Engineering Strategies for Suppressing the Shuttle Effect in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur(Li–S)batteries are supposed to be one of the most potential next-generation batteries owing to their high theoretical capacity and low cost.Nevertheless,the shuttle effect of firm multi-step two-electron reaction between sulfur and lithium in liquid electrolyte makes the capacity much smaller than the theoretical value.Many methods were proposed for inhibiting the shuttle effect of polysulfide,improving corresponding redox kinetics and enhancing the integral performance of Li–S batteries.Here,we will comprehensively and systematically summarize the strategies for inhibiting the shuttle effect from all components of Li–S batteries.First,the electrochemical principles/mechanism and origin of the shuttle effect are described in detail.Moreover,the efficient strategies,including boosting the sulfur conversion rate of sulfur,confining sulfur or lithium polysulfides(LPS)within cathode host,confining LPS in the shield layer,and preventing LPS from contacting the anode,will be discussed to suppress the shuttle effect.Then,recent advances in inhibition of shuttle effect in cathode,electrolyte,separator,and anode with the aforementioned strategies have been summarized to direct the further design of efficient materials for Li–S batteries.Finally,we present prospects for inhibition of the LPS shuttle and potential development directions in Li–S batteries.

Apically guiding electron/mass transfer reaction induced by Ag/FeN_(x)Mott-Schottky effect within a hollow star reactor toward high performance zinc-air batteries

The disparity in the transfer of carriers(electrons/mass)during the reaction in zinc-air batteries(ZABs)results in sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER),along with elevated overpotentials,thereby imposing additional constraints on its utilization.Therefore,the pre-design and target-development of inexpensive,high-performance,and long-term stable bifunctional catalysts are urgently needed.In this work,an apically guiding dual-functional electrocatalyst(Ag-FeN_(x)-N-C)was prepared,in which a hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped carbon with three-dimensional(3D)hollow star-shaped structure is used as a substrate and high-conductivity Ag nanoparticles are coupled with iron nitride(FeN_(x))nanoparticles.Theoretical calculations indicate that the Mott-Schottky heterojunction as an inherent electric field comes from the two-phase bound of Ag and FeN_(x),of which electron accumulation in the FeN_(x)phase region and electron depletion in the Ag phase region promote orientated-guiding charge migration.The effective modulation of local electronic structures felicitously reforms the d-band electron-group distribution,and intellectually tunes the masstransfer reaction energy barriers for both ORR/OER.Additionally,the hollow star-s haped hierarchical porous structure provides an apical region for fast mass transfer.Experimental results show that the halfwave potential for ORR is 0.914 V,and the overpotential for OER is only 327 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2).A rechargeable ZAB with Ag-FeN_(x)-N-C as the air cathode demonstrates long-term cycling performance exceeding 1500 cycles(500 h),with a power density of 180 mW cm^(-2).Moreover,when employing AgFeN_(x)-N-C as the air cathode,flexible ZABs demonstrate a notable open-circuit voltage of 1.42 V and achieve a maximum power density of 65.6 mW cm^(-2).Ag-FeN_(x)-N-C shows guiding electron/mass transfer route and apical reaction microenvironment for the electrocatalyst architecture in the exploration prospects of ZABs.

Does the Hartman effect exist in triangular barriers

We study the phase,Larmor and dwell times of a particle scattered off triangular barriers(TBs).It is interesting that the dependences of dwell,reflective phase and Larmor times on the wave number,barrier width and height for a pair of mirror-symmetric(MS)exact triangular barriers(ETBs)are quite different,as the two ETBs have quite distinct scattering surfaces.In comparison,the dependence of the transmitted phase or Larmor times is exactly the same,since the transmitted amplitudes are the same for a pair of MS TBs.We further study the Hartman effect by defining the phase and Larmor velocities associated with the phase and Larmor times.We find no barrier width saturation effect for the transmitted and reflected times.This is indicated by the fact that all the velocities approach finite constants that are much smaller than the speed of light in vacuum for TBs with positive-slope impact faces.As for ETBs with vertical left edges,the naive velocities seem to also indicate the absence of the Hartman effect.These are quite distinct from rectangular barriers and may shed new light on the clarification of the tunneling time issues.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of preventive nursing measures for pressure injuries in patients in the neurology intensive care unit

BACKGROUND Patients in neurology intensive care units(ICU)are prone to pressure injuries(PU)due to factors such as severe illness,long-term bed rest,and physiological dysfunction.PU not only causes pain and complications to patients,but also increases medical burden,prolongs hospitalization time,and affects the recovery process.AIM To evaluate and optimize the effectiveness of pressure injury prevention nursing measures in neurology ICU patients.METHODS A retrospective study was conducted,and 60 patients who were admitted to the ICU of the Department of Neurology were selected and divided into an observation group and a control group according to the order of admission,with 30 people in each group.The observation group implemented pressure injury prevention and nursing measures,while the control group adopted routine care.RESULTS Comparison between observation and control groups following pressure injury prevention nursing intervention revealed significantly lower incidence rates in the observation group compared to the control group at 48 h(8.3%vs 26.7%),7 d(16.7%vs 43.3%),and 14 d(20.0%vs 50.0%).This suggests a substantial reduction in pressure injury incidence in the observation group,with the gap widening over time.Additionally,patients in the observation group exhibited quicker recovery,with a shorter average time to get out of bed(48 h vs 72 h)and a shorter average length of stay(12 d vs 15 d)compared to the control group.Furthermore,post-intervention,patients in the observation group reported significantly improved quality of life scores,including higher scores in body satisfaction,feeling and function,and comfort(both psychological and physiological),indicating enhanced overall well-being and comfort following the implementation of pressure injury prevention nursing measures.CONCLUSION Implementing pressure injury preventive care measures for neurology ICU patients will have better results.

Poverty Reduction in China: Experiences and Measurement of Effects

This study employs the generalized method of moments(GMM)and panel vector autoregression(PVAR)models for a multi-factor quantitative dissection of China’s poverty reduction process across multiple stages,using provincial panel data from 2000 to 2019.According to our research,economic growth and social development are the key drivers of poverty reduction in China,but the trickle-down effect of economic growth is diminishing and marketization is having a lesser pro-poor effect.Public expenditure has failed to provide social protection and income redistribution benefits due to issues such as targeting error and elite capture.Increasing the efficiency of the poverty reduction system calls for adaptive adjustments.Finally,this study highlights China’s poverty reduction experiences and analyzes current challenges,which serve as inspiration for consolidating poverty-reduction achievements,combating relative poverty,and attaining countryside vitalization.

Catalytic effect in lithium metal batteries: From heterogeneous catalyst to homogenous catalyst

Lithium metal batteries are regarded as prominent contenders to address the pressing needs owing to the high theoretical capacity.Toward the broader implementation,the primary obstacle lies in the intricate multi-electron,multi-step redox reaction associated with sluggish conversion kinetics,subsequently giving rise to a cascade of parasitic issues.In order to smooth reaction kinetics,catalysts are widely introduced to accelerate reaction rate via modulating the energy barrier.Over past decades,a large amount of research has been devoted to the catalyst design and catalytic mechanism exploration,and thus the great progress in electrochemical performance has been realized.Therefore,it is necessary to make a comprehensive review toward key progress in catalyst design and future development pathway.In this review,the basic mechanism of lithium metal batteries is provided along with corresponding advantages and existing challenges detailly described.The main catalysts employed to accelerate cathode reaction with emphasis on their catalytic mechanism are summarized as well.Finally,the rational design and innovative direction toward efficient catalysts are suggested for future application in metal-sulfur/gas battery and beyond.This review is expected to drive and benefit future research on rational catalyst design with multi-parameter synergistic impacts on the activity and stability of next-generation metal battery,thus opening new avenue for sustainable solution to climate change,energy and environmental issues,and the potential industrial economy.

Competitive effect, but not competitive response, varies along a climatic gradient depending on tree species identity

Background: Understanding the role of species identity in interactions among individuals is crucial for assessing the productivity and stability of mixed forests over time. However, there is limited knowledge concerning the variation in competitive effect and response of different species along climatic gradients. In this study, we investigated the importance of climate, tree size, and competition on the growth of three tree species: spruce(Picea abies), fir(Abies alba), and beech(Fagus sylvatica), and examined their competitive response and effect along a climatic gradient.Methods: We selected 39 plots distributed across the European mountains with records of the position and growth of 5,759 individuals. For each target species, models relating tree growth to tree size, climate and competition were proposed. Competition was modelled using a neighbourhood competition index that considered the effects of inter-and intraspecific competition on target trees. Competitive responses and effects were related to climate.Likelihood methods and information theory were used to select the best model.Results: Our findings revealed that competition had a greater impact on target species growth than tree size or climate. Climate did influence the competitive effects of neighbouring species, but it did not affect the target species? response to competition. The strength of competitive effects varied along the gradient, contingent on the identity of the interacting species. When the target species exhibited an intermediate competitive effect relative to neighbouring species, both higher inter-than intraspecific competitive effects and competition reduction occurred along the gradient. Notably, species competitive effects were most pronounced when the target species' growth was at its peak and weakest when growing conditions were far from their maximum.Conclusions: Climate modulates the effects of competition from neighbouring trees on the target tree and not the susceptibility of the target tree to competition. The modelling approach should be useful in future research to expand our knowledge of how competition modulates forest communities across environmental gradients.

Analysis of the Effectiveness of Modified Non- Traumatic Filling Technology in the Treatment of Pediatric Dental Caries

Objective:To analyze the effectiveness of modified non-traumatic filling technology in the treatment of pediatric dental caries.Methods:Ninety-seven children with dental caries who were treated in our hospital(Panyu Maternal and Child Care Service Center of Guangzhou)from January 2022 to December 2023 were selected and randomly divided into two groups,with 48 cases in the experimental group and 49 in the control group.The experimental group was treated with modified non-traumatic filling techniques,while the control group was treated with conventional filling techniques.Observation indicators such as the total effectiveness of the treatment,incidence of adverse events,treatment compliance,and pain scores were analyzed after the intervention.Result:After intervention,the total effectiveness of the treatment in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).The incidence of adverse events in the experimental group was lower than that of the control group(P<0.05).The treatment compliance of patients in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).The pain score of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:The application of modified non-traumatic filling technology in the treatment of pediatric dental caries showed good therapeutic outcomes.After the intervention,the child’s symptoms were significantly alleviated,the incidence of adverse events such as filling material falling off was reduced,their compliance was improved,and the pain was relieved.This procedure is worth to be promoted for clinical application.

Research on the Impact of China’s Foreign Trade Technology Spillover on Green Total Factor Productivity of Countries Along the“Belt and Road”:Based on the Institutional Quality Threshold Effect

China’s growing trade with countries along the“Belt and Road”Initiative is accompanied by a focus on green development.Based on the panel data from 2007 to 2018,this paper establishes a threshold regression model to empirically analyze the institutional quality threshold effect of China’s foreign trade technology spillover on the GTFP of countries along the“Belt and Road.”The results show that China’s foreign trade technology spillover has a significant institutional quality double threshold effect on the green total factor productivity of the countries along the“Belt and Road.”As the institutional quality of the countries along the“Belt and Road”crosses a specific threshold value,the impact of China’s foreign trade technology spillover on the green total factor productivity of the countries along the“Belt and Road”has a significant positive promoting effect,and corresponding suggestions are put forward.

Effects of Catalysis and Separator Functionalization on High-Energy Lithium–Sulfur Batteries:A Complete Review

Lithium–sulfur(Li-S)batteries have the advantages of high theoretical specific capacity(1675 mAh g^(−1)),rich sulfur resources,low production cost,and friendly environment,which makes it one of the most promising next-generation rechargeable energy storage devices.However,the“shuttle effect”of polysulfide results in the passivation of metal lithium anode,the decrease of battery capacity and coulombic efficiency,and the deterioration of cycle stability.To realize the commercialization of Li-S batteries,its serious“shuttle effect”needs to be suppress.The commercial separators are ineffective to suppress this effect because of its large pore size.Therefore,it is an effective strategy to modify the separator surface and introduce functional modified layer.In addition to the blocking strategy,the catalysis of polysulfide conversion reaction is also an important factor hindering the migration of polysulfides.In this review,the principles of separator modification,functionalization,and catalysis in Li-S batteries are reviewed.Furthermore,the research trend of separator functionalization and polysulfide catalysis in the future is prospected.

Sampled-data control through model-free reinforcement learning with effective experience replay

Reinforcement Learning(RL)based control algorithms can learn the control strategies for nonlinear and uncertain environment during interacting with it.Guided by the rewards generated by environment,a RL agent can learn the control strategy directly in a model-free way instead of investigating the dynamic model of the environment.In the paper,we propose the sampled-data RL control strategy to reduce the computational demand.In the sampled-data control strategy,the whole control system is of a hybrid structure,in which the plant is of continuous structure while the controller(RL agent)adopts a discrete structure.Given that the continuous states of the plant will be the input of the agent,the state–action value function is approximated by the fully connected feed-forward neural networks(FCFFNN).Instead of learning the controller at every step during the interaction with the environment,the learning and acting stages are decoupled to learn the control strategy more effectively through experience replay.In the acting stage,the most effective experience obtained during the interaction with the environment will be stored and during the learning stage,the stored experience will be replayed to customized times,which helps enhance the experience replay process.The effectiveness of proposed approach will be verified by simulation examples.

240 nm AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet micro-LEDs:size effect versus edge effect

240 nm AlGaN-based micro-LEDs with different sizes are designed and fabricated.Then,the external quantum efficiency(EQE)and light extraction efficiency(LEE)are systematically investigated by comparing size and edge effects.Here,it is revealed that the peak optical output power increases by 81.83%with the size shrinking from 50.0 to 25.0μm.Thereinto,the LEE increases by 26.21%and the LEE enhancement mainly comes from the sidewall light extraction.Most notably,transversemagnetic(TM)mode light intensifies faster as the size shrinks due to the tilted mesa side-wall and Al reflector design.However,when it turns to 12.5μm sized micro-LEDs,the output power is lower than 25.0μm sized ones.The underlying mechanism is that even though protected by SiO2 passivation,the edge effect which leads to current leakage and Shockley-Read-Hall(SRH)recombination deteriorates rapidly with the size further shrinking.Moreover,the ratio of the p-contact area to mesa area is much lower,which deteriorates the p-type current spreading at the mesa edge.These findings show a role of thumb for the design of high efficiency micro-LEDs with wavelength below 250 nm,which will pave the way for wide applications of deep ultraviolet(DUV)micro-LEDs.

Optimally arranged TiO_(2)@MoS_(2) heterostructures with effectively induced built-in electric field for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

To overcome the serious technological issues affecting lithium-sulfur(Li-S) batteries,such as sluggish sulfur redox kinetics and the detrimental shuttle effect,heterostructure engineering has been investigated as a strategy to effectively capture soluble lithium polysulfide intermediates and promote their conversion reaction by integrating highly polar metal oxides with catalytically active metals sulfides.However,to fully exploit the outstanding properties of heterostructure-based composites,their detailed structure and interfacial contacts should be designed rationally.Herein,optimally arranged TiO_(2)and MoS_(2)-based heterostructures(TiO_(2)@MoS_(2)) are fabricated on carbon cloth as a multifunctional interlayer to efficiently trap polysulfide intermediates and accelerate their redox kinetics.Owing to the synergistic effects between TiO_(2)and MoS_(2)and the uniform heterointerface distribution that induces the ideally oriented built-in electric field,Li-S batteries with TiO_(2)@MoS_(2)interlayers exhibit high rate capability(601 mA h g^(-1)at 5 C),good cycling stability(capacity-fade rate of 0.067% per cycle over 500 cycles at2 C),and satisfactory areal capacity(5.2 mA h cm^(-2)) under an increased sulfur loading of 5.2 mg cm^(-2).Moreover,by comparing with a MoS_(2)@TiO_(2)interlayer composed of reversely arranged heterostructures,the effect of the built-in electric field’s direction on the electrocatalytic reactions of polysulfide intermediates is thoroughly investigated for the first time.The superior electrocatalytic activities of the rationally arranged TiO_(2)@MoS_(2)interlayer demonstrate the importance of optimizing the built-in electric field of heterostructures for producing high-performance Li-S batteries.

Experimental study on the effect of water absorption level on rockburst occurrence of sandstone

To investigate the mechanism of rockburst prevention by spraying water onto the surrounding rocks,15 experiments are performed considering different water absorption levels on a single face.High-speed photography and acoustic emission(AE)system are used to monitor the rockburst process.The effect of water on sandstone rockburst and the prevention mechanism of water on sandstone rockburst are analyzed from the perspective of energy and failure mode.The results show that the higher the ab-sorption degree,the lower the intensity of the rockburst after absorbing water on single side of sand-stone.This is reflected in the fact that with the increase in the water absorption level,the ejection velocity of rockburst fragments is smaller,the depth of the rockburst pit is shallower,and the AE energy is smaller.Under the water absorption level of 100%,the magnitude of rockburst intensity changes from medium to slight.The prevention mechanism of water on sandstone rockburst is that water reduces the capacity of sandstone to store strain energy and accelerates the expansion of shear cracks,which is not conducive to the occurrence of plate cracking before rockburst,and destroys the conditions for rockburst incubation.

Evaluation of the intracellular lipid-lowering effect of polyphenols extract from highland barley in HepG2 cells

Active ingredients from highland barley have received considerable attention as natural products for developing treatments and dietary supplements against obesity.In practical application,the research of food combinations is more significant than a specific food component.This study investigated the lipid-lowering effect of highland barley polyphenols via lipase assay in vitro and HepG2 cells induced by oleic acid(OA).Five indexes,triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(T-CHO),low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),and alanine aminotransferase(ALT),were used to evaluate the lipidlowering effect of highland barley extract.We also preliminary studied the lipid-lowering mechanism by Realtime fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR).The results indicated that highland barley extract contains many components with lipid-lowering effects,such as hyperoside and scoparone.In vitro,the lipase assay showed an 18.4%lipase inhibition rate when the additive contents of highland barley extract were 100μg/m L.The intracellular lipid-lowering effect of highland barley extract was examined using 0.25 mmol/L OA-induced HepG2 cells.The results showed that intracellular TG,LDL-C,and T-CHO content decreased by 34.4%,51.2%,and 18.4%,respectively.ALT and AST decreased by 51.6%and 20.7%compared with the untreated hyperlipidemic HepG2 cells.q PCR results showed that highland barley polyphenols could up-regulation the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes such as PPARγand Fabp4.

High responsivity photodetectors based on graphene/WSe_(2) heterostructure by photogating effect

Graphene, with its zero-bandgap electronic structure, is a highly promising ultra-broadband light absorbing material.However, the performance of graphene-based photodetectors is limited by weak absorption efficiency and rapid recombination of photoexcited carriers, leading to poor photodetection performance. Here, inspired by the photogating effect, we demonstrated a highly sensitive photodetector based on graphene/WSe_(2) vertical heterostructure where the WSe_(2) layer acts as both the light absorption layer and the localized grating layer. The graphene conductive channel is induced to produce more carriers by capacitive coupling. Due to the strong light absorption and high external quantum efficiency of multilayer WSe_(2), as well as the high carrier mobility of graphene, a high photocurrent is generated in the vertical heterostructure. As a result, the photodetector exhibits ultra-high responsivity of 3.85×10~4A/W and external quantum efficiency of 1.3 × 10~7%.This finding demonstrates that photogating structures can effectively enhance the sensitivity of graphene-based photodetectors and may have great potential applications in future optoelectronic devices.

Effectiveness of Disinfection in Bacteriology Laboratories in Togo, 2021

Background: Laboratory personnel is at risk of biological contamination leading to laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs). The use of disinfection products is essential in the prevention of these infections. This work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents used in disinfection in bacteriology laboratories in Togo. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from June to December 2021 in all bacteriology laboratories in Togo. Swabs taken before and after disinfection of surfaces and staff hands were immediately plated on agar media. Counting and identification of isolated colonies were done after 24 hours of incubation. The ANOVA test was used to compare calculated means, prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to compare bacterial frequencies. Results: A total of 393 samples were taken, of which 41.2% were from hands. Before disinfection, surfaces were more contaminated than hands with respectively 40.4% and 29.6% (PR = 1.3;CI 95% = [0.9 - 1.9]). After surface disinfection with 0.5% of chlorine solution, bacterial elimination was total, but partial on hands washed with soap, with residual contamination of 3.7%. A total of 108 strains were isolated before disinfection of which Klebsiella spp. 38.9% and Staphylococcus spp. 25.0%;after disinfection 4 strains were isolated of which: Staphylococcus spp. 75.0% and Klebsiella spp. 25.0%. Conclusion: Surface disinfection was more effective than hand washing with soap and water. We recommend proper hand washing.

Dissecting the effect of soil on plant phenology and berry transcriptional plasticity in two Italian grapevine varieties (Vitis vinifera L.).

Grapevine embodies a fascinating species as regards phenotypic plasticity and genotype-per-environment interactions.The terroir,namely the set of agri-environmental factors to which a variety is subjected,can influence the phenotype at the physiological,molecular,and biochemical level,representing an important phenomenon connected to the typicality of productions.We investigated the determinants of plasticity by conducting a field-experiment where all terroir variables,except soil,were kept as constant as possible.We isolated the effect of soils collected from different areas,on phenology,physiology,and transcriptional responses of skin and flesh of a red and a white variety of great economic value:Corvina and Glera.Molecular results,together with physio-phenological parameters,suggest a specific effect of soil on grapevine plastic response,highlighting a higher transcriptional plasticity of Glera in respect to Corvina and a marked response of skin compared to flesh.Using a novel statistical approach,we identified clusters of plastic genes subjected to the specific influence of soil.These findings could represent an issue of applicative value,posing the basis for targeted agricultural practices to enhance the desired characteristics for any soil/cultivar combination,to improve vineyards management for a better resource usage and to valorize vineyards uniqueness maximizing the terroir-effect.

Carbon Emission Effects Driven by Evolution of Chinese Dietary Structure from 1987 to 2020

Exploring carbon emission effects based on the evolution of residents’ dietary structure to achieve the carbon neutrality goal and mitigate climate change is an important task.This study took China as the research object(data excluding Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan) and used the carbon emission coefficient method to quantitatively measure the food carbon emissions from 1987–2020,then analyzed the carbon emission effects under the evolution of dietary structure.The results showed that during the study period,the Chinese dietary structure gradually changed to a high-carbon consumption pattern.The dietary structure of urban residents developed to a balanced one,while that of rural residents developed to a high-quality one.During the study period,the per capita food carbon emissions and total food consumption of Chinese showed an increasing trend.The per capita food carbon emissions of residents in urban and rural showed an overall upward trend.The total food carbon emissions in urban increased significantly,while that in rural increased first and then decreased.The influence of beef and mutton on carbon emissions is the highest in dietary structure.Compared with the balanced dietary pattern,the food carbon emissions of Chinese residents had not yet reached the peak,but were evolving to a high-carbon consumption pattern.

“Buckets effect”in the kinetics of electrocatalytic reactions

In this study,we systematically investigated the effect of proton concentration on the kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)on Pt(111)in acidic solutions.Experimental results demonstrate a rectangular hyperbolic relationship,i.e.,the ORR current excluding the effect of other variables increases with proton concentration and then tends to a constant value.We consider that this is caused by the limitation of ORR kinetics by the trace oxygen concentration in the solution,which determines the upper limit of ORR kinetics.A model of effective concentration is further proposed for rectangular hyperbolic relationships:when the reactant concentration is high enough to reach a critical saturation concentration,the effective reactant concentration will become a constant value.This could be due to the limited concentration of a certain reactant for reactions involving more than one reactant or the limited number of active sites available on the catalyst.Our study provides new insights into the kinetics of electrocatalytic reactions,and it is important for the proper evaluation of catalyst activity and the study of structureperformance relationships.