Assembly and electrochemical testing of renewable carbon-based anodes in SIBs:A practical guide

Sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)are considered as a promising candidate to replace lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)in large-scale energy storage applications.Abundant sodium resources and similar working principles make this technology attractive to be implemented in the near future.However,the development of high-performance carbon anodes is a focal point to the upcoming success of SIBs in terms of power density,cycling stability,and lifespan.Fundamental knowledge in electrochemical and physicochemical techniques is required to properly evaluate the anode performance and move it in the right direction.This review aims at providing a comprehensive guideline to help researchers from different backgrounds(e.g.,nanomaterials and thermochemistry)to delve into this topic.The main components,lab configurations,procedures,and working principles of SIBs are summarized.Moreover,a detailed description of the most used electrochemical and physicochemical techniques to characterize electrochemically active materials is provided.

Microphysiological systems for solid tumor immunotherapy:opportunities and challenges

Immunotherapy remains more effective for hematologic tumors than for solid tumors.One of the main challenges to immunotherapy of solid tumors is the immunosuppressive microenvironment these tumors generate,which limits the cytotoxic capabilities of immune effector cells(e.g.,cytotoxic T and natural killer cells).This microenvironment is characterized by hypoxia,nutrient starvation,accumulated waste products,and acidic pH.Tumor-hijacked cells,such as fibroblasts,macrophages,and T regulatory cells,also contribute to this inhospitable microenvironment for immune cells by secreting immunosuppressive cytokines that suppress the antitumor immune response and lead to immune evasion.Thus,there is a strong interest in developing new drugs and cell formulations that modulate the tumor microenvironment and reduce tumor cell immune evasion.Microphysiological systems(MPSs)are versatile tools that may accelerate the development and evaluation of these therapies,although specific examples showcasing the potential of MPSs remain rare.Advances in microtechnologies have led to the development of sophisticated microfluidic devices used to recapitulate tumor complexity.The resulting models,also known as microphysiological systems(MPSs),are versatile tools with which to decipher the molecular mechanisms driving immune cell antitumor cytotoxicity,immune cell exhaustion,and immune cell exclusion and to evaluate new targeted immunotherapies.Here,we review existing microphysiological platforms to study immuno-oncological applications and discuss challenges and opportunities in the field.

The digital‘connected’earth:open technology for providing location-based services on degraded communication environments

n the current world,it is easy to listen that everybody and everything is connected.Over this connected world,the concept of location-based services has grown in order to provide digital services in everyplace and at every time.Nevertheless,this is not 100%true because the connection is not guaranteed for many people and in many places.These are the Degraded Communications Environments(DCE),environments where the availability of high-speed communications is not guaranteed in at least the 75%of the time.This paper works over the experience of a previous work in developing light protocols that do not need broadband for communication.This work provides an extension of these protocols for the inclusion of mobile devices as elements of the communication process and a set of libraries to allow the development of applications in DCE.The work done has involved the development of two frameworks:an Android framework that makes the incorporation of Android devices easier and a server-based framework that provides the server side for the development of the referred applications.A use case that uses these two frameworks has been developed.Finally,all technology developed is available throw a public Git repository.