batterydata/paper-abstracts huggingface dataset:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.