Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Carbons Remedy the Shuttling of Polysulfides in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: Confining, Trapping, Blocking, and Breaking up

Carbon materials are usually used as the sulfur host in rechargeable lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries that are considered as promising electrochemical energy storage systems. However, the “shuttling” caused by the soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) formed by the reaction of Li and sulfur causes rapid capacity fade and low sulfur utilization, greatly hindering their practical use. The carbon materials can also be tailored to prevent LiPS shuttling because of their abundant porosity and controllable surface chemical properties, which are divided into four specific functions: confining, trapping, blocking, and breaking up. Confinement means physically confining the LiPSs in pores in the carbon while trapping refers to chemical adsorption on the carbon surface to restrict their diffusion and promote their transformation to insoluble Li2S2/Li2S. Blocking means placing a barrier in the cells to inhibit LiPS diffusion to the anode, while breaking up means decreasing the size of the sulfur moiety to increase its affinity with carbons. The advantages and disadvantages of functional carbons in relation to these four functions are summarized and the specific ways to achieve them are highlighted. The design of advanced carbons with synergistic functions is discussed and some perspectives on the future development of carbons in Li–S batteries are given.
Global tropospheric NO2 column distributions' Comparing three-dimensional model calculations with GOME

Tropospheric NO2 columns derived from the data products of the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME), deployed on the ESA ERS-2 satellite, have been compared with model calculations from two global three-dimensional chemistry transport models, IMAGES and MOZART. The main objectives of the study are an analysis of the tropospheric NO2 data derived from satellite measurements, an interpretation of it and evaluation of its quality using global models, and an estimation the role of NO2 in radiative forcing. The measured and modeled NO2 columns show similar spatial and seasonal patterns, with large tropospheric column amounts over industrialized areas and small column amounts over remote areas. The comparison of the absolute values of the measured and modeled tropospheric column amounts are particularly dependent upon uncertainties in the derivation of the tropospheric NO2 columns from GOME and the difficulty of modeling the boundary layer in global models, both of which are discussed below. The measured tropospheric column amounts derived from GOME data are of the same order as those calculated by the MOZART model over the industrialized areas of the United States and Europe, but a factor of 2-3 larger for Asia. The modeled tropospheric NO2 columns from MOZART as well as the column amounts measured by GOME are in good agreement with NO2 columns derived from observed NO2 mixing ratios in the boundary layer in eastern North America. The comparison of the models to the GOME data illustrates the degree to which present models reproduce the hot spots seen in the GOME data. The radiative forcing of NO2 has been estimated from the calculated tropospheric NO2 columns. The local maxima in the radiative forcing of tropospheric NO2 for cloud-free conditions over the eastern United States and western Europe represent 0.1-0.15 W m -2, while values of 0.04-0.1 W m -2 are estimated on a continental scale in these regions, of the same order of magnitude as the forcing of N20 and somewhat smaller than the regional forcing of tropospheric ozone. The globally averaged radiative forcing of tropospheric NO2 is negligible, --0.005 W m -2.
Various DC-driven point-to-plain discharges as non-thermal plasma sources and their bactericidal effects

The appearance of several types of ballast serial impedance-stabilized DC-driven electric corona discharges in the point-to-plane configuration is described. In addition to well-known corona discharges, new ones were observed, namely curved transient spark, interrupted channel and branched transient spark. Their properties are described by volt-ampere characteristics and UV-vis emission spectra. Their bactericidal ability for two bacterial species is also given.
BIOLOGICAL, ELECTRICAL AND ELECTROMAGNETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUMAN BODY

The increase of exposure of the population to electromagnetic radiation produced by base stations and a plethora of electronic user equipment for wireless communications technologies is causing global concern. As sufficiently high power electromagnetic fields can adversely affect health, exposure limits have been established by regulatory bodies like ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection), FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Fuelled by social media, the alleged effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields, while not necessarily supported by scientific facts, are rapidly spreading around the world. In order to understand the basics of the mechanisms of interactions of electromagnetic fields with the human body and the possible biological effects, it is first of all essential to know the characteristics of biological media as precisely as possible. The main objective of this publication is to describe the biological environments from three different angles, namely from a biological, electrical, and electromagnetic point of view, and detail the mathematical models that govern basic biological processes. Biological materials are complex and have different properties to those of the materials used in the domain of electricity. Each biological tissue has its own electrical properties and it differs significantly from other tissues. The biological medium is highly dispersive, at low frequency, they can be considered as a conductor even if their permittivity can be high, however at high frequency, they behave like a lossy dielectric medium. These properties make it possible to determine how the electromagnetic fields penetrate tissue and how they will interact.
A Self‐Healable, Highly Stretchable, and Solution Processable Conductive Polymer Composite for Ultrasensitive Strain and Pressure Sensing

Mimicking human skin's functions to develop electronic skins has inspired tremendous efforts in design and synthesis of novel soft materials with simplified fabrication methods. However, it still remains a great challenge to develop electronically conductive materials that are both stretchable and self‐healable. Here it is demonstrated that a ternary polymer composite comprised of polyaniline, polyacrylic acid, and phytic acid can exhibit high stretchability (≈500%) and excellent self‐healing properties. The polymer composite with optimized composition shows an electrical conductivity of 0.12 S cm−1. On rupture, both electrical and mechanical properties can be restored with ≈99% efficiency in a 24 h period, which is enabled by the dynamic hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. It is further shown that this composite is both strain and pressure sensitive, and therefore can be used for fabricating strain and pressure sensors to detect a variety of mechanical deformations with ultrahigh sensitivity. The sensitivity and sensing range are the highest among all of the reported self‐healable piezoresistive pressure sensors and even surpass most flexible mechanical sensors. Notably, this composite is prepared via a solution casting process, which potentially allows for large‐area, low‐cost fabrication electronic skins.
HPLC Bottom-Up MS-Based Proteomics for Mapping of Specific Proteins in Several European Spring Barley Varieties

The representation of individual barley grain proteins plays a key role in the quality of malt as well as beer. In addition, specific proteins can be used for the discrimination of barley cultivars. Thus, the determination of protein pattern is crucial in many biochemical studies. Several European barley cultivars were examined in this work. Spring barley malting varieties Tolar, Malz, Bojos, and Blaník are significant in the malting and brewing industry in countries of the Central and Eastern Europe, and they were recommended as varieties suitable for the production of Czech beer with protected geographical indication. The protein contents of these cultivars were compared with those of Jersey variety (intended for malt export) and AF Lucius (a nonmalting hull-less cultivar). Water-, salt-, and alcohol-soluble proteins were extracted from each cultivar of barley. Protein classes obtained according to their solubility were determined electrophoretically and in the case of water-soluble proteins also chromatographically with MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. In particular, quantitative differences in albumin composition were found among the investigated barley varieties. The grains of Blaník and Jersey were the most different from the others. They had the highest proportional representation of nonspecific lipid transfer protein 1, α-amylase/subtilisin inhibitor, and β-amylase. Our data also show that there are greater differences in the malt profiles of the studied varieties. The proportional representation of ns-LTP1, α-amylase/subtilisin inhibitor, and β-amylase is the lowest in case of Jersey, Tolar, and AF Lucius malt varieties. On the other hand, protein Z seems to have an opposite trend.
Photostability of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) in P3HT:Fullerene Films: Effects of Dispersed Structures of Fullerene Derivatives

The relationship between photostability and dispersed structures of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):fullerene films was studied using atomic force microscopy and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The films with higher dispersity showed better photostability. An evaluation method based on UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy was found to be promising to estimate the photostability of the films.
A Database for Comparative Electrochemical Performance of Commercial 18650-Format Lithium-Ion Cells

Lithium-ion batteries are a central technology to our daily lives with widespread use in mobile devices and electric vehicles. These batteries are also beginning to be widely used in electric grid infrastructure support applications which have stringent safety and reliability requirements. Typically, electrochemical performance data is not available for modelers to validate their simulations, mechanisms, and algorithms for lithium-ion battery performance and lifetime. In this paper, we report on the electrochemical performance of commercial 18650 cells at a variety of temperatures and discharge currents. We found that LiFePO4 is temperature tolerant for discharge currents at or below 10 A whereas LiCoO2, LiNixCoyAl1-x-yO2, and LiNi0.80Mn0. 15Co0.05O2 exhibited optimal electrochemical performance when the temperature is maintained at 15◦C. LiNixCoyAl1-x-yO2 showed signs of lithium plating at lower temperatures, evidenced by irreversible capacity loss and emergence of a high-voltage differential capacity peak. Furthermore, all cells need to be monitored for self-heating, as environment temperature and high discharge currents may elicit an unintended abuse condition. Overall, this study shows that lithium-ion batteries are highly application-specific and electrochemical behavior must be well understood for safe and reliable operation. Additionally, data collected in this study is available for anyone to download for further analysis and model validation. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. [DOI: 10.1149/2.1701712jes] All rights reserved.
Specific Interaction of Tricyclic Antidepressants With Gold and Silver Nanostructures as Revealed by Combined One and Two-Photon Vibrational Spectroscopy

We report two-photon excited nonresonant surface-enhanced hyper Raman scattering (SEHRS) spectra of tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) molecules during their interaction with biocompatible gold nanostructures and with silver nanostructures. The SEHRS spectra of amitriptyline, desipramine, and imipramine are compared with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra on both kinds of nanoparticles, obtained with excitation at 532 and 785 nm. The SEHRS spectra of the TCA molecules show several intense contributions by infrared-active vibrations. Combining SEHRS with SERS therefore enables a comprehensive vibrational characterization of the interaction of the molecules with the nanostructures. SEHRS and SERS data indicate that the molecules interact with the silver nanostructures mainly via their ring moiety. In contrast, in the interaction with gold, the methylaminopropyl side chain plays a very important role, along with parts of the ring system. It is possible to obtain the spectra of the molecules with ne.
Photocatalytic activity of WO x-TiO 2 under visible light irradiation

With an attempt to extend light absorption of the TiO2-based photocatalysts toward the visible light range and eliminate the rapid recombination of excited electrons/holes during photoreaction, new photocatalyst (WOx-TiO2) powder was prepared by a sol–gel method. The photooxidation efficiency of WOx-TiO2 catalyst was also evaluated by conducting a set of experiments to photodegrade methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution. The photocatalytic activity of WOx-TiO2 was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–VIS absorption spectra, X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence spectra (PL), surface photovoltage spectra (SPS) and electron-field-induced surface photovoltage spectra (EFISPS). The experiments demonstrated that the MB in aqueous solution was successfully photodegraded using WOx-TiO2 under visible light irradiation. It was found that an optimal WOx dosage of 3% in WOx-TiO2 achieved the highest rate of MB photodegradation in this experimental condition. It has been confirmed that WOx-TiO2 could be excited by visible light ( E< 3.2 eV) and the recombination rate of electrons/holes in WOx-TiO2 declined due to the existence of WO3 doped in TiO2. The order of its photoactivity from weak to strong had a good agreement with that of PL intensity and that of EFISPS intensity from strong to weak. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Efficient Modulation of Polyethylene Microstructure by Proper Activation of (α-Diimine)Ni(II) Catalysts: Synthesis of Well-Performing Polyethylene Elastomers

The activation of a prototypical nickel(II) Brookhart catalyst by either methylalumoxane (MAO) or diethylaluminum chloride (AlEt2Cl) under a variety of conditions showed that a proper choice of the mode of activation is a powerful tool to modulate the polymer microstructure. In particular, use of AlEt2Cl instead of MAO resulted in the production of more branched polyethylenes with a higher content of long chain branches and even some “branches on branches”. Characterization of these materials by NMR, thermal, X-ray diffraction, and mechanical analyses provided insight into the relationships between the microstructure and the crystallization behavior and the elasticity of the polymers. For these branched polyethylenes, a transition from plastomeric toward elastomeric behavior occurs for branch concentrations much lower than for ethylene–propylene copolymers and like those observed for ethylene copolymers with bulkier comonomers. For elastomeric materials, reduction of branch concentration implies two relev.
Strategies to synthesize various nanostructures of silver and their applications – a review

Due to their various beneficial application-based properties, such as behavior, structure, and size, the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) with different structures has become an interesting yet common task for researchers to produce nanostructures for applications in various fields. This is because silver nanoparticles have interesting and unique properties, such as optical and catalytic, resulting from their different structures and sizes. These properties extend the use of nanostructures in various fields of research, especially in medicine, pharmacy, electronics, etc. Also, variations in their parameters affect the structures and sizes of Ag-NPs. This review provides an overview/brief presentation of various methodologies used to synthesize different application-based silver nanoparticles and lists areas where these nanoparticles are suitable for use according to their specific structures and sizes.
The Electrochemical Behavior of Al Alloys in NaCl Solution in the Presence of Pyrazole Derivative

This paper studies the corrosion inhibition of Al-Mg alloy system in 0.5 mol/dm3 NaCl solution in the presence of pyrazole derivative using potentiodynamic polarization and linear polarization method. The inhibition efficiency as a function of concentration and temperature was investigated. From the polarization curves, it can be concluded that the pyrazole derivative behaves like a mixed inhibitor. It has been shown that the efficiency of the inhibitor increases with increasing concentration and with increasing temperature and it indicates a chemisorption process. It was concluded that the pyrazole derivative adsorbed on the electrode blocks the active surface sites and reduces the corrosion rate. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption process were determined. The relatively low efficiency of the inhibitor at room temperature could be an indicator of increased desorption in the adsorption-desorption equilibrium process. With increasing temperature the equilibrium is shifted in the direction of adsorption, causing an increasing inefficiency. Also, the positive values of equilibrium adsorption constant Kads indicate chemisorption of the pyrazole derivative on the alloy surface. The values of the activation energy in the presence of inhibitor were lower than in the uninhibited solution, which also indicates the chemical adsorption. Negative values of adsorption free energy ΔGads show that the adsorption process is spontaneous.
High stability planar perovskite solar cells with inorganic charge transport layers

Abstract. Perovskite solar cells based on methylammonium lead halide perovskites (abbreviated as perovskites) maintain great promise for low-cost solar-to-electricity energy conversion, due to the excellent photoelectric properties of perovskites, abundance of raw materials to synthesize perovskites, and the capability to deposit perovskites by a solution process. Significant effort has been taken to deposit high-quality perovskite thin films and, thereafter, to fabricate highly efficient perovskite solar cells. Nevertheless, the degradation of perovskite solar cells greatly limits their chance for mass production and deployment. Here, we present a device structure that can significantly improve the stability of perovskite solar cells using all inorganic charge transport layers. Specifically, solution-processed inorganic thin films, lithium (Li)-doped NiOx (Li : NiOx), and ZnO nanoparticles are used as a hole transport layer and an electron transport layer, respectively. The mechanisms behind the enhanced stability are analyzed. Solutions for further improvement in the stability and the performance of perovskite solar cells are suggested.
Modeling Macrophage Polarization and Its Effect on Cancer Treatment Success

Positive feedback loops drive immune cell polarization toward a pro-tumor phenotype that accentuates immunosuppression and tumor angiogenesis. This phenotypic switch leads to the escape of cancer cells from immune destruction. These positive feedback loops are generated by cytokines such as TGF-β, Interleukin-10 and Interleukin-4, which are responsible for the polarization of monocytes and M1 macrophages into pro-tumor M2 macrophages, and the polarization of naive helper T cells intopro-tumor Th2 cells. In this article, we present a deterministic ordinary differential equation (ODE) model that includes key cellular interactions and cytokine signaling pathways that lead to immune cell polarization in the tumor microenvironment. The model was used to simulate various cancer treatments in silico. We identified combination therapies that consist of M1 macrophages or Th1 helper cells, coupled with an anti-angiogenic treatment, that are robust with respect to immune response strength, initial tumor size and treatment resistance. We also identified IL-4 and IL-10 as the targets that should be neutralized in order to make these combination treatments robust with respect to immune cell polarization. The model simulations confirmed a hypothesis based on published experimental evidence that a polarization into the M1 and Th1 phenotypes to increase the M1-to-M2 and Th1-to-Th2 ratios plays a significant role in treatment success. Our results highlight the importance of immune cell reprogramming as a viable strategy to eradicate a highly vascularized tumor when the strength of the immune response is characteristically weak and cell polarization to the pro-tumor phenotype has occurred.
The Effect of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Rural Farm Households’ Income in case Southern Ethiopia

This study is an effort to determine the effect of climate change adaptation strategies on rural farm households’ income in case of Southern Ethiopia. The study used primary data which is collected by questionnaires distributed for 374 farm households in 2018. In analyzing the data, the researcher employed both binary logit and Ordinary Least Square econometric regression. Binary logit model is employed to assess the factors affecting climate change adaptation strategies in Southern Ethiopia and the Ordinary Least Square method is employed to know the effect of climate change adaptation strategies on rural farm households’ income. The study confirms that climate change adaptation strategy is found to be significant in boosting famers’ income level in the study area. The implication is that local policy makers and the Zone’s agricultural bureau have to work more on creation of awareness for farmers about the importance of climate change adaptation strategies. Keywords: Climate change, adaptation strategies, income level. DOI: 10.7176/JPID/57-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2020
Differences in implicit vs. explicit grammar processing as revealed by drift-diffusion modeling of reaction times

Author(s): Abugaber, David; Morgan-Short, Kara | Abstract: Learning new languages is a complex cognitive task involving both implicit and explicit processes. Batterink, Oudiette, Reber, and Paller (2014) report that participants with vs. without conscious awareness of a hidden semi-artificial language regularity showed no significant differences in grammar learning, suggesting that implicit/explicit routes may be functionally equivalent. However, their operationalizing of learning via median reaction times might not capture underlying differences in cognitive processes. In a conceptual replication, we compared rule-aware (n=14) and rule-unaware (n=21) participants via drift-diffusion modeling, which can quantify distinct subcomponents of evidence-accumulation processes (Ratcliff a Rouder, 1998). For both groups, grammar learning was manifested in non-decision parameters, suggesting anticipation of motor responses. For rule-aware participants only, learning also affected bias in evidence accumulation during word reading. These results suggest that implicit grammar learning may be manifested through low-level mechanisms whereas explicit grammar learning may involve more direct engagement with encoded target meanings.