Fast Cycle Research Articles

Using a cyclocarbon additive as a cyclone separator to achieve fast lithiation and delithiation without dendrite growth in lithium-ion batteries.

Carbon materials are widely used for reversible lithium uptake in the anode of lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, the challenge of uncontrollable dendrite deposition during fast charge-discharge cycles remains a grand hurdle. Various strategies have been explored to prevent detrimental heterogeneous dendrite metal deposits, such as interface engineering and electrolyte modification, but they often compromise the reverse diffusion freedom of Li+ ions during discharging and are incompatible with the most mainstream use of graphite as an anode material. Here, we propose the incorporation of a novel carbon allotrope of cyclocarbon as a potential additive in the anode. In contrast to conventional carbon materials, density functional theory calculations reveal that cyclocarbon has a much higher affinity for Li atoms than Li+ ions, even surpassing the inherent cohesion of Li atoms, due to the charge transfer from the 2s orbital of Li atoms to the unique in-plane π orbital of cyclocarbon. Furthermore, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations show that Li+ ions can shuttle freely back and forth across cyclocarbon, whereas the lithiation process for Li atoms occurs rapidly within picoseconds. The delithiation of Li atoms within cyclocarbon follows a voltage-gated mechanism that is effectively controlled by an external electric field of 3 V nm-1. Remarkably, cyclocarbon exhibits potential compatibility with commercialized graphite electrodes via the π-π interaction and also can be extended to sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries. These distinct compatibility, scalability and electrochemical properties of cyclocarbon provide a new avenue to realize both safety and ultrafast rechargeable performance of ion batteries.

Risk Analysis and Supply Chain Management for Companies Short-Life-Cycle Products

When the supply chain operates in an uncertain environment, especially for fashion products with fast changing trends and short life cycles, matching supply and demand is the main task. This requires enterprises to have the ability to analyze risks and manage the supply chain. This paper is mainly about a case analysis of Sport Obermeyer who is confronting two core issues, Greater products variety and more intense competition have made accurate predictions increasingly difficult and How to allocate production between two suppliers. The key tool to solve these two problems is the Newsvendor Model. Following the principles of the model, the article first calculates the expected quantity and profits of each product. Afterwards, based on the comparison of the mismatch cost of each product, the article provides a preliminary decision. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the suppliers, the article obtains the final result. This process demonstrates some ways on risk analysis and supply chain management and provides some new perspectives for the development of the enterprise and related research in the future.

Li-Rich Mn-Based Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries: Progress and Perspective

The development of cathode materials with high specific capacity is the key to obtaining high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which are crucial for the efficient utilization of clean energy and the realization of carbon neutralization goals. Li-rich Mn-based cathode materials (LRM) exhibit high specific capacity because of both cationic and anionic redox activity and are expected to be developed and applied as cathode materials for a new generation of high-energy density lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, the difficulty of regulating anionic redox reactions poses significant challenges to LRM, such as low initial Coulombic efficiency, poor rate capability, and fast cycling capacity and voltage decay. To address the existing challenges of LRM, this review introduces their basic physicochemical characteristics in detail, analyzes the original causes of these challenges, focuses on the recent progress of the modification strategies, and then especially discusses the development prospects of LRM from different aspects.

Engineered Conductive Proteins for Supercapacitors

Proteins can be used as building blocks of functional materials for electrochemical applications due to their structural properties and the possibility to tailor their ionic and electronic conductive properties.[1] One of the most attractive applications is in the bioelectronics field, for example as energy storage devices such as Electrical Double Layer Capacitors (EDLCs), due to the nontoxicity and biocompatibility of the materials.[2] EDLCs are primarily used for applications where high power is required during a short period of time. They present several advantages, such as fast charge-discharge cycling, high power density, and outstanding long-term stability.[3]Traditionally, the incorporation of biomaterials in EDCLs is limited because they can be denaturalized in contact with organic solvents or salts. In addition, they easily interact with other cell components resulting in parasitic reactions and their complex purification processes hinder their commercialization.[4] These drawbacks can be overcome by introducing engineered proteins, since their amino acid sequences can be tuned resulting in 3D structures with varying degrees of complexity. Based on this approach, engineered proteins with improved conductivity will be introduced as interlayers with good stability and wettability, to ensure that the ions can shuttle freely between the two electrodes.In our case, consensus tetratricopeptide repeat (CTPR) proteins have been chosen [5] and engineered with the aim of increasing the ionic conductivity of the resulting variants. CTPR variants have been mixed with 5% PEG solutions and drop cast to obtain self-standing films. After being cross-linked, the films have been sandwiched in a two electrodes Swagelok-cell configuration between two electrodes made of activated carbon. KCl (3M) aqueous solution has been used as electrolyte for evaluating the electrochemical performance of the devices.The electrochemical characterization of the EDLC devices has been carried out using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic cycling (GC) to study the effect of the of the engineering strategy of the CTPR proteins on the EDLC performances. The CV curves of the devices using thin films of proteins with distinct mutations show quadratic capacitive responses for all the assembled EDLCs, demonstrating both its ability to isolate the two electrodes and to allow the diffusion of ions. The EDLCs capacitances were calculated and analyzed from the GC characteristics at different charge-discharge currents and compared with commercial glass fiber separators confirming their feasibility as safe and environmentally friendly separators. The ionic diffusive behavior of the devices has been also studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Finally, the effect of the thickness, porosity, polarity, wettability, and ionic conductivity of the different protein separators has been addressed to explore the role of the engineered proteins in EDLC devices. Acknowledgements This abstract is part of R&D&I project TED2021-131641B-C44, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 FET Open under the grant agreement No: 964593

Isotopic Labeling of Carbonate Solvents to Understand Gas Generation in Li-Ion Batteries and Gas Reduction by Fluorinated Organosilanes

Battery aging processes from cycling or storage at high temperatures, high voltages, and long times lead to significant degradation of the lithium-ion electrolyte, including decomposition to gaseous species. Gassing in battery pouch cells causes swelling, negatively impacting cell safety and performance. Development of electrolyte formulations that increase stability and reduce gassing is critical for next-generation battery applications and requires a greater understanding of the mechanisms of gas generation and reduction.Fluorinated organosilicon (OS) materials have been developed by Silatronix® to improve high temperature performance with significantly reduced gassing in high Ni battery systems.1 Utilization of a calibrated GC-TCD system allows the specific gas species to be identified and quantified but did not provide information on the mechanisms responsible for producing each species. To provide that information, studies using isotopically labeled carbonate solvents were conducted to identify the source for each gas species using a calibrated GC-MS system.2,3 Beyond identifying the gas species that evolve from particular carbonate solvents, these studies showed that the fluorinated organosilicon (OS) compounds reduce gassing (50-80% reduction depending on the specific OS formulation) by addressing all observed sources of gas during high temperature storage.2,3 The use of isotopically labeled carbonate solvents is extended within this study to provide insight into the origin of gas products and the nature of gas reduction by various OS materials under diverse aging conditions, including high temperature and fast charge cycling, as well as high temperature storage. This investigation includes multiple 13C-labeled electrolyte components including diethyl carbonate (DEC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) in addition to ethylene carbonate (EC). Carbonate-only electrolytes are compared to electrolytes containing OS compounds to gain insight into gas reduction mechanisms. Where possible, comparisons are made between different OS structures and popular commercial additives.Overall, this study builds on previous work to detail the origins of gassing from three common commercial carbonate solvents when combined in a complex electrolyte formulation under multiple test conditions and demonstrates that OS materials are highly effective gas-reducing components.

Improving Extreme Temperature and Charge Rate Performance in Li-Ion Batteries through Addition of Fluorinated Electrolyte Additives

Despite advances in Li-ion battery electrolytes, commercial electrolytes continue to include organic solvents that are unable to withstand many of the arduous conditions demanded by the industry today, such as extreme temperatures and charge rates. The stability limits of these solvents damper the advancement of Li-ion batteries needed to sustain automotive electrification and other industrial applications. Further efforts are needed to enable electrolyte formulations to withstand the operational demands of Li-ion batteries in the market today.Koura has developed a series of fluorinated materials for use in lithium-ion electrolytes that demonstrate improved stability and safety over conventional commercial electrolytes. In a recently completed study, the impact of Koura’s fluorinated solvents on performance in 4.3V Gr/NMC811 was examined, with a particular focus on benefits seen on extreme temperature and rate performance. Testing included cycling and rate performance across a range of temperatures from -20 °C to 45 °C and cycling conditions from C/2 to 4C. It has been found that these materials exhibit improved performance in low temperature testing, as well as reduced gassing and increased performance in high-temperature and fast charge cycling. To investigate the mechanisms responsible for the observed improvements, comprehensive post-test analysis has been conducted, including gas identification and quantification via gas chromatography, bulk electrolyte composition analysis via NMR spectroscopy, and surface layer characterization via XPS and SEM. Bulk properties of the materials and electrolytes are correlated to performance benefits where appropriate.This presentation will summarize Koura’s efforts to fill a major gap in the demands of the battery industry today through the development of fluorinated electrolyte materials. Specifically, we will present data highlighting the performance of fluorinated compounds on improving battery performance under strenuous conditions with respect to both temperature and cycling rate. Results from post-test analyses will be discussed highlighting the mechanisms underlying the observed performance improvements.

Fast Cycling Speed with Multimillion Cycling Endurance of Ultra‐Low Loss Phase Change Material (Sb2Se3) by Engineered Laser Pulse Irradiation

AbstractProgrammable and reconfigurable photonics is revolutionized the next generation of Si/SiN‐based photonics processors, optical signal processing, and neural and quantum networks. Ultra‐low loss phase‐change technology has the enormous potential to offer energy‐efficient, extra large‐scale integrated (ELSI) nonvolatile programmable photonics that can overcome the limitations of commonly used volatile and energy‐hungry programmable photonic systems. So far, most of the phase change materials (PCM) devices have already shown to be suitable for programmable and reconfigurable photonic circuit applications that do not require extreme endurance or ultra‐fast switching speeds. However, applications with ultra‐fast speed and multi‐million cycling requirements, such as memory cells, quantum computing, optical displays, and optical modulators necessitate enormous improvements in the existing cycling speed and endurance of PCMs, for high‐performance device configuration. Here, optical switching of an ultra‐low loss PCM (Sb2Se3) is demonstrated with an unprecedented combination of rapid cycling speed (0.6 × 105 cycles s−1) and extreme endurance (> 2 × 106 cycles) that pave the way for ultrafast, large‐scale, programmable, and reconfigurable integrated photonic circuits and devices.

Protein O-GlcNAcylation: The sweet hub in liver metabolic flexibility from a (patho)physiological perspective.

O-GlcNAcylation is a dynamic, reversible and atypical O-glycosylation that regulates various cellular physiological processes via conformation, stabilisation, localisation, chaperone interaction or activity of target proteins. The O-GlcNAcylation cycle is precisely controlled by collaboration between O-GlcNAc transferase and O-GlcNAcase. Uridine-diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine, the sole donor of O-GlcNAcylation produced by the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway, is controlled by the input of glucose, glutamine, acetyl coenzyme A and uridine triphosphate, making it a sensor of the fluctuation of molecules, making O-GlcNAcylation a pivotal nutrient sensor for the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids and nucleotides. O-GlcNAcylation, particularly prevalent in liver, is the core hub for controlling systemic glucose homeostasis due to its nutritional sensitivity and precise spatiotemporal regulation of insulin signal transduction. The pathology of various liver diseases has highlighted hepatic metabolic disorder and dysfunction, and abnormal O-GlcNAcylation also plays a specific pathological role in these processes. Therefore, this review describes the unique features of O-GlcNAcylation and its dynamic homeostasis maintenance. Additionally, it explains the underlying nutritional sensitivity of O-GlcNAcylation and discusses its mechanism of spatiotemporal modulation of insulin signal transduction and liver metabolic homeostasis during the fasting and feeding cycle. This review emphasises the pathophysiological implications of O-GlcNAcylation in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatic fibrosis, and focuses on the adverse effects of hyper O-GlcNAcylation on liver cancer progression and metabolic reprogramming.

Fasting mimicking diet cycles versus a Mediterranean diet and cardiometabolic risk in overweight and obese hypertensive subjects: a randomized clinical trial

Abnormalities in the vascular endothelium such as impaired vasodilation can contribute to atherosclerosis and hypertension. Here we have performed a single-center randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of 4 months of a continuous Mediterranean diet (MD) regimen as compared to 4 cycles of fasting mimicking diet (FMD) administered for only 5 days/month on endothelial function, measured as reactive hyperemia index (RHI) and large/small-resistance artery compliance (AC1/AC2), and on other cardiometabolic risk factors, in hypertensive patients with obesity/excess weight [both sexes, body mass index (BMI) ≥ 28, RHI ≤ 2.0, and/or small-resistance artery compliance (AC2) ≤ 5.0]. At the end of the intervention period, FMD but not MD decreased RHI (p = 0.0023) compared to baseline with no increase in the portion of patients with abnormal RHI. Both FMD and MD improved PULS cardiac test score; evaluating the risk of cardiovascular events. FMD and MD did not show any significant change in either AC1 or AC2 compared to baseline. Both FMD and MD led to comparable decreases in weight, waist circumference, BMI, body fat mass and % body fat, total cholesterol, and leptin. FMD decreased HbA1c (p = 0.0059) and IGF-1 (p = 0.0427), while MD decreased glucose (p = 0.0488), HOMA-IR (p = 0.0476), and HDL-C (p = 0.0419). None of the parameters were significantly different between the FMD vs. MD group at the end of the intervention period. During the 3-month follow-up period, the FMD and MD groups continued to display weight and BMI reduction; however, the MD group also lost fat free mass (FMD vs. MD, p = 0.0498). In summary, both MD and FMD reduced a range of cardiometabolic risk factors, but FMD also decreased RHI, a change associated with either impaired functional integrity of vascular endothelial cells but also with vascular rejuvenation, with the latter being more likely considering the improved cardiometabolic profile, reduced PULS cardiac score and calculated heart age, and unaltered arterial compliance in the FMD group. MD but not FMD cycles caused loss of lean body mass.

Comparison of fast daylighting climate-based simulation methods for parametric design: two-phase, three-phase method and path tracing

ABSTRACT Computer modeling and simulation are essential for predicting architectural solutions performance. When integrated into the design process; they are known as performance-based design. During the design process, fast analytical cycles are required. However, daylighting simulations are challenging due to computational processing and time requirements. This paper presents a comparative study of fast daylight simulation methods, two-phase, three-phase and path tracing, in a hypothetical commercial building located in Miami, Florida. Five types of static glass and one electrochromic glass were tested with six parametric models of a translucent horizontal shading device. Daysim was used as reference. The two-phase method produced results similar to the reference results with faster processing times for static facades. For dynamic facades, the path tracing method with the tested interface enabled faster simulations and parametric variations. However, the three-phase method yielded a lower average error.

Faster cycling but lower efficiency: A microbial metabolic perspective on carbon loss after wetland conversion to cropland

Natural wetlands store 20–30% of soil organic carbon (C) in terrestrial ecosystems. Wetlands conversion to croplands has caused a massive loss of soil organic C; however, the microbial contribution to this C loss remains elusive. In this study, we took 24 soil cores from a natural wetland and a 23-year cultivated cropland over four seasons to compare the abundance of functional genes encoding 138 enzymes for ten C-cycling pathways classified as organic C degradation, catabolic and anabolic processes. We found that land use-induced C loss was primarily driven by enhanced organic C degradation (∼24% increase) but suppressed microbial C assimilation efficiency, represented by shifted catabolism and declined anabolism (∼22% decrease). The enhanced organic C degradation was advocated by the enriched genes encoding organic C degradation enzymes; the suppressed microbial C assimilation efficiency was upheld by the shifted catabolic processes and inhibited anabolic processes. Compared with natural wetlands, the croplands showed substantial shifts in catabolic processes - 22% suppression of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway, 27% decline in the Citrate Cycle, 22% increase in Entner-Doudoroff, and 25% stimulation in pentose phosphate pathways. Meanwhile, the anabolic process, especially the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, was significantly suppressed (∼55%) in the cropland. The shifts in organic C degradation, catabolism, and anabolism were stronger in spring and summer than in winter and autumn. At the ecosystem level, microbial metabolic quotient was suppressed by 44%, while microbial biomass carbon was boosted by 5% after wetland conversion to cropland, indicating a faster microbial growth rate but lower C use efficiency. Differentiating microbial metabolic processes explained the C loss after wetland cultivation, indicating an urgency to represent microbial metabolism in soil C models.

Optimisation of a packed particle magnetocaloric refrigerator: A combined experimental and theoretical study

Magnetocaloric refrigeration has strong potential towards achieving high efficiency hydrogen liquefaction. Optimising parameters such as particle size and operating cycles can have a significant impact on liquefaction performance. This work reports on a room temperature magnetocaloric refrigeration prototype designed with helium as the heat transfer fluid and packed particle Gd0.8875Ce0.1025Si0.84Cr0.19 as the refrigerant. The temperature spans and cooling power with three different particle sizes at two different operating cycles were measured. A maximum temperature span of 16.7 K and a maximum cooling power of 8.6 W kg−1 were obtained. Reduction of performance in the faster cycle was observed in larger particles due to insufficient thermal diffusion time and its implications for cryogenic temperatures are discussed. A numerical model was developed based on the experimentally observed variation of the temperature span and cooling power with particle size and cycle duration. This model was then used to study the competing effects of viscous dissipation and thermal diffusion for different particle sizes and cycle durations.

Niobium-Tungsten Bimetallic Oxide Electrodes with High Dual-Band Electrochromic Performance Prepared by Hydrothermal Method

Dual-band electrochromic (EC) smart windows, capable of selectively regulating visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) light, are one of the most attractive candidates for significantly reducing the energy consumption of buildings. Niobium-tungsten bimetallic oxides exhibit a fast ion exchange rate and high cycle stability in the electrochemical field because of various structural chemistry in the pseudobinary system Nb2O5/WO3, showing excellent dual-band EC potential. Herein, we employ a facile hydrothermal technique to synthesize Nb18W16O93 (NWO) films with low temperature and facile procedure. The obtained NWO films exhibit impressive dual-band electrochromic performances, including high optical regulation (radiation blocking rates of 33.1% and 77.5% in the VIS and NIR band) and short coloring/bleaching time (12 s/2.6 s at 633 nm and 6.5 s/6.1 s at 1600 nm). These results demonstrate that NWO is a high-performance dual-band EC material and provide a practical strategy to synthesize the NWO electrodes with nanorod stacking architectures in a facile and low-cost way.

MiRNA-369-5p within Small Extracellular Vesicles Correlates with Acute Chest Syndrome in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction: Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is one of the leading causes of mortality in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Despite this, there are no biomarkers that can distinguish patients who present with a painful vaso-occlusive episode (VOE) and may rapidly develop ACS. Endothelial damage is a critical component of the pathophysiology of SCD. Small extracellular vesicles (EVs) are endocytic-derived vesicles that package protein and nucleic acid cargo for communication between cells. We and others have demonstrated that EVs have unique properties in patients with SCD. We have shown that EVs from SCD patients differentially affect endothelial integrity in vitro. We have previously performed miRNA sequencing and identified 15 miRNA that were differentially expressed based on a history of ACS. In this study we sought to closely assess how three of these miRNA, miR-let7c-5p, miR-122-5p, and miR-369-5p, differ across the timeline of patients with sickle cell, ie. at baseline, during ACS and during VOE. Methods: The SCD biobank at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital and LaRabida Children's Hospital was queried for patients who had multiple blood samples over many years that included at least one each of a baseline (> 4 weeks from an acute event), a hospitalization for ACS and a hospitalization for a VOE. All subjects had been prospectively enrolled, with informed consent provided by parents or patients aged >18 years and assent obtained from subjects aged 9-18 years. Control samples (n=5) were obtained from patients without SCD who received bloodwork for routine check-ups or for follow-up of iron-deficiency anemia. Equal volumes of control samples were pooled for consistency across experiments. EVs were isolated via Total Exosome Isolation Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) per the manufacturer's guidelines. RNA was purified from samples using the miRNeasy Micro Kit (Qiagen). For quantitative PCR, complementary DNA was generated with the TaqMan Advanced miRNA cDNA Synthesis kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Specified miRNAs (hsa-miR-122-5p, hsa-miR-99a-5p, hsa-miR-369-5p, hsa-miR-let-7c-5p) were analyzed using TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and TaqMan Advanced miRNA Assay primers (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Samples were analyzed in triplicate on a 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR machine (Applied Biosystems) and threshold cycle values were normalized to cel-miR-39 controls. Relative changes in expression for ACS and VOE samples were calculated using the respective baseline samples or non-SCD controls as reference values and theΔΔ quantification cycle method. Results: To determine whether exosomal miRNA levels correlated with the disease status of patients, normalized samples from all patients were aggregated and then stratified based on sample type (baseline, VOE, ACS, or ACS post transfusion). While there were no statistically significant differences in exosomal expression of miR-let-7c-5p and miR-122-5p between sample types, there was a promising trend for miR-122-5p. There was a 2.6-fold increase in miR-122-5plevels, relative to baseline, when patients experienced a vaso-occlusive episode. In contrast, miR-122-5p levels decreased 2.3-fold, relative to baseline, when patients were hospitalized with acute chest syndrome. Extravesicular miR-369-5p levels were differentially regulated and correlated with the disease status of patients. When patients were hospitalized with a VOE or ACS, there was a 2.9-fold and 10-fold increase in miR-369-5p levels, respectively, compared to their baseline. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between VOE and ACS samples, which suggests that miR-369-5p levels can distinguish between VOE and ACS events (Fig. 3C). Interestingly, when ACS samples were obtained post-transfusion (ACS ptx), miR-369-5p levels decreased significantly to values near that of VOE samples. Conclusions: In this study, we report that the miRNA-369-5p levels in small EVs are differentially up-regulated in SCD patients during an ACS event. Furthermore, we show that these levels can distinguish patients presenting with a VOE from those who eventually develop ACS. Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to utilize extracellular vesicles and their contents to predict ACS. Further studies should be done so there is a tool to predict ACS and improve the clinical outcomes for patients with SCD.

Mass production of carbon nanotube fibers and hybrid yarns for high-performance helical auxetic yarn strain sensors

With the spectacular physical properties of electrical conductivity, mechanical strength and thermal conductivity, carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are favored in many fields such as energy storage devices, sensing, electromagnetic shielding and structural reinforcement, especially in flexible sensing devices. However, the lower tensile properties of CNT fibers limit their further application in stretchable strain sensors, especially when monitoring large deformation variables. Here, large-scale continuous production of CNT fibers has achieved through floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) technology. In the meantime, the CNT fibers were hybrid with Kevlar fibers to obtain hybrid CNT yarns with the strength of 168.4 MPa and the electrical conductivity of 7.78 × 104 S m−1. The strength of the hybrid CNT yarns produced by this method is higher than that of 40 count cotton yarns, which is perfectly suited for the fabrication of textile devices. Through knitting with three-dimensional elastic fabrics, the textile-based sensors exhibit promising sensing ability, washability, weather tolerance and sweat resistance, owing to the excellent physical and chemical properties of the hybrid CNT yarns. Moreover, stretchable strain sensors exhibit fast response and cycle stability, which provides unique opportunities in designing smart textiles with fast response and environmental durability.

3D flower-like hollow MXene@MoS2 heterostructure for fast sodium storage

Constructing an anode with fast electron transport and high cycling stability is important but challenging for large-scale applications of sodium-ion batteries (SIB). In this study, hierarchical flower-like MXene structures were synthesized using poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microsphere as templates. Subsequently, a straightforward hydrothermal reaction was utilized to anchor small-sized MoS2 nanosheets. The resulting MXene@MoS2 heterostructure exhibits a distinctive three-dimensional (3D) porous hollow architecture. This structure effectively addresses challenges related to self-aggregation of MoS2 nanosheets and volume expansion of the electrode material during Na+ insertion/extraction processes. Furthermore, the robust hetero-interface supports fast and stable electron transfer, thereby enhancing electrochemical reaction kinetics. The prepared MXene@MoS2 electrode demonstrates the specific capacity of 682.1 mA h g−1 at 0.2 A/g and the reversible capacity of 494.4 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 5 A/g. It is noteworthy that the full battery assembled with the composite material as the anode can still maintain the capacity of 456.2 mA h g−1 after 80 cycles at 0.5 A/g. This outstanding reversible capacity and sustained stability over numerous cycles highlights its potential for a wide range of applications.

Cold stress induces differential gene expression of retained homeologs in Camelina sativa cv Suneson.

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz, a member of the Brassicaceae, has potential as a biofuel feedstock which is attributable to the production of fatty acids in its seeds, its fast growth cycle, and low input requirements. While a genome assembly is available for camelina, it was generated from short sequence reads and is thus highly fragmented in nature. Using long read sequences, we generated a chromosome-scale, highly contiguous genome assembly (644,491,969 bp) for the spring biotype cultivar 'Suneson' with an N50 contig length of 12,031,512 bp and a scaffold N50 length of 32,184,682 bp. Annotation of protein-coding genes revealed 91,877 genes that encode 133,355 gene models. We identified a total of 4,467 genes that were significantly up-regulated under cold stress which were enriched in gene ontology terms associated with "response to cold" and "response to abiotic stress". Coexpression analyses revealed multiple coexpression modules that were enriched in genes differentially expressed following cold stress that had putative functions involved in stress adaptation, specifically within the plastid. With access to a highly contiguous genome assembly, comparative analyses with Arabidopsis thaliana revealed 23,625 A. thaliana genes syntenic with 45,453 Suneson genes. Of these, 24,960 Suneson genes were syntenic to 8,320 A. thaliana genes reflecting a 3 camelina homeolog to 1 Arabidopsis gene relationship and retention of all three homeologs. Some of the retained triplicated homeologs showed conserved gene expression patterns under control and cold-stressed conditions whereas other triplicated homeologs displayed diverged expression patterns revealing sub- and neo-functionalization of the homeologs at the transcription level. Access to the chromosome-scale assembly of Suneson will enable both basic and applied research efforts in the improvement of camelina as a sustainable biofuel feedstock.

Redox Mechanisms, Structural Changes, and Electrochemistry of the Wadsley-Roth LixTiNb2O7 Electrode Material.

The TiNb2O7 Wadsley-Roth phase is a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries, enabling fast cycling and high capacities. While already used in commercial batteries, many fundamental electronic and thermodynamic properties of LixTiNb2O7 remain poorly understood. We report on an in-depth first-principles study of the redox mechanisms, structural changes, and electrochemical properties of LixTiNb2O7 as a function of Li concentration. First-principles electronic structure calculations reveal an unconventional redox mechanism upon Li insertion that results in the formation of metal-metal bonds. This metal dimer redox mechanism has important structural consequences as it results in a shortening of cation-pair distances, which in turn affects lattice parameters of the host and thereby alters Li site preferences as the Li concentration is varied. The new insights about redox mechanisms in TiNb2O7 and their effect on the structure and Li site preferences provide guidance on how the electrochemical properties of a promising class of anode materials can be tailored by exploiting the tremendous structural and chemical diversity of Wadsley-Roth phases.

QREChem: quantum resource estimation software for chemistry applications

As quantum hardware continues to improve, more and more application scientists have entered the field of quantum computing. However, even with the rapid improvements in the last few years, quantum devices, especially for quantum chemistry applications, still struggle to perform calculations that classical computers could not calculate. In lieu of being able to perform specific calculations, it is important have a systematic way of estimating the resources necessary to tackle specific problems. Standard arguments about computational complexity provide hope that quantum computers will be useful for problems in quantum chemistry but obscure the true impact of many algorithmic overheads. These overheads will ultimately determine the precise point when quantum computers will perform better than classical computers. We have developed QREChem to provide logical resource estimates for ground state energy estimation in quantum chemistry through a Trotter-based quantum phase estimation approach. QREChem provides resource estimates which include the specific overheads inherent to problems in quantum chemistry by including heuristic estimates of the number of Trotter steps and number of necessary ancilla, allowing for more accurate estimates of the total number of gates. We utilize QREChem to provide logical resource estimates for a variety of small molecules in various basis sets, obtaining estimates in the range of 107–1015 for total number of T gates. We also determine estimates for the FeMoco molecule and compare all estimates to other resource estimation tools. Finally, we compare the total resources, including hardware and error correction overheads, demonstrating the need for fast error correction cycle times.

Efforts to Improve the Welfare of Ornamental Fish Farmers in Kalipaten Village Through the Implementation of LoRaWAN-Based IoT Technology

The ornamental fish business is currently one of the popular businesses in the community. The relatively fast reproduction cycle, around 0.5 – 1.5 months, with a relatively high selling price, makes this ornamental fish business much in demand by the public. The maximum utilization of technology will help MSMEs in increasing their income. This service activity aims to build a LoRaWAN-based IoT system for ornamental fish farming along with a mobile-based ornamental fish monitoring application to help manage ornamental fish livestock, which ultimately has an impact on improving the quality of ornamental fish and the income of CV Home Aquafish partners. The method utilizes a service-learning approach through stages: Identify, design, and build a LoRaWAN-based IoT and mobile-based monitoring system, implementing, mentoring, and measuring the effectiveness of the LoRaWAN device in improving the quality of ornamental fish and the income of CV Home Aquafish partners. As a result, LoRaWAN can effectively help minimize mortality in ornamental fish seedlings so that the quality of the fish is maintained. The income of CV Home Aquafish's ornamental fish nursery partners in Kalipaten Village, Gading Serpong, Tangerang also increases.