molecular weight of the precursor, the ramp rate, and final temperature, etc.",battery
"The electrochemistry of Sn–Cu–C nanocomposite anode materials in Na-ion cells is described and compared directly to similar compositions from previous work in Li-ion cells. A series of compositions corresponding to (Cu6Sn5)1−x C x (x =0.15–0.52) was prepared by combinatorial sputtering. This composition range has been shown previously to have good cycling performance in Li-ion cells, having stable capacities near 600mAh/g for 0.15< x <0.45. In contrast, the same composition range was found to have reduced capacity when used in Na-ion cells, having just 350mAh/g when x =0.15. Further addition of carbon results in a reduction of reversible capacity to just 135mAh/g when x =0.44, however this alloy retains 99% of its 10th cycle capacity of 117mAh/g after 50 cycles. The potential use and the impact of the addition of carbon to alloy negative electrodes containing Sn for Na-ion batteries are discussed.",battery
"A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the combined or individual effects of biochar and nitrapyrin (a nitrification inhibitor) on N2O and NO emissions from a sandy loam soil cropped to maize. The study included nine treatments: addition of urea alone or combined with nitrapyrin to soils that had been amended with biochar at 0, 3, 6, and 12 t ha−1 in the preceding year, and a control without the addition of N fertilizer. Peaks in N2O and NO flux occurred simultaneously following fertilizer application and intense rainfall events, and the peak of NO flux was much higher than that of N2O following application of basal fertilizer. Mean emission ratios of NO/N2O ranged from 1.11 to 1.72, suggesting that N2O was primarily derived from nitrification. Cumulative N2O and NO emissions were 1.00 kg N2O-N ha−1 and 1.39 kg NO-N ha−1 in the N treatment, respectively, decreasing to 0.81–0.85 kg N2O-N ha−1 and 1.31–1.35 kg NO-N ha−1 in the biochar amended soils, respectively, while there was no significant difference among the treatments. NO emissions were significantly lower in the nitrapyrin treatments than in the N fertilization-alone treatments (P < 0.05), but there was no effect on N2O emissions. Neither biochar nor nitrapyrin amendment affected maize yield or N uptake. Overall, our results showed that biochar amendment in the preceding year had little effect on N2O and NO emissions in the following year, while the nitrapyrin decreased NO, but not N2O emissions, probably due to suppression of denitrification caused by the low soil moisture content.
",non-battery
"Aberrant salience may explain hasty decision making and psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. In healthy individuals, final decisions in probabilistic reasoning tasks are related to Nucleus accumbens (Nacc) activation. However, research investigating the Nacc in social decision making is missing. Our study aimed at investigating the role of the Nacc for social decision making and its link to (aberrant) salience attribution. 47 healthy individuals completed a novel social jumping-to-conclusion (JTC) fMRI-paradigm, showing morphed faces simultaneously expressing fear and happiness. Participants decided on the ‘current’ emotion after each picture, and on the ‘general’ emotion of series of faces. Nacc activation was stronger during final decisions than in previous trials without a decision, particularly in fear rather than happiness series. A JTC-bias was associated with higher Nacc activation for last fearful, but not last happy faces. Apparently, mechanisms underlying probabilistic reasoning are also relevant for social decision making. The pattern of Nacc activation suggests salience, not reward, drives the final decision. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that aberrant salience might also explain social-cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.
",non-battery
"Abnormal auditory neuromagnetic M50 and M100 responses, reflecting primary/secondary auditory cortex processing, have been reported in children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some studies have reported an association between delays in these responses and language impairment. However, as most prior research has focused on verbal individuals with ASD without cognitive impairment, rather little is known about neural activity during auditory processing in minimally verbal or nonverbal children who have ASD (ASD-MVNV)—children with little or no speech and often significant cognitive impairment. To understand the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying auditory processing in ASD-MVNV children, magnetoencephalography (MEG) measured M50 and M100 responses arising from left and right superior temporal gyri during tone stimuli in three cohorts: (1) MVNV children who have ASD (ASD-MVNV), (2) verbal children who have ASD and no intellectual disability (ASD-V), and (3) typically developing (TD) children. One hundred and five participants (8–12 years) were included in the final analyses (ASD-MVNV: n = 16, 9.85 ± 1.32 years; ASD-V: n = 55, 10.64 ± 1.31 years; TD: n = 34, 10.18 ± 1.36 years). ASD-MVNV children showed significantly delayed M50 and M100 latencies compared to TD. These delays tended to be greater than the corresponding delays in verbal children with ASD. Across cohorts, delayed latencies were associated with language and communication skills, assessed by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale Communication Domain. Findings suggest that auditory cortex neural activity measures could be dimensional objective indices of language impairment in ASD for either diagnostic (e.g., via threshold or cutoff) or prognostic (considering the continuous variable) use.
",non-battery
" Debate remains on whether hypercholesterolemia is associated with cognitive impairment. Hence, we investigated whether poorly controlled cholesterol impairs functional connectivity among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).",non-battery
"Mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of battery separators play a crucial role in integrity of Lithium-ion batteries during an electric vehicle crash event. In this study, four types of commonly used battery separators are characterized and their mechanical performance, strength, and failure are compared. This includes two dry-processed polyethylene (PE) and trilayer separators, a wet-processed ceramic-coated separator, and a nonwoven separator. In detail, uniaxial tensile tests were performed along machine direction (MD), transverse direction (TD) and diagonal direction (DD). Also, through-thickness compression tests and biaxial punch tests were conducted. Comprehensive mechanical tests revealed interesting deformation and failure patterns under extreme mechanical loads. Last, a finite element model of PE separator was developed in LSDYNA based on the uniaxial tensile and through-thickness compression test data. The model succeeded in predicting the response of PE separator under punch tests with different sizes of punch head.",battery
"The transient response of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) supplied with pure hydrogen and oxygen was investigated by load step measurements assisted by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry. Using an in-house designed resistance board, the uncontrolled response in both cell voltage and current upon step changes in a resistive load was observed. The PEMFC was found to respond quickly and reproducibly to load changes. The transient PEMFC response was limited by a cathodic charge transfer process with a potential-dependent response time. For load steps to high-current densitities, a second transient process with a constant response time was observed. This transient was offset from the charge transfer transient by a temporarily stable plateau. Results from chronoamperometry indicated that the second transient could be related to a diffusion process. Transient paths were plotted in the V–i diagram, matching a predicted pattern with overshooting cell voltage and current during a load step.",battery
"Renewable energies in Spain have been promoted since 2002, proof of this lies in the fact that in 2007 renewable energy accounted for 6.9% of the consumption of primary energy. The renewable energies market is one of the sectors with the greatest growth in recent years in Spain and is key to the energy policies at national level. Both at national and regional level diverse targets have been set for the production of renewable energies, this article seeks to analyse the potential, current state, and perspectives of renewable energies in the Region of Murcia, investigating the possibilities of fulfilling the objectives established. The solar energy potential should be highlighted, where most of the territory has more than 5.0kWh/m2; also the wind power potential, where in certain areas there are winds of more than 6m/s; and the biogas potential due to the extensive livestock herds. With reference to the targets for photovoltaic and wind power, these have been reached; but in the rest of the energy sources the fulfilment of the objectives depends on favourable management and administration policies. Likewise, a comparative study of the state of the Region of Murcia has also been carried out, taking the national situation as the reference.",battery
Detailed experimental conditions are added for the aging tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements.,battery
"Introduction.– La voie transcalleuse interhémisphérique antérieure est une voie d’abord pour la chirurgie ventriculaire sustentorielle. Certaines études se sont intéressées à la répercussion cognitive de cette approche mais elles restent toutefois limitées en raison de petites casuistiques, de batteries de tests non exhaustives, de la présence de lésions associées extracalleuses, de lésions calleuses étendues (callosotomies totales ou des 4/5) ou par l’inclusion de patients avec agénésie calleuse. Nous avions pour objectif d’évaluer la compréhension verbale, l’efficience intellectuelle générale, les capacités d’exploration visuo-spatiale, les capacités visuo-constructives, les capacités mnésiques, le fonctionnement exécutif et la présence ou non de troubles comportementaux chez les patients callosotomisés. Patients et méthode.– Une étude radioanatomique grâce à l’IRM permettait de préciser la segmentation calleuse et les lésions extracalleuses associées. En outre, huit patients callosotomisés sur 16 participants ainsi que huit témoins appariés étaient évalués par une batterie de tests neuropsychologiques évaluant l’efficience intellectuelle globale, les fonctions mnésiques, les capacités exécutives et les capacités de transfert d’un apprentissage sériel. Résultats ou cas rapporté.– Soixante-trois pour cent des patients opérés par voie transcalleuse antérieure présentent un déficit mnésique verbal ou visuel, (quatre) 38 % des patients un syndrome dysexécutif cognitif (dont 25 % de fluences verbales), (cinq) 25 % des patients un syndrome dysexécutif comportemental et (six) des difficultés d’apprentissage sériel chez tous les patients. L’analyse de corrélations anatomocliniques montrait que parmi l’ensemble des lésions, celle du segment 3 du CC était le plus associée aux troubles mnésiques (RR=5 ; IC=0,87–28,9 ; p=0,001). Conclusion.– Les résultats de l’étude cognitive convergent avec les données anatomiques publiées récemment et d’IRM avec tractographie. Ils montrent que la connectivité des radiations calleuses ventrales entre les régions frontomédiales contribue à la coopération interhémisphérique des régions frontales qui seraient nécessaires à l’intégrité des fonctions mnésiques et exécutives.",non-battery
"Using a simple mathematical model, we demonstrate that statistical kinetics of phase-transforming nanoparticles in porous electrodes results in macroscopic non-monotonic transient currents, which could be misinterpreted as the nucleation and growth mechanism by the Kolmogorov–Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (KJMA) theory. Our model decouples the roles of nucleation and surface reaction in the electrochemically driven phase-transformation process by a special activation rate and the mean particle-filling speed of active nanoparticles, which can be extracted from the responses of porous electrodes to identify the dynamics in single composing nanoparticles.",battery
"Hydrophilic poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) porous membranes are facilely fabricated via grafting polymerization and cross-linking reaction for vanadium flow battery (VFB) application. A solvent swelling pre-treatment is specifically carried out to introduce hydrophilic groups in the pores and on the surface, where they can form well connected ion transport networks. The modification is performed through chemical cross-linking and grafting of PVP by using potassium persulfate (K2S2O8) as a radical initiator. The effect of reaction condition on membrane morphology, hydrophilicity is characterized in detail. Meanwhile, the performance of modified membranes is detected in VFB single cell at a current density of 80 mA cm−2. It is found that more PVP is immobilized on membrane surface and in the pores with prolonging reaction time. Consequently, the membrane wetability and effective pore size change dramatically, resulting better hydrophilicity and higher ion selectivity. As a result, the VFBs assembled with these modified membranes show higher CE and overall better EE than unmodified ones. The optimized membrane shows CE of 94.4% and EE of 83.3%, which is comparable to commercial Nafion 115. Furthermore, the prepared hydrophilic PVDF membranes demonstrate excellent chemical stability through the long-term battery operation, showing great prospects in VFB applications.",battery
"A theoretical study of the structural, elastic and electronic properties of spinel LiTi2O4 anode has been performed by density functional theory (DFT) plane-wave pseudopotential method. The independent elastic constants, shear modulus (G), bulk modulus (B), and Young's modulus (E) are evaluated, respectively. The results suggest that cubic LiTi2O4 is mechanically stable. The G/B ratio of 0.584 indicates the ductility of LiTi2O4 is good. The electron density difference of LiTi2O4 shows that the O2p orbits overlap effectively with Ti3d ones, confirming the formations of strong covalent bonds between them, while Li is fully ionized in the lattice. The formation enthalpy for LiTi2O4 is calculated to be −2070.723±1.6kJmol−1. The strong covalent bonds between O and Ti atoms are not only responsible for the excellent mechanical stabilities but also very crucial for the thermodynamic stability of LiTi2O4 compound. Furthermore, in Li2Ti2O4 compound, the full occupation of 16(c) sites by Li+ not only leads to a smaller C 12 value but also leads to a much larger C 44 one. Therefore, the plasticity and ductility of the Li2Ti2O4 become poor in comparison to LiTi2O4, while the thermodynamic stability of Li2Ti2O4 can be further improved after the Li+ intercalation of LiTi2O4.",battery
"High-speed electron transfer channels and short Li ion transport distance are beneficial to improvement of Li ion battery properties. Here, a two-step solution phase synthesis method is developed to construct the V2O5 quantum dots/graphene hybrid nanocomposite by controlling nucleation and growth processes. It is demonstrated that the V2O5 quantum dots with an average size of 2-3 nm are uniformly anchored on the graphene sheets. The specific capacity can achieve 212mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1 after 100 cycles. Significantly, the novel V2O5 quantum dots/graphene shows a stable cycling performance with 89% capacity retention after 300 cycles. The improvement in electrochemical properties could be attributed to the short Li ion transfer distance, two-dimensional electron channels, homogeneous dispersion and immobilization of V2O5 quantum dots. Meanwhile, it indicates that V2O5 quantum dots/graphene is promising cathode material for use in long-life rechargeable lithium batteries. This design conception and synthesis strategy for V2O5 could also be extended to other electrode material systems.",battery
"Self-configuration and autonomy are key features required for the next generation of gadgets and networks, since regular users are willing to have computationally enabled devices pervasively spread into their environment. Sensors are among the most promising devices into this new scenario. However, their low battery and processing power raise several issues to these autonomy requirements. This paper presents BiO4SeL (Bio-Inspired Optimization for Sensor Network Lifetime), a swarm intelligence-based algorithm to perform self-organization and optimization of lifetime by means of routing into a Wireless Sensor Network. Results show that BiO4SeL achieves its objectives when compared to similar approaches: ARAMA (Ant-based Routing Algorithm for MANETs), EAR (Energy-Aware Routing) and AODV (Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector).",non-battery
"The performance of high-silicon-content anodes was tested as a function of silicon particle-size (44μm, 1.8μm and 70–100nm), surface pre-treatment and solvent chosen for anode preparation. Two simple procedures, leading to significant improvements in electrode performance are reported. First, pre-treatment of nano-Si in ethanol which unexpectedly yields functionalised surfaces improving cycling stability. Second, the use of a 30:70 solution of ethanol and water to dissolve the CMC-binder for the electrode preparation boosts specific battery capacity. Ethanol pre-treatment of nano-Si also resulted in improved adhesion of the electrode to the current collector as well as in de-agglomeration of nano-Si powder. All these treatments improved capacity stability during cycling. Changes in surface chemistry of nano-Si before and after ethanol treatment have been analysed by XPS. A stable capacity of about 1630mAhg−1 was obtained after 25 cycles for an electrode containing 80% silicon using ethanol during electrode coating preparation.",battery
"Bipolar rechargeable alkaline manganese dioxide–zinc (RAM) batteries are produced in the laboratory. These are obtained through minimizing the passivation problems associated with the zinc electrode, which is considered to have a limiting effect on the charge–discharge cycle performance. To overcome this, different tin alloys are employed in the zinc negative electrode (anode). A relationship is observed between the tin alloying elements, as current-collectors, and gas evolution during the cycling. A copper–tin–zinc ternary alloy (trademark: Optalloy) displays better corrosion resistance and a higher hydrogen overvoltage, when used as the anode current-collector. To increase the electrochemical reversibility and electronic conductivity of the anode mass, porous zinc is treated with Optalloy. This is to obtain a modified zinc electrode, which is found to be effective in terms of raising the cycle performance of the bipolar RAM batteries. Moreover, optimum electrical contact between the electroactive materials and the conductive carbon-filled polyethylene matrix is achieved through coating graphite on the cathode as well as electroless plating of copper on the anode side. It is evident that copper acts as an underlayer for the current-collector.",battery
"Silicon is considered to be one of the most promising substitutes for tradition graphite anode due to its highest theoretical specific capacity (4200 mAh g−1) in nature. However, the poor electronic conductivity and huge volume change during lithiation/delithiation process cause serious electrode polarization and the active particle cracking, resulting in significant capacity fading and therefore greatly limit their commercial application. Herein, we report a novel method—electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to prepare the CNFs/Si film with honeycomb structure as an integrated anode electrode without additional binders and conductive agents. The electrode film can be formed by the codeposition of CNFs and Si nanospheres onto the copper foil. Moreover, lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7) has been proved to play a critical role on the structure and morphology of the electrode by influencing the migration rate and double electric layer of charged particles during the EPD process. As a result, the CNFs/Si electrode with nanosized Si particles homogeneously distributed in the CNFs matrix prepared by EPD method exhibits excellent capacity retention with a reversible capacity of 670 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 400 mA g−1 and good rate performance.",battery
"The goal of this narrative review was to give an up-to-date overview of the peripheral and central neurostimulation methods that can be used to treat chronic pain. Special focus has been given to three pain conditions: neuropathic pain, nociplastic pain and primary headaches. Both non-invasive and invasive techniques are briefly presented together with their pain relief potentials. For non-invasive stimulation techniques, data concerning transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), remote electrical neuromodulation (REN) and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) are provided. Concerning invasive stimulation techniques, occipital nerve stimulation (ONS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), epidural motor cortex stimulation (EMCS), spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are presented. The action mode of all these techniques is only partly understood but can be very different from one technique to the other. Patients’ selection is still a challenge. Recent consensus-based guidelines for clinical practice are presented when available. The development of closed-loop devices could be of interest in the future, although the clinical benefit over open loop is not proven yet.
",non-battery
"Lead acid batteries are still widely used for SLI (Starting–Lighting–Ignition) systems in vehicles because of the cost advantage. The batteries are frequently charged and discharged under different operation conditions, which continuously changes distribution of inner temperature of batteries. Variation of the temperature distributions significantly affects performance and durability of the battery. We developed a one-dimensional dynamic model based on the first principle of thermal dynamics and electrochemistry. The thermal model incorporates control volumes for each of the major constituents of the battery cells that is casing, electrolyte, and electrodes. The model was extended for a six-cell battery and used to analyze effects of discharging currents on the performances and temperature, compared with results from a three-dimensional finite element analysis and tested against experimental results obtained from a thermal chamber and using thermal imaging.",battery
"Pyrite FeS2 has long been used as commercial primary lithium batteries at room temperature. To achieve rechargeable FeS2 battery, biomass-carbon@FeS2 composites are prepared using green and renewable auricularia auricula as carbon source through the process of carbonization and sulfuration. The auricularia auricula has strong swelling characteristics to absorb aqueous solution which can effectively absorb Fe ions into its body. FeS2 homogeneously distributed in biomass carbon matrix performs high electronic and ionic conductivity. The specific capacity of biomass-carbon@FeS2 composites remains 850 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles at 0.5C and 700 mAh g−1 at the rate of 2C after 150 cycles. Biomass-carbon@FeS2 composites exhibit high-rate capacity in lithium-ion battery.",battery
"Groundwater flow exerts a crucial control on the boundary between the sea and freshwater and is thus a key factor for preserving groundwater resources and preventing seawater intrusion in coastal areas. Although it is highly probable that geological faults in coastal areas affect groundwater flow patterns, the effect has not been described yet in detail. This study is aimed at detecting and imaging groundwater flow and its temporal change around a fault in a coastal area through resistivity and chargeability distributions using electrical sounding. The Okoshiki area in central Kyushu, southwest Japan, was selected as a case study area, because of the presence of Kamiouda Fault. The measurements were conducted along six lines of both parallel and perpendicular orientations to the coastline. A feature suggesting a fault zone was evident on two lines. Through the temporal change of resistivity, movement and mixing processes of the seawater and freshwater during the ebb, low and flood tides were interpreted. A conceptual model of the processes was constructed in which a fault zone and the configuration of bedrock are dominant elements by acting as a selective path and a barrier to the groundwater flow, respectively.
",non-battery
"Different solvent mixtures were investigated for non-aqueous vanadium acetylacetonate (V(acac)3) redox flow batteries with tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate as the supporting electrolyte. The aim of this study was to increase the energy density of the non-aqueous redox flow battery. A mixture of acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide and 1-3-dioxolane nearly doubles the solubility of the active species. The proposed electrolyte system was characterized by Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and charge–discharge set-up. Spectroscopic methods were applied to understand the interactions between the solvents used and their impact on the solubility. The potential difference between oxidation and reduction of V(acac)3 measured by cyclic voltammetry was about 2.2 V. Impedance spectroscopy showed an electrolyte resistance of about 2400 Ω cm2. Experiments in a charge–discharge test cell achieved coulombic and energy efficiencies of ∼95% and ∼27% respectively. The highest discharge power density was 0.25 mW cm−2.",battery
"Pristine spinel lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) and zinc- and cerium-doped lithium manganese oxide [LiZn x Ce y Mn2−x−y O4 (x =0.01–0.10; y =0.10–0.01)] are synthesized for the first time via the sol–gel route using p-amino benzoic acid as a chelating agent to obtain micron-sized particles and enhanced electrochemical performance. The sol–gel route offers shorter heating time, better homogeneity and control over stoichiometry. The resulting spinel product is characterized through various methods such as thermogravimetic and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and electrochemical galvanostatic cycling studies. Charge–discharge studies of LiMn2O4 samples heated at 850°C exhibit a discharge capacity of 122mAhg−1 and a corresponding 99% coulombic efficiency in the 1st cycle. The discharge capacity and cycling performance of LiZn0.01Ce0.01Mn1.98O4 is found to be superior (124mAhg−1), with a low capacity fade (0.1mAhg−1 cycle−1) over the investigated 10 cycles.",battery
"The performance of materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage depends upon the number of electrocatalytic sites available for reaction and their accessibility by the transport of reactants and products. For solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cell materials, standard 3-D measurements such as connected triple-phase boundary (TPB) length and effective transport properties partially inform on how local geometry and network topology causes variability in TPB accessibility. A new measurement, the accessible TPB, is proposed to quantify these effects in detail and characterize material performance. The approach probes the reticulated pathways to each TPB using an analytical electrochemical fin model applied to a 3-D discrete representation of the heterogeneous structure provided by skeleton-based partitioning. The method is tested on artificial and real structures imaged by 3-D x-ray and electron microscopy. The accessible TPB is not uniform and the pattern varies depending upon the structure. Connected TPBs can be even passivated. The sensitivity to manipulations of the local 3-D geometry and topology that standard measurements cannot capture is demonstrated. The clear presence of preferential pathways showcases a non-uniform utilization of the 3-D structure that potentially affects the performance and the resilience to alterations due to degradation phenomena. The concepts presented also apply to electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices such as other types of fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries and capacitors.",battery
"The shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) seriously affects the cycle and rate capability performances of lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs) and restricts their commercial application. In order to suppress availably the shuttle effect of LiPSs, herein a holistic design strategy for using tin disulfide nanosheet wrapped with interconnected carbon nanotube networks (SnS2@CNT) as the sulfur host and separator of LSBs is put forward. Based on the advantages of physical internment and chemistry absorption for LiPSs as well fast electron/lithium ion transport of SnS2@CNT, the LSBs with SnS2@CNT/S-SnS2@CNT release a high initial discharge specific capacity of 1375 mAh g−1 at 0.1C. After 800 cycles a high reversible specific capacity of 555 mAh g−1 can still be obtained even at a high current density of 2C. Besides, the LSBs with the high sulfur loading of 4.8 mg cm−2 can exhibit a reversible areal capacity of 4.5 mAh cm−2 after 50 cycles. Therefore, the design strategy provides a beneficial exploration for the commercialization of high-performance LSBs.",battery
"Fuel cell power for locomotives combines the environmental benefits of a catenary-electric locomotive with the higher overall energy efficiency and lower infrastructure costs of a diesel-electric. A North American consortium, a public–private partnership, is developing a prototype hydrogen-fueled fuel cell-battery hybrid switcher locomotive for urban and military-base rail applications. Switcher locomotives are used in rail yards for assembling and disassembling trains and moving trains from one point to another. At 127tonnes (280,000lb), continuous power of 250kW from its (proton exchange membrane) PEM fuel cell prime mover, and transient power well in excess of 1MW, the hybrid locomotive will be the heaviest and most powerful fuel cell land vehicle yet. This fast-paced project calls for completion of the vehicle itself near the end of 2007. Several technical challenges not found in the development of smaller vehicles arise when designing and developing such a large fuel cell vehicle. Weight, center of gravity, packaging, and safety were design factors leading to, among other features, the roof location of the lightweight 350bar compressed hydrogen storage system. Harsh operating conditions, especially shock loads during coupling to railcars, require component mounting systems capable of absorbing high energy. Vehicle scale-up by increasing mass, density, or power presents new challenges primarily related to issues of system layout, hydrogen storage, heat transfer, and shock loads.",battery
"An odorant receptor map in mammals that is constructed by the glomerular coalescence of sensory neuron axons in the olfactory bulb is essential for proper odor information processing. How this map is linked with olfactory cortex is unknown. Using a battery of methods, including various markers of cell division in combination with tracers of neuronal connections and time-lapse live imaging, we found that early- and late-generated mouse mitral cells became differentially distributed in the dorsal and ventral subdivisions of the odorant receptor map. In addition, the late-generated mitral cells extended substantially stronger projections to the olfactory tubercle than did the early-generated cells. Together, these data indicate that the odorant receptor map is developmentally linked to the olfactory cortices in part by the birthdate of mitral cells. Thus, different olfactory cortical regions become involved in processing information from distinct regions of the odorant receptor map.
",non-battery
"Valve-regulated lead–acid batteries are maintenance free, safer, office compatible, and have higher volume efficiency than conventional designs. They are universally used in telecommunications and uninterruptible power supply systems. With the electrolyte immobilized in the separator or as a gel, it is feasible for a monobloc battery to have cells that are not fully sealed from one another, that is to have a common gas space, with certain attendant benefits. This study demonstrates that small differences in the saturation level, acid strength or operating temperature of the cells in such designs can initiate a cycle that may subsequently result in failure if the movement of oxygen and water vapour between cells is unrestricted. Cells that are initially out-of-balance will go further out-of-balance at an ever-increasing rate. This situation can also arise in monobloc designs with sealed cells if the intercell seal is inadequate or incomplete. Battery failure is associated with a re-distribution of water between the cells with some drying out and having high impedance. The preferential oxygen absorption in those cells produces heavily sulfated negative plates. Results on batteries tested under a range of overcharge conditions and temperatures are presented to illustrate these effects. The rate at which the cycle occurs depends on the initial relative density of the acid, the temperature or saturation imbalance between the cells, and the size of the interconnecting gas space. Batteries operating under a continuous cycling regime, particularly those with high overcharge currents and voltages that generate large volumes of oxygen, are more prone to this type of failure mode than batteries operating under low overcharge, intermittent cycling, or float conditions.",battery
"Composition of polyacene (PAS)-based negative electrode has been optimized to be suitable for rechargeable battery systems with polymeric gel electrolytes. The gel electrolytes consisted of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylrne) (PVdF-HFP) as a host polymer, a mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) as a plasticizer, and LiX (X=ClO4 or (C2F5SO2)2N) as a carrier salt. Three types of composite PAS electrodes were prepared and their compatibility with the polymeric gel electrolytes was examined. A half cell assembled with the composite PAS electrode containing proper amounts of polymeric gel and the electrolyte film with the same gel composition showed good cycling characteristics. The gel composition containing 1.0moldm−3 (M) Li(C2F5SO2)2N/(EC+DEC) gave discharge capacity of about 600Ahkg−1 (with respect to the mass of PAS) with high rechargeability.",battery
"Nanoplatelets of metal oxides with interesting porous structure were obtained by thermal treatment of Ni/Al hydrotalcite. Structural and surface properties of the porous oxides were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM and HRTEM), and N2 adsorption–desorption. The electrochemical performance of the electrodes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and constant current charge–discharge measurements. Ni/Al hydrotalcite calcined at 450 °C (NA-450) displayed a maximum specific capacitance (419.0 F g−1) due to the porous structure with the highest specific surface area (142.3 m2 g−1) and small pore size (4.4 nm). The present study shows the potential of NiO nanoplatelets composite material for electrochemical pseudo-capacitors.
",battery
"Divergent thinking (DT) as one component of creativity is the ability to search for multiple solutions to a single problem and is reliably tested with the Alternative Uses Task (AUT). DT depends on activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a prefrontal region that has also been associated with inhibitory control (IC). Experimentally manipulating IC through transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) led to alterations in DT. Here, we aimed at further examining such potential mediating effects of IC on DT (measured as flexibility, fluency, and originality in the AUT) by modulating IC tDCS. Participants received either cathodal tDCS (c-tDCS) of the left IFG coupled with anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) of the right IFG (L−R + ; N = 19), or the opposite treatment (L + R−; N = 21). We hypothesized that L + R− stimulation would enhance IC assessed with the Go NoGo task (GNGT), and that facilitated IC would result in lower creativity scores. The reversed stimulation arrangement (i.e., L− R +) should result in higher creativity scores. We found that tDCS only affected the originality component of the AUT but not flexibility or fluency. We also found no effects on IC, and thus, the mediation effect of IC could not be confirmed. However, we observed a moderation effect: inhibition of left and facilitation of right IFG (L−R +) resulted in enhanced flexibility and originality scores, only when IC performance was also improved. We conclude that inducing a right-to-left gradient in IFG activity by tDCS is efficient in enhancing DT, but only under conditions where tDCS is sufficient to alter IC performance as well.
",non-battery
A new theoretical approach of the insertion/deinsertion of lithium cations in host materials is proposed to take into account two main phenomena which are not included in the classical analysis i.e. the concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient and the influence of the gradient of chemical potential arising from the departures from ideality (thermodynamic enhancement factor). The error function is used to obtain a suitable representation of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the system. The electrochemical process is analysed by numerical integration of the diffusion equation. This procedure proves to be useful to analyse the behaviour of systems involving phase-transition processes and large changes in the chemical potential when the concentration varies. The theoretical analysis is illustrated on the model case of lithium insertion in V2O5 thin film prepared by atomic layer chemical vapour deposition (ALCVD).,battery
"Water oxidation by amorphous oxides is of high interest in artificial photosynthesis and other routes towards non-fossil fuels, but the mode of catalysis in these materials is insufficiently understood. We tracked mechanistically relevant oxidation-state and structural changes of an amorphous Co-based catalyst film by in situ experiments combining directly synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) with electrocatalysis. Unlike a classical solid-state material, the bulk material is found to undergo chemical changes. Two redox transitions at midpoint potentials of about 1.0 V (CoII0.4CoIII0.6 ↔ all-CoIII) and 1.2 V (all-CoIII ↔ CoIII0.8CoIV0.2) vs. NHE at pH 7 are coupled to structural changes. These redox transitions can be induced by variation of either electric potential or pH; they are broader than predicted by a simple Nernstian model, suggesting interacting bridged cobalt ions. Tracking reaction kinetics by UV-Vis-absorption and time-resolved mass spectroscopy reveals that accumulated oxidizing equivalents facilitate dioxygen formation. On these grounds, a new framework model of catalysis in an amorphous, hydrated and volume-active oxide is proposed: Within the oxide film, cobalt ions at the margins of Co-oxo fragments undergo CoII ↔ CoIII ↔ CoIV oxidation-state changes coupled to structural modification and deprotonation of Co-oxo bridges. By the encounter of two (or more) CoIV ions, an active site is formed at which the O–O bond-formation step can take place. The Tafel slope is determined by both the interaction between cobalt ions (width of the redox transition) and their encounter probability. Our results represent a first step toward the development of new concepts that address the solid-molecular Janus nature of the amorphous oxide. Insights and concepts described herein for the Co-based catalyst film may be of general relevance also for other amorphous oxides with water-oxidation activity.
",battery
"An issue associated with aluminum-based batteries is the drastic parasitic corrosion of aluminum anode, which significantly restricts the utilization of aluminum. An effective approach is to add inhibitors in electrolytes to reduce the anode corrosion rate. In this work, Na2SnO3 and casein are proposed to act as a hybrid inhibitor in alkaline aluminum-air fuel cell. It is demonstrated that 0.05M Na2SnO3 and 0.6gL−1 casein offers the strongest corrosion protection, reducing the corrosion rate by approximately one order of magnitude. The corrosion inhibition is mainly attributed to the inhibition of cathodic reaction process. In addition, the analysis on the morphology and composition of the aluminum surface suggests that casein can greatly promote the deposition of tin to form a uniform and stable layer on the aluminum surface, due to the strong adsorption of polar functional groups in casein. Furthermore, the use of the hybrid inhibitor in aluminum-air fuel cell contributes to an increase of discharge capacity by 89.3%.",battery
"This paper uses recent data on U.S. children from the National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) to create indices that tally the number of problems or risks that individual children experience. We compare results with those from indices developed elsewhere that assess the change across sets of population-level indicators. While the two types of indices show similar trends over time, specific changes, as well as trends, depend on the specific domain of well-being or context examined, highlighting the importance of the distinction between well-being and context. Children with problems in multiple domains tend to be socio-economically and demographically disadvantaged compared with other children. We preface this work by providing an overview of the history of child well-being indicators and distinguish indices of child well-being from indices of the condition of children.
",non-battery
"Metallic cobalt–graphene composites were synthesized through coprecipitation synthetic method followed by hydrothermal treatment at 180°C. The composite material as prepared was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, TEM, Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analysis and Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The results indicate that metallic cobalt particles possess a good dispersion on the surface of graphene. The electrochemical performance of metallic cobalt–graphene composites was characterized by Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests. The specific capacitance of the composite material approaches 1340Fg−1 at current density of 1.5Ag−1 with a capacitance retention rate of 82% at current density of 3.5Ag−1. The results suggest that the combination of metallic cobalt and graphene leads to synergistic performance, which inherits the overall system with enhanced electrochemical performance.",battery
"In this paper, dynamic behavior and performance of a fuel cell power plant (FCPP) which operates in parallel with a battery bank is tested under classified load conditions, such as mostly resistive, mostly inductive, resistive-inductive and non-linear loads. Thereafter, voltage stability analysis is performed using the dynamic response of the FCPP for stand-alone residential applications. Simulation results are obtained using the MATLAB® and Simulink® software packages, based on the mathematical and dynamic electrical models of the system. Using the experimental results, a validated model has been realized and voltage stability analysis is performed through this model.",battery
"With the increasing technological maturity and economies of scale for solar photovoltaic (PV) and electrical energy storage (EES), there is a potential for mass-scale deployment of both technologies in stand-alone and grid-connected power systems. The challenge arises in analyzing the economic projections on complex hybrid systems utilizing PV and EES. It is well known that PV power is of diurnal and stochastic nature, and surplus electrical energy is generally available in midday during high irradiance levels. EES does not produce energy as it is not a conventional generator source. Commonly, the cost of a generating asset or the power system is evaluated by using levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). In this paper, a new metric levelized cost of delivery (LCOD) is proposed to calculate the LCOE for the EES. A review on definitions in LCOE for PV hybrid energy systems is provided. Four years of solar irradiance data from Johannesburg and the national load data from Kenya are obtained for case studies. The proposed cost calculation methods are evaluated with two types of EES, namely Vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) and Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. It shows that the marginal LCOE and LCOD indices can be used to assist policymakers to consider the discount rate, the type of storage technology and sizing of components in a PV-EES hybrid system.",battery
"P2-type Na0.7MnO2, with high capacity and excellent Na ion conductivity, is a promising cathode material for Na-ion batteries. However, its rapid capacity decay upon repeated cycles restricts its practical application. In this study, we demonstrate a facile method to surface coat and dope P2-Na0.7MnO2 with a P2-Na0.7Ni0.33Mn0.67O2 layer in a single step to enhance its cycle stability. The coating suppresses the dissolution of Mn ions into electrolyte, and the Ni dopant suppresses orthorhombic distortion, inhibits Na+/vacancy ordering and improves structural stability upon cycling. As a consequence, the coating enhances capacity retention from 62.2% (Na0.7MnO2) to 87.7% (Na0.7MnO2/20 wt% Na0.7Ni0.33Mn0.67O2) over 50 cycles, and from 20.7% (Na0.7MnO2) to 68.9% (Na0.7MnO2/20 wt% Na0.7Ni0.33Mn0.67O2) over 100 cycles without sacrificing the initial discharge capacity. In addition, the air-stable Na0.7Ni0.33Mn0.67O2 surface layer protects Na0.7MnO2 against air exposure.",battery
"Broglio SP, Sosnoff JJ, Rosengren KS, McShane K. A comparison of balance performance: computerized dynamic posturography and a random motion platform. Objective To establish the clinical utility of the PROPRIO 5000 as a balance assessment device by establishing convergent validity with the NeuroCom sensory organization test (SOT). Design Cross-sectional. Setting Balance research laboratory. Participants Young adults (N=40; 21.1±1.4y). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Performance on each of the 6 NeuroCom SOT testing conditions and PROPRIO 5000 dynamic motion analysis score. Results Correlational analyses between output variables yielded significant relationships between the dynamic motion analysis score from the 0 to 10 second (r=−.38), 10 to 20 second (r=−.34), and 20 to 30 second (r=−.35) intervals and the SOT composite balance score. Conclusions The initial stages of the PROPRIO 5000 and the NeuroCom SOT battery may evaluate similar aspects of postural control. However, as the magnitude of PROPRIO perturbations increased, the relationship between the devices diverged and the complete PROPRIO assessment is not thought to pair with the SOT assessment. Differences between the 2 devices may be associated with varying degrees of test difficulty and the necessary postural control strategies involved in responding to continual balance perturbations (PROPRIO 5000) or to different sensory inputs (SOT).",non-battery
"A series of solid magnesium electrolytes were synthesized via the transmetallation of magnesium phenolates to coordinatively unsaturated metal sites lining the pores of the metal–organic frameworks Mg2(2,5-dioxidobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate) and Mg2(4,4′-dioxidobiphenyl-3,3′-dicarboxylate). The resulting materials represent a new class of solid magnesium electrolytes that are both crystalline, and exhibit room-temperature ionic conductivities up to 0.25 mS cm−1. The materials reported herein are one-hundred times more conductive at room temperature than any other solid magnesium electrolyte and represent the only class of materials sufficiently conductive for practical consideration in magnesium batteries.
",battery
"Herein, we report a rapid and simultaneous synthesis of manganese oxide (MnO2) nanoparticles deposited on porous graphene foam by microwave-assisted method. The microwave irradiation enables simultaneously reduction and porous structure of graphene oxide and deposition of MnO2. As-synthesized MnO2/graphene nanocomposites are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The resultant MnO2/graphene nanocomposite electrodes exhibit as high as specific capacitance of 372Fg−1 at 0.5Ag−1, high rate capability (82% retention at 5Ag−1), and good long-term stability (98.5% retention during 3000cycles). This synthetic method could be applicable to the mass production of porous nanocomposites as energy storage materials for supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"A new carbon nanotube (CNTs)–poly acrylonitrile (PAN) composite electrolyte was prepared by the thermal polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) with CNTs for solid-state dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It was found that the uniform CNT–PAN composite was formed due to the thermal polymerization of AN on CNTs. The strong bonding between CNTs and PAN could be confirmed by the characterization of XPS and Raman spectroscopy, resulting in the lowering of crystallinity and the increasing the ionic conductivity of composite electrolytes. On comparison with bare CNTs and the other composite electrolytes, the formation of triiodide (I3 −) ions in CNT–PAN composite electrolytes was drastically increased which was expected from the high ionic conductivity of electrolyte via I3 −/I− redox couple. DSSCs fabricated with CNT–PAN composite electrolytes achieved relatively high conversion efficiency of 3.9% with an open circuit voltage (V OC ) of 0.57V, short circuit current density (J SC ) of 10.9mA/cm2 and fill factor of 63.6%, which attributed to supply the higher extent of I3 − ions from CNT–PAN composite electrolyte during the charge transport process.",battery
"Owing to high energy density, silicon monoxide is an attractive anode material for lithium ion secondary batteries. However, its huge irreversible capacity during initial cycling makes it difficult to use in lithium secondary batteries. A new technique for lithiation in the silicon monoxide has been developed using Li powders. The electrochemical behavior of the lithium powder pre-doped carbon-coated silicon monoxide (OG) anode cell was studied. The cells showed reduced initial irreversibility and enhanced coulombic efficiency. The behavior of the cells was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and electrochemical testing methods.",battery
"Paraffin has a great potential as the phase change material (PCM) to be applied in many energy-related applications, such as thermal energy storage and thermal management, due to its appropriate phase change temperature and large latent heat. The heat transfer characteristics during phase change of paraffin play a very important role in determining the thermo-fluidic performance of the systems. However, the drawback of small thermal conductivity of PCM hampers its application. In the present study, the composite PCM was fabricated by using copper foam to enhance the thermal conductivity of paraffin, and an experimental setup was built to study the phase change heat transfer characteristics of composite PCM. The evolvement of solid–liquid interface and temperature variation during the melting process were experimentally investigated, and the experimental results were compared with the numerical results obtained by the two-temperature energy model. It was indicated that there was a quite large temperature difference between the ligament of copper foam and paraffin, which was due to the thermal non-equilibrium effect in heat transfer between the paraffin and copper foam. Good agreement between the experimental and numerical results showed that the heat transfer characteristics could be well depicted by the two-temperature energy model, which can be further used to depict the heat transfer in thermal energy storage or temperature management using composite PCM.",battery
"Background Clinical tests assessing a correlation between structural pathology and cervical pain have been unsuccessful, leading the way for the development of functionally based tests. The purpose of this narrative is to review 4 promising functional tests for the assessment of sensorimotor dysfunction in patients with neck pain. The Joint Position Error/Head Repositioning Accuracy tests, and the Rod and Frame Test were reviewed. Special Features The SPNTT was developed to test proprioceptive mechanisms in the neck by applying torsion to mainly mechanoreceptors in the cervical spine. The Joint Position Error and Head Repositioning Accuracy test cervicocephalic kinesthesia or the ability to perceive both movement and position of the head in space related to the trunk. The Rod and Frame Test assesses patients' perception of the vertical orientation of their head in 3-dimensional space. All of these tests evaluate important mechanisms responsible for maintaining postural stability and balance and are thought to be applicable for use in mechanical neck pain patients. Summary All of the reviewed tests show clinical promise because they are able to distinguish patients with neck pain, particularly those with whiplash trauma and dizziness from asymptomatic controls. All of the tests assess cervical sensorimotor dysfunction, although considerably more research is needed to more clearly establish the psychometric properties for each test including minimal clinical important difference. Although these tests can be used in routine clinical practice, they should be used in combination with other related tests.",non-battery
"A novel process for extracting transition metals, recovering lithium and regenerating cathode materials based on facile co-extraction and co-precipitation processes has been developed. 100% manganese, 99% cobalt and 85% nickel are co-extracted and separated from lithium by D2EHPA in kerosene. Then, Li is recovered from the raffinate as Li2CO3 with the purity of 99.2% by precipitation method. Finally, organic load phase is stripped with 0.5M H2SO4, and the cathode material LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 is directly regenerated from stripping liquor without separating metal individually by co-precipitation method. The regenerative cathode material LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 is miro spherical morphology without any impurities, which can meet with LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 production standard of China and exhibits good electrochemical performance. Moreover, a waste battery management model is introduced to guarantee the material supply for spent battery recycling.",non-battery
"We designed and fabricated supercapacitors by directly drawing graphite on cellulose paper. The supercapacitors show stable long cycling performance and a high areal capacitance of 2.3 mF cm−2, which is much higher than the literature reported values. This solvent-free deposition technique represents a low cost, highly scalable and versatile fabrication method for integrated paper-based energy devices.
",battery
"Hierarchical tetragonal microtubes consisting of ultrathin mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanosheets have been obtained by annealing nickel cobalt layered double hydroxide microtubes which are synthesized by a one-step solvothermal method. Benefiting from the unique structural features, these hierarchical NiCo2O4 microtubes manifest an excellent electrochemical performance in terms of high specific capacitance and remarkable cycle life as a battery-type electrode for hybrid supercapacitors.
",battery
"The improvement in the cycle life of a metal-hydride electrode, LaNi3.35Co0.75Mn0.4Al0.3, brought about by the addition of ZnO to the alkaline electrolyte has been investigated using measurements based upon in situ electrical resistance, corrosion, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and inductively-coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. It was found that Zn is underpotentially deposited on and subsequently alloyed with the subject electrode upon repeated charge-and-discharge cycles. The presence of Zn extends the cycle life of the LaNi3.35Co0.75Mn0.4Al0.3 electrode by inhibiting the disintegration and lowering the corrosion rate of the alloy particles.",battery
"Human studies prior to 1990 have shown an association between respiratory cancer and exposure to some nickel compounds, but not to metallic nickel. Numerous reviews have examined the nature of the association between nickel compounds and respiratory cancer, but little has been published on metallic nickel. This paper reviews the animal and human cancer-related data on metallic nickel to determine whether the conclusions regarding metallic nickel reached a decade ago still apply. Based upon past and current human studies, metallic nickel appears to show little evidence of carcinogenicity when present at the same or higher concentrations than those seen in current workplace environments. By comparison, animal studies currently available have shown mixed results. A number of studies have shown evidence of carcinogenicity in animals exposed to nickel powders via injection, but other studies have shown no or inconsistent results in animals exposed via inhalation or intratracheal instillation. Further studies in animals via inhalation and humans would be helpful in elucidating the respiratory carcinogenic potential of metallic nickel.",non-battery
"The power spectral density of the output of wind turbines provides information on the character of fluctuations in turbine output. Here both 1-second and 1-hour samples are used to estimate the power spectrum of several wind farms. The measured output power is found to follow a Kolmogorov spectrum over more than four orders of magnitude, from 30s to 2.6 days. This result is in sharp contrast to the only previous study covering long time periods, published 50 years ago. The spectrum defines the character of fill-in power that must be provided to compensate for wind's fluctuations when wind is deployed at large scale. Installing enough linear ramp rate generation (such as a gas generator) to fill in fast fluctuations with amplitudes of 1% of the maximum fluctuation would oversize the fill-in generation capacity by a factor of two for slower fluctuations, greatly increasing capital costs. A wind system that incorporates batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, or other fast-ramp-rate energy storage systems would match fluctuations much better, and can provide an economic route for deployment of energy storage systems when renewable portfolio standards require large amounts of intermittent renewable generating sources.",battery
"Background Several studies show that bifrontal electrode placement produces relatively fewer cognitive adverse effects than bitemporal placement during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depression. There are no reports comparing these electrode placements in schizophrenia. Objectives This study compared the clinical and cognitive effects of bifrontal and bitemporal electrode placements in schizophrenia patients referred for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Methods 122 schizophrenia patients who were prescribed ECT were randomized to receive ECT with either bifrontal (BFECT; n = 62) or bitemporal (BTECT; n = 60) placement. Their concomitant anti-psychotic medications and the number of ECT sessions were not controlled. Psychopathology was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS), and the Nurse Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation (NOSIE). Cognitive functions were assessed 24-h after the final ECT using a battery of tests. Clinical improvement was compared using chi-square test, repeated measures ANOVA and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Cognitive adverse effects were compared using t-test. Results At the end of 2 weeks (after 6 ECT sessions) 63% and 13.2% of BFECT and BTECT patients respectively had met the response criterion for BPRS (40% reduction in total score; OR = 20.8; 95% CI = 3.61–34.33). BFECT patients showed significantly faster clinical response on BPRS (Time × Group interaction effect: P = 0.001), BFCRS (P < 0.001) and the NOSIE total assets score (P = 0.003). ANCOVA using baseline scores as covariates and treatment-resistance status as between-subject factor showed that BFECT patients had significantly greater improvement in all measures. BFECT patients had significantly higher PGI-memory-scale total score than BTECT patients (t = 5.16; P < 0.001). They also showed superior performance in other cognitive measures. Conclusions BFECT results in superior clinical and cognitive outcomes than BTECT in schizophrenia patients referred for ECT.",non-battery
"Epilepsy is characterized by impaired circuit function and a propensity for spontaneous seizures, but how plastic rearrangements within the epileptic focus trigger cortical dysfunction and hyperexcitability is only partly understood. Here we have examined alterations in sensory processing and the underlying biochemical and neuroanatomical changes in tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT)-induced focal epilepsy in mouse visual cortex. We documented persistent epileptiform electrographic discharges and upregulation of GABAergic markers at the completion of TeNT effects. We also found a significant remodeling of the dendritic arbors of pyramidal neurons, with increased dendritic length and branching, and overall reduction in spine density but significant preservation of mushroom, mature spines. Functionally, spontaneous neuronal discharge was increased, visual responses were less reliable, and electrophysiological and behavioural visual acuity was consistently impaired in TeNT-injected mice. These data demonstrate robust, long-term remodeling of both inhibitory and excitatory circuitry associated with specific disturbances of network function in neocortical epilepsy.
",non-battery
"Energy resources are an irreplaceable life resource in the current world, with the use and management of these an important indicator of development. In parallel to the developing world economy, the increase in the use of energy resources is increasingly consuming existing fossil sources and also increasing the amount of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere. As a result of resulting material and environmental concerns, renewable energy resources have begun to be used as alternative energy resources. These resources have advantages such as sustainability and environmental friendliness, in addition to having disadvantages such as higher investment costs and also system reliability is insufficient to provide for continuous demand for energy. To resolve these disadvantages, hybrid systems have been developed involving the use of more than one type of renewable energy resource and/or use with traditional energy resources and/or integration with storage systems. The use of these systems requires finding the solution to optimization problems including one or more objectives such as sizing the system to minimize energy costs, system management to balance the uncertainty of energy produced or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This article was prepared with the aim of investigating optimization techniques developed from past to present to solve this problem and especially to determine the efficacy of multi-objective optimization approaches.",battery
"In this paper, we consider the cooperative decision-making problem for multi-target tracking in multi-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems. The multi-UAV decision-making problem is modeled in the framework of distributed multi-agent partially observable Markov decision processes (MPOMDPs). Specifically, the state of the targets is represented by the joint multi-target probability distribution (JMTPD), which is estimated by a distributed information fusion strategy. In the information fusion process, the most accurate estimation is selected to propagate through the whole network in finite time. We propose a max-consensus protocol to guarantee the consistency of the JMTPD. It is proven that the max-consensus can be achieved in the connected communication graph after a limited number of iterations. Based on the consistent JMTPD, the distributed partially observable Markov decision algorithm is used to make tracking decisions. The proposed method uses the Fisher information to bid for targets in a distributed auction. The bid is based upon the reward value of the individual UAV’s POMDPs, thereby removing the need to optimize the global reward in the MPOMDPs. Finally, the cooperative decision-making approach is deployed in a simulation of a multi-target tracking problem. We compare our proposed algorithm with the centralized method and the greedy approach. The simulation results show that the proposed distributed method has a similar performance to the centralized method, and outperforms the greedy approach.",non-battery
"Odor identification deficits are well documented in patients with schizophrenia, but it remains unclear whether individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis exhibit similar changes and whether their olfactory function is related to social/cognitive functions and symptomatology. In this study, we investigated odor detection sensitivity and identification ability in 32 individuals with at-risk mental state (ARMS), 59 schizophrenia patients, and 169 healthy controls using a T&T olfactometer. The ARMS and schizophrenia subjects were administered the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS), and the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) to assess their cognitive and social functions, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for clinical symptoms. Both the ARMS and schizophrenia subjects had lower odor identification ability when compared with healthy controls, while no significant difference was found in the odor detection sensitivity. The lower odor identification ability in the ARMS group correlated with the severity of negative symptoms and weakly correlated with lower performance on the BACS verbal fluency test. The olfactory measures of schizophrenia patients did not correlate with illness duration, medication, symptom severity, and social and cognitive functions. For the ARMS and schizophrenia groups, the olfactory measures did not correlate with the SOFAS and SCoRS scores. These findings suggest that high-risk subjects for psychosis already show odor identification deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia patients, which probably reflect a biological trait related to vulnerability to psychosis.
",non-battery
"Metallic tin (Sn) used as anode material for lithium ion batteries has long been proposed, but its low temperature electrochemical performance has been rarely concerned. Here, a Sn/C composite with nano-Sn embedded in expanded graphite (Sn/EG) is synthesized. The nano-Sn particles (∼30nm) are uniformly distributed in the interlayers of expanded graphite forming a tightly stacked layered structure. The electrochemical performance of the Sn/EG, particularly at low temperature, is carefully investigated compared with graphite. At -20°C, the Sn/EG shows capacities of 200mAhg−1 at 0.1C and 130mAhg−1 at 0.2C, which is much superior to graphite (<10mAhg−1). EIS measurements suggest that the charge transfer impedance of the Sn/EG increases less rapidly than graphite with decreasing temperatures, which is responsible for the improved low temperature electrochemical performance. The Li-ion chemical diffusion coefficients of the Sn/EG obtained by GITT are an order of magnitude higher at room temperature than that at -20°C. Furthermore, the Sn/EG exhibits faster Li-ion intercalation kinetics than graphite in the asymmetric charge/discharge measurements, which shows great promise for the application in electric vehicles charged at low temperature.",battery
"In this article we present a low temperature method applied to modify the surface of lithium manganese oxide grains’ by using cerium dioxide. In order to determine the structure, size of particles and morphology of the pristine and surface modified LiMn2O4 powders we used several complementary methods: X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The galvanostatic charge/discharge tests of the pristine and CeO2 modified LiMn2O4 cathode materials were conducted in the potential range: 3.5 to 4.5V vs. Li/Li+ at room temperature. High current rates performance has been evaluated by determination of specific discharge capacity at current rates varied from 1C to 30C. Our work demonstrates that surface modification of LiMn2O4 grains’ by using 1%wt. of cerium dioxide admixture improves cycling stability and capacity retention. Pristine LMO reveals 10% capacity loss after 100 cycles when discharged at 1C, while the sample modified with CeO2 grains reveals only ca. 2% capacity loss.",battery
"Mechanical circulatory support in the form of ventricular assist devices (VADs) in children has undergone rapid growth in the last decade. With expansion of device options available for larger children and adolescents, the field of outpatient VAD support has flourished, with many programs unprepared for the clinical, programmatic, and administrative responsibilities. From preimplantation VAD evaluation and patient education to postimplant VAD management, the VAD program, staffed with an interdisciplinary team, is essential to providing safe, effective, and sustainable care for a new technology in an exceedingly complex patient population. Herein, this paper describes the Boston Children’s Hospital VAD experience over a decade and important lessons learned from developing a pediatric program focusing on a high-risk but low-volume population. We highlight the paramount role of the VAD coordinator, clinical infrastructure requirements, as well as innovation in care spanning inpatient and outpatient VAD supports at Boston Children’s Hospital.",non-battery
"This study investigated the relationship between school performance, cognitive functions, and dietary control in a group of 26 early and continuously treated phenylketonuric patients, in comparison with 21 sex- and age-matched control subjects. The cognitive functions study included intelligence measurement, visual and auditory memory and auditory verbal learning abilities, attention, visuospatial, fine motor, language, and executive functions. Participants were asked about school performance. The indexes of dietary control for the first 6 years of life and for the 6 months before the study were calculated. The intelligence score was significantly lower in phenylketonuric patients (P < 0.0001). The percentage of patients with attention problems (P = 0.02), fine motor (P = 0.001) and executive dysfunctions (P = 0.013) was significantly higher than that for control subjects. Patients had more school problems than controls (P = 0.028). Intelligence score was also significantly lower in these patients (P = 0.046). The index of dietary control for the last 6 months was significantly higher than the index for the first 6 years of life, but only in the patients with school problems (P = 0.033). In conclusion, phenylketonuric patients presented more school problems than control subjects, probably related to the disturbed cognitive functions observed. The index of dietary control for the last 6 months yielded a close relationship with school performance.",non-battery
"We quantified nocturnal vocal behaviour in a North American temperate mixed-forest community using automated recording. We recorded for 2–4 nights at 32 locations and identified 18 species singing at dawn or dusk. Of those 18 species, only two sang at night (White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, and Ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapilla). We show that automated recording is a useful tool for studying nocturnal vocalisations.
",non-battery
"The reasons of capacity fading during cycling process of LiMn2O4/Li x V2O5 lithium ion cell with 5M LiNO3 aqueous solution as electrolyte were investigated. XRD and ICP results showed that the properties of the anode have more impact on the cycle life of the cell. In an attempt to improve the cycle performance of the as-assembled cell, coating with an ionic conductive polypyrrole (PPy) on the surface of the anode was proposed via in situ polymerization method. Cycling tests revealed that the stability of the lithium ion cell with surface coated anode has been greatly improved. Moreover, the capability of the cell with coated anode was also enhanced compared with the cell with bare anode.",battery
"Carbon nanofibers were prepared through electrospinning a blend solution of polyacrylonitrile and polypyrrole, followed by carbonization at 700°C. Structural features of electrospun polyacrylonitrile/polypyrrole bicomponent nanofibers and their corresponding carbon nanofibers were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimeter, thermo-gravimetric analysis, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that intermolecular interactions are formed between two different polymers, which influence the thermal properties of electrospun bicomponent nanofibers. In addition, with the increase of polypyrrole concentration, the resultant carbon nanofibers exhibit increasing disordered structure. These carbon nanofibers were used as anodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries without adding any polymer binder or conductive material and they display high reversible capacity, improved cycle performance, relatively good rate capability, and clear fibrous morphology even after 50 charge/discharge cycles. The improved electrochemical performance of these carbon nanofibers can be attributed to their unusual surface properties and unique structural features, which amplify both surface area and extensive intermingling between electrode and electrolyte phases over small length scales, thereby leading to fast kinetics and short pathways for both Li ions and electrons.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter provides a brief overview of sodium-sulphur secondary batteries. The sodium-sulphur battery is a relatively high ampere hour rechargeable battery, envisaged as a power source on electric vehicles and trains. Its operation relies on the property of β-alumina, namely that it combines very low electronic conductivity with an unusually high ionic conductivity, which is specific to sodium ions as charge carriers. The cell voltage, 2.08 V, is derived from the chemical reaction between sodium and sulphur to produce sodium polysulphide; and the theoretical energy density is about 750 W h/kg, is high compared with that of the lead-acid battery. The novelty of the properties discovered in sodium r-alumina may be estimated from the fact that, although its melting point is around 2000°C, several amps per square centimeter of current may be passed across the electrolyte at 300°C. The cell operates at about 350°C. The key to the rapid sodium ion mobility lies in the crystal structure and the low potential energy path for sodium migration that this produces.",battery
"Sodium-oxygen batteries are becoming of increasing interest in the research community as they are able to overcome some of the difficulties associated with lithium-oxygen batteries. The interpretation of the processes governing the discharge and charge of these batteries, however, has been under debate since their early development. In this work we combine different electrochemical methods to build up a model of the discharge product formation and decomposition. We initially analyze the formation and decomposition of the discharge products by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. After that, and for the first time, oxygen electrode processes in Na-O2 cells are analyzed by means of electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance experiments. Based on the combination of these two techniques it is possible to evidence the stabilization of the discharge products in the electrolyte prior to their precipitation. The deposition of passivating products that cannot be stripped off during charge is also demonstrated. Cyclic voltammetry experiments at different potential limits further confirm these passivation reactions. In conclusion, this work provides an accurate picture of the mechanism of the Na-O2 cell reactions by combining different electrochemical techniques.",battery
"Large epipelagic fishes (> 30 kg maximum size) are known to display a variety of patterns of vertical movement. Although advances in the affordability and sophistication of electronic tags now allows researchers to routinely document these patterns, there is no standardised approach to classify these behaviours and investigate their physical and biological drivers. This paper reviews the existing knowledge of the vertical movements of large, epipelagic fishes and the evidence for the underlying factors that structure this behaviour. The review focuses on behaviours occurring at a range of temporal scales, from seconds to years. We propose that patterns of vertical movement in gill-breathing animals of the epipelagic are best characterised by the need to move continuously in a three-dimensional environment while optimising food encounter and energy expenditure, avoiding predators, searching for mates and remaining within the limits imposed by the physical environment on their physiology (notably water temperature and oxygen). Modern biologging technologies that record both the internal (body temperature, heart rate) and external physical environment coupled with direct recording of behaviour from tri-axial sensors and animal-borne cameras offer a new approach to the analysis of drivers of vertical movement. Ultimately, this can provide insights into the evolution of the behaviour and morphology of these animals.
",non-battery
"Using kinetic contours derived from everyday objects, we investigated how motion affects object identification. In order not to be distinguishable when static, kinetic contours were made from random dot displays consisting of two regions, inside and outside the object contour. In Experiment 1, the dots were moving in only one of two regions. The objects were identified nearly equally well as soon as the dots either in the figure or in the background started to move. RTs decreased with increasing motion coherence levels and were shorter for complex, less compact objects than for simple, more compact objects. In Experiment 2, objects could be identified when the dots were moving both in the figure and in the background with speed and direction differences between the two. A linear increase in either the speed difference or the direction difference caused a linear decrease in RT for correct identification. In addition, the combination of speed and motion differences appeared to be super-additive.",non-battery
"A new efficient photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) is one of the possible solutions to the energy and climate problems of our time. Such a device requires development of new semiconducting materials with tailored properties with respect to stability and light absorption. Here we perform computational screening of around 19000 oxides, oxynitrides, oxysulfides, oxyfluorides, and oxyfluoronitrides in the cubic perovskite structure with PEC applications in mind. We address three main applications: light absorbers for one- and two-photon water splitting and high-stability transparent shields to protect against corrosion. We end up with 20, 12, and 15 different combinations of oxides, oxynitrides and oxyfluorides, respectively, inviting further experimental investigation.
",battery
"A new Li-ion conducting holmium based solid electrolyte by the sol–gel method was synthesized. The synthesis was carried out at low temperature compared to conventional methods by which lanthanoid silicates are synthesized. The formation temperature of the compound was found through differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TG). The sintered samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ac impedance spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of conductivity was analysed. The experimental results show that the formation temperature of the lithium holmium silicate was found to be above 500 °C. Highest conductivity obtained was in the order of 10−4 S cm−1 at 750 °C.
",battery
"Pure NiAl-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and graphene oxide (GO)/NiAl-LDHs composites are both fabricated by refluxing solution with the assistance of microwave irradiation within 2hours. The structural characterization and morphological observation of the composites suggest that small NiAl-LDHs crystals are in situ grown on the surface of GO nanosheets, preventing the compact stacking of GO as an intercalated spacer. The electrochemical performances of pure LDHs and GO/NiAl-LDHs composites with different content of GO are investigated and compared. The GO/NiAl-LDHs composite containing 23 wt% GO exhibits a higher specific capacitance of 1630 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 in 6M KOH solution and more stable rate capability than others. When GO is substituted by microwave reduced graphene oxide (rGO) or the GO in the GO/NiAl-LDHs composite is thermally reduced at a rational temperature, rGO/NiAl-LDHs composites are obtained with enhanced electrochemical behavior in rate capability and cycle life. Critical comparisons indicate that rGO/NiAl-LDHs composite prepared by thermal reducing GO/NiAl-LDHs has better cycling performance and rate capability than the counterpart directly prepared with rGO.",battery
"The Br2/H2 redox flow cell shows promise as a high-power, low-cost energy storage device. The effect of various aspects of material selection, processing, and assembly of electrodes on the operation, performance, and efficiency of the system is determined. In particular, (+) electrode thickness, cell compression, hydrogen pressure, and (−) electrode architecture are investigated. Increasing hydrogen pressure and depositing the (−) catalyst layer on the membrane instead of on the carbon paper backing layers have a large positive impact on performance, enabling a limiting current density above 2 A cm−2 and a peak power density of 1.4 W cm−2. Maximum energy efficiency of 79 % is achieved. In addition, the root cause of limiting-current behavior in this system is elucidated, where it is found that Br− reversibly adsorbs at the Pt (−) electrode for potentials exceeding a critical value, and the extent of Br− coverage is potential-dependent. This phenomenon limits maximum cell current density and must be addressed in system modeling and design. These findings are expected to lower system cost and enable higher efficiency.",battery
 Field and community evaluation of the routine usage of CD4 T counting platforms is essential in resource-poor countries for efficient and cost-effective monitoring of HIV-infected adults and children attending health care centers.,non-battery
"The first working Mg rechargeable battery prototypes were ready for presentation about 13 years ago after two breakthroughs. The first was the development of non-Grignard Mg complex electrolyte solutions with reasonably wide electrochemical windows in which Mg electrodes are fully reversible. The second breakthrough was attained by demonstrating high-rate Mg cathodes based on Chevrel phases. These prototypes could compete with lead–acid or Ni–Cd batteries in terms of energy density, very low self-discharge, a wide temperature range of operation, and an impressive prolonged cycle life. However, the energy density and rate capability of these Mg battery prototypes were not attractive enough to commercialize them. Since then we have seen gradual progress in the development of better electrolyte solutions, as well as suggestions of new cathodes. In this article we review the recent accumulated experience, understandings, new strategies and materials, in the continuous R&D process of non-aqueous Mg batteries. This paper provides a road-map of this field during the last decade.
",battery
"Food wastes are today considered as a cheap source of valuable components since the existent technologies allow the recovery of target compounds and their recycling inside the food chain as functional additives in different products. Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is generated from olive oil extraction systems. It has high added-value compounds namely phenolics, recalcitrants, pectin, and some important enzymes. It causes a certain amount of toxicity/phytotoxicity because of its phenolic compounds. OMW also has significant impacts when discharged directly into surface waters. Therefore, the treatment of olive mill wastewater is very much needed. Several types of techniques have been investigated for OMW treatment along with recovery and removal of its phenolic compounds. Among these techniques, physical ones are utilized for extraction purposes, while chemical and biological methods are applied in order to diminish organic load. In this review, current status and recent developments in the recovery and removal of phenolic compounds from OMW have been critically examined.",non-battery
"Understanding the genetic factors underlying brain structural connectivity is a major challenge in imaging genetics. Here, we present results from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of whole-brain white matter (WM) fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of microstructural coherence measured using diffusion tensor imaging. Data from independent GWASs of 355 Swedish and 250 Norwegian healthy adults were integrated by meta-analysis to enhance power. Complementary GWASs on behavioral data reflecting processing speed, which is related to microstructural properties of WM pathways, were performed and integrated with WM FA results via multimodal analysis to identify shared genetic associations. One locus on chromosome 17 (rs145994492) showed genome-wide significant association with WM FA (meta P value = 1.87 × 10−08). Suggestive associations (Meta P value <1 × 10−06) were observed for 12 loci, including one containing ZFPM2 (lowest meta P value = 7.44 × 10−08). This locus was also implicated in multimodal analysis of WM FA and processing speed (lowest Fisher P value = 8.56 × 10−07). ZFPM2 is relevant in specification of corticothalamic neurons during brain development. Analysis of SNPs associated with processing speed revealed association with a locus that included SSPO (lowest meta P value = 4.37 × 10−08), which has been linked to commissural axon growth. An intergenic SNP (rs183854424) 14 kb downstream of CSMD1, which is implicated in schizophrenia, showed suggestive evidence of association in the WM FA meta-analysis (meta P value = 1.43 × 10−07) and the multimodal analysis (Fisher P value = 1 × 10−07). These findings provide novel data on the genetics of WM pathways and processing speed, and highlight a role of ZFPM2 and CSMD1 in information processing in the brain.",non-battery
"There is strong evidence that global climate change over the last several decades has caused shifts in species distributions, species extinctions, and alterations in the functioning of ecosystems. However, because of high variability on short (i.e., diurnal, seasonal, and annual) timescales as well as the recency of a comprehensive instrumental record, it is difficult to detect or provide evidence for long-term, site-specific trends in ocean temperature. Here we analyze five in situ datasets from Florida Keys coral reef habitats, including historic measurements taken by lighthouse keepers, to provide three independent lines of evidence supporting approximately 0.8 °C of warming in sea surface temperature (SST) over the last century. Results indicate that the warming observed in the records between 1878 and 2012 can be fully accounted for by the warming observed in recent decades (from 1975 to 2007), documented using in situ thermographs on a mid-shore patch reef. The magnitude of warming revealed here is similar to that found in other SST datasets from the region and to that observed in global mean surface temperature. The geologic context and significance of recent ocean warming to coral growth and population dynamics are discussed, as is the future prognosis for the Florida reef tract.
",non-battery
"Understanding dendrite formation is key to advancing high-energy-density and safe metallic lithium batteries. With the help of cryogenic electron microscopy, heat is now suggested to play a crucial role in stabilizing lithium metal electrodes by suppressing dendrite growth.",battery
"A sulfonated poly(sulfone) (S-Radel®) membrane with high proton conductivity and low vanadium ion permeability showed high initial performance in a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) but suffered mechanical and chemical degradation during charge/discharge cycling. The S-Radel membrane showed different degradation behavior in flow cell cycling and ex-situ vanadium ion immersion tests. When the membrane was immersed in aqueous V5+ solution, the sample cracked into small pieces, but did not degrade to any measurable extent in V4+ solution. During charge/discharge cycling in the VRFB cell, the membrane underwent internal delamination, preferentially on the side of the membrane that faced the positive electrode. A vanadium-rich region was observed near the membrane surface that experienced delamination and Raman spectroscopic analysis of the degraded surface indicated a slightly depressed 1026 cm−1 band corresponding to a loss in the sulfonate SO2 stretch intensity. Even though the S-Radel membrane underwent severe mechanical damage during the flow cell cycling, significant chemical degradation was not obvious from the spectroscopic analyses. For the VRFB containing an S-Radel membrane, an increase in membrane resistance caused an abnormal voltage depression during the discharge cycle. The reversible increase in membrane resistance and severe mechanical degradation of the membrane during cycling may be attributed to repeated formation and dissolution of particles inside the membrane. The mechanical stresses imposed by the particles coupled with a small amount of chemical degradation of the polymer by V5+ ions, are likely degradation mechanisms of the S-Radel membrane in VRFBs under high state-of-charge conditions.",battery
"The conduction mechanism of polymer nano-composite electrolytes are studied using broadband dielectric spectroscopy over a wide range of frequency and temperature. The polymer nano-composites consisting of polyethylene oxide as polymer host, lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate as salt, and nano-crystalline zirconia as filler are prepared using solution casting method. Formation of polymer salt complex and nano-composites are confirmed from x-ray diffraction studies. The electrical conductivity and relaxation phenomena of the polymer salt complex as well as the composites are studied using broadband dielectric spectroscopy. At room temperature, the dc conductivity of the polymer nano-composites are found higher by two orders of magnitude than that of corresponding polymer salt complex. Temperature dependence of dc conductivity is following Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher trend, suggesting strong coupling between ionic conductivity and segmental relaxation in polymer electrolytes. Relaxation phenomena are studied with dielectric and modulus formalism. Frequency dependent ac conductivity show universal dielectric response and nearly constant loss features at high and low temperature regions respectively. The origin of universal dielectric response and nearly constant loss are analysed and discussed using different approaches. Kramer - Krönig approach suggests the origin of nearly constant loss is due to caged ion dynamics feature.",battery
"First attested in the Kharoshthi and Brahmi inscriptions of ca. 250 b.c., the Indic family of scripts has proved one of the world's most successful. Originally devised for Middle Indo-Aryan, then adapted for the accurate notation of Sanskrit, the organizing principle is that of the alphasyllabary, in which consonants are voweled by the attachment of distinctive signs. The three main groups of Indic scripts derived from Brahmi in official use today illustrate progressively greater degrees of modification of the system, to write the modern Indo-Aryan languages, the Dravidian languages of south India, and the linguistically diverse languages of Southeast Asia.",non-battery
"We developed a facile method to synthesize porous and N-rich carbon materials derived from Bombyx mori silk cocoons with an activation and thermal carbonization process. The silk-derived nanosheets carbon fibers consist of a porous and multilayer structure, endowing the materials with high surface area of 349.3m2 g−1 and much exposed active sites. The synthesized N-rich (4.7%) carbon materials are employed as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and exhibit incredible catalytic performance as well as promising electrochemical durability, which are mainly attributed to the large amount of exposed active sites, high graphitization degree and the rich nitrogen elements, especially pyridine-N and graphitic-N. Typically, the silk-derived nanosheets carbon fibers activated by KCI afford a low onset potential of −63mV (vs. RHE), a low overpotential of 137mV at 10mAcm−2 and a Tafel slope of 132mVdec−1. The results may offer a novel and promising method for the preparation of non-metal HER catalysts derived from abundant biomass.",battery
" Intrauterine fetal demise due to utero-placental insufficiency usually occurs between obstetric evaluations when the gestation is not being actively monitored. Rapid advances in the development of “wearable” physiologic monitors linked to smart phone apps allow us to envision novel methods for evaluating the health of a pregnancy, potentially allowing intervention before fetal death or damage from asphyxia occur. In this report, we describe efforts to develop a fetal ECG monitor that can be worn throughout the day to confirm fetal wellbeing.",non-battery
"The hierarchical porous ZnMn2O4 microsphere is successfully synthesized by a facile ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technology combined with the thermal annealing treatment in air. The porous microspheres are built from interconnected porous nanosheets which are composed of numerous nanoparticles with size of approximately 15nm. This unique structure could not only facilitate the transfer of ions and electrons, but also accommodate large volume expansion and contraction so that it shows excellent electrochemical performance. When used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), the ZnMn2O4 porous microspheres exhibited a discharge capacity of 1044mAhg−1 after 300 cycles at a current of 500mAg−1 and superior rate capability (859mAhg−1 at 2000mAg−1). The highly porous structure with nanosheet networks composed of nanoparticles is responsible for the enhanced performance.",battery
ABSTRACT A novel hierarchical starfish-like vanadium oxide is synthesized by a simple and direct hydrothermal method using a functional V2O5 sol as a vanadium source. The formation mechanism of hierarchical starfish-like structure is discussed. Results demonstrate that the functional V2O5 sol plays a crucial role in the formation of a hierarchical starfish-like structure. Starfish-like vanadium oxide is composed of single crystals of a metastable VO2 (B) phase that grow along the (110) plane and four oblique sheets growing on the flanks of the (110) plane. The starfish-like structure can be preserved and undergoes phase transition to the orthorhombic V2O5 phase when calcined at 350°C. Hierarchical starfish-like V2O5 displays higher electrochemical performance than pristine V2O5 powder as a cathode material for LIBs. This improved performance could be attributed to the shortened diffusion path of lithium ions in the former; a large electrode/electrolyte contact area resulting from the unique hierarchical starfish-like structure composed of nanosheets also offers better electrolyte wetting and alleviates the structural degradation upon cycling. The hierarchical starfish-like V2O5 can deliver a discharge capacity of approximately 163mAhg⿿1 at a high current density of 1000mAg⿿1 (5C) even after 50 cycles.,battery
"Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is an idiopathic focal epileptic syndrome in childhood. It is called “benign” because the seizure and cognitive outcomes are usually favorable, but a significant number of children with BECTS present heterogeneous cognitive deficits correlated to NREM sleep epileptiform discharges. The atypical evolutions of BECTS form a spectrum of conditions suggesting that slow sleep nocturnal interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) specifically determine the neuropsychological deficit. Few follow-up studies of neuropsychological outcome in BECTS are available, and very often, slow sleep has not been recorded throughout night sleep. The present study analyzed the long-term effects of IEDs during NREM sleep on neuropsychological development in children with rolandic spikes. Thirty-three children with a diagnosis of BECTS were monitored for at least two years. Results show that these children are at higher risk for residual verbal difficulties, and the abnormal neuropsychological development is significantly correlated with a greater frequency of NREM sleep discharges, school-age epilepsy onset, and a higher number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The findings are discussed in terms of how slow sleep IEDs affect the consolidation of verbal skills during critical epochs of neuropsychological development.",non-battery
"Suspension electrolysis is a combined process of chemical and electrochemical reactions. The developed model for a parallel-plate electrochemical reactor is based on mixture model for suspension flow and balance equation for diluted species taking into account the dispersed phase content and ions migration due to the electrolyte current and partial dissolution of suspended particles in the suspension electrolysis. Electrochemical reactions are specified through flux boundary conditions at the electrode/electrolyte interface. The influence of the combined processes is reflected through the distribution of ions concentration profile in liquid phase and current density profile at the electrode surface. Numerical investigation indicates that about 90 % of the iron deposition flux is accommodated by an additional component flux due to the chemical reaction of partial dissolution of α-Fe2O3 particles in suspension electrolysis.
",battery
"The role of vinylene carbonate (VC) as a thermal additive to electrolytes in lithium ion batteries is studied in two aspects: the protection of liquid electrolyte species and the thermal stability of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed from VC on graphite electrodes at elevated temperatures. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra indicate that VC can not protect LiPF6 salt from thermal decomposition. However, the function of VC on SEI can be observed via impedance and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). These results clearly show VC-induced SEI comprises polymeric species and is sufficiently stable to resist thermal damage. It has been confirmed that VC can suppress the formation of resistive LiF, and thus reduce the interfacial resistance.
",battery
A new inexpensive method aimed at distinguishing the forms in which Li+ remains irreversibly trapped within composite silicon-based anodes was suggested and tested. It includes a life-cycle test at a fixed degree of lithiation during the initial cycles. The integral capacity values obtained from the test were then correlated with the various chemical species of Li+ present in the electrodes after various cycle numbers in both charged and discharged states. Such a technique may provide a quantitative analytical tool for developing this type of electrode.,battery
"This review of traumatic brain injury encompasses its impact on society, pathophysiology, and rehabilitative management. Topics include mild traumatic brain injury, outcomes, prognosis, cognitive rehabilitation, behavioral management, and neurologic and medical complications. Emphasis is placed on clinically relevant topics that have had recent developments or have been historically difficult to treat. Neurologic complications discussed include seizure, balance, visual dysfunction, and spasticity. Medical complications discussed include neuroendocrine and pain issues.",non-battery
"In this work, we present a set of thermal characterization experiments of charged prismatic polymer lithium-ion battery (PLB) comparatively with those of a lithium-ion battery (LIB). These cells at different state of charge (SOC) were tested inside an accelerated rate calorimeter (ARC) to determine the onset-of-thermal runaway (OTR) temperatures. In addition, the thermally activated components of these cells were followed by monitoring the impedance (at 1kHz) and the open-circuit voltage (OCV) as a function of temperature. An increase in the impedance was observed at around 133°C corresponding to the polyethylene separator shutdown. Above 140°C, the OCV dropped to zero indicating an internal short-circuit due the separator meltdown suggesting that the pinholes created in the separator at meltdown are large enough to create an internal short-circuit.",battery
"A control strategy is presented in this paper which is suitable for miniature hydrogen/air proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The control approach is based on process modelling using fuzzy logic and tested using a PEM stack consisting of 15 cells with parallel channels on the cathode side and a meander-shaped flow-field on the anode side. The active area per cell is 8cm2. Commercially available materials are used for the bipolar plates, gas diffusion layers and the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). It is concluded from a simple water balance model that water management at different temperatures can be achieved by controlling the air stoichiometry. This is achieved by varying the fan voltage for the air supply of the PEM stack. A control strategy of the Takagi Sugeno Kang (TSK) type, based on fuzzy logic, is presented. The TSK-type controller offers the advantage that the system output can be computed in an efficient way: the rule consequents of the controller combine the system variables in linear equations. It is shown experimentally that drying out of the membrane at high temperatures can be monitored by measuring the ac impedance of the fuel cell stack at a frequency of 1kHz. Flooding of single cells leads to an abrupt drop of the corresponding single-cell voltage. Therefore, the fuzzy rule base consists of the ac impedance at 1kHz and all single-cell voltages. The parameters of the fuzzy rule base are determined by plotting characteristic diagrams of the fuel cell stack at constant temperatures. The fuel cell stack can be controlled at T=60°C up to a power level of 7.5W. The fuel cell stack is controlled successfully even when the external electric load changes. At T=65°C, a maximum power level of 8W is found. A decrease of the maximum power level is observed for higher temperatures.",battery
"The goal of the present study was to examine the contribution of executive function (EF) and social cognition to individual differences in emotion regulation (ER) in preschool children. Sixty 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children were administered a battery of EF tasks, two theory of mind tasks, a measure of verbal ability, and an ER task. In addition, parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning—Preschool Version (BRIEF-P). Performance on the theory of mind tasks as well as parental ratings of executive function was not related to performance on the ER task. However, a component of EF (i.e., inhibition) approached significance with children's displays of positive behaviors during the ER task. Verbal ability was related to the regulation of positive but not negative emotions. Parental ratings of shifting accounted for a significant amount of variance in parental ratings of ER, even after controlling for verbal ability. The findings are discussed in the context of different conceptualizations of the developmental relation between ER and EF.",non-battery
"Dry-spun Carbon Nanotube (CNT) fibers were surface-modified by atmospheric pressure oxygen plasma functionalization using a well controlled and continuous process. The fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). It was found from the conducted electrochemical measurements that the functionalized fibers showed a 132.8% increase in specific capacitance compared to non-functionalized fibers. Dye-adsorption test and the obtained Randles-Sevcik plot demonstrated that the oxygen plasma functionalized fibers exhibited increased surface area. It was further established by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements that the surface area of the CNT fibers was increased from 168.22 m2/g to 208.01 m2/g after plasma functionalization. The pore size distribution of the fibers was also altered by this processing. The improved electrochemical data was attributed to enhanced wettability, increased surface area, and the presence of oxygen functional groups, which promoted the capacitance of the fibers. Fiber supercapacitors were fabricated from the oxygen plasma functionalized CNT fiber electrodes using different electrolyte systems. The devices with functionalized electrodes exhibited excellent cyclic stability (93.2% after 4000 cycles), flexibility, bendability, and good energy densities. At 0.5 mA/cm2, the EMIMBF4 device revealed a specific capacitance, which is 27% and 65% greater than the specific capacitances of devices using EMIMTFSI and H2SO4 electrolytes, respectively. The practiced in this work plasma surface processing can be employed in other applications where fibers, yarns, ribbons, and sheets need to be chemically modified.",battery
"Decorating graphene with high destiny and uniform size of noble metal nanoparticles is very important for a number of applications including sensing and electrocatalysis. Herein, a novel approach based on in situ diazonium chemistry was reported to design gold nanoparticles/graphene hybrid materials (Au-NPs/G). Graphene oxide was firstly electro-reduced on the glassy carbon electrode, and then this modified electrode was grafted by aminophenyl diazonium cations, generated in situ from p-phenylenediamine. Subsequently, gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were deposited on the p-phenylenediamine grafted electrode by a potentiostatic method. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize the Au-NPs/G. The results demonstrated that the Au-NPs with high destiny and uniform size were dispersed on the electro-reduced graphene oxide. In addition, the obtained Au-NPs/G was utilized in electrocatalysis toward the oxidation of methanol showing excellent catalytic activity.",battery
"WEEE has become a global focus because of its environmental pollution and human health risk and the valuable resources contained. China’s ban on solid waste imports reconstructs the global WEEE flow, leading to a more complicated situation for global WEEE recycling that asks for innovative development. The advanced development of the Internet opens new doors to WEEE collection-the first step of recycling, O2O (integrating online platform and offline collection) development strategies are adopted by many companies in China. The exploration of the new model and experiences of WEEE collection in China can provide lessons for other countries. In this study, we decode the business model of three typical cases in China using Business Model Canvas, and discuss and summarize the types, structure characteristics, operating mechanisms and effects of O2O WEEE collection model. The results show that: there are three typical types of O2O WEEE collection model in China, first one derived from internet corporate, second one derived from recycling corporate and third one served as a third-party platform. To ensure the fluency and sustaining of information flow, material flow, and fund flow, O2O WEEE collection model builds information support platforms with user-friendly interfaces, various distribution channels, and accurate pricing systems. To operate the business smoothly, attractive participation mechanism, cooperation mechanism, and multi-level profit mechanism have been constructed. The O2O WEEE collection model enjoys popularity in the capital market and customers for reducing the transaction costs, expanding the collection scope and scale and contributing to efficient and effective WEEE recycling.",non-battery
"The geometric and electronic structure of Li15Si4 is studied as the full-lithiated phase of Si anode by first principle calculations within the framework of the density functional theory. The results reveal that the volume change of Si host after Li-intercalation is 269.3%. Besides, the Si host shows metallic properties with the Fermi level crossing the partial-occupied bands after Li intercalation and the chemical bands of Li–Si are found to be polar covalence with some ionicity caused by the partial electron transfer from Li to Si atoms. Further, the deterioration factor of Si anode is analyzed theoretically to be the flaking of active Si off the current collector, which is in agreement with the experimental knowledge. The average intercalation voltage is also calculated to be 0.304V which is close to the experimental value 0.1–0.2V. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the theoretical quantum computations could be a meaningful tool in the research field of Si-based anode.",battery
"Williams RM, Turner AP, Orendurff M, Segal AD, Klute GK, Pecoraro J, Czerniecki J. Does having a computerized prosthetic knee influence cognitive performance during amputee walking? Objective To compare objective cognitive performance and perception of cognitive burden during walking tasks using 2 different prosthetic knees: a computerized hydraulic knee (Otto Bock C-leg) and a noncomputerized hydraulic knee (Ossur Mauch SNS). Design Two-group crossover trial, with participants randomly assigned to order of prosthesis. Participants completed assessments under 2 conditions, a self-selected speed walk and a controlled speed walk, on 2 separate occasions (precrossover, postcrossover). Setting Veterans Health Administration hospital. Participants Eight transfemoral amputees. Intervention Computerized versus noncomputerized prosthetic knee. Main Outcome Measures Objective cognitive performance measures included verbal fluency (Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Category Test), attention and working memory (serial subtraction), and walking speed during cognitive tasks. Measures of perceived cognitive burden included subjective attentional requirements of walking and cognitive tasks and subjective general cognitive burden of prosthesis. Results There were no significant differences in objective cognitive performance on any task between prostheses, nor did walking speed vary by prosthesis during the free-speed walk. Participants reported that walking required less attention while wearing the C-leg and that the C-leg was less of a cognitive burden than the noncomputerized prosthesis. Conclusions In nondemanding walking conditions with experienced amputees, participants reported that the more costly C-leg required less cognitive attention than the noncomputerized knee. However, this subjective experience did not translate to improved performance on neuropsychologic screening instruments or on walking speed. Noncomputerized prostheses may be adequate for a majority of amputees, and further research is needed to identify particular groups of amputees (ie, new amputees, amputees with complex physical or cognitive demands) who may benefit from computerized prostheses.",non-battery
"Rational design of electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries with high flexibility is still challenging. Here, superelastic 3D few-layer MoS2/carbon framework heterogeneous electrodes (abbreviated as, MoS2@CF) are fabricated by a simple vacuum infiltration and heating process. The interconnected ultrathin MoS2 network filled with carbon framework forms a 3D heterogeneous network with hierarchical pore structure. The unique structure of the electrodes results in excellent mechanical and electrochemical performances. The MoS2@CF electrodes exhibit superior elasticity and recoverability. After 180° bending repeatedly, the electrodes still can recover their initial sizes. Moreover, the electrodes show outstanding cycling stabilities with high reversible capacities reaching up 240 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 1 A g−1 (capacity retention of ~ 99%). Full-cells assembled with MoS2@CF anodes and Na3V2(PO4)3 cathodes show high reversible capacity (~ 252 mA h g−1 at 0.5 A g−1). Overall, the superior mechanical properties and high electrochemical performances indicate the promising potential of MoS2@CF electrodes in large-scale flexible sodium-ion storage devices.",battery
"Social cognition (SC) and neuro-cognition (NC) have emerged as predictors of functional outcome and possible endophenotype-markers in schizophrenia. The distinctiveness of these two domains is not well established. Factor analysis is used to identify distinct cognitive dimensions. This paper aims to systematically review studies reporting factor analysis of SC and NC in schizophrenia to provide empirical evidence for (a) distinctiveness of SC and NC; and (b) factor structure of SC. The review comprised 20 studies. Most of the studies were cross-sectional, involving variably defined ‘stable’ schizophrenia patients, using objective assessments of SC and NC. A quality check on reporting practices of factor analytic studies showed important deficiencies in reporting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. There was fairly consistent evidence for the existence of distinct SC and NC factors, with eight out of nine studies supporting this separateness of the two cognitive dimensions. The results were inconsistent regarding factor structure of SC. Unitary, binary and multi-factorial constructs were reported, possibly due to variability and lack of comprehensiveness of the SC measures used. This review highlights distinctiveness of SC and NC dimensions in schizophrenia. It thus provides construct validity for cognition in schizophrenia and offers clues regarding the potential neural processes underlying these cognitive dimensions. Future studies exploring the factor structure of SC should be guided by more careful theoretical work and use comprehensive measures of SC in large homogeneous samples of schizophrenia patients.",non-battery
"Lithium transport through the Li1−δ CoO2 film electrode prepared by RF magnetron sputtering was investigated in a 1 M solution of LiClO4 in propylene carbonate using the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the potentiostatic current transient technique. The experimental cathodic and anodic current transients in the presence of a single phase Li1−δ CoO2 did not follow Cottrell behaviour, but Ohmic behaviour. This means the relationship between the initial current level and the potential step obeys Ohm's law. In addition, the current transients obtained in the case of coexistence of two phases α and β were characterised by a flatter shape, as compared to those transients in the presence of the respective α and β phases. Also, during phase transformation, the instantaneous current level was proportional to the potential step, in compliance with Ohm's law. From these results, it was suggested that the flux of lithium ion at the electrode∣electrolyte interface during lithium transport is limited purely by the ‘cell-impedance’, not only in the presence of a single phase, but also when the two phases coexist. The value of the ‘cell-impedance’ calculated from the current transient was almost equal to the values obtained from the impedance spectra and the galvanostatic discharge curve. The current transients were modelled under the assumption of the ‘cell-impedance-controlled’ lithium intercalation and deintercalation. The current transients calculated theoretically coincided well in value and shape with those measured experimentally.",battery
"To meet the requirements of high-power products (ex. electric scooters, hybrid electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles and robots), high-energy safe lithium-ion batteries need to be developed in the future. This research will focus on the microstructures and electrochemical properties of olivine-type LiFePO4 cathode materials. The morphologies of LiFePO4/C composite materials show spherical-type particles and have good carbon conductive networks. From the TEM bright field image and EELS mapping, the LiFePO4/C powder shows continuous, dispersive nano-carbon network. These structures will improve electron transfer and lithium-ion diffusion for LiFePO4 cathode materials, and increase their conductivity from 10−9 Scm−1 to 10−3 Scm−1. The electrochemical properties of LiFePO4/C cathode material in this work demonstrated high rate capability (≥12C) and long cycle life (≥700 cycles at a 3C discharge rate).",battery
"The use of cholinergic drugs, either alone or in combination with other drugs, has been suggested as an approach to improve treatment outcome for patients suffering from neuropathic pain. The present study was undertaken in the rat spared nerve injury model of neuropathic pain to evaluate the effect of the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil when administered (1) alone and (2) as low-dose in combination with the first-line recommendation gabapentin. The co-administration studies were performed following single and multiple dosing. Single, parenteral dosing of donepezil (1, 1.5 and 3 mg/kg s.c.) produced a dose-dependent reversal of the neuropathic pain behaviour. Co-administration of a sub-effective dose of donepezil (0.5 mg/kg s.c.) and low doses of gabapentin (10 and 30 mg/kg s.c.) resulted in a three- to fourfold increase of the analgesic effect, in comparison with gabapentin administered alone. Following multiple, oral dosing, gabapentin (25 mg/kg p.o.) was administered once daily over 20 days. Addition of donepezil (1.5 mg/kg p.o.) from day 11 to day 20 resulted in improved analgesia during the period of combination therapy, in comparison with the gabapentin monotherapy period. Furthermore, the treatment effects were stable in both the mono- and the combination therapy period, indicating that tolerance development does not occur within the studied time frame. In conclusion, the results from this preclinical study support the use of donepezil as adjunctive to gabapentin to improve the therapeutic outcome in the management of neuropathic pain.",non-battery
"Electrochromical properties of anodic self-assembled nanotubes were investigated. It was found that amorphous titania nanotubes were able to insert H+ ions in a highly reversible manner. Coloration of the TiO2 nanotubes occurred at potentials below −0.5V vs. Ag/AgCl in 1M (NH4)2SO4 aqueous solution. The proton insertion reaction probably leads to the formation of a Ti3+/Ti4+ solid solution in the amorphous titania electrode, as was shown by the analysis of the derivative curve. The nanotubular titania electrode shows reasonable color efficiency when compared with other electrochromic materials and it is a promising candidate for the fabrication of low-cost interdigitated electrochromic devices.",non-battery
" The emergence of anger as an important predictor of chronic pain outcomes suggests that treatments that target anger may be particularly useful within the context of chronic pain. Eastern traditions prescribe compassion cultivation to treat persistent anger. Compassion cultivation has been shown to influence emotional processing and reduce negativity bias in the contexts of emotional and physical discomfort, thus suggesting it may be beneficial as a dual treatment for pain and anger. Our objective was to conduct a pilot study of a 9-week group compassion cultivation intervention in chronic pain to examine its effect on pain severity, anger, pain acceptance and pain-related interference. We also aimed to describe observer ratings provided by patients’ significant others and secondary effects of the intervention.",non-battery
"Measuring academic educational quality presents three major difficulties, typical of all customer satisfaction and service quality studies: the use of subjective scales; the ordinal nature of the data; and the multifold structure of satisfaction. In order to solve these problems, principal component analysis (PCA) of compositional data is proposed in this work. The core idea behind this methodology is to analyze by PCA the relative information within the data rather than focusing on absolute scores. This approach is discussed in comparison with a widely used Item Response Theory method (the Partial Credit Model) in order to assess its merits, e.g. always identifying a coherent preference structure. Both procedures were, thus, carried out on a real dataset collected with the 2013/14 ANVUR questionnaire by L’Universitá di Napoli-L’Orientale.",non-battery
"We first report the fabrication of all one dimensional (1D) active materials based Li-ion power packs using conversion type anode (α-Fe2O3). Electrospining procedure has been used to prepare all the 1D nanostructures. Half-cell studies are performed with metallic Li to ascertain the electrochemical activity of the individual components. In order to overcome irreversible capacity loss (ICL) in α-Fe2O3, the high voltage cathode has been over lithiated electrochemically (Li1.33Ni0.5Mn1.5O4) prior to the full-cell assembly. The combined advantages of 1D nanostructure and a new over lithiation concept certainly provides the less amount of active material loading to mitigate ICL. On the other hand, all based cell Li1.33Ni0.5Mn1.5O4/1M LiPF6 gelled PVdF-HFP/α-Fe2O3 delivered an energy density of ∼193Whkg−1 with working potential of ∼3.27V and rendered ∼88% of initial reversible capacity after 60 cycles.",battery
"Background: It has been suggested that psycho-social factors may be crucial in the development of climacteric symptoms. Material and methods: In order to evaluate the effect of psycho-social and biological factors on menopausal symptoms, Greene (climacterical symptoms), Cooper (psychosomatic symptoms of stress), Smilkstein (family dysfunction), Duke-UNC (social support) and Israel (life events) tests were passed to 300 Chilean women between 40 and 59 years of age. Data were evaluated with ANOVA, χ 2 and logistic regression using the Epi-info package. Results: Perimenopausal women had a significant increase in stress and climacteric symptoms; however comparing with pre and postmenopausal women, tests for life events, family dysfunction or social support did not show any differences. A history of premenstrual syndrome was the main risk predictor f or climacteric symptoms (OR: 3.6, IC: 1.5–8.5; P<0.03), followed by perimenopausal state (OR: 2.9, IC: 1.4–6.0; P<0.001) and negative life events (OR: 2.3, IC: 1.0–5.3; P<0.05). The psycho-social factors were predictors for anxiety and depression; on the other hand, perimenopausal state was a risk factor for somatic and vasomotor symptoms. During premenopause, women with regular cycles and vasomotor symptoms have more psychological symptoms and stress. Conclusion: Climacteric symptoms that appear in the perimenopause are more intense in those women who have a biological predisposition such as premenstrual syndrome and are modulated by psycho-social factors.",non-battery
"This study aims to investigate experimentally the effect of electrochemical deposition of CaCO3 on linear and girth growth, survival and skeletal structure of Porites cylindrica Dana. Transplanted coral nubbins were subjected to up to 18 V and 4.16 A of direct current underwater to induce the precipitation of dissolved minerals. Naturally growing colonies showed a significant increase in percentage longitudinal growth over the treated and untreated corals. Survival followed a similar trend as the growth rate. Lowest survival rates were found in the untreated nubbins. Phenotypic alterations were observed in the treated nubbins where the basal corallites decreased in size with a concomitant increase in their number per unit area. This was probably due to increased mineral concentration (such as Ca2+, Na−, Mg2+, CO3 2−, Cl−, OH− and HCO3 −) at the basal region of the nubbins. These alterations were accompanied by a significant increase in girth growth rates of the treated nubbins at their basal regions. The abundance of mineral ions at the basal region thus appeared to be utilized by the numerous small polyps for a lateral increase in size of the nubbins instead of a longitudinal increase.",non-battery
"A new aqueous TiO2/Ni(OH)2 rechargeable battery system with a high voltage, consisting of α-phase nickel hydroxides as the cathode and TiO2 nanotube arrays as the anode, is proposed for the first time. It is a feasible strategy to combine two different reaction mechanisms in an aqueous alkaline electrolyte: proton and lithium insertion/extraction reactions.
",battery
"The study examined changes in visual attention in schizophrenia following training with a social-cognitive remediation package designed to improve facial emotion recognition (the Micro-Expression Training Tool; METT). Forty out-patients with schizophrenia were randomly allocated to active training (METT; n =26), or repeated exposure (RE; n =14); all completed an emotion recognition task with concurrent eye movement recording. Emotion recognition accuracy was significantly improved in the METT group, and this effect was maintained after one week. Immediately following training, the METT group directed more eye movements within feature areas of faces (i.e., eyes, nose, mouth) compared to the RE group. The number of fixations directed to feature areas of faces was positively associated with emotion recognition accuracy prior to training. After one week, the differences between METT and RE groups in viewing feature areas of faces were reduced to trends. However, within group analyses of the METT group revealed significantly increased number of fixations to, and dwell time within, feature areas following training which were maintained after one week. These results provide the first evidence that improvements in emotion recognition following METT training are associated with changes in visual attention to the feature areas of emotional faces. These findings support the contribution of visual attention abnormalities to emotion recognition impairment in schizophrenia, and suggest that one mechanism for improving emotion recognition involves re-directing visual attention to relevant features of emotional faces.",non-battery
"Ce atom is employed to partially substitute V site in Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) crystal structure to improve its bulk phase characteristic. The effect of Ce substitution on the crystal structure, morphology, electrochemical performance and kinetic property of NVP is investigated based on rational design and synthesis optimization. The results indicates that the moderate Ce substitution in the NVP crystal can effectively enhance the bulk phase electronic conductivity and Na+ mobility, which excludes the carbon coating effect for the first time. And Na3V1.96Ce0.04(PO4)3/C shows the best electrochemical performances among the Na3V2-xCex(PO4)3/C (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.1) samples. It delivers a discharge capacity of 118mAhg−1 at 0.2C and more than 100mAhg−1 even at 40C, which is currently the highest level by metallic ion doping. After 100 cycles, the capacity retention of Na3V1.96Ce0.04(PO4)3/C keeps higher than 99% at 10C. The outstanding performance of the moderate Ce-doping sample is verified further by the electrochemical performance test of the samples with high mass loading, which is highly beneficial to industrial applications of Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode for high performance sodium ion batteries.",battery
"Fluorinated ether of ethyl 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl ether (ETFE) was selected as electrolyte solvent for lithium/sulfur battery, and the influence of ETFE in electrolyte on cell properties was first investigated. The enhanced stability of electrolyte/anode interface and improved electrochemical performances (cycling, rate and self-discharging) of the Li/S cell are presented by using ETFE-containing electrolyte, especially for complete replacement of tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) by ETFE in combine with 1,3-dioxolane (DOL). It is found that ETFE plays a key role in modifying the surface composition and structure of the metallic Li, forming a strengthened protective film on the anode during cycling. Besides, ETFE is considered to decrease the dissolution of polysulfides in the electrolyte. These factors together restrict the contact and reaction between polysulfides and Li anode.",battery
"The impact induced penetration of liquid electrolyte and porous polymer separator can lead to the internal short-circuit of Li-ion batteries (LIBs), resulting in the fire and explosion. Here in this work, an electrochemically stable shear thickening electrolyte was developed to improve the safety of LIBs. The electrolyte was formulated by integration of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) modified glass fibers fillers and regular liquid electrolyte. The formulated electrolyte exhibited shear thickening behavior with the filler volume fraction greater than ∼28%. The transient behaviors of the shear thickening electrolyte under external impact with speed of 1.1–79 m/s (2.5–177 mph) were recorded with a high-speed camera and an instant increase of electrolyte viscosity upon large shear force was evidenced. The impact resistant electrolyte was further evaluated in the half-cell and full-cell LIBs. The cells exhibited excellent cyclability with a capacity retention of 95.2% after 500 cycles for Li-LFP (lithium metal anode and lithium iron phosphate cathode) half cells and 94.4% after 100 cycles for LTO-LFP (lithium titanate anode and lithium iron phosphate cathode) full cells. The results indicated that this impact resistant electrolyte has excellent electrochemical stability and is compatibility with commercial LTO and LFP electrode materials.",battery
"Mechanical tests are a commonly used method for evaluating the safety performance of batteries. The mechanical blunt rod testing method, as well as sharp nail penetration, was performed on commercially available cells. Evaluation was carried out on different cell constructions as well as varying test conditions. Results obtained at ambient conditions were found to differ little from traditional sharp nail penetration testing. When tested at elevated temperatures it was observed that the results became heavily dependent upon the internal construction of the cell. Computed Tomography (CT) imaging confirmed this, showing differences in behavior depending on whether or not a solid core was used in the cylindrical cell construction. Pouch cells were tested as well, showing that a full penetration of the cell was necessary to initiate a failure event within the cell.",battery
Unknown,non-battery
"This paper addresses estimation of battery state-of-charge (SOC) from the joint perspectives of dynamic data-driven and model-based recursive analysis. The proposed SOC estimation algorithm is built upon the concepts of symbolic time series analysis (STSA) and recursive Bayesian filtering (RBF) that is a generalization of the conventional Kalman filtering. A special class of Markov models, called ×D-Markov (pronounced as cross D-Markov) machine, is constructed from a symbolized time-series pair of input current and output voltage. A measurement model of SOC is developed based on the features obtained from the ×D-Markov machine. Then, a combination of this measurement model and a low-order model of the SOC process dynamics is used for construction of the RBF. The proposed algorithm of SOC estimation has been validated on (approximately periodic) experimental data of (synchronized) current-voltage time series, generated from a commercial-scale lead-acid battery system.",battery
"Information on the amount of chlorophyll (as an index of micro-algal abundance) on rock surfaces is essential for many reasons, including studies of grazing and its role in structuring intertidal assemblages. Many methods are destructive, error-prone and expensive. Remote sensing allows non-destructive, inexpensive and quantitative measurements to be made of chlorophyll in situ. One specialized and two inexpensive commercially-available digital cameras (Fuji IS1 and Sony DSC-V1) are evaluated for estimating amounts of chlorophyll on rock surfaces. To compare measurements from different images, they are calibrated, using reflectance standards of different brightness. To test the calibration, images of a natural rock platform were acquired under variable solar illumination and camera-exposure times. Analyses before and after calibration showed that the method was effective. A range of quantities of micro-algae was grown on sandstone disks in an aquarium over different intervals of time. Red and NIR reflectance images were obtained from the cores. For each core, the amount of chlorophyll was determined spectrophotometrically and estimated from the images using the Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Each of these was linearly related to the measured chlorophyll, with r 2 ranging from 0.78 to 0.9. These techniques can be applied to the study of intertidal and freshwater benthic habitats.",non-battery
"A porous nickel oxide film is successfully synthesized by means of a chemical bath deposition technique from an aqueous nickel nitrate solution. The formation of a rock salt NiO structure is confirmed with XRD measurements. The electrochemical supercapacitor properties of the nickel oxide film are examined using cyclic voltammetery (CV), galvanostatic and impedance measurements in two different electrolytes, namely, NaOH and KOH. A specific capacitance of ∼129.5Fg−1 in the NaOH electrolyte and ∼69.8Fg−1 in the KOH electrolyte is obtained from a cyclic voltammetery study. The electrochemical stability of the NiO electrode is observed for 1500 charge–discharge cycles. The capacitative behaviour of the NiO electrode is confirmed from electrochemical impedance measurements.",battery
"The methanation of carbon dioxide is an option for chemical storage of renewable energy together with greenhouse gas reutilization because it offers a product with a high energy density. The reaction CO2 + 4H2 ↔ CH4 + 2H2O is performed on a Ru/Al2O3 catalyst and is strongly exothermal. For this reason, the reactor design must take into account an efficient thermal management system to limit the maximal temperature and guarantee high CO2 conversion. Additionally, the methanation reactor is subject to parameter sensitivity. This phenomenon can generate instability in the operation of a power to gas plant, due to the variability in the hydrogen production rate. Here we present a parametric study of the thermal properties of the reaction and determine the minimal feed temperature for the normal operation of a reactor. The minimal temperature required is determined by several parameters, such as pressure, space velocity and properties of the cooling system. For adiabatic reactors, the required feed temperature is 210 °C for a space velocity of 3000 h−1 and a pressure of 10 bar. The space velocity strongly affects the positioning of the ignition point, causing a large variability of the feed temperature required. At the same time, the optimal working point of the reactor is at the minimal activation temperature. The properties of cooled reactors are elucidated, showing how the interrelationship between cooling and feed temperature makes the management of this class of reactors more challenging. On the base of the modelling results, we propose a reactor configuration that adjusts the thermodynamic limitations and respects the minimal requirements for reaction ignition, allowing a more stable operation and avoiding the functioning at excessive temperature.
",non-battery
"Hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon spheres (NCSs) prepared by annealing the MnO2-templated spherical polypyrrole (PPy) at 450 or 600°C were tested as anode materials of Li-ion batteries. The NCSs annealed at 450°C exhibited higher nitrogen content, more amorphous carbon structure, and lower surface area as compared to the sample annealed at 600°C. The specific capacities and rate performances of both NCSs samples were much higher than that of commercial mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs). The NCSs annealed at 600°C exhibited higher capacity at low current density (<0.5Ag−1) but more rapid capacity decay at elevated current rates referring to the sample annealed at 450°C. The NCSs annealed at higher temperature also possessed inferior cycling stability, possibly due to its lower electronic conductivity and higher degree of graphitization. A high specific capacity of 250.8mAhg−1 was achieved on the NCSs annealed at 450°C at 3Ag−1, demonstrating their high potentiality as anode of high power Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The safety issues and lower energy density of the lithium metal batteries are the two main challenges that hinder their applications in the fields of electric vehicles and portable devices. In this work, the semi-interpenetrated polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene (PVdF-HFP)-based gel polymer electrolyte was synthesized through UV-curing method by employing the ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA) monomer. The semi-interpenetrating networks formed by polymerization of ETPTA and the high liquid absorption rate of the PVdF-HFP impart the as-prepared electrolyte with a high room temperature ionic conductivity of 3.17 × 10−3 s cm−1 and a high mechanical strength of 3.46 MPa. LiFePO4 was selected as cathode materials, and the active material loading of the cathode is about 4.2 mg cm−2. The electrolyte shows superior long-term cycling properties (127 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.5 C), excellent rate performance (113 mAh g−1 at 1 C, 80 mAh g−1 at 2 C, and the discharge capacity of 135 mAh g−1 can be restored when the rate goes back to 0.1 C) as well as good ability to inhibit the growth of lithium dendrite (about 150 h). The facile synthesis strategy and great electrochemical performance of the electrolyte make it a potential candidate for lithium metal batteries.
",non-battery
"In this work, we have synthesized monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 nanobelts via a single-step, solid-state reaction process in a molten hydrocarbon. The as-prepared Li3V2(PO4)3 nanoparticles have a unique nanobelt shape and are ∼50-nm thick. When cycled in a voltage range between 3.0V and 4.3V at a 1C rate, these unique Li3V2(PO4)3 nanobelts demonstrate a specific discharge capacity of 131mAhg−1 (which is close to the theoretical capacity of 132mAhg−1) and stable cycling characteristics.",battery
"The recently developed, emerging Z-source inverter topologies are well suitable for Power Conditioning System (PCS).This paper presents the effective performance analysis of three different voltage type Impedance Source Inverter (ZSI) topologies such as classical ZSI, improved Z-source inverter and embedded Z-source inverter with four control techniques, namely Simple Boost Control (SBC), Maximum Constant Boost Control (MCBC), Maximum Constant Boost with Third Harmonic Injection and Modified SVPWM for Power Conditioning System. ZSI family is a single stage high efficiency power converter that eliminates almost all the limitations of traditional inverters such as Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) and Current Source Inverter (CSI). Performance analysis is carried out based on the obtainable impedance source capacitor voltage, inductor current ripples, DC link voltage ripples, peak output voltage, output phase current harmonics and effectiveness of the control methods for battery powered applications.",battery
"xLi3V2(PO4)3·LiVPO4F/C composite is synthesized by mechanically activated chemical reduction. The value of x is designed to be 2.0 but in fact is 2.7 in the prepared sample because of volatilization of HF or VF3. The as-prepared powders with the average primary size of 0.5–1μm are coated with amorphous carbon layer. Structural analysis of the composite indicates that two phases of monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 and triclinic LiVPO4F coexist. The composite as cathode for LIB shows excellent electrochemical performances. In the potential range of 3.0–4.4V, it delivers initial discharge capacity of 139, 137, 131, and 123mAhg−1 at 0.1, 1, 5 and 10 C, respectively. And 97.4% of initial capacity is retained even after 300 cycles at 10 C. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and AC impedance analysis indicate that the prepared composite separately shows good ionic diffusivity and low resistance.",battery
"Objective International research programs have contributed to the creation of operationally defined criteria to identify individuals at risk for schizophrenia. Although there has been substantial progress in the prospective study of the schizophrenia prodrome, the utility of current diagnostic criteria remains questionable because of the relatively low base rates of incident psychoses, the high false-positive rate and ethical concerns regarding the treatment of individuals at risk. The identification of brain based neurocognitive vulnerability markers for schizophrenia may contribute to the development of an at risk algorithm with greater predictive accuracy. Methods Forty subjects at risk (AR) for schizophrenia, 15 in their first episode (FE) of schizophrenia, and 36 healthy comparison (HC) subjects were administered a neurocognitive battery that assessed the domains of processing speed, working memory, verbal episodic memory, executive functioning and general intelligence. Results At baseline, AR subjects showed neurocognitive deficits across all domains compared to HC subjects that were less severe than those observed in the FE sample. In preliminary analyses, AR subjects who later converted to psychosis (N =5) had greater neurocognitive impairment at baseline evaluation compared to those individuals who remained “at risk” at follow-up. Conclusions Neurocognitive deficits may be important in the pathogenesis of early psychosis and could help to define individuals at greatest risk for schizophrenia. Continued research in larger cohorts is needed to test the validity of this neurocognitive profile and its utility as a vulnerability marker.",non-battery
"Relative cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of a widely used antibiotic, trimethoprim (TRIMP) was evaluated under in vitro conditions using rainbow trout gonad-2 (RTG-2) and Chinese hamster ovary-K1 (CHO-K1) cells. Whilst cytotoxicity was determined using neutral red retention (NRR) assay, the genotoxicity was determined using single cell gel electrophoresis or the Comet assay and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay. For NRR assay, concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect was observed for both the cell lines (estimated EC50 values: 671.82 ± 21.78 and 611.6 ± 20.4 μg ml−1 for RTG-2 and CHO-K1 cells, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the two cell lines for this assay. For the Comet assay, standard 6 h exposure to TRIMP did not show any positive response for any of the cell types used. However, 48 h exposure to RTG-2 cells showed a concentration-dependent induction of DNA damage (r = 0.86). The highest concentration of TRIMP used (i.e. 100 μg ml−1) showed relatively higher DNA damage, compared to ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS; 1 μg ml−1 or 8 mM), a reference genotoxic agent, used concurrently. In contrast, 24 h exposure time for CHO-K1 cells did not show any concentration-dependent increase for this assay. For MN assay, a significant correlation was found between the MN induction and TRIMP concentration for both the cell lines (RTG-2: r = 0.68; CHO-K1: r = 0.79), although only the highest concentration used showed a significant increase for binucleated (BN) cell with micronuclei (BNMN). The study suggests that whilst the cells of different origin could exhibit similar cytotoxicity, they could display differential genotoxic effects. Furthermore, genotoxic effects of TRIMP are primarily exposure period dependent phenomena and, in addition to inhibiting the action of dihydrofolate reductase, oxidative stress could also contribute for the observed toxic effects, fish cells in general being more sensitive for genotoxic effects.",non-battery
"The operation of a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based micro-reformer was investigated for application in a cell phone. Different aspects like the time required to attain the desired temperature of the system, the time required to get the required hydrogen flow, catalyst durability, flow uniformity of the mixture of methanol and water and volume of the total system were considered. A loading procedure for the catalyst in the micro-reformer was developed. Catalyst deactivation was observed after operating continuously for 8h, but it regained its original activity after the reformer was shut down for at least 2h. The deactivation of the catalyst was analyzed by catalyst characterization. The comparison of the performance between a parallel channeled and serpentine channeled micro-reformer was carried out. The performance with the serpentine channeled micro-reformer was always higher than with parallel channeled micro-reformer. The shorter residence time in the parallel-channeled micro-reformer may be one of the reasons behind its low activity.",battery
"The smoothness of smartphone operations is essential to user perceptual experience. However, the underlying mechanism of how smoothness can impact user experience has not been elucidated. In this paper, we conducted two experiments to explore factors that may potentially affect user perceptual experience of smoothness in smartphone operation and examined how these factors contributed. In experiment 1, ten participants were invited and they were sensitive to the smoothness of the smartphone. Participants used swiping gesture to manipulate 27 sequences with different forms of frame loss on the microblog simulation interface, and gave mean opinion scores (MOS) according to self perception. According to the experimental results, three factors that affect smoothness perception were found: single frame-loss number (SFLN), frame-loss time (FLT), and frame-loss interval (FLI). But the effect of each factor was effective only in some conditions. In experiment 2, 20 participants gave their MOS of 84 sequences, and these sequences were divided into three parts by three factors of experiment 1. Participants’ electrophysiological data was also collected to verify the validity of the participants’ scores. The results of an analysis of variance and Student–Newman–Keuls (SNK) test showed that a SFLN, FLT, and their interaction results significantly affected the user perception of smoothness in smartphone operation. Specifically, the effect of a SFLN was more significant than that of FLT. The effect of the FLI on user perceptual experience was relatively low, but the interactive effect of FLT and interval was significant. Finally, regression analyses were conducted to obtain the fitting formulas. Our research results reflect some preliminary suggestions, so as to guide developers to configure the performance of smart phones, in order to control the frame loss of smart phones and avoid bad user evaluation.",non-battery
"The electrification of the transportation sector through the introduction of electric vehicles (EV) has recently emerged as a remedy to environmental and economic concerns. For this reason, governments around the world have been offering subsidies and other benefits to drivers that replace their conventional vehicle with an EV in order to facilitate the commercialization of the latter. However, when compared to conventional vehicles, EVs present a key disadvantage that could hinder their widespread uptake: the time that is needed to charge an EV is in the range of hours. For this purpose, EV parking lots have been proposed in order to recharge vehicles at a higher rate. Recent studies indicate that vehicles remain parked for most of the day, implying that different operational strategies may be used in order to achieve operational or economic benefits from the perspective of the EV parking lot owner. The aim of this study is to derive representative load profiles of parking lots under different operational strategies. To perform so, the parameters of the EV fleet are modeled by estimating kernel distributions from available traffic data, while a time series transformation in combination with a clustering approach is used in order to obtain representative price patterns. The examined case studies demonstrate that by performing a reduced number of simulations regarding expected charging profiles of EV fleets, generalized results may be obtained using the proposed methodology.",battery
"To suppress the shuttle effect, reduce the capacity fade, and improve coulombic efficiency of Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery, a polypyrrole hollow nanosphere (PHNS) with an ultra-thin wrinkled shell, which is expected to synergistically trap sulfur (S) with excellent elasticity and buffer capability, is fabricated by an in situ polymerization method. When S is encapsulated in PHNS (S@PHNS) with an optimum shell structure and used as the cathode, surprisingly, a specific capacity as high as 1500.5 mA h·g-1 in the first discharge at a current rate of 0.1 C with high coulombic efficiency as well as excellent rate performance is achieved. Also, a reversible capacity as high as 536.5 mA h·g-1 is obtained even at a high current rate of 5 C. Such a PHNS with the ultra-thin wrinkled shell has good conductivity, short ion and electron transport channel, and fast kinetics characteristics and especially during the charge-discharge cycles, it is conducive to the access of electrolyte and effective accommodation of the volume change. This PHNS should be a promising alternative cathode material for lithium-Sulfur batteries.",battery
" Clinical guidelines recommend research on sub-groups of patients with low back pain (LBP) but, to date, only few studies have been published. One sub-group of LBP is movement control impairment (MCI) and clinical tests to identify this sub-group have been developed. Also, exercises appear to be beneficial for the management of chronic LBP (CLBP), but very little is known about the management of sub-acute LBP.",non-battery
"This paper presents the work performed within ADIRA project funded by European Union as a consortium of many countries to boost the integration of desalination units with renewable energy in rural areas. The work focused on the study of Water desalination by Reverse Osmosis (RO) and electricity generation using Photovoltaic Technology (PV) with additional battery storage. RO-PV system has been successfully designed, installed and tested in Hartha Charitable Society in northern part of Jordan as part of the ADIRA project. The system is composed of PV panels (433 Wp), softener and compact RO unit with typical daily water production of 500 L. The system produced clean drinking water from a salty water feed with salt content up to 1700 mg/L. The technical details of the RO plant, the energy supply and the operation strategies of the system are presented in this study. The effect of meteorological data like solar insolation, ambient temperature, daily sunshine hours on the performance of the RO-PV system are studied. Furthermore, effect of operating pressure and temperature on recovery percentage, salt rejection and specific energy consumption in addition to details about the PV current and voltage are also discussed.",battery
"Small bowel lipomas are rare gastrointestinal (GI) benign neoplasms, representing approximately 2–3% of nonmalignant tumors of the intestinal tract. They are usually asymptomatic. However, lesions exceeding 2 cm in diameter can cause nonspecific clinical manifestations or symptoms. When symptoms are clinically present, one of the most common is obscure GI bleeding. Capsule endoscopy is the first-line diagnostic tool in most cases with obscure GI bleeding. Recently, a video capsule for colon evaluation (second-generation colon capsule endoscopy (CCE2)) has been released (PillCam Colon; Given Imaging, Yoqneam, Israel) that potentially offers the opportunity to explore both the small bowel and the colon during one examination. Here is demonstrated capsule endoscopy visualization of a giant lipoma that caused a longstanding obscure GI bleeding. This article is part of an expert video encyclopedia.",non-battery
"Ultracapacitors (UCs) are being increasingly deployed as a short-term energy storage device in various energy systems including uninterruptable power supplies, electrified vehicles, renewable energy systems, and wireless communication. They exhibit excellent power density and energy efficiency. The dynamic behavior of a UC, however, strongly depends on its impedance characteristics. In this paper, the impedance characteristics of a commercial UC are experimentally investigated through the well-adopted Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) technique. The implications of the UC operating conditions (i.e., temperature and state of charge (SOC)) to the impedance are systematically examined. The results show that the impedance is highly sensitive to the temperature and SOC; and the temperature effect is more significant. In particular, the coupling effect between the temperature and SOC is illustrated, as well as the high-efficiency SOC window, which is highlighted. To further verify the reliability of the EIS-based investigation and to probe the sensitivity of UC parameters to the operating conditions, a dynamic model is characterized by fitting the collected impedance data. The interdependence of UC parameters (i.e., capacitance and resistance elements) on the temperature and SOC is quantitatively revealed. The impedance-based model is demonstrated to be accurate in two driving-cycle tests.",battery
"The ambient temperature application of solid-state batteries (SSBs) based on ceramic/PEO composite solid electrolyte has been restrained by the poor ionic conductivity of PEO-based polymer. Herein, we have studied high-salt-concentrated polymeric electrolyte comprising poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and lithium bis-(fluorosulfonyl) imide (LiFSI), as well as its application in ceramic/polymer composite solid electrolytes based SSBs. The PPC-LiFSI 80 wt.% electrolyte showed a significantly improved ionic conductivity on the order of 10−4 S cm−1 at ambient temperature, Li transference number of 0.75, and anodic stability up to 4.5 V versus Li/Li+. The LiFePO4/Li cell with Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 (LAGP)/PPC-LiFSI 80 wt.% composite electrolyte showed stable charge/discharge profiles and excellent cycling performance, which delivered a specific discharge capacity of 138.3 mAh g−1 at 0.1C and a high capacity retention of 97.1% after 100 cycles. According to EIS results, we found that the reduced cell deterioration and polarization is attributed to the improved interface between the electrode and the solid electrolyte, which is realized by introducing the flexible and conductive high-salt-concentrated polymeric electrolyte PPC-LiFSI 80 wt.%. The results indicate that ceramic/high-salt-concentrated PPC-based polymer composite electrolyte is promising for ambient temperature solid-state lithium batteries.",battery
"Recent results, part of an ongoing research programme aimed to develop synthetic methods which could be used to functionalise conducting polymers, are described. Among those methods are the copolymerization of aniline with substituted anilines and post-modification reactions of polyaniline, such as: electrophilic substitution, nucleophilic addition and coupling with diazonium salts. Some of those methods could be chemically or electrochemically controlled allowing a quantitative tailoring of the modification. The effect of the added functionalities on the electrochemical properties of the polymers is investigated using spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The extension of the synthetic methods to combinatorial modification of conductive polymers is also discussed.",battery
"Li3PO4 coated Li1.18Co0.15Ni0.15Mn0.52O2 cathode materials were prepared by the precipitation method. The Li3PO4 coating process cleans the Li2CO3 impurity on the surface of the material. In addition, a continuous stacking faults region forms in the near-surface region of the material. Electrochemical studies show that Li3PO4 coating improves the activation of Mn4+ ions, prohibits the growth of solid electrolyte interface film and facilitates the charge transfer reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface. As a result, the Li3PO4 coated materials show larger discharge capacities, longer cycle life and better rate capability than the un-coated one. With the coating content as small as 1.0wt%, the material shows a high discharge capacity of 272.5mAhg−1 at the 0.4C rate and 121.1mAh g−1 at the 10C rate. The capacity fading rate at 0.4C is only 0.08 % per cycle. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that the exothermic temperature of the fully charged electrode increases from 203.0°C to 289.7°C after Li3PO4 coating. And the thermal release reduces from 832.4Jg−1 to 305.5Jg−1 highlighting the improved thermal stability of the Li3PO4 coated material.",battery
"This study investigated changes in glycemic control following a small increase in time spent outdoors. Women participants with type 2 diabetes (N = 46) wore an iBUTTON temperature monitor and a pedometer for 1 week and recorded their morning fasting blood glucose (FBG) daily. They went about their normal activities for 2 days (baseline) and were asked to add 30 min of time outdoors during Days 3–7 (intervention). Linear mixed effects models were used to test whether morning FBG values were different on days following intervention versus baseline days, and whether steps and/or heat exposure changed. Results were stratified by indicators of good versus poor glycemic control prior to initiation of the study. On average, blood glucose was reduced by 6.1 mg/dL (95% CI − 11.5, − 0.6) on mornings after intervention days after adjusting for age, BMI, and ambient weather conditions. Participants in the poor glycemic control group (n = 16) experienced a 15.8 mg/dL decrease (95% CI − 27.1, − 4.5) in morning FBG on days following the intervention compared to a 1.6 mg/dL decrease (95%CI − 7.7, 4.5) for participants in the good glycemic control group (n = 30). Including daily steps or heat exposure did not attenuate the association between intervention and morning FBG. The present study suggests spending an additional 30 min outdoors may improve glycemic control; however, further examination with a larger sample over a longer duration and determination of mediators of this relationship is warranted.",non-battery
"The self-discharge process of vanadium flow battery (VFB) assembled with Nafion 115 is investigated in very detail for the first time. The self-discharge phenomenon of VFB is closely related to the diffusion coefficients of the vanadium ions, which are found to be in the order of V2+ >VO2+ >VO2 + >V3+. Five regions on the change of open circuit voltage (OCV) are clearly found during the self-discharge process. The regions include three platforms and two obvious decreasing regions. VO2 + disappears in the second region, while the V2+ disappears in the fourth one. In the first three regions, the self-discharge reactions at the positive and negative side are different, owing to the crossover of vanadium ions. In the last two regions, the changes of vanadium ions are derived from the diffusion of V3+ and VO2+ at positive and negative electrolyte. The self-discharge process at different flow rates or different state of charge (SOC) is also investigated, indicating that the self-discharge time shortens with increasing of flow rate between 40 and 80 mL/min or decreasing of the initial SOC. This paper will provide very valuable information for the relaxation or elimination of self-discharge phenomenon of VFB, which is one of the most troublesome issues in VFB application.",battery
"Bioassays were carried out to study the differences in cadmium (Cd) toxicity to premetamorphic tadpoles of Rhinella arenarum, in aqueous solutions with variable contents of calcium in the presence and absence of humic acids, and to analyze the relationship between the free Cd2+ ion concentrations calculated by chemical modeling and the biological results. The correlation analysis of the free Cd2+ concentration calculated by chemical speciation and the analytical Cd yielded a direct relationship between the degree of toxicity and the slope value. The lowest slope was obtained from the treatments with lowest free Cd2+ ion concentration and lowest toxicity, whereas the highest slope was obtained from the most toxic treatment. At comparable concentrations of free Cd2+, intralarval Cd increased as the Ca in the solution decreased. At equal contents of Ca, in the presence of humic acids, the content of Cd in larvae was higher and the toxicity values lower. The results obtained in this study show that waterborne Ca could offer some protection from metal uptake and accumulation by competitive inhibition in the uptake mechanism that involves active transport via cell membrane. In the systems with humic materials, a certain proportion of the Cd present in the solution was associated to them and thus became less bioavailable.",non-battery
"Solid-state batteries (SSBs) with metallic lithium (Li) anodes and nonflammable solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) are viewed as the next-generation batteries because of their potential improvement in energy density and guarantee of safety. However, even though the high-density solid garnet SSE pellets exhibit high ionic conductivity, high transference number, and large shear modulus, the unexpectedly serious occurrence of dendrite propagation remains a problem. Herein, a mixed conductive layer (MCL) consisting of electron-conductive nanoparticles embedded in an ion-conductive network is introduced at the interface between the garnet SSE and the Li anode. Such MCL not only leads to the transition from lithiophobicity to lithiophilicity, but also homogenizes the electric-field distribution inside the MCL and relieves the electronic attacks to the garnet. As a result, the Li/MCL/garnet/MCL/Li cells show a critical current density as high as 1.2 mA cm−2 and stable cycling for over 1000 h at 0.1 mA cm−2. The LiCoO2/Li cells with the MCL-protected interface show excellent cycling and rate performance at room temperature. These results demonstrate a rational design for a stable garnet/Li interface and an effective strategy to enable Li metal anodes in SSBs.
",battery
"This study examines how information regarding poverty influences support for redistribution. Redistributive policies involve allocating resources to address poverty and inequality. Previous research finds that support for redistributive policies is grounded in attitudes towards government size, social mobility, partisan identity, and political ideology. In this study, we test how information regarding poverty impacts support for redistributive policies. When subjects are given information about the material well-being of those in poverty, we expect to find less support for redistributive policies. On the other hand, when subjects are presented with information about the effect of poverty on the decision-making of those in poverty, we expect to find greater support for redistribution. Using survey experiments with undergraduate subjects from a public university in the southern region of the United States, we find no differences in support for redistributive policies in response to these two types of information.",non-battery
"We quantified nocturnal vocal behaviour in a North American temperate mixed-forest community using automated recording. We recorded for 2–4 nights at 32 locations and identified 18 species singing at dawn or dusk. Of those 18 species, only two sang at night (White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, and Ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapilla). We show that automated recording is a useful tool for studying nocturnal vocalisations.",non-battery
"Hybridization is a widespread phenomenon, which plays crucial roles in the speciation of living beings. However, unnatural mixing of historically isolated taxa due to human-related activities has increased in recent decades, favouring levels of hybridization and introgression that can have important implications for conservation. The wild red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa, Phasianidae) populations have recently declined and the releases of farm-reared partridges have become a widespread management strategy. The native range of the red-legged is limited to the south-west of Europe (from Italy to Portugal). This species does not breed in sympatry with the chukar partridge (A. chukar), whose range is Eurasian (from Turkey to China). However, red-legged partridges have often been hybridized with chukar partridges to increase the productivity of farmed birds, and game releases may have spread hybrid birds into the wild. In this study, we investigated the fitness (survival and breeding) differences between hybrid and “pure” red-legged partridges in a wild population located in central Spain. Incubation probability was similar in hybrids and “pure” partridges. Hybrid females laid larger clutches than “pure” ones, but hatching success did not differ between hybrid and “pure” partridges. Hybrid birds had lower survival rate than “pure” ones, mainly because of higher predation rates. Our results show that, despite lower survival, hybrid partridges breed in natural populations, so this could increase extinction risk of wild pure partridge populations, through releases of farmed hybrid birds. The consequences of continued releases could be of vital importance for the long term conservation of wild red-legged partridges.",non-battery
"Li-rich layered cathode materials have received wide attention due to their superior Li-storage capability. However, their applications are still limited by capacity degradation and voltage decay, which is caused by the phase transition and metal dissolution during repeated cycling. In this work, iron oxide (FeOx) atomic layer deposition (ALD) was performed on Li-rich layered cathode powders in a fluidized bed reactor, followed by an annealing process to further improve their electrochemical performance. After 100 cycles of charge-discharge at 55 °C and 1C (1C = 250 mA g−1), the cathode made from particles with 40 cycles of FeOx ALD and annealing showed a 73% retention of the initial capacity (221 mAh g−1), while the electrode made from the pristine powders showed only 26% retention of the initial capacity (197 mAh g−1) at the same conditions. The enhancement of Li+ transport and cyclic stability stemmed from a stable Fe-doped spinel phase on the surface of cathode particles after ALD coating followed by annealing. A detailed post-test analysis demonstrated that the modification limited impedance growth and suppressed electrolyte degradation and metal dissolution.",battery
"Oligomeric Schiff bases with carboxylate end-groups are crystalline, electrochemically active materials at voltages below 1.2 V vs. Na+/Na. This low redox voltage along with delivered capacities up to 340 mA h g−1 makes them potential anode materials for sodium ion batteries. The electrochemical performance is optimized by maximizing the number of active units with respect to the total chain length. We report for the first time the electrochemical activity of the 10-π-electron end group (–−OOC–ϕ–CN–) (ϕ refers to the phenyl group) and central (–NC–ϕ–CN–) Hückel units. This enhanced activity is due to the larger stability of planar molecular regions with respect to out-of-plane inactive (–−OOC–ϕ–NC–) and (–CN–ϕ–NC–), as confirmed by DFT calculations.
",battery
"Developing an understanding of structure–activity relationships and reaction mechanisms of catalytic processes is critical to the successful design of highly efficient catalysts. As a fundamental reaction in fuel cells, elucidation of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) mechanism at Pt(hkl) surfaces has remained a significant challenge for researchers. Here, we employ in situ electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculation techniques to examine the ORR process at Pt(hkl) surfaces. Direct spectroscopic evidence for ORR intermediates indicates that, under acidic conditions, the pathway of ORR at Pt(111) occurs through the formation of HO2*, whereas at Pt(110) and Pt(100) it occurs via the generation of OH*. However, we propose that the pathway of the ORR under alkaline conditions at Pt(hkl) surfaces mainly occurs through the formation of O2−. Notably, these results demonstrate that the SERS technique offers an effective and reliable way for real-time investigation of catalytic processes at atomically flat surfaces not normally amenable to study with Raman spectroscopy.",battery
"Selected energy and material resource conversion systems are compared in this paper under an extended LCA point of view. A multi-method multi-scale assessment procedure is applied in order to generate consistent performance indicators based on the same set of input data, to ascertain the existence of constraints or crucial steps characterized by low conversion efficiency and to provide the basis for improvement patterns. Optimizing the performance of a given process requires that many different aspects are taken into account. Some of them, mostly of technical nature, relate to the local scale at which the process occurs. Other technological, economic and environmental aspects are likely to affect the dynamics of the larger space and time scales in which the process is embedded. These spatial and time scale effects require that a careful evaluation of the relation between the process and its surroundings is performed, so that hidden consequences and possible sources of inefficiency and impact are clearly identified. In this paper we analyse and compare selected electricity conversion systems, alternative fuels and biofuels, waste management strategies and finally the time evolution of an urban system, in order to show the importance of a multiple perspective point of view for the proper evaluation of a system's environmental and resource use performance.",non-battery
"Although it is widely assumed that children with learning disabilities have “sequencing problems,” these have not been well specified. A non-verbal serial reaction time (SRT) paradigm was used to evaluate motor sequence learning in 422 children between ages 7 and 11 in relation to reading, cognitive ability level, and attention problems. The children demonstrated the response profile typically associated with motor sequence learning, but the component of the profile indicative of implicit sequence learning was not reliably associated with any of the predictors. Cognitive ability predicted overall response time; cognitive ability, reading, and attention problems each predicted overall accuracy. Explicit learning was predicted by cognitive ability, but not by reading or attention problems. Thus, we found no evidence that poor reading is preferentially associated with a domain general deficit in sequential learning.",non-battery
"Abnormal microstructural integrity and glucose metabolism of the hippocampus are common in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that typically manifest as episodic memory impairment. The above-tissue alterations can be captured in vivo using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and positron emission tomography with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET). Here, we explored relationships between the above neuroimaging and cognitive markers of early AD-specific hippocampal damage. Twenty patients with early AD (MMSE 25.7 ± 1.7) were studied using DTI and FDG-PET. Episodic memory performance was assessed using the free delayed verbal recall task (DVR). In the between-modality correlation analysis, FDG uptake was strongly associated with diffusivity in the left anterior hippocampus only (r = −0.81, p < 0.05 Bonferroni’s corrected for multiple tests). Performance on DVR significantly correlated with left anterior (r = −0.80, p < 0.05) and left mean (r = −0.72, p < 0.05) hippocampal diffusivity, while the correlation with left anterior FDG uptake did not reach statistical significance (r = 0.52, n.s.). DTI-derived diffusivity of the anterior hippocampus might be a sensitive early marker of hippocampal dysfunction as reflected at the synaptic and cognitive levels. This neurobiological distinction of the anterior hippocampus might be related to the disruption of the perforant pathway that is known to occur early in the course of AD.",non-battery
"The combination of a sodium-nickel chloride (ZEBRA) battery and intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) to form a hybrid power system intended for automotive applications is examined with the aid of a fuel cell system model. The model allows the operating temperatures of the system to be assessed with a view to thermal integration with the battery. Efficiency curves for stacks and systems are described along with the temperature distribution around the system. Two types of IT-SOFC are compared, one operating in the 500–650°C temperature region and one in the 700–850°C region. The lower temperature IT-SOFC using external steam reforming, and the higher temperature system using partial internal steam reforming, both of methane fuel.",battery
"A positive association between brain size and intelligence is firmly established, but whether region-specific anatomical differences contribute to general intelligence remains an open question. Results from voxel-based morphometry (VBM) - one of the most widely used morphometric methods - have remained inconclusive so far. Here, we applied cross-validated machine learning-based predictive modeling to test whether out-of-sample prediction of individual intelligence scores is possible on the basis of voxel-wise gray matter volume. Features were derived from structural magnetic resonance imaging data (N = 308) using (a) a purely data-driven method (principal component analysis) and (b) a domain knowledge-based approach (atlas parcellation). When using relative gray matter (corrected for total brain size), only the atlas-based approach provided significant prediction, while absolute gray matter (uncorrected) allowed for above-chance prediction with both approaches. Importantly, in all significant predictions, the absolute error was relatively high, i.e., greater than ten IQ points, and in the atlas-based models, the predicted IQ scores varied closely around the sample mean. This renders the practical value even of statistically significant prediction results questionable. Analyses based on the gray matter of functional brain networks yielded significant predictions for the fronto-parietal network and the cerebellum. However, the mean absolute errors were not reduced in contrast to the global models, suggesting that general intelligence may be related more to global than region-specific differences in gray matter volume. More generally, our study highlights the importance of predictive statistical analysis approaches for clarifying the neurobiological bases of intelligence and provides important suggestions for future research using predictive modeling.
",non-battery
"In this preliminary study, we tried to use sodium polyacrylate as the super absorbent polymer to form alkaline NaBH4 gel and explored its possibilities for borohydride hydrolysis and borohydride electro-oxidation. It was found that the absorption capacity of sodium polyacrylate decreased with increasing NaBH4 concentration. The formed gel was rather stable in the sealed vessel but tended to slowly decompose in open air. Hydrogen generation from the gel was carried out using CoCl2 catalyst precursor solutions. Hydrogen generation rate from the alkaline NaBH4 gel was found to be higher and impurities in hydrogen were less than that from the alkaline NaBH4 solution. The NaBH4 gel also successfully powered a NaBH4-air battery.",battery
"We report the largely improved electrochemical capacitance of polypyrrole-derived microporous carbon nanospheres (MCNs, 80–100 nm in diameter) containing nitrogen functional groups. We have investigated the electrochemical properties of precursor polypyrrole nanospheres (PNs, with a high N/C ratio and low surface area) and as-derived carbon nanospheres (CNs, with a moderate N/C ratio and low surface area) prepared by carbonizing PNs at different temperatures, and MCNs (with a low N/C ratio and high surface area) obtained by chemical activation of CNs. The samples are thoroughly characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), nitrogen sorption, elemental analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that MCNs with a high surface area and N-doping species exhibit much better capacitive performance compared to the PNs and CNs, and commercial carbon blacks (XC-72 and BP2000) as well. The MCN sample gives a reversible specific capacitance of ∼240 F g−1 for 3000 cycles in aqueous media as a result of combined advantages of high electrochemical activity of doped heteroatoms (N and O) and accessible well-developed porosity, demonstrating the promising use in high-energy-density supercapacitors.
",battery
"Structural evolution during topotactical electrochemical lithium insertion and deinsertion reactions in ramsdellite-like Li x Ti2O4 has been followed by means of in situ X-ray diffraction techniques. The starting Li x Ti2O4 (x =1) exists as a single phase with variable composition which extends in the range 0.50≤ x ≤1.33. However, beyond the lower and upper compositional limits, two other single phases, with ramsdellite-like structure, are detected. The composition of these single phases are: TiO2 upon lithium deinsertion and Li2Ti2O4 upon lithium insertion. Both TiO2 and Li2Ti2O4 are characterized by narrow compositional ranges. The close structural relationship between pristine LiTi2O4 and the inserted and deinserted compounds together with the relative small volume change over the whole insertion–deinsertion range (not more than 1.1% upon reduction) is a guaranty for the high capacity retention after long cycling in lithium batteries. The small changes in cell parameters well reflect the remarkable flexibility of the ramsdellite framework against lithiation and delithiation reactions.",battery
"As a consequence of developing information and communication technology that is playing a significant role in our society and has changed our life dramatically, we witnessed a significant increase in energy consumption in computer systems and networks. Subsequently, energy harvesting technologies with renewable energy are of great interest in the field of computer systems and networks, and thus lead to abundant research which has been carried out to address energy harvesting from different aspects. However, the majority of them focuses on wireless or small-scale networks, which left wired networks with a general structure neglected. We first present a comprehensive systemic review of the trends of overall energy consumption, and energy and quality of service optimization in computer systems and networks. Then, this paper reviews the recent research progress in G-networks and energy packet networks with renewable and intermittent energy from both the system paradigms and the performance optimization and energy reduction algorithms for the wired networks.",non-battery
"Humic acid is creatively selected as an anode material in sodium ion batteries. Bio-based carbon fibers (H-CF) are fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) − humic acid (HA) via simple eletrospinning followed by stabilization and carbonization. The heat-treatment temperature (HTT) is optimized based on analysis of material structures and electrochemical performances. Due to unique composite networks and oxygenic functionalities, the H-CF anode obtained at 1300°C has a large reversible capacity of 261.3mAhg−1 (current density: 0.02Ag−1, initial efficiency: 69.6%). The anode also presents good cycle stability (249.6mAhg−1 reversible capacity at 0.1Ag−1 with capacity retention of 92.8% over 100 cycles) and good rate capability (208.6mAhg−1 at 0.2Ag−1 and 81.7mAhg−1 at 1Ag−1). It is proved that humic acid can serve as a robust precursor for high-performance anode of sodium ion batteries.",battery
"Mathematic abilities in childhood are highly predictive for long-term neurocognitive outcomes. Preterm-born individuals have an increased risk for both persistent cognitive impairments and long-term changes in macroscopic brain organization. We hypothesized that the association of childhood mathematic abilities with both adulthood general cognitive abilities and associated fronto-parietal intrinsic networks is altered after preterm delivery. 72 preterm- and 71 term-born individuals underwent standardized mathematic and IQ testing at 8 years and resting-state fMRI and full-scale IQ testing at 26 years of age. Outcome measure for intrinsic networks was intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC). Controlling for IQ at age eight, mathematic abilities in childhood were significantly stronger positively associated with adults’ IQ in preterm compared with term-born individuals. In preterm-born individuals, the association of children’s mathematic abilities and adults’ fronto-parietal iFC was altered. Likewise, fronto-parietal iFC was distinctively linked with preterm- and term-born adults’ IQ. Results provide evidence that preterm birth alters the link of mathematic abilities in childhood and general cognitive abilities and fronto-parietal intrinsic networks in adulthood. Data suggest a distinct functional role of intrinsic fronto-parietal networks for preterm individuals with respect to mathematic abilities and that these networks together with associated children’s mathematic abilities may represent potential neurocognitive targets for early intervention.
",non-battery
"Electrospun carbon–silicon composite nanofiber is employed as anode material for lithium ion batteries. The morphology of composite nanofiber is optimized on the C/Si ratio to make sure well distribution of silicon particles in carbon matrix. The C/Si (77/23, w/w) nanofiber exhibits large reversible capacity up to 1240mAhg−1 and excellent capacity retention. Ex situ scanning electron microscopy is also conducted to study the morphology change during discharge/charge cycle, and the result reveals that fibrous morphology can effectively prevent the electrode from mechanical failure due to the large volume expansion during lithium insertion in silicon. AC impedance spectroscopy reveals the possible reason of unsatisfactory rate capability of the nanofiber. These results indicate that this novel C/Si composite nanofiber may has some limitations on high power lithium ion batteries, but it can be a very attractive potential anode material for high energy-density lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Chlorpyrifos was selected for EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) based on widespread use and potential for human and environmental exposures. The purpose of the program is to screen chemicals for their potential to interact with the estrogen, androgen, or thyroid pathways. A battery of 11 assays was completed for chlorpyrifos in accordance with test guidelines developed for EDSP Tier 1 screening. To determine potential endocrine activity, a weight-of-evidence (WoE) evaluation was completed for chlorpyrifos, which included the integration of EDSP assay results with data from regulatory guideline studies and the published literature. This WoE approach was based on the OECD conceptual framework for testing and assessment of potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals and consisted of a systematic evaluation of data, progressing from simple to complex across multiple levels of biological organization. The conclusion of the WoE evaluation is that chlorpyrifos demonstrates no potential to interact with the estrogen, androgen, or thyroid pathways at doses below the dose levels that inhibit cholinesterase. Therefore, regulatory exposure limits for chlorpyrifos, which are based on cholinesterase inhibition, are sufficient to protect against potential endocrine alterations. Based on the results of this WoE evaluation, there is no scientific justification for pursuing additional endocrine testing for chlorpyrifos.",non-battery
"Li3VO4/C/rGO (HC-LVO/C/G) ternary composite with honeycomb-like structure is successfully prepared through a simple spray drying method with polystyrene (PS) microspheres as soft template. In this characteristic structure, carbon-coated Li3VO4 nanoparticles are well wrapped by rGO sheets and uniformly distributed within the honeycomb-like micrometer-sized clusters. The double coating layers of amorphous carbon and rGO can avoid the direct exposure of Li3VO4 nanoparticles to the electrolyte and enhance the electronic conductivity. Meanwhile, the honeycomb-like structure can shorten the diffusion paths of Li+ ions and favors the relaxation of the strain/stress during cycling. The resultant HC-LVO/C/G composite exhibits significantly improved high-rate performance and long cycle-life (the high reversible capacity of 312mAhg−1 can be maintained after 1000 cycles at 10 C) compared with the contrastive Li3VO4/C composite synthesized by a typical solid-state reaction method.",battery
"The lithium/sulfur (Li–S) batteries consist of a composite cathode, a polymer electrolyte, and a lithium anode. The composite cathode is made from elemental sulfur (or lithium sulfide), carbon black, PEO, LiClO4, and acetonitrile. The polymer electrolyte is made of gel-type linear poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with tetra ethylene glycol dimethyl ether. Cells based on Li2S or sulfur have open-circuit voltages of about 2.2 and 2.5V, respectively. The former cell shows two reduction peaks and one oxidation peak. It is suggested that the first reduction peak is caused by the change from polysulfide to short lithium polysulfide, and the second reduction peak by the change from short lithium polysulfide to lithium sulfide (Li2S, Li2S2). The cell based on sulfur has the same reduction mechanism as that of Li2S, which is caused by the multi process (first and second reduction) of lithium polysulfide. On charge–discharge cycling, the first discharge has a higher capacity than subsequent discharges and the flat discharge voltage is about 2.0V. As the current load is increased, the discharge capacity decreases. One reason for this fading capacity and low sulfur utilization is the aggregation of sulfur (or polysulfide) with cycling.",battery
"Due to their high storage capacity Sn-based materials are of considerable interest as negative electrode for Li-ion batteries. However the strong volume change occurring during the alloy formation strongly limits the electrochemical performances (cycle and time life). Analysis by Mössbauer spectroscopy using model compounds (Sn, Sn-Li and transition metal-Sn alloys) shows that the volume expansion is related to the structural change from a Sn based network to a Li based network. Two types of materials are proposed here to overcome this problem: tin dispersion in an electrochemically inactive oxide matrix with buffer role to absorb volume changes or tin alloying with an inactive transition metal to minimize the volume expansion. The use of Mössbauer spectroscopy (in situ operando mode) allows a dynamic approach which is essential to understand the fundamental causes of ageing on cycling and to define then the key issues to be solved for material’s application.
",non-battery
"The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) incident released a significant mass of radioactive material into the atmosphere. An estimated 22% of this material fell out over land following the incident. Immediately following the disaster, there was a severe lack of information not only pertaining to the identity of the radioactive material released, but also its distribution as fallout in the surrounding regions. Indeed, emergency aid groups including the UN did not have sufficient location specific radiation data to accurately assign exclusion and evacuation zones surrounding the plant in the days and weeks following the incident. A newly developed instrument to provide rapid and high spatial resolution assessment of radionuclide contamination in the environment is presented. The device consists of a low cost, lightweight, unmanned aerial platform with a microcontroller and integrated gamma spectrometer, GPS and LIDAR. We demonstrate that with this instrument it is possible to rapidly and remotely detect ground-based radiation anomalies with a high spatial resolution (<1 m). Critically, as the device is remotely operated, the user is removed from any unnecessary or unforeseen exposure to elevated levels of radiation.",non-battery
"The catalytic activity of V2+/V3+ and VO2+/VO2 + redox couples on the halogen-doped graphene nanoplatelets (F-, Cl-, and Br-GNPs) is studied by ball-milling graphite flakes with fluorine (F2), chlorine (Cl2), and bromine (Br2) molecules, respectively. Using the edge-selectively halogenated graphene materials with different edge exfoliation degrees, the vanadium redox reactions can be significantly facilitated by having abundant edge defects with large surface area in the order: Br-GNP>Cl-GNP>F-GNP. The influence of halogen functionalization on graphene nanoplatelets towards vanadium redox couples is further confirmed by stack-type vanadium redox flow batteries that demonstrates better cell performance than graphene nanoplatelets without dopant at the edges. Notably, the Br-GNP showed unique electrochemical performance of increased initial charge/discharge capacity and improved rate capability, respectively. It was found that halogen doping on graphene-based materials can promote vanadium redox reactions by creating effective active sites, and the electrocatalytic activity is dependent on edge exfoliation degree and well-preserved basal planes.",battery
"MSb (M=Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) alloys with a NiAs type structure were synthesized by ceramic route and evaluate as a negative electrode material for rechargeable lithium batteries. Electrochemical tests demonstrated that initial charge and discharge capacities of this materials were ca. 390 and 330mAhg−1, respectively. Ex situ XRD of MnSb electrodes showed that LiMnSb and Li3Sb were successively formed during lithium insertion. The 121Sb Mössbauer spectra show that the insertion mechanism during discharge involves the formation of several lithium-containing compounds such as LiMnSb, Li3Sb with manganese extrusion. During the subsequent charge a more complex mechanism occurs involving MnSb, modified LiMnSb alloy and metallic Sb formation.",battery
"Fuel cells (FCs) have been in development for more than 50 years; whereas the application of weak output of some FCs in detection of biochemical species as self-powered electrochemical sensors (SPESs) has attracted considerable attention in past decade. Different from conventional electrochemical sensors, FC-based SPESs do not need external power supplies and complex devices, but use the electrical output as sensing signal provided by redox reactions in FCs. As a result, SPESs provide a feasible approach to the construction of miniaturized, implantable or portable devices. Different types of FCs including enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC), microbial fuel cell (MFC) and photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) can change their outputs with the concentration of analyte to realize the sensitive detection by using the extremely strong catalytic properties of enzymes, microorganisms and semiconducting materials, respectively. So far, SPESs have achieved some gratifying progresses through the continuous exploration of researchers. In this review, we summarize the research advances in SPESs based on three types of FCs for detection of different biochemical species, including nucleic acids, proteins, H2O2, heavy metal ions, glucose, lactate and so on. Moreover, the problems of different FCs faced for various targets and some possible solutions are proposed. Finally, we discuss the future development directions, challenges and opportunities of SPESs.",battery
"Waterpipe smoking has been growing in popularity in the United States and worldwide. Most tobacco control regulations remain limited to cigarettes. Few studies have investigated waterpipe tobacco smoke exposures in a real world setting. We measured carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM)2.5, and airborne nicotine concentrations in seven waterpipe cafes in the greater Baltimore area. Area air samples were collected between two and five hours, with an average sampling duration of three hours. Waterpipe smoking behaviors were observed at each venue. Indoor air samplers for CO, PM2.5, and airborne nicotine were placed in the main seating area 1–2 m above the floor. Indoor airborne concentrations of PM2.5 and CO were markedly elevated in waterpipe cafes and exceeded concentrations that were observed in cigarette smoking bars. Air nicotine concentrations, although not as high as in venues that allow cigarette smoking, were markedly higher than in smoke-free bars and restaurants. Concentrations of PM approached occupational exposure limits and CO exceeded occupational exposure guidelines suggesting that worker protection measures need to be considered. This study adds to the literature indicating that both employees and patrons of waterpipe venues are at increased risk from complex exposures to secondhand waterpipe smoke.
",non-battery
"Aqueous electrolyte based asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) has recently attracted increasing interest by virtue of their operation voltage and high ionic conductivity. Herein, we developed a novel ASC based on carbon nanotubes@nickel oxide nanosheets (CNT@NiO) core–shell composites as positive electrode and porous carbon polyhedrons (PCPs) as negative electrode in aqueous KOH solution as electrolyte. The CNT@NiO core–shell hybrids were prepared through a facile chemical bath deposition method followed by thermal annealing, while PCPs were obtained by direct carbonization of Zn-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Owing to their unique microstructures, outstanding electrochemical properties have been achieved in three-electrode configuration, e.g., 996 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, 500 at 20 A g−1 for the CNT@NiO electrode within 0–0.5 V window, and 245 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 for the PCPs electrode within −1–0 V window. Resulting from these merits, the as-fabricated CNT@NiO//PCPs ASC exhibits maximum energy density of 25.4 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 400 W kg−1 and even remains 9.8 Wh kg−1 at 16,000 W kg−1 (a full charge–discharge within 4.4 s) in the wide voltage region of 0–1.6 V. More importantly, the CNT@NiO//PCPs asymmetric supercapacitor shows ultralong cycling stability, with 93% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles.",battery
"A stationary two-dimensional model for the vanadium oxygen fuel cell is developed. The model consists of a single cell with two membranes, set up as of two half-cells and an intermediate chamber. The transport and balance of mass, momentum and charge are linked to the electrochemical reaction kinetics of the vanadium species and oxygen. The kinetic model for the cathode half-cell is extended by an empirical logistic function to describe the transient behavior of the half-cell. Additionally, experiments are conducted on a single vanadium oxygen fuel cell with 40 cm2 active membrane area. The experimental results are used to validate the simulation data. The effects of constant current discharging, polarization behavior and different flow rates on the cathode overpotential are studied by means of this model.",battery
"In the present study, spent medium bioleaching method was performed using organic acids produced by Aspergillus niger to dissolve Ni, Co, Mn, Li, Cu and Al from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects and interactions between the effective factors of sucrose concentration, initial pH, and inoculum size to optimize organic acid production. Maximum citric acid, malic acid, and gluconic acid concentrations of 26,478, 1832.53 and 8433.76ppm, respectively, and a minimum oxalic acid concentration of 305.558ppm were obtained under optimal conditions of 116.90 (gl−1) sucrose concentration, 3.45% (vv−1) inoculum size, and a pH value of 5.44. Biogenically-produced organic acids are used for leaching of spent LIBs at different pulp densities. The highest metal recovery of 100% Cu, 100% Li, 77% Mn, and 75% Al occurred at 2% (wv−1) pulp density; 64% Co and 54% Ni recovery occurred at 1% (wv−1) pulp density. The bioleaching of metals from spent LIBs can decrease the environmental impact of this waste. The results of this study suggest that the process can be used for large scale industrial purposes.",non-battery
"Homogeneous and adherent polyaniline coatings were electrosynthesized on aluminum (Al) alloy 3004 (AA 3004) from an aqueous solution containing aniline and oxalic acid by using the galvanostatic polarization method. A higher applied current density in the polymerization stage proved to be the best condition to adopt for the synthesis of more compact and strongly adherent polyaniline coatings on Al. The corrosion performances of polyaniline coatings were investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution by the potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies reveal that the polyaniline acts as a protective layer on Al against corrosion in 3.5% NaCl solution. The current corrosion decreases significantly from 6.55μAcm−2 for uncoated Al to 0.158μAcm−2 for polyaniline-coated Al. The corrosion rate of the polyaniline-coated Al is found to be 5.17×10−4 mmyear−1, which is ∼40 times lower than that observed for bare Al. The potential corrosion increases from −1.015V versus SCE for uncoated Al to ∼−0.9V versus SCE for polyaniline-coated Al electrodes. The positive shift of ∼0.11V in potential corrosion indicates the protection of the Al surface by the polyaniline coatings. The synthesized coatings were characterized by UV–visible absorption spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optical absorption spectroscopy reveals the formation of the emeraldine form of polyaniline. The results of this study clearly ascertain that the polyaniline has outstanding potential to protect the AA 3004 alloy against corrosion in a chloride environment.",battery
"The carbon-coated α-Na2MoO4 nanoplate sample was fabricated via a facile sol–gel method involving the subsequent annealing under a reducing atmosphere to decompose the organic carbon source. X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that single-phase α-Na2MoO4 can be obtained even under the presence of carbon and reducing atmosphere. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the carbon-coated α-Na2MoO4 nanoplate electrode displays a discharge and recharge capacity of 806mAhg−1 and 409mAhg−1 respectively in the first cycle, while a reversible discharge–charge capacity of 350mAhg−1 can be retained after 30 cycles at 30mAhg−1. A capacity of ∼320mAhg−1 at 30mAhg−1 can still recover after 50 cycles even following the discharge/charge process with the high current density of 480mAhg−1. Meanwhile, carbon-free and carbon-coated α-Na2MoO4 powders fabricated via a solid state reaction were also prepared for comparison. Furthermore, the structure change of α-Na2MoO4 and its Li storage mechanism upon lithiation and delithiation process are studied by ex-situ XRD and TEM in below.",battery
"While both neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID) and basophilic inclusion body disease (BIBD) show frontotemporal lobar degeneration and/or motor neuron disease, it remains unclear whether, and how, these diseases differ from each other. Here, we compared the clinicopathological characteristics of four BIBD and two NIFID cases. Atypical initial symptoms included weakness, dysarthria, and memory impairment in BIBD, and dysarthria in NIFID. Dementia developed more than 1 year after the onset in some BIBD and NIFID cases. Upper and lower motor neuron signs, parkinsonism, and parietal symptoms were noted in both diseases, and involuntary movements in BIBD. Pathologically, severe caudate atrophy was consistently found in both diseases. Cerebral atrophy was distributed in the convexity of the fronto-parietal region in NIFID cases. In both BIBD and NIFID, the frontotemporal cortex including the precentral gyrus, caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus including the dentate gyrus, substantia nigra, and pyramidal tract were severely affected, whereas lower motor neuron degeneration was minimal. While α-internexin-positive inclusions without cores were found in both NIFID cases, one NIFID case also had α-internexin- and neurofilament-negative, but p62-positive, cytoplasmic spherical inclusions with eosinophilic p62-negative cores. These two types of inclusions frequently coexisted in the same neuron. In three BIBD cases, inclusions were tau-, α-synuclein-, α-internexin-, and neurofilament-negative, but occasionally p62-positive. These findings suggest that: (1) the clinical features and distribution of neuronal loss are similar in BIBD and NIFID, and (2) an unknown protein besides α-internexin and neurofilament may play a pivotal pathogenetic role in at least some NIFID cases.",non-battery
"Background Infection is the leading cause of death for left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients with end-stage heart failure. Decreased infection may be possible with fully implantable LVADs such as the LionHeart, which lacks percutaneous conduits (PCs), a common source of device-related infection (DRI). This sub-study reports infections with the LionHeart and compares these results with historic data from the REMATCH trial, bridge to recovery (BTR) and bridge-to-transplantation (BTT) studies. Methods Twenty-three patients were implanted with the LionHeart LVAD and followed until death or heart transplant during a non-randomized, multicenter, European trial from October 1999 to April 2004. The nature and incidence of infection were analyzed and adjudicated to definitions similar to, or the same as, the REMATCH definitions. Results The combined number of implant days was 7,980, with a mean of 347 days (median 112, range 17 to 1,259 days). Survival at 1 year was 39%, with 2-year survival at 22%. Seventy-four percent of patients developed one or more infections, with 30% developing sepsis, and 35% developing pump-pocket infections (PSIs). No patients developed pump-housing or inflow- or outflow-tract infections (PI). For comparison, the prevalence rates of sepsis, PSI and PI in REMATCH were 51%, 35% and 19%, respectively. Conclusions The patients in the European LionHeart Clinical Utility Baseline Study (CUBS) trial had less sepsis and less overall DRI compared with the REMATCH LVAD group. Therefore, the fully implanted device may cause less infection than PC devices during destination therapy (DT). Although lower for DT, these rates are still higher than for some BTT experiences. Areas for future improvement include miniaturization of controller/battery components to reduce wound complications related to pocket size, and installation of more modern lithium-ion batteries to decrease the need for re-operations due to battery end-of-life.",non-battery
"The work function is a fundamental quantity applied to many aspects of physics and describes the minimum energy required to remove an electron from the surface of a metal and eject it into the vacuum. Here, the authors demonstrate a method to determine the work function to five significant figures, a higher order of magnitude than previously reported.
",non-battery
"For the first time, we report a facile approach to fabricate metal organic framework derived carbon (MOF-C) with tunable porous structure. Different from direct pyrolysis of MOFs and blind attempt in application, the in-situ ammonia treatment enables MOF-C with desired porous structure from enriched microporous structure to hierarchically mesoporous structure. Further, NH3 treated MOF-C as carbon host for sulfur loading performing as the cathode for Li–S batteries results in twice higher capacity retention than that of pristine MOF-C. Besides, different Li–S electrochemical mechanisms regarding the different porous structures of carbon are also revealed and investigated in this paper.",battery
"In recent years, lithium bis(oxalato)borate, LiB(C2O4)2 (LiBOB) has been proposed as an alternative salt to the commonly used electrolyte, LiPF6. There is evidence of the enhanced stability of Li-ion battery electrodes in solutions of this salt, due to a unique surface chemistry developed in LiBOB solutions. The present study is aimed at further exploring the electrochemical and thermal properties of LiBOB solutions in mixtures of alkyl carbonates with non-active metal, graphite and lithium electrodes. FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, EQCM, in situ AFM imaging, and DSC were used in conjunction with standard electrochemical techniques. The study also included a comparison between LiBOB and LiPF6 solutions. The development of a favorable surface chemistry in LiBOB solutions that provides better passivation to Li and Li-graphite electrodes was clearly evident.",battery
"This paper introduces a state of charge (SOC) estimation algorithm that was implemented for an automotive lithium-ion battery system used in fuel-cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs). The proposed online control strategy for the lithium-ion battery, based on the Ah current integration method and time-triggered controller area network (TTCAN), incorporates a signal filter and adaptive modifying concepts to estimate the Li2MnO4 battery SOC in a timely manner. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm, road test experimentation was conducted with an FCHV using the proposed SOC estimation algorithm. It was confirmed that the control technique can be used to effectively manage the lithium-ion battery and conveniently estimate the SOC.",battery
"Both macro- and microscopic magnetic nature of Li x NiO2 ( 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 1 ) were studied by susceptibility ( χ ) and muon-spin rotation and relaxation ( μ + SR) measurements in order to understand the change in magnetism of Li x NiO2 with x. The χ measurements showed the presence of spin-glass-like freezing at T f ∼ 11 K for the samples in the whole x range measured. This implies that the macroscopic magnetism is not sensitive to x, although the crystal structure and average oxidation state of the Ni ions of Li x NiO2 alter as a function of x. On the other hand, the microscopic magnetism of Li x NiO2 is found to be quite different from the macroscopic one. That is, a static antiferromagnetic ordered phase appears at low T for the samples with 0.6 ≤ x ≤ 1 , while a spin-glass-like disordered phase presents for the 0.25 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 samples below 10K.",battery
"The electrochemical behaviors of LiPF6 and lithium oxalyldifluoroborate (LiODFB) blend salts in ethylene carbonate+propylene carbonate+dimethyl carbonate (EC+PC+DMC, 1:1:3, v/v/v) for LiFePO4/artificial graphite (AG) lithium-ion cells have been investigated in this work. It is demonstrated by conductivity test that LiPF6 and LiODFB blend salts electrolytes have superior conductivity to pure LiODFB-based electrolyte. The results show that the performances of LiFePO4/Li half cells with LiPF6 and LiODFB blend salts electrolytes are inferior to pure LiPF6-based electrolyte, the capacity and cycling efficiency of Li/AG half cells are distinctly improved by blend salts electrolytes, and the optimum LiODFB/LiPF6 molar ratio is around 4:1. A reduction peak is observed around 1.5V in LiODFB containing electrolyte systems by means of CV tests for Li/AG cells. Excellent capacity and cycling performance are obtained on LiFePO4/AG 063048-type cells tests with blend salts electrolytes. A plateau near 1.7–2.0V is shown in electrolytes containing LiODFB salt, and extends with increasing LiODFB concentration in charge curve of LiFePO4/AG cells. At 1C discharge current rate, the initial discharge capacity of 063048-type cell with the optimum electrolyte is 376.0mAh, and the capacity retention is 90.8% after 100 cycles at 25°C. When at 65°C, the capacity and capacity retention after 100 cycles are 351.3mAh and 88.7%, respectively. The performances of LiFePO4/AG cells are remarkably improved by blending LiODFB and LiPF6 salts compared to those of pure LiPF6-based electrolyte system, especially at elevated temperature to 65°C.",battery
"Computationally efficient numerical models of battery cooling systems are developed and the effects of the battery cell arrangement and the heat transfer fluid (HTF) type on the cooling performance and the parasitic power consumption of the system are investigated. A one-dimensional heat conduction model of a cylindrical battery cell is developed using a finite difference method for the cell temperature prediction and a battery module model is developed to predict the cell to cell temperature variation and the power consumption of the systems depending on the design of battery module and operating conditions. The analysis of the battery thermal management system (BTMS) design by using the numerical model is conducted for air and liquid type BTMSs. From the numerical analysis, it is found that a wide battery module with a small cell to cell gap is desirable for the air type BTMS while a narrow battery module with a small gap is desirable for a liquid type BTMS. The results also show that the air type BTMS consumes much more power compared with the liquid type BTMS especially for high heat load condition. However, under low heat load conditions, the power consumption of the air type BTMS is acceptable considering its advantages over the liquid type BTMS.",battery
"Thin silicon layers containing about 20% carbon and 20% oxygen were deposited on copper substrates by potentiostatic electroreduction from a 1M SiCl4 1-butyl-1-methyl-pyrrolidinium bis (trifluoromethyl) sulfonylimide [BMP][TFSI] electrolyte. The electrodeposition process was investigated by means of voltammetric techniques, coupled with in-situ microgravimetry (quartz crystal microbalance, QCM). The electrochemical and QCM data suggest a possible contribution of a partial Si4+ to Si2+ reduction and/or a restructuring of the metallic substrate. Considerable impact of side reactions parallel to the deposition process was indicated by QCM measurements performed under potentiostatic and potentiodynamic conditions. The deposition of silicon-based films was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Analysis of the chemical composition of the deposit and its elemental distribution were achieved by depth profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrodeposited silicon containing layers showed stable lithiation and delithiation with capacity values of about 1200mAhg−1 and 80% capacity retention after 300 cycles in standard EC/DMC electrolytes. In ionic liquid (IL) the material displayed lower capacity of ca. 500mAhg−1, which can be attributed to the higher viscosity of this electrolyte and deposition of IL decomposition products during lithiation.",battery
"A FeSi2.7 thin film is deposited on a copper substrate by RF magnetron sputtering of a Fe–Si alloy target. The electrochemical behavior of the FeSi2.7 electrode in ionic liquid electrolyte based on 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide is investigated and compared with that of a FeSi2.7 electrode in conventional liquid electrolyte. The FeSi2.7 electrode in the ionic liquid electrolyte delivers an initial discharge capacity of 756mAhg−1 at room temperature, and its discharge capacity is maintained to be 92% of the initial discharge capacity after the 100th cycle. AC impedance and FTIR analysis reveal that the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the FeSi2.7 electrode in the ionic liquid electrolyte leads to a good capacity retention. This study demonstrates that the FeSi2.7 electrode exhibits stable cycling behavior and good interfacial characteristics in the ionic liquid electrolyte without any solvents and additives.",battery
"Germanium and silicon can be used to reversibly store large amounts of lithium, but as a result, suffer from significant volumetric and structural changes during cycling. The mechanical stresses associated with these changes were investigated using in situ stress measurements on thin film electrodes. Results for germanium, with its superior transport properties, are compared to silicon, which is structurally similar. The nominal stresses developed in amorphous lithium–germanium (a-Li x Ge) were found to be roughly 30% lower than in a-Li x Si. When the cycling rate was increased, the germanium electrode showed a smaller loss in capacity than silicon. Crystalline Li15Ge4 was observed to form below 100 mV and resulted in a distinct tensile bump in nominal stress. During extended cycling, the maximum mechanical stress signal of the film electrodes irreversibly decreased without an apparent loss in capacity. In contrast to silicon films, which typically fracture and lose capacity during cycling, germanium films were capable of reorganizing into three-dimensional structures, thereby improving their mechanical response while minimizing electrochemical energy loss. The reduced nominal flow stresses observed in a-Li x Ge and their weak dependence on charge–discharge rates correlated with the reduced rate sensitivity found in germanium electrodes as compared to silicon.",battery
"Though MXenes, a new family of 2D transition metal carbides, are generating considerable interests as electrode materials for batteries and supercapacitors, further application is hindered by their low capacities and poor rate capabilities. Here we propose a simple route for the synthesis of Cu2O particle hybridized titanium carbide Ti2CTx (T=O, OH) composites via a solvothermal method. Electrodes containing Cu2O/MXene were fabricated without carbon black, and tested as anodes for lithium ion batteries. A discharge capacity of 143mAhg−1 was obtained at a discharge current density of 1000mAg−1 and the capacity retention was near 100% after 200 cycles. The hybrid electrodes with open conductive frameworks exhibited significantly improved electrochemical performance, suggesting a new method for preparing MXene-based composites for energy storage application.",battery
"Resolving the mismatch between the practical potential window (PPW) and the available capacitive potential window of supercapacitor electrodes provides a feasible way to expand the operating voltage of supercapacitors, which further boosts energy density. Here, our research unveils a unique approach to manually control the PPW of the corresponding carbon-based supercapacitors (CSCs) by rational functionalization with amino groups. The extra pair of electrons from amino N atoms naturally adsorbs cations in the electrolyte, which rationalizes the surface charge of the carbon electrode and adjusts the PPW. A remarkable voltage expansion is achieved for CSCs, from 1.4 V to its maximum limit, 1.8 V, correspondently resulting in an approximately 1-fold increase in the energy density. Importantly, such a simple strategy endows our CSCs with an outstanding maximum energy density of 7.7 mWh cm−3, which is not only among the best values reported for thin-film CSCs but also comparable to those reported for Li thin-film batteries. These encouraging results are believed to bring fundamental insights into the nature of potential control in energy storage devices.",battery
"Synthesized yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) sol was coated on the surface of the LiCoO2 cathode particles by an in situ sol–gel process, followed by calcination at 923K for 10h in air. Based on XRD, TEM, and ESCA data, a compact YAG kernel with an average thickness of ∼20nm was formed on the surface of the core LiCoO2 particles, which ranged from ∼90 to 120nm in size. The charge–discharge cycling studies for the coated materials suggest that 0.3wt.% YAG-coated LiCoO2 heated at 923K for 10h in air, delivered a discharge capacity of 167mAhg−1 and a cycle stability of about 164 cycles with a fading rate of 0.2mAhcycle−1 at a 0.2C-rate between 2.75 and 4.40V vs. Li/Li+. The differential capacity plots revealed that impedance growth was slower for YAG surface treated LiCoO2, when cells were charged at 4.40V. DSC results exemplified that the exothermic peak at ∼468K corresponded to the release of much less oxygen and greater thermal-stability.",battery
"The influence of the immune system deregulation on the risk of schizophrenia is increasingly recognized. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) level together with the polymorphism in its gene (IL6 -174G/C) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels on clinical manifestation and cognition in schizophrenia patients. We recruited 151 patients with schizophrenia and 194 healthy control subjects. Psychopathology was evaluated using Operational Criteria for Psychotic Illness checklist, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Scales for Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms. Cognitive performance in schizophrenia patients was assessed using following tests: Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Tests, Stroop and subscales from Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale-R-Pl (Similarities, Digit Symbol Coding, Digit Span Forward and Backward). Serum IL-6 and hsCRP levels were significantly higher in schizophrenia patients in comparison with healthy controls. Both hsCRP and IL-6 levels were associated with insidious psychosis onset, duration of illness and chronic schizophrenia course with deterioration. After adjustment for age, education level, number of years of completed education, illness duration, total PANSS score, depression severity and chlorpromazine equivalent, there was still a positive association between IL-6 and hsCRP levels and worse cognitive performance. The IL6 -174G/C polymorphism did not influence IL-6 level, but it was associated with the severity of positive symptoms. Our results suggest that elevated IL-6 levels may play the role in cognitive impairment and serve as potential inflammatory biomarker of deterioration in schizophrenia.
",non-battery
"Cycle performance of a LiAl0.10Ni0.76Co0.14O2 (NCA) cathode/graphite cell closely depended on the range of depth of discharge in charge–discharge processes (ΔDOD). When ΔDOD was 10–70%, cycle performance at 25 °C was maintained even at 60 °C. Deterioration phenomena were analyzed by electrochemical method, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and micro-cracks in NCA particles were analyzed with cross-sectional views by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Many micro-cracks were observed only after a 0–100% DOD region cycle test. Cycle tests in several restricted ΔDOD conditions showed that the deterioration was closely related to not the upper and lower limits of DOD or operation voltage but the width of ΔDOD.",battery
"A LiFePO4/C sample was prepared via solid state reaction and characterized with X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and charge–discharge test. Conductive carbon and highly crystallized LiFePO4 were embedded in each other to form the as-prepared LiFePO4/C, which exhibited an excellent rate capability and capacity retention. The LiFePO4/C electrode reaction was investigated by the method of medium scan rate cyclic voltammetry (CV) under temperature variation. The limit values for the CV redox peak potentials of the LiFePO4/C electrode scanned at different rates were obtained by curve fitting. The reversibility of the LiFePO4/C electrode was studied and found to be both scan rate and temperature dependent. A higher temperature led to a higher critical CV scan rate for a reversible LiFePO4/C electrode. In the electrode process, a higher temperature resulted in a smoother Fe3+/Fe2+ redox reaction, better reversibility, lower Rcv, smaller charge transfer resistance and higher Li+ ion diffusion coefficient at the cathode of the LiFePO4/C.
",battery
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) imposes a substantial burden on individuals with the disease, which can include a range of symptoms (breathlessness, cough, sputum production, wheeze, chest tightness) of varying severities. We present an overview of the biomedical literature describing reported relationships between COPD symptoms and disease burden in terms of quality of life, health status, daily activities, physical activity, sleep, comorbid anxiety, and depression, as well as risk of exacerbations and disease prognosis. In addition, the substantial variability of COPD symptoms encountered (morning, daytime, and nighttime) is addressed and their implications for disease burden considered. The findings from this narrative review, which mainly focuses on real-world and observational studies, demonstrate the impact of COPD symptoms on the burden of disease and that improved recognition and understanding of their impact is central to alleviating this burden.
",non-battery
"Li2MoO4 modified Li4Ti5O12/C anode material has been synthesized by a ball-milling assisted rheological phase reaction method. The structures, morphologies and electrochemical properties of the as-prepared materials have been analyzed by different physical and electrochemical methods. The results show that the amorphous carbon is successfully coated on the surface of Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles with partial doping of Mo6+ into the Li4Ti5O12 structure. Electrochemical results indicate that Li2MoO4 modified Li4Ti5O12/C samples deliver improved rate capability and decreased charge transfer resistance. Among the investigated samples, the one with 5 wt% Li2MoO4 sample exhibits the optimal electrochemical properties and it shows a large capacity of 167.5mAhg−1 at 1C rate, which is close to its theoretical capacity. Even at 10C, its charge capacity is up to 137.5mAhg−1 with a high capacity retention of 92.5% after 200 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties should be attributed to the improvement of electrochemical kinetics by the synergistic employment of reducing particle size, partial Mo6+ doping and Li2MoO4/C modification.",battery
"A new single-source precursor has been developed from the hydrothermal reaction of graphite oxide (GO), melamine resin (MR) monomers, and CoCl2 to prepare a sandwich-like hybrid of ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) sheets and porous Co3O4 nanospheres (Co3O4/NG). This unique structure endows the Co3O4/NG hybrid with large surface area and enhanced electrochemical performances as both anode material for Li-ion batteries and electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). As an anode material, it exhibits high reversible capacity, excellent cycling stability and rate performance (1236 and 489 mAh g−1 over 200 cycles at 0.1C and 2C, respectively; 371 mAh g−1 at 5C). As an ORR electrocatalyst, it shows superior catalytic activity and high selectivity for the four-electron reduction pathway compared to the bare Co3O4 and NG alone. Moreover, the Co3O4/NG hybrid is insensitive to methanol, and is much more stable than Pt/C catalyst over long term operation.",battery
"In the present study we assessed the neuroprotective effects of the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD.fmk [N-benzyloxycarbony-valine-alanine-aspartate-(OMe)-fluoromethylketone], and the caspase-3 inhibitor Ac-DEVD.CHO (acetyl-aspartate-chloromethylketone) in the double-lesion rat model of striatonigral degeneration (SND), the core pathology underlying levodopa-unresponsive parkinsonism associated with multiple system atrophy (MSA). Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups, receiving either Ac-DEVD.CHO, z-VAD.fmk or normal saline before lesion surgery, comprising a sequential unilateral quinolinic acid (QA) lesion of the striatum followed by a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of the ipsilateral medial forebrain bundle. At 2 weeks post lesion, all rats underwent testing of spontaneous nocturnal locomotor behavior in an automated Photobeam Activity System (FlexField). Immunohistochemistry was performed with tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine and cyclic adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphate-regulated phosphoprotein and glial fibrillary acidic protein antibodies. Morphometry was performed using computerized image analysis. Behavioral and morphological analysis failed to show striatal or nigral protection in caspase inhibitor-treated animals. Our findings suggest that anti-apoptotic strategies are unrewarding in the SND rat model and, therefore, alternative neuroprotective interventions such as anti-glutamatergic agents or inhibitors of microglial activation should be explored instead.
",non-battery
"New solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) comprised of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (Li[N(SO2F)2], LiFSI) and polymeric ionic liquid (i.e., poly[N,N-dimethyl-N-[2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl]-N-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethyl]ammonium] bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide, P[C5O2NMA,11]FSI) have been prepared and characterized. For comparison, the corresponding SPEs, lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (Li[N(SO2CF3)2], LiTFSI)/poly[N,N-dimethyl-N-[2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl]-N-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethyl]ammonium] bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (P[C5O2NMA,11]TFSI), are also prepared and characterized. Their physicochemical properties have been investigated in terms of phase transition behavior, ionic conductivity, lithium-ion transference number (t Li +), electrochemical stability, and with particular attention to the interfacial behavior between lithium electrode and SPEs. It has been demonstrated that the ionic conductivities of LiFSI/P[C5O2NMA,11]FSI electrolyte are higher than those of the corresponding TFSI-based one. The interface resistances of Li symmetric cell (Li metal | polymer electrolytes | Li metal) using LiFSI/P[C5O2NMA,11]FSI electrolyte are much lower than those using LiTFSI/P[C5O2NMA,11]TFSI electrolyte. These outstanding properties of the FSI-based electrolyte make it attractive as SPEs for Li battery.",battery
"Lithium metal batteries are the most potential candidate for rechargeable batteries today to meet the urgent demands for high energy density. However, uncontrolled dendrite formation and infinite volume expansion hinder the practical application of lithium metal anode. Herein, we develop a new strategy to make physical accommodation and chemical ionic intervention well-combined to modulate the Li deposition behavior. A K+-doped nanofiber protective layer, having abundant lithophilic groups and porous framework is electrospun on current collector. It can provide high affinity with electrolyte and uniform pathway for lithium ions transportation, and a host for the volumetric change during lithium plating/stripping. Moreover, it can gradually release K+ as an inhibitor to contribute to more stable SEI layer and prevent aggregation of Li ions by forming an electrostatic shielding on the surface of electrode. As a result, the functional K+-doped nanofiber protective layer can guide uniform lithium deposition, leading to high Coulombic efficiency (98.5%) and low overpotential (∼15 mV) in symmetric cells with long lifespan. This work sheds the dawn of the research on the multi-functional protective layer material for dendrite-free lithium metal batteries.",battery
"Androgen receptor (AR) antagonists are used for hormone therapy of prostate cancer (PCa). However resistance to the treatment occurs eventually. One possible reason is the occurrence of AR mutations that prevent inhibition of AR-mediated transactivation by antagonists. To offer in future more options to inhibit AR signaling, novel chemical lead structures for new AR antagonists would be beneficial. Here we analyzed structure-activity relationships of a battery of 36 non-steroidal structural variants of methyl anthranilate including 23 synthesized compounds. We identified structural requirements that lead to more potent AR antagonists. Specific compounds inhibit the transactivation of wild-type AR as well as AR mutants that render treatment resistance to hydroxyflutamide, bicalutamide and the second-generation AR antagonist enzalutamide. This suggests a distinct mode of inhibiting the AR compared to the clinically used compounds. Competition assays suggest binding of these compounds to the AR ligand binding domain and inhibit PCa cell proliferation. Moreover, active compounds induce cellular senescence despite inhibition of AR-mediated transactivation indicating a transactivation-independent AR-pathway. In line with this, fluorescence resonance after photobleaching (FRAP) - assays reveal higher mobility of the AR in the cell nuclei. Mechanistically, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) - assays indicate that the amino-carboxy (N/C)-interaction of the AR is not affected, which is in contrast to known AR-antagonists. This suggests a mechanistically novel mode of AR-antagonism. Together, these findings indicate the identification of a novel chemical platform as a new lead structure that extends the diversity of known AR antagonists and possesses a distinct mode of antagonizing AR-function.",non-battery
"The electrochemical performance of NaFe0.2Ni0.4Ti0.4O2 and NaFe0.4Ni0.3Ti0.3O2 is studied in NaClO4 and NaFSI based electrolytes for their potential use as cathodes in sodium-ion batteries. An initial discharge capacity of ∼120 mAh g−1 is observed for both the compositions at 12 mA g−1 in narrow voltage window of 3.75–2.60 V. The optimization of the upper cut-off voltage leads to a decrease of both the polarization and the irreversible capacity. NaFe0.4Ni0.3Ti0.3O2 shows a smoother voltage profile than NaFe0.2Ni0.4Ti0.4O2 with an average voltage ≥3.1 V. For NaFe0.4Ni0.3Ti0.3O2 discharge capacity drops by 17% of its initial value using 1 M NaFSI in PC, whereas the cycling with 1 M NaClO4 in PC lead to a decrease of 25% of its initial capacity after 30 cycles. Although the cycling stability of this compound is higher than that of NaFe0.2Ni0.4Ti0.4O2, the use of NaFSI improves the coulombic efficiency and cycle life for both cathode compositions compared to NaClO4.",battery
"The development of electrode materials with the capability of balancing kinetics and capacity between a battery-type anode and capacitor-type cathode is still a grand challenge for potassium-ion hybrid capacitors (PIHCs). Herein, we report the design and synthesis of phosphorus/nitrogen co-doped hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers (PN-HPCNFs) that feature desirable one dimensional (1D) structure and favorable electrochemical properties for PIHC application. We demonstrated that the as-prepared PN-HPCNFs presented a highly attractive performance in terms of capacity or capacitance and durability as both the battery-type anode and capacitor-type cathode of PIHCs, which endows it with great potential for practical application in full PIHCs by delivering a high energy density of 191 W h kg−1 and a high power output of 7560 W kg−1 as well as an ultralong lifespan (82.3% capacity retention after 8000 cycles). Systematic characterization analysis and first-principle calculations demonstrated that the hierarchical pores in the 1D structure, heteroatom P/N co-doping, and enlarged interlayer graphite spacing in the APN-HPCNF contributed synergistically to the outstanding electrochemical performance of PIHCs.
",battery
"Three types of transition metal oxide/carbon composites including Fe2O3/C, NiO/C and CuO/Cu2O/C synthesized via spray pyrolysis were used as anode for lithium ion battery application in conjunction with two types of ionic liquid: 1 M LiN(SO2CF3)2 (LiTFSI) in 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis(fluorosulfonlyl)imide (EMI-FSI) or 1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (Py13-FSI). From the electrochemical measurements, the composite electrodes using Py13-FSI as electrolyte show much better electrochemical performance than those using EMI-FSI as electrolyte in terms of reversibility. The Fe2O3/C composite shows the highest specific capacity and the best capacity retention (425 mAh g−1) under a current density of 50 mA g−1 for up to 50 cycles, as compared with the NiO/C and CuO/Cu2O/C composites. The present research demonstrates that Py13-FSI could be used as an electrolyte for transition metal oxides in lithium-ion batteries.
",battery
"A highly anisotropic electrodeposition was observed using the hybrid battery electrolyte Mg(BH4)2 with LiBH4 in diglyme. At low overpotentials high aspect ratio platelet morphologies are observed with a strong fiber texture composed of a {10-10} and a {11-20} component, the first evidence of behavior of this kind in magnesium battery electrolytes. At high overpotentials the deposit aspect ratio is indistinguishable but the texture is shown to be primarily composed of a {11-20} fiber texture. The kinetic parameters relative to the relevant crystallographic faces are extracted from electron microscopy images and compared with the observed bulk rate extracted from the electrochemical data. The use of polycrystalline Ag foil substrates with little preferred orientation at the surface allowed highly polycrystalline nucleation at lower overpotentials than that of platinum, likely due to Ag alloying with Mg. Characterization using focused ion beam (FIB) cross-sections with Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) elemental analysis confirm that the deposits are primarily Mg although Mg‐Ag alloys of various compositions were observed. It is proposed that the orientation at slow rates of growth is due to the underlying kinetics of adatom diffusion on Mg and that higher rates diminish the phenomenon due to decreased time for adatom diffusion and instead are governed by the rates of adatom formation or more specifically the adatom vacancy formation on the different low-index planes of Mg.",battery
"The charge and discharge characteristics of lithium batteries with sulfur composite cathodes have been investigated. The sulfur composites showed novel electrochemical characteristics. Almost all sulfur in the composites was reduced to Li2S in the first discharge process and the capacity stabilized at ca. 700mAh/g and utilization of sulfur corresponded to be above 90%, plus good cyclability. Charged and discharged at relatively high current density, the specific capacity remained above 600mAh/g and the charge/discharge efficiencies were about 99%.",battery
"Undoped and Zn-doped Cu2O films were deposited onto glass substrates using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique with different Zn doping levels (0, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 wt%). The structural, optical, and surface morphological studies were carried out and reported. The structural study revealed that the crystalline quality is gradually enhanced up to 5 wt% of Zn doping level, and then quality begins to degrade for further increase in doping level. Moreover, the preferential orientation changes from (111) to (110) for the highest doping level were examined. Optical study shows that the transmittance (65%) and optical band gap values are maximum (2.41 eV) when the Zn doping level is at 5 wt%. The photoluminescence study confirms the presence of various defects in the Cu2O matrix and also the variation obtained in the optical band gap from the transmittance data. SEM images revealed the annealing-induced changes in the surface morphology of the films.
",non-battery
"Some breeding technology applications are claimed to improve animal welfare: this includes potential applications of genomics and genome editing to improve animals’ resistance to environmental stress, to genetically alter features which in current practice are changed invasively (e.g. by dehorning), or to reduce animals’ capacity for suffering. Such applications challenge how breeding technologies are evaluated, which paradigmatically proceeds from a welfare perspective. Whether animal welfare will indeed improve may be unanswerable until proposed applications have been developed and tested sufficiently and until agreement is reached on how to conceptualize animal welfare. Moreover, even if breeding technologies do improve animal welfare, they might be objected to on other ethical grounds. Ethical perspectives on earlier animal biotechnologies are relevant for today’s breeding technologies and their proposed applications, but may need reinterpretation. The current paper applies the concept of telos, which previously figured mainly in debates on classical genetic engineering, to genomic selection and genome editing aimed at improving animal welfare. It critiques current (Rollin’s and Hauskeller’s) accounts of telos and offers an alternative conceptualization that applies to recently proposed applications of breeding technologies. This account rejects both removing the desire to pursue characteristic activities and altering animal bodies in ways that compromise their ability to perform such activities, but conditionally allows increasing robustness against environmental stress. Our account of telos enriches ethical debate on these breeding technology applications by insisting on the connection between the good life, an animal’s constitution, and its activities, thus countering reductive conceptions of welfare.
",non-battery
"Gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) membranes based on two polymers, a copolymer of poly(vinylidene fluoride–hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF–HFP), and the poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), together with a plasticizer, the dibutylphtalate (DBP), were elaborated in two ways. Firstly, the polymers and the plasticizer were mixed together to obtain a single membrane. Secondly, a bi-layer separator membrane was made by adjunction, through lamination, of a DBP plasticized PVdF–HFP film and a homemade DBP–PEO thin film. We report here a protocol based on a simple galvanostatic polarization of Li/GPE/Li symmetric cells as a way to rapidly screen new viable membranes. Such a procedure enables to quickly discriminate separators by leading experiments that do no not exceed 1 week compared to hundreds of days needed with classical batteries. The validity of such an approach was confirmed by investigating the performances of the membranes in Li/GPE/Li4Ti5O12 flat battery configuration. Besides, through this study we also highlighted the role of the macroscopic PEO–PVdF interface toward dendrite of bi-layered separator, while a single blended membrane does not seem to be suitable for a practical use. Post-mortem pictures and SEM investigation have confirmed this result.",battery
"Epigenic karst systems exhibit strong connectivity to surface recharge. In land use dominated by extensive agriculture and farming, epigenic karst aquifers are highly vulnerable to surface contaminants from point and nonpoint sources. Currently, the karstic landscapes of the southeastern Kentucky platform (USA) are impacted by agriculture and the rapid proliferation of concentrated-animal-feeding operations. Analysis of karst aquifer responses to storm events provides qualitative information regarding aquifer–recharge flow paths and groundwater residence time, and knowledge of spatial and temporal variations in recharge and flow is crucial to the understanding of the fate of surface contaminants. Time-series correlation analyses on long-term physicochemical data recorded at the outlet of Grayson Gunnar Cave, an epigenic karst system located along the Cumberland escarpment in southeastern Kentucky, revealed the existence of two separate conduit branches responding 4–8 h apart from each other. Recorded storm response times range from 4 h for flushing and dilution to 7 h for recovery. An estimated 6 million L of stored groundwater is discharged from both branches during major storms, and the fastest responding branch accounts for the majority (80%) of the groundwater reserve being discharged through the spring. As evidenced by groundwater residence time (7 days), recharge is likely characterized by localized infiltration of rain water from subsurface sinkholes to the conduit branches with no contribution of regional or lateral groundwater flow.",non-battery
"The use of solar energy in recent years has reached a remarkable edge. The continuous research for an alternative power source due to the perceived scarcity of fuel fossils is its driving force. It has become even more popular as the cost of fossil fuel continues to rise. The earth receives in just 1h, more energy from the sun than what we consume in the whole world for 1 year. Its application was proven to be most economical, as most systems in individual uses requires but a few kilowatt of power. This paper reviews the present day solar thermal technologies. Performance analyses of existing designs (study), mathematical simulation (design) and fabrication of innovative designs with suggested improvements (development) have been discussed in this paper.",battery
"NiO/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films are prepared by chemical bath deposition and electrodeposition techniques using nickel foam as the substrate. These composite films are porous, and constructed by many interconnected nanoflakes. As anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the NiO/PEDOT films exhibit weaker polarization and better cycling performance as compared to the bare NiO film. Among these composite films, the NiO/PEDOT film deposited after 2 CV cycles has the best cycling performance, and its specific capacity after 50 cycles at the current density of 2C is 520mAhg−1. The improvements of these electrochemical properties are attributed to the PEDOT, a highly conductive polymer, which covers on the surfaces of the NiO nanoflakes, forming a conductive network and thus enhances the electrical conduction of the electrode.",battery
"The process of preparing lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB) was studied by TG/DTA and XRD methods. Five DTA plots were obtained at five different heating rates. According to the DTA plots, the Ozawa integral method and the Kissinger differential method were employed in the study on kinetics of solid state reaction. The result showed that to increase the heat preservation time at 100–120°C was advantageous to the synthesis of LiBOB. The stages of solid state reaction for preparing LiBOB were analyzed by XRD method. The optimum conditions of synthesis LiBOB were first heat preservation at 100–120°C, and then heat preservation at 240–280°C.",battery
"The introduction of alternative vehicle technologies to respond to the transportation sector pressure regarding fossil fuel dependency poses questions regarding their impacts on travel and driving behavior but also on the environment. The results presented in this paper are part of a long-term study developed to evaluate user's satisfaction and adaptation to electric vehicle (EV), in terms of driving behavior, mobility, comfort, charging routines, interaction with the charging infrastructure. User's energy consumption and CO2 emissions are also estimated. The data presented concerns information collected with interviews done to the eleven EV drivers and with on-board diaries, including km travelled, kWh charged, number of trips per day. The information was gathered over a period of 5 months, and comprises a total of 1772 trips, 18524km travelled, a total electricity consumption of 3252 kWh related to approximately 220 charges. Results indicate that the adoption of the EV impacted everyday routines on 36% of the participants and 73% observed changes on their driving style. In comparison to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles running on gasoline or diesel, EV reveals considerable reductions in both energy consumption and CO2 emissions in a Well-to-Wheel life cycle approach, with 1.30MJ/km and 63g/km, respectively.",non-battery
"Several factors, such as wind power curtailment and quality of turbines, cause a reduced capacity of wind energy production in China compared with the US. The authors quantify the relative weight that these factors have in limiting the wind power output in China, and provide policy recommendations.
",battery
"Silva J, Heim W, Chau T. A self-contained, mechanomyography-driven externally powered prosthesis. The measurement of the low-frequency (5–50Hz) “sounds” or vibrations produced by contracting muscles is termed mechanomyography (MMG). As a control signal for powered prostheses, MMG offers several advantages over conventional myoelectric control, including, nonspecific sensor placement, distal signal measurement, robustness to changing skin impedance, and reduced sensor costs. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate 2-function prosthesis control based on a triplet of distally recorded, normalized root mean square MMG signals and to identify necessary future research toward full clinical implementation of MMG signals in upper-limb externally powered prostheses. A novel self-contained MMG-driven prosthesis for below-elbow amputees was designed, implemented, and preliminarily tested on 2 subjects. This prosthesis was composed of specialized software and hardware modules that emulate a 2-site electromyography sensing system. Although the use of MMG signals for prosthesis control has been shown previously, we report, for the first time, successful control within a self-contained unit in unconstrained environments. Specifically, essential requirements for practical use, such as standardized sensor attachment, basic noise elimination, and miniaturization of the system, have been achieved. Both subjects were able to voluntarily open and close the prosthesis hand with no significant delays from intention to action (120ms). Quantitative analyses revealed 88% and 71% control accuracy for subjects 1 and 2, respectively.",non-battery
"A series of LiFePO4 nanoparticles were synthesized via solvothermal method for process parameters optimizing. The influences of Li:P:Fe mole ratio, reaction temperature and reaction time were systematically investigated. The obtained LiFePO4 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning/transmission electron microscope (SEM/TEM), galvanostatic charge-discharge and cyclic voltammetry test. Results show that the mole ratio of Li:P:Fe has significant effects on the morphology and particle size of LiFePO4 material, while reaction temperature and time show little influence on crystal and shape. Prepared with Li:P:Fe = 3:1.5:1 at 180 °C for 4 h, the LiFePO4 shows rectangular nanoplates with well-dispersed, resulting in the best electrochemical performance. After carbon coating, this optimized LiFePO4/C composite exhibits superior high-rate performance with a discharge capacity of 122.5 mAh/g at 50C at 25 °C, as well as excellent low temperature property of 116.7 and 61.4 mAh/g at 0 °C and −20 °C at 5C, respectively. To illustrate the LiFePO4 nanoparticles with different size and shape caused by variations of mole ratio, a possible formation mechanism is demonstrated. This work indicates that the optimized solvothermal process can be a promising guidance used in industrialization to synthesize cathode material with enhanced high-rate and low temperature performance.",battery
"In this study, nanocrystalline LiMn2O4 was synthesized by a simple combustion method and investigated for its utility as the positive electrode of a lithium-ion battery. X-Ray Diffraction characterization demonstrated that a basic crystallized spinel phase was already formed in the primary product from the direct combustion process, while pure phase LiMn2O4 was obtained after further calcination in air at relatively low temperature of 600 °C. Characterization by SEM and HR-TEM as well as BET analysis showed that the LiMn2O4 compound had a primary particle size of 40–80 nm and that those particles were partially sintered to form 0.2–0.8 μm aggregates with few mesopores. The exposed surface area of the aggregates was low and mainly formed by the outer surfaces of the constituent particles, which is beneficial to reducing the interfacial area between the liquid electrolyte and LiMn2O4, thereby effectively mediating the Mn dissolution problem. As a result, the as-prepared LiMn2O4 showed a favorable capacity of 114 mAh g−1 at a current rate of 0.2C and still retained a capacity of 84 mAh g−1 at 5C. After 100 continuous cycles at 0.1C, a capacity of 108 mAh g−1 was still maintained, compared to 120 mAh g−1 at the first cycle. The results demonstrated that combustion synthesis-derived LiMn2O4 is a promising cathode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs).",battery
"The aim of this work is to develop partially delignified Ca2+-and-Mg2+-ion-exchanged product from lignocellulosic wheat straw for the removal of eight different heavy metals Pb2+, Cd2+, Hg2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, and Cu2+ and for detoxification of Cr(VI). Maximum fixation capacity, pH, and initial metal concentration dependence were determined to confirm strong affinity of Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, and Hg2+ ions onto the product, whereas Co2+, Ni2+, and Mn2+ were the least fixed. Morphology of the product characterized by scanning electron microscope showed its physical integrity. Different experimental approaches were applied to determine the role of cations such as Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ and several functional groups present in the product in an ion exchange for the fixation of metal ions. Potentiometric titration and Scatchard and Dahlquist interpretation were employed for determination of binding site heterogeneity. Results showed strong and weak binding sites in the product. This product has advantages over other conventional processes by virtue of abundance, easy operational process, and cost reduction in waste disposal of its raw material.",non-battery
"Linear sweep and cyclic voltammetry were used for electrochemical characterization of the Pt/sodium-β′′-Al2O3 system and investigation of the phases formed upon electrochemical pumping of sodium ions to the Pt catalyst-electrode under conditions of propane combustion or under mixtures of O2 or CO2 with helium, at temperatures between 320 and 480 °C. The number, position and magnitude of the peaks in the obtained voltammograms were found to depend on gas phase composition, temperature, and pre-scan (initial polarization) conditions. The results showed that under conditions of propane combustion more than one sodium phases can be formed as a result of electrochemical pumping of sodium ions to the Pt catalyst. The related electrochemical reactions and the identity of these sodium phases, which correspond mainly to carbonate  or bicarbonate phases but also to oxide phases, are discussed on the basis of the obtained results and those of former studies.
",battery
"An experimental apparatus is described, in which Peltier elements are used for thermal control of lithium-ion cells under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions, i.e. to induce and maintain thermal gradients. Lithium-ion battery packs for automotive applications consist of hundreds of cells, and depending on the pack architecture, individual cells may experience non-uniform thermal boundary conditions. This paper presents the first study of the impact of artificially induced thermal gradients on cell performance. The charge transfer resistance of a 4.8 Ah is verified to have a strong temperature dependence following the Arrhenius law. Thermal cycling of the cell, combined with slow rate cyclic voltammetry, allows to rapidly identify phase transitions in electrodes, due to the thermal effect of entropy changes. A cell with a temperature gradient maintained across is found to have a lower impedance than one held at the theoretical average temperature. This feature is attributed to details of the inner structure of the cell, and to the non-linear temperature dependence of the charge transfer resistance.",battery
"Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) is a potential polymer for replacing Nafion in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRBs). However, at a high degree of sulfonation, SPEEK displays high swelling, poor mechanical stability, and high vanadium crossover. In this study, to improve membrane performance, composite membranes of SPEEK and finely ground microporous AMH-3 (G-AMH-3) are prepared with various G-AMH-3 contents and investigated. The physicochemical and mechanical properties, vanadium permeability, and VRB single cell performance of these SPEEK/G-AMH-3 composite membranes are evaluated using various characterization techniques. Interactions between SPEEK and G-AMH-3, and the permselective property of G-AMH-3, result in the composite membranes exhibiting good mechanical properties and low vanadium crossover. Optimal composite membranes gave a VRB that produced a higher charge–discharge capacity, higher cell efficiency, and better capacity retention than that using Nafion. These results indicate that SPEEK-based composite membranes with improved membrane performance, lower vanadium crossover, and good single cell performance were successfully prepared by incorporating G-AMH-3.",battery
"The species-electrochemical transport phenomena in a free-breathing cathode of a printed-circuit-board (PCB)-based fuel cell have been studied numerically. A perforated current collector is attached to the porous cathode that breathes the fresh air through an array of circular holes. Parametric studies include the breathing-hole diameter (d) and the cathode-layer thickness (δ). Gas flow in the porous cathode is governed by the Darcy equation with constant porosity and permeability. Electrochemical reaction on the surfaces of the porous matrices is depicted via the Butler–Volmer equation. The multi-species diffusive transports in the porous cathode are described using the Stefan–Maxwell equation. The charge transports in the porous matrices are dealt with the Ohm's law. The coupled equations are solved by a finite-element-based CFD technique. Results show that the mean flow of the gaseous mixture directs outward from the porous cathode to ambient. In addition, the species diffusion dominates the mass transports in the free-breathing cathode. Furthermore, the enhancement of species diffusion compromises the increase of Ohmic resistance shows the optimal breathing-hole diameter around d =2.1mm that provides the best electrochemical performance.",battery
" Stroke is a major global health concern which affects the health related quality of life (HRQOL). As the prevalence of stroke is increasing especially in lower-middle income countries, it is vital to identify the factors associated with the HRQOL of affected individuals.",non-battery
" Computerized cognitive assessments may improve Alzheimer’s disease (AD) secondary prevention trial efficiency and accuracy. However, they require validation against standard outcomes and relevant biomarkers.",non-battery
"Lithium-rich layered Li[Li0.2Ni0.15Mn0.55Co0.1-xAlx]O2 (0≤x<0.1) cathode materials have been synthesized by a sol-gel method followed by high temperature annealing at two stages of 850°C and 900°C, respectively. Thermal gravity analysis (TGA), Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterizations prove that the materials have a typical α-NaFeO2 structure, uniform particle size and smooth surface. Electrochemical performance has been investigated by charge-discharge test and the results show that the initial discharge capacity of Li[Li0.2Ni0.15Mn0.55Co0.1-xAlx]O2 (0≤x<0.1) decreases slightly with the increasing content of Al, but the cycling performance and rate performance have been significantly improved. The optimum amount of Al for the Co is x=0.05 in consideration of the higher specific capacity and good cyclability. As a consequence, the doped material(x=0.05) delivers an initial discharge capacity of 231.7mAh·g−1 at 25°C with the first columbic efficiency of 75% and 275.8mAh·g−1 at 55°C with the first columbic efficiency of 89%, respectively, both at 0.1C within the cut-off voltage range of 2.0 and 4.8V, which is higher than that of non-substituted material. After 30 cycles, the specific capacity retains 219.1mAh·g−1 with a capacity retention of 98% for 25°C, and 248.2mAh·g−1 with a capacity retention of 96% for 55°C at 0.5C within the potential range from 2.0 to 4.8V. These demonstrate that suitable amount of Al3+ substitute for Co3+ in Li[Li0.2Ni0.15Mn0.55Co0.1]O2 facilitates the improvement of the structural stability of materials.",battery
"Nano-crystalline Li4Ti5O12 with an average size of 18nm was in situ grown on graphene sheets using ionic liquid of C12H23ClN2 [Omim]Cl as the exfoliated agent. Such unique nanostructure provides a high electrode/electrolyte area for the electron transport and the nanosized Li4Ti5O12 leads to a short path for the lithium ion transfer. When used as an anode material for lithium-ion battery, the Li4Ti5O12/graphene nanostructure exhibits excellent reversibility (159mAhg−1 at 0.5C after 100 cycles) and high-rate performance (162mAhg−1 at 0.2C, 148.5mAhg−1 at 20C).",battery
"LiPF6/LiBOB blend salt-based electrolytes were investigated as potential candidates for high-power lithium-ion batteries, especially for transportation applications. It was demonstrated that both the power capability and the cycling performance of the lithium-ion cells could be attenuated by controlling the concentration of LiBOB in blend salt electrolytes. The power capability of the lithium-ion cells decreases with the concentration of LiBOB, while the capacity retention of the cells at 55°C increases with the LiBOB concentration. When electrolytes with no more than 0.1M LiBOB was used, the MCMB/LiMn1/3Ni1/3Co1/3O2 cells have excellent capacity retention at 55°C, while their impedance meets the requirement set by the FreedomCar Partnership. The similar performance improvement on the MCMB/LiMn2O4 cells was also observed with the blend salt electrolyte.",battery
"In order to shed some light into the importance of the anodic reaction in reversible aluminium batteries, we investigate here the electrodeposition of aluminium in an ionic liquid electrolyte (BMImCl-AlCl3) using different substrates. We explore the influence of the type of anodic material (aluminium, stainless steel and carbon) and its 3D geometry on the reversibility of the anodic reaction by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge. The shape of the CVs confirms that electrodeposition of aluminium was feasible in the three materials but the highest peak currents and smallest peak separation in the CV of the aluminium anode suggested that this material was the most promising. Interestingly, carbon-based substrates appeared as an interesting alternative due to the high peak currents in CV, moderate overpotentials and dual role as anode and cathode. 3D substrates such as fiber-based carbon paper and aluminium mesh showed significantly smaller overpotentials and higher efficiencies for Al reaction suggesting that the use of 3D substrates in full batteries might result in enhanced power. This is corroborated by polarization testing of full Al-batteries.",battery
"High concentration magnesium borohydride/tetraglyme electrolyte for rechargeable magnesium batteries is simply prepared by dissolving inorganic magnesium salt Mg(BH4) in tetraglyme (TG) ether solvent with good safety. 90 °C heating treatment is performed in the preparation process and LiBH4 as a chelating agent is added to improve the electrochemical performance. Mg deposition–dissolution performance and the electrochemical window of the electrolyte on non-inert stainless steel (SS), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) electrodes and inert platinum (Pt) electrode are systematically studied by cyclic voltammetry and constant current discharge–charge measurements. 0.5 mol L−1 heated Mg(BH4)2/LiBH4/TG ([LiBH4] = 1.5 mol L−1) solution shows good electrochemical performance with 2.4 V (vs. Mg RE) anodic stability on stainless steel, close to 100% Mg deposition/dissolution efficiency and high cycling reversibility. Furthermore, the reversible electrochemical process of Mg intercalation into Mo6S8 cathode with excellent cycling performance in the electrolyte indicates the feasible application in rechargeable magnesium batteries.",battery
"As the demand for energy is rapidly growing worldwide ahead of energy supply, there is an impulse need to develop alternative energy-harvesting technologies to sustain economic growth. Due to their unique optical and electrical properties, one-dimensional (1D) electrospun nanostructured materials are attractive for the construction of active energy harvesting devices such as photovoltaics, photocatalysts, hydrogen energy generators, and fuel cells. 1D nanostructures produced from electrospinning possess high chemical reactivity, high surface area, low density, as well as improved light absorption and dye adsorption compared to their bulk counterparts. So, research has been focused on the synthesis of 1D nanostructured fibers made from metal oxides, composites, dopants and surface modification. Furthermore, fine tuning these NFs has facilitated fast charge transfer and efficient charge separation for improved light absorption in photocatalytic and photovoltaic properties. The recent trend in exploring these electrospun nanostructures has been promising in-terms of reducing costs and enhancing the efficiency compared to conventional materials. This review article presents the synthesis of 1D nanostructured fibers made via electrospinning and their applications in photovoltaics, photocatalysis, hydrogen energy harvesting and fuel cells. The current challenges and future perspectives for electrospun nanomaterials are also reviewed.
",battery
"The testing methods to estimate the life cycles of lithium ion batteries for a short period, have been developed using a commercialized cell with LiCoO2/hard carbon cell system. The degradation reactions with increasing cycles were suggested to occur predominantly above 4V from the results of operating voltage range divided tests. In the case of the extrapolation method using limited cycle data, the straight line approximation was useful as the cycle performance has the linearity, but the error is at most 40% in using the initial short cycle data. In the case of the accelerated aging tests using the following stress factors, the charge and/or discharge rate, large accelerated coefficients were obtained in the high charge rate and the high temperature thermal stress.",battery
"Cells of Daniell-type with copper–zinc electrochemical couples and sodium β″-alumina solid electrolyte (BASE) were constructed. The cathode consisted of copper in contact with its ions (Cu/Cu2+) while zinc in contact with its ions (Zn/Zn2+) constituted the anode. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) containing 1M NaBF4 was used as the liquid electrolyte. The configuration of the cell constructed can be written as follows: Zn(s)/ZnCl2(DMSO)(0.1M),NaBF4(1M)/BASE/NaBF4(1M),CuCl2(DMSO)(0.1M)/Cu(s) The cell was subjected to charge–discharge cycles at 100°C. The BASE discs were found to be stable even after the cell was subjected to several electrochemical charge–discharge cycles. Cells were also constructed using BASE discs with porous BASE surface layers introduced to lower the interfacial resistance. Cells with surface modified BASE exhibited a lower resistance in comparison to those using unmodified BASE. XRD and SEM analyses indicated that no detectable degradation of BASE discs occurred after cell testing. Preliminary cell tests were also conducted with NaCF3SO3 in place of NaBF4.",battery
"In this work carbon coated lithium iron phosphate (C-LiFePO4)/polypyrrole (PPy) composite preparation has been carried out using electrochemical techniques. This composite has been deposited on a stainless steel mesh in order to use it as a cathode in a lithium-ion battery. When an oxidation potential is applied to the working electrode, the pyrrole monomer is polymerized and the C-LiFePO4 particles are incorporated into the polymer matrix and bound to the polymer and mesh. An experimental procedure was performed in order to understand how the composite formation is carried out and what the oxidation state of the composite material is during the charge–discharge process. As the electrochemical method of synthesis has a big influence in the electrochemical properties of the polymer, the use of consecutive potential steps has been studied in order to improve the charge-storage capacity of the composite material. The influence on the final composite properties of the oxidation-deposition time and potential and the effect of the number of cycles has been analyzed. An improvement of about 20% has been achieved using short oxidation times (3s) at 0.9V vs. Ag/AgCl. The reasons for this improvement are discussed and analyzed using different experimental techniques.",battery
"Second life for Li-ion batteries is an extensive research area for batteries used in electric vehicles. In this paper the concept is extended for Li-ion cells obtained from discarded consumer electronics. 152 notebook batteries were disassembled, obtaining 1034 cells and recovering 5.44 kW h of storage capacity. A methodology is proposed to transform notebook batteries into characterized cells, and calculate the cost of second life cells. Concerns are addressed about the selection of cells and design of a second life battery. Finally, a method is proposed to select notebook batteries containing cells with more than 70% capacity, by using data saved in their Battery Management System and test results to train a selection algorithm.",battery
" In this paper, waste hollow fiber filter membrane is used as a carbon source and KOH as an activator under an atmosphere of protective argon gas to prepare hollow fiber filter membrane-based porous carbon material ZKC-T via a high-temperature pyrolysis activation method. Hollow fiber filter membrane-based porous carbon ZKC-T was found to consist of amorphous carbon, with an irregular three-dimensional network interconnecting pore structure, specific surface area of up to 2934 m2 g−1, and a reasonable pore size distribution. Cyclic voltammetry and constant current charge and discharge tests showed that the hollow fiber filter-based porous carbon material ZKC-700 has excellent electrochemical performance. The carbon material shows a specific capacitance of up to 289 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte. In addition, the material shows good cycle stability; after 5000 charge and discharge cycles, the capacitance retention rate is as high as 92.8%. The hollow fiber filter membrane-based porous carbon prepared by this method exhibits excellent electrochemical properties.",battery
"Power electronics (PE) are used to control and convert electrical energy in a wide range of applications from consumer products to large-scale industrial equipment. While Si-based power devices account for the vast majority of the market, wide band gap semiconductors such as SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3 are starting to gain ground. However, these emerging materials face challenges due to either non-negligible defect densities, high synthesis and processing costs, or poor thermal properties. Here, we report on a broad computational survey aimed to identify promising materials for future power electronic devices beyond SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3. We consider 863 oxides, sulfides, nitrides, carbides, silicides, and borides that exhibit finite calculated band gaps. We utilize ab initio methods in conjunction with models for intrinsic carrier mobility, and critical breakdown field to compute the widely used Baliga figure of merit. We also compute the lattice thermal conductivity and use it as an additional screening parameter. In addition to correctly identifying known PE materials, our survey has revealed a number of promising candidates exhibiting the desirable combination of high figure of merit and high lattice thermal conductivity, which we propose for further experimental investigations.
",battery
"The water and carbon cycles are central to the Earth's ecosystem, enabling the sustainable development of human societies. To mitigate the global issues of water shortages and climate change, we report a new electrochemical system that fulfills two functions—seawater desalination and carbon dioxide air-capture—during the charge and discharge processes. The seawater desalination-carbon capture system utilizes a seawater battery platform, consisting of three major compartments (desalination, sodium-collection, and carbon-capture), which are separated by sodium superionic conducting ceramic membranes. It is found that the concentrations of sodium ions and chloride ions in fresh seawater (total dissolved solids ≈ 34,000 ppm) are significantly decreased by the charging of the seawater desalination-carbon capture system, resulting in brackish water (total dissolved solids ≈ 7000 ppm). The discharge process induces the air-capture of ambient carbon dioxide gases through carbonation reactions, which is demonstrated by the carbon dioxide gas removal in this compartment. The hybrid system suggests a new electrochemical approach for both desalination and carbon capture.",battery
"Installed capacity of renewable energy resources has increased dramatically in recent years, particularly for wind and photovoltaic solar. Concurrently, the costs of utility-scale electrical energy storage options have been decreasing, making inevitable a crossing point at which it will become economically viable to couple renewable energy generation with utility-scale storage systems. This paper proposes a methodology for calculating Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for utility-scale storage systems, with the intent of providing engineers, financiers and policy makers the means by which to evaluate disparate storage systems using a common economic metric. We discuss the variables influencing LCOE in detail, particularly those pertinent to electrical energy storage systems. We present results of LCOE calculations for various storage systems, specifically pumped hydro, compressed air, and chemical batteries, which we then compare with a more traditional arbitrage option, the simple-cycle combustion turbine. Federal and State government electrical energy storage tax incentives are considered as well. We also analyze the sensitivities of LCOE to several key variables using Monte Carlo analysis. Considering the downward-sloping cost trends of storage systems and the increased penetration levels of stochastic and non-dispatchable renewable resources, large-scale storage is becoming a significant issue for utilities, thus justifying the development of a levelized costing algorithm.",battery
"A magnesium semi-fuel cell (Mg-SFC) was investigated as an energetic electrochemical system for low rate, long endurance undersea vehicle applications. This electrochemical system uses a Mg anode, a sea water electrolyte, a Nafion membrane, a carbon paper cathode catalyzed with Pd and Ir, and a catholyte of hydrogen peroxide in a sea water/acid electrolyte. Unique to the approach described here is the use of a magnesium anode together with the introduction of the catholyte in solution with the sea water, thus operating as a semi-fuel cell as opposed to a battery. Five critical operating parameters were optimized using a Taguchi matrix experimental design. Using these optimized conditions, high voltage and high efficiencies were obtained during long duration tests.",battery
"In order to improve the electrochemical performance and decrease the volume changes of artificial graphite, Li2SiO3 and Li2CO3 have been in situ prepared to co-modify the graphite by ball milling and heating the precursors of Li4SiO4 and graphite. The as-obtained graphite-based samples were characterized using various techniques, and the effects of Li4SiO4 content were investigated. The results show that the co-modified graphite with 20wt.% Li4SiO4 exhibits the highest reversible capacity and the best cycling performance among the graphite-based samples. Compared to the pristine graphite, the initial reversible capacities of the co-modified graphite with 20wt.% Li4SiO4 respectively increase 10.1%, 16.4%, 28.9%, and 62.4% at the current rates of 0.1, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0C, while the capacity fade ratios respectively decrease 3.8%, 10.0%, and 23.2% at the current rates of 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0C after 50 cycles. Furthermore, co-modification by Li2SiO3 and Li2CO3 decreases the polarization degree as well as the charge transfer reaction and diffusion resistances of pure graphite. Non-destructive stress-strain tests were adopted to real time monitor the macroscopic stress safety properties of the cells, and the results indicate that the combination of Li2SiO3 and Li2CO3 relieves the swelling of the graphite electrode during cycles, and the stress value of the cell surface decreases 34.4% after 50 cycles at the current rate of 1.0C. The relationship between residue stress and capacity fade along with possible reaction mechanisms is discussed. The good results pave a novel facile way to enhance the performance of current energy materials using combined lithium salts via in situ reaction.",battery
"Assuming horizontal product differentiation and environmental R&D spillovers in duopoly, we analyze the welfare effects of R&D strategies of firms in symmetric equilibrium. When the degree of product differentiation is sufficiently great, firms benefit from technological spillovers by cooperative environmental R&D, appealing to environmentally aware individuals, thereby leading to higher social welfare. Conversely, when product differentiation is relatively small, firms avoid negative effects of R&D spillovers on the profits by lowering the environmental quality of products cooperatively, thereby resulting in smaller output and lower social welfare. However, firms always have the incentives for cooperating in environmental R&D activities.",non-battery
"Ruthenium doped nanostructured lithium titanates have been synthesized through a reverse microemulsion method with a subsequent sintering process. The as-prepared powders are characterized by the X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope techniques. The results indicate that a solid solution of Li4Ti5 − x Ru x O12 is formed when x was less than 0.1. The electrochemical performances of the as-prepared materials are investigated in a potential range from 0.01 to 2.5 V by charge and discharge characterizations. In that, the as-prepared Li4Ti4.95Ru0.05O12 exhibits an excellent electrochemical performance. The specific discharge capacity remains as 131 mAh g−1 over 100 cycles even cycled at a large density of 17,500 mA g−1 (60 C-rate). While the current density decreases to be 875 mA g−1(3 C-rate), the corresponding specific discharge capacity is kept as high as 259 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles.",battery
"Adherence to the thinness model, self-acceptance such as self-esteem is psychological dynamics influencing the young age and emerging adulthood of women life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the girls and young women’ ability to deal with the adherence to thinness model according to their self-body management thought daily self-perception of ownhabits and aptitude. We analysed their emotional patterns and body management to elucidate the Italian phenomenon. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2287 Italian female distribute in range age 15–25 years old and distributed in girl and young women groups. We conducted a Survey study by snowball sampling technique. Our results showed that girls had higher emotional pattern scores when their weight and shape fit the thinness model: skinny girls felt positively about their body even if when they did not take adequate care of it. Italian girls consider the underweight body mass index an adherence model. Findings suggest the urgent need to plan prevention programme to model healthy behaviours about their daily good practice overcoming social and cultural models based on appearance.",non-battery
"This paper proposes a novel and fast sizing method under the constant daily load profile for sizing a stand-alone PV system. The term “efficient sizing” means that the approach did not use simulation but could get the result as good as those employing simulation. So, the sizing method is more efficient than the others. Traditionally, a typical day or a typical year’s solar irradiation profile is employed for the sizing task. However, facing the global warming crisis as well as the fact that no 2years would have the same weather condition for a single site, this approach statistically models the trend of climate change year by year and put it into the sizing formula, so that the results are optimal for the current weather condition and for the future as well. Hence, the suitable size for the PV array and the number of batteries are obtained by purely computation. This is different from the traditional sizing curve method. Although the traditional sizing curve method were satisfactory in the normal cases, they might fail in the extreme climate condition. This paper concludes the behavior of the extreme climate for at least 20years. So, the derived system may have statistical confidence for at least 20years of operation. A new reliability index (Loss of Power Probability) in terms of Extreme Value Theory is introduced. LPP provides upper bound reliability for application and rich information for many extreme events. A technological and economical comparison among the traditional daily energy balance method, sizing curve method and this approach is conducted and shows the usefulness of this approach.",battery
"Chlorination remains a predominant method for disinfecting drinking water. Electrogeneration of chlorine has the potential to become the favoured method of chlorine production if costs can be lowered and chlorine generation efficiencies can be improved. A novel perforated electrode flow through (PEFT) cell design has been developed to address these problems. The electrodes were made from low-cost graphite sheets and stainless steel mesh and separated by a non-conducting fabric membrane. This electrode configuration allows reduction of electrode separation to 0.1 mm or less, minimizing cell resistance and increasing electrical efficiency. The new PEFT configuration generates hypochlorite from a 0.5 mol L−1 brine at a current efficiency of better than 60%. As an inline in situ device, it produces chlorine concentrations known to be sufficient to disinfect water, from chloride concentrations as low as 0.004 mol L−1 (available in most natural waters) by a single pass of the water through the cell operating at 11 V. The possibility of a portable device operated by a 12-V battery is indicated.",battery
" In this work, the effect of ethyl acetate as a co-solvent is investigated on the low-temperature performance of the lithium-ion battery. The cyclic voltammetry measurements show that the solid electrolyte interface formation as a result of the reduction of ethyl acetate occurs in 2.15 V on the graphite surface which is higher than that of electrolyte without ethyl acetate in 1.97 V. Addition of ethyl acetate to electrolyte decreases the charge transfer resistance and also the total resistance of lithium-ion battery. The scanning electron microscopy images show that the morphologies of layers formed by reduction of electrolytes without and with ethyl acetate at room temperature are different due to the facile reduction of ethyl acetate. At 25 °C, the capacity retentions of the 18650-type graphite/LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 (NMC111) full-cells without and with ethyl acetate are 96.84% and 93.16% after 50 cycles, respectively, compared to their initial discharge capacities. At − 40 °C, the cell without ethyl acetate cannot operate due to the electrolyte freezing while the cell containing ethyl acetate shows the 59.33% capacity retention compared to its discharge capacity at room temperature.",non-battery
"While the primary reason for nanostructuring lithium-ion active materials is commonly the realization of shorter diffusion pathways for ions and electrons, there are also other, less-expected phenomena occurring when leaving the microscale to enter the nanoscale. Herein, we will present one of these phenomena - the thermally induced fragmentation (i.e., “chopping”) of oleic acid-capped anatase TiO2 nanorods perpendicular to the [001] direction. This fragmentation results in the formation of ultrafine TiO2 nanoparticles with increased (001) facets. Due to this modified surface facets ratio and the advantageous utilization of carboxymethyl cellulose as binder, these ultrafine nanoparticles present an excellent rate performance and cycling stability – even for cathodic cut-off potentials as low as 0.1 V.",battery
" A selective and sensitive electrochemical sensor has been prepared for the determination of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in complex matrices. It was fabricated by thoroughly mixing multiwall carbon nanotube@SnS2 (MWNT@SnS2) with molecularly imprinted chitosan (CHIT), and then covering on the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The core/shell-structured MWNT@SnS2 dramatically improved the sensitivity of the developed sensor through providing increased binding and preconcentration onto the modified GCE, while CHIT imprinted with BAP served as the selective recognition sites. Several experimental parameters such as pH, amount of modifier, extraction time, and incubation time were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, selective detection of BAP in a linear concentration range of 0.1 nM–10 mM was performed with the detection limit of 50 pM (3Sb/S). The relative standard deviation of repeatability and reproducibility of the sensor was 1.14 and 2.42 %, respectively. Furthermore, the sensor was successfully applied to the determination of BAP in vegetable and fruit samples, indicating the molecularly imprinted polymer-based electrochemical sensing platform might provide a rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective strategy for BAP determination and related food safety analysis.",battery
"Novel polymer electrolyte aimed for space-selective electrochromic imaging was prepared with poly(vinylbutyral) (PVB), poly(ethyleneglycole) (PEG2000) and tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP). A spreading of the electrochromic image is a shortcoming when the electrochromic image is space-selectively formed by electrochemical reaction. This is due to a cell formation between colored and uncolored parts through ionic conductor. In order to inhibit the spreading, it would be effective to apply a polymer electrolyte with very low ionic conductivity at room temperature to the imaging system. On this basis, the present electrolyte was designed to have large difference in ionic conductivity between high and low temperatures. Namely, this polymer electrolyte enables writing and erasing at high temperature due to high ionic conductivity, and the image is expected to be preserved without change at ambient temperature due to very low ionic conductivity. The thermal and conductive properties of the polymer electrolyte were analyzed. Further, space-selective electrochromic image was formed on the device with the present polymer electrolyte at 100°C, and was revealed to be stable without change for more than a week when the device was kept at 20°C.",battery
"The search for hydrogen storage materials capable of efficiently storing hydrogen in a compact and lightweight package is one of the most difficult challenges for the upcoming hydrogen economy. Liquid chemical hydrides with high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen densities have the potential to overcome the challenges associated with hydrogen storage. Moreover, the liquid-phase nature of these hydrogen storage systems provides significant advantages of easy recharging, and the availability of the current liquid fuel infrastructure for recharging. In this review, we briefly survey the research progress in the development of diverse liquid-phase chemical hydrogen storage materials, including organic and inorganic chemical hydrides, with emphases on the syntheses of active catalysts for catalytic hydrogen generation and storage. Moreover, the advantages and drawbacks of each storage system are discussed.
",battery
 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the individualized and standardized quality of life (QL) and psychological distress of patients participating in a Phase I trial of the novel therapeutic reovirus (Reolysin).,non-battery
"In this work, dendritic silver–copper (Ag–Cu) nanostructures were synthesised on a copper foil by electrodeposition and subsequently galvanic displacement reaction without any surfactant. The crystalline nature of the nanostructures was examined by X-ray diffraction, and the morphology of the material was investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The applied potential, displacement reaction time, and silver nitrate solution concentration exerted different effects on the nanoparticle shape. And a possible growth mechanism of the Ag–Cu dendrites was proposed based on the experimental results. The electrochemical properties of the Ag–Cu dendrite-modified electrode were characterised by linear sweep voltammetry. The reduction peak potential of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was about −0.25 V (vs. a saturated calomel electrode), which indicated that the as-synthesised Ag–Cu dendrites had favourable electroreduction activity towards hydrogen peroxide. At the same time, we found that the solution pH also affected the electrocatalytic ability of the dendrites for H2O2 reduction, which was important for the design of a NaBH4–H2O2 battery.
",battery
"This paper presents, AmbiKraf, a non-emissive fabric display that subtly animates patterns on common fabrics. We use thermochromic inks and peltier semiconductor elements to achieve this technology. With this technology we have produced numerous prototypes from animated wall paintings to pixilated fabric displays. The ability of this technology to subtly and ubiquitously change the color of the fabric itself has made us able to merge different fields and technologies with AmbiKraf. In addition, with an animated room divider screen, Ambikraf merged its technology with Japanese Byobu art to tighten the gap between traditional arts and contemporary technologies. Through this AmbiKraf Byobu art installation and other installations, we discuss the impact of this technology as a ubiquitous fabric display. With focus to improvements of some limitations of the existing system, we present our future vision that enables us to merge this technology into more applications fields thus making this technology a platform for ubiquitous interactions on our daily peripherals.",non-battery
"Internal resistance is a key parameter that affects the power, energy, efficiency, lifetime, and safety of a lithium-ion battery. It grows due to chemical and mechanical battery wear during ageing. In this work, the effect of the jelly-roll winding curvature on impedance rise is investigated. NMC electrode samples, harvested from the curved as well as the flat regions of the jelly-roll from cycle-aged and calendar-aged prismatic cells (25 Ah, hard casing) are investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. After cycling, larger impedance rise is observed at the outer radius (concave) of the curved region compared to the inner radius (convex) or the flat region of the jelly-roll, and the difference increases with a decrease in the jelly-roll radius of curvature, from the cell skin towards the core. To identify the causes behind the observed difference in the impedance rise, investigations at different external compression (0 and 2.5 MPa) and temperature (5 and 25 °C) are performed. The results show that contact loss between the current collector and the active layer is the main source of the difference in impedance rise. Mechanical mechanisms that may cause the contact loss are discussed and design recommendations to mitigate the rise in impedance are given.",battery
"Li1+ x (Mn1/3Co1/3Ni1/3)1− x O2 (x ≥ 0) mixed oxides with different Li/M molar ratios (M = Mn1/3Co1/3Ni1/3) were obtained. The materials were characterized using chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction measurement, particle size distribution measurement, BET, and QOCV measurement. Rate performance and cycling performance were evaluated. Increased Li/M molar ratio, especially 1.10 < Li/M < 1.15, resulted in better cycling and rate performance as well as higher first cycle coulombic efficiency. As the discharge capacity is lower when Li/M molar ratio is greater than 1.10, the optimum ratio seems to be around 1.10.",battery
"Behaviour links physiological function with ecological processes and can be very sensitive towards environmental stimuli and chemical exposure. As such, behavioural indicators of toxicity are well suited for assessing impacts of pesticides at sublethal concentrations found in the environment. Recent developments in video-tracking technologies offer the possibility of quantifying behavioural patterns, particularly locomotion, which in general has not been studied and understood very well for aquatic macroinvertebrates to date. In this study, we aim to determine the potential effects of exposure to two neurotoxic pesticides with different modes of action at different concentrations (chlorpyrifos and imidacloprid) on the locomotion behaviour of the water louse Asellus aquaticus. We compare the effects of the different exposure regimes on the behaviour of Asellus with the effects that the presence of food and shelter exhibit to estimate the ecological relevance of behavioural changes. We found that sublethal pesticide exposure reduced dispersal distances compared to controls, whereby exposure to chlorpyrifos affected not only animal activity but also step lengths while imidacloprid only slightly affected step lengths. The presence of natural cues such as food or shelter induced only minor changes in behaviour, which hardly translated to changes in dispersal potential. These findings illustrate that behaviour can serve as a sensitive endpoint in toxicity assessments. However, under natural conditions, depending on the exposure concentration, the actual impacts might be outweighed by environmental conditions that an organism is subjected to. It is, therefore, of importance that the assessment of toxicity on behaviour is done under relevant environmental conditions.",non-battery
"MnO nanoparticles with diameter about 5nm are uniformly dispersed within a spherical carbon matrix by an in-situ adsorption approach. This unique nanostructure with rational design and engineering not only possesses large elastic buffering space to prevent MnO nanoparticles from agglomeration, but also improves lithium-storage properties because the carbon matrix provides continuous path for Li-ion and electron diffusion inside the composite spheres. The cell assembled with the nanostructure composite exhibits high reversible specific capacity of 501mAh/g (exceeding pure MnO particles of 199mAh/g) after 300 cycles at 0.5A/g, excellent cycling stability with 81% capacity retention after 300 cycles, and enhanced rate performance up to 161mAh/g at 5A/g with only 13% capacity fade after 200 cycles. Due to the scale-producible fabrication steps under low temperature for this approach, the method can be used for the preparation of other nanostructures with high performance.",battery
"Negative symptoms often inhibit the social integration of people suffering from schizophrenia. Reducing severe negative symptoms (SNS) in a clinically relevant way is a major unmet need. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy (INT), a group cognitive remediation therapy (CRT), reduces SNS in schizophrenia outpatients. INT was compared with Treatment As Usual (TAU) in a randomized-controlled trial (RCT). A total of 61 SNS outpatients participated in the study, 28 were allocated to the INT group and 33 to the TAU group. A test-battery was used at baseline, post-treatment at 15weeks, and 1-year-follow-up. Remission rates of SNS after therapy were significantly higher for INT compared to TAU. A trend favoring INT was obtained at follow-up. Furthermore, INT showed significantly higher functional outcome during follow-up compared to TAU. Regarding cognition, the strongest significant effect was found in attention post-treatment. No effects between groups on more complex neurocognition and social cognition were evident. SNS outpatients seem to accept INT group intervention as suggested by the high attendance rate.",non-battery
"In this paper we present our studies on the properties of battery electrolyte based on EC/DMC (ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate, w/w ratio 2:5) and PEODME (poly(ethylene oxide) dimethyl ether) (M w =500) doped with LiCF3SO3–lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiTf) and modified with TPFPB (tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane) as a potential anion trapping agent. We were particularly interested how this compound behaves in different solvents, e.g. battery mixture EC/DMC and model polymeric matrix PEODME. We also verified stability of the proposed solutions by means of DSC and FTIR, determined influence on conductivity and lithium transference numbers by impedance spectroscopy, and finally attempted to define mechanism of influence of boron addition on different systems.",battery
"A mixture of flammable organic solvent and nonflammable room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) has been investigated as a new concept electrolyte to improve the safety of lithium-ion cells. This study focused on the use of N-methyl-N-propylpiperidinium bis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (PP13-TFSI) as the RTIL for the flame-retardant additive. It was found that a carbon negative electrode, both graphite and hard carbon, could be used with the mixed electrolyte. A 383562-size lithium-ion trial cell made with the mixed electrolyte showed good discharge capacity, which was equivalent to a cell with conventional organic electrolyte up to a discharge current rate of complete discharge in 1h. Moreover, the mixed electrolyte was observed to be nonflammable at ionic liquid contents of 40mass% or more. Thus the mixed electrolyte was found to realize both nonflammability and the good discharge performance of lithium-ion cells with carbon negative electrodes. These results indicate that RTILs have potential as a flame-retardant additive for the organic electrolytes used in lithium-ion cells.",battery
"The tripartite model (Clark and Watson, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(3), 316–336 1991) was developed to explain both the strong comorbidity and the distinction between anxiety and depression. The model includes a shared general distress factor that is most strongly associated with Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality (N/NE); a unique depression factor, anhedonia, which is most strongly associated with low Positive Emotionality/Extraversion; and anxious arousal, a unique anxiety factor that subsequent research has shown to be most strongly related to panic/agoraphobia among the anxiety disorders (e.g., Mineka et al. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 377–412 1998) and to have the weakest link to personality. The present study extends past work by demonstrating that narrower facets of personality domains show nuanced relations that are masked when only the broader domains are examined. Specifically, we investigated facet-level relations of the tripartite model’s symptom dimensions using three hierarchical personality measures (BFI-2, NEO-PI-3, and FI-FFM) and data from three separate samples (Ns = 353–451). In one sample, the tripartite-model dimensions were assessed twice across a 9.5-month interval. At the domain level, N/NE, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness were the strongest predictors of these factors. At the facet level, general distress and anhedonia were most strongly related to N/NE’s Depression facet; anhedonia also was substantially linked to the low Energy/Positive Temperament component of Extraversion. Finally, anxious arousal was best predicted by the Somatic Complaints facet of N/NE. This pattern of results was highly stable across measures, samples, and time points. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed, including connecting these findings to the dimensional Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology framework.
",non-battery
"Introductions of non-native fish have the potential to cause substantial economic and ecological losses. In the western United States, non-native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are widely established and pose a threat to the persistence of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), a native char listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, due to competition and hybridization. With brook trout identified as a factor limiting the recovery of ESA-listed bull trout in the Malheur Watershed of eastern Oregon, managers are pursuing brook trout eradication efforts. Key to the eradication efforts is reliable monitoring to ensure success. Traditional monitoring practices have included mechanical sampling methods such as seining, netting, and electrofishing, all of which are labor intensive and limited in reliability. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is genetic material naturally shed by organisms that can be found in bulk environmental samples without isolating individual organisms. Sampling for eDNA can often be done with less time and expense than traditional methods, making it ideal for effectiveness monitoring following fish eradication efforts. This study placed a single fish in a live-car where the species was not otherwise present and used eDNA sampling to infer the likelihood of detection downstream. Results suggest that a single fish can be detected reliably up to 500 m downstream when multiple samples are taken. This eDNA sampling method provides managers with the ability to conduct eradication effectiveness monitoring reliably and rapidly and may also be used to detect new fish invasions as well as rare or cryptic species.
",non-battery
"A manual purge line was added into the exterior fuel exhaust stream of a Ballard PEM stack in a Nexa™ power module. With the addition of manual exhaust purge, high levels of inert gases were intentionally added to the anode feed without changing normal operational procedures. A new method of determining the critical minimum flow rate in the anode exhaust stream was given by an anode mass balance. This type of operation makes dual use of membranes in the MEAs as both gas purifiers and as solid electrolytes. The PEM stack was successfully operated with up to ca. 7% nitrogen or carbon dioxide in the absence of a palladium-based hydrogen separator at ca. 200W power level. Nitrogen in the anode stream was concentrated from 7.5% to 91.6%. The system maintained a fuel efficiency of 99% at a manual purge rate of 2.22mls−1 and no auto purge. The fuel cell stack efficiency was 64% and the stack output efficiency was 75%. The overall system efficiency was 39%. After troublesome CO and H2S poisons were removed, a hydrocarbon reformate containing high levels of CO2 and H2O was further used in the Nexa™ stack. The size and complexity of the fuel processing system may be reduced at a specified power level by using this operational method.",battery
"A facile method that improves the initial specific capacity and capacity retention rate of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, using silica-back-coated nickel foam has been studied. A new cathode collector in which silica is back-coated onto the nickel foam is fabricated by a facile method that utilizes an ultrasonicator for reducing the electrolyte viscosity at the surface of the sulfur electrode using a polysulfide absorbent. The nickel foam provides more reaction sites than an aluminum current collector does, thus allowing the back-coated silica to absorb the polysulfides. This synergetic effect of nickel foam and silica suppresses the increasing viscosity of the electrolyte and leads to a higher initial specific capacity (1341 mAh/g) at a 0.2-C rate and a higher capacity retention rate after 150 cycles (85%), relative to pristine Li-S batteries (951 mAh/g and 79%, respectively).",battery
"The objective of this paper is to present a mechanism to determine the two-way energy storage capacity of a large pool of electric vehicles (EV) which can be contracted in ancillary services market on a long-term basis to provide the regulation up (RU) and regulation down (RD) to the grid. The proposed mechanism uses a scheme which delivers the schedule of power supplied to or drawn from the grid by treating the mobility attributes dependent electrical parameters. Two operational places, the workplace, and the home were identified as per driving pattern of customers for the provision of regulation ancillary service. An illustrative model considering a fleet of representative battery electric vehicle (BEV) is presented based on the mechanism, to obtain the minute-wise storage capacity that can be contracted in the market to provide frequency regulation to the grid. Results demonstrate that two major mobility traits namely, driven distance and arrival pattern, as well as the charging and discharging power standards directly influences the regulation schedule. Further, it has been realized that even though the charging cost is associated with energy consumption, the regulation provision will yield a notable revenue stream on a long-term capacity commitment basis. This supplements the concept of EVs participation in power markets by virtue of their high ramp up ramp down speed capabilities.",non-battery
"Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) particularly photovoltaic (PV) and wind are becoming important sources for power generation. Frequently varying output of PV and wind caused by clouds movement, weather condition and wind speed make them an intermittent and unreliable sources when connected to grid. Connecting intermittent sources to grid introduces challenges in various technical aspects such as power quality, protection, generation dispatch control and reliability. In this context, leveling intermittent source׳s output is necessary inorder to maintain grid׳s stability. This paper is aimed at bringing out the latest comprehensive literature review on problems associated when the intermittent PV is connected to grid and the methods of smoothing the output power fluctuation from PV. This paper also briefly discusses control strategy built for battery energy storage pertaining to this issue.",battery
"This paper introduces an underwater docking procedure for the test-bed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) platform called ISiMI using one charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The AUV is optically guided by lights mounted around the entrance of a docking station and a vision system consisting of a CCD camera and a frame grabber in the AUV. This paper presents an image processing procedure to identify the dock by discriminating between light images, and proposes a final approach algorithm based on the vision guidance. A signal processing technique to remove noise on the defused grabbed light images is introduced, and a two-stage final approach for stable docking at the terminal instant is suggested. A vision-guidance controller was designed with conventional PID controllers for the vertical plane and the horizontal plane. Experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the vision-guided docking system of the AUV.",non-battery
"A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a new energy harvester that converts small scale mechanical motions into electrical energy by a combination of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction through the periodic contact-separation and/or sliding movement between two tribo-materials with different abilities of gaining or losing electrical charges. This new approach to harvest mechanical energy can produce high power outputs capable of supplying equipment and sensors deployed in remote offshore locations and of supporting offshore activities whilst being able to be used in conjunction with traditional energy harvesting technologies. This review describes the fundamentals of TENGs and the existing energy harvesting modes, with focus on those more suitable for marine applications. Moreover, the equipment and offshore activities whose energy needs can be satisfied by TENGs are described and implementation schemes presented. We conclude that TENGs have high potential for numerous maritime applications, ranging from the demand of electronics used for metocean monitoring, signalling and surveillance, to activities such as offshore aquaculture or oil and gas exploration. The advantages of such systems as an alternative to currently existing solutions are also discussed, along with insights concerning applications that can take advantage of their high efficiency harvesting low amplitude and low frequency wave energy.
",battery
"In the present study, graphene nanosheets are synthesized using sunlight irradiation focussed onto graphite oxide. The morphological characteristics of graphene are examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are used for the structural characterization of the sample. The electrochemical performance is evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), charge-discharge characteristics and impedance spectroscopy. A high specific capacitance value of 223Fg−1 is obtained using cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical detection of H2O2, a common biological species using solar graphene is demonstrated. The impedance spectroscopy and CV are used to study the electrocatalytic activity of the material. High sensitivity of 64.79μAmM−1 cm−2 is reported.",battery
"Silicon (Si), associated with its natural abundance, low discharge voltage vs. Li/Li+, and extremely high theoretical capacity (~4200mAhg−1,), has been extensively explored as anode for lithium ion battery. One of the key challenges for using Si as anode is the large volume change upon lithiation and delithiation, which causes a fast capacity fading. Over the last few years, dramatic progress has been made for addressing this issue. In this paper, we review the progress towards tailoring of Si as anode for lithium ion battery. The paper is organized such that it covers the fundamentals, the promises offered by nanoscale designs, and the challenges that remained to be addressed to allow the application of Si based materials as high capacity anode for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The degradation rate of lignocellulose and methane (CH4) content must be improved through anaerobic fermentation process engineering in order to promote the proper operation of anaerobic organic waste removal without secondary pollution and low cost. The present study investigates mesophilic anaerobic fermentation of dairy manure (DM) under weak magnetic and low operation voltage (0.3–0.8 V). The results showed that the effect of electric and magnetic fields (EMF) can significantly enhance the fermentation, and improve the CH4 content of biogas and accelerate the degradation rate of lignocellulose. Fe-C microelectrolysis intensified the anaerobic fermentation of DM, the highest CH4 content was 87%, the cellulose degradation rate was 36%, increased by 125%, and the lignin degradation rate was 23%, increased by 203%, under loading 0.5 V voltage and weak magnetic field. Metagenome sequence results showed that EMF and Fe-C microelectrolysis can not only promote the microbial diversity, but also increase the abundance of functional microorganisms at various stages. This finding provides theoretical support and foundation for the extraordinary efficiency degradation of lignocellulose and the electric and magnetic regulation of anaerobic fermentation microorganism system.",battery
"KEYWORDS Indoor positioning, Bluetooth, Propagation loss, Compensation, Attenuation by human body",non-battery
"The performance of a flexible, thin-film, zinc-air battery can be improved significantly if using a sodium silicate as a novel inorganic binder pigment for the anode components. Formulations consisting of zinc and carbon in sodium silicate are applied onto various substrates (glass or indium tin oxide) by casting and printing methods. Film properties such as mechanical stability, surface resistivity, surface conductivity, surface morphology, thickness and the metal content were correlated to the composition of the films. Prototype batteries were prepared by connecting those anodes to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based air cathode and the electrochemical conversion efficiencies were determined in 1mol/dm3 sodium chloride and basic 8mol/dm3 lithium chloride (pH=11) electrolyte solutions. X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray tomography and scanning electron microscopy examinations were applied to study the conversion process. The results show that silicate binders perform better than polycarbonate binders, and using highly concentrated lithium chloride electrolyte further enhances performance compared to sodium chloride. Electrochemical conversion efficiencies of over 90% are achieved when related to the applied metal. Since no organic solvents are needed, the aqueous, silicate-based binder has potential as and environmentally friendly formulation for printed zinc-air batteries.",battery
"Electrocatalysts with high activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are essential and desired for metal-air batteries, fuel cells, water-splitting and CO2 reduction. Here, a series of Co-CoxO/N-doped Carbon (NC) is developed as bifunctional electrocatalysts via the pyrolysis of a simple physical mixture of cobalt-based metal-organic framework (MOF) and carbon black (CB). The obtained electrocatalysts exhibit considerably enhanced bifunctional activity as compared to the pure MOF derived counterpart. The essential roles of added CB in boosting the bifunctional activity are investigated. With the addition of CB, the surface concentrations of active pyridinic-N and graphitic-N for ORR and the surface CoIII/CoII ratios for OER are increased. Furthermore, the charge transfer efficiency and the electrochemically active surface areas (ECSAs) are also enhanced for the resulting electrocatalyst. The optimized Co-CoO-Co3O4/NC exhibits excellent bifunctional activity and durability, surpassing the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (for ORR) and IrO2 (for OER). When applied in an air electrode, the corresponding Zn-air battery with Co-CoO-Co3O4/NC presents the better performance than that with 20 wt% Pt/C.",battery
"The leaves of Acanthus ebracteatus, stembark of Oroxylum indicum and the stems of Cryptolepis buchanani and Derris scandens are used as traditional remedies in Thailand for arthritis. Aqueous and alcoholic extracts were tested using three different in vitro systems for effects relevant to anti-inflammatory activity. The aqueous extracts of O. indicum and D. scandens significantly reduced myeloperoxide release. Eicosanoid production was reduced only by the aqueous extracts of A. ebracteatus and D. scandens. D. scandens extract showed potent inhibitory activity against generation of leukotriene B4 and also displayed antioxidant activity. In the rat hind paw edema test, D. scandens extract showed significant activity when given intraperitoneally but did not produce a significant reduction when given orally. The results therefore supported to some extent the traditional use of D. scandens for arthritic conditions and provided slight indication of activity which could explain the use of O. indicum and A. ebracteatus. No relevant activity was demonstrated in any of the tests for C. buchanani extracts.",non-battery
Cathodes for thermally activated (“thermal”) batteries based on CoS2 and LiCl–LiBr–LiF electrolyte and FeS2 (pyrite) and LiCl–KCl eutectic were prepared by thermal spraying catholyte mixtures onto graphite–paper substrates. Composite separator-cathode deposits were also prepared in the same manner by sequential thermal spraying of LiCl–KCl-based separator material onto a pyrite-cathode substrate. These materials were then tested in single cells over a temperature range of 400–600°C and in 5-cell and 15-cell batteries. A limited number of battery tests were conducted with the separator-cathode composites and plasma-sprayed Li(Si) anodes—the first report of an all-plasma-sprayed thermal battery. Thermal-spraying offers distinct advantages over conventional pressed-powder parts for fabrication of thin electrodes for short-life thermal batteries. The plasma-sprayed electrodes have lower impedances than the corresponding pressed-powder parts due to improved particle–particle contact.,battery
" Remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has demonstrated substantial benefits. Treatment guidelines have therefore endorsed its use and is being increasingly adopted in the clinical setting, but the level of satisfaction they convey remains still unknown. We developed and validated a questionnaire to measure patient satisfaction with remote monitoring using Medtronic CareLink® Network and assessed its internal reliability and dimensional validity.",non-battery
"Brazil's wind power potential is impressive. The incentive policies that have being implemented in the country, since the last decade, promoted the implementation of some projects, mainly through the Alternative Energy Sources Incentive Program (PROINFA), which started in 2002. After the first phase of PROINFA, the wind power sector in Brazil is still waiting for a new long-term program. By applying a GIS model to the available wind database, this paper evaluates three long-term incentive programs to wind power in Brazil, according to specific targets and criterion. The first target was to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from the electricity generation, through the replacement of fossil fuels fired-thermal plants. In this case, an incentive program based on quotes and permits would install a wind capacity hovering between 18.7 and 28.9GW. For the target of optimizing the operation of Brazil's hydropower reservoirs, a program based on feed-in tariffs would result in the installed capacity of 15.5–65.4GW, depending on the criterion for selecting the projects. Finally, considering only the target of fostering a domestic wind technology industry, the installed capacity would vary between 29.1 and 217.1, depending on the criterion for selecting the projects.",battery
"Sahelian developing countries depend heavily on oil-import for the supply of their increasing energy demand. This setup leads to an imbalance in the balance of payment, an increase of debt and budget asphyxia, whereas renewable resources are widely and abundantly available. The objective of this paper is to carry out a feasibility analysis of off-grid stand-alone renewable technology generation system for some remote rural areas in one Sahelian country. A survey conducted in 2006, within the framework of microgrids project, in rural areas located in three different regions in Senegal (Thies, Kaolack and Fatick) permits determination of demand estimations. Two reference technologies are chosen, namely a solar photovoltaic (PV) system of 130 Wc for solar endowment and a wind turbine of 150 W for wind speed. Taking into account the life-cycle-cost and the environmental externalities costs, our results show that the levelized electricity costs of PV technology are lower than the cost of energy from the grid extension for all these three regions. Thus, decentralized PV technologies are cost-competitive in comparison to a grid extension for these remote rural areas. For wind technology viabilities results are attained with a requirement demand lower than 7. 47 KWh/year for Thies and 7.884 KWh/year for the two remaining areas, namely Kaolack and Fatick. The additional advantage of the proposed methodology is that it allows the environmental valuation of energy generated from non-renewable resource.",battery
"Tin oxide (SnO2)/graphene nanosheets (GNS) composite was prepared by a simple chemical-solution method as the catalyst support for direct ethanol fuel cells. Then the SnO2-GNS composites supporting Pd (Pd/SnO2-GNS) catalysts were synthesized by a microwave-assisted reduction process. The Pd/SnO2-GNS catalysts were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy techniques. The electrocatalytic performances of Pd/SnO2-GNS catalysts for ethanol oxidation were studied by cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric measurements. It was found that compared with Pd/GNS, the Pd/SnO2-GNS catalyst showed superior electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation when the mass ratio of SnCl2·2H2O precursor salt to graphite oxide was about 1:2.",battery
"An Al2O3 inorganic separator is prepared by a double sintering process. The Al2O3 separator has a high porosity and good mechanical strength. After the liquid electrolyte is infiltrated, the separator exhibits quite high ionic conductivities, and even the conductivity reaches 0.78mScm−1 at −20°C. Furthermore, the inorganic separator has an advantage over the polymer separator in the electrolyte retention. The LiFePO4/graphite cell using the Al2O3 inorganic separator shows higher discharge capacity and rate capability, and better low-temperature performance than that using the commercial polymer separator, which indicates that the Al2O3 separator is very promising to be applied in the lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Substrate-induced coagulation (SIC) is a coating process based on self-assembly for coating different surfaces with fine particulate materials. The particles are dispersed in a suitable solvent and the stability of the dispersion is adjusted by additives. When a surface, pre-treated with a flocculant e.g. a polyelectrolyte, is dipped into the dispersion, it induces coagulation resulting in the deposition of the particles on the surface. A non-aqueous SIC process for carbon coating is presented, which can be performed in polar, aprotic solvents such as N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP). Polyvinylalcohol (PVA) is used to condition the surface of substrates such as mica, copper-foil, silicon-wafers and lithiumcobalt oxide powder, a cathode material used for Li-ion batteries. The subsequent SIC carbon coating produces uniform layers on the substrates and causes the conductivity of lithiumcobalt oxide to increase drastically, while retaining a high percentage of active battery material.
",battery
"Electrogenesis in the heart begins in the sinoatrial node and proceeds down the conduction system to originate the heartbeat. Conduction system disorders lead to slow heart rates that are insufficient to support the circulation, necessitating implantation of electronic pacemakers. The typical electronic pacemaker consists of a subcutaneous generator and battery module attached to one or more endocardial leads. New leadless pacemakers can be implanted directly into the right ventricular apex, providing single-chamber pacing without a subcutaneous generator. Modern pacemakers are generally reliable, and their programmability provides options for different pacing modes tailored to specific clinical needs. Advances in device technology will probably include alternative energy sources and dual-chamber leadless pacing in the not-too-distant future. Although effective, current electronic devices have limitations related to lead or generator malfunction, lack of autonomic responsiveness, undesirable interactions with strong magnetic fields, and device-related infections. Biological pacemakers, generated by somatic gene transfer, cell fusion, or cell transplantation, provide an alternative to electronic devices. Somatic reprogramming strategies, which involve transfer of genes encoding transcription factors to transform working myocardium into a surrogate sinoatrial node, are furthest along in the translational pipeline. Even as electronic pacemakers become smaller and less invasive, biological pacemakers might expand the therapeutic armamentarium for conduction system disorders.
",non-battery
"The electrochemical performance of NaCrO2 as a positive electrode material for an intermediate-temperature sodium secondary battery was evaluated in an inorganic ionic liquid, NaFSA–KFSA (FSA = bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide), at 363 K. The positive electrode using NaCrO2, acetylene black, and polytetrafluoroethylene exhibited a stable discharge capacity of 113 mA h g−1 at a current density of 125 mA g−1. The Coulombic efficiency and the capacity retention at the 100th cycle were 99.6% and 98.5%, respectively. Even at the very high current density of 2000 mA g−1, the discharge capacity was maintained at 63 mA h g−1. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the deintercalation of Na+ ion from NaCrO2 was associated with several phase transitions in the following sequence: rhombohedral O3, monoclinic O′3, and monoclinic P′3.",battery
" The Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy was introduced in Madagascar in 2007. Information was collected by Healthcare structures (HS) on paper forms and transferred to the central level by post or email. Completeness of data reporting was around 20% in 2009–10. From 2011, in two southern regions data were transmitted through short messages service using one telephone provider. We evaluated the system in 2014–15 to determine its performance before changing or expanding it.",non-battery
"Alkali metal electrodes paired with solid electrolyte separators show great promise in improving the energy density, safety and cost of batteries. Now, a deeper understanding of the effect of metal mechanical properties on a key failure mode creates opportunities for improved cycling performance.
",battery
"Polyamide imide (PAI), one of the classes of copolyimides containing both high mechanical properties and processibility, is used as a polymeric binder of a Si particulate electrode. The initial coulombic efficiency is improved from 28.9% (Si-PVdF) to 74.9% (Si-PAI) by introducing a PAI binder into a Si-based electrode. Variations in thickness measured at various states of charge (SOCs) and depths of discharge (DODs) indicate that the PAI binder is a much more effective restraint on volume expansion in active Si materials during the charging process than poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) binder. The discharge capacity of Si-PAI electrodes is approximately 1700mAhg−1 after 20 cycles, which is attributed to the excellent maintenance of an electrical-conducting network during cycling.",battery
"Apoptotic-cell clearance is dependent on several macrophage surface molecules, including CD14. Phosphatidylserine (PS) becomes externalised during apoptosis and participates in the clearance process through its ability to bind to a novel receptor, PS-R. CD14 has the proven ability to bind phospholipids and may function as an alternative receptor for the externalised PS of apoptotic cells. Here we demonstrate that CD14 does not function preferentially as a PS receptor in apoptotic-cell clearance. Compared with phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, PS was the least active phospholipid binding to human monocyte-derived macrophages and showed no specificity for soluble or membrane-anchored CD14. Significantly, PS-containing liposomes failed to inhibit CD14-dependent uptake of apoptotic cells by macrophages. PS exposure was, however, found to be insufficient for either CD14-dependent or CD14-independent apoptotic-cell uptake by phagocytes. The additional features that enable apoptotic-cell clearance are derived from mechanisms that can be divorced temporally from those responsible for the morphological features of apoptosis.",non-battery
"Convergent evidence from task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggests a posterior-to-anterior shift as an adaptive compensatory scaffolding mechanism for aging. This study aimed to investigate whether brain functional dynamics at rest follow the same scaffolding mechanism for aging using a large Chinese sample aged from 22 to 79 years (n = 277). We defined a probability of brain regions being hubs over a period of time to characterize functional hub dynamic, and defined variability of the functional connectivity to characterize dynamic functional connectivity using resting-state fMRI. Our results revealed that both functional hub dynamics and dynamic functional connectivity posited an age-related posterior-to-anterior shift. Specifically, the posterior brain region showed attenuated dynamics, while the anterior brain regions showed augmented dynamics in aging. Interestingly, our analysis further indicated that the age-related episodic memory decline was associated with the age-related decrease in the brain functional dynamics of the posterior regions. Hence, these findings provided a new dimension to view the scaffolding mechanism for aging based on the brain functional dynamics.
",non-battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the genetic epidemiology of normal human growth and development describing how auxologists can most profitably approach the study of the genetics of growth and development. It also describes the most important quantitative genetic terms and the concepts that are used in understanding genetic epidemiology of normal growth and development. A number of different study designs can be used to examine the genetics of complex traits. Each study design has certain advantages and disadvantages. This chapter discusses major types of study designs used by genetic epidemiologists to study complex quantitative traits. It also provides an overview of studies on genetic factors in growth and development that have been conducted over the last century. These reviews focus on studies of height, birth weight, menarche, and skeletal development. Finally the author highlights the topics discussed in the chapter through examples of genetic analyses conducted over the years in the Fels Longitudinal Study and those currently underway in the recently established Jiri Growth Study.",non-battery
"Honey, a widely existent biomass, consists mainly of carbohydrate and other nitrogen-containing substances such as proteins, enzymes and organic acids. It can be mixed homogeneously with mesoporous silica template for its excellent water-solubility and moderate viscosity. In this work, honey was employed as a nitrogen-containing carbon precursor to prepare nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs). The obtained honey derived mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbons (HMNCs) with dilated interlayer spacings of 0.387–0.395 nm, narrow pore size distributions centering at around 4 nm and satisfactory N contents of 1.38–4.32 wt% offer superb dual functionality for lithium ion battery (LIB) and sodium ion battery (NIB) anodes. Tested against Li, the optimized HMNC-700 delivers a superior reversible capacity of 1359 mA h g−1 after 10 cycles at 100 mA g−1 and excellent rate capability and cycling stability of 722 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 1 A g−1. For NIB applications, HMNC-700 offers a high initial reversible capacity of 427 mA h g−1 and stable reversible capacity of 394 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1.",battery
"Separators are needed in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to reduce electrode spacing and preventing electrode short circuiting. The use of nylon and glass fiber filter separators in single-chamber, air-cathode MFCs was examined for their effect on performance. Larger pore nylon mesh were used that had regular mesh weaves with pores ranging from 10 to 160 μm, while smaller pore-size nylon filters (0.2–0.45 μm) and glass fiber filters (0.7–2.0 μm) had a more random structure. The pore size of both types of nylon filters had a direct and predictable effect on power production, with power increasing from 443 ± 27 to 650 ± 7 mW m−2 for pore sizes of 0.2 and 0.45 μm, and from 769 ± 65 to 941 ± 47 mW m−2 for 10 to 160 μm. In contrast, changes in pore sizes of the glass fiber filters resulted in a relatively narrow change in power (732 ± 48 to 779 ± 43 mW m−2) for pore sizes of 0.7 to 2 μm. An ideal separator should increase both power density and Coulombic efficiency (CE). However, CEs measured for the different separators were inversely correlated with power production, demonstrating that materials which reduced the oxygen diffusion into the reactor also hindered proton transport to the cathode, reducing power production through increased internal resistance. Our results highlight the need to develop separators that control oxygen transfer and facilitate proton transfer to the cathode.
",battery
"Based on the voltammetric behaviour of a series of methyl-substituted benzenes in 1M LiPF6/EC-DMC electrolyte, xylene was selected and tested as an electrolyte additive for overcharge protection of Li-ion batteries. From the overcharge curves, CV behaviour and SEM observations of the cells in the presence of xylene, it was found that the additive can polymerize at the overcharged voltage to form a dense layer of isolating polymer film at the cathode surface, which blocks off further oxidation of the electroactive material and electrolyte and, therefore, improves the overcharge tolerance of the Li-ion battery. In addition, the xylene additive has shown only a slight influence on the cycling behaviour.",battery
"Fifty granitic rock samples were collected from different plutons in the central part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt and were analyzed for specific concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K radionuclei. The measurements were carried out using a high performance and stability Nomad Plus spectroscopy system attached to a 1.7 keV (FWHM) HPGe detector. The spectra were analyzed using the direct gamma counting comparison method as well as the traditional absolute efficiency curve method. The highest average value of 238U concentration (1184 Bq kg−1) was observed at EI Misikat region whereas the highest average values of 40K and 232Th concentration (2301.8 and 162.5 Bq kg−1 respectively), were detected at Gabal Homret Waggat area. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq), the absorbed dose rate (D), the external hazard index (H ex) and the annual gonadal dose equivalent were also calculated and compared to the international recommended values. Radon exhalation rate from the rock samples were measured using the activated charcoal canister method. The average value of radon exhalation varies from 0.052 to 0.69 Bq m−2 h−1 and depends on the specific concentration of uranium.",non-battery
"A building integrated semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal (BiSPVT) system involves an integration of semi-transparent photovoltaic modules with buildings along with the provision to harvest thermal energy and provide daylighting. In this paper, a thermal model has been developed for a 7.2 kWp BiSPVT system to evaluate the yearly energy generation potential of the system. Through the experiments performed on the system with variation in number of air changes per hour (N) in its room, the efficacy of the model has been presented. It has been found that N creates negligible decrease in PV cell temperature whereas with N = 11 (day2) and N = 22 (day3), the maximum room temperature has been found to decrease by 1.3 °C and 1.9 °C respectively. Further, the efficiency of SPV array has been evaluated in real time i.e. with the array connected to balance of system (power conditioning unit (PCU), AC load, battery bank). The average efficiency of SPV array when loaded at maximum power point by the PCU is found to be 6.90%. The total energy generated in a year by the BiSPVT system is found to be 8927.1 kWh. Additionally, the impact of poor health of battery bank on electricity generation for standalone PV systems has been presented.",battery
"Li2S with theoretical capacity of 1166mAhg−1 has been considered as a promising candidate for Li-S cathode as it could be paired with safer Li-free electrodes to resolve safety issues. However, the success is hindered by the nature of Li2S and corresponding reduction species, including low conductivity and the shuttling phenomenon. Herein, we simply coat graphene films directly onto the Li2S cathode, which can suppress polysulfides dissolution effectively. The electrochemical performance of the cathode depending on graphene interlayer thickness (0, 20, 45, 54, 77 and 88μm) has been investigated. Li2S cathode with the 45μm thick interlayer exhibits initial discharge capacity of 1029.21mAhg−1 and 779.74mAhg−1 at 0.05C and 0.1C, respectively, and capacity retention of above 60% with coulombic efficiency of around 90% over 300 cycles at high C rates. The results are discussed in terms of the graphene film thickness and the conductivity of the film as well as Li ion diffusivity.",battery
"Highly concentrated solutions of sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (NaFSI) with a series of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquids incorporating either alkyl phosphonium or alkoxy ammonium cations (P111i4FSI:NaFSI, P1i4i4i4FSI:NaFSI), N2(2O2O1)3FSI:NaFSI) are combined with NaFePO4 cathodes to demonstrate excellent cycling performance with respect to potential range, rate capability, cycle life and elevated temperature stability. With a capacity of 85 mAhg−1 and a capacity retention of 95% over 100 cycles (50 °C, C/2) P111i4FSI:NaFSI matches or outperforms conventional organic solvent based electrolytes as well as other ionic liquid electrolytes in terms of capacity, elevated temperature performance and cycle stability. The electrolyte conductivity does not correlate with the capacity, suggesting that this is not the primary factor determining the cell performance. The solid electrolyte interphase determines the cycle stability with SEM and XPS techniques suggesting the presence of NaOH, Na2S and NaF on the Na metal surface post cycling.",battery
The robustness of conductive networks and the accessibility of electrolyte into the network are important factors in designing the cathode electrode for lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries containing liquid electrolytes that involve liquid phase electrochemical reactions. We show that the performance of Li/S cells can be significantly improved by simply optimizing the electrode processing conditions to have open pore structures and mechanical integrity of the electrode architecture. It is demonstrated that the capacity of 1000 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and the stable capacity retention of >700 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.5 C can be achieved with relatively high sulfur content of 68%. 417 Wh kg−1 in specific energy and 623 Wh l−1 in energy density are achievable with this new technology.,battery
"Ni-doped spinel oxides NixCo1-xFe2O4 (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) hollow nanospheres electrocatalysts are synthesized with a simple hydrothermal approach. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results reveal that the morphology, hollow and spinel structures of the cobalt ferrites remain unchanged with doping. The electrocatalytic activity of the Ni-doped CoFe2O4 with different doping contents has been studied and compared with the pure CoFe2O4 hollow nanospheres in alkaline solution by using rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) technique. For ORR, the Ni0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 (x=0.5) exhibits as the most active catalyst with the highest diffusion limited current density and more positive onset potential. Whereas, the Ni0.75Co0.25Fe2O4 (x=0.75) shows the best catalytic activity for OER with more negative onset potential (0.27V vs. Ag/AgCl) and maximum current density (36.0mA/cm2 at 1.0V). X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) measurements reveal that the oxygen vacancy on the oxide surfaces increases, while the cations occupied ratio on octahedral/tetrahedral sites in spinel structures decreases along with the increasing of the Ni doping content. Combining with the charge transfer resistance measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), these three factors work synergistically on the catalytic activities of the Ni-doped CoFe2O4 hollow nanospheres.",battery
"Among the various crystallographic phases of nickel hydroxide, the β-form is the most widely used as the active mass of the positive electrode of nickel-based secondary cells. However, the exact electrochemical and structural behaviour of the β(II)/β(III) redox system upon cycling and ageing remains to be clarified. This work reports the electrochemical behaviour under galvanostatic conditions of two non-doped Ni(OH)2 samples having different initial crystallography and morphology. The evolution of these features is investigated as a function of the cycling conditions and more particularly as a function of the reduction state achieved on discharge. Electrodes cycled at the 1st discharge plateau show that charged/discharged active materials are very similar. However, when discharge is continued down to the so-called ‘second discharge plateau’, drastic changes are observed as an increase of the crystallisation degree and of the compactness of the Ni(OH)2 powder. Some insights into the nickel electrode redox behaviour are given. It appears that the nickel electrode operates, upon charge, as a single-phase or as a mixed-phase system depending on the depth of discharge.",battery
"The use of bistable laminates is a potential approach to realize broadband piezoelectric based energy harvesting systems. In this paper the dynamic response of a piezoelectric material attached to a bistable laminate plate is examined based on the experimental generated voltage time series. The system was subjected to harmonic excitations and exhibited single-well and snap-through vibrations of both periodic and chaotic character. To identify the dynamics of the system response we examined the frequency spectrum, bifurcation diagrams, phase portraits, and the 0–1 test.",non-battery
"The authors report the synthesis of ZnO nanorods on flexible and transparent mica substrates. The coupled use of polyethylenimine and ammonium hydroxide provided a direct method for growing vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorods with a high aspect ratio. Using mica as a substrate material enabled thermal annealing processes, which improved the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods with uniform surface coverage and excellent adhesion, increased transmittance of indium tin oxide (ITO)/mica (52%), and decreased sheet resistance of ITO/mica (80%). We have fabricated ZnO nanorod-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and piezoelectric nanogenerators (NGs) and investigated their annealing effects on the device performances. Specifically, the thermal treatment at 500°C for 30min increased the energy conversion efficiencies of DSSCs by 53%. Furthermore, we observed a three-fold increase in the NG׳s output voltage and output current density through this thermal annealing process. As shown below, mica, which can function under extremes of temperature, is useful as a substrate for flexible and transparent electronics.",battery
"Although alcohol and distraction are often cited as significant risk factors for traffic crashes, most research has considered them in isolation. It is therefore necessary to consider the interactions between alcohol and distraction impairment sources, especially when examining the relationship between behavior and crash risk. In a driving simulator, the primary goal was to maintain a safe headway to a lead vehicle and the secondary goal was to maintain stable lane position. All participants engaged in distractions that represented different levels of resource competition and half of the participants consumed alcohol (target BAC 0.08g/dl). Specific comparisons were made between sober driving while distracted and driving intoxicated without distraction. Distraction tasks produced more changes in driving behavior than did alcohol for both longitudinal (primary) and lateral (secondary) driving goals. Alcohol impairment was evident only in relation to lateral driving performance, however there was an amplification of impairment when alcohol and distraction conditions were combined. Distraction resulted in a general level of impairment across all driving goals, whereas participants with alcohol appeared to shed secondary driving goals to “protect” primary driving goals. Drivers’ strategies to cope with alcohol (and distraction) may not be sufficient to offset the increased crash risk.",non-battery
"The manufacture of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) suspensions for cathodes is typically performed with organic solvents like N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) or N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP). It is widely known that these substances are caustic and toxic to reproduction. The utilization of water for the preparation of a cathode suspension is less hazardous and saves costs. Unfortunately NMC alkalinizes the water to a very pH value, which leads to a pit corrosion of the aluminum substrate. The development and optimization of water-based NMC suspensions therefore must include investigations on lowering the pH value without deteriorating the electrochemical performance of the material. One option is the addition of amphoteric oxidic additives. This work focusses on Al2O3 and SiO2 as additives and explores their effects on the pH of the suspension and on the substrate corrosion as well as on the electrochemical performance of the NMC-cathode prepared therefrom. Furthermore the impact of the particle sizes of the additives was studied.",battery
"An innovative setup to combine electrochemical and in situ surface X-ray diffraction (SXRD) measurements is described. This electrochemical cell has a different design from the other ones commonly used for X-ray diffraction studies. It allows the sample surface to stay always completely immersed into the solution under controlled potential conditions even during the SXRD measurements. The X-ray beam crosses the liquid (about 1cm) and the cell walls. Because of the high X-ray energy, the beam attenuation is negligible and by an appropriate positioning of the detector arm slits it is possible to minimize the diffuse scattering induced by the liquid and cell walls in order to still detect the minima of the crystal truncation rods (CTRs). The liquid solution in the cell is managed by a special device, which allows the controlled exchange of the electrolyte solutions necessary in the electrochemical atomic layer epitaxy (ECALE) growth. The whole setup can be remotely controlled from outside the experimental hutch by a dedicated computer. As an example we report measurements on S layers deposited at underpotential on the Ag(111) surface, and on CdS films of increasing thickness.",battery
"DCLR-P was prepared by direct coal liquefaction residue (DCLR) with ash removal. In the present experiments, mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs) were prepared by co-carbonization of coal tar pitch (CTP) and DCLR-P. With the increase of DCLR-P content, the yield of MCMBs increased from 47.8% to 56.8%. At the same time, the particle sizes distribution of MCMBs was narrowed, resulting in the decrease of D90/D10 ratio from 154.88 to 6.53. The results showed that DCLR-P had a positive effect on the preparation of MCMBs. 1H-NMR, FTIR, SEM and XRD were used to analyze the mechanisms and characteristics of MCMBs prepared by co-carbonization of CTP and DCLR-P. The results showed that the Proton Donor Quality Index (PDQI) of DCLR-P was 13.32, significantly higher than that of CTP (0.83). This indicated that DCLR-P had more naphthenic structure than CTP, which leads to hydrogen transferring in polycondensation reaction. The aliphatic structure of DCLR-P can improve the solubility and fusibility of mesophase, thereby making the structure of MCMBs more structured. The microstructure of the graphitized MCMBs had a substantially parallel carbon layer useful for its electrical performance. The performance of graphitized MCMBs as a negative electrode material for Li-ion batteries was tested. The particle sizes, tap density, specific surface area and initial charge–discharge efficiency of graphitized MCMBs met the requirements of CMB-I in GB/T-24533-2009. However, the initial discharge capacity of graphitized MCMB was only 296.3 mA h g−1 due to the low degree of graphitization of MCMBs.
",non-battery
"The high voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode with a disordered spinel structure is synthesized by a glycine-assisted low-temperature reaction follows by a thermal treatment at 750°C, 850°C, and 950°C for 12h. Glycine is used as a chelating agent for the first time to build required environment for shaping the precursor of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 materials. The microstructure and morphology of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 product are characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and transmission electron microscopy. The sample prepares at 750°C reveals small particles with well-defined crystals as confirmed by electron microscopy. Electrochemical results demonstrate that LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrode anneal at 750°C (compare to other two samples) delivers the highest reversible capacity of 110mAhg−1 at 0.2C after 100 cycles with good rate capability. The enhanced electrochemical performance could be attributed to the smaller particle sizes as well as well-defined crystals which provide a directional and shorter diffusion path length for Li+ transportation within the crystals.",battery
"Increasing power and energy demands for next-generation portable and flexible electronics such as roll-up displays, photovoltaic cells, and wearable devices have stimulated intensive efforts to explore flexible, lightweight and environmentally friendly energy storage devices. Flexible solid-state supercapacitors (SCs) have attracted increasing interest because they can provide substantially higher specific/volumetric energy density compared to conventional capacitors. Additionally, flexible solid-state SCs are typically small in size, highly reliable, light-weight, easy to handle, and have a wide range of operation temperatures. In this regard, solid-state SCs hold great promise as new energy storage devices for flexible and wearable electronics. In this article, we review recent achievements in the design, fabrication and characterization of flexible solid-state SCs. Moreover, we also discuss the current challenges and future opportunities for the development of high-performance flexible solid-state SCs.
",battery
"Neural network force fields promise to bypass the computationally expensive quantum mechanical calculations typically required to investigate complex materials, such as lithium-ion batteries. Mailoa et al. accelerate these approaches with an architecture that exploits both rotation-invariant and -covariant features separately.
",non-battery
"A 3D electrochemical-thermal coupled finite element analysis (FEA) model is established on COMSOL Multiphysics® software for 40 A h ternary prismatic lithium-ion batteries. The input parameters in this model are current C-rate C, battery thickness Th bat , initial battery ambient temperature T int , positive porous electrode thickness Th pos , positive particle diameter D pos , positive electrode solid phase volume fraction ε 1,pos , respectively. Response surface methodology (RSM) with variance analysis (ANOVA) and parametric scanning is employed for simulating and optimizing the data obtained from the Box-Behnken experimental design based on this model. After that, the optimized parameters are verified to evaluate the reliability of the model on heat generation. The results of response surface optimization show that the optimized model error is less than 0.76% and the final temperature drops is 0.55 K. This novel model is reliable and accurate, which is helpful to improving the electrochemical and thermal performance of the battery. Also, it can provide optimized and feasible solutions for other similar kind of batteries, which offer the reference for design and optimization of the battery management system.",battery
"The La1-xSrxMnO3 (LSM) perovskites have been proposed as the promising oxygen reduction reaction catalysts (ORRCs) to substitute the noble metal. However, their ORR catalytic activities still need to be further improved. Here, the La0.7(Sr0.3-xPdx)MnO3 (LSPM) perovskites with the substitution of Sr with Pd are synthesized by a facile sol-gel method. The structure, morphology, valence state of Mn, oxygen adsorption behaviors of the different LSPM catalysts are investigated, and their ORR catalytic activities are studied by the rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) and aluminum air battery technologies. The results demonstrate that the appropriate substitution of Sr with Pd can effectively improve the ORR catalytic activity of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 due to the regulation of the Mn valence and enhancement of the oxygen adsorption capacity. Among the LSPM perovskites, the LSPM-15 catalyst exhibits the best catalytic activity toward ORR. In addition, the current retention of LSPM-15 is as high as 98.9% after 10000s with the generation of a few HO2 − (0.96%∼1.56%) during the whole aging test. Moreover, the maximum power density of the aluminum air battery using LSPM-15 can reach 265.6mWcm−2, which indicates that LSPM-15 can be used as a promising ORRC for the aluminum air batteries.",battery
"This research work is targeting to demonstrate that micromirror arrays can also be fabricated successfully on flexible substrates—not only on glass substrates. The paper reports on the technological data of a successful process on a flexible substrate for curvilinear surfaces. Polyethylene naphthalate substrate was selected for its low cost, strong resistance against chemicals which are used in fabrication process and sufficient optical transmission for the visible and near infrared spectrum. Finally, electrostatic actuation of the fabricated micromirror structures is proven experimentally.
",non-battery
"Understanding of the structural evolution of the cathode during the charge/discharge processes is crucial to describe the Li insertion/de-insertion mechanisms in a Li-ion battery. An in situ XRD cell has been specially fabricated to study a nanostructured electrode using a standard laboratory diffractometer. This cell was used to investigate phase transformations of a nanoporous Li2FeSiO4/C cathode in the initial charge/discharge cycle by in situ XRD as well as analyzing the full Li-ion battery by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The battery was operated in chronocoulometric mode for the in situ XRD and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) mode for the EIS. Coexistence of two different polymorphs, P21/n and Pmn21 of Li2FeSiO4, was observed in the in situ XRD patterns. The amount of P21/n phase, which was the only phase present before cycling, decreased while the amount of Pmn21 phase increased during the first cycle. In the fully discharged state the Pmn21 phase appeared as the main phase. An inductive loop was observed in the impedance spectra which is believed to arise from the formation of a concentration cell (Li|P21/n||Pmn21|Li) from which current flows in opposition to the Li being intercalated/de-intercalated into and out of the Li2−x FeSiO4 electrode.",battery
"Patients with mild cognitive impairment experience difficulties in mathematics that affect their functioning in the activities of everyday life. What are the associated anatomical brain changes and the cognitive correlates underlying such deficits? In the present study, 33 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairments (MCI) and 29 cognitively normal controls underwent volumetric MRI, and completed the standardized battery of Numerical Activities of Daily Living (NADL) along with a comprehensive clinical neuropsychological assessment. Group differences were examined on the numerical tasks and volumetric brain measures. The gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volume correlates were also evaluated. The results showed that relative to controls, the MCI group had impairments in number comprehension, transcoding, written operations, and in daily activities involving time estimation and money usage. In the volumetric measures, group differences emerged for the transcoding subtask in the left insula and left superior temporal gyrus. Among MCI patients, number comprehension and formal numerical performance were correlated with volumetric variability in the right middle occipital areas and right frontal gyrus. Money-usage scores showed significant correlations with left mesial frontal cortex, right superior frontal and right superior temporal cortex. Regression models revealed that neuropsychological measures of long-term memory, language, visuo-spatial abilities, and abstract reasoning were predictive of the patients' decline in daily activities. The present findings suggest that early neuropathology in distributed cortical regions of the brain including frontal, temporal and occipital areas leads to a breakdown of cognitive abilities in MCI that impacts on numerical daily functioning. The findings have implications for diagnosis, clinical and domestic care of patients with MCI.",non-battery
"This paper investigates the cycle aging behavior of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium ion battery cells under high current rates and narrow window of State-of-Charge (SOC) variation for 48 V mild hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. The charge sustaining aging profiles were synthesized from real-world duty cycles in some of the authors’ previous work [44,45] and used in the laboratory for life cycle aging testing spaced out by periodic cell capacity tests performed to assess cell aging conditions. Furthermore, at each 1C discharged aging characterization stage, the parameters of a physics-based electrochemical cell model were identified using the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. Among the parameters that can be identified with sufficient accuracy from the experimental data, the concentration of lithium-ions at the negative electrode after full charge is found to be strongly correlated with the system-level loss of capacity. These results provide new insights on the aging performance of NMC lithium ion cells in battery management system for 48 V hybrid vehicles.",battery
"Large format LiFePO4-based Li-ion batteries are rapidly becoming available from commercial cell manufacturers. In this paper two types of 10Ah single cells (one prismatic and another cylindrical) from two manufacturers were tested at room temperature and 60°C. Both cells suffered severe degradation at 60°C. The results were analyzed using incremental capacity analysis (ICA) along with other electrochemical techniques. Overall the two types of cells were similar in behavior, despite subtle differences in performance. This study shed some light on the degradation process associated with these two large format LiFePO4 cell designs with regard to thermal degradation at elevated temperatures. The analysis illustrates a unique capability of using ICA to differentiate cell performance and material utilization in different cell designs.",battery
"Carbon-coated cobalt sulfide (CoS) hollow nanoparticles on carbon nanotube (CNT) networks are synthesized by combining three simple approaches: direct growth of Co3O4 nanocrystals on the CNT backbones, chemical conversion of the Co3O4 nanocrystals to CoS hollow nanoparticles, and the spatial introduction of conformal surface modification by carbon. It is noteworthy that the CoS hollow nanoparticles with inner cavity of <50 nm and an average wall thickness of 6–8 nm are derived from a template-free method. Such a template-free-derived multifunctional nanostructure design achieves the amalgamation of the favorite traits of one-dimensional conducting networks, hollow nanoparticles, and surface modification, thus resulting in much enhanced charge transfer, ion transport, and upholding the integrity of the electrode and electrode/electrolyte interface. When applied the synthesized CoS-based material as anodes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), excellent performance is observed. For instance, a reversible specific capacity of 562 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and a capacity retention rate of 90% after 200 cycles at a higher current density of 500 mA g−1 are obtained. Moreover, a superior rate capability is observed with reversible specific capacities of 341 and 276 mAh g−1 at 2000 and at 5000 mA g−1, respectively.",battery
"A simple and effective strategy is proposed to activate carbon cloth for the fabrication of flexible and high-performance supercapacitors. Firstly, the carbon cloth surface is exfoliated as nanotextures through wet chemical treatment, then an annealing process is applied at H2/N2 atmosphere to reduce the surface oxygen functional groups which are mainly introduced from the first step. The activated carbon cloth electrode shows excellent wettablity, large surface area and delivers remarkable electrochemical performance. A maximum areal capacitance of 485.64 mF cm−2 at the current density of 2 mA cm−2 is achieved for the activated carbon cloth electrode, which is considerably larger than the resported results for carbon cloth. Furthermore, the flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor, which is fabricated based on the activated carbon cloth electrodes, shows high areal capacitance, superior cycling stability as well as stable electrochemical performance even under constant bending or twisting conditions. An areal capacitance of 161.28 mF cm−2 is achieved at the current density of 12.5 mA cm−2, and 104% of its initial capacitance is retained after 30,000 charging/discharging cycles. This study would also provide an effective way to boost devices' electrochemical performance by accommodating other active materials on the activated carbon cloth.",battery
"ABSTRACT Fe3C@carbonnanocapsules(*)/expanded graphite composite was successfully prepared by a new and facile method, including mix of starting materials and heat treatment of the precursor. It is featured by unique 3-D structure, where expanded graphite acts as scaffold to ensure a continuous entity, and Fe3C particles coated by carbon nanocapsules are embedded intimately. The Fe3C nanoparticles encased in carbon nanocapsules act as catalyst in the modification of SEI film during the cycles. The interesting 3-D architecture which aligns the conductivity paths in the planar direction with expanded graphite and in the axial direction with carbon nanocapsules minimizes the resistance and enhances the reversible capacity. The prepared composite exhibits a high reversible capacity and excellent rate performance as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. The composite maintains a reversible capacity of 1226.2mAh/g after 75 cycles at 66mA/g. When the current density increases to 200mA/g, the reversible capacity maintains 451.5mAh/g. The facile synthesis method and excellent electrochemical performances make the composite expected to be one of the most potential anode material for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Polymer electrolyte membrane-based direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFC) have been investigated for about a decade, and are now becoming an important area of portable power system research. DFAFCs have the advantages of high electromotive force (theoretical open circuit potential 1.48V), limited fuel crossover, and reasonable power densities at low temperatures. This paper provides a review of recent advances in DFAFCs, mainly focussing on the anodic catalysts for the electro-oxidation of formic acid. The fundamental DFAFC chemistry, formic acid crossover through Nafion® membranes, and DFAFC configuration development are also presented.",battery
"John Goodenough was born of U.S. parents in Jena, Germany, in 1922. He received a BA in mathematics from Yale University in 1943. After serving as a meteorologist for the USAAF in World War II, he obtained a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Chicago in 1952. From 1952 to 1976 he was at the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he first helped to develop the ferrite-core coincident-current memory critical to the development of the digital computer and headed research groups in Magnetism and in Electronic Materials. It was during that period that he wrote his two books Magnetism and the Chemical Bond and Les oxydes des métaux de transition. From 1976 to 1986, he was Professor and Head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory in Oxford, England, where his research concentrated on new materials for energy conversion. He developed the concept of framework structures for alkali-ion solid electrolytes and obtained the basic patents for layered and spinel oxides as cathodes for lithium secondary batteries. He also worked in photoelectrolysis for solar-energy conversion and catalytic electrodes for fuel cells. Since 1986, he has held a chair in the Materials Science and Engineering Center of the University of Texas at Austin where he has identified the LiFePO4 cathode for the Li+-ion battery, developed new electrolyte and electrode materials for the solid oxide fuel cell, and contributed significantly to our understanding of the unusual physical phenomena encountered at the crossover from localized to itinerant electronic behavior.",battery
"LiCoO2 had been successfully prepared from spherical basic cobalt carbonate via a simple uniform-phase precipitation method at normal pressure, using cobalt sulfate and urea as the reactants. The preparation of spherical basic cobalt carbonate was significantly dependant on synthetic condition, such as the reactant concentration, reaction temperature and impeller speed, etc. The optimized condition resulted in spherical basic cobalt carbonate with uniform particle size distribution, as observed by scanning electron microscopy. Calcination of the uniform basic cobalt carbonate with lithium carbonate at high temperature led to a well-ordered layer-structured LiCoO2 without shape change, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Due to the homogeneity of the basic cobalt carbonate, the final product, LiCoO2, was also significantly uniform, i.e., the average particle size was of about 10μm in diameter and the distribution was relatively narrow. As a result, the corresponding tap-density was also high approximately 2.60gcm−3, of which the value is higher than that of commercialized LiCoO2 of Hunan Ruixing, co. In the voltage range 2.8–4.2, 2.8–4.3, and 2.8–4.4V, the discharge capacities of LiCoO2 electrode were 153, 159, and 168mAhg−1, respectively, with better cyclability.",battery
"We report the application of free-standing, lightweight, and flexible graphene/Au composite paper (GACP), as a current collector for CF x cathode. At a high discharge current density of 4000 mA g−1 (5C), the capacity of the CF1.0 loaded on GACP current collector is 653 mAh g−1, while CF1.0 loaded on Al foil failed at 800 mA g−1 (1C). Using GACP, both excellent rate capability and specific capacity can be achieved simultaneously, owing to its undulant surface structure and flexible contact with the CF x composite active layer. Our results provide a new strategy to design both high power and energy densities CF x cathode.",battery
"Wind and solar energy are currently the most promising carbon-free sources of electrical energy. However, because of their unpredictable and intermittent nature, high penetration of solar and wind into the electrical grid will likely require energy storage in order to provide grid power balance. In this work we consider the storage requirements for 100% and nearly 100% wind and solar power, examining the effects of source diversity, geographical distribution of sources, overcapacity, and balancing power. As a case study we use load data from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) energy market in the central region of the United States for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Solar and wind production is modeled using data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Solar and Wind Integration Data Sets. Our results show nearly an order of magnitude decrease in required energy storage capacity is achieved as the overcapacity is increased from 0 to 30% for optimized solar to wind ratios. Significant reductions also occur by allowing a balancing power of only a few percent. However, the corresponding storage discharge and balancing power capacities are a significant fraction of the solar and wind capacities with correspondingly low capacity factors.",battery
"Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common disorder that can lead to substantial morbidity and mortality through the clinical manifestations of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Although rapid diagnosis and treatment are critical in preventing PE, mortality and major morbidity due to conditions such as postthrombotic syndrome may complicate the differential diagnosis of VTE. The clinical symptoms associated with DVT are neither sensitive nor specific and can be indicative of a wide range of diagnoses. Because imaging studies can be expensive and are sometimes inconclusive, they should be used judiciously in patients with highly suspected VTE. This review offers a clinical perspective on the accurate, routine diagnosis of VTE, including an overview of common clinical signs and symptoms, as well as the advantages and drawbacks of available diagnostic strategies.",non-battery
"Cognitive impairment (CI) is a prevalent condition characterized by loss of brain volume and changes in cognition, motor function, and dual-tasking ability. To examine associations between brain volumes, dual-task performance, and gait and balance in those with CI to elucidate the mechanisms underlying loss of function. We performed a retrospective analysis of medical records of patients with CI and compared brain volumes, dual-task performance, and measures of gait and balance. Greater cognitive and combined dual-task effects (DTE) are associated with smaller brain volumes. In contrast, motor DTE is not associated with distinct pattern of brain volumes. As brain volumes decrease, dual-task performance becomes more motor prioritized. Cognitive DTE is more strongly associated with decreased performance on measures of gait and balance than motor DTE. Decreased gait and balance performance are also associated with increased motor task prioritization. Cognitive DTE appears to be more strongly associated with decreased automaticity and gait and balance ability than motor DTE and should be utilized as a clinical and research outcome measure in this population. The increased motor task prioritization associated with decreased brain volume and function indicates a potential for accommodative strategies to maximize function in those with CI. Counterintuitive correlations between motor brain volumes and motor DTE in our study suggest a complicated interaction between brain pathology and function.
",non-battery
"A phase field description is formulated to describe the growth kinetics of an heterogeneously nucleated distribution of lithium electrodeposits. The underlying variational principle includes the bulk electrochemical contributions to the free energy of transformation of the system, the electrolyte-dendrite interfacial energy, and the substrate work of adhesion energetics. Results demonstrate that the rate of electrodeposition at the tip of an isolated dendrite is higher than the rate corresponding to the average overpotential, while the back contact is electrochemically shielded, thus favoring elongated, needle-like shapes. For large populations of electrochemically interacting deposits, two spatially distinct regions of behavior develop: one directly facing the counter-electrode where the local surficial electrodeposition dominates the local kinetics; and a second region, in the vicinity of the substrate–deposit interface, where the electrochemical shielding induced by the tip enables lateral electrochemical lithium exchange dendrite coalescence for small contact angle deposits, and dendrite dewetting and electrodissolution for large contact angle deposits. The underlying physical mechanisms through which some lithium nuclei detach from the depositing substrate, self-induce electrodissolution, while other continue to grow and coalesce are described for different contact angles.",battery
"The synthesis of nickel hydroxide by precipitation from a suitable solution containing dissolved Ni2+ ions is described. A large matrix of precipitation conditions is explored to generate a wide range of nickel hydroxide samples. While most precipitation reactions result in the formation of β-nickel hydroxide, the samples differ from one another in the degree of structural disorder as reflected by the differences in their powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns. A correlation of the long-range structure as deduced from diffraction studies with the short-range structure as deduced from infrared (IR) spectral studies is performed. The aim is to control the synthesis conditions to obtain materials with ‘tailor-made’ structural disorders.",battery
"This work introduces a facile strategy to improve the high-rate capability and cycling stability for carbon-free Li3V2(PO4)3 by coating with conducting polymer polyaniline. Core-shell Li3V2(PO4)3/polyaniline nanocomposite with typical sizes of 200nm has been synthesized via a microwave heating assisted sol-gel method followed by a self-assembly process. The highly conductive and uniform polyaniline layer coated on the surface of Li3V2(PO4)3 nanoparticles significantly enhances the electrochemical performance of the electrode, which exhibits better rate capability and excellent cycling stability compared with the pristine Li3V2(PO4)3. The resultant nanocomposite exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 130.7mAhg−1 at 0.1C within a voltage range of 3.0-4.3V. When cycled at a rate of 10C the capacity can reach up to 101.5mAhg−1, and the capacity retention is 87.3% after 500 cycles. The likely contributing factor to the excellent electrochemical performance of core-shell Li3V2(PO4)3/polyaniline could be related to the uniform conducting polymer layer, which can improve the electrical conductivity of Li3V2(PO4)3.",battery
"Publisher Summary The chapter discusses frontotemporal dementia syndromes. Over the past decade there have been considerable advances in the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases producing focal cognitive deficits that typically involve the frontal and/or anterior temporal lobes (most commonly referred to collectively as either “frontotemporal dementia” (FTD) or “frontotemporal lobar degeneration” (FTLD). The chapter presents a classification, based on the clinical presentation and distinguishes three major clinical syndromes: frontal or behavioral variant FTD (bv -FTD), semantic dementia (SD), and progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA). The chapter reviews the evolution of the terms applied to this spectrum of disorders; to describe the key clinical, neuropsychological, and radiologic characteristics associated with the major syndromes; and to highlight recent developments in the genetics. In 1994, the Lund and Manchester groups introduced the term “FTD” to embrace both the behavioral and aphasic forms of focal demential and suggested tentative diagnostic criteria. Discovery of tau-gene mutations in some families with FTD lead to widespread use of the name. Apathy is the most common problem, manifesting as passivity, inertia, or inactivity together with social withdrawal. Disinhibition is a common early symptom and seems prevalent in those with right predominant frontal and temporal lobe dysfunction. Stereotypic and ritualistic behaviors such as preoccupation with counting or clockwatching, consistently choosing the same leisure activity, repeatedly eating the same food, and rigidly adherening to routine are all more common in the FTD subgroups than in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The chapter also discusses Progressive Non-Fluent Aphasia, familial frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17, frontotemporal dementia with motor neuron disease, and others.",non-battery
"Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been considered as a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries. But the low electronic conductivity and large volume change during sodiation/desodiation processes limit its wide application. In the present study, a single-layer MoS2 embedded in amorphous carbon nanofibers is fabricated by electrospinning. The obtained MoS2/carbon nanofibers have unique hierarchical structure incorporating 2D single-layer ultrasmall MoS2, 1D carbon continuous phase and 3D interconnected porous network. When employed as anode material in sodium-ion battery, this hierarchical structure can enlarge accessible surface area of MoS2, accelerate ion diffusion speed, shorten ion transfer length and improve the bulk conductivity, and then endow MoS2/carbon nanofibers composite with high capacity and superior cycling stability. The electrochemical results show that the initial discharge and charge capacities of MoS2/carbon nanofibers can reach 921 and 665mAhg−1. After repeated charge-discharge test for 100cycles, a stable capacity of 485mAhg−1 is achieved, demonstrating a very low capacity loss of 0.05% per cycle.",battery
"Silicon is a highly promising anode material of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) for its low insertion voltage and high reversible capacity. A flexible, honeycomb-like film of reduced graphene (RGO)/Si nanoparticles (NPs) composite with a thickness as thick as 25μm is synthesized by a facile vacuum filter assembly process. The Si NPs are enwrapped into the RGO sheets with an areal density of 0.65mgcm−2. The ultra-thick composite film is directly employed as an anode for LIBs without using any binder and conductive additive. The flexible RGO sheet coat enables the electrode to maintain the structural integrity and provide continuous conductive paths for Si NPs. The electrode exhibits a high capacity of 2370mAhg−1 over 50 cycles at a current of 210mAg−1 and a capacity higher than 1000mAhg−1 at a current density of 4200mAg−1 after 500 cycles. Especially, the electrode exhibits excellent rate capability, indicating that it may be applied to the high-power LIBs as a flexible, high areal capacity, binder-free and free-standing anode.",battery
"Supercapacitors with high capacitance, high energy density and a small time constant have been developed successfully using functionalized activated carbon nanoparticles (FACNs) and a cross-linkable polymeric binder in neutral aqueous Na2SO4. Due to the functional groups on the FACNs’ surface and the slenderness of the FACNs’ nanocomposite electrode, the FACNs’ nanocomposite electrode exhibits superior specific capacitance of 154F/g, energy density of 18Wh/kg, and a time constant of 0.25s. Furthermore, the cyclic voltammogram is still rectangular in shape even at exceedingly high scan rates of 5V/s. These characteristics show that our proposed method is suitable for the fabrication of high-performance supercapacitors.",battery
"New electrolyte solutions based on ternary and quaternary solvent mixtures containing significant amounts of toluene (tol) have been evaluated. Liquid electrolytes containing LiAsF6 and LiPF6 exhibit electrolytic conductivities >1 S cm−1 down to −50°C. When incorporated into PVDF host matrixes, these multicomponent solutions exhibit reduced conductivities but still remain sufficiently high, yielding useful conductivities down to at least −40°C. LiC6/PVDF-electrolyte/LiCoO2 cells containing these multicomponent electrolyte solutions are stable and highly reproducible. Ambient temperature performance is essentially equal to comparative LiC6/PVDF/LiCoO2 cells containing ternary mixtures such as ethylene carbonate (EC):dimethyl carbonate (DMC):diethyl carbonate (DEC) and EC:ethylmethyl carbonate (EMC):DMC; but at −20°C, −30°C and −40°C, cells containing the quaternary mixed solvent EC:EMC:methyl acetate (MA):tol are clearly superior. Capacity retention of cells utilizing this quaternary solvent in PVDF at −40°C is 50% of nominal capacity at ambient temperatures.",battery
"The second plateau occurring during the reduction of the nickel oxyhydroxide electrode (NOE) was studied by impedance spectroscopy on a cell with a pasted electrode prepared from commercial undoped β-Ni(OH)2. Measurements were performed at diverse states of reduction and a large variation of impedance upon the transition from the first to the second plateau was observed. This variation mainly takes place at low frequencies and is hence related to ionic diffusion. We observed that the impedance becomes more capacitive on the second plateau meaning that the proton diffusion is limited. These results would be consistent with the gradual formation of an insulating layer of nickel hydroxide at the interface between the NOE and the electrolyte upon reduction. Once this layer becomes compact the ionic diffusion would be hindered and forced to occur through this layer, which could explain the voltage drop observed.",battery
" works as Composite Design Engineer and is responsible for the technical composite lab to build drones at the Southern University of Denmark SDU in Odense (Denmark). Previously, he led the Composite Developments of SPIRI ApS in Kopenhagen (Denmark).",non-battery
"Objective: To assess the relationship between cerebellum and brain cortical activity without motor factors, we recorded the mid-latency auditory evoked responses (MLRs) with simultaneous recording of the electroencephalography (EEG) at rest in patients with ‘pure cortical cerebellar atrophy (CCA)’. Methods: We studied 12 normal control subjects and non-demented ‘pure CCA’ patients determined by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging analysis. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery assessed intelligence, frontal lobe function and word fluency. Spontaneous eyes-closed resting EEG and MLRs were recorded from 20 scalp electrodes and analysed with low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) to compute the 3-dimensional intracerebral distribution of electric activity. Results: Neuropsychological tests revealed no differences between CCA and the control. Analysis of EEG and MLRs using classical methods also did not reveal any differences. LORETA analysis indicated significant decrease of alpha2 activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus in CCA. On MLRs, the most significant difference was observed at P1 component, and CCA patients showed significant decrease at the right superior frontal gyrus. Conclusions: Our results indicated that the frontal lobe and ascending reticular activating system are inhibited in CCA patients, and suggested the involvement of the cerebellum in cortical electric activities irrespective of motor adjunct. Significance: Quantitative EEG and MLR measurements with LORETA pointed out frontal lobe hypoactivities in pure CCA patients.",non-battery
" The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are currently producing guidelines for the scientific adequacy of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical trials, which will have implications for the selection of scales used in future clinical trials. In this study, we examine how the Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58), a rigorous Rasch measurement developed neurologic PROM, stands up to traditional psychometric criteria for three reasons: 1) provide traditional psychometric evidence for the CDIP-58 in line with proposed FDA guidelines; 2) enable researchers and clinicians to compare it with existing dystonia PROMs; and 3) help researchers and clinicians bridge the knowledge gap between old and new methods of reliability and validity testing.",non-battery
"The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical performance of adhesive filling materials in class V cavities in xerostomic head- and neck-irradiated cancer patients, in terms of marginal adaptation, anatomical form and recurrent caries. We selected 35 high-caries-risk, post-radiation, xerostomic adults with ≥3 cervical carious lesions in the same arch. Every patient received a KetacFil (KF), PhotacFil (PF) and Herculite XRV (HX) restoration. Patients were instructed to use a neutral 1% sodium fluoride gel in custom trays, on a daily basis. After 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, the restorations were examined for material loss, marginal integrity and recurrent caries. Fluoride compliance was determined at each recall appointment and recorded as the percentage of recommended use during that interval [compliance of ≤50% = NFUs, >50% = FUs]. Only 30 patients were available for recall at 6 months, with 28 patients at 12 and 18 months, and 27 patients at 24 months. In the NFU group, differences in recurrent caries were found between KF and HX at all observation times (p < 0.05). Differences (p < 0.05) in adaptation and/or anatomical form were found between KF and PF in NFUs after 18 and 24 months. In FUs, significant differences were observed between KF and PF, and KF and HX after 6 and 12 months, between KF and HX, PF and HX after 18 and 24 months. In summary, glass ionomers (especially the conventionally setting formulation) provide clinical caries inhibition but erode easily, while composite resin provides greater structural integrity.",non-battery
"One-dimensional (1D) ZnCo2O4 porous nanotubes (PNTs) have been synthesized using a simple technique of electrospinning followed by calcination in air and firstly applied in supercapacitors (SCs). The obtained ZnCo2O4 nanomaterial displays 1D architecture with a highly porous nature and hollow interiors. This unique structure significantly enlarged the electroactive surface areas of the ZnCo2O4, leading to better electrolyte/electrode contact, more efficient transport pathways and good strain accommodation. Our experimental results demonstrate that it exhibits a high specific capacitance of 770 F g−1 at 10 A g−1, excellent rate property (84% of the capacity retention at 60 A g−1) and good cycling stability of only 10.5% loss after 3000 cycles. Compared with the ZnCo2O4 nanoparticals, such obtained PNTs possess enhanced rate and capacitive properties. Our work confirms the as-prepared ZnCo2O4 PNTs can serve as advanced SCs materials. It is highly expected this simple method of electrospinning can be extended to prepare other superior electrochemical materials.",battery
"An essential way to enhance the energy density of a supercapacitor(SC) is to use high capacitance electrode materials via developing binder-free electrode with porous and hierarchical nanostructures. Herein, we demonstrated the use of copper antimony sulfide (Cu3SbS4) nanowires directly grown on Ni foam (using a microwave-irradiation process) as a binder-free positive electrode for SCs. The growth mechanism, effect of microwave irradiation time on the morphology and electrochemical properties of Cu3SbS4 on Ni foam were discussed in detail. The cyclic voltammetric studies (using three-electrode test) of Cu3SbS4/Ni-5 electrode showed the presence of Type-C battery-like charge-storage properties. The Cu3SbS4/Ni-5 electrode delivered a high specific capacity (835.24 mA h g−1) as obtained from the charge-discharge analysis (at a current density of 2.5 mA cm−2). Further, the device specific properties of the Cu3SbS4/Ni-5 positive electrode was examined via fabricating asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) using two different negative electrodes viz. (i) planar-graphene, and (ii) binder-free copper molybdenum sulfide anchored on Ni foam (Cu2MoS4/Ni) electrodes, respectively. The electrochemical analyses of the fabricated ASCs revealed that the Cu3SbS4/Ni-5║Cu2MoS4/Ni ASC possess almost 3.0-fold higher energy density compared to the Cu3SbS4/Ni-5║graphene ASC. The Cu3SbS4/Ni-5║Cu2MoS4/Ni ASC delivered a high specific device capacitance of 213.6 F g−1 with a remarkable energy density (58.15 Wh kg−1), maximum power density (6363.63 W kg−1), and better cycle-life. The use of two different binder-free electrodes in the Cu3SbS4/Ni-5║Cu2MoS4/Ni ASC results in their superior performance metrics over the reported ASCs, thus, highlighting their potential applications towards next-generation supercapacitors.",battery
"The effectiveness of electrolyte additives in fluorinated electrolytes containing 1 M LiPF6/fluoroethylene carbonate:bis (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) carbonate (1:1 w:w) were studied in high voltage Li(Ni0.4Mn0.4Co0.2)O2/graphite pouch cells tested to 4.5 V. The results showed that fluorinated electrolytes containing prop-1-ene-1,3-sultone alone or in combination with other additives exhibited significant improvements in terms of coulombic efficiency and charge endpoint capacity slippage during UHPC cycling, voltage drop during storage, as well as capacity retention during long-term cycling compared with state-of-the-art ethylene carbonate-based (ethylene carbonate: ethylmethyl carbonate 3:7) or sulfolane-based electrolytes (sulfolane: ethylmethyl carbonate 3:7) with some promising additive blends. These results indicate that fluorinated electrolytes offer an interesting alternative for high voltage Li-ion batteries.",battery
"ABSTRACT Background Adjunctive techniques that may facilitate the early detection of oral premalignant and malignant lesions (OPML) have emerged in the past decades. Methods The authors undertook a systematic review of the English-language literature to evaluate the effectiveness of toluidine blue (TB), ViziLite Plus with TBlue (Zila Pharmaceuticals, Phoenix), ViziLite (Zila Pharmaceuticals), Microlux DL (AdDent, Danbury, Conn.), Orascoptic DK (Orascoptic, a Kerr Company, Middleton, Wis.), VELscope (LED Dental, White Rock, British Columbia, Canada) and OralCDx (Oral CDx Laboratories, Suffern, N.Y.) brush biopsy. They abstracted data relating to study design, sampling and characteristics of the study group, interventions, reported outcomes and diagnostic accuracy of adjunctive aids from 23 articles meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, including availability of histologic outcomes. Results The largest evidence base was for TB. A limited number of studies was available for ViziLite, ViziLite Plus with TBlue and OralCDx. Studies of VELscope have been conducted primarily to assess the margins of lesions in known OPML. The authors identified no studies of Microlux DL or Orascoptic DK. Study designs had various limitations in applicability to the general practice setting, including use of higher-risk populations and expert examiners. Conclusions There is evidence that TB is effective as a diagnostic adjunct for use in high-risk populations and suspicious mucosal lesions. OralCDx is useful in assessment of dysplastic changes in clinically suspicious lesions; however, there are insufficient data meeting the inclusion criteria to assess usefulness in innocuous mucosal lesions. Overall, there is insufficient evidence to support or refute the use of visually based examination adjuncts. Practical Implications Given the lack of data on the effectiveness of adjunctive cancer detection techniques in general dental practice settings, clinicians must rely on a thorough oral mucosal examination supported by specialty referral and/or tissue biopsy for OPML diagnosis.",non-battery
"Vast improvement of the capacitance of supercapacitors without sacrificing high power density and cycle performance brings bright application prospect. Here, a novel cobalt hexacyanoferrate/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CoHCF/MWCNTs) nanocomposite is prepared by a simple and facile approach and further investigated as electrode materials for supercapacitors. The physical properties of as-prepared materials are characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman and FE-SEM techniques. Furthermore, electrochemical performances of as-prepared materials are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 1.0 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. It is shown that as-prepared CoHCF/MWCNTs (25.0 wt% of MWCNTs) nanocomposite based electrode exhibits the best electrochemical performances, including higher specific capacitance/capacity (648.5 F g−1/810.6 C g−1 at 1.4 A g−1), good rate capability (648.5 F g−1/810.6 C g−1 and 436.3 F g−1/545.3 C g−1 at 1.4 A g−1 and 15 A g−1, respectively) and excellent cycling stability (94.3% capacitance retention after 3000 cycles at 2.0 A g−1) in all as-prepared electrodes. The results demonstrate that as-prepared CoHCF/MWCNTs nanocomposite is a promising candidate for electrochemical energy storage.",battery
"Cognitive deficits are documented in first-episode psychosis (FEP), but the continuing course is not fully understood. The present study examines the longitudinal development of neurocognitive function in a five year follow-up of FEP-patients, focusing on the relation to illness severity, as measured by relapses and diagnostic subgroups. The study is an extension of previous findings from the TIPS-project, reporting stability over the first two years. Sixty-two FEP patients (53% male, age 28±9years) were neuropsychologically examined at baseline and at 1, 2, and 5year follow-ups. The test battery was divided into five indices; Verbal Learning, Executive Function, Impulsivity, Motor Speed, and Working Memory. To investigate the effect of illness severity, the sample was divided in groups based on number of relapses, and diagnostic subgroups, respectively. Impulsivity and Working Memory improved significantly in the first two years, followed by no change over the next three years. Motor Speed decreased significantly from 2 to 5years. Number of relapses was significantly related to Verbal Learning and Working Memory, showing a small decrease and less improvement, respectively, in patients with two or more episodes. No significant association was found with diagnostic group. Neurocognitive stability as well as change was found in a sample of FEP-patients examined repeatedly over 5years. Of potential greater importance for understanding how psychotic illnesses progress, is the finding of significant associations between neurocognition and number of relapses but not diagnostic group, indicating that neurocognition is more related to recurring psychotic episodes than to the descriptive diagnosis per se.",non-battery
"The local structure refinement for the chemically Li-ion extracted LiNi1− x Al x O2 system has been intensively carried out with Ni K-edge and O K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The Li-ion extraction gives rise to the substantial variation of unit cell dimension, which presents the systematic decrease of lattice parameter a and the increase of lattice parameter c. For Ni K-edge XANES spectra, the strong absorption peak by ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) process represents that the electronic configuration of Ni ion in the ground state is located in the equilibrium between Ni3+(t2g 6eg 1) + O2− (2p6) ↔ Ni2+(t2g 6eg 2) + O− (2p5). The Li-ion extraction leads to the peak shift towards higher energy region and particularly the systematic decrease of peak intensity for the LMCT process, which is due to the dominant formation of Ni3+ O2− ion pair by the transfer of hole state (L) in the oxygen 2p band to the Ni atomic site. For EXAFS refinement, the separated FT peak by Jahn–Teller distorted NiO6 octahedra becomes a symmetric feature of regular oxygen distribution on the extraction. The average interatomic distances of NiO and NiNi bonds decrease systematically, meaning the formation of more covalent Ni3+ O2− character. From oxygen K-edge spectra, furthermore, it is found out that the charge compensation for the electron exchange can be achieved at oxygen site as well as Ni site.",battery
"Daily exposure to PM2.5 in developing countries has not been thoroughly studied partly due to limited resources available. In this research, personal PM2.5 exposures in urban communities in Indonesia were examined using a low-cost sensor, AS-LUNG. Fifty subjects were recruited in both wet and dry seasons. Their personal PM2.5 concentrations, environmental temperature, and relative humidity were measured using corrected AS-LUNG Portable worn or placed in their vicinity. Details on their activities and locations, air quality (air pollution sources), and weather conditions during monitoring were recorded in time-activity diaries completed at 30 min intervals. Results revealed mosquito coil burning as the source of highest exposure, reaching 241.5 μg/m3 but with significant difference between wet and dry seasons. With ambient PM2.5 and relative humidity controlled for, mosquito coil burning contributed 12.02 μg/m3 and 4.84 μg/m3 of personal PM2.5 exposure in wet and dry season, respectively, which was several times higher than the contribution from vehicle emission. The second most contributive source was factory smoke, which increased 4.99 μg/m3 and 3.17 μg/m3 of exposure in wet and dry season, respectively. Findings on contributive factors of high daily personal exposures can serve as useful references for formulating policies and recommendations on exposure reduction and health protection.
",non-battery
"Capsule endoscopy has recently been introduced to explore endoscopically the whole small intestine, fulfilling a gap between examinations of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. The technique consists of a miniaturized endoscope, embedded in a swallowable capsule that is propulsed by peristalsis and achieves the journey to the right colon in five to eight hours. Images captured by the capsule are recorded on a hard drive worn in a belt by the patient. The main indication for capsule examination is the examination of the small bowel to find a bleeding lesion in patients with obscure bleeding. Several studies have shown that the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy is superior to that of push enteroscopy in this indication. Other possible indications are patients with suspected intestinal location of Crohn's disease, familial adenomatous polyposis, complicated coeliac disease and lesions due NSAIDs. The review contains information on the technical aspects of capsule endoscopy and discusses the indications. Issues of safety and tolerance are also discussed.",non-battery
"The addition of supplementary carbon to lead–acid batteries that are intended for use in emerging automotive duties can provide improvement in two aspects of performance. (i) In both hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles that are designed to preserve energy through the operation of regenerative-braking, conventional lead–acid batteries exhibit a rapid decline in the efficiency of the recuperative charging (which can involve rates up to 30C1 ) and fail quickly as a result of an accumulation of lead sulfate on the negative plate. It has been widely reported that supplementary carbon — either intimately mixed with the negative active-material or included as a separate component attached to the plate — can enhance charge-acceptance. (ii) Full-hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles employ high-voltage batteries composed of large numbers of cells connected in series. Consequently, when conventional lead–acid batteries are used in such configurations, the continuous cycling encountered in normal driving will almost certainly lead to divergence in the states-of-charge of the unit cells and thereby demand periodic equalization charges. In this application, it has been demonstrated that lead–acid batteries with supplementary carbon incorporated into the negative plate are rendered immune to the divergence problem and therefore operate without the need for an equalization charge. The inclusion of supplementary carbon does, however, promote hydrogen evolution and failure due to the loss of water from the electrolyte solution. Current research efforts are directed towards methods by which this disadvantage can be mitigated without losing the benefits that the addition of carbon provides. This review covers the extensive research that has been conducted to understand the mechanism by which the additional carbon operates, the additional studies that have sought to identify the best types and optimum amounts of carbon that should be used, together with the most effective manner for their deployment.",battery
"A silicon film was deposited on a Ni or Cu foil in vacuum up to a thickness of 4μm and the Li insertion/extraction behaviour was evaluated under constant current charge/discharge in an electrolyte solution of propylene carbonate containing 1M LiClO4. The surface of a 30μm thick Ni foil was roughened by etching with FeCl3. The Li insertion/extraction performance was strongly dependent on the roughness factor. A thick silicon film is necessary for practical application. However, the cycle performance as well as the Li accommodation capacity was markedly depressed when the film thickness was increased. We found that the roughening of the substrate surface was a key factor for attaining good performance with a thick film. Surface roughening was found to be very effective, but the best performance was obtained by the use of an electrolytically deposited Cu foil on which a silicon film was vacuum-deposited rapidly.",battery
"Enzyme-based biofuel cells implanted into living lobsters or designed as fluidic systems mimicking human blood circulation were used for powering electronic devices. Two lobsters with implanted biofuel cells connected in series were able to generate open circuit voltage (Voc) up to 1.2 V and an electrical watch, selected as a model electronic device, was activated by the power extracted from the “living battery”. The fluidic system composed of five cells filled with human serum solution connected in series generated Voc of ca. 3 V and was able to power a pacemaker. Sustainable operation of the pacemaker was achieved with the system closely mimicking human physiological conditions characteristic of normal and pathophysiological glucose concentrations with the fluidic rate typical for a blood circulation upon resting or performing physical exercises. While the “cyborg” lobsters demonstrate a model system with future possible military, homeland security and environmental monitoring applications, the system activating a pacemaker presents practicality for biomedical applications. The first demonstration of the pacemaker activated by the physiologically produced electrical energy shows promise for future electronic implantable medical devices powered by electricity harvested from the human body.
",battery
"Li-rich layered oxides (LRLO) with high specific capacity over 250 mA h g−1 are attractive cathode material candidates for the next-generation high performance lithium-ion batteries. However, LRLO always suffers from low initial Coulombic efficiency, poor cycling and rate properties. Herein, unique double-shell LRLO hollow microspheres with sandwich-like carbon@spinel@layered@spinel@carbon shells (LRLO-500@S@C) were successfully synthesized via a facile template-free method, followed by carbothermal reduction treatment. The fabricated LRLO-500@S@C cathode delivers a high initial charge capacity of 312.5 mA h g−1 with a large initial Coulombic efficiency of 89.7%. After cycling 200 times, large and stable discharge capacities of 228.3 mA h g−1 and 196.1 mA h g−1 can be obtained at 1.0 C and 5.0 C, respectively. Moreover, coin-type full cell with LRLO-500@S@C as cathode and Li4Ti5O12 as anode delivers outstanding lithium storage properties. The impressive electrochemical performances of LRLO-500@S@C cathode material can be attributed to its multiscale coordinated design based on hierarchical double-shell hollow construction, the special layered@spinel@carbon heterostructured shells and the introduced oxygen vacancies, which benefit to shorten Li-ion diffusion paths, strengthen structural stability and reduce side reactions.",battery
"Amotivation is a major determinant of functional outcome in schizophrenia but it is understudied in the early course of illness. There is a paucity of longitudinal research investigating predictors of amotivation. In this study, we aimed to examine baseline cognitive and clinical predictors of amotivation at 6 and 12 months of follow-up in patients aged 18–55 years presenting with first-episode DSM-IV schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (FES). Of 145 patients recruited at intake, 116 and 113 completed assessments at 6- and 12-month follow-up, respectively. Amotivation was measured by avolition-apathy and anhedonia-asociality subscale scores of the Scale of the Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Cognitive assessment was administered at baseline. As executive dysfunction has been more consistently found to be associated with negative symptoms and amotivation in prior literature, we adopted fractionated approach to subdivide executive function into distinct components encompassing switching and flexibility, response initiation, response inhibition, planning and strategy allocation, sustained attention and working memory. Our results showed that baseline amotivation (p = 0.01) and switching and flexibility (p = 0.01) were found to independently predict amotivation at 6 months follow-up. Baseline amotivation (p < 0.01) and switching and flexibility (albeit with trend-wise significance, p = 0.06) were also retained in final multivariate regression model for 12-month amotivation prediction. No other executive components or cognitive domains predicted amotivation at follow-up. Findings of our study thus indicate amotivation at initial presentation as a critical determinant of subsequent motivational deficits over 1 year of treatment for FES patients. Cognitive flexibility might be specifically related to the development of amotivation in the early stage of illness.
",non-battery
"To develop high-capacity anode materials for lithium-ion batteries with long cycle life, SiOx@C composite nanorods are fabricated by a template assisted hydrothermal route followed by pyrolysis, using ethyltriethoxysilanes (EtSi(OEt)3), resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as starting materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy (RA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and elemental analysis (EA) are employed to characterize the morphology, microstructure and composition of the as-prepared composite. The composite shows a rod-like morphology, which is composed of 65.4 wt% SiOx (x = 1.12) and 34.6 wt% C, and individual rod contains numerous interconnected nanospheres. When used as anodes in lithium-ion batteries, the SiOx@C nanorods exhibit a discharge capacity of about 720 mAh g−1 after 350 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to the enhanced conductivity and unique material structure of the composite.",battery
"The actual applications of lithium sulfur (LiS) batteries are significantly obstructed by limited cyclability and low volumetric-energy-density due to the shuttling effect of polysulfides and low mass density of sulfur cathode. Herein, we report a free-standing, compact, conductive and integrated cathode (G/CNT-S//G/CNT), constructed by compressing graphene/carbon nanotubes (G/CNT) aerogels, simultaneously serving as bi-functionalities of binder- and metal-current-collector-free sulfur host (G/CNT-S) and interlayer (G/CNT), for high volumetric-energy-density LiS batteries. The G/CNT aerogels display three-dimensional interconnected porous network, large surface area (363 m2 g−1) and high electrical conductivity (67 S m−1), which can endow the cathode with ultrahigh volumetric mass density (1.64 g cm−3) and superior electron-ion transport network. Meanwhile, the compressed ultralight G/CNT film can act as flexible interlayer for synergistically suppressing the polysulfide shuttling via both chemical interaction and physical restriction. Consequently, the compact cathodes, achieve high capacity of 1286 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and long-term cyclability with an extremely low decay rate of 0.06% over 500 cycles at 2 C. Most importantly, our compact cathodes represent unprecedented volumetric capacity of 1841 Ah L−1 and volumetric-energy-density of 2482 Wh L−1, both of which are the highest values of LiS batteries reported to date. Therefore, this proposed strategy will open a new avenue for developing high volumetric-energy-density LiS batteries.",battery
"Public transfers are designed with the idea of reducing poverty and inequality among specific population groups. The National Transfers Account methodology suggests the use of household head education (HHE) as a poverty proxy in the construction of profiles by socio-economic status. Considering the higher levels of inequality in developing countries, we construct and check inequality and intergenerational transfers using an alternative measure based on variables not endogenous to the underlying idea of intergenerational transfers: a Multidimensional Quality of Life Index (MQLI). We apply the methodology to a developing country, Colombia, and show that inequality and disparities in intergenerational transfers are best understood when using the MQLI.",non-battery
"We report 4 cases of Health Workers (HW) suspected of having contracted Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), transported from the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in N’Zerekore, Guinea to the Treatment Centre for Carers run by the medical corps of the French army in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, which was established on 17 January 2015 and closed on 7 July 2015. In total more than 500 HWs have died from EVD since the epidemic began. This mortality has had significant effects on the ability of local services to respond appropriately to the disaster. The HWs were transported by air in the “Human Stretcher Transit Isolator-Total Containment (Oxford) Limited” (HSTI-TCOL) negative pressure isolation pod. Medical evacuation of patients with suspected, potentially fatal, infectious diseases is feasible with the use of a light isolator for patients without critical dysfunctions.",non-battery
"This study tested the hypothesis that a host mucogenic response to an intestinal coccidial infection promotes the onset of necrotic enteritis (NE). A chick NE model was used in which birds were inoculated with Eimeria acervulina and E. maxima and subsequently with Clostridium perfringens (EAM/CP). A second group of EAM/CP-infected birds was treated with the ionophore narasin (NAR/EAM/CP). These groups were compared to birds that were either non-infected (NIF), or infected only with E. acervulina and E. maxima (EAM), or C. perfringens (CP). The impact of intestinal coccidial infection and anti-coccidial treatment on host immune responses and microbial community structure were evaluated with histochemical-, cultivation- and molecular-based techniques. Barrier function was compromised in EAM/CP-infected birds as indicated by elevated CFUs for anaerobic bacteria and C. perfringens in the spleen when compared to NIF controls at day 20, with a subsequent increase in intestinal NE lesions and mortality at day 22. These results correlate positively with a host inflammatory response as evidenced by increased ileal interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and IFN-γ RNA expression. Concurrent increases in chicken intestinal mucin RNA expression, and goblet cell number and theca size indicate that EAM/CP induced an intestinal mucogenic response. Correspondingly, the growth of mucolytic bacteria and C. perfringens as well as α toxin production was greatest in EAM/CP-infected birds. The ionophore narasin, which directly eliminates coccidia, reduced goblet cell theca size, IL-10 and IFN-γ expression, the growth of mucolytic bacteria including C. perfringens, coccidial and NE lesions and mortality in birds that were co-infected with coccidia and C. perfringens. Collectively the data support the hypothesis that coccidial infection induces a host mucogenic response providing a growth advantage to C. perfringens, the causative agent of NE.",non-battery
"Uniform conducting polymer films of poly(N-(1-Naphthyl) ethylene-diamine dihydrochloride), PNED, were prepared conveniently and reproducibly by the anodic oxidation of the monomer, N-(1-Naphthyl) ethylene-diamine dihydrochloride, NED, in an acidic aqueous solution using the conventional potentiodynamic technique. The different parameters influencing the preparation conditions like monomer concentration, solvent constitution, scan range, scan rate, scan repetition, rotation speed of the working electrode and the type of the substrate were investigated and the optimum preparation conditions are specified. The stability of the prepared films was tested in both aqueous and non-aqueous media. The characteristics of the polymer films and their electrochemical activity towards catalyzing some technologically promising redox reactions were also examined. The films were found to be very stable in aqueous solutions and in some organic solvents like acetone, acetonitrile, and chloroform and dimethyl sulfoxide. The film stability was found to depend on the solution pH. The polymer films were capable of catalyzing the redox processes of several natural products and amino acids e.g. vitamin C and glycine. The polymer film possesses electrochromic properties and the color of the film changes from purple to violet to dark blue and then to brown according to the preparation and/or polarization conditions. The electrochromic properties are related to polaron formation, which subsequently oxidizes to diimine species followed by the oxidation of the aromatic ring. The mechanism of the polymerization process was investigated and discussed. The process involves deprotonation reactions and a head-to-tail coupling of the oxidized monomer with cation radicals.
",battery
"Graphene and polypyrrole composite (PPy/GNS) is synthesized via in situ polymerization of pyrrole monomer in the presence of graphene under acid conditions. The structure and morphology of the composite are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X-rays photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is found that a uniform composite is formed with polypyrrole being homogeneously surrounded by graphene nanosheets (GNS). The composite is a promising candidate for supercapacitors to have higher specific capacitance, better rate capability and cycling stability than those of pure polypyrrole. The specific capacitance of PPy/GNS composite based on the three-electrode cell configuration is as high as 482Fg−1 at a current density of 0.5Ag−1. After 1000 cycles, the attenuation of the specific capacitance is less than 5%, indicating that composite has excellent cycling performance.",battery
"Thermal runaway (TR) propagation in a large format lithium ion battery pack can cause disastrous consequences and thus deserves study on preventing it. A lumped thermal model that can predict and help prevent TR propagation in a battery module using 25Ah LiNi x Co y Mn z O2 large format lithium ion batteries has been built in this paper. The TR propagation model consists of 6 fully-charged single batteries connected through thermal resistances and can fit experiment data well. The modeling analysis focuses on discussing the influences on the TR propagation process caused by changes in different critical modeling parameters. The modeling analysis suggests possible solutions to postpone and prevent TR propagation. The simulation shows that it might be better to choose proper parameters that help prevent TR propagation rather than just postpone it, because a delay in the TR propagation process leads to a higher level of heat gathering which may cause severer thermal hazards. To prevent TR propagation, the model provides some substantial quantified solutions: (1) raise the TR triggering temperature to higher than 469°C; (2) reduce the total electric energy released during massive internal short circuit to 75% or less of its original value; (3) enhance the heat dissipation by increasing the heat dissipation coefficient to higher than 70Wm−2 K−1; (4) add extra thermal resistant layers between adjacent batteries with a thickness of 1mm and a thermal conductivity less than 0.2Wm−1 K−1. One implementation, which is verified by experiment, is to insert thermal resistant layer between adjacent batteries to prevent TR propagation in the battery module.",battery
"The lithium salt, bis(oxalato)borate, LiBC4O8 (LiBOB), is one of the most important Li salts which are explored today in connection with R & D of novel, high energy density rechargeable Li batteries. The thermal stability of this salt in the temperature range of 40–350°C was rigorously studied by accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD, FTIR, SEM, and ICP were used to analyze the products of its thermal decomposition reactions. Studies by DSC and pressure measurements during ARC experiments with LiBOB detected an endothermic reaction with an onset at ∼293°C, involving a complete irreversible decomposition of the LiBOB in which gaseous products are formed. In the first stage, Li2C2O4 (crystalline), B2O3 (glass), CO and CO2 gases are formed in both confined and open volumes. The next (final) stage in the thermal reactions is an irreversible formation of lithium triborate LiB3O5 (glass).",non-battery
"The prevalence of mental disorders is growing in Europe. It is important to identify persons at risk, screen them and undertake a triage for stepped care procedures (DMP) for ambulatory and inpatient treatments. A responder/non-responder-analysis should identify those patients who could benefit from the different treatment procedures and who need specialised and intensive psychosomatic and psychtherapeutic care, also to be cost efficient. We therefore looked at characteristics, diagnoses, treatment histories, symptom load, motivational and social factors, personal traits, strain and stresses, regulation capacities, psychobiological features and other aspects in 3825 patients, who were administered to a newly founded Centre of Excellence for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy in Austria. All patients were diagnosed according ICD-10 and DSM-IV, answered questionnaires within a standardised core battery, underwent somatic and psychological diagnostic procedures and then received treatments according to the international guidelines for mental and psychosomatic disorders. We closely looked at effect sizes of the treatments on different levels and administered a modified regression analyses (GAM), as well as additional factor and latent cluster analysis, to identify factors and moderator variables predicting therapeutic outcome. Symptom load, dimensions of personality and interpersonal problems are critical factors in predicting outcome.",non-battery
"Poly(ethylene glycol) borate acrylate (PEGBA) was synthesized as a new crosslinking agent for solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) based on non-woven matrix. It has not only three crosslinkable acrylate groups for higher crosslinking density, but also Lewis acid center acting as an anion receptor. The ionic conductivity of SPE containing 15wt.% PEGBA reached 5.5×10−4 Scm−1, because the content of non-volatile plasticizer, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME), could be increased to 85wt.% without leakage. In addition, its transference number and electrochemical stability were also enhanced to 0.37 and 5.2V, respectively, due to the presence of Lewis acid center in PEGBA.",battery
"Ultrathin layered nanomaterials show promising advantages to promote the Li+ diffusion kinetics, however, the self-aggregation/stacking of nanomaterials lead to large capacity loss and limited rate capability, which urgently needs to be addressed. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) novel vanadium oxide (H2V3O8) hydrogel nanostructure composed of intertwined ultrathin nanoribbons and self-coiled nanoscrolls, synthesized by a universal modified liquid exfoliation method. The hydrogels display largely enhanced rate capability and cycling stability, compared to those of the pure nanowires and nanoribbons. Based on the geometrical features of hydrogels, the intertwined hydrogels/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) flexible film is fabricated and delivers remarkable lithium storage performance: a high capacity of 310mAhg−1 at 0.1Ag−1, excellent rate capability (145mAhg−1 at 12Ag−1) and stable cycling performance. Moreover, at a high mass loading up to 13mgcm−2, the hydrogels/CNTs film delivers an area capacity ~ 2.7mAhcm−2 (at 0.91mAcm−2), high rate capability (an area capacity of 1.16mAhcm−2 at 18.2mAcm−2). The scalable hydrogels/CNTs films provide a promising route towards high performance flexible electrodes at high mass loading.",battery
" The Finnish neurological function testing battery for dogs (FINFUN) was developed to meet the increasing demand for objective outcome measures in veterinary physiotherapy. The testing battery should provide consistent, reproducible results and have established face and content validity. Internal consistency and intra- and inter-rater reliability of the FINFUN were also investigated.",non-battery
"Recently, Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) derived carbon-based materials have attract wide interest in electrochemical devices due to their large surface area and favorable conductivity. In this work, instead of using MOFs for direct carbon sources, we employed vanadium metal-organic framework (MIL-101(V)) precursor as both carbon sources and vanadium sources for synthesizing carbon-coated Li3V2(PO4)3 nanocomposites (LVP@M-101). The electrochemical property of LVP@M-101 has been investigated as cathode electrode at a voltage of 3.0–4.8 vs Li+/Li, to compare with Li3V2(PO4)3 prepared using V2O5. It is shown that the composite material displays a remarkably improved electrochemical stability with a high reversible capacity of 113.1 and 105.8 mA h g−1 at the rate of 0.5C and 1C after 1000 cycles, together with a superior rate performance at various current densities from 0.1C to 10C. Moreover, we have applied ex-situ PXRD and EPR spectroscopy to investigate the lithiation/delithiation process of LVP@M-101 electrode. Through detailed characterizations and electrochemical tests, we believe that the novel nanocomposites LVP@M-101 retain the two-phase transition nature of Li3V2(PO4)3 and the enhanced cathodic performance in lithium-ion battery is largely due to its unique structural stability.",battery
"The LiCoO2 particle with TiO2 coating presents improved columbic efficiency, overcharge performance, rate capability and cycling stability at high voltage. To gain deeper insight into the performance improvement mechanism of the TiO2-coated LiCoO2 cathode materials, the first-principles calculation combined with single particle microelectrode technique are employed in this work. The first-principles calculation is firstly used to simulate the bulk structure, electronic properties and lithium ion diffusion of TiO2-coated LiCoO2 at different delithiation states, while the microelectrode technique is used to evaluate the thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors of TiO2-coated LiCoO2 on a single particle level without interference of binder, conductive agent, and porous structure of the electrode. It has been revealed that from thermodynamics point of view, the improved electrochemical performance of TiO2-coated LiCoO2 can be ascribed to the reduced surface oxygen activity and surface oxygen loss, which should suppress the electrolyte decomposition and layered structure degradation of LiCoO2 at high voltage. From kinetics point of view, the increased Li-slab space and decreased Li ion transfer activation energy barrier facilitate Li ion diffusion in the solid state of LiCoO2 and Li ion transfer across the solid/electrolyte interphase.",battery
"Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based gel electrolyte has been used in flexible lithium batteries. These batteries are flexible and less than 0.5mm thick, which make them suitable as power sources for smart cards and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. We investigated the electrochemical properties of flexible lithium batteries using an impedance analyzer and potentiostat/galvanostat to evaluate the electrical capacities. To prevent the formation of gas by decomposition of electrolyte solvent, the batteries had to be pre-discharged about 5% of theoretical MnO2 capacity. Of the three kinds of pre-discharging methods, especially, battery two-step pre-discharging method was performed showed the best electrical properties after storage at 60°C for 60 days.",battery
"Recently, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) are becoming more attractive than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). Hence, design and modeling of charging stations (CSs) has vital importance in distribution system level. In this paper, a new formulation for PHEV charging stations is presented with the strategic presence of wind power generation (WPG). This study considers constraints of the system losses, the regulatory voltage limits, and the charge/discharge schedule of PHEV based on the social behavior of drivers for appropriate placement of PHEV charging stations in electricity grid. The role of CSs and WPG units must be correctly assessed to optimize the investment and operation cost for the whole system. However, the wind generation owners (WGOs) have different objective functions which might be contrary to the objectives of distribution system manager (DSM). It is assumed that aggregating and management of charge/discharge program of PHEVs are smartly carried out by DSM. This paper presents a long-term bi-objective model for optimal planning of PHEV charging stations and WPG units in distribution systems which simultaneously optimize two objectives, namely the benefits of DSM and WGO. It also considers the uncertainty of load growth, electricity price and PHEV access to the charging station using Mont-Carlo simulation (MCS) method. Initial state of charge uncertainty is also modeled based on scenario approach in PHEV batteries and wind turbine power generation using weibull distribution. Non dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to solve the optimization problem. The simulation has been conducted on the nine-bus system.",battery
"In this work, we present a self-powered and on-demand transdermal drug delivery system driven by triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). A miniaturized TENG and a home-built power management circuit were designed to trigger the electric-responsive drug carrier for controlled drug release, as well as to activate the iontophoresis treatment for enhanced drug delivery efficiency. In the system, the TENG can harvest electricity from bio-mechanical energy, and the power management circuit is able to store, adjust, and stabilize the electricity for on-demand drug release actions. Our results demonstrate that the on-demand drug release can be simply realized by operating the TENG. Manually rotating the TENG (30–40 rpm) for 1.5 min can release a drug dosage of 3 μg/cm2. Furthermore, the system has achieved tunable drug release rate for the transdermal drug delivery: the rate can be tuned from 0.05 to 0.25 μg/cm2 per minute by changing the duration of TENG charging or the resistance of the power management circuit. In addition, ex vivo experiments on porcine skin validate the performance of such TENG-based drug delivery system with ∼50% enhancement over conventional transdermal patches. The proposed system is intended to provide patients with an easy approach to achieve customized rate and dosage of drug release.",battery
"Injury to the liver results in rapid induction of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) consistent with a role for TGF-β1 in repairing damaged tissue. In addition to its ubiquitous role in injury repair, TGF-β1 is also well established as a critical regulator of immune homeostasis; however, its mechanisms of action remain enigmatic. We have previously demonstrated that the hepatotoxic chlorinated hydrocarbon, carbon tetrachloride, suppresses helper T-lymphocyte function in a TGF-β1-dependent manner. Here, we report that, in opposition to its immunosuppressive effects at picomolar concentrations, femtomolar concentrations of TGF-β1 augment T cell-dependent anti-sRBC IgM antibody forming cell (AFC) and T cell-independent DNP-Ficoll-induced AFC responses. These data support a concentration-dependent bifunctional effect by TGF-β1 on humoral immune responses in vitro. We further investigated a putative mechanistic role for Smad3, an intracellular mediator of TGF-β1 signaling, in propagating the inhibitory effects of TGF-β1 on humoral immune responses. Relative to wild type littermates, splenocytes from mice homologous for a null mutation in the gene encoding the TGF-β receptor-activated Smad3 (Smad3Exon8−/−) were less sensitive to inhibition by TGF-β1 following anti-sRBC- and LPS-sensitization in vitro. In agreement, inhibition of IgM protein production by TGF-β1 was also dampened in LPS-sensitized Smad3Exon8−/− splenic B cells. Moreover, stimulation of IgA by TGF-β1 was abrogated in LPS-sensitized Smad3Exon8−/− splenocytes suggesting an additional role for Smad3 in regulating IgA production in vitro. Our results suggest that the effects of TGF-β1 on humoral immune responses fundamentally differ in a concentration-dependent manner and are mediated, in part, through Smad3 signaling.",non-battery
"The present study assessed the possibility of assisting four persons with multiple disabilities to move through and perform simple occupational activities arranged within a room with the help of automatic prompting. The study involved two multiple probe designs across participants. The first multiple probe concerned the two participants with blindness or minimal vision and deafness, who received air blowing as a prompt. The second multiple probe concerned the two participants with blindness and typical hearing who received a voice calling as a prompt. Initially, all participants had baseline sessions. Then intervention started with the first participant of each dyad. When their performance was consolidated, new baseline and intervention occurred with the second participant of each dyad. Finally, all four participants were exposed to a second intervention phase, in which the number of activities per session doubled (i.e., from 8 to 16). Data showed that all four participants: (a) learned to move across and perform the activities available with the help of automatic prompting and (b) remained highly successful through the second intervention phase when the sessions were extended. Implications of the findings are discussed.",non-battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the metals and the characteristics of zinc-air primary cells, zinc-air secondary batteries, and iron-air secondary batteries. In relation to their physical size, zinc-air batteries store more energy per unit of weight than any other primary type. The zinc-air system is capable of operating down to -18°C and giving 80% of the 21°C performance at this lower temperature. Zinc-air secondary rechargeable batteries are still in development phase. Experimental cells have given 155-175Wh&g at the C/5 rate of discharge. These energy densities are approximately twice those of many of the best existing rechargeable systems. Further, cadmium-air secondary batteries are also in development phase. The cadmium-air system has a theoretical energy density of 445 W h&g. The cadmium anode used is the type that has demonstrated good stability and low self-discharge in other alkaline systems, such as the nickel-cadmium battery. In addition to this aluminium-air secondary batteries is discussed.",battery
"Bariatric surgery has been recommended as a treatment for patients with clinically severe obesity (National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel, 1992). Although surgery leads to significant, long-term weight loss for a majority of patients, 20% of patients fail to lose a significant amount of weight or experience significant weight regain (Benotti & Forse, 1995). Currently, there is little evidence to suggest who will or will not achieve satisfactory weight loss after bariatric surgery. In this article, we provide background information on the procedures of gastric bypass and gastroplasty, the associated risks and complications, and outcomes. We review studies on the relationship of psychological variables to weight loss after operation, including recent findings that binge eating may be associated with poorer long-term outcomes. We outline several important roles the cognitive behavior therapist can play in treating individuals in the preoperative, postoperative, and longer-term adjustment phases. The cognitive behavior therapist can make a significant contribution to the management of the bariatric surgery patient and in the development and evaluation of interventions to enhance compliance and maximize weight loss, psychosocial functioning, and health-related quality of life after surgery.",non-battery
"A simple and cost-effective morphogenetic route has been developed for the fabrication of a hierarchically nanostructured “cellulose” MoO2 monolith in large qualities, whereby the cotton texture acts as both a template and a stabilizer. The MoO2 monolith possesses hierarchical porosity and an interconnected framework, which is demonstrated to be useful as a binder-free anode in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with both high specific capacity of 719.1 mA h g−1 and good reversibility. Our single-component anode for lithium-storage devices also benefits from a simplified fabrication process and reduced manufacturing cost, in comparison with conventional multicomponent electrodes that are fabricated from a mixture of polymer binders and active materials. The present morphogenetic strategy is facile but effective, and therefore it is very promising for large-scale industrial production. It can be extended to prepare other metal oxides with elaborate textural characteristics.
",battery
"The purpose of the present paper is to analyze the results of the impact of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in Convergence regions over the 2007–2013 on separate collection rate of Italian regions. The aim is twofold: propose a groundbreaking analysis that allows us to control both for the effectiveness of the Regulation (EC) No. 1080/2006, by a Difference in differences equation (DID), and the Regions’ efficiency in the separate collection process, by a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Specifically, the SFA allows us to model the DID equation in order to take account the regions’ efficiency in the separate collection process in terms of institutional quality. In particular, we use a panel with two dimensions: temporal—9 yearly observations from 2004 to 2012; and cross-sectional—20 regions. The estimates suggest that ERDF have not contributed to reducing the structural divide in Italy and its managerial slack has triggered in the failure of the convergence objective. Policy implications are discussed.
",non-battery
"Various aspects in the lithium battery field have been explored in our group: (i) uniform and dense thin films of LiMn2O4 up to 0.5μm thickness have been synthesized by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD). The electrochemical properties of these films were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy under a variety of experimental conditions. (ii) The kinetic and transport properties of lithium insertion/extraction of numerous sphere-shaped single particles have been also evaluated by transient techniques as well as by ac-impedance spectroscopy. (iii) Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) technique was employed to study the low capacity fading of LiMn2O4 at elevated temperatures in LiPF6 containing solutions. It has been confirmed that this phenomenon is due to the manganese dissolution promoted by acidic species (HF) originated from the reaction of LiPF6 with water. (iv) Alternative materials were sought to replace the actual LiCoO2 or LiMn2O4. Among them: Li1.1Mn1.9O4, LiNi0.85Co0.15O2 and Li1.10Mn1.852Cr0.048O4. Interestingly, Li1.10Mn1.852Cr0.048O4 exhibited no significant capacity fading even in the 1M LiPF6/PC–EC (1:1) solution at 50°C upon 50cycles of charge/discharge.",battery
"Separator as an important part of lithium-ion batteries, allowing the ion to transfer and preventing the direct contact of anode with cathode, determines the safety of the batteries. In this work, a kind of polypropylene/hydrophobic silica-aerogel-composite (SAC) separator is fabricated through combining hydrophobic silica aerogel and polypropylene (PP) separator. The rationally designed SAC effectively increases the thermal stability of the separator with slightly growing weight (the area retention rate is 30% higher than that of the PP separator after being heated for 30 min at 160 °C). In addition, the hydrophobic silica aerogel layer in SAC significantly improves the wettability of PP separator to electrolyte owning to the introduced hydrophobic functional groups of -Si(CH3)3 and porous structure, and the contact angles of SAC separator to several common organic electrolytes (EC/DMC, DMC/DOL, Diglyme) are close to 0°. Electrochemical tests show that the prepared SAC separator can decrease the polarization of Li-ion batteries and leads to improved power performance and cycle stability. And the SAC separator is firm with neglectable abscission after folding 200 times. This work provides a new way to improve the safety and simultaneously reduce the polarization of the batteries, implying promising application potential in power batteries.",battery
"Fast lithium-ion conducting garnet-type metal oxides are promising membranes for next-generation all-solid-state Li batteries and beyond Li-ion batteries, including Li-air and Li-S batteries, due to their high total Li-ion conductivity and excellent chemical stability against reaction with elemental Li. Several studies have been reported on structure-chemical composition-ionic conductivity property in Li-stuffed garnet-type metal oxides. Here, an overview of the chemical and electrochemical stability of lithium-based garnets against moisture/humidity, aqueous solutions, carbon dioxide, sulfur, and metallic lithium are analyzed. Moisture and aqueous stability studies focus on understanding the crystal structure stability, the proton exchange capacity as a function of Li content in Li-stuffed garnets, and how the protonated species affect the crystal structure and mass transport properties. H+/Li+ exchange was found to be in the range of 2–100%. Stability concerning Li-ion conductivity and morphology under carbon dioxide are discussed. Interfacial chemical stability with lithium metal characterized by electrochemical stability window, Li dendrite formation and area specific resistance (ASR) for the reaction L i ⇌ L i + + e − are presented. Recent attempts to suppress dendrite formation and to reduce ASR via surface modification are also highlighted. Li and Li-stuffed garnet interface ASR values are shown to be as high as >2000 Ω cm2 and as low as 1 Ω cm2 at room temperature for surface modified Li-stuffed samples. Furthermore, recent studies on Li-S battery utilizing chemically stable Li – garnet electrolyte are also discussed.",battery
"Addition of iso-propanol in the aqueous electrolyte of 1.0mol/L Na2SO4 was found to be most effective at about 8vol.% to minimise electrolyte surface tension, and hence maximise electrolyte wetting on a commercial supercapacitor grade activated carbon powder. The wetting improvement was further studied on die-pressed cylindrical thin pellets of polytetrafluoroethylene bonded activated carbon powder at three different apparent densities (0.70, 0.55 and 0.35g/cm3) using adsorption isotherm, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Enhanced charge storage performance of the activated carbon at 0.70 and 0.55g/cm3 in apparent density was observed in electrolyte containing iso-propanol. The effect of iso-propanol became more prominent at high polarisation potentials. However, at the lowest density (0.35g/cm3) studied, the capacitance decreased in the presence of iso-propanol, which can be attributed to the iso-propanol molecules entering the nano-pores of the activated carbon particles. In symmetrical supercapacitors with the dense activated carbon electrodes, addition of iso-propanol to the aqueous electrolyte increased the cell voltage, specific energy and maximum specific power from 1.5 to 2.0V, 7.34 to 12.44Wh/kg, and 3.96 to 12.35kW/kg, respectively, under comparable conditions.",battery
"The Li+ concentration and Li+ transport channel size of garnet-type solid electrolyte Li7La3Zr2O12 are the two key factors associated with the improvement of Li ionic conductivity. Through precise control of the Li+ concentration and the Li+ transport channel size by Ta-doping (Li7-XLa3Zr2-XTaXO12, X = 0.2–1.0), synergistic regulation of the two factors is achieved. Results show that the optimum Li+ concentration seems to be at about 6.31 where the Li+ occupancy in LiO6 is high and the Li+ arrangement in LiO4 is disordering. With the Li+ concentration higher than 6.31, the occupancy in LiO4 sites remains constant but the Li+ arrangement in LiO4 becomes more and more ordering. At higher Li+ concentration of 6.52, Li+ arrangement becomes certain of ordering which should have reduced the grain conductivity, however, the grain conductivity is still as high as 9.84 × 10−4 S cm−1. This indicates that LLZO with this Li+ concentration have favorable Li+ transport channel size. The optimum Li+ transport channel size is about 12.95 ± 0.01 Å. At Li+ concentration of 6.31, the proper Li+ concentration is the main factor for the high grain ionic conductivity of 10.1 × 10−4 S cm−1. While at Li+ concentration of 6.52, the suitable Li+ transport channel size is the main factor for the high grain ionic conductivity. In conclusion, the high grain ionic conductivity at Li+ concentration of 6.31–6.52 is due to the synergistic regulation of Li+ concentration and Li+ transport channel size.",battery
"Herein we investigate a lithium sulfur battery suitably combining alternative cathode design and relatively safe, highly conductive electrolyte. The composite cathode is formed by infiltrating sulfur in a N-doped 3D graphene framework prepared by a microwave assisted solvothermal approach, while the electrolyte is obtained by dissolving lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (LiTFSI) in diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DEGDME), and upgraded by addition of lithium nitrate (LiNO3) as a film forming agent. The particular structure of the composite cathode, studied in this work by employing various techniques, well enhances the lithium-sulfur electrochemical process leading to very stable cycling trend and specific capacity ranging from 1000 mAh g−1 at the highest rate to 1400 mAh g−1 at the lowest one. The low resistance of the electrode/electrolyte interphase, driven by an enhanced electrode design and a suitable electrolyte, is considered one of the main reasons for the high performance which may be of interest for achieving a promising lithium-sulfur battery. Furthermore, the study reveals a key bonus of the cell represented by the low flammability of the diglyme electrolyte, while comparable conductivity and interface resistance, with respect to the most conventional solution used for the lithium sulfur cell.",battery
"The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon azulene and its naturally occurring derivative guaiazulene (1,4-dimethyl-7-isopropylazulene) are known to absorb light in the UV–vis region of the spectrum. Both compounds were reported to be mutagenic in the Salmonella typhimurium bacterial mutagenicity assay (Ames test) in strain TA102, and to cause DNA damage in the comet assay in vitro upon exposure to UVA light. In contrast, another study reported a photoprotective effect in vitro of guaiazulene. We present here a comprehensive assessment of the photo(cyto)toxicity (3T3 fibroblast Neutral Red uptake test), the photomutagenicity (Ames test) and photogenotoxicity (comet assay and micronucleus test in L5178Y cells in vitro) of azulene. In the Ames test, the mutagenicity of azulene was assessed in the presence and absence of UV light by use of the Salmonella strains TA102, TA104, TA2638 and E. coli WP2. Azulene was irradiated before being plated with bacteria (pre-irradiation), or concomitantly with the bacteria either after plating or while in suspension. Guaiazulene was included in some of the experiments. Neither in the photo-Ames test nor in the other photogenotoxicity tests, azulene or guaiazulene showed any photomutagenic or photogenotoxic activity. Weak photo(cyto)toxicity (estimate of PIF≥1.67) was observed with azulene in the 3T3 NRU test, the Alamar Blue test and the relative cell count, which may be due to the generation of reactive oxygen species, as reported recently.",non-battery
"Time series of in situ gamma spectroscopy data from 6 sites, obtained over a period of 13 years as part of a routine surveillance program, have been investigated for variability, reproducibility and occurrence of trends. Natural isotopes (40K, 208Tl, 212Pb and 214Pb) show variability up to a factor of 2, with time patterns varying from site to site. At five (level) sites 137Cs values decreased at a rate higher than given by the physical half-life, consistent with literature data on migration of Cs. At one (downhill) site, an increase of 137Cs with time was observed. The finding can be explained by erosion processes from uphill territories. The observed variations were larger than the experimental uncertainty, and the equipment long-term stability appeared to be satisfactory. It can be concluded that the obtained routine in situ data provide a valuable data pool with potential usefulness for scientific work.",non-battery
Unknown,non-battery
"The electrolyte is one of the most important components of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), and its stability and solubility determines the energy density of a VRFB. The performance of current positive electrolyte is limited by the low stability of VO2 + at a higher temperature. Phosphate is proved to be a very effective additive to improve the stability of VO2 +. Even though, the stabilizing mechanism is still not clear, which hinders the further development of VRFBs. In this paper, to clarify the effect of phosphate additive on the positive electrolyte stability, the hydration structures of VO2 + cations and the reaction mechanisms of precipitation with or without phosphate in the supporting electrolyte of H2SO4 solutions were investigated in detail based on calculations of electronic structure. The stable configurations of complexes were optimized at the B3LYP/6-311 + G(d,p) level of theory. The zero-point energies and Gibbs free energies for these complexes were further evaluated at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. It shows that a structure of [VO2(H2O)2]+ surrounded by water molecules in H2SO4 solution can be formed at the room temperature. With the temperature rises, [VO2(H2O)2]+ will lose a proton and form the intermediate of VO(OH)3, and the further dehydration among VO(OH)3 molecules will create the precipitate of V2O5. When H3PO4 was added into electrolytes, the V-O-P bond-containing neutral compound could be formed through interaction between VO(OH)3 and H3PO4, and the activation energy of forming the V-O-P bond-containing neutral compound is about 7 kcal mol−1 lower than that of the VO(OH)3 dehydration, which could avoid the precipitation of V2O5 and improve the electrolyte stability.",battery
"For the first time, we report a poly (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl methacrylate) (PTMA)-based organic electrode with 100 wt% active material loading. The electrochemical performance of the PTMA electrode for organic batteries was improved by replacing the aluminum current collector by graphite ones. The use of graphite current collector reduces the cell weight and increases its mechanical flexibility. The resulting battery with the new carbon conductor- and binder-free organic electrode with polyimide-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) displayed significantly higher increased energy density (470 Wh kg−1 vs. cell weight), which is essential for making organic batteries competitive with conventional Li ion batteries.",battery
Polycrystalline samples of NbSb2 have been synthesized and studied as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The reaction mechanism of lithium with NbSb2 is investigated by ex situ XRD and cyclic voltammogram studies. Li3Sb and Nb are formed during first discharge and during charge lithium is extracted from Li3Sb. The first cycle discharge capacity is 420mAhg−1 and first cycle charge capacity is 315mAhg−1.,battery
"The need to reduce energy consumption and electricity expense is the primary driving force behind generating renewable energy for the operation and maintenance of road tunnels. Existing kinetic energy harvesting solutions, such as piezoelectric or mechanical energy harvesting systems, failed to meet the relatively high power demand of road tunnels. Traditional piezoelectric methods only supply micro-electromechanical systems. Their low voltage leads piezoelectric methods to not be applicable in realistic facilities. Due to the transmission loss of energy in a mechanical motion rectifier, mechanical schemes also fail to promote the practical application of renewable kinetic energy harvesting. In this paper, we present a novel high-voltage kinetic energy harvesting system that is installed at the entrance and exit of a road tunnel. It harvests power wasted by vehicles passing over the harvester. The proposed system consists of four main steps: a speed bump and suspension, generator and power storage modules. Acting as the energy input, the speed bump module harvests kinetic energy created by running vehicles. The suspension module resets the speed bump by driving it upwards after vehicles depart from it. Meanwhile, the generator module generates electricity from the kinetic energy collected by the speed bump module. The power storage module rectifies the current and then stores the electrical energy in batteries. The high voltage obtained in the simulation and field tests is a proof that the retrofit mechanism of the energy harvesting system is beneficial and practical in generating energy for use in renewable road tunnels.",battery
"Cost-optimal electricity system configurations with increasing renewable energy penetration were determined in this article for six islands of different geographies, sizes and contexts, utilizing photovoltaic energy, wind energy, pumped hydro storage and battery storage. The results of the optimizations showed strong reasoning for islands to invest in renewable energy technologies (particularly wind energy), as compared to conventional power generation. Levelized cost of systems for electricity generation decrease considerably with increasing renewable energy penetrations, to an optimal point in the range of 40–80% penetration. Furthermore, renewable electricity integration in the order of 60–90% could still be achieved with no added cost from the initial situation. Cost increases after these optimal points are attributed to the growing inclusion of storage, required to meet the higher renewable energy shares. However, with battery costs forecast to fall in the coming years, and a cost reduction of 50–70% already causing lithium-ion batteries to overtake pumped hydro as a cost-favorable storage option in this model, there is a real case for islands to begin their transition in a staged process; first installing wind and PV generation, and then - as storage costs decrease and their renewable energy capacities increase - investing in storage options.",battery
"Transition metal vanadate material has attracted many battery researchers due to its layered type structure enabling facilitated lithium ion insertion/extraction and ability of vanadium to exist in multiple valence states. Cobalt vanadates have been receiving much research attention as superior anode candidates for use in lithium ion batteries with high specific capacity. Here, synthesis of 1-D nanofibers comprised of cobalt vanadate nanocrystals via electrospinning and subsequent thermal treatment in air atmosphere is reported. Heat treatment at various temperatures yielded Co3V2O8 nanocrystals-embedded nanofibers with low and high carbon contents, and carbon-free hollow Co3V2O8 nanofiber and their electrochemical properties were analyzed in detail. The discharge capacity of Co3V2O8 nanocrystals-embedded nanofiber with high carbon content, that with low carbon content, and carbon-free hollow Co3V2O8 nanofiber after 1200 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1 were 541, 735, and 302 mA h g−1, respectively. Co3V2O8 crystals-embedded nanofiber with low carbon content showed the best rate performance; 422 mA h g−1 was achieved at a high current density of 10 A g−1.",battery
"A number of review or survey articles have previously appeared on human action recognition where either vision sensors or inertial sensors are used individually. Considering that each sensor modality has its own limitations, in a number of previously published papers, it has been shown that the fusion of vision and inertial sensor data improves the accuracy of recognition. This survey article provides an overview of the recent investigations where both vision and inertial sensors are used together and simultaneously to perform human action recognition more effectively. The thrust of this survey is on the utilization of depth cameras and inertial sensors as these two types of sensors are cost-effective, commercially available, and more significantly they both provide 3D human action data. An overview of the components necessary to achieve fusion of data from depth and inertial sensors is provided. In addition, a review of the publicly available datasets that include depth and inertial data which are simultaneously captured via depth and inertial sensors is presented.",non-battery
"Thermal management needs to be carefully considered in the lithium-ion battery module design to guarantee the temperature of batteries in operation within a narrow optimal range. This article firstly explores the thermal performance of battery module under different cell arrangement structures, which includes: 1×24, 3×8 and 5×5 arrays rectangular arrangement, 19 cells hexagonal arrangement and 28 cells circular arrangement. In addition, air-cooling strategies are also investigated by installing the fans in the different locations of the battery module to improve the temperature uniformity. Factors that influence the cooling capability of forced air cooling are discussed based on the simulations. The three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method and lumped model of single cell have been applied in the simulation. The temperature distributions of batteries are quantitatively described based on different module patterns, fan locations as well as inter-cell distance, and the conclusions are arrived as follows: when the fan locates on top of the module, the best cooling performance is achieved; the most desired structure with forced air cooling is cubic arrangement concerning the cooling effect and cost, while hexagonal structure is optimal when focus on the space utilization of battery module. Besides, the optimized inter-cell distance in battery module structure has been recommended.",battery
"This manuscript presents the work carried out within the European project ILLIBATT, which was dedicated to the development of green, safe and high performance ionic liquids-based lithium batteries. Different types of ionic liquids-based electrolytes were developed in the project, based on different ionic liquids and polymers. Using these electrolytes, the performance of several anodic and cathodic materials has been tested and promising results have been obtained. Also, electrodes were formulated using water soluble binders. Using these innovative components, lithium-ion and lithium-metal battery prototypes (0.7–0.8Ah) have been assembled and cycled between 100% and 0% SOC. The results of these tests showed that such ionic liquids-based prototypes are able to display high capacity, high coulombic efficiency and high cycle life. Moreover, safety tests showed that the introduction of these alternative electrolytes positively contribute to the safety of the batteries.",battery
"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a transitional stage between normal aging and a diagnosis of clinically probable Alzheimer disease (AD). The role of the cholinergic system in MCI is not clearly defined and needs to be further investigated. A transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol, the short latency afferent inhibition (SAI), may give direct information about the function of some cholinergic pathways in the human motor cortex. We aimed to evaluate in the present study the relationship of SAI to the specific clinical subtypes of MCI. SAI was examined in 20 patients with amnestic MCI (10 SD, 10 MD), twenty patients with nonamnestic MCI (10 SD, 10 MD) and ten control subjects. Motor threshold, central motor conduction time, intracortical inhibition and facilitation to paired-TMS were also evaluated. Mean SAI was significantly reduced in amnestic MCI-MD patients when compared with the controls, while it was not significantly different in amnestic MCI-SD patients and in nonamnestic patients. SAI was increased after administration of a single dose of donepezil in a subgroup of four amnestic MCI-MD patients. The other TMS parameters did not differ significantly between the four MCI groups and the control group. We demonstrated that this putative marker of central cholinergic activity differs among MCI subtypes. The amnestic-MD type of MCI might be a phenotype of incipient AD. However, this hypothesis would be better addressed in a longitudinal study of individual patients. TMS studies may be useful in identifying MCI individuals in whom cholinergic degeneration is occurred and therefore at increased risk of conversion to AD.",non-battery
"Real-time and accurate state-of-charge (SoC) estimation of lithium-ion batteries is a critical issue for efficient monitoring, control and utilization of advanced battery management systems (BMS) in electric vehicles (EVs). The electrochemical mechanism model can accurately describe the spatially distributed behavior of the internal states of the battery, but the model is complex and computationally huge, which is difficult to simulation in vehicle BMS. To solve these problems, it is necessary to simplify the battery mechanism model and study the model-based SoC estimation approaches. In this paper, two order-reduced models including an average-electrode model (AEM) and a single particle model (SPM) are first proposed. Additionally, the reduced-models combined with algorithms, including an extended Kalman filter (EKF), a sliding-mode observer (SMO) with a uniform reaching law (URL) and an SMO with an exponential reaching law (ERL), are employed to design battery SoC observers. To achieve an optimal trade-off between the tracking accuracy and convergence ability, the performances of these approaches are compared under an Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) test. The comparison results indicate that the SPM-EKF approach can obtain a reliable battery voltage response and a more accurate SoC estimation than other approaches.",battery
"Lithium-rich layered oxide is a promising cathode material for high-energy density lithium ion batteries. Generally, it is essential to develop high-voltage electrolyte because electrolyte is one of the key factors that determines the capacity of cathode materials. In this work, lithium difluoro(oxalato) borate (LiODFB) is introduced as a novel lithium-salt for lithium-rich cathodes. The investigation reveals that the LiODFB modifies the surface film and forms a uniform and electrochemical stable cathode electrolyte interface (CEI) on the lithium-rich cathode. The LiODFB-derived CEI layer effectively suppresses severe electrolyte decomposition at high voltages and hinders undesirable phase transformation from layered to spinel-like phases during cycling. Furthermore, the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2/Li cell with the LiODFB-based electrolyte exhibits high capacity retention of 91.73% after 50 cycles and better rate capability of 195 mAh g−1 at 2 C. The unique function of the LiODFB on the surface chemistry of lithium-rich cathodes is confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analyses.",battery
" Schizophrenia is associated with significant impairments in social cognition. These impairments have been shown to go along with altered activation of the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). However, studies that investigate connectivity of pSTS during social cognition in schizophrenia are sparse. Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 22 matched healthy controls completed a social-cognitive task for functional magnetic resonance imaging that allows the investigation of affective Theory of Mind (ToM), emotion recognition and the processing of neutral facial expressions. Moreover, a resting-state measurement was taken. Patients with schizophrenia performed worse in the social-cognitive task (main effect of group). In addition, a group by social-cognitive processing interaction was revealed for activity, as well as for connectivity during the social-cognitive task, i.e., patients with schizophrenia showed hyperactivity of right pSTS during neutral face processing, but hypoactivity during emotion recognition and affective ToM. In addition, hypoconnectivity between right and left pSTS was revealed for affective ToM, but not for neutral face processing or emotion recognition. No group differences in connectivity from right to left pSTS occurred during resting state. This pattern of aberrant activity and connectivity of the right pSTS during social cognition might form the basis of false-positive perceptions of emotions and intentions and could contribute to the emergence and sustainment of delusions.
",non-battery
"This paper explores the potential for ethanol production and fuel substitution in Nepal based on established sugarcane production, installed capacity for sugar and ethanol production, economic opportunities for the national economy, and potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At present conditions, 18,045m3 ethanol can be annually produced in Nepal without compromising the production of food products from sugar cane such as sugar, chaku and shakhar. The effects for the country can be manifold. As much as 14% of gasoline import reduction, and annual savings of US$ 10 million could be achieved through the introduction of the E20. The activity can provide an incentive for improved yields in sugarcane production, and help develop the industrial sector. This, in turn, will have a positive effect in terms of job and income generation in the rural areas where 85% of the population live. Improvement of agricultural practices for sugarcane could also have an indirect and positive effect on improving other agriculture activities. Furthermore, the use of ethanol in the transport sector will have a positive environmental effect while reducing CO2 emissions and combating pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. Finally, the substitution of ethanol in transport will imply lower imports of oil products and less draining of resources from the Nepalese economy.",battery
"This article presents an overview of the different processes of data recollection and the analysis that took place during and after the emergency caused by the Mw 8.8 2010 Maule earthquake in central-south Chile. The article is not an exhaustive recollection of all of the processes and methodologies used; it rather points out some of the critical processes that took place with special emphasis in the earthquake characterization and building data. Although there are strong similarities in all of the different data recollection processes after the earthquake, the evidence shows that a rather disaggregate approach was used by the different stakeholders. Moreover, no common standards were implemented or used, and the resulting granularity and accuracy of the data was not comparable even for similar structures, which sometimes led to inadequate decisions. More centralized efforts were observed in resolving the emergency situations and getting the country back to normal operation, but the reconstruction process took different independent routes depending on several external factors and attitudes of individuals and communities. Several conclusions are presented that are lessons derived from this experience in dealing with a large amount of earthquake data. The most important being the true and immediate necessity of making all critical earthquake information available to anyone who seeks to study such data for a better understanding of the earthquake and its consequences. By looking at the information provided by all these data, we aim to finally improve seismic codes and engineering practice, which are important social goods.
",non-battery
"TiO2 nanocrystals in rutile, anatase and mixed phase were prepared from the titanium iso-propoxide precursor by employing a controlled amount of HCl as a peptizing agent along with the hydrothermal treatment without any surfactants at 100°C, 150°C and 200°C for 10h. The as obtained nanocrystals at 150°C (NP150) is found to be shorter nanorods with an average diameter of ~12nm and length of ~32nm showing a typical anatase characteristics with 2θ peak positions at 25.27°, 37.80°, 48.09°, 54.02°, 54.77°, 62.80°, 69.16° and 70.17°. However, the 100°C and 200°C samples with same reaction protocol produces only aggregated nanoparticles with a rutile and a mixed anatase/rutile crystal phases, respectively. The as obtained shorter nanorod structures when processed for the electrochemical test as anode materials in lithium ion battery shows an excellent first and second discharge capacities of 366 and 182mAhg−1 with a plateau of 1.72V, much higher than those of nanoparticle (100°C and 200°C). The enhanced capacity could be attributed to the defect free, anatase crystal phase, stable morphology, high surface area and an enhanced conductivity due to the nanorods morphology which could effectively withstand expansion/contraction occurring during the successive lithium ion insertion/extraction process.",battery
"Background and aim Despite an extensive literature on cognitive impairments in focal and generalized epilepsy, only a few number of studies specifically explored social cognition disorders in epilepsy syndromes. The aim of our study was to investigate social cognition abilities in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). Materials and methods Thirty-nine patients (21 patients with TLE and 18 patients with IGE) and 21 matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. All subjects underwent a basic neuropsychological battery plus two experimental tasks evaluating emotion recognition from facial expression (Ekman-60-Faces test, Ek-60F) and mental state attribution (Story-based Empathy Task, SET). In particular, the latter is a newly developed task that assesses the ability to infer others' intentions (i.e., intention attribution — IA) and emotions (i.e., emotion attribution — EA) compared with a control condition of physical causality (i.e., causal inferences — CI). Results Compared with HCs, patients with TLE showed significantly lower performances on both social cognition tasks. In particular, all SET subconditions as well as the recognition of negative emotions were significantly impaired in patients with TLE vs. HCs. On the contrary, patients with IGE showed impairments on anger recognition only without any deficit at the SET task. Discussion Emotion recognition deficits occur in patients with epilepsy, possibly because of a global disruption of a pathway involving frontal, temporal, and limbic regions. Impairments of mental state attribution specifically characterize the neuropsychological profile of patients with TLE in the context of the in-depth temporal dysfunction typical of such patients. Conclusion Impairments of socioemotional processing have to be considered as part of the neuropsychological assessment in both TLE and IGE in view of a correct management and for future therapeutic interventions.",non-battery
"In this paper, we use experimental data collected from an Austin, Texas smart grid test bed with a system-level battery energy storage model to assess the lifetime of batteries in a microgrid operating in islanded mode during a distribution-level outage. We consider a hypothetical microgrid consisting of 21 single-family detached homes and three transformer-level community energy storage (CES) battery units ranging in size from 25kWh to 75kWh. To describe the performance of CES batteries, we implement a dynamic behavioral circuit model capable of describing voltage transients and rate-capacity effects. We use one-minute electricity production and consumption data collected from the smart grid test bed in 2012 to assess how the timing of an electric outage affects the islanding lifetime of a residential microgrid. We contrast our results with the average outage duration reported by U.S. electric utilities to quantify how often a residential microgrid could withstand a typical outage. Our results show that increasing the amount of rooftop PV in a residential microgrid does not significantly increase how often it can withstand an average-duration outage. However, combining PV with CES extends the median islanding lifetime by up to 11.6h during morning outages. Based on our results, 50kWh CES provides the best tradeoff between the cost of a CES system and its reliability benefit, allowing downstream loads to withstand an average-duration outage approximately 93% of the time.",battery
"This study is one of the first case studies to characterize the exposure of urban residents to traffic-related air pollution across locations and transportation microenvironments during everyday activities. Twenty-four adult residents of Boyle Heights, a neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, carried a portable air pollution monitor and a Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tracking device for a total of 96 days. We found significant spatial and temporal variation in the particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (pPAH) concentrations in transportation microenvironments. Average pPAH concentrations were higher while walking outdoors (190 ng m− 3) compared to traveling in private passenger vehicles (138–155 ng m− 3) or traveling in public transportation (61–124 ng m− 3). Although travel comprised 5% of participant days, it was associated with 27% of overall daily pPAH exposure. Regression models explained 40–55% of the variation in daily average pPAH concentrations, and 40–44% of the variation in 1-min interval concentrations. Important factors included time spent traveling, travel speed, meteorological and nearby land use factors, time of day, and proximity to roadways. Although future research is needed to develop stronger predictive models, our study demonstrates portable tracking devices can provide a more complete, diurnal characterization of air pollution exposures for urban populations.",non-battery
"The neutron depth profiling technique based on the neutron activation reaction, 6Li (n, α) 3H, was applied with two dimensional (2D) pinhole aperture scans to spatially map lithium in 3D. The technique was used to study model LiFePO4 electrodes of rechargeable batteries for spatial heterogeneities of lithium in two cathode films that had undergone different electrochemical cycling histories. The method is useful for better understanding the functioning and failure of batteries using lithium as the active element.",battery
"Phosphorous-rich phase iron diphosphide/carbon tube (FeP2/C) nanohybrids, which are synthesized via a pyrolysis process and composed of heterostructures of orthorhombic FeP2 with conical carbon tubes, have been identified as a new anode in lithium-ion batteries. After an annealing treatment to eliminate the excessive hydrogen elements in the carbon tubes, the FeP2/C nanohybrids display good reversible capacity, long cycle life, and excellent rate capability. Specifically, the annealed hybrids exhibit a discharge capacity of 602mAhg−1 on the second cycle and a discharge capacity of 435mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1C (0.137Ag−1). Meanwhile, these annealed hybrids exhibit excellent rate capability, such as a reversible capability of 510mAhg−1, 440mAhg−1, 380mAhg−1, 330mAhg−1 and 240mAhg−1 at 0.25C, 0.5C, 1C, 2.5C and 5C, respectively.",battery
"The initial capacity irreversibility caused by film formation on a mesophase pitch-based carbon fibre (MPCF) electrode surface is studied with the goal of improving the performance of a lithium-ion battery. The addition of Li2CO3 to a solution of 1M LiPF6/EC:DFC (1:1, v/v) results in a decrease in the initial irreversible capacity caused by solvent decomposition and the passivation film on the MPCF electrode surface. Suppression of the initial irreversible capacity at the anode electrode by the introduction of Li2CO3 is investigated by means of chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetry, ac impedance spectroscopy, FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. It is concluded that the suppression is caused mainly by prevention of solvent decomposition and by structural change in the passivation film on the anode electrode.",battery
"A broad spectrum of learning/memory, social interaction, and affective behavioral measures serve as functional correlates for neurobiological changes in seizure-prone animals as well as in epileptic clinical populations. The utility of such measures is demonstrated by their ability to distinguish anomalous characteristics in developing organisms predisposed to seizure onset, as well as to discriminate prior seizure history in organisms with established pathology. For instance, typical findings that generalize across species suggest that seizure-experienced organisms exhibit a variety of deficits in cognitive function as well as inappropriate social neglect and aggression. Behavioral testing batteries have also proven useful in assessing neural mechanisms for seizure induction, subcortical neural circuits, and neuropeptide modulators, for example, as well as in identifying neural pathology resulting from prior seizure activity. However, the wanton application of behavioral tests can also produce false positives in the identification of seizure-related disorders unless alternative performance and motivational hypotheses are discounted effectively. Accordingly, the present review attempts to provide the reader interested in behavioral phenotyping and characterization of seizure-prone rats and mice with a roadmap for rational selection, implementation, and interpretation of data from behavior assays while highlighting potential successes and pitfalls inherent in employing functional correlates of brain activity using animal models of epilepsy.",non-battery
"We selected diphenyloctyl phosphate (DPOF) as a flame-retardant and plasticizer, and studied the influence of different amounts of the DPOF additive on the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries. The electrochemical cell performances of the additive-containing electrolytes in combination with a cell comprising an LiCoO2 cathode and mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) anode were tested in coin cells. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) results showed that the oxidation potential of the electrolyte containing DPOF in the concentration range from 10 to 30wt.% is about 4.75–5.5V versus Li/Li+. In the present work, a DPOF content of 10wt.% in the 1.15M LiPF6/EC:EMC (4:6 by vol.%) electrolyte turned out to be the optimum condition for the improvement of the electrochemical cell performance, due to the decrease of the irreversible capacity during the first cycle and decrease of the charge-transfer resistance after 40 cycles.",battery
"LiFePO4 thin films were prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Li-ion chemical diffusion coefficients, D ˜ Li , were measured by potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The effects of Ag content, film thickness, and film orientation on the electrochemical performance and Li-ion chemical diffusion coefficients of the LiFePO4 thin films were investigated. D ˜ Li values were measured using the liquid electrolyte and the solid electrolyte, and the obtained values were discussed. The D ˜ Li values by PITT and EIS were in the range of 10−14 to 10−12 and 10−15 to 10−12 cm2 s−1, respectively and that by CV was in the order of 10−14 cm2 s−1.",battery
"Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are next generation of chemical power sources for energy storage and electrical vehicles, because of its high theoretical capacity and high energy density with cheap nontoxicity sulfur cathode. However, for the large-scale applications it is still a major challenge to produce Li-S batteries with remarkable capacity and long stability. Herein, a graphitized carbon/sulfur composites cathode was fabricated with an ultrahigh sulfur percentage of 90wt%, which could deliver a high initial overall discharge capacity of 1070 mAh g−1 (S-C) and a discharge capacity of 804 mAh g−1 (S-C) after 50 cycles. Even with a sulfur loading as high as 4mgcm−2, the graphitized C/S composites can still deliver a high initial overall discharge capacity of 908 mAh g−1 (S-C) and a discharge capacity of 739 mAh g−1 (S-C) after 100 cycles. The graphitized carbon with high electrical conductivity, adjustable pore size, pore volume and surface area was synthesized by using commercialized nano-CaCO3 as template and graphitization catalyst. Density functional theory calculation revealed the graphitized structure exhibited stronger adhesion strength with polysulfide. Moreover, the porosity of graphitized carbon enhances the adsorption between carbon and polysulfide.",battery
"Lithiated nickel cobalt oxides are intensively being investigated for possible application in lithium batteries. Improving their electrochemical properties and thermal stability will enhance their chances for commercial application. In the present study, we report the electroanalytical and thermal properties of LiNi0.7Co0.2Ti0.05M0.05O2 (M=Al, Mg, Zn). Cyclic voltammetry experiments revealed the reversibility of the lithium intercalation processes. Impedance measurements showed a decrease in the charge transfer resistance as lithium extraction progressed. The Mg-doped system showed the best cyclability over 100 cycles, followed closely by the Al-doped system. Mg as a dopant led to improved thermal stability of the cathode material in the fully charged state. However, doping with Al or Zn resulted in reduced thermal stability.",battery
This article presents experimental studies of state of charge (SOC) monitoring of vanadium species in sulfuric acid. An IR sensor for run-time measurement of SOC of electrolytes of vanadium RedOx flow battery was constructed. The presented method allows the independent measurement of the SOC of catholyte as well as anolyte using identical sensors with an accuracy better than ±1%.,battery
" Osteoporose ist eine altersassoziierte Erkrankung, die durch genetische und epigenetische Disposition und durch Lebensumstände beeinflusst wird.",non-battery
"The olivine-type lanthanum and magnesium doped Li0.99La0.01Fe0.9Mg0.1PO4/carbon aerogel composite is synthesized via a simple solution impregnation process using carbon aerogel (CA) as templates, characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, HR-TEM, galvanostastic charge/discharge test and EIS. The Rietveid refinement results of lattice parameters of the samples indicate that the La3+ and Mg2+ have been successfully doped into the phospho-olivine structure without destroying the crystal structure. The composite has uniform particle size and porous structure, which is believed to be beneficial to its electronic conductivity. It is noted that the capacitance is higher under lower discharging rates at −20°C, and the specific capacity of 1C, 10C, 20C and 50C are 120.3mAhg−1, 85.4mAhg−1, 75.3mAhg−1 and 56.6mAhg−1. The results indicate that both ions doping and carbon aerogel coating are effective way to improve the electrochemical performance of the composite at low temperature and high rate for lithium batteries.",battery
"The effects of the alkaline earth metal calcium on the electrochemical behavior of lithium anode in 4molL−1 LiOH and NaOH solutions were investigated via hydrogen collection, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that adding minor calcium to lithium decreased the hydrogen evolution on the surface of lithium–calcium alloy in the alkaline electrolyte containing corrosion inhibitors. The SEM image and XRD analysis showed that calcium formed calcium hydride on the surface of lithium–calcium alloy anode. The hypothesis has been proposed that the hydrogen inhibition effect is caused by calcium hydride combined with LiOH and LiOH·H2O formed on the anode surface. The formation of calcium hydride and LiOH and LiOH·H2O reduced the porosity of the film and water penetration onto the active sites of the lithium–calcium alloy.",battery
"Rivera PA, Elliott TR, Berry JW, Grant JS. Problem-solving training for family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries: a randomized controlled trial. Objective To test the hypothesis that a problem-solving training program would lower depression, health complaints, and burden, and increase well-being reported by community-residing family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting General community. Participants Of the 180 people who expressed interest in the study, 113 did not meet eligibility criteria. A consenting sample of family caregivers were randomized into a problem-solving training group (4 men, 29 women; average age, 51.3y) or an education-only control group (34 women; average age, 50.8y). Care recipients included 26 men and 7 women in the intervention group (average age, 36.5y) and 24 men and 10 women in the control group (average age, 37.2y). Intervention Problem-solving training based on the D'Zurilla and Nezu social problem-solving model was provided to caregivers in the intervention group in 4 in-home sessions and 8 telephone follow-up calls over the course of their year-long participation. Control group participants received written educational materials and telephone calls at set intervals throughout their 12 months of participation. Main Outcome Measures Caregiver depression, health complaints, well-being, and social problem-solving abilities. Results Hierarchical linear models revealed caregivers receiving problem-solving training reported significant decreases in depression, health complaints, and in dysfunctional problem-solving styles over time. No effects were observed on caregiver well-being, burden, or constructive problem-solving styles. Conclusions Problem-solving training provided in the home appears to be effective in alleviating distress and in decreasing dysfunctional problem-solving styles among family caregivers of persons with TBI. Methodologic limitations and the implications for interventions and future research are discussed.",non-battery
The fabrication of Co–Li2S nanocomposite thin film is reported by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for the first time. Li2S–Co nanocomposite thin film is used as storing Li electrodes that have led to promising electrochemical activity and good electrochemical performance. The releasing Li process from the as-deposited Li2S–Co nanocomposite thin films is confirmed by the ex situ high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) measurements and may come from the decomposition of Li2S with and without the interaction of metal Co into CoS2 and S. The electrochemical reaction mechanism of Co–Li2S nanocomposite film electrode involving both the formation and decomposition of Li2S and the lithium extraction/insertion of CoS2 after the initial charging process is proposed. Our results demonstrate the advantages of using Co–Li2S nanocomposite in storage lithium materials.,battery
"Li2Fe1−x Mn x Si04/C cathode materials were synthesized by mechanical activation-solid-state reaction. The effects of Mn-doping content, roasting temperature, soaking time and Li/Si molar ratio on the physical properties and electrochemical performance of the Li2Fe1−x Mn x Si04/C composites were investigated. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), charge–discharge tests and AC impedance measurements. SEM images suggest that the morphology of the Li2Fe1−x Mn x Si04/C composite is sensitive to the reaction temperature. Samples synthesized at different temperatures have different extent of agglomeration. Being charged–discharged at C/32 between 1.5 and 4.8V, the Li2Fe0.9Mn0.1Si04/C synthesized at the optimum conditions shows good electrochemical performances with an initial discharge capacity of 158.1mAhg−1 and a capacity retention ratio of 94.3% after 30 cycles. AC impendence investigation shows Li2Fe0.9Mn0.1SiO4/C have much lower resistance of electrode/electrolyte interface than Li2FeSiO4/C.",battery
"There is clear evidence that there is a link between cognitive and social functioning in schizophrenia. However, the exact nature of that association is not well established. In this study, three groups were included: 50 first episode of psychosis (FE) subjects, 53 multi-episode schizophrenia subjects (ME) and 55 non-psychiatric controls (NPC). Subjects were assessed on measures of social functioning and a comprehensive cognitive battery. FE subjects were assessed on admission to a comprehensive FE program and one year later. The ME and NPC group had two assessments one year apart. Both the FE and ME subjects were clearly impaired relative to NPCs in cognition and social functioning. In both the patient group and the NPC group cognition predicted performance on a measure of social problem solving and one measure of social functioning but not the other. This study supports the association between cognition and social functioning but indicates that this is a function of how social functioning is conceptualized and assessed.",non-battery
"A new method to follow the evolution of the plates of a battery during the formation processes is proposed and developed. The developed methodology can be used not only in research but also in the factory laboratories due to its simplicity. To exemplify the methodology, results for formation processes of tubular plates are presented using as precursor PbO or Pb3O4. The methodology gives access to the evolution, during its formation process, of the portions of the active material available for the discharge processes, the so called electrochemically active area. At the same time, the proposed technique permits the determination of the whole amount of PbO2 during formation. Through the results it is pointed out what experimental conditions must be used during the application of the method and examples are given of the kinds of interpretation that can be made. Finally, information is presented which was deduced from the results presented.",battery
"Size and shape-tuned LiFePO4 nano-platelets were prepared by the polyol process to examine the effect of their microstructure on their electrochemical performance when coated by a thin carbon layer. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, magnetic susceptibility, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The crystallinity, as well as the size of the particles, depends on the nature of the solvent that is used, and also on the rate of dilution. The electrochemical properties emphasize the role of antisite defects and the coherence length along the b-axis, i.e. along the Li channels. With an optimized choice of the synthesis parameters, the results showed that the orthorhombic olivine structure is retained even in crystals of few nanometers in width, a free of impurities. The high crystalline quality of the particles obtained in these optimized conditions lead to a good electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite C-LiFePO4 product as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, with a capacity 151mAhg−1 at low C-rate, despite the presence of residual adsorbed polyol species that are found to be insulating.",battery
"Insoluble AgCl and soluble CuCl2 were selected and investigated as model compounds of transition-metal chlorides for electrochemical conversion cathode materials. The experimental results demonstrated that the AgCl nanocrystals can convert reversibly to metallic Ag with nearly full utilization of its one-electron redox capacity (187mAhg−1). Similarly, the CuCl2-filled mesoporous carbon can realize a reversible two-electron transfer reaction, giving a very high reversible capacity of 466mAhg−1 after 20 cycles. These data imply that the metal chlorides can undergo complete electrochemical conversion utilizing their full oxidation states for electrical energy storage as previously reported metal fluorides, possibly being used as high capacity cathode materials for Li-ion batteries.",battery
"Transition-metal nitrides (TMNs), especially iron-based TMNs, have high electrical conductivity, superior chemical stability and unique oxygen-reaction ability, and have emerged as a new form of noble metal-free electrocatalysts. In this paper, we demonstrate that the ORR-active/OER-inert single function catalyst Fe-N can be made as the OER/ORR-active bifunctional catalyst Co-Fe-N by controlled substitution of Fe with Co. To obtain atomic insights of the Co-enhanced OER catalysis, we develop a new exfoliation method to prepare atomically thin (1.1 nm) nanosheets (NSs) of CoxFe1-xN0.5 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2). Our studies show that both electronic structure and local binding environment of Fe are modified by Co substitution and the Co-Fe-N NSs show a volcano−like OER catalysis with Co0.15Fe0.85N0.5 NSs being the most efficient OER catalyst, showing the lowest overpotential of 266 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a Tafel slope of ∼30 mV dec−1, and excellent stability in the 1.0 M KOH OER condition. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the Co-Fe sites in the Co0.15Fe0.85N0.5 structure are optimized to promote OH* to O* conversion, O*-O* coupling and O2 formation. The Co0.15Fe0.85N0.5 NSs are a class of new noble-metal-free catalyst for OER.",battery
"Nano- and micro-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 particles are prepared via the thermal decomposition of a ternary eutectic Li–Ni–Mn acetate. Lithium acetate, nickel acetate and manganese acetate can form a ternary eutectic Li–Ni–Mn acetate below 80°C. After further calcination, nano-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 particles can be obtained at an extremely low temperature (500°C). When the sintering temperature goes above 700°C, the particle size increases, and at 900°C micro-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 particles (with a diameter of about 4μm) are obtained. Electrochemical tests show that the micro-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 powders (sintered at 900°C) exhibit the best capacity retention at 25°C, and after 100 cycles, 97% of initial discharge capacity can still be reached. Nano-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 powders (sintered at 700°C) perform the best at low temperatures; when cycled at −10°C and charged and discharged at a rate of 1C, nano-sized LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 powders can deliver a capacity as high as 110mAhg−1.",battery
This paper identifies the crucial tasks of e-mobility fleet management which is to be understood the operation of a fleet of vehicles powered by electricity. It is shown that the essentials can be mapped to a quadratic assignment problem. This makes the use of well-known ant algorithms available in order to solve the e-mobility fleet management problem even in the dynamic case. A simulator using efficient concurrency management was built in order to validate the results.,non-battery
"This paper presents a flexible wetness sensor whose detection signal, converted to a binary code, is transmitted through radio-frequency (RF) waves from a radio-frequency identification integrated circuit (RFID IC) to a remote reader. The flexible sensor, with a fixed operating frequency of 13.56 MHz, contains a RFID IC and a sensor circuit that is fabricated on a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) using a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) process. The sensor circuit contains a comb-shaped sensing area surrounded by an octagonal antenna with a width of 2.7 cm. The binary code transmitted from the RFIC to the reader changes if the surface conditions of the detector surface changes from dry to wet. This variation in the binary code can be observed on a digital oscilloscope connected to the reader.
",non-battery
Electrode–solid electrolyte composite materials for all-solid-state lithium batteries were prepared by coating of the Li2S–P2S5 solid electrolyte onto LiCoO2 particles using a N-methylformamide (NMF) solution of 80Li2S·20P2S5 (mol%) solid electrolyte. SEM and EDX analysis showed that the Li2S–P2S5 solid electrolyte was uniformly coated on LiCoO2 particles. The all-solid-state cell using the LiCoO2 particles coated with the solid electrolyte showed higher charge–discharge capacity than the cells using uncoated LiCoO2 particles.,battery
"We assess trends in children's nutritional status in Equatorial Guinea, a country in socioeconomic transition. Nationally representative samples were conducted in 1997, at the start of the economic take off, and again in 2004. Children aged 0–60 months were included in the surveys (N =436, 552). Both surveys included a sociodemographic, dietary and health questionnaire, and anthropometric measurements from which height-for-age (HAZ); weight-for-age (WAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ) Z-scores were calculated. Between 1997 and 2004, the prevalence of child overweight for all children increased from 21.8% to 31.7%, especially in urban areas (from 18.2% to 29.4%, p =0.01). Stunting prevalence among children ≥2 years old decreased (from 57.9% to 45.3%, p <0.02), but for all age groups remained very high (34.7% overall, 46.5% rural and 28.5% urban in 2004). The economic take off in Equatorial Guinea appeared to coincide with substantial increases in the prevalence of child overweight whereas the prevalence of stunting decreased even if it remained high. The results suggest that the country is undergoing a nutrition transition and acquiring the concomitant double burden of under and over nutrition.",non-battery
"To examine a) the feasibility of delivering a summer treatment program for pre-kindergarteners (STP-PreK) with externalizing behavior problems (EBP) and b) the extent to which the STP-PreK was effective in improving children’s school readiness outcomes. Participants for this study included 30 preschool children (77 % boys; Mean age = 5.33 years; 77 % Hispanic background) with at-risk or clinically elevated levels of EBP. The STP-PreK was held at an early education center and ran for 8-weeks (M-F, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.) during the summer between preschool and kindergarten. In addition to a behavioral modification system and comprehensive school readiness curriculum, a social-emotional curriculum was also embedded within the STP-PreK to target children’s self-regulation skills (SR). Children’s pre- and post-school readiness outcomes included a standardized school readiness assessment as well as parental report of EBP, adaptive functioning, and overall readiness for kindergarten. SR skills were measured via a standardized executive functioning task, two frustration tasks, and parental report of children’s emotion regulation, and executive functioning. The STP-PreK was well received by parents as evidenced by high attendance and satisfaction ratings. Additionally, all school readiness outcomes (both parent and observational tasks) significantly improved after the intervention (Cohen’s d effect sizes ranged from 0.47 to 2.22) with all effects, except parental report of emotion regulation, being maintained at a 6-month follow-up. These findings highlight the feasibility and utility of delivering an early intervention summer program that can successfully target multiple aspects of children’s school readiness, including behavioral, social-emotional/self-regulation, and academics.
",non-battery
"Two cation-exchange membranes modified with the carboxylic acid group for battery separator were prepared by radiation-induced grafting of acrylic acid (AA) and methacrylic acid (MA) onto a polyethylene (PE) film. The surface area, thickness, volume, water uptake, ion-exchange capacity, specific electric resistance, and electrolyte flux were evaluated after PE film was grafted with AA and MA. It was found that KOH diffusion flux of AA-grafted PE membrane and MA-grafted PE membrane increased with an increase in the degree of grafting. AA-grafted PE membrane had a higher diffusion flux than MA-grafted PE membrane. Electrical resistance of two cation-exchange membranes modified with AA and MA decreased rapidly with an increase in the degree of grafting.",non-battery
"Manganese (Mn) is ubiquitous in the environment and essential for normal growth and development, yet excessive exposure can lead to impairments in neurological function. This study modeled ambient Mn concentrations as an alternative to stationary and personal air sampling to assess exposure for children enrolled in the Communities Actively Researching Exposure Study in Marietta, OH. Ambient air Mn concentration values were modeled using US Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Dispersion Model AERMOD based on emissions from the ferromanganese refinery located in Marietta. Modeled Mn concentrations were compared with Mn concentrations from a nearby stationary air monitor. The Index of Agreement for modeled versus monitored data was 0.34 (48 h levels) and 0.79 (monthly levels). Fractional bias was 0.026 for 48 h levels and −0.019 for monthly levels. The ratio of modeled ambient air Mn to measured ambient air Mn at the annual time scale was 0.94. Modeled values were also time matched to personal air samples for 19 children. The modeled values explained a greater degree of variability in personal exposures compared with time-weighted distance from the emission source. Based on these results modeled Mn concentrations provided a suitable approach for assessing airborne Mn exposure in this cohort.
",non-battery
"Reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) with micropores were successfully obtained from a graphite oxide (GO) suspension in 2-propanol/water by electron beam irradiation at room temperature under ambient air conditions. During the radiolysis reaction, hydrated electrons (e− aq) were generated and acted as a reducing agent for the reduction of GO. The physico-chemical properties, such as disorder degree, oxygen content, specific surface area, pore structure, and sheet resistance of the rGOs were systematically controlled by adjusting the electron beam irradiation dose (50∼360kGy). Especially, higher irradiation dose reduced the oxygen content, increased the specific surface area, and increased the number of micropores of rGO, which are important factors for supercapacitor performance. In order to investigate the electrochemical performance of the rGOs, electrochemical measurements were performed with a three-electrode system in 6.0M KOH aqueous media. The highest capacitance of 206.8 F g−1 was achieved at a charge/discharge current density of 0.2Ag−1 in 6.0M KOH aqueous solution for a sample reduced by electron beam irradiation of 200kGy.",battery
"With the emergence and development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), different sensors have become more miniaturized and intelligent. UAVs equipped with various sensors are now an important approach for acquiring spatial data. Many advantages, such as low cost, short revisiting cycle, flexibility and high precision, have made UAVs powerful tools in geological, agricultural, ecological and forestry growth monitoring, as well as evaluation. Now, UAVs are a hotspot in scientific research. Their application in mining areas (MA), although still in its infancy, is developing rapidly in terms of speed, scale and service scope. This research examines aspects such as UAV platforms, different sensors and their application fields, as well as reviewing the advances of scientific research in MA at the present time. By combining current research and the functions of multiple sensors, an application framework for UAV monitoring in MA is constructed. Finally, the challenge and prospects for the development of UAVs and sensors are also considered. This research hopes to provide a technical reference, expanding the knowledge and recognition of UAV monitoring in MA, as well as an assessment of applications in mining, reclamation and environment.
",non-battery
"Three trimethylsilyl based malonate esters, bis(trimethylsilyl) 2-methyl-2-fluoromalonate (BTMSMFM), bis(trimethylsilyl) 2-ethyl-2-fluoromalonate (BTMSEFM) and bis(trimethylsilyl) 2-propyl-2-fluoromalonate (BTMSPFM), have been used as additives in 1.0 M LiPF6/ethylene carbonate (EC)-dimethyl carbonate (DMC)-diethyl carbonate (DEC) (1-1-1, by v) baseline electrolyte for LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) based high voltage lithium ion batteries. The NCA half-cells with 5 wt% BTMSMFM exhibit higher capacity retention than that in the baseline electrolyte at different upper cut off voltages, that is, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 V vs. Li/Li+. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) show that the additive successfully prevents the formation of thick solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) films on the surface of the NCA electrodes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) further reveals that the crystal structure of NCA is also maintained in the electrolyte with 5 wt% BTMSMFM at high cut off voltages. Besides beneficial to NCA cathode, the BTMSMFM additive also ensures better cycling performance of the graphite based half-cells and NCA/graphite full-cells, and thus is a promising additive for application in rechargeable lithium ion batteries.",battery
"The ageing of 75 commercial Li-ion secondary batteries with LiNiMnCoO2| hard carbon chemistry was studied up to 4 years. The nominal capacity was 17.5 Ah. The batteries were cycled at different current rates and between different states of charge. Shelf studies were carried out at different temperatures and at different states of charge. The ageing temperature varied from 18-55°C. The specific ohmic resistance was obtained as a function of state of health, ageing temperature, and ageing time. We found that the cell tolerated less cycles at higher temperatures. The loss of capacity also increased for storage at higher temperatures, in a predictable manner. We observed that the state of charge at the moment of storage was very important for the loss of discharge capacity. Thermal conductivities of pristine and aged electrodes were measured in the presence and absence of electrolyte solvent and under different compaction pressures. The thermal conductivity was found to range from 0.14–0.41WK−1m−1 for dry electrode active material and from 0.52–0.73 WK−1m−1 for electrolyte solvent-soaked electrode active material. The thermal conductivity of the electrode materials did not change significantly with ageing, but a strong correlation was seen between remaining battery capacity and increasing ohmic resistance. To assess the impact of these changes, the measured results were used in a one-dimensional model to compute the battery internal temperature. Temperature profiles were computed as a function of discharging rate (2C - 10C) and ageing time (0 - 4 years). The model showed that the internal temperature can raise by a factor about 2.5 during ageing from the pristine state of health at 100 % to 58 % capacity.",battery
"Electroencephalography (EEG)-neurofeedback has been shown to offer therapeutic benefits to patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in several, mostly uncontrolled studies. This pilot study is designed to test the feasibility and safety of using a double-blind placebo feedback-controlled design and to explore the initial efficacy of individualized EEG-neurofeedback training in children with ADHD. Fourteen children (8–15 years) with ADHD defined according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria were randomly allocated to 30 sessions of EEG-neurofeedback (n = 8) or placebo feedback (n = 6). Safety measures (adverse events and sleep problems), ADHD symptoms and global improvement were monitored. With respect to feasibility, all children completed the study and attended all study visits and training sessions. No significant adverse effects or sleep problems were reported. Regarding the expectancy, 75% of children and their parent(s) in the active neurofeedback group and 50% of children and their parent(s) in the placebo feedback group thought they received placebo feedback training. Analyses revealed significant improvements of ADHD symptoms over time, but changes were similar for both groups. This pilot study shows that it is feasible to conduct a rigorous placebo-controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of neurofeedback training in children with ADHD. However, a double-blind design may not be feasible since using automatic adjusted reward thresholds may not work as effective as manually adjusted reward thresholds. Additionally, implementation of active learning strategies may be an important factor for the efficacy of EEG-neurofeedback training. Based on the results of this pilot study, changes are made in the design of the ongoing study.",non-battery
"Over 90% of Rett syndrome (RTT) cases have a mutation in the X-linked gene encoding methyl CpG binding-protein 2 (MeCP2). A mouse model that reprises clinical manifestations of the disease would be valuable for examining disease mechanisms. Here, we characterize physical and behavioral measures, as well as brain region volumes in young adult mice that have mutations in mouse methyl CpG binding-protein 2 gene (Mecp2) to serve as a baseline for other studies. Hemizygous males, which produce no functional protein, exhibit hypoactivity and abnormalities in locomotion, stereotypies, and anxiety reminiscent of the clinical condition. The mutant males also exhibit cognitive deficits in fear conditioning and object recognition relative to wildtypes. Volumetric analyses of male brains revealed a 25% reduction in whole brain volume in mutants relative to wildtypes; regional differences were also apparent. Mutants had decreased volumes in three specific brain regions: the amygdala (39%), hippocampus (21%), and striatum (29%). Heterozygous females, which produce varying amounts of functional protein, displayed a less severe behavioral phenotype. The mutant females exhibit abnormalities in locomotion, anxiety measures, and cognitive deficits in object recognition in an open field. This study provides the first evidence that the abnormal motor and cognitive behavioral phenotype in Mecp2 mice is consistent with specific volume reductions in brain regions associated with these behaviors, and shows how these data parallel the human condition. The Mecp2 mutant mice provide a very good model in which to examine molecular and behavioral mechanisms, as well as potential therapeutic interventions in RTT.",non-battery
"We have prepared polymer gel electrolytes with alkali metal ionic liquids (AMILs) that inherently contain alkali metal ions. The AMIL consisted of sulfate anion, imidazolium cation, and alkali metal cation. AMILs were mixed directly with poly(3-sulfopropyl acrylate) lithium salt or poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) lithium salt to form polymer gels. The ionic conductivity of these gels decreased with increasing polymer fraction, as in general ionic liquid/polymer mixed systems. At low polymer concentrations, these gels displayed excellent ionic conductivity of 10−4 to 10−3 Scm−1 at room temperature. Gelation was found to cause little change in the 7 Li diffusion coefficient of the ionic liquid, as measured by pulse-field-gradient NMR. These data strongly suggest that the lithium cation migrates in successive pathways provided by the ionic liquids.",battery
"In applications such as electrical transportation, most of the battery life is spent under storage. Understanding and estimating aging under storage, also named as calendar aging, is therefore a prerequisite for cell life prediction. This work investigates aging behavior upon storage of a commercial 15 Ah lithium-ion graphite/iron phosphate cell. Performance decline during 450 days of storage under nine stationary conditions is analyzed using non-destructive electrochemical tests. Temperature is found to be more detrimental than State of Charge (SoC). Most often, degradation models express the accumulated degradation with respect to time and aging conditions. In this article, a simple modeling approach is proposed focusing on the degradation rate to predict capacity fade. This permits predicting cell degradation under time dependent storage conditions (SoC and temperature) which are usually experienced in real applications. Model prediction is compared to experimental calendar aging data obtained over 625 days in a controlled time dependent temperature storage conditions. Predictions are in good agreement with experimental results as the absolute error on capacity prediction never exceeds 3% over 400 days and 5% over 625 days.",battery
"Recently, nanostructured Si has been intensively studied as a promising anode candidate for lithium ion batteries due to its ultrahigh capacity. However, the downsizing of Si to nanoscale dimension is often impeded by complicated and expensive methods. In this work, natural halloysite clay was utilized for the production of Si nanoparticles through selective acid etching and modified magnesiothermic reduction processes. The physical and chemical changes of these samples during the various processes have been analyzed. The as-prepared HSi from halloysite clay is composed of many interconnected Si nanoparticles with an average diameter of 20–50 nm. Owing to the small size and porous nature, the HSi nanoparticles exhibit a satisfactory performance as an anode for lithium ion batteries. Without further modification, a stable capacity over 2200 mAh g−1 at a rate of 0.2 C after 100 cycles and a reversible capacity above 800 mAh g−1 at a rate of 1 C after 1000 cycles can be obtained. As a result, this synthetic route is cost-effective and can be scaled up for mass production of Si nanoparticles, which may facilitate valuable utilization of halloysite clay and further commercial application of Si-based anode materials.",battery
"Interest in use of the polysaccharide chitosan as a pharmaceutical excipient by different dose routes and for a number of applications is not new but it still does not appear to be present in any marketed drugs. Including a novel excipient in a new drug formulation requires a number of safety considerations. Review of the published literature showed that chitosan has low oral toxicity and local tolerance potential supporting use in non-parenteral formulations. Prior human oral exposure has occurred through use of chitosan dietary supplements and food additive, medical device and cosmetic applications. Although systemic exposure to parent chitosan may be limited (due to digestion in the gastrointestinal tract), any that is absorbed will likely undergo enzyme degradation to naturally occurring glucosamine, and N-acetylglucosamine, its copolymers, which are excreted or used in the amino sugar pool. Chitosan has local biological activity in the form of haemostatic action and, together with its ability to activate macrophages and cause cytokine stimulation (which has resulted in interest in medical device and wound healing applications), may result in a more careful assessment of its safety as a parenteral excipient.",non-battery
"Parents who are overwhelmed by the intensity and aversive nature of child negative affect — those who are experiencing flooding — may be less likely to react effectively and instead may focus on escaping the aversive situation, disciplining either overly permissively or punitively to escape quickly from child negative affect. However, there are no validated self-report measures of the degree to which parents experience flooding, impeding the exploration of these relations. Thus, we created and evaluated the Parent Flooding scale (PFS), assessing the extent to which parents believe their children’s negative affect during parent-child conflicts is unexpected, overwhelming and distressing. We studied its factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity in a community sample of 453 couples with 3- to 7-year-old children (51.9 % girls) recruited via random digit dialing. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated a one-factor solution with excellent internal consistency. Test-retest stability over an average of 5.6 months was high. Concurrent validity was suggested by the associations of flooding with parents’ aggression toward their children, overreactive and lax discipline, parenting satisfaction, and parents’ anger, as well as with child externalizing behavior and negative affect. Incrementally concurrent validity analyses indicated that flooding was a unique predictor of mothers’ and fathers’ overreactive discipline and fathers’ parent-child aggression and lax discipline, over and above the contributions of parents’ anger and children’s negative affect. The present results support the psychometric validity of the PFS.
",non-battery
"The synthesis of heteroatom-doped graphene nanosheets is one of the recent trends to improve the energy storage capabilities of graphene in devices such as supercapacitors. We report on the optimized fabrication of sodium-nitrogen-phosphorus co-doped graphene sheets (Na/N/P-GNS) via a simple one-pot green method. The fabricated Na/N/P-GNS were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Various electrochemical techniques were used to investigate the capacitance and performance of the prepared Na/N/P-GNS, including cyclic voltammetry (CV) at different potential scan rates and electrochemical charge/discharge at different current densities in 0.5M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte at room temperature. Na/N/P-GNS showed a maximum specific capacitance of 499F/g at a scan rate of 1mV/s, excellent cycling retention of 101% after 1000cycles at 200mV/s, and high energy density of 98.58 Whkg−1. The high capacitance can be ascribed to the co-doping of Na, P and N and the one-pot synthesis methods that retain the graphene sheets unstacked. Based on the obtained capacitance, the fabricated Na/N/P-GNS would be a promising electrode material for supercapacitors.",battery
"In this work, a facile electrochemical route i.e., anodic dissolution of bulk Cu at 2.0V or more (vs. SCE) in a NaOH solution containing NH2OH·HCl, was introduced for the synthesis of clean Cu2O microcrystals (Cu2O MCs) with morphologies of octahedron, half circular plate, etc. The bulk Cu electrode can be facilely dispersed into Cu(OH)4 2− in alkaline solutions with the help of intense O2 releasing. In the presence of reductive NH2OH·HCl, Cu(II) was quickly reduced to Cu(I). Due to the concentration gradient of Cu(I) and OH− resulting from the electrochemical reaction and the selective adsorption of OH− on different crystal facets, half circular plate Cu2O MCs were for the first time, synthesized. By changing the NaOH concentration or applied potential, octahedron and rectangular plate Cu2O MCs could also be obtained. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, etc. were used to characterize the oxides. The Cu2O MCs were phase-pure cubic Cu2O. This electrochemical route is simple, basically green and can be used to synthesize Cu2O MCs with different morphologies.",battery
"This paper proposes a strategy to reduce the diffusion induced stress and enhance the capacity of a layered electrode by allowing the plastic deformation of current collector. Based on analytical formulations of the stress in whole electrode, three types of elastoplastic behaviors of current collector, i.e. pure elastic deformation, plastic shakedown and cyclic plasticity, are identified. Criterions separating the three cases are proposed. It is found applying a thin current collector and allowing it to plastically yield in the charge/discharge cycles is beneficial not only to capacity as more space can be provided for active materials but also to electrochemical stability because the stress in active layer is significantly reduced. Structural design corresponding to plastic shakedown shows good balance between the said improvements and structural safety, whereas the case of cyclic plasticity further enhances the improvements. Therefore, structural designing scheme is provided for the former case according to the criterion of plastic shakedown but for the latter one based on the Coffin–Manson relation with expected cycle life.",battery
"A high performance Li3V2(PO4)3 cathode material for lithium ion batteries was synthesized by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method followed by a post annealing process. The synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis results confirmed that single-phase Li3V2(PO4)3 with monoclinic structure was obtained. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope images revealed that the as-prepared Li3V2(PO4)3 was composed of nanowires and microsized particles. Electrochemical results demonstrated that the Li3V2(PO4)3 electrode measured at 10 C after 500 cycles can deliver discharge capacities of 85.4 mAh g−1 and 103.4 mAh g−1, with a capacity retention of 99.3% and 95.9%, in the voltage ranges of 3.0–4.3 V and 3.0–4.8 V, respectively, indicating good cycling stability. Furthermore, the electrochemical performance of Li3V2(PO4)3 in ionic liquid electrolytes between 3.0 V and 4.8 V was also measured.",battery
"The cathode powder is obtained by wet crushing and screening, and the leaching behavior of Li, Ni, Co, Cu, and Al is then investigated using a ternary leaching system composed of ammonia, ammonium sulfite, and ammonium bicarbonate. Ammonium sulfite is necessary as a reductant to improve the Li, Ni, and Co leaching efficiencies, and ammonium bicarbonate acts as a buffer in ammoniacal solutions. A detailed understanding of the selective leaching process is obtained by investigating the effects of parameters such as the leaching reagent composition, leaching time (0–300 min), temperature (40–90 °C), solid-to-liquid ratio (10–50 g/L), and agitation speed (300–700 rpm). It is found that Ni and Cu could be almost fully leached out, while Al is hardly leached and Li(60.53%) and Co(80.99%) exhibit a moderate leaching efficiency. The results show that the optimum solid-liquid ratio of the leaching system is 20 g/L, and the increase of temperature and reaction time is beneficial to metal leaching. The leaching kinetics analysis shows that the chemical reaction control explains the leaching behavior of Li, Ni, and Co well. Therefore, this work may be beneficial for further recycling valuable metals from leaching solutions by introducing an extraction agent.",non-battery
"Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Heart failure remains a major contributor to this mortality. Despite major therapeutic advances over the past decades, a better understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms of CVD as well as improved therapeutic strategies for the management or treatment of heart failure are increasingly needed. Loss of myocardium is a major driver of heart failure. An attractive approach that appears to provide promising results in reducing cardiac degeneration is stem cell therapy (SCT). In this review, we describe different types of stem cells, including embryonic and adult stem cells, and we provide a detailed discussion of the properties of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We also present and critically discuss the key methods used for converting somatic cells to pluripotent cells and iPSCs to cardiomyocytes (CMs), along with their advantages and limitations. Integrating and non-integrating reprogramming methods as well as characterization of iPSCs and iPSC-derived CMs are discussed. Furthermore, we critically present various methods of differentiating iPSCs to CMs. The value of iPSC-CMs in regenerative medicine as well as myocardial disease modeling and cardiac regeneration are emphasized.",non-battery
"Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter that plays essential roles in the central nervous system, including motor control, motivation, arousal, and reward. Thus, abnormal levels of dopamine directly cause several neurological diseases, including depressive disorders, addiction, and Parkinson’s disease (PD). To develop a new technology to treat such diseases and disorders, especially PD, which is currently incurable, dopamine release from living cells intended for transplantation or drug screening must be precisely monitored and assessed. Owing to the advantages of miniaturisation and rapid detection, numerous electrical techniques have been reported, mostly in combination with various nanomaterials possessing specific nanoscale geometries. This review highlights recent advances in electrical biosensors for dopamine detection, with a particular focus on the use of various nanomaterials (e.g., carbon-based materials, hybrid gold nanostructures, metal oxides, and conductive polymers) on electrode surfaces to improve both sensor performance and biocompatibility. We conclude that this review will accelerate the development of electrical biosensors intended for the precise detection of metabolite release from living cells, which will ultimately lead to advances in therapeutic materials and techniques to cure various neurodegenerative disorders.
",non-battery
"Core/shell, indium tin oxide (ITO)/TiO2 hybrid nanostructured electrodes for high-power lithium ion rechargeable batteries have been synthesized via a thermal evaporation method followed by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Lithium-active TiO2 nanoparticles were uniformly assembled onto high-conductivity ITO nanowire arrays that were directly grown on metallic current collectors. This configuration resulted in superior rate capabilities and long-term cycle life. Such high electrochemical performances result from the unique 3 dimensional (3D) geometrical features of nanoarchitectured electrodes, which enable efficient electronic pathways upon prolonged cycling.
",battery
"Epigenetic dysregulation has been known to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases, including amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The aim of this study was to investigate the genome-wide DNA methylation analysis, in order to identify epigenetic dysregulation in blood from patients with MCI. Here, we investigated whether epigenetic dysregulation in MCI and whether such an aberration could be detected in blood circulation. Genome-wide bisulfite sequencing targeted 84 million bases covering 3.7 million CpG sites was comparatively analyzed in MCI and control groups. And correlation between DNA methylation and transcriptomic changes was sought. Significant differentially methylated regions (DMRs) distinguishing the MCI and control groups were identified and functionally annotated. Most DMRs specific to MCI were enriched between – 2 kb and + 2 kb of the CpG island start sites located within or near gene promoters. Representative hypo- and hypermethylated DMRs in MCI were confirmed to be correlated to mRNA expression changes with the comparative delta Ct method. DNA methylation aberrations involving metal ion homeostasis, axon growth, inflammasome, and others in this study may be less-invasive, easily measurable blood biomarker candidates for MCI.",non-battery
"Evaluating the patterns of NO3-N concentrations at karst springs can be used to infer hydrologic processes and nutrient dynamics in karst aquifers. In this study, NO3-N concentrations observed at two karst springs in northeast Iowa (USA) were evaluated for a 2-year period using high-frequency sensors. Despite similar watershed land use dominated by intense row cropping of corn and soybean production (>70%), NO3-N concentrations and temporal patterns were very different between the two springs. At the Manchester spring, NO3-N stored in overburden materials above the karst-enhanced Silurian-age bedrock provides a continuing source of NO3-N to the spring. Rainfall events mobilize the stored NO3-N and concentrations increase. At Big Spring, the karst system is overlain by a thin layer of sediments and the bedrock is dominated by sinkholes and losing streams. Rainfall events dilute the spring NO3-N concentrations which rapidly decreased during events before rebounding to previous levels. Spectral analyses revealed that concentrations at both springs were a fractal process, with the scaling exponent at Manchester (2.0) considerably larger than that measured at Big Spring (1.4), indicating a higher degree of autocorrelation in NO3-N concentrations at Manchester, consistent with the conceptual model. Overall, results argue for greater use of high-frequency NO3-N monitoring at karst springs to better assess short- and long-term variations in NO3-N concentrations and to unravel karst processes.",non-battery
"A stable and conductive interface is one of the decisive factors in manipulating the performance of high voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cathode for Li-ion batteries. Herein, a hybrid Li3PO4–TiO2 coating layer is designed as an interfacial material via controllable atomic layer deposition (ALD) on LNMO. The coating acts not just as a physical barrier to prevent the side-reactions between cathode and electrolyte at high voltage, more importantly, the hybrid coating material improves both interfacial ionic and electronic conductivities to build facile Li-ion and electron diffusion pathways for LNMO. The optimized LNMO demonstrates improved rate capability and long-life stability. The capacity retention is 81.2% comparing with 47.4% of bare LNMO at 0.5C after 300 cycles. Detailed surface structural evolution is studied via X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. This work provides new insights of hybrid interfacial design via ALD and promotes novel electrode architectures for batteries.",battery
"Tissues infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses such as H5N1 and H7N7 are normally required to be fixed in formalin or paraformaldehyde before examination in order to inactivate the virus. In this study commercially available monoclonal antibodies to the influenza nucleoprotein (NP) were evaluated in order to determine which antibodies would identify positive cells in tissues fixed in formalin or paraformaldehyde. An assessment of which antigen retrieval process would unmask antigens blocked by formalin fixation was also made. Of six commercially available monoclonal antibodies tested, only one (HB65, European Veterinary Laboratories) was able to identify all formalin fixed avian, swine and human influenza virus infected tissues, and this was after pronase induced epitope retrieval. This monoclonal antibody is recommended for routine diagnostic use for the detection of influenza A infected tissues that have been fixed in formalin or paraformaldehyde.",non-battery
"Background Rare are the studies that focus on OSAS (obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome) obese patient assessing neuropsychological, psychological and clinical aspects simultaneously. Methods One hundred and fifty-seven obese patients with OSAS were psychologically and neuropsychologically assessed by a standardized battery of validated tests in a cross-sectional study. Results Patients reported with higher frequency, compared to the normal distribution, the presence of an extrovert personality trait and depressive behaviours: 15.9% of the patients minimized symptoms and denied distress, whereas 28.0% presented psychological disorders. Compared to the normative group, patients’ results were characterized as impaired with a higher percentage in short-term verbal memory (30.6%) and in short-term visual spatial memory (20.5%). Moreover 30.6% of patients were impaired in one cognitive function, 11.5% in two, 8.9% in three, and 8.2% in four or more cognitive functions. No significant relations between psychological–neuropsychological data and clinical variables emerged. Conclusions The results of our obese patients with OSAS were significantly different from the normative data as for psychological and neuropsychological variables (extroversion, depression, short-term verbal and visual spatial memory, logical ability). Further studies are needed in order to investigate the eventual dose effect on psychological and neuropsychological variables of OSAS and obesity severity and treatment efficacy.",non-battery
"Upper limb nerve injuries are common, and their treatment poses a challenge for physicians and surgeons. Experimental models help in minimum exploration of the functional characteristics of peripheral nerve injuries of forelimbs. This study was conducted to characterize the functional recovery (1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 21 days) after median and ulnar nerve crush in mice and analyze the histological and biochemical markers of nerve regeneration (after 21 days). Sensory–functional impairments appeared after 1 day. The peripheral nerve morphology, the nerve structure, and the density of myelin proteins [myelin protein zero (P0) and peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22)] were analyzed after 21 days. Cold allodynia and fine motor coordination recovery occurred on the 10th day, and grip strength recovery was observed on the 14th day after injury. After 21 days, there was partial myelin sheath recovery. PMP22 recovery was complete, whereas P0 recovery was not. Results suggest that there is complete functional recovery even with partial remyelination of median and ulnar nerves in mice.",non-battery
"In this study, the sponge reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is developed by using [(n-C4H9)4N]5[PW11CoO39], as a three-dimensional framework and a good precursor to the construction of porous structures. Various techniques are also used to characterize the prepared sponge [(n-C4H9)4N]5[PW11CoO39]@rGO. It is found to be a nanocomposite of choice for the preparation of electrodes for supercapacitors applications. The power of the nanocomposite toward energy storage is evaluated in both seawater and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution using galvanostatic charge and discharge and cyclic voltammetry. The nanocomposite will be found to improve significantly the specific capacitance (834.3 and 311.7 F g−1 at 0.91 A g−1) and long service life by 98.0% and 97.5% at 3.0 A g−1 in seawater and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, respectively. Furthermore, this nanocomposite is observed to exhibit a high power density 3640.8 (W kg−1) at energy densities of 20.6 and 35.4 (Wh kg−1) in seawater and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, respectively. Due to its sponge structure, multiplex channels are observed to appear that help the quick diffusion of the electrolyte and the reduction of ion diffusion duration. The use of rGO and polyoxometalates offers the advantages of fast electron transfer and enhanced electrochemical reaction. Overall, the sponge [(n-C4H9)4N]5 [PW11CoO39]@rGO is found to have a high capability for use toward energy storage processes.",battery
"Lithium metal has been considered as an ideal negative electrode for lithium batteries, but its practical use is impeded by the inferior cycling performance and the potential safety issues caused by Li dendrite formation. Herein, we use thermal evaporation to deposit one side of the carbon cloth with 20 nm thick Ag. The two surfaces with different lithiophilic characteristics as a result of Ag deposition lead to oriented growth of Li metal during Li plating. By manipulating the growth direction of Li metal away from the separator, we can eliminate the possibility of shorting caused by separation penetration. Moreover, the Li metal on the Ag layer shows a nodule-like morphology instead of the conventional needle-like dendrite morphology. The nodule-like Li possesses excellent electrochemical reversibility and the Li/carbon cloth-Ag composite negative electrode shows an excellent Coulombic Efficiency over 97% with the specific capacity as high as the 5 mAh cm−2 after 50 cycles.",battery
"The studies by Cook et al1 and Braga-Baiak et al2 share similar methodologies and participants, involve the same authors, and have similar analyses and results. As such, these similarities deserve further explanation as how the manuscripts resulting from these works do not qualify as repetitive, duplicate, or redundant publications.3 The purpose of both studies was to identify intrarater and interrater agreement among radiologists for a battery of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics, before and after implementation of operational guidelines. There were 12 unique MRI metrics related to spinal stenosis from the publication of Cook et al1 and 34 unique MRI metrics related to disc herniation in the article of Braga-Baiak et al.2 We emphasize that each metric was scored, calculated, and reported in only one publication. The decision to divide the study into two publications was made partially based on topic focus (specific metrics of herniation vs general measures of stenosis), the quantity of the metrics (46), and that each metric involved 4 unique and detailed analyses. The authorship teams felt that each topic and hypothesis were unique and thus justified a separate publication. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that during the submission process, we inadvertently did not notify the editors of either journal that a related manuscript was under review. Specifically, as the submission timelines were similar, we unintentionally omitted references of one article to the other. It is thus our hope that this letter clarifies the differences between the 2 studies and also serves to outline the importance of full disclosure during the pursuance of publication of related material.",non-battery
"We report tris(pentafluorophenyl) borane (TPFPB) as a novel electrolyte additive for silicon (Si) thin film anodes in lithium ion batteries. The introduction of TPFPB into the electrolyte consisting of 1M lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) in ethylene carbonate (EC)/diethyl carbonate (DEC) (1/1 volume) significantly enhances the capacity retention and coulombic efficiency. Specifically, TPFPB enables the improved properties by forming stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers and suppressing surface pulverization. The SEI layers are thoroughly characterized by a variety of analytical tools including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).",battery
"This paper describes the application of system identification to the thermal response of a conventional office space using data collected from an existing building management system. Autoregressive models are estimated and it is found that the output-error model provides the best fit between simulated and measured internal-air temperature data. The inclusion of electricity consumption data improves the fit for all model structures used, though this is evidently not modelled as providing a simple internal heat-gain. The model error is comparable with that reported for models validated in laboratory test rooms, but without the use of full instrumentation.",battery
"Tailoring electroactive materials into diverse functional architecture are triggering unprecedented innovations in the promotion of energy storage devices. Herein, we introduced a general strategy to prepare “bubble-in-nanorod” hierarchical hybrid fibers for fabrication of flexible pyrophosphate cathodes with superior lithium/sodium storage properties. The hollow spheres, which are composed of pyrophosphate nanoscale crystals and carbon matrix, are uniformly distributed within the porous carbon-based fiber. The prepared “bubble-in-nanorod” hierarchical structure not only can provide a bicontinuous conductive skeleton for fast electron transport, but also can effectively protect the crystal against structural deterioration, and thus is favorable to fast ion transport and stable structure integrity. Two kinds of pyrophosphates, i.e. Na3.12Fe2.44(P2O7)2 and Li2FeP2O7, are employed as examples in this study. For the first time, the mechanism on the combustion-assisted formation of the bubble-in-nanorod architecture is specified, and the effects of the functional structure on the ion intercalation chemistry of pyrophosphates are elaborated. Both pyrophosphate-based hybrid fibers can achieve better rate capability and longer cycling durability than the reference ones. Moreover, they are capable of long-term high-rate cycling. After six hundred cycles at alternate 20 and 3 C rates, the Na3.12Fe2.44(P2O7)2 and Li2FeP2O7 based fibers retain 94.4% and 95.1% of the initial capacity. Therefore, this work not only introduces a highly efficient architecture to realize the superior ion intercalation chemistry, but also provides a novel general strategy to fabricate high-performance flexible electrode for advanced lithium/sodium batteries.",battery
"Due to its heterogeneous phenomenology, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has been subtyped. However, these subtypes are not mutually exclusive. This study presents an alternative subtyping approach by deriving non-overlapping OCD subtypes. A pure compulsive and a mixed obsessive–compulsive subtype (including subjects manifesting obsessions with/without compulsions) were analyzed with respect to a broad pattern of psychosocial risk factors and comorbid syndromes/diagnoses in three representative Swiss community samples: the Zurich Study (n = 591), the ZInEP sample (n = 1500), and the PsyCoLaus sample (n = 3720). A selection of comorbidities was examined in a pooled database. Odds ratios were derived from logistic regressions and, in the analysis of pooled data, multilevel models. The pure compulsive subtype showed a lower age of onset and was characterized by few associations with psychosocial risk factors. The higher social popularity of the pure compulsive subjects and their families was remarkable. Comorbidities within the pure compulsive subtype were mainly restricted to phobias. In contrast, the mixed obsessive–compulsive subtype had a higher prevalence and was associated with various childhood adversities, more familial burden, and numerous comorbid disorders, including disorders characterized by high impulsivity. The current comparison study across three representative community surveys presented two basic, distinct OCD subtypes associated with differing psychosocial impairment. Such highly specific subtypes offer the opportunity to learn about pathophysiological mechanisms specifically involved in OCD.
",non-battery
"This study aims to evaluate in detail the biological osteoconductive properties of the low-temperature synthetic porous calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite and to compare it with the biological apatite. Bone reactions to granules of similar sizes of the low-temperature hydroxyapatite and commercially available non-sintered deproteinized bovine bone were compared. Two different temperatures were used to fabricate two batches of newly developed porous hydroxyapatite with different carbonate groups content and specific surface area. The histological analysis of specimens with histomorphometry was performed at different time after in vivo implantation. Based on histological analysis, the level of bone formation in the spaces between the implanted granules and through the interconnected pores of all implanted materials within a cortical region (bone area ingrowth 72–85 %) was several-fold higher than within a cancellous bone site (bone area ingrowth 16–28 %) at three and six months after implantation. Within the cancellous bone site, bone coverage of the implanted material at six months was significantly higher in hydroxyapatite material fabricated using low-temperature synthesis and subsequent processing at 150°C than in hydroxyapatite scaffold developed using low-temperature synthesis with subsequent processing at 700°C or deproteinized bovine bone. According to our study, the bioactive properties of the low-temperature calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite are comparable with the biological apatite. The favourable influence of a high specific surface area of a low-temperature calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite on in vivo bone formation was emphasized.
",non-battery
"Transition metal oxides have been extensively studied as anode materials for lithium ion batteries due to their high capacity. However, the intrinsically low electronic conductivity and large volume changes upon repeated cycles are the obstacles for obtaining their high electrochemical properties. In this work, we report the novel construction of uniform Ni/MnO porous microspheres by an in situ conversion from their solvothermally synthesized precursor composites (xNiCO3·yMnCO3). The structures of the precursor composites can be controlled by the solvothermal duration and solution compositions. During the high-temperature annealing process, the precursor composites were transferred into Ni and MnO composite and porous structure was created by the decomposition of the carbonate materials. As an anode material for lithium-ion battery, the porous Ni/MnO electrode demonstrates high reversible capacity of 700.6 mA h g−1 after 250 cycles. Moreover, the Ni/MnO microspheres exhibit excellent rate capacity. The exceptional electrochemical performances are attributed to the homogeneous distribution of nickel nanoparticles within the MnO microspheres and porous structures throughout the whole microspheres, which can improve the electronic conductivity of the electrode materials and keep the structural integrity upon repeated cycles.",battery
"Graphene/α-MnO2 nanocomposites (GMC) with high performance as anode material were synthesized by a facile green procedure, in which we reduced graphene from graphene oxide and prepared the GMC simultaneously through a conventional hydrothermal route. The samples are systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The GMC presents a good reversible specific capacity of 998mAhg−1 at a current density of 60mAg−1 after 30 cycles and excellent rate capabilities of 590mAhg−1 at a current density of 12Ag−1. The present results indicate that GMC nanocomposites have enormous potential for application in lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Li-rich layered materials are important cathode compounds used in commercial lithium ion batteries, which, however, suffers from some drawbacks including the so-called voltage fade upon electrochemical cycling. This study employs novel transmission X-ray microscopy to investigate the electrochemical reaction induced morphological and chemical changes in the Li-rich Li2Ru0.5Mn0.5O3 cathode particles at the meso to nano scale. Combined X-ray spectroscopy, diffraction and microscopy experiments are performed to systematically study this cathode material's evolution upon cycling as well as to establish a comprehensive understanding of the structural origin of capacity fade through 2D and 3D fine length scale morphology and heterogeneity change of this material. This work suggests that atomic manipulation (e.g. doping, substitution etc.) or nano engineering (e.g. nano-sizing, heterogeneous structure) are important strategies to mitigate the internal strain and defects induced by extensive lithium insertion/extraction. It also shows that maintaining the structural integrity is the key in designing and synthesizing lithium-rich layered materials with better cycle stability.",battery
"A CO2 comprehensive balance within the life-cycle of a photovoltaic energy system requires careful examination of the CO2 sinks and sources at the locations and under the conditions of production of each component, during transport, installation and operation, as well as at the site of recycling. Calculations of the possible effect on CO2 reduction by PV energy systems may be incorrect if system borders are not set wide enough and remain on a national level, as can be found in the literature. For the examples of Brazil and Germany, the effective CO2 reductions have been derived, also considering possible interchange scenarios for production and operation of the PV systems considering the carbon dioxide intensity of the local electricity grids. In the case of Brazil also off-grid applications and the substitution of diesel generating sets by photovoltaics are examined: CO2 reduction may reach 26,805 kg/kWp in that case. Doing these calculations, the compositions of the local grids and their CO2 intensity at the time of PV grid injection have to be taken into account. Also possible changes of the generation fuel mix in the future have to be considered: During the operation time of a PV system, different kinds of power plants could be installed that might change the CO2 intensity of the grid. In the future also advanced technologies such as thin films have to be considered.",battery
"Co(OH)2 nanosheets, which obtained from Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) improved solution-phase synthesis, can be transformed to porous Co3O4 nanoplates by solid-state crystal reconstruction during heat treatment in air. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicates that the transformation process and final crystal structure are strongly dependent on the temperature of heat treatment. When the temperature is increased to 500 °C, the mesoporous and single-crystal Co3O4 nanoplates with an average size of around 1 μm can be obtained by solid-state diffusion, coalescence and following orientational alignment. Electrochemical tests show that the lithium storage performance of porous Co3O4 nanoplates is associated more closely with its structural aspects than its morphology and size factors. The obtained plate-like Co3O4 mesocrystals exhibit low initial irreversible capacity and superior cycling performance due to its micrometer size, porous and robust single-crystal structure. Considering the improved electrochemical performance, simple and large scale synthesis, the obtained 2D Co3O4 mesocrystals should be suitable as anode materials for high performance lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Electrodes in high-energy all-solid-state lithium batteries are typically composites, consisting of mixtures of a Li storage material and a solid electrolyte. Ion transport in such composite electrodes plays an important role for battery performance. A key parameter characterizing effectiveness of ion transport is the tortuosity. While the tortuosity of separators and porous electrodes used in liquid-electrolyte batteries has been already investigated, there is a lack of data for electrodes of all-solid-state batteries. In this work, we present results for the tortuosity of a typical composite cathode, consisting of LiCoO2 active material particles and a sulfide-based solid electrolyte. To get values for tortuosity, two different approaches were followed. The first one is based on impedance spectroscopic measurements of the stationary Li+ current across the composite. The second approach combines three-dimensional reconstruction of the electrode structure based on focused ion-beam scanning electron microscopy with numerical simulations of ion transport in the reconstructed electrode. The presented results demonstrate a significant effect of residual voids in the composite electrode on the ion transport tortuosity. Careful attention should therefore be paid to the actual amount of void space formed during the preparation of composite electrodes as key component of all-solid-state batteries.",battery
"This paper summarizes battery thermal modeling capabilities for: (1) an advanced vehicle simulator (ADVISOR); and (2) battery module and pack thermal design. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) ADVISOR is developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment. There are several battery models in ADVISOR for various chemistry types. Each one of these models requires a thermal model to predict the temperature change that could affect battery performance parameters, such as resistance, capacity and state of charges. A lumped capacitance battery thermal model in the Matlab/Simulink environment was developed that included the ADVISOR battery performance models. For thermal evaluation and design of battery modules and packs, NREL has been using various computer aided engineering tools including commercial finite element analysis software. This paper will discuss the thermal ADVISOR battery model and its results, along with the results of finite element modeling that were presented at the workshop on “Development of Advanced Battery Engineering Models” in August 2001.",battery
"Wristbands are increasingly used for assessing personal chemical exposures. Unlike some exposure assessment tools, guidelines for wristbands, such as preparation, applicable chemicals, and transport and storage logistics, are lacking. We tested the wristband’s capacity to capture and retain 148 chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). The chemicals span a wide range of physical–chemical properties, with log octanol–air partitioning coefficients from 2.1 to 13.7. All chemicals were quantitatively and precisely recovered from initial exposures, averaging 102% recovery with relative SD ≤21%. In simulated transport conditions at +30 °C, SVOCs were stable up to 1 month (average: 104%) and VOC levels were unchanged (average: 99%) for 7 days. During long-term storage at −20 °C up to 3 (VOCs) or 6 months (SVOCs), all chemical levels were stable from chemical degradation or diffusional losses, averaging 110%. Applying a paired wristband/active sampler study with human participants, the first estimates of wristband–air partitioning coefficients for PAHs are presented to aid in environmental air concentration estimates. Extrapolation of these stability results to other chemicals within the same physical–chemical parameters is expected to yield similar results. As we better define wristband characteristics, wristbands can be better integrated in exposure science and epidemiological studies.",non-battery
"Microbial fuel cells were designed and operated to treat landfill leachate while simultaneously producing electricity. Two designs were tested in batch cycles using landfill leachate as a substrate without inoculation (908 to 3,200 mg/L chemical oxygen demand (COD)): Circle (934 mL) and large-scale microbial fuel cells (MFC) (18.3 L). A total of seven cycles were completed for the Circle MFC and two cycles for the larger-scale MFC. Maximum power densities of 24 to 31 mW/m2 (653 to 824 mW/m3) were achieved using the Circle MFC, and a maximum voltage of 635 mV was produced using the larger-scale MFC. In the Circle MFC, COD, biological oxygen demand (BOD), total organic carbon (TOC), and ammonia were removed at an average of 16%, 62%, 23%, and 20%, respectively. The larger-scale MFC achieved an average of 74% BOD removal, 27% TOC removal, and 25% ammonia reduction while operating over 52 days. Analysis of the microbial characteristics of the leachate indicates that there might be both supportive and inhibiting bacteria in landfill leachate for operation of an MFC. Issues related to scale-up and heterogeneity of a mixed substrate remain.
",non-battery
"The operating temperatures of lithium ion battery packs in electrical vehicles and hybrid electrical vehicles need to be maintained in an optimum range for better performance and longer battery life. This paper proposes a new battery pack cooling system that utilizes the low saturation temperature of the fuel in ammonia based future hybrid electric vehicles. In the proposed cooling system, the batteries are partially submerged in to the liquid ammonia, and the liquid ammonia cools the battery by absorbing the heat and evaporating and the ammonia vapor cools the part of the battery not covered by liquid ammonia. The relationships between the performance of the battery cooling system and the maximum temperature (and the temperature distribution) in the battery are investigated for practical applications. The effect of the length of the battery that is submerged in to the liquid ammonia on the thermal performance of battery is studied and evaluated. The present results show that the proposed ammonia based cooling system offers a unique opportunity to maintain the operating temperature of the battery in an optimum range for consecutive charging and discharging phases at a high rate of 7.5C.",battery
"A simple and versatile method for preparation of novel manganese 2,5-thiophene dicarboxylate microspheres is developed via a surfactant-assisted solvo-thermal route, which are found to be a new high-energy anode material for lithium-ion batteries. It shows better cycling performance and higher discharge capacity than its counterpart of irregular shapes. A reversible capacity was achieved as high as 645.7mAhg−1 after 250 cycles at a current density of 400mAg−1. Furthermore, the coulombic efficiency can be close to 100% even after 650 charge-discharge cycles at a current density of 500mAg−1.",battery
"Although mobile devices have been considerably upgraded to more powerful terminals, yet their lightness feature still impose intrinsic limitations in their computation capability, storage capacity and battery lifetime. With the ability to release and augment the limited resources of mobile devices, mobile cloud computing has drawn significant research attention allowing computations to be offloaded and executed on remote resourceful infrastructure. Nevertheless, circumstances like mobility, latency, applications execution overload and mobile device state; any can affect the offloading decision, which might dictate local execution for some tasks and remote execution for others. We present in this article a novel system model for computations offloading which goes beyond existing works with smart centralized, selective, and optimized approach. The proposition consists of (1)hotspots selection mechanism to minimize the overhead of the offloading evaluation process yet without jeopardizing the discovery of the optimal processing environment of tasks, (2)a multi-objective optimization model that considers adaptable metrics crucial for minimizing device resource usage and augmenting its performance, and (3)a tailored centralized decision maker that uses genetics to intelligently find the optimal distribution of tasks. The scalability, overhead and performance of the proposed hotspots selection mechanism and hence its effect on the decision maker and tasks dissemination are evaluated. The results show its ability to notably reduce the evaluation cost while the decision maker was able in turn to maintain optimal dissemination of tasks. The model is also evaluated and the experiments prove its competency over existing models with execution speedup and significant reduction in the CPU usage, memory consumption and energy loss.",non-battery
"A counter flow membraneless microfluidic fuel cell is presented, where a non-reacting electrolyte separates the reacting streams. In this fuel cell design, vanadium reactants flow through porous carbon electrocatalysts. A sulfuric acid stream is introduced in the gap between the electrodes and diverts the reactants to opposite and independent outlets. This fuel cell differs from other membraneless designs in its ability to maintain a constant separation between the reactants without diffusive mixing.",battery
"This exploratory study targets married, heterosexual couples living in Sarasota County, Florida and uses a dyadic interview approach to understand how the interactions of married couples, or intra-household dynamics, could affect household hurricane preparedness. Interview results reveal that couples consider household hurricane preparedness to be a joint process between husband and wife, but in many cases, partners do not have the same opinions about these preparations. This study also shows the relations between household hurricane preparedness and household division of labor, and how the tendency of wives to prioritize relational preparedness activities could be an answer to understanding why some quantitative studies show that females have lower preparedness levels than males. Other potential problems with this previous research, including the selection of survey participants and the measurement of household hurricane preparedness, are likewise discussed.
",non-battery
 Introduction: Systemic juvenile arthritis - a rare chronic disease. Register - it's an important tool to monitor the effectiveness and safety of GIBP.,non-battery
"Two kinds of functionalized graphene sheets were produced by thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide. The first kind of functionalized graphene sheets was obtained by thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide at low temperature in air. The second kind was prepared by carbonization of the first kind of functionalized graphene sheets at higher temperature in N2. Scanning electron microscopy images show that both two kinds of samples possess nanoporous structures. The results of N2 adsorption–desorption analysis indicate that both of two kinds of samples have high BET surface areas. Moreover, the second kind of functionalized graphene sheets has a relatively higher BET surface area. The results of electrochemical tests is as follows: the specific capacitance values of the first kind of functionalized graphene sheets in aqueous KOH electrolyte are about 230Fg−1; the specific capacitance values of the second kind of functionalized graphene sheets with higher BET surface areas are only about 100Fg−1; however, compared with the first kind of functionalized graphene sheets, the second kind has a higher capacitance retention at large current density because of its good conductive behaviors; furthermore, in non-aqueous EC/DEC electrolyte, the specific capacitance values of the first kind sample and the second kind sample are about 73Fg−1 and 36Fg−1, respectively.",battery
"Electric vehicles can become integral parts of a smart grid, since they are capable of providing valuable services to power systems other than just consuming power. On the transmission system level, electric vehicles are regarded as an important means of balancing the intermittent renewable energy resources such as wind power. This is because electric vehicles can be used to absorb the energy during the period of high electricity penetration and feed the electricity back into the grid when the demand is high or in situations of insufficient electricity generation. However, on the distribution system level, the extra loads created by the increasing number of electric vehicles may have adverse impacts on grid. These factors bring new challenges to the power system operators. To coordinate the interests and solve the conflicts, electric vehicle fleet operators are proposed both by academics and industries. This paper presents a review and classification of methods for smart charging (including power to vehicle and vehicle-to-grid) of electric vehicles for fleet operators. The study firstly presents service relationships between fleet operators and other four actors in smart grids; then, modeling of battery dynamics and driving patterns of electric vehicles, charging and communications standards are introduced; after that, three control strategies and their commonly used algorithms are described; finally, conclusion and recommendations are made.",battery
"As part of multidisciplinary surveys of three Behavioural Phenotype Conditions (BPCs); Möbius sequence (Möbius), CHARGE syndrome (CHARGE) and oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum (OAV), autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) was diagnosed in 45%, 68% and 42% of the individuals, respectively. Diagnostic difficulties due to additional dysfunctions such as mental retardation (MR), impaired vision, reduced hearing and cranial nerve dysfunction, were experienced in all three BPC groups. The applicability of current autism diagnostic instruments, such as the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Autistic Behaviour Checklist (ABC), in individuals with ASCs and Möbius/CHARGE/OAV was analysed. Use of an extensive battery of diagnostic instruments, including both observational schedules and parent interviews, and, if possible, independent judgements from two clinicians, is essential in the diagnostics of ASCs in these individuals. Further, in individuals who are deaf and blind the applicability of current autism diagnostic instruments is highly questionable.",non-battery
"The study examines the effectiveness of a career intervention in middle schools. The intervention was organized in eight 45-minute-long group sessions. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was applied, with 120 students in the experimental group and 156 in the control group. Small- to medium-size effects were found in terms of reduction of lack of career information and an increase in independence in career decision-making. The observed effects were stable across gender and for high and low school achievers.",non-battery
"Since July 2002, tertiary treated wastewater has been artificially recharged through two infiltration ponds in the dunes of the Belgian western coastal plain. This has formed a lens of artificially recharged water in the dunes’ fresh water lens. Recharged water is recovered by extraction wells located around the ponds. Hydraulic aspects of the artificial recharge and extraction are described using field observations such as geophysical borehole loggings and a tracer test. Borehole logs indicate recharged water up to 20 m below surface, whereas the tracer test gives field data about the residence times of the recharged water. Furthermore, a detailed solute transport model was made of the area surrounding the ponds. Groundwater flow, capture zone, residence times and volume of recharged water in the aquifer are calculated. This shows that the residence time varies between 30 days and 5 years due to the complex flow pattern. The extracted water is a mix of waters with different residence times and natural groundwater, assuring a relatively stable water quality of the extracted water.
",non-battery
"The distributed generation (DG) of combined heat and power (CHP) for commercial buildings is gaining increased interest, yet real-world installations remain limited. This lack of implementation is due, in part, to the challenging economics associated with volatile utility pricing and potentially high system capital costs. Energy technology application analyses are also faced with insufficient knowledge regarding how to appropriately design (i.e., configure and size) and dispatch (i.e., operate) an integrated CHP system. Existing research efforts to determine a minimum-cost-system design and dispatch do not consider many dynamic performance characteristics of generation and storage technologies. Consequently, we present a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model that prescribes a globally minimum cost system design and dispatch, and that includes off-design hardware performance characteristics for CHP and energy storage that are simplified or not considered in other models. Specifically, we model the maximum turn-down, start up, ramping, and part-load efficiency of power generation technologies, and the time-varying temperature of thermal storage technologies. The consideration of these characteristics can be important in applications for which system capacity, building demand, and/or utility guidelines dictate that the dispatch schedule of the devices varies over time. We demonstrate the impact of neglecting system dynamics by comparing the solution prescribed by a simpler, linear model with that of our MINLP for a case study consisting of a large hotel, located in southern Wisconsin, retrofitted with solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and a hot water storage tank. The simpler model overestimates the SOFC operational costs and, consequently, underestimates the optimal SOFC capacity by 15%.",battery
"The multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT)-embedded activated carbon nanofibers (ACNF/CNT) and activated carbon nanofibers (ACNF) were prepared by stabilizing and activating the non-woven web of polyacrilonitrile (PAN) or PAN/CNT prepared by electrospinning. Both ACNF and ACNF/CNT were partially aligned along the winding direction of the drum winder. The average diameter of ACNF was 330nm, while that of ACNF/CNT was lowered to 230nm with rough surface. This was attributed to the CNT-added polymer solution in the electrospinning process providing finer fibers by increasing the electrical conductivity compared with the CNT-free one. The specific surface area and electrical conductivity of ACNF were 984m2/g and 0.42S/cm, respectively, while those of ACNF/CNT were 1170m2/g and 0.98S/cm, respectively. PPy was coated on the electrospun ACNF/CNT (PPy/ACNF/CNT) by in situ chemical polymerization in order to improve the electrochemical performance. The capacitances of the ACNF and PPy/ACNF electrodes were 141 and 261F/g at 1mA/cm2, respectively, whereas that of PPy/ACNF/CNT was 333F/g. This improvement in capacitance was attributed to the following: (i) the preparation of aligned nano-sized ACNF/CNT by electrospinning and the addition of CNT and (ii) the formation of a good charge-transfer complex by the PPy coating on the surface of the aligned nano-sized ACNF/CNT. The former leads to a good morphology and superior properties, such as a higher surface area, the formation of mesopores and an increase in electrical conductivity. The latter offers a refined three-dimensional network due to the highly porous structure between ACNF/CNT and PPy.",battery
"This paper adopts the concept of `environmental imaginaries' to explore the influence of environmental discourses upon supporters of Australian environmental movements. Rather than investigate knowledge, values, attitudes or behaviour, as is often the focus of research into public environmentalism, this study analyses the presence, absence, influence and interactions of different environmental discourses at the interpersonal scale. The relative acceptability and familiarity of different environmental philosophies, with their radically different approaches to nature, has important impacts upon the political strategies, actions and directions adopted by environmental movements. Through conducting a series of ongoing discussion groups with self-identifying `environmentalists' it is found that nature is constructed predominantly through the language and concepts of sustainable development, although this discourse coexists with a number of concurrent and oppositional viewpoints. The power of sustainable development is self-sustained through the normalisation of particular languages and modes of expression. Alternative ideas and discourses are inhibited by a lack of language and familiarity and consequently disempowered and relegated to subordinate positions within discussions. The paper concludes by arguing that the lack of acceptance of alternative ecocentric ideas within the environmental community risks de-radicalising the movement and limits the diversity of political strategies and options that it could potentially adopt.",non-battery
"Carbon-encapsulated LiMn2O4 (LMO@C) spheres were prepared using polymer microgel reactor, in which Mn2+ ions are hydrolyzed in situ to form Mn(OH)2, and followed by annealing at a high temperature. The LMO@C spheres are constructed with the spinel LiMn2O4 nanospheres that embedded in a porous carbon matrix uniformly. Owing to possessing three-dimensional (3D) electron-conductive and 3D ion-conductive networks, the LMO@C spheres exhibit high rate capability. They can deliver the specific capacities of 142, 137, 126, 107, and 91 mAh g−1 at the rates of 0.1C, 1C, 5C, 10C, and 20C (1C = 148 mA g−1), respectively. Owing to carbon encapsulation, the LMO@C spheres can retain 80% of the initial capacity at 1C rate after 1000 cycles at 25 °C, displaying stable cycling performance. The results suggest that the LMO@C spheres are promising cathode materials for high-power lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"In this paper, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) power management for a reverse osmosis desalination unit fed by hybrid renewable energy sources solar PV and wind turbine associated to battery bank as storage element is studied. The ANN power management system has as main objective to ensure the smooth transfer of the generated power by these sources under the variability and intermittency of the wind speed and the irradiation during 24 h of operation considering the limitation constraints of the RO unit and the need water profile. The design, the modeling and the control strategies of all the components are made in this study using Matlab/Simulink. The results show the ability of the ANN power manager to define the operating modes based on the proposed flow chart.",non-battery
"Electricity generation presents the biggest opportunity to lower CO2 emissions and it is foreseen that hydrogen energy technology will play an important role in realising the scenario to cap global warming at 2°C through replacement of fossil fuels with renewables. The transition to electric power for transport in battery- and fuel-cell-electric vehicles will further increase the need for low-carbon electricity generation. For a successful transition to a renewable energy economy the traditional approach of designing energy systems to meet only goals related to the technology (capacity, availability, reliability) and economics (return on investment, cost to the consumer) must evolve to take on a more holistic viewpoint and be able to take into account other goals addressing environmental and social considerations. This paper reviews approaches for integrating hydrogen energy technology into hybrid energy systems, emphasising electricity generation using a hydrogen fuel cell. Integration of energy storage, sizing methodologies, energy flow management and their associated optimization algorithms and software implementation are addressed. Few published case studies go beyond technical considerations. This reality is discussed in the light of available software packages. A four-dimensional multi-objective meta-heuristic function is proposed with weighting of technical, economic, environmental and socio-political factors to suit the design goals for the energy system.",battery
"Blending of lithium insertion compounds is a promising approach to design advanced electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. In spite of considerable improvements regarding the power density, some basic interactions between the constituents of the blend are still under discussion. Herein we quantify the so-called buffer effect observed in blended insertion electrodes for the first time by using a special experimental setup and a model-like blended insertion electrode. Internal dynamics of the blend are investigated during defined pulse loads and subsequent relaxation. The results reveal significant electrochemical interactions between the constituents, depending on the applied current and the overpotential, respectively. These interactions are attributed to thermodynamic factors of emerging and converging equilibrium potentials of the constituents during charging-discharging and subsequent relaxation. This buffer effect enables the preparation of electrodes with high energy density and very good rate capability by combining active materials with high specific capacity and fast kinetics.",battery
"The interest in electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is rapidly growing in recent years. The reason is that UAVs have abilities to perform some difficult or dangerous tasks, with high mobility, safety, and low cost. It should be noted that UAVs are revolutionizing many public services including real time monitoring, search and rescue, wildlife surveys, delivery services, wireless coverage, and precision agriculture. To increase endurance and achieve good performance, UAVs generally use a hybrid power supply system architecture. A hybrid power architecture may combine several power sources such as fuel cell, battery, solar cells, and supercapacitor. The choice of a suitable power source hybridization architecture with an optimal energy management system are therefore crucial to enable an efficient operation of advanced UAVs. In the context of battery-powered UAV platforms, including new technologies such as swapping laser-beam inflight recharging and tethering, this paper proposes a comprehensive and critical state of the art review on power supply configurations and energy management systems to find out gaps and to provide insights and recommendations for future research.",battery
"This paper presents the development and experimental characterizations of a prototyping pure electric ground vehicle, which is equipped with four independently actuated in-wheel motors (FIAIWM) and is powered by a 72V 200Ah LiFeYPO4 battery pack. Such an electric ground vehicle (EGV) employs four in-wheel (or hub) motors to independently drive/brake the four wheels and is one of the promising vehicle architectures primarily due to its actuation flexibility, energy efficiency, and performance potentials. Experimental data obtained from the EGV chassis dynamometer tests were employed to generate the in-wheel motor torque response and power efficiency maps in both driving and regenerative braking modes. A torque distribution method is proposed to show the potentials of optimizing the FIAIWM EGV operational energy efficiency by utilizing the actuation flexibility and the characterized in-wheel motor efficiency and torque response.",battery
"High-performance polymer electrolytes are highly sought after in the development of solid-state batteries. Lynden Archer and co-workers report an in situ polymerization of liquid electrolytes in a lithium battery for creating promising polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and low interfacial resistance.
",battery
"4,5-Dimethyl-[1,3]dioxol-2-one (DMDO) was used as a novel electrolyte additive for lithium-ion batteries. The effect of DMDO on the formation of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on anode and cathode of MCMB/LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cells was investigated via a combination of electrochemical methods, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is found that cells with electrolyte containing 2% DMDO have better capacity retention than cells without DMDO and this improved performance is ascribed to the assistance of DMDO in forming better SEIs on anode and cathode. DMDO-decomposition products are identified experimentally on the surface of the anode and cathode and supported by theoretical calculations.",battery
"Lithium-rich nickel–manganese–cobalt oxide, Li[Ni0.17Li0.2Co0.07Mn0.56]O2, was prepared by a co-precipitation method, and its cyclic behavior at a high potential was investigated. The as-prepared material shows a rapid capacity fading in its initial several cycles when it was operated above 4.5V, which could be significantly improved through a pre-cycling treatment. Its reversible capacity in the range of 4.8–2V could be increased from 200 to 250mAhg−1 after 50 cycle through a stepped pre-cycling treatment.",battery
"Lithium ion batteries have attracted much attention due to their high power density. The change in concentration of salt in the electrolyte solution and local shortage of electrolyte solution in batteries cause serious degradation of battery performance. In this work, in situ Raman spectroscopy of the electrolyte solution at different positions in a laminate lithium ion battery (a typical practical battery) was simultaneously conducted by using ultrafine multi-probes. Eight probes were aligned in deep narrow spaces between two electrodes at intervals of about 2.5 mm in a plane parallel to the surfaces of electrodes. The concentration changed differently at the positions during charging and discharging. In addition, local dry up and local refilling of the electrolyte solution were observed. These phenomena were sometimes observed at the same time at the positions of two adjacent probes, indicating that the phenomena occurred in a millimeter scale. The method used in this study is useful for in situ analysis of the electrolyte solution in deep narrow spaces in other electrochemical devices under conditions close to those in practical devices.",battery
"A systematic formulation study has been performed on Co3O4 based composite electrodes. The influence of diverse parameters has been studied such as: calendaring pressure applied, composition of the composite electrode, nature of the carbon additives (carbon super P, carbon nanofibers and carbon nanotubes) and the size of the active material particles. The influence of electrochemical parameters (lower cut-off voltage, initial C rate, and rate changes or open circuit potential steps during cycling) was also ascertained. These results are discussed in the perspective of the specific issues associated with materials reacting through conversion reactions (first cycle coulombic inefficiency, voltage hysteresis and capacity fade). Finally, basing on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements and systematic record of the IR drop term of the cells upon cycling, a mechanism to account for the generally observed capacity fade on these materials is proposed.",battery
"Li7P3S11 (LPS) solid electrolyte (SE) can be used as a coating layer for Si anode as the next generation high energy storage anode material for lithium ion battery (LIB). In this paper, a thin LPS SE was designed to coat on the Si nanoparticles surface to form a core-shell structure by a facile liquid-phase in-situ reaction method. The LPS shell can address the volume expansion of silicon anode successfully during lithiation and delithiation processes. Moreover, it leads to enhancement of the electrochemical performance for Si anode with excellent cycling stability and rate ability. The LPS SE coating is expected to be a promising strategy for other lithium-ion batteries anodes.",battery
"Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a common complaint in children. Previously considered a single entity, RAP is now used as a descriptive term and sub-classified in the recently published Rome IV criteria, into four functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD), including functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome. All share common pathogenic mechanisms of visceral hypersensitivity and central hypervigilance, resulting from disruption of the microbiota–gut–brain axis and abnormal enteric neuro–immune interactions. Although FAPDs are benign in nature, the persistence of symptoms and effects on everyday life can have significant secondary effects including psychosocial morbidity. The diagnosis of FAPDs is based on careful history and examination looking for ‘alarm signs’, although a limited battery of laboratory investigations to screen for organic disease may be of value. The management of FAPDs should be multidisciplinary and based on the bio-psychosocial model of care with careful education and engagement of patients/parents. There is currently little evidence to support the routine use of pharmacotherapy, probiotics or diet and a significant placebo effect should be considered when assessing treatment effect. Hypnotherapy has been shown to be an effective therapy. Approximately 50% of FAPDs cases will achieve resolution, especially those that have engaged with the appropriate model of management.",non-battery
"Maize GA21 line has integrated several tandemly repeated copies of the r-act 5-enol-pyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase construct used for plant transformation. We were able to amplify a nucleotide sequence corresponding to the polylinker plasmid vector flanked by the r-act promoter and nopaline synthase 3′-terminator. A method for specific detection and quantification of Roundup Ready® transgenic maize line GA21 DNA using conventional and real-time PCR and based on this transgenic sequence is described. GA21 specific primers and probe were designed targeting the vector–promoter junction region and amplifying a 72-bp DNA fragment. Quantification methods were optimized through three different real-time PCR chemistries, i.e. SYBR® Green I, Amplifluor™ and TaqMan®. All three methods proved to be specific, highly sensitive and reliable for both identification and quantification of GA21 DNA. Plasmid pGAivr containing single copies of the GA21 and invertase amplicons was constructed for use as external standard in calibration curves. Using pGAivr, a TaqMan® based real-time PCR assay was optimized in duplex format targeting the maize species-specific ivr1 gene and the GA21 junction region. The detection limit of the method was 0.01% GA21, which is far below the established threshold for accidental presence of genetically modified organisms (GMO), this method therefore being suitable for use in routine GMO analysis.",non-battery
"The maximum power tracking problem and efficient energy utilization of a stand-alone photovoltaic array (PVA) feeding voltage controlled linear and nonlinear loads is studied. A novel and simple on-line fuzzy logic-based dynamic search, detection and tracking controller is developed to ensure maximum power point (MPP) operation under excursions in solar insolation, ambient temperature and electric load variations. A computer simulation model of the PVA renewable utilization scheme including the effects of temperature and solar irradiation changes was developed and fully simulated. The load voltage is controlled by a DC chopper and kept constant at the required rated voltage. A permanent magnet DC motor (PMDC) driving a fan-type load was connected in parallel to an RL passive load. A speed control scheme is also used for the PMDC motor drive so that the drive can be operated at specified speeds. Different controllers have been employed in the unified PVA scheme to control three separate loads at MPP tracking condition namely voltage at load bus and speed of the PMDC motor. The main objective of the paper is to present a novel enhanced, cost-effective MPP detector (MPPD) and dynamic MPP tracking (MPPT) controller for a hybrid mix of electric loads.",battery
"In France, the regular and compulsory detection of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) and Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) in flocks of breeding and laying hens is based on bacteriological examination of environmental swabs and faeces samples. The aim of this study was to compare this bacteriological examination with a serological method (ELISA) developed in our laboratory. This ELISA was first evaluated by use of artificially infected hens. During these experimental infection studies, several groups of hens were inoculated with SE, ST, different vaccines and different Salmonella serovars to calculate the experimental parameters of our ELISA. Then, in a field study, 43 flocks were followed monthly using two bacteriological samples (environmental swab and pool of faeces) and 20 serological samples (sera or yolks). Twenty-seven flocks without SE or ST gave a negative serological response throughout their surveillance. Among the 10 various serovars different from SE and ST isolated in this study, S. Heidelberg, S. Agona and S. Hadar gave seropositive results in seven flocks. Consequently, this ELISA was not specific of SE and ST as it detected serovars sharing or not common antigens with SE and ST. Seropositive results were also obtained each month for two flocks where no Salmonella could be isolated. Finally, in seven flocks found infected with SE or ST, the positive ELISA results appeared later than the bacteriological detection. Therefore, for the detection of chicken flocks recently infected with SE or ST, bacteriological examination currently used in France seems to be more appropriate than this ELISA.",non-battery
"Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary microangiopathy with adult onset caused by a missense mutation in the NOTCH3 gene in chromosome 19p13. It presents with autosomal dominant arteriopathy, subcortical infarctions, and leukoencephalopathy. Its common clinical presentations are seen as recurrent strokes, migraine or migraine-like headaches, progressive dementia, pseudobulbar paralysis, and psychiatric conditions. Two patients with CADASIL syndrome, whose diagnosis was made based on clinical course, age of onset, imaging findings, and genetic assays in the patients and family members, are presented here because of new familial polymorphisms. The first patient, with cerebellar and psychotic findings, had widespread non-confluent hyperintense lesions as well as moderate cerebellar atrophy in cranial magnetic resonance scanning. The other patient, with headache, dizziness, and forgetfulness, had gliotic lesions in both cerebral hemispheres. CADASIL gene studies revealed a new polymorphism in exon 33 in the first patient. In the other patient, the NOTCH3 gene was identified as a new variant of p.H243P (c.728A > C heterozygous). By reporting a family presenting with various clinical symptoms in the presence of new polymorphisms, we emphasize that CADASIL syndrome may present with various clinical courses and should be considered in differential diagnoses.",non-battery
"Germany is, compared to other countries like France (Rhone-Valley), Italy (Po-Valley), Ukraine and Hungary, limited in respect to ragweed infestation. Conditions in Germany are therefore favourable for the containment of ragweed. Switzerland implemented legislation against birdseed contamination by ragweed early during the plants expansion, and obligatory ragweed registration- and eradication showed that ragweed containment is possible. Without counter measures ragweed expansion in Germany will take place, resulting in more allergic disease. Considering the increasing number of allergic individuals, even without ragweed invasion, containment of the neophyte should be actively persued. Unfortunately, time is running out.
",non-battery
"An architecture featuring carbon coated, interconnected nano-grains constructed with mesopores is developed for LiMnPO4 cathode material. This architecture facilitates enhanced lithium ionic and electronic transports; favours improved lithium storage performance. Mesoporous LiMnPO4/C electrode delivers discharge capacity of 140mAhg−1 at 0.05C using galvanostatic cycling mode. This best electrochemical response of LiMnPO4/C at constant current mode is complemented by diffusion studies using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. Further, the interdependence of lithium storage performance on carbon content, milling time (2, 4, 6 and 10h), grain size and porous characteristics (surface area, pore size and pore volume) is also discussed. Finally, the feasibility of LiMnPO4/C cathode is evaluated against Li4Ti5O12/C anode in a full cell.",battery
"Recent electrochemical studies involving in situ Mössbauer spectroscopy are reviewed. The principal application has been the development of new electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, where Mössbauer spectroscopy plays an important complementary role to XRD in characterizing, and usually identifying, nanocrystalline and intermediate phases of iron and tin. Other applications include the crystallography of Prussian Blue, taken using a recently developed spectrometer for acquiring multiple spectra during continuous cyclic voltammetry, valence interconversion in clay minerals and electrochemical oxygen reduction.
",non-battery
"Magnesium batteries have long been pursued as potentially low-cost, high-energy and safe alternatives to Li-ion batteries. However, Mg2+ interacts strongly with electrolyte solutions and cathode materials, leading to sluggish ion dissociation and diffusion, and consequently low power output. Here we report a heterogeneous enolization chemistry involving carbonyl reduction (C=O↔C–O−), which bypasses the dissociation and diffusion difficulties, enabling fast and reversible redox processes. This kinetically favoured cathode is coupled with a tailored, weakly coordinating boron cluster-based electrolyte that allows for dendrite-free Mg plating/stripping at a current density of 20 mA cm−2. The combination affords a Mg battery that delivers a specific power of up to 30.4 kW kg−1, nearly two orders of magnitude higher than that of state-of-the-art Mg batteries. The cathode and electrolyte chemistries elucidated here propel the development of magnesium batteries and would accelerate the adoption of this low-cost and safe battery technology.",battery
"A new anode composite material is prepared by thermal treatment of a blend made of silicon monoxide (SiO) and lithium hydroxide (LiOH) at 550°C followed by ball milling with graphite. X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the presence of Li4SiO4 in the thermally treated (SiO+LiOH) material. The electrode appears to be smooth and glassy as evident from observation with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), possibly due to the presence of nano-silicon and Li4SiO4 particles, and exhibits superior performance with a charge capacity of ∼333mAhg−1 at the 100th cycle with a low-capacity fade on cycling. Cyclic voltammograms of the electrode predict high power capability. On the other hand, the electrode comprising of only SiO and C prepared through ball milling, devoid of Li4SiO4, shows hard crust particulates in the electrode exhibiting low charge–discharge capacities with cycling.",battery
"We demonstrate a very simple, cost-effective and superfast process for making Li-ion battery (LIB) anode grade carbon from agro-waste in the form of sugarcane bagasse using a low power microwave system. Activation of this bagasse derived carbon is carefully optimized by using various weight ratios of KOH to obtain the desired properties of functional carbon in terms of porosity and electrical conductivity. Low equivalent series resistance (ESR), low charge transfer resistance with good electrical conductivity, and optimum porosity for efficient ion diffusion make this carbon a good candidate for Li-ion battery anode material rendering a reversible capacity of 757mAhg−1 at a current density of 100mAg−1 and a good cycling performance at high current rates.",battery
"With the discovery of mechanically exfoliated graphene in 2004, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have emerged as one of the most promising candidates in the fields of chemistry, material science, physics, and nanotechnology due to their unique physical, chemical, optical and electronic properties. In this Review, we briefly introduce the general synthetic strategies applied to 2D nanomaterials, followed by describing some important and newly developed members of the 2D family. Then, we discuss in detail the engineering strategies to enhance their intrinsic performance for extensive applications among the electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, energy storage, and bioimaging. Finally, the challenges and outlooks in these fields are also addressed.",non-battery
"Three unrelated patients, one girl, one boy, and an adult female, aged 14, 11 and 41 years, respectively, at the time of biopsy, revealed lysosomal glycogen storage, autophagic vacuoles and peculiar globular inclusions of distinct ultrastructure, which were reducing but did not appear like true “reducing bodies” as described in the congenital myopathy “reducing body myopathy”. All three patients had residual activity of acid α-glucosidase in their muscle biopsy samples. Leukocytes in the girl showed normal acid α-glucosidase activity, but in the boy activity was reduced. Molecular genetic analysis of the GAA gene revealed disease-causing mutations in each patient: H568L/R672W, IVS1–13T>G/G615F, and IVS1–13T>G/IVS1–13T>G. Although only one patient with such globular inclusions has been reported up to now, the three patients described here indicate that in the late-onset type of GSD II such inclusions may not be rare.",non-battery
"This paper proposes a new energy management scheduling model for optimizing operation costs of a non-isolated micro-grid. It's assumed that the micro-grid includes some renewable energy resources like wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, fuel cell, and energy storage systems, and is connected to the macro-grid through a distributed transmission line with limited capacity. Different possible uncertainties associated with different elements of the micro-grid like forecasted outputs of renewable resources, a maximum capacity of the fuel cell and batteries, a maximum capacity of distributed line and hourly demands are considered in the proposed model. Fuzzy sets concept is used to model these uncertainties in the micro-grid and a three stage optimization method is applied to find the optimal scheduling of the micro-grid under the uncertainties. The proposed method is implemented to a real case study. Impacts of variations in each element of the micro-grid and its associated uncertainty on the results are investigated through a sensitivity analysis.",battery
"In this paper, we report the results and analysis of a recent field campaign in August 2007 investigating the impacts of emissions from transportation on air quality and community concentrations in Beijing, China. We conducted measurements in three different environments, on-road, roadside and ambient. The carbon monoxide, black carbon and ultrafine particle number emission factors for on-road light-duty vehicles are derived to be 95gkg−1-fuel, 0.3gkg−1-fuel and 1.8×1015 particleskg−1-fuel, respectively. The emission factors for on-road heavy-duty vehicles are 50gkg−1-fuel, 1.3gkg−1-fuel and 1.1×1016 particleskg−1-fuel, respectively. The carbon monoxide emission factors from this study agree with those derived from remote sensing and on-board vehicle emission testing systems in China. The on-road black carbon and particle number emission factors for Chinese vehicles are reported for the first time in the literature. Strong traffic impacts can be observed from the concentrations measured in these different environments. Most clear is a reflection of diesel truck traffic activity in black carbon concentrations. The comparison of the particle size distributions measured at the three environments suggests that the traffic is a major source of ultrafine particles. A four-day traffic control experiment conducted by the Beijing Government as a pilot to test the effectiveness of proposed controls was found to be effective in reducing extreme concentrations that occurred at both on-road and ambient environments.",non-battery
"Epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG) possesses many beneficial properties, such as anticarcinogenicity, antiatherogenicity, as well as antioxidant and antibacterial activities. However, the bacterial response to sublethal concentrations of EGCG has not been studied. Here we investigated whether short exposure of staphylococci strains to sublethal doses of EGCG can lead to adaptation and cross-resistance. Two-hour exposure of five strains to 20µg/ml of EGCG did not affect the growth rate but significantly elevated the resistance towards antibiotics targeting the bacterial cell wall. The magnitude of cross-resistance towards such antibiotics varied with the staphylococci strain, with Staphylococcus aureus Newman exhibiting the highest magnitude of cross-resistance, showing a 2, 4 and 8-fold increase in resistance towards vancomycin, oxacillin and ampicillin respectively. All EGCG-adapted strains were also more heat tolerant than their control counterparts as derived from the Weibull model. Adaptation to EGCG led to a moderate increase in heat resistance of the adapted strains S. epidermis ATCC 12228, S. aureus Newman, and S. aureus ATCC 29213, and an extremely pronounced increase for S. aureus ATCC 6538 and S. aureus RN4220. The shape of the survival curve also varied with the staphylococci strain. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed suppressed separation of daughter cells in cultures exposed to EGCG, as evidenced by the pseudomulticellular appearance and by more than 2-fold increase in cell wall thickness. These observations raise concerns over the potential of EGCG utilization in therapy in that it may contribute to the development and enhancement of microbial resistance mechanisms.",non-battery
"Objectives This study examined the stability of motor coordination and the relationship between motor coordination and organized sports participation over time. Design Longitudinal design. Methods A total of 371 children between six and nine years of age at initial testing completed a test battery measuring motor coordination in three consecutive years and a questionnaire on their club sports participation in year 1 and year 3 of testing. Results Correlation coefficients revealed the motor coordination of children to be a highly stable factor, ranging from 0.662 (6–8 years) to 0.873 (7–9 years). Results of the Repeated Measures ANOVA indicated that children who consistently practiced sports in a club environment over the three years of testing displayed better coordination levels than children who only partially participated or did not participate in a club environment at all. Moreover, stability was further indicated as consistent sports participation over time and changes or lack thereof did not substantially influence the development of motor coordination over time. In addition, the basic level of motor coordination and the amount of club sports participation significantly predicted sports participation two years later. Conclusion The importance of the stability of motor coordination levels in childhood and its role in determining organized sports participation may have implications for talent identification purposes as well as potential health-related benefits in childhood and throughout the lifespan.",non-battery
"For the first time, a green lignin/silica nanocomposite (LSC) is introduced to the rechargeable hybrid aqueous Zn/LiMn2O4 battery (ReHAB) as additive in the cathode formulation. Lignin acts as a key role to regulate and control the structure of LSC, intending to enhance the stability of the ReHAB by improving the float charge performance while maintaining other electrochemical performances of the battery. The lignin/silica nanocomposites (LSCs) are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, surface area and porosimetry analyzer, and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that amorphous, uniform and mesoporous LSC-1 is prepared at the mass ratio of 1:2 of lignin to silica. LSC-1 used as the cathode additive improves the float charge performance of ReHAB via decreasing the float charge capacity by 57%. To compensate the loss of conductivity caused by LSC-1 and increase the capacity of the battery, graphene (G) is added. Compared to the reference battery, battery using the cathode containing 3 wt% combined additive of LSC-1 and G at mass ratio of 1:1, has 50% lower float charge capacity, higher rate performance and better cyclability. Up to a discharge capacity of 95 mAh g−1 is still obtained after 300 cycles of 100% depth-of-discharge.",battery
"Objectives The efficacy of cognitive remediation interventions in schizophrenia has been demonstrated in several experimental studies. However, the effectiveness of such treatments in the usual setting of care of schizophrenia and a direct comparison of different modalities of interventions have not been systematically analyzed. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the cognitive subprograms of Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT-cog) and of a computer-assisted cognitive remediation (CACR) method on symptomatological, neuropsychological and functional outcome measures in schizophrenia. Methods Ninety patients with schizophrenia were assigned to IPT-cog, CACR or usual rehabilitative interventions (REHAB) in a naturalistic setting of care. Clinical, neuropsychological, and functional outcome variables were assessed at baseline and after 24weeks of treatment. Results Both the IPT-cog and CACR groups improved more than the comparison group with respect to all outcome variables. The more responsive cognitive domains were speed of processing and working memory. The effectiveness of the 2 remediation methods on the outcome dimensions considered was comparable. However, IPT-cog, but not CACR, was more effective than REHAB on speed of processing, and the CACR group had better outcome than both the REHAB and the IPT-cog groups when the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale was considered. Few correlations between neurocognitive and functional outcome changes were found. Conclusions The study demonstrates the effectiveness, although nongeneralized, of IPT-cog and CACR in schizophrenia when applied within a psychiatric and psychosocial treatment regimen representative of the usual setting and modality of care, with no evident superiority of any of the methods, and indicates that the changes in functional outcome during treatment are modestly mediated by improvement in specific cognitive domains.",non-battery
"Quantifying water exchange between a coastal wetland and the underlying groundwater is important for closing water, energy and chemical budgets. The coastal wetlands of the Florida Everglades (USA) are at the forefront of a large hydrologic restoration project, and understanding of groundwater/surface-water interactions is needed to comprehend the effects of the project. Four independent techniques were used to identify water exchange at varying spatial and temporal scales in Taylor Slough, Everglades National Park. The techniques included a water-budget study and measurements of hydraulic head gradients, geochemical tracers, and temperature. During the 18-month study, the four methods converged as to the timing of groundwater discharge, typically between June and September, contemporaneous with the wet season and increasing surface-water levels. These results were unexpected, as groundwater discharge was predicted to be greatest when surface-water levels were low, typically during the dry season. Either a time lag of 1–5 months in the response of groundwater discharge to low surface-water levels or precipitation-induced groundwater discharge may explain the results. Groundwater discharge was a significant contributor (27 %) to the surface water in Taylor Slough with greater rates of discharge observed towards the coastline in response to seawater intrusion.",non-battery
"In this article we report a facile method to create a polyaniline (PANI) nanorod/carbon nanoparticle (CNP) composite structure that is suitable for supercapacitor use. A network of CNPs was conveniently produced on the surface of a nickel foam by collecting candle soot above a burning candle. The PANI nanorods were then electrochemically deposited on the CNP network, forming a star-like interconnected 3D structure. As a comparison, MnO2 particles were also deposited on the CNP network to produce a broccoli-like structure. The electrochemical properties of these two composites were examined using cyclic voltammetry, cyclic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The two electrodes exhibited different electrochemical behaviors: high capacitance at low current densities and marked deterioration at high ones for CNPs/PANI and relatively low but stable capacitance for CNPs/MnO2. The reasons for this distinction were discussed based on the structures and material properties of the electrodes.",battery
"Most of the metal oxides (e.g., SnO2) are developed as promising anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacities. However, the irreversible conversion of Sn to SnO2 during cycling highly reduces the lithium storage capacity of SnO2. Herein Pd-doped graphene-SnO2 nanocomposite is prepared by a modified electroless plating method and exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance including high reversible capacity, excellent cycling stability and rate capability. We believe that Pd doping can prevent the aggregation of SnO2 nanoparticles (∼2.5nm) on the graphene, improve the electronic conductivity of graphene-SnO2 and importantly, promote the conversion reaction between SnO2 and Sn during cycling. Catalyst doping in metal oxides may offer a new approach to realize high-performance electrodes for next-generation lithium ion batteries.",battery
"An infrequent change to an otherwise repetitive sequence of stimuli leads to the generation of mismatch negativity (MMN), even in the absence of attention. This evoked negative response occurs in the scalp-recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) over the temporal and frontal cortices, 100–250 ms after onset of the deviant stimulus. The MMN is used to detect sensory information processing. The aim of our study was to investigate whether MMN can be recorded in the subthalamic nuclei (STN) as evidence of auditory information processing on an unconscious level within this structure. To our knowledge, MMN has never been recorded in the human STN. We recorded intracerebral EEG using a MMN paradigm in five patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who were implanted with depth electrodes in the subthalamic nuclei (STN). We found far-field MMN when intracerebral contacts were connected to an extracranial reference electrode. In all five PD patients (and nine of ten intracerebral electrodes), we also found near-field MMN-like potentials when intracerebral contacts were referenced to one another, and in some electrodes, we observed phase reversals in these potentials. The mean time-to-peak latency of the intracerebral MMN-like potentials was 214 ± 38 ms (median 219 ms). We reveal MMN-like potentials in bilateral STN. This finding provides evidence that STN receives sensory (auditory) information from other structures. The question for further research is whether STN receives such signals through a previously described hyperdirect pathway between STN and frontal cortex (a known generator of the MMN potential) and if the STN contributes to sensorimotor integration.",non-battery
"Water use and plant growth and quality were compared across different nursery stock beds, different methods of applying irrigation, and different methods of scheduling irrigation. With overhead irrigation, scheduling of irrigation according to plant demand, along with an irrigation system designed to maximise irrigation uniformity, resulted in substantial water savings, without reducing plant quality. This was the case in both wet and dry years. In the dry year, plant quality was particularly good when grown on a sub-irrigated sand bed; this system also used less water than any of the overhead irrigation systems. Two different systems were effective in scheduling overhead irrigation, one based on the volumetric moisture in the growing substrate, and the other based on plant evapotranspiration. The latter was determined with a small sensor with wet and dry artificial “leaves”, the output of which correlated with that obtained following the Penman–Monteith method based on a full set of meteorological data.",non-battery
"Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) capable of drawing tractive energy from the electric grid represent an energy efficient alternative to conventional vehicles. After several thousand charge depleting cycles, PHEV traction batteries can be subject to energy and power degradation which has the potential to affect vehicle performance and efficiency. This study seeks to understand the effect of battery degradation and the need for battery replacement in PHEVs through the experimental measurement of lithium ion battery lifetime under PHEV-type driving and charging conditions. The dynamic characteristics of the battery performance over its lifetime are then input into a vehicle performance and fuel consumption simulation to understand these effects as a function of battery degradation state, and as a function of vehicle control strategy. The results of this study show that active management of PHEV battery degradation by the vehicle control system can improve PHEV performance and fuel consumption relative to a more passive baseline. Simulation of the performance of the PHEV throughout its battery lifetime shows that battery replacement will be neither economically incentivized nor necessary to maintain performance in PHEVs. These results have important implications for techno-economic evaluations of PHEVs which have treated battery replacement and its costs with inconsistency.",battery
"Using waste Zn–Mn dry batteries, waste scrap iron and pyrolusite as raw materials, Mn–Zn soft magnetic ferrite powders were prepared through the process of simultaneous leaching, purification and co-precipitation. The experimental results indicated that the leached yields of Fe, Mn and Zn were 92.02%, 96.14% and 98.34%, respectively. The leached liquor was purified through these processes of sulfuration precipitation, fluorination precipitation and double salt precipitation deep purification process. Therefore, high removal yields of impurities could be achieved. Removal yields were as follows: Ca 99.7%, Mg 92.33%, Al 96.48%, Si 63.64%, Cu 99.86%, Pb 98.51%, Cd 53.0% and Ni 78.72%. Among these co-precipitation powders, the average mass content of the main components were Fe 41.41%, Mn 13.92% and Zn 4.49%, and the mass ratio of Fe:Zn:Mn was 69.2:23.3:7.5. Compared with the theoretical prescription (Fe:Mn:Zn=67.3:24.4:8.3), the absolute errors of main components were Fe +1.9%, Mn −1.1% and Zn −0.8%. Because of content impurities in co-precipitation powders (Ca<0.0028%, Mg<0.0053%, Al<0.0084%, SiO2 <0.0023%, Pb<0.0031% and Cu<0.0010%), the qualities of these gained co-precipitation powders could compete with the demand for the preparation of soft magnetic ferrite. The magnetic properties also demonstrated that the soft magnetic ferrite samples, which were made from the co-precipitation powders prepared by used batteries, had the same qualities as PC30 made by the TDK Company.",non-battery
"We assess the psychometric properties of a revised stigma scale and report the levels of stigma in an incident population and the clinical, demographic, and quality-of-life factors associated with doing so. A total of 1566 people with new-onset epilepsy completed the revised stigma scale, as part of the Standard and New Antiepileptic Drugs (SANAD) trial. The revised scale had good internal consistency (0.85) and good concurrent validity. It also reduced the floor and ceiling effects associated with the original scale. Fifty-four percent of people reported feeling stigmatized (47.3% mild–moderate stigma, 6.1% high stigma). Reduced sense of mastery, younger age (<50), side effects of medication, poorer cognitive function, feeling socially restricted, poor global quality of life, and more than four seizures at baseline were significant factors determining scores on this revised scale. These should be the focus of interventions to try and reduce feelings of stigma in those with new-onset epilepsy.",non-battery
"Polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based polymer electrolytes with BaTiO3 as a filler have been examined as electrolytes in 4V class lithium polymer secondary batteries. A mixture of 90wt.% LiN(CF3SO2)2–10wt.% LiPF6 was found to be the best candidate as the salt in PEO, and showed high electrical conductivity, good corrosion resistance to the aluminum current collector and low interfacial resistance between the lithium metal anode and the polymer electrolyte. The cyclic performance of the cell, Li/[PEO10–(LiN(CF3SO2)2–10wt.% LiPF6)]–10wt.% BaTiO3/LiNi0.8Co0.2O2/Al, showed good charge–discharge cycling performance. The observed capacity fading on charging up to 4.2V at 80°C in the cell was about 0.28% per cycle in the first 30 cycles, compared to that of 0.5% for the polymer electrolyte without LiPF6 in the lithium salt.",battery
"Timing is essential for various behaviors and relative to vision, audition is considered to be specialized for temporal processing. The present study conducted a sensorimotor timing task that required tapping in synchrony with a temporally regular sequence and a perceptual timing task that required detecting a timing deviation among a temporally regular sequence. The sequence was composed of auditory tones, visual flashes, or a visual bouncing ball. In the sensorimotor task, sensorimotor timing performance (synchronization stability) of the bouncing ball was much greater than that of flashes and was comparable to that of tones. In the perceptual task, where perceptual timing performance of the bouncing ball was greater than that of flashes, it was poorer than that of tones. These results suggest the facilitation of both perceptual and sensorimotor processing of temporal information by the bouncing ball. Given such facilitation of temporal processing, however, audition is still superior over vision in perceptual detection of timing.",non-battery
"Titanium foil can be a type of ideal material as the substrate for bipolar lead-acid battery. However, it can't be directly used because it can be oxidized in the high voltage and strong oxidizing conditions. In this paper, we coat the titanium suboxide on the titanium foil surface by means of the high temperature carbon sintering method for the improvement of corrosion resistance of titanium metal and use it as the substrate to bipolar lead-acid battery to study its effect on the battery performances. Modified titanium foils are characterized by SEM, XRD, corrosion resistance test and electronic conductivity test. The electrochemical properties of the bipolar lead-acid battery are investigated by constant current charge/discharge method. The results demonstrate that the titanium foil carbon-sintered at 800 °C for 2 h has the most excellent chemical stability and electronic conductivity. Initial specific capacities of positive active material of bipolar lead-acid battery with modified titanium as the substrate at 0.25C, 0.5C, 1C and 2C discharge rate are 99.29 mAh g−1, 88.93 mAh g−1, 77.54 mAh g−1, and 65.41 mAh g−1. After 50 cycles, the specific capacity of positive active material at 0.5C is 81.36 mAh g−1 and after 100 cycles, the specific capacity at 1C is 61.92 mAh g−1.",battery
"Objectives The aims of this study were to (i) investigate instrumented physical capability (iCap) as a valid method during a large study and (ii) determine whether iCap can provide important additional features of postural control and gait to categorise cohorts not previously possible with manual recordings. Study design Cross-sectional analysis involving instrumented testing on 74 adults who were recruited as part of a pilot intervention study; LiveWell. Participants wore a single accelerometer-based monitor (lower back) during standardised physical capability tests so that outcomes could be compared directly with manual recordings (stopwatch and measurement tape) made concurrently. Main outcome measures Time, distance, postural control and gait characteristics. Results Agreement between manual and iCap ranged from moderate to excellent (0.649–0.983) with mean differences between methods low and deemed acceptable. Additionally, iCap successfully quantified (i) postural control characteristics which showed sensitivity to distinguish between 5 variations of the standing balance test and (ii) 14 gait characteristics known to be sensitive to age/pathology. Conclusions Our findings show that iCap can provide robust quantitative data about physical capability during standardised tests while also providing sensitive (age/pathology) postural control and gait characteristics not previously quantifiable with manual recordings. The methodology which we propose may have practical utility in a wide range of clinical and public health surveys and studies, including intervention studies, where assessment could be undertaken within diverse settings. This will need to be tested in further validation studies in a wider range of settings.",non-battery
"Alcohol is a widely consumed drug that can lead to addiction and severe brain damage. However, alcohol is also used as self-medication for psychiatric problems, such as depression, frequently resulting in depression-alcoholism comorbidity. Here, we identify the first molecular mechanism for alcohol use with the goal to self-medicate and ameliorate the behavioral symptoms of a genetically induced innate depression. An induced over-expression of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), as was observed in depressed patients, enhanced the consumption of alcohol in a mouse model of depression. ASM hyperactivity facilitates the establishment of the conditioned behavioral effects of alcohol, and thus drug memories. Opposite effects on drinking and alcohol reward learning were observed in animals with reduced ASM function. Importantly, free-choice alcohol drinking—but not forced alcohol exposure—reduces depression-like behavior selectively in depressed animals through the normalization of brain ASM activity. No such effects were observed in normal mice. ASM hyperactivity caused sphingolipid and subsequent monoamine transmitter hypo-activity in the brain. Free-choice alcohol drinking restores nucleus accumbens sphingolipid- and monoamine homeostasis selectively in depressed mice. A gene expression analysis suggested strong control of ASM on the expression of genes related to the regulation of pH, ion transmembrane transport, behavioral fear response, neuroprotection and neuropeptide signaling pathways. These findings suggest that the paradoxical antidepressant effects of alcohol in depressed organisms are mediated by ASM and its control of sphingolipid homeostasis. Both emerge as a new treatment target specifically for depression-induced alcoholism.",non-battery
"The rational design and fabrication of flexible electrodes with high capacity, high rate capability, and high cycling stability is of urgent need for bendable, wearable, and implantable electronic devices. The integration of conductive nanocarbon as flexible scaffolds is an efficient and effective route toward flexible high-energy-density lithium–sulfur batteries. Herein, a free-standing paper electrode was constructed by rational integration of high conductive super-long carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nano-sized hollow graphene spheres (GSs) through a room-temperature solution-processable method for lithium–sulfur batteries. The hollow GSs afforded close space to accommodate sulfur species, sustain the volume fluctuation during cycling, and retard the dissolution of polysulfides and parasitic shuttle. The graphene walls of GSs and super-long CNTs synergistically constructed hierarchical short-/long-range electron/ion pathways. Consequently, the as-obtained flexible paper electrode was with a high sulfur utilization of 81% (corresponding to 1346mAhg−1) at a current density of 0.17Ag−1 (0.19mAcm−2), a high-rate capacity retention of 40% when the current density increased to supreme 16.7Ag−1 (18.4mAcm−2), and a superior capacity retention of 89.0% over 500 cycles. This proof-of-concept research indicated the well hybridization of graphene and CNTs holds promise in the efficient use as flexible electrodes for future flexible electronics.",battery
"Potential probes are applied to vanadium redox-flow batteries for determination of effective felt resistance and current density distribution. During the measurement of polarization curves in 100 cm2 cells with different carbon felt compression rates, alternating potential steps at cell voltages between 0.6 V and 2.0 V are applied. Polarization curves are recorded at different flow rates and states of charge of the battery. Increasing compression rates lead to lower effective felt resistances and a more uniform resistance distribution. Low flow rates at high or low state of charge result in non-linear current density distribution with high gradients, while high flow rates give rise to a nearly linear behavior.",battery
"Aqueous zinc-based energy storage (ZES) devices are promising candidates for portable and grid-scale applications owing to their intrinsically high safety, low cost, and high theoretical energy density. However, the conventional aqueous electrolytes are not capable of working at low temperature. Here we report a frigostable, cost-effective, safe and eco-friendly hybrid electrolyte with high zinc-ion conductivity (6.9 mS cm−1 at −40 °C), and high reversibility of Zn plating/stripping, which consists of water, ethylene glycol (EG) and zinc sulfate salt (ZnSO4). Experiments together with theoretical calculations demonstrated that the unique solvation interaction of Zn2+ with EG can effectively enhance the hydrogen bonding between EG and H2O and weaken the solvation interaction of Zn2+ with H2O, thus providing the hybrid electrolyte with a lower freezing point and reversible Zn/Zn2+ chemistry. As a proof-of-concept, both Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZHSCs) and Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) with the hybrid electrolytes delivered high energy densities (36 W h kg−1 for the ZHSC and 121 W h kg−1 for the ZIB), high power densities (3.1 kW kg−1 for the ZHSC and 1.7 kW kg−1 for the ZIB) and long-cycle life (5500 cycles over 110 days for the ZHSC and 250 cycles for the ZIB) at −20 °C. This work provides a new option for low-temperature energy storage devices.
",battery
"Active carbon (AC) is a widely used electrode material for electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs). However, it often shows poor rate capability due to its low conductivity. Herein, we report a binder-free carbon nanomaterials hybrid structure formed by core-shell structural nanowire network, in which carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypaper serves as conductive scaffold and porous AC layer is coated on individual CNTs in the buckypapers as active component for capacitance contribution. Such hybrid structure shows a greatly enhanced rate performance compared to pure CNT and AC electrode with its electrochemical capacitance better than its two components at large charge/discharge current densities. The AC layer in this hybrid buckypaper, which is as the main component contributed to the electrochemical capacitance, shows good rate performance and enhanced electrochemical capacitance at large current density. The performance improvement arises from the integration of resultant highly porous AC layer, conducting network and good interfacial contact between AC coating and CNTs, favoring the efficient transport of ions and electrons over the electrode surface. Moreover, the assembled EDLC with such hybrid buckypaper electrode also present higher and more stable energy densities with the increase of power densities compared to AC based EDLC.",battery
"In this paper we present a model of the discharge of a lithium–oxygen battery with aqueous electrolyte. Lithium–oxygen batteries (Li–O2) have recently received great attention due to their large theoretical specific energy. Advantages of the aqueous design include the stability of the electrolyte, the long experience with gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), and the solubility of the reaction product lithium hydroxide. However, competitive specific energies can only be obtained if the product is allowed to precipitate. Here we present a dynamic one-dimensional model of a Li–O2 battery including a GDE and precipitation of lithium hydroxide. The model is parameterized using experimental data from the literature. We demonstrate that GDEs remove power limitations due to slow oxygen transport in solutions and that lithium hydroxide tends to precipitate on the anode side. We discuss the system architecture to engineer where nucleation and growth predominantly occurs and to optimize for discharge capacity.
",battery
"The aim of the present study was to explore the difference in toxicity mechanism of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) at low concentrations (≤1 μg mL−1), in a freshwater bacterial isolate, Bacillus licheniformis, under light (UV-illuminated) and dark (non-illuminated) conditions. Standard plate count and MTT assays showed the dose dependent decrease in the bacterial cell viability. The difference in reduction of cell viability under light (20.7%) and dark conditions (21.3%) was statistically non-significant at 1 μg mL−1 concentration and 2 h interaction period. The fluorescence microscopy of the NP interacted cells (1.0 μg mL−1, 2 h) under light and dark conditions showed the mixture of live and dead cells. A significant dose dependent increase in intracellular ROS generation compared to control was noted. The ROS level after 2 h of interaction was significantly higher under light conditions (7.4 ± 0.13%) as compared to dark conditions (4.35 ± 0.12%). The LDH analyses confirmed a statistically significant increase in membrane permeability under dark conditions compared to the light conditions. The NPs were stable against aggregation in sterilized lake water matrix for a period of 24 h, under both light and dark conditions. However, in the presence of bacterial cells an elevated rate of sedimentation was noted under dark conditions. The electron microscopic (SEM, TEM) observations suggested the concentration buildup of NPs near the plasma membrane leading to internalization. The zeta-potential analysis proved that NP attachment was not charge based. The FTIR studies demonstrated the possible involvement of surface functional groups in the attachment. The concentration of dissolved Ti4+ ions was found to be negligible during the test period. The dominant cytotoxicity mechanism under light conditions was found to be ROS generation, whereas, NP attachment to the cell membrane leading to membrane damage significantly contributed in dark conditions.
",non-battery
"In this work, we have prepared undoped and vanadium doped ZnO nanopowders by sol–gel method. The treated powder at 500 °C has an average particle size of 25 nm. Pellets have been prepared at sintered temperature of 900 °C in atmospheric furnace. The characterization of the obtained pellets has been made by the X-ray diffraction, the UV–visible spectrophotometer, and cathodoluminescence (CL). The XRD analysis shows that ZnO has hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential direction along (101). It has also revealed that grain size and lattice parameters have increased after vanadium doping. The optical band gap has been found to increase from 3.15 to 3.27 eV as the V content varied from 0 to 10 %. CL spectra have shown a broad yellow emission at 2.2 eV and UV emission band around 3.16 eV. Doping with vanadium has enhanced the CL intensity of near band emission.
",non-battery
"Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a multifactorial neurodegenerative condition caused by genetic and environmental factors, is diagnosed using neuropsychological tests and brain imaging; molecular diagnostics are not routinely applied. Studies have identified AD-specific cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers but sample collection requires invasive lumbar puncture. To identify AD-modulated proteins in easily accessible blood platelets, which share biochemical signatures with neurons, we compared platelet lysates from 62 AD, 24 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), 13 vascular dementia (VaD), and 12 Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with those of 112 matched controls by fluorescence two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis in independent discovery and verification sets. The optimal sum score of four mass spectrometry (MS)-identified proteins yielded a sensitivity of 94 % and a specificity of 89 % (AUC = 0.969, 95 % CI = 0.944–0.994) to differentiate AD patients from healthy controls. To bridge the gap between bench and bedside, we developed a high-throughput multiplex protein biochip with great potential for routine AD screening. For convenience and speed of application, this array combines loading control-assisted protein quantification of monoamine oxidase B and tropomyosin 1 with protein-based genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the apolipoprotein E and glutathione S-transferase omega 1 genes. Based on minimally invasive blood drawing, this innovative protein biochip enables identification of AD patients with an accuracy of 92 % in a single analytical step in less than 4 h.",non-battery
"Graphene, whose structure consists of a single layer of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms, provides an excellent platform for designing composite nanomaterials. In this study, we have demonstrated a facile process to synthesize graphene–multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite. The graphene–MWCNT composite material is endowed with a large electrochemical surface area and fast electron transfer properties in Fe(CN)6 3−/4− redox species. A graphene–MWCNT composite modified electrode exhibits good performance in terms of the electrocatalytic reduction of H2O2; a sensor constructed from such an electrode shows a good linear dependence on H2O2 concentration in the range of 2×10−5 to 2.1×10−3 molL−1. The detection limit is estimated to be 9.4×10−6 molL−1. This study provides a new kind of composite modified electrode for electrochemical sensors.",battery
"Fragility functions are an important tool in earthquake engineering, used to compute the probabilities of different damage states as a function of seismic response. They can be developed for large systems like buildings and bridges, as well as for individual structural and non-structural components, such as those used in the FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment Procedure. There are currently a number of problems associated with some P-58 non-structural mechanical component fragility functions and related loss predictions, including non-convergence when fitting the fragility functions in some cases and non-monotonic loss predictions. In this study, we recommend improvements to these fragility functions and loss predictions. Firstly, we recommend using the maximum likelihood method to fit the fragility functions to the underlying empirical data. This mitigates the non-convergence problems when fitting and makes predictions that better align with damage observed in past events. To compute predicted losses for anchored mechanical components, it is necessary to additionally consider anchorage damage, which can be predicted using fragility functions based on building code provisions. We recommend refining the current FEMA P-58 method for predicting anchored mechanical component losses, such that component and anchorage damage are calculated directly according to their corresponding fragility functions. The proposed method yields more intuitive loss predictions that vary monotonically with anchorage capacity. It also leads to better predictions of losses relative to damage observed in previous events. If implemented, the recommendations made in this paper would enhance the FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment Procedure.
",non-battery
"A new type of Li1−x Fe0.8Ni0.2O2–Li x MnO2 (Mn/(Fe+Ni+Mn)=0.8) material was synthesized at 350°C in air atmosphere using a solid-state reaction. The material had an XRD pattern that closely resembled that of the original Li1−x FeO2–Li x MnO2 (Mn/(Fe+Mn)=0.8) with much reduced impurity peaks. The Li/Li1−x Fe0.8Ni0.2O2–Li x MnO2 cell showed a high initial discharge capacity above 192mAhg−1, which was higher than that of the parent Li/Li1−x FeO2–Li x MnO2 (186mAhg−1). We expected that the increase of initial discharge capacity and the change of shape of discharge curve for the Li/Li1−x Fe0.8Ni0.2O2–Li x MnO2 cell is the result from the redox reaction from Ni2+ to Ni3+ during charge/discharge process. This cell exhibited not only a typical voltage plateau in the 2.8V region, but also an excellent cycle retention rate (96%) up to 45 cycles.",battery
"A Type III Built-up Roofing Asphalt (BURA) fume condensate was evaluated for subchronic systemic toxicity and reproductive/developmental toxicity screening in Wistar rats, by OECD protocol 422 and OECD cytogenetic protocol 474. Animals were exposed by nose-only inhalation to target concentrations of 30, 100 and 300mg/m3 total hydrocarbons (actual concentrations, 30.0, 100.1 and 297.3mg/m3). The study was performed to assess potential hazards from asphalt fumes to which humans could be exposed during application. No adverse effects were seen for spermology, reproductive or developmental parameters or early postnatal development of offspring from day 1 to 4 postpartum. BURA fume condensate did not induce any significant increases in micronucleus frequency in polychromatic erythrocytes of rat bone marrow nor was neurobehavioral toxicity observed at any dose. Systemic effects were slight and seen at doses above those measured at work sites. The systemic NOAEC of 100mg/m3 for males was based on decreased body weight gain, food consumption and increased absolute and relative lung wet weight correlated with slight histological changes in the lung, primarily adaptive in nature at 300mg/m3. The female NOAEC of 30mg/m3 was based on a statistically significant increase in relative wet lung weight at higher doses, correlated with slight histopathologic effects in the lungs at the highest dose. However, no increase in relative lung weight was seen in breeding females at 100mg/m3.",non-battery
"Distinguishing psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) from epileptic seizures (ES) is a difficult task that is often aided by neuropsychological evaluation. In the present study, signal detection theory (SDT) was used to examine differences between these groups in neuropsychological performance on the Wechsler Memory Scale, Third Edition, Word List Test (WMS-III WLT). The raw WMS-III WLT scores on this task failed to discriminate the two groups; however, with the use of SDT, patients with PNES were found to have a negative response bias and increased memory sensitivity as compared with patients with ES. When patients with left (LTLE) and right (RTLE) temporal lobe epilepsy were compared, the patients with LTLE demonstrated decreased memory sensitivity but a similar response bias as compared with the patients with RTLE. Memory impairment in patients with PNES may be related to faulty decision-making strategies, rather than true memory impairment, whereas memory performance differences between the LTLE and RTLE groups are likely related to actual differences in memory abilities.",non-battery
"We compared the CO2 exchange and its controls in the plant communities of a strongly patterned aapa mire, the Kaamanen fen in northern Finland. Based on a systematic vegetation inventory and an ordination analysis, four plant community types were chosen for the study: Ericales–Pleurozium string tops, Betula–Sphagnum string margins, Trichophorum tussock flarks and Carex–Scorpidium wet flarks. We measured plant community CO2 exchange with a closed chamber technique during the growing season of 2007 and early summer of 2008. Nonlinear regression models were used for simulating the CO2 exchange over the measurement period for different mire components and for the whole mire. The CO2 exchange dynamics distinguished two functional components in the mire: an ombrotrophic component (Ericales–Pleurozium string tops) and a minerotrophic component (other plant community types). Minerotrophic plant communities responded similarly to environmental controls, the most important of these being variation in leaf area and aerobic peat volume (water level). The ombrotrophic component dynamics were more obscure; frost and possibly peat moisture played a role. The minerotrophic communities functioned as effective CO2 sinks in the simulation, while the net CO2 exchange of the ombrotrophic community was close to zero. The smaller NEE of the ombrotrophic community was due to less efficient photosynthesis per unit leaf area in combination with high ecosystem respiration resulting from a large aerobic peat volume. Our study shows that a fen/bog functional dichotomy can also exist within one mire. Wet minerotrophic communities within northern mires can act as effective CO2 sinks.
",non-battery
"The availability of high-quality nanocrystals underpins a diverse range of applications and investigations into size-dependent physical and chemical properties. Effective synthetic methods that yield uniform nanocrystals are critically important. Here we demonstrate a fast and economical microwave-assisted solid-state method to prepare spinel Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystallites in large quantities using cost-effective commercial TiO2 as a raw material of titanium. This method easily programs the synthetic conditions including temperature and time, and significantly shortens the synthesis time to minutes. The morphology and microstructure of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the as-formed Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystals prepared by microwave irradiation exhibit greatly enhanced electrochemical lithium-storage performances, including not only high rate capabilities but also a highly reversible capability of ∼160mAhg−1 over 500 cycles at 1C.",battery
"Japanese manufacturer of speciality paper products Awa Paper Company Limited has jointly developed a new filter media with Finetex Technology Global Limited, which is based in Hong Kong.",non-battery
"This article presents a meta-ethnography (Urrieta Jr and Noblit (eds), Cultural constructions of identity: meta ethnography and theory, Oxford University Press. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190676087.001.0001) of school choice across education sectors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. A site of intense contention and experimentation around school choice, Milwaukee constitutes a unique case that can offer insights into similar education reforms increasingly being implemented on a global scale. In synthesizing six book-length qualitative research studies, I engage key differences among the texts and then offer a lines-of-argument synthesis (Noblit and Hare, Meta-ethnography: synthesizing qualitative studies. Sage Publications, 1988. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412985000) that reinterprets the studies as stories about whiteness’ right to exclude across school sectors (Aggarwal, in: Fernandes (ed), Feminists rethink the neoliberal state: inequality, exclusion, and change, New York University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479800155.003.0003; Harris, Harv Law Rev 106(8):1707–1791, 1993. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341787). Lastly, I engage various layers of interpretation in the studies (via the interconnected avenues of theory, researcher positionality, and methodology) to describe race taming discourses that attempt to make race, racism, and white supremacy manageable and containable through insufficient education interventions. I suggest that both exclusion and race taming can offer cautionary lessons about the tenuousness and possibilities of interest convergence during a time of apparently renewed cross-racial support for public education in the contemporary Milwaukee education scene.
",non-battery
"The responses of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) to an optimally oriented grating are suppressed when a non-optimal grating is superimposed. Although cross-orientation suppression is thought to reflect mechanisms that maintain a distributed code for orientation, the effect of superimposed gratings on V1 population responses is unknown. Using intrinsic signal optical imaging, we found that patterns of tree shrew V1 activity evoked by superimposed equal-contrast gratings were predicted by the averages of patterns evoked by individual component gratings. This prediction held across contrasts, for summed sinusoidal gratings or nonsumming square-wave gratings, and was evident in single-unit extracellular recordings. Intracellular recordings revealed consistent levels of suppression throughout the time course of subthreshold responses. These results indicate that divisive suppression powerfully governs population responses to multiple orientations. Moreover, the specific form of suppression that we observed appears to support independent population codes for stimulus orientation and strength and calls for a reassessment of mechanisms that underlie cross-orientation suppression.
",non-battery
"Sb materials have considered to be one of the most excellent anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Developing a Sb-based materials with high-rate long-term cycling durability is highly requisite for boosting their practical application as SIB anodes. In this work, yolk-shell structured Sb@C nanoconfined nitrogen-sulfur co-doped 3D porous carbon microspheres (Sb@NS-3DPCMSs) were prepared via salt-templating directed spray-drying strategy combined with ingenious and continuous high efficiency one-pot multi-step approach. The formation mechanism of the yolk-shell structure was revealed by first-principles simulations for the first time. In the constructed 3D architecture, the robust yolk-shell structure for confining Sb nanocrystals can provide enough void space for effectively buffering the volume expansion of Sb and thus remarkably stabilize the structural integrity of the overall electrode during rapid long-term cycling, while the interconnected empty carbon box with abundant hierarchical pores and high conductivity can facilitate the fast transport of electrons, sodium ions and electrolyte in the whole electrode. Moreover, nitrogen-sulfur co-doping can enhance the intercalation kinetics of sodium ions, and further increase the capacity. As a consequence, the resulting electrode based on the optimized Sb@NS-3DPCMSs exhibits high specific capacity (~540 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1), superior rate capability (334 mA h g−1 at 20 A g−1), excellent high-rate cycling capacity retention even at low temperature of 5 °C, and ultralong high-rate cycling life (331 mA h g−1 after 10000 cycles at 20 A g−1) as SIB anode.",battery
" Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of herpes zoster (shingles). As a chronic condition, PHN can have a substantial adverse impact on patients’ lives. However, UK-specific data concerning the burden of PHN on individual patients, healthcare systems and wider society, are lacking. As the first UK-wide cross-sectional study of its kind, The Zoster Quality of Life (ZQOL) study was designed to address these concerns.",non-battery
"Hydrothermal processing, a thermochemical approach, is an excellent method of converting energy-rich biomass into useful products. This approach offers the advantage of handling biomass with relatively high moisture content by precluding an energy-intensive pretreatment step. Hydrothermal processing is of world-wide interest in view of depleting fossil-fuel reserves and increased environmental greenhouse gas emissions. There is potential to develop this novel technology at demonstration scale. This paper reviews the three hydrothermal technologies, namely hydrothermal liquefaction, gasification and carbonization, to provide insight into the likelihood of commercialization. The study discusses the role of different process parameters that have key impacts on the quality and yield of the desired products. This study also identifies the gaps in the literature including the need to establish a baseline to develop key process models and to perform a techno-economic assessment to get a better sense of the viability of the technology in future.",battery
"Morphological features of the protective layer on the graphitic electrodes, formed by reduction of electrolytic solution components during the first cycle, are investigated by SEM and common electrochemical techniques. As expected, the interaction between electrode and solution is very important, leading to quite different results for different solutions. Here, results for solution of various solvents ratio are reported. It appears that the performances of the electrodes are strongly dependent on their surface chemistry in solutions. We can conclude that the nature of the surface film plays a key role for the electrode stability or to capacity decrease always related to an increase of the electrode itself impedance.",battery
"In most mobile video encoding systems, long battery life and high performance video encoding are competing design goals. This paper proposed a Macroblock (MB) level perceptual energy scalable video encoding method noted as PMP-ESVE, in which just noticeable distortion (JND) model is introduced as the perceptual cue. PMP-ESVE includes three parts, first, PMP-ESVE can dynamic adapt the variable energy resource budget in MB level, second, PMP-ESVE jointly consider the available energy resource and the perceptual feature in order to provide a MB level scalable video encoding method under variable energy consumption budget. Third, JND model, which refers to the maximum distortion that human visual system cannot perceive, is extended from spatial domain to temporal domain so as to determine perceptual cue in unit of MB. This provides the guideline of resource allocation in MB's. Finally, both objective and subjective quality evaluations are given to evaluate the proposed method. These experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.",non-battery
 The 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (10-item CD-RISC) is an instrument for measuring resilience that has shown good psychometric properties in its original version in English. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the 10-item CD-RISC in young adults and to verify whether it is structured in a single dimension as in the original English version.,non-battery
"A microstructure-based modeling method is developed to predict the mechanical behaviors of lithium-ion battery separators. Existing battery separator modeling methods cannot capture the structural features on the microscale. To overcome this issue, we propose an image-based microstructure Representative Volume Element (RVE) modeling method, which facilitates the understanding of the separators' complex macro mechanical behaviors from the perspective of microstructural features. A generic image processing workflow is developed to identify different phases in the microscopic image. The processed RVE image supplies microstructural information to the Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Both mechanical behavior and microstructure evolution are obtained from the simulation. The evolution of microstructure features is quantified using the stochastic microstructure characterization methods. The proposed method successfully captures the anisotropic behavior of the separator under tensile test, and provides insights into the microstructure deformation, such as the growth of voids. We apply the proposed method to a commercially available separator as the demonstration. The analysis results are validated using experimental testing results that are reported in literature.",battery
"Sn–Fe/carbon nanocomposites were synthesized by the mechanochemical treatment of Sn with various amounts of an Fe/C composite through the pyrolysis of Fe(III) acetylacetonate. The composites were then evaluated as alternative anode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. Based on the obtained ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) results, and differential capacity plots (DCPs), a reaction mechanism was suggested. It was found that increasing the amounts of the SnFe phase and pyrolyzed carbon in the composite improved its electrochemical characteristics in terms of its capacity retention.",battery
"Benefiting from high volumetric energy density and generally dendrite-free growth of Mg metal, rechargeable magnesium batteries (MBs) become a promising next-generation energy storage system. Organic electrode materials, with characteristic of sustainable resource and flexible structure, have been widely studied in alkali metal ion batteries, but are rarely reported in MBs. Herein, we demonstrate that 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) serves as a cathode material for MBs in non-aqueous system, which realizes a fast diffusion kinetics and remarkable Mg-storage performance through a salt-dissolution inhibition approach for the electrolyte. The PTCDA exhibits a reversible capacity of 126 mAh g−1 (at 200 mA g−1), excellent rate performance, and good cycling stability (100 mAh g−1 even after 150 cycles). Furthermore, the evolution mechanism of the PTCDA electrode based on the transformation between carbonyl groups (CO) and enolate groups (C–O) is revealed by ex-situ phase characterization and functional group analysis. Besides, the dissolution inhibition of the PTCDA could also be realized through the incorporation of other soluble salt (KCl or NaCl) into all phenyl complex (APC) electrolyte, resulting in an enhanced cycling capacity. Considering the designable configuration of the organic materials, this work would pave way for their utilization on multi-valent ion batteries and provide efficient strategy to realize high voltage and satisfied cycle life.",battery
"In this study the structure and evolution of vacancy type defects in lithium ion batteries are investigated in respect of crystallographic properties. The relation between positron annihilation and electronic structure is discussed in terms of structural dynamics during the lithiation process. Samples of Li1−x Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC-111) electrodes with decreasing lithium content (x = 0–0.7) covering the whole range of state of charge were electrochemically prepared for the non-destructive analysis using positron coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopy (CDBS). The positron measurements allowed us to observe the evolution of the defect structure caused by the delithiation process in the NMC-111 electrodes. The combination of CDBS with X-ray diffraction for the characterization of the lattice structures enabled the analysis of the well-known kinetic-hindrance-effect in the first charge-discharge cycle and possible implications of vacancy ordering. In particular, CDBS revealed the highest degree of relithiation after discharge to 3.0 V at 55 °C. For the first time, we report on the successful application of CDBS on NMC-111 electrodes yielding new insights in the important role of defects caused by the delithiation process and the kinetic hindrance effect.",battery
"Electrodes made of purified and open single walled carbon nanotubes behave like metal hydride electrodes in Ni–MH batteries, showing high electrochemical reversible charging capacity up to 800 mAh g−1 corresponding to a hydrogen storage capacity of 2.9 wt% compared to known AB5, AB2 metal hydride electrodes.",battery
"Analysis of the evolution in solar heated drying kilns in recent decades shows that there have been a series of modifications to optimize their thermal and drying efficiency. Using an analysis method based on product design, we report on existing solar timber kilns. The different dryers and their component units are studied, developments are noted, focusing on changing trends in technological systems. As a result of this analysis we suggest some future adaptations.",battery
"In this paper we describe the role of national election studies in voting behavior research in Europe and the United States. We begin with an overview of the organizational development of election studies emphasizing those elements that have influenced design and data collection over time. We then consider the theoretical influences reflected in the several sub-fields of electoral behavior research that have been incorporated into the studies and their implications for the nature of inference. The treatment of time in both theoretical and practical terms is given special attention because of its crucial implications for research design and inference. In the final section, we illustrate how these considerations have affected the selection of variables in national election studies and discuss prospects for a greater comparative focus in the future.",non-battery
"The aim of this paper is to examine strategic niche management theory applied to green technology industries in a number of different geographical and economic settings. This is aided by a further quest, to establish firm groundwork for a neo-Schumpeterian theory of economic geography based upon his theorisation of the key roles of innovation and entrepreneurship in regional development. These two perspectives fit together rather seamlessly conceptually and in the empirical case material drawn from the USA and Europe. The results point to the centrality of geographical space in the formation not only of paradigms of regime change in industrial organisation but also of more thoroughgoing transitions from one socio-technical landscape, within which many technological regimes may have been subject to ‘creative destruction’, to another coevolutionary landscape that may be the setting for the next set of, in this case, successive post-hydrocarbon technological regimes. Observation of potential landscape change of the kind in focus in the paper is rare, and the conclusions do not go much beyond the identification of the first key elements from which the grander regime and landscape transitions may be consequent.",non-battery
"Using a sample of 21,608 firm-years from 34 countries during 1998–2004, this study evaluates the impact of voluntary adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on a firm’s implied cost of equity capital. We find that the implied cost of equity capital is significantly lower for the full IFRS adopters than for the non-adopters even after controlling for potential self-selection bias and firm-specific and country-level factors that are known to affect the implied cost of capital. This result holds irrespective of institutional infrastructure determining a country’s governance and enforcement mechanisms. We also find that the implied cost of equity capital decreases with the efficacy of institutional infrastructure. Moreover, we provide evidence that the cost of capital-reducing effect of IFRS adoption is greater when IFRS adopters are from countries with weak institutional infrastructures than when they are from countries with strong infrastructures. The above results are robust to a battery of sensitivity checks.",non-battery
"A unique S@TiO2/Ti2C nanoarchitecture was firstly synthesized as cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries, in which TiO2 hollow nanospheres encapsulating sulfur were embedded into MXene Ti2C interlayers. The as-prepared S@TiO2/Ti2C composites exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance. The initial discharge specific capacity was 1408.6 mAh g−1 at 0.2C with a high sulfur content of 78.4 wt.%. At a high current rate of 2C and 5C, the batteries still maintained a capacity up to 464.0 and 227.3 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles, respectively. The enhanced electrochemical properties of S@TiO2/Ti2C composites was attributed mainly to the synergistic effect between the encapsulation and adsorption of TiO2 for active sulfur, and the conductivity and relieving the volumetric expansion of Ti2C for cathode materials. This structure strategy was an attractive route for restraining the shuttle effect and improving the rate capability of sulfur cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries.",battery
"Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid that attracted a great attention for its therapeutic potential against different pathologies including skin diseases. However, although the efficacy in preclinical models and the clinical benefits of CBD in humans have been extensively demonstrated, the molecular mechanism(s) and targets responsible for these effects are as yet unknown. Herein we characterized at the molecular level the effects of CBD on primary human keratinocytes using a combination of RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and sequential window acquisition of all theoretical mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS). Functional analysis revealed that CBD regulated pathways involved in keratinocyte differentiation, skin development and epidermal cell differentiation among other processes. In addition, CBD induced the expression of several NRF2 target genes, with heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) being the gene and the protein most upregulated by CBD. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, RNA interference and biochemical studies demonstrated that the induction of HMOX1 mediated by CBD, involved nuclear export and proteasomal degradation of the transcriptional repressor BACH1. Notably, we showed that the effect of BACH1 on HMOX1 expression in keratinocytes is independent of NRF2. In vivo studies showed that topical CBD increased the levels of HMOX1 and of the proliferation and wound-repair associated keratins 16 and 17 in the skin of mice. Altogether, our study identifies BACH1 as a molecular target for CBD in keratinocytes and sets the basis for the use of topical CBD for the treatment of different skin diseases including atopic dermatitis and keratin disorders.",non-battery
"Molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides have attracted tremendous attention in energy storage and conversion due to their outstanding physicochemical and electrochemical properties. There are intensive studies on molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides for energy storage and conversion, however, there is no systematic review on the applications of WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), except MoS2. Considering the importance of these contents, it is extremely necessary to overview the recent development of novel layered WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 beyond MoS2 in energy storage. Here, we will systematically overview the recent progress of WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 as anode materials in LIBs and SIBs. This review will also discuss the opportunities, and perspectives of these materials in the energy storage fields.",battery
"Three-dimensional (3D) porous amorphous SnO2 thin films were deposited on Ni foam substrates by Electrostatic Spray Deposition (ESD) technique as anodes for Li-ion batteries. These films display good capacity retention of 94.8% after 100 cycles at 0.5C and rate capability of 362mAh/g at 10C. The improved performance originates from the fact that the 3D porous structure offers a “buffer zone” to accommodate the large volume change during cycling, and the foam-like substrate maximizes the contact area between electrode and electrolyte. The facile ESD method can be potentially extended to prepare other 3D porous functional materials.",battery
"Achieving high accuracy in orthology inference is essential for many comparative, evolutionary and functional genomic analyses, yet the true evolutionary history of genes is generally unknown and orthologs are used for very different applications across phyla, requiring different precision–recall trade-offs. As a result, it is difficult to assess the performance of orthology inference methods. Here, we present a community effort to establish standards and an automated web-based service to facilitate orthology benchmarking. Using this service, we characterize 15 well-established inference methods and resources on a battery of 20 different benchmarks. Standardized benchmarking provides a way for users to identify the most effective methods for the problem at hand, sets a minimum requirement for new tools and resources, and guides the development of more accurate orthology inference methods.",non-battery
"Histone modification, which affects the rate of transcription without altering DNA sequence, occurs in response to various psychiatric drugs and in several models of psychiatric disease. As increases in histone acetylation have been seen after treatment with antidepressants, we investigated whether directly increasing histone acetylation using a histone deacetylase inhibitor would have antidepressant effects. We administered sodium butyrate (NaB, 100 mg/kg, i.p.) to mice acutely (3 injections over 24 h) or chronically (twice daily for 21 days) and subjected them to a number of behavioral tests of antidepressant response. This dose of NaB had no effect on overall locomotor activity after either acute or chronic treatment. Acutely treated mice showed an increase in immobility in the forced-swim test (FST) and an increase in latency to consume in the novel environment of the novelty-induced hypophagia (NIH) paradigm, an anxiogenic effect. The effect of NaB on anxiety did not generalize to another test, the elevated zero maze, where it had no effect. Chronic treatment with NaB had no effect on latency to consume in the NIH or immobility in the FST. However, this dose did alter histone acetylation in the hippocampus. While H4 acetylation increased in the hippocampus 30 min following acute NaB, chronic treatment caused a decrease in AcH4. There were no changes in AcH3 following either treatment. While changes in chromatin structure may be involved in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs, these data suggest that increasing histone acetylation pharmacologically is not sufficient to produce antidepressant effects.",non-battery
"Recent years have witnessed a revolution in Graphene and its applications. Presently, it is a hot subject in science and engineering circles, and gathering more and more interest. This one-atom-thick crystal of carbon has distinctive physicochemical properties, tremendous mechanical performance and outstanding electrical and thermal conductivities. These characteristics are making Graphene as an alternative to replace many traditional materials for many applications. There are different methods to fabricate and characterize 2D Graphene, some of these methods are currently scalable and others still on the lab scale. This state-of-the-art, aimed to achieve three goals: (1) provide a background that is easy to follow, (2) to make a short survey on Graphene history, properties, and different preparation methods, and (3) Current and future applications of Graphene and Graphene-based materials. This survey can help motivate and guide scientific community and the public that are interested in Graphene and its applications.",non-battery
"It has been demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) is integrally involved in the neuronal degeneration of the central nervous system by promoting glial activation, neuronal apoptosis and damage to the brain–blood barrier. However, whether MMP3 also contributes to the neuronal degeneration induced by retinal ischemia/reperfusion is still uncertain. In the present study, we detected the cellular localization of MMP3 in adult rat retinae and explored the relationship of its expression with neuronal loss in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) in retinal ischemia/reperfusion. We found that MMP3 was widely expressed in many cells throughout the layers of the rat retinae, including Vertebrate neuron-specific nuclear protein (NeuN)-, parvalbumin-, calbindin-, protein kinase C-α-, glial fibrillary acidic protein-, glutamine synthetase- and CD11b-positive cells. Furthermore, all rats were treated with high intraocular pressure (HIOP) for 1 h (h) and sacrificed at 6 h, 1 day (d), 3 d, and 7 d after HIOP. Compared to the normal control, the expression of both proenzyme MMP3 and active MMP3 were significantly up-regulated after HIOP treatment without alteration of the laminar distribution pattern. Moreover, inhibiting MMP3 ameliorated the loss of NeuN-positive cells in the GCL following HIOP. In summary, our data demonstrates that MMP3 is expressed in multiple types of neurons and glial cells in normal rat retinae. Simultaneously, the up-regulation of its expression and activity are closely involved in neuronal loss in the GCL in retinal ischemia/reperfusion.",non-battery
"Transgenic rodents expressing Cre recombinase cell specifically are used for exploring mechanisms regulating behavior, including those mediated by cholinergic signaling. However, it was recently reported that transgenic mice overexpressing a bacterial artificial chromosome containing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene, for synthesizing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, present with multiple vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) gene copies, resulting in altered cholinergic tone and accompanying behavioral abnormalities. Since ChAT::Cre+ rats, used increasingly for understanding the biological basis of CNS disorders, utilize the mouse ChAT promotor to control Cre recombinase expression, we assessed for similar genotypical and phenotypical differences in such rats compared to wild-type siblings. The rats were assessed for mouse VAChT copy number, VAChT protein expression levels and for sustained attention, response control and anxiety. Rats were also subjected to a contextual fear conditioning paradigm using an unconditional fear-inducing stimulus (electrical foot shocks), with blood samples taken at baseline, the fear acquisition phase and retention testing, for measuring blood plasma markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal gland (HPA)-axis activity. ChAT::Cre+ rats expressed multiple mouse VAChT gene copies, resulting in significantly higher VAChT protein expression, revealed anxiolytic behavior, hyperlocomotion and deficits in tasks requiring sustained attention. The HPA-axis was intact, with unaltered circulatory levels of acute stress-induced corticosterone, leptin and glucose. Our findings, therefore, reveal that in ChAT::Cre+ rats, VAChT overexpression associates with significant alterations of certain cognitive, motor and affective functions. Although highly useful as an experimental tool, it is essential to consider the potential effects of altered cholinergic transmission on baseline behavior in ChAT::Cre rats.",non-battery
"The reliability and safety of lithium-ion batteries can be affected by overheating issues. Phase change materials like paraffin due to their large heat capacities are among the best solutions for the thermal management of batteries. In this investigation, multiscale modelling techniques were developed to explore the efficiency in the thermal management of rechargeable batteries through employing the paraffin composite structures. A combined atomistic-continuum multiscale modelling was conducted to evaluate the thermal conductivity of paraffin reinforced with graphene or hexagonal boron-nitride nanosheet additives. In addition, heat generation during a battery service was simulated using the Newman's electrochemical model. Finally, three-dimensional heat transfer models were constructed to investigate the effectiveness of various paraffin composite structures in the thermal management of a battery system. Interestingly, it was found that the thermal conductivity of paraffin nanocomposites can be enhanced by several times but that does not yield significant improvement in the batteries thermal management over the pure paraffin. The acquired findings can be useful not only for the modelling of nanocomposites but more importantly for the improvement of phase change materials design to enhance the thermal management of rechargeable batteries and other electronic devices.",battery
"Lithium cobalt oxides are used as a cathode material in batteries for mobile devices, but their high theoretical capacity has not yet been realized. Here, the authors present a doping method to enhance diffusion of Li ions as well as to stabilize structures during cycling, leading to impressive electrochemical performance.
",battery
"The layered Ni-rich oxide LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode has been significantly attractive due to its large reversible capacity (∼200mAhg−1). However, the inherent poor cycling stability of the Ni-based cathode materials is always a serious issue for restricting its commercialization. In this paper, we introduced Li2MnO3 as an electrochemical inactive component in Ni-rich oxide LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 to stabilize its structure. The modified LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 composites with low-content Li2MnO3 were prepared by a solid-state reaction process. The results from XRD structure refinement and SAED confirm that Li2MnO3 phase exists homogeneously in the composites. The modified LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 composites with inactive Li2MnO3 show much better cycling stability and stable average discharge voltage compared with the pristine one when charged to 4.5V. Especially, the modified LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 composite with 10% Li2MnO3 (LNCMO-1090) delivers a reversible capacity of 207mAhg−1 and keeps 155mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at 20mAg−1 (0.1C), corresponding to a capacity retention of 75%, while LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 could only maintain a capacity of 128mAhg−1 with a capacity retention of 59% after 100 cycles. The improved cycling performance of the Li2MnO3-containing electrode could be attributed to the stabilized effect of Li2MnO3 on the electrode surface structure, as evidenced by the lower charge-transfer resistance.",battery
"Incorporating renewable energy into a grid still poses a challenge, that can only be tackled with precise measurement and control. Transferring power from producer to consumer as locally as possible in order to maximize efficiency requires measurement and control functions to be present on the low-voltage grid level. This can only be achieved by massively interconnected, ICT-enhanced sensors and actuators. Interconnecting the former, in turn exposes the grid to various threats from cyberattacks. This creates the need for a holistic, structured and comprehensive approach to engineering a low-voltage smart grid architecture that allocates its resources in such a way that cyber security is preserved. While known previous work either lacks a risk-based approach, comprehensiveness or best practices, this article provides a smart grid-specific methodology that combines risk assessment and threat modeling to generate a holistic set of security requirements. Furthermore, it presents best practices to secure an archetypal smart low-voltage grid architecture based on a concrete example. It considers threats on the architectural, protocol, and device level, while also considering environmental constraints to assure security using mainly state-of-the-art mitigation measures.",non-battery
"In this study, the effect of Zn doping on the electrochemical properties of P2-Na2/3[Mn1−xZnx]O2 (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) is investigated for the first time. The P2-Na2/3[Mn0.7Zn0.3]O2 electrode deliveres a specific discharge capacity of approximately 190 mAh g−1 based on the oxygen-redox reaction (O2−/O1−), after which the Mn4+/Mn3+ redox reaction contributes to the capacity. The cycling performance of the P2-Na2/3[Mn0.7Zn0.3]O2 electrode is also greatly enhanced compared with that of the P2-Na2/3MnO2 electrode (capacity retention of 80% vs. 30% after 200 cycles). This improved cyclability is due to the suppression of cooperative Jahn–Teller distortion as well as stabilization of the structure by the electrochemically inactive Zn2+ ions. First-principle calculations and experimental analysis, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, clearly confirms that the Zn2+ substitution in P2-Na2/3MnO2 enables the O2−/O1− redox reaction. In addition, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis reveals that no sodium carbonates forms on the electrode surface. Our findings provide a potential new path to utilize cost-effective Mn-rich cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries via not only cationic redox but also anodic redox.",battery
"The growth and nucleation mechanism of poly(ortho-ethoxyaniline) (POEA) are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and potentiostatic technique. It was shown that growing of POEA is faster in sulphuric acid solution compared to phosphoric acid solution. Different rate trends were obtained with the increase of switching potential. From cyclic voltammograms, it is evident that the obtained polymer has a similar behaviour to the one reported for polyaniline, but there is a difference in position of current peaks, due to the electronic and steric effects of ethoxy-group. In presence of different anions, a different nucleation mechanism was obtained. In sulphuric acid solution nucleation proceeds through 3D instantaneous nucleation under diffusion control, and in phosphoric acid solution nucleation proceeds through 3D progressive nucleation under diffusion control.",battery
Spherical LiNi0.75Co0.25O2 compounds were synthesized by sintering spherical Ni0.75Co0.25(OH)2 and LiOH·H2O precursors at various temperatures in an oxygen atmosphere. A pure phase LiNi0.75Co0.25O2 could be identified. SEM observation showed that the LiNi0.75Co0.25O2 particles are spherical in shape and are composed of many small crystals. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that the spherical LiNi0.75Co0.25O2 compounds have a more ordered layered structure than that of non-spherical LiNi0.75Co0.25O2. The spherical LiNi0.75Co0.25O2 cathodes demonstrated a stable electrochemical performance in lithium-ion cells with a high reversible capacity of 167mAh/g and good cyclability.,battery
"Thin films of Sn–Cu alloys with various compositions were prepared by annealing tin-coated copper foils at 463K for 0–45h. Their charge–discharge behaviors as negative electrodes for sodium secondary batteries were investigated using an inorganic ionic liquid electrolyte, i.e., NaFSA–KFSA (FSA=bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide), at 363K. A Sn–Cu film annealed for 4h exhibited a stable reversible capacity of approximately 100 mAh (g-Sn)−1. The improvement in the cyclability is discussed based on X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy results.",battery
"The current strong interest in ionic liquids is motivated by their unique combination of properties such as negligible vapour pressure, thermal stability, non-flammability, high ionic conductivity and wide electrochemical stability window. The first part of this short review deals with all the specific aspects of sol-gel in the presence of ionic liquid, which can act as drying control chemical additive, catalyst, porogenous agent and solvent or co-solvent. The second part is devoted to the properties of the gels in which the ionic liquid is kept confined (ionogels) and their applications as electrolyte membranes, optical devices, catalysts and sensors.",non-battery
"Nurturing an emerging industry’s business ecosystem always requires stakeholders’ efforts and role transformation. By systematically reviewing and studying the evolution of the Chinese electric vehicle industry, this paper constructs a three-dimensional theoretical framework including stages of business ecosystem lifecycle, stakeholder classification and functional roles, to analyse the transformation both of different stakeholders and their functional roles. The findings show that business ecosystem stakeholders have experienced role transformation following a mechanism defined as the ‘Triple Oscillation’ Model during the evolution of the emerging industry. These findings also help develop a conceptual model of agent-based system for business ecosystem evolution, which could be a starting point for further emerging industry study.",non-battery
"CuO was used to modify the surface of Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 cathode material. The structure and electrochemical properties of the CuO-coated Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and charge/discharge tests. The results showed that the CuO coated Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 cathode exhibited an improved rate capability at room and elevated temperature at high rates. The 2.0wt.% CuO coated sample had the capacity retention of higher than 89%, and high capacity of 179.7mAhg−1 at 5C, in comparison with the capacity retention of 60% and capacity of 161.5mAhg−1 for the pristine one at elevated temperature. The cyclic voltammograms and impedance spectra results revealed that the CuO coating reduced the polarization and improved the electrochemical activity of cathode. Thus the CuO-coated Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 shows a potential lithium ion batteries for high power applications.",battery
"Tea consumption has traditionally been associated with mental benefits, often ascribed to caffeine and L-theanine. Research to date suggests that tea improves attention. However, findings subtly differ for tea as a whole and for caffeine or L-theanine. Specifically, tea was found to improve simple attention processes, involving arousal and psychomotor activity, similar to the effects of caffeine. However, tea also improved more complex attention processes (e.g. Switch task performance), by allowing subjects to be more focused on the task at hand. In contrast, caffeine has been shown to affect complex attention performance, but only when consumed in doses higher than those regularly consumed in tea. While behavioral effects of L-theanine are largely absent, caffeine and L-theanine consumed together may exert different effects from those obtained from caffeine alone. Moreover, tea not only improves attention performance but also feelings of alertness. In summary, tea and tea ingredients can improve attention.",non-battery
"The SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect (i.e., a tendency to associate small/large magnitude numbers with the left/right hand side) is prevalent across the whole lifespan. Because the ability to relate numbers to space has been viewed as a cornerstone in the development of mathematical skills, the relationship between the SNARC effect and math skills has been frequently examined. The results remain largely inconsistent. Studies testing groups of people with very low or very high skill levels in math sometimes found relationships between SNARC and math skills. So far, however, studies testing such extreme math skills level groups were mostly investigating the SNARC effect in individuals revealing math difficulties. Groups with above average math skills remain understudied, especially in regard to children. Here, we investigate the SNARC effect in gifted children, as compared to normally developing children (overall n = 165). Frequentist and Bayesian analysis suggested that the groups did not differ from each other in the SNARC effect. These results are the first to provide evidence for the SNARC effect in a relatively large sample of gifted (and mathematically highly skilled) children. In sum, our study provides another piece of evidence for no direct link between the SNARC effect and mathematical ability in childhood.",non-battery
"In this study, a flexible hybrid film based on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was fabricated. The SWNTs@MnO2/Polypyrrole (PPy) film was used as a supercapacitor electrode without binders to achieve high capacitance. The binder-free electrode with SWNT and PPy layers improved the conductivity of the electrode materials, as well as the ion diffusion rate and charge-transfer resistance, thus achieving excellent electrochemical performance compared with SWNTs@MnO2 electrodes. The specific capacity was 351Fg−1 based on the total weight of the electrodes with energy density of 39.7Whkg−1 and power density of 10kWkg−1. Our study could provide a novel and facile strategy for the development of high-performance energy storage devices.",battery
"Practical applications of lithium-sulfur batteries require not only high specific capacities and long cycle life but also high rate performance. Herein, a layered carbide derived carbon (CDC) with hierarchically porous structure is designed and used as sulfur host for high rate lithium-sulfur batteries for the first time. In the layered CDC, sulfur was mainly infiltrated into the micropores and small mesopores, which could efficiently confine sulfur species and suppress polysulfides shuttling. At the same time, the layered structure and large mesopores would further shorten ion diffusion distance and buffer volume expansion. As a result, the layered CDC/sulfur composite with a sulfur loading of 50wt.% delivered not only a high initial discharge capacity of 1229 mAh g⿿1 at 0.5C, but also a superior reversible capacity of 621 mAh g⿿1 at 5C. Especially, the high rate capability could also be achieved even at a higher sulfur loading (68wt.%). This work suggests that porous carbon combined with layered structure and hierarchical pores could be used as effective matrix to host sulfur for high rate lithium-sulfur batteries.",battery
"This article provides an overview of the design, fabrication and characterization of the most widely used cathode buffer layers (CBLs) constructed using pristine zinc oxide (ZnO), doped-ZnO, and ZnO-based composites as well as the surface modified ZnO-based CBLs for the improvement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) and long-term device stability of inverted polymer solar cells (PSCs). To achieve high PCE in inverted PSCs, the selection of an appropriate material to form high quality CBLs so as to optimize the electron collection and transport is particularly important. ZnO has been the most extensively studied material for CBL of inverted PSCs in view of its relatively high electron mobility, optical transparency, ease of being synthesized with low cost solution methods at low temperature, versatile morphologies, and being environmentally stable. It is pointed out in this review that the electronic processes at the interface between the ZnO CBL and polymer active layer play an important role in determining the solar cells performance. This review attempts to deliver better understanding with regard of the impacts of (1) morphology, (2) thickness, (3) nanostructures, (4) doping, (5) surface modification and (6) composition/hybrids of ZnO CBLs on the inverted PSCs performance. Well understanding the interfacial processes in PSCs is believed also a benefit to the emerging perovskite solar cells in view of their similar energy levels and device structures.
",battery
"We characterized 30-month longitudinal change in functional activation and connectivity during working memory in premanifest (pre-HD) and symptomatic (symp-HD) Huntington’s disease (HD). In a case–control longitudinal study (baseline, 18 months, and 30 months), we compared change in fMRI activity over time during working memory in 22 pre-HD, 11 symp-HD, and 20 control participants. Outcome measures were BOLD (blood-oxygen-level-dependent) activity during 1-BACK and 2-BACK working memory and functional connectivity between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and caudate. Compared with controls, the pre-HD group showed significantly increased activation longitudinally during 1-BACK in the left DLPFC and medial frontal cortex, and further increased activation during 2-BACK in the bilateral caudate, putamen, and temporal cortex. Longitudinal change in symp-HD was not significantly different from controls. Longitudinal changes in pre-HD were associated with disease burden and years to onset. The pre-HD group showed longitudinal decreased functional connectivity between left DLPFC and caudate during both 1-BACK and 2-BACK performance. We provide an evidence for longitudinal changes in BOLD activity during working memory prior to clinical manifestations of HD. The ability to increase activation in the prefrontal cortex over time may represent an early compensatory response during the premanifest stage, which may reflect an early marker for clinically relevant functional changes in HD.
",non-battery
 No approved treatment is available for patients with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) due to cerebral small vessel disease (SVD).,non-battery
"Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) is a promising technology that allows the batteries of idle or parked electric vehicles (EVs) to operate as distributed resources, which can store or release energy at appropriate times, resulting in a bidirectional exchange of power between the ac grid and the dc EV batteries. This bidirectional exchange of power is realized using bidirectional power electronic converters that connect the grid with the EV battery. Most research on bidirectional converters for V2G applications focuses on using two dedicated power conversion stages – a bidirectional ac-dc conversion stage that helps in power factor correction, followed by a bidirectional dc-dc conversion stage that provides voltage matching. However, a single bidirectional ac-dc conversion stage can also facilitate V2G and grid-to vehicle (G2V) active power transfers. This paper reviews and compares the various bidirectional ac-dc and dc-dc converter topologies that facilitate V2G and G2V active power flows. Moreover, the paper discusses the various classes of charger/discharger systems reported for V2G applications, like on-board/off-board, integrated/non-integrated and conductive/inductive, and a comparative statement is made based on certain proposed criteria. Further, the current trends in the application of wide band-gap devices in high power-dense V2G capable converters and integration of renewable energy sources into EV charging/discharging infrastructures have also been discussed.",battery
"For heat capacity measurement of ceramic materials at high temperatures above 1500K, two new calorimeters, i.e. a high speed cooling calorimeter and an advanced-direct heating pulse calorimeter, have been developed in our laboratory. The high speed cooling calorimeter is assembled of an induction heating furnace, a paraboloidal mirror and a high speed six-wavelength pyrometer. In this calorimeter, the heat capacity is determined from the cooling rate of a sample dropped from the induction heating furnace. As a simulation of a dropped specimen, two different experiments on transient modes were made using a calibrated tungsten lamp in the temperature range 2060–2180K: (1) by changing temperature with time (cooling curve measurement), and (2) by changing the position of a tungsten lamp vertically at constant temperature. Both results show reliability of this calorimeter at high temperatures. The advanced direct heating pulse calorimeter is a re-designed and re-constructed apparatus of the direct heating pulse calorimeter previously developed in our laboratory to increase the measuring temperature for the heat capacity up to 2000K. By the improvement of a new vacuum vessel, molybdenum thermal insulator and tantalum heating wire, heat capacity and electrical conductivity of graphite could be measured up to 1750K.",non-battery
"LiAlO2-surface modified LiMn1.58Ni0.42O4 spinel cathode materials have been prepared by coating Al2O3 on Mn0.79Ni0.21CO3 precursors, followed by post-sintering with Li2CO3 at 900 °C. X-ray diffraction and FT-IR analyses indicate that during the calcination process aluminum ions not only react with Li2CO3 to form a strengthened LiAlO2 coating layer but also migrate from the surface into the spherical particles. The LiAlO2-surface modified LiMn1.58Ni0.42O4 samples exhibit excellent electrochemical performance compared to that of the bare one in terms of rate capability and cyclability. In particular, the 1 mol.% LiAlO2-surface modified sample can deliver a discharge capacity of 100.6 m Ah g−1 even at a high current density of 4 C-rate, while the bare one only has a discharge capacity of 49.5 m Ah g−1. At 55 °C, the 1 mol.% LiAlO2-surface modified LiMn1.58Ni0.42O4 sample shows outstanding cyclability with less than 5% capacity fade after 150 cycles. Based on these results, coating on the precursors to prepare a strengthened LiAlO2 coating layer would be a promising method to enhance the electrochemical performance of 5 V spinel cathode materials.",battery
"Electrochemical behavior of zinc and thin polyaniline (PANI) electrodes in citrate/chloride-contained electrolyte has been investigated by the means of electrolyte composition optimization. Electrolyte contained 0.8 M sodium citrate, 0.3 M ammonium chloride, and ~0.3 M zinc chloride has been found to be an optimum electrolyte for the further applications in the real zinc–polyaniline citrate/chloride-based secondary cell.",battery
"A flower-like Fe3O4/carbon nanocomposite with nano/micro hierarchical structure is prepared by controlled thermal decomposition of the iron alkoxide precursor, which is obtained via an ethylene glycol-mediated solvothermal reaction of FeCl3 and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) in the absence of any surfactant. The nanocomposite is characterized by the assembly of porous nanoflakes consisting of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and amorphous carbon that is in situ generated from the organic components of alkoxide precursor. When used as the anode materials for the lithium-ion batteries, the resultant nanocomposite shows high capacity and good cycle stability (1030mAhg−1 at a current density of 0.2C up to 150 cycles), as well as enhanced rate capability. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the high structural stability and high rate of ionic/electronic conduction arising from the synergetic effect of the unique nano/micro hierarchical structure and conductive carbon coating.",battery
"We successfully observed the synchrotron-radiation-based Mössbauer absorption spectra with 158Gd and 99Ru. Their nuclear resonant energies were 79.5 keV and 89.6 keV, respectively, and they are factually the highest energy which energy region synchrotron radiation covers with sufficient intensity as the incident X-rays for Mössbauer spectroscopy. Although the low recoilless fraction owing to these high resonant energy, Mössbauer energy spectra of GdPd3 to 158Gd2O3 and fcc-Ru nanoparticles to bulk hcp-99Ru metal were obtained with natural samples of the former compounds with sufficient amount, because of the high transparency of these high energy X-rays(to electronic scattering). In spite of large statistical errors, we can evaluate the hyperfine parameters when the spectrum includes simple 1-site profile. 99Ru and 158Gd SR-based Mössbauer absorption spectra of various complex materials including somewhat complex structures will be available with the improvements to the measurement system; More detector elements for larger solid angle subtended to the scatterer sample will yields more counting rates and improvement higher recoilless fraction by arranging more appropriate chemical specimen as the scatterer yields deeper absorption profile.
",non-battery
"Superoxide reacts with carbonate solvents in Li–air batteries. Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane is found to catalyze a more rapid superoxide (O2 −) disproportionation reaction than the reaction between superoxide and propylene carbonate (PC). With this catalysis, the negative impact of the reaction between the electrolyte and O2 − produced by the O2 reduction can be minimized. A simple kinetic study using ESR spectroscopy was reported to determine reaction orders and rate constants for the reaction between PC and superoxide, and the disproportionation of superoxide catalyzed by Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane and Li ions. The reactions are found to be first order and the rate constants are 0.033 s−1 M−1, 0.020 s−1 M−1 and 0.67 s−1 M−1 for reactions with PC, Li ion and Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, respectively.",battery
"Background Neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) are established and the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS) investigated such measures as endophenotypes in family-based (COGS-1) and case-control (COGS-2) studies. By requiring family participation, family-based sampling may result in samples that vary demographically and perform better on neurocognitive measures. Methods The Penn computerized neurocognitive battery (CNB) evaluates accuracy and speed of performance for several domains and was administered across sites in COGS-1 and COGS-2. Most tests were included in both studies. COGS-1 included 328 patients with SZ and 497 healthy comparison subjects (HCS) and COGS-2 included 1195 patients and 1009 HCS. Results Demographically, COGS-1 participants were younger, more educated, with more educated parents and higher estimated IQ compared to COGS-2 participants. After controlling for demographics, the two samples produced very similar performance profiles compared to their respective controls. As expected, performance was better and with smaller effect sizes compared to controls in COGS-1 relative to COGS-2. Better performance was most pronounced for spatial processing while emotion identification had large effect sizes for both accuracy and speed in both samples. Performance was positively correlated with functioning and negatively with negative and positive symptoms in both samples, but correlations were attenuated in COGS-2, especially with positive symptoms. Conclusions Patients ascertained through family-based design have more favorable demographics and better performance on some neurocognitive domains. Thus, studies that use case-control ascertainment may tap into populations with more severe forms of illness that are exposed to less favorable factors compared to those ascertained with family-based designs.",non-battery
"A Stochastic Model for the Unit Commitment (SUC) problem of a hybrid microgrid for a short period of 24 h is presented. The microgrid considered in the problem is composed of a wind turbine (WT), a photovoltaic plant (PV), a diesel generator (DE), a microturbine (MT) and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The problem is addressed in three stages. First, based on the historical data of the demanded power in the microgrid, an ARMA model is used to obtain the demand prediction. Second, the 24-h-ahead SUC problem is solved, based on generators’ constraints, renewable generation and demand forecast and the statistical distribution of the error in the demand estimation. In this problem, a spinning reserve of the dispatchable units is considered, able to cover the uncertainties in the demand estimation. In the third stage, once the SUC problem has been solved, a case study is established in real time, in which the demand estimation error in every moment is known. Therefore, the objective of this stage is to select the spinning reserve of the units in an optimal way to minimize the cost in the microgrid operation.",battery
" Manganese oxide-based nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (MnO/N-rGO) electrocatalyst was developed by a simple sol–gel process with aqueous KMnO4 and sucrose by adding nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide. The physical characterizations were systematically evaluated by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical and oxygen reduction properties of the electrocatalyst and support were studied by employing cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry techniques on a rotating-disk electrode in alkaline (0.1 M KOH) solution and compared with commercial Pt/C catalysts. The synthesized catalyst possesses a high oxygen reduction activity and the rotating ring-disk electrode results illustrate a 3.8 e− transfer process. Stability tests performed for 10,000 potential cycles exhibited that the MnO/N-rGO catalyst is more durable than Pt/C catalyst. MnO/N-rGO as cathode catalyst in a single alkaline fuel cell studies gave a peak power density of 44 mW cm− 2 at 40 °C. Durability by accelerated stress test (AST) in fuel cell mode demonstrated MnO/N-rGO as alternative hybrid cathode catalyst which has excellent stability and durability of 67% more than commercial Pt/C.",battery
"A facile and efficient electrostatic-assembly method to fabricate ball-milling-silicon@carbon/reduced-graphene-oxide composite (bmSi@C/rGO) has been developed. In the fabrication process, chitosan (CTS), as a charged bridge, connected ball milling silicon (bmSi) and graphene oxide (GO), and then was transformed into carbon coating by heat treatment. The carbon coated ball milling silicon (bmSi@C) particles were distributed evenly between the sheets of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Therefore, the carbon coating and the wrinkled graphene sheets formed a superior conductive matrix and a buffer zone. The composite used as anode material exhibited high reversible capacity of 935.77mAhg−1 and 71.9% capacity retention after 100 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties are attributed to the well-designed structure, in which both the carbon layer and the rGO play an important role for improving the whole electrical conductivity and preventing the silicon from pulverization.",battery
"An illustrated review of reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) as an electrode material is presented. Early uses of RVC were largely restricted to small-scale (<1 cm3) electroanalytical studies in research laboratories. RVC properties of a high ratio of surface area to volume and minimal reactivity over a wide range of process conditions, combined with low cost and easy handling, have resulted in a steady diversification of its applications both in research laboratories and in industry. The physical structure of RVC (in terms of pores per linear inch, strut length, strut thickness and area of the trigonal strut) is examined for 10, 30, 60 and 100 ppi (pores per linear inch) grades using scanning electron microscopy. The accurate measurement of these geometrical values presents both theoretical (in terms of definition of trigonal strut area, beginning and end of single strand) and practical problems (large differences in strut length and thickness in individual samples). Data are presented to show the relationships between geometrical properties. Applications include electroanalytical studies and sensors, metal ion removal, synthesis of organics and Fenton’s reagent, H2O2 production and batteries/fuel cells.",battery
"Background Individuals with schizophrenia are impaired in their ability to recognize emotions based on vocal cues and these impairments are associated with poor global outcome. Basic perceptual processes, such as auditory pitch processing, are impaired in schizophrenia and contribute to difficulty identifying emotions. However, previous work has focused on a relatively narrow assessment of auditory deficits and their relation to emotion recognition impairment in schizophrenia. Methods We have assessed 87 patients with schizophrenia and 73 healthy controls on a comprehensive battery of tasks spanning the five empirically derived domains of auditory function. We also explored the relationship between basic auditory processing and auditory emotion recognition within the patient group using correlational analysis. Results Patients exhibited widespread auditory impairments across multiple domains of auditory function, with mostly medium effect sizes. Performance on all of the basic auditory tests correlated with auditory emotion recognition at the p < .01 level in the patient group, with 9 out of 13 tests correlating with emotion recognition at r = 0.40 or greater. After controlling for cognition, many of the largest correlations involved spectral processing within the phase-locking range and discrimination of vocally based stimuli. Conclusions While many auditory skills contribute to this impairment, deficient formant discrimination appears to be a key skill contributing to impaired emotion recognition as this was the only basic auditory skill to enter a step-wise multiple regression after first entering a measure of cognitive impairment, and formant discrimination accounted for significant unique variance in emotion recognition performance after accounting for deficits in pitch processing.",non-battery
Nardilysin (NRDc) enhances the shedding of ectodomains from neuronal membrane proteins. The null mutant described here reveals that nardilysin is necessary for myelination in both central and peripheral nervous system.,non-battery
"A series of cathode spinel materials with the nominal composites Li1+x Mn2−x O4−z have been studied with respect to capacity fading at room temperature upon cycling, both before and after elevated temperature storage. It was found that capacity fading is closely related to oxygen defect degree. The greater the oxygen deficiency, the poorer the cycling performance. Two major factors exist controlling the oxygen deficiency. One factor is oxygen loss at high synthesis temperature or upon cycling to high upper voltage, which increases the oxygen defect degree in samples. The other is Mn dissolution into the electrolytes accompanied by decrease in the oxygen deficiency. The latter one is supported by low temperature DSC and XRD data indicating that the temperature-dependent phase transition from cubic to lower symmetry becomes slight for oxygen defect samples after 60°C storage.",battery
"The electrochemical performance of LiCoPO4 (LCP) as a high-voltage positive electrode for lithium-ion batteries is significantly improved by using the aqueous binder sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The CMC not only provides a uniform electrode surface as shown by scanning electron microscopy and elemental mapping, but also suppresses the degradation of LiCoPO4 by scavenging HF in the electrolyte solution as demonstrated by FT-IR. In comparison with other water-soluble binders such as sodium alginate (ALG) and polyacrylic acid sodium salt (PAA), the homogeneous distribution of CMC within the electrodes accompanied by high accessibility of carboxylate groups in CMC are shown to be crucial factors to achieve enhanced performance with an excellent capacity retention of 94% after 20 cycles at a rate of C/10.",battery
"We describe a 59-year-old woman, M.T., with a progressive language impairment and neuroimaging findings of decreased perfusion (SPECT) and focal atrophy (MRI) in the left temporal region. The most prominent feature of her cognitive profile was a profound and progressive impairment in naming. In spite of this, she performed normally on tests of semantic processing and phonological output. Her spontaneous speech was fluent with preserved syntax and articulation but with notable word-finding problems. All other cognitive abilities were relatively stable and intact. These features are not typical of either fluent or non-fluent forms of neurodegenerative language disturbance. The cognitive mechanisms that may underlie this case are discussed.",non-battery
"A mathematical model is developed and used to investigate the effects of axially distributed current collection on the performance of an anode-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The physical model considers coupled fluid and thermal transport within the tube, reactive porous-media flow within the electrodes, electrochemical charge-transfer, thermal transport within the MEA structure, and an electric circuit to represent the current-collection system. Four examples are used to illustrate the model and evaluate current-collection strategies. All the examples consider a particular Ni–YSZ | YSZ | LSM–YSZ tube, but with different current collection. The inlet fuel stream is a syngas mixture that results from steam reforming of dodecane. Results show that current collection can strongly affect local performance (i.e., composition, temperature, and current density profiles) along the length of the tube as well as overall performance (i.e., efficiency and utilization).",battery
"In this study, newly designed cathode material LiFeP1-xSixO4, with silicon mixed in LiFePO4 is investigated using the density functional theory. Its most optimized structure is the olivine structure of the Pnma space group. Bonding length show the anti-site defect which hinders Li diffusivity is prevented in the LiFeP1-xSixO4. Lithium migration energy barriers in the (010) path of LiFeP1-xSixO4 (x = 0, 0.5, and 1) are calculated by using nudged elastic band calculations, and the average values are determined as 0.180, 0.245, and 0.280 eV for LiFePO4, LiFeP0.5Si0.5O4, and LiFeSiO4, respectively. This signifies that the Li ionic diffusivity is degraded thermodynamically, which is contrary to that indicates by the calculated bonding length, however, the difference is negligibly small. Furthermore, the intercalation voltage increases up to 4.97 V, depending on the Si ratio to P, and is much higher than that of the pristine cathode materials LiFePO4 (∼3.47 V) enabling voltage optimization by Si substitution. The energy density is proportional to the intercalation voltage, hence the energy density is increased, respectively. Finally, the Total density of states show that the electronic conductivity of LiFeP1-xSixO4 (x = 0–1) is better than that of LiFePO4.",battery
"Batteries are an attractive grid energy storage technology, but a reliable battery system with the functionalities required for a grid such as high power capability, high safety and low cost remains elusive. Here, we report a solid electrolyte-based molten lithium battery constructed with a molten lithium anode, a molten Sn–Pb or Bi–Pb alloy cathode and a garnet-type Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 (LLZTO) solid electrolyte tube. We show that the assembled Li||LLZTO||Sn–Pb and Li||LLZTO||Bi–Pb cells can stably cycle at an intermediate temperature of 240 °C for about one month at current densities of 50 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2 respectively, with almost no capacity decay and an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.98%. Furthermore, the cells demonstrate high power capability with current densities up to 300 mA cm−2 (90 mW cm−2) for Li||LLZTO||Sn–Pb and 500 mA cm−2 (175 mW cm−2) for Li||LLZTO||Bi–Pb. Our design offers prospects for grid energy storage with intermediate temperature operations, high safety margin and low capital and maintenance costs.",battery
"We have measured the fracture energy of lithiated silicon thin-film electrodes as a function of lithium concentration using a bending test. First, silicon thin-films on copper substrates were lithiated to various states of charge. Then, bending tests were performed by deforming the substrate to a pre-defined shape, producing a variation of the curvature along the length of the electrode. The bending tests allow determination of the critical strains at which cracks initiate in the lithiated silicon. Using the substrate curvature technique, we also measured the elastic moduli and the stresses that develop in the electrodes during electrochemical lithiation. From these measurements, the fracture energy was calculated as a function of lithium concentration using a finite element simulation of fracture of an elastic film on an elastic–plastic substrate. The fracture energy was determined to be Γ = 12.0 ± 3.0 J m−2 for amorphous silicon and Γ = 10.0 ± 3.6 J m−2 for Li3.28Si, with little variation in the fracture energy for intermediate Li concentrations. These results provide a guideline for the practical design of high-capacity lithium ion batteries to avoid fracture. The experimental technique described in this paper also provides a simple means of measuring the fracture energy of brittle thin-films.",battery
"Battery electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles require electric energy storage systems that exhibit high energy and power density, as well as good cycle life. Batteries possess good energy density, whereas ultracapacitors possess high power density and cycle life. The complementary features of batteries and ultracapacitors can be advantageously combined to create an integrated system that exhibits high performance with low weight and adequate battery lifetime, at an affordable cost. This paper presents simulation studies on the benefits of adding ultracapacitors to a fuel cell battery hybrid transit bus operating on two standardized driving schedules (Manhattan Bus Cycle and UDDS). Simulations were conducted using our LFM powertrain simulator which was developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK. The energy storage systems considered here include battery only, as well as various combinations of batteries and ultracapacitors. Simulation results show that the addition of ultracapacitors greatly improves performance parameters such as battery C-rates, energy throughput, and energy storage heat generation at comparable cost and weight.",battery
"Modified activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were used as the electrodes of an electric double-layer capacitor and showed an enhanced capacitance effect after a RF-plasma treatment. The capacitance and the surface functional groups of the ACFs were studied. For the plasma-treated ACFs having a specific surface area of 1500m2 g−1, the capacitance increased by 28% compared to the untreated sample and the highest electric capacitance value of 142Fg−1 was achieved with an oxygen feed concentration of 10vol.%. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was 2103m2 g−1, which was 34% higher than that of the untreated sample. The pore volume was similarly increased to 483.1cm3 g−1 STP, and from the pore distribution plot, quantities of mesopores of 10nm or less and micropores also increased. However, in order to enhance the capacitance, the quinone functional group had a significant influence in addition to the BET surface area. The correlation between the capacitance and the number of quinone functional groups was confirmed because quinone is an electron acceptor.",battery
"Background Individuals with schizophrenia show deficits in cognitive functioning, as evidenced by deficits on neurocognitive tasks such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). Studies of risk/reward decision-making in individuals with schizophrenia have yielded mixed results, and few studies have examined systematically the relationship between these domains and their relationship with clinical factors. Method Thirty-two smokers with schizophrenia, ten non-smokers with schizophrenia, nine non-psychiatric non-smokers and ten non-psychiatric smokers were administered computerized versions of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the WCST. Smokers were allowed to smoke ad libitum during designated breaks in order to prevent deprivation. Results Subjects with schizophrenia performed significantly worse than non-psychiatric controls on both the IGT and the WCST, and performance on these tasks was significantly correlated across subject groups. Among women with schizophrenia, smokers performed significantly better than non-smokers on the IGT. Conclusions Individuals with schizophrenia perform worse than controls on the IGT, suggesting impairments in risk/reward decision-making. Correlations between IGT and WCST performance suggest a shared element underlying task performance, such as a deficit in set-shifting or perseverance. Further research is needed to establish the relationship between cigarette smoking and IGT performance in schizophrenia.",non-battery
"Energy is a vital resource in modern life. With increasingly limited availability of traditional energy resources, e.g., oil, coal and nuclear, together with environmental concerns, there is raised awareness that energy needs to be both used more efficiently and generated in line with thinking on sustainability. Ready access to ‘clean’ energy is essential if we wish to maintain our current way of life without compromising our wellbeing or the carrying capacity of the planet. This paper aims to analyse the differences and similarities in energy supply and demand between two very different cities. Masdar City, founded in 2008, is a dynamic new Middle-Eastern city being built in a desert environment. Its aim is to be the most sustainable city in the world and offers an exciting opportunity to provide unique insights into the application of different innovative technologies as ‘new-build’ within an urban environment. Birmingham is a well-established post-industrial city that has evolved over fourteen hundred years. It was one of the fastest growing cities in 19th century England (Popp and Wilson, 2009) [1]. To do this a material flow analysis approach has been adopted to provide a framework for the study. The energy-related opportunities and mutual benefits that each city can gain from the experiences of the other are explored and five emergent issues are identified: innovation and experimentation, lock-in, balance, resilience and governance. This work shows how a greater understanding of common issues can lead to more sustainable, resilient and robust cities, able to face the challenges of the next 50 years.",battery
"Polynuclear mixed-valent hybrid films of zinc oxide/zinchexacyanoferrate and ruthenium oxide hexacyanoferrate (ZnO/ZnHCF-RuOHCF) have been deposited on electrode surfaces from H2SO4 solution containing Zn(NO3)2, RuCl3 and K3[Fe(CN)6] by potentiodynamic cycling method. Simultaneous cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) measurements demonstrate the steady growth of hybrid film. Surface morphology of hybrid film was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) data confirm existence of zinc oxide and ruthenium oxide hexacyanoferrate (RuOHCF) in the hybrid film. The effect of type of monovalent cations on the redox behavior of hybrid film was investigated. In pure supporting electrolyte, electrochemical responses of RuII/III redox transition occurring at negative potential region resemble with that of a surface immobilized redox couple. The electrocatalytic activity of ZnO/ZnHCF-RuOHCF hybrid film was investigated towards oxidation of epinephrine, dopamine and l-cysteine, and reduction of S2O8 2− and SO5 2− as well as IO3 − using cyclic voltammetry and rotating ring disc electrode (RRDE) techniques.",battery
"The structures, gaseous phase hydrogen storage, and electrochemical properties of a series of (Nd0.83Mg0.16Zr0.01)(Ni0.953Al0.046Co0.001) α alloys, where α = 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7, before and after annealing (900 °C and 5 h in argon) were studied. Besides the main Nd2Ni7 phase, other secondary phases, such as MgNdNi4, NdNi5, NdNi3, NdNi, and CeNi3, were present in most of the samples and influenced the hydrogen storage properties. After annealing, several changes happened: the stoichiometry of the main Nd2Ni7 phase remained constant at B/A = 3.3 and its abundance increased; the abundances of the major secondary phases decreased but were not totally eliminated (which helped preserve the catalytic effects); both the gaseous phase hydrogen storage and electrochemical capacity increased; the high-rate dischargeability decreased slightly; and the activation became more difficult. A stoichiometry of AB3.5 showed the best compromise among electrochemical capacity, high-rate dischargeability, and ease of activation.",battery
"There are numerous models of rechargeable batteries in the current literature. Some of them are complicated electrochemical approaches; others, are given by simple analogies. However, simple models with electrochemical states capable of describing important quantities, like the rate capacity effect and the recovery effect, are hard to find. In this paper, based on an electrochemical approach, we present a generalized model suitable for use in BMS applications, which takes into account explicitly the rate capacity effect and the state of charge. Moreover, the model is thought up for general energy storage processes based on mass transport and charge transfer. The proposed general model approach is able to interpret the most commonly used models in the literature.",battery
"We utilized electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance to understand electrochemical passivation of the zinc electrode in alkaline media and subsequent oxide growth and stripping. The formation of native zinc oxide on a near pristine Zn surface upon contact with 1 M KOH electrolyte was observed. The surface was seen to roughen with time. During Zn dissolution, the measured mass-charge ratio corresponded to the removal of ZnO and not merely Zn. The mechanism of passivation was determined to be caused by electrochemical etching to form pores. The etching leads to a build-up of solid ZnO and Zn(OH)2 due to electrochemical reactions on the surfaces of the pores. These reactions functionally close the pores off from the bulk. The cycle of Zn deposition and dissolution develops a porous network, which may be the origin of mossy Zn deposits that plague reversible Zn metal batteries.",battery
"Thin-iron sulfide films were deposited electrochemically on nickel current collector, and used as cathodes in lithium/composite polymer electrolyte cells. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) tests showed that 0.6–1μm thick FeS1+ x films were amorphous, with the Fe:S stoichiometry of the films invariant with depth. A Li/CPE/FeS1+ x cells ran at i d = i ch = 50μA/cm2 (c/1 rate) and 125°C for over 650 charge/discharge cycles with 0.06% per cycle capacity loss and 100% Faradaic efficiency.",battery
" In individuals with only mild or very mild cognitive attenuations (i.e., so-called pre-clinical AD), performance-based measures of function may be superior to informant-based measures because of increased sensitivity, greater reliability, and fewer ceiling effects.",non-battery
"The lithium concentration in the graphite anode of fatigued (cycled 1000 times at 25 °C) Li-ion cell of 18650-type has been probed non-destructively by spatially resolved neutron diffraction. The amount x of Li in LixC6 has been determined in a central plane of a cylinder-type Li-ion cell. A radial mesh with a gauge volume of 2 × 2 × 20 mm3 was used. Besides the evidently lower lithiation grade, caused by a lack of free movable lithium and a loss of electrolyte, a development of fatigue-driven spatial lithium inhomogeneities has been observed in radial direction. Observed changes have been discussed in light of their correlations to an increase of the internal cell resistance and to a change of the electrolyte concentration.",battery
"Two different options for the autonomous power supply of rural or/and remote buildings are examined in this study. The first one involves a PV – diesel based power system, while the second one integrates RES and hydrogen technologies for the development of a self – sustained power system. The main objective is the replacement of the diesel generator and a comparison between these two options for autonomous power supply. Model simulations of the two power systems before and after the replacement, an optimization of the component sizes and a techno – economic analysis have been performed for the purpose of this study. A sensitivity analysis taking into account future cost scenarios for hydrogen technologies is also presented. The results clearly show that the Cost of Energy Produced (COE) from the PV – hydrogen technologies power system is extremely higher than the PV – diesel power system. However, the adopted PV – hydrogen technologies power system reduces to zero the Green – House Gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis indicates that COE for the latter system can be further reduced by approximately 50% compared to its initial value. This could be achieved by reducing critical COE’s parameters, such as PEM electrolyser and fuel cell capital costs. Hence, a possible reduction on the capital costs of hydrogen energy equipment in combination with emissions reduction mentioned above could make hydrogen – based power systems more competitive.",battery
"The normal operation of Li metal batteries is limited to near room temperature and moderate current rates. Now, a self-assembled electrochemically active monolayer is shown to enable the stable operation of Li metal batteries below –15 oC and at a fast-charging time of 45 minutes.
",battery
"
A recent research in the field of microbial fuel cell (MFC) is exploring bio-electrochemical processes to generate electricity. Fundamentals to microbial fuel cell are proper cost effective cell design, electrodes, substrates, proton exchange membranes and bacterial species forming biofilms on electrode. The MFC is considered to be specific for current generation by bacterial metabolism. The current review uncovers the fact that MFC technology is not only for the current generation but is also effective for bio-remediation, bio-sensors and for biosynthesis of valuable organic products. Industrial and domestic wastes are pollutants, toxic for health and environment. Their chemical treatment itself requires expensive chemicals which in turn lead to other composites in the environment. The cost effective and safe technique has been employed for remediation like catalytically active bio-electrodes in MFC. The exoelectrogens are capable of electron transfer by forming conductive biofilms on the solid surfaces of electrodes. The Geobacter, Shewanella and Sporomusa species have the tendency to form nanowires or have C-type cytochromes for electron conduction. The redox capability of these electro active biofilms is not only to reduce the hazardous materials but also to catalyze the electrochemical reactions like corrosion alleviation, biosensor development, bio-remediation and biochemical synthesis. These bio-electrochemical techniques have been proved to be the best for low cost, high catalytic activity, less pollution and no secondary contaminants.",non-battery
"A pure phase of VO2(B) nanorods have been synthesized through an energy-efficient microwave hydrothermal reaction and used as cathode materials of lithium ion batteries, which exhibit promising specific capacity (e.g., 130mAhg−1 even after 100 charge/discharge cycles) and rate capacity (e.g., ~130mAhg−1 at a high current of 400mAg−1). The excellent cyclability originates from the structural reversibility of VO2(B) upon lithiation/delithiation that is confirmed by the in situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) and in situ x-ray adsorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) of the VO2 nanorods in operating battery cells. The real-time results reveal that discharge forces lithium ions to insert firstly into the tunnels with the largest size along b direction followed by the second largest tunnels along c direction, which is completely reversible in the charge process.",battery
"Dissolution mechanisms suggested for Zn have been discussed. It has been shown that the anions adsorbed on the metal or metal hydroxide surfaces play an important role in the dissolution process, therefore involvement of anions in the charge and mass balance cannot be neglected. An attempt has been made to demonstrate that without taking into account the real meaning of charge transfer processes, the application of the suggested mechanism and the relevant kinetic equations may lead to serious problems in the interpretation of the experimental results.",battery
"Improving the wettability of liquid electrolyte to polyolefin separators plays a significant role in the fabrication of high performance lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we report a facile surface coating method to enhance the wetting capacity of commercially available polypropylene (PP) separator. Natural polyphenol tannic acid (TA) and sodium periodate are selected as the coating precursor and inorganic trigger, respectively. Coating formation is initiated by the absorption of tannin molecules on the separator surface and then triggered by a single contact (5min) with sodium periodate solution. After being modified, wettability of the separator can be significantly enhanced without damaging its original advantage properties, which accordingly resulted in higher electrolyte uptake and better interfacial compatibility. Furthermore, the LiCoO2/graphite full cells assembled with the modified separator displays an excellent cycle stability with coulombic efficiency exceeding 99.9% and superior rate performance. The ease, low cost and scalability of this coating process, combine with the general surface binding affinity of polyphenol, making this surface modification technique suitable to upgrade other inert substrates for various applications.",battery
"Prussian blue analogue (PBA) material is a promising cathode for applications in Na-ion and K-ion batteries which can support high c-rates for charge and discharge. In this study, the material of composition [K2CuIIFeII(CN)6] was synthesized and its structural and electrochemical redox behavior was investigated with 5 different alkali insertion cations (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+). Galvanostatic measurements indicate that the redox potential strongly depends on the ionic radius of the inserted cation. The redox potential varies by ∼400 mV between using Li+ (0.79 Å) or Cs+ (1.73 Å) in the electrolyte. The underlying modification of the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox potential in PBA is proposed to be due to the weakening of the Fe–C bond in the material. This hypothesis is supported by XRD measurements which reveal that the lattice parameter of the de-intercalated host structure follows the same trend of monotonic increase with the cation size. The relatively minor volume changes accompanying the redox (1.2%–2.4%) allow the PBA to accommodate differently sized cations, although the structural hindrances are quite pronounced at high c-rates for the larger ones (Rb+ and Cs+). Cycle aging studies indicate that the minimum capacity fade rate is observed in case of K+ and Rb+ containing electrolyte. The peak intensity corresponding to the [220] crystallographic plane varies depending on the state of charge of PBA, since this plane contains the insertion cations. Owing to the sensitivity of the redox potential to the insertion cation coupled with the observed fast ion-exchange ability, the PBA material may find additional analytical applications such as ion sensing or filtration devices.",battery
"LiFe0.4Mn0.6−xNixPO4/C(x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2) composite cathode materials for lithium ion batteries have been prepared by the co-precipitation method using oxalic acid as a precipitator. The structure and morphology of precursors and products have been investigated. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that LiFe0.4Mn0.55Ni0.05PO4 can deliver a specific capacity of 142 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, and retains 133 mAh g−1 after 60 cycles. The rate performance of LiFe0.4Mn0.6PO4 is obviously improved by doping Ni. The capacity of LiFe0.4Mn0.55Ni0.05PO4 at 2 C is 110 mAh g−1.
",battery
"The relation between the global happiness and school-related happiness of 737 12-year-old students was examined. The measures were the Subjective Happiness Scale Lyubomirsky and Lepper (1999) and the School Children’s Happiness Inventory (SCHI 2007). Additionally, the respondents were asked to choose from a list of 12 putative items that make people happy what they felt increased their happiness. They were also asked about their relationships with family members and other important people. The results show a strong relationship between global and school-related happiness and social relationships. The most popular choices of the happiness increasing factors were success in school, more free time and success in a hobby. However, the choices were dependent on the level of global happiness. The least happy students more often than others wanted to have more friends, better looks, more money and a peaceful family life. The happiest students had the fewest number of expressed desires with no special characteristics. The results confirm safe social relations as a primary factor underlying children’s happiness, but they also reveal an achievement-focused attitude in the Finnish students. Future directions in happiness research among school children are discussed.",non-battery
A system to control gene expression based on a destabilized form of Cre recombinase is reported. Drug-induced stabilization of Cre triggers recombination of 'floxed' alleles in the genome and is here used to genetically modify the activity of neural circuits in the mouse brain.,non-battery
"N-doped carbon coated LiTi2(PO4)3 composites were synthesized by polyaniline (PANi) as carbon and nitrogen bi-sources, and used as anode for aqueous lithium ion battery (ALIB). High-quality N-doped carbon layers were achieved to modify LiTi2(PO4)3 crystal. ALIB using as-synthesized LiTi2(PO4)3@C-N as anode exhibited superior rate performance. It delivered discharge capacities of 122.4, 105.8, and 95.3 mAh g−1 at rates of 0.2, 10, and 20C, respectively, much higher than those (97.4, 61.1, and 43.9 mAh g−1) of LiTi2(PO4)3/C using sucrose as carbon source. Furthermore, LiTi2(PO4)3@C-N anode demonstrated outstanding cycling performance with a capacity retention of 82.1% after 1000 cycles at 2C, while only 56.3% of capacity retention was kept for that using sucrose as carbon source. The excellent electrochemical performances of LiTi2(PO4)3@C-N are mainly attributed to good dispersion, proper carbon layer, and nitrogen doping, further accelerating the charge transfer and diffusion of Li ions/electrons.",battery
"Thermal, electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation measurements have been performed on (PEO)9LiTFSI+10 wt.% Al2O3 nano-porous polymer electrolyte system. It is observed that the conductivity enhances substantially due to the presence of the filler particles with different surface groups. The highest enhancement is found for the filler particles with acidic groups followed by basic, neutral, and weakly acidic. The results reveal that the filler particles do not interact directly with poly(ethelene) oxide (PEO) chains indicating that the main chain dynamics governing the ionic transport has not significantly affected due to the filler. The results are consistent with the idea that the conductivity enhancement is due to the creation of additional sites and favourable conduction pathways for ionic transport through Lewis acid–base type interactions between the filler surface groups and the ionic species. This is reflected as an increase in the mobility rather than an increase in the number of charge carriers. A qualitative model has been proposed to explain the results.",battery
"Dopamine (DA) neurotransmission, particularly the ventral tegmental area-nucleus accumbens (VTA-NAcc) projection, underlies reward and aversion processing, and deficient DA function could underlie motivational impairments in psychiatric disorders. 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) injection is an established method for chronic DA depletion, principally applied in rat to study NAcc DA regulation of reward motivation. Given the increasing focus on studying environmental and genetic regulation of DA function in mouse models, it is important to establish the effects of 6-OHDA DA depletion in mice, in terms of reward and aversion processing. This mouse study investigated effects of 6-OHDA-induced NAcc DA depletion using the operant behavioural test battery of progressive ratio schedule (PRS), learned non-reward (LNR), learned helplessness (LH), treadmill, and in addition Pavlovian fear conditioning. 6-OHDA NAcc DA depletion, confirmed by ex vivo HPLC-ED, reduced operant responding: for gustatory reward under effortful conditions in the PRS test; to a stimulus recently associated with gustatory non-reward in the LNR test; to escape footshock recently experienced as uncontrollable in the LH test; and to avoid footshock by physical effort in the treadmill test. Evidence for specificity of effects to NAcc DA was provided by lack of effect of medial prefrontal cortex DA depletion in the LNR and LH tests. These findings add significantly to the evidence that NAcc DA is a major regulator of behavioural responding, particularly at the motivational level, to both reward and aversion. They demonstrate the suitability of mouse models for translational study of causation and reversal of pathophysiological DA function underlying motivation psychopathologies.",non-battery
" Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders worldwide. Crocin is a carotenoid compound possessing various pharmacological activities. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect on fatty liver under diabetic and obese condition and to examine the possible role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling.",non-battery
"The Density Functional Theory with full potential linearized augmented plane wave uses to study the pure graphene and doped with different amounts of Germanium (5.55, 8.33, and 12.5%). It uses also Generalized Gradient Approximation and Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson formalism to investigate their electronic and optical properties. Furthermore, it utilizes Germanium is able to open band gap due to the p-states of Ge, which are in hybridization with p-states of Carbon. Germanium concentration decreasing or increasing can control the band gap opening of graphene system. The optical absorption increases in the ultraviolet range, due to the important absorption that contains germanium above 150 nm.
",non-battery
"With the development of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology and increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) integrating in power grid, supplementary frequency regulation service provided by V2G aggregator has been seen as the most promising grid ancillary service provided by the integrated EVs. In this paper, an optimal dispatching strategy of V2G aggregator is proposed to satisfy the driving demand of EV owners and maximize the economic benefits of aggregator simultaneously when it participates in supplementary frequency regulation. A judgment module is designed to determine EVs in aggregator whether participating in frequency regulation according to EV battery SOC for EVs’ driving demand, which is calculated by EVs’ daily driving distance. An optimal regulation power calculation model is built to optimize profits of aggregator and tracking performance of frequency load control signal from grid operator. A fair regulation power allocation module is designed to avoid over-discharging of EVs in aggregator. Finally, the proposed strategy is implemented in the simulation experiments to demonstrate its effectiveness.",battery
"Carbon Ene-yne (CEY), a novel two-dimensional full carbon material, was synthesized from tetraethynylethene. Compared with the traditional preparation method of carbon materials, CEY was synthesized by chemical method in solvent-phase under mild condition (low temperature, atmospheric pressure). Diyne of CEY were connected through vinyl groups which is help for π-electron transition, thus this new material exhibits excellent electronic property. Small band gap of 0.05eV was predicted for CEY, and high conductivity of CEY film is up to 1.4×10−2 S/m which facilitates its application in electronic devices. Lithium-ion batteries featuring CEY-based electrode exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, including high specific capacities, outstanding rate performances, and a long cycle lives. We obtained a much high and reversible capacities of up to 410mAh/g even after a long-term cycling at a high current density of 748mA/g. Additionally, prepared by our mild solvent-phase chemical method, CEY might be a new star as a versatile materials for many electrochemical applications.",battery
"Atomistic simulations have become an invaluable tool for industrial applications ranging from the optimization of protein-ligand interactions for drug discovery to the design of new materials for energy applications. Here we review recent advances in the use of machine learning (ML) methods for accelerated simulations based on a quantum mechanical (QM) description of the system. We show how recent progress in ML methods has dramatically extended the applicability range of conventional QM-based simulations, allowing to calculate industrially relevant properties with enhanced accuracy, at reduced computational cost, and for length and time scales that would have otherwise not been accessible. We illustrate the benefits of ML-accelerated atomistic simulations for industrial R&D processes by showcasing relevant applications from two very different areas, drug discovery (pharmaceuticals) and energy materials. Writing from the perspective of both a molecular and a materials modeling scientist, this review aims to provide a unified picture of the impact of ML-accelerated atomistic simulations on the pharmaceutical, chemical, and materials industries and gives an outlook on the exciting opportunities that could emerge in the future.
",non-battery
"Well-dispersed rhodium–nickel nanoparticles grown on graphene are successfully synthesized by co-reduction of graphene oxide and metal precursors, wherein graphene proved to be a powerful dispersion agent and distinct support for the RhNi nanoparticles. Unexpectedly, the resultant RhNi@graphene catalyst exerts 100% selectively and exceedingly high activity to complete the decomposition reaction of hydrous hydrazine at room temperature. This excellent catalytic performance might be due to the synergistic effect of the graphene support and the RhNi nanoparticles and the promotion effect of NaOH. The utilization of graphene as a novel two-dimensional catalyst support to anchor active component nanoparticles and thus to facilitate the electron transfer and mass transport kinetics during the catalytic reaction process opens up new avenues for designing next-generation catalysts.
",battery
"All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries have the potential to not only push the current limits of energy density by utilizing Li metal, but also improve safety by avoiding flammable organic electrolyte. However, understanding the role of solid electrolyte – electrode interfaces will be critical to improve performance. In this study, we conducted long term cycling on commercially available lithium cobalt oxide (LCO)/lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON)/lithium (Li) cells at elevated temperature to investigate the interfacial phenomena that lead to capacity decay. STEM-EELS analysis of samples revealed a previously unreported disordered layer between the LCO cathode and LiPON electrolyte. This electrochemically inactive layer grew in thickness leading to loss of capacity and increase of interfacial resistance when cycled at 80 °C. The stabilization of this layer through interfacial engineering is crucial to improve the long term performance of thin-film batteries especially under thermal stress.",battery
"Lithium-rich oxygen non-stoichiometric Li1.07Mn1.93O4−δ oxides with different oxygen vacancy values δ have been studied intensively using transmission electron microscope (TEM) at room temperature. The TEM observation shows that the dominant part of a given sample is the cubic spinel phase with secondary tetragonal phases, which have different lattice parameters. The detailed TEM study shows that the distortion level c p/a p ratio (a p and c p are the pseudo cubic unit cell parameters of the tetragonal phase) of the tetragonal phases ranges from 1.00 to 1.16. The diversity in values for the tetragonal phases is believed to be due to the differences in oxygen vacancy value among particles after annealing, which is related to the differences in their initial physical characteristics. The presence of twinning and defects in the tetragonal phases is common and the statistical results for the sample Li1.07Mn1.93O4−0.167 are given. The electrochemical test shows that the electrochemical performance of the annealed samples is dramatically deteriorated with increasing amount of oxygen vacancy.",battery
"A 64-channel amplifier system for the recording of extracellular signals with planar metal microelectrodes is presented. Gold metal microelectrodes on glass wafers were fabricated using standard photolithographic techniques. The measurement system was divided into a headstage preamplifier and a main amplifier. The inherent noise of the extracellular recording system was minimized by using an independent battery supply. The metal electrodes were directly connected to the gates of low noise junction field effect transistors (JFETs) using a specially designed electronic circuit. With this set-up, it was possible to record extracellular signals with planar metal microelectrodes without any surface modification for impedance reduction. A feedback circuit in the first amplification stage compensated slow drifts of the gold microelectrodes, which made online sampling of all 64 channels with a sampling rate of 10 kHz possible. Recordings were taken from rat cardiac myocytes cultured on fibronectin coated sensor chips. The system exhibited a good signal-to-noise ratio. It was able to detect the signal propagation within the cardiac cell layer and it could be used for pharmacological investigations involving the heart.",battery
"While the surface atomic structure of RuO2 has been well studied in ultra high vacuum, much less is known about the interaction between water and RuO2 in aqueous solution. In this work, in situ surface X-ray scattering measurements combined with density functional theory (DFT) were used to determine the surface structural changes on single-crystal RuO2(110) as a function of potential in acidic electrolyte. The redox peaks at 0.7, 1.1 and 1.4 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) could be attributed to surface transitions associated with the successive deprotonation of –H2O on the coordinatively unsaturated Ru sites (CUS) and hydrogen adsorbed to the bridging oxygen sites. At potentials relevant to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), an –OO species on the Ru CUS sites was detected, which was stabilized by a neighboring –OH group on the Ru CUS or bridge site. Combining potential-dependent surface structures with their energetics from DFT led to a new OER pathway, where the deprotonation of the –OH group used to stabilize –OO was found to be rate-limiting.
",battery
" Emotion prediction is a method that recognizes the human emotion derived from the subject’s psychological data. The problem in question is the limited use of heart rate (HR) as the prediction feature through the use of common classifiers such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Random Forest (RF) in emotion prediction. This paper aims to investigate whether HR signals can be utilized to classify four-class emotions using the emotion model from Russell’s in a virtual reality (VR) environment using machine learning.",non-battery
"Polyaniline tends to degrade with cycling in aqueous electrolytes and it can be alleviated using gel electrolytes. A low-cost solid-state supercapacitor of high energy density and good cyclic stability is fabricated with a facile method. The electrodes of the supercapacitor are made of a freestanding composite film of polyaniline and acid-treated carbon particles using phytic acid as a crosslinker, and the gel electrolyte is composed of sulfuric acid and polyvinyl alcohol. The electrochemical performances of the as-fabricated supercapacitor are investigated with cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Our results show that a maximum capacitance of 272.6F/g (3.63F/cm2) at a current density of 0.63A/g can be achieved by the supercapacitor, which is significantly higher than most solid-state ones reported in the literature. The ability to achieve a high-capacitance supercapacitor with good cyclic stability is mainly attributed to excellent infiltration of the gel electrolyte into the electrodes. The developed lightweight, thin, flexible, and environmental friendly supercapacitor would have potential applications in various energy storage devices, such as wearable electronics and hybrid electric vehicles.",battery
"In this paper we report on the characteristics of a polymer Li-ion battery based on a unique combination of innovative electrode and electrolyte materials. In particular, the electrolytic separator of this system is based on gelled membranes prepared by the electrospinning technique. Electrospinning of polymer fibers is usually realized by applying a strong electric field to a polymer solution in an appropriate solvent. Typical membranes (mats) consist of nanometre size fibers and have porosities of 56–85%. Here we describe the fabrication, physical chemistry and electrochemical properties of PVdF (poly(vinylidene difluoride))-based electrospun membranes and their use as gelled electrolyte in Li-ion battery. Moreover, we describe the performances of a battery formed by sandwiching a gelled membrane with a nanoscale engineered Sn–C based anode and a lithium nickel manganese oxide spinel cathode. The battery so obtained has an appealing performance in terms of energy density, power capability, cycle life and safety.
",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on issues commonly encountered by, or of concern to, investigators in the clinical research environment. These issues include those related to– informed consent for standard and research care, types of advance directives and other surrogate decision making requirements, the involvement of children in research, maintenance of adequate medical records, protection of confidentiality, liability of clinical researchers, conflicts of interest, and authorship and rights in data. The most predominant legal liability issue in clinical research relates to the presence or absence of adequate informed consent. Understanding of these legal issues in clinical research is very necessary.",non-battery
"In this paper, a new wide conversion ratio step-up and step-down converter is presented. The proposed converter is derived from the conventional Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter (SEPIC) topology and it is integrated with a capacitor–diode voltage multiplier, which offers a simple structure, reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI), and reduced semiconductors' voltage stresses. Other advantages include: continuous input and output current, extended step-up and step-down voltage conversion ratio without extreme low or high duty-cycle, simple control circuitry, and near-zero input and output ripple currents compared to other converter topologies. The low charging/discharging current ripple and wide gain features result in a longer life-span and lower cost of the energy storage battery system. In addition, the “near-zero” ripple capability improves the fuel cell durability. Theoretical analysis results obtained with the proposed structure are compared with other bi-direction converter topologies. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed bi-directional converter.",battery
"Perovskite oxides have received considerable attention as useful electro-catalysts for Li-air batteries due to their properties of excellent catalytic activity, electrical conductivity, and durability. The nanostructure can enhance the electrochemical performance of perovskite oxides by enlarging the catalytic active sites. In this study, nano-size Nd0.67Sr0.33CoO3-δ (NSC) perovskite particles with a particle size of 20–50 nm and a specific surface area of 12.759 m2 g−1 were successfully synthesized by a microemulsion method. The NSC perovskite particles exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity particularly in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a high limiting current density of 33.68 mA cm-2 at 0.9 V vs. (Hg/HgO). This excellent catalytic activity can be ascribed to the existence of Co3+ and the enlarged surface area. Co3+ provides catalytically active site by forming Co3+/4+ redox couple and the enlarged surface increases active sites for reactants and catalyst particles. In this regard, nano-size NSC particles prepared by the microemulsion route provide excellent and stable electrochemical performance in the hybrid Li-air battery.",battery
"Small-scale solar PV–water electrolyzer systems are suggested for remote combined heat and power (CHP) applications. A residential solar PV–electrolyzer system is developed and coupled with a high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system (PV–FC) for supplying the electricity demand. It is possible for the PV system to generate electricity in excess of the demand during off-peak hours. The surplus electricity is used by the water electrolyzer for hydrogen production. The hydrogen produced is stored in a storage tank. The fuel cell is fed with the hydrogen generated by the electrolyzer. The PV–FC system is coupled with a heat recovery unit, which provides the residential area with thermal energy, to improve energy utilization. The heat recovery unit consists of a heat recovery steam generator and an absorption chiller utilizing the thermal energy of the SOFC flue gas for heating and cooling purposes. Determining system operational parameters is important for the design and implementation of the CHP system in a residential area. Therefore, the residential CHP system is assessed here based on energy and exergy. The hourly demand of the residential area is taken into consideration for component selection and sizing, and energy and exergy efficiencies of the developed system are presented.",battery
"River discharge has an important influence on the chemistry of Arctic shelf seas and surface waters. In this study, we examined the changes in nutrient, trace metal, dissolved organic matter, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, and radium isotope distributions across the Mackenzie River delta and estuary in June 2016, and estimated trace element and isotopes fluxes from the Mackenzie River to the Western Arctic Ocean. While inorganic nutrient, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, trace metal, and radium levels remained fairly constant through the delta, dissolved organic matter concentrations were 2–3.5 times higher at the mouth of the river, reflecting inputs from the delta. In the estuarine mixing zone, radium isotope ratios indicated that both desorption from suspended sediments and benthic inputs affected solute concentrations. Similarly, most of the measured trace metals (Ba, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni) exhibited non-conservative addition in the freshwater-saltwater transition zone, while Pb was removed and U was mixed conservatively. Inorganic nutrients were affected by both addition and removal processes in the estuary. Dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity exhibited net removal, likely due to a combination of biological uptake, gas exchange, CaCO3 precipitation, and surface ion exchange processes. Approximately 45% and 60% of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, respectively, were removed rapidly at low salinities, in contrast with previous studies suggesting conservative mixing through Arctic estuaries. This study highlights the need to take deltaic and estuarine processes into account when determining the flux of riverine solutes to the coastal ocean.",non-battery
"The volumetric performance of electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices, other than gravimetric performance, is attracting increasing attention due to the fast development of electric vehicles and smart devices. Carbon-based electrodes have advanced the fast development of EES devices while being limited by their low volumetric performance because of their porous structure and the resulting low density. This paper aims to clarify the importance of the volumetric performance and review the most recent progress in advanced EES devices with a high volumetric performance. Strategies for improving the volumetric performance, particularly with carbon-based materials, are also proposed here. The transformation of normal low-density carbons to high-density ones through the assembly of different building blocks is highlighted as a promising remedy for this issue, and their applications in next-generation EES devices (Li–S, Li–air, Na-ion, etc.) are also discussed.
",battery
"Na0.67-x K x Mn0.72Ni0.14Co0.14O2 (x =0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) layered cathodes were prepared as the cathode of sodium-ion batteries by a co-precipitation method. The effects of K+ doping were investigated, as the doping amount of K+ could change the structure and finally influence the electrochemical performances. The appropriate content of K+ could expand the Na+ diffusion channel and improve both the cycleability and rate performance. The Na0.66K0.01Mn0.72Ni0.14Co0.14O2 composite showed enhanced cycle performance with an initial capacity of 141mAhg−1 and 112mAhg−1 maintained after 100 cycles at 2.0C rate. Meanwhile, the pristine Na0.67Mn0.72Ni0.14Co0.14O2 (without K+ doping) showed a lower initial capacity of 112mAhg−1 with 67mAhg−1 retained after 100 cycles at 2.0C. What’s more, the Na0.66K0.01Mn0.72Ni0.14Co0.14O2 sample delivered a high reversible capacity of 88.4mAhg−1 even at 8.0C, which was much higher than that of Na0.67Mn0.72Ni0.14Co0.14O2 (35mAhg−1). These results demonstrated that the K+ doping could be a feasible strategy to enhance the performance of layered cathode for sodium ion battery.",battery
"A new type of electrochromic device that uses electrodeposition of lead(II) oxide in combination with hydrogel-stabilized water-based electrolyte has been investigated. Operation of selected devices was examined using a series of electrochemical techniques (cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), along with UV–Vis transmittance spectroscopy. Presented devices with use of electrodeposited PbO from aqueous solution exhibited very short response time of 15 s. Data obtained from experiments showed high difference between bleached and tinted state while low potential required for color change (+1.7 V). All tested devices were unsealed and performed electrochromic effect for several cycles with unchanged repeatable cycling ability. Best characteristics, achieving good repeatability, high transmittance in bleached state and good coloration in tinted state, along with good stability, were obtained with device using a cross-linked random copolymer hydrogel N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAM) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) with a 85:15 unit molar ratio (DMAM/NIPAM), in combination with water-based Pb2+/Ni2+ electrolyte and PbO as working electrode and NiO as counter electrode. Constructed devices showed stable color in tinted state and ability to self-bleach when short-circuited. This type of electrochromic cells could be used as a more time-stable and lower cost alternative for existing intercalation-type electrochromic devices.",battery
"In this paper, an ontology-driven multi-agent based energy management system (EMS) is proposed for monitoring and optimal control of an integrated homes/buildings and microgrid system with various renewable energy resources (RESs) and controllable loads. Different agents ranging from simple-reflex to complex learning agents are designed and implemented to cooperate with each other to reach an optimal operating strategy for the mentioned integrated energy system (IES) while meeting the system’s objectives and related constraints. The optimization process for the EMS is defined as a coordinated distributed generation (DG) and demand response (DR) management problem within the studied environment and is solved by the proposed agent-based approach utilizing cooperation and communication among decision agents. To verify the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed multi-agent based EMS, several case studies are carried out and corresponding results are presented.",battery
"The effects of mechanical stress on lithium-ion battery life are investigated by monitoring the stack pressure and capacity of constrained commercial lithium-ion pouch cells during cycling. Stack stress is found to be a dynamic quantity, fluctuating with charge/discharge and gradually increasing irreversibly over long times with cycling. Variations in initial stack pressure, an important controllable manufacturing parameter, are shown to produce different stress evolution characteristics over the lifetime of the cells. Cells manufactured with higher levels of stack pressure are found to exhibit shorter cycle lives, although small amounts of stack pressure lead to increased capacity retention over unconstrained cells. Postmortem analysis of these cells suggests a coupling between mechanics and electrochemistry in which higher levels of mechanical stress lead to higher rates of chemical degradation, while layer delamination is responsible for the capacity fade in unconstrained cells. Localized separator deformation resulting in nonuniform lithium transport is also observed in all cells.",battery
"Greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources are believed to be the main cause of global warming and climate change. Furthermore, fossil fuels are forecasted to remain the dominant source of energy in the near future. Therefore, capture and sequestration of greenhouse gases and in particular carbon dioxide is likely to be a major pathway toward environmental protection and energy sustainability. Such clarity has stimulated an intense and diverse range of research into various capture and mitigation technologies, which race with global warming in real-time. Quantification of the performance improvement rates of these technologies can inform decision-makers’ long-term investment strategies, and help researchers to identify technical bottlenecks and research potential. The present research estimates the yearly performance improvement rate of CO2 capture, non-CO2 GHG capture, and GHG mitigation technologies, using a novel method based on patent data and the corresponding citation network. Our findings suggest that membrane-based, condensation/rectification-based, and adsorption-based carbon capture are the most promising technologies. Furthermore, the average CO2 capture technologies are likely to improve slightly faster than solar, wind, and battery technologies, indicating their important role in future electrical grids. Unfortunately, subterranean or submarine CO2 storage was identified as a slow-growing technological domain and potentially a bottleneck in the future sustainable carbon chain, which requires further efforts.
",battery
"Effective therapies for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been described in the literature, particularly cognitive and behavioral interventions, and have consistently demonstrated a reduction in PTSD symptoms. However, the applied versions of cognitive and behavioral treatments offered in most programs diverge from the forms of therapy investigated in research protocols. These differences are elucidated and a model incorporating cognitive and behavioral interventions is presented, minimizing the discrepancy, yet accommodating most patient, institutional, and therapist needs. The therapies are offered in a program designed to treat women experiencing PTSD as a result of sexual trauma. The program is flexible and can be adapted to populations of either gender or nonveterans, and can be modified to meet specific program needs without compromising treatment approaches.",non-battery
"Mildly expanded graphite (MEG) was synthesized by using perchloric acid as both intercalating agent and oxidizing agent. Its performance as anode material for lithium ion battery was investigated. SEM, XRD, TEM, nitrogen adsorption and TGA/DSC were used to characterize the sample. Charge/discharge tests show that the MEG exhibits a rate capacity as high as 397mAh/g at 0.2C and 250mAh/g at 1.6C.",battery
"This research studied one aspect of pragmatic language processing, the ability to understand metaphorical language, to determine whether patients with Parkinson disease (PD) are impaired for these abilities, and whether cognitive resource limitations/fronto-striatal dysfunction contributes to these deficits. Seventeen PD participants and healthy controls (HC) completed a series of neuropsychological tests and performed a metaphor comprehension task following the methods of Gernsbacher and colleagues [Gernsbacher, M. A., Keysar, B., Robertson, R. R. W., & Werner, N. K. (2001). The role of suppression and enhancement in understanding metaphors. Journal of Memory and Language, 45, 433–450.] When participants in the PD group were identified as “impaired” or “unimpaired” relative to the control group on a measure of verbal working memory span, we found that only PD participants with impaired working memory were simultaneously impaired in the processing of metaphorical language. Based on our findings we argue that certain “complex” forms of language processing such as metaphor interpretation are highly dependent on intact fronto-striatal systems for working memory which are frequently, although not always, compromised during the early course of PD.",non-battery
"In emergency situations, actions that save lives and limit the impact of hazards are crucial. In order to act, situational awareness is needed to decide what to do. Geolocalized photos and video of the situations as they evolve can be crucial in better understanding them and making decisions faster. Cameras are almost everywhere these days, either in terms of smartphones, installed CCTV cameras, UAVs or others. However, this poses challenges in big data and information overflow. Moreover, most of the time there are no disasters at any given location, so humans aiming to detect sudden situations may not be as alert as needed at any point in time. Consequently, computer vision tools can be an excellent decision support. The number of emergencies where computer vision tools has been considered or used is very wide, and there is a great overlap across related emergency research. Researchers tend to focus on state-of-the-art systems that cover the same emergency as they are studying, obviating important research in other fields. In order to unveil this overlap, the survey is divided along four main axes: the types of emergencies that have been studied in computer vision, the objective that the algorithms can address, the type of hardware needed and the algorithms used. Therefore, this review provides a broad overview of the progress of computer vision covering all sorts of emergencies.
",non-battery
"Municipal solid waste management in the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta, is examined from a point of view of researchers and waste management practitioners. Major impediments to waste management in Jakarta include non-involvement of stakeholders in planning and decision-making, unskilled staff undertaking the duty, the absence of long-term waste management strategies, and weak coordination between authorities and neighbourhood association workers who undertake primary collection. It was revealed that lack of resources is seen as the least important of all impediments. The success of managing solid waste in Jakarta cannot be separated from the presence and the role of a neighbourhood association, which performs waste collection on a daily basis as well as keeping their respective areas clean by employing their own waste service workers. A neighbourhood-based waste management strategy is a promising solution for Jakarta, because it is more applicable and suitable for Jakarta’s context compared to community-based waste management. The performance of this approach is examined and the improvement for wider adoption is discussed for a long-term solution.",non-battery
"The data of a city space is very large. In the city, there are tens of the thousands of sensors of video, audio and image at the same time. Real-time communication and reception of relevant information are carried out. Real-time monitoring of key areas and key persons and real-time warning information, of course, these operations are in the protection of the privacy and the security monitoring object under the premise of intelligent application analysis. To solve this challenge, this paper proposes the multimedia based intelligent network big data optimization model. To make the game decision between service behavior and ethnic behavior and to achieve a comparison between the specific behaviors in the action domain, two behavior comparison criteria need to be defined. The data level includes the data layer memory module and the forwarding module. The data layer memory module is used to store the content of the service, and the forward module is used to forward the data. Forward when the data flows through the module, the data layer memory modules can be according to the requirements of component control level and store the corresponding service content, and further described the service identification and service information notices to component level control. The intelligent multimedia information processing technology used in multimedia sensor networks should take into account two factors: one is the complexity of the processing, the computing power of the multimedia sensor nodes is limited, and the overly complicated processing technology is not suitable; and the second is the multimedia sensor network features and application requirements. The proposed method dealt with the challenges well, the validation proves the robustness.
",non-battery
"The LiMn2O4-Polypyrrole electrochemical cell has been shown to extract LiCl from natural brine at low voltage with high selectivity, low energy consumption (5–10Wh·mol−1) and good stability. The intercalation/de-intercalation of Li+ ions in LixMn2O4 (0≤x≤1) has been studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at different potentials and lithium ion concentrations using a modified Randles equivalent electrical circuit for the interface of LixMn2O4 in natural brine from Salar de Olaroz (Jujuy, Argentina). The RCT exhibits two minima at potentials which correspond to x=0.25 and x=0.75 (half filled adsorption sites) respectively and a linear lithium ion concentration dependence of (Li+)−0.5 consistent with a lithium ion transfer adsorption model proposed by Bruce.",battery
"Physical therapy consists mainly in the execution of rehabilitation processes that aim to help overcome injuries, as well as develop, maintain, or restore maximum body movement. Knee rehabilitation is one kind of physical therapy that requires daily exercises which could be considered monotonous and boring by the patients, discouraging their improvement. This is coupled with the fact that most physical therapists assess exercise performance through verbal and visual means with mostly manual measurements, making it difficult to constantly verify and validate if patients perform the exercises correctly. This article describes a physical therapy monitoring system that uses wearable technology to assess exercise performance and patient progress. This wearable device is able to measure and transfer the movement’s data from the patient’s limb to a mobile device. Moreover, the user interface is a game, which provides an entertaining approach to therapy exercising. In this article, it is shown that the developed system significantly increases daily user engagement in rehabilitation exercises, through a gameplay that matches physical therapy requirements for knee rehabilitation, as well as offering useful quantitative information to therapists.",non-battery
"Lyons’s (Philosophy of Science 70 (5): 891–901 2003, Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science 9 (1): 146–150 2018) axiological realism holds that science pursues true theories. I object that despite its name, it is a variant of scientific antirealism, and is susceptible to all the problems with scientific antirealism. Lyons (Philosophy of Science 70 (5): 891–901 2003, Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science 9 (1): 146–150 2018) also advances a variant of surrealism as an alternative to the realist explanation for success. I object that it does not give rise to understanding because it is an ad hoc explanans and because it gives a conditional explanation. Lyons might use axiological realism to account for the success of a theory. I object that some alternative axiological explanations are better than the axiological realist explanation, and that the axiological realist explanation is teleological. Finally, I argue that Putnam’s realist position is more elegant than Lyons’s.
",non-battery
"The interest in porous clay and its modification has been exponentially increasing. The outstanding properties of clay were evident due to high thermal and chemical resistance, as well as high porosity. By virtue of these reasons, modified clay was therefore prepared from many synthetic routes for significant enhancement on specific surface area and porosity. The application of modified clay was versatile in many areas of industrial commercialization. It was related to catalyst support, separation technology, electronic device as well as food packaging. To use modified clay with higher efficiency, it was consequently designed as composite based materials. Small amount of modified clay from chemical synthetic route was therefore integrated into polymer matrix. To be challenge on the use of modified clay based composite, it was investigated for being as energy storage materials. Due to high thermal resistance along with excellent specific surface area and porosity, modified clay was therefore gained many interests. Modified clay based composite will be employed as energy based material with additional feature of flexibility.",battery
"Tin foil should have outstanding volumetric capacity as a Li-ion battery anode; however, it suffers from an unacceptable initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 10–20%, which is much poorer than that of Si or SnO2 nanoparticles. Herein, we demonstrate that bare Sn catalyzes liquid electrolyte decomposition at intermediate voltages to generate gas bubbles and Leidenfrost gas films, which hinder lithium-ion transport and erode the solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer. By metallurgically pre-alloying Li to make LixSn foil, the lower initial anode potential simultaneously suppresses gassing and promotes the formation of an adherent passivating SEI. We developed a universally applicable roll-to-roll mechanical prelithiation method and successfully prelithiated Sn foil, Al foil and Si/C anodes. The as-prepared LixSn foil exhibited an increased ICE from 20% to 94% and achieved 200 stable cycles in LiFePO4//LixSn full cells at ∼2.65 mA h cm−2. Surprisingly, the LixSn foil also exhibited excellent air-stability, and its cycling performance sustained slight loss after 12 h exposure to moist air. In addition to LiFePO4, the LixSn foil cycled well against a lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC) cathode (4.3 V and ∼4–5 mA h cm−2). The volumetric capacity of the LixSn alloy in the LFP//LixSn pouch cell was up to ∼650 mA h cm−3, which is significantly better than that of the graphite anode on a copper collector, with a rate capability as high as 3C.
",battery
"The present investigation addresses the problem of evaluating the endurance of hybrid electric aircraft and discusses the effect of battery specifications and the engine working points on fuel economy. In particular, the endurance per unit mass of fuel of a hybrid power system is calculated by assuming a constant power-level flight performed with alternate cycles of battery charging and discharging (ON-OFF strategy). The computation of the fuel economy requires accurate models for the time, the power and the energy associated with battery charging and discharge processes. In order to reach this goal, two approaches proposed in literature to evaluate electric endurance were discussed, amended and validated through comparison with experimental data. A model for constant-current/constant voltage battery charge was also presented and validated with literature experimental data. In order to explain how these models can be applied to real applications, a parallel hybrid power system was sized and analyzed for a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle. Lithium polymer batteries and two stroke diesel engines were considered and three different hybridization degrees were analyzed. The results showed a trade-off between electric flight time and overall endurance per unit mass of fuel and an improvement up to 12% in fuel consumption with respect to a non-hybrid case with the same engine.",battery
 With the recent advent of inductive charging systems all major automotive manufacturers develop concepts to wirelessly charge electric vehicles. Efficient designs require virtual prototyping that accounts for electromagnetic and thermal fields. The coupled simulations can be computationally very costly. This is because of the high frequencies in the electromagnetic part. This paper derives a mixed frequency-transient model as approximation to the original problem. We propose a co-simulation such that the electromagnetic part is simulated in the frequency domain while the thermal part remains in time domain.,non-battery
"One of the main goals in lithium ion battery electrode design is to increase the power density. This requires insight in the relation between the complex heterogeneous microstructure existing of active material, conductive additive and electrolyte providing the required electronic and Li-ion transport. FIB-SEM is used to determine the three phase 3D morphology, and Li-ion concentration profiles obtained with Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP) are compared for two cases, conventional LiFePO4 electrodes and better performing carbonate templated LiFePO4 electrodes. This provides detailed understanding of the impact of key parameters such as the tortuosity for electron and Li-ion transport though the electrodes. The created hierarchical pore network of the templated electrodes, containing micron sized pores, appears to be effective only at high rate charge where electrolyte depletion is hindering fast discharge. Surprisingly the carbonate templating method results in a better electronic conductive CB network, enhancing the activity of LiFePO4 near the electrolyte-electrode interface as directly observed with NDP, which in a large part is responsible for the improved rate performance both during charge and discharge. The results demonstrate that standard electrodes have a far from optimal charge transport network and that significantly improved electrode performance should be possible by engineering the microstructure.",battery
"MoO2 synthesized through reduction of MoO3 with ethanol vapor at 400°C was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Its electrochemical performance as an anode material for lithium ion battery was tested by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and capacity measurements. During the reduction process, the starting material (MoO3) collapsed into nanoparticles (∼100nm), on the nanoparticles remains a carbon layer from ethanol decomposition. Rate capacity and cycling performance of the as-prepared product is very satisfactory. It displays 318mAhg−1 in the initial charge process with capacity retention of 100% after 20 cycles in the range of 0.01–3.00V vs. lithium metal at a current density of 5.0mAcm−2, and around 85% of the retrievable capacity is in the range of 1.00–2.00V. This suggests the application of this type of MoO2 as anode material in lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Ion-conducting polymer electrolyte films based on poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) complexed with potassium bromate (KBrO3) are prepared by a solution-cast technique. Several experimental techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dc-conductivity and transference number measurements are employed to characterise this polymer electrolyte system. The conductivity–temperature plots show two regions in the temperature range of study and transport number data which indicate that the charge transport in this electrolyte system is predominantly due to ions. Using these polymer electrolyte films, solid-state electrochemical cells are fabricated and their discharge characteristics are examined for a constant load of 100kΩ. Several cell parameters associated with the cells are evaluated and reported.",battery
"The electrochemical behavior of magnesium (Mg) metal was investigated in tetrahydrofuran (THF)-based solutions containing magnesium bromide (MgBr2) and/or magnesium ethoxide (Mg(OEt)2). THF solutions containing a single solute, MgBr2 or Mg(OEt)2, show no visible faradaic current based on Mg deposition and/or dissolution. However, the electrolyte system containing both solutes, MgBr2 + Mg(OEt)2/THF, gives a reversible current response of Mg deposition and dissolution. The ionic structure of the electrolyte system containing the binary solute was examined by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was confirmed that MgBr2 and Mg(OEt)2 are coordinated (solvated) with THF molecules to form an EtOMgBr·4THF complex. The DFT calculations also suggest the possible formation of μ-complexes for the MgBr2/Mg(OEt)2 binary system in THF. The voltammetric responses at the Pt electrode indicate low overpotential and high coulombic efficiency for Mg deposition and dissolution in THF-based solutions containing suitable molar ratios of MgBr2 and Mg(OEt)2. The constant-current charge-discharge cycling of Mg in MgBr2 + Mg(OEt)2/THF electrolyte also shows low overpotential and good cyclability over 300 cycles.",battery
"Using cheap organic material as the cathode and abundant sodium as the charge carrier is attractive for sustainable battery technologies. Now, highly reversible four-sodium storage in a nano-sized disodium rhodizonate organic cathode is achieved.",battery
"Resumen Introducción Los pacientes con demencia son considerados conductores de alto riesgo. Sin embargo, un gran porcentaje de ellos todavía puede conducir adecuadamente. Objetivo Identificar las pruebas cognitivas que mejor predicen las habilidades de conducción vehicular en personas mayores de 65años. Pacientes y métodos 28 sujetos mayores de 65años con demencia leve y 28 controles sanos fueron evaluados con una extensa batería neuropsicológica y pruebas ecológicas de manejo vehicular que incluyeron una evaluación en un simulador de manejo y la conducción en un circuito controlado de manejo. Resultados Los pacientes con demencia se desempeñaron peor que los controles en el manejo vehicular y tenían respuestas de frenado más lentas en el simulador. Las pruebas cognitivas que mejor correlacionaron con la evaluación de manejo vehicular fueron la fluencia verbal semántica, el Trail Making Test B y la Escala de Detección de Olvidos. Otro conjunto de pruebas que correlacionaron pero de manera parcial fueron el Mini Mental State Examination, la Memoria Lógica, el Trail Making Test A, el Test dígito-símbolo, el test de denominación (Boston), la lista de recuerdo auditivo verbal de Rey, la copia de la figura de Rey Osterrieth, la batería de evaluación frontal (FAB), el Inventario Neuropsiquiátrico (NPI-Q) y el Cuestionario de Actividad Funcional (FAQ). Conclusiones La correlación significativa entre el rendimiento específico en manejo y determinadas pruebas cognitivas respaldan la importancia de incluirlas en la evaluaciones de manejo para poder tomar las decisiones correctas y predecir el riesgo de manejo vehicular en sujetos mayores de 65años.",non-battery
"Bassoon is a large scaffolding protein of the presynaptic active zone involved in the development of presynaptic terminals and in the regulation of neurotransmitter release at both excitatory and inhibitory brain synapses. Mice with constitutive ablation of the Bassoon (Bsn) gene display impaired presynaptic function, show sensory deficits and develop severe seizures. To specifically study the role of Bassoon at excitatory forebrain synapses and its relevance for control of behavior, we generated conditional knockout (Bsn cKO) mice by gene ablation through an Emx1 promoter-driven Cre recombinase. In these animals, we confirm selective loss of Bassoon from glutamatergic neurons of the forebrain. Behavioral assessment revealed that, in comparison to wild-type littermates, Bsn cKO mice display selectively enhanced contextual fear memory and increased novelty preference in a spatial discrimination/pattern separation task. These changes are accompanied by an augmentation of baseline synaptic transmission at medial perforant path to dentate gyrus (DG) synapses, as indicated by increased ratios of field excitatory postsynaptic potential slope to fiber volley amplitude. At the structural level, an increased complexity of apical dendrites of DG granule cells can be detected in Bsn cKO mice. In addition, alterations in the expression of cellular maturation markers and a lack of age-dependent decrease in excitability between juvenile and adult Bsn cKO mice are observed. Our data suggest that expression of Bassoon in excitatory forebrain neurons is required for the normal maturation of the DG and important for spatial and contextual memory.",non-battery
"Despite recent progress in designing modified separators for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, detail in optimizing the synergistic effect between chemical and physical immobilization for lithium polysulfides (LiPS) in modified separator hasn't been investigated totally. Here, a nano-TiO2 decorated carbon layer (T-DCL) has been successfully applied to modify separator for the Li-S battery. The results indicate that appropriate weight percentage of nano-TiO2 uniformly distributed in conductive carbon layer is effective to chemically and physically immobilize for LiPS, and promote the electron transfer during discharge/charge process. The performance of the modified Li-S battery with T-DCL separator are significantly enhanced, with a specific capacity of 883 mAh g−1 retained after 180 cycles at 0.1 C and 762 mAh g−1 retained after 200 cycles at 0.5C, which are much higher than that of separators only coated with TiO2 layer or conductive carbon layer. Besides, the separator coated with T-DCL also shows low electrochemical impedance and good lithium anode protection. These results indicate that separator with T-DCL is promising to balance the physical and chemical LiPS trapping effect, and optimize the electrochemical performance for Li-S battery.",battery
"Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to deposit ZrO2 directly on Li4Ti5O12 electrode to improve its electrochemical performance. The thickness of the deposited ZrO2 was controlled by adjusting ALD cycles from 0 to 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50. The Li4Ti5O12 electrodes with and without ZrO2 coating were characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge test. The CV result indicated that ZrO2 coating with 2, 5 and 10 ALD cycles could effectively reduce the electrochemical polarization of the Li4Ti5O12 electrode. Charge-discharge test revealed that the Li4Ti5O12 electrodes with 1-, 2- and 5-cycle ZrO2 coating exhibited higher specific capacity, better cycling performance and rate capability than the pristine Li4Ti5O12 in a voltage range of 0.1–2.5V. However, ZrO2 coating with more than 5 ALD cycles could lead to degraded performance of Li4Ti5O12. Mechanism for the enhanced electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12 was explored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the reason was attributed to the suppressed formation of solid electrolyte interphase and the improved electron transport by ultrathin ZrO2 coating.",battery
"Occurrence and behaviour of Paromola cuvieri (Crustacea, Decapoda) were recorded by means of the MEMO lander equipped with two digital cameras and deployed in the cold-water coral community of the Santa Maria di Leuca (Mediterranean Sea). A total of 14 individuals were observed at depths between 547 and 648m; 10 in the coral habitat on coral mounds and 4 off the coral habitat on muddy bottoms. Thirteen specimens recorded were females, one male and all were shown to scavenge the bait. All the specimens carried a sponge on their exoskeleton using the fifth pereiopods. The specimens were distinguishable by the size and shape of the carried sponge. The present observations demonstrate both passive covering behaviour and active behaviour of discouraging approach and attack from competitors or predators, respectively. This study represents the first in situ documentation of Paromola cuvieri behaviour interacting with other deep-sea species in the Mediterranean Sea.",non-battery
"With the advent of implantable hearing aids, implementation and acoustic sensing strategy of the implantable microphone becomes an important issue; among the many types of implantable microphone, placing the microphone in middle ear cavity (MEC) has advantages including simple operation and insensitive to skin touching or chewing motion. In this paper, an implantable microphone was implemented and researched feedback characteristic when both the implantable microphone and the transducer were placed in the MEC. Analytical and finite element analysis were conducted to design the microphone to have a natural frequency of 7 kHz and showed good characteristics of SNR and sensitivity. For the feedback test, simple analytical and finite element analysis were calculated and compared with in vitro experiments (n = 4). From the experiments, the open-loop gain and feedback factor were measured and the minimum gain margin measured as 14.3 dB.",non-battery
"Open-circle sea water hydraulics, utilizing surrounding water as a working medium, has become more and more popular in submersible. Axial piston pump with port valves is used frequently in the open-circle water hydraulic system. Port valve is one of the important parts in this type pump. However, there are few literatures about the effect of the port valves’ materials on the noise characteristic of the water pump. In this study, the effect of materials on the noise of the pump was researched through experimental and theory simulation methods. The influences of three kinds of plastics (Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Aliphatic polyamides (NYLON)) and one kind of anti-corrosion stainless steel (316L) are compared. The noise of the pump with the different materials port valve seat ranges from high to low as the order: 316L>NYLON>PEEK>PTFE. The differences would contribute to the collision between valve spool and seat, which is identified by the simulating results. The experimental results showed that the difference of noise between PEEK and PTFE is small. In addition, the lifespan and volumetric efficiency are also taken into considering. The PEEK is selected to use in the seawater pump for a large submersible.",non-battery
"Commercially available global positioning system (GPS) tracking collars for cattle are cost prohibitive for most researchers. This paper presents a low-cost alternative to those collars (Knight GPS tracking collars) and compares their performance to a popular commercially available collar. A list of required materials and detailed instructions on fabrication are available in the supplementary content. Brangus cows (n = 8) were tracked with both LOTEK 3300 and Knight GPS tracking collars for 31 d beginning 14 March 2015 at the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center 37 km north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Locations were recorded every 10 min and used to calculate mean slope, elevation, distance from water, distance traveled per d, and elevation for each cow. No differences were detected (P ≥ 0.37) between collar types for location, slope, or distance from water. However, the distance traveled tended (P = 0.08) to be lower for Knight collars (6 171 m d−1) compared with Lotek collars (7 104 m d−1). Lotek collars recorded more (P ≤ 0.001) of the potential locations (99.9%) than the Knight collars (66.2%). Although the Knight collars failed to record all of the potential positions, they still provided a good indication of cattle locations on extensive pastures located in the Chihuahuan Desert.",non-battery
"We used l-(quinoxalin-6-ylcarbonyl)piperidine (CX516) (a modulator of the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxasole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor) as a sole agent in a double blind placebo-controlled design in a small series of patients with schizophrenia who were partially refractory to treatment with traditional neuroleptics. The study entailed weekly increments in doses of CX516, from 300 mg tid for week 1 up to 900 mg tid on week 4. Patients were followed with clinical ratings, neuropsychological testing, and were monitored for adverse events. Four patients received 2 to 4 weeks of CX516, two received placebo and two withdrew during the placebo phase. Adverse events associated with drug administration were transient and included leukopenia in one patient and elevation in liver enzymes in another. No clear improvement in psychosis or in cognition was observed over the course of the study. CX516 at the doses tested did not appear to yield dramatic effects as a sole agent, but inference from this study is limited.",non-battery
"All previous versions of Microsoft Excel until Excel 2007 have been criticized by statisticians for several reasons, including the accuracy of statistical functions, the properties of the random number generator, the quality of statistical add-ins, the weakness of the Solver for nonlinear regression, and the data graphical representation. Until recently Microsoft did not make an attempt to fix all the errors in Excel and was still marketing a product that contained known errors. We provide an update of these studies given the recent release of Excel 2010 and we have added OpenOffice.org Calc 3.3 and Gnumeric 1.10.16 to the analysis, for the purpose of comparison. The conclusion is that the stream of papers, mainly in Computational Statistics and Data Analysis, has started to pay off: Microsoft has partially improved the statistical aspects of Excel, essentially the statistical functions and the random number generator.",non-battery
"This study examines the relation between neurologic, behavioral, and performance indicators of attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder. Twenty-three males age nine to 11 years with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder, including symptoms of hyperactivity, and 23 matched controls served as participants. Differences between groups were investigated using referential 19-channel quantitative electroencephalogram, behavioral rating scale data, and continuous performance test data. Results from the behavioral data were consistent with previous research. Behavioral ratings for participants with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder were significantly more negative than controls. Control participants performed significantly better on the continuous performance test, with fewer errors, faster reaction times, and less variability in reaction time. Electroencephalogram results indicated differences between participants with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder and control participants primarily in the alpha bandpass, with evidence of increased alpha in posterior regions during baseline for the group with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder. Additionally, participants with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder manifested decreased alpha in left frontal regions when reading. The results are discussed in terms of possible differences in electroencephalographic data as a function of degree of hyperactivity, as well as the impact of task specificity on the electroencephalogram.",non-battery
"Low sulfur utilization and poor cycling stability are two major factors that currently impede the wide-spread commercialization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, sulfur-rich side chains are anchored onto Schiff-base copolymer of thiourea aldehyde resin (cp (S-TAR)) nanosheets via inverse vulcanization to form a large number of intermolecular crosslinkers as well as mesopores. Application of the resultant copolymer as a cathode material in Li-S batteries can not only provide abundant porous channels for Li+ diffusion but also significantly alleviate the dissolution of polysulfides by chemical confinement through the covalent bonds between sulfur-rich side chains and TAR. With this novel polymer cathode, a Li-S battery prototype is constructed which can operate at 1 C for over 500 charge-discharge cycles at nearly 99% coulombic efficiency, showing an ultralow cyclic fading rate of 0.045% per cycle, and an outstanding high-rate response of up to 5 C. The present strategy demonstrates the great potential of using highly crosslinked organosulfur copolymers as high-performance polymer cathode materials for low-cost, high-energy density Li-S batteries.",battery
"Against the backdrop of an aging world population increasingly affected by a diverse range of abilities and disabilities as well as the rise of ubiquitous computing and digital app cultures, this paper questions how mobile technologies mediate between heterogeneous environments and sensing beings. To approach the current technological manufacturing of the senses, two lines of thought are of importance: First, there is a need to critically reflect upon the concept of assistive technologies (AT) as artifacts providing tangible solutions for a specific disability. Second, the conventional distinction between user and environment requires a differentiated consideration. This contribution will first review James Gibson’s concept of “affordances” and modify this approach by introducing theories and methods of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Then, we present two case studies where we explore the relations between recent “assistive” app technologies and human sensory perception. As hearing and seeing are key in this regard, we concentrate on two specific media technologies: ReSound LINX2, a hearing aid which allows for direct connect (via Bluetooth) with iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, and Camassia, an IOS app for sonic wayfinding for blind people. We emphasize the significance of dis-/abling practices for manufacturing novel forms of hearing and seeing and drawing on sources like promotional materials by manufacturers, ads, or user testimonials and reviews. Our analysis is interested in the reciprocal relationships between users and their socio-technical and media environments. By and large, this contribution will provide crucial insights into the contemporary entanglement of algorithm-driven technologies, daily practices, and sensing subjects: the production of techno-sensory arrangements.",non-battery
"Groundwater resources in Queensland (Australia) have been depleting in many aquifers for the last 100 years and natural recharge processes are not replenishing these resources at the rate of extraction. At the same time, the need to address carbon emissions to reach global climate-change targets is becoming increasingly recognised. Plentiful deep fresh groundwater is available but is difficult, and typically uneconomical, to access due to the high costs of borehole drilling and completion. The emerging concept of ‘enhanced water recovery’ (EWR) hypothesises that carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into the deep aquifers will increase pressure, making groundwater more easily available at shallower depths across a broad region while simultaneously contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions. One example where this has been proposed is in the Great Artesian Basin’s Surat Basin in Queensland. The findings from a series of focus groups held with different stakeholders, including agricultural producers, rural residents, and urban residents, demonstrate how different groups perceived the risks and benefits of injecting CO2 as part of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) process to raise borehole water levels. The paper discusses the trade-offs that the different stakeholder groups found more acceptable. The significance of this research is that it will be the first to publish public responses to an emerging technology that has the potential to provide multiple benefits in terms of climate-change mitigation and groundwater use.",non-battery
"In recent years, battery storage systems have been widely studied in electrical networks. However, most of the studies have focused on active power in batteries. But, batteries can also produce or absorb reactive power. As well, impact of batteries on stability of the network has not been adequately addressed. Both the mentioned issues (i.e., reactive power and stability) make great impact on the battery utility such as ability of battery in energy management and power control. In order to overcome these shortcomings, current paper realizes a new control strategy on batteries for decoupled active-reactive power control. The proposed control strategy alters active power subject to constant reactive power and vice-versa. Two control loops are designed to control active and reactive powers. The control loops are equipped with PI controllers (i.e., tracking controllers). As well, both control loops of active and reactive powers are equipped with supplementary stabilizers (i.e., regulatory controllers). All controllers are simultaneously tuned by cultural-PSO-co-evolutionary (CPCE) algorithm. Several cases are simulated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the introduced strategy. It is verified that the proposed strategy is an efficient methodology to utilize battery storage systems and arising all abilities and benefits of the batteries at the same time.",battery
"The self-discharge mechanism of LiNi0.4Mn1.6O4, investigated by electrochemical methods, is mostly attributed to oxidative electrolyte decomposition due to the high lithium (de-)insertion potentials, since the material insertion capacity appears to be fully reversible upon subsequent galvanostatic cycling. A series of 40 different compounds, such as for instance fluorinated ethylene carbonate, 1,3-propane sultone, lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB), or a variety of ionic liquids, was investigated as suitable electrolyte additives to form a stable LNMO/electrolyte interphase in order to prevent the self-discharge by the continuous oxidative electrolyte decomposition. Among these, only one compound, namely succinic anhydride, revealed to have a beneficial effect on the self-discharge of LNMO based cathodes, while showing an enhanced coulombic efficiency and a decreased capacity loss per cycle. Additionally, the modification of the LNMO particles surface by adding succinic anhydride to the electrolyte was confirmed by performing ex situ SEM and XPS analysis of galvanostatically cycled electrodes.",battery
" The new generation nebuliser PARI eFlow® rapid allows a highly efficient aerosol delivery at reduced inhalation time. However, lung function data during long-term use of this device are not available until now.",non-battery
"A simple and facile vapor-assisted hydrolysis route has been used to synthesize Al2O3-coated LiCoO2. The effects of Al2O3 coating on the structure and electrochemical performance have been systematically studied. After deposition of the Al2O3 coating, the crystal structure and morphology of LiCoO2 are maintained. Galvanostatic charge-discharge tests show that Al2O3-coated LiCoO2 exhibits markedly improved capacity retention and rate capability at high charge voltage (4.5V). The Al2O3-coated LiCoO2 exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 165.5mAh/g at 360mA/g, and the capacity retention is 98.6% after 180 cycles. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results demonstrate that the Al2O3 coating can slow the increase of charge-transfer resistance during cycling, which is in accord with the excellent electrochemical cycling performance of Al2O3-coated LiCoO2.",battery
 To examine whether higher adherence to Baltic Sea diet (BSD) and Mediterranean diet (MED) have beneficial association with sarcopenia indices in elderly women.,non-battery
"Drug hypersensitivity reactions or drug allergy is a form of serious adverse drug reaction with an immunological aetiology to otherwise safe and effective therapeutic agents. The use of certain classes of drugs (e.g., antibiotics, anti-convulsants and anti-retrovirals) is associated with a particular high frequency of reactions. The skin is the organ most commonly targeted in drug hypersensitivity reactions; however, other organs can be damaged in isolation or as part of a generalized hypersensitivity syndrome. Diverse epidemiological studies have been performed in order to estimate the incidence of drug hypersensitivity, but due to the heterogeneous presentation, different immunological mechanisms involved and the lack of simple and cost-effective in vitro tests to confirm a clinical diagnosis, the real incidence remains elusive. Furthermore, lack of knowledge relating to the way in which drugs interact with immune cells has hindered attempts to develop such tests. Nonetheless, during the last thirty years several groups have demonstrated that drug-responsive lymphocytes play a key role in the pathogenesis of most forms of this iatrogenic disease. This present review focus on (1) the cellular mechanism involved in drug hypersensitivity and (2) the biomarkers used to diagnose drug hypersensitivity. In addition, using our increasing knowledge of post-transcriptional immune regulators, such as microRNAs, we explored the possibility of identifying novel drug hypersensitivity biomarkers and their possible application in assays to diagnose drug hypersensitivity reactions in susceptible patients.
",non-battery
"Cathode materials are the key component and bottleneck that hinders the development of lithium-ion batteries. This work reports the preparation of LiV3O8 nanorods with different levels of Nb doping through a sol-gel process and a subsequent electrospinning method. The electrochemical performance of LiV3O8 as a cathode material was enhanced significantly upon Nb doping. A capacity of 401 mAh g−1 at 0.1C (0.52 mAh cm−2) was observed for LiV2.94Nb0.06O8, which still retained a value of 91 mAh g−1 (0.12 mAh cm−2) at 20 C. The doped cathode also showed excellent cycling stability, retaining 99.7% of its initial capacity after 500 cycles of charge and discharge. The mechanisms for the performance enhancement were investigated using experimental techniques and theoretical analysis based on density functional theory (DFT). It was found the Nb doping could expand the lattice space, reduce the bandgap, increase the intrinsic conductivity, lower the energy barrier of the reaction and promote the absorption and release kinetics of Li-ions. Furthermore, the nanorod morphology which was obtained by electrospinning, could shorten the pathway of Li-ions and provide mechanical stability and is also responsible for the excellent performance.",battery
"A composite made of a mixed-valence sodium–vanadium fluorophosphate and 6.4% wt. carbon, Na3V2O2x (PO4)2F3−2x /C (0 < x < 1), has been prepared. Structural and magnetic characterization confirmed the +3/+4 oxidation state of vanadium in the phase. Morphological and texture analyses showed that carbon forms a network surrounding the particles, leading to a mesoporous composite with a high specific area of 67 m2 g−1. Electrochemical characterization conducted in Swagelok cells by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic cycling indicated that sodium extraction/insertion proceeds through a complex mechanism in two voltage pseudo-plateaux at 3.6 and 4.1 V vs. Na/Na+. Rate capability of the material ranges from specific capacities of 100 mAh g−1 at C/20 to 75 mAh g−1 at 5C. Cycling stability at 1C showed coulombic efficiency higher than 99% and capacity retention of 95% after 200 cycles.",battery
"An in-depth study of morphology-controlled growth of manganese oxide nanostructures from acetate-containing aqueous solutions was carried out. By varying the deposition parameters, including solution composition, pH value, deposition temperature and current density, a series of manganese oxide nanostructures, including continuous coatings with equiaxed and fibrous features, petal- and flower-like morphologies, discrete oxide clusters, columnar structures and interconnected nanosheets, were anodically deposited on Au-coated glass. Detailed results on the morphology, chemistry and crystal structure of the as-deposited manganese oxide nanostructures suggest that the rich morphology of manganese oxide obtained is primarily determined by the influence of supersaturation ratio on reaction kinetics in the aqueous solutions. The electrochemical properties (specific capacitance, rate capacity and electrochemical impedance response) of manganese oxide nanostructures are carefully examined. The experimental results show that manganese oxide electrodes with oriented nanostructures, such as a columnar structure and an interconnected nanosheet architecture, exhibit enhanced electrochemcial performance by improving manganese oxide utilization.",battery
"SrLi2Ti6O14 is a novel lithium storage host material. In this work, a series of SrLi2Ti6O14 are prepared by a simple solid state reaction method at different calcination temperatures and then used as probable host materials for lithium storage. Evaluations of the electrochemical performance in combination with structural analysis suggest that the calcination temperature dramatically affects the phase purity, particle size and lithium storage capability of SrLi2Ti6O14. It can be found that the optimum calcination temperature for SrLi2Ti6O14 is 950°C. SrLi2Ti6O14 formed at 950°C exhibits the highest lithium storage capacity, the fastest lithium-ion diffusion behavior, the best cycling and rate properties among all the five samples. It reveals an initial charge capacity of 170.3mAhg−1 at the current density of 50mAg−1. After 50 cycles, the reversible capacity can be kept at 155.9mAhg−1 with excellent capacity retention of 91.9%. Even cycled at 300mAg−1, it still can deliver a charge capacity of 141.6mAhg−1. In contrast, the SrLi2Ti6O14 formed at 800°C can only deliver a reversible capacity of 71.5mAhg−1 at 300mAg−1. Besides, the electrochemical reaction mechanism between SrLi2Ti6O14 and Li is thoroughly investigated by various in-situ and ex-situ techniques. It is found that SrLi2Ti6O14 is a zero-strain compound for lithium storage. For the lithium storage process, Rietveld refinement results reveal that lithium ions occupy the 8c, 4b and 4a vacant sites in turns during the discharge process, and the stable framework ensures the structural reversibility during repeated cycles, which is important for SrLi2Ti6O14 as a probable host material for high performance lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"The oxidation of reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) and its impact on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in H2SO4 solutions has been studied. The results are compared with that of a planar glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The oxidation process was characterized by using different electrode configurations, GC (planar) and RVC electrodes both with flooded (batch process) and flow-through assembly. Cyclic voltammetry, potentiodynamic and rotating ring-disk electrode voltammetry were used for the characterization of the ORR. Anodically oxidized GC and flooded RVC are similar in that the ORR on both electrodes gave a more defined limiting current plateau. For the flow-through porous electrode, the oxidation process caused a distribution of the oxidation extent within the bed thickness, as evident from the SEM images, and only about half of the porous electrode was utilized in the oxidation process. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements confirmed the above distribution and a gradient of the oxygen-to-carbon ratio was obtained within the porous bed. Oxidation of RVC led to an enhancement of its electrocatalytic properties towards ORR. H2O2 production was tested at the oxidized RVC from flowing acid solutions. The oxidation of RVC resulted in higher current efficiencies and higher outlet concentrations of the H2O2 acid solutions.",battery
"This article presents a short review of the knowledge concerning carbon nano-onions, also known as onion-like carbon or multi-layered fullerenes. Currently, these nanostructures are some of the most fascinating carbon forms. We can only find approximately 2000 articles under the entry of “carbon onion” in the Web of Science. Surprisingly, there have been ∼40,000 citations since their discovery, and the interest in these nanostructures is still growing. In the last three years, 5000 citations per year have been reported. This means that researchers have noted the unusual nature of these carbon nanostructures. In this article, we review the most important literature reports in this area, which in a condensed way, present these nanostructures, their production methods, their unusual physical and chemical properties and their potential uses.",non-battery
"Synthetic biology is an emerging engineering discipline that, if successful, will allow well-characterized biological components to be predictably and reliably built into robust organisms that achieve specific functions. Fledgling efforts to design and implement a synthetic biology curriculum for undergraduate students have shown that the co-development of this emerging discipline and its future practitioners does not undermine learning. Rather it can serve as the lynchpin of a synthetic biology curriculum. Here I describe educational goals uniquely served by synthetic biology teaching, detail ongoing curricula development efforts at MIT, and specify particular aspects of the emerging field that must develop rapidly in order to best train the next generation of synthetic biologists.
",non-battery
"A simple dry physical grinding and solvent mixing approach was used to prepare tin selenide – multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) hybrid as an anode material for high performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The pure tin selenide and their composites with carbon black or graphene oxides were previously reported, however no other groups have reported tin selenide/MWCNT composite as anode materials for LIBs. The new hybrid had superior electrochemical cycling performance with higher reversible (lithiation) capacity of 882 to 651mAhg−1 over 50 cycles compared to pure tin selenide (602 to 58 mAhg−1) or pure MWCNT (339 to 171 mAhg−1) electrodes. The enhanced performance of the tin selenide/MWCNT hybrid was attributed to various factors including alleviation of volume change of tin selenide during lithiation/delithiation by nanoscale network of MWCNT which helped to preserve the electrical connectivity between active particles, reversible decomposition of tin selenide, lithiation/delithiation of MWCNTs and conductive electronic transport pathways provided by MWCNTs.",battery
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzymes have been isolated from numerous organisms including soybeans (Glycine max; GM-ALS) and catalyze the first common step in biosynthesis of branched chain amino acids. Expression of an ALS protein (GM-HRA) with two amino acid changes relative to native GM-ALS protein in genetically modified soybeans confers tolerance to herbicidal active ingredients and can be used as a selectable transformation marker. The safety assessment of the GM-HRA protein is discussed. Bioinformatics comparison of the amino acid sequence did not identify similarities to known allergenic or toxic proteins. In vitro studies demonstrated rapid degradation in simulated gastric fluid (<30s) and intestinal fluid (<1min). The enzymatic activity was completely inactivated at 50°C for 15min demonstrating heat lability. The protein expressed in planta is not glycosylated and genetically modified soybeans expressing the GM-HRA protein produced similar protein/allergen profiles as its non-transgenic parental isoline. No adverse effects were observed in mice following acute oral exposure at a dose of at least 436mg/kg of body weight or in a 28-day repeated dose dietary toxicity study at doses up to 1247mg/kg of body weight/day. The results demonstrate GM-HRA protein safety when used in agricultural biotechnology.,non-battery
"The microgrid concept has been closely investigated and implemented by numerous experts worldwide. The first part of this paper describes the principles of microgrid design, considering the operational concepts and requirements arising from participation in active network management. Over the last several years, efforts to standardize microgrids have been made, and it is in terms of these advances that the current paper proposes the application of IEC/ISO 62264 standards to microgrids and Virtual Power Plants, along with a comprehensive review of microgrids, including advanced control techniques, energy storage systems, and market participation in both island and grid-connection operation. Finally, control techniques and the principles of energy-storage systems are summarized in a comprehensive flowchart.",battery
"A series of CoO/reduced graphene oxide (CoO/RGO) composites with different proportions are successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method. As an additive for the nickel-based alkaline secondary battery cathode, the electrochemical performances of the proposed CoO/RGO composite are systematically investigated on its cyclic stability, rate capability, capacity recovery performance, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), in comparison with commercial CoO. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images show that the CoO nanoparticles are in-situ anchored on the surface of soft and flexible graphene sheets. Electrochemical results indicate that the CoO/RGO composites exhibite the highest performance when the weight ratio of CoO and RGO is 5:5. The optimized CoO/RGO composites as an additive for the nickel electrode not only can substantially reduce the CoO additive but also possess good electrochemical performances, especially for the high-rate capability. The discharge capacity of the nickel electrode with 5wt% of CoO/RGO (5:5) addition deliver a high discharge capacity of 284.3, 264.6,235.4 and 208.6mAhg−1 at 0.2, 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0C, respectively. The capacity recovery rate at 0.2C can reach 98.4%. CV and EIS test indicate that the incorporation of RGO can significantly enhance the reversible property, current density of cathodic peak, proton diffusion and conductivity of the nickel electrode.",battery
"The currently high upfront costs of batteries and the low retail electricity prices of households make investments in PV–battery systems not yet economically feasible. However, the experiences/learning curves of renewable generation technologies lead to the assumption that battery prices will rapidly decline with increasing diffusion. Furthermore, projected retail electricity rates are expected to increase with rising electricity demand. This study investigates the returns to residential customers using PV–battery systems under decreasing battery prices in Thailand. The impacts of four additional parameters have been included. The analysis is based mainly on net present values (NPV) and levelized costs of electricity (LCOE). The results show that battery size and its cost, and retail rate design have significant impacts on the returns, whereas buyback incentives for excess electricity have the lowest impact. In addition, to increase the power system flexibility by using PV–battery systems, the Thai government should provide the appropriate financial support, by which the savings incurred by the grid extension investments compensate for the costs.",battery
"Environmentally friendly supercapacitors are fabricated using commercial grade aluminum coated paper as a substrate and symmetrical activated carbon electrodes as large area electrodes. Different choline chloride-based eutectic solvents are used as electrolyte. These are inexpensive, environmentally friendly and have a larger operating window compared to that of water electrolytes. As the entire device is printed and the materials used are inexpensive, both small- and large-area power sources can be fabricated to be used in cheap, disposable and recyclable devices. Supercapacitors with different eutectic solvents are measured using cyclic charge–discharge and impedance spectroscopy measurements and compared to one widely used and one “green” imidazolium ionic liquid; EMIM:TFSI and EcoEng 212™, respectively. A mixture of ethylene glycol and choline chloride, Glyceline™, show the highest capacitance and power densities of the electrolytes being tested, including the imidazolium alternatives.",battery
"As standard rTMS protocols exhibit after-effects of short duration and show limited efficacy as therapeutic intervention in psychiatric and neurological disorders, novel protocols, e.g. theta burst stimulation (TBS), have been developed for motor cortex stimulation and are promising approaches to enhance the effectiveness of rTMS. However, little is known about the side effect profile of such protocols. Thus, the present study investigates whether TBS is safe in terms of side effects and has effects on cognition and EEG measurements. Within two exploratory placebo-controlled, cross-over studies, 24 healthy volunteers underwent continuous TBS (cTBS), intermittent TBS (iTBS) and sham TBS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, N=12) or the medial prefrontal cortices (mPFC, N=12) in random order. Side effects, resting EEG, performance in a neuropsychological test battery and mood were recorded. All protocols proved to be safe in terms of seizure generation. The most prominent side effect was the occurrence of vasovagal reactions after TBS. Standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) showed changes in current source density of different frequency bands in the frontal lobe with simultaneous effects in neuropsychological data. Although TBS protocols of the human prefrontal cortex appear to be rather safe, future studies need to explain the occurrence of vasovagal reactions with TBS. The excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms of TBS reported for the motor cortex are not easily transferable to prefrontal sites. Moreover, TBS seems to exert long lasting effects after iTBS over the left DLPFC.",non-battery
"We report the utilization of three-dimensional graphene hydrogel embedded with Ni foam as a high-surface-area support and one-step electrodeposition of NiCo2O4 nanoflakes on the support for use as supercapacitor electrode, with dramatic improvements in the accessible electrode surface area and loading amount of pseudocapacitive material being achieved. The constructed NiCo2O4/graphene hydrogel/Ni foam ternary composite electrode possesses a hierarchical open-porous structure scaling from macropores to mesopores, which synergistically provides continuous electron path, commodious ion channel and large electrolyte-electrode interface, thus benefiting the improvement of overall energy storage properties of the supercapacitor electrode. Accordingly, the as-prepared electrode exhibits exceptional high capacitance of 3.84 F cm−2 at 2 mA cm−2 and excellent rate capability with 71.6% retention at 50 mA cm−2. Moreover, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor using NiCo2O4/graphene hydrogel/Ni foam as positive electrode and graphene hydrogel/Ni foam as negative electrode renders a maximum energy density and power density of 65 Wh kg−1 and 18.9 kW kg−1, respectively, and a striking cycling stability with 92% capacitance retention after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. These desirable results suggest a great potential of hierarchical porous NiCo2O4/graphene hydrogel/Ni foam electrode for the high-performance supercapacitor application.",battery
"Hyperactivity is currently considered a core and ubiquitous feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, an alternative model challenges this premise and hypothesizes a functional relationship between working memory (WM) and activity level. The current study investigated whether children’s activity level is functionally related to WM demands associated with the domain-general central executive and subsidiary storage/rehearsal components using tasks based on Baddeley’s (Working memory, thought, and action. New York: Oxford University Press 2007) WM model. Activity level was objectively measured 16 times per second using wrist- and ankle-worn actigraphs while 23 boys between 8 and 12 years of age completed control tasks and visuospatial/phonological WM tasks of increasing memory demands. All children exhibited significantly higher activity rates under all WM relative to control conditions, and children with ADHD (n = 12) moved significantly more than typically developing children (n = 11) under all conditions. Activity level in all children was associated with central executive but not storage/rehearsal functioning, and higher activity rates exhibited by children with ADHD under control conditions were fully attenuated by removing variance directly related to central executive processes.",non-battery
"A mille-feuille structure, which comprises both sides of dense layer are sandwiched by porous layers, is one of the promising structures for 3-dimensional (3D) all-solid-state battery. The porous layers should have 3-dimensionally ordered macroporous structure to obtain large contact area between electrolyte and electrode. Li0.35La0.55TiO3 (LLT) solid electrolyte with the mille-feuille structure was fabricated by the suspension filtration method. The dense layer was sintered well, no grain boundary was observed. The porous layers contacted well with dense layer. Thicknesses of dense and porous layers were 30 and 26μm, respectively. To check compatibility of the mille-feuille LLT with all-solid-state Li ion battery, chronopotentiometry of symmetric cell with LiMn2O4/mille-feuille LLT/LiMn2O4 configuration was measured. Charge and discharge currents were clearly observed, indicating that the cell was successfully operated.",battery
"Lithium plating in commercial LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2/graphite cells at sub-ambient temperatures is studied by neutron diffraction at Stress-Spec, MLZ. Li plating uses part of the active lithium in the cell and competes with the intercalation of lithium into graphite. As a result, the degree of graphite lithiation during and after charge is lower. Comparison of graphite lithiation after a C/5 charging cycle fast enough to expect a considerable amount of Li plating with a much slower C/30 reference cycle reveals a lower degree of graphite lithiation in the first case; neutron diffraction shows less LiC6 and more LiC12 is present. If the cell is subjected to a 20 h rest period after charge, a gradual transformation of remaining LiC12 to LiC6 can be observed, indicating Li diffusion into the graphite. During the rest period after the C/5 charging cycle, the degree of graphite lithiation can be estimated to increase by 17%, indicating at least 17% of the active lithium is plated. Data collected during discharge immediately after C/5 charging give further evidence of the presence and amount of metallic lithium: in this case 19% of discharge capacity originates from the oxidation of metallic lithium. Also, lithium oxidation can be directly related to the high voltage plateau observed during discharge in case of lithium plating.",battery
"This article makes use of survey data collected in 1992 and 2007 to examine the question of whether or not Postmaterialism is gradually becoming manifest in Hong Kong and to explore the applicability of Postmaterialist theory to this affluent Chinese society. Our findings basically support the hypotheses of the theory that the continued socioeconomic development of Hong Kong is giving rise to a populace that is increasingly inclined towards Postmaterialism. Younger people are more Postmaterialist than their seniors. In addition, Postmaterialists are more likely than Materialists to support the ‘new politics’ and democracy. Nevertheless, Hong Kong is far from being a Postmaterialist society. Multivariate regression analysis also revealed that the Materialist/Postmaterialist orientation is neither related to age nor to formative security.
",non-battery
"A sub-atmospheric pressure nickel hydrogen (Ni–H2) battery with metal hydride for hydrogen storage is developed for implantable neuroprosthetic devices. Pressure variations during charge and discharge of the cell are analyzed at different states of charge and are found to follow the desorption curve of the pressure composition isotherm (PCI) of the metal hydride. The measured pressure agreed well with the calculated theoretical pressure based on the PCI and is used to predict the state of charge of the battery. Hydrogen equilibration with the metal hydride during charge/discharge cycling is fast when the pressure is in the range from 8 to 13psia and slower in the range from 6 to 8psia. The time constant for the slower hydrogen equilibration, 1.37h, is similar to the time constant for oxygen recombination and therefore pressure changes due to different mechanisms are difficult to estimate. The self-discharge rate of the cell with metal hydride is two times lower in comparison to the cell with gaseous hydrogen storage alone and is a result of the lower pressure in the cell when the metal hydride is used.",battery
"Objective Children's differences in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels are not at random. This study investigates the relevance of individual- and school-level characteristics in explaining these differences. Methods In total, 307 children (154 girls) aged 5–10 years, from 19 Portuguese schools, were sampled. Height and weight were measured, and body mass index was calculated. Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was measured by accelerometry. Gross motor coordination was assessed with the KörperkoordinationsTest für Kinder battery and socio-economic status was obtained via the school social support system. School characteristics were obtained with an objective school audit. A multilevel analysis was used as implemented in Stata 15. Results Schools explained 18.2% of the total variance in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, with the remainder being ascribed to children's distinct characteristics. Boys were more active (β =29.59±11.52, p <0.05), and having higher gross motor coordination levels (β =0.11±0.04, p <0.05) was positively associated with daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, whereas being older (β =−5.00±1.57, p <0.05) and having higher socio-economic status (β =−7.89±3.12, p <0.05) were negatively related with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. From the school-level correlates, only playground dimension was significantly associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels. Children from schools with medium (40m2 to 69m2) and large playground dimensions (≥70m2) were less active than children with smaller playground dimensions (10m2 to 39m2). Conclusions Variation in school children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is mostly explained by their individual characteristics; school characteristics also play a role but to a smaller degree. Future intervention programs to change this behavior should be more personalized, emphasizing mostly individual-level characteristics.",non-battery
"Mackinawite films have been deposited on Ti supports from aqueous solutions containing ferrous and thiosulphate ions, using a potentiostatic double pulse technique. Studies on the influence of the electrolyte concentration ratio [S2O3 2−]/[Fe2+] on the film properties were performed. Cyclic voltammetry was used as a diagnostic technique for the electrodeposition process. In situ characterisation of the deposits was performed by anodic stripping analysis. The structure and morphology of the films were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The experimental data provide evidence that Mackinawite deposits have been obtained from the entire electrodeposition baths although its purity is conditioned by the bath composition. Namely, when [S2O3 2−]=[Fe2+], oxidation products such as α-S and γ-FeOOH were detected.",battery
"An amorphous, thin film of tin oxide is tested as an anode to replace lithium metal in a thin-film battery. Tin oxide shows irreversible discharge capacity in its initial state, and this gives rise to capacity loss on the first charge–discharge process. Thus, in terms of electrochemical properties, lithium metal is better than tin oxide as an anode for a thin-film battery. In some applications, however, thin-film batteries must withstand high fabrication temperatures (over 250°C to 260°C). Lithium metal film cannot be applied in such conditions due to its low melting point (181°C). Tin oxide is not only able to endure high fabrication temperatures but can also preserve its capacity for a large number of cycles after the initial discharge process. In this study, a thin film of amorphous tin oxide has been prepared by means of a sputtering method. Its suitability as an anode for a thin-film battery is examined. A thin film of LiMn2O4, prepared by a sol–gel method is used for the cathode.",battery
"The solution-reaction calorimetric method was used for the determination of the formation enthalpy of the Li22Si5 intermetallic compound and the heat of the reaction of the Li-component with an acetic acid bath. The phase was prepared in a glove box with high purity argon protective atmosphere. The phase was homogenized and then analyzed by means of the X-ray diffraction technique. Also, the topography analysis was performed with the use of a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), whereas the microstructure analysis was performed by means of a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The phase analysis was also run by the selected area electron diffraction pattern (SAEDP). The experiments in the calorimeter were carried out at room temperature with acetic acid as the calorimetric solvent. The enthalpy of the lithium's reaction with the acetic acid was measured and it equaled −261.1±1.6kJ/g·atom. The formation enthalpy value Δf H for the Li22Si5 compound was equal to −24.4±3.0kJ/g·atom.",non-battery
"Thermal energy storage has recently attracted increasing interest related to thermal applications such as space and water heating, waste heat utilization, cooling and air-conditioning. Energy storage is essential whenever there is a mismatch between the supply and consumption of energy. Use of phase change material (PCM) capsules assembled as a packed bed is one of the important methods that has been proposed to achieve the objective of high storage density with higher efficiency. A proper designing of the thermal energy storage systems using PCMs requires quantitative information about heat transfer and phase change processes in PCM. This paper reviews the development of available latent heat thermal energy storage technologies. The different aspects of storage such as material, encapsulation, heat transfer, applications and new PCM technology innovation have been carried out.",battery
"The improvement of redox-flow batteries requires the development of chemically stable and highly conductive separators. Porous glass membranes can be an attractive alternative to the nowadays most common polymeric membranes. Flat porous glass membranes with a pore size in the range from 2 to 50 nm and a thickness of 300 and 500 μm have been used for that purpose. Maximum values for voltage efficiency of 85.1%, coulombic efficiency of 97.9% and energy efficiency of 76.3% at current densities in the range from 20 to 60 mA cm−2 have been achieved. Furthermore, a maximum power density of 95.2 mW cm−2 at a current density of 140 mA cm−2 was gained. These results can be related to small vanadium crossover, high conductivity and chemical stability, confirming the great potential of porous glass membranes for vanadium redox-flow applications.",battery
"Within the obesity literature, focus is put on the link between weight status and gross motor skills. However, research on fine motor skills in the obese (OB) childhood population is limited. Therefore, the present study focused on possible weight related differences in gross as well as fine motor skill tasks. Thirty-four OB children (12 ♀ and 22 ♂, aged 7–13 years) were recruited prior to participating in a multidisciplinary treatment program at the Zeepreventorium (De Haan, Belgium). Additionally, a control group of 34 age and gender-matched healthy-weight (HW) children was included in the study. Anthropometric measures were recorded and gross and fine motor skills were assessed using the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2). Results were analyzed by independent samples t-tests, multivariate analysis of variance, and a chi-squared test. Being OB was detrimental for all subtests evaluating gross motor skill performance (i.e., upper-limb coordination, bilateral coordination, balance, running speed and agility, and strength). Furthermore, OB children performed worse in fine motor precision and a manual dexterity task, when compared to their HW peers. No group differences existed for the fine motor integration task. Our study provides evidence that lower motor competence in OB children is not limited to gross motor skills alone; OB children are also affected by fine motor skill problems. Further investigation is warranted to provide possible explanations for these differences. It is tentatively suggested that OB children experience difficulties with the integration and processing of sensory information. Future research is needed to explore whether this assumption is correct and what the underlying mechanism(s) could be.",non-battery
"We have investigated magnetite (Fe3O4) as an electroactive battery electrode material, where a linear relationship was observed between Fe3O4 crystallite size and capacity, with a negative slope. In order to better understand this novel relationship, we report here the Rietveld refinement and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) investigation of nanosized Fe3O4 as a function of crystallite size (7–26nm). Rietveld refinement established that the Fe3O4 samples were phase pure, while the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) provided insight into the local geometries and electronic structure of the iron centers, including oxidation state assignment. From our current and recent studies, we suggest that the surface of the Fe3O4 crystallites is rich in Fe3+, thus as the Fe3O4 crystallite size decreases, the electrochemical capacity increases, due to a net enrichment of Fe3O4 in Fe3+.",battery
"A zinc air fuel cell (ZAFC) stack with inexpensive manganese dioxide (MnO2) as the catalyst is designed, in which the circulation flowing potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte carries the reaction product away and acts as a coolant. Experiments are carried out to investigate the characteristics of polarization, constant current discharge and dynamic response, as well as the factors affecting the performance and uniformity of individual cells in the stack. The results reveal that the peak power density can be as high as 435 mW cm−2 according to the area of the air cathode sheet, and the influence factors on cell performance and uniformity are cell locations, filled state of zinc pellets, contact resistance, flow rates of electrolyte and air. It is also shown that the time needed for voltages to reach steady state and that for current step-up or current step-down are both in milliseconds, indicating the ZAFC can be excellently applied to vehicles with rapid dynamic response demands.",battery
"This paper presents a comparative analysis of novel supervised fuzzy adaptive resonance theory (SF-ART), multilayer perceptron (MLP) and Multi Layer Perceptrons (MLP) neural networks over Ballistocardiogram (BCG) signal recognition. To extract essential features of the BCG signal, we applied Biorthogonal wavelets. SF-ART performs classification on two levels. At first level, pre-classifier which is self-organized fuzzy ART tuned for fast learning classifies the input data roughly to arbitrary (M) classes. At the second level, post-classification level, a special array called Affine Look-up Table (ALT) with M elements stores the labels of corresponding input samples in the address equal to the index of fuzzy ART winner. However, in running (testing) mode, the content of an ALT cell with address equal to the index of fuzzy ART winner output will be read. The read value declares the final class that input data belongs to. In this paper, we used two well-known patterns (IRIS and Vowel data) and a medical application (Ballistocardiogram data) to evaluate and check SF-ART stability, reliability, learning speed and computational load. Initial tests with BCG from six subjects (both healthy and unhealthy people) indicate that the SF-ART is capable to perform with a high classification performance, high learning speed (elapsed time for learning around half second), and very low computational load compared to the well-known neural networks such as MLP which needs minutes to learn the training material. Moreover, to extract essential features of the BCG signal, we applied Biorthogonal wavelets. The applied wavelet transform requires no prior knowledge of the statistical distribution of data samples.",non-battery
"The effect of polyaspartate (PASP) on the performance of the lead-acid negative plate has been investigated. It was established that this polymer additive controls the crystallization process of lead sulphate and modifies the shape and size of PbSO4 crystals. The addition of PASP to the negative paste and to the electrolyte improves the utilization of the negative active material and reduces the internal resistance of the negative plates. The results obtained during cycling of lead-acid cells under simple simulated HRPSoC cycling duty with 2C discharge current show that addition of PASP improves the cycling ability of the negative plates and thus decreases the frequency of equalization charging during operation. A beneficial effect on the performance of lead-acid batteries was observed during HRPSoC cycling of flooded batteries with 0.1% PASP in the electrolyte. The addition of PASP leads to formation of smaller PbSO4 crystals, which are more easily reduced during charge and hence prevents the accumulation of large lead sulphate crystals on the negative plates in HRPSoC duty.",battery
"We have developed a Si/graphene oxide electrode synthesized via ultrasonication-stirring method under alkaline condition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), EDS dot-mapping and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results show that Si particles are evenly dispersed on the graphene oxide sheets. The electrochemical performance was investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge tests at room temperature. The results revealed that Si/graphene oxide electrode exhibited a high reversible capacity of 2825mAh/g with a coulombic efficiency of 94.6% at 100mA/g after 15 cycles and a capacity retention of 70.8% after 105 cycles at 4000mA/g. These performance parameters show a great potential in the high-performance batteries application for portable electronics, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.",battery
"Alkanethiol bridged, 3-(11-mercaptoundecyl)[3](1,1′) ferrocenophane and 3-(11-mercaptoundecyl)[5](1,1′) ferrocenophane were synthesized and their electrochemical behaviour in aqueous sulphuric acid electrolyte investigated. It is found that these compounds, chemisorbed on a gold substrate, undergo reversible electrochemical oxidation/reduction. The anodic and cathodic peak potentials are independent of the acid concentration in the range 1.0×10−2 to 1.0×10−7 M but change linearly with the acid concentration in the range 1–5M. While this behaviour is similar to that for other ferrocenes like [3](1,1′) ferrocenophane and [5](1,1′) ferrocenophane the materials are much more chemically stable in aqueous sulphuric acid media. The presence of thiol group enhances the retainability of the bridged ferrocene while maintaining its chemical stability. The possibility of applying this observation for determining state-of-charge of lead-acid battery is discussed.",battery
"This paper reports the investigation results of the energy payback time (EPBT) and greenhouse-gas payback time (GPBT) of a rooftop BIPV system (grid-connected) in Hong Kong to measure its sustainability. The 22kWp PV array is facing south with inclined angle of 22.5°. The hourly solar irradiance and ambient air temperature from 1996 to 2000 were used as weather data input. The annual power output was found to be 28,154kWh. The embodied energy for the whole system in the lifespan was 205,816kWh, including 71% from PV modules and 29% from balance of system (BOS). The percentage of embodied energy for silicon purification and processing reached 46%. The EPBT of the PV system was 7.3years, and the GPBT was estimated to be 5.2years considering fuel mixture composition of local power stations. This paper also discussed the EPBTs for different orientations, ranging from 7.1years (optimal orientation) to 20.0years (west-facing vertical PV façade). The results show that the ‘sustainability’ of a PV system is affected by its installation orientation and location. Choosing locations and orientations with higher incident solar irradiance is one key for the sustainability of BIPV technology applications.",battery
"Despite evidence linking dopamine D3 receptors to the etiology of Parkinson's disease and l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia, the potential therapeutic utility of D3 receptor ligands remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether the selective D3 receptor antagonist, S33084, affects development and expression of abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs), a behavioural correlate of dyskinesia, in rats hemi-lesioned with 6-hydroxydopamine and chronically treated with l-DOPA. The ability of S33084, alone or in combination with l-DOPA, to attenuate 6-hydroxydopamine induced motor deficits was also investigated employing a battery of behavioural tests. Acute administration of S33084 (0.64 mg/kg, s.c.) did not attenuate the induction of AIMs in dyskinetic rats upon challenge with l-DOPA (6 mg/kg, s.c.). Moreover, S33084 (0.64 mg/kg) did not prevent the development of AIMs affecting axial, limb and orolingual muscles when chronically administered together with l-DOPA (6 mg/kg for 21 days). However, both acute and chronic administration of S33084 enhanced l-DOPA-induced contralateral turning, suggesting potential antiparkinsonian properties. Furthermore, S33084 (0.01–0.64 mg/kg) dose-dependently attenuated parkinsonian disabilities, including bradykinesia, in drag and rotarod tests, although, in these procedures, the combination of S33084 with l-DOPA did not produce synergistic effect. It is concluded that sustained D3 receptor blockade does not blunt l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in hemiparkinsonian rats. However, D3 receptor antagonism may be associated with antiparkinsonian properties. The clinical relevance of these observations will be of interest to explore further.",non-battery
"An electrochemical–thermal model is developed to predict electrochemical and thermal behaviors of commercial LiFePO4 battery during a discharging process. A series of temperatures and lithium ion concentrations dependent parameters relevant to the reaction rate and Li+ transport are employed in this model. A non-negligible contribution of current collectors to the average heat generation of the battery is considered. Simulation results on rate capability and temperature performance show good agreement with the literature data. The behavior of Li+ distribution at pulse-relaxation discharge, the variation of electrochemical reaction rate and thermal behavior at a constant current discharge are studied. Results of pulse-relaxation discharge describe the dynamic change of Li+ concentration distribution in liquid and solid phases, which is helpful to analysis the polarization of the battery. In constant current discharge processes, the electrochemical reaction rate of positive electrode has a regular change with the time and the position in the electrode. When discharge finished, there is still a part of the LiFePO4 material has not been adequately utilized. At low rate, the discharge process accompanies endothermic and exothermic processes. With the rate increasing, the endothermic process disappears gradually, and only exothermic process left at high rate.",battery
"Anomalous self-experiences (ASEs) are prevalent in schizophrenia, but its underpinnings are not completely understood. Given the likely complex substrate of the experience of the self, neurocognitive functions requiring coordinate cerebral activity may relate to ASEs. Moreover, cognitive deficits functioning may be involved in the link between self-experience disturbances and some aspects of social dysfunction in schizophrenia. We have assessed ASEs in 41 schizophrenia patients (11 first episodes) using the Inventory of Psychotic-Like Anomalous Self-Experiences (IPASE), and the general cognition using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Besides, social cognition was assessed using two complementary tools Meyer, Salovey and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and GEOPTE (Grupo Español para la Optimización del Tratamiento de la Esquizofrenia). The results revealed that Self-awareness/presence and Somatization IPASE scores were inversely explained by motor speed in the BACS; Consciousness IPASE scores were inversely explained by problem solving performance in the BACS. These data reveal a significant relationship between certain domains of general cognition and anomalous self-experiences, that may be useful in further investigation on the substrates of ASEs.",non-battery
"SnS nanoparticles (SnS NPs) electrostatically anchored on a 3D N-doped graphene (3DNG) network exhibit the best cycling performance reported so far for SnS-based anodes. The stronger affinity of 3DNG to SnS NPs and to the discharge product compared to pure graphene is the fundamental reason for achieving a stable electrode architecture during cycling.
",battery
"A novel carbon/sulfur composite has been fabricated by means of thermal and hydro-thermal treatments to serve as the cathode in Li–S batteries. The carbon matrix consists of graphene nanosheet (GS) and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). The “GS/MWCNT@S” composite allows for infiltration of electrolyte into the cathode, assists in entrapment of polysulfide intermediates, and accommodates some of the stress and volume expansion that occurs during charge–discharge processes. In addition, the uniform distribution of sulfur in the conductive carbon matrix promotes utilization of the active materials. A Li–S cell containing the GS/MWCNT@S cathode delivered a capacity of 1290.8mAh/g and exhibited stable specific capacities up to 612.1mAh/g after 200 cycles at 0.1C. These results demonstrate that this cathode material is a promising candidate for rechargeable lithium batteries with high energy density.",battery
"We report a binder-free three-dimensional (3D) macro-mesoporous electrode architecture via self-assembly of 3nm NiO nanodots on macroporous nickel foam for high performance supercapacitor-like lithium battery. This electrode architecture provides a hierarchically 3D macro-mesoporous electrolyte-filled network that simultaneously enables rapid ion transfer and ultra-short solid-phase ion diffusion. Benefitting from the structural superiority owing to the interconnected porous hierarchy, the electrode exhibits supercapacitor-like high rate capabilities with high lithium battery capacities during the discharge-charge process: a very high capacity of 518mAhg−1 at an ultrahigh current density of 50Ag−1. It exceeds at least ~10 times than that of the state-of-the-art graphite anode, which shows only ~50mAhg−1 at ~2 to 3Ag−1 as anode for Li-ion batteries. The preparation method of 3D interconnected hierarchically macro-mesoporous electrode presented here can provide an efficient new binder-free electrode technique towards the development of high-performance supercapacitor-like Li-ion batteries.",battery
"β-V2O5, obtained by a high-temperature high-pressure method, exhibits a layered structure that favours the insertion of Na+. In this work, we report the electrochemical insertion of sodium in high pressure β-V2O5 and its performance as cathode material for sodium-ion batteries. The material shows a first discharge capacity of 132 mAh g−1 in the 3.6–2.0 V range at a C/20 current density and a maximum capacity of 147 mAh g−1 under equilibrium conditions, corresponding to the insertion of 1 Na+ ion per formula unit. The β-V2O5//Na cell delivers a specific energy as high as 370–410 Wh kg−1. The amount of inserted sodium points to the reduction of 50% of the available V5+ ions. After 20 cycles, the discharge capacity retains 86% of the initial capacity. Concerning the reaction mechanism of high pressure β-V2O5 upon sodium insertion/de-insertion, several phase transitions are inferred from the voltage-composition profile. Ex situ XRD reveals the appearance of several NaxV2O5 phases in the 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 compositional range, which are closely related with the non-sodiated high pressure β-V2O5 structure. An irreversible structural transformation occurs during the very first inserted sodium, at the beginning of the first discharge, and the original high pressure β-V2O5 structure is not recovered upon full Na+ extraction. Electrochemical performances are outstanding though.",battery
"Hierarchical microstructures assembled with nanostructures can effectively enhance the electrochemical performances of electrode materials for rechargeable Li/Na-ion batteries. Due to the large ionic radius of sodium, this kind of design and synthesis is more important for Na-battery cathodes, which represent a cost-effective alternative for energy storage applications. Here ball-in-ball hierarchical microspheres assembled with micron shaped flakes of the P2-type Na0.7Ni0.18Mn0.64Co0.18O2 have been designed and synthesized via hydrothermal reaction followed by stepwise calcination process. As a cathode material of the Na-ion battery, this novel and uniform hierarchical structure exhibits very high specific capacity and superior rate performance with discharge capacities of 208 mAh g−1 at 0.05 C and 46 mAh g−1 at 10 C, and an excellent cycling stability with about 78% capacity retention at 1 C after 50 cycles. These performances are better than any layered oxide cathode material for reversible Na-ion batteries reported in the literature, prepared via the conventional solid-state method. Combining ex-situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy characterization, x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical characterization, we demonstrate that the superior performances can be attributed to the unique ball-in-ball hierarchical structure assembled with micron shaped flakes. This configuration could effectively reduce the path of Na ion diffusion, increases the contact area between electrodes and electrolyte and buffers the volume changes during the Na ion insertion/extraction processes.",battery
"High capacity electrodes are demanded to increase the energy and power density of lithium ion batteries. However, the cycling and rate properties are severely affected by the large volume changes caused by the lithium insertion and extraction. Structured electrodes with mechanically stable scaffolds are widely developed to mitigate the adverse effects of volume changes. Tin, as a promising anode material, receives great attentions because of its high theoretic capacity. There is a critical value of tin particle size above which tin anodes readily crack, leading to low cyclability. The electrode design using mechanical scaffolds must retain tin particles below the critical size and concurrently enable high volumetric capacity. It is a challenge to guarantee the critical size for high cyclability and space utilization for high volumetric capacity. This study provides a highly conductive TiN nanotubes array with submicron diameters, which enable thin tin coating without sacrificing the volumetric capacity. Such a structured electrode delivers a capacity of 795 mAh g Sn − 1 (Sn basis) and 1812 mAh c m el − 3 (electrode basis). The long-term cycling shows only 0.04% capacity decay per cycle.",battery
"A three-step solid state synthesis was used to produce powders of spinel phase Li4Ti5O12 with crystallite size in a few hundred nanometers range. This was followed by surface modification through the deposition of 2–10 nm Ag nanoparticles, as verified by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance of these Li4Ti5O12/n-Ag composite powders was examined by chronopotentiometry in three-electrode Swagelok cells. These measurements showed excellent high-rate performance and remarkably good cyclability of the fabricated powders. Specifically, capacity retention in excess of 86% after raising the discharge current from 1C to 10C and less than 6% of capacity loss after 50 charge/discharge cycles at 1C current rate were measured.",battery
"The diabetes mellititus (type 1) condition occur when the beta cell destroy partially due to autoimmune process. The beta cells produce insulin with respect to blood glucose level. The insulin hormone regulates blood glucose in body. The blood glucose increases in body when insulin secretion is low from pancreas, termed as Diabetes mellititus. The Diabetes mellititus causes infection, pain in mouth. The regions in mouth affected by diabetes mellititius include gums, teeth, jaw and tongue. The glucose level increases in saliva which grows harmful bacteria. The bacteria in combination with plaque cause bad breath, gum disease and coating on tongue. The coating and sugar level in tongue alters the temperature of tongue. In this paper we propose to analyze tongue thermal image to diagnose diabetes at early stage.
",non-battery
"In this study, a novel process consisting of pyrolysis and physical separation was proposed to comprehensively recycle spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The discharge and pyrolysis behaviors of spent LIBs, the recovery of electrolyte from the spent LIBs by low-temperature volatilization, and the recovery of valuable materials from the pyrolytic residues through physical separation were studied in detail. The results indicated that approximately 99.91% of the organic electrolytes was recycled, and the lithium salt (LiPF6) in the batteries was disposed by pyrolysis process. The active materials could be effectively separated from current collectors after the pyrolysis under N2 at 550 °C for 2 h. The pyrolytic gas was mainly composed of light alkenes, and the pyrolytic tar was mainly composed of aromatic long chain alkenes and light alcohols. Pyrolytic residues were recycled by color sorting, high-pressure water cleaning and flotation processes, and about 99.34% of Al, 96.25% of Cu, and 49.67% of cathode active materials were recovered from the spent LIBs. Finally, electrochemical tests indicate that the cathode active materials obtained by the process can be used to produce new batteries.",non-battery
"Layered cobalt oxides are promising cathode materials for sodium ion secondary batteries (SIBs). By combined study of the X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) around the O K-edge and ab initio calculation, we investigated the electronic state of the Na x CoO2 with different oxidization state, i.e, in O3-Na0.91CoO2 (CoO2 −0.91) and P2-Na0.66CoO2 (CoO2 −0.66). The O K-edge spectra in the pre-edge (529–536 eV) region shows significant change with oxidization of Na x CoO2. In O3-Na0.91CoO2, the spectra shows an intense band (B band) at 531 eV. In P2-Na0.66CoO2, the spectral weight of the B band increases and a new band (A band) appears at 530 eV. These spectral changes are qualitatively reproduced by the calculated partial density of states (pDOSs) of O3-NaCoO2 and P2-Na1/2CoO2. These results indicate that the electrons are partially removed from the O 2p state with oxidization of Na x CoO2.",battery
"ABSTRACT Lithium-selenium (Li-Se) battery is attractive because it has the potential to provide high energy density. However, the poor cyclic performance caused mainly by the shuttling of polyselenides and volumetric expansion of selenium limits its practical application. In this paper we report on a facile preparation of selenium on nickel foam by a galvanic replacement method, which can be directly used as a cathode for Li-Se battery without any binders or conductive additives. This material can deliver a capacity of 554mAhg−1 (82% of theoretical capacity) and keep a capacity of 137mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at a rate of 0.1C. A coating with graphene oxide as protection layer onto the Se surface can further enhance the electrode performance, achieving a capacity of 665mAhg−1 (98.5% of theoretical capacity) in the first cycle and remains a capacity of 266mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at a rate of 0.1C. The present work demonstrates significant progress in the development of high capacity cathode materials for lithium-selenium battery.",battery
"(Li, Al)-co-doped manganese oxide spinel compounds, Li(Li0.1Al0.1Mn1.8)O4 are prepared at temperatures (T), 600, 650 and 750°C by polymer precursor method using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). The structure and morphology of the porous and sub-micron size particles of the compounds are characterized by the Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared and Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area techniques. Galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling in the voltage range of 3.5–4.3V vs. Li at various current (C) rates, 0.5–3C at 24°C up to 60 cycles and at 0.5C and at 55°C up to 50 cycles is carried out. The influence of the Li-excess, the type of Al3+ dopant cation and the amount of fuel (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) used in the synthesis on the electrochemical behavior of the spinel in a Li-cell at room (24°C) and at elevated temperature (55°C) has been studied. Results show that at 24°C and at 0.5C, the phases prepared at 600°C (I) and 650°C (II) showed reversible capacities of 79 and 105mAhg−1 and retained 99 (±1)% of the capacity after 50 cycles. At 1C, 2C and 3C rates, II showed stable capacities of 97, 83 and 57mAhg−1, respectively. At 55°C and at 0.5C, II showed a reversible capacity of 114mAhg−1 and retains 92% of it at the end of 50 cycles, signifying the best cathodic performance for a doped-LiMn2O4. Complementary cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectra and ex situ XRD data are described and discussed.",battery
"The carbonaceous anode was the final important piece of the jigsaw for the first commercialized rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Its original inventor recounts how the search for a research subject led to the breakthrough.
",battery
"Hollow spherical NiO particles were prepared using the spray pyrolysis method with different concentrations of precursor. The electrochemical properties of the NiO electrodes, which contained a new type of binder, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), were examined for comparison with NiO electrodes with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. The electrochemical performance of NiO electrodes using CMC binder was significantly improved. For the cell made from 0.3 mol L−1 precursor, the irreversible capacity loss between the first discharge and charge is about 43 and 24% for the electrode with PVDF and CMC binder, respectively. The cell with NiO–CMC electrode has a much higher discharge capacity of 547 mAh g−1 compared to that of the cell with NiO–PVDF electrode, which is 157 mAh g−1 beyond 40 cycles.",battery
"With respect to energy supply, most of the islands depend on importation, mainly from oil and its related products, and others are dependant on weak electricity grid connexions with mainland. Scarce resources are used inefficiently, supplying end-use energy and other life-supporting commodities, like power, heat, cold, transport fuel, water, waste treatment and waste water treatment. It is possible to integrate various flows and decrease the energy intensity, although the task is situation dependant and involves a large number of different systems. RenewIslands methodology for the assessment of alternative scenarios for energy and resource planning is presented here, and applied to several islands. The methodology helps in choosing energy and resource flows integration, based on the island needs, its resources, and the applicable technologies.",battery
  is a Development Engineer in the Benteler  Automotive  Research and  Development  department in  Paderborn (Germany).,non-battery
"The effect of temperature in the range of −20°C to 60°C and charge stand periods of 1 day, 7 days and 15 days on the discharge capacity of lithium-ion (Li-ion) polymer cells is investigated quantitatively. Commercial 3.2Ah Li-ion polymer pouch cells with LiCoO2 cathode and graphite anode were used as test systems. The cells were charged at a constant current of 1C until the voltage reached 4.2V, then stored at different temperatures from −20°C to 60°C for charge stand periods of 1 day, 7 days and 15 days and discharged at 1C rate current until the cell voltage reached 3.0V. Although the discharge capacity of these cells at and around room temperature is reasonable, at temperatures below 0°C and above 50°C the performance is poor. At −15°C, −20°C, 40°C, 50°C and 60°C temperatures, the discharge capacities decreased with charge stand periods. The discharge capacities are not affected by the charge stand periods from −10°C to 30°C. To identify the reasons for the poor performance at sub-ambient temperatures, electrochemical impedance studies were carried out on a fresh cell. The impedance data are analyzed using an equivalent circuit and Zman fitting software and the impedance parameters are evaluated. The resistances corresponding to high frequency and low frequency of Nyquist impedance plot exhibit a strong dependence on temperatures. The kinetic parameter namely, apparent exchange current density is calculated and discussed.",battery
"Fragrances are a large group of substances and the second most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis in Spain. These potential allergens are extremely common and the general population is subject to continuous exposure on a daily basis. While the fragrance markers included in the current Spanish standard patch test series are good, there is room for improvement. New markers that have emerged in recent years have proven to be of value in standard series used in other countries. Diagnosing fragrance allergy has taken on even greater importance since the European Union added 26 fragrances to its list of mandatory ingredients to be specified on product labels. The aim of this review is to provide an update on allergic contact dermatitis to fragrances. We examine the main sources of exposure and clinical manifestations of this condition and propose a diagnostic and treatment protocol.",non-battery
"An association between memory and executive dysfunction (ED) has been demonstrated in patients with mixed neurological disorders. We aimed to investigate the impact of ED in memory tasks of children with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We evaluated 36 children with TLE and 28 controls with tests for memory, learning, attention, mental flexibility, and mental tracking. Data analysis was composed of comparison between patients and controls in memory and executive function; correlation between memory and executive function tests; and comparison between patients with mild and severe ED in memory tests. Children with TLE had worse performance in focused attention, immediate and delayed recall, phonological memory, mental tracking, planning, and abstraction. Planning, abstraction, and mental tracking were correlated with visual and verbal memory. Children with severe ED had worse performance in verbal and visual memory and learning tests. This study showed that ED was related to memory performance in children with TLE.",non-battery
"Individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) suffer a gradual decline in communication ability as a result of neurodegenerative disease. Language treatment shows promise as a means of addressing these difficulties but much remains to be learned with regard to the potential value of treatment across variants and stages of the disorder. We present two cases, one with semantic variant of PPA and the other with logopenic PPA, each of whom underwent treatment that was unique in its focus on training self-cueing strategies to engage residual language skills. Despite differing language profiles and levels of aphasia severity, each individual benefited from treatment and showed maintenance of gains as well as generalization to untrained lexical items. These cases highlight the potential for treatment to capitalize on spared cognitive and neural systems in individuals with PPA, improving current language function as well as potentially preserving targeted skills in the face of disease progression.",non-battery
"Myoelectric control provides efficient and natural operation of arm prostheses. Over the past three decades, steady improvements have made myoelectric limbs reliable and increasingly functional. This article reviews current clinical practice as it relates to myoelectric technology and discusses recent advances and clinical application. The advantages and limitations of myoelectric control also are discussed.",non-battery
"In this study, the growth of 1-dimensional manganese oxide (δ-MnO2) nanowire on hierarchical ordered mesoporous carbons/graphene composites (C) was synthesized by a relatively low-cost, simple, effective and eco-friendly redox process. It is found in both experimental results and theoretical simulations that the carbon surface, especially the mesoporous channels of ordered mesoporous carbons (amorphous carbons), would be favorable to serve as the nucleated sites for the growth of MnO2 nanowires. Likewise, the strong adsorptive interactions between MnO2 and amorphous carbons result in the high deposition efficiency of MnO2 on C (98%) and the outstanding stability of MnO2-decorated hierarchical porous carbon composites (MnO2@C) together with the relatively low equivalent series resistance. This electrode material exhibits excellent electrochemical behavior with a specific capacitance high up to 756.2 F g−1 in KOH electrolytes. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASCs) assembled by using MnO2@C and C as the positive and negative electrodes in 1.0 M Na2SO4 solution achieves a maximum energy density of 34.56 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 450 Wkg-1 and excellent cycling stability. The results demonstrate the MnO2-decorated hierarchical porous carbon composites are promising candidates for the future high-performance supercapacitors.",battery
"A pilot plant using the open absorption system for drying of timber and bio fuel has been realized at a sawmill located in the northern part of Sweden. The technique decreases the energy demand for the dryers considerably and the system has an availability of about 8000 h per year. Compared with other drying techniques, the investment cost is high due to large airflow and therefore large apparatus. The main part of the investment cost, i.e. about 70% originates from the bio fuel dryer and the absorbers. In order to decrease the initial cost a parameter study has been made to investigate the possibilities to reduce the airflow of the drying process, i.e. bio fuel dryer and absorber. Parameters studied are drying temperature, salt concentration and cooling of the airflow during the absorption process. Measured values from the pilot plant have been used as a reference case. The results show that it is possible to decrease the airflow by 31% when using a higher drying temperature. Higher salt concentration decreases the airflow by approximately 32% and cooling during absorption makes it possible to decrease the airflow by 50%. In order to minimize the airflow, the three parameters were combined. In this case it is possible to decrease the airflow by approximately 60%. The electrical input for the plant is also high due to large air and solution flows. By decreasing the airflow, the required electrical input will also decrease since the fan power is proportional to the volume airflow. The results clearly show that it is possible to reduce the airflow and therefore the investment costs compared with the pilot plant.",battery
"The Songhua River is one of the biggest rivers in China and is the major freshwater source for industry and agriculture, as well as the source of the drinking water for millions of residents living along it. Heavy contamination of the Songhua River is due to domestic sewage and industrial wastewater. Thus, we set out to determine the carcinogenic potential of water samples taken from drinking water source of Harbin city in the Songhua River. Short-term genotoxic bioassays using Ames, SCE, and cell transformation assays were employed to examine the genotoxic activity of the ether extracts of water samples taken from the Songhua River. The results of the Ames test indicated that there were frame shift mutagens in the water samples, which were both direct and indirect. A dose–response relationship for the SCE assay was obtained, and the SCE cumulative frequency moved obviously to the right with increasing doses of water samples. Typical transformed foci were formed in NIH3T3 cells induced by ether extracts of water samples and the transformation frequency showed a dose–response relationship. The transformed cells showed the characteristics of malignant cells. All of the results indicated that the ether extracts of water samples taken from the Songhua River showed genotoxic activity.",non-battery
"GPR88 is an orphan G-protein coupled receptor originally characterized as a striatal-enriched transcript and is a potential target for neuropsychiatric disorders. At present, gene knockout studies in the mouse have essentially focused on striatal-related functions and a comprehensive knowledge of GPR88 protein distribution and function in the brain is still lacking. Here, we first created Gpr88-Venus knock-in mice expressing a functional fluorescent receptor to fine-map GPR88 localization in the brain. The receptor protein was detected in neuronal soma, fibers and primary cilia depending on the brain region, and remarkably, whole-brain mapping revealed a yet unreported layer-4 cortical lamination pattern specifically in sensory processing areas. The unique GPR88 barrel pattern in L4 of the somatosensory cortex appeared 3 days after birth and persisted into adulthood, suggesting a potential function for GPR88 in sensory integration. We next examined Gpr88 knockout mice for cortical structure and behavioral responses in sensory tasks. Magnetic resonance imaging of live mice revealed abnormally high fractional anisotropy, predominant in somatosensory cortex and caudate putamen, indicating significant microstructural alterations in these GPR88-enriched areas. Further, behavioral analysis showed delayed responses in somatosensory-, visual- and olfactory-dependent tasks, demonstrating a role for GPR88 in the integration rather than perception of sensory stimuli. In conclusion, our data show for the first time a prominent role for GPR88 in multisensory processing. Because sensory integration is disrupted in many psychiatric diseases, our study definitely positions GPR88 as a target to treat mental disorders perhaps via activity on cortical sensory networks.",non-battery
"The natural dyes were successfully extracted from spinach, pitaya pericarp, orange peel, ginkgo leaf, purple cabbage and carrot, and then fabricated a dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It suggested that the absorption properties of natural dyes were strongly dependent on the types and concentration of pigments, and the purple cabbage exhibited an obvious absorption at 317 nm. Meanwhile, a higher conversion efficiency of 0.157% was obtained as the DSSCs were prepared by using purple cabbage, but the DSSCs showed a poor performance when the carrot was used as natural dyes, just achieved 0.01%. FTIR spectra revealed that purple cabbage showed a better adsorption properties between TiO2 films and dyes than carrot. The dipping time was further investigated and proved that an optimal dipping time was 6 min, the DSSCs using purple cabbage could achieve 0.146% in photoelectric conversion efficiency.
",non-battery
"Energy storage systems (ESSs) can increase power system stability and efficiency, and facilitate integration of intermittent renewable energy, but deployment of ESSs will remain limited until they achieve an attractive internal rate of return (IRR). Linear optimization is used to find the ESS power and energy capacities that maximize the IRR when used to arbitrage 2008 electricity prices (the highest of the past decade) in seven real-time markets in the United States for 14 different ESS technologies. Any reductions in capital costs needed to achieve an IRR of 10% are solved for. Results show that the profit-maximizing size (i.e. hours of energy storage) of an ESS is primarily determined by its technological characteristics (round-trip charge/discharge efficiency and self-discharge) and not market price volatility, which instead increases IRR. Most ESSs examined have an optimal size of 1–4h of energy storage, though for pumped hydro and compressed air systems this size is 7–8h. The latter ESSs already achieve IRRs >10%, but could be made even more profitable with minimal cost-reductions by reducing power capacity costs. The opposite holds for Flywheels, electrical ESSs (e.g., capacitors) and a number of chemical ESSs (e.g., lead acid batteries). These could be made more profitable with minimal cost-reductions by reducing energy capacity costs.",battery
"We are launching the Insights to Model Alzheimer’s Progression in Real Life study in parallel with the Alzheimer Prevention Initiative Generation Program. This is a 5-year, multinational, prospective, longitudinal, non-interventional cohort study that will collect data across the spectrum of Alzheimer’s disease. The primary objective is to assess the ability of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative Cognitive Composite Test Score and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status to predict clinically meaningful outcomes such as diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, and change in Clinical Dementia Rating–Global Score. This study is the first large-scale, prospective effort to establish the clinical meaningfulness of cognitive test scores that track longitudinal decline in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. This study is also expected to contribute to our understanding of the relationships among outcomes in different stages of Alzheimer’s disease as well as models of individual trajectories during the course of the disease.
",non-battery
"The biological interactions and the physical and chemical properties of the littoral zone of Lake Krugersdrift were studied for a 4-month period when a dense, toxic cyanobacterial bloom dominated by Microcystis aeruginosa was present in the main lake basin. The presence of a toxic strain of M. aeruginosa was confirmed through the use of ELISA and molecular markers that detect the presence of the mcyB and mcyD genes of the mcy gene cluster that synthesizes microcystin. An increase in Microcystis toxicity at sites dominated by the cyanobacterial scum was accompanied by an increase in total abundance of the macroinvertebrate families Hirudinae, Chironomidae, and Tubificidae. Sites located away from the cyanobacterial scum had a lower abundance but a higher diversity of macroinvertebrates. The water quality under the Microcystis scum was characterized by low pH values, low concentrations of dissolved oxygen, and lower total alkalinity values. The periphytic alga Ulothrix zonata was absent in areas dominated by the cyanobacterial scum, possibly as a result of overshadowing by the scum or direct toxic allelopathic effects on growth and photosynthesis. The diatom Diatoma vulgare dominated the benthic algal flora beneath the cyanobacterial scum.",non-battery
"Intra-abdominal pressure may be one of the few modifiable risk factors associated with developing a pelvic floor disorder. With one in eight women having surgery to correct a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetimes, intra-abdominal pressure may be a key to understanding the disease etiology and how to mitigate its occurrence and progression. Many traditional methods of intra-abdominal pressure measurement have limitations in data quality, environment of use, and patient comfort. We have modified a previously reported intravaginal pressure transducer that has been shown to overcome other intra-abdominal pressure measurement technique limitations (Coleman et al. 2012). Our modifications to the intravaginal pressure transducer make it easier to use, less costly, and more reliable than previous designs, while maintaining accuracy, integrity, and quality of data. This device has been used in over 400 participants to date as part of one of the most comprehensive studies examining the relationship between intra-abdominal pressure and pelvic floor disorders.",non-battery
"Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a promising negative electrode for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Although TiO2 materials with amorphous (A-TiO2) and single-phase crystalline structures (C–TiO2) have been separately explored, the study to compare the fundamental electrochemistry of A-TiO2 and C–TiO2 is limited. In this work, we investigated A-TiO2 and C–TiO2 nanoparticles with identical chemical composition and morphology. C–TiO2 exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance than A-TiO2 in terms of rate capability and cycle life. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis suggests reversible Na ion insertion/extraction in C–TiO2. However, such process is irreversible in the case of A-TiO2. The charge storage mechanisms in both samples were studied to show that diffusion-controlled intercalation process becomes significant in C–TiO2 sample. The C–TiO2 sample has a better Na+ diffusivity measured through the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) compared to A-TiO2, which corroborates well with the rate capability study. Furthermore, the evolution of local structure of the TiO2 samples was analyzed by ex situ pair distribution function (PDF) to understand the variation in electrochemical properties. It reveals that the corner-shared Ti–Ti distance along Na ion diffusion pathway increases with the increase of crystallinity, leading to the expanded diffusion channels and therefore more active sites and faster diffusion.",battery
"The conversion mechanism of NiF2 and NiO-doped NiF2 during electrochemical cycling was investigated using a combination of structural analysis by ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and magnetic analysis by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. It was observed that the conversion reactions in both cathode materials were partially reversible; however, they differ in their conversion rate. NiO-doped NiF2 exhibited enhanced electrochemical properties in terms of the conversion potential and reversibility due to the presence of a NiO phase, which has slightly higher electronic conductivity than NiF2. It is suggested that the NiO doping reduced the nucleation sites for Ni nanoparticles, subsequently enhancing the kinetics of the conversion reaction involving the growth of Ni particles formed during lithiation. The ex situ XRD and the magnetic hysteresis data (H C and M S) indicate that the average dimension of the Ni particles formed along with LiF in pristine NiF2 and NiO-doped NiF2 during the 1st lithiation was in the superparamagnetic regime, with 4–5nm and 8–9nm particle sizes, respectively. Although the particle size was decreased to the nanoscale, the original NiF2 phase was regenerated by re-lithiation.",battery
"The fabrication process of a new, three-dimensional carbon-coated LiFePO4 electrode by sol–gel synthesis in situ on interconnected conducting fibers of carbon paper is described. This three-dimensional structure ensures overall electrode conductivity, facilitates lithium diffusion in and out of LiFePO4 particles and, hence, enables good cycling stability at 1C-rate and maximum pulse-power values that exceed those of planar LiFePO4 electrodes at high electrode loading.
",battery
"Supply chain product visibility may be defined to mean the capacity of the supply chain to have a view of a product’s lifecycle, from its conception, manufacturing, distribution, delivery to the end customer, customer’s experience of the product, and the product’s end-of-life activities and processes. This implies developing and keeping a record of the product’s materials and components, its physical state throughout the supply chain, the product’s forward movement to the user-customer, customer’s experience of the product, and the reverse logistics and reuse or termination of the product. The aim of visibility is to foster planning, control and agility of operations associated with the product and to improve customer experience of the product. “Tracking” is the term often used to describe the determination of the identity and state of a product in the forward direction (from manufacturing to the end user), while “tracing” is used to infer the product’s path and history from downstream to upstream of the supply chain. In recent times there has been an upsurge of academic and commercial interest in product visibility. This interest has translated into numerous architectures, technologies and software for product visibility, both at the atomic (item) and composite (or aggregate) levels. Based on an extensive content analysis of academic and trade literature, including websites and documents of vendors and users of the technologies, this paper captures, analyses, compares and contrasts the design choices, essence, results and current and potential future impacts of some of the recent developments. The study also used survey by questionnaire across industries to assess user requirements of tracking and tracing systems and structures. The paper also charts future research directions for end-to-end visibility of product classes and their instances in supply chains.",non-battery
"The positron lifetime spectroscopy (PLS), a non-destructive characterization method, utilizes positronium (Ps; an electron–positron bound state) as a probe and measures its lifetime in polymer free volumes. For the first time the free volumes have been estimated by PLS in polyaniline (PANI) complexes with various inorganic and organic acids. It was found that the o-Ps lifetime increases and the intensity decreases with increasing ionic radius of the counter-ions in PANI complexes. Obviously, larger counter anions result in enhanced mean size of the voids corresponding to the free volume in the bulk polymer. Electrical conductivity has been measured by conventional four-probe technique. The glass transition temperature and temperature of removal of the absorbed water have been determined by using differential scanning calorimetry. It was established fairly well correlation of the mentioned polymer parameters with the o-Ps lifetime and the free volume of PANI complexes, respectively. The greater free-volume results in a decrease of conductivity, glass transition temperature and temperature of removal of the absorbed water.",non-battery
"Although lithium nickel cobalt manganese layered oxides with a high nickel composition have gained great attention due to increased overall energy density for energy conversion/storage systems, poor interfacial stability is considered a critical bottleneck impeding its widespread adoption. We propose a new approach based on immobilizing the artificial cathode-electrolyte interphase layer, which effectively reduces undesired surface reactions, leading to high interfacial stability of cathode material. For installation of artificial cathode-electrolyte interphases, a sulfonate-based amphiphilic organic precursor, which effectively suppresses electrolyte decomposition, is synthesized and subjected to immobilization on cathode material via simple wet-coating, followed by heat treatment at low temperature. The sulfonate-based artificial cathode-electrolyte interphase layer is well-developed on the cathode surface, and the cell controlled by the sulfonate-immobilized cathode exhibits remarkable electrochemical performance, including a high average Coulombic efficiency (99.8%) and cycling retention (97.4%) compared with pristine cathode material. The spectroscopic analyses of the cycled cathode show that the sulfonate-based artificial cathode-electrolyte interphase layer effectively mitigates electrolyte decomposition on the cathode surface, resulting in decreased interfacial resistance between electrode and electrolyte.",battery
"Materials developed for battery cells must ensure safety. This study describes a method for predicting thermal runaway when a battery cell is heated. Also presented is a method for quantitatively evaluating cell material safety in safety testing without having to scale up the cell. With thermal runaway reactions being a complex series of elementary reactions, the differential isoconversional method based on the approach of Friedman was used to calculate thermal runaway. As a battery is a solid-liquid mixture with electrical energy, thermal runaway reaction behavior varies greatly depending on the cell’s heating rate. As such, a method for selecting kinetically consistent test conditions based on differential scanning calorimetry measurement results was added to enable calculation of thermal runaway behavior of cells under adiabatic conditions. The calculation results were verified with accelerating rate calorimetry, which can measure self-heating rates under adiabatic conditions, to confirm that the thermal runaway onset timing matched. Increasing the accuracy of heating rate calculations will require further research into how to treat changes in specific heat during decomposition reactions. Safety diagrams accounting for regulation and standard test conditions were created for a battery based on this calculation method. This method has revealed quantitative metrics for evaluating battery safety.",battery
"Previous studies found mental representations of route descriptions north-up oriented when egocentric experience (given by the protagonist’s initial view) was congruent with the global reference system. This study examines: (a) the development and maintenance of representations derived from descriptions when the egocentric and global reference systems are congruent or incongruent; and (b) how spatial abilities modulate these representations. Sixty participants (in two groups of 30) heard route descriptions of a protagonist’s moves starting from the bottom of a layout and headed mainly northwards (SN description) in one group, and headed south from the top (NS description, the egocentric view facing in the opposite direction to the canonical north) in the other. Description recall was tested with map drawing (after hearing the description a first and second time; i.e. Time 1 and 2) and South-North (SN) or North–South (NS) pointing tasks; and spatial objective tasks were administered. The results showed that: (a) the drawings were more rotated in NS than in SN descriptions, and performed better at Time 2 than at Time 1 for both types of description; SN pointing was more accurate than NS pointing for the SN description, while SN and NS pointing accuracy did not differ for the NS description; (b) spatial (rotation) abilities were related to recall accuracy for both types of description, but were more so for the NS ones. Overall, our results showed that the way in which spatial information is conveyed (with/without congruence between the egocentric and global reference systems) and spatial abilities influence the development and maintenance of mental representations.
",non-battery
"The demand for energy sources that are compact, lightweight and powerful has significantly increased in recent years. Traditional chemical batteries which are highly developed are unable to meet the demand for high energy intensity. This gap is expected to widen in the future as electronic devices need more power to support enhanced functionalities. Hydrocarbon fuels have energy densities much greater than the best batteries. Therefore, taking advantage of the high energy density of chemical fuels to generate power becomes an attractive technological alternative to batteries. To address the growing demand for smaller scale and higher energy density power sources, various combustion-based micro power generators are being developed around the world. This review paper provides an update on recent progresses and developments in micro-scale combustion and micro power generators. The paper, broadly divided into four main sections, begins with a review of various methods to enhance and stabilize the combustion at micro-scale, subsequently improving the efficiency. This is followed by a description of various micro-thermophotovoltaic power generators. The third section focuses on MEMS based solid propellant micro-propulsion system. Lastly, a brief review is made to other micro power generators.",battery
"Cognitive performance rather than symptoms, especially positive symptoms, is regarded as the primary predictor of functional outcome in schizophrenia. However, contradictory evidence exists and many studies fail to sample from the extremes of outcome measures. This study tested whether the differential importance assigned to symptoms and cognitive impairment is supportable in patients with high and low levels of community independence. Schizophrenia patients with highly unfavorable (n =24) and highly favorable (n =28) functional outcomes as defined by community support requirements were studied. Standard cognitive and psychopathology measures were analyzed using independent groups comparisons and outcome prediction with logistic regression methods. Symptom severity and cognitive data separately accounted for significant amounts of variance in community independence. Positive as well as negative symptoms, non-psychotic psychopathology and cognition generated large effect sizes between highly unfavorable and favorable outcome groups. The conditional validity of both overall psychopathology and positive symptoms was significant over and above the contribution of cognition to outcome prediction. Results suggest researchers may have underestimated the role of psychopathology in general and positive symptoms in particular as potential determinants of functional status in schizophrenia.",non-battery
"Li4Ti4.95V0.05O12 and Li4Ti5O12 powders were successfully prepared by a solid-state method. XRD reveals that both samples have high phase purity. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the Ti–O vibration have a blue shift. SEM shows that Li4Ti4.95V0.05O12 has a slightly smaller particle size and a more regular morphological structure with narrow size distribution than those of Li4Ti5O12. Galvanostatic charge–discharge testing indicates both samples have nearly equal initial capacities at different discharge voltage ranges (0–2 and 0.5–2V), but Li4Ti4.95V0.05O12 has a higher cycling performance than that of Li4Ti5O12. CV suggests that Li4Ti4.95V0.05O12 has lower electrode polarization and high lithium ion diffusivity in solid-state body of sample, implying that the vanadium doping is beneficial to the reversible intercalation and de-intercalation of Li+. The novel Li4Ti4.95V0.05O12 materials may find promising applications in lithium ion batteries and electrochemical cells due to the excellent electrochemical performace and simple synthesis route.",battery
"We report a new strategy to design carbon-based electrocatalysts containing nitrogen through the co-pyrolysis of blood protein and carbon black support. The results show that the nitrogen in electrocatalysts is primarily in the form of pyridinic- and pyrrolic-type nitrogen species. High-temperature pyrolysis processes can transfer a significant amount of pyridinic-N to pyrrolic-N. The electrocatalyst containing a higher amount of the pyrrolic-N configuration exhibits better electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction in terms of onset potential, half-wave potential, and limited current density. It is suggested that the pyrrolic-N configuration may be the electrocatalytically active site and may be responsible for the enhanced ORR performance in alkaline media. The carbon black support also plays an important role in the pyrolysis process, improving the ORR catalytic activity.",battery
"Precursor synthesis technology is a key factor to improve the electrochemical properties of Li-rich layered oxide (LLO) cathode materials. However, the effect of precursor preparation strategies on the morphology and electrochemical properties of cathode materials has not been clearly elucidated. In this work, an LLO cathode material (denoted as LMNC-300) with highly exposed {010} planes and a lower amount of surface residual lithium is reported via pre-oxidation of a precursor at 300 °C. This LMNC-300 cathode material exhibits an initial Coulombic efficiency of 91.7% with a discharge capacity of 277.2 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C, an excellent high-rate capability with a discharge capacity of 175.1 mA h g−1 even at 5.0 C and a good cycling performance with a capacity retention of 92.6% after 200 cycles at 0.5 C. In addition, a pouch cell consisted of the LMNC-300 cathode and a commercial graphite anode presented good cycling stability with a capacity retention of 81.6% after 500 cycles at 2.0 C. The outstanding electrochemical performance can be ascribed to an accelerated Li+ diffusion dynamics. Therefore, the method reported in this work will be significant to understanding the effects of preparation strategies of transition metal precursors on the electrochemical performance of Li-rich layered cathode materials for high-energy density Li-ion batteries.",battery
"A facile sol–gel polymerization and impregnation route is developed to large-scale fabricate the novel mesoporous 3D interconnected NiCo-NiCoO2/carbon xerogel (CX) hybrids with a homogeneous carbon coating layer on the surface of NiCo and NiCoO2 nanoparticles, the metallic NiCo nanoparticles are introduced in the NiCo-NiCoO2/CX hybrids via a partially reducing chemical reaction at a high annealing temperature. The mesoporous 3D interconnected NiCo-NiCoO2/CX hybrids show significantly improved electrochemical performance of high reversible capacity, high-rate capability, and excellent cycling performance as anode electrode materials for Lithium ion batteries (LIBs). After 100 cycles, the NiCo-NiCoO2/CX hybrids anode can still get a reversible capacity of 861mAhg−1 at current density of 100mAg−1, which is 2.8 and 1.9 times higher than that of the CX (305mAhg−1) and NiCoO2/CX hybrid (456mAhg−1), respectively. The greatly enhanced electrochemical lithium ion storage performance of the NiCo-NiCoO2/CX hybrids can be attributed to their unique microstructure characteristics. The elastic nature of CX matrices and carbon layer coating on the surfaces of NiCo and NiCoO2 nanoparticles, renders the NiCo-NiCoO2/CX hybrids very effective in accommodating the volume strain. The highly dispersed NiCo particles display catalytic effect, greatly improve the kinetics of charge-discharge process of the composite anode as the following reaction of NiCo+2Li2O↔NiO+CoO+4Li+ +4e−. The introduction of metallic NiCo can effectively facilitate the decomposition of Li2O and the SEI during the charge-discharge process, thus greatly enhance the electrochemical performance. Secondly, the presence of NiCo in the NiCo-NiCoO2/CX composite anode can greatly improve the electron conductivity, thus charge transfer kinetics of the composite anode for LIBs. EIS result can well confirm this result. While the homogeneous distribution of NiCoO2 with high theoretical capacity in the porous CX matrices, effectively reduces the active sites of the CX matrices, resulting in higher reversible capacity of the NiCo-NiCoO2/CX hybrids.",battery
"The objective of the study was to determine if cognitive function is associated with step time variability in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). The study included 355 PwMS (218 women), average age 41.1 (SD = 13.5), disease duration 5.9 (SD = 7.3) years, and a median expanded disability status scale score of 2.5. We separately analyzed the sample group of fallers and non-fallers based on their fall history. Gait variability was measured by an electronic walkway and all participants completed a computerized cognitive test battery designed to evaluate multiple cognitive domains. Fallers (43.7%) demonstrated elevated step time variability (%CV), 5.0 (SD = 3.4) vs. 3.5 (SD = 1.6), P < 0.001 compared to the non-faller subjects. According to the regression analysis in the non-fallers’ group, step time variability was found significantly associated with the global cognitive score (P = 0.001), executive function subcategory (P = 0.038), and motor skills subcategory (P < 0.001). No relationship between step time variability and any cognitive domain was demonstrated in the faller group. This study illustrated that the association between gait variability and cognition occurs only in PwMS without a fall history. From a clinical standpoint, these findings might help medical professionals to create improved assessment tests and rehabilitation strategies in the MS population.",non-battery
" In his classic essay “The phenomenological approach to psychopathology”, Karl Jaspers defended the irreducible reality of the “subjective” mental symptoms and stressed the pivotal role of empathy in their diagnostic assessment. However, Jaspers’ account of the epistemological role of empathy in psychopathological diagnosis was far from clear: whereas at several places Jaspers claimed that empathy provides a direct access to patients’ abnormal mental experiences, at other places he stressed that it did so only indirectly, through a whole battery of their observable clinical indicators. The aim of this paper is to reassess Jaspers’ account of the epistemological role of empathy in psychopathological diagnosis.",non-battery
"The influences of Sm and Y on the electron properties of the anodic films on lead at 1.28 V(vs.SCE), 1.5 V(vs.SCE) and 1.8 V(vs.SCE) in 4.5 mol L−1 sulfuric acid are investigated by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Mott–Schottky plot, galvanic polarization and photo-electrochemical technique. The results show that Sm and Y can significantly decrease the resistances of the anodic films on lead electrode at 1.28 V, 1.5 V and 1.8 V, the oxygen and hydrogen evolutions of lead electrode covered by the anodic film decrease with the addition of Sm or Y. The anodic films on lead electrode at three potentials appear an n-type semi-conductive character, the addition of Sm or Y can decrease the slope of M–S plot of the anodic film, it implying the increment of the defect density within the anodic film, which is beneficial for improving the charge–discharge behavior of the lead acid battery.",battery
"Solid electrolyte composed of hybrid organic–inorganic silicate matrix functionalised with tetraalkylammonium group, solvated by viscous organic polar solvent (propylene carbonate (PC) or sulpholane (TMS)), was prepared by the sol–gel method under controlled drying conditions. Tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), N-trimethoxysilylpropyl-N,N,N-tributylammonium chloride (TMOSPTBACl) and organic solvent were principal sol components. Gel formed within 2h and 2 days depending on substrate ratio and the solvent additive. The obtained material was transparent and it loosed about 15% of its mass during first 30 days of ageing. It was characterised by thermogravimetry (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and impedance spectroscopy. The transport of redox active molecules was studied by electrochemical methods. The porosity of samples dried in supercritical CO2 was also estimated. The shape of TGA and DSC curve appeared to be similar to that of pure solvent. The IR spectra indicated the silicate network formation with some silanol groups left. The NMR spectrum of the solution used to wash crushed sample indicated that all organic substrate is embedded in silicate matrix. The magnitude of electrical conductivity was close to 10−4 to 10−5 Scm−1, i.e. least more than one order of magnitude larger than that of TMOS based silicate matrix modified with a pure solvent. This conductivity is high enough for electrochemical experiments. Both conductivity and diffusion coefficient of redox probe-ferrocene (Fc) depended on time elapsed after gelation. Their most substantial decrease was observed during first 10 days after gelation and it correlated with mass loss.",battery
"As new applications for lithium-ion batteries emerge into the marketplace, a new emphasis is being placed on developing higher capacity electrodes. Two of the higher capacity technologies under development are lithium–sulfur and lithium–air batteries, both of which, in most configurations, use a lithium metal anode. Building on our previous work extending the cycle life of lithium metal anodes via surface functionalization with silane groups, we have identified two separate regimes for the cycle life enhancements based on size of the silane R-groups. Very small R-groups (TMS) and R-groups bulkier than triphenyl show enhanced cycle life compared to control samples while R-groups between these in size show reduced cycle life. Additionally, we present a comparison between different cleaning methods to optimize the hydroxyl functionalized layer on the lithium metal and the influence of these methods on the stability of lithium metal in EC:EMC electrolyte. A solvent based cleaning approach is shown to substantially improve stability when combined with chlorotrimethyl silane treatment.",battery
"Introduction Previous research has mainly studied the impact of activity explanation on performances (e.g., Chi, 2009), but little research has been done to examine its impact on the development of a competence. Objective A model of dynamic analysis of competence (Coulet, 2011) has been used to measure the impact of activity explanation on the development of a technical competence. Method Explanation of tasks of varying complexity has been manipulated in two experimental studies; effects of activity explanation have been measured on objective performance, perceptions related to the task and final explanations. Results Participants who explained their activity not only performed better on the tasks, but also showed more positive perceptions of their relations to the task and a better ability to produce didactic explanations. Conclusion Psychological processes involved in explaining activity and their implications are examined and discussed.",non-battery
"Aqueous Li-ion batteries are attracting increasing attention because they are potentially low in cost, safe and environmentally friendly. However, their low energy density (<100 Wh kg−1 based on total electrode weight), which results from the narrow operating potential window of water and the limited selection of suitable negative electrodes, is problematic for their future widespread application. Here, we explore optimized eutectic systems of several organic Li salts and show that a room-temperature hydrate melt of Li salts can be used as a stable aqueous electrolyte in which all water molecules participate in Li+ hydration shells while retaining fluidity. This hydrate-melt electrolyte enables a reversible reaction at a commercial Li4Ti5O12 negative electrode with a low reaction potential (1.55 V versus Li+/Li) and a high capacity (175 mAh g−1). The resultant aqueous Li-ion batteries with high energy density (>130 Wh kg−1) and high voltage (∼2.3–3.1 V) represent significant progress towards performance comparable to that of commercial non-aqueous batteries (with energy densities of ∼150–400 Wh kg−1 and voltages of ∼2.4–3.8 V).",battery
"Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are synthetic homolog of nucleic acids in which the phosphate-sugar polynucleotide backbone is replaced by a flexible polyamide. They bind complementary polynucleotide sequences with higher affinity and specificity than their natural counterparts. PNAs linked to the appropriate nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptide have been used to selectively down-regulate the expression of several genes in viable cells. For example in Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cells the c-myc oncogene is translocated in proximity to the Eμ enhancer of the Ig gene locus and upregulated. PNAs complementary to the second exon of c-myc or to the Eμ enhancer sequence (PNAEμ-NLS), selectively and specifically block the expression of the c-myc oncogene and inhibit cell growth in vitro and in vivo. PNAEμ-NLS administration to mice did not exhibit toxic effects even at the highest concentration allowed by the experimental conditions. Because of the accumulating data confirming PNAEμ-NLS potential therapeutic value, PNAEμ-NLS was evaluated for the inability to induce mutations in tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and at the hprt locus in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO). Moreover, the induction of chromosomal aberrations in CHO cells and of micronuclei in human lymphocytes were investigated. We may conclude that PNAEμ-NLS neither induces mutations nor has clastogenic effects as detectable by treatment under the standard test conditions.",non-battery
"Several electrical brass (CuZn37) connector bolts of aircraft batteries failed as a result of stress-corrosion cracking. The batteries are used for emergency supply of the avionics in case of power failure or for complete control in the case of engine failure. For activation, the thermal battery is heated by a pyrotechnic element and then supplies electrical power with 5 A for 20 min up to 240 A for 3 min. For assembly of the batteries, an acetic acid curing silicone resin is used for housing seal on the lid and on the connector bolts. Because of the almost hermetic sealing of the enclosure, the silicone resin cures very slowly and metallic parts are exposed to the acetic acid vapor. So the electrical brass connector showed corrosive attack with the formation of copper acetate (verdigris). Subsequent failure due to stress-corrosion cracking occurred. The failure type and damage mechanisms could be simulated in laboratory experiments.",non-battery
Electrically conductive dodecyl-benzene-sulfonic-acid (DBSA) doped polyaniline (Pani) nanocomposites were prepared with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of different amounts of MWCNTs. The stability of the nanocomposites in terms of DC electrical conductivity retention was studied in ambient atmosphere by isothermal accelerated aging and cyclic accelerated aging techniques. The MWCNT/Pani nanocomposites were observed to be thermally more stable under ambient environmental conditions than Pani. Such nanocomposites with high thermal stability may find a place as future materials for the replacement for Pani.,non-battery
"Valve-regulated -lead–acid (VRLA) batteries have been revealed as showing an impressive cycle life performance, which compared with the equivalent flooded type, yields increments as large as three–five times. These impressive results have been achieved even though components, such as lead–calcium alloys, which are not especially adequate for obtaining high cycle lives are used. The report is concerned with the electrochemical factors, that determine such performance. The development of the new ORBITAL™ battery, especially the cycling version, has been possible, through an optimisation process of the parameters determining life performance. In this way lives approaching 1000 cycles at 60% depth-of-discharge (DoD) have been achieved, which open the possibility to use such batteries in cycling applications, up to now restricted to other technologies like gel batteries. A review of the electrochemical factors, determining such performance is presented in an attempt to highlight the electrochemical basis of VRLA performance.",battery
"In this work, bare and Ta-substituted Nb2O5 nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning followed by sintering at temperatures in the 800–1100°C range for 1h in air. Obtained bare and Ta-substituted Nb2O5 polymorphs are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, density measurement, and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area. Electrochemical properties are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic techniques. Cycling performance of Nb2O5 structures prepared at temperature 800°C, 900°C, and 1100°C shows following discharge capacity at the end of 10th cycle: 123, 140, and 164 (±3) mAhg−1, respectively, in the voltage range 1.2–3.0V and at current rate of 150mAg−1 (1.5C rate). Heat treated composite electrode based on M-Nb2O5 (1100°C) in argon atmosphere at 220°C, shows an improved discharge capacity of 192 (±3) mAhg−1 at the end of 10th cycle. The discharge capacity of Ta-substituted Nb2O5 prepared at 900°C and 1100°C showed a reversible capacity of 150, 202 (±3) mAhg−1, respectively, in the voltage range 1.2–3.0V and at current rate of 150mAg−1. Anodic electrochemical properties of M-Nb2O5 deliver a reversible capacity of 382 (±5) mAhg−1 at the end of 25th cycle and Ta-substituted Nb2O5 prepared at 900°C, 1000°C and 1100°C shows a reversible capacity of 205, 130 and 200 (±3) mAhg−1 (at 25th cycle) in the range, 0.005–2.6V, at current rate of 100mAg−1.",battery
"We report a novel non-solution synthesis of ultrafine SnO2 nanoparticles within multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) networks by pre-mixing tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (C16H30O4Sn) and MWCNTs and subsequently annealing in air at 350°C, at which decomposition and oxidation of tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate readily went on without destroying the MWCNTs. The resultant SnO2 nanoparticles with average size of ∼5nm were well-distributed either on the surface of MWCNTs or within themselves-constructed networks. When used as anode materials in lithium ion batteries (LIBs), the SnO2-MWCNT nanocomposites showed superior electrochemical properties, delivering discharge capacities of 1144mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1 and 1022mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1 after 50 cycles, 685mAhg−1 at 500mAg−1 and 640mAhg−1 at 1000mAg−1 after 100 cycles. Moreover, the mixture of tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate and MWCNTs can be directly used as paste for fabrication of binder-free SnO2-MWCNT composite electrodes by simply spreading the mixture on current collectors (ex. Ni foam) and annealing in air. The as-prepared SnO2-MWCNT-Ni composite electrode delivered a discharge capacity of 434mAhg−1 at 500mAg−1 after 200 cycles. Besides, the present non-solution synthetic strategy is promising for low-cost and large-scale fabrication of SnO2/CNTs nanocomposites as high-performance anodes for electrochemical energy-storage.",battery
"Driven by the academic interest, we have studied the aqueous electrochemistry of neptunium (Np) in 1M nitric acid solution on the electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGNO) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. Similar to our previous experiences on the electrocatalytic action of ERGNO on the electrochemistry of uranium(VI)/uranium(IV) and plutonium(IV)/plutonium(III) redox couples, the present study confirms the robust electrocatalytic ability of ERGNO for the redox reaction of Np(VI)O2 2+/Np(V)O2 + in acidic solution even at high anodic working potentials. The extent of the electrochemical reversibility of Np(VI)O2 2+/Np(V)O2 + redox couple increases on ERGNO compared to the bare GC electrode. For the first time, the electron transfer reaction of Np(VI)O2 2+/Np(V)O2 + redox couple is investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The improved sensitivity as well as the lower limit of detection of Np by anodic square wave voltammetry on ERGNO compared to bare GC opens up the application of ERGNO in the nuclear science and technology.",battery
"Measures of cognition support diagnostic and treatment decisions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We used an integrative neuroscience framework to assess cognition and associated brain-function correlates in large attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and healthy groups. Matched groups of 175 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder children/adolescents and 175 healthy control subjects were assessed clinically, with the touch screen-based cognitive assessment battery “IntegNeuro” (Brain Resource Ltd., Sydney, Australia) and the “LabNeuro” (Brain Resource Ltd., Sydney, Australia) platform for psychophysiologic recordings of brain function and body arousal. IntegNeuro continuous performance task measures of sustained attention classified 68% of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder patients with 76% specificity, consistent with previous reports. Our additional cognitive measures of impulsivity, intrusive errors, inhibition, and response variability improved sensitivity to 88%, and specificity to 91%. Positive predictive power was 96%, and negative predictive power, 88%. These metrics were stable across attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes and age. Consistent with their brain-based validity, cognitive measures were correlated with corresponding brain-function and body-arousal measures. We propose a combination of candidate cognitive “markers” that define a signature for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: “sustained attention,” “impulsivity,” “inhibition,” “intrusions,” and “response variability.” These markers offer a frame of reference to support diagnostic and treatment decisions, and an objective benchmark for monitoring outcomes of interventions.",non-battery
" Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is an effective bariatric procedure, and it can be done as an isolated LSG or in conjunction with biliopancreatic diversion bypass/duodenal switch (laparoscopic duodenal switch; LDS). Gastroesophageal reflux after LSG has been described, but the mechanism is unknown and the treatment in the severest cases has not been discussed. We describe a cohort of patients who have underwent an LSG or LDS, and have suffered from a severe postoperative gastroesophageal motility disorder and/or reflux, report on their treatment, and discuss possible underlying mechanisms.",non-battery
"As outlined in the introductory article ""The Neverending Story--Using the Narrative as a Fundamental Approach to Teaching Biology and Beyond,"" historical storytelling has the potential to add understanding and synthesis to learning that is usually restricted to memorization and skills-based application. The following stories were written in an attempt to reconcile mandated microbiology topics, such as biochemistry and the properties of DNA, with an overarching evolutionary framework that is applicable regardless of the scale of observation. These stories were designed with secondary school biology teachers and students in mind, particularly at the senior-grade level. In an effort to preserve narrative flow, internal referencing has been sacrificed, but a complete set of source material is cited at the end of the compilation.",non-battery
"The effect of an anodic treatment on the methanol oxidation activity of PtRu/C (50:50at.%) and PtNiCr/C (Pt:Ni:Cr=28:36:36at.%) catalysts was investigated for various potential limits of 0.9, 1.1, 1.3 and 1.4V (vs. reference hydrogen electrode, RHE). NaBH4 reduced catalysts were further reduced at 900°C for 5min in an argon balanced hydrogen flow stream. Improved alloying was obtained by the hydrogen reduction procedure as confirmed by X-ray diffraction results. In the PtRu/C catalyst, a decrease of irreversible Ru (hydrous) oxide formation was observed when the anodic treatment was performed at 1.1V (vs. RHE) or higher potentials. In chronoamperometry testing performed for 60min at 0.6V (vs. RHE), the highest activity of the PtRu/C catalyst was observed when anodic treatment was performed at 1.3V (vs. RHE). The current density increased from 1.71 to 4.06Agcat. −1 after the anodic treatment. In the PtNiCr/C catalyst, dissolution of Ni and Cr was observed when potentials ≥1.3V (vs. RHE) were applied during the anodic treatment. In MOR activity tests, the current density of the PtNiCr/C catalyst dramatically increased by more than 13.5 times (from 0.182 to 2.47Agcat. −1) when an anodic treatment was performed at 1.4V. On an Agnoble metal −1 basis, the current density of PtNiCr-1.4V is slightly higher than the best anodically treated PtRu-1.3V catalyst, suggesting the PtNiCr catalyst is a promising candidate to replace the PtRu catalysts.",battery
" Ecological sciences have, in recent decades, benefited from the ability of proximity loggers (PLs)—i.e. devices that transmit and receive radio signals (UHF)—to quantify intra- and inter-specific interactions. These are used to estimate the frequency of contacts according to a predefined distance between individuals or between individuals and environmental features. The performance of these devices may, however, be potentially affected by several factors, signifying that they require accurate calibration under field conditions in order to correctly interpret the information obtained. We assessed the effect of four relevant factors in ecological and epidemiological studies over the attenuation of radio waves in terms of the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and contact success rate at a short (3 m) and medium distance (up to 20 m). The factors considered were: height above the ground (0–1 m), the presence/absence of vegetation, the presence/absence of live body mass around the devices, the distance between devices and the overlaid effects of all of them.",non-battery
"Children with developmental language disorders (DLD) often experience difficulty in understanding and engaging in interactive behavior with other children, which may lead to reduced daily physical activity and fitness levels. The present study evaluated the physical activity and physical fitness levels of 8–11 year old children with DLD (n =27) and compared this to typically developing (TD) age and gender matched controls (n =27). In addition, it was investigated whether interrelationships existed between physical activity and physical fitness in children with DLD and in TD children. Physical activity was measured using accelerometers. Physical fitness was measured using five tests of the Eurofit test battery (standing broad jump (SBJ), sit-ups (SUP), handgrip (HG), 10×5m shuttle run (10×5m SR), and the 20m shuttle run test (20m SR)). Physical activity of children with DLD did not significantly differ from TD children. Physical fitness of children with DLD was significantly lower on the SBJ, SUP, HG and 10×5m SR than TD controls, while no significant difference was found on the 20m SR. Strong significant relationships were found between physical activity variables and sedentary behavior and some physical fitness measures (SBJ and SUP) in children with DLD, while in TD children a strong significant relationship was found between time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity and performance on the SBJ. This study reveals important differences in fitness between children with DLD and TD children, which should be taken into account when creating physical activity interventions. Special attention has to be paid to children with DLD who show low physical activity and low physical fitness performance.",non-battery
"The capacity to switch between tasks is a central component of executive functioning. Previous studies assessing effects of task-switch training have revealed mixed results, both in terms of processes that may be improved and the extent of beneficial effects on non-trained tasks. These studies primarily used few training sessions, which may have limited training and transfer effects. Here, 31 students were trained for 21 days on a cued switching task. Both the trained group and an active control group (n = 29) performed a number of cognitive tasks before and after training. Training reduced both switch and mixing costs, which mostly reached an asymptote after approximately four to six training sessions, although there were residual costs at the end of training. The switch cost reduction was restricted to trials with a short cue–stimulus onset interval (CSI). Training benefitted performance on another switching task, reflecting near transfer. However, this benefit was limited to the switch cost and to trials with a short CSI. There were no beneficial effects on far-transfer tasks measuring interference control, response inhibition, working memory, and general IQ. The results suggest that the present extensive training protocol, implicating overtraining, specifically enhanced the efficiency of processes involved in preparing for the relevant upcoming task set and/or inhibition of the previous task set. However, the lack of beneficial far-transfer effects is in line with previous cognitive training studies employing fewer training sessions, suggesting that the extent of training is not critical for (not) finding transfer effects.",non-battery
"Abstract Cognitive functions develop and change across the lifespan. Previous research has documented how normal age-related processes negatively affect cognition. Tests of memory performance, decision-making, processing speed, and executive functioning, including inhibition, set-shifting, and problem-solving ability, have been shown to steadily decline across the lifespan, with noticeable deficits clearly occurring by age 50. Although the data consistently demonstrate a decline, interindividual differences have shown great variability in the onset and extent of these changes. Additionally, investigators in the field of cognitive rehabilitation have provided support for the view that cognitive fitness can be enhanced by engaging in mentally stimulating activities and/or aerobic exercise and that such activity may delay cognitive decline and even prevent dementia.",non-battery
"Modified natural rubber (NR) polymer hosts having low transition glass temperatures have been investigated. Three types of modified NR, namely 25% epoxidised NR (ENR-25), 50% ENR (ENR-50) and polymethyl methacrylate grafted NR (MG-49) were employed. Results are reported for ionic conductivity and thermal properties for both unplasticised and plasticised polymer electrolyte systems. The samples were in the form of free standing films with the thickness 0.2–0.5mm and mixtures of ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC) were used as plasticisers. Unplasticised modified NR based systems exhibit ionic conductivities in 10−6–10−5 Scm−1 range at ambient temperatures. Incorporating 50–100% of EC/PC by weight to the systems yielded mechanically stable films and ionic conductivities in 10−4–10−3 Scm−1 range at ambient temperature. The thermal event of the systems has displayed an increasing trend of transition glass temperature at elevated salt concentration whereas incorporation of EC and PC into the systems leads to marked reduction in their T g values.",battery
"Anatase TiO2 nanorods (NRs), with an average diameter of 3–4nm and an average length of 25–30nm were investigated as Li-insertion material. The NRs, capped with oleic acid, were synthesized by a low temperature colloidal route based on thermal decomposition of the precursors in presence of coordinating agents. A highly porous and connective network of NRs and carbon was prepared by taking advantage of this organic capping to inhibit the nanoparticle agglomeration and to act as a precursor for the formation of a carbonaceous percolating network. Composite electrodes, made of such material, were able to deliver reversible capacities of about 250mAhg−1 (corresponding to 0.75equiv. of Li per TiO2 unit). Reversible capacities of 210mAhg−1 (0.63 Li per TiO2), 194mAhg−1 (0.58 Li per TiO2), 165mAhg−1 (0.49 Li per TiO2), and 130mAhg−1 (0.39 Li per TiO2) were observed during cycle tests at 1C, 2C, 5C, and 10C, respectively, confirming the excellent high rate performance of the well-dispersed NRs. Finally, the electrodes showed excellent cycle life performance.",battery
"Lithium iodide has been studied extensively as a redox-mediator to reduce the charging overpotential of Li–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries. Ambiguities exist regarding the influence of lithium iodide on the reaction product chemistry and performance of lithium–oxygen batteries. In this work, we examined the role of lithium iodide on the reduction product chemistry under two conditions: (i) mixing KO2 with lithium salts and (ii) discharging Li–oxygen batteries at high and low overpotentials, in the presence of an ether-based electrolyte with different ratios of H2O:LiI. The addition of iodide to electrolytes containing water was found to promote the formation of LiOOH·H2O, LiOH·H2O and LiOH at the expense of Li2O2. At low H2O:LiI ratios (lower than 5), LiOH instead of Li2O2 was formed, which was accompanied by the oxidation of iodide to triodide while at high H2O:LiI ratios (12, 24, 134), a mixture of Li2O2, LiOOH·H2O and LiOH·H2O was observed and no triiodide was detected. The reaction between peroxide Li2O2 and/or superoxide LiO2 with H2O to form LiOH is facilitated by increased water acidity by strong I−–H2O interactions as revealed by 1H NMR and FT-IR measurements. This mechanism of LiOH formation in the presence of LiI and H2O was also found upon Li–O2 cell discharge, which is critical to consider when developing LiI as a redox mediator for Li–O2 batteries.
",battery
"Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) offer the potential to reduce oil imports, greenhouse gases, and fuel costs, but high upfront costs discourage many potential purchasers. Making an economic comparison with conventional alternatives is complicated in part by sensitivity to drive patterns, vehicle range, available energy management, and charge strategies that affect battery wear and gasoline consumption. Identifying justifiable battery replacement schedules adds further complexity to the issue. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed the Battery Ownership Model to address these and related questions. The Battery Ownership Model is applied here to examine the sensitivity of PHEV economics to drive patterns, vehicle range, available energy management, and charge strategies when a high-fidelity battery degradation model and financially justified battery replacement schedules are employed. We find that energy management methodology, all-electric range, maximum beginning-of-life state of charge, and basic charge timing generally have a small impact on the total cost of ownership of PHEVs; however, PHEV economics do prove sensitive to drive patterns and the availability of an at-work charger.",battery
"Despite the introduction of at least 20 new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) into clinical practice over the past decades, about one third of all epilepsies remain refractory to conventional forms of treatment. In addition, currently used AEDs have been developed to suppress neuronal hyperexcitability, but not necessarily to address pathogenic mechanisms involved in epilepsy development or progression (epileptogenesis). For those reasons endogenous seizure control mechanisms of the brain may provide alternative therapeutic opportunities. Adenosine is a well characterized endogenous anticonvulsant and seizure terminator of the brain. Several lines of evidence suggest that endogenous adenosine-mediated seizure control mechanisms fail in chronic epilepsy, whereas therapeutic adenosine augmentation effectively prevents epileptic seizures, even those that are refractory to conventional AEDs. New findings demonstrate that dysregulation of adenosinergic mechanisms are intricately involved in the development of epilepsy and its comorbidities, whereas adenosine-associated epigenetic mechanisms may play a role in epileptogenesis. The first goal of this review is to discuss how maladaptive changes of adenosinergic mechanisms contribute to the expression of seizures (ictogenesis) and the development of epilepsy (epileptogenesis) by focusing on pharmacological (adenosine receptor dependent) and biochemical (adenosine receptor independent) mechanisms as well as on enzymatic and transport based mechanisms that control the availability (homeostasis) of adenosine. The second goal of this review is to highlight innovative adenosine-based opportunities for therapeutic intervention aimed at reconstructing normal adenosine function and signaling for improved seizure control in chronic epilepsy. New findings suggest that transient adenosine augmentation can have lasting epigenetic effects with disease modifying and antiepileptogenic outcome. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled ‘Purines in Neurodegeneration and Neuroregeneration’.",non-battery
"Fe2O3 sheets have been synthesized on nickel foam by a simple template-free growth process and heat treatment. Structural characterization by SEM, TEM and BET indicates that the neighboring porous Fe2O3 sheets form a open reaction space on the surface of the nickel foam skeletons. The sheets are confirmed to be pure Fe2O3 phase by X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical capacitance behaviors of Fe2O3 sheets electrode are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. The results show that the Fe2O3 sheets electrode exhibits a specific capacitance as high as 147Fg−1 at 0.36Ag−1 in 1moldm−3 Li2SO4 electrolyte, good cycling stability, and with a wide potential window of 1.0V. The superior capacitance of Fe2O3 sheets electrode might be attributed to its unique porous structure for easy access of electrolyte ions and high electrochemical activity.",battery
"Ever since energy sustainability is an emergent concern, Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) significantly affect the approaching smart grids. Indeed, Demand Response (DR) brings a positive effect on the uncertainties of renewable energy sources, improving market efficiency and enhancing system reliability. This paper proposes a multi-stage stochastic model of a PEV aggregation agent to participate in day-ahead and intraday electricity markets. The stochastic model reflects several uncertainties such as the behaviour of PEV owners, electricity market prices, and activated quantity of reserve by the system operator. For this purpose, appropriate scenarios are utilized to realize the uncertain feature of the problem. Furthermore, in the proposed model, the PEV aggregation agents can update their bids/offers by taking part in the intraday market. To this end, these aggregation agents take part in Demand Response eXchange (DRX) markets designed in the intraday session by employing DR resources. The numerical results show that DR provides a perfect opportunity for PEV aggregation agents to increase the profit. In addition, the results reveal that the PEV aggregation agent not only can increase its profit by participating in the DRX market, but also can become an important player in the mentioned market.",battery
"We evaluated the charge–discharge behavior of a graphite electrode in a 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (EMImFSI) ionic liquid. According to the charge–discharge tests, the graphite negative electrode exhibited a high rate of performance in LiTFSI/EMImFSI (TFSI− = bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) in the voltage range of 0.005–1.5 V (vs. Li/Li+), and the performance was comparable to that in a conventional organic solution-based electrolyte, LiPF6/EC+DMC. Moreover, the addition of LiBOB (=lithium bis(oxalato)borate) improved the rate capability and low-temperature operation of the graphite negative electrode, most likely owing to the low-resistivity solid electrolyte interface (SEI) derived from LiBOB. These results suggest that EMImFSI is a suitable electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries utilizing graphite negative electrodes and that optimization of the electrolyte composition with an additive can improve battery performance.",battery
"A series of AgCuO2 samples are prepared and tested as alkaline cathode materials for primary batteries. AgCuO2 discharges via four equivalent-charge reduction processes, the rate capabilities of which are determined. At ambient temperature AgCuO2 displays superior rate capabilities for the two highest voltage processes. For all samples, the rate capability of the two lower voltage processes is always superior to those at higher voltage. This is due to the electrode intrinsically doping itself with elemental silver during discharge as part of the second reduction process. The electrode compares favourably with commercial electrolytic manganese dioxide but is prone to self-discharge, the kinetics of which are also discussed.",battery
" Age-related sarcopenia is a disease state of loss of muscle mass and strength that affects physical function and mobility leading to falls, fractures, and disability. The need for therapies to treat age-related sarcopenia has attracted intensive preclinical research. To facilitate the discovery of these therapies, we have developed a non-invasive rat muscle functional assay system to efficiently measure muscle force and evaluate the efficacy of drug candidates.",non-battery
"The assessment of risks associated with non-indigenous species implies a detailed knowledge of their taxonomical composition and distribution within a certain region. The northern branch of the central European ‘invasion corridor’—a series of canals connecting different watersheds—has formed an important migratory route for Ponto-Caspian fish (i.e. fish from the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea). However, the current status of non-indigenous fish species in this region is very scarce. This article presents a comprehensive overview of recent distribution data of non-indigenous fish species in the northern branch of the central European invasion corridor. Here, extensive data are integrated based on studies performed during 2003–2014 comprising reliable published and unpublished records from the last 12 years. Altogether, ten non-indigenous fish species were currently found in the northern branch of the central European invasion corridor, constituting 19 % of its freshwater fish diversity. Three species, including the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio), the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), and the Chinese sleeper (Perccottus glenii), are considered invasive species. Eight species may potentially invade this region in the near future. A comparison of the history of non-indigenous fish species introduction in the inland waters of the northern branch and other countries of the central European invasion corridor revealed similar introduction trends. Potential expansion of non-indigenous fish species across the central European invasion corridor has international implications that require awareness, cooperation, and government support from each individual country. Disclosure of recently operating vectors for non-indigenous fish introductions within the central European invasion corridor will help predict and prevent their further spread and establishment in this region.
",non-battery
" Tellurite (TeO32−) is recognized as a toxic oxyanion to living organisms. However, mainly anaerobic or facultative-anaerobic microorganisms are able to tolerate and convert TeO32− into the less toxic and available form of elemental Tellurium (Te0), producing Te-deposits or Te-nanostructures. The use of TeO32−-reducing bacteria can lead to the decontamination of polluted environments and the development of “green-synthesis” methods for the production of nanomaterials. In this study, the tolerance and the consumption of TeO32− have been investigated, along with the production and characterization of Te-nanorods by Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 grown under aerobic conditions.",non-battery
"Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis in an organic-free system. Samples were collected at different time spots during temperature rising and soaking period and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, B.E.T. specific surface area and particle size analysis. Two precursors, Li3PO4 and Fe3(PO4)2·8H2O, form easily at ambient temperature. They dissolve into ions once temperature increases to 135°C. LFP nuclei form rapidly at 135–140°C and grow fast at 140–150°C. The crystal morphology transforms from diamond to polygon plate at 150–160°C. The B.E.T. specific surface area and particle size decrease as reaction time prolongs. The thickness of the platelets remains unchanged within the range of 60–100nm for each LFP sample. The sample synthesized at 160°C for 2h and then coated with carbon (LFP/C-2) exhibits optimum electrochemical performances that the specific discharge capacities are 162.1, 150.8 and 136.9mAhg−1 at 0.2C, 1C and 5C, respectively. Reducing the precursors’ particle size would be an effective way to shorten the reaction time and obtain fine particles with high specific surface area and high purity.",battery
"LiNi0.5Mn0.5−x Ti x O2 series was prepared by a simple solid state method using MnO2, TiO2 and nickel carbonate basic as the starting materials. Its structural and electrochemical characteristics were also studied and compared with those prepared by the spray dry method. As Ti content increases, the degree of cation mixing increases and the structure of compound transforms gradually from a layered structure to a disordered rock salt structure. There are two plateaus in the initial charge curve for compounds with x < 0.3. One is around 4.0V and the other is around 4.6V. Both the initial charge and discharge capacities decrease as Ti content increases. Compounds with x < 0.3 exhibit good cyclic performance at room temperature.",battery
"This study first reports the synthesis of the nanosized LiVPO4F/graphene composite (LVPF/G). The LVPF/G composite is prepared by a facile mechanochemical approach. XRD results reveal that the prepared composite are well crystallized with triclinic LiVPO4F. SEM and TEM images demonstrate that the LiVPO4F nanoparticles in the composite are well enwrapped by graphene. Used as anode material for lithium ion batteries, the prepared LVPF/G composite exhibits greatly improved electrochemical performance. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties the LVPF/G composite depend heavily on the discharge cut-off potential. When the cut-off potential is altered to 0.01 V vs. Li/Li+, it possesses the best electrochemical performance. Under such optimal charge–discharge condition (3–0.01 V vs. Li/Li+), it shows an initial charge capacity of 287 mAh g−1 at 0.1C rate (1C = 310 mA g−1) and shows no capacity fading after 100 cycles. It also exhibits good rate capability, delivering about 168 mAh g−1 at 10C rate.",battery
"Graphite fluorides obtained by fluorination of graphite at room temperature and after a subsequent re-fluorination treatment were characterised by X-ray diffraction and 19F MAS NMR. Their electrochemical performances as cathode materials in magnesium batteries have been investigated. Four different electrolytes (0.5 or 1M Mg(ClO4)2 in ACN, DMSO, PC and THF) were used for these tests. The specific energy and power densities were estimated for all media. A comparison of the performances between lithium and magnesium batteries was realised. The effect, on the electrochemical performances, of a re-fluorination treatment at 250°C was also studied.",battery
"Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is an emerging energy harvesting technology for potential charging solution of portable and wearable electronics. In previous studies, the designs of TENG have limitations to be used in portable applications due to the required size for contact-separation motion. In this work, we demonstrate portable self-retracting TENG (PSR-TENG) that can harvest mechanical energy through extraction and retraction process. The combination of stacking and fluttering motion during the extraction and retraction process generates multiple power peaks in a single input. Furthermore, the output of PSR-TENG is maximized by analyzing the motion of sheet dielectric and controlling the size dimensions of casing cylinder. Finally, for portable applications of PSR-TENG, we introduce pen-type TENG that have integrated PSR-TENG inside a hollow space of pen casing. This study is a potential solution for developing high power TENG, and utilizing TENG for stand-alone portable energy generators.",battery
"A 53-year old woman with tic doloureaux, affecting her right maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve (V2), could elicit shooting pains by slightly tapping her teeth when off medication. The pains, which she normally rated as > 6/10 on a visual analog scale (VAS), were electric shock-like in nature. She had no other spontaneous or ongoing background pain affecting the region. Based on her ability to elicit these tics, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed while she produced brief shocks every 2 minutes on cue (evoked pain) over a 20 min period. In addition, she had 1–2 spontaneous shocks manifested between these evoked pains over the course of functional image acquisition. Increased fMRI activation for both evoked and spontaneous tics was observed throughout cortical and subcortical structures commonly observed in experimental pain studies with healthy subjects; including the primary somatosensory cortex, insula, anterior cingulate, and thalamus. Spontaneous tics produced more decrease in signals in a number of regions including the posterior cingulate cortex and amygdala, suggesting that regions known to be involved in expectation/anticipation may have been activated for the evoked, but not spontaneous, tics. In this patient there were large increases in activation observed in the frontal regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex and the basal ganglia. Spontaneous tics showed increased activation in classic aversion circuitry that may contribute to increased levels of anxiety. We believe that this is the first report of functional imaging of brain changes in tic-doloureaux.",non-battery
"To develop a hydrogen source for underwater applications, a composite of sodium borohydride and super absorbent polymer (SAP) is prepared by ball milling sodium borohydride powder with SAP powder, and by dehydrating an alkaline borohydride gel. When sodium polyacrylate (NaPAA) is used as the SAP, the resulting composite exhibits a high rate of borohydride hydrolysis for hydrogen generation. A mechanism of hydrogen evolution from the NaBH4–NaPAA composite is suggested based on structure analysis by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of water and NiCl2 content in the precursor solution on the hydrogen evolution behavior are investigated and discussed.",battery
"The effects of fluorine substitution on the electrochemical properties of LiFePO4/C cathode materials were studied. Samples with stoichiometric proportion of LiFe(PO4)1−x F3x /C (x =0.025, 0.05, 0.1) were prepared by adding LiF in the starting materials of LiFePO4/C. XRD and XPS analyses indicate that LiF was completely introduced into bulk LiFePO4 structure in LiFe(PO4)1−x F3x /C (x =0.025, 0.05) samples, while there was still some excess of LiF in LiFe(PO4)0.9F0.3/C sample. The results of electrochemical measurement show that F-substitution can improve the rate capability of these cathode materials. The LiFe(PO4)0.9F0.3/C sample showed the best high rate performance. Its discharge capacity at 10C rate was 110mAhg−1 with a discharge voltage plateau of 3.31–3.0V versus Li/Li+. The LiFe(PO4)0.9F0.3/C sample also showed obviously better cycling life at high temperature than the other samples.",battery
"Graphene-based nano-materials have provided an opportunity for next-generation energy storage device, particularly for lithium–sulfur battery and sodium-ion battery (SIB), due to their unique properties. This review comprehensively summarizes the present achievements and the latest progress of inorganic nano-materials/graphene composites as the electrode materials for Li–S battery and SIBs. Electrochemical principles, performances and key obstructions of graphene-based materials in the actual application are considered. This review gathers and classifies updated knowledge about Li–S battery and SIB nanomaterials related to graphene, with the aim of offering a wide view of those systems. It is concluded that cost-effective SIBs and Li–S battery are promising next-generation battery candidates in the near future, but require further investigation and improvement to deal with some critical scientific issues.",battery
"Recent years have witnessed a thriving pursuit of high-energy Li metal batteries for replacing the existing Li-ion batteries. However, the cell chemistry involving extremely reactive Li metal anodes in flammable organic liquid electrolytes raises serious problems in battery performance and safety. Herein, we report on achieving high energy and superior safety in a quasi-solid-state rechargeable cell design in terms of Li metal-free stable redox chemistry between a Li2S cathode and Si anode in gel polymer electrolyte with favorable interfacial properties, ionic conductivity and robustness. This chemistry ensures intrinsically high safety even under extreme conditions by eliminating the uncontrolled exothermic chain reactions in the cells. A nanospace-confined bifunctional electrocatalytic adsorber is designed to minimize the diffusion restriction of the Li2S cathode in the gel electrolyte, while the Si anode is strengthened by a multilevel hollow design. The obtained quasi-solid-state rechargeable Li2S||Si full cells deliver a high specific energy of up to 802 W h kgLi2S+Si−1 with high durability, low self-discharge, and good temperature adaptability from −20 to 60 °C. Meanwhile, the cells exhibit excellent safety against mechanical damage, overheating and short circuit in the air or water, offering high reliability for practical use.
",battery
Composite polyethylene-oxide/garnet electrolytes containing LiTFSI as the lithium salt have a Li+ conductivity σLi > 10−4 Scm−1 at 55°C and a low plating/stripping impedance of a dendrite-free Li-metal anode; they have been developed for a safe solid-state Li-metal rechargeable battery. Composites consisting of “ceramic-in-polymer” to “polymer-in-ceramic” that are flexible and mechanically robust are fabricated by hot-pressing. Safe pouch cells with a remarkable flexibility have been fabricated. Solid-state LiFePO4 |Li batteries with electrolytes of “ceramic-in-polymer” and “polymer-in-ceramic” deliver excellent cycling stability with high discharge capacities (139.1mAhg–1 with capacity retention of 93.6% after 100 cycles) and high capacity retention (103.6% with coulombic efficiency of 100% after 50 cycles) at 0.2C and 55°C. Both kinds of electrolytes can be applied to solid-state lithium batteries.,battery
"The spinel-type Co3O4 with a dendritic nanostructure is prepared via homogeneous co-precipitation method in the presence of oxalic as complex agent. The special structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, which show that the precursor can be transformed into dendritic crystal Co3O4 by calcining at 500 °C for 2 h with a diameter of 20–50 nm. Such a three-dimensional interconnected structure used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries shows that the discharge specific capacity still remains at 951.7 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. Furthermore, this material also presents a good rate performance; when the current density increases to 1,000, 4,000, and 8,000 mA g−1, the reversible capacity can render about 1,126.2, 932.3, and 344.2 mA h g−1, respectively. The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly attributed to the dendritic nanostructure composed of interconnected Co3O4 nanoparticles.
",battery
"Employing “solid-state” mechanism can avoid polysulfides dissolution in lithium-sulfur batteries but lead to limited reactivity. It is desirable to eliminate polysulfides dissolution under “dissolution-deposition” mechanism but merely impossible with S8 due to its intrisic parasitic reaction pathway. However, sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (S@pPAN) is suggested to involve S3-4 and soluble intermediates Li2S3-4, thus a fast and reversible conversion to insoluble Li2S2 and Li2S can avoid dissolution. Herein, Te is used as eutectic accelerator in S@pPAN to accelerate the redox conversion and prevent polysulfides dissolution under “dissolution-deposition” mechanism. In TexS1-x@pPAN (Te-doped S@pPAN) cathodes, Te can be uniformly distributed through Te-S bond and accelerate the reactivity while contribute capacity, resulting in compatiblity with both ether and carbonate electrolytes, high capacities of 1507 and 861 mA h g−1 at 0.1 and 10 A g−1, and stable cyling over 600 cycles in ether electrolyte (0.05% decay per cycle). Good performance is also demonstrated with 3.11 mg cm−2 sulfur loading and 6 μL mg−1 electrolyte/sulfur ratio. Further studies confirm that Te promotes the diffusion of Li ion and reduces reaction resistance during charge/discharge process, which affords significantly enhanced reaction kinetics and mitigates polysulfides dissolution. This work shows a high performance lithium-sulfur batteries operated under “dissolution-deposition” without polysulfides dissolution.",battery
Poly(3-chlorothiophene) (PCT) films were synthesized electrochemically by direct oxidation of 3-chlorothiophene (CT) in mixed electrolytes of boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BFEE) and trifluroacetic acid (TFA). The oxidation potential of 3-chlorothiophene in pure BFEE was measured to be only 1.54 V versus SCE. This value is much lower than that determined in neutral medium (2.18 V vs. SCE). The addition of TFA to BFEE can further decrease the oxidation potential of the monomer. The oxidation potential of CT in the mixed electrolyte of BFEE containing 30% TFA (by volume) was found to be as low as 1.16 V (vs. SCE). PCT films with the highest quality were obtained from the media of BFEE+10–15% TFA and they were characterized to have about 24–32 repeat units. The doping level and conductivity of PCT films also increased significantly by using the mixed electrolytes.,battery
"A series of Ni substituted spinel LiNi x Mn2−x O4 (0≤ x ≤0.5) have been synthesized to study the evolution of the local structure and their electrochemical properties. X-ray diffraction showed a few Ni cations moved to the 8a sites in heavily substituted LiNi x Mn2−x O4 (x ≥0.3). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed Ni2+ cations were partially oxidized to Ni3+. The local structures of LiNi x Mn2−x O4 were studied by analyzing the F 2 g ( 1 ) and A1g Raman bands. The most compact [Mn(Ni)O6] octahedron with the highest bond energy of Mn(Ni)O was found for LiNi0.2Mn1.8O4, which showed a Mn(Ni)O average bond length of 1.790Å, and a force constant of 2.966Ncm−1. Electrolyte decomposition during the electrochemical charging processes increased with Ni substitution. The discharge capacities at the 4.1 and 4.7V plateaus obeyed the linear relationships with respect to the Ni substitution with the slopes of −1.9 and +1.9, which were smaller than the theoretical values of −2 and +2, respectively. The smaller slopes could be attributed to the electrochemical hysteresis and the presence of Ni3+ in the materials.",battery
"Classification of renal cell carcinomas has become more challenging. The 2016 WHO classification included 14 different subtypes and 4 emerging/provisional entities, and recent literature indicates new entities to be incorporated. Nomenclature is based on cytoplasmic appearance, architecture, combination of morphologies, anatomic location, underlying disease, familial syndromes, and specific genetic alterations. Immunohistochemistry is useful in selected cases while it can be insufficient in entities that require molecular confirmation of a specific gene alteration. The aim of these recommendations is to provide a reasonable and optimized approach for the use of ancillary tests in subtyping renal tumors, particularly in resource-limited settings.
",non-battery
"Silicon is considered one of the most promising anode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. However, dramatic volume expansion during the lithiation of silicon complicates its practical implementation. Literature reports nanostructured electrodes, which are capable to accommodate the volume expansion, reducing associated swelling, degradation and capacity fading. However, several phenomena associated with the volume expansion, such as the reduction of the electrode’s porosity, are inherent to the system and must be carefully considered for targeted engineering of high-energy lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we determine design criteria of silicon based electrodes, taking into account the volume expansion during lithiation. A “deformation threshold” is defined signifying the minimum value of the initial porosity that must be adjusted to avoid plastic deformation and dramatic reduction of the electrode’s porosity during charging. In addition, a “C-rate threshold” is defined, guaranteeing diffusion limited currents not falling below a desired discharge rate. The impact of these theoretical limitations on the electrochemical performance of silicon-based electrodes is analyzed from an engineering point of view. The derived relations are used to optimize the electrode design parameters regarding maximum gravimetric and volumetric capacity.",battery
"Cribrostatin 6 is a quinone-containing natural product that induces the death of cancer cell lines in culture, and its mechanism of action and scope of activity are unknown. Here we show that cribrostatin 6 has broad anticancer activity, potently inducing apoptotic cell death that is not preceded by any defined cell cycle arrest. Consistent with this data, we find that cribrostatin 6 treated cells have large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and, based on transcript profiling experiments and other data, this ROS generation is likely the primary mechanism by which cribrostatin 6 induces apoptosis. Given the success of certain ROS producers as anticancer agents, cribrostatin 6 has potential as a novel chemotherapeutic agent.
",non-battery
"In order to perform an in-depth study on the electropolymerization mechanism of bis(alkyl)-substituted bithiophenes, poly[4,4′-bis(metylbutylthio)-2,2′-bithiophene] (poly-MBTBT) has been electrogenerated by using both potentiodynamic and potentiostatic techniques under different experimental conditions. Bidimensional spectroelectrochemical data have allowed us to obtain valuable information about both the polymer and the soluble oligomers electrogenerated in the process. The same kind of oligomers has been observed in the potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polymerization.",battery
"This paper proposes a new Peak Shaving algorithm in combination with a continuous battery peak power estimation algorithm for a battery energy storage system (BESS). The objective of the proposed Peak Shaving algorithm is to avoid energy exchanges when the output power is considered to be too high. Therefore, the algorithm allows configuring the power limits for the system operation. However, in extreme situations, the BESS might no longer be able to follow the algorithm commands and the power will surpass this limit. In these situations, the proposed dynamic minimum voltage tracking algorithm ensures that the maximum available power is extracted from the BESS, thus reducing the total output power. The proposed control system has been experimentally tested on a real-time microgrid. Results show that the proposed Peak Shaving algorithm allows to easily limit power exchanges between the microgrid and the main grid. Moreover, combining it with the dynamic minimum voltage tracking algorithm ensures that the power surplus, with reference to the defined limit, is minimized.",battery
"Hierarchical porous cobalt oxide (Co3O4) array films are successfully prepared by electrodeposition through polystyrene sphere monolayer template. The as-prepared Co3O4 array films exhibit three typical porous structures from non-close-packed bowl array to close-packed bowl array and hierarchical two layer array structures. These Co3O4 array films have a hierarchical porous structure, in which the skeleton is composed of ordered arrays possessing nanoporous walls. A possible growth mechanism of porous Co3O4 array films is proposed. As anodes for Li ion batteries, the as-prepared Co3O4 array films exhibit quite good cycle life and high capacity. The first discharge capacity for the three Co3O4 array films is 1511, 1475, 1463mAhg−1, respectively, and their initial coulombic efficiencies are as high as 72%. The specific capacity after 50 cycles for the three electrodes is 712, 665 and 640mAhg−1 at 1C rate, corresponding to 80%, 75%, 72% of the theoretical value (890mAhg−1), respectively.",battery
"Publisher Summary Ubiquitous computing user experiences come in all shapes and sizes. With computation distributed into mobile devices, buildings, and roads, the experience of devices and spaces is no longer limited to what can be held, seen, or inhabited. This presents a fundamental challenge to assumptions that designers are only responsible for scoping interaction at single scales with single objects. Certainly some designers and some designs try to consider a device or interaction in context of the other devices, spaces, and networks it touches. But situating the design of user experience within ecology of spaces, devices, and audiences from small to large scales of interaction has never been necessary. Though scale fundamentally affects the user experience, there are few guidelines for designing at different scales. Interior design has focused on body-scale experiences, interface design has (largely) focused on design for computer monitors, and industrial design has focused on how hands manipulate objects. No one discipline teaches a design framework that covers the continuum of all the scales of interaction in our immediate live environment.",non-battery
"In this paper, Cu, Al and Ni were plated on the AB5–5mass% LaMg3 composite hydrogen storage alloy using a vacuum evaporation plating method. The phase structure and the electrochemical properties were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the phase structure is not changed obviously after the plating Cu, Al and Ni on the composites. The electrochemical tests show that maximum discharge capacity, high rate dischargeability (HRD), dischargeability at low temperature and cyclic stability was improved by vacuum evaporation plating Cu, Al and Ni. Maximum of discharge capacity of the AB5–5mass% LaMg3 composite alloy plating Ni can reach 351mAh/g, which is 3.5% higher than that of the untreated. HRD at I d =1200mA/g of the composite alloy plating Cu is 45.0% of that at 60mA/g, which is 20.4% higher than the untreated. Discharge capacity of the composite alloy plating Cu at low temperature 233K is 205mAh/g, which is 57.3% of that at 298K, and it is much higher than 36.8% of the untreated composites. The discharge capacity retention of the composite alloy plating Al after 200 cycles is 7.8% higher than the untreated.",battery
"In a quest to improve air quality, many experts are supportive of using hydrogen as the fuel of the future. More recently, two other key objectives of several nations have been instrumental in accelerating development for an alternative fuel, independence from foreign oil and securing renewable, affordable energy sources. Most experts suggest that hydrogen as an alternative fuel has the elements to address all three of these concerns. In its purest form there are zero emissions, the supply is endless and production may use a variety of energy sources, including renewable. The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the challenges related to moving to a hydrogen-fueled economy. The efforts of some countries and leaders in the automotive sector are reviewed as they strive to develop the technology and find possible answers to production, storage and distribution challenges. There are many opinions on how best to proceed. Some favor moving directly to a hydrogen infrastructure, while others advocate transitioning by using hydrogen fuel cell technology. While the problems of migrating to hydrogen are complex, there is no doubt that hydrogen is the energy source for the 21st century.",non-battery
"This article optimizes lithium-ion battery management in a datacenter to: (i) maximize the dollar savings attainable through peak shaving, while (ii) minimizing battery degradation. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, such multi-objective optimal datacenter battery management remains relatively unexplored. We solve this optimization problem using a second-order model of battery charge dynamics, coupled with a physics-based model of battery aging via solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth. Our optimization study focuses on a classical feedforward-feedback energy management policy, where feedforward control is used for peak shaving, and feedback is used for tracking a desired battery state of charge (SOC). Three feedforward-feedback architectures are examined: a proportional (P) control architecture, a proportional-integral (PI) architecture, and a PI architecture with a deadband in its feedforward path. We optimize these architectures’ parameters using differential evolution, for real datacenter power demand histories. Our results show a significant Pareto tradeoff between dollar savings and battery longevity for all architectures. The introduction of a deadband furnishes a more attractive Pareto front by allowing the feedforward controller to focus on shaving larger peaks. Moreover, the use of integral control improves the robustness of the feedback policy to demand uncertainties and battery pack sizing.",battery
"The balance of end-user requirements which result in multiple design options will ultimately define the configuration of 36-/42-V lead–acid batteries used in future vehicles. Analysis of the driving forces, i.e. high power output, space and weight minimization, and especially cost/benefit considerations, reveal a high probability for a 36-V flooded, prismatic, battery design. The main requirements on the separator will be superior oxidation stability and high puncture strength, i.e. to levels far beyond what are achievable today.",battery
"A novel method high-pressure sintering was applied to prepare La0.25Mg0.75Ni3.5 alloy as negative electrode material for nickel/metal hydride battery. The phase structures, electrochemical performance and electrochemical kinetics of the alloys sintered with various pressures have been investigated. When sintered within 1.5–2.5GPa, the alloys have Ce2Ni7-type and Pr5Co19-type main phases and LaNi5 minor phase. Pressurizing promotes the formation of Ce2Ni7-type phase with higher crystalline density. But when the sintering pressure reaches 4GPa, the atomic diffusion is hindered, leading to the rise of LaNi5 phase, appearance of MgNi2 phase, and decrease of Ce2Ni7-type and Pr5Co19-type phases. Electrochemical measurements show that when the sintering pressure changes from 1.5 to 4GPa, the maximum discharge capacity first increases then decreases. The alloy electrode sintered at 2GPa shows superior high rate dischargeability and the gentlest capacity decrease with increasing discharge current density. Furthermore, kinetic study demonstrates that the reaction of alloy electrodes is controlled by charge-transfer step. Cycling stability is deteriorated as the sintering pressure increases due to higher expansion ratio of the cell volume and denser structures of the alloy.",battery
" Experiments have previously demonstrated the therapeutic potential of mobilized dental pulp stem cells (MDPSCs) for complete pulp regeneration. The aim of the present pilot clinical study is to assess the safety, potential efficacy, and feasibility of autologous transplantation of MDPSCs in pulpectomized teeth.",non-battery
"In order to understand the properties of high-rate capability and cycleability for a disordered carbon negative electrode in LiPF6/PC based electrolyte solution, the cell performance tests with various rates and depth of discharges (DODs) has been studied by spectroscopic and electrochemical analyses. From the charge–discharge measurements, a surface carbon-edge redox reaction occurring between a carbonyl (Cedge O) and a lithium alkoxide (Cedge–OLi) that delivers a large capacity was found fast and high cycleability at only shallow DOD (2.0–0.4V). The limited or shallow charge–discharge cycling utilizing such facile and reversible action of the Cedge O/Cedge–OLi of the disordered carbon is suited to an application for an negative electrode of asymmetric hybrid capacitors. A deep DOD discharge (2.0–0.0V) revealed the existence of some complex processes involving a lithium cluster deposition at pores or microvoids as well as a lithium ion intercalation at graphene layers. The cluster deposition at pores was found to be relatively fast and reproducible. The lithium ion intercalation at graphenes and the subsequent cluster deposition at microvoids were found to be slow and degrade the cycleability after 100 cycles because of the accumulation of a thick and low-ion-conductive solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film on surface.",battery
"We provide data on the changes in structure and composition of commercial LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries occurring after surface coating with two types of metal oxides: electrochemically active LiCoO2 and inactive MgO. XRD analysis, SEM images, IR spectroscopy and EPR of low-spin Ni3+ ions were carried out for structural characterisation of coated LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 electrodes. Surface modification with LiCoO2 was found to be a more effective route for improving the cycling stability of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2. The favourable effect of LiCoO2-coating was connected with an enhanced stability of the bulk composition and reduction of electrode/electrolyte interaction.",battery
"The present paper deals with the pattern formation properties of a specific morpho-electrochemical reaction-diffusion model on a sphere. The physico-chemical background to this study is the morphological control of material electrodeposited onto spherical particles. The particular experimental case of interest refers to the optimization of novel metal-air flow batteries and addresses the electrodeposition of zinc onto inert spherical supports. Morphological control in this step of the high-energy battery operation is crucial to the energetic efficiency of the recharge process and to the durability of the whole energy-storage device. To rationalise this technological challenge within a mathematical modeling perspective, we consider the reaction-diffusion system for metal electrodeposition introduced in [Bozzini et al., J. Solid State Electr.17, 467–479 (2013)] and extend its study to spherical domains. Conditions are derived for the occurrence of the Turing instability phenomenon and the steady patterns emerging at the onset of Turing instability are investigated. The reaction-diffusion system on spherical domains is solved numerically by means of the Lumped Surface Finite Element Method (LSFEM) in space combined with the IMEX Euler method in time. The effect on pattern formation of variations in the domain size is investigated both qualitatively, by means of systematic numerical simulations, and quantitatively by introducing suitable indicators that allow to assign each pattern to a given morphological class. An experimental validation of the obtained results is finally presented for the case of zinc electrodeposition from alkaline zincate solutions onto copper spheres.",non-battery
"More than ordinary rinsing using pure water, cathode water obtained by electrolysis of dilute potassium carbonate aqueous solution (alkaline electrolyzed water: AEW) exhibits a stronger rinse effect for elimination of remaining sulfate ions when rinsing nickel-plated surfaces. This rinse effect was recognized even for AEW that was used 24 h after it was produced, but not 1 week after. Behaviors of hydrogen nanobubbles observed by dynamic light scattering revealed nanobubbles of about 128-nm diameter even 24 h after generation. The Ostwald ripening phenomenon was observed. Hydrogen nanobubbles in an open system changed: some shrank because of ripening, later dissolving in the aqueous solution and disappearing; others showed swelling and expansion. One week later, few nanobubbles smaller than 300 nm were observed. Rinse effects by AEW, which are attributable to the actions of hydrogen nanobubbles generated in AEW, occur because sulfate ions are cleaned and removed from the nickel-plated surface.
",battery
"A polyelectrolyte containing a sulfonium cation, poly(methylsulfonio-1,4-phenylenethio-1,4-phenylene trifluoromethanesulfonate) (1) was tested as a separator in a zinc–air cell. In comparison with the commercially available separators such as polypropylene, polysulfonium 1 was highly effective to prevent cation permeation from the anode to cathode and effectively increased the capacity six-fold greater than that of polypropylene during discharge. This phenomenon was explained by the ion-exchange process of the membrane 1, which showed an anion-permselectivity toward OH− at low KOH aqueous solution concentrations (<1M).",battery
"Silicon (Si) nanomaterials attract tremendous attentions when applied as anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high capacity, however, they usually suffer from low electronic conductivity and large volume expansion during the charge/discharge processes, resulting in the poor cycling stabilities. In this study, horsetails (HTs) are explored as low cost and renewable resources for deriving Si materials for Li-ion half/full cells for the first time. Moreover, Si@N-doped carbon nanocomposites are fabricated by polypyrrole (PPy) coating and pyrolysis carbonization of PPy at 400 °C for 2 h in Ar atmosphere, and they show enhanced long cycle stabilities for Li-ion half cells (1047.1 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 450 cycles, and 750 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 760 cycles). Furthermore, the Si@N-doped carbon//LiCoO2 Li-ion full cells are assembled successfully, which display high discharge capacity (705 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 100 cycles). The high performance of Si@N-doped carbon nanocomposite could be attributed to the synergistic effect of high capacity of nanoscale sized Si and long cycle stability of N-doped carbon. It is believed the HTs-derived Si@N-doped carbon nanocomposite has great prospects for practical applications due to low cost and sufficient source of HTs.",battery
"Chemical stabilization of heavy metals in medical waste fly ash has been carried out using the following compounds: a chelating agent (Ashnite S803), a commercial acidic phosphoric acid solution (Ashnite R303) as well as basic one (Ashnite R201). In order to predict the leachability of heavy metals, Japanese Leaching Test (JLT-13) procedure was applied to the stabilized fly ash products. An ecotoxicity assessment of the stabilized fly ash products leachate and the unstabilized fly ash leachate was conducted using a battery of bioassays based on lettuce root elongation inhibition, Daphnia magna mortality and Vibrio fischeri photoinhibition. The results showed that the three stabilizing agents were able to significantly decrease (ANOVA, P <0.05) the concentration of heavy metals in the leachates. Although the leachate from both stabilized and unstabilized fly ash were very toxic to lettuce and daphnids, the incorporation of these stabilizing agents diminished significantly (ANOVA, P <0.05) the toxicity of the leachates towards the three tested organisms. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the strength of the relationship between chemical elements concentration in the leachate and bioassays results. Most of the heavy metals in the leachate were significantly correlated (ANOVA, P <0.05) with the toxicity values of the bioassays. However, the correlation was not found between the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and the toxicity effect of the leachate to the tested organisms.",non-battery
"Present paper describes electrochemical performance of the all solid-state lithium polymer battery (LBP) using spinel-type Li4/3Ti5/3O4 which has been known as the potential candidate of anode materials. The assembled LPB with Li|solid polymer electrolyte(SPE)|Li4/3Ti5/3O4 construction showed stable charge–discharge cycles more than 300 times at 1C condition. On the other hand, strong charge–discharge rate dependence for the specific capacity and initial capacity loss was indicated. Such a poor rate performance stemmed from low diffusivity of Li+ ion in the by-products produced by the decomposition of SPE components at the SPE|Li4/3Ti5/3O4 interface.",battery
"An in-situ prepared binder-free Li3V2(PO4)3/C membrane electrode supported on 3D N-doped carbon fibers (LVP/C@NCF) has been developed. The residual carbon in LVP/C@NCF consists of the pyrolytic carbon from glucose and the N-doped carbon fibers decomposed from filter paper. The former uniformly covers on the surface of LVP particles, while the latter is functioned as both a 3D conductive network and a current collector for LVP. Compared with the traditional LVP/C electrode supported on Al foil (LVP/C@Al), the LVP/C@NCF membrane electrode displays higher rate capability and better cycle stability. Especially, when cycled at a high rate of 10C, it still delivers a specific capacity as high as 107.6mAhg−1 with a very low capacity fading ratio of ~0.0048% per cycle after 1000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance is ascribed to the synergetic effect from the 3D effectively conductive network and the in-situ produced current collector of carbon fibers. The method of using filter paper as the source of carbon and current collector to prepare integrated membrane electrode may provide feasible and effective strategy to fabricate binder-free flexible and lightweight lithium ion batteries as well as sodium ion batteries.",battery
"Mg–Li–Al–Ce–Zn and Mg–Li–Al–Ce–Zn–Mn alloys were prepared using a vacuum induction melting method. Their electrochemical oxidation behavior in 0.7M NaCl solution was investigated by means of potentiodynamic polarization, potentiostatic oxidation, electrochemical impedance technique and scanning electron microscopy examination. Their utilization efficiencies and performances as anode of metal–hydrogen peroxide semi-fuel cell were determined. The Mg–Li–Al–Ce–Zn–Mn exhibited higher discharge activity and utilization efficiency than Mg–Li–Al–Ce–Zn, and gave improved fuel cell performance. The utilization efficiency of Mg–Li–Al–Ce–Zn–Mn is comparable with that of the state-of-the-art magnesium alloy anode AP65. The magnesium–hydrogen peroxide semi-fuel cell with Mg–Li–Al–Ce–Zn–Mn anode presented a maximum power density of 91mWcm−2 at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance studies indicated that the alloying element Mn prevented the formation of dense oxide film on the alloy surface and facilitated peeling off of the oxidation products.",battery
"Concerning large battery systems, the estimation of pack state of charge and state of health remains a challenging problem which needs to be solved under limited computational resources of a battery management system. Instead of multiplicating the existing model-based techniques for individual cells, a novel method is proposed which aims at effectively and reliably determining the pack conditions for cells connected in series. In order to realize an accurate estimation, definitions of pack SOC and pack capacity are carefully studied first. Due to the fact that a battery pack is usually restricted by the two cells with maximum and minimum voltage during the charging and discharging process, respectively. The investigated approach computes the battery SOC by considering the voltage limit of a battery pack, regardless the number of cells. In this way, a trade-off between the accurate knowledge of all cells and the real-time capability is presented. In order to fulfill the task of verification, different approaches such as simulation with modeled cell variation, offline validation with measured data, and online test with a battery module are conducted. The state estimation for battery pack show convincing results in the entire operating range, while the computational complexity can be significantly reduced.",battery
"Porous metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have attracted much attention because their potential to dramatically reduce the cost while enhancing the robustness and manufacturability. In particular, 430 ferritic steel (430L) is one of the popular choice for SOFC support because of its superior performance and low cost. In this study, we investigate the oxidation and diffusion behavior of the interface between a Ni-based anode and porous 430L support exposed to a humidified (3% H2O) hydrogen atmosphere at 700 °C. The Ni-GDC (Ce0.8Gd0.2O2−δ) cermet anodes are deposited on the porous 430L support by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The effect of exposure time on the microstructure and phase structure of the anode and the supports is studied and the element diffusion across the support/anode interface is characterized. Results indicate that the main oxidation product of the 430L support is Cr2O3, and that Cr and Fe will diffuse to the anode and the diffusion thickness increases with the exposure time. The diffusion thickness of Cr and Fe reach about 5 and 2 μm, respectively, after 1000 h exposure. However, the element diffusion and oxidation has little influence on the area-specific resistance, indicating that the porous 430L steel and plasma sprayed Ni-GDC anode are promising for durable SOFCs.",battery
"This paper details the influence of adding ester co-solvent to ethylene carbonate (EC) based electrolyte in the view of supercapacitor applications. The incorporation of ester solvents with methoxy or fluorinated groups allows a good compromise to be reached between electrochemical performance in a wide temperature range and safety issue. The use of spiro-(1,1′)-bipyrrolidinium tetrafluoroborate (SBPBF4) instead of tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEABF4) allows the increase of electrolyte conductivity at low temperature thanks to its higher solubility. An improvement of capacitance stability is also obtained with the use of SBPBF4.",battery
"In this paper, the use of nanostructured anode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is reviewed. Nanostructured materials such as nano-carbons, alloys, metal oxides, and metal sulfides/nitrides have been used as anodes for next-generation LIBs with high reversible capacity, fast power capability, good safety, and long cycle life. This is due to their relatively short mass and charge pathways, high transport rates of both lithium ions and electrons, and other extremely charming surface activities. In this review paper, the effect of the nanostructure on the electrochemical performance of these anodes is presented. Their synthesis processes, electrochemical properties, and electrode reaction mechanisms are also discussed. The major goals of this review are to give a broad overview of recent scientific researches and developments of anode materials using novel nanoscience and nanotechnology and to highlight new progresses in using these nanostructured materials to develop high-performance LIBs. Suggestions and outlooks on future research directions in this field are also given.
",battery
"Open access to research data has been described as a driver of innovation and a potential cure for the reproducibility crisis in many academic fields. Against this backdrop, policy makers are increasingly advocating for making research data and supporting material openly available online. Despite its potential to further scientific progress, widespread data sharing in small science is still an ideal practised in moderation. In this article, we explore the question of what drives open access to research data using a survey among 1564 mainly German researchers across all disciplines. We show that, regardless of their disciplinary background, researchers recognize the benefits of open access to research data for both their own research and scientific progress as a whole. Nonetheless, most researchers share their data only selectively. We show that individual reward considerations conflict with widespread data sharing. Based on our results, we present policy implications that are in line with both individual reward considerations and scientific progress.",non-battery
"Two hyperlexic individuals were tested on reading outcome measures and on basic skills shown to be critical in reading acquisition. Results suggested distinct pathways to superior word recognition skills that can be described under a contemporary model of skilled reading, with differential acquisition of basic skills; superior word recognition skill was associated in both cases with specialized development in one basic area, that of orthographic processing. Results supported an asset rather than a deficit analysis of hyperlexia: Rather than assimilating to reading pathology (dyslexia) subtypes, hyperlexia was seen to be accompanied by assets that are absent in dyslexic profiles",non-battery
"A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a liquid antimony anode (LAA) is a potential energy conversion technology for the use of impurity-containing fuels. Atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) technology has become a promising LAA-SOFC preparation method because of its economy and convenience. In this paper, button SOFCs with different cathode materials and ratios of pore former were prepared by the APS method and were operated at 750 °C. The effect of the cathode structure on the electrochemical performance of the LAA-SOFCs was analyzed, and an optimized spraying method for LAA-SOFCs was developed. A tubular LAA-SOFC was prepared using the APS method based on the optimized spraying method, and a peak power of 2.5 W was reached. The tubular cell was also measured at a constant current of 2 A for 20 h and was fed with a sulfur-containing fuel to demonstrate its impurity resistance and electrode stability.",non-battery
"We demonstrate a fully stand-alone, self-powered environmental sensor driven by nanogenerators with harvesting vibration energy. Such a system is made of a ZnO nanowire-based nanogenerator, a rectification circuit, a capacitor for charge storage, a signal transmission LED light and a carbon nanotube-based Hg2+ ion sensor. The circuit lights up the LED indicator when it detects mercury ions in water solution. It is the first demonstration of a nanomaterial-based, self-powered sensor system for detecting a toxic pollutant.
",battery
"Self-assembled lamellar alpha-molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO3) has been prepared using facile polymer (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) assisted solvothermal method. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) studies reveal that the lamellar hexagonal particles are formed by close staking of 20–30 nm thin flakes (nanosheets). When used as lithium-ion battery electrode lamellar α-MoO3 shows superior electrochemical reversibility and excellent rate capability. For example after 50 cycles, a capacity value of 1027 mA h g−1 can be extracted at 0.2C rate while at 2C rate it shows capacity of 700 mA h g−1, which is higher than the theoretical capacity of conventional graphite anode. exsitu XRD and FESEM studies on electrochemically cycled samples show that the crystalline phase irreversibly changes to amorphous phase during the first discharge whereas the particle morphology remains unaltered even after 100 charge–discharge cycles. The superior electrochemical performance of α-MoO3 is attributed to its lamellar-like morphology which allows faster lithium ion diffusion in addition to buffering the volume changes during lithiation/de-lithiation.",battery
"Many studies have estimated the effect of circumstances on income acquisition. Perhaps surprisingly, the fraction of inequality attributable to circumstances is usually quite small—in the advanced democracies, approximately 20%. One reason for this is the lack of data on circumstance variables in empirical research. Here, we argue that all behaviors and accomplishments of children should be considered the consequence of circumstances: that is, an individual should not be considered to be responsible for her choices before an age of consent is reached. Using two data sets that contain data on childhood accomplishments, other environmental circumstances and the income as an adult, we calculate that the fraction of income inequality due to circumstances in the US rises from 27 to 43% when accounting for childhood circumstances. In the UK it rises from 18 to 27%.
",non-battery
"Since the early 1970s, total knee arthroplasties have undergone many changes in both their design and their surgical instrumentation. It soon became apparent that to improve prosthesis durability, it was essential to have instruments which allowed them to be fitted reliably and consistently. Despite increasingly sophisticated surgical techniques, preoperative objectives were only met in 75% of cases, which led to the development, in the early 1990s, in Grenoble (France), of computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery for knee prosthesis implantation. In the early 2000s, many navigation systems emerged, some including pre-operative imagery (“CT-based”), others using intra-operative imagery (“fluoroscopy-based”), and yet others with no imagery at all (“imageless”), which soon became the navigation “gold standard”. They use an optoelectronic tracker, markers which are fixed solidly to the bones and instruments, and a navigation workstation (computer), with a control system (e.g. pedal). Despite numerous studies demonstrating the benefit of computer navigation in meeting preoperative objectives, such systems have not yet achieved the success they warrant, for various reasons we will be covering in this article. If the latest navigation systems prove to be as effective as the older systems, they should give this type of technology a well-deserved boost.",non-battery
"Given the increased use of room temperature ionic liquid electrolytes in Li-ion batteries, due to their non-flammability and negligible volatility, this study evaluates the lithiation kinetics to understand and improve the rate performance of Li-ion batteries. Lithium titanate spinel is used as a model electrode and the electrolyte is composed of LiTFSI and TFSI-coordinated alkoxy-modified phosphonium ionic liquid. Based on the analysis of activation energies for each process, we report that the charge-transfer reaction at the electrode/electrolyte interface is the rate-limiting step for cell operation. This finding is further supported by the observation that a 50-fold decrease in charge-transfer resistance at higher temperatures leads to a significant performance improvement over that of a traditional organic electrolyte at room temperature. Charge-transfer resistance and electrolyte wetting on the electrode surface are critical processes for optimal battery performance, and such processes need to be included when designing new ionic liquids in order to exceed the power density obtained with the use of current carbonate-based electrolytes.",battery
"Reading-related skills of youth with intellectual disability (ID) were compared with those of typically developing (TD) children of similar verbal ability level. The group with ID scored lower than the TD group on word recognition and phonological decoding, but similarly on orthographic processing and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Further, phonological decoding significantly mediated the relation between group membership and word recognition, whereas neither orthographic processing nor RAN did so. The group with ID also underperformed the TD group on phonological awareness and phonological memory, both of which significantly mediated the relation between group membership and phonological decoding. These data suggest that poor word recognition in youth with ID may be due largely to poor phonological decoding, which in turn may be due largely to poor phonological awareness and poor phonological memory. More focus on phonological skills in the classroom may help students with ID to develop better word recognition skills.",non-battery
"Electrodeposition of Cu–Li alloy from 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm][BF4]) ionic liquid was investigated. The cyclic voltammetry behaviors of [BMIm][BF4] containing Cu(II), Li(I), and mixtures of Cu(II) and Li(I) were studied at a copper working electrode, separately. The Cu–Li alloy produced by direct current electrodeposition was characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The function of 2-butyne-1,4-diol was studied by linear sweep voltammetry. The result shows that the 2-butyne-1,4-diol could improve Li content in deposit, and make the Cu–Li alloy deposits denser and finer.",battery
"Al-substituted Ni(OH)2 samples with Al3+/Ni2+ mole ratio of 0%, 10% and 20% have been prepared by a very facile chemical co-precipitation method. The microstructure of the prepared samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results reveal that the pure Ni(OH)2 sample is β-Ni(OH)2 with nanosheets hierarchical structure; the sample with 10% Al is mixed phase α/β-Ni(OH)2 with hybrid nanosheets/nanoparticles hierarchical structure; the sample with 20% Al is α-Ni(OH)2 with irregular nanoparticles hierarchical structure. The lithium storage performances of the prepared samples are characterized by cyclic voltammograms (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and charge–discharge tests. The results demonstrate that Al substitution could improve the lithium storage performances of nickel hydroxide. In particular, the mixed phase α/β-Ni(OH)2 with 10% Al exhibited the highest electrochemical activity, the best rate performance, and superior cycling stability. For example, after 30 charge/discharge cycles under a current density of 200 mA g−1, the mixed phase α/β-Ni(OH)2 with 10% Al can still deliver a specific discharge capacity of 964 mAh g−1, much higher than of for the α-Ni(OH)2 with 20% Al (681 mAh g−1) and the pure Ni(OH)2 (419 mAh g−1).",battery
"Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for energy in the world. With an energy system still based on fossil fuels, a paradigm shifts towards clean energy production based on available renewable resources is necessary. Hydrogen is a high-quality energy carrier that can be used with great efficiency and is expected to acquire a great importance in the next generation of fuels. This study aims to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with the steam reforming of alcoholic waste from distilleries to produce clean electricity by using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The main findings from this study reported that the global environmental profile is better than other alternatives more common as sanitary landfill or incineration. In terms of some impact categories as Abiotic and Ozone Depletion, Acidification and Eutrophication, steam reforming of alcoholic waste performed better profiles than other processes that produce hydrogen from diverse feedstocks.",non-battery
"The reequilibration of supersatured Pb-Cd-Ag alloys was studied by several experimental methods: hardness measurements, optical and electron microscopy, electron microprobe. Two structural states were considered: as-cast alloy, rehomogenised alloy. Lead-cadmium-silver alloys with 2 or 3.2 weight% Cd and 0.07, 0.15 or 0.3 weight% Ag were studied. The explored temperatures were 20, 80 and 100 °C. Globally, a small addition of silver results in an increase in hardness. For the Pb 3.2%Cd 0.15%Ag alloy, the microstructure is charcterized by the formation of coarse Ag5Cd8 cristals during soldification. With an increase in the Ag level in the Pb 2%Cd X%Ag (X = 0.07, 0.15, 0.3) the quantity of eutectic increases.",non-battery
"We present a new algorithm that improves the prediction accuracy of the maximum charge and discharge power capabilities, i.e. state of power (SOP), of a battery state estimator (BSE) using an equivalent-circuit representation of a battery. For short time (high frequency) operation, lithium ion traction batteries are often dominated by ohmic and interfacial kinetic resistance, and conventional equivalent circuits employing resistors and capacitors (RC circuits) work well to characterize the system. However, for longer times, diffusion resistance becomes important and conventional BSEs based on RC elements fail to provide useful power predictions. In order to take into account diffusion in the SOP prediction, we propose to incorporate a nonlinear resistance into the power prediction formulas that are otherwise based on an RC circuit formulation; The diffusion effect is addressed with this nonlinear resistance whose value is proportional to the square root of time. The new approach is implemented in a vehicle-simulation environment (a hardware-in-the-loop setup) to predict the SOP of a lithium-ion battery. Simulation results demonstrate that this revised estimator provides much more accurate power prediction without compromising the regression performance of the original BSE.",battery
"The paper presents the user experience evaluation of Squeeze Me, an interactive cover for tablet and smartphone that enables continuous and expressive interaction with electronic devices. The cover has been used to implement ”Squeeze to zoom”, a mobile application to zoom in and out while taking a photograph from a tablet. The experience of use was evaluated in the short and medium term, comparing the Squeeze Me interaction modality with classic modalities for zooming in and out commonly available on tablets and smartphones. The evaluation process was conducted using AttrakDiff [3] a questionnaire that measures hedonic stimulation and identity, as well as pragmatic qualities and attractiveness of software products. Participants were asked to try out different interaction modalities for comparison in the short-term (67 people) and over 4 weeks (8 people). Results obtained in the short-term evaluation reveal that “Squeeze to zoom” was awarded higher values than the classic “Slide to zoom” in the hedonic quality-stimulation and attractiveness dimensions, whilst it obtained lower values in the pragmatic quality and hedonic quality-identity. However, the experience of use changed over time. During the longitudinal study, the usability of “Squeeze to zoom” improved whilst the attractiveness of “Slide to zoom” decreases significantly. Furthermore results reveal that “Squeeze to zoom” is significantly more appreciated for its hedonic qualities and the effect is maintained over time. This study highlights the importance of evaluating the experience of use over time, a practice that is almost ignored in the literature on Experience Design.
",non-battery
"Li-ion conducting quasi solid-liquid electrolytes (QS-LEs) containing ionic liquid EMIMTFSI, lithium salt LiTFSI and ordered mesoporous MCM-41 (Mobil Composition of Matter no. 41) have been synthesized and characterized by N2-sorption, SEM, TEM, DSC, TGA, and complex impedance spectroscopy techniques. The results show that the synthesized QS-LE has good thermal stability (∼360°C; onset temperature) and a wide electrochemical window ∼5.23V. The ionic conductivity is increases with increasing the amount of Li-IL (LIL) solution and attains a value of ∼6.37×10−4 Scm−1 at 30°C and 1.60×10−3 Scm−1 at 70°C for QS-LE containing high amount of LIL solution. The high ionic conductivity is attributed to the enormous adsorption of LIL solution on the external surface and in the ordered mesopores channels of the MCM-41. A high total ionic transference number (∼0.99) and cationic transference number (tLi + ∼0.35) for QS-LE containing high amount of LIL solution have also been obtained. Furthermore, the QS-LE displays outstanding electrochemical properties (specific capacity ∼153mAhg−1 at C/10 rate; and good high rate capability ∼100mAhg−1 and 83mAhg−1 at 1C and 2C rate respectively) and battery performance with LiFePO4 cathodes.",battery
"Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising technology for removal of ions from saline water upon applying a voltage between two electrodes. In this work, chemically exfoliated MoS2 (ce-MoS2) has been explored as electrode material for CDI. The ce-MoS2 nanosheets demonstrate a good cycling stability, high ion quality removal capacity of 8.81mg/g, and ion volume removal capacity of 16.51mg/cm3 at 1.2V applied voltage in 400mM NaCl solution. Comparison with that of carbon materials and bulk MoS2, the ce-MoS2 nanosheets remain good removal capacity even at a low concentration of 50mM salt. These results suggest that ce-MoS2 can be a promising candidate for CDI. The sound performance of ce-MoS2 in CDI can be attributed to the unique two-dimensional (2D) thin sheet structure of 1T phase. The large layer-to-layer space and sound electric conductivity help ion intercalation and ion transportation, and the abundant negative charges on the surface of ce-MoS2 sheets enhance the electrostatic attraction of ion.",battery
"Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an environmentally friendly technology for electricity harvesting from a variety of substrates. Microorganisms used as catalysts in the anodic chamber, which are termed as electricigens, play a major role in the operation of MFCs. This review provides an introduction to the currently identified electricigens on their taxonomical groups and electricity producing abilities. The mechanism of electron transfer from electricigens to electrode is highlighted. The performances of pure culture and mixed communities are compared particularly. It has been proved that the electricity generation capacity and the ability to adapt to the complex environment of MFC systems constructed by pure microbial cultures are less than the systems constructed by miscellaneous consortia. However, pure cultures are useful to clarify the electron transfer mechanism at the microbiological level and further reduce the complexity of mixed communities. Future research trends of electricigens in MFCs should be focused on screening, domestication, modification and optimization of multi-strains to improve their electrochemical activities. Although the MFC techniques have been greatly advanced during the past few years, the present state of this technology still requires to be combined with other processes for cost reduction.",non-battery
"In this work we present a new method using LA-ICP-MS to quantitatively determine the lithium content in aged graphite electrodes of a lithium ion battery (LIB) by performing total depth profiling. Matrix matched solid external standards are prepared using a solid doping approach to avoid elemental fractionation effects during the measurement. The results are compared and matched to the established ICP-OES technique for bulk quantification after performing a microwave assisted acid digestion. The method is applied to aged graphite electrodes in order to determine the lithium immobilization (= “Li loss”) in the solid electrolyte interphase after the first cycle of formation. For this, different samples including a reference sample are created to obtain varying thicknesses of the SEI covering the electrode particles. By applying defined charging voltages, an initial lithiation process is performed to obtain specific graphite intercalation compounds (GICs, with target stoichiometries of LiC30, LiC18, LiC12 and LiC6). Afterwards, the graphite electrode is completely discharged to obtain samples without mobile, thus active lithium in its lattice. Taking the amount of lithium into account which originates from the residues of the LiPF6 (dissolved in the carbon components containing electrolyte), it is possible to subtract the amount of lithium in the SEI.",battery
" Compared with younger people, older people have a higher risk of adverse health outcomes when presenting to emergency departments. As the population ages, older people will make up an increasing proportion of the emergency department population. Therefore it is timely that consideration be given to the quality of care received by older persons in emergency departments, and to consideration of those older people with special needs. Particular attention will be focused on important groups of older people, such as patients with cognitive impairment, residents of long term care and patients with palliative care needs. This project will develop a suite of quality indicators focused on the care of older persons in the emergency department.",non-battery
"Flexible metal–gas batteries have become increasingly attractive for use in wearable electronics in the recent years due to their large theoretical energy density and superior adaptability to irregular geometric surfaces, such as the human body. With continuous improvements in design strategies and assembly technologies, the fabrication of various advanced flexible metal–gas batteries has been attempted. In spite of these efforts, the synchronous integration of high flexibility, safety, comfort, and high performance into flexible metal–gas batteries with specifically functionalized configurations still remains a formidable challenge. To resolve these dilemmas, the redesign of cathode catalysts, gel polymer electrolyte, and battery configurations/components has been investigated. In this paper, we review the recent technical advances together with the major dilemmas facing currently available flexible metal–gas batteries, highlighting how flexible cathodes and gel polymer electrolytes with various structures and components can affect the electrochemical performance and functionality of flexible metal–gas batteries. Flexible Zn–air, Li–O2/air, and Li–CO2 batteries are mainly exemplified to elucidate their promising potential. Finally, based on our considerations, unresolved technical hurdles and future research perspectives involving flexible metal–gas batteries for wearable electronics are proposed.
",battery
"Lithium transport through fractal Li1−δ CoO2 film electrode was investigated in a 1M lithium perchlorate (LiClO4)–propylene carbonate (PC) solution by analysis of current transient based upon fractal theory. For this purpose, two kinds of Li1−δ CoO2 films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering method on the substrates with different roughnesses. From the analysis of AFM image by the triangulation method, it was found that two Li1−δ CoO2 film electrodes have the self-similar scaling properties with different spatial outer cut-off ranges. From the analysis of the potentiostatic current transient, it was recognised that the cell-impedance-controlled constraint at the electrode surface is changed to the real potentiostatic boundary condition (diffusion-controlled constraint) when the applied potential step exceeds a critical value and simultaneously the internal cell resistance is below a certain value in the region of single-β-phase. In addition, from the comparison between the cathodic current transients obtained from two fractal Li1−δ CoO2 film electrodes, it was experimentally confirmed that the current transient shows the generalised Cottrell behaviour before the temporal outer cut-off of fractality, followed by a linear relationship with the slope of −0.5 after the temporal outer cut-off of fractality, when the real potentiostatic boundary condition is maintained at the electrode surface.",battery
"This paper presents an environmental and an economic Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) for conventional and electric vehicle technologies, focusing mainly on the primary energy source and the vehicle operation phase Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. A detailed analysis of the electricity mix was performed, based on the contribution of each type of primary energy source and their variation along a year. Three mixes were considered, with different life cycle GHG intensity: one mainly based in fossil sources, a second one with a large contribution from nuclear and a third one with a significant share of renewable energy sources. The conventional vehicle technology is represented by gasoline and diesel International Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs), while the electric technology is represented by Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Real world tests were performed for representative compact and sub-compact EVs. The use profile of the vehicle was based on data acquired by a real time data acquisition system installed in the vehicles. The results show that a mix with a large contribution from Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) does not always translate directly into low GHG emissions for EVs due to the high variability of these sources. The driving profile under different scenarios was also analyzed, showing that an aggressive style can increase the energy consumption by 47%. The tests also showed that the use of climate control can increase the energy consumption between 24 and 60%. Compared with other technologies, EVs can be more sustainable from an environmental and economic perspective; however, three main factors are required: improvement of battery technology, an eco-driving attitude and an environmental friendly electricity mix.",battery
"The leather tanning industry is perceived as responsible of a significant consume of natural resources and output of wastes such as high concentration of organics, salts and heavy metals such as chromium, both in solid and liquid form as a result. Now as ever the future of tanneries strongly depends on the increase of their awareness that a sustainable industry for the future means embracing a forward-looking philosophy of the leather making process through optimal resource management within the tannery. This study reports the characterization of some chemicals used in a large tanning district area in terms of COD, BOD, aromaticity (UV280) and double bond (UV254) absorbance measurements, toxicity on fresh and saline water as well as terrestrial species, GC-MS scanning. The study provides a consistent set of information on tannin-associated concentration-related trends and suggests novel criteria in defining control quality for evaluating environmental impact of leather tanning industry.",non-battery
"Complex spinel titanate Li2MTi3O8 (M = Co, Zn, Co0.5Zn0.5) nanowires have been synthesized via a simple synthetic route using titanate nanowires as a precursor. The nanowires are highly crystalline and have been used for the first time as the anode material in a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The battery has exhibited a highly reversible charge-discharge capacity and excellent cycling stability, even at a current density as high as 3.2 A g−1. This result can be attributed to the intrinsic characteristics of spinel Li2MTi3O8 nanowires. A three-dimensional network could provide a diffusion space for lithium ion insertion into and extraction from the anode material, resulting in very good cycle performance, even at a high rate.
",battery
"The ionic liquid (PYR14TFSI) has proved to be the key material to make a Li-ion conducting element of a complete electrochromic device, when interposed between transparent film electrodes like WO3 and Li-charged V2O5. The key features of this ionic liquid and its mixtures with LiTFSI are the excellent transparency in the visible and NIR optical regions, the good ionic conductivity and the electrochemical compatibility with inorganic Li-intercalation oxide thin film electrodes used in electrochromic devices. The higher optical contrast found during WO3 colouration with PYR14TFSI-LiTFSI, compared to that in a conventional non-aqueous electrolyte like PC-LiTFSI, was attributed to the larger inertness of the former one (no decomposition reaction at the lowest electrode potential). This highly conductive ionic liquid has been incorporated into a polymer matrix (P(EO)10LiTFSI), in order to obtain a transparent solid electrolyte with high Li ion conductivity and good mechanical stability. Finally this solid PYR14TFSI-P(EO)10LiTFSI transparent ion conductor was interposed between the same electrodes as above in order to yield a fully solid-state, Li-ion electrochromic device. This new solid electrolyte was able to transfer reversibly a Li ionic charge between 5mCcm−2 and 10mCcm−2 from the lithium storage electrode Li x V2O5 to the WO3 electrochromic electrode in less than 100s at room T, darkening the device from an initial 80% to a final 30% transmittance (at 650nm). Such a device has been tested first under various constant current conditions, and later under potentiostatic control using ±2V steps. The latter method allows not only for a faster response of the electrochromic system, but provides also an easier life stability test of the device, which withstood 2000 cycles with little changes in its optical contrast.",battery
"Iron oxide nanoparticles (ION) have been widely used in biomedical applications, for both diagnosis and therapy, due to their unique magnetic properties. They are intensively explored in neuromedicine mostly because of their ability to cross the blood brain barrier. Hence, their potential harmful effects on neuronal cells need to be carefully assessed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of silica-coated ION (S-ION) (10–200 μg ml−1) on human neuronal SHSY5Y cells. Alterations in the cell cycle, cell death by apoptosis or necrosis, and membrane integrity were assessed as cytotoxicity parameters. Genotoxicity was determined by a γH2AX assay, a micronucleus (MN) test, and a comet assay. Complementarily, possible effects on DNA damage repair were also analysed by means of a DNA repair competence assay. All analyses were performed in complete and serum-free cell culture media. Iron ion release from the nanoparticles was notable only in complete medium. Despite being effectively internalized by the neuronal cells, S-ION presented in general low cytotoxicity; positive results were only obtained in some assays at the highest concentrations and/or the longest exposure time tested (24 h). Genotoxicity evaluations in serum-free medium were negative for all conditions assayed; in complete medium, dose and time-dependent increase in DNA damage not related to the production of double strand breaks or chromosome loss (according to the results of the γH2AX assay and MN test), was obtained. The presence of serum slightly influenced the behaviour of S-ION; further studies to investigate the formation of a protein corona and its role in nanoparticle toxicity are necessary.
",non-battery
Objective A literature review was conducted to ascertain whether or not EEG spectral abnormalities are consistent enough to warrant additional effort towards developing them into a clinical diagnostic test for schizophrenia. Methods Fifty three papers met criteria for inclusion into the review and 15 were included in a meta-analysis of the degree of significance of EEG deviations as compared to healthy controls. Studies were classified based on a 4-step approach based on guidelines for evaluating the clinical usefulness of a diagnostic test. Results Our review and meta-analysis revealed that most of the abnormalities are replicated in the expected directions with the most consistent results related to the increased preponderance of slow rhythms in schizophrenia patients. This effect remained consistent in un-medicated patients. Only a small number of studies provided data on the sensitivity and specificity of the findings in differentiating among the psychiatric disorders that frequently appear on the same differential diagnostic list as schizophrenia (Step 3 studies). No multicenter studies using standardized assessment criteria were found (Step 4 studies). Conclusions Additional Step 3 and Step 4 studies are needed to draw conclusions on the usefulness of EEG spectral abnormalities as a diagnostic test for schizophrenia,non-battery
"Cobalt sulfide nanotubes are synthesized by hydrothermal method. The precursor is characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM. We study the influence of temperature on the evolution of this special coarse shape nanostructure and analyze relationship between the sizes of cobalt sulfide nanotubes and the capacitive properties of active materials. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are used to study the effects of microstructure and morphology of the samples on their capacitance and conductivity. The specific capacitance of cobalt sulfide nanotubes (obtained in 80 °C) electrode exhibits a capacitance of 285 F g−1 at the current density of 0.5 A g−1 as well as rather good cycling stability. Moreover, during the cycling process, the coulombic efficiency remains 99%. The as-prepared cobalt sulfide nanotubes electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance as electrode materials for supercapacitors.",battery
"The Hull Cell was used to investigate the impact of current density j on the morphology and uniformity of zinc electrodeposited from a 2.5mol dm−3 Zn2+ solution in 1.5mol dm−3 methanesulfonic acid at 40°C onto carbon-composite surfaces. The range of the applied deposition current density used was between 1mAcm−2 and 100mAcm−2. Good, robust deposits were obtained when j ≥10mAcm_2 whereas at j's lower than this, patchy films formed due to the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on the bare carbon-composite surface. An understanding of these effects and its application in the redox flow battery enabled both the coulombic and cell potential efficiencies to be maintained at relatively high values, 90% and 69% respectively, indicating a successful inhibition of the HER on the fully formed Zn layer. Flow velocity at the low Reynolds number in the cell (Re <200) had little impact on the electrochemical cell performance. Depletion of the cerium species became an issue for long charge times.",battery
"The electrochemical and structural characteristics of the metal oxide-coated spinel were investigated in the range of 2.5–4.2V. Metal oxide coating on commercial spinel powder (LiMn2−x M x O4, M=Zr, Nikki, Japan) was carried out using the sol–gel method. Al2O3/(PtO x or CuO x )-coated spinel exhibited improved cyclability compared to bare spinel. Impedance analysis results indicated that electrochemical resistance value was not consistent with cycle performance. The improved cycle performance of metal oxide-coated spinel may be due to formation of a new Li2Mn4O9, Li2MnO3 phase, which is expected to have stability to phase transition (Jahn–Teller distortion).",battery
"As renewable electricity prices continue to decline, interest grows in alternative routes for the synthesis of sustainable fuels and chemicals, including ammonia. Considering demand for fertilizers, as well as its future potential as a dispatchable energy vector, sustainable synthesis of ammonia is being explored as an alternative to the capital- and carbon-intensive fossil-fuel-driven Haber–Bosch process. Here we assess stages along a transition to the sustainable synthesis of ammonia, looking at economic feasibility and climate impacts compared to the incumbent Haber–Bosch without and with CO2 capture. This analysis enables us to suggest technological thresholds for sustainable synthesis of ammonia to become economically and environmentally favourable. When driven by renewable energy sources, the water electrolyzer (near $400 per kW) coupled Haber–Bosch process will reach cost parity near 2.5 cents per kWh electricity. In the case of direct electrochemical ammonia synthesis, achieving cost-parity using the same 2.5 cents per kWh electricity will rely on achieving major advances in performance: an electrolysis full-cell energy efficiency exceeding 40% at a current density of 0.5 A cm−2. Once this operating performance is reached, electrically-powered ammonia synthesis will bring climate benefits when coupled with low-carbon electricity (<180 gCO2e per kWh), achievable when over half of today's U.S. electricity generation is supplied by renewable energy sources. We conclude with a forward-looking perspective on the key challenges and opportunities for sustainable ammonia synthesis routes to be competitive with the incumbent Haber–Bosch process in the future.
",battery
"Though fuel cells have been considered as a viable energy conversion device, their adaptation for practical applications has been facing certain challenging issues regarding the availability of appropriate materials and components. For low temperature fuel cells, membranes that are cost effective and also competitive to Nafion® are the major requirements especially for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC). Proton conductivity and methanol crossover are the two main characteristics that are of great concern for the development of suitable, alternate, and viable membranes for DMFC applications, though other factors including environmental acceptability are also important. In this regard, in recent time's poly (vinyl alcohol) based membranes have been developed as a viable alternative. This presentation therefore assesses the technological advances that have been made and the impediments that are faced in this development. This critical assessment exercise, it is presumed, may contribute toward a speedy development of this critical component for a viable fuel cell based energy economy.",battery
"The widespread application of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) presents an imperative need to mass produce electrodes with simple and cost-effective method. In this work, a novel room-temperature activation method is developed and adopted to fabricate electrodes for VRFBs. The VRFB with the prepared electrodes exhibits an energy efficiency of 84.0% at the current density of 200 mA cm−2, and can be stably cycled for more than 500 cycles with a high capacity retention rate of 99.94% per cycle. In addition, the battery can be operated at the high current densities of 250 and 300 mA cm−2 with energy efficiencies of 80.9% and 77.8%, which is the highest performance for the electrodes activated at room temperature. More remarkably, the room-temperature activated graphite felt electrode outperforms the thermally treated graphite felt electrode. Therefore, compared with the conventional method for thermally treating graphite felts, which requires expensive equipment to withstand high temperatures and consume a large amount of energy, the present room-temperature activation method offers a more promising choice to mass produce high-performance electrodes for VRFBs.",battery
" Behaviour of potential host fish during chemical treatment against the ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris is a vital factor in designing treatment strategies, evaluating risk factors and establishing insights into previously failed treatments. The effectiveness of any chemical treatment may be compromised if fish either are forced to, or seek out actively, areas of the river where the water quality is less affected by the chemicals. The aim of this study was to develop and apply an acoustic fish tag for fish localization with sensors for in situ measurement of water conductivity and temperature to investigate fish behaviour before, during and after an aluminium (Al) treatment. The sensor tag allowed discrimination between water qualities, and thereby quantification of exposure to treatment water.",non-battery
"The paper addresses the general requirements for power sources for AUVs, including battery and semi-fuel cell design and safety considerations. The focus is on the last AUV in the HUGIN family: the HUGIN 1000 mine reconnaissance system. For this AUV, FFI recently developed a pressure tolerant lithium ion battery based on commercially available polymer cells. The Royal Norwegian Navy has been operating HUGIN 1000 since February 2004.",battery
"In this paper energy, exergy and economic optimization of a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) solar generation system equipped with conventional photovoltaic (PV), concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPVT), and evacuated tube (ET) collectors is presented. Optimization was performed to achieve the highest values of relative net annual benefit (RNAB) and exergy efficiency as two objectives. Decision or design parameters were the number of CPVT collectors, the number of ET collectors, the number of PV collectors as well as the capacity of batteries and the size of hot water storage tank. Optimum values of design parameters with maximizing objective functions were performed by NSGA-II multi-objective optimization technique. LINMAP method was used to select one optimum point among many others which had constructed the Pareto front curve. The chosen point used only 3 CPVT collectors and specific water storage tank volume without any battery. Sensitivity analysis of effects of changes in fuel and electricity prices as well as equipment investment costs on optimum values of design parameters were also investigated. Finally the equipment selection results for a full CPVT solar energy system connected to the grid and disconnected to the grid (remote area) were also compared and reported.",battery
"Research suggests that dopamine may exert a neuromodulatory influence on automatic spreading activation within semantic networks. In order to investigate the influence of dopamine depletion on semantic activation in Parkinson's disease (PD), nine patients with PD performed a lexical decision task when on and off levodopa medication. Eleven healthy controls matched to the PD patients in terms of sex, age and education also participated in the study. Both directly related word pairs (e.g., tiger – stripe) and indirectly related word pairs (word pairs related via a mediating word, e.g., chalk – black) were used to measure semantic activation across stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 270msec, 520msec and 1020msec. Analysis of variance statistics revealed that the activation of directly related and indirectly related targets was slower for the PD group relative to the control group. Within group comparisons revealed further changes to semantic activation in PD patients off medication, with no activation of directly or indirectly related target words evident in PD patients off medication. These results further clarify the nature of dopamine's neuromodulatory influence on semantic activation, and suggest that the nature of altered semantic activation in PD may depend on the magnitude of dopamine depletion.",non-battery
"Cardiac denervation is associated with progressive left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in heart failure (HF). In this regard, it is important to evaluate cardiac-specific sympathetic nervous system (SNS) function. The radiotracer Iodine-123 meta-iodobenzylguanidine (123I-mIBG) can noninvasively evaluate pre-synaptic SNS function. Recent multicenter trials have shown 123I-mIBG to have strong predictive value for fatal arrhythmias and cardiac death in HF. 123I-mIBG was initially developed in the USA in the 1970s. In 1992, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Labour approved 123I-mIBG for the assessment of cardiac function. Following approval, the Japanese nuclear cardiology community developed 123I-mIBG imaging services in various medical centers. Japanese groups have been trying to establish the clinical utility of 123I-mIBG and standardize parameters for data acquisition and image analysis. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved clinical use of 123I-mIBG for cardiac and non-cardiac imaging. However, clinical use of 123I-mIBG in the US has been very limited. The number of 123I-mIBG studies in Japan has also been limited. There are similarities and differences between the two countries. To establish the clinical utility of 123I-mIBG in both countries, it is important to characterize the situations of 123I-mIBG in each.
",non-battery
"Copolymerization of aniline and p-aminophenol in aqueous sulfuric acid solutions was electrochemically performed using cyclic voltammetry on platinum electrodes. The monomer concentration ratio can strongly affect the copolymerization rate and electrochemical property of the copolymer. The optimum conditions for the copolymerization are that the potential sweep covers the −0.20 to 0.95V (vs. SCE) potential range, and that a solution contains 0.18M aniline, 0.02M p-aminophenol and 0.50M H2SO4. A resulting copolymer synthesized under the optimum conditions has a good electrochemical activity in 0.50M solutions of Na2SO4 with pH≤10.0. IR and XPS spectra indicate that –OH groups and SO4 2− ions are contained in the resulting copolymer. The SEM images reveal that the microstructure of the copolymer depends on the monomer concentration ratio during the electrolysis.",battery
"Downward longwave radiation (LW↓) is a relevant variable for meteorological and climatic studies. Good estimates of this term are vitally important in correct determining of the net radiation, which, in turn, modulates the magnitude of the terms in the surface energy budget (e.g., evaporation). In remote sensing applications, the determination of daytime LW↓ is required for estimation of the net radiation using satellite data. LW↓ is not directly measured in weather stations and then is estimated using models with surface air temperature and humidity as input. In this paper, we identify the best models to estimate daytime downward longwave radiation from meteorological data in the sub-humid Pampean region. Several well-known models to estimate LW↓ under clear and cloudy skies were tested. We use downward radiation components and meteorological data registered at Tandil (Argentina) from 2006 to 2010 (840 days). In addition, we propose two multiple linear regression models (MLRM-1 and MLRM-2) to estimate LW↓ at the surface for all sky conditions. The new equations show better performance than the others models tested with root mean square errors between 12 and 16 W m−2, bias close to zero and best agreements with measured data (r2 ≥ 0.85).
",non-battery
"One-dimensional carbon nanofibers with highly dispersed tin (Sn) and tin antimonide (SnSb) nanoparticles are prepared by electrospinning in the presence of antimony-doped tin oxide (denoted as ATO) wet gel as the precursor. The effect of ATO dosage on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of the as-fabricated Sn-SnSb/C composite nanofibers is investigated. Results indicate that ATO wet gel as the precursor can effectively improve the dispersion of Sn nanoparticles in carbon fiber and prevent them from segregation during the electrospinning and subsequent calcination processes. The as-prepared Sn-SnSb/C nanofibers as the anode materials for lithium-ion batteries exhibit high reversible capacity and stable cycle performance. Particularly, the electrode made from Sn-SnSb/C composite nanofibers obtained with 0.9 g of ATO gel has a high specific capacity of 779 mAh·g−1 and 378 mAh·g−1 at the current density of 50 mA·g−1 and 5 A·g−1, respectively, and it exhibits a capacity retention of 97% after 1200 cycles under the current density of 1 A·g−1. This is because the carbon nanofibers can form a continuous conductive network to buffer the volume change of the electrodes while Sn and Sn-SnSb nanoparticles uniformly distributed in the carbon nanofibers are free of segregation, thereby contributing to electrochemical performances of the electrodes.",battery
"For many companies, green product development has become a key strategic consideration due to regulatory requirements and market trends. In this paper, the life cycle assessment technique is used to develop an innovative multi-criteria group decision-making approach that incorporates power aggregation operators and a TOPSIS-based QUALIFLEX method in order to solve green product design selection problems using neutrosophic linguistic information. Differences in semantics as well as the risk preferences of decision-makers are considered in the proposed method. The practicality and effectiveness of the proposed approach are then demonstrated through an illustrative example, in which the proposed method is used to select the optimum green product design, followed by sensitivity and comparative analyses.
",non-battery
"In mobile wireless sensor network, coverage and energy conservation are two prime issues. Sensor movement is required to achieve high coverage. But sensor movement is one of the main factors of energy consumption in mobile wireless sensor network. Therefore, coverage and energy conservation are correlated issues and quite difficult to achieve at the same time. In this paper, these conflicting issues are considered, using one of the latest Bio-inspired algorithms, known as Glowworm Swarm Optimization algorithm. Considering the limited energy of sensors, this paper presents an Energy Efficient Multi-Parameter Reverse Glowworm Swarm Optimization (EEMRGSO) algorithm, to move the sensors in an energy efficient manner. Our proposed algorithm reduces redundant coverage area by moving the sensors from densely deployed areas to some predefined grid points. In this proposed algorithm, energy consumption is reduced by decreasing the number of moving sensors as well as the total distance traversed. Simulation results show that, our proposed EEMRGSO algorithm reduces total energy consumption utmost 60% compared to the existing approach based on Glowworm Swarm Optimization algorithm. At the same time, our proposed algorithm reduces the number of overlapped sensors significantly and achieves an effective coverage of 80–89% approximately.",non-battery
"In this work, graphene/prussian blue (PB) composite nanosheets with good dispersibility in aqueous solutions have been synthesized by mixing ferric-(III) chloride and potassium ferricyanide in the presence of graphene under ambient conditions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that the average size of the as-synthesized PB nanoparticles on the surface of graphene nanosheets is about 20nm. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns have been used to characterize the chemical composition of the obtained graphene/PB composite nanosheets. The graphene/PB composite nanosheets exhibit good electrocatalytic behavior to detection of H2O2 at an applied potential of −0.05V. The sensor shows a good linear dependence on H2O2 concentration in the range of 0.02–0.2mM with a sensitivity of 196.6μAmM−1 cm−2. The detection limit is 1.9μM at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Furthermore, the graphene/PB modified electrode exhibits freedom of interference from other co-existing electroactive species. This work provides a new kind of composite modified electrode for amperometric biosensors.",battery
"Background The term epileptiform discharge typically refers to interictal paroxysmal activity that occurs more commonly during sleep. This type of paroxysmal activity does not include the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity observed during a seizure. The prevalence of epileptiform activity in the general pediatric population is unknown. Methods Polysomnographic (PSG) studies were conducted in otherwise healthy children recruited from the general population and with no previous history of seizures or any other medical conditions. All sleep studies included an eight-lead EEG montage. Spike and sharp waves, either alone or accompanied by slow waves, occurring singly or in bursts lasting <5s were considered as representing epileptiform activity. Results Nine hundred seventy children underwent overnight PSG. In 14 children, evidence of epileptiform activity, in the absence of any additional abnormality in the PSG, occurred. Thus, the prevalence of epileptiform activity was 1.45%. Epileptiform patterns found were either spike or spike and wave and were more prominent during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, with 11 patients presenting spike and spike and wave patterns in the centro-temporal regions. Four of the six children who underwent neurocognitive tests exhibited abnormal findings in areas of behavior, attention, hyperactivity, and learning. Conclusion Epileptiform activity in otherwise healthy children from the community is relatively frequent and, if confirmed by prospective studies, could be associated with suboptimal cognitive and behavioral functions. Increased awareness by sleep professionals and use of PSG montage that includes temporal leads and >2 standard EEG leads should facilitate the detection of epileptiform activity in children.",non-battery
" The kinetics of zinc dissolution in concentrated potassium hydroxide solution were determined as a function of KOH concentration, amount of added ZnO, and temperature through linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The measurements were evaluated with a simplified reaction scheme in which an intermediate ZnI species is formed on the electrode surface that subsequently reacts to a soluble ZnII species. Analysis of the LSV data with a two-step Butler–Volmer kinetics showed that the transfer coefficients and the surface coverage of the intermediate are approximately constant in the entire range of operation conditions, whereas the exchange current density for the first reaction step is about five times larger than for the second step. Analysis of the dynamic EIS measurements resulted in very similar current densities than obtained from the quasi-stationary LSV method. For the first time, activation energies describing the temperature dependence of the exchange current density were also determined.",battery
"It is challenging to probe ion dynamics in supercapacitor electrodes, which has significant implications in optimizing their performance. Here, the authors develop in situ diffusion NMR spectroscopy to measure and illustrate the diffusion of the charge-storing ions in working supercapacitors.
",battery
"Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) is a potentially high efficiency cathode material for lithium ion batteries, but the low electronic conductivity and one-dimensional diffusion channel for lithium ions require small particle size and shape control during the synthesis. In this paper, well-crystallized and morphology-controlled LiFePO4 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries is successfully synthesized via a soluble starch-assisted hydrothermal method at 180 °C for 5 h, followed by calcining with phenolic resin at 750 °C for 6 h. In this study, we investigate the effect of five different concentrations of starch solution on controlling morphology of LiFePO4. Interestingly, the nano-sized LiFePO4 particles obtained in 0.075 mol L−1 starch solution exhibit a spheroidal microstructure, while the platelet shape LiFePO4 particles are synthesized in lower or higher concentration of starch solution. The mechanism and process of forming such spheroidal microstructure is discussed. These unique structural and morphological properties of LiFePO4 lead to high specific capacity and stable cycling performance. Analysis of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals that nano-sized carbon/polyacene coated LiFePO4 cathode materials play an critical role in achieving excellent electrochemical performance.",battery
"The Brazilian government aims at universal electricity access. The national rural electrification initiative has provided electricity services to more than 14 million people since 2003, mainly through grid extension. However, the initiative has not been able to reach remote areas in the Amazon, thus requiring a review of conditions for small scale off-grid power generation projects. As a result, new rules established under the national rural electrification program address the design and implementation of off-grid power generation projects with an installed capacity up to 100 kW. The objective of this paper is to explore the effects of the new set of rules on the levelized cost of electricity for different power generation solutions in the Amazon. Our study shows that the new rules may be beneficial to isolated communities, as they reduce the levelized cost of electricity, favor renewable energy technologies and may contribute to reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, the new rules may help engage new actors to provide rural electrification of the Amazon region. To fully take advantage of the current scheme, action at local level is required to define the most appropriate model for small-scale power generation projects and establish synergies between concessionaires and local energy providers.",battery
"Hybrid electrochemical electrodes consisting of supercapacitive graphene nanosheets and pseudocapacitive conducting polymers such as polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PAni) are constructed layer-by-layer (LbL) via in-situ electropolymerization followed by electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide (ErGO) forming (PPy/ErGO)n=1 and (PAni/ErGO)n=1 bilayers, with subsequent multilayers up to n = 5. We investigated structural, physical and electrochemical properties and the hybrids prepared using this Scheme 1 showed excellent electro-chemo-mechanical stability and enhanced electrochemical performance attributed to appropriate polymer chain conformations and covalently tailored and chemically bridged interface-promoted synergistic effects. From cyclic voltammograms, we determined gravimetric specific capacitance (Cs) at scan rate 10 mV/s and at a discharge current density of 1.0 A g−1 that ranged 300–560 F g−1 outperforming other hybrid supercapacitors and capacity retention of ∼90% over 1000 cycles at a specific current density of 1.5 A g−1. From electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data fitting and circuit simulations we determined various equivalent circuit parameters including low frequency (Clf) and interfacial capacitance, charge transfer and solution resistance that helped to calculate gravimetric power and energy densities. We also prepared PAni/rGO multilayer pseudocapacitors by varying rGO weight loading by electrostatic LbL assembly (Scheme 2) and compared their electrochemical properties with those of Scheme 1. The findings reveal the significance of electro-processing and electrodeposition and clearly elucidate the role of engineered interfaces in enhancement of interfacial properties i.e. heterogeneous electron transfer, diffusion coefficient, mechanical strength and electrical double layer in Scheme 1 graphene-polymer hybrids.",non-battery
"This work presents a systematic study on how pore size and specific surface area (SSA) of carbon effect specific capacitance and frequency response behavior. Carbide derived carbons (CDC) produced by leaching metals from TiC and ZrC at temperatures from 600 to 1200°C have highly tailorable microstructure and porosity, allowing them to serve as excellent model systems for porous carbons in general. BET SSA and average pore size increased with synthesis temperature and was 600–2000m2 g−1 and 0.7–1.85nm, respectively. Maximum specific capacitance in 1M H2SO4 was found to occur at an intermediate synthesis temperature, 800°C, for both ZrC and TiC derived carbons and was 190 and 150Fg−1, respectively. Volumetric capacitance for TiC and ZrC derived carbons was maximum at 140 and 110Fcm−3. These results contradict an oft-reported axiom that increasing pore size and SSA, all other things being held constant, increases specific capacitance. A correlation between specific capacitance and SSA of micropores (less than 2nm in diameter) has been shown. As expected, increasing pore size was found to improve the frequency response. However, CDCs with similar pore size distributions but obtained from different starting materials showed noticeable differences in impedance behavior. This highlights the importance of not only the pore size and specific surface area measured using gas sorption techniques, but also the pore shape or tortuousity, which is non-trivial to characterize, on energy storage.",battery
"New composite materials based on polymer-derived SiCN ceramics and hard carbons were studied in view of its application as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. Two kinds of composites were prepared by pyrolysis of the preceramic polysilazane (HTT1800, Clariant) at 1000°C in Ar atmosphere mixed with hard carbons derived from potato starch (HC_PS) or with a hard carbon precursor, namely potato starch (PS), denoted as HTT/HC_PS and HTT/PS composites, respectively. Thermal gravimetric analysis suggests possible reactions between the preceramic polymer and the carbon precursor. The HTT/PS composites contain higher amount of oxygen and appear to be more homogeneous than that of the HTT/HC_PS composite. Raman analysis confirms the presence of highly disordered carbon in the composites by the appearance of the well-pronounced D band at 1347cm−1. The materials are amorphous with a significant fraction of single graphene sheets as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The HTT/PS composite exhibits a high-recovered capacity (434mAhg−1 when charging with a current of 36mAg−1) and outstanding cyclability for 400 cycles even at high current rates (90mAhg−1 when charging with 3600mAg−1). These properties make the composite a candidate anode material for high power energy devices.",battery
" Keggin-structured phosphotungstic acid H3PW12O40 (HPW)-modified Ag@Pt/MWCNTs electrocatalysts were successfully prepared using a chemical impregnation method. Physical characterization by X-ray powder diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the HPW molecules were incorporated into the Ag@Pt/MWCNT structure The diameter of the catalyst used was about 4.0 nm, and electrochemical investigation results indicated that HPW could ameliorate electrocatalytic activity. The catalyst with HPW content of 25 % displayed the best excellent electrocatalytic activity with an electrochemically active area of 83.62 m2 g−1 and a half-wave potential for the oxygen reduction reaction of 0.851 V, all ascribed to the high utilization of Pt and the protective effect of the HPW layer on the catalyst surface. The synergic effect of the HPW and Ag@Pt enhanced the rate of electron transfer and increased the catalytic efficiency of oxygen reduction reaction, influencing 4e− reduction reactions on Ag@Pt/MWCNTs-HPW catalysts.",battery
"The stability vs. aging of Li2FeSiO4 (LFS) cathode material in fluorine-based electrolytes, especially at elevated temperature, was studied in this work. The LFS powder was initially synthesized using a hydrothermal route and then aged at 60°C for 40 days in LiPF6 and LiBF4-based electrolytes. The residual powder and the electrolyte were investigated afterwards. In the case of LiPF6, a structural and compositional change of LFS to Li2SiF6 was observed by XRD. SEM images confirmed that this change led to a morphology change of the aged material. XPS, EDX and ICP-OES measurements showed a large increase of fluorine content inside the residual powder. NMR investigations indicated an accelerated decomposition of electrolyte in the presence of LFS compared to the electrolyte aged without LFS. Our results suggest a degradation of LFS to Li2SiF6 in the fluorine-based electrolyte at elevated temperatures while the electrolyte decomposition is accelerated.",battery
"Graphite and nano-silicon-based negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries with low binder content were evaluated. The effectiveness of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and various types of cellulose containing electrodes were compared to standard electrodes containing PVdF as binder. The cycling performance of lithium-based half cells in EC:DMC (1:1), 1M LiPF6 shows that styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC), or both combined have a similar bonding ability as conventional poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF). However, using Na-CMC the irreversible charge capacity in the first cycle decreased in comparison with electrodes containing PVdF binder. Nano-Si electrode containing 1% SBR/1% Na-CMC as binder show the same cycle stability as an identical electrode containing 10% PVdF binder.",battery
"Tin–antimony alloy (SnSb) particles dispersed in a conductive matrix comprised of TiC and carbon have been synthesized by high energy mechanical milling (HEMM) and explored as anodes for sodium-ion batteries. The SnSb–TiC–C samples have been prepared with different TiC and carbon contents in the composite, characterized by X-ray diffraction before and after sodiation and by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and compared to SnSb–C as a baseline. The SnSb–TiC–C anodes demonstrate better cyclic performance as well as better rate-capability compared to SnSb–C. In addition, the increase in TiC content in the composite leads to better electrochemical performance. SnSb–TiC(40%)–C(20%) and SnSb–TiC(40%)–C(30%) electrodes exhibit the best electrochemical performance, which could result from both the well-developed SnSb as an electrochemically active nanocrystalline material and the conductive matrix composed of a combination of TiC and carbon. Additionally, the use of FEC electrolyte additive results in much better electrochemical performance even at high-rate current density when combined with this material due to the formation of a stable and thin SEI layer.",battery
"Impedance spectroscopy is one of the most promising methods for characterizing aging effects of portable secondary batteries online because it provides information about different aging mechanisms. However, application of impedance spectroscopy “in the field” has some higher requirements than for laboratory experiments. It requires a fast impedance measurement process, an accurate model applicable with several batteries and a robust method for model parameter estimation. In this paper, we present a method measuring impedance at different frequencies simultaneously. We propose to use a composite electrode model, capable to describe porous composite electrode materials. A hybrid method for parameter estimation based on a combination of evolution strategy and Levenberg–Marquardt method allowed a robust and fast parameter calculation. Based on this approach, an experimental investigation of aging effects of a lithium ion battery was carried out. After 230 discharge/charge cycles, the battery showed a 14% decreased capacity. Modeling results show that series resistance, charge transfer resistance and Warburg coefficient changed thereby their values by approximately 60%. A single frequency impedance measurement, usually carried out at 1kHz, delivers only information about series resistance. Impedance spectroscopy allows additionally the estimation of charge transfer resistance and Warburg coefficient. This fact and the high sensitivity of model parameters to capacity change prove that impedance spectroscopy together with an accurate modeling deliver information that significantly improve characterization of aging effects.",battery
"The toxicity analysis of combustion products from commercialized Li-ion batteries was performed in this work. More than 100 emitted gaseous products are identified, most of which are hazardous to the human beings and trigger negative impact on the environment. Moreover, the states of charge of battery was found to significantly affect the types of toxic combustion products, and the 100% state of charge even led to the most serious toxicity. The relationship between the concentration of toxic combustion products and battery capacity was also investigated. Interestingly, the concentration of carbon monoxide rose up rapidly up on the increase of the capacity instead of the toxic organic products. This investigation suggests that the efforts on effective battery emergency response could be potentially simplified to achieve cost down for manufacturers.",battery
"A composite of MoO2–Mo2C–C is fabricated through a facile ion-exchange route for the first time as an alternative anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). A macroporous cinnamic anion-exchange resin interacts with ammonium molybdate tetrahydrate in aqueous solution, and the product is then calcined under an inert gas atmosphere. The interaction between the resin and ammonium molybdate tetrahydrate results in an atomic level dispersion of the molybdenum over the organic carbon precursor (resin), while the calcination process allows the formation of MoO2 and Mo2C as well as the pyrolysis of resin to solid carbon. According to field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements, ultrafine MoO2 and Mo2C nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed but firmly attached within an amorphous carbon framework. When evaluated as an anode material, the as-synthesized sample exhibits superior electrochemical performance. The specific discharge capacity is as high as 1491 mA h g−1 in the first cycle and 724 mA h g−1 over 50 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g−1. This simple, environmentally friendly, low-cost and easily scaled up method, has significant potential for mass industrial production of MoO2-based material as next-generation anode material of LIBs with wide application capability.",battery
"Single-crystalline Li4Ti5O12 nanorods have been successfully prepared through a molten salt method, followed by a precipitation method, and characterized with X-ray powder diffractometry, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscope. Their electrochemical properties have been studied by charge/discharge cycling and cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the single-crystalline Li4Ti5O12 nanorods reveal high capacity, excellent rate capability and cycle stability. The discharge capacity up to 176.4 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C rate is achieved. When tested at 10 C rate, the first discharge capacity reaches 135.9 mAh g−1, and the capacity retention is more than 61.5% after 1500 cycles. Furthermore, high rate capability Li4Ti5O12/LiMn2O4 full cells have been made using Li4Ti5O12 nanorods as the negative electrode, which display superior cycle stability at high rate. The discharge capacity and the mass energy density sequentially reach 40 mAh g−1 and 86.4 Wh kg−1 at 10 C rate, while the capacity retention is about 60% after 1000 cycles.",battery
"Among existing energy management strategies (EMSs) for fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEV), the equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) is often considered as a practical approach because it can be implemented in real-time, while achieving near-optimal performance. However, under real-world driving conditions with uncertainties such as hilly roads, both near-optimality and charge-sustenance of ECMS are not guaranteed unless the equivalent factor (EF) is optimally adjusted in real-time. In this paper, a methodology of extracting the globally optimal EF trajectory from dynamic programming (DP) solution is proposed for the design of EF adaptation strategies. In order to illustrate the performance and process of the extraction method, a FCHEV energy management problem under hilly road conditions is investigated as a case study. The main goal is to learn how EF should be adjusted and the impact of EF adaptation on fuel economy under several hilly road cases. Using the extraction method, the DP-based EF is computed, and its performance is compared with those of Pontryagin's minimum principle (PMP) and conventional ECMS. The results show that the optimal EF adaptation significantly improves fuel economy when the battery SoC constraint becomes active, and thus EF must be properly adjusted under severely hilly road conditions.",battery
" This work details the design and synthesis of novel urchin-like α-FeOOH@MnO2 core–shell hollow microspheres for high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. The core–shell heterostructures were constructed by growing strip-like MnO2 nanostructures onto the urchin-like α-FeOOH hollow microspheres that were composed of nanorods. Based on the synergetic effects and multi-functionalities of both the MnO2 shell and urchin-like α-FeOOH hollow cores, the resulting urchin-like α-FeOOH@MnO2 core–shell hollow microspheres exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with a high specific capacitance of 597 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, good rate capability (capacitance retention of 74.2% at 10 A g−1), and remarkable cycling stability (capacitance retention of 97.1% after 2000 cycles). Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor fabricated using α-FeOOH@MnO2 as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode was found to deliver a high energy density of 34.2 W h kg−1 and power density of 815 W kg−1.",battery
"Gelatin-tethered iron oxide composites are facilely prepared as high-performance anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). The synthetic procedures are simple, eco-friendly, and reproducible in that gelatin-linked Fe3O4 is directly converted into nitrogen (N)-doped carbon modified iron oxides (N-Fe2O3@Carbon) at 400°C. The N-Fe2O3@Carbon exhibits an improved capacity retention and good rate capability. At a current density of 0.1C after 30 cycles, the N-Fe2O3@Carbon (400°C) shows a high capacity of ∼800mAhg−1 with a columbic efficiency of >99.5%. The excellent performance of N-Fe2O3@Carbon is mainly attributed to the conductive nitrogen and strong cross-linking force of gelatin, consequently leading to durable structural integrity of Li-storage iron oxides during charge/discharge processes. Since a small amount of gelatin with multiple amine groups delivers a high impact on the performance of Li-storage metal oxides, this chemical strategy is very useful to prepare cost-effective and environmentally benign electrode materials in the field of sustainable energy conversion and storage.",battery
A molecular thermodynamic model based on both the theory of melting point depression and the lattice fluid model is developed to interpret the liquidus curves in the resulting phase diagram and predict the change of liquidus curve and an eutectic point with various pressures. Quantitative description according to the proposed model is in good agreement with the experimentally observed transition temperature of a given system and shows that an eutectic point moves toward higher T m and lower weight fraction of salt with increasing pressure.,battery
"We demonstrate that performance on an object recognition task can be explained in terms of observer-specific perceptual profiles. These profiles are derived from a battery of tests, including the effects of stereo, texture, outline (occluding contour), and motion cues on amplitude judgements of curved surfaces. Using a task in which observers learned to recognise ‘amoeboid’ objects, a multivariate regression analysis revealed that three psychometric variables derived from the test battery account for 74% of the variance in learning rate. These variables are choice reaction time, and the relative dependence of amplitude judgements on motion and outline cues. The implications of these findings for the existence of observer-specific perceptual profiles, and their relation to the fundamental psychophysical competences associated with object recognition are discussed.",non-battery
"Cellulose has been explored as a tentative renewable carbon source to convert into micro- and meso-porous carbon (MMC) via carbonizing cellulose aerogel at a temperature of 700°C without further activation. The obtained MMC materials based on cellulose possess a specific surface area of 646m2 g−1, a pore volume of 0.4403m3 g−1, with an optimal pore structure that consists of the micropores in average size of 1.49nm and the mesopores in the range of 2.25∼3.32nm. A two-electrode symmetric supercapacitor based on the MMC materials exhibits a comparable high electrochemical performance with a large capacitance (up to 160Fg−1 at 0.2Ag−1), an high energy density of 17.81 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 180.11W kg−1 in the voltage range of 0V to 1.8V. The mesoporous can provide a good channel to further facilitate the electrolyte ion penetrating inner pores, while the microporous can store more electrolyte ions. The above cooperative effect of MMC is the key to the high-performance of the supercapacitors.",battery
"In summary, we provide a hypothetic explanation for a general neurobiological mechanism, at the cellular level, behind one of our most common symptoms during neuroinflammation and other long-term disorders of brain function. Understanding pathophysiological mechanisms of mental fatigue could result in better treatment.
",non-battery
"Two commercial carbon blacks, Ketjen black EC600JD (KB600) and Super P with quite different porosity parameters, are used for the cathode of a lithium-air battery. With high specific pore volume, KB600 shows a higher weight specific capacity. However, Super P exhibits a super high volume specific capacity, about 7 times higher than that of KB600, ascribed to its higher proportion of pores with suitable size for the deposition of solid products. The effects of O2 partial pressure and discharge rate on the specific capacity are investigated, combined with characterizations of contact angle and the structure of the electrodes. It is demonstrated that the Super P electrode possesses better O2 transport that improves the use of the whole electrode volume, and the special mechanism of O2 diffusion in the Super P electrode is proposed. By mixing KB600 with Super P with a weight ratio of 5:1, an electrode is obtained that exhibits increased O2 transport. The weight specific capacity is 1219 mAh g−1, about 1.2 times higher than that of KB600.",battery
"LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) has attracted much attention because of its high capacity and low cost. Herein, we report a facile wet-chemical route to prepare a Co3O4-modified NCA cathode material with enhanced electrochemical performance for lithium-ion batteries. The as-prepared Co3O4-coated NCA cathode material delivers a specific capacity of 207.6mAhg−1 with an initial Coulombic efficiency of 90.8% at 0.1C. The capacity retention of the Co3O4-coated NCA cathode material is as high as 91.6% at 1C between the potential from 2.8 to 4.3V after 100 cycles. More importantly, the capacity retention of the resulting Co3O4-coated NCA is higher than 94.7% after 100 cycles at 0.2C. In addition, the Co3O4-coated NCA cathode material exhibits good rate capability, especially a high discharge capacity at a high current density. The outstanding electrochemical performance of Co3O4-coated NCA is assigned to the surface coating of Co3O4 that may react with lithium-containing impurities on the surface and decrease the charge-transfer resistance.",battery
"Epibionts from the red (Hypnea valentiae) and brown seaweeds (Padina tetrastromatica) were rapidly isolated on Zobell agar medium. All the isolates from both the seaweeds (76 numbers) were tested against five human pathogens which were resistant to at least one of the commercially available antibiotics at a minimal concentration of 10 mg. The most antibiotic productive isolate (PT19) from Padina tetrastromatica was extracted and observed to inhibit Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with zone sizes of 15 and 10 mm radius, respectively, at a concentration of 300 μg. Further, a direct bioautography was done and an inhibition was witnessed against the aforementioned pathogens even at 2 μg concentration around three spots (Rf values 0.6, 0.7, and 0.8). Preparative thin-layer chromatography yielded a yellow sticky compound (6 mg) which was identified as an alkaloid. The compound on reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography analysis yielded two major and two minor peaks with retention times, 3.1, 4.2, 4.7, and 4.9 min, respectively. The antibacterial compound was recorded 96.6 % pure, and the producer strain was identified as Pseudomonas sp. To our knowledge, we are the first to isolate and identify Pseudomonas from Padina tetrastromatica producing antibacterial alkaloids. This study will pave way for exploring more bacterial load from the said algal groups for bioactivities.
",non-battery
"In this paper, an automated sorter is proposed for distinguishing polypropylene (PP) plastics based on their color. This sorting system uses visible (VIS) reflectance spectroscopy to separate PP resins according to their colors. A “Three-Filter” identification algorithm was developed to recognize the PP color (blue, red, green, white or yellow), and accordingly, give the command for throwing or not throwing PP to a series of electro pneumatic valves. The proposed sorting system was demonstrated to be fast and accurate, despite the presence of different labels and surface contamination on the PP resins.",non-battery
"We report an ultrafast in-situ laser reduction process of graphene oxides (GO) in LiFePO4 electrodes, where the selective laser reduction of GO sheets is conducted after coating LiFePO4 on current collector. This novel process technique avoids the solvophobicity and agglomeration problems of graphene in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) or other solvents for the electrode material slurry preparation because of GO's solvophilicity in various solvents. Under the optimized laser reduction condition, a hierarchical structure of graphene conductive network is formed without wrapping the LiFePO4 surface, which can greatly improve the rate capability and cycle performance. The battery capacity remains 84.5% after 1000 cycles and 72.9% when the charge/discharge current density increases from 0.5C to 20C. The method developed in this work is also applicable for other material systems to selectively reduce GO for performance enhancement.",battery
Alterations in gray matter density as well as cognitive impairments are commonly described in patients with schizophrenia (SCH patients). Both gray matter deficits and cognitive impairments have recently been discussed to represent vulnerability markers of schizophrenia. The counterintuitive finding of better cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia and cannabis use (SCH+CAN patients) compared to cannabis naïve patients is discussed as a reflection of lower vulnerability for schizophrenia in at least one subgroup of SCH+CAN patients. We hypothesized that SCH+CAN patients would display fewer gray matter deficits compared to SCH patients reflecting their presumed lower vulnerability. We therefore compared gray matter density in 30 first episode SCH+CAN and 24 first episode SCH patients using a fast diffeomorphic registration algorithm (DARTEL) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We found less severe cognitive impairments and middle frontal gray matter deficits in the SCH+CAN patients. In the pooled sample gray matter density was positively associated with cognitive functioning. Results may support the hypothesis of a lower biological vulnerability in at least one subgroup of SCH+CAN patients.,non-battery
" The carbon-based air electrode for zinc–air batteries has its advantages, such as high electrical conductivity and porosity; however, its stability is poor, affecting the cycle life of batteries. Degradation of the electrode can be caused by carbon corrosion during charging at high voltage. In this study, air electrodes were prepared with several types of carbon materials. The electrochemical performances of the electrodes were measured to investigate the effects of the corrosion properties of several carbons with different physical properties. The initial electrochemical performance of the carbon black-electrode was the best due to its high specific surface area. In contrast, the long-term cyclabilities of graphite1- and graphite2-electrodes were superior. Both electrodes exhibited high crystallinity and high uniformity in terms of the particle size and shape. Considering durability, the graphite1-electrode was deemed the most suitable as an air electrode for zinc–air batteries.",battery
"Synthesis of materials with desirable nanostructures is a hot research topic owing to their enhanced performances in contrast to the bulk counterparts. Herein, dumbbell-shaped cobalt carbonate (CoCO3) nano architectures and the bulk counterpart of CoCO3 rhombohedra are prepared via a facile hydrothermal route in the presence and absence of ascorbic acid (AA), respectively. By comparison, it has been found that: the addition of AA in the hydrothermal crystallization system changes the shape of the building blocks from Co2CO3(OH)2 nanosheets to CoCO3 nanoparticles, and then further influences the final configuration of the products. When applied as anodes of lithium ion batteries, CoCO3 dumbbells deliver a 100th capacity of 1042 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 and even exhibit a long-term value of 824 mAh g−1 over 500 cycles at 1000 mA g−1, which are much higher than the rhombohedral counterparts with corresponding 540 and 481 mAh g−1 respectively. The much higher capacity, better cycling stability and enhanced rate performance of CoCO3 dumbbells can be attributed to the higher specific surface area, smaller charge transport resistance and better structure stability resulting from the slight doping (∼4.6 wt%) of AA, and also relate with a novel lithium storage mechanism in CoCO3.",battery
"Publisher Summary The building and construction industry along with government is beginning to make fundamental changes in the way infrastructure is designed, built, utilized, maintained, and renewed, in order to achieve sustained global economic growth while enhancing environmental quality. The building and construction industry needs to remove or reduce barriers to improving building and construction practices in order to support sustainable development goals. Early in this century, developments in technology began to change the path of architecture in the United States. The development of mechanical and electrical systems, combined with artificially inexpensive energy, removed the limitations of form, site, and materials that were previously necessary if a building was to be habitable. Architects no longer had to be concerned with providing natural light and air as these could be provided artificially. As the natural influences on architecture were gradually discarded, artificial energy consumption increased dramatically causing a corresponding increase in the pollution of the natural environment. This development and application of technology also changed the profession of architecture as specialists began to design and install these systems. Architects no longer had direct responsibility for environmental control and engineering consultants became responsible for providing a suitable indoor thermal and visual environment. This chapter also discusses telecommuting, which is work carried out at home or at an office close to home, where the worker has no personal contact with coworkers but is able to communicate with them and perform work-related activities using computer and communication technologies.",non-battery
Scientists in Germany and South Korea say they have improved a key component of energy storage systems that has the potential to aid their development. Their research shows that a membrane produced from a hydrophobic polymer of intrinsic microporosity can be used as a proton conducting separator in an all-vanadium redox flow battery with unprecedented infinite proton/vanadium selectivity.,non-battery
"A novel processing technique was used to solution cast films of poly(benzimidazo benzophenanthroline), (BBL), and the novel ladder polymer poly(4-aza-benzimidazo benzophenanthroline) (Py-BBL), which were used as cathode materials in Type IV electroactive polymer-based electrochemical capacitors (EPECs). This new processing technique involves co-casting the polymer from solution with a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMIBTI). The new processing technique gave polymer films with superior transport properties and electrochemical stabilities, did not require a break-in period, and yielded higher charge capacity than the standard films. Co-cast films of BBL and Py-BBL were each incorporated into separate Type IV EPECs using poly(3,4-propylene dioxythiophene) (PProDOT) as the anode material. It was found that the PProDOT/BBL capacitors store, on average, about 50% more energy than a comparable PProDOT/Py-BBL EPEC. While PProDOT/BBL films have an energy density advantage at rates (power densities) less than 0.01 kW kg−1, PProDOT/Py-BBL EPECs are capable of delivering higher energy than the BBL EPECs at rates greater than 0.01 kW kg−1 (550 s per cycle). In fact, PProDOT/Py-BBL devices delivered more than ten times the energy density of PProDOT/BBL devices at 0.5 kW kg−1 (50 s per cycle). The PProDOT/Py-BBL EPECs were cycled for 10,000 cycles at 65% depth of discharge and maintained 96% of the initial energy and power density, whereas the PProDOT/BBL EPECs were cycled under the same conditions and lost more than 35% of the initial energy and power density after only 2300 cycles.",battery
"Although lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have rather high capacity and specific energy, they are facing many drawbacks, e.g. low electrical conductivity of sulfur (S8) and lithium sulfide (Li2S), low capacity retention, large volume expansion of lithium sulfide in full lithiation state and dissolution of intermediate lithium polysulfides into the electrolytes. In order to address some drawbacks of the LSBs, here, sulfur was encapsulated by carbon black nanospheres (CN) and oxidized carbon nanosheet (OCN) with a sheet-like morphology by a mechanofusion and a colloidal coating techniques, respectively. Core-double shell S@CN@OCN composites were used as the cathode materials for Li-S batteries. The first CN shell can reduce the volume expansion of the sulfur during the charging process and also enhance the electrical conductivity. The second OCN shell can accommodate the volume expansion of the sulfur and decrease the “redox shuttle effect”. The LSB using the core-double shell S@CN@OCN cathode can provide the first and second discharge specific capacities of 1,313 and 1,279mAhg−1 at 0.1C, respectively. In addition, the stability of this LIB tested at 1C over 400 cycles provides 77% capacity retention and 98% coulombic efficiency. This newly designed core-double shell S@CN@OCN structure may be the promising cathode of LSBs leading to the practical applications.",battery
"We report the first use of a CuFeS2 froth flotation mineral concentrate (MC) as an energy storage material in a fixed bed flow cell (FBFC). The performance of a graphite felt (GF) MC negative electrode (GF–MC) was also compared to a synthetic CuFeS2 electrode in the same FBFC. The Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox reaction (in the presence of Cu(II)) on the GF positive electrode (GF–Fe/Cu) supported the charge/discharge process. The kinetic parameters calculated from individual cyclic voltammetry scans of negative and positive electrodes revealed that the electrochemical processes in the FBFC were quasi-reversible. In cell C–1 (GF–CuFeS2/GF–Fe/Cu), a continuous increase in specific capacity (∼9–48 mAh g−1) and energy (2–6.3 Wh kg−1) in 500 charge/discharge cycles was attributed to the capacitive behavior of the S2 2−/S2− species present on the CuFeS2. However, during 400 GCD cycles of C–2 (GF–MC/GF–Fe/Cu), a monotonic increase in the specific capacity (20–49 mAh g−1) and energy (3.5–8.5 Wh kg−1) was associated with an additional capacitive response from FeS2 in the MC. Advantageously, 10.3 and 12.7% Cu was also extracted from the C–1 and C–2 cells, respectively, which is unique to this system and provides a positive offset for the relatively low energy storage compared to existing battery systems. An observed improvement in the specific capacity during repetitive cycling was related to the presence of Cu and sulfide sulfur species on the CuFeS2 particles as revealed from the characterization of retrieved CuFeS2.",battery
"Biomethane is an energy vector suitable for renewable transport fuel which may derive energy through three different methodologies: thermal gasification; biological anaerobic digestion; and conversion of electricity to hydrogen (via electrolysis) and on to methane as described by the Sabatier Equation. Thermal gasification to produce methane (based on “hard” feed stock) tends to require significant scale, of the order of 400 MW. Biological anaerobic digestion (based on “soft” feed stock) is typically of scale less than 1 MW. Systems based on the Sabatier Equation convert hydrogen to methane exothermically and sequester carbon. The resource is assessed at 19% of energy in transport in Ireland. Adopting the approach of the EU Renewable Energy Directive (for example double credit for biofuels from residues and lignocellulosic feed stock) biomethane can supply 40% renewable energy supply in transport (RES-T). The resource is sufficient to supply 30% of the private transport fleet with indigenous sustainable gaseous biofuel.",battery
"Despite multiple lines of evidence suggesting that people with schizophrenia tend to overestimate their ability to perform everyday tasks such as money management, self-report methods are still widely used to assess functioning. In today's technology driven financial world patients are faced with increasingly complex financial management tasks. To meet these challenges adequate financial skills are required. Thus, accurate assessments of these abilities are critical to decisions regarding a patient's need for support such as a financial trustee. As part of the larger VALERO study, 195 patients with schizophrenia were asked to self-report their everyday financial skills (five common financial tasks) with the Independent Living Skills Survey (ILSS). They were also assessed with performance-based measures of neuro-cognition and functional capacity with a focus on financial skills. In addition, a friend, relative, or clinician informant was interviewed with the ILSS and a best estimate rating of functioning was generated. Scores on the performance-based measures of financial skills and neuropsychological tests were uncorrelated with self-reported financial activities. Interviewer and all informant judgments of financial abilities were also minimally correlated with performance on functional skill tests. Discrete financial skills appear to be challenging for clinicians to rate with accuracy without the use of direct assessments. Direct assessment of financial skills seems prudent when making determinations about the need for guardianship or other financial supervision.",non-battery
"Sintering method and solvent method are used to recover Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 scrap materials, and the effects of recovery methods and heat treatment on the electrochemical performances for Li-ion battery are investigated in detail. Among these recovered scrap materials, the unheat-treated ones with solvent method display the best electrochemical performances, the discharge capacity and the cycle life are close to that of the unused Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 raw material. Particle size distribution, tap density and recovery rate of scrap materials are also investigated. In addition, acetylene black and Al foil can be recovered at the same time with solvent method.",battery
"Large scale preparation of graphene-like carbon nanospheres (GCNSs) was performed by direct-current arc discharge using C2H2 as carbon resources. The morphology and structure of the obtained products were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, Raman spectroscope, X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption. The GCNSs consist of quasi-spherically concentric graphitic shells with high purity and quality, and its size distribution is in the range of 30–50nm. The high-quality GCNSs also exhibit highly electrical conductivity of ∼30.3Scm−1, and can act as conductive agent to significantly improve the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode, compared with the conventional carbon black (CB). Discharge capacity of the LFP (GCNSs) cathode reaches up to 155.6mAhg−1 at 0.1C, which is slightly higher than that of the LFP (CB). However, The LFP (GCNSs) cathode still delivers high capacities of 114.9mAhg−1 and 65.2mAhg−1 at 1C and 10C rates, respectively, which are much higher than those of the LFP (CB). At the same time, the discharge capacities reach up to 114.9mAhg−1 and 80.9mAhg−1 at 1C and 5C discharge rates for the first discharge, and the corresponding capacities decrease down to 108.5mAhg−1 and 79.9mAhg−1 after 100 cycles, respectively. This indicates excellent cyclic stability, especially at high rate charge/discharge cycles. Thus, the mass production, high crystalline and highly electrical conductivity may make the GCNSs find applications in energy conversion and storage.",battery
"The safety issues of lithium ion batteries pose ongoing challenges as the market for Li-ion technology continues to grow in personal electronics, electric mobility, and stationary energy storage. The severe risks posed by battery thermal runaway necessitate safeguards at every design level – from materials, to cell construction, to module and pack assembly. One promising approach to pack thermal management is the use of phase change composite materials (PCC™), which offer passive protection at low weight and cost while minimizing system complexity. We present experimental nail penetration studies on a Li-ion pack for small electric vehicles, designed with and without PCC, to investigate the effectiveness of PCC thermal management for preventing propagation when a single cell enters thermal runaway. The results show that when parallel cells short-circuit through the penetrated cell, the packs without PCC propagate fully while those equipped with PCC show no propagation. In cases where no external short circuits occur, packs without PCC sometimes propagate, but not consistently. In all test conditions, the use of PCC lowers the maximum temperature experienced by neighboring cells by 60 °C or more. We also elucidate the propagation sequence and aspects of pack failure based on cell temperature, voltage, and post-mortem data.",battery
"Background Skeletal myoblast transplantation has been proposed as a therapy for ischemic cardiomyopathy owing to its possible role in myogenesis. The relative safety and efficacy based on location within scar is not known. We hypothesized that skeletal myoblasts transplanted into peripheral scar (compared with central scar) would more effectively attenuate negative left ventricular (LV) remodeling but at the risk of arrhythmia. Methods New Zealand White rabbits (n = 34) underwent mid-left anterior descending artery (LAD) ligation to produce a transmural LV infarction. One month after LAD ligation, skeletal myoblasts were injected either in the scar center (n = 13) or scar periphery (n = 10) and compared with saline injection (n = 11). Holter monitoring and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed pre-injection; Holter monitoring was continued until 2 weeks after injection, with follow-up MRI at 1 month. Results The centrally treated animals demonstrated increased LV end-systolic volume, end-diastolic volume, and mass that correlated with the number of injected cells. There was a trend toward attenuation of negative LV remodeling in peripherally treated animals compared with vehicle. Significant late ectopy was seen in several centrally injected animals, with no late ectopy seen in peripherally injected animals. Conclusions We noted untoward effects with respect to negative LV remodeling after central injection, suggesting that transplanted cell location with respect to scar may be a key factor in the safety and efficacy of skeletal myoblast cardiac transplantation. Administration of skeletal myoblasts into peripheral scar appears safe, with a trend toward improved function in comparison with sham injection.",non-battery
" As one of the most important staple food crops, rice produces huge agronomic biomass residues that contain lots of secondary cell walls (SCWs) comprising cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. The transcriptional regulation mechanism underlying SCWs biosynthesis remains elusive.",non-battery
"The advancement in mobile technology and the introduction of cloud computing systems enable the use of educational materials on mobile devices for a location- and time-agnostic learning process. These educational materials are delivered in the form of data and compute-intensive multimedia-enabled learning objects. Given these constraints, the desired objective of mobile learning (m-learning) may not be achieved. Accordingly, a number of m-learning systems are being developed by the industry and academia to transform society into a pervasive educational institute. However, no guideline on the technical issues concerning the m-learning environment is available. In this study, we present a taxonomy of such technical issues that can impede the life cycle of multimedia-enabled m-learning applications. The taxonomy is devised based on the issues related to mobile device heterogeneity, network performance, content heterogeneity, content delivery, and user expectation. These issues are discussed, along with their causes and measures, to achieve solutions. Furthermore, we identify several trending areas through which the adaptability and acceptability of multimedia-enabled m-learning platforms can be increased. Finally, we discuss open challenges, such as low complexity encoding, data dependency, measurement and modeling, interoperability, and security as future research directions.",non-battery
"The energy consumption of each node in the sensor network can be effectively balanced by using mobile sinks for data gathering, thus avoiding resulting in energy hole problem. This paper proposes a virtual grid margin optimization and energy balancing (VGMEB) protocol for mobile sinks to balance zthe energy consumption in wireless sensor networks. VGMEB achieves high energy efficiency by designing a virtual grid margin method and determining a novel evaluation model for cluster head selection. In addition, an approach in multiple attribute decision making based on relative entropy is integrated for determining the weight value of each metric. The experimental results show that VGMEB outperforms these protocols and it can efficiently mitigate the energy hole problem and prolong the network lifetime.",non-battery
"Lithium-air batteries with an aqueous alkaline electrolyte promise a very high practical energy density and capacity. These batteries are mainly limited by high overpotentials on the bifunctional cathode during charge and discharge. To reduce overpotentials the bifunctional cathode of such batteries must be improved significantly. Nickel is relatively inexpensive and has a good catalytic activity in alkaline media. Co3O4 was found to be a promising metal oxide catalyst for oxygen evolution in alkaline media but it has a low electronic conductivity. On the other hand since nickel has a good electronic conductivity Co3O4 can be added to pure nickel electrodes to enhance performance due to a synergetic effect. Due to the poor stability of carbon materials at high anodic potentials, gas diffusion electrodes were prepared without carbon to improve especially long-term stability. Gas diffusion electrodes were electrochemically investigated in a half cell. In addition, cyclic voltammogrametry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out. SEM was used for the physical and morphological investigations. Investigations showed that electrodes containing 20wt.% Co3O4 exhibited the highest performance.",battery
"We previously detected that ~50% of kidney transplant patients (KTPs) present sarcopenia using the first European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP1) consensus. Our aim was to evaluate the agreement between the sarcopenia diagnosis using EWGSOP1 and the new consensus (EWGSOP2) in KTPs. A cross-sectional study was performed evaluating 127 KTPs. Total and appendicular muscle mass were estimated by bioelectrical impedance. Strength was evaluated by handgrip strength (HGS) and five times sit to stand (5STS). Functional capacity was evaluated by 4-m walk test and short physical performance battery. Sarcopenia was diagnosed by EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2. The agreement between EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 (using HGS criteria for muscle strength) was fair (k = 0.341–0.402). Slight agreement was observed between EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 using 5STS criteria for muscle strength (k = 0.031–0.046). We conclude that EWGSOP2 definitions have a low agreement with EWGSOP1 in KTPs.
",non-battery
"Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine cerebellar areas related to conditioning of the nociceptive leg withdrawal reflex using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Because of the aversive nature of the unconditioned stimulus effects of accompanying fear conditioning were expected. Methods: In 20 healthy adult subjects leg withdrawal reflex conditioning was performed using a standard delay protocol during MR-scanning. Electromyographic recordings from the anterior tibial and biceps femoris muscles were used to quantify conditioned responses. Fear-related changes of heart rate were assessed. Results: In the group of all subjects a significant increase of cerebellar activation was found in the anterior and posterior vermis. In the group of subjects (n=9) who showed conditioned leg withdrawal responses cerebellar activation was more pronounced in parts of the anterior vermis, which correspond to the known leg representation. In the group of subjects (n=11) who did not develop conditioned responses cerebellar activation was more pronounced in the posterolateral hemispheres. Changes of heart rate, however, did not significantly differ between groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that areas within the anterior vermis are involved in conditioning of the leg withdrawal response. The present results, however, do not allow to differentiate between motor performance, learning or timing-related processes. Areas in the posterior vermis and cerebellar hemispheres may be related to concomitant fear conditioning. Significance: Results of the present event-related fMRI study suggest involvement of the human cerebellum in conditioning of the nociceptive leg withdrawal response.",non-battery
"The current study explored whether oxytocin can improve social cognition and social skills in individuals with schizophrenia using a six-week, double-blind design. Fourteen participants with schizophrenia were randomized to receive either intranasal oxytocin or a placebo solution and completed a battery of social cognitive, social skills and clinical psychiatric symptom measures. Results showed within group improvements in fear recognition, perspective taking, and a reduction in negative symptoms in the oxytocin group. These preliminary findings indicate oxytocin treatment may help improve certain components of functioning in schizophrenia. Implications for the treatment of social functioning in schizophrenia are discussed.",non-battery
"Cognition has been well characterized in the various stages of Huntington disease (HD) as well as in the prodrome before the motor diagnosis is given. Although the clinical diagnosis of HD relies on the manifestation of motor abnormalities, the associated impairments have been growing in prominence for several reasons. First, research to understand the most debilitating aspects of HD has suggested that cognitive and behavioral changes place the greatest burden on families, are most highly associated with functional decline, and can be predictive of institutionalization. Second, cognitive impairments are evident at least 15 years prior to the time at which motor diagnosis is given. Finally, cognitive decline is associated with biological markers such as brain atrophy, circulating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factors, and insulin-like growth factor 1. Efforts are now underway to develop valid and reliable measures of cognition in the prodrome as well as in all stages of HD so that clinical trials can be conducted using cognitive outcomes.",non-battery
"Olivine (LiCo1/3Mn1/3Ni1/3PO4) powders were synthesized at 550–600°C for 6h in air by a sol–gel method using multiple chelating agents and used as a cathode material for rechargeable batteries. Range of chelating agents like a weak organic acid (citric acid – CA), emulsifier (triethanolamine – TEA) and non-ionic surfactant (polyvinylpyrrolidone – PVP) in sol–gel wet chemical synthesis were used. The dependence of the physicochemical properties of the olivine powders such as particle size, morphology, structural bonding and crystallinity on the chelating agent was extensively investigated. Among the chelating agents used, unique cycling behavior (75mAh/g after 25 cycles) is observed for the PVP assisted olivine. This is due to volumetric change in trapped organic layer for first few cycles. The trapped organic species in the electrode–electrolyte interface enhances the rate of lithium ion diffusion with better capacity retention. In contrast, CA and TEA showed a gradual capacity fade of 30 and 38mAh/g respectively after multiple cycles. The combination of all the three mixed chelating agents showed an excellent electrochemical behavior of 100mAh/g after multiple cycles and the synergistic effect of these agents are discussed.",battery
"Commercial TiO2 usually exhibits poor electrochemical performance for Li-ion batteries. In this work, we fabricated the carbon-coated commercial TiO2 with soft carbon at 750°C using pitch as the carbon source. The carbon-coated products reveal markedly enhanced capacity, excellent cyclability at a current density of 500mAg−1. The enhanced performance associates with the improved electronic and ionic conductivities results from the pitch-derived carbon with high graphitization degree as well as interfacial Li-ion storage.",battery
"We propose a new model to estimate daily global radiation from daily temperature range measurements. This model combines that of Majumdar et al. (Sol Energy 13(4):383–394, 1972) to estimate clear sky radiation with a Gompertz function to estimate the relation between temperature range and cloud transmittance. Model parameters are estimated from historical weather data: maximum and minimum temperatures and, if available, relative humidity; no other calibration is required. The model was parametrized and validated using 788 weather stations in Mexico. When calibrated using historical humidity data, daily global radiation was estimated with a mean root mean square error of 3.06 MJ m−2 day−1. The model performed well in all situations, except for a few stations around the Gulf of Mexico and in mountain areas. When using estimated humidity, the root mean square error of prediction was only slightly degraded (3.07 MJ m−2 day−1). Possible theoretical basis and applicability of this model to other environments are discussed.",non-battery
"Pristine, equivalently and non-equivalently Al substituted LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 materials were prepared by a combination of co-precipitation and solid-state reaction. As shown by XRD and XPS, lattice volume shrinkage of LiNi0.5(Mn0.45Al0.05)O2 was attributed to the presence of Ni in both 2+ and 3+, while the lattice volume expansion of Li(Ni0.45Al0.05)Mn0.5O2 was caused by lowering the average oxidation state of Mn. Electrochemical performance of LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 materials can be greatly affected by the change of oxidation states of the transition metals by Al substitution. Non-equivalent substitution of Al for Ni leads to deteriorated discharge performance and cyclic stability due to the reduction of the electrochemical active Ni2+ and structure supported Mn4+, while an increase in the amount of Ni2+ in LiNi0.5(Mn0.45Al0.05)O2 brings obvious improvement of the electrochemical properties. EIS analyses of the electrode materials at pristine and charged states indicate that the poor electrochemical performance of Li(Ni0.45Al0.05)Mn0.5O2 material can be ascribed to the higher charge transfer resistance and surface film resistance, and the observed higher current rate capability of LiNi0.5(Mn0.45Al0.05)O2 can be understood due to the better charge transfer kinetics.",battery
"Electropolymerization of brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) in ethaline deep eutectic solvent (DES) has been carried out. Poly(brilliant cresyl blue) (PBCB) films were formed by electrodeposition on carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrodes by potential cycling in ethaline (choline chloride + ethylene glycol) with the addition of different ionic species i.e. NO3 −, SO4 2−, Cl−, ClO4 −. The novel nanocomposite films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The composition of the polymerization solution had a large influence on the morphology as well as on the electrochemical behaviour of the electrodeposited films. The effect of scan rate on BCB polymerization was also investigated and the PBCB film synthesized at 150 mV s−1 in ethaline + NO3 − presented a superior electrochemical performance. The PBCBEthaline-HNO3/MWCNT and PBCBaqueous/MWCNT nanocomposite films were used as electrode support for the enzymes glucose oxidase and tyrosinase for the biosensing of glucose and catechol, respectively and were more sensitive than the PBCB based electrodes prepared in aqueous solution.",battery
"
A macroscope is proposed and tested here for the discovery of the unique argumentative footprint that characterizes how a collective (e.g., group, online community) manages differences and pursues disagreement through argument in a polylogue. The macroscope addresses broader analytic problems posed by various conceptualizations of large-scale argument, such as fields, spheres, communities, and institutions. The design incorporates a two-tier methodology for detecting argument patterns of the arguments performed in arguing by an interactive collective that produces views, or topographies, of the ways that issues are generated in the making and defending of standpoints. The design premises for the macroscope build on insights about argument patterns from pragma-dialectical theory by incorporating research and theory on disagreement management and the Argumentum Model of Topics. The design reconceptualizes prototypical and stereotypical argument patterns for characterizing large-scale argumentation. A prototype of the macroscope is tested on data drawn from six threads about oil-drilling and fracking from the subreddit Changemyview. The implementation suggests the efficacy of the macroscope’s design and potential for identifying what communities make controversial and how the disagreement space in a polylogue is managed through stereotypical argument patterns in terms of claims/premises, inferential relations, and presentational devices.
",non-battery
"The increased use of Residual Hardware Devices (RHDs) in medicine combined with antimicrobial resistant-bacteria make it critical to reduce the number of RHD associated osteomyelitic infections. This paper proposes a surface treatment based on ionic emission to create an antibiotic environment that can significantly reduce RHD associated infections. The Kirby-Bauer agar gel diffusion technique was adopted to examine the antimicrobial efficacy of eight metals and their ionic forms against seven microbes commonly associated with osteomyelitis. Silver ions (Ag+) showed the most significant bactericidal efficacy. A second set of experiments, designed to identify the best configuration and operational parameters for Ag+ based RHDs addressed current and ionic concentrations by identifying and optimizing parameters including amperage, cathode and anode length, separation between anode and cathode, and surface charge density. The system demonstrated an unparalleled efficacy. The concept was then implemented during in vitro testing of an antimicrobial hip implant, RHD.",non-battery
"It has been a puzzle that transition metals can unexpectedly react with lithium-based matrixes of LiF and Li2O in the potential versus Li/Li+ range from 0.01 to 3.5V at room temperature. The electrochemical and theoretical investigations on the reactions of transition metals M (M=Co, Fe and Ni) with LiF and Li2O were carried out. The electrochemical reactivity of metal cobalt with LiF and Li2O has been examined by the discharge and charge, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Density functional theoretical calculation results suggested that the stable compounds MLiF and MLi2O could be formed by the insertion of transition metal (M) in lithium-based matrixes with exothermic as an intermediate. The theoretical calculations provide an understanding in chemical reaction of M with LiF and Li2O. The small molecular or clusters reaction may play an important role in the electrochemical reaction of metal with transition Li2O or LiF, which could be used to explain for the unexpectedly reaction of transition metal with LiF and Li2O.",battery
"Electric vehicles (EVs) hold promise to improve the energy efficiency and environmental impacts of transportation. However, widespread EV use can impose significant stress on electricity-distribution systems due to their added charging loads. This paper proposes a centralized EV charging-control model, which schedules the charging of EVs that have flexibility. This flexibility stems from EVs that are parked at the charging station for a longer duration of time than is needed to fully recharge the battery. The model is formulated as a two-stage stochastic optimization problem. The model captures the use of distributed energy resources and uncertainties around EV arrival times and charging demands upon arrival, non-EV loads on the distribution system, energy prices, and availability of energy from the distributed energy resources. We use a Monte Carlo-based sample-average approximation technique and an L-shaped method to solve the resulting optimization problem efficiently. We also apply a sequential sampling technique to dynamically determine the optimal size of the randomly sampled scenario tree to give a solution with a desired quality at minimal computational cost. We demonstrate the use of our model on a Central-Ohio-based case study. We show the benefits of the model in reducing charging costs, negative impacts on the distribution system, and unserved EV-charging demand compared to simpler heuristics. We also conduct sensitivity analyses, to show how the model performs and the resulting costs and load profiles when the design of the station or EV-usage parameters are changed.",non-battery
"The introduction of an extract of Artemia into the sea water bathing tentacles from the hydroid Cladonema triggers a burst of electrical activity that can be recorded intracellularly from cnidocytes in the capitate tentacles. These bursts, which are composed of a variety of events, including action potentials and EPSPs, are Ca2+ dependent, and are abolished by pretreatment with NiCl2, suggesting that voltage-gated Ca2+ channels are involved in their generation or transmission. Intracellular injection of Lucifer Yellow and recordings from pairs of cnidocytes reveal that the cnidocytes are electrically coupled to one another, but that they are not uncoupled by heptanol. The role of these chemosensory pathways in priming the cnidocytes for discharge is discussed.
",non-battery
"Manganese oxide is one of the most extensively studied electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) due to its high abundance and environmental friendliness. In this work, cerium ion intercalated birnessite-type manganese oxide (δ-MnO2) dispersed on carbon (CeMnO2/C) with high-efficient oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) electrocatalytic ability in alkaline media is prepared via facile aqueous reactions for the first time. The as-prepared catalyst shows morphology like quasi special nanospheres intertwined by plenty of nanorods just like knitting wool balls. Compared with MnO2/C, the onset and half-wave potential of 4.8% CeMnO2/C shift positively 27 and 57 mV, respectively, and are close to those of Pt/C. The oxygen reduction reaction occurring on 4.8% CeMnO2/C undergoes a 4-electron transfer pathway with the HO2 − yield lee than 2%, which is much lower than that produced on Pt/C. The CeMnO2/C catalyst also exhibits excellent long-term stability with current retention of 96.4% after aging for 40000 s. The aluminum-air battery applying 4.8% CeMnO2/C as cathode catalyst gives out the peak power density of 348.8 mW cm−2 in 4 M KOH aqueous solution. After more than 300-h discharging, the voltage degradation of 4.8% CeMnO2/C is only 2% per 100 h. In all, the excellent performance of the Ce-intercalated MnO2/C demonstrates its enormous potential as ORR catalyst in metal-air batteries.",battery
"The composite film of Nafion and the conducting polymer was prepared by dropping Nafion solution containing dispersed powder of the conducting polymer on a substrate, followed by drying. The conducting polymers used in this study were polypyrrole and polyaniline. Irradiation of the film immersed in acidic solution containing chloroplatinate and ascorbate with a 500W xenon lamp (λ > 360nm) induced Pt deposition on the composite film surface. Fluorescent X-ray analysis has revealed that amount of deposited Pt increased with irradiation time and that deposition rate on the Nafion-polyaniline composite was much higher than that on the Nafion-polypyrrole composite. Electrochemical measurements of the composite film-coated glassy carbon electrodes with and without deposited Pt have been conducted to examine their activities toward O2 reduction. Voltammetry measurements showed definite cathodic currents due to O2 reduction on deposited Pt particles. The Pt-deposited polyaniline composite possessed much higher catalytic activities than Pt-deposited polypyrrole composite because of difference in Pt amount. In order to elucidate some parameters that influence the catalytic activities, O2 reduction experiments were made by using the Nafion-polyaniline composite films prepared under different conditions including total amount of the composite film and amount ratio of polyaniline to Nafion.",battery
"Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in-situ high-energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) techniques were used to investigate the high-temperature reactions of a cathode containing Li1−x VPO4F with materials found in a lithium-ion cell, such as graphite additive in the cathode and the electrolyte. The DSC results indicate that the energy released during the reaction of the cathode containing Li1−x VPO4F with the electrolyte was about 1/3 of that released during a similar reaction of the delithiated, layered cathode containing Li1.1[Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3]0.9O2. The in-situ HEXRD results provide evidence that the delithiated material, Li1−x VPO4F, reacts with protons and/or lithium ions found in the reaction mixture at elevated temperature, producing an LiVPO4F-like compound. This reaction is the most likely cause for the low energy release during heating, that is, the LiVPO4F-like material appears to be thermally stable at temperatures up to 400 °C in the presence of LiPF6.",battery
"In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the energy source is usually a battery cell, which is impossible to recharge while WSNs are working. Therefore, one of the main issues in wireless sensor networks is how to prolong the network lifetime of WSNs with certain energy sources as well as how to maintain coverage and connectivity. In this paper, we consider wireless sensor networks satisfying the case that each node either monitors one target or is just for connection. Assume that the wireless sensor network has l targets, and that each is monitored by k sensor nodes. If k = 2 and the graph G corresponding to the wireless sensor network is ( l + max { 1 , l − 4 } ) -connected, or k ≥ 3 and G is ( l ( k − 1 ) + 1 ) -connected, then we can find k (the maximum number) disjoint sets, each of which completely covers all the targets and remains connected to one of the central processing nodes. The disjoint sets are activated successively, and only the sensor nodes from the active set are responsible for monitoring the targets and connectivity; all other nodes are in a sleep mode. In addition, we also give the related algorithms to find the k disjoint sets.",non-battery
"Cu6Sn5 alloys were successfully electrodeposited on rough Cu foils and smooth Cu sheets using a facile one-step electrodepositing method, and their structural and electrochemical properties were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), galvanostatic charging/discharging testing and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influence of surface morphology of the current collectors on the cycleability and the interfacial performance of the Cu6Sn5 alloy electrode are both discussed. The results demonstrate that the Cu6Sn5 alloy electrode on the rough Cu foil presented better electrochemical performance than that on the smooth Cu sheet because its rough surface could buffer the volume changes to some extent. The first discharging (lithiation) and charging (delithiation) capacities were measured at 462 and 405 mAh g−1 respectively with high initial coulomb efficiency of 88%, with charging capacity in the 50th cycle remaining 76% of that in the first cycle. The phase transformation during initial lithiation was detected by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and its trend versus electrode potential is also discussed.
",battery
" As the primary resident immune cells, microglia play a central role in regulating inflammatory processes in the CNS. The extracellular matrix (ECM) protein vitronectin promotes microglial activation, switching microglia into an activated phenotype. We have shown previously that microglia express two vitronectin receptors, αvβ3 and αvβ5 integrins. As these integrins have well-defined roles in activation and phagocytic processes in other cell types, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the contribution of these two integrins in microglial activation.",non-battery
"The precursors of LiFePO4 were prepared by a sol–gel method using lithium acetate dihydrate, ferrous sulfate, phosphoric acid, citric acid and polyethylene glycol as raw materials, and then the carbon-modified nanocrystalline LiFePO4 (LiFePO4/C) cathode material was synthesized by a one-step microwave method with the domestic microwave oven. The effect of microwave time and carbon content on the performance of the resulting LiFePO4/C material was investigated. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy proved that the olivine phase LiFePO4 was synthesized and the grain size of the samples was several hundred nanometers. Under the optimal conditions of microwave time and carbon content, the charge–discharge performance indicated that the nanosized LiFePO4/C had a high electrochemical capacity at 0.2C (152mAhg−1) and improved capacity retention; the exchange current density was 1.6977mAcm−2. Furthermore, the rate capability was improved effectively after LiFePO4 was modified with carbon, with 59mAhg−1 being obtained at 20C.",battery
"A corrosion and electrodeposition study of a Zn electrode in 5.3 M KOH, used as a model system for the anode of a secondary Zn–air battery, was performed by means of electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical techniques. The formation of a zinc oxide passive film and its cathodic removal were monitored by electroreflectance spectroscopy, spectroellipsometry and optical second harmonic generation. A dynamic optical model of the growth pathway, morphology and failure modes of the interfacial Zn oxide films was proposed to rationalise the electrokinetics of the secondary battery anode. Some experiments were performed in the absence and in the presence of polyethylene glycol. In situ spectroscopy confirmed and placed on a molecular basis the well-known formation of more compact and uniform electrodeposits crucial for secondary batteries.",battery
"A unified theoretical framework of dendrite growth kinetics has been developed to account for the coupled effects of electrodeposition, surface tension, and elastic and plastic deformation. The contribution of each driving force is assessed to identify five regimes of lithium growth: thermodynamic suppression regime, incubation regime, tip-controlled growth regime, base-controlled growth regime, and mixed growth regime, in agreement with the experimental scientific literature. Tip-controlled growth shows a linear time-dependence, while base-controlled growth shows an exponential time-dependence. A minimum in the growth rate, as a result of the reaction energy barrier increase imposed on the interface by the local elastic energy, is identified in the mixed growth regime. Further, two characteristic deposition times are identified: the characteristic deposition time, t ∘ , which defines the critical time scale necessary to overcome the electrochemical energy barrier for nucleation, and the characteristic plasticity time, t σ , which corresponds to the time scale necessary for plastic flow to occur, given a local shear stress. Examples of experimentally reported transitions between tip-controlled growth and base-controlled growth are readily captured through the proposed framework. While one or more mechanisms may dominate the growth of the electrodeposit, the proposed formulation defines a road map to design dendrite-free, lithium-based anodes as a stepping stone to identify alternate chemistries.",battery
"A new analytical method was developed to determine the electrochemical impedance of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (LIRB) at an arbitrary state of charge (SOC). Wavelet transformation (WT) is one of the waveform analysis methods, which allows the determination of frequency domain data as a function of time. The frequency domain data are obtained by convolution integral of a mother wavelet and original time domain data via the WT. A complex Morlet mother wavelet is used to obtain the complex number data in the frequency domain. The time series data of input current and output voltage signals are recorded by superimposing the double pulse current as an input signal to constant charge current for the charge of LIRB without stopping galvanostatic polarization. The double pulse current is composed of symmetrical positive and negative square waves. In this case, the SOC of LIRB is not affected by the input signal because the total amount of charge calculated from double pulse current is 0C. The impedance spectrum of LIRB at SOC 25% is determined in the frequency range from 0.1 to 100Hz during charge/discharge cycles without stopping galvanostatic polarization for the charge/discharge.",battery
"A non-aqueous all-cobalt redox flow battery, with a cobalt complex 1,10-phenanthrolinecobalt(II) hexafluorophosphate ([Co(phen)3](PF6)2) as the active species, acetonitrile as the solvent and tetraethylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TEAPF6) as the supporting electrolyte, has been investigated. The electrochemical behaviour of oxidation and reduction reactions is measured using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The [Co(phen)3]2+ can be oxidized to [Co(phen)3]3+ and reduced to [Co(phen)3]+. A theoretical cell potential of 1.45 V for one-electron disproportionation reaction is obtained. The electrode reactions show quasi-reversible behaviour and are diffusion controlled. The diffusion coefficients of [Co(phen)3] 2+ for oxidation and reduction reactions are calculated to be 1.35–2.34 × 10−6 cm2 s−1 and 2.50–4.35 × 10−6 cm2 s−1, respectively. The effect of the electrode material is also examined by experiments. The CV curves of [Co(phen)3]2+ on the graphite working electrode show superior peak current and diffusivity to those measured on the glassy-carbon electrode. The charge–discharge performance of the battery is accessed with an H-type glass cell. A coulomb efficiency of about 52% is achieved at 50% state-of-charge for an electrolyte containing of 0.01 M [Co(phen)3]2+ and 0.5 M TEAPF6 in acetonitrile.",battery
"To achieve a high-energy-density lithium electrode, high-density LiFePO4/C composite cathode material for a lithium-ion battery was synthesized using self-produced high-density FePO4 as a precursor, glucose as a C source, and Li2CO3 as a Li source, in a pipe furnace under an atmosphere of 5% H2–95% N2. The structure of the synthesized material was analyzed and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The electrochemical properties of the synthesized LiFePO4/carbon composite were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and the charge/discharge process. The tap-density of the synthesized LiFePO4/carbon composite powder with a carbon content of 7% reached 1.80gm−3. The charge/discharge tests show that the cathode material has initial charge/discharge capacities of 190.5 and 167.0mAhg−1, respectively, with a volume capacity of 300.6mAhcm−3, at a 0.1C rate. At a rate of 5C, the LiFePO4/carbon composite shows a high discharge capacity of 98.3mAhg−1 and a volume capacity of 176.94mAhcm−3.",battery
"The potential for safe, high energy-density Li-ion batteries has motivated the development of the solid electrolyte Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) to physically stabilize the Li-electrolyte interface. Although dense LLZO is a relatively hard ceramic, it has been observed that above a certain critical current density (CCD), Li metal can still propagate through both polycrystalline and single crystalline LLZO. However, reported values of CCD are still well below the current density regimes relevant to applications like electric vehicles (≥3 mA cm−2). The relationship between CCD and temperature was studied using recently developed methods for achieving consistently low interfacial impedances without interfacial coatings that can complicate the analysis of what controls interface stability. By analyzing the flux of Li+ ions at the Li-electrolyte interface, it is hypothesized here that solid-state diffusivity of Li in the Li electrode may be a governing mechanism that controls the CCD. These results demonstrate an improvement for dendrite-free cycling in LLZO up to ∼1 mA cm−2 at room temperature and ∼7 mA cm−2 at 100 °C without the need for coatings to achieve low interface resistances (∼10 Ω cm2). Furthermore, the presented analysis may provide additional insight on the role of Li diffusivity in Li propagation through ceramic electrolytes.",battery
"This paper introduces an innovative approach to analyze electrochemical characteristics and state-of-health (SOH) diagnosis of a Li-ion cell based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). In this approach, the DWT has been applied as a powerful tool in the analysis of the discharging/charging voltage signal (DCVS) with non-stationary and transient phenomena for a Li-ion cell. Specifically, DWT-based multi-resolution analysis (MRA) is used for extracting information on the electrochemical characteristics in both time and frequency domain simultaneously. Through using the MRA with implementation of the wavelet decomposition, the information on the electrochemical characteristics of a Li-ion cell can be extracted from the DCVS over a wide frequency range. Wavelet decomposition based on the selection of the order 3 Daubechies wavelet (dB3) and scale 5 as the best wavelet function and the optimal decomposition scale is implemented. In particular, this present approach develops these investigations one step further by showing low and high frequency components (approximation component A n and detail component D n , respectively) extracted from variable Li-ion cells with different electrochemical characteristics caused by aging effect. Experimental results show the clearness of the DWT-based approach for the reliable diagnosis of the SOH for a Li-ion cell.",battery
"Proteins involved in DNA repair, particularly mismatch repair, can modify the age at onset and rate of progression of Huntington disease (HD), probably by altering the rate of somatic expansion of CAG repeats in the huntingtin gene (HTT).The modulation of DNA repair factors, such as MSH3, FAN1, PMS2 and LIG1, has therapeutic potential in HD and other repeat expansion diseases.Nucleocytoplasmic transport is disrupted in HD by sequestration of nuclear pore components in HTT aggregates; modulation of nucleocytoplasmic transport is neuroprotective and might provide a novel therapeutic opportunity.Changes in cerebrospinal fluid and serum biomarkers, including neurofilament light chain and mutant HTT, are among the earliest detectable changes in HD and can predict disease onset and track progression.Intrathecally delivered non-allele-selective antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have successfully lowered HTT concentrations in the central nervous system of individuals with HD, and trials of allele-specific ASOs are under way.Gene-editing strategies for HTT lowering, including zinc finger proteins, transcription activator-like effector nucleases and CRISPR–Cas9, are currently in preclinical development, but need to be delivered via the injection of viral vectors, which can be challenging.
",non-battery
"Migration of transition metal (TM) ions to tetrahedral sites plays a crucial role on structural transformation and electrochemical behaviors for Li-rich layered oxides. Here, incorporating small B3+ in the tetrahedral interstice is employed to block the migration channel of TM ions and stabilize the crystal structure. Benefiting from their good structural stability, Li-rich layered materials with B-doped Li1.198Ni0.129Co0.129Mn0.535B0.01O2 and Li1.196Ni0.127Co0.127Mn0.529B0.02O2, exhibit excellent cycling performance and voltage stability. After 51 cycles at 0.2 C, 1 mol.% boron incorporated sample can deliver 211 mAh g−1 with capacity retention of 89.9%, which is much higher than that of the undoped sample of 177 mAh g−1 with the retention of 79.2%. Moreover, the declined voltage per cycle decreases from 3.6885 mV to 2.7530 mV after 2 mol.% boron doping. XRD patterns after extended cycling verified the suppression of the structural transformation by the incorporation of boron.",battery
"Non-flammable electrolytes could intrinsically eliminate fire hazards and improve battery safety, but their compatibility with electrode materials, especially graphite anodes, remains an obstacle owing to the strong catalytic activity of the anode surfaces. Here, we report an approach that improves the stability of non-flammable phosphate electrolytes by adjusting the molar ratio of Li salt to solvent. At a high Li salt-to-solvent molar ratio (~1:2), the phosphate solvent molecules are mostly coordinated with the Li+ cations, and the undesired reactivity of the solvent molecules toward the graphite anode can be effectively suppressed. High cycling Coulombic efficiency (99.7%), good cycle life and safe operation of commercial 18650 Li-ion cells with these electrolytes are demonstrated. In addition, these non-flammable electrolytes show reduced reactivity toward Li-metal electrodes. Non-dendritic Li-metal plating and stripping in Li–Cu half-cells are demonstrated with high Coulombic efficiency (>99%) and good stability.",battery
"Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial metabolic brain disorder characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. Decreased brain energy and glucose metabolism occurs before the appearance of AD symptoms and worsens while the disease progresses. Deregulated brain insulin signaling has also been found in AD recently. To restore brain insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, two insulin sensitizers commonly used for treating type 2 diabetes, have been studied and shown to have some beneficial effects in AD mouse models. However, the molecular mechanisms of the beneficial effects remain elusive. In the present study, we treated the 3xTg-AD mice, a widely used mouse model of AD, with pioglitazone and rosiglitazone for 4 months and studied the effects of the treatments on cognitive performance and AD-related brain alterations. We found that the chronic treatment improved spatial learning, enhanced AKT signaling, and attenuated tau hyperphosphorylation and neuroinflammation. These findings shed new light on the possible mechanisms by which these two insulin sensitizers might be useful for treating AD and support further clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of these drugs.",non-battery
"This study examined how the participant’s self-esteem and social physique anxiety affected the emotional reactions to viewing their own virtual body and willingness to participate in the virtual experience in the future. Three-dimensional body scanning technology was used as a virtual reality tool. Ninety-three (51 males and 42 females) subjects participated in the experiment, who were 18+ years old, both genders, and had no history of musculoskeletal or mental problems. The experiment consisted of the three phases, including the pre-scanning survey, 3D body scanning, and post-scanning evaluation. The results verified causal relationships that led to certain types of emotions after viewing the 3D virtual body and the willingness to participate in a future session, within the domains of self-esteem and social physique anxiety. Specifically, self-confidence (positive dimension of self-esteem) was strongly associated with positive emotions. The “other-oriented” perspective of social physique anxiety exhibited positive correlations with negative emotions. The participants who showed positive emotions indicated a strong willingness to participate in another session of 3D body scanning in the future, but those with negative emotions also showed their positive willingness to participate in the future session. It signified that regardless of their emotional responses (positive or negative) to viewing their 3D virtual body, the participants were willing to experience their 3D virtual body in the future. The findings suggested that this virtual reality approach could be used as a potentially effective, clinical tool for patients with body image-related disorders. Study limitations and future research were also discussed.",non-battery
"Large scale integration of intermittent solar and wind power can result in an imbalance in generation and load creating a stressed grid with increased frequency excursions and large power ramps. To mitigate these instabilities the use of energy storage devices such as batteries or other mechanical devices is under investigation. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are a class of efficient and clean power generator that can provide a timely power injection into the grid. However, they have limited ramping capability and overload tolerance due to fuel delivery constraints that can cause fuel starvation, resulting in Ni-oxidation and irreversible degradation in performance. Herein, we demonstrate a new concept of SOFC that incorporates a regenerative Fe-bed inside the anode chamber as a means of boosting SOFC's dynamic response. The testing results show that such Fe-bed SOFC can operate at 195% overloaded power with a doubled power output over the baseload for at least 5 min, whereas the control Fe-bed free SOFC cannot operate even at 27% overload for 1 min. More interestingly, the Fe-SOFC can respond to load demand instantaneously, reaching a ramp rate of ±11 W cm−2 min−1. The demonstrated new functionality is expected to empower SOFCs to play a transformational role in providing fast ramping power to the utility grid and overload-tolerant baseload power to the critical data centres. The challenges of this new technology are also discussed.
",battery
"A high-anode performance for dry polymer lithium-ion batteries was obtained in the surface-modified meso-carbon microbeads (MCMB). MCMB and polyvinylchloride (PVC) mixture was heated at 700°C for 6h under inert atmosphere. By this treatment, the surface of MCMB is covered with low-crystalline carbon material derived from PVC pyrolysis. The surface-modified MCMB electrode applied to dry polymer electrolytes shows a reversible capacity of 300mAhg−1, which is comparable to those obtained in the liquid electrolyte systems.",battery
"Organic materials have been promising materials for “greener and sustainable” lithium-ion batteries due to lightweight, low cost, flexibility, alternative molecular engineering. Six kinds of aromatic imides with different aromatic and aliphatic diamines based on 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) were designed, synthesized and studied as anode materials in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in this work. Compared with ortho-substituted and meta-substituted phenylenediamine, aromatic imide synthesized by p-phenylenediamine shows excellent electrochemical performance on account of its well-organized structure, which possesses 558 mA h g−1 of discharge capacity after 50 cycles at the current density of 25 mA g−1. Besides, imides with shorter alkyl chain would help improve the proportion of electrochemical active conjugated carbonyl compounds, leading to higher capacity. Thus, imide-based electrode materials can be designed efficiently by symmetrical and straight chain structure and less inactive part to gain optimum molecular structure, making it a promising alternative anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"The acrylonitrile (AN)–methoxy polyethylene glycol (350) monoacrylate (MPGA)–lithium acrylate (LiAc) copolymers (PAMGLiAc) was synthesized by emulsion polymerization. Phase inversion technique was used to prepare the PAMGLiAc microporous membrane. The gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) with the PAMGLiAc were obtained by the copolymer microporous membrane soaking liquid electrolyte. The component and structure of the PAMGLiAc were characterized by IR, NMR and TGA/DSC measurement. The electrochemical characteristics of the PAMGLiAc gel electrolytes were investigated in terms of different composition. The ionic conductivity exceeded 2.0×10−3 S/cm at ambient temperature, and this system also showed good mechanical properties and a sufficient electrochemical stability with a decomposition voltage as much as 5V vs. Li to allow far wider operation in the rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries.",battery
"PBPK modeling has been increasingly applied in chemical risk assessment for dose, route, and species extrapolation. The use of PBPK modeling was explored in deriving toxicity reference values for 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCE). This effort involved a 5-step process: (i) reconstruction of several published PBPK models for 1,1,1-TCE in the rat and human; (ii) selection of appropriate pharmacokinetic datasets for model comparison; (iii) determination of the most suitable PBPK model for supporting reference value derivation; (iv) PBPK model simulation of two critical studies to estimate internal dose metrics; and (v) calculation of internal dose metrics for human exposure scenarios for reference value derivation. The published model by Reitz et al. [Reitz, R.H., McDougal, J.N., Himmelstein, M.W., Nolan, R.J., Schumann, A.M., 1988. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling with methylchloroform: implications for interspecies, high dose/low dose, and dose route extrapolations. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 95, 185–199] was judged the most suitable. This model has liver, fat, and rapidly and slowly perfused compartments, contains a saturable process for 1,1,1-TCE hepatic metabolism, and accommodates multiple exposure pathways in three species. Data from a human volunteer study involving acute inhalation exposure [Mackay, C.J., Campbell, L., Samuel, A.M., Alderman, K.J., Idzikowski, C., Wilson, H.K., Gompertz, D., 1987. Behavioral changes during exposure to 1,1,1-trichloroethane: time-course and relationship to blood solvent levels. Am. J. Ind. Med. 11, 223–239] and a chronic rat inhalation study [Quast, J.F., Calhoun, L.L., Frauson, L.E., 1988. 1,1,1-Trichloroethane formulation: a chronic inhalation toxicity and oncogenicity study in Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice. Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 11, 611–625] were selected to simulate appropriate internal dosimetry data from which to derive reference value points of departure. Duration, route, and species extrapolations were performed based on internal dose metrics.",non-battery
"This study examined the nature of verb deficits in 14 individuals with probable Alzheimer’s Disease (PrAD) and nine with agrammatic aphasia. Production was tested, controlling both semantic and syntactic features of verbs, using noun and verb naming, sentence completion, and narrative tasks. Noun and verb comprehension and a grammaticality judgment task also were administered. Results showed that while both PrAD and agrammatic subjects showed impaired verb naming, the syntactic features of verbs (i.e., argument structure) influenced agrammatic, but not Alzheimer’s disease patients’ verb production ability. That is, agrammatic patients showed progressively greater difficulty with verbs associated with more arguments, as has been shown in previous studies (e.g., Kim & Thompson, 2000; Thompson, 2003; Thompson, Lange, Schneider, & Shapiro, 1997), and suggest a syntactic basis for verb production deficits in agrammatism. Conversely, the semantic complexity of verbs affected PrAD, but not agrammatic, patients’ performance, suggesting “bottom-up” breakdown in their verb lexicon, paralleling that of nouns, resulting from the degradation or loss of semantic features of verbs.",non-battery
"NiCo2O4 and NiMn x Co2−x O4−y (x ≤1.0) have been synthesized by a co-precipitation method, and the effects of Mn substitution for Co on the microstructural and electrochemical properties pertaining to the supercapacitor applications have been studied. Spinel structure is retained when a quarter of Co of the spinel is substituted with Mn (i.e., x =0.5), where the Mn ions predominantly occupy the octahedral sites of the spinel lattice. The presence of Mn significantly suppresses crystal growth upon thermal treatment but tends to cause severe crystallite agglomeration. Electrodes of the materials exhibit nearly ideal electrochemical capacitor behavior in neutral electrolyte solution (1M KCl(aq)). Mn substitution greatly enhances the specific capacitance of the spinel, giving gravimetric and superficial specific capacitances of ca. 110Fg−1 and ca. 380μFcm−2, respectively for x =0.5 powder. The capacitance enhancement is attributed to the facile charge-transfer characteristic of the Mn ions, as revealed by in situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure analysis.",battery
"This paper represents an assessment of the main ageing phenomena in electrical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). In this study the cycle life of the EDLC cells with a rated capacitance of 1,600 F has been investigated at different ambient temperatures and current rates. From the experimental results we can observe that the impact of the high ambient temperature is significant on the cycle life of the cells. Moreover, the results also show the negative impact of the current rate. The internal resistance tests showed that the increase of the resistance is much higher than the decrease of the capacitance. Thus, the ageing of the EDLC during cycling was clearly non-linear. Further the EIS measurements indicated the higher increase of the imaginary part of the impedance at low frequencies during cycling, which indicates the capacitance fade.",battery
"It is highly challenging but imperative to develop highly efficient, low-cost and environmentally friendly bifunctional electrocatalysts for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we successfully prepared hierarchically porous Ni3S2 nanorod array foam through a simple hydrothermal process assisted by the pretreatment with HCl. The resulting hierarchically porous Ni3S2 nanostructures exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability towards both HER and OER with low overpotential of 200mV and 217mV at current density of 10mAcm−2 for HER and OER, respectively, which are among the best non-noble metal HER/OER electrocatalysts reported in literatures. The as-prepared bifunctional electrocatalyst for both HER and OER could act as the promising electrode materials for water splitting.",battery
"This research has designed a new hybrid-electric system, which is characterized by two mechanisms: internal-combustion engine energy-distribution mechanism and dual energy-integration mechanism. The internal-combustion engine energy-distribution mechanism comprises a first pulley-set and a second pulley-set, whereby it is possible to adjust its radius ratio and change the output load according to the road-surface, output speed and corresponding load to maintain an optimal operating state of engine for a given generator rotational-speed. In this way, the engine can function in its optimal state. For a dual energy-integration mechanism, any power source can be individually actuated by the electric motor and the power transmitted from the internal-combustion engine energy-distribution mechanism. Moreover, a one-way clutch can prevent the actuated power source from reversion, so any output power source will not be affected by any inactive power. Also, two input power-sources can be integrated into a bigger power source via the dual energy-integration mechanism, thus resulting in twice the output energy and obtaining the necessary tractive power. A dynamic equation is therefore derived from this system to obtain the flow direction for the power source. Furthermore, dynamic equations of various system components can be established by the modularized software Matlab/simulink, and fuzzy logic is used to control and develop this system's dual energy-integration mechanism as a control strategy. It can be learnt from the system simulation that, after the engine's energy is distributed by the controller of the dual energy-integration mechanism, subjected to a deceleration ratio of the first pulley-set of the internal-combustion engine distribution mechanism and added to the generator torque transmitted from the second pulley-set, the engine can maintain an optimum state under various operating conditions.",battery
"The carbon nanotubes (CNT) show promising electrochemical characteristics particularly for electrochemical energy storage. The electrochemical double-layer (ECDL) capacitor is a new type of capacitor with features intermediate between those of a battery and a conventional capacitor. ECDL capacitors have been made using various types of CNT and activated carbon (a-C) as electrode material. The specific capacitance per surface area of the electrodes depends on the thickness and the specific surface area of the active material. The CNT electrodes show a specific capacitance from 0.8 and 280mFcm−2 and 8 to 16Fcm−3, respectively. Increasing the mass density also helps to increase the capacitance. Commercially available activated carbon (a-C) electrodes were also tested in order to study their specific capacitance as a function of their physical properties. The various a-C electrodes have specific capacitance per surface area ranging from 0.4 to 3.1Fcm−2 and an average specific capacitance per volume of 40Fcm−3 due to their larger mass density.",battery
"Introduction Neurocognitive dysfunction is believed to be a core feature of schizophrenia and is increasingly recognized as a common symptom dimension in bipolar disorder. Despite a copious literature on neurocognition in these disorders, the relationship amongst neurocognition, symptoms, and diagnosis remains unclear. We examined neurocognitive functioning in a cross-diagnostic sample of patients with psychotic disorders. Based on previous findings, it was hypothesized that neurocognitive functioning would be impaired in all three patient groups, and that groups would be similarly impaired on all neuropsychological measures. Additionally, we predicted that negative symptoms but not positive, general, or mood symptoms, would be associated with neurocognitive functioning. Method Neurocognitive functioning and symptoms were assessed in participants with schizophrenia (n= 25), schizoaffective disorder (n =29), or bipolar disorder with psychosis (n =31), and in healthy controls (n =20). Results Neurocognitive functioning was significantly impaired in all patient groups, and groups did not differ by diagnosis on most measures. A series of linear regressions revealed that negative symptoms (but no other clinical symptom) predicted poorer executive functioning across groups. Diagnosis was not a significant predictor of any neurocognitive variable. Discussion Neurocognitive deficits were pronounced in this cross-diagnostic sample of patients with psychotic disorders, and did not differ by diagnosis. Neurocognitive dysfunction may represent a symptom dimension that spans diagnostic categories, and may reflect shared pathogenic processes. As neurocognitive dysfunction is among the strongest predictors of outcome in patients, efforts to treat these deficits, which have shown promise in schizophrenia, should be extended to all patients with psychosis.",non-battery
"Now the lithium ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles (EV). The battery modeling and state estimation are of great importance. The rigorous physics-based electrochemical model is too complicated for on-line simulation in vehicle. In this work, the simplification of the physics-based model for application on real vehicle is proposed. An improved single particle (SP) model is introduced with high precision and the same level of computations as the original single particle model. A simplified pseudo-two-dimensional (SP2D) model is developed. The distribution of the pore wall flux is analyzed and an approximate method is developed to find the solution. The developed models are compared with rigorous electrochemical model and original SP models. The results demonstrate that the models introduced in this work could simulate the battery efficiently without too much loss of accuracy. A state of charge (SOC) estimation algorithm using the Luenberger observer with the SP2D model is proposed and shows high precision. This SOC estimation method could be used in the BMS in real vehicle.",battery
"A neuropeptidase, neprilysin (NEP), is a major amyloid (Aβ)-degrading enzyme involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The olfactory system is affected early in AD with characteristic Aβ accumulation, but data on the dynamics of NEP expression in the olfactory system are absent. Our study demonstrates that NEP mRNA expression in rat olfactory bulbs (OB), entorhinal cortex (ECx), hippocampus (Hip), parietal cortex (PCx) and striatum (Str) increases during the first postnatal month being the highest in the OB and Str. By 3 months, NEP mRNA levels sharply decrease in the ECx, Hip and PCx and by 9 months in the OB, but not in the Str, which correlates with declining olfaction in aged rats tested in the food search paradigm. One-month-old rats subjected to prenatal hypoxia on E14 had lower NEP mRNA levels in the ECx, Hip and PCx (but not in the OB and Str) compared with the control offspring and demonstrated impaired olfaction in the odour preference and food search paradigms. Administration to these rats of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, sodium valproate, restored NEP expression in the ECx, Hip and PCx and improved olfaction. Our data support NEP involvement in olfactory function.",non-battery
"Ternary metal sulfides are emerging as a new class of electrochemical energy storage materials outperforming their oxide counterparts. We report here a facile and scalable solvothermal synthetic approach for growth of carbon doped MnCo2S4 microcubes (edge length, 10μm) directly on Ni foam. The simple approach of binder-free design, in-situ carbon doping and the use of 3D current collector resulted in an extraordinarily high specific capacity of 1892Cg−1 (525.7mAhg−1) at 5Ag−1 and outstanding rate performance of 516Cg−1 (143.3mAhg−1) at a very high current density of 100Ag−1 when tested as a faradaic electrode in aqueous KOH electrolyte. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicate concurrent intercalation of both H+ and OH− ions from the electrolyte during the electrochemical processes. In two-electrode symmetric MnCo2S4//KOH//MnCo2S4 cells, mimicking the physical configuration of practical cells, specific capacity of 215Cg−1 (59.7mAhg−1) could be achieved at 1Ag−1. Further, the symmetric cell delivers energy densities of 106.5 and 15.2Whkg−1 at power densities of 0.85 and 18kWkg−1 demonstrating great application prospects.",battery
"Abstract In this chapter, we discuss the importance of noncovalent interactions in functional nanostructures. From layered materials to porous materials to polymers, we detail the underlying noncovalent interactions that define their behavior and dominate their properties and how theory, modeling and simulation is key to accelerate the process of understanding and design. In particular, we highlight how atomic level details of the underlying physicochemical phenomena can be useful for illuminating the connections between experiments and computational approaches.",non-battery
"Finely dispersed tin alloy/oxide composites were synthesized via the reduction of tin oxide by aluminum under high-energy ball-milling. The morphology and crystal structure of the resulting samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical measurements reveal that Sn3Co/Al2O3 composite has higher initial efficiency and better cycle performance than Sn/Al2O3. The Sn3Co/Al2O3 composite electrode containing LA132 binder exhibited a reversible capacity about 540mAhg−1 with good capacity retention. On the other hand, it is found that the influence of binder type on the electrode performance is remarkable.",battery
"There is a great need to develop efficient and stable anodes suitable for high performance Na ion batteries (NIBs). Here we explore the interaction between Na and silicene in context of NIB anodes with first-principles methods including molecular dynamics simulations. We find that Na ions are adsorbed on silicene mainly via the formation of Na chains based on the agglomeration of Na pairs above and below the silicene sheet around top sites. This chain-on-top model is very different from the usual mechanism of atomic adsorption on a surface, as in Li on graphene. With the increase of Na concentration up to x = 1, a phase transition happens with the formation of a new stable structure Na2Si2. The interaction between Na and silicene is sufficiently strong that there no tendency for formation of Na clusters indicating stability of Na/silicene anodes. Additionally, the interaction is not so strong as to lead to breaking of the silicene lattice. The capacity of Na on silicene may be more than 954 mAh/g, which implies that it has the potential to be an excellent candidate anode material.",battery
"The discharge characteristics of silver vanadium oxide (SVO) as a cathode in lithium–silver vanadium oxide (Li–SVO) primary battery was studied under various operating conditions. The cathode yielded a capacity of 260 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.08 mA cm−2, although the theoretical capacity of this material is 315 mAh g−1. The pulse discharge characteristics were studied under conditions that simulate battery operation inside an implantable cardio-verter defibrillator (ICD). The variation of the ohmic resistance of the system was studied as a function of depth of discharge. Rate capability and impedance studies indicated high diffusion limitations for this system especially at high depth of discharge. Morphological changes during discharge were also discussed using scanning electron microscopic studies.",battery
"With electricity consumption increasing within the United States, new paradigms of delivering electricity are required in order to meet demand. One promising option is the increased use of distributed power generation. Already a growing percentage of electricity generation, distributed generation locates the power plant physically close to the consumer, avoiding transmission and distribution losses as well as providing the possibility of combined heat and power. Despite the efficiency gains possible, regulators and utilities have been reluctant to implement distributed generation, creating numerous technical, regulatory, and business barriers. Certain governments, most notable California, are making concerted efforts to overcome these barriers in order to ensure distributed generation plays a part as the country meets demand while shifting to cleaner sources of energy.",battery
"The present study investigated the relation between reaction to negative stimuli and memory for stimuli. The relation was further investigated using as a framework individuals’ affective temperaments (AFTs). Eighty adolescents participated in the study. The AFTs are based on selfreported affect and categorizes individuals in four temperaments: self-actualizing, high affective, low affective and self-destructive. Reaction to negative stimuli was measured by interpretation of specific words in a short story. Two days later, participants were presented with a list of words and asked which of them were present in the short story. Individuals’ AFTs were expected to predict the promotion of pleasure or the prevention of displeasure. On a general level, reaction to negative stimuli predicted memory for negative, positive and neutral words. At an individual level, self-actualizers and high affectives’ negative reaction predicted the memory of positive words (i.e., promotion). In contrast, low affectives’ negative and positive reaction predicted the memory of neutral words (i.e., prevention).
",non-battery
"Designing a molecule with pH, temperature and ion concentration sensitive luminescence properties is always fascinating. Tin disulfide (SnS2), a member of layered metal dichalcogenides (LMDs) family, is explored much for their commendable applications, however, its fluorescence property is still less explored. Present study reports a facile and eco-friendly bottom up synthesis route for tin disulfide quantum dots (SnS2-QDs). Transmission electron microscopic (TEM), and Atomic force microscopic (AFM) analysis revealed an average particle size of ∼3.6 nm. Our reported synthesis method provide the in-situ functionalization of quantum dots (QDs) making it highly sensitive to its environment. SnS2-QDs are found to be pH sensitive and hence a detailed pH dependent luminescence study has been performed. Interestingly it was found that SnS2-QDs possess ∼16 fold enhanced luminescence intensity in acidic condition (pH ∼ 1, QY = 5.32%) rather its basic condition (pH ∼ 12, QY = 1.17%). To explain this pH dependent behavior of SnS2-QDs, a mechanism has been proposed where this luminescence switching is mainly supposed due to protonation and deprotonation between –NH2 and –COOH groups. We believe present study may provide an insight for the development of pH sensor using SnS2-QDs for practical applications.",non-battery
"New Zealand faces significant ecological problems caused by the introduction of a variety of invasive small mammal species. Many of these species originate from temperate to subarctic climates and occur across wide elevations in their native range, and so arrived predisposed to adapt to a variety of habitats and bioclimatic zones in their new environs, including the alpine zone. Almost all of New Zealand’s invasive small mammal species have been recorded in the country’s alpine zones, yet neither the altitudinal distribution nor the extent to which such species use high elevation areas has been clearly defined. We conducted extensive camera trap surveys in summer to autumn periods of 2019 and 2020 across an elevation range of 500–2250 m above sea level, and used detection rates and occupancy modelling to reveal the altitudinal distributions and habitat associations of all 10 invasive small mammals that occur in the dryland zone of the central South Island. We found altitudinal distributions varied greatly across species, and that while most exhibited decreasing detection rates and site occupancy probabilities with increasing elevation, some used the subalpine and alpine zones to a greater degree than adjacent lower elevations. There were clear habitat associations, as well as interspecific associations that helped to explain the altitudinal distribution of some species. Understanding how such factors influence the distribution of invasive small mammals has both broad implications for invasive species management, and direct applications in evaluating threats to native taxa, advancing management strategies, and benchmarking distributions in a changing climate.",non-battery
"Si-based anode materials have been widely accepted as one of the most potential candidates for lithium ion batteries due to their abundance and high theoretical specific capacity. However, their practical application is seriously restricted by huge volume change and low intrinsic electric conductivity. Herein, a sandwich structured mesocarbon microbeads/nano-Si/amorphous carbon (MSC) composite was successfully fabricated through simple solution process and magnesiothermic reduction. The MCMB core acts as perfect materials support for nano-Si and conductive network for high electrochemical lithiation stability. Nano-Si provides high lithium storage capacity for enhanced energy density, and the amorphous carbon layer can effectively buffer the volume change from the nano-Si. As a result, the obtained MSC composite with optimal design displays high reversible capacity of 648 mA h g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1, along with a satisfactory capacity retention ratio of 90.3% after 100 cycles. To sum up, we develop a simple approach for large-scale preparation of silicon-based composites with high capacity and long-term cycle stability, which shows great potential for applications in the next-generation lithium ion batteries.",battery
"As members of the redox-flow battery (RFB) family, nonaqueous RFBs can offer a wide range of working temperature, high cell voltage, and potentially high energy density. These key features make nonaqueous RFBs an important complement of aqueous RFBs, broadening the spectrum of RFB applications. The development of nonaqueous RFBs is still at its early research stage and great challenges remain to be addressed before their successful use for practical applications. As such, it is essential to understand the major components in order to advance the nonaqueous RFB technology. In this perspective, three key major components of nonaqueous RFBs: organic solvents, supporting electrolytes, and redox pairs are selectively focused and discussed, with emphasis on providing an overview of those components and on highlighting the relationship between structure and properties. Urgent challenges are also discussed. To advance nonaqueous RFBs, the understanding of both components and systems is critically needed and it calls for inter-disciplinary collaborations across expertise including electrochemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, cell design, and system engineering. In order to demonstrate the key features of nonaqueous RFBs, herein we also present an example of designing a 4.5 V ultrahigh-voltage nonaqueous RFB by combining a BP/BP˙− redox pair and an OFN˙+/OFN redox pair.
",battery
"The influence of BrCl on the impedance response of both the lithium anode and the carbon cathode in Li/SOCl2 cells was studied. The impedance of the lithium anode increases with storage time while the addition of BrCl to Li/SOCl2 cells decreases the impedance. However, the porous carbon cathode shows a small film resistance before discharge. The addition of BrCl to Li/SOCl2 cells also decreases the impedance, especially for that part of the interface reaction resistance R2. As a rule, the film resistance of the lithium anode decreases sharply during the early period of discharge, while that of the porous carbon cathode rises rapidly. It follows that the porous carbon cathode is the rate controlling electrode during discharge.
",battery
" Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that mainly affects young adults and that is one of the leading causes of disability in this age group, with cognitive impairment occurring early in the course of the disease. This article summarizes the current knowledge about cognitive dysfunction in the early phase of MS, including biomarkers, MRI correlates, and its value as a prognostic marker.",non-battery
"The SiOC ceramic was prepared with vinyltriethoxysilane as the sol−gel precursor, and followed by etching with KOH. The effect of KOH etching on the morphology, structure and electrochemical properties of SiOC anodes was investigated. The amorphous SiOC ceramics with different free carbon content is obtained by KOH etching. The reaction of oxygen-enriched units with KOH and the activation of free carbon resulted in the formation of micro and mesopores. The galvanostatic charging/discharging and rate capability suggest that the electrochemical performance of SiOC ceramics is improved by KOH etching. As compared with SiOC sample, KOH-SiOC-5 (KOH/SiOC weight ratio of 5:1) with a high BET surface area of 249.2m2 g−1 deliveres a discharge capacity of 607mAhg−1 at the current density of 36mAg−1. Nano-sized pores, mixed SiOxC4-x structures and the free carbon phase both work together for the excellent electrochemical performance. The contribution of carbon to reversible capacity is higher than that of SiOxC4-x phases and surface area. However, the specific surface area, pore volume and free carbon content are decreased by excessive etching with KOH, which resulted in the decrease of electrochemical properties.",battery
"Analysis of phase transformation processes observed in most hydrogen-absorbing materials (pure metals, alloys or compounds) is still a matter of active research, in view of electrochemical or chemical hydrogen storage applications. Most metal hydride systems present a large and irreducible hysteresis, indicating that non-linear phenomena are taking place during hydrogen sorption/desorption reactions. Investigation of hydriding kinetics therefore requires non-harmonic spectroscopies to fulfill the requirements of linearity and time invariance imposed by the theory of systems. The purpose of this paper is to report on the insertion of atomic hydrogen into a palladium foil. The process is analyzed using electrochemical (the electrolyte is the source of hydrogen) and pneumato-chemical (the gas phase is the source of hydrogen) experimental spectroscopies. Pneumato-chemical impedance spectroscopy (PIS) provides additional information to electro-chemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) since (i) there is no electrolyte and no electrified interface; (ii) experiments can be performed over long periods of time, without any pollution (closed systems); (iii) there is no parasite reaction such as hydrogen evolution encountered in electrochemical experiments; (iv) the temperature range of investigation is larger; (v) there is no kinetic limitations on the electrolyte side of the interface. Results obtained in single and two-phase domains of the model PdH system, using both EIS and PIS spectroscopies, are reported and discussed. Surface and bulk microscopic rate parameters are compared.",battery
The Industrial Materials Institute is dedicated to assisting Canadian industry by conducting R & D in the areas of materials formulation and processing — including some leading-edge work in PM. Joe Capus found out more…,non-battery
"A rough coating structure of CeO2@Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 can be formed via a wet chemical method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS) are carried out to study the structures and morphologies, which all confirm the existence of CeO2 coating layer on the Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 surface. The 2 wt.% CeO2-coated Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 can deliver 97.4 mAh g−1 at 10C and 59.2 mAh g−1 at 20C after 100 cycles in the voltage range of 2.8–4.6 V, while the pristine Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 can deliver only 23.5 mAh g−1 at 10C and 9.0 mAh g−1 at 20C. The discharge capacities of CeO2-coated Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 samples at high discharge rates are much higher than those of the pristine Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2. Meanwhile, the CeO2-coated Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 sample shows better rate performance at different rates. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements reveal that the improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the reduced interfacial polarization and stabilized structure of Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 by CeO2 coating. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) is applied to analyze the role of CeO2 coating layer on the long cycling life.",battery
"In this work, we have successfully synthesized a novel imidazolium polymeric ionic liquid containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and use it as host polymer to develop novel solid polymer electrolytes with high room temperature ionic conductivity, good cycle performance and rate capability. The polymeric polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane ionic liquids based solid polymer electrolytes exhibit highest room temperature ion conductivity up to 4.82 × 10−4 S cm−1 and outstanding electrochemical stability up to 5 V relative to Li+/Li. Moreover, the Li/LiFePO4 cells containing the novel solid polymer electrolytes exhibit excellent cycle performance and rate capability, delivering an initial discharge capacity of about 151.8 mAh g−1 at a rate of 0.1 C at room temperature with excellent capacity retention after 100th cycles.",battery
"Galvanostatic deposition of tartrate–doped polypyrrole (PPy) is carried out on platinum foil in acetonitrile solution with tartaric acid, tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate and Triton-X 100 for supercapacitor studies. The effect of substrate is studied by comparing the results obtained by using platinum, stainless steel and pencil graphite electrodes. The capacitive performance of the coatings are evaluated in an H2SO4/water medium by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge–discharge methods. Based on the charge–discharge results obtained, the tartrate–doped PPy coatings represent a high specific capacitance of 794Fg−1 (areal capacitance of 238mFcm-2) and a high energy density of 105Whkg-1 on pencil graphite electrode, and a high power density of 36.3kWkg-1 on 316Ti stainless steel electrode. High values may be attributed to the incorporation of tartaric acid via hydrogen bonding, and/or tartrate anion as dopant together with the tetrafluoroborate anion. Besides, Triton X100 provides high porosity and therefore high surface area.",battery
"Ubiquitous healthcare is the service that offers health-related information and contents to users without any limitations of time and space. Especially, to offer customized services to users, the technology of acquiring context information of users in real time is the most important consideration. In this paper, we researched wearable sensors. We proposed the ontology driven interactive healthcare with wearable sensors (OdIH_WS) to achieve customized healthcare service. For this purpose, wearable-sensor-based smart-wear and methods of data acquisition and processing are being developed. The proposed system has potential value in healthcare. A smart wear using wearable sensors is fabricated as a way of non-tight and comfortable style fitting for the curves of the human body based on clothes to wear in daily life. The design sample of the smart wear uses basic stretch materials and is designed to sustain its wearable property. To offer related information, it establishes an environment-information-based healthcare ontology model needed for inference, and it is composed of inside-outside context information models depending on the users’ context. The modeling of the proposed system involved combinations of information streams, focusing on service context information. With the proposed service inference rules, customized information and contents could be drawn by the inference engine. In the established OdIH_WS, real-time health information monitoring was achieved. The results of system performance and users’ satisfaction evaluations confirmed that the proposed system is superior to other existing systems.
",non-battery
 The aim of this study was to assess the association between physical fitness (PF) and energy and nutrient intake in Spanish older adults.,non-battery
"Owing to the passivation behavior of iron anode, alkaline iron-based rechargeable batteries usually show very poor high rate performance (below 1.0C), which seriously restricts their widespread commercial deployment. In this work, for the first time, we demonstrate that sublimed sulfur can be used as a novel, cheap and effective anode additive to significantly enhance the high-rate performance of iron-based battery. Influences of S additive on the electrochemical performances of iron anode are investigated systemically. Moreover, the possible mechanism of sublimed sulfur is further investigated. It is interestingly discovered that the adding method and adding content of S has greatly affected the final performance of the iron electrode. The Fe3O4 +10 wt.%S mixing electrode can be charged at 2C and discharged at the rate as high as 5C with a discharge capacity of ～430 mAh g−1. The significant enhancement of high rate performance can be ascribed to that sublimed sulfur can not only provide sustained supply of sulfur ions during cycling but also act as a pore-former to modify the porosity of iron electrode to form a beneficial porous electrode structure. Therefore, it is believed that sublimed sulfur is a promising, highly efficient anode additive for advanced iron-based batteries.",battery
" “Finding the Invisible Defect” is the theme for 2011 at the premier event for the microelectronics failure analysis community. The ISTFA technical symposia, user groups, education opportunities, and the largest equipment exposition in the industry make ISTFA the best place to learn, network, and further your career.",non-battery
"This research study examined university students’ evaluation of teaching at an English preparatory school. Twelve students who participated in the study were chosen as a consequence of theoretical sampling because they repeated the intermediate level twice and were believed to give valuable information regarding the challenges encountered in the program. Aims of the study were to: (1) demonstrate quality assurance at program implementation level, (2) get feedback from students on the appropriateness of activities for their learning needs, (3) get students to reflect on their language skills development and identify what they still need to learn that could be useful for the improvement of teaching, (4) raise awareness and persuade students to engage with the opportunities for learning beyond classroom and (5) negotiate emphases for the remainder of the program. Participants were asked to comment on and evaluate the educational quality, course objectives, performance of their instructor, their learning, achievement and progress, course materials, learning support they received, role of information and communication technology, and assessment procedures. Data was collected by Students’ Evaluation of Educational Quality Instrument (SEEQ), focus group interviews and field notes. Findings revealed certain action points for the development of the English language teaching program.",non-battery
"EaglePicher Inc (EPI), and its US subsidiaries, including EaglePicher Filtration & Minerals Division, have concluded their Chapter 11 restructuring process.",non-battery
"Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) is a well-known tool for electrochemical investigations. Different aspects on the use of LSV in the study of an intercalation electrode in the rechargeable lithium battery system have been studied. Mathematical models were used to simulate voltammetry responses for an intercalation material influenced by solid phase diffusion, charge transfer and IR-drop. It was shown how the peak potential and the peak current density vary with sweep rate for different rate determining processes. The simulations show that finite and semi-infinite diffusion is relatively easy to distinguish and also, these two processes behave differently from processes influenced by charge transfer and an external IR-drop. However, the separation of charge transfer and IR-drop is difficult. The use of the convolution sweep voltammetry method was also investigated. It was found that finite diffusion and a non-zero initial concentration limit the applicability in these systems.",battery
"This paper outlines a method for optimizing the design of a lithium-ion battery pack for hybrid vehicle applications using a hybrid numerical optimization method that combines multiple individual optimizers. A gradient-free optimizer (ALPSO) is coupled with a gradient-based optimizer (SNOPT) to solve a mixed-integer nonlinear battery pack design problem. This method enables maximizing the properties of a battery pack subjected to multiple safety and performance constraints. The optimization framework is applied to minimize the mass, volume and material costs. The optimized pack design satisfies the energy and power constraints exactly and shows 13.9–18% improvement in battery pack properties over initial designs. The optimal pack designs also performed better in driving cycle tests, resulting in 23.1–32.8% increase in distance covered per unit of battery performance metric, where the metric is either mass, volume or material cost.",battery
"Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are known for their high energy density but suffer from poor cycling performance due to severe dissolution of the polysulfides (PSs) in liquid electrolyte and their shuttle effect. Effectively anchor the PS should combine the physical and chemical adsorption. However, most of the current studies are focused on confining the PS mobility by physical adsorption alone. Herein, chemical adsorption of the PS is emphasized in a special cell with functionalized graphene adsorbers. Both the experimental and calculated results show that functional groups containing C, N, O and P atoms are beneficial for immobilizing the PSs via chemical bonding, such as C–S, O–S, P–S. Such cells deliver a reversible capacity as high as 1218mAhg−1 and cycle stably by solely applying the chemical adsorption, comparable to the current reports mostly based on physical adsorption. Our findings enrich the fundamental understanding of the chemical adsorption of the PS and shed light on the design of sulfur electrodes.",battery
"NaxCayCoO2 (0.45 ≤ x ≤ 0.64, 0.02 ≤ y ≤ 0.10) is synthesized via a solid-state method and examined as a cathode material to improve the cyclability of sodium ion batteries (SIBs). The substitution of one Ca2+ for two Na+ does not alter the P2-phase of undoped Na0.73CoO2, accompanying the continuous contraction of the unit cell volume with Ca-doping. The existence of Ca2+ in the prismatic sites between CoO6 slabs also affects the phase transition behaviors during charge–discharge (C–D). The suppression of Na+-vacancy ordering, ascribed to the immobility of Ca2+ in NaxCayCoO2, leads to continuous changes of the cell voltages with no abrupt voltage drops during C–D. The reduced cell dimension and the mitigation of distinctiveness between biphasic and solid-solution domains during C-D improve the cyclability of NaxCayCoO2 in SIBs. As an example, the negligible capacity fading in Na0.60Ca0.07CoO2 during 60 cycles (0.07 mAh g−1 cycle−1) is contrasted with a substantial decrease in the reversible capacity of Na0.73CoO2 (0.56 mAh g−1 cycle−1). Furthermore, a slower Na+ diffusion of NaxCayCoO2 in Na+-vacancy ordering regions, is sufficiently offset by a more rapid diffusion in all the other regions, which results in an improved rate performance. The platform presented here (multi-valent cation substitution for Na+) could be utilized in other layered cathode materials to improve the electrochemical performance of SIBs.",battery
"This paper reports on an investigation in which several standard Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) elements consisting of thermal actuators, inchworm drives, and comb drives were subjected to vibration loading representative of the environment seen in space applications. Finite-element analysis of the MEMS devices showed that sufficient margins existed under the expected environmental loading. Vibration testing, however, resulted in several failures in the devices, and analysis showed that progressive failure initiated from large local displacements. Debris transport and entrapment was another source of failure leading to shorting of thermal actuators. The results illustrate the importance of debris control and packaging design for reliable MEMS operation. Suggestions for improving the reliability of MEMS devices through practical layout and packaging guidelines are made.",non-battery
"Al-doped Li2ZnTi3O8 in the form of Li2ZnTi3 − x Al x O8 (0⩽ x ⩽0.2) compounds are successfully synthesized by a simple and facile high temperature solid-phase reaction. The characteristics of Li2ZnTi3 − x Al x O8 are examined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and laser particle size analyzer, while the electrochemical performances including galvanostatic charge–discharge testing, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were also investigated. It is shown from the structure analysis that Li2ZnTi3 − x Al x O8 (x =0, 0.05, 0.1) has the pure phase structure, but impurity peak of LiAlO2 can be detected when x >0.1. In the voltage range of 0.05–3.0V, Li2ZnTi2.9Al0.1O8 electrode presents the largest initial discharge capacity of 223.1mAhg−1 at 0.1Ag−1. Moreover, the discharge capacities of Li2ZnTi2.9Al0.1O8 after 100 cycles are 173.2, 136.7, 108.6, and 61.4mAhg−1 at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0Ag−1, respectively, which obviously higher than those of un-doped sample. The electrode reaction reversibility and electronic conductivity of pure Li2ZnTi3O8 are enhanced after doping Al (x =0.1). The results revealed that doping Al should be an effective way to improve the cycling performance.",battery
"Although the choice of binder is crucial in determining the electrochemical performance and durability of silicon-based electrodes, the underlying mechanisms (e.g., mechanical vs. chemical) are unclear. Here, we report a study of the effects of adhesion vs. cohesion on the electrochemical behavior of silicon nanoparticle/polymeric binder/carbon black (CB) electrodes on copper conductor by multiple techniques. Two types of polymeric binders, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and sodium alginate (SA), were chosen for this study. The results show that because of a sufficiently strong interface between polymer and the copper current collector, both Si/PVDF/CB and Si/SA/CB composite electrode laminates have sufficient adhesive strength with the Cu conductor to cause cohesive failure within the electrode laminate during peel test. However, the interfacial strength between SA and silicon is significantly higher than that between PVDF and silicon, resulting in stronger cohesion within the Si/SA/CB electrode (e.g., peel strength of 78.3 N/m for Si/SA/CB electrode and 8.7 N/m for Si/PVDF/CB electrode, respectively). With a higher cohesive strength provided by a stronger binder-silicon interface, superior cell performance was ensured for Si/SA/CB electrodes. Hydrogen bonding is likely responsible for the stronger SA-Si interface since neither PVDF nor SA bonds covalently with Si according to chemical analysis.",battery
"Background A female patient presented with persistent orofacial pain on the right side for 3 years, attributed to a viral infection. The pain had remained largely pharmacoresistant, reaching a value of 8/10 on the visual analogue scale. Methods The patient underwent varying three different conditions of trancranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). First, the contralateral representational field of the face area of the primary motor cortex (M1) was anodally stimulated for 5 consecutive days for 20 minutes at 1 mA. During the second stimulation condition, 20 minutes cathodal stimulation was applied for 5 consecutive days at 2 mA intensity over the contralateral representational field the face area of primary somatosensory cortex (SI). In the third condition, the hand area of the left M1 was anodally stimulated for 20 minutes at 1 mA intensity for 8 days combined with the oral administration of D-cycloserine. Results With regard the third stimulation condition, a 60% reduction in pain perception was observed toward the end of the stimulation. The patient reported a significant pain relief sensation for up to 6 weeks poststimulation. Conclusions Although this is a pilot exploratory trial in a single patient, our study is a further step toward clinical application of tDCS over the M1 using pharmacologic intervention, to prolong the induced after effect. Furthermore, it demonstrates the potential for repetitive daily stimulation therapy for chronic pain patients.",non-battery
"A new polyaniline (PANI)-coated technique was adopted for a AB5-type alloy (La0.64Ce0.25Pr0.03Nd0.08Ni4.19Mn0.31Co0.42Al0.23) in order to improve its electrochemical and kinetic properties. FE-SEM observation and FT-IR analysis results revealed that the PANI electroless deposited to the surface of alloy particles. Through the PANI-coating the initial discharge capacity increased from 299 to 331mAh/g and the high rate discharge ability (HRD) increased from 8.5 to 45.0% at discharge current density of 1440mA/g. For kinetic properties, linear polarization, EIS, anodic polarization and cyclic voltammetry measurements suggested that charge-transfer resistance decreased and the hydrogen absorption rate of the alloys increased after PANI-coating.",battery
"Sulfide glasses have been considered as new anode materials for lithium-ion batteries because their high ionic conductivity (approximately ≥10−4 S/cm) (more than one order of magnitude higher than oxide glasses (approximately ≤10−6 S/cm)) was expected to accelerate Li+ ion insertion into and extraction from anode materials during charge and discharge reactions. This intrinsic property can yield the reversible lithium-alloying reaction by minimizing the aggregation of lithium-alloy phases leading to the improvement of cycling behavior. To examine sulfide glasses as new anode materials, GeS2 glass was chosen for study in this work due to its stability in air-atmospheres. The electrochemical properties of the GeS2 glass were compared with those of the Ge metal and GeO2 glass. The initial insertion of lithium into the GeX2 (X=O, S) glasses leads to the formation of Li2X (X=O, S) phases associated with the irreversible capacity on the first cycle. The improved reversibility of the reaction of lithium with Ge was observed in the Li2S medium rather than Li2O one, which leads to the improvement of cycle performance in the GeS2 glass anode.",battery
"Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a technique widely used to characterize electrochemical systems. While EIS is powerful and simple to use, interpreting EIS experiments is not a straightforward task. Equivalent circuits are by far the most commonly used EIS models. However, these circuits models are not unique. To overcome this issue, the research community has shown increasing interest in distributional methods such as the distribution of relaxation times (DRT), and the recently developed distribution of diffusion times (DDT). The DDT method captures the diffusional timescales of electrode particles, and for this reason, is particularly well suited for the study of the EIS response of batteries and supercapacitors. One major assumption of the DDT method is that the electrodes of these devices are thin. This article generalizes the DDT to electrodes of finite thickness, and this analytical model is termed the non-linear distribution of diffusion times (NL-DDT). The NL-DDT is studied using synthetic data and applying it to actual experiments. The study shows that the NL-DDT can recover the diffusional characteristics as well as the physical properties of the electrodes, including the chemical diffusion coefficient and ionic conductivities.",battery
"Due to the capability of CO2 uptake and the high theoretical energy density, Li–CO2 batteries have attracted a great deal of attention as a novel and promising energy storage system which is based on the reversible reaction between lithium and CO2. However, the insulating Li2CO3 formed upon the discharge process, which is difficult to be decomposed during recharge process due to the lack of effective cathode catalyst, leads to the poor cycling performance and huge overpotential of the Li–CO2 batteries. In this work, the Ru nanosheets were directly grown on one side of the three-dimensional nickel foam through a galvanic replacement reaction to form the Ru/Ni electrode, which was further used in the Li–CO2 batteries. The highly dispersed Ru nanosheets in the Ru/Ni cathode effectively promote the decomposition of discharge product Li2CO3 and thus reduce the charge overpotential. Moreover, the typical porous and binder-free Ru/Ni electrode not only has a sturdy construction to suppress the side reaction in the Li–CO2 batteries, but also enables the rapid permeation of CO2 and electrolyte/electron into the active sites of the Ru/Ni electrode. As a result, the Ru/Ni cathode-based Li–CO2 battery exhibits the superior discharge capacity (9502 mAh g−1), good coulombic efficiency (95.4%) and excellent rate performance (3177 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1) at the full discharge/charge condition. When operated at the limited capacity of 1000 mAh g−1, this cell can run for over 100 cycles with the charge potential below 4.1 V. The findings provide a snapshot towards improving the reversibility of Li–CO2 batteries by designing the binder-free stable cathodes.",battery
"
        Spinel-type, lithium manganese oxides, e.g.LiMn2O4, are very appealing electrodes for upgrading lithium batteries in terms of cost and environmental compatibility. Unfortunately, the practical use of these oxides has so far been hindered by some drawbacks, the most serious being the short life associated with the severe capacity fading on cycling, especially experienced at temperatures above ambient. In this work we report a new strategy for tackling this issue. The results reported here demonstrate that our approach, based on innovative core-shell electrode morphology, is very effective in improving the behaviour of lithium manganese spinel electrodes in lithium cells, by ensuring exceptional capacity stability upon cycling in temperature ranges where all the previous manganese based electrode materials inevitably failed. We show that our core-shell electrodes deliver a specific capacity of the order of 85 mAh g−1 in range of 3–4.3 V vs.Li/Li+ with a retention of 97% over 100 cycles at 60 °C . To our knowledge, such high performance levels have not been met so far.
",battery
"A novel wet method of (NH4)3AlF6 coating was explored to enhance the electrochemical performance of Mn-based solid-solution cathode material 0.5Li2MnO3·0.5LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns show that the coating material is pure-phase (NH4)3AlF6 and both pristine and coated samples can be indexed to hexagonal α-NaFeO2 layered structure with space group of R-3m. The field-emission scanning electron microscope images and the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy show that (NH4)3AlF6 is successfully coated on the surface of active particle. The (NH4)3AlF6 coated electrodes exhibit improved electrochemical performance, for instance, the initial charge-discharge efficiency was promoted by 5% (NH4)3AlF6 coating, the 1wt.% and 3wt.% coated electrodes deliver elevated cycling ability which is ascribed to the lower resistance between electrode and electrolyte as indicated by AC impedance measurement at different cycles. In addition, the coated-electrodes also give enhanced rate capability particularly for 1wt.% NAF-coated electrode performing surprising capacity of 143.4 mAh g−1 at 5C higher than that of 109.4 mAh g−1 for pristine electrode. Furthermore, the 1wt.% NAF-coated electrode also shows improved cycle and rate performance at 55°C.",battery
"γ-MnS/reduced graphene oxide (γ-MnS/rGO) composite was successfully fabricated via a facile one-pot solvothermal route using graphene oxide (GO), thioacetamide (TAA, CH3CSNH2) and MnCl2·4H2O as reactants. It reveals that TAA plays an important role in reducing GO and sulfurizing γ-MnS. The synthesized composite was characterized via X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy for structural and morphological studies. Electrochemical performance was also investigated through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge. As for the application of supercapacitors, the γ-MnS/rGO composite shows a great value of 802.5 F g−1 at a current density of 5 A g−1. Furthermore, the capacitance of γ-MnS/rGO has no decrease of its initial values after 2000 cycles. The galvanostatic charge–discharge curve demonstrates the ideal capacitive behavior of γ-MnS/rGO composite electrodes.",battery
"The structural changes of spinel Li1.02Mn2O4 and Li1.02Co0.11Ni0.04Mn1.85O4 cathode materials have been studied by synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The results show that spinel Li1.02Mn2O4 undergoes a phase transition from cubic (Fd3m) to orthorhombic symmetry (Fddd) at T=285K. However, substitution of a small amount of Co3+ and Ni3+ ions suppresses phase transition and the cubic phase is maintained at low temperature due to a decrease in the concentration of Jahn–Teller active Mn3+ ions.",battery
"The current development of fuel cell scooters has been reviewed in this paper. Fuel cell scooters, by nature, have zero emissions, and they have the potential to replace current petroleum-propelled engine scooters. First, the fundamentals of fuel cells, including the critical technologies pertaining to fuel cell engines and hydrogen storage, were introduced. Then, the technical feasibility of fuel cell scooters was discussed in parallel with the hydrogen infrastructure model. The accomplishments of fuel cell scooters in Taiwan were presented. Moreover, the contribution of replacing petrol scooters by hydrogen fuel cell scooters to reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and energy conservation was evaluated. Furthermore, industrial competition with regard to the development of fuel cell scooters was discussed on the basis of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. In conclusion, with mature fuel cell technology together with solid foundation of the scooter industry, Taiwan offers conditions that were conducive for the development of fuel cell scooters. Its social and technical capability will be proved on account of the leading demonstrations of fuel cell scooters in the world. If it can develop a successful business model, Taiwan could enjoy the advantages of tapping the huge global market for zero-emission scooters.",battery
"Laguna de Terminos, a wide coastal lagoon system in Campeche, Mexico, was investigated for the contamination by polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs). Distribution of these industrial chemical contaminants along with pesticide residues in the lagoon, as well as their sediment–water partitioning and bioaccumulation by oysters and fish were assessed. Contaminant concentrations in the lagoon were compared with toxicity data for aquatic organisms and the ecotoxicological risks discussed. Current contaminant concentrations generally were several orders of magnitude below acute toxic levels for the most sensitive aquatic species and this seems compatible with the status of nature reserve and functions aimed at Laguna de Terminos. In particular, Penaeidae shrimp species that are the most valuable fisheries resources of Campeche with important populations in the Laguna are not impaired with the current low levels of these contaminants. Nevertheless, due to known environmental persistence, the surveillance of chlorinated contaminant levels in the lagoon ecosystems is recommended.",non-battery
"In this review, we examined the published reports on the heritability of cognitive functioning in old age. Twenty-four papers from five study centers, comprising of participants with a mean age of 65years and above were examined. The comparability of findings from different studies was compromised by the use of different measures for the same cognitive domain, and with large scale twin studies in cognitive aging limited to a few Scandinavian countries. While the results from cross-sectional samples appear to lend support for the notion that heritability of cognitive functions decreases in the elderly, the findings are best considered inconclusive. Longitudinal reports show little evidence for genetic effects, but an increase in unique environmental influences on the rate of cognitive change as age increases. In relation to the two prominent theories of cognitive aging, the genetic influence on processing speed as a major contributor to cognitive aging has been indicated in three reports, whereas the genetic relationship between executive functions and other cognitive functions has not been explored. Only two studies have focused on sex difference and did not find sex-specific genetic influence in cognitive abilities. This review indicates that there are complex relationships between heritability, environmental influence, and cognitive functions in the elderly. It highlights the need for more research, with consistent and appropriate cognitive measures, with data obtained from larger and more geographically and culturally diverse twin samples.",non-battery
"The central nervous system (CNS) responds to diverse neurologic injuries with a vigorous activation of astrocytes. In addition to their role in the maintenance of CNS homeostasis and neuronal function, astrocytes are thought to participate in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses in the CNS. Following antigen recognition, reactive astrocytes may participate in the initiation of innate immune responses, and modulate adaptive immune response leading to the recruitment of peripheral immune cells. Among activation, astrocytes undergo morphological changes and express several molecules, e.g., chemokines. Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) is involved in the control of innate immune responses, regulation of excess iron, and reactive oxygen production. Here, we investigated the influence of LCN2 on basic astrocytic functions linked to inflammatory responses. In vitro studies revealed a similar chemokine expression pattern in wild-type and Lcn2-deficient astrocyte cultures after treatment with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Increased wound closure and morphological changes upon LPS treatment are independent of Lcn2 expression. We conclude that LCN2 is not necessary for basic astrocytic functions in the context of inflammation. However, CNS-derived LCN2 might have a regulatory effect on other cells, e.g., endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier.
",non-battery
"Ti45−x Zr35−x Ni17+2x Cu3 (x =0, 2, 4, 6 and 8) icosahedral quasicrystalline phase (I-phase) alloy powders are synthesized by mechanical alloying and subsequent annealing techniques, and the crystallographic and electrochemical characteristics are investigated. The alloy powders are I-phase, and the quasi-lattice constant decreases with increasing x value. The maximum discharge capacity of the I-phase alloy electrodes first increases and then decreases with increasing x value, and the Ti39Zr26Ni29Cu3 I-phase electrode exhibits the highest discharge capacity of 274mAhg−1. The high-rate dischargeability at the discharge current density of 240mAg−1 increases from 55.31% (x =0) to 74.24% (x =8). Cycling stability also increases with increasing x value. The improvement in electrochemical characteristics may be ascribed to the added nickel, which not only improves the electrochemical activity, but also makes the alloy more resistant to oxidation.",battery
"The aim of this study was to investigate route-learning ability in 67 children aged 5 to 11years and to relate route-learning performance to the components of Baddeley’s model of working memory. Children carried out tasks that included measures of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory and executive control and also measures of verbal and visuospatial long-term memory; the route-learning task was conducted using a maze in a virtual environment. In contrast to previous research, correlations were found between both visuospatial and verbal memory tasks—the Corsi task, short-term pattern span, digit span, and visuospatial long-term memory—and route-learning performance. However, further analyses indicated that these relationships were mediated by executive control demands that were common to the tasks, with long-term memory explaining additional unique variance in route learning.",non-battery
"Lithium electrodeposition and -dissolution in a commercial battery electrolyte (1 M LiPF6 in EC:DMC) has been studied in situ by light microscopy and ex situ by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We describe the transition between lithium filaments, which are most likely whiskers, and lithium moss and report in detail on the growth of mossy lithium structures. In the case of mossy lithium, the deposition can occur at the tips or the base of the growing structure. However, the growth is not limited to these locations, but can also occur by insertion at further growth points distributed inside the mossy Li deposit. We show that two different growth modes have to be distinguished: the unusual non-tip-growth by lithium metal insertion into the metallic moss backbone, and the condition where the deposition at the top of the mossy structure is not possible anymore because it was electrically isolated from the current collector due to a previous lithium dissolution step. After a dissolution period causing insulation of Li (“dead Li”), whole moss remnants can get pushed outside by metal structures growing underneath.",battery
"The electrical efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) cell is adversely affected by the significant increase of cell operating temperature during absorption of solar radiation. A hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar system was designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated in this work. To actively cool the PV cells, a parallel array of ducts with inlet/outlet manifold designed for uniform airflow distribution was attached to the back of the PV panel. Experiments were performed with and without active cooling. A linear trend between the efficiency and temperature was found. Without active cooling, the temperature of the module was high and solar cells can only achieve an efficiency of 8–9%. However, when the module was operated under active cooling condition, the temperature dropped significantly leading to an increase in efficiency of solar cells to between 12% and 14%. A heat transfer simulation model was developed to compare to the actual temperature profile of PV module and good agreement between the simulation and experimental results is obtained.",battery
"Uniform Li3VO4 film was successfully grown on porous Ni foam, which shows good electrochemical performance as anode for Li-ion battery due to the improved reaction kinetics. The as-prepared Li3VO4/Ni electrode can deliver discharge and charge capacity of 379 and 378 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a charge/discharge rate of 0.3C. After various charge/discharge rates from 0.4 to 15C, the discharge capacity of the Li3VO4/Ni electrode can restore to 404 mAh g−1 when lowering the charge/discharge rate to 0.4C. The reaction kinetics of the Li3VO4/Ni electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement at various scan rate and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Linear dependence between anodic/cathodic peak currents and the square root of scan rate suggests a lithium ion diffusion controlled mechanism of Li3VO4/Ni electrode in charge/discharge process, and the symmetrical slope of the two straight lines indicates a highly reversible lithiation/delithiation process. EIS measurements of the Li3VO4/Ni electrode show low and stable contact and charge-transfer resistances in cycling, suggesting highly stable charge transfer process and Li-ion diffusion coefficient.",battery
" Inflammation is associated with Aβ pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and transgenic AD models. Previously, it has been demonstrated that chronic stimulation of the immune response induces pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α which contribute to neurodegeneration. However, recent evidence has shown that inducing the adaptive immune response reduces Aβ pathology and is neuroprotective. Low concentrations of IFN-γ modulate the adaptive immune response by directing microglia to differentiate to antigen presenting cells. Our objective was to determine if exercise could induce a shift from the immune profile in aged (17–19 months) Tg2576 mice to a response that reduces Aβ pathology.",non-battery
"Composite cathodes have been fabricated based on LiMn2O4 spinel powders, which were synthesized by combustion process and characterized by X-ray diffraction as a pure phase. The electrochemical response of the electrode was analyzed by cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometric curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Cyclic voltammograms showed two reversible processes, which is the typical response of LiMn2O4. The charge–discharge curves showed two plateaux with the charge density of 107mAhg−1. From the EIS data the Li+ diffusion coefficient was determined.",battery
"Major rice growth characteristics and grain yield were compared between inside and outside of a chamber coverage area after a seasonal CH4 and N2O flux measurement using a closed chamber technique. Results show that only grain yield was significantly (P<0.01) reduced by chamber enclosure. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in plant height, total straw weight, spike length, and average grain weight. Temperature increase during the gas flux measurement was likely the major cause for the observed grain yield decrease by sterilizing rice reproductive organs. Methane flux rates from rice fields were likely overestimated by using closed chamber technique because decreasing grain yield by chamber enclosure may result in more plant photosynthesis products released into soils to enhance CH4 production. Analyzing CH4 and CO2 emission ratio from the rice field, after cutting the above-water part of rice plants, indicated that CH4–C emission accounted for approximately 13% of the total CO2 and CH4–C emission during the major rice growing season.",non-battery
"In this study, Co3O4/Co nanoparticles are synthesized within nitrogen-doped porous carbon/carbon nanotube matrix (Co3O4/Co@NC/CNT) by using ZIF-67 metal-organic frameworks. In comparison with commercial Pt/C catalysts, the composite exhibits better electrocatalytic characteristics for oxygen reduction reactions in alkaline media, such as onset potential, half-wave potential, current density, cycle stability, and methanol tolerance. For instance, onset potential and half-wave potential are positively shifted by 67 mV and 25 mV, respectively. Structural and composition analysis demonstrate that enhanced properties result from the formation of pyridinic nitrogen and Co-N-C active sites within carbon matrix. The findings above indicate that the Co3O4/Co@NC/CNT catalyst can replace expensive Pt/C catalyst for potential applications in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.",battery
"Synthetic approaches to new materials are as various as the nature of the materials themselves. Here, we report on one synthetic concept that was used during the recent past to address a variety of different families of compounds from superionic conductors and supersphere cages for molecular trapping to new white-light generators and reactive multimetallic clusters. The use of small binary molecules comprising atoms of two main group elements is the base of all of the presented methodologies, which lead to the named classes of materials according to the choice of the elemental combination and the specific reaction conditions.",non-battery
"Carbon coated Li1.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08O2 and Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2 were synthesized as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries by a self-combustion reaction, and were characterized by XRD, SEM, HRTEM and Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with electrochemical measurements. Initial discharge specific capacities of 270 mAh g−1 and 230 mAh g−1 are obtained for Li1.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08O2 and Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2, respectively at slow rates (e.g.C/10) in galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling. The cathode material Li1.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08O2 can provide a discharge capacity of 110 mAh g−1 at 4C rate. The importance of the presence of Co in the structure for obtaining high rate capabilities was proven by comparison with Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2 electrodes, which can exhibit only 80 mAh g−1 at 2C rate. The electrochemical impedance spectra of Li1.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08O2 recorded at various potentials during charging indicate that there is a substantial increase in the charge-transfer resistance at voltages higher than 4.4V, indicating that the kinetics of Li+ ions insertion into this material is controlled by charge-transfer rather than by Li+ ions diffusion, at high potentials.",battery
"The mechanisms by which gene expression patterns emerge during evolution are poorly understood. The sea urchin spec genes offer a useful means to investigate evolutionary mechanisms. Genes of the spec family from Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Lytechinus pictus have identical patterns of aboral ectoderm-specific expression but exhibit species-specific differences in copy number, genomic structure, temporal expression, and cis-regulatory architecture. Here, we identify spec genes from a phylogenetic intermediate, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, to gain insight into the evolution of the spec gene family and its transcriptional regulation. We identified two spec genes in the S. franciscanus genome, sfspec1a and sfspec1b, that were orthologous to spec1 from S. purpuratus. sfspec1b transcripts began to accumulate at the blastula stage and became progressively more abundant; this was reminiscent of spec expression in L. pictus but different from that in S. purpuratus. As expected, sfspec1b expression was restricted to aboral ectoderm cells. The six-exon structure of the sfspec1b genomic locus was identical to that of the S. purpuratus spec genes and was bounded by two repeat–spacer–repeat (RSR) repetitive sequence elements, which are conserved features of S. purpuratus spec genes and function as transcriptional enhancers. The enhancer activity of the sfspec1b RSRs was comparable to that of their S. purpuratus counterparts, although the placement and orientation of crucial cis-regulatory elements within the RSRs differed. We discovered a spec gene in S. franciscanus that was only distantly related to other spec genes but was highly conserved in S. purpuratus. Unexpectedly, this gene was expressed exclusively in endoderm lineages. Our results show that the evolution of spec cis-regulatory elements is highly dynamic and that substantial alterations can occur when maintaining or grossly modifying gene expression patterns.
",non-battery
"Quinones with their structural diversity and electrochemical reversibility are among the most promising organic electrode materials. One distinct feature of quinones is their cross-conjugated structure, the importance of which in the design of organic electrode materials is so far overlooked. Here we report the design, synthesis, and characterizations of two cross-conjugated quinone oligomers (PBDTD and PBDTDS) and their nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes as potential low-cost organic electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. We investigate the effect of conjugation structure and molecular conformations (planar vs. helical) on electrochemical properties such as electronic conductivity, ionic conductivity, and electrode kinetics. Both quinones deliver similar specific capacity over 200mAhg–1 at 2.5V versus Li/Li+ with excellent stability over 250 cycles. In particular, the difference in their rate performance is mainly determined by two aspects. First, cross-conjugation of PBDTD becomes electron transport-favorable through-conjugation after reduction, while PBDTDS is always cross-conjugated. Second, the planar conformation of PBDTD facilitates electron-transfer compared with the helical PBDTDS. This work provides insights into the popular yet less understood cross-conjugated quinone-based electrode materials and will stimulate the design of better quinone materials to achieve high-performance organic batteries.",battery
"In this study, nanoscale copper(I) sulfide (n-Cu2S) was deposited over networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by atomic layer deposition (ALD). This synthetic route provides a high degree of control for tuning the materials properties. The resulting core–shell SWCNT-n-Cu2S composite structure ensures an intimate contact between the two components while maintaining a high porosity for efficient transport of charges. Indeed, electrochemical testing demonstrates that these nanocomposites are promising as cathodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), exhibiting excellent stability over 200 discharge–charge cycles with a sustainable, high capacity of 260 mAh g−1 (92% of the theoretical value in terms of Cu2S) and >99% Coulombic efficiency. This work establishes a general strategy for developing high-performance nanoscale electrode materials.",battery
"The renewed interest in two-dimensional materials, particularly transition metal dichalcogenides, has been explosive, evident in a number of review and perspective articles on the topic. Our ability to synthesize and study these 2D materials down to a single layer and to stack them to form van der Waals heterostructures opens up a wide range of possibilities from fundamental studies of nanoscale effects to future electronic and optoelectronic applications. Bottom-up and top-down synthesis and basic electronic properties of 2D chalcogenide materials have been covered in great detail elsewhere. Here, we bring attention to more subtle effects: how the environmental, surface, and crystal defects modify the electronic band structure and transport properties of 2D chalcogenide nanomaterials. Surface effects such as surface oxidation and substrate influence may dominate the overall transport properties, particularly in single layer chalcogenide devices. Thus, understanding such effects is critical for successful applications based on these materials. In this review, we discuss two classes of chalcogenides – Bi-based and Mo-based chalcogenides. The first are topological insulators with unique surface electronic properties and the second are promising for flexible optoelectronic applications as well as hydrogen evolution catalytic reactions.",non-battery
"The demand of silver is ever increasing with the advance of the industrialized world, whereas worldwide reserves of high grade silver ores are retreating. However, there exist large stashes of low and lean grade silver ores that are yet to be exploited. The main impression of this work was to draw attention to the most advance technologies in silver recovery and recycling from various sources. The state of the art in recovery of silver from different sources by hydrometallurgical and bio-metallurgical processing and varieties of leaching, cementing, reducing agents, peeling, electro-coagulants, adsorbents, electro-dialysis, solvent extraction, ion exchange resins and bio sorbents are highlighted in this article. It is shown that the major economic driver for recycling of depleted sources is for the recovery of silver. In order to develop an nature-friendly technique for the recovery of silver from diverse sources, a critical comparison of existing technologies is analyzed for both economic viability and environmental impact was made in this amendment and silver ion toxicity is highlighted.",non-battery
"Abstract： Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are extremely attractive because of their high theoretical capacities, energy densities, and cost-effectiveness, as well as the environmental friendliness of elemental sulfur. However, the commercialization of Li-S batteries is impeded by fast capacity fading and harsh self-discharge. To overcome these issues, effort has been dedicated to improving performance by designing the electrode structure and composition, which is often expensive and complex. In this study, modification of the separator by a combination of commercial titanium monoxide and multiwall carbon nanotubes (TiO/MWCNTs) was first designed, which is a low-cost and simple preparation process. The cooperative effect of TiO and MWCNTs capacitates the feedback of the Li-S cell with a relatively high premier discharge capacity of 1527.2 mAh g−1, and excellent cycling stability is obtained up to 1000 cycles at 0.5 C with a negligible fading rate of 0.057% per cycle. And the self-discharge behavior was improved obviously. When the time of rest was extended to 96 h, the capacity attenuation of the cell with the TiO/MWCNT coating was only 12.4%. The use of a TiO/MWCNT-coated separator is a feasible method for the commercial success of high-performance Li-S batteries.",battery
"Predicting the lifetime of lead-acid batteries in applications with irregular operating conditions such as partial state-of-charge cycling, varying depth-of-discharge and different times between full charging is known as a difficult task. Experimental investigations in the laboratory are difficult because each application has its own specific operation profile. Therefore, an experimental investigation is necessary for each application and, moreover, for each operation strategy. This paper presents a lifetime model that allows comparison of the impact of different operating conditions, different system sizing and different battery technologies on battery lifetime. It is a tool for system designers and system operators to select appropriate batteries, to do a proper system design (sizing of the battery, power generators and loads), and to implement an optimized operation strategy (end-of-charge voltage, frequency of full charging, gassing periods, maximum depth-of-discharge). The model is a weighted Ah throughput approach based on the assumption that operating conditions are typically more severe than those used in standard tests of cycling and float lifetime. The wear depends on the depth-of-discharge, the current rate, the existing acid stratification, and the time since the last full charging. The actual Ah throughput is continuously multiplied by a weight factor that represents the actual operating conditions. Even though the modelling approach is mainly heuristic, all of the effects that are taken into account are based on a detailed analysis and understanding of ageing processes in lead-acid batteries. The ‘normal’ user can adapt the model to different battery types simply from the data sheet information on cycle lifetime and float lifetime.",battery
"For lithium ion batteries (LIBs), a high cell capacity, which requires both a high capacity and a high loading mass of active materials, is crucial for practical application. However, how to fabricate efficient anodes with high cell capacity and high areal capacity remains a challenge. To solve this issue, we design a structure of porous building block composed of multi-functional carbon integrated rGO-Fe3O4@C composites. The carbon shell of Fe3O4@C derived from polydopamine (PDA) acts as an artificial solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film to avoid the excessive SEI formation, within which there are sufficient lithium ion diffusion pathways derived from the spaces between Fe3O4 nanocrystals. The carbon derived from the in-situ polymerized polyacrylamide and rGO act as a glue to integrate the as-obtained Fe3O4@C composites to form the porous building blocks. Due to the compact stacking of building blocks, the composite electrode achieves a high active material loading mass of 5.94mg (5.25mgcm−2), while maintains a satisfying capacity (685mAhg−1 after the 100th cycle at 0.5Ag−1) and good rate performance (440mAhg−1 at 3C). Therefore, a high cell capacity (4.02mAh) and a high areal capacity (3.6mAhcm−2) at 2.62mAcm−2 in a single CR2032 coin cell are achieved.",battery
"Increasing levels of demand for electrical power for vehicles have prompted a considerable level of research into higher voltage systems. This has resulted in the definition of preliminary standards for 36/42V systems. The implementation costs for these systems are high and this has led to improvements in 12/14V power architectures. In particular, alternator power outputs at 14V have increased and the need for lower emission levels and fuel economy is stimulating a demand for stop-and-go systems. In this type of application, the engine is stopped each time the vehicle comes to a halt, and is restarted when the accelerator is pressed again. The duty cycle that this applies to the battery is quite onerous with many shallow discharge cycles. Flooded lead-acid batteries are unable to meet the requirements and valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries are essential to meet the demands applied. The background to stop-and-go battery applications is considered and test results on practical batteries are presented to show that under a simulated duty cycle, good performance can be achieved. There is also a need for a higher level of battery management for stop-and-go systems. A practical approach to battery condition monitoring to assess the state-of-charge and state-of-health of the battery is described.",battery
"Food allergy is an IgE-mediated hypersensitive reaction estimated to affect up to 4% of infants and adults in developed countries. Proteins termed allergens are mostly responsible for food allergic reactions, consisting of mild to severe systemic reactions. Proteomics include multi-dimensional separation and protein identification by mass spectrometry, followed by data analysis by bioinformatic tools. Proteomics have increasingly been used in the allergy field to (i) identify the genetic and phenotypic variability of allergens in crops, (ii) obtain well-characterised allergens as reported within the EC-funded Integrated Project EuroPrevall, (iii) detect and quantify allergens, either in their native form or in forms resulting from food processing, in complex foods such as bread, cookies, etc., as considered by the EC-funded MoniQA project. These approaches are helping to improve food allergy diagnosis, therapy, and allergenic risk assessment. In the future, the development of more cost effective and sensitive technologies will further enhance the value of proteomics to the allergy field allowing routine use of this approach. We review the applications of proteomics in the field of food allergy.",non-battery
"Safety issues have been a long-standing obstacle impeding the large-scale deployment of rechargeable batteries especially for those with organic electrolytes. Here the authors report fire-extinguishing organic electrolytes, which enable long-term cycling Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.
",battery
"Here three kinds of graphene preparation strategies, namely, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), Wurtz-type reductive coupling reaction and chemical exfoliation, respectively, have been developed to synthesize large-scale high-quality graphene for improving the electrochemical properties of LiFePO4 (LFP) cathodes. The flexible graphene sheets as effective conduction channels possess larger surface area to load more LFP nanoparticles (NPs). The amount of the 5wt% graphene additive greatly reduces the contact resistance between LFP NPs, and dramatically enhances the electrical conductivity and electrochemical performances of the cathodes. Particularly, when the large-size, defect-free and highly crystalline CVD graphene sheets are used to modify LFP cathodes, the capacities reach up to 132mAhg−1 and 80mAhg−1 at 1C and 20C discharge rates, and the corresponding capacity decay rates are 3.1% and 6.5% after 100 cycles, respectively. The excellent performance shows that the graphene-modified LFP is promising cathodes for high rate lithium ion batteries.",battery
"H+/Li+ ion exchange and structural stability of the high ionic conductivity Nb-doped Zr-garnet Li6.75La3Nb0.25Zr1.75O12 (LLNZO) are investigated in this study. Relationships between ion exchange and Li-population per unit cell, which are necessary to establish the practical framework of garnet electrolytes, are deduced for garnet oxides within ion-exchange process. H+/Li+ ion exchange of cubic LLNZO powder is performed continuously in distilled water and products with various exchange levels are obtained via this simple method. FTIR spectra show the evolution of H–O bonding through the ion-exchange process. A maximum of 74.8% exchange of Li+ by H+ was found, consistent with a preferential replacement of octahedrally coordinated Li. The cubic garnet phase is maintained throughout all levels of proton exchange observed. The formation of garnet-type solid solution of Li6.75−xHxLa3Nb0.25Zr1.75O12 is indicated by well-resolved lattice fringes as well as the linear evolution of crystal lattice parameters with the ion exchange level. The reverse ion exchange of H+ by Li+ is successfully achieved in Li+ containing aqueous solutions, demonstrating its high structural stability and good compatibility for promising applications in lithium batteries.",battery
"The main causes of global warming are now attributed to the burning of fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and exporter of total petroleum liquids, and one of the largest consumers of total primary energy. The activities which are mainly responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions are consistently in the upslope. The electricity generation, the solid waste management, and the agricultural sectors are responsible for the highest share of emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O, respectively. The results of current research provided the initial justifications for the renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy conversion, and hybrid systems. The Master Gas Collection System of Saudi Aramco can be considered as a remarkable step forward in lowering CH4 emissions from the oil and gas fields. The integrated efforts of the public and private sectors are essential for development and implementation of appropriate strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study provides an overview of Saudi initiatives related to policy, plan, program, and/or project towards the reduction of greenhouse gases and enhancement of carbon capture and storage.",battery
"Leachates from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills may contain a huge diversity of contaminants; these wastewaters should be considered as potentially hazardous complex mixtures, representing a potential environmental risk for surface and groundwater. Current MSW landfill wastes regulatory approaches deem exclusively on the physicochemical characterization and does not contemplate the ecotoxicological assessment of landfill leachates. However, the presence of highly toxic substances in consumer products requires reconsideration on the need of more specific ecotoxicological assessments. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of different MSW landfill leachates using a battery of toxicity tests including acute toxicity tests with Daphnia magna and the anuran Xenopus laevis and the in vitro toxicity test with the fish cell line RTG-2. The additional objective was to study the possible correlation between physicochemical properties and the toxicity results obtained for untreated landfill leachates. The results showed that the proposed test battery was effective for the ecotoxicological characterization of MSW landfill leachates. A moderate to strong correlation between the measured physicochemical parameters and the calculated toxicity units was detected for all toxicity assays. Correlation factors of 0.85, 0.86 and 0.55 for Daphnia, Xenopus and RTG-2 tests, respectively, were found. The discriminant analysis showed that certain physicochemical parameters could be used for an initial categorization of the potential aquatic acute toxicity of leachates; this finding may facilitate leachates management as the physicochemical characterization is currently the most common or even only monitoring method employed in a large majority of landfills. Ammonia, alkalinity and chemical oxygen demand (COD), together with chloride, allowed a proper categorization of leachates toxicity for up to 75% of tested samples, with a small percentage of false negatives.",non-battery
"The reducing activity on the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, OH radical scavenging potential, in vitro inhibition of lipid peroxidation and modulation of mutagenicity induced by ter-butyl hydroperoxide (TBH) in Escherichia coli were sequentially screened in 45 species of plants used with medicinal purposes in Cuba, in a search for antioxidant agents which protect DNA against oxidative stress. Five species, e.g. Tamarindus indica L., Lippia alba L., Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr, Rheedia aristata Griseb. and Curcuma longa L. displayed IC50<30μg/ml in the DPPH radical reduction assay and IC50<32μg/ml in lipid peroxidation inhibition testing. Pimenta dioica and Curcuma longa L. showed also a 20% inhibition of the in vitro induced OH attack to deoxyglucose. Further antimutagenesis assay in Escherichia coli IC 188 evidenced that only Pimenta dioica prevents DNA damage by TBH to the test bacteria. A role of antioxidant enzymes is presumed in this case, as judged by a different response in the isogenic Escherichia coli IC 203 deficient in catalase and alkyl hydroperoxide reductase and the discrete inhibition of oxidative mutagenesis also observed when pre-treatment of the extract was assayed. Eugenol, the main constituent of the essential oil of Pimenta dioica, also inhibited oxidative mutagenesis by TBH in Escherichia coli, at concentrations ranging from 150 to 400μg/plate.",non-battery
"The dissolution of transition metals (TMs) from LiMO2 (M = Ni, Co, Mn) cathodes and their subsequent side reactions on the anode and in the electrolyte result in Li-ion battery capacity and power losses. Despite the importance of this process, the lack of adequate analysis methods for tracking the subtle compositional changes at specific locations with nano-meter spatial resolution has prevented the elucidation of its microstructural origin and mechanism. Herein, we studied the dissolution of TMs from a Ni-rich layered cathode and investigated their deposition on a graphite anode and reactions with the electrolyte, with focus on the microstructural aspects. Changes in TM and oxygen contents in Ni-rich LiNi0.87Co0.09Mn0.04O2 (NCM) cathode materials were two-dimensionally visualized on a micro-scale gathering by nano-scale analysis, which enabled high-resolution particle analysis, through transmission electron microscopy coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. Degraded (capacity retention < 80%) NCM particles featuring grain-boundary cracking caused by repeated volume expansion/contraction upon charge/discharge exhibited compositions similar to that of pristine particles, whereas sectionalized chemical composition mapping revealed that broken and pulverized NCM particles, i.e., those very heavily fractured and broken in such a way as to directly expose the particle surface to the electrolyte, exhibited decreased TM contents. Therefore, TM dissolution was concluded to occur at the cathode material–electrolyte interface and be one of the main reasons of electrode material degradation.",battery
"The predictive validity of symptom criteria for different subtypes of ADHD among children who were impaired in at least one setting in early childhood was examined. Academic achievement was assessed seven times over 8 years in 125 children who met symptom criteria for ADHD at 4–6 years of age and in 130 demographically-matched non-referred comparison children. When intelligence and other confounds were controlled, children who met modified criteria for the predominantly inattentive subtype of ADHD in wave 1 had lower reading, spelling, and mathematics scores over time than both comparison children and children who met modified criteria for the other subtypes of ADHD. In some analyses, children who met modified criteria for the combined type had somewhat lower mathematics scores than comparison children. The robust academic deficits relative to intelligence in the inattentive group in this age range suggest either that inattention results in academic underachievement or that some children in the inattentive group have learning disabilities that cause secondary symptoms of inattention. Unexpectedly, wave 1 internalizing (anxiety and depression) symptoms independently predicted deficits in academic achievement controlling ADHD, intelligence, and other predictors.
",non-battery
"There is a compelling need for innovative design concepts in energy storage devices such as flexible and stretchable batteries that can simultaneously provide electrochemical and mechanical functions to accommodate nonconventional applications including wearable and implantable devices. In this study, we report on the design and fabrication of a stretchable spiral thin-film lithium ion battery that is capable of large out-of-plane deformation of 1300% while exhibiting simultaneous electrochemical functionality. The spiral battery is fabricated using a flexible solid polymer nanocomposite electrolyte film that offers enhanced safety and stability compared to the conventional organic liquid-based electrolyte. The spiral lithium ion battery exhibits robust mechanical stretchability over 9000 stretching cycles and an energy density of 4.862 mWh/cm3 at ∼650% out-of-plane deformation. Finite element analysis of the spiral battery offers insights about the nature of stresses and strains during battery stretching.",battery
"The high penetration of both Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Demand Response (DR) in modern power systems requires a sequence of advanced strategies and technologies for maintaining system reliability and flexibility. Real-time electricity markets (RTM) are the non-discriminatory transaction platforms for providing necessary balancing services, where the market clearing (nodal or zonal prices depending on markets) is very close to real time operations of power systems. One of the primary functions of RTMs in modern power systems is establishing an efficient and effective mechanism for small DER and DR to participate in balancing market transactions, while handling their meteorological or intermittent characteristics, facilitating asset utilization, and stimulating their active responses. Consequently, RTMs are dedicated to maintaining the flexibility and reliability of power systems. This paper reviews advanced typical RTMs respectively in the North America, Australia and Europe, focusing on their market architectures and incentive policies for integrating DER and DR in electricity markets. In this paper, RTMs are classified into three groups: Group I applies nodal prices implemented by optimal power flow, which clears energy prices every 5min. Group II applies zonal prices, with the time resolution of 5-min. Group III is a general balancing market, which clears zonal prices intro-hourly. The various successful advanced RTM experiences have been summarized and discussed, which provides a technical overview of the present RTMs integrating DER and DR.",battery
"As toxicology in the 21st century progresses towards a future which aims at avoiding the use of in vivo testing, the endpoint of skin sensitisation can now be found in the front line. Accordingly, it was appropriate for several industry sectors to meet and review what has been learned from the currently most widely used in vivo method, the local lymph node assay (LLNA), and to consider the status of progress as we attempt to move beyond that test. No toxicology test is perfect, an experience brought into focus by issues of false positives and, to a lesser extent, false negatives in the LLNA. Use of weight of evidence arguments for classification and labelling, as well as for risk assessment was emphasised and it was also noted that a sufficient body of evidence now exists for conduct of methods other than the LLNA for carefully defined chemical classes. In terms of in vitro alternatives, progress towards methods which will deliver mainly hazard identification is being made, with some entering the final stages of validation, whereby (Q)SAR tools still need improvement to be used on a large scale in practise. As various other challenges also remain, e.g. testing lipophilic substances, as well as the development of non-animal methods which deliver reliable information on potency for risk assessment, these will remain a topic for continuing research and development.",non-battery
"Humans represent numbers along a left-to-right oriented Mental Number Line (MNL). Neglect patients seem to neglect the left part of the MNL, namely the smaller numbers within a given numerical interval. However, until now all studies examining numerical representation have focussed on single-digit numbers or two-digit numbers smaller than 50. In this study, the full range of two-digit numbers was assessed in neglect patients and two control groups. Participants were presented with number triplets (e.g., 10_13_18) and asked whether or not the central number is also the arithmetical middle of the interval. The factors manipulated were decade crossing (e.g., 22_25_28 vs 25_28_31), distance to the arithmetical middle (e.g., 18_19_32 vs 18_24_32), and, most importantly, whether the central number was smaller or larger than the arithmetical middle (e.g., 11_12_19 vs 11_18_19). Neglect patients differed from controls in that they benefited less when the middle number was smaller than the arithmetical middle of the interval. Neglect patients thus seem to have particular problems when accessing the left side of numerical intervals, also when adjusted to two-digit numbers. Such an impaired magnitude representation in neglect seems to have detrimental effects on two-digit number processing as the helpful spatial metric of magnitude cannot be properly activated.",non-battery
"A growing body of literature has shown that neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia account for 20–60% of the variance in measures of outcome, and in many studies are more closely related to outcome than symptoms [Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Braff, D.L., Mintz, J., 2000. Neurocognitive deficits and functional outcome in schizophrenia: are we measuring the “right stuff”? Schizophr. Bull. 26(1), 119–136; Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Heaton, R.K., 2004. Longitudinal studies of cognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia: implications for MATRICS. Schizophr. Res. 72(1), 41–51]. Most of these studies have been cross-sectional, few longitudinal studies have investigated the degree to which neurocognition and symptoms predict ability to benefit from outpatient rehabilitation, and no longitudinal studies use measures of everyday life skills that are performance-based. In the current study we investigated the relationship between five measures of neurocognitive function, crystallized verbal ability, visual sustained vigilance, verbal learning, problem-solving, and processing speed, and two measures of symptoms, total positive and negative symptoms, and change on a performance-based measure of everyday life skills after a year of outpatient rehabilitation. Rehabilitation consisted of both psychosocial and cognitive interventions. Forty-six patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were studied. Results of a linear regression model revealed that verbal learning predicted a significant amount of the variance in change in performance-based measures of everyday life skills after outpatient rehabilitation, even when variance for all other variables in the model was accounted for. Measures of crystallized verbal ability, sustained visual vigilance, problem-solving, processing speed and symptoms were not linked to functional status change. These findings emphasize the importance of verbal learning for benefiting from psychosocial and cognitive rehabilitation interventions, and suggest the development of alternative rehabilitation strategies for those who do not benefit.",non-battery
"Composites of polyaniline (PANI) and a unique ordered mesoporous carbon MPC which possesses small pores inside the carbon walls have been prepared. The monomer (aniline) of PANI is firstly soaked in the small pores inside the carbon walls and then confined in the primary mesochannels as well with increasing the concentration of aniline in the soaking solution. After the following in situ polymerization, composites of PANI and MPC with bicontinuous interpenetrating framework are formed. The composites show significant redox activities at potentials negative to 0V vs. Hg/HgO in a strong alkaline solution, which is unusual for PANI and PANI based composites as PANI usually loses its electrochemical activity at pH>4. The specific capacitance of the composites is as high as 400Fg−1 at a high current density of 1Ag−1 in the potential range of −0.7 to 0V, which is twice higher than that of the host MPC. The capacitance only decreases about 9% when the discharge current density increases from 1 to 20Ag−1, indicative of excellent rate capability. Therefore, the composites are very promising for the application as electrode materials in supercapacitors, especially as materials for negative electrode in hybrid supercapacitors.",battery
"The major trends in PV technologies, applications and markets show promise for the future of renewable energy. The 30% growth projected for PV shipments in 1998 appears sustainable if current trends in new markets and applications reinforce and accelerate improvements in PV costs and performance. Through established partnerships and programs, R&D continues to focus on improving efficiency of solar energy systems, increasing manufacturing capability, reducing solar energy systems costs, enhancing reliability and flexibility of PV products, and producing innovations in thin-films and other emerging PV technologies. Continued research and market development in the US and other nations will advance quality and performance standards, and reduce the overall price of PV systems, laying the foundation for large-scale market expansion worldwide.",battery
"Unlike previous piezoelectric energy harvesters that generate electrical energy from a magnetic field according to the magnetic strength or magnetostrictive material, the proposed method achieves significant power enhancement using directional optimization of magnetization. This method can serve as a ubiquitous autonomous energy source that converts a magnetic field into usable electrical energy in a wireless sensor network for an (Industrial) Internet of Things (IIoT). The key approach in the proposed model is to increase of the Lorentz force by vertically adjusting the magnetic flux direction of a power cable and the magnetic direction of a tip magnet. In the simulation, a 3592 times higher y-axis Lorentz force was obtained in the vertical pole array, which resulted in about a 1.6 times higher output voltage. Then, we experimentally compared the electrical output performance of six different types of pole array according to the size and direction of the tip magnet. In a one-tip magnet (10 × 10 × 10 mm3), the output power values were 2.34 mW (Vertical) and 1.23 mW (Horizontal) at 8 kΩ matching impedance. For two-tip magnets (20 × 10 × 10 mm3), the output power values of the harvester were 39.2 mW (Planar-Vertical), 18.4 mW (Orthogonal-Vertical), 8.64 mW (Planar-Horizontal), and 0.05 mW (Orthogonal-Horizontal) at 5 kΩ matching impedance. It was found that the power generation differed by 2.13 to 784 times. With this method of power enhancement using multi-disciplinary research, we successfully constructed autonomous IoT and IIoT sensor systems for smart homes, smart buildings and smart factories.",battery
Several isocyanate compounds have been investigated with regard to their performance as film forming electrolyte additives in propylene carbonate (PC) and EC/EMC-based electrolytes. In situ and ex situ analytical methods were applied to understand the differences in performance. Particular attention was paid to the differences of aromatic and linear isocyanate compounds.,battery
"To enhance the stability of potassium ferrate (VI) (K2FeO4) electrodes and their discharge capabilities in alkaline battery systems, yttria (Y2O3) doped zirconia (ZrO2) (denoted as Y2O3–ZrO2) coatings are utilized to protect the K2FeO4 electrode in alkaline electrolytes. The preparation conditions of Y2O3–ZrO2 coatings on K2FeO4 electrodes are investigated in detail and the optimum preparation conditions are determined. Results of discharge tests with open module batteries show that the Y2O3–ZrO2 coated K2FeO4 electrode (prepared under the optimum conditions) provides a superior discharge specific capacity than uncoated and ZrO2 coated K2FeO4 electrodes. Alternatively, to further explore the practical application of K2FeO4 electrodes, super-iron coin cells are assembled using a Y2O3–ZrO2 coated K2FeO4 electrode as the cathode and zinc foil as the anode. The discharge specific capacity and discharge specific energy of the coin cell with Y2O3–ZrO2 coated K2FeO4 cathode are 169.8mAhg−1 and 201.9Whkg−1 respectively, which are superior to the MnO2 coin cell. Therefore, the results indicate that Y2O3–ZrO2 coated K2FeO4 cathode is suitable for practical applications in alkaline battery systems. Consequently, the alkaline super-iron battery is expected to become a novel energy resource system that replaces present primary batteries in various electronic devices.",battery
"A local processing bias, referred to as “weak central coherence,” has been postulated to underlie key aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little research has examined whether individual differences in this cognitive style can be found in typical development, independent of intelligence, and how local processing relates to executive control. We present a brief and easy-to-administer test of coherence requiring global sentence completions. We report results from three studies assessing (a) 176 typically developing (TD) 8- to 25-year-olds, (b) individuals with ASD and matched controls, and (c) matched groups with ASD or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The results suggest that the Sentence Completion Task can reveal individual differences in cognitive style unrelated to IQ in typical development, that most (but not all) people with ASD show weak coherence on this task, and that performance is not related to inhibitory control. The Sentence Completion Task was found to be a useful test instrument, capable of tapping local processing bias in a range of populations.",non-battery
"MnOOH nanowire–graphene oxide composites are prepared by hydrothermal reaction in distilled water or 5% ammonia aqueous solution at 130°C with MnO2–graphene oxide composites which are synthesized by a redox reaction between KMnO4 and graphene oxide. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and energy dispersive X-ray analyses (EDAX) show MnO2 is deoxidized to MnOOH on graphene oxide through hydrothermal reaction without any extra reductants. The electrochemical capacitance of MnOOH nanowire–graphene oxide composites prepared in 5% ammonia aqueous solution is 76Fg−1 at current density of 0.1Ag−1. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) suggests the electrochemical resistance of MnOOH nanowire–graphene oxide composites is reduced when hydrothermal reaction is conducted in ammonia aqueous solution. The relationship between the electrochemical capacitance and the structure of MnOOH nanowire–graphene oxide composites is characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results indicate the electrochemical performance of MnOOH nanowire–graphene oxide composites strongly depends on their morphology.",battery
"This paper presents the mission concept and engineering design of a debris-removing nanosatellite called Deorbiter CubeSat, within the framework of NASA’s Pre-Phase A studies. The spacecraft is designed based on the utilization of an eight-unit form factor, and is intended for the removal of predetermined sizable debris objects from the low Earth orbit. A number of attitude and orbit determination sensors and control actuators are included on the CubeSat, which are employed during the rendezvous, attachment, and deorbiting operations. Upon attaching to a debris, the CubeSat stabilizes the rotational motion of the debris, and then proceeds to reducing the debris orbit size, in order to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up due to the high atmospheric density. The engineering design of Deorbiter CubeSat is outlined, and the selected components are detailed. The selected components are commercially available and have long space heritage. System’s mass budget is analyzed, and preliminary component costs are estimated. Three scenarios for the Deorbiter CubeSat mission operations are considered, and the spacecraft power budget and components duty cycles are investigated for each scenario. In light of the results, the feasibility of each scenario for the Deorbiter CubeSat mission is discussed.",non-battery
"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a transitional stage between normal aging and a diagnosis of clinically probable Alzheimer disease (AD). The role of the cholinergic system in MCI is not clearly defined and needs to be further investigated. A transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol, the short latency afferent inhibition (SAI), may give direct information about the function of some cholinergic pathways in the human motor cortex. We aimed to evaluate in the present study the relationship of SAI to the specific clinical subtypes of MCI. SAI was examined in 20 patients with amnestic MCI (10 SD, 10 MD), twenty patients with nonamnestic MCI (10 SD, 10 MD) and ten control subjects. Motor threshold, central motor conduction time, intracortical inhibition and facilitation to paired-TMS were also evaluated. Mean SAI was significantly reduced in amnestic MCI-MD patients when compared with the controls, while it was not significantly different in amnestic MCI-SD patients and in nonamnestic patients. SAI was increased after administration of a single dose of donepezil in a subgroup of four amnestic MCI-MD patients. The other TMS parameters did not differ significantly between the four MCI groups and the control group. We demonstrated that this putative marker of central cholinergic activity differs among MCI subtypes. The amnestic-MD type of MCI might be a phenotype of incipient AD. However, this hypothesis would be better addressed in a longitudinal study of individual patients. TMS studies may be useful in identifying MCI individuals in whom cholinergic degeneration is occurred and therefore at increased risk of conversion to AD.
",non-battery
 The ability to remotely monitor the behavior of animals and their interactions with their environment has revolutionized how ecologists conduct studies. The creative use and placement of sensors on both biologging and biotelemetric platforms can greatly expand the amount of information that can be garnered from ecological studies.,non-battery
"A passive air-breathing liquid feed direct methanol fuel cell with a 100cm2 active area without any auxiliary device is designed and fabricated. Then the effect of methanol concentration on the performance of fabricated passive DMFC is investigated experimentally. The results show that there is an optimum value for the methanol concentration that yields the best performance. Consequently, in this study, 4M is proved to be the optimal methanol concentration. Furthermore, the effect of the location and number of gasket and also the effect of cathode end frame properties are tested experimentally. The obtained results indicate that the number and location of gaskets have significant effects on cell performance. Also, according to results, it can be concluded that a high rigidity and less flexibility of cathode end frame material leads to a better cell performance. Finally, according to experimental results, with an optimized design, a maximum power output of 520mW (5.2mWcm−2) is achieved under ambient conditions.",battery
"A binary system of LiMoO2 – x LiF (0 ≤ x ≤ 2), Li1+x MoO2F x , is systematically studied as potential positive electrode materials for rechargeable Li batteries. Single phase and nanosized samples on this binary system are successfully prepared by using a mechanical milling route. Crystal structures and Li storage properties on the binary system are also examined. Li2MoO2F (x = 1), which is classified as a cation-/anion-disordered rocksalt-type structure and is a thermodynamically metastable phase, delivers a large reversible capacity of over 300 mAh g−1 in Li cells with good reversibility. Highly reversible Li storage is realized for Li2MoO2F consisting of nanosized particles based on Mo3+/Mo5+ two-electron redox as evidenced by ex-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy coupled with ex-situ X-ray diffractometry. Moreover, the presence of the most electronegative element in the framework structure effectively increases the electrode potential of Mo redox through an inductive effect. From these results, potential of nanosized lithium molybdenum oxyfluorides for high-capacity positive electrode materials of rechargeable Li batteries are discussed.",battery
"Four types of wide temperature-range electrolyte formulations based on carbonate and carboxylate esters were evaluated at various temperatures in lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) pouch cells consisting of both hard carbon (HC) and graphite negative electrodes (NEs) with thin lithium foil and an activated carbon (AC) positive electrodes (PEs). The electrolytes containing methyl butyrate (MB) with various additives enabled the LIC to operate at −40 °C, where all electrolytes based only on carbonates fail. MB-containing electrolyte with lithium Difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) as additive showed the best cycling performance over 5000 cycles. Lithium plating also occurred on graphite NEs when charged at low temperatures starting at −20 °C, which resulted in the non-linear curves. When charged at 30 °C and discharged at −40 °C, graphite NE based LIC displayed regular linear charge-discharge curves without lithium plating. In comparison, HC NE based LICs showed better capacity retention at −40 °C and no signs of lithium plating. It could be concluded that low temperature performance of LIC was influenced by both electrolyte formulations and negative electrode material.",battery
"The activity correction for the electrochemical reaction and diffusion of lithium in the intercalation electrodes where structurally phase transition occurs during discharge and charge processes was examined. The equilibrium potentials for the lithium intercalation electrodes were represented successfully by the Nernst equation with the activity correction, which was expressed by the activity coefficient models for non-ideal behavior in LiCoO2 and mesocarbon-microbeads (MCMB) electrodes. Particularly for the LiCoO2 electrode, the NRTL model with the heterogeneous treatment was found to be suitable to describe accurately the concentration dependence of equilibrium potentials and phase transition in the electrode. Thereby, we formulated the particle-scale model by using the activity correction with the heterogeneous treatment for the diffusion of lithium in the intercalated electrodes and the electrochemical reaction on the surface of electrode particles in order to reproduce the discharge/charge voltage profile. In the heterogeneous treatment, we considered that the effective diffusivity and electrochemical reaction rate in coexisting region of two different phases for LiCoO2 electrode were able to be calculated by a linear function of lithium concentration. It was observed that the activity correction and heterogeneous treatment improved the prediction accuracy for the particle-scale diffusion model coupled with the electrochemical reaction model.",battery
" In this study, the microwave heating conversion of carbon dioxide linked with methane and steam, a greenhouse gas, was investigated to show the possibility for chemical energy storage. In the CO2 gasification, CO2 reacts with fixed carbon in carbon receptors to produce CO, and the CO2 conversion was 81.9%. Additionally, CO2 conversion was high when the carbon receptor temperature was high and the volumetric hourly space velocity was low. In the case of dry reforming, for which CH4 was supplied with the CO2, CH4 converted to hydrogen and black carbon by thermal decomposition. The black carbon attached to the activated centers on the carbon receptor and interrupted the conversion. But CO2 conversion was 81.8%, which was not significantly different from that of the CO2 gasification. In case of the CO2–steam reforming and combined reforming which were supplied steam, however, both CO2 conversions drastically decreased to 43.9% and 36.6%, respectively, because of the reduced reactivity of the active centers caused by steam condensation in the carbon acceptor. The heating value of the product gas was the highest (14.64 MJ m−3) in the dry reforming, showing the best value as fuel. The H2/CO ratio of the CO2-steam reforming was the largest value of 1.29, enabling fuel cell applications such as solid oxide fuel cells.",battery
"Two different SnO-based glasses, Sn2B3O6.5 and Sn2B2AlO6.5, have been examined with FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy at different stages during the first electrochemical cycle. It was found that some disruption of the connection between borate units in the network occurred during cycling. There was also an irreversible formation of Li3BO3 that can be related to the large capacity loss.",battery
" A growing evidence base demonstrates that interventions that focus on participation in physical and social activities can assist in preventing and treating both physical and mental health problems. In addition, there is some evidence that engaging in volunteering activities can provide beneficial social, physical, psychological, and cognitive outcomes for older people. This study will use a randomized controlled trial approach to investigate the potential for interventions involving volunteer activities to produce positive physical and psychological outcomes for older people, thereby contributing to the limited evidence relating to the potential for volunteering to provide multiple health effects.",non-battery
"Owing to data collection challenges, the vertical variation in population in cities and particulate air pollution are typically not accounted for in exposure assessments, which may lead to misclassification of exposures based on elevation of residency. To better assess this misclassification, the vertical distribution of the potentially highly exposed population (PHEP), defined as all residents within the 100-m buffer zone of above-ground highways or the 200-m buffer zone of a highway-tunnel exit, was estimated for four floor categories in Boston’s Chinatown (MA, USA) using the three-dimensional digital geography methodology. Vertical profiles of particle number concentration (7–3000 nm; PNC) and particulate matter (PM2.5) mass concentration were measured by hoisting instruments up the vertical face of an 11-story (35-m) building near the study area throughout the day on multiple days. The concentrations from all the profiles (n=23) were averaged together for each floor category. As measurement elevation increased from 0 to 35 m PNC decreased by 7.7%, compared with 3.6% for PM2.5. PHEP was multiplied by the average PNC for each floor category to assess exposures for near-highway populations. The results show that adding temporally-averaged vertical air pollution data had a small effect on residential ambient exposures for our study population; however, greater effects were observed when individual days were considered (e.g., winds were off the highways).
",non-battery
"In advanced Parkinson’s disease, several therapeutical option including not only lesional surgery (VIM, GPi) and deep brain stimulation (STN, GPi, VIM) but also continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion therapy can be proposed to the patient. The choice depends on the hope of the patient, patient’s general health condition and the experience and choice of the neurosurgical and neurologist team. Here we report our experience based on 400 STN-DBS cases and we discuss, on the basis of our experience and on the literature, the advantage and disadvantage of DBS strategy as compared with non-surgical option such as continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion therapy.
",non-battery
"A conducting polypyrrole thin film is successfully coated onto the surface of LiCoO2 by a simple chemical polymerization method. The structure and morphology of pristine LiCoO2 and PPy-coated LiCoO2 are investigated by the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) further demonstrate the existence of PPy. The electrochemical properties of the composites are investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge test and AC impedance measurements, which show that the conductive PPy film on the surface significantly decrease the charge-transfer resistance of LiCoO2. The PPy-coated LiCoO2 exhibits a good electrochemical performance, showing initial discharge capacity of 182 mAh g−1 and retains 94.3% after 170 cycles. However, the retention of pristine LiCoO2 is only 83.5%. The rate capability results show that the reversible capacity retention (10C/0.2C) of LiCoO2 increases from 52.4% to 80.1% after being coated with PPy. The continuously coated thin PPy film is just like a capsule shell, which can protect the core (LiCoO2) from corrosion causing by the HF attacking and greatly reduce the dissolution of Co into electrolyte.",battery
"Solid state electrolytes are promising materials to mitigate the issues derived from the extreme reactivity of the lithium metal anodes in Li-metal batteries. The main properties sought for this application are high ionic conductivity, low electronic conductivity, and high interfacial stability. Here we investigate a class of sulfides (Li10GeP2S12, Li2P2S6, β-Li3PS4, and Li7P3S11) that have shown relatively good ionic conductivities. However, little is known regarding their interfacial stability. We use density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the time evolution of the interfacial structure. We characterize atomic diffusion and reactions happening at the picosecond time scale, allowing us to identify the main interfacial products: Li2S, Li3P and Li17Ge4. We then study how the reactivity changes when the Li metal surface is coated with a thin film of Li2S.",battery
"Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)–TiO2 film electrodes were fabricated by casting the mixture of HRP solution and aqueous titania nanoparticle dispersion onto pyrolytic graphite (PG) electrodes and letting the solvent evaporate. The HRP incorporated in TiO2 films exhibited a pair of well-defined and quasi-reversible cyclic voltammetric peaks at about −0.35V versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE) in pH 7.0 buffers, characteristic of HRP–Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple. The electron exchange between the enzyme and PG electrodes was greatly enhanced in the TiO2 nanoparticle film microenvironment. The electrochemical parameters such as apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k s) and formal potential (E°′) were estimated by fitting the data of square wave voltammetry with nonlinear regression analysis. The HRP–TiO2 film electrodes were quite stable and amenable to long-time voltammetric experiments. The UV-Vis spectroscopy showed that the position and shape of Soret absorption band of HRP in TiO2 films kept nearly unchanged and were different from those of hemin or hemin–TiO2 films, suggesting that HRP retains its native-like tertiary structure in TiO2 films. The electrocatalytic activity of HRP embedded in TiO2 films toward O2 and H2O2 was studied. Possible mechanism of catalytic reduction of H2O2 with HRP–TiO2 films was discussed. The HRP–TiO2 films may have a potential perspective in fabricating the third-generation biosensors based on direct electrochemistry of enzymes.",battery
"Two-dimensional elemental topological insulators including silicene, germanene and stanene are currently the hottest topics in condensed matter physics. We first review the recent progress on electronic and topological properties of their monolayers from a fundamental viewpoint. Next, we describe their experimental realizations by epitaxial growth and their actual physical properties. We start with the description of the topological nature of generic Dirac systems and then apply it to silicene by introducing the spin and valley degrees of freedom. Based on them, we classify all topological insulators in the general honeycomb system. We discuss topological electronics based on honeycomb systems. We introduce the topological Kirchhoff law, which is a conservation law of topological edge states. A field effect topological transistor is proposed based on the topological edge states. We show that the conductance is quantized even in the presence of random distributed impurities. Monolayer topological insulators will be a key for future topological electronics and spin-valleytronics. The outstanding example of the realization of such monolayer Si, Ge and Sn novel artificial allotropes is the canonical 3 × 3 reconstructed epitaxial silicene phase grown in situ under ultra-high vacuum on the silver (111) surface. Its realization in 2012 has preceded the synthesis of germanene, followed by that of stanene, respectively on Au(111) and Bi2Te3 substrates. Further growth of Si and Ge over monolayer epitaxial silicene and germanene leads to layered thin films displaying Dirac fermion characteristics. Amazingly, Si deposition onto Ag(110) templates yields massively parallel, pentasilicene-like nanoribbons, a novel form of one-dimensional silicon. Field Effect Transistors have been already fabricated both with single and multi-layer silicene channels, clearly demonstrating potential applications in electronics of silicene and such related materials, which are directly compatible with the current, ubiquitous, Si-based technology. Finally, enticing prospects are outlined.
",non-battery
"Boreal peatlands have significant emissions of non-methane biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). Climate warming is expected to affect these ecosystems both directly, with increasing temperature, and indirectly, through water table drawdown following increased evapotranspiration. We assessed the combined effect of warming and water table drawdown on the BVOC emissions from boreal peatland microcosms. We also assessed the treatment effects on the BVOC emissions from the peat soil after the 7-week long experiment. Emissions of isoprene, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, other reactive VOCs and other VOCs were sampled using a conventional chamber technique, collected on adsorbent and analyzed by GC–MS. Carbon emitted as BVOCs was less than 1% of the CO2 uptake and up to 3% of CH4 emission. Water table drawdown surpassed the direct warming effect and significantly decreased the emissions of all BVOC groups. Only isoprene emission was significantly increased by warming, parallel to the increased leaf number of the dominant sedge Eriophorum vaginatum. BVOC emissions from peat soil were higher under the control and warming treatments than water table drawdown, suggesting an increased activity of anaerobic microbial community. Our results suggest that boreal peatlands could have concomitant negative and positive radiative forcing effects on climate warming following the effect of water table drawdown. The observed decrease in CH4 emission causes a negative radiative forcing while the increase in CO2 emission and decrease in reactive BVOC emissions, which could reduce the cooling effect induced by the lower formation rate of secondary organic aerosols, both contribute to increased radiative forcing.
",non-battery
"The present study reports a simple and cost effective chemical approach for conveniently synthesizing cupric oxide nanostructures (CuO-NSs). To promote confined and stable growth of CuO-NSs, hexamine (HMT) capping molecules were used in the reaction process. Addition of capping molecule could greatly influence the size confinement of CuO-NSs which in turn affects the optical properties. Significant variations in surface morphology were attributed to the presence of hydroxide anion in HMT during synthesis process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results indicated that much larger CuO-NSs are formed without using HMT. XRD analysis revealed that the sample without HMT gives higher crystallite size with less strain. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis with elemental mapping confirms the stoichiometric proportion of CuO-NSs. Micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results confirmed the effect of HMT on monoclinic structure. The optical properties of the prepared CuO-NSs were investigated using UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Optical band gap energy of CuO-NSs was increased with increasing HMT concentration from half to equimolar ratio. The PL spectra of CuO-NSs revealed the presence of emission bands in violet, blue-green and IR region due to band-gap expansion presence of oxygen vacancies and carrier localization effect in the defect levels. The PL results were in good agreement with TEM observations. Controllable morphology of CuO-NSs with adjustable optical properties has shown excellent applicability in many applications such as catalysts, gas sensors and solar cells.
",non-battery
"Essentially all of the present commercial rechargeable lithium batteries use lithium-carbons as the negative electrode reactant. However, the announcement of Fujifilm in 1997 of the potential use of convertible oxides called attention to the possibility of alternatives, and a variety of different materials and approaches has been investigated in an number of laboratories. Recent work on the potential of the use of metal–metalloid alloys has led to the recognition of several potentially attractive possibilities. Among the most interesting are a group of materials containing silicon, a boro-silicide, several silicides, and SiO. In all of these cases an irreversible reaction takes place during the first lithium loading. The result is the formation of fine particles of amorphous elemental silicon in a matrix related to the precursor. Upon further cycling, lithium reversibly reacts with this amorphous silicon. The resulting specific capacities can reach attractive values, depending upon the weight of the precursor. Their relatively flat potential profiles at low potentials make them of interest for application as negative electrodes.",battery
"A Li/SOCl2 bobbin-type cell, connected in parallel with an electrochemical capacitor, is investigated in order to overcome the voltage delay problem at high-rate discharge. In spite of the high internal resistance of the Li/SOCl2 cell due to the passivation, the voltage delay is suppressed. Impedance measurements, in which the cell is separated from the capacitor, explain the suppression process clearly. The electrochemical capacitor operates as a high-current buffer and voltage-delay suppressor for the Li/SOCl2 bobbin-type cell.",battery
"The current study experimentally investigates the performance of two identical pairs of photovoltaic (PV) panels, the first being clean and the second being artificially polluted with three different, commonly met in urban and other environments, air pollutants (i.e. red soil, limestone and carbonaceous fly-ash particles). The PV-panels under comparison are both operating under the same environmental conditions, being nearby located and adjusted at the same inclination. The effect of pollution deposition on PVs’ power output, energy yield and conversion efficiency is examined, considering also various pollutants’ mass depositions on the PV-panels’ surfaces. According to the results obtained, a considerable reduction of PVs’ energy performance is recorded, depending both on particles’ composition and origin and on the total mass accumulated on the PV-panels’ surfaces. Based on the results, the highest reduction is caused by the deposition of red soil particles, followed by the deposition of limestone and finally by the carbon-based ash.",battery
"Structural change and the charge compensation mechanism of lithium-rich layered cathode (Li1.23Fe0.15Ni0.15Mn0.46O2) in charged and discharged states were investigated. Selected area electron diffraction analysis revealed that in discharged state, an initial structure composed of a single phase of monoclinic layered rock-salt changed to a mixture of hexagonal layered rock-salt and spinel-like structures. In charged state, the spinel-like phase became dominant as transition-metal ions migrate. 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and Soft-XAS showed that the valence of Fe and Ni ions approximately changed from Fe3+ to Fe3.2+ and Ni2+ to Ni3.5+ during charge-discharge, although Mn ions remained as Mn4+. Various oxidation states of oxide ions such as superoxide, peroxide, and hole states have also been detected in charged state. Considering that actual discharge capacity was 255 mAh/g, the contribution to charge compensation from the valence change of Fe and Ni ions was extremely small, and it only contributed to about one-third of total capacity. Therefore, the mechanism to yield high capacity of the Li1.23Fe0.15Ni0.15Mn0.46O2 cathode relates strongly to the redox reaction of oxide ions. Moreover, the decrease in capacity during charge-discharge cycling was mainly due to the irreversible redox reaction of Mn, Fe, and oxide ions.",battery
"Lithium intercalation properties of Li3VO4 are investigated for a possible application as a new anode material for lithium-ion batteries. A single phase Li3VO4 powders are successfully synthesized in an oxygen atmosphere by a two-step heating process and solution-based method. A structure with corner-shared VO4 and LiO4 tetrahedrons can reversibly intercalate lithium ions and exhibits a stable frame structure after cycling. The average discharge potential is lower than Li4Ti5O12. While the sample obtained from the solid-state reaction shows initial instability and stabilizes by the continuous cycling, the sample synthesized by precipitation exhibits excellent cyclability. 190 mAh g−1 of charge capacity is observed after 100th cycle at 1.0 C-rate.",battery
"To meet the high requirements of future lithium secondary batteries based on lithium metal anodes for large-scale applications, we develop a cost-effective and environmentally friendly water-based method to prepare inorganic/polymer composite coating layers on commercial hydrophobic polyolefin-based microporous separators. To this end, we utilize a plasma-treatment technique. After the plasma treatment, the surface of the polyethylene (PE) separators changes from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, and the pore structures of the separators widen. These changes improve the affinity of the PE separators for polar liquid electrolytes and their ionic conductivities compared to those of bare PE and other ceramic-coated control systems. The polar functional groups derived from plasma treatment interact with the hydroxyl groups of water-soluble polymeric binders in the ceramic (Al2O3) coating layers, thereby improving the adhesion strength between the PE substrate and the ceramic coating layer. This improvement impedes hydrophobic recovery phenomena. As a result, plasma-treated ceramic-coated separators (plasma CCSs) exhibit superior power capability and cycle performance (plasma CCS maintained 94.7% of the initial discharge capacity up to the 1000th cycle at C/2, whereas bare PE’s remained high only up to the 300th cycle) in unit cells based on lithium metal anodes.",battery
"The inverse design problem technique presented in this paper is intended for optimizing the shape of the gas channel at the cathode side in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The technique uses the desired current densities located on a carbon plate near the outlet of the channel at the cathode side as a starting point. The desired current density distributions can be obtained by modifying the current density distributions of the existing PEMFC with rectangular gas channels. The geometry of the redesigned gas channel is generated using a B-spline curve method, which enables the shape of the fuel channel to be completely specified using only a small number of control points, thus applying the technique of parameter estimation for the inverse design problem. Results show that by utilizing the redesigned optimal gas channel, the total current of the PEMFC can be increased, and at the same time the phenomenon of saturated water accumulation in the channel can be greatly reduced.",battery
"As a type of commonly used active material additives, the grain size and structure of four basic lead sulfate (4BS) can seriously affect its performance. 4BS with smaller grain size and higher electrochemical activity can have a good additive effect. In this paper we prepare a type of 4BS nano-rods. By comparing the different sintering temperatures, it can be found that when the sintering is 400°C, the 4BS can be prepared successfully and form nano-rod like crystal structure. The diameter can be controlled below 100nm. CV and EIS results display that 4BS nano-rods has the higher electrochemical activity and active material conversion rate. When the 4BS nano-rods are added to the active material, large crystal structure is not present and stable active material skeleton can be formed. That can make it have the higher active material specific capacity and long cycle life. The charge and discharge results show that when the discharge current rate was 0.1C, 0.25C, 0.5C and 1C, the specific capacity of the positive active material with 4BS nano-rods can reach 80.71mAhg−1, 75.67mAhg−1, 67.70mAhg−1 and 62.96mAhg−1. With the increase of the current density, the specific capacity and the discharge voltage are not obviously decreased. After 100 cycles, the specific capacity was also only decreased by less than 20% of its initial capacity.",battery
"The objective of the study was to examine the cognitive profile of Spanish patients with a first episode of schizophrenia (FESz) and to compare that to the profile of patients with a chronic schizophrenia (CSz) and non-psychiatric (NP) control subjects. The study included 106 FESz, 293 CSz, and 210 NP, assessed with the Spanish version of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). The MCCB cognitive profile in a Spanish sample of FESz was similar to the cognitive profile of CSz with some discrepancies in select domains. The scores of both patient samples were about 1–2 SD below the scores of non-psychiatric control subjects.",non-battery
" The nationwide implementation of the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Specification for bridges has resulted in greater reliability of bridges, more efficient designs, and a more uniform factor of safety. Now the Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) system is building on these advances to improve the safety of bridges through the use of state-of-the-art rating methodology for bridge loads.",non-battery
"The proneural genes of achaete–scute (ac–sc) family that encodes the bHLH class transcription factors play a variety of roles in neurogenesis. In Hydra, the ac–sc homologue CnASH is involved in nematocyte differentiation. In the present study, we found that sensory neurons in the tentacles expressed CnASH, in addition to differentiating nematocytes in the body column of Hydra. Neuron precursors that migrated to the tentacle base did not express CnASH, and it took 1 day for them to become CnASH-expressing neurons. Thus, the CnASH-positive cells at the tentacle base appeared to be sensory cells at early stages of differentiation. Furthermore, the CnASH-positive neurons distributed from the base to the tip of tentacles suggest that the gene is also involved in maintenance of the differentiated state. In addition, we found that the sensory neurons in the tentacles consist of at least two subpopulations. The comparison of the CnASH expression with Nv1 expression in sensory cells that is detected by monoclonal antibody Nv1 showed that at least Nv1-positive/CnASH-positive and Nv1-negative/CnASH-positive sensory neurons existed in the tentacles.
",non-battery
"Electrolyte engineering is critical for developing Li metal batteries. While recent works improved Li metal cyclability, a methodology for rational electrolyte design remains lacking. Herein, we propose a design strategy for electrolytes that enable anode-free Li metal batteries with single-solvent single-salt formations at standard concentrations. Rational incorporation of –CF2– units yields fluorinated 1,4-dimethoxylbutane as the electrolyte solvent. Paired with 1 M lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, this electrolyte possesses unique Li–F binding and high anion/solvent ratio in the solvation sheath, leading to excellent compatibility with both Li metal anodes (Coulombic efficiency ~ 99.52% and fast activation within five cycles) and high-voltage cathodes (~6 V stability). Fifty-μm-thick Li|NMC batteries retain 90% capacity after 420 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.98%. Industrial anode-free pouch cells achieve ~325 Wh kg−1 single-cell energy density and 80% capacity retention after 100 cycles. Our design concept for electrolytes provides a promising path to high-energy, long-cycling Li metal batteries.",battery
"Since mudsnails are able to avoid contaminated sediment and that the contaminants in sediment are not uniformly distributed, the mudsnail Peringia ulvae was exposed to cadmium (Cd) spiked sediment and assessed for avoidance response in a heterogeneous contamination scenario. Four Cd concentrations were prepared and disposed in patches on dishes, which were divided in 25 fields (six fields for each sediment concentration); 24 organisms were deployed in the central field, with no sediment. Observations were made at 2, 4 and 6 h (corresponding to immediate response), 8, 10 and 12 h (very short term), and 24 h (short term). A trend to avoid contaminated patches was observed in the immediate and very short term. After 24 h exposure, the organisms exposed to the highest level of contamination seemed to have lost the ability to move and avoid contaminated patches. In a contamination scenario in which non- and contaminated sediment patches are heterogeneously distributed, local mudsnail populations can simply rearrange their locality without needing to move to a different habitat. Such less contaminated patches can become donor areas in a future recolonization scenario.
",non-battery
"Ferrite MFe2O4 (M = Fe, Co, Ni) tubular microstructures were successfully synthesized through a simple two-step strategy. The tubular FeOOH microstructures were first obtained by a heating reflux route. Then, tubular ferrite MFe2O4 (M = Fe, Co, Ni) microstructures were produced by a solvothermal method. The as-prepared products were characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and EDS mapping. Experiments showed that as-obtained ferrite catalysts demanded the overpotentials of −201∼-359 mV or ∼340–432 mV to afford the current density of −/+10 mA cm−2 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) or oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with long-term durability for 50 h in 1.0 M KOH solution. Among them, NiFe2O4 tubular microstructures presented the best electrocatalytic activities for HER and OER due to the largest BET specific surface area, the highest electrochemical active surface area and the smallest charge-transfer resistance. Obviously, the present ferrite tubular microstructures have potential application as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for full water splitting.",battery
"This paper studies the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of novel graphene-beaded carbon nanofibers (G/CNFs) as electrode material for use in supercapacitor. The porous G/CNF films were prepared by electrospinning polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution dispersed with oxidized graphene nanosheets, followed by carbonization at 800 °C in a tubular quartz furnace. The morphology and chemical structure of the porous G/CNF films were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical behavior of the synthesized G/CNF films as supercapacitor electrodes was characterized by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanotactic charge/discharge, and electrochemical impedance test in a 6 m KOH aqueous electrolyte. Electrochemical measurements revealed that the maximum specific capacitance of the porous G/CNF electrodes reached up to 263.7 F g− 1 at a discharge current density 100 mA g− 1. Furthermore, the supercapacitor exhibited very good cycling stability of energy storage with the retention ratio of 86.9% after 2000 cycles. The high electrochemical performance of the G/CNF electrodes was attributed to the unique nanostructural configuration, high electrical conductivity, and large specific surface area of the graphene nanosheets.",battery
" Stem cells isolated from menstrual fluid (MenSCs) exhibit mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs)-like properties including multi-lineage differentiation capacity. Besides, menstrual fluid has important advantages over other sources for the isolation of MSCs, including ease of access and repeated sampling in a noninvasive manner. Such attributes allow the rapid culture of MenSCs in numbers that are sufficient for therapeutical doses, at lower cell passages.",non-battery
"We have investigated the electrochemical characteristics of a series of high capacity xLi2MnO3-(1-x)Li(Mn0.375Ni0.375Co0.25)O2 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) integrated cathodes. Among several interrelated factors (viz. nominal molar content of Li2MnO3 and Li(Mn0.375Ni0.375Co0.25)O2 constituents, activation of Li2MnO3 component, crystallinity of the particles etc) an optimum particle size is argued to be most critical to yield better electrochemical performance of the synthesized cathodes. Through X-ray diffraction in conjunction with micro-Raman spectroscopy and high resolution transmission microscopy analyses we have demonstrated that with the increase of nominal Li2MnO3 contents, the size of the ordered nano-domains (inside the active matrix) and the average size of the composite cathode particles increase systematically. The size of the ordered nano-domains, cathode particles, and electrochemically triggered layer to spinel phase transformation influence the electrochemical characteristics of these cathodes. The average particle size of 0.5Li2MnO3- 0.5Li(Mn0.375Ni0.375Co0.25)O2 particles have been systematically varied by tuning the calcination time temperature combination. The optimized cathode yields a discharge capacity ∼ 300 mAhg−1 with capacity retention about 96% after 50 charge-discharge cycles at 10 mAg−1 rate. The cathode with optimal particle size also exhibits a decent rate capability with room temperature discharge capacity ∼ 200 mAhg−1 at 300 mAg−1 rate.",battery
" DLG2, also known as postsynaptic density protein-93 (PSD-93) or chapsyn-110, is an excitatory postsynaptic scaffolding protein that interacts with synaptic surface receptors and signaling molecules. A recent study has demonstrated that mutations in the DLG2 promoter region are significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although DLG2 is well known as a schizophrenia-susceptibility gene, the mechanisms that link DLG2 gene disruption with ASD-like behaviors remain unclear.",non-battery
"Ionic liquids are attractive materials for alternative electrolytes to combat the safety issues associated with conventional organic carbonate-based electrolytes. However, the performance of ionic liquid-based cells is generally not competitive as the high viscosity and low conductivity limits the rate performance. The work presented here demonstrates that the drawbacks in terms of rate capability can be overcome through the use of the high lithium concentration Pyr12O1FTFSI0.6LiFTFSI0.4 electrolyte. Despite an order of magnitude difference in the conductivity and viscosity, this high concentration electrolyte outperforms the lithium-dilute electrolyte with the same components in terms of rate capability in Li metal/LFP cells and LTO/LFP cells. The results suggest that the effective Li ion transport in the concentrated electrolyte is higher than in the dilute solution.",battery
"Biological photovoltaic devices (BPVs) use photosynthetic microorganisms to produce electricity, but low photocurrent generation impedes their application. Now, a micro-scale flow-based BPV system is reported with power density outputs similar to that of large-scale biofuels.",battery
"In the present study, three biomarkers, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, vitellogenin (Vg)-like proteins, and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity, were evaluated in male Carcinus aestuarii crabs collected from four sites in the Lagoon of Venice, two in the northern lagoon area and two in the southern one. Results revealed differences among sites in relation to each specific biomarker. Hence, a suite of biomarkers can be used to discriminate sampling sites according to types of pollution, reflecting differing conditions of anthropogenic impact. Comparisons between the northern and southern lagoon areas suggest that the latter are in better condition for Vg-like protein level and AChE activity. The lower EROD activity recorded in crabs from the northern sites suggests a detrimental inhibitory effect of contaminants, rather than a lack of induction due to lower pollution levels.",non-battery
"Carbon-encapsulated transitional metal sulfides are considered as a promising anode material candidate for lithium ion batteries. Herein, a simple process is developed to synthesize 3D orostachys-like cobalt sulfides/C composites. This process is associated with the rational design of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and subsequent in-situ sulfurization. Benefit from its unique structures, this novel 3D orostachys-like cobalt sulfides@C composites delivers an excellent charge capacity of 791 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 as well as high stability of 667 mA g−1 after 700 cycles at 1 A g−1. Pseudocapacitive behaviors enhanced the electrochemical performance of 3D orostachys-like cobalt sulfides@C composites.",battery
"In this paper, the electrochemical performance and cyclic lifetime of bifunctional electrodes in an alkaline electrolyte were investigated as a function of the perovskite catalyst (La0.6Ca0.4CoO3 or Sr0.5Sm0.5CoO3−δ) and the carbon (as-received or graphitized Vulcan XC-72 carbon black). The electrochemical performance of the electrodes was essentially the same, regardless of the carbon and the catalyst; however, the cycle life was directly controlled by the carbon. The graphitized Vulcan-based electrodes had more than twice the cycle life of the as-received Vulcan-based electrodes, due to the better corrosion resistance of the graphitized carbon. The cycle life of the carbon-based electrodes was limited to 100–110 cycles under the testing conditions used in this investigation and the limiting factor was the carbon rather than the catalyst, i.e., the corrosion/oxidation of carbon under the anodic condition. Furthermore, the size/morphology of the catalyst powder affected the electrode performance degradation under cycling noticeably. The failure mechanisms of these electrodes under cycling were also assessed using impedance spectroscopy.",battery
"Ultra capacitors are major components used as power sources offering a combination of high power and high energy. Thermal management of ultra capacitors is one of the main issues for the design of safe powerful systems. This paper presents multi-level electrothermal modeling that can be used to design ultra capacitor structures meeting reliability requirements of power applications. The multi-level modeling is based on both numerical and analytical approaches enabling us to take into account different scales through finite element method computations, shell network models, homogenization methods and ultra-reduced-order model. Basic understanding of electrothermal behavior is performed. Influence of cell characteristics and cooling conditions are studied.",battery
"Sticktight-like particles and nanosheets of basic cobaltous carbonates of different morphologies are synthesized through a hydrothermal process. Their structures and formulas are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption fine structure and thermogravimetry. After being calcined at 400 °C and 500 °C, these basic cobaltous carbonates change into Co3O4 powders and are used as electrode materials of lithium ion batteries. The electrochemical test shows that Co3O4 powders with different morphologies are of different electrochemical performance. Owing to the better mechanical strength and better continuity for electron conduction compared with the sticktight-like Co3O4 samples, the 400 °C- and 500 °C-calcined nanosheet Co3O4 samples show better cycling performance and rate performance. They retain a capacity of over 700 mAh g−1 at 10 C current density. The 400 °C-calcined nanosheet Co3O4 sample exhibits a low initial capacity loss of 18.8%. An even less initial capacity loss of about 15.6% is measured for the sticktight-like Co3O4 sample.",battery
"The current study explored the music perception ability of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and its relationship with other cognitive abilities and psychotic symptom severity. The persons with schizophrenia performed significantly worse than the control group on the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) (p <0.001). The music perception ability of persons with schizophrenia was related to other cognitive abilities (attention, verbal memory, spatial memory, and executive function) and the severity of psychotic symptoms.",non-battery
"The influence of the space charge created by the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles on the lithium and polymer chain mobility have been investigated in solid composite polymer electrolytes (CPE), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) LiClO4, by using complex impedance spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Special care was taken with the synthesis and the characterization of the TiO2 particles and with the composite preparation. The conductivity and NMR measurements were undertaken in composite samples nanoparticles having constant total surface area. Proton (1H) and lithium (7Li) lineshapes and spin-lattice relaxation times were measured as a function of temperature. Activation energies extracted from the 7Li relaxation data are in the range 0.20–0.22 eV. The NMR decoupling experiment suggests that the Li–Li interactions are stronger in the composites when compared with those of the ceramic free electrolytes.",battery
"Two new kinds of dithienylpyrroles bearing anthraquinone units have been prepared by the Knorr–Paal condensation between 1,4-di(thiophen-2-yl)butane-1,4-dione and 1-/2-amino-anthraquinone. The corresponding polymer films were successfully synthesized via electropolymerization. The electrochemical, electro-optical properties and electrochromic behavior of the two polymer films were further investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, cyclic voltammetry and UV–vis absorption spectra. The results demonstrated that the two polymer films were thermally stable up to nearly 300°C. Both the two electroactive polymer films presented a stable and well-defined reversible redox process as well as multicolor electrochromic change from yellow (in the reduced state) to grey (in the neutral state) and then to blue (in the oxidized state).",battery
"Wireless communication through linkage with a smartphone and other portable devices in the sensor area are essential for increasing the efficiency of utilization by storing sensing-value data. Thus, the demand for wireless technology is increasing due to the advantages it provides for the various applications that use these data. However, there is still considerable ambiguity concerning the low portability of such technology due to the increased volume with component integration, the high consumption of power, and the necessity of having a separate battery. Herein, we present solutions for these problems with demonstrations that involve 1) the miniaturization of the device by altering the structure of the built-in battery, 2) the use of a pressure-activated switch for the low-power driving technology, and 3) the implementation of a wireless communication platform by integrating a Bluetooth module with the devices. In addition, we demonstrate a human-interactive display that enables users to instantly observe the changes in the brightness of the organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) as the pressure changes. We show that the system can display the measured, real-time pressure values on the screens of mobile devices, which represents a significant advancement in the fields of energy science and biomedical science.",battery
"Traditional carbon materials and transition metal oxides are considered as the best candidates due to their respective advantages for the anode materials of lithium ion batteries. Herein, combining the advantages of carbon and transition metal oxides, we fabricate Co3O4 doped hollow hierarchical porous carbon spheres through a simple spray pyrolysis route with cobalt nitrate and glucose as precursors. The wall thickness of hollow porous spheres can be adjusted through the ratio between cobalt nitrate and glucose. The results of electrochemical test show that the optical product maintains an excellent discharge capacity of 1297.1 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 when the molar ratio of glucose and cobalt nitrate is 6:8. In addition, the sample has a discharge specific capacity of 841.0 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 1 A g−1. Hollow hierarchical porous structure can efficiently reduce the path of lithium ion transport, and a suitable wall thickness can support the volume change during charge and discharge. Superior charge/discharge capacity, high carbon content, high yield and low cost turn this product into a more promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Halophilic bacterias from saline soil from former Lake Texcoco were isolated, identified based on 16 rRNA and tested to produce glucolytic, nucleolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic exoenzymes. The Bacillus, Virgibacillus, Kocuria, Salinicoccus, Gracilibacillus, Halobacillus, Tenuibacillus and Nesterekonia genera where identified. Lipase/eserases and proteases from Nesterenkonia sp. and Nesterenkonia aethiopica showed halotolerant characteristics and were selected to synthesize the oleochemical n-butyl oleate and antioxidant peptides from muscle protein of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), respectively. In organic media (2,2,4-Trimethylpentane), the lipase/esterases from Nesterenkonia sp. (0.6 U/mL) and N. aethiopica (1.2 U/mL) achieved a 62.7% and 53.2% of n-butyl oleate conversion, respectively. The protein hydrolysis from muscle of common carp (C. carpio) showed a degree of hydrolysis of 4.5 ± 0.2% and 2.8 ± 0.1% when proteases from Nesterenkonia sp. and N. aethiopica were used, respectively. Three peptidic fractions ranging molecular masses between 254 and 1002 Da [M + H] show antioxidant scavenging activity, and the principal fraction with a peptide of 547.3 Da [M + H] showed an inhibition of 37.7 ± 1.8% and 16.3 ± 0.6%, when 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) were used, respectively. These findings showed that the enzymatic battery of the halophilic bacteria from former lake Texcoco can be used in hydrolysis and synthesis of molecules with applications in different fields as food technology or bioenergy.
",non-battery
"Ceramic additive manufacturing (C-AM) is highlighted as a technology that can overcome the inherent limitations of ceramics such as processability and formability. This process creates a structure by slicing a 3D model and stacking ceramic materials layer-by-layer without mold or machining. C-AM is a technology suitable for the era of multiple low-volume because it is more flexible than conventional methods for shape complexity and design modification. However, many barriers to practical use remain due to process speed, defects, and lack of knowledge. This review focuses on studies to overcome the limitations of C-AM in terms of process and materials. The C-AM process has been advanced through various studies such as model/equation-based parameter control and high-speed sintering using external energy. Besides, by improving and fusing existing technologies, high-precision high-speed printing technology has been improved. A variety of material studies have been made of manufacturing ceramic structures with superior properties using preceramic polymers and composite materials. Through these studies, C-AM has been applied to various fields such as medicine, energy, environment, machinery, and architecture. These continued growths and diverse results demonstrate the importance and potential of C-AM based ceramic manufacturing technology.",non-battery
"VO2 (B), one of metastable phases of vanadium dioxide, should be a promising candidate cathode material to be applied in aqueous Li-ion battery owing to its proper electrode potential and layered structure. In this study, three different morphologies of the VO2 (B): nanorods, nanoflakes and nanoflowers were synthesized via one-step hydrothermal process. Electrochemical behaviors of the three samples were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. The results showed that flower-like VO2 (B) had the best capacity retention behavior, and the largest Li-ion diffusion coefficient.",battery
"College is increasingly essential for economic and social mobility. Current research and public policy devotes significant attention to race, income, and socioeconomic factors in college access. Yet, wealth’s role, as differentiated from income, is largely unexplored. This paper examines the differences between wealth and income in the college-going process, specifically applying to college, attending college, and what type of college attended (2-year, 4-year, and more or less selective). To examine these relationships, the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1997) is linked to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to create a nationally representative dataset. Binary and multinomial logistic regressions reveal that wealth is consistently more significant in the college choice process than income. Wealth’s significance as a predictor for college application and attending a 2-year college versus no college disappears when controls for human capital, habitus, social capital, and cultural capital are added. However, wealth’s significance persists for less selective and more selective 4-year college attendance, even after including these controls. K-12 and postsecondary institutions and policymakers, looking to level the playing field and make college more accessible, must address wealth’s impact on the college-going process.",non-battery
"In this paper, a model based condition monitoring technique is developed for lithium-ion battery condition monitoring. Here a number of lithium-ion batteries are cycled using two separate over discharge test regimes and the resulting shift in battery parameters is recorded. The battery models are constructed using the equivalent circuit methodology. The condition monitoring setup consists of a model bank representing the different degree of parameter shift due to overdischarge in the lithium ion battery. Extended Kalman filters (EKF) are used to maintain increased robustness of the condition monitoring setup while estimating the terminal voltage of the battery cell. The information carrying residuals are generated and evaluation process is carried out in real-time using multiple model adaptive estimation (MMAE) methodology. The condition evaluation function is used to generate probabilities that indicate the presence of a particular operational condition. Using the test data, it is shown that the performance shift in lithium ion batteries due to over discharge can be accurately detected.",battery
"Essentially, the corrosion process of the steel bar in reinforcing concrete structures is a series of electrochemical reactions. Therefore, the released energy during these reactions provides the opportunities to identify the corrosion status and power the wireless corrosion monitoring sensors. Furthermore, the recognition of the corrosion status has been realized with active monitoring techniques (AMTs) and passive monitoring techniques (PMTs). Additionally, the sensor mote platform that harvests the corrosion energy has been designed for corrosion monitoring, and then how to network these sensors to remotely access the corrosion data has been discussed. The preliminary experiment has been conducted to validate the micro corrosion energy.",non-battery
"A carbon-coated graphite is investigated as the negative electrode for Li-ion batteries. The carbon-coated graphite particles are prepared by simple heat-treatment of mixtures of graphite and poly(vinyl chloride), PVC, at 800–1000°C in an argon flow. The carbon coating reduces significantly the initial irreversible capacity of the graphite in a propylene carbonate-based electrolyte, by suppressing the solvated lithium ion intercalation, and also improves the initial charge–discharge coulombic efficiency. By carbon coating, the specific surface area of graphite particles is greatly increased. These findings can be explained by assuming that a turbostratic structure of PVC-carbon resists irreversible side-reactions which are controlled predominantly by active, edge surface sites.",battery
"Hybrid storage systems consisting of battery and ultra-capacitor have recently emerged as an alternative to the conventional single buffer layout in hybrid vehicles. Their high power and energy density could improve the performance indices of the vehicle, provided that an optimal energy management strategy is employed that could handle systems with multiple degrees of freedom (DOF). The majority of existing energy management strategies is limited to a single DOF and the small body of work on multi-DOF systems is mainly heuristic-based. We propose an optimal solution to the energy management problem in fuel-cell hybrid vehicles with dual storage buffer for fuel economy in a standard driving cycle using multi-dimensional dynamic programming (MDDP). An efficient MDDP code is developed using MATLAB™'s vectorization feature that helps reduce the inherently high computational cost of MDDP. Results of multiple simulated experiments are presented to demonstrate the applicability and performance of the proposed strategy. A comparison is also made between a single and a double buffer fuel-cell hybrid vehicle in various driving cycles to determine the maximum reduction in fuel consumption that can be achieved by the addition of an ultra-capacitor.",battery
"This review summarizes the background and recent status of the fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) demonstration projects in North America and Europe. Key performance metrics include accumulated miles, availability, fuel economy, fuel cost, roadcalls, and hydrogen fueling. The state-of-the-art technology used in today's fuel cell bus is highlighted. Existing hydrogen infrastructure for refueling is described. The article also presents the challenges encountered in these projects, the experiences learned, as well as current and future performance targets.",battery
"Nanocrystalline and amorphous NdMg12-type NdMg11Ni + x wt% Ni (x = 100, 200) hydrogen storage alloys were synthesized by mechanical milling. The effects of Ni content and milling time on hydrogen storage thermodynamics and dynamics of the alloys were systematically investigated. The gaseous hydrogen absorption and desorption properties were investigated by Sieverts apparatus and differential scanning calorimeter connected with a H2 detector. Results show that increasing Ni content significantly improves hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics of the alloys. Furthermore, varying milling time has an obvious effect on the hydrogen storage properties of the alloys. Hydrogen absorption saturation ratio (",non-battery
"Thin films of garnet-type Al-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZ) are prepared by the sol–gel process. Thin films are prepared on MgO substrates by a dip-coating process using a precursor sol from Zr-alkoxide and Li, La and Al nitrates. After the dip-coating, the dried films are calcined at 450 °C to get precursor films. When the precursor films are heat-treated at 900 °C in an alumina crucible, La2Zr2O7 is mainly obtained. With coexistence of Li2CO3 powders in the crucible during the heat-treatment at 900 °C, thin film of polycrystalline cubic LLZ is obtained. Addition of an ionic surfactant, lithium dodecylsulfate, improves the quality of the thin films, and the thin film heat-treated at 900 °C with coexistence of Li2CO3 powders in the crucible shows the ionic conductivity of 2.4 × 10−6 S cm−1 at 25 °C.",battery
"Nitrogen-doped carbons are suggested as electrochemically active materials for V(IV)/V(V) redox couples for a vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). These materials were synthesized using a hydrothermal reaction of aqueous glucose solution in the presence of ethylenediamine as a nitrogen source. The physical and electrochemical properties of the nitrogen-doped carbons are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry. These results reveal that the hydrothermal method is an effective way to synthesize high-content nitrogen-doped carbons. Nitrogen doping significantly improves catalytic activity and reversibility. Therefore, use of nitrogen-doped carbon is expected to increase the energy storage efficiency of VRBs.",battery
"Anodic polarization behavior of copper in propylene carbonate was investigated using electrochemical measurements, microscopic observations, elemental and gravimetric analyses. These results exhibited that anodic polarization of copper brought about oxidative dissolution of the metal substrate in competition with decomposition of the electrolyte on the metal surface. A reaction mechanism for oxidative dissolution was proposed with respect to both the charge transferring and the geometric form.",battery
"Internet of Things (IoT) is a buzzword in the area of information technology. The Internet of Things is an interconnected computer system with unique identifiers (UIDs) that are capable of transmitting information over a network. This review article highlights the potential applications of IoT in pharmaceutical manufacturing, warehousing, and supply chain management to enhance product quality, increase productivity, and reduction in errors during different stages of a pharmaceutical product. During the manufacturing of the pharmaceutical product, IoT may be useful in supervising and optimizing different unit operations for real-time monitoring and control to enhance production efficiency. In warehousing and supply chain management of pharmaceutical products, IoT is applicable in monitoring the real-time storage conditions of the drug product and improving visibility to enhance operational effectiveness.",non-battery
"A novel Sn-Fe5(PO4)4(OH)3.2H2O, otherwise known as (Sn-FeHP) is prepared by hydrothermal method and subsequently, Sn-FeHP/G composite containing graphene is obtained by adopting a simple mechanothermal approach. Not requiring the addition of surfactant or template, the currently adopted hydrothermal strategy produces flower like morphology with a polyhedral rod assembly. When it is explored as Li-ion battery anode, a steady state capacity of 1000 mA h g−1 is demonstrated by Sn-FeHP/G under the influence of 100 mA g−1 current density with an excellent Coulombic efficiency of 99% up to 100 cycles. The title anode demonstrates its suitability for high capacity and high rate applications by exhibiting appreciable capacity values of 520, 450, and 350 mA h g−1, under the influence of 2, 3 and 5 A g−1 respectively. Further, Sn-FeHP/G composite anode demonstrates the suitability for Na-ion batteries by exhibiting 195 and 160 mA h g−1 of capacity under the influence of 50 and 100 mA g−1 up to 1000 and 100 cycles respectively. The study recommends Sn-FeHP/G composite for its exploitation as an alternative anode for high-performance lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries.",battery
"The studies of conductivity behavior of composite polymeric electrolytes (CPE) have been widely realized for about 15 years. There is, however, a lack of a versatile and efficient model of conductivity in these systems. The effective medium approach was introduced to predict the conductivity of systems according to some previously defined mixing rules. The main limitation of this method, however, is the fact that each new composite microstructure forces a new mixing rule development. This paper presents the random resistor network approach as an alternative method to the effective medium theory based approach. The presented comparison of both methods is based on both dc and ac simulated conductivity data. Some experimental data are introduced to compare the models with the conductivity values obtained for real samples.",battery
" As developments in cancer treatment have improved outcomes, research has increasingly focused on the role of cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) in quality of life for cancer survivors. Impairment profiles have been heterogeneous across studies, necessitating the study of these effects across different cohorts. The purpose of this preliminary study is to compare the memory profiles of Northeast Ontario breast and CNS cancer patients, as there is no literature which exists for profiling CRCI within this largely rural region.",non-battery
"A series of novel acid-base hybrid membranes (SPI/PEI-rGO) based on sulfonated polyimide (SPI) with polyethyleneimine-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (PEI-rGO) are prepared by a solution-casting method for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). FT-IR and XPS results prove the successful fabrication of PEI-rGO and SPI/PEI-rGO hybrid membranes, which show a dense and homogeneous structure observed by SEM. The physicochemical properties such as water uptake, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity, proton conductivity and vanadium ion permeability are well controlled by the incorporated PEI-rGO fillers. The interfacial-formed acid-base pairs between PEI-rGO and SPI matrix effectively reduce the swelling ratio and vanadium ion permeability, increasing the stability performance of the hybrid membranes. SPI/PEI-rGO-2 hybrid membrane exhibits a higher coulombic efficiency (CE, 95%) and energy efficiency (EE, 75.6%) at 40mAcm−2, as compared with Nafion 117 membrane (CE, 91% and EE, 66.8%). The self-discharge time of the VRB with SPI/PEI-rGO-2 hybrid membrane (80h) is longer than that of Nafion 117 membrane (26h), demonstrating the excellent blocking ability for vanadium ion. After 100 charge-discharge cycles, SPI/PEI-rGO-2 membrane exhibits the good stability under strong oxidizing and acid condition, proving that SPI/PEI-rGO acid-base hybrid membranes could be used as the promising candidates for VRB applications.",battery
"The fundamental concepts of morphophonemics (MP) are explained, particularly the types of process involved and the nature of underlying representations, and their place within linguistics more broadly. The history of the topic is presented chronologically from Structuralism to divergent approaches within the framework of Generative Phonology. The question of the psychological reality of the key concepts is raised, and the current lack of an agreed approach to or interpretation of the relevant facts is noted. The lack of interest in the domain of MP, as classically understood, in the light of current theoretical trends (2004) is explained.",non-battery
"The functional specificity of brain areas is diminished with age and accompanied by the recruitment of additional brain regions in healthy older adults. This process has repeatedly been demonstrated within distinct functional domains, in particular the visual system. However, it is yet unclear, whether this phenomenon in healthy aging, i.e., a reduced activation of task-associated areas and increased activation of additional regions, is also present across different functional systems. In the present functional imaging study, comprising 102 healthy subjects, we therefore assessed two distinct tasks engaging the sensory-motor system and the visual attention system, respectively. We found a significant interaction between age and task in the parietal operculum bilaterally. This area as a part of the sensory-motor system showed an age-related decrease in its BOLD-response to the motor task and an age-related increase of neural activity in response to the visual attention task. The opposite response pattern, i.e., reduced visual attention activation and increased response to the motor task, was observed for regions associated with the visual task: the superior parietal area 7A and the dorsal pre-motor cortex. Importantly, task performance was not correlated with age in either task. This age-by-task interaction indicates that a reduction of functional specificity in the aging brain may be counteracted by the increased recruitment of additional regions not only within, but also across functional domains. Our results thus emphasize the need for comparisons across different functional domains to gain a better understanding of age-related effects on the specificity of functional systems.",non-battery
The Li7MnN4 structural response upon the first Li extraction–insertion cycle is highlighted using in operando XRD experiments. A 3-phases mechanism involving two biphasic regions for 0.1 ≲ x ≲ 0.8 and 0.8 ≲ x ≲ 1.2 in Li7−x MnN4 and a solid solution behaviour (1.2 ≲ x ≲ 1.5) explains its electrochemical fingerprint. These successive structural transitions do not change the cubic symmetry of the cell and induce a limited cell contraction (∼7%) associated to a reversible mechanical strain. This finding partly explains the excellent cycle life of this promising negative electrode for Li-ion batteries.,battery
"The treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations supplied by deep perforating arteries (PA) (P-BAVM) remains challenging. The aims of this study were to determine the outcomes after surgical treatment in patients with P-BAVMs and to identify the risk factors associated with postoperative neurological deficits. We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts and imaging records of 228 consecutive patients with BAVMs who underwent microsurgical resection of their BAVMs at Beijing Tiantan Hospital between September 2012 and March 2016. Patients were included if the BAVMs were totally or partially supplied by PA. All patients had undergone preoperative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), MRI, 3D time-of-flight MRA (3D TOF-MRA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) followed by resection. Both functional and angioarchitectural factors were analysed with respect to the postoperative neurological deficits, including motor deficits, visual field deficits and aphasia. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical package SPSS (version 20.0.0, IBM Corp.). Fifty-nine patients with P-BAVMs were enrolled. Radical obliteration was achieved in all P-BAVMs according to postoperative DSA. Forty-five (76.3%) patients obtained neurological deficits 1 week after surgery. At a mean follow-up of 14.7 ± 9.4 (3–30) months after surgery, 34 patients (57.6%) had long-term neurological deficits. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that a shorter lesion-to-eloquent fibre tracts distance (LFD) was an independent risk factor for short- (P = 0.014) and long-term (P = 0.013) neurological deficits. The cut-off point of LFD for long-term neurological deficits was 5.20 mm. The predominant supply of the PA (P = 0.008) was an independent risk factor for long-term neurological deficits. This study identified a high risk of surgical morbidity for P-BAVMs. The predominant supply of the PA and a shorter LFD are crucial risk factors for postoperative neurological deficits in patients with P-BAVMs.",non-battery
"The Integrated Battery Recycling (BATINTREC) process is an innovative technology for the recycling of used batteries and electronic waste, which combines vacuum metallurgical reprocessing and a ferrite synthesis process. Vacuum metallurgical reprocessing can be used to reclaim the mercury (Hg) in the dry batteries and the cadmium (Cd) in the Ni–Cd batteries. The ferrite synthesis process reclaims the other heavy metals by synthesizing ferrite in a liquid phase. Mixtures of manganese oxide and carbon black are also produced in the ferrite synthesis process. The effluent from the process is recycled, thus significantly minimizing its discharge. The heavy metal contents of the effluent could meet the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard of China if the ratio of the crushed battery scrap and powder to FeSO4·7H2O is set at 1:6. This process could not only stabilize the heavy metals, but also recover useful resource from the waste.",non-battery
"Iron disulfide (FeS2) powders were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) had a great influence on the morphology, particle size, and electrochemical performance of the FeS2 powders. The as-synthesized FeS2 particles with CTAB had diameters of 2–4 μm and showed a sphere-like structure with sawtooth, while the counterpart prepared without CTAB exhibited irregular morphology with diameters in the range of 0.1–0.4 μm. As anode materials for Li-ion batteries, their electrochemical performances were investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge test and electrochemical impedance spectrum. The FeS2 powder synthesized with CTAB can sustain 459 and 413 mAh g−1 at 89 and 445 mA g−1 after 35 cycles, respectively, much higher than those prepared without CTAB (411 and 316 mAh g−1). The enhanced rate capability and cycling stability were attributed to the less-hindered surface layer and better electrical contact from the sawtooth-like surface and micro-sized sphere morphology, which led to enhanced process kinetics.",battery
" Neck pain is related to impaired postural balance among patients and is highly prevalent among workers with high postural demands, for example, cleaners. We therefore hypothesised, that cleaners with neck pain suffer from postural dysfunction. This cross-sectional study tested if cleaners with neck pain have an impaired postural balance compared with cleaners without neck pain.",non-battery
"In this study, we report an eco-friendly and cost-efficient cathode based on sucrose-derived active carbon (SDAC). Ni(NO3)2 is then co-impregnated into the cathode, which is designed to form a hierarchical pore architecture inside the SDAC that takes into account both the mass transport process of O2/Li+ and the accommodation of discharge product (Li2O2). Another feature of the cathode is binder-free that circumvents the aggregation of the cathodic active materials and the three-phase boundaries loss. This study is aimed to provide a feasible reference plan to give common cathode substrates an additional capability to catalyze electrochemical reactions without destroying its pristine structure and mission. A lithium–oxygen battery with the cathode delivers a high capacity of 24500 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 in a 1 M LiTFSI/TEGDME electrolyte system. Moreover, the cathode exhibits a pretty good stability in a long-term round-trip test of 1000 cycles. These results suggest that the SDAC with a hierarchical pore structure has the potential to be used in next-generation lithium–oxygen batteries in a facile and cost-efficient manner, moreover, the proposed convenient method is worth applying and popularizing as it can transform even the most mundane into the spectacular.",battery
"Free-standing, membrane-embedded, Si microwire arrays have been used to affect the solar-driven, unassisted splitting of HI into H2 and I3−. The Si microwire arrays were grown by a chemical-vapor-deposition vapor–liquid–solid growth process using Cu growth catalysts, with a radial n+p junction then formed on each microwire. A Nafion proton-exchange membrane was introduced between the microwires and Pt electrocatalysts were then photoelectrochemically deposited on the microwires. The composite Si/Pt–Nafion membrane was mechanically removed from the growth substrate, and Pt electrocatalysts were then also deposited on the back side of the structure. The resulting membrane-bound Si microwire arrays spontaneously split concentrated HI into H2(g) and I3− under 1 Sun of simulated solar illumination. The reaction products (i.e. H2 and I3−) were confirmed by mass spectrometry and ultraviolet–visible electronic absorption spectroscopy.
",battery
 Muscle strength measurements using hand-held dynamometry (HHD) can be affected by the inadequate strength of the tester and lack of stabilization of the participants and the device. A portable HHD anchoring system was designed that enabled the measurement of isometric knee extensor muscle strength in a supine position. This can be used with individuals who are unable to assume the sitting position required for the measurement of knee extensor strength in conventional isokinetic dynamometry (IKD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of knee extensor strength measurements using this device.,non-battery
" The impact of chemical additives [e.g., BaSO4, Sr(OH)2·8H2O, Ca(OH)2, and Bi2O3] on the cycling performance of rechargeable alkaline electrolytic manganese dioxide/Zn batteries has been studied. The additives were used in the cathode electrodes consisting of 5 wt% additive, γ-MnO2 (electrolytic manganese dioxide—EMD—80 wt%) and KS44 graphite (15 wt%) in prismatic-type electrode geometries. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis showed the formation of alkaline earth metal carbonates (BaCO3, SrCO3) when the electrodes come into contact with the highly alkaline (pH 15, 9 M KOH) electrolyte. The presence of dissolved carbonate in the electrolyte leads to a double replacement precipitation reaction leading to the formation of these carbonate species. These additives help with the cycle life of the electrolytic manganese dioxide cathode material. The overall energy efficiency of the cells is about 75%. Rate capability studies and equilibrium potential measurements by galvanostatic intermittent titration technique analysis indicate that ohmic polarization plays a significant role in the energy loss and should be improved for high power applications. Rechargeable alkaline batteries with electrolytic manganese dioxide/Zn chemistry provide a low-cost and an environmentally friendly solution for storage of energy. Improvement of this technology would be an important contribution in the area of energy storage applications.",battery
"Background Cognitive deficits compromise quality of life and productivity for individuals with schizophrenia and have no effective treatments. Preclinical data point to the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism as a potential target for pro-cognitive drug development. We have previously demonstrated association of a kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) gene variant with reduced KMO gene expression in postmortem schizophrenia cortex, and neurocognitive endophenotypic deficits in a clinical sample. KMO encodes kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), the rate-limiting microglial enzyme of cortical kynurenine metabolism. Aberration of the KMO gene might be the proximal cause of impaired cortical kynurenine metabolism observed in schizophrenia. However, the relationship between KMO variation and cognitive function in schizophrenia is unknown. This study examined the effects of the KMO rs2275163C>T C (risk) allele on cognitive function in schizophrenia. Methods We examined the association of KMO polymorphisms with general neuropsychological performance and P50 gating in a sample of 150 schizophrenia and 95 healthy controls. Results Consistent with our original report, the KMO rs2275163C>T C (risk) allele was associated with deficits in general neuropsychological performance, and this effect was more marked in schizophrenia compared with controls. Additionally, the C (Arg452 ) allele of the missense rs1053230C>T variant (KMO Arg452Cys) showed a trend effect on cognitive function. Neither variant affected P50 gating. Conclusions These data suggest that KMO variation influences a range of cognitive domains known to predict functional outcome. Extensive molecular characterization of this gene would elucidate its role in cognitive function with implications for vertical integration with basic discovery.",non-battery
"Currently, mobile learning is a new trend in medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the use of m-learning in medical education and discuss its effect on student learning process in order to help future medical professionals deliver better care for patients and populations. This was done by conducting a literature search in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE, and consequently by evaluating the findings of the selected studies. The results of this study confirm that mobile learning is efficient, especially in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Nevertheless, so far, the role of mobile learning has been perceived as an appropriate complement to traditional learning. Therefore, more research should be conducted on the efficacy of the use mobile learning in medical education, as well as to explore the unique features of mobile devices for the enhancement of learning outcomes.",non-battery
"Soil heavy metals pollution caused by industrial activities poses a great threat to the environment and human health and has become an increasingly concern worldwide. In this study, heavy metals/metalloid (Pb, As, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn) in the topsoil around a factory, central China were investigated to identify their sources and to assess the potential ecological-health risks. A total of 106 soil samples were collected and analyzed in the study area. Statistical analysis and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model revealed that Pb, As, Zn and Cu were main contaminants in the topsoil of the study area, which mainly originated from three sources: industrial fume emitted by factory entering the soil through dry deposition (41.3%), natural sources (52.1%), and sewage leakage (6.6%). Self-Organizing Map (SOM) indicated that the sampling sites could be grouped into four clusters. Potential ecological and human health risks were evaluated for each cluster. It was found that the potential ecological risks and the non-carcinogenic risks were relatively high in the southeast of the factory due to the soil pollution associated with the main wind direction, and the carcinogenic risks were relatively high in the northeast of the factory affected by the discharge of As-containing wastewater. The high-risk areas identified in this study could provide a priority for future control and treatment of heavy metals pollution.
",non-battery
"Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic factor, which also has neuroprotective activity. In view of these dual actions on vessels and neurons, we were interested whether VEGF promotes long distance axonal plasticity in the ischemic brain. Herein, we show that VEGF promotes neurological stroke recovery in mice when delivered in a delayed way starting 3 days after middle cerebral artery occlusion. Using anterograde tract-tracing experiments that we combined with histochemical and molecular biological studies, we demonstrate that although VEGF promoted angiogenesis predominantly in the ischemic hemisphere, pronounced axonal sprouting was induced by VEGF in the contralesional, but not the ipsilesional corticobulbar system. Corticobulbar plasticity was accompanied by the deactivation of the matrix metalloproteinase MMP9 in the lesioned hemisphere and the transient downregulation of the axonal growth inhibitors NG2 proteoglycan and brevican and the guidance molecules ephrin B1/2 in the contralesional hemisphere. The regulation of matrix proteinases, growth inhibitors, and guidance molecules offers insights how brain plasticity is controlled in the ischemic brain.",non-battery
"A new type of layered metal phosphide InP3 with porous structure is prepared via high temperature and high pressure synthesis. And then layered porous InP3 nanoflakes are obtained by liquid phase exfoliation, demonstrating broad application prospects in flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors (ASSP). The InP3-ASSP possess outstanding electrochemical performances including high specific volumetric capacitance of 27.2 F cm−3, high power density of 632 W cm−3, high energy density of 3.78 mW h cm−3. Moreover, the as-prepared InP3-ASSP device can operate in a relatively wide temperature range (−25–75 °C), and exhibit excellent stretchability, flexibility and cycling stability. The present work provides a new opportunity for the development of new layered metal phosphide in the field of energy storage.",battery
"Some evidence suggests that patients with bipolar disorder (BD) have better Theory of Mind (ToM) skills than patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (SCH). However, this difference is not consistently reported across studies, so rather than being global, it may be restricted to specific aspects of ToM. Our primary objective was to compare higher order ToM performance between BD and SCH patients using the Hinting Task (HT). Ninety-four remitted patients were recruited (BD = 47, SCH = 47). Intelligence quotient (IQ), attention, memory, executive functions, and processing speed were also assessed. Patients with BD performed better on the HT than patients with SCH, even when the analysis was adjusted for IQ and neurocognition (p < 0.001, ",non-battery
"When you get a call to work on a project, you want to be prepared when you show up. Proper preparation will save you time and make you look more professional.",non-battery
"In this paper, we investigate the CO2 microbubble removal on carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported Pt catalysts in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The experiments involve the incorporation of near-catalyst-layer bubble visualization and simultaneous electrochemical measurements in a DMFC anodic half cell system, in which CH3OH electro-oxidation generate carbon dioxide (CO2) microbubbles. We observe rapid removal of smaller CO2 bubble sizes and less bubble accumulation on a Pt-coated CNT/CC (Pt/CNT/CC, CC means carbon cloth) electrode. The improved half cell performances of the high CO2 microbubble removal efficiency on the CNT-modified electrode (Pt/CNT/CC) were 34% and 32% higher than on Pt/CC and Pt/CP electrodes, respectively.",battery
"High proton selectivity is essential for the use of ion exchange membranes (IEMs) in vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) systems. Herein, a series of poly (oxyphenylene benzimidazole) (OPBI)/ionic liquid (IL) composite membranes was prepared by mixing OPBI with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm]BF4) to obtain membranes with high proton selectivity. Because ILs formed hydrogen bonds with the polymer chains, ILs were able to remain within the membranes themselves. Proton conductivity and vanadium permeability of the membranes were examined for membrane characterization. Surprisingly, because of the Donnan exclusion effect between the cations of the ILs and the vanadium ions, the trade-off effect of traditional IEM modification methods was overcome. Therefore, as the IL content increased, the vanadium resistance and proton conductivity of the composite membranes increased. The proton selectivity of optimized OPBI/BF4-20 composite membrane was 1.41 × 106 S min cm−3, which was much higher than that of the unmodified OPBI membrane (6.06 × 105 S min cm−3) or a commercialized Nafion 115 membrane (1.61 × 104 S min cm−3). More importantly, the OPBI/BF4-20 composite membrane exhibited higher coulombic efficiency (CE, 99.24%), voltage efficiency (VE, 93.10%) and energy efficiency (EE, 92.39%) at 40 mA cm−2 than the unmodified OPBI (CE 98.06%, VE 90.67% and EE 88.86%) and Nafion 115 membranes (CE 95.44%, VE 91.75% and EE 87.57%). Furthermore, the cell employing the OPBI/BF4-20 membrane exhibited no significant decrease in battery efficiency after a 1000-time cycles test. In conclusion, the research and application of IL-embedded composite membranes in a VRFB system could potentially change the limitations of traditional modification methods.",battery
"A three-phase, electrochemical and thermal coupled model is developed for valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) batteries. Physical phenomena important to the VRLA battery overcharge process, such as gas generation, transport, and recombination, electrolyte displacement and capillary flow, and the venting event during discharge/rest/charge, are incorporated in the model. The effects of important parameters, including the electrolyte saturation level, interfacial mass transfer coefficient of oxygen, and electrode morphology factor (MF), are extensively studied. An overview of the simulation capabilities of the present comprehensive model is provided.",battery
"Metal sulfides are widely used in lithium-ion batteries (LIB) and sodium-ion batteries (SIB) due to their large specific capacity and superior electrochemical performance. In addition, metal gallium (Ga) is regarded as a promising self-healing anode material for LIBs and SIBs. In this paper, we combine the two side to efficiently synthesize the carbon-coated Ga2S3 by vacuum sealing heat treatment based on the novel metal-organic frameworks (Ga-MOF). The carbon skeleton inherited from the Ga-MOF precursor can limit the volume expansion of Ga2S3 during cycling. In addition, the modification of Ga-MOF, employing organic ligands (BTC) to replace solvent sites in MOF clusters, is not only carried out to enhance the mechanical properties of the carbon framework, but also to further improve the conductivity of the Ga2S3/C material. In particular, the post-synthetic modification MOF-derived Ga2S3/C (Ga2S3/C-PSM) material exhibits the excellent cyclability with a reversible capacity of 918 mAh g−1 for LIB and a reversible capacity of 385 mAh g−1 for SIB after 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1, respectively. We believe that this work indicates a novel and efficient way to improve the electrochemical stability for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.",battery
"Sustainability assessment can be used as a basic managerial analysis to evaluate the capability of water resources in supplying associated demands. Alteration of management policies in order to improve the systems’ performance and sustainability can lead to additional costs of system operation. In this study a novel framework is proposed for assessing economic life cycle costs of dams considering system’s performance from sustainability aspect. For convenience, the term Life Cycle Costs (LCC) is used instead of Economic LCC throughout this paper. First, a fuzzy model is proposed to discount and estimate the LCC of dams in different time intervals of their life span including: Construction, Operation and Maintenance (M&O), and Disposal periods. The model is capable of reflecting uncertainties caused by estimation and previsions of different costs because of fuzzy theory application. Then, sustainability of dam performance in operation period is evaluated through triple criteria of Reliability, Reversibility, and Vulnerability (R-R-V). To provide more realistic results, different system performance levels are defined based on the system’s capability to supply demands and the importance of each level is evaluated by weighting them. Furthermore, it is studied how changes in reservoirs operation strategies can reduce the LCC because of higher performance. The proposed methodology is applied to assess the LCC and performance of a dam located at North Eastern part of Iran. The results show that the system’s performance is remarkably enhanced when the operating rules are revised and this change will intangibly reduce the economic benefits.",non-battery
"Purpose Quality of life of patients with epilepsy depends largely upon unpredictability of seizure occurrence and would improve by predicting seizures or at least by detecting seizures (after their clinical onset) and react timely. Detection systems are available and researched, but little is known about the actual need and user preferences. The first indicates the market potential; the second allows us to incorporate user requirements into the engineering process. Methods We questioned 20 pediatric and young adult patients, 114 caregivers, and 21 involved medical doctors and described, analyzed, and compared their experiences with systems for seizure detection, their opinions on usefulness and purpose of seizure detection, and their requirements for such a device. Results Experience with detection systems is limited, but 65% of patients and caregivers and 85% of medical doctors express the usefulness, more so during night than day. The need is higher in patients with more severe intellectual disability. The higher the seizure frequency, the higher the need, opinions in the seizure-free group being more divided. Most patients and caregivers require 100% correct detection, and on average, one false alarm per seizure (one per week for those seizure-free) is accepted. Medical doctors allow 90% correct detections and between two false alarms per week and one per month depending on seizure frequency. Detection of seizures involving heavy movement and falls is judged most important by patients and caregivers and second to most by medical doctors. The latter judge heart rate monitoring most relevant, both towards seizure detection and SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) prevention. Conclusions The results, including a goal of 90% correct detections and one false alarm per seizure, should be considered in development of seizure detectors.",non-battery
"A one-pot strategy is employed for facile synthesis of mesoporous LixMnO2 (x = 0.19–0.41) by means of pulse electrodeposition technique. LixMnO2 materials with different chemical and physico-chemical properties are synthetized by modulating the pulse parameters. As results demonstrating, the functional properties of LixMnO2 are deeply influenced by varying both independent parameters namely, ton (time of current applying) and toff (time of current switching off) as well as dependent parameters: duty cycle (θ) and pulse frequency (ƒ). The mesoporous Li0.41MnO2 with a hierarchical morphology of nano-walls and a considerably high BET surface area of 137.49 m2 g−1 is achieved by applying the optimized pulse parameters (ton = 5 ms, toff = 45 ms, duty cycle = 10% and pulse frequency = 20 Hz). The Li0.41MnO2 shows superior performance as cathode material of Li-ion batteries, delivering the first discharge capacity of 284.45 mAh g−1, retaining 94.22% of first discharge capacity after 250 charge-discharge cycles and is still able to deliver 204 mAh g−1 after 110 successive charge-discharge cycles at different C-rates. This work proves that applying a lower duty cycles of pulse current, with optimized value of 10%, leads to the unique featured properties of LixMnO2 which giving rise to superior electrochemical performance.",battery
"This paper reports a graphene oxide (GO) confined strategy to synthesize reduced GO-coated lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO) microspheres using as-prepared TiO2 microspheres and GO as raw materials. The obtained samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and spectrophotometer. Results show that the spherical LTO is formed with approximate 1μm diameter after hydrothermal reactions, which is due to a confined effect of GO on the surface of TiO2 spheres. Electrochemical tests reveal that the presence of rGO can increase the capacity and cycling stability of LTO anodes, especially at higher C rate. The 3wt% rGO-coated LTO anodes present a higher reversible Li-ion storage with a specific discharge capacity of 131.6mAhg−1 at 5C and 97% retention even after 500 cycles, which are more excellent than those of pristine LTO. The GO-confined method is anticipated to synthesize other electrode materials with high electrochemical performances.",battery
"To develop novel multi-component molten salt systems more effectively, we developed a simulative technique using the CALPHAD (Calculation of Phase Diagram and Thermodynamics) method to estimate the ionic conductivity and the melting point. The validity of this new simulative technique was confirmed by comparing the simulated ionic conductivities and melting points of typical high-temperature molten salts, such as LiF–LiCl–LiBr, LiF–LiBr–KBr, LiCl–LiBr–KBr, and LiCl–LiBr–LiI, with those reported data in the literature or experimentally obtained. This simulative technique was used to develop new quaternary molten salt systems for use as electrolytes in high-temperature molten salt batteries (called thermal batteries). The targets of the ionic conductivity and the melting point were set at 2.0Scm−1 and higher at 500°C, and in the range of 350–430°C, respectively, to replace the LiCl–KCl system (1.85Scm−1 at 500°C) within the conventional design of the heat generation system for thermal batteries. Using the simulative method, six kinds of novel quaternary systems, LiF–LiCl–LiBr–MX (M=Na and K; X=F, Cl, and Br), which contain neither environmentally instable anions such as iodides nor expensive cations such as Rb+ and Cs+, were proposed. Experimental results showed that the LiF–LiCl–LiBr–0.10NaX (X=Cl and Br) and LiF–LiCl–LiBr–0.10KX (X=F, Cl, and Br) systems meet our targets of both the ionic conductivity and the melting point.",battery
"Toward green sensor field, power consumption emerges to be an important issue in wireless sensor network (WSN), where sensors are likely to operate on limited battery power. Sensors nearer the sink have to take forwarding traffic load for sensors far away from the sink. Hence nodes of inner shells centered at the sink would deplete their energy budget faster, leading to what is called an energy hole problem (EHP) around the sink. The operational lifetime of sensor network is deteriorated because of such an uneven node power consumption patterns. To model the proposed approach for qualitative analysis, a Petri Net model was developed to configure all relevant system aspects in a concise fashion. On quantitative work, a comprehensive mathematical analysis on power profile has been made in detail. For approaching greener technique, the power consumption patterns are concentrated on the nodes located in the innermost shells of WSN, which dominated the EHP issue. Network simulation results validate that the proposed green scheme indeed provides a feasibly cost-effective approach for lifetime elongation of sensor networks.",non-battery
"When chlorine is used as a disinfectant for drinking water it may react with organic materials present in or released by the water pipes and thus form by-products that may represent a genotoxic hazard. The aim of this study was to assess the potential genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of extracts of chlorinated drinking water supplied by local aquifers of two Italian towns, Plants 1 and 2, located in the sub-Alpine area and on the Po plain, respectively. The raw water fell within the legal limits with regards to its chemical and physical properties. Water from Plant 2 contained higher levels of total organics (TOC) and nitrate than water from Plant 1. Water was sampled at different points along the distribution networks to evaluate the influence of the system on the amount and quality of the by-products. Cytotoxic and genotoxic damage was assessed in freshly isolated human white blood cells (WBC) and Hep-G2 cells by use of the micronucleus (MN) test and the Comet assay to measure primary DNA damage. While they did not show significant cytotoxicity, all Plant 1 water concentrates induced short-time genotoxic effects on leukocytes at concentrations ≥1Lequiv./mL. Plant 2 samples were able to induce cytotoxic effects in both Hep-G2 cells and leukocytes. Furthermore, although there was no significant increase in MN frequency, DNA migration was strongly increased both in human leukocytes (≥0.5Lequiv./mL, 1h treatment, water samples collected from all points) and in Hep-G2 cells (≥0.75Lequiv./mL, 24h treatment, tap water sampled at the nearest distribution point). The current use of these in vitro cytotoxicity/genotoxicity tests together with the normal chemical analyses could provide information to help water-works managers and health authorities evaluate drinking water quality and adopt strategies to reduce genotoxic compounds in tap water and prevent human exposure to these compounds.",non-battery
"To improve the cyclability of spinel LiMn2O4 in aqueous electrolyte, Al-doped LiAl x Mn2−x O4 (x =0.05, 0.1, 0.15) materials are prepared using a room-temperature solid-state grinding reaction followed by calcination at different temperatures for different durations, respectively. Their phase structures and morphologies are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Electrochemical performances of the materials are investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge methods. XRD results reveal that the crystallinity of the LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 increases with increasing calcination temperature and calcination time. However, when the calcination temperature is increased to 800°C, a small amount of Mn3O4 impurity phase is detected in the product calcined for 12h, due to the decomposition of LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4, while the product calcined for a shorter time of 3 or 6h is found to be LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 single phase. TEM results confirm that the grain size of the materials increases with increasing calcination temperature. Electrochemical experiments demonstrate that the charge/discharge cyclability of the LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 increases with increase in calcination temperature and calcination time. Compared with the pristine LiMn2O4, the Al-doped LiAl x Mn1−x O4 show the obviously improved cyclability, especially for the LiAl0.1Mn1.9O4 calcined at an elevated temperature for 12h.",battery
"Silicon, as a promising electrode material for high energy density lithium ion batteries, experiences large strains and stresses during lithiation and delithation. The coupling effect between stress and lithium diffusion leads to a grand challenge to optimizing the design of Si electrodes with high capacity and high rate capability, particularly considering the amorphization of Si during initial cycles. In this study, we established a relationship between stress and the diffusion coefficients of Li in amorphous Si by ab initio molecular dynamics calculations (AIMD). The prediction from AIMD was validated by the potentiostatic intermittent titration measurements. Our results showed that two Li diffusion mechanisms can operate depending on the stress state. Specifically, the stress can increase Li diffusion either through increasing free volume under tension or by changing local structure under compression. However, within the range of stress generated during the lithiation and delithation process, diffusion coefficients are expected to vary by only one order of magnitude.",battery
"Publisher Summary This chapter discusses evolution of software radio, receiver using digital processing at baseband. The narrowband and wideband IF-sampling digital receivers are explored. Increasing ADC dynamic range using dither is examined. There are two fundamental limitations to maximizing SFDR in a high-speed ADC. First, is the distortion produced by the front-end amplifier and the sample-and-hold circuit, and second, that the distortion produced by nonlinearity in the actual transfer function of the encoder portion of the ADC. The key to high SFDR is to minimize the nonlinearity of each. It discusses the wideband radio transmitter considerations. Two basic transmit architectures are illustrated. The chapter further discusses about cellular telephone handsets and the role of ADCs and DACs in cellular telephone handsets. A brief description is provided on the SoftFone and Othello Radio Chipsets from Analog Devices and time-interleaved IF sampling ADCs with digital post-processors. It separately treats the subject advanced digital post processing and advanced filter bank (AFB). AFB is one of the first commercially available digital post-processing technologies to make a significant impact on the performance of time-interleaving ADC systems. Examples of AFB design: the AD12400 12-Bit, 400 MSPS ADC is presented. The AD 12400 is the first member of a new family of analog devices that leverage time interleaving and AFB.",non-battery
"Recent technological development has made it possible to pinpoint precise locations of small migratory songbirds throughout their annual cycle, providing the opportunity for improving our understanding of year-round habitat use. Here, we use GPS loggers to map the exact location and habitat use at stationary sites throughout the annual cycle of a long-distance migratory songbird, the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio. Although the main staging sites confirmed previous findings from light-level geolocation studies, one individual wintered in south-western Chad, an area with only a few historical records of this species. This study highlights opportunities for answering new questions and gaining more knowledge using fine-scale tracking of migratory songbirds.",non-battery
"Carbon coated FeS2 (FeS2/C) composite is prepared via a simple solid state reaction using glucose as carbon source. The porous FeS2 particles are uniformly surrounded by the amorphous carbon coating. As an anode material for lithium ion batteries, the FeS2/C composite exhibits higher reversible capacity and better cycling performance than the unmodified FeS2. The specific capacity of the FeS2/C composite after 50 cycles is 495 mAh g−1, much higher than that of FeS2 (345 mAh g−1). In order to investigate the effect of carbon coating, the cycled electrodes have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The improvement is attributed to the introduction of carbon coating, which can enhance the conductivity, reduce the dissolution of sulfur and corrosion from HF, and stabilize the porous structure during cycling.",battery
"As a key upstream supplier for the most energy-intensive industries, the coking industry is a typical high energy-consumption and high emission industry. This study evaluates exergy and life cycle emissions of the coking network evolution at a temporal scale, as well as quantifies the embodied water in the industry. To provide a reasonable forecast of development patterns, four key factors were examined using scenario analysis, including industrial symbiosis, bio-production, carbon capture and storage, and energy recovery. When the coking plant was coupled with the iron and steel industry, the ammonium sulfate work zone had the maximum value of specific exergy losses in 2012. Coking contributes to 76.7% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the network, and water use for ammonia distillation is 6.4 times greater than the rest of water use in the cold work zone. Moreover, the development roadmaps created by scenario analysis identified that electricity decarbonization displays a great potential for reducing carbon emissions; however, structure adjustment of the coking industry alone could not achieve the 2030 climate target. To enhance energy utilization and reduce emissions, this work shows the necessity of decreasing independent coking enterprises in China and identifies improvement potentials in the coking network.",battery
"The Na-ion battery is currently the focus of much research interest due to its cost advantages and the relative abundance of sodium as compared to lithium. Olivine NaMPO4 (M = Fe, Fe0.5Mn0.5, Mn) and layered Na2FePO4F are interesting materials that have been reported recently as attractive positive electrodes. Here, we report their Na-ion conduction behavior and intrinsic defect properties using atomistic simulation methods. In the olivines, Na ion migration is essentially restricted to the [010] direction along a curved trajectory, similar to that of LiMPO4, but with a lower migration energy (0.3 eV). However, Na/M antisite defects are also predicted to have a lower formation energy: the higher probability of tunnel occupation with a relatively immobile M2+ cation – along with a greater volume change on redox cycling – contributes to the poor electrochemical performance of the Na-olivine. Na+ ion conduction in Na2FePO4F is predicted to be two-dimensional (2D) in the interlayer plane with a similar low activation energy. The antisite formation energy is slightly higher; furthermore, antisite occupation would not be predicted to impede transport significantly owing to the 2D pathway. This factor, along with the much lower volume change on redox cycling, is undoubtedly responsible for the better electrochemical performance of the layered structure. Where volume change and structural effects do not incur impediments, Na-ion materials may present significant advantages over their Li counterparts.
",battery
"Different forms of lead sulfate (PbSO4) are produced in both the cathode and anode in the course of discharging of a lead-acid battery. However, their difference in reaction activity has not been well recognized up to now. From this work, it is shown the cathode product PbSO4(O) due to oxidation of Pb is rather inert and its accumulation could lead to decrease of the battery capacity and life; on the other hand, the anode product PbSO4(R) due to reduction of PbO2 has a much active property and is readily reversible in the charging–discharging recycles. To restore the battery capacity, it is critical to solve the deactivation of cathode by transforming PbSO4(O) into PbSO4(R). For such a purpose, inverse charging is performed, and a procedure from PbSO4(O) to PbO2 and to PbSO4(R) is conducted under a series of measurements with cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The results of inverse charging tests show that the new capacity of a sulfated battery is more than twice of the initial value, which proves the validity of the mechanism outlined.",battery
"To understand the origin of the cycling performance improvement observed in lithium-sulfur (Li–S) batteries based on N-doped carbon materials, the interactions between lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and N-doped graphene (N-G) with different doping configurations have been investigated by density functional theory calculations. It has been found that only N-G with clustered pyridinic N-dopants can strongly attract LiPSs with large enough binding energies to effectively anchor the soluble LiPSs, due to (i) an enhanced attraction between Li ions in LiPSs and pyridinic N-dopants and/or (ii) an additional attraction between S anions in LiPSs and Li ions captured by pyridinic N-dopants. This study has, for the first time, provided a fundamental understanding on the origin of the effective anchoring of LiPSs by N-doped carbon materials, which suppresses the shuttling of LiPSs and produces significant improvement in the cycling performance of Li–S batteries. These findings can also guide the design of more effective N-doped carbons or other N-rich materials for Li–S batteries, preventing the undesirable LiPS shuttling.",battery
"Aqueous Ni-Fe battery with high safety and low cost is a promising candidate for large-scale electrical energy storage; their performance, however, has been limited by the poor performance of the Fe electrodes. We reported herein a facile synthesis of Fe particles coated with graphitic shell for high-performance Fe anodes. The anodes exhibit a high capacity of 224mAhg−1 at a high current density of 32Ag−1, and a high capacity retention of 90% after 1000 cycles. When coupled with a cathode made from the composites of Ni(OH)2 and nitrogen-doped graphene, the battery delivers a high energy density of 136.7Whkg−1 at power density of 0.7kWkg−1 or 71.4Whkg−1 at 11.7kWkg−1 (based on the total mass of active materials). This work provides highly promising materials towards better Ni-Fe batteries.",battery
" Narrative abilities are linked to social impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such that reductions in words about cognitive processes (e.g., think, know) are thought to reflect underlying deficits in social cognition, including Theory of Mind. However, research suggests that typically developing (TD) boys and girls tell narratives in sex-specific ways, including differential reliance on cognitive process words. Given that most studies of narration in ASD have been conducted in predominantly male samples, it is possible that prior results showing reduced cognitive processing language in ASD may not generalize to autistic girls. To answer this question, we measured the relative frequency of two kinds of words in stories told by autistic girls and boys: nouns (words that indicate object-oriented storytelling) and cognitive process words (words like think and know that indicate mentalizing or attention to other peoples’ internal states).",non-battery
"We report a male child with autism found to have maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) of chromosome 1. The child met diagnostic criteria for the three symptom domains of autism: language impairment, deficient social communication and excessively rigid and repetitive behaviours. He also had a variety of features often associated with autism, including mild mental retardation, small head circumference, hyperactivity, poor fine motor skills, slightly dysmorphic facial features and a heightened interest in olfactory stimulation. His brother, who did not have chromosome 1 UPD, was also autistic. The mother, but not the father, had a history of psychiatric illness and a number of personality and social traits similar to the core features of autism. The discovery of the cytogenetic abnormality was made during the course of a genome-wide linkage screen, wherein genotypes at 6 out of 17 chromosome 1 markers were non-Mendelian and all transmissions were consistent with UPD. Further genotyping (a total of 54 markers) revealed alternating regions of heterodisomy and isodisomy. Whereas chromosome 1 UPD has not been shown to cause disease by effects on imprinting, numerous reports exist of the abnormality unmasking recessive disease-causing mutations. In agreement with this, one of the regions of isodisomy overlaps an emerging chromosome 1 region of interest in autism located at 150–160 Mb.
",non-battery
"We report a controllable, low-cost and large-scale synthesis protocol for foam-like, 3-dimension mesopore N-doped carbon assembling TiO2 nanoparticles (P25). The process uses common P25 as raw material, PVP as dispersing agent and binder as well as carbon precursor, boiling bubbles as template, solidifying the boiling foam by PVP-coating-and-connecting TiO2 nanoparticles. The carbonization transforms PVP-assembling to carbon-assembling, and the obtained carbon is doped by a little N, which endows the carbon with higher conductivity. It is found that the synthesized material possesses abundant mesopores, individual nanoparticles-assembled structure and high conductive N-doped carbon matrix; shows large specific surface area and pore volume. As anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), foam-like P25 exhibits superior lithium storage properties with high discharge capacity, stable cycling performance and excellent rate capability. At 1C, foam-like P25 delivers discharge capacity of 223.1 mAh g−1 at the 200th cycle, and average discharge capacity over 200 cycles reaches 227 mAh g−1. These excellent electrochemical properties should be attributed to the unique foam-like mesoporous structure that greatly improves lithium storage properties of common P25, especially enhances pseudocapacitive interfacial storage of P25. The synthetic method has great potential for large scale production of foam-like P25 for practical application in high-performance LIBs.",battery
"Motivated by the potential of using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as electrolytes to replace traditional aqueous electrolytes for Zn-anode secondary batteries, Zn/Zn(II) redox reactions have been studied in four aprotic RTILs based on pyrrolidinium ([Pyrr]+) and imidazolium ([Im]+) cations, and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([TFSI]−) and dicyanamide ([DCA]−) anions. Cyclic voltammetry results suggest a smaller overpotential for Zn redox in [Im]+ cation based and [DCA]− anion based RTILs than in [Pyrr]+ and [TFSI]− based RTILs. Potentiodynamic polarization experiments indicate a strong dependence of the electrode reaction mechanism for the Zn species on the RTIL anions. In [TFSI]− based RTILs, Zn2+ ions are the electroactive species, with the electrode reaction being a single-step, two-electron transfer process. In [DCA]− based RTILs, two-step, single-electron reactions account for the electrode mechanism. The exchange current densities derived from Tafel analysis for the Zn species in the four RTILs are greater than 10−3 mA/cm2, with the [Im]+ cation based RTIL possessing the highest value of 9.9×10−3 mA/cm2. The results obtained will assist in obtaining a better understanding of the electrochemical behavior of Zn in RTILs, shedding light on the development of RTILs for Zn-anode secondary batteries.",battery
"Porous polybenzimidazole membranes with ultra-high selectivity and stability were designed and fabricated for vanadium flow batteries. The combination of the facile fabrication procedure, high performance, the low cost of the starting materials and easy up-scaling makes the PBI porous membrane currently by far the most promising candidate for vanadium flow batteries.
",battery
"Objectives Our recent pilot study demonstrated mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a potentially efficacious headache pain treatment; however, it was not universally effective for all participants. This study sought to explore patient characteristics associated with MBCT treatment response and the potential processes of change that allowed treatment responders to improve and that were potentially lacking in the non-responders. Design We implemented a mixed-methods analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The sample consisted of 21 participants, 14 of whom were classified as treatment responders (≥50% improvement in pain intensity and/or pain interference) and seven as non-responders (<50% improvement). Setting The study was conducted at the Kilgo Headache Clinic and the University of Alabama Psychology Clinic. Intervention Participants completed an 8-week MBCT treatment for headache pain management. Measures Standardized measures of pain, psychosocial outcomes, and non-specific therapy factors were obtained; all participants completed a post-treatment semi-structured interview. Results Quantitative data indicated a large effect size difference between responders and non-responders for pre- to post-treatment change in standardized measures of pain acceptance and catastrophizing, and a small to medium effect size differences on treatment dose indicators. Both groups showed improved psychosocial outcomes. Qualitatively, change in cognitive processes was a more salient qualitative theme within treatment responders; both groups commented on the importance of non-specific therapeutic factors. Barriers to mindfulness meditation were also commented on by participants across groups. Conclusions Results indicated that change in pain related cognitions during an MBCT intervention for headache pain is a key factor underlying treatment response.",non-battery
"There are many guidelines available concerning the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Most of these advocate treating young-onset patients with a dopamine agonist and older patients with levodopa. The rationale behind this recommendation has its origins in the side effects associated with each of these drug classes: whilst levodopa leads to dyskinesia, which may not be relevant for patients with a limited life-expectancy, dopamine agonists have a much longer plasma half life which probably leads to more continuous dopamine receptor stimulation and thus decreases the occurrence and severity of dyskinesia. However, the side effects associated with the use of dopamine agonists, such as sleepiness, orthostatic problems, hallucinations and impulse control disorders are a drawback. In this overview, the hypothesis will be put forward that perhaps such a strict distinction is no longer needed. A new idea may be the early combination of levodopa with a dopamine agonist which would provide good clinical efficacy and, because of the relatively low doses involved, would reduce the side effects associated with both substances. MAO-B inhibitors may be a good option for early treatment and especially for patients who experience first motor fluctuations. Similarly, and particularly if a wearing-off symptom is present, COMT inhibitors smoothen and prolong the action of levodopa. More invasive escalation therapy comes into play when patients reach the advanced stages with problems of insufficient motor control, such as bradykinesia, rigidity and resting tremor, combined with on-time dyskinesia. The use of all oral and invasive treatment has to be individualized to gain a good motor and non-motor control and especially a good quality of life.
",non-battery
"In recent years, much effort has been dedicated to achieve lightweight, stretchable and flexible energy-storage devices for wearable electronics. Here we report an everyday cotton fabric coated with poly(pyrrole) as flexible electrodes. Poly(pyrrole) nanoparticles are synthesized on the fabrics via a simple chemical polymerization process with the mixed surfactants of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as soft template. A highly conductive fabric with surface resistance of 14Ω/□ can be produced by changing surfactant concentration. Such a conductive textile shows outstanding flexibility and stretchability, and demonstrates strong adhesion between the PPy and the cellulose fiber. The fabric electrode exhibits a discharge capacity of 51.7mAhg−1 with high cycling stability (negligible decay after 100 cycles).",battery
"Currently, renewable and low-cost electrode materials are being intensively pursued to meet the development of sustainable electrochemical energy-storage systems. Chitin, which is the second most abundant biopolymer throughout the natural world and can be sourced cheaply from the exoskeletons of arthropods and shells of cephalopods, has many attractive properties such as renewability, nontoxicity, intrinsically fibrous structure and high nitrogen content. In this study, nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon nanofibers (NACF) fabricated by direct pyrolysis of chitin, were used as the anode material in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) for the first time. The NACF electrode delivered a high reversible capacity of 320.6mAhg−1 with excellent rate capability and long cyclability. The superior electrochemical performance can mainly be attributed to synergistic effects of the unique one-dimensional mesoporous nanofibers facilitating the transmission of electrons/electrolyte, and the N-doped amorphous nanostructure increasing electrical conductivity and number of active sites. Furthermore, a sodium-ion full cell was constructed by coupling the NACF electrode with a Prussian blue cathode, and it delivered 115mAhg−1 while retaining 90% of the capacity after 200 cycles. Our work will hopefully inspire the research community to explore other advanced materials with value-added attributes that can be generated by appropriate treatment of renewable bio-waste.",battery
"The work of John Milne, the centenary of whose death is marked in 2013, has had a large impact in the development in global seismology. On his return from Japan to England in 1895, he established for the first time a global earthquake recording network, centred on his observatory at Shide, Isle of Wight. His composite bulletins, the “Shide Circulars” developed, in the twentieth century, into the world earthquake bulletins of the International Seismological Summary and eventually the International Seismological Centre, which continues to publish the definitive earthquake parameters of world earthquakes on a monthly basis. In fact, seismology has a long tradition in Britain, stretching back to early investigations by members of the Royal Society after 1660. Investigations in Scotland in the early 1840s led to a number of firsts, including the first network of instruments, the first seismic bulletin, and indeed, the first use of the word “seismometer”, from which words like “seismology” are a back-formation. This paper will present a chronological survey of the development of seismology in the British Isles, from the first written observations of local earthquakes in the seventh century, and the first theoretical writing on earthquakes in the twelfth century, up to the monitoring of earthquakes in Britain in the present day.",non-battery
"In the past several years, there have been many developments in the materials for lead–acid batteries. Silver in grid alloys for high temperature climates in SLI batteries has increased the silver content of the recycled lead stream. Concern about silver and other contaminants in lead for the active material for VRLA batteries led to the initiation of a study by ALABC at CSIRO. The study evaluated the effects of many different impurities on the hydrogen and oxygen evolution currents in float service for flooded and VRLA batteries at different temperatures and potentials. The study results increased the understanding about the effects of various impurities in lead for use in active material, as well as possible performance and life improvements in VRLA batteries. Some elements thought to be detrimental have been found to be beneficial. Studies have now uncovered the effects of the beneficial elements as well as additives to both the positive and negative active material in increasing battery capacity, extending life and improving recharge. Glass separator materials have also been re-examined in light of the impurities study. Old glass compositions may be revived to give improved battery performance via compositional changes to the glass chemistry. This paper reviews these new developments and outline suggestions for improved battery performance based on unique impurities and additives.",battery
"Three-dimensional reduced graphene oxides hydrogel anchored with ultrafine CoO nanoparticles (CoO/RGO nanocomposite) is prepared by a facile hydrothermal strategy and subsequently heat-treatment process. The small-size CoO nanoparticles are encapsulated within graphene-based hydrogel with robust interconnected networks for the CoO/RGO nanocomposite. The electrochemical performances are evaluated by using coin-type cells. It delivers high rate capacities of 890.2, 690.4, 543.8 and 457.0mAhg−1, even at 200, 800, 1600 and 2400mAg−1, respectively. The specific capacity increases to 1025.8mAhg−1 after 82 cycles when the current density is back to 100mAg−1, indicating excellent rate capability and cycle stability. The improved electrochemical performance is ascribed to the fabricated structure with three-dimensional RGO nanosheets. The CoO/RGO nanocomposite will be a promising candidate of anode material for lithium ion batteries.",battery
"Microspheres composed of multilayer graphene (MMG) had been prepared by the chemical reduction of graphene oxide at 100°C. The morphology, structure and electrochemical performance of MMG as anode material for lithium-ion batteries were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical testing techniques. It is found that the specific capacity of MMG (453mAhg−1) is almost twice that of multilayer graphene (MG, 229mAhg−1). Furthermore, MMG exhibits good cycle performance and high-rate charge/discharge properties.",battery
"The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall sensitivity and applicability of a number of bioassays representing multiple trophic levels, for the preliminary ecotoxicological screening (Tier I) of estuarine sediments. Chemical analyses were conducted on sediments from all sampling sites to assist in interpreting results. As sediment is an inherently complex, heterogeneous geological matrix, the toxicity associated with different exposure routes (solid, porewater and elutriate phases) was also assessed. A stimulatory response was detected following exposure of some sediment phases to both the Microtox® and algal bioassays. Of the bioassays and endpoints employed in this study, the algal test was the most responsive to both elutriates and porewaters. Salinity controls, which corresponded to the salinity of the neat porewater samples, were found to have significant effects on the growth of the algae. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the inclusion of a salinity control in algal toxicity tests, the results of which emphasise the importance of incorporating appropriate controls in experimental design. While differential responses were observed, the site characterised as the most polluted on the basis of chemical analysis was consistently ranked the most toxic with all test species and all test phases. In terms of identifying appropriate Tier I screening tests for sediments, this study demonstrated both the Microtox® and algal bioassays to be more sensitive than the bacterial enzyme assays and the invertebrate lethality assay employing Artemia salina. The findings of this study highlight that salinity effects and geophysical properties need to be taken into account when interpreting the results of the bioassays.
",non-battery
"
        Sulfur (S) encapsulated in porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) was synthesized viaelectrospinning, carbonization and solution-based chemical reaction–deposition method. The chemical reaction–deposition strategy provides intimate contact between the S and the CNFs. This would not necessarily be the case for other reported methods, such as ball milling and thermal treatment. These novel porous carbon nanofiber–sulfur (CNF–S) nanocomposites with various S loadings showed high reversible capacity, good discharge capacity retention and enhanced rate capability when they were used as cathodes in rechargeable Li/S cells. We demonstrated here that an electrode prepared from a porous CNF–S nanocomposite with 42 wt% S maintains a stable discharge capacity of about 1400 mA h g−1 at 0.05 C, 1100 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C and 900 mA h g−1 at 0.2 C. We attribute the good electrochemical performance to the high electrical conductivity and the extremely high surface area of the CNFs that homogeneously disperse and immobilize S on their porous structures, alleviating the polysulfide shuttle phenomenon. SEM measurements showed that the porous CNF structures remained nearly unchanged even after 30 cycles' discharging/charging at 0.05 C.
",battery
"In this work, a naphthalene tetracarboxylic acid lithium salt (NTCLi) as anode material is designed for lithium-ion batteries, with high theoretical capacity and conjugated system according to the combination principles of multi-carboxyl groups and low molecular weight, which is prepared through a simple one-pot neutralization reaction. The sample is characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, IR and TGA. The results show that NTCLi exhibits nanorod-like structure, well thermal stability and crystalline structure. The electrochemical measurements results demonstrate the initial discharge capacity of 276mAhg−1 with low discharge platform (~0.9V) at the current density of 0.1C are achieved for NTCLi, and the discharge specific capacity of 190mAhg−1 can be retained after 100 cycles. Also, NTCLi delivers good rate capability with discharge capacity of up to 112mAhg−1, even at a current density as high as 2C, indicating the as-prepared sample could be a promising candidate as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Electrode materials that combine the high energy density of batteries and the high power density of supercapacitors become an increasing need for current and near-future applications. Ta2O5 delivers a high theoretical capacity but suffers from unsatisfactory rate capabilities. Here we prepare a structurally disordered Ta2O5 nanoparticle aerogel via a nonaqueous sol-gel process followed by CO2 super-critical drying. The resulting aerogels exhibit large surface area, high porosity, fast ion diffusion, and extrinsically pseudocapacitive Li+/Na+ storage behavior (through surface redox reactions). With these merits, when evaluated as anode material for both lithium-ion and sodium-ion half cells (LIBs and NIBs), the Ta2O5 aerogels show excellent rate capabilities (97.0 and 43.7 mA h g−1 at 5000 mA g−1 for LIBs and NIBs, respectively) and highly stable cycling performance (20000 cycles at 5000 mA g−1 and 10000 cycles at 1000 mA g−1 without obvious capacity fading for LIBs and NIBs, respectively). This work introduces Ta2O5, a typical conversion-type metal oxide without intrinsic pseudocapacitance, as a promising anode material with high extrinsic pseudocapacitance for both LIBs and NIBs, which may open the door to achieve high-rate alkali-ion storage with low synthesis cost for durable microbatteries.",battery
"Local inhomogeneous electrode utilization in recent lithium-ion batteries tends to increase due to larger sizes and/or higher densification, which poses a challenge for accurate, model-based monitoring. Pseudo-two dimensional (p2D) physicochemical models (PCM) can offer such locality via calculating local potentials and concentrations through the thickness of the electrode stack and are numerically reduced for implementation in a microcontroller in this work. Finite difference method combined with solid-diffusion approximations and orthogonal collocation reformulation are applied to generate three MATLAB- and three microcontroller-suitable C-code p2D-PCMs, which are experimentally validated towards constant current charge/discharge and driving cycle loads on a high-energy NMC-811/SiC-18650 lithium-ion battery. Benchmarking to an equivalent circuit model reveals similar mean cell voltage errors below 20 mV for the driving cycle. Reducing spatial elements reveals errors below 1% for local (i.e. concentrations/potentials) and global states (i.e. cell voltage/temperature) and is applied to speed-up the C-code p2D-PCMs in the microcontroller (max. 168 MHz with 192 kB RAM) to calculate at least 37% faster than real-time. Real-time computability is investigated via varying processor frequencies and using hardware acceleration schemes. The memory allocation to solve and store the p2D-PCMs on the microcontroller require 115 kB and 213 kB at a maximum, respectively.",battery
"In this study, a novel facile and rapid method to prepare three-dimensional (3D) flower-like CoS hierarchitectures by microwave assisted heating has been developed. The 3D flower-like CoS architectures are constructed by two-dimensional nanopetals intertwined with each other and the formation mechanism are studied. The pseudo-capacitive properties of the CoS material are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests in 6M KOH solution. A specific capacitance of 586 F g−1 is obtained at a charge-discharge current density of 1 A g−1. The CoS nanostructure exhibits excellent cycling stability and it maintains 91% of its initial specific capacitance after 1000 cycles. It also exhibits excellent rate capability, improved energy density and power density.",battery
"Many technically relevant materials are non-homogeneous in structure. Their investigation requires a locally resolved surface analysis. An exact determination of the accessed area and a potentiostatic control in a three-electrode configuration are necessary. This becomes possible by capillary-based microcells which enable local impedance measurements and even impedance mapping of the surface. Different aspects and strategies of this microimpedance spectroscopy are presented and discussed, together with some examples.",battery
"This paper addresses the annual energy storage requirements of small islanded electricity systems with wind and photovoltaic (PV) generation, using hourly demand and resource data for a range of locations in New Zealand. Normalised storage capacities with respect to annual demand for six locations with winter-peaking demand profiles were lower for wind generation than for PV generation, with an average PV:wind storage ratio of 1.768:1. For two summer-peaking demand profiles, normalised storage capacities were lower for PV generation, with storage ratios of 0.613:1 and 0.455:1. When the sensitivity of storage was modelled for winter-peaking demand profiles, average storage ratios were reduced. Hybrid wind/PV systems had lower storage capacity requirements than for wind generation alone for two locations. Peak power for storage charging was generally greater with PV generation than with wind generation, and peak charging power increased for the hybrid systems. The results are compared with those for country-scale electricity systems, and measures for minimising storage capacity are discussed. It is proposed that modelling of storage capacity requirements should be included in the design process at the earliest possible stage, and that new policy settings may be required to facilitate a transition to energy storage in fully renewable electricity systems.",battery
"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and chemosensory dysfunction are non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but their association is unclear. We explored if MCI and the involvement of single cognitive domains influence olfaction and taste in PD. The role of demographic, clinical and neuropsychiatric variables was tested. We recruited 50 PD patients without dementia, no other reasons for cognitive impairment, no condition that could influence evaluation of cognition, olfaction and taste. They underwent a full neuropsychological and chemosensory (i.e., olfaction and taste) test with the Sniffin’ Sticks Extended test (SSET), Whole Mouth test (WMT) and Taste Strips test (TST). Fifty age- and sex-matched healthy subjects served as controls. Olfactory function and sweet identification were worse in PD than controls. MCI negatively influenced odor identification. Factors associated with poor olfactory function were age, overall cognition, apathy, and visuospatial dysfunction. Sour identification was affected by MCI and executive dysfunction, and salty identification by executive dysfunction. MCI, age and executive dysfunction worsened TST score. Awareness of olfactory dysfunction was impaired in PD with MCI. Education positively influenced SSET and TST scores. Our data confirmed that olfaction is abnormal in PD, while taste was only slightly impaired. Olfaction was worse in PD patients with visuospatial dysfunction, while sour and salty identification was worse in those with MCI and executive dysfunction, suggesting different underlying anatomical abnormalities. Future studies should incorporate neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid data to confirm this hypothesis. SSET odor identification and TST sour identification could be explored as quick screening tests for PD-MCI.",non-battery
"In this paper, we have established that poly(neutral red), PNR, functions as an electrocatalyst for the reduction and oxidation of NAD+/NADH in a rechargeable biobattery environment. The reversibility of this catalyst was possible only with the addition of Zn2+ for complexation to the redox polymer. The zinc ion complexation with the polymer facilitates electron and proton transfer to/from the substrate and the NAD+/NADH coenzyme without forming covalent bonds between the nicotinamide and the substrate surface. This research presents use of this reversible catalyst in a rechargeable biobattery. The rechargeable battery includes a Prussian blue cathode and a bioanode including NAD+-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase and zinc complexed PNR. This bioanode was coupled to the cathode with Nafion® 212 acting as the ion exchange membrane separator between the two compartments. The biobattery has an open circuit potential of 0.545(±0.009)V when first assembled and 0.053(±0.005)V when fully discharged. However, when fully charged, the biobattery has an open circuit potential of 1.263(±0.051)V, a maximum power density of 16.3(±4.03) μWcm−3 and a maximum current density of 221(±13.2)μAcm−3. The efficiency and stability of the biobattery were studied by cycling continuously at a discharging rate of 1C and the results obtained showed reasonable stability over 50 cycles.",battery
"An effective strategy by combination of alcoholysis, solid-state reaction and coating techniques is employed to prepare Au@Li4Ti5O12 nanorod aggregates as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. The lithium diffusion coefficient of resulting Au@Li4Ti5O12 is 7.32 × 10−10 cm2 s−1, and its stable reversible capacity is 169 mAh g−1 with the retention of 91.1% after 100 cycles at 5 C. Moreover, it also exhibits excellent rate-capability performance. The superior cycling performance can be attributed to the unique nanorod characteristics, structural stability, and the improved ionic and electronic conduction in the electrode due to the uniform nano coating of Au.",battery
"The endocrine-disrupting equivalents in effluents from three chemical industry wastewater treatment systems in the vicinity of Yangtze River were determined by several transactivation reporter gene assays. Transient transfections of African green monkey kidney cell line (CV-1) were used to determine the estrogenic, anti-androgenic and anti-thyroid equivalents in the effluents. Organic extracts of the effluents contained compounds that were potent anti-androgens and the activities measured as an equivalent concentration of flutamide were 45.53, 34.65 and 91.61 nM, respectively. The extracts also contained detectable concentrations of thyroid antagonists. Estrogenic activities, measured with the reporter gene assay, were near or below the method detection limit (0.58 pM as E2). Concentrations of some of the major constituents such as di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, 2,6-dinitrotoluene and nitrobenzene were quantified. The data suggest that the reporter gene assay is useful to predication of endocrine disrupting effects in polluted aquatic body.",non-battery
"A surfactant-free synthetic methodology is reported for the preparation of β-Ni(OH)2-NiCo2O4 hybrid nanostructure. For comparative study, β-Ni(OH)2-NiO, β-Ni(OH)2-Co3O4, NiCo2O4, NiO, Co3O4, and β-Ni(OH)2 were also synthesized. Materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical oxidation of methanol is investigated at β-Ni(OH)2-NiCo2O4 modified electrode in the alkaline medium using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry methods. A detailed investigation is made for the electro-catalytic oxidation of methanol by varying several reaction parameters such as potential scan rate, methanol concentration, etc. Mechanism of methanol oxidation is proposed based on the CV and double steps chronoamperometry studies. β-Ni(OH)2-NiCo2O4 modified electrode exhibited comparatively higher electro-catalytic activity in the methanol oxidation when compared to other modified electrodes investigated in this study.",battery
"Although the hydrogel electrolytes for flexible energy-storage device have made great progress, it still remains a huge challenge to assemble a smart supercapacitor with high ionic conductivity and excellent self-healing when suffering physical damage. Herein, a novel self-healing hydrogel electrolyte (B-PVA/KCl/GO) is designed and prepared through graphite oxide (GO) doped into a diol-borate ester bonding cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) network. It is found that the moderate amount of GO-doped into hydrogel (2.3 wt% GO, 47.5 mS/cm) is obviously improved ionic conductivity compared with bare B-PVA/KCl hydrogel (32.6 mS/cm). Interestingly, the B-PVA/KCl/GO hydrogel electrolyte exhibits excellent self-healing capability that can repair its original configuration with 5 min when it is cut. Moreover, the activated carbon-based supercapacitor with B-PVA/KCl/GO hydrogel electrolyte delivers high specific capacitance of 156 F g−1 at 0.3 A g−1 and can also restore its capacitive performances via 7 times healing cycles without external stimulus. The presented work provides a new strategy to construct a flexible and self-healing hydrogel to apply for wearable electronics, smart apparels or flexible robots.",battery
"A series of micro-sized TiO2 materials with different morphologies were synthesized via pyrolysis of spray-dried precursors, which were obtained via tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) hydrolysis reaction. The pH value of the precursor sol and its TBT content significantly influenced the morphology of the synthesized TiO2 materials but showed little effect on the improvement of lithiation-delithiation capacity. The carbon coating effect on the electrochemical performance improvement depended on the morphology of the synthesized TiO2 particles. Carbon-coated TiO2 bowls with a large thickness (1.18μm) provide an initial Li+ insertion capacity of 310mAh g−1 at a cut-off voltage of 1V vs. Li+/Li, which is much higher than the carbon-coated TiO2 bowls with a small thickness (0.62μm, capacity: 22mAh g−1). Carbon-coated TiO2 bowls with a small thickness can be activated via lithiation-delithiation cycling between 0 and 3V.",battery
"The effects of precipitation pH values on the microstructural characteristics of nickel hydroxide materials synthesized by a chemical precipitation method have been studied. The relationship between structural characteristics and electrochemical activity of nickel hydroxide was also examined. The structural characteristics of the synthesized β-Ni(OH)2, such as degree of crystallinity, crystalline lattice disorders, crystallite size and crystal growth orientation were strongly related to the pH values of the chemical precipitation reaction. The amounts of SO4 2−, CO3 2− and H2O adsorbed in crystals, and the thermal stability of the β-Ni(OH)2 also depended on the pH. Under relatively high pH values, the synthesized nickel hydroxide materials possessed a reduced crystallite size and lower thermal stability, more crystalline defects and a higher Ni composition. All these characteristics were likely to improve the electrochemical activity of nickel hydroxide.",battery
"Nanocrystalline oxides with either spinel (s.g. Fd3m) or layered (s.g. R3m) structures suitable as cathodic materials for lithium cells were prepared by using a simple, rapid method based on the thermal decomposition of mixed nanocrystalline oxalates formed by grinding hydrated salts and oxalic acid. Their structural and textural properties were determined by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and N2 adsorption measurements. Well-crystallized spinels of formulae viz. LiMn2O4 and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 with a thin sheet-like morphology and average particle size at ca. 30nm were obtained by heating at temperatures as low as 400°C for a short time. On the other hand, pure layered oxides (LiCoO2 and LiNi0.5Co0.5O2) required higher temperatures (800°C), which resulted in greater particle sizes (average size ca. 100nm). The electrochemical properties of these materials in lithium cells were studied from cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic measurements. Cells made from the spinels exhibited good rate performance and the delivered capacities changed little over the charge–discharge rate range from C/4 to 4C (C is defined as the theoretical capacity delivered in 1h). By contrast, the capacity values for the cells made from the layered oxides are strongly affected by the charge–discharge rates. Their increased particle size may be the origin of the poorer cell performance observed.",battery
"Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibrous membranes for use as lithium-ion battery separators were prepared by electrospinning technique. Heat treatment was introduced to improve the tensile strength and elongation-at-break as well as the tensile modulus of PVDF fibrous membranes, with the best mechanical properties achieved after treatment at 160 °C for 2 h. After heat treatment at 160 °C for 2 h, the ionic conductivity of the liquid electrolyte-soaked PVDF fibrous membranes was 1.35 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature. Moreover, compared with commercial Celgard 2400 separator, heat-treated PVDF fibrous membranes exhibited higher electrochemical stability window and lower interfacial resistance with lithium electrode. In addition, at a 0.2C rate, Li/LiFePO4 cells using heat-treated PVDF fibrous membrane separator showed high charge/discharge capacities and stable cycle performance.",battery
"The composite of manganese monoxide and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MnO/MWNTs) is prepared hydrothermally by MWNTs and KMnO4 followed with a sintering process. After reducing KMnO4 as the reductant, the leftover MWNTs are found randomly distributed in the final MnO rods forming a conducting network. More importantly, they can buffer the volume change of MnO during lithium incorporation/extraction. As a result, the rate capability and cycling performance of MnO as an anode material for lithium ion batteries are significantly improved. The MnO/MWNTs composite shows a reversible capacity as high as 770.6 mA h g−1 and 455.3 mA h g−1 at the current density of 7.21 mA g−1 and 310.23 mA g−1 respectively between 0.01 and 3.5 V (vs. Li/Li+ hereafter). Furthermore, the capacity retention is over 92.4% after 200 cycles at 216.14 mA g−1 between 0.01 and 3.0 V.",battery
"Plasticity of white matter tracts is thought to be essential for cognitive development and academic skill acquisition in children. However, a dearth of high-quality diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data measuring longitudinal changes with learning, as well as methodological difficulties in multi-time point tract identification have limited our ability to investigate plasticity of specific white matter tracts. Here, we examine learning-related changes of white matter tracts innervating inferior parietal, prefrontal and temporal regions following an intense 2-month math tutoring program. DTI data were acquired from 18 third grade children, both before and after tutoring. A novel fiber tracking algorithm based on a White Matter Query Language (WMQL) was used to identify three sections of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) linking frontal and parietal (SLF-FP), parietal and temporal (SLF-PT) and frontal and temporal (SLF-FT) cortices, from which we created child-specific probabilistic maps. The SLF-FP, SLF-FT, and SLF-PT tracts identified with the WMQL method were highly reliable across the two time points and showed close correspondence to tracts previously described in adults. Notably, individual differences in behavioral gains after 2 months of tutoring were specifically correlated with plasticity in the left SLF-FT tract. Our results extend previous findings of individual differences in white matter integrity, and provide important new insights into white matter plasticity related to math learning in childhood. More generally, our quantitative approach will be useful for future studies examining longitudinal changes in white matter integrity associated with cognitive skill development.",non-battery
"Working memory is one of several putative core neurocognitive processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present work seeks to determine whether visual–spatial working memory is sensitive to motivational incentives, a laboratory analogue of behavioral treatment. Participants were 21 children (ages 7–10) with a diagnosis of ADHD-combined type. Participants completed a computerized spatial span task designed to assess storage of visual–spatial information (forward span) and manipulation of the stored information (backward span). The spatial span task was completed twice on the same day, once with a performance-based incentive (trial-wise feedback and points redeemable for prizes) and once without incentives. Participants performed significantly better on the backward span when rewarded for correct responses, compared to the no incentive condition. However, incentives had no effect on performance during the forward span. These findings may suggest the use of motivational incentives improved manipulation, but not storage, of visual–spatial information among children with ADHD. Possible explanations for the differential incentive effects are discussed, including the possibility that incentives prevented a vigilance decrement as task difficulty and time on task increased.
",non-battery
"The use of diesel-driven traction is an intrinsic part of the functioning of railway systems and it is expected to continue being so for the foreseeable future. The recent introduction of more restrictive greenhouse gas emission levels and other legislation aiming at the improvement of the environmental performance of railway systems has led to the need of exploring alternatives for cleaner diesel rolling stock. This paper focuses on assessing energy storage systems and the design of hybrid system architectures to determine their potential use in specific diesel-driven rail duty cycles. Hydrostatic accumulators, flywheels, Lithium-ion batteries and double-layer capacitors have been assessed and used to design hybrid system architectures. The potential of the different technology combinations has been analyzed using standardized duty cycles enhanced with gradient profiles related to suburban, regional and shunting operations. The results show that double-layer capacitors and Lithium-ion batteries have the highest potential to be successfully integrated into the system architecture of diesel-driven rail vehicles. Furthermore, the results also suggest that combining these two energy storage technologies into a single hybridisation package is a highly promising design that draws on their strengthens without any significant drawbacks.",battery
"Highly ordered TiO2@α-Fe2O3 core/shell arrays on carbon textiles (TFAs) have been fabricated by a stepwise, seed-assisted, hydrothermal approach and further investigated as the anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). This composite TFA anode exhibits superior high-rate capability and outstanding cycling performance. The specific capacity of the TFAs is much higher than that of pristine carbon textiles (CTs) and TiO2 nanorod arrays on carbon textiles (TRAs), indicating a positive synergistic effect of the material and structural hybridization on the enhancement of the electrochemical properties. This composite nanostructure not only provides large interfacial area for lithium insertion/extraction but should also be beneficial in reducing the diffusion pathways for electronic and ionic transport, leading to the improved capacity retention on cycling even at high discharge–charge rates. It is worth emphasizing that the CT substrates also present many potential virtues for LIBs as flexible electronic devices owing to the stretchable, lightweight and biodegradable properties. The fabrication strategy presented here is facile, cost-effective, and scalable, which opens new avenues for the design of optimal composite electrode materials for high performance LIBs.
",battery
"Umicore has received a €125 million loan from European Investment Bank (EIB) to help finance its investment into its cathode materials plant in Nysa, Poland. Once completed, the plant will supply the European operations of Umicore’s global battery cell and automotive customers, the company said. ‘Through its integrated European battery materials supply chain, Umicore will significantly contribute to the European Union’s plans to create a competitive and sustainable battery ecosystem in Europe,’ a press release said. ‘Umicore is proud to have obtained the support of the EIB for this strategic project.’. Umicore; www.umicore.com",non-battery
"Compared with thermally exfoliated graphene oxide (TEGO) prepared at high temperature of 800°C and a long time of 12h, microwave exfoliated graphene oxide (MEGO) is successfully synthesized at 800W for 2min benefiting from “inert and instant heating” of microwave irradiation and employed to optimize electrochemical performance of LiFePO4. The as-obtained LiFePO4/MEGO exhibits overwhelming superiorities to LiFePO4/TEGO, particularly in high-rate performance. Although LiFePO4/MEGO delivers the similar specific capacity of 158.1 mAh·g−1 as well as the LiFePO4/TEGO at the rate of 0.1C, the LiFePO4/MEGO performs smaller polarization of 53.3mV resulting in better specific energy of 518.1 Wh·kg−1 and energy efficiency of 89.8%. Even at the high rate of 10C and 20C, the LiFePO4/MEGO delivers excellent specific energy of 300.3 Wh·kg−1 and 229.7 Wh·kg−1 (with corresponding specific capacity of 104.3 mAh·g−1 and 87.3 mAh·g−1 respectively), much better than those of the LiFePO4/TEGO. After 2000 cycles, the LiFePO4/MEGO still performs excellent rate capabilities with 91.2% and 83.8% retention respectively.",battery
"This study sought to explain student success at an Early College High School. Guided by previous research on Early College High Schools as well as by the construct of educational resiliency, 28 students were interviewed in focus groups. Through the analysis, we uncovered the key role that educational resilience played in their success as the students leveraged their own individual and social assets to adapt to the challenges they faced. The school setting itself also served to cultivate their resilience. We also heard from students about their ongoing struggles with sleep and anxiety. The study has implications for research on Early College High Schools and similar school settings, as well as for research on educational resilience.
",non-battery
"Propylene carbonate (PC) together with cyclic sulfur compounds such as tetrahydrothiophene 1-oxide (THT1oxide) as co-solvent and lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) as conducting salt are introduced as new aprotic liquid electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. Starting with the single solvent electrolyte LiPF6 in PC, by addition of THT1oxide, the ion transport properties even at temperatures down to −20 °C are improved by the different solvation behavior of Li+ ions due to the high Li+ ion affinity of the sulfinyl (-S=O) group and by the resulting decrease of the Li+ ion complex size. Electrolytes that contain Li+ ion complexes with both PC and THT1oxide molecules in the solvation shell are able to form protective interphase layers on graphite and NCM111 (LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2) electrodes that are both permeable for Li+ ions while ensuring good electronic insulation, thus enabling stable cycling in lithium-ion cells with only minor capacity fading. THT1oxide/PC-based electrolytes afford better long-term as well as low temperature cycling behavior compared to established state-of-the-art (SOTA) organic carbonate-based electrolytes. The obtained results allow for the design of new co-solvents for PC and comparable cyclic organic carbonates, and provide a non-toxic and cheap alternative to crown ethers without affecting the Li+ ion transference/transport numbers.",battery
"High ionic conductivity exceeding 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature is achieved with lithiated perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA-Li) ion exchange membranes by swelling in nonaqueous organic solvents. The dependence of ionic conductivity on the membrane equivalent weight, solvent uptake, solvent properties including viscosity and dielectric constant and temperature is investigated for PFSA-Li membranes. The high performance of Li-ion battery using the PFSA-Li membranes as both electrolyte and separator is demonstrated. This new battery shows very good thermal stability and cyclic performance as compared to conventional Li-ion battery using organic liquid electrolytes. At 55 °C, this battery shows less than 3% discharge capacity loss over 120 cycles, however battery with liquid electrolyte decreased to 76% of the initial capacity after 80 cycles.
",battery
"Immunosenescence contributes to cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration, and those conditions could be attenuated by non-pharmacological anti-inflammatory strategies, such as exercise and supplementation with the amino acid taurine. Since taurine body content decreases with aging, we investigated the effects of supplementation (alone and combined with exercise) on oxidative stress, extracellular matrix degradation, white blood cells, neurotrophins, cognition and physical fitness of elderly women. Forty-eight women (83.58 ± 6.98 years) were enrolled into exercise training only (EO: n = 13), taurine supplementation (TS: n = 12), exercise training + taurine supplementation (ETTS: n = 11), and control group (CG: n = 12). All interventions lasted 14 weeks. Exercise was applied twice a week, and taurine was given once a day (1.5 g). Data collection occurred before and after interventions with the determination of myeloperoxidase (MPO), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF) levels, and white blood cell counts (WBC). Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and physical fitness tests were also evaluated. Concentration of MPO and MMP-9 decreased after intervention in TS (p < 0.05). No effect of time or time × group was observed for WBC parameters; however, univariate analysis showed a significant decrease in lymphocytes for TS, while an increase in monocytes occurred in the CG (p < 0.05). MoCA scores decreased over time in the CG (p < 0.05). Improvements in physical fitness occurred in ETTS (better agility and aerobic capacity), mostly likely due to exercise and boosted by taurine supplementation. No changes in BDNF levels were observed (p > 0.05), while NGF concentration were undetectable in almost subjects. Exercise together with taurine supplementation appears to be a valuable strategy to enhance health-related outcomes in older persons.
",non-battery
"Formation of dendrite on lithium metal anode (LMA) poses a threat to commercial prospects of rechargeable lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Electrolyte engineering, including but not limited to using new solvents, salts and additives, is an effective remedy to surmounting this vexing problem. In this work, a novel additive, trimethylsilyl(fluorosulfonyl)(n-nonafluorobutanesulfonyl)imide {(CH3)3Si-N[(FSO2)(n-C4F9SO2)], TMS-FNFSI}, is introduced to the ether-based electrolyte of LiN[(CF3SO2)2]-1,3-dioxolane/dimethoxyethane (LiTFSI-DOL/DME) for LMBs. It preferentially reduces on LMA prior to the main electrolyte components (ethers and LiTFSI), resulting in a LiF-rich, organic F- and Si-containing solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film, being validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thus, dendrite growth is effectively suppressed. Li|Cu cells, with 1.0 M LiTFSI-DOL/DME (1:1, v/v) containing 5 wt% TMS-FNFSI, exhibit an average coulombic efficiency up to 96.5% for ca. 100 cycles at the current density and areal capacity of 1 mA cm−2 and 2 mAh cm−2, respectively. The Li|Li symmetric cells with TMS-FNFSI can run for more than 1200 h with a stable polarization voltage (ca. 25 mV) at 0.5 mA cm−2. The Li|LiFePO4 cells with TMS-FNFSI can operate steadily for 100 cycles with capacity retention of 92% at 0.2 C. The reduction decomposition mechanism of TMS-FNFSI is tentatively proposed.",battery
"We evaluated the potential use of the Hemocue (Hemocue AB, Sweden) portable hemoglobinometer on the 1st postoperative evening after major joint arthroplasty. We compared hemoglobinometer values with conventional Coulter counter laboratory analysis in a population of 67 patients. The hemoglobinometer proved practical, economical, and accurate in general, although 2 outlying values were severe enough as potentially to influence clinical decision making. Potential causes and solutions are discussed.",non-battery
"The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the microstructural morphologies of a Pb–6.6wt%Sb alloy on the resulting corrosion resistance in a 0.5M H2SO4 solution at different temperatures: environment temperature, 50°C and 70°C. A water-cooled unidirectional solidification system was employed permitting a wide range of microstructures to be analyzed. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) diagrams, potentiodynamic polarization curves and an equivalent circuit analysis were used to evaluate the corrosion behavior of the Pb–Sb alloy samples. It was found that with increasing temperatures the general corrosion resistance of Pb–Sb dendritic alloys decreases, and that independently of the working temperature finer dendritic spacings exhibit better corrosion resistance than coarser ones.",battery
"Electrochemical cells “hydrogenated metal–proton conductor–any second electrode” are of certain applied interest in connection with the development of the protonic heterojunction conception as an alternative to the three-phase-boundary conception. The first, but not single condition of the formation of protonic heterojunction is the heterogeneous contact of hydrogen-containing materials such as the hydrogenated metal and the proton conductor. The appropriate couples consisting of Pd or Ti in the role of electrodes and solid hydroxides in the role of proton conductors have been studied. The way of the preparation of such original electrochemical cells and their behavior in the temperature range 320–430K are presented. A stable electromotive force (emf) of various electrochemical cells ‘(Pd)|NaOH, KOH|(Pd)’, ‘(Pd)|CsHSO4|(Pd)’, ‘(Ti)|KOH·H2O|(C)’, ‘(Ti)|KOH·H2O|(Ti)’ has been observed. (Here (Pd), (Ti), (C) mean the main part of electrodes omitting the description of heteroboundaries.) The value of emf varies from 0.8V to 1.4V depending on physicochemical conditions. A certain part of this emf (0.8V for Pd-cells and 0.2V for Ti-cells) is due to heteroboundaries “hydrogenated metal–proton conductor”, which is found to be kinetically reversible to proton exchange. Isotopic effects of emf are the plain evidence in favor of potential determining role of protons. These data confirm the protonic heterojunction formation in electrochemical cells under study. It has given the impetus to working out the promising electrochemical devices with protonic heterojunctions.",battery
"Automated human activity analysis has been, and remains, a challenging problem. Security and surveillance are essential issues in today’s world. Any behavior which is uncommon in occurrence and deviates from customarily understood action could be termed as suspicious. For different application regions, while identifying human exercises, fundamentally three angles are taking in worry for human movement recognition system: Segmentation, feature extraction, and activity classification. This model aims at automatic detection of abnormal behavior in surveillance videos. In this proposed work adaptive linear activity classification method and internet of things (IoT) frameworks are used to detection human activities as well as to find out who is doing unusual activities. The enhanced plan of the built environment condition will give a better observation. Such framework can be actualized in peoples in general places, for example, shopping centers, airports, and railway station or any private premises where security is the prime concern. The proposed ALAC method validated through simulation using MATLAB and VB.net software. Its ability to detect the activity of human the simulation result shows the effectiveness using ALAC method, Overall 97% efficiency achieved by using ALAC method.",non-battery
"High-voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 has been considered as one of the most promising cathode candidate for LIBs due to its excellent energy density and power density, but the attack of HF on the material and dissolution of Mn ions into electrolyte can cause structure collapse and serious capacity fading of the cathode. In this work, a semiconductor of LaFeO3 was coated on the surface of polyhedral LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 via a wet-chemical method. LaFeO3 coated at the surface of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 significantly protects the cathode from the corrosion of HF and alleviates the dissolution of Mn ions into organic liquid electrolyte during (dis)charge processes. The 2.0 wt% LaFeO3-coated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode exhibits much better cycling stability, rate capability, and elevated temperature stability than the pristine: capacity retention of 97.71% at 1 C after 100 cycles vs. that of 90.96%; rate capability of 111.9 and 99.6 mAh g−1 at high C-rates of 5 C and 10 C vs. that of 90.6 and 76.4 mAh g−1, respectively; and high temperature capacity retention of 93.29% at 1 C after 100 cycles vs. that of 69.9%. Present study provides a facile method to mitigate the dissolution of Mn ions into electrolyte for LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, resulting in excellent cycling performance and rate capability.",battery
"SnO2 nanoparticles uniformly decorated polypyrrole (PPy) nanowires are synthesized by a facile two-step electrochemical reaction method: electropolymerization and electrodeposition. The nanostructured SnO2–PPy hybrids show porous reticular morphology and homogenous distributions. The reticular SnO2–PPy nanowires can increase the electrode/electrolyte interface and accommodate the volume variation of SnO2. When applied as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the unique nanostructured hybrids deliver meaningfully improved Li+ storage performance with the first reversible capacity of 690 mAh g−1. This facile synthesis procedure can also be simply grafted to other inorganic–organic hybrid composites.",battery
"A series of novel cobalt–boron–carbon systems have been successfully synthesized by a chemical reduction method with subsequent heat-treatment in the presence of various contents of glucose. The products thus obtained have been investigated as negative electrode materials in KOH aqueous solution. The as-prepared samples are characterized by XRD, ICP, TEM and BET method. It is found that the samples are composed of Co–B particles coated by carbon nanoflakes, which significantly improve their BET surface areas. Electrochemical measurements showed that the Co–B–C electrodes display high discharge capacity, excellent cycle stability and outstanding rate capability. The discharge capacity of the Co–B–C electrode reaches 430.1mAhg−1 at the current density of 500mAg−1 and it still remains 401.6mAhg−1 after 100 cycles, which is attractive compared with other Co-based materials reported before. CV and XRD measurements reveal that the reversible faradic reaction between highly dispersed Co and Co(OH)2 is dominant for the Co–B–C composites.",battery
"A divalent electrolyte salt based on 1,1,4,4-tetramethyl piperazine has been synthesized and applied in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). Traits of the divalent salts have been accessed as well as monovalent quaternary alkyl ammonium salts by the means of galvanostatic charge–discharge tests and ionic conductivity measurements. Compared with monovalent salts, the divalent salts do enlarge the charge storage ability of EDLCs remarkably. However, highly concentrated charge density on the divalent cation has a strong interaction with the organic solvent of propylene carbonate. The adverse effect of this heavy solvation on the performance of EDLCs has been investigated. Moreover, the influence of pore size distribution on the storage ability of these cations at the porous carbon electrode has been addressed.",battery
"Binary nickel–cobalt hydroxides (denoted as Ni x Co1−x (OH)2) with advanced capacitive performances, such as the superior rate capability, energy efficiency, and capacitance rate-/cycle-retention, are synthesized by cathodic deposition. The effects of deposition variables are systematically investigated and discussed. The deposition current density has been found to determine the morphology of hydroxides whereby a small current density facilitates the formation of porous nanonetwork microstructures. Both pH and temperature of the precursor solution affect the Co/Ni ratio of hydroxides, which in turn influence the capacitive performances. Eventually, Ni0.32Co0.68(OH)2 synthesized under our proposed deposition condition exhibits a specific capacitance value of ca. 1000 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1, 100% capacitance cycle-retention over 1000 cycles, and 69% capacitance rate-retention (varying from 5 to 500 mV s−1). These superior capacitive performances make Ni0.32Co0.68(OH)2 a promising material of the positive electrode for an asymmetric supercapacitor with an energy efficiency of 90% at 10 A g−1.",battery
"Monoclinic lithium vanadium phosphate, Li3V2(PO4)3, was synthesized by a sol–gel method under Ar/H2 (8% H2) atmosphere. The influence of sintering temperatures on the synthesis of Li3V2(PO4)3 has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM and electrochemical methods. XRD patterns show that the Li3V2(PO4)3 crystallinity with monoclinic structure increases with the sintering temperature from 700 to 800°C and then decreases from 800 to 900°C. SEM results indicate that the particle size of as-prepared samples increases with the sintering temperature increase and there is minor carbon particles on the surface of the sample particles, which are very useful to enhance the conductivity of Li3V2(PO4)3. Charge–discharge tests show the 800°C-sample exhibits the highest initial discharge capacity of 131.2mAhg−1 at 10mAg−1 in the voltage range of 3.0–4.2V with good capacity retention. CV experiment exhibits that there are three anodic peaks at 3.61, 3.70 and 4.11V on lithium extraction as well as three cathodic peaks at 3.53, 3.61 and 4.00V on lithium reinsertion at 0.02mVs−1 between 3.0 and 4.3V. It is suggested that the optimal sintering temperature is 800°C in order to obtain pure monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 with good electrochemical performance by the sol–gel method, and the monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 can be used as candidate cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.",battery
The electrochemical oxidation of neutral red in 0.5moldm−3 H2SO4 solution was carried out by using repeated potential cycling between −0.20 and 1.20V (versus SCE). The polymer film was electrochemically deposited on a platinum anode and had an electrochemical activity in the solution of 0.5moldm−3 Na2SO4 with pH≤4.0. The result from the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiment shows that the anions can be doped into the polymer film during the electropolymerization reaction of neutral red. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrograph shows the surface of poly(neutral red) film deposited on the platinum foil is covered with a micro-structured network of mass interwoven fibers with a diameter of 2–4μm. A straight fiber of the unsystematic micro-fibers is longer than 0.4mm. The UV–vis spectrum and infrared spectrum (IR) of the polymer are different from those of the monomer.,battery
" Left-handedness prevalence has been consistently reported at around 10% with heritability estimates at around 25%. Higher left-handedness prevalence has been reported in males and in twins. Lower prevalence has been reported in Asia, but it remains unclear whether this is due to biological or cultural factors. Most studies are based on samples with European ethnicities and using the preferred hand for writing as key assessment. Here, we investigated handedness in a sample of Chinese school children in Hong Kong, including 426 singletons and 205 pairs of twins, using both the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory and Pegboard Task.",non-battery
"In this paper we face the problem of maximizing the amount of time over which a set of target points, located in a given geographic region, can be monitored by means of a wireless sensor network. The problem is well known in the literature as Maximum Network Lifetime Problem (MLP). In the last few years the problem and a number of variants have been tackled with success by means of different resolution approaches, including exact approaches based on column generation techniques. In this work we propose an exact approach which combines a column generation approach with a genetic algorithm aimed at solving efficiently its separation problem. The genetic algorithm is specifically aimed at the Maximum Network α-Lifetime Problem (α-MLP), a variant of MLP in which a given fraction of targets is allowed to be left uncovered at all times; however, since α-MLP is a generalization of MLP, it can be used to solve the classical problem as well. The computational results, obtained on the benchmark instances, show that our approach overcomes the algorithms, available in the literature, to solve both MLP and α-MLP.",non-battery
"The cell chemistry of sodium/sulfur cells operating at room temperature (RT-Na/S cells) is being studied electrochemically and structurally. We show by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that the cell reaction is incomplete but prove that the end members of the cell reaction (S and Na2S) form among the expected polysulfide species Na2S x . The sulfur utilization can be improved by employing a solid electrolyte membrane (beta″-alumina) that prevents the diffusion of the soluble polysulfide species toward the sodium side. As an important finding, the Na+ conduction within the solid electrolyte phase and across the two liquid/solid interfaces results in only small overpotentials. Nevertheless the utilization of sulfur in the present RT-Na/S (475 mAh g−1) cells is lower than the theoretical value (1675 mAh g−1). One probable reason is the chemical instability of the widely used PVDF binder. Also, the thermodynamic properties of RT-Na/S cells operating at room temperature are discussed and compared with the currently much more studied RT-Li/S cells.",battery
"In this study the integration of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) prime mover and a high temperature electrochemical Sodium Nickel Chloride (SNC) battery as storage has been investigated. The aim is to fulfil a domestic user energy demand and to reduce the primary energy consumption in comparison with a reference conventional scenario, thereby, to enhance the total efficiency in a μ-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) application on a yearly basis. A realistic operational sequence of the SOFC-battery integration has been calculated using simple logic conditions. Both thermal and electric integration have been considered, where the innovative thermal integration has been proposed in order to exploit the SOFC residual heat for the battery stand-by feeding. The key advantage of this system architecture is that the SOFC is operated without major load variations close to constant load, resulting in longer lifetime and thus reducing total costs of operation. The thermal integration provides additional advantages, as calculated in this study. Eventually, a comparison with alternative μ-CHP technologies has been carried out, highlighting the potential of the system based on the SOFC. Benefits are mainly shown in terms of primary energy savings and admissible costs.",battery
"We found previously that a subgroup of schizophrenic patients who passed screening tests of attentional competence showed memory deficits on word memory tasks, but were comparable with controls on tone memory tasks. To better understand the nature of language-specific memory deficits in this subgroup of patients, the present experiment was designed to bypass early perceptual processing of verbal material and determine if patients continue to show impaired performance on verbal memory tasks. Patients who passed the screening tests (‘discriminator’ patients; DSz) received four serial position tasks. In two, familiar sounds or line drawings were presented and subjects were required to remember the word associated with each stimulus item. In the other two, subjects received hard-to-label auditory and visual stimuli (birdsongs or snowflakes). DSz patients showed large memory deficits compared with controls when required to remember words associated with the familiar sounds or drawings, providing clear evidence of deficits in verbal memory processes independent of sensory processing of verbal stimuli. The interaction between diagnosis and labeling was highly significant, confirming that these patients have particular difficulty with verbal as opposed to non-verbal memory. This was particularly striking on the auditory tests where two patients out-performed all controls on the birdsong test, but were below all controls on the easy-to-label sounds test. The verbal memory tests were easier than the non-verbal memory tests for controls, thus deconfounding task difficulty and deficit specificity.",non-battery
"Hard carbon/lithium composite anode electrode is prepared to reduce the initial irreversible capacity of hard carbon, which hinders practical application of hard carbon in lithium ion batteries, by introducing lithium into hard carbon. Lithium foil effectively compensates the irreversible capacity of hard carbon in the first cycle. A full cell using LiCoO2 cathode and the composite anode shows much higher initial coulombic efficiency than that of a cell using LiCoO2 cathode and hard carbon anode. This paves the way to reduce the large initial irreversible capacity of hard carbon. Besides that, this composite anode enables conductive polymer/sulfur composite cathode to be used in Li-ion batteries with non-lithiated anode materials.",battery
"A micro-porous composite polymer electrolyte (MCPE) was prepared in situ by adding TiO2 nanoparticles from the hydrolysis of titanium tetrabutoxide to a solution of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF-HFP)] copolymer. The prepared microporous polymer films (MCPFs) were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, FT-IR and electrochemical interface resistance. After the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles the polarity of CF2 groups in the polymer chains and the crystallinity of the MCPFs decreased. When the composite polymer film contained 8.5 wt% of TiO2 nanoparticles the MCPE exhibited excellent electrochemical properties such as high ionic conductivity, up to 2.40 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature.",battery
"Publisher Summary The primary instrument for studying heat penetration in retorted foods is the temperature data logger. Data logger systems for use in food processing are available in two primary forms: wired and wireless. In a wired system, temperature sensors, usually thermocouples, are hard wired directly to a recording device that has the required electronics to make the temperature measurement and record the data. In a wireless system, self-contained, battery-operated measurement and recording devices are used that have the required sensor, electronics, memory, and microprocessor to record process data. This chapter illustrates the configuration of a wired and wireless data logger system and addresses the wireless data loggers to study heat penetration in retorted foods. For a wireless data logger, the self-contained loggers are programmed to collect data at a specified rate and time, deployed into the process, and retrieved following the process and then the data is read into a PC. For most retort applications, a wireless data logger system is the instrument of choice because of the ease of setting up the system. Significant advances in wireless data logger technology have been made in recent years, primarily impacting on their size, accuracy, and reliability. Wireless data loggers can also be mounted internally in the container for situations where external mounting would interfere with retort operation.",non-battery
"The investigation summarised in this paper applied a sustainability assessment methodology on a renewable energy technological system in a rural village project that was commissioned by the South African Department of Minerals and Energy. The project comprised of wind, solar and lead-acid battery energy storage technologies that were implemented as a mini-hybrid off-grid electrification system for the village. The sustainability assessment methodology predicts the outcomes of such interventions by way of a learning model using discipline experts in the fields of economics, sociology, ecosystem sustainability, institutional governance, and the physics and chemistry of energy conversion processes. The comparison of the project's outcomes with a South African sustainable development framework shows that the specific village renewable off-grid electrification system is not viable. The main reason is that charges for electricity supply costs in village grids are too high for available subsidies; the economies of scale for renewable energy supply technologies favour national grids. The failure of the integrated system may also be attributable to the complexity of the social-institutional sub-system, which resulted in uncertainty for project planners and system designers, and the lack of resilience of the technological system to demands from the socio-economic and institutional sub-systems. Policy-related recommendations are made accordingly.",battery
"A literature study is performed to compile the state-of-the-art, as well as future potential, in SOFC modeling. Principles behind various transport processes such as mass, heat, momentum and charge as well as for electrochemical and internal reforming reactions are described. A deeper investigation is made to find out potentials and challenges using a multiscale approach to model solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and combine the accuracy at microscale with the calculation speed at macroscale to design SOFCs, based on a clear understanding of transport phenomena, chemical reactions and functional requirements. Suitable methods are studied to model SOFCs covering various length scales. Coupling methods between different approaches and length scales by multiscale models are outlined. Multiscale modeling increases the understanding for detailed transport phenomena, and can be used to make a correct decision on the specific design and control of operating conditions. It is expected that the development and production costs will be decreased and the energy efficiency be increased (reducing running cost) as the understanding of complex physical phenomena increases. It is concluded that the connection between numerical modeling and experiments is too rare and also that material parameters in most cases are valid only for standard materials and not for the actual SOFC component microstructures.",battery
"Groundwater supply systems constructed by gold miners in Victoria during the nineteenth century were highly significant in the historical development of water law and water licensing in Australia. Alluvial gold mining required large volumes of water to separate gold from washdirt, but surface flows often failed in seasonally dry conditions. Drought in the mid-1860s prompted miners on the Ovens goldfield in north-east Victoria to exploit groundwater to increase supplies, despite limited scientific understanding of this resource at the time. Analysis of historical plans held by Public Records Office Victoria has revealed numerous ‘source of supply’ tunnels dug by miners to extract groundwater in the area. By the early 1880s, miners were using up to 31 ML of groundwater per day, with much of the water transferred between creek and river catchments. These activities represent an early, large-scale and significant intervention in the hydrogeological environment, several decades prior to economic development of the Great Artesian Basin in northern Australia. Understanding the nature and scale of groundwater use in this period provides vital social and historical context for modern debates about groundwater modelling, extraction and management.
",non-battery
"In this communication, flower-like tetragonal ZnMn2O4 superstructures are synthesized by a facile low temperature solvothermal process. Characterizations show that these ZnMn2O4 superstructures are well crystallized and of high purity. The product exhibits an initial electrochemical capacity of 763mAhg−1 and retains stable capacity of 626mAhg−1 after 50 cycles. Its stable capacity is significantly higher than that of nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 synthesized by a polymer-pyrolysis method. It is found that the higher capacity retention can be attributed to three-dimensional superstructural nature of the as-prepared flower-like ZnMn2O4 material. This study suggests that the solvothermally synthesized flower-like ZnMn2O4 is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries.",battery
"Highly crystalline β-type strontium hydrogen phosphate (β-SrHPO4) nanosheets were prepared by a hydrothermal method and used for the immobilization of lead ions (Pb2+) from acidic aqueous solution. The effects of various parameters on the immobilization process, including solution pH value, contact time, initial ion concentrations, and coexistent competing cations, were studied to optimize the conditions for maximum immobilization. The β-SrHPO4 nanosheets exhibited a capacity of (1,120 ± 22) mg/g toward Pb2+ in acidic solution (pH value is 3.0), and the equilibrium was achieved within 8 min. The competing cations such as Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, and Co2+ affected slightly on the selective immobilization of Pb2+. The results revealed that the removal mechanism of Pb2+ by the β-SrHPO4 nanosheets was the dissolution/precipitation process in the acidic solution.",non-battery
"Titanium-based layered oxides (TLOs) are one of the most promising electrode material families for sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) due to their smooth charge/discharge profiles and excellent cycle performance. However, the reaction mechanism of these materials, especially the reason for the disappearance of multiple voltage plateaus, is still not clear. Herein, two representative TLOs (Na2/3Ni1/3Ti2/3O2 and Na2/3Co1/3Ti2/3O2) with the same P2 crystal structure have been studied to scrutinize those unexplained issues. In situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction revealed a solid solution reaction mechanism for both, suggesting the absence of rigid phase transitions upon electrochemical cycling. An interesting “spring effect” of the TiO6 octahedron, i.e., the reversible vibration of the central Ti atom inside the local octahedron upon electrochemical redox, was demonstrated by advanced X-ray absorption spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. Such an effect could suppress the rigid phase transitions, and result in smooth charge/discharge profiles and enhanced cycle stability. This work not only accounts for the disappearance of multiple voltage plateaus of TLOs for NIBs, but also provides an effective local-structure viewpoint to increase the cycle stability of electrode materials for other advanced battery systems.
",battery
"The rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery is recognized as a next-generation lithium-ion battery due to its exceptionally high energy density and low cost. Unfortunately, the high dissolution of polysulfides and the low conductivity of sulfur and lithium sulfide lead to a fast capacity decay and a poor specific capacity of the sulfur cathode, which impedes the further development of lithium-sulfur batteries. To overcome these issues, we propose a 3D binder-free collector via in situ-grown polar TiO2 nanowires on carbon-nanofibers, which can successfully suppress the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides and improve the electron conductivity of the sulfur cathode. The prepared TiO2-nanowires arrays provide a large surface area for sulfur loading and a convenient path for electron transfer. These characteristics result in a high ion diffusion capacity of up to 699 mA h g−1 with an excellent coulombic efficiency, higher than 98.5% after 300 cycles at 1.0 C, and a capacity decay as low as 0.075% per cycle. In addition, the strong chemical binding interaction between the polysulfides and TiO2 was directly observed by in situ UV/Vis spectroscopy.",battery
"A comprehensive roadmap describing the current density- and size-dependent dendrite growth mechanisms is presented. Based on a thermodynamically consistent theory, the combined effects of chemical diffusion, electrodeposition, and elastic and plastic deformation kinetics are analyzed to rationalize their contributions to experimentally observable morphologies. A critical current density, î* = ziliml(ΔGΩκi), in the tσ < t < tSand range, results in plastic flow at the tips, dendrite bifurcation, and bent and kinked morphologies. Three dendrite growth mechanisms are observed: (1) electrochemical shielding, where there is practically no electrodeposition/electrodissolution; (2) stress-induced electrodissolution and electrodeposition on those interfaces directly facing each other, generating a self-sustained overpotential that pushes the dendrites towards the counter electrode; and (3) local, lateral plastic extrusion in those side branches experiencing non-hydrostatic stresses. Six regimes of lithium electrodeposit growth are identified: (i) thermodynamic suppression regime, (ii) incubation regime, (iii) base-controlled regime, (iv) tip-controlled regime, (v) mixed regime, and (vi) Sand's regime.
",battery
"In this work, nonaqueous electrolyte-based Li-air batteries with an O2-selective membrane have been developed for operation in ambient air of 20–30% relative humidity (RH). The O2 gas is continuously supplied through a membrane barrier layer at the interface of the cathode and ambient air. The membrane allows O2 to permeate through while blocking moisture. Such membranes can be prepared by loading O2-selective silicone oils into porous supports such as porous metal sheets and Teflon (PTFE) films. It was found that the silicone oil of high viscosity shows better performance. The immobilized silicone oil membrane in the porous PTFE film enabled the Li-air batteries with carbon black air electrodes to operate in ambient air (at 20% RH) for 16.3 days with a specific capacity of 789mAhg−1 carbon and a specific energy of 2182Whkg−1 carbon. Its performance is much better than a reference battery assembled with a commercial, porous PTFE diffusion membranes as the moisture barrier layer on the cathode, which only had a discharge time of 5.5 days corresponding to a specific capacity of 267mAhg−1 carbon and a specific energy of 704Whkg−1 carbon. The Li-air battery with the present selective membrane barrier layer even showed better performance in ambient air operation (20% RH) than the reference battery tested in the dry air box (<1% RH).",battery
"The electrical conductivity of disperse electrolytes was systematically measured as a function of temperature (0°C to 60°C) and filler content for different types of fillers with a range of pore geometry, pore structure and specific surface area. As fillers mesoporous silicas SBA-15, MCM-41 and KIT-6 with pore ranges between 3nm and 15nm were dispersed in commercially available liquid lithium electrolytes. As electrolytes 1M of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) in a mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethylene carbonate (DEC) at the ratio 3:7 (wt/wt) and the same solvent mixture with 0.96M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfon)imide (LiTFSI) were used. No conductivity enhancement could be observed, but with respect to safety aspects the highly viscous disperse pastes might be useful. The conductivity decrease varied considerably for the different fillers.",battery
"The stability of electrolyte at high voltage is important to the development of Li-ion battery that required by the high energy density and high security. However, the decomposition of commercial electrolyte at high voltage limits its practical application. Herein, we introduce a “localized concentrated high-concentration electrolyte” which indicates underlying prospect in high voltage batteries. The “localized concentrated high-concentration electrolyte” can be achieved by adding 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl methyl ether into traditional dimethyl carbonate and fluoroethylene carbonate solvents. The electrolyte (3 mol L−1 LiPF6 DMC/FEC/HFPM 6/1/3) exhibits excellent flame retardant, low viscosity, wide electrochemical window and superior wettability. The Li‖LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and Li‖Li1.144Mn0.544Ni0.136Co0.136O2 coin cells with this electrolyte display splendid discharge capacity of 122.2 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles and 221.0 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 C, respectively. While 100.1 mAh g−1 after 35 cycles and 194.8 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles are obtained in commercial electrolyte, respectively. Further analysis shows that stability of high voltage cathodes is mainly contributed to the fluoride protective layer. This method offers a novel pathway for high-concentration electrolyte to improve the performance of Li-ion batteries.",battery
"The flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) modified zinc oxide films have been prepared using repeated cyclic voltammetry to investigate both the deposition process and the films’ electrocatalytic properties. This paper describes the successful loading of electrochemically active molecules into ZnO by electrochemical method. The cyclic voltammograms recorded the direct deposition of the FAD/zinc oxide films over different scanning potential ranges from the mixed aqueous Zn2+ ions and FAD. In addition to the cyclic voltammetry, an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, and the stopped-flow method were used to study the growth mechanism and their properties of the FAD/zinc oxide films. The results showed that the Zn2+ ions and FAD reacted by an electrochemical process to form a self-assembly FAD modified zinc oxide film. The FAD/zinc oxide films exhibited a single redox couple that included both the electron and proton transfer, with a formal potential that demonstrated a proton effect in acidic and basic solutions. The electrocatalytic reduction of NAD+ employing the FAD/zinc oxide films was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy methods. The electrocatalytic reduction of S 4 O 6 2 - , SO 5 2 - , S 2 O 8 2 - , ClO 3 - , BrO 3 - , and IO 3 - ions using a FAD/zinc oxide film occurred in neutral aqueous solutions.",battery
"Urinary incontinence (UI) is experienced by an estimated 51% of women in the U.S. and often results from impaired function or weakening of the pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is a frontline nonsurgical treatment, yet a number of symptomatic individuals cannot accurately perform a pelvic floor muscle contraction with simple verbal or written instruction. Long-term adherence to PFMT regimens is often a barrier to resolution of symptoms. Various biofeedback tools have been utilized to aid correct pelvic floor muscle performance and adherence. One novel device, the leva® Pelvic Digital Health System, utilizes an intravaginal probe embedded with MEMS accelerometer sensors that allow real-time visualization of the shape and motion of the vagina during PFMT. Early positive results with this device prompted design of a wearable version. The purpose of this study was to design a wearable, wireless clinical research device to optimize MEMS accelerometer sensor placement to detect maximal movement during a pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) and to test the form factor for retention and user acceptability. The device comprised a ring designed to sit at the fornix with an extension following the length of the vagina. This paper presents design components and results from clinical testing of 10 subjects. It was determined that a ring form factor alone, similar to other vaginal rings (pessaries, estrogen rings) provided less accurate visual information about PFME performance. By contrast, we determined that a ring with an extension allowed for device retention and improved real-time detection of vaginal shape and motion during PFMT.
",non-battery
"The electrochemical behavior of zinc in strong alkaline solutions containing 8.5M of potassium hydroxide (KOH) and polymeric organic inhibitors was evaluated. The concentrations of the organic inhibitors studies were in the range of 400–4000ppm and included polyethylene glycol (PEG), with a molecular weight of 600, and polyoxyethylen alkyl phosphate ester acid form (GAFAC RA600). The electrochemical studies included anodic, cathodic, and linear polarization along with potentiostatic studies. It was found that the inhibition properties of PEG, in the strong alkaline solution, are by far much more efficient than the inhibition capability of GAFAC RA600. Surface analysis obtained with the use of high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) revealed different morphology characteristic developed at the zinc surface in the presence of the two inhibitors. A methodology employing electrochemical tests is proposed to quickly and conveniently evaluate inhibitors for Zn in alkaline media.",battery
"A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cogeneration system that provides high-quality electricity and hot water has been developed. A specially designed thermal management system together with a microcontroller embedded with appropriate control algorithm is integrated into a PEM fuel cell system. The thermal management system does not only control the fuel cell operation temperature but also recover the heat dissipated by FC stack. The dynamic behaviors of thermal and electrical characteristics are presented to verify the stability of the fuel cell cogeneration system. In addition, the reliability of the fuel cell cogeneration system is proved by one-day demonstration that deals with the daily power demand in a typical family. Finally, the effects of external loads on the efficiencies of the fuel cell cogeneration system are examined. Results reveal that the maximum system efficiency was as high as 81% when combining heat and power.",battery
"A new type of sodium–nickel chloride batteries using NaSICON solid electrolytes (Na1+xZr2SixP3−xO12) was successfully investigated at much lower operation temperature of 195°C compared with that of conventional Zebra batteries adapting same electrochemistry. The gradual phase transition in NaSICON from monoclinic to rhombohedral was perceived at 100–180°C by high temperature XRD investigation. From symmetrical Na/NaSICON/Na cell test, the abrupt increase of cell resistance was observed at 177–180°C, which reveals the change of ionic conduction mechanism in NaSICON solid electrolytes due to phase transformation. The sintered NaSICON solid electrolytes exhibit full densified morphology but somewhat lower average flexural strength of ~98MPa compared with that reported for the β″-Alumina solid electrolytes commercially available. The low temperature electrochemical performances of sodium–nickel chloride batteries were compared by using NaSICON and β″-Alumina solid electrolytes at 195°C. The lower internal resistances of the cell using NaSICON were confirmed by impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry tests. Also proto-type cell tests revealed the clear advantages of NaSICON cell (N-Cell) over β″-Alumina cell (β-Cell) at low temperature performances below 200°C due to high Na+ ionic conductivity.",battery
"In this work, the high voltage LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 cathode material has been synthesized as octadecahedron crystals with a disordered spinel structure and has been coated with a carbon layer from two different precursors (sucrose and Xerogel carbon) to improve its performance in Li-ion batteries. The effect of carbon coating on the physical and electrochemical properties of the crystals has been evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), elemental and surface area (BET) analyses and battery cycling at different charge/discharge rates and temperatures. It was found that the amount of carbon, present as a thin layer (5–10 nm) and estimated at <1 w.t.%, causes an increase in electronic conductivity with no effect on crystal structure. Battery results of the cathode material in half cells show that carbon coating greatly improves the discharge capacity, rate capability at room temperature and 60 °C as well as cycling stability. Moreover, the material coated from Xerogel carbon shows the highest capacity at 10 C rate and 60 °C.",battery
"The applications of vanadium oxide bronzes as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are hindered by inferior cyclability and insufficient rate capability, which arised from weak structural stability and sluggish electrochemical kinetics. To address this issue, we incorporate alkaline-earth metals as interlayer materials within the vanadium oxide layered framework, leading to a whole new family of potential Li+ intercalated materials with a general formula MV6O16·nH2O (M=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba). In these bronze-hydrated compounds, interlayer water can serve as pillars pinning the V–O layers together, coupled with the enhanced divalent cation pillars, maintaining substantial structure stability and leading to excellent long-term stability. Additionally, the interlayer spacing can be further expanded by intercalation of water molecules, offering enhanced Li+ diffusion channel and leading to high rate capability. In this family, we fabricate and study the first such candidate, ultralong metahewettite CaV6O16·3H2O nanoribbons. When evaluated as cathode materials, for the first time, they exhibit high-rate kinetics (103, 78mAhg−1 at 6 and 10Ag−1, respectively) and excellent long-term cyclability (83.6%, 89.5% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 2 and 6Ag−1, respectively). The electrode shows optimal cycling stability for vanadate-based cathode materials for LIBs ever reported.",battery
"We have characterized a ternary mixture of N-methyl-(n-butyl)pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (PYR14TFSI)+0.5M LiTFSI+ y poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME) (y =kg PEGDME/kg PYR14TFSI) as an electrolyte in Li metal/S cells. The presence of PYR14TFSI in the mixture resulted in a significant improvement of the thermal stability and the ionic conductivity (σ) of the mixture with increasing PEGDME contents (for example, σ =4.2×10−3 Scm−1 at 29°C for y =2.0). These improvements are most significant at low temperatures, which is probably due to a lowering of the viscosity of the mixture with higher amounts of PEGDME. It is found that the mixture has good compatibility with respect to Li metal as demonstrated by time-dependent interfacial impedance and galvanostatic Li stripping/deposition measurements. We found that a Li/S cell with PYR14TFSI+0.5M LiTFSI+ y PEGDME (y =2.0) can deliver about 1300mAhg−1-sulfur at 0.054mAcm−2 at ambient temperature at the first cycle. A better charge/discharge cyclability of the Li/S cell in PYR14TFSI+0.5M LiTFSI+ y PEGDME was found at higher PEGDME contents, and a Li/S cell with the mixture having y =2.0 exhibited a capacity fading rate of 0.42% per cycle over 100 cycles at 0.054mAcm−2 at 40°C. Consequently the PYR14TFSI+LiTFSI+PEGDME mixture is a promising electrolyte for Li/S cells.",battery
"In this work, silicon@reduced graphene oxide/pyrolytic carbon nanofibers (Si@RGO/C NFs) composite with double modified layer is prepared through electrospinning, stabilization and carbonization. In this composite, polyethylene oxide–polypropylene oxide–polyethylene oxide (P123, a non-ionic surfactant) is introduced as the dispersant, which can make silicon nanoparticles evenly dispersed in electrospinning solution to prevent it from agglomeration. Graphene modified layer can buffer the volumetric expansion of silicon nanoparticles, prevent direct contact between silicon and electrolyte as well as enhance the electrical conductivity. Moreover, carbon fibers synthesized by electrospinning can encapsulate silicon@graphene composite internally to form a double modified layer. This composite with double modified layer can further alleviate the volume change of silicon nanoparticles and avoid direct contact between silicon and electrolyte to form a stable interface. Owing to the above-mentioned merits, the Si@RGO/C NFs composite exhibits excellent cyclic stability and superior rate performance. Particularly, it maintains a specific capacity of 929 mA h g−1 with the retention ratio of 83.1% after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g−1 and delivers an outstanding rate capability of 1003 mA h g−1 at 2 A g−1.
",non-battery
"The present study concerns the electrochemical behavior of catechol and 4-methylcatechol in the presence of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole (MMT) in aqueous medium on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode by means of cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry. The oxidation mechanism was deduced from voltammetric and spectrophotometric data. The electro-generation of quinoid intermediates and their subsequent Michael-type reaction with MMT has been investigated as a clean and convenient strategy for the synthesis of corresponding reaction products. In addition, electro-synthesis of Michael addition products has been successfully accomplished by controlled-potential coulometry in a divided H-type cell in mild conditions that can be considered as a green procedure. The reaction products were characterized by spectrophotometric, 1H and 13C NMR, and mass spectrometric methods.
",battery
"High-quality metal oxides hetero-structured nanoarrays have been receiving great attention in electrochemical energy storage application. Self-supported TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays are prepared on carbon cloth via the combination of hydrothermal synthesis and electro-deposition methods. The obtained core/shell nanorods consist of nanorod core and interconnected nanoflake shell, as well as hierarchical porosity. As cathode materials for pseudo-capacitors, the TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays display impressive electrochemical performances with both high capacitance of 611 F g−1 at 2 A g−1, and pretty good cycling stability with a retention of 89% after 5000 cycles. Besides, as compared to the single NiO nanoflake arrays on carbon cloth, the TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays exhibit much better electrochemical properties with higher capacitance, better electrochemical activity and cycling life. This enhanced performance is mainly due to the core/shell nanorods architecture offering fast ion/electron transfer and sufficient contact between active materials and electrolyte.",battery
"In this work, we develop a two-dimensional, transient model to investigate the mechanisms of ion-transport through a porous separator in VRFBs and their effects on battery performance. Commercial-available separators with pore sizes of around 45 nm are particularly investigated and effects of key separator design parameters and operation modes are explored. We reveal that: i) the transport mechanism of vanadium-ion crossover through available separators is predominated by convection; ii) reducing the pore size below 15 nm effectively minimizes the convection-driven vanadium-ion crossover, while further reduction in migration- and diffusion-driven vanadium-ion crossover can be achieved only when the pore size is reduced to the level close to the sizes of vanadium ions; and iii) operation modes that can affect the pressure at the separator/electrode interface, such as the electrolyte flow rate, exert a significant influence on the vanadium-ion crossover rate through the available separators, indicating that it is critically important to equalize the pressure on each half-cell of a power pack in practical applications.",battery
"In this work, we present a novel binary solvent of ethylene glycol/water medium (W/EG 50:50) that play an important role in the formation of the hierarchical meso-structures of bow-tie-like composition units composed of self-assembly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) nano-sheets. Citric acid uses as inorganic carbon source and no other surfactant or template agent is applied. Results show that the crystallinity and the size of the particles depend on the nature of the solvent used. TEM results show that the sample prepared in ethylene glycol (EG-LFP/C) consists of well-distributed nanoparticles of size approximately 50 nm in diameter, which is uniformly embedded in thin carbon layers. The EG-LFP/C composite delivers the first discharge capacity of 166 mAh g−1, i.e. 97.6% of the theoretical capacity, when tested under a discharge rate of 0.1C. This material shows specific discharge capacities as high as 114 mAh g−1 at 10C rates and exhibits a long-term cycling stability with a capacity loss of only 1.4% after 100 cycles. The high rate performance could be attributed to the amount and/or the quality of the thin carbon coating, improved crystallinity as well as high specific surface area and porosity induced by the special bow-tie-like mesostructures.",battery
"In this paper, we present a low-dimensional, energy-based model for ferromagnetic hysteresis. It is based on the postulates of Jiles and Atherton for modeling hysteresis losses. As a state space model, the system is a set of two state equations, with the time-derivative of the average applied magnetic field H ˙ as the input, and the average magnetic field H and the average magnetization M as state variables. We show analytically that for a class of time-periodic inputs and initial condition at the origin, the solution trajectory converges to a periodic orbit. This models an observed experimental phenomenon.",non-battery
"The notion of multidimensional poverty is widely conceded and is increasingly engaging the interest of researchers and scholars, however, it is rarely used in explorations of the situation of Vietnam. Using national data from 9399 households in the 2012 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey, we apply the integrated fuzzy relative approach for poverty, a completely novel methodology in this context, to explore the current patterns of multidimensional deprivation in Vietnam at different levels, including the incidence and intensity of the poverty of migrants’ households. Our findings reveal that these households are most deprived in the basic services dimension, while in the health dimension they are least deprived. A stark disparity exists between ethnic, and educational groups, and that female-headed households are less deprived, except in the durable asset dimension. The results further reveal that the situation of migrants’ households is better than that of their non-migrant counterparts in almost all non-monetary dimensions, but not in the monetary dimension. However, migration of family members leads to improvement in the income of the left behind families in the least developed areas in Vietnam. Our observation exposes differences in the complex nature of poverty in regional Vietnam from that of the current headcount measure of absolute income poverty.",non-battery
"Based on new plasticized inorganic–organic polymer electrolytes [M. Popall, M. Andrei, J. Kappel, J. Kron, K. Olma, B. Olsowski, ‘ORMOCERs as Inorganic–organic Electrolytes for New Solid State Lithium Batteries and Supercapacitors’, Electrochim. Acta 43 (1998) 1155] new flexible foil-batteries in ‘coffee bag arrangement’ were assembled and tested. The electrolyte works as separator and binder for the cathodes. Self-diffusion NMR studies on the system (EC/PC/Li+N(SO2CF3)2 −/ORMOCER®) resulted in cationic transport numbers (t +) of 0.42 for the EC/PC/salt system and 0.35 for the ternary electrolyte, typical for polymer electrolytes. Cycling tests (more than 900 cycles) proved that the unplasticized electrolyte can act as binder in composite cathodes of lithium secondary batteries [2]. Charge/discharge cycles of complete batteries like (Cu/active carbon/ORMOCER®/LiCoO2/Al) with an ORMOCER® as separator electrolyte were measured. The voltage drop of these batteries is very similar to cells with standard liquid electrolytes and the efficiency is close to 100%. Cycling the batteries with a current density of 0.25 mA cm−2 between the voltage limits of 3.1 and 4.1 V results in a charge/discharge capacity (referring to the cathode mass) of 100 mAh g−1 at the beginning and after a slight decrease in a stabilised capacity of 75 mAh g−1 after 15 cycles. These promising results could be optimised by using highly purified components.",battery
"This paper describes the material flows and emissions in all the life stages of CdTe PV modules, from extracting refining and purifying raw materials through the production, use, and disposal or recycling of the modules. The prime focus is on cadmium flows and cadmium emissions into the environment. This assessment also compares the cadmium environmental inventories in CdTe PV modules with those of Ni–Cd batteries and of coal fuel in power plants. Previous studies are reviewed and their findings assessed in light of new data.",battery
"Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) have been considered as promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries due to potassium's high natural abundance of 2.09 wt% (vs. 0.0017 wt% for Li) and K/K+ having a low redox potential of −2.93 V (vs. −2.71 V for Na/Na+). However, PIB electrodes still suffer huge challenges due to the large K-ion radius and slow reaction dynamics. Herein, we report a high-capacity Sb@CSN composite anode with Sb nanoparticles uniformly encapsulated by a carbon sphere network (CSN) for PIBs. First-principles computations and electrochemical characterization confirm a reversible sequential phase transformation of KSb2, KSb, K5Sb4, and K3Sb during the potassiation/depotassiation process. In a concentrated 4 M KTFSI/EC + DEC electrolyte, the Sb@CSN anode delivers a high reversible capacity of 551 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 100 cycles with an extremely slow capacity decay of only 0.06% per cycle from the 10th to 100th cycle; when at a high current density of 200 mA g−1, the Sb@CSN anode still maintains a capacity of 504 mA h g−1 after 220 cycles. The Sb@CSN anodes demonstrate one of the best electrochemical performances for all K-ion battery anodes reported to date. The exceptional performance of Sb@CSN should be attributed to the efficient encapsulation of small Sb nanoparticles in the conductive carbon network as well as the formation of a robust KF-rich SEI layer on the Sb@CSN anode in the concentrated 4 M KTFSI/EC + DEC electrolyte.
",battery
"Management of metal pollution associated with E-waste is widespread across the globe. Currently used techniques for the extraction of metals from E-waste by using either chemical or biological leaching have their own limitations. Chemical leaching is much rapid and efficient but has its own environmental consequences, even the future prospects of associated nanoremediation are also uncertain. Biological leaching on the other hand is comparatively a cost effective technique but at the same moment it is time consuming and the complete recovery of the metal, alone by biological leaching is not possible in most of the cases. The current review addresses the individual issues related to chemical and biological extraction techniques and proposes a hybrid-methodology which incorporates both, along with safer chemicals and compatible microbes for better and efficient extraction of metals from the E-waste.",non-battery
"Spinel-layered composites of Li1.5MnTiO4+δ were studied for their use as high-energy, low-cost, and environmentally benign cathode materials. The bulk particles showed an attractive specific capacity of up to 250 mAh g−1 at C/10. To improve the performance of this cathode at a high C-rate, a spinel-layered Li1.5MnTiO4+δ nanorod was successfully synthesized using a β-MnO2 nanorod template. The nanorod, which had an average diameter of 200 nm and a length of 1 μm, showed specific capacity as high as the bulk particle at C/10. However, owing to a one-dimensional nanostructure with a large effective contact area for Li+ diffusion, the nanorod sample exhibited enhanced capacities 11% (170 mAh g−1) and 167% higher (80 mAh g−1) at 1C and 10C rates, respectively, compared to the bulk particles. Moreover, both samples showed good cycle stability and capacity retention of over 85% after 100 cycles at 1C.",battery
"Understanding the physical mechanisms by which blast waves interact with their surroundings is paramount to protecting the safety of armed service personnel and equipment. This study evaluates and discusses modern technology used in blast pressure measurement as it relates to primary blast injuries such as traumatic brain injury. Factors influencing primary blast injury were established as peak overpressure, impulse, number, and frequency of shock impacts based on a literature review. A simulated confined-corridor breaching environment was used to establish the potential for variability in these key parameters depending on location in a confined blast environment. Wearable blast pressure monitors were compared experimentally to not only laboratory grade pressure transducers but also simulated and empirically modeled blast pressure and impulse predictions at scaled distances between 3.1 and ",non-battery
"This study demonstrates that tris(trimethylsilyl)borate (TMSB) additive in the electrolyte can dramatically improve the cycling performance of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2/graphite cell at higher voltage operation. And the effects of this additive are characterized by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the voltage range of 3.0–4.4 V, LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2/graphite cell with TMSB in the electrolyte retains about 92.3% of its initial capacity compared to the cell without additive in the electrolyte that retains only 28.5% of its initial capacity after 150 cycles, showing the promising prospect of TMSB at higher voltage. The enhanced cycling performance is attributed to the thinner film originated from TMSB on the LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 and the combination of TMSB with PF6 − and F− in the electrolyte, which not only protects the undesirable decomposition of EC solvents but also results in lower interfacial impedance.",battery
"In recent years, online consumer reviews (OCRs) have developed into a popular topic of qualitative and quantitative marketing research. Depending on the platform they arise from, OCRs can be composed of an overall star rating, explicit pros and cons, free text comments and a recommendation indicator. This paper examines whether these components provide consistent information regarding the evaluated product. Insights about the internal consistency of this form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) can be useful in consumer-oriented marketing strategies, complaint management as well as product development and improvement. By using a regression analysis framework the correlative relationships between star rating and recommendation are studied, as well as the effects that posted advantages and disadvantages, stated either explicitly or implicitly, have on these two types of product evaluations. The available results clearly support the view of OCRs as a consistent database for marketing research concerning eWOM. However, they also show that a combined consideration of all components can remarkably increase the information obtainable from this data source.",non-battery
 Low engagement and high attrition are common challenges in web-based interventions. Typical measures of engagement reported in the literature are not meaningful for describing participant activity within the intervention and can be misleading. This research aimed to develop a more meaningful method of measuring engagement in an online cognitive rehabilitation program whilst monitoring treatment fidelity.,non-battery
"Star-shaped polymers are synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization using poly-(methoxy-poly (ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (PPEGMA) as a hydrophilic segment and poly {10-[(4-cyano-4′-biphenyl) oxy] decatyl methacrylate} (PMALC) as a hydrophobic liquid crystalline segment. Lamellar morphology is also achieved by cooperative assembly of hydrophobic mesogen-containing polymethacrylates and the amorphous hydrophilic PPEGMA nanoscale aggregation, especially after liquid crystal thermal annealing. In addition, the sequential effect, that is, the position difference of the liquid crystalline segments in the copolymer electrolytes causes two quite different morphologies. The liquid crystalline segments arranged in the star polymer inner sphere makes it difficult for the mesogens to interact with each other efficiently, which leads to a discontinuous molecular packing. However highly ordered domains can be formed in the electrolytes with mesogens in the star copolymer exterior, which can provide a more favorable morphology for the ions transportation. As a result, incorporation of the liquid crystalline segments into the copolymer has improved ionic conductivity of electrolytes, especially for the 3PPEGMA-PMALC with the mesogen arranged in the outside of star copolymer sphere. Ionic conductivity of 3PPEGMA-PMALC annealed at liquid crystalline state is 1.0 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 25 °C, which is higher than that of 3PPEGMA electrolytes without mesogen groups.",battery
"The deterioration mechanism of the storage characteristics of nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) has been investigated. The deterioration in the storage characteristics during charge–discharge cycling is caused by the microscopic short circuit in the separator which is influenced by the deposits from the positive and negative electrode elements such as zinc, cobalt and manganese. Based on the elucidated deterioration mechanism, the deterioration in the storage characteristics of nickel-metal hydride batteries was suppressed by employing a hydrogen-absorbing alloy with higher oxidation resistance for the negative electrode.",battery
"Magnesium/air batteries are a possible high-energy density power source that, to date, have not received strong commercial interest due to issues with the corrosion of the magnesium and evaporation of the electrolyte. In this work we report on the use of ionic liquid based electrolytes to stabilise the metal/electrolyte interface and their impact on the electrochemical performance. Galvanostatic measurements indicate that the water content of the ionic liquid electrolyte plays an important role in the cell discharge characteristics. Surface characterisation using EIS, ATR-FTIR and powder diffraction examined the unique properties of the surface film formed on the magnesium anode.",battery
"Rechargeable energy storage systems with merits of durable, powerful, and inexpensive are urgently desired along with the rapid development in portable electronics and electric vehicles. Herein, a facile electrochemical method is employed to prepare a free-standing exfoliated graphite (EG) electrode with significantly enhanced surface area and pore volume. Then a binder-free composite electrode is fabricated by a double-phase (DP) electrochemical deposition of vertical arrays of Ni(OH)2 throughout the EG hydrogel electrode in an organic electrolyte. The obtained composite, Ni(OH)2@EG-DP, exhibits battery-type capacitive behavior and much higher capacity than its counterparts fabricated either by single-phase electrochemical deposition or with non-exfoliated graphite foil. Ni(OH)2@EG-DP also exhibits remarkable rate capability and cycling stability, due to the well-dispersed ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanoplatelets and the graphene-like expanded gallery of EG, enabling the efficient transportation of both electrons and ions. When coupling with an active carbon anode, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor shows 84.5% capacity retention after 20000 cycles at 8 A g−1, and a high energy density of 34.7 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 15 kW kg−1. This work opens an avenue towards the efficient construction of free-standing three-dimensional (3D) conductive substrates and high-performance 3D hybrid electrodes using electrochemistry.",battery
"Rational design of efficient and durable anode materials is particularly momentous for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). According to this concept, an effective strategy to prepare MoS2/N, S co-doped graphene by electrochemical exfoliation combining hydrothermal route is presented. Due to N and S atoms co-doping to graphene sheets, the three-dimensional interconnection of few-layered MoS2 and graphene, which contribute to relieving the restacking of the two components, accelerating the electrons transport and improving Li/Na storage capacity. As an anode in LIBs, the MoS2/NSG-AG demonstrates an up to reversible capacity of 1012 mAh g−1 after cycling 300 times at 0.5 A g−1 and good rate performance with a capability of 1300.7, 1215.2, 1106.3, 1005.5, 892.7 and 727.7 mAh g−1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.5 A g−1, respectively. Furthermore, it delivers a maximum energy density of 890 Wh kg−1 along with the power density of 130 W kg−1. Meanwhile, when used in SIBs, it displays a good reversible capacity of 320.9 mAh g−1 after cycling 500 times at 0.5 A g−1. The prominent electrochemical performance could be due to the three-dimensional network formed by interconnection of MoS2 and graphene, co-doping of N and S, considerable surface area and rich mesoporous as well as the expanded layer spacing of graphene and MoS2. Therefore, this is a facile strategy to obtain high-performance hetero-structured anode and make it great potential applications in LIBs and SIBs.",battery
"Based on the conversion and alloying reactions, antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) with a theoretical discharge specific capacity of 946 mAh g−1 is a hopeful anode material for lithium/sodium ion batteries. Nevertheless, the poor electronic conductivity of Sb2S3 and the serious volume expansion during alloying reaction bring about the rapid capacity fading, which severely hinder its practical application. The design of morphology/structure and/or combining with carbon materials is the common strategies to address these issues. Herein, a simple electrospinning technology coupled with hydrothermal reaction is employed to synthesize the Sb2S3/carbon-silicon oxide (Sb2S3/CS) nanofibers for the first time. The obtained Sb2S3/CS nanofibers show superior lithium/sodium storage properties. Specifically, the Sb2S3/CS electrode maintains a high discharge specific capacity of 566 mAh g−1 under 200 mA g−1 after 200 cycles in lithium-ion batteries. For sodium storage, the Sb2S3/CS electrode obtains a discharge specific capacity of 321 mAh g−1 under 200 mA g−1 over 200 cycles. One-dimensional Sb2S3/CS nanofibers with good electronic conductivity accelerate the transport of ions and electrons, and effectively buffer the volume change of Sb2S3 nanoparticles during electrochemical reaction process, bringing about the excellent electrochemical properties.",battery
"Dijkers MP. Quality of life after traumatic brain injury: a review of research approaches and findings. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85(4 Suppl 2):S21–35. Objectives To assess existing knowledge of quality of life (QOL) of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to make recommendations for methodologic and substantive research in this area. Data sources Published research on QOL of persons with TBI, identified from databases, ancestry search, and the author’s files. Study selection Empirical, theoretical, and methodologic articles relevant to 5 areas: QOL as achievements, QOL as subjective well-being (SWB), QOL as utility, QOL experienced, and QOL measurement instruments applicable to TBI or specifically developed for people with this impairment. Data extraction Selection of QOL indicators, with focus on TBI versus non-TBI differences. Data synthesis Studies of QOL as achievements show that in almost all areas, people with TBI score lower than they did before injury and lower than comparisons groups. There are limited gaps in our knowledge in this area. Research into QOL as SWB shows that after TBI, people typically report, for example, somewhat lower life satisfaction and affect than do comparison groups, and that injury severity is not necessarily a predictor of SWB. There are almost no studies of QOL as utility of life after TBI. Conclusions Major research recommendations include: exploring the ability of TBI subjects to self-report; determining the salience of domains of life for this group; developing utility instruments that are sensitive to differences in deficits in cognition and other health and life domains; and doing qualitative studies that explore the experience of QOL.",non-battery
"Polymer gel electrolytes comprising a sulfur-based ionic liquid (IL), a lithium salt, and butyrolactone (GBL) as an additive hosted in PVdF-HFP matrix were prepared and characterized. The result shows that adding small amount of GBL to the polymer electrolytes can improve the cathodic stability of the electrolytes, which ensures the lithium plating/stripping in the redox process. Furthermore, cyclic voltammograms studies indicate that the polymer electrolytes have well reversible redox process. When the IL component reaches 75 wt%, the polymer electrolyte has higher ionic conductivity than the other samples and it is 6.32 × 10−4 S cm−1. The assembled batteries with the polymer electrolyte have better discharge capacity, and after 100 cycles, the discharge capacity of the battery still retains 148 mAh g−1.
",battery
"Nickel oxide species, palladium metal and complex Ni–Pd particles were deposited on the glassy carbon electrode by pulsed electrochemical conditions from 0.5MNaOH solution containing 5mM gluconate ion, 0.5mMNi(NO3)2 and/or 2mMPd(NO3)2. The electrodeposition process was performed using the following potentials and pulse durations: E 1 =−1.0V and E 2 =+0.8V vs. SCE, t 1 =50ms and t 2 =50ms for the relevant times of 600s. The nickel oxide particles were deposited during the anodic pulse of potentials, while the palladium particles were deposited during the cathodic sequence of the potential pulses. The Ni–Pd system shows an acceptable character of electrochemical reversibility and a high affinity for oxygen adsorption. The XPS and SEM techniques were used in order to define the surface chemical composition and the actual morphology of the deposited material. An average surface chemical composition of Pd0.5Ni was established and the composite appears formed of well dispersed single globular particles having an average size comprised between 50nm and 150nm of diameter.",battery
"The paper describes the current developments of a class of low-cost, light-weight autonomous underwater vehicles for coastal oceanographic applications; the vehicle class is named Fòlaga, the Italian name of an aquatic bird that swims on the water surface and dives to catch fish. The main design characteristics of the most recent vehicle of the class, the Fòlaga III, are reviewed. Navigation and control system design are discussed, with particular attention to the diving phase, which is accomplished as in oceanographic gliders by varying the vehicle buoyancy and attitude. Experimental results show that the PID robust controllers implemented are effective in the diving control phase. Finally, a distributed cooperation algorithm to be applied by a team of Fòlaga-like vehicles in adaptive oceanographic sampling applications is described. The algorithm optimizes area coverage while taking into account the accuracy in the reconstruction of the oceanographic field and inter-vehicle communication through a range constraint. The resulting dynamic programming algorithm can be implemented in a distributed fashion among the team components.",non-battery
Fry et al. report the first results from a human trial of a CD22-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy providing evidence of efficacy in the treatment of pre–B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is immunotherapy-naive or resistant to CD19-directed CAR T cells.,non-battery
"Cobalt is usually post-added as CoO or Co(OH)2 to nickel hydroxide at the positive electrode (nickel oxide electrode) of alkaline batteries, to form a conductive network. In the present work, we focus on the transformation of CoO and Co(OH)2 phases when oxidized at 90°C. The Co3O4 phase is the majority product of such a reaction, with CoOOH as a secondary product. It is shown that the Co3O4 phase results from the reaction of the CoOOH phase, formed by electrochemical oxidation of Co(OH)2, with Co2+ species in the electrolyte, which is made possible by temperature. This process requires a global migration of the cobalt phases towards the current collector.",battery
Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2/Li half-cell and mesocarbon microbead (MCMB)/Li half-cell are studied at very low scan rates. The thermal behaviors of these two half-cells and LiNi0.8Co0.2O2/MCMB full-cell cycled at different current levels are studied with electrochemical-microcalorimeter technique in terms of reversible and irreversible heat generation. The calculated results show excellent agreement with the experimental data at low and moderate current levels (≤C/4). The quantitative heat contributions of the cathode and anode to the overall cell heat generation are also determined.,battery
"A simple and low temperature hydrothermal synthesis approach has been developed to prepare sulfur coated SnO2–graphene nanocomposites as an anode material for lithium–ion batteries. The electrochemical performance of the composites was characterized by galvanostatic charge–discharge tests, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Results show that the composite material exhibits a reversible capacity of 819mAhg−1 after 200 cycles at 500mAg−1 and an excellent rate capability of 580mAhg−1 at a high current density of 4000mAg−1. The extraordinary performance could be ascribed to the positive synergistic effect of the combination of the nanosized particles of SnO2, the excellent conductivity of graphene and the effects of the coating layer of sulfur.",battery
"The high fluidity and flammability characteristics of the conventional organic liquid electrolyte make it vulnerable for the currently employed commercial lithium batteries to suffer from potential safety risks and premature cell failure. Replacing liquid electrolytes with inorganic solid-state versions coupled with the employment of Li metal anodes is believed to be ideal for next generation energy storage systems with both high security and high energy density. However, even though several promising solid-state electrolytes possess extremely high ionic conductivity, the issues related to a poor electrode/electrolyte interface are a critical constraint. Herein, interface engineering based on current fundamental understanding, challenges, and opportunities of the interface chemistry between inorganic solid-state electrolytes and electrode materials are presented. Firstly, we focus on the interfacial configuration characteristics and mechanisms, pointing out that the unsatisfactory interfacial compatibility and stability, and the dendrite problem are the main drawbacks in achieving high-performance cells, where the interface contact/wettability, constant interfacial reactions, inadequate interfacial Li+ stripping/plating process, and Li dendrite formation/propagation mechanism will be individually reviewed. Then, the recent research status and trends in ameliorating the electrode/electrolyte interface are systematically examined, including the efforts for component optimization and the architectural design of bulk anodes, electrolytes, cathodes, and the interface engineering construction between them. Moreover, several progressive applications and future research directions of interface chemistry will be proposed, aiming to present a comprehensive and enlightening overview for interface engineering that are relevant for the integration of applicable solid-state Li metal batteries.
",battery
"Ternary chalcogenides have drawn intense interest as promising alternative anode materials for Li-storage systems benefiting from their high specific capacity. Herein, the electrochemical performance of a new ternary chalcogenide LiInSe2 used for lithium ion anode has been reported for the first time. Furthermore, in view of carbon-coating treatment, the optimized anode LiInSe2@C for Li-ion batteries exhibits enhanced capacitive behavior and high rate capability. LiInSe2@C presents a high reversible capacity of 409.1 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and a reversible capacity of 270 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1000 mA g−1. Further analyses evidence that the outstanding rate performance stems from fast electrochemical kinetics, enhanced by the pseudocapacitive effect and improved electronic/ionic conductivity. These results elucidate the attractive lithium storage performance of LiInSe2 compound, and would offer a practical polestar to explore novel ternary chalcogenide for energy storage.",battery
"Regulation of gene expression by non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), is increasingly being examined in a variety of disciplines. Here we evaluated changes in miRNA expression following metallic nanoparticle (NP) exposure in a mouse neuronal co-culture model. Exposure to manganese (Mn) NPs resulted in oxidative stress, inflammation, and toxicity. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) following an 8 h exposure to Mn NPs (low and high doses) revealed several miRNA candidates that modulate NP induced responses. The lead candidate identified was miR-155, which showed a dose dependent decrease in expression upon Mn exposure. Introduction of a miR-155 mimic into the co-culture to restore miR-155 expression completely abrogated the Mn NP-induced gene and protein expression of inflammatory markers TNF-α and IL-6. Taken together, this study is the first report where global NP-induced miRNA expression changes were used to identify and then modulate negative impacts of metallic NP exposure in a neuronal model. These findings demonstrate that unique miRNA expression profiles provide novel targets for manipulating gene and protein expression, and therefore provide the potential of modifying cellular responses to NP exposure.
",non-battery
"Sanyo Electric Co is to begin production of HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer) PV modules at Sanyo Energy Mexico plant beginning in the summer of 2003. Sanyo, in moving ahead with expansion of PV module sales in North America, will produce PV modules at Sanyo Energy (Mexico) with Sanyo Energy (USA) in charge of sales. Previously rechargeable batteries were made and sold from this facility, and Sanyo will now use that sales infrastructure for PV modules. Favourable cost merits for distribution and shipment to both America’s west and east coasts, local procurement of parts and materials and inexpensive labour costs in comparison with the US, make production in Monterrey attractive. Sanyo’s HIT PV module has been chosen to provide 482kW worth of solar power for the system total of 675kW to be installed on the Moscone Center, in San Francisco. For more information contact: Derek Wentz. Tel: +81-3-3837-6206. Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd, USA.",non-battery
"The carbon neutral process for energy conversion is of utmost importance, in this context photovoltaics, especially dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a viable alternative. Few terawatts of carbon free renewable energy can be produced by DSSCs. However the judicious use of platinum group free metals may further enhance the limit of energy production by making it further cost effective. In this context a metal free sensitizer and electrocatalyst related to DSSCs are reviewed for their merits. The current state-of-the-art sensitizer as well as carbon based materials for its chemistry and photovoltaic characterization are discussed. The present article combines recent progress and its emerging behavior from our laboratories and from other groups working on this perennial topic.
",battery
"The intrinsic anion oxidation potential (ΔE v) and lithium ion pair dissociation energy (ΔE d) are two important properties for predicting the potential use of new lithium salts for battery electrolytes. In this work several cyano substituted fluoroalkylated benzimidazole and imidazole anions have been investigated computationally to obtain ΔE v and ΔE d. Varying the number and position of cyano substituents results in large effects on the electrochemical stability of the anion and on the possible lithium ion pair configurations. The lengthening of the fluoroalkyl group introduces several new stable ion pair configurations and a small increase in anion oxidation stability. The most promising fluoroalkylated anions in the present work are the 4,5,6,7-tetracyano-2-fluoroalkylated benzimidazolides (TTB and PTB), with oxidation potentials suitable for high voltage Li-ion battery applications (<4.2V) and much improved ΔE d compared to PF6 −—a benchmark for commercially available anions. Further improvements in ΔE d, with maintained stability towards oxidation, are obtainable by replacing the fluoroalkyl group by an additional cyano group, but possibly demanding increased synthesis efforts.",battery
"The relationship between odor concentrations (olfactometry) and chemical concentrations (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS) was studied for the odorous air compositions of a rendering plant, a sanitary landfill and an industrial area with large petroleum and petrochemical industries. Samples taken from the university campus located in a non-industrial and non-urban area were also studied for several organic components for comparison. Ambient air samples were taken into special bags by using an odor sampling device designed for field sampling of odors. In the laboratory odorous chemicals in the samples were transferred into adsorbent tubes and analyzed using a combination of thermal desorption and GC-MS. Results point to different characteristics of the odorous gases and air in and around the urban and industrial sources. Among the 64 specific compounds studied, 49 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in rendering plant, 53 VOCs were detected in sanitary landfill and 44 VOCs were detected in petroleum and petrochemical industries. The compounds measured in the odorous gas composition are the alkanes, alkenes, carbonyls, arenes, chlorinated and other halogenated compounds and organic chlorides as well as the volatile fatty acids.",non-battery
"γ-Butyrolactone (BL) has been mixed to the room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl 3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIBF4) (ratio: 3/2, v/v) in the presence of lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) for use as electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries. This mixture exhibits a larger thermal stability than the reference electrolyte EC/DEC/DMC (2/2/1)+LiPF6 (1M) and can be considered as a new RTIL as no free BL molecules are present in the liquid phase. The cycling ability of this electrolyte has been investigated at a graphite, a titanate oxide (Li4Ti5O12) and a cobalt oxide (Li x CoO2) electrodes. The ionic liquid is strongly reduced at the graphite electrode near 1V and leads to the formation of a blocking film, which prevents any further cycling. The titanate oxide electrode can be cycled with a high capacity without any significant fading. Cycling of the positive cobalt oxide electrode was unsuccessfully owing to an oxidation reaction at the electrode surface, which prevents the intercalation or de-intercalation of Li ions in and from the host material. Less reactive cathode material than cobalt oxide must be employed with this RTIL.",battery
" While models of autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are emerging at the genetic level of analysis, clear models at higher levels of analysis, such as neuroanatomy, are lacking. Here we examine agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) as a model at the level of neuroanatomy that may be relevant for understanding self-referential and social-cognitive difficulties in ASC.",non-battery
"The fabrication of Co2P-Co (Co-P composites) hollow nanospheres with graphene sheets decoration through one-pot solution approach is demonstrated and their potential as the anode materials for lithium ion batteries is assessed. A large specific capacity of 929mAhg−1 can be retained for Co-P/graphene nanocomposites at 100mAg−1 after 200 cycles. When cycled at a large current density of 2.0C, the Co-P/graphene nanocomposites deliver a decent reversible capacity of 567mAhg−1, which is much higher than the theoretical capacity of traditional graphite anode (372mAhg−1). The obviously enhanced lithium storage properties of Co-P/graphene nanocomposites are put down to the dual modification of graphene sheets and metal Co as well as their hollow structures.",battery
"In this study, a new type of carbon support materials for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) was evaluated. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) grown on activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were prepared through catalytic growth to yield CNF/ACF materials. CNFs were synthesized by using CH4 with Ni catalysts dispersed on ACFs. The as-prepared samples were characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images revealed a three-dimensional CNF network grown on the ACF surface. High-temperature treatment effectively reinforced the CNF/ACF structure and led to increased electrochemical performance and durability of Pt catalysts in PEMFC operations. The accelerated degradation test (ADT) was used for stability evaluations of Pt catalysts. The ECSA loss from heat-treated Pt/CNF/ACF at 900°C was calculated to be 39.1%, whereas the ECSA loss from the non-heat-treated Pt/CNF/ACF rose to 56.3%. The results suggest that the higher corrosion resistance of the carbon support could come from the higher degree of graphitization through high-temperature heat treatment of CNF/ACF. This unique structure of the CNF grown on ACF can supply effective anchor sites for the stabilization of Pt particles. As a result, the heat-treated CNF/ACF is expected to be a promising carbon support to improve the cell performances of PEMFCs.",battery
"Cycle life prolongation and discharge capacity regeneration have drawn enormous attention in the field of vanadium flow batteries (VFBs). Among all the methods, mixing the positive and negative electrolytes is the most efficient, but the study about the proper time and the effect of the mix method is relatively deficient. In this study, different mix times and current densities are chosen to explore the benefits and limitations of the mix method, also the mechanism of discharge capacity behavior is discussed. Through the mix method, not only the cycle number has been extended significantly, but also the voltage and energy efficiencies are recovered. Although the contribution of the mix method is restrained by the average valence of the mixed electrolytes, it can be alleviated by electrolysis. The mix method is economic, uncomplicated and can be employed in industrial applications.",battery
"Three-dimensional (3D) structure-based tin disulfide/vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays (VACNTs) composites have been successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method for self-assembly with the help of nebulization-assisted infiltration. The SnS2 particles are anchored on the surface of the VACNTs and the number of these nanoparticles increases as the nebulization time increase. The novel 3D structure-based SnS2/VACNTs sample with the SnS2 content of 67 wt% exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, including high capacity (738 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1 after 1st cycle), good cycle stability (551 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1after 100 cycles), and excellent rate capability (223 mA h g−1 at 2000 mA g−1) when used as an anode in lithium ion batteries. The high electrochemical performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect of SnS2 and the unique microstructure of VACNTs, which provide the rapid pathways for ionic and electronic transport ascribing to their well-directed 1D conductive electron paths and well defined regular pore structures. The VACNTs serve as not only conductive additives to improve the conductivity of SnS2 in the composites, but also as buffer matrix to restrain the volume change of SnS2 and stabilize the electrode structure during the alloying/dealloying process.",battery
"Silicon and related materials have recently received considerable attention as potential anodes in Li-ion batteries for their high theoretical specific capacities. To overcome the problem of volume variations during the Li insertion/extraction process, in this work, Si/C composites with low carbon content were synthesized from cheap coarse silicon and citric acid by simple ball milling and subsequent thermal treatment. The effects of ball milling time and calcination temperature on the structure, composition and morphology of the composites were systematically investigated by the determination of specific surface area (BET) and particle-size distribution, X-ray diffraction (XRD), O2-TPO, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The capacity and cycling stability of the composites were systematically evaluated by electrochemical charge/discharge tests. It was found that both the initial capacity and the cycling stability of the composites were dependent on the milling and calcination conditions, and attractive overall electrochemical performance could be obtained by optimizing the synthesis process.",battery
"The exponentially rising demand for rechargeable energy storage systems along with the market-driven increase of raw materials prices have led to extensive research and development on post lithium-ion battery systems. Among emerging candidates, aluminum-based batteries are particularly appealing due to the abundance of material, low cost, ease of handling in an ambient environment, and high theoretical capacities. To further maximize the benefits of utilizing aluminum, an economical and non-toxic ionic liquid analog, deriving from a mixture of AlCl3 and urea, was employed in an aluminum/natural graphite battery operating at ambient temperature. An average specific capacity of 50 mA h g−1 at 600 mA g−1 (∼12 C) with an average Coulombic efficiency of 96% across 1000 cycles was achieved with ultrasonicated natural graphite flakes. A new electrodeposition mechanism of Al in acidic AlCl3-urea electrolyte is proposed for the first time by taking the contribution of both electroactive cationic (AlCl2 ·(urea)2 +) and anionic (Al2Cl7 −) species into consideration. The concentration of Al2Cl7 − in the electrolyte is suggested to be the limiting factor to the cell-level capacity of AlCl3-urea/graphite battery systems. The results of this study indicate that the practically attainable cell-level specific energy density of AlCl3-urea/graphite battery systems is around 50–60 Whkg−1.",battery
"This study investigates the challenges and opportunities pertaining to transportation policies that may arise as a result of emerging autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies. AV technologies can decrease the transportation cost and increase accessibility to low-income households and persons with mobility issues. This emerging technology also has far-reaching applications and implications beyond all current expectations. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the relevant literature and explores a broad spectrum of issues from safety to machine ethics. An indispensable part of a prospective AV development is communication over cars and infrastructure (connected vehicles). A major knowledge gap exists in AV technology with respect to routing behaviors. Connected-vehicle technology provides a great opportunity to implement an efficient and intelligent routing system. To this end, we propose a conceptual navigation model based on a fleet of AVs that are centrally dispatched over a network seeking system optimization. This study contributes to the literature on two fronts: (i) it attempts to shed light on future opportunities as well as possible hurdles associated with AV technology; and (ii) it conceptualizes a navigation model for the AV which leads to highly efficient traffic circulations.
",non-battery
"The striatum has been implicated in the regulation of cognitive flexibility. Abnormalities in the anterior dorsomedial striatum (aDMS) are revealed in many mental disorders in which cognitive inflexibility is commonly observed. However, it remains poorly understood whether the aDMS plays a special role in flexible cognitive control and what the regulation pattern is in different neuronal populations. Based on the reversal learning task in mice, we showed that optogenetic activation in dopamine receptor 1-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1R-MSNs) of the aDMS impaired flexibility; meanwhile, suppressing these neurons facilitated behavioral performance. Conversely, D2R-MSN activation accelerated reversal learning, but it induced no change through neuronal suppression. The acquisition and retention of discrimination learning were unaffected by the manipulation of any type of MSN. Through bi-direct optogenetic modulation in D1R-MSNs of the same subject in a serial reversal learning task, we further revealed the function of D1R-MSNs during different stages of reversal learning, where inhibiting and exciting the same group of neurons reduced perseverative errors and increased regressive errors. Following D1R- and D2R-MSN activation in the aDMS, neuronal activity of the mediodorsal thalamus decreased and increased, respectively, in parallel with behavioral impairment and facilitation, but not as a direct result of the activation of the striatal MSNs. We propose that D1R- and D2R-MSN sub-populations in the aDMS exert opposing functions in cognitive flexibility regulation, with more important and complex roles of D1R-MSNs involved. Mental disorders with cognitive flexibility problems may feature an underlying functional imbalance in the aDMS’ two types of neurons.
",non-battery
"Location data of four White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) (WTSE) from four pairs equipped with GPS data loggers or automated GPS–GSM units and visual behaviour observations were used to record their home range size and territoriality. Between 18 and 571 positions were received from the satellite devices. Extensive excursions were identified by defining the distance to the activity centre and have been removed before home ranges were computed. Home range size varied considerably among the individuals tracked. Minimum convex polygons, with outliers removed, ranged between 2.25 and 19.16 km2 and 95 % kernel contours (calculated in Ranges 8) varied from 2.37 to 12.04 km2 in the Mecklenburg Lake District. Occurrence of territorial behaviour as identified by visual observations changed significantly throughout the year with a maximum in May and a minimum in December. An optimal habitat quality characterized by shallow and fish-rich freshwater lakes with undisturbed nesting areas in surrounding forests is a prerequisite for small home ranges and for the high abundance of breeding birds found within the Mecklenburg Lake district. The year-round territoriality is attributed to a sufficient food supply throughout the seasons, either by mild winters allowing access to fish and/or waterfowl on open waters or, in hard winters, to the availability of carcasses and remains of larger animals from hunting activities when frozen lakes restricte access to prey.",non-battery
"An air-breathing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell bears many advantages, which are important for portable-power applications. However, several barriers must be overcome before an air-breathing PEMFC achieve commercially wide-scale adoption. In this paper, with emphasis on improving the performance of air-breathing PEMFC, the simulation and experiment has been done simultaneously. Considering the natural convection in the cathode side, electrochemical reaction in the catalyst layer, water transport in the membrane, a coupled three-dimensional complex model has been developed in this work. The parameters which greatly affect the performance of an air-breathing PEMFC have been calculated for the base case such as the distribution of water and reactant, temperature and electrochemical performance. To validate the numerical result, the experiment test system have been designed to investigate the temperature distribution and cell performance. The results from this work show that the performance of air-breathing PEMFCs is strongly affected by natural convection feature. The concentration losses play a major role on the cell performance. The ambient relative humidity also has significant effect on the cell performance. The fields of water, temperature, velocity and electrochemical reaction have strong interaction on each others.",battery
"A fuel cell stack needs to be stable and high-performing for optimum commercial viability. A program was undertaken to evaluate stability of a number of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks and systems by operating them as independent power units at the rated maximum power outputs. Eight convection/forced-convection stacks and systems ranging in power outputs from 3W to 150W were evaluated for periods ranging from 170h to 700h. One 300W forced-flow stack was evaluated for an 8-h period. All stacks and systems were operated self-humidified. The flow of hydrogen was kept dead-ended with periodic release to maximize its utilization. In general, the stability was observed to be excellent except of the smallest convection stack, which showed some variations from point to point. The documented stability behaviors indicate that stack and system designs were appropriate, the level of self-humidification was adequate, and that the tested products are ready for commercialization.",battery
"While the implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for daily travel and activities have been studied extensively, there is only scant attention paid to the relations between ICTs and space-time constraints. This study therefore explores the extent to which the Internet and mobile phone increase the spatial and temporal flexibility of everyday activities through a review of the literature and empirical research with data from Columbus (Ohio, USA) and Utrecht (The Netherlands). The analysis suggests that the implications of the Internet and mobile phone are complex and dependent on the type of activity, persons involved, technologies and socio-physical context in which they are embedded. Various regularities can, however, be detected. For the study participants, the Internet and mobile phone relax temporal constraints to a stronger degree than they enhance spatial flexibility. There are also space-time constraints that seem to persist or have come about because of ICT adoption. Finally, it appears that the Internet and mobile phone at best consolidate differences between men and women in the space-time constraints associated with everyday activities.",non-battery
"The cycling performance of LiPF4(C2O4) electrolyte is compared with LiPF6 electrolyte in the presence of several different electrode materials. The cycling of MCMB/LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and natural graphite/LiFePO4 cells provides very similar performance for both electrolytes. However, MCMB/LiMn2O4 cells have a lower initial reversible capacity with LiPF4(C2O4) electrolytes. A detailed analysis of the surface films on both the cathode and the anode via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted. The performance differences are attributed to the anode as opposed to the cathode.",battery
"In this work, a Sn nanoparticle (NP)/carbon nanofiber (CNF) hybrid with unique structure has been designed and fabricated via electrospinning and subsequent heat treatment. The cell assembled by the binder-free Sn NP/CNF hybrid demonstrates an effective capacity (46mAhg−1 at 200mAg−1 after 200 cycles) with high coulombic efficiency (up to 99.8%), suggesting a facile strategy for the scalable fabrication of electrochemically stable electrodes for LIBs. For understanding the electrochemical behaviors of the metallic Sn and carbon nanofibers in the lithiation/delithiation process, in situ transmission electron microscopy was applied to study the single hybrid structure. In the first charge/discharge process, real-time size variation of the Sn NP and CNFs was mainly focused, suggesting a two-step lithiation process in the metallic Sn NP. Structural characterization also indicates an irreversible delithiation in a single Sn NP/CNF hybrid structure. The electrochemical performance based on influence of carbonization temperature has also been discussed. The results and fundamental understanding of the lithiation/delithiation in the Sn-based hybrid anodes enables the communities to design flexible high-performance electrodes based on metallic active materials in a rational way.",battery