batterydata/paper-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Li2−x MnSiO4 compounds with mesoporous structure are first proposed in the present work. It is interesting to note that the lithium deficient compounds exhibit much higher electrochemical performance in comparison with the stoichiometric one. Among these compounds, Li1.8MnSiO4 shows the best electrochemical performance. It is found that mesoporous Li1.8MnSiO4 without carbon coating delivers a maximum discharge capacity of 110.9 mAh g−1 at 15 mA g−1, maintaining 90.8 mAh g−1 after 25 cycles, while that of the stoichiometric one is only 48.0 mAh g−1, with 12.5 mAh g−1 remaining. The superior properties are mainly due to the great improvement of electronic conductivity and structure stability, as well as suppressed charge-transfer resistance.
Three-Dimensional (3D) porous graphene, a kind of carbon material with in-plane nanopores and hierarchical pores formed between graphene layers, have attracted tremendous interests in application of supercapacitors due to their large specific surface areas, superior conductivity, unique porous structures and diversified compositions. Combining the advantages from both porous materials and graphene, 3D porous graphene has been regarded as an idea scaffold to build hierarchical hybrid with comprehensive electrochemical energy storage performance by introducing other substances. In this review, we aim to summarize the recent advances in fabricating 3D pure self-supported graphene-based porous structures with micro-, meso-, and macro-porous features and investigate the structure–property relationships, and their application in supercapacitors are also discussed.
Rechargeable lithium–air battery is studied using Pd/mesoporous α-MnO2 air composite electrode. In the present work, we have studied the preparation and electrochemical performance of ordered mesoporous α-MnO2 as a cathode catalyst for rechargeable Li–air batteries. α-MnO2 was prepared by reduction of KMnO4 solution in acidic aqueous solution followed by successive proton and alkali-ion exchange method. α-MnO2 with high surface area of 33–133.0m2 g−1 was successively synthesized and used as an electrode catalyst for Li–air battery. It was found that the mixture of Pd and mesoporous α-MnO2 electrode shows the high activity to oxidation and reduction of Li to form Li2O2 or Li2O. Application of Pd/mesoporous α-MnO2, which is mixed with teflonized acetylene binder (TAB), for air electrode is effective for decreasing the charge potential and also improved the energy efficiency as well as cyclability.
Purpose We tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a lifestyle intervention for middle-aged and older patients with schizophrenia and type-2 diabetes mellitus, using a randomized pre-test, post-test control group design. Method Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder over the age of 40 were randomly assigned to 24-week Diabetes Awareness and Rehabilitation Training (DART; n =32) groups or Usual Care plus Information (UCI; n =32) comparison groups. Participants were recruited from board-and-care facilities and day treatment programs. Fifty-seven patients completed baseline and 6-month assessments consisting of an interview, measures of body mass index, blood pressure, fasting blood chemistry, and accelerometry. A mixed-model analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Results A significant group×time interaction was found for body weight, with patients in the DART group losing a mean of 5 lb and those in the UCI gaining a mean 6 lb. Significant group×time interactions were also found for triglycerides, diabetes knowledge, diabetes self-efficacy, and self-reported physical activity, but not for fasting plasma glucose or glycosylated hemoglobin. Conclusions Group-based lifestyle interventions are feasible and produce positive health changes in middle-aged and older patients with schizophrenia and diabetes mellitus.
Grid-scale energy storage is one option to reduce curtailment and increase deliverability of transmission-constrained wind. This study examines four hypothetical wind and transmission projects in the United States to quantify the reduction in curtailment under various energy storage configurations and determine the cost targets that energy storage must achieve to become a viable solution for use with remote wind. The delivered cost of wind is determined using a power purchase agreement approach and six AC transmission voltage classes are considered. The findings show that curtailment reduction can be achieved with energy storage costs as high as $780/kW with ten hours of storage capacity, a value that is 50–85% lower than current cost estimates for redox and sodium sulfur batteries. Batteries with higher power ratings result in greater curtailment reduction, but also lower maximum viable costs. Sizing the battery to reduce a small portion of curtailment allows for higher utilization of the storage and supports higher cost batteries. Using energy storage to increase wind installed capacity can also be economically viable, but at costs lower than those for curtailment reduction. The results were most sensitive to the elimination of wind subsidies, the installed cost of transmission, battery efficiency degradation, and battery cycle life. The study did not show economic viability for the use of energy storage to reduce transmission voltage class.
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition with few efficacious drugs. Sinomenine, a bioactive alkaloid extracted from medicinal herb, has been used as a treatment of rheumatoid diseases. This present study explored the therapeutic effects of sinomenine on locomotor dysfunction and neuropathology in SCI. Our findings revealed that sinomenine mitigated neurological deficits and enhanced neuronal preservation, paralleled with a reduction of apoptosis. Also, sinomenine significantly reduced inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress factors. We further examined erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation, which mainly controls the coordinated expression of important antioxidant and detoxification genes. An increase in Nrf2 translocation from cytoplasm to nucleus and Nrf2-mediated transactivation was observed after sinomenine administration. Knocking down Nrf2 by siRNA could counteract sinomenine-mediated anti-oxidant stress and anti-inflammation following H2O2-stimulated and LPS-stimulated PC12 cells. Together, our findings indicated that sinomenine has the potential to be an effective therapeutic agent for SCI by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress via Nrf2 activation.
Due to new, previously unknown, properties attributed to engineered nanoparticles many new products are introduced in the agro-food area. Nanotechnologies cover many aspects, such as disease treatment, food security, new materials for pathogen detection, packaging materials and delivery systems. As with most new and evolving technologies, potential benefits are emphasized, while little is known on safety of the application of nanotechnologies in the agro-food sector. This review gives an overview of scientific issues that need to be addressed with priority in order to improve the risk assessment for nanoparticles in food. The following research topics are considered to contribute pivotally to risk assessment of nanotechnologies and nanoparticles in food products. • Set a definition for NPs to facilitate regulatory discussions, prioritization of research and exchange of study results. • Develop analytical tools for the characterization of nanoparticles in complex biological matrices like food. • Establish relevant dose metrics for nanoparticles used for both interpretation of scientific studies as well as regulatory frameworks. • Search for deviant behavior (kinetics) and novel effects (toxicity) of nanoparticles and assess the validity of currently used test systems following oral exposure. • Estimate the consumer exposure to nanoparticles.
The prevalence and the efficiency of serial and parallel processing under multiple task demands are highly debated. In the present study, we investigated whether individual preferences for serial or overlapping (parallel) processing represent a permanent predisposition or depend on the risk of crosstalk between tasks. Two groups (n = 91) of participants were tested. One group performed a classical task switching paradigm, enforcing a strict serial processing of tasks. The second group of participants performed the same tasks in a task-switching-with-preview paradigm, recently introduced by Reissland and Manzey (2016), which in principle allows for overlapping processing of both tasks in order to compensate for switch costs. In one condition, the tasks included univalent task stimuli, whereas in the other bivalent stimuli were used, increasing risk of crosstalk and task confusion in case of overlapping processing. The general distinction of voluntarily occurring preferences for serial or overlapping processing when performing task switching with preview could be confirmed. Tracking possible processing mode adjustments between low- and high-crosstalk conditions showed that individuals identified as serial processors in the low-crosstalk condition persisted in their processing mode. In contrast, overlapping processors split up in a majority adjusting to a serial processing mode and a minority persisting in overlapping processing, when working with bivalent stimuli. Thus, the voluntarily occurring preferences for serial or overlapping processing seem to depend at least partially on the risk of crosstalk between tasks. Strikingly, in both crosstalk conditions the individual performance efficiency was the higher, the more they processed in parallel.
Electrochemical performance of MoS2/graphene materials in Li-ion batteries is strongly dependent on the structure of individual components and their coupling in the hybrid. We present a comparative study of the materials produced by annealing of amorphous MoS3 deposited on the surface of multilayer graphene flakes at 500 °C, 800 °C, and 1000 °C in vacuum. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed a transformation of MoS3 to MoS2 at these conditions. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering showed a growth of in-plane size of MoS2 nanocrystals with a raise of annealing temperature. Electrochemical tests detected a gradual decrease of the specific capacity of the MoS2/graphene materials prepared at 500 and 800 °C and a stable performance for the material synthesized at 1000 °C even at high current densities. Based on the initial discharge-charge profiles, we associate this effect with in-plane size of MoS2 nanocrystals, which should decompose more easily when the size is small, due to the interaction of lithium with edge sulfur atoms.
Five experiments were conducted to investigate infants’ ability to transfer actions learned via imitation to new objects and to examine what components of the original context are critical to such transfer. Infants of 15months observed an experimenter perform an action with one or two toys and then were offered a novel toy that was not demonstrated for them. In all experiments, infants performed target actions with the novel toy more frequently than infants who were offered the same toy but had seen no prior demonstrations. Infants exhibited transfer even when the specific part to be manipulated looked different across the toys, even when they had not performed the actions with the demonstration toys themselves, even when the actions produced no effects on the demonstrations, and even when the actions were demonstrated with only a single exemplar toy. Transfer was especially robust when infants not only observed but also practiced the target actions on the demonstration trials. Learning action affordances (“means”) seems to be a central aspect of human imitation, and the propensity to apply these learned action affordances in new object contexts may be an important basis for technological innovation and invention.
Mindfulness training (MT) programs represent an approach to attention training with well-validated mental health benefits. However, research supporting MT efficacy is based predominantly on weekly-meeting, facilitator-led, group-intervention formats. It is unknown whether participants might benefit from neurofeedback-assisted, technology-supported MT (N-tsMT), in which meditation is delivered individually, without the need for a facilitator, travel to a training site, or the presence of a supportive group environment. Mirroring the validation of group MT interventions, the first step in addressing this question requires identifying whether N-tsMT promotes measurable benefits. Here, we report on an initial investigation of a commercial N-tsMT system.
Since 1975, India has built 25 satellites under the satellite programme. By judicially combining the foreign technological imports and local knowledge, India appears to have acquired a high level of capability to build very complex and world-class satellites for remote sensing and communications. This paper analyses the process of technological learning in satellite building in India. Particularly, it illustrates the role of foreign imports and the local efforts at different phases during this process. This paper demonstrates that achieving the goal of technological self-reliance in a developing country like India, particularly in a complex area like satellite systems, is unlikely to be possible without significant foreign imports in the formative period. It also demonstrates that without strong indigenous effort India would not have reached threshold capability in the accumulative phase. Foreign imports and local knowledge appears to have played a complementary role in competence building in satellite technology in India.
The complement component 4 (C4) gene is linked to schizophrenia and synaptic refinement. In humans, greater expression of C4A in the brain is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. To investigate this genetic finding and address how C4A shapes brain circuits in vivo, here, we generated a mouse model with primate-lineage-specific isoforms of C4, human C4A and/or C4B. Human C4A bound synapses more efficiently than C4B. C4A (but not C4B) rescued the visual system synaptic refinement deficits of C4 knockout mice. Intriguingly, mice without C4 had normal numbers of cortical synapses, which suggests that complement is not required for normal developmental synaptic pruning. However, overexpressing C4A in mice reduced cortical synapse density, increased microglial engulfment of synapses and altered mouse behavior. These results suggest that increased C4A-mediated synaptic elimination results in abnormal brain circuits and behavior. Understanding pathological overpruning mechanisms has important therapeutic implications in disease conditions such as schizophrenia.
Lithium–sulfur and lithium–air batteries offer theoretical energy densities an order of magnitude higher than that of current lithium-ion batteries and are considered as promising candidates as the next-generation battery chemistries. For an efficient use of these new battery chemistries, careful selection of suitable electrode materials/structures is critical. Graphene, a unique two-dimensional nanomaterial, with its superior electronic conductivity, mechanical strength, and flexibility has been successfully applied in battery studies. Graphene, even with imperfect layers, will be of great interest to battery industrial applications if the manufacturing cost is reduced. Herein, we demonstrate the application of low-cost graphene sponge/sheets derived from expandable graphite in both lithium–sulfur and hybrid lithium–air batteries, respectively, as a cathode conductive matrix to accommodate the soluble polysulfides and as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. High utilization of active materials and good cycling stability are realized in lithium–sulfur and hybrid lithium–air batteries by employing this low-cost material, demonstrating its promise for use in next-generation battery chemistries.
Lithium metal has a high theoretical capacity of 3860 mA h g−1 and a low electrochemical potential (−3.04 V vs. H2/H+). Hence, using a lithium anode significantly improves the energy density of a secondary battery. However, the lithium dendrites generated on the lithium anode during the plating-dissolution process significantly reduce its cycling life and safety. Here, we provide a simple method for lithium anode protection, by applying a free-standing porous carbon film with a high specific surface area to reduce the local current density and obtain a homogenous ion distribution. The protected lithium anode has a long cycle life over 1000 h when cycled at 3 mA cm−2 with a lithium capacity of 2.5 mA h cm−2. Moreover, the deposited lithium has a smoother surface than Li anode without carbon protection. This study will promote the wide application of Li-metal-based batteries with high safety levels.
Silicon is considered as the most promising anode for advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the high theoretical capacity of 3579 mAh g−1, but the complex and high-cost preparation processes have limited it's widespread applications. So given the practical application, it's all the more important that we should prepare excellent electrochemical performance anodes with large scale and low cost. Here we present a scalable synthesis for preparing the cost-effective Si/C anode enhanced by FeSix nanoparticles (FSC) directly from the low-grade Ferrosilicon source (∼1000 $/t). The formation of the amorphous carbon layer and FeSix nanocrystalline (FeSi & FeSi2) can act as buffer layer to mechanically support the volume expansion change during cycling. The FSC anode exhibits a high initial capacity of 1489 mAh g−1 and a prolonged cycle performance with 86% capacity retention over 100 cycles at 500 mA g−1. Moreover, the FSC anode delivers an excellent rate performance of 450 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 due to the enhancement of the electrical conductivity by the amorphous carbon layer and the highly conductive FeSix nanocrystalline. This scalable and cost-effective method for preparing Si/C anode provides the promising application potentials in next generation energy storage systems.
This work presents the preparation and characterization of hybrid organic–inorganic optically active poly(amide–imide)/nano–Fe3O4 composites with different amount of modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles as new nanocomposites by ultrasonic irradiation and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis and vibrating sample magnetometry. The surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles was modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxyl silane because of the homogeneous distribution of nano-Fe3O4 in polymer matrix, which the SEM results confirmed that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles were dispersed uniformly in polymer matrix. Furthermore, as compared with pure polymer, thermogravimetric analysis data indicated an improvement of thermal stability of nanocomposites.
In order to control the amount of manganese oxide coated onto a graphite surface, immersion durations were varied. A maximum capacitance of 490 mF cm−2 was obtained in 0.5 M NaCl and using an immersion time of 20 min and a current of 1 mA. In addition, for the manganese oxide electrode, the lower the current, the higher the capacitance and the higher the immersion time, the higher the resistance. Furthermore, the chronopotentiometric (CP) charge–discharge curves were symmetrical and featured similar isosceles triangles, which demonstrate high electrochemical reversibility and good stability. Cyclic voltammograms of the manganese oxide electrode demonstrate that its operational stability is high.
The micro-/nanoscale Cu/Li4Ti5O12 composites were prepared by a solvothermal method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images reveal that the addition of Cu has no effect on the crystal structure of spinel Li4Ti5O12 and the Cu nanoparticles dispersed in the matrix of Li4Ti5O12. As an anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the Cu/Li4Ti5O12 composite with Cu content of 15wt.% exhibited the better rate and cyclic performance than those samples of Cu/Li4Ti5O12 with Cu content of 0wt.%, 3.75wt.%, 7.5wt.%, 22.5wt.%. The initial discharge capacity of Cu/Li4Ti5O12 composites with Cu content of 15wt. % at 20C rate is 122.9 mAh/g and remains as high as 107 mAh/g after 1000 cycles (87% retention). Meanwhile, we did some comparable experiments, the results show that the Cu/Li4Ti5O12 (15wt.%) composite also exhibits a good electrochemical performance even without the acetylene black. The enhanced performance for the composites (Cu 15wt. %) is ascribed to the improved electronic conduction and the reduced polarization resulting from the appropriate Cu modification together with micro- and nanosized structure when used as an anode electrode material.
The development of air-breathing cathodes, which utilise atmospheric oxygen, enables the construction of lightweight, high energy density metal-air batteries and fuel cells. Air electrodes can be very lightweight and thin because the active material, oxygen, does not need to be stored inside the cell. However, air electrodes are restricted by poor reaction kinetics and low activity of many catalysts towards the oxygen evolution and reduction reactions. In addition, it is a challenge to maintain chemical and mechanical stability of the catalyst and supporting materials at oxidising currents under the strong alkaline conditions commonly used, and under gas evolution. This paper reports a novel bifunctional oxygen electrode with remarkable stability, able to perform at current densities up to 1,000mAcm−2 and withstand 3,000 cycles continuously. The electrode is catalysed by a mixture of Pd/C and mixed nickel-iron hexocyanoferrate, which have high activities towards the ORR and OER reactions, respectively.
Background Athletes tend to have better visuomotor performance than do sedentary individuals. However, several basic visual-function and perceptual parameters remain unexplored to date. In this study, we investigate whether differences exist in visual function, performance, and processing between basketball players and individuals without a sport-involvement background. Methods A total of 33 healthy men with no visual impairment or pathology were divided into 2 groups based on their involvement in sport (semi-professional basketball players and sedentary individuals). We tested their baseline heart rate variability (HRV) in the resting position apart from subjective questionnaires to determine their physical fitness level, and checked their visual function, performance, and processing through an extended battery of optometric tests. Results The 2 groups differed in resting HRV parameters (p < 0.001), which confirms their dissimilarities in regular time practicing sports per week. The basketball players showed a closer breakpoint and recovery near point of convergence, higher fusional-vergence rate, better discriminability halos, and eye-hand coordination (all p < 0.05). Conclusion These results evidence that athletes, basketball players in this case, exhibit better performance in several visual abilities in comparison with a group of individuals without sporting backgrounds, which suggests an improvement due to the systematic involvement of those skills during basketball practice.