Lower Life Research Articles

The geographic diversity of authorship in leading general surgery journals; A study of 24,332 authors

BackgroundResearch guides evidence-based general surgery practice, advocacy, policy and resource allocation, but is seemingly lacking representation from those countries with greatest disease burden and mortality. Accordingly, we conducted a geographic study of publications in the most impactful general surgery journals worldwide. MethodsThe six general surgery journals with the highest 2020 impact factors were selected. Only journals specific to general surgery were included. For all original articles over the past five years, the affiliated country and city were extracted for the first, second and last author. Number of publications were adjusted per capita, and compared to Human Development Index (HDI) using logistic regression. Results8274 original articles were published in the top six ranked general surgery journals over 2016–2020, with 24,332 affiliated authors. Authors were most commonly associated with the US (27.88%), Japan (9.09%) and China (8.46%), or per capita, The Netherlands, Sweden and Singapore. There is a linear association between publishing in a top six journal and HDI of country of affiliation. Just four publications were from medium or low HDI countries over the period. ConclusionAuthorship in leading general surgery journals is predominantly from wealthy, Western countries. Authorship is associated with affiliation with a high HDI country, with few authors from medium or low HDI countries. There is a lack of representation in literature from Africa, Russia, and parts of Southeast Asia, and thus a lack of locally relevant evidence to guide surgical practice in these areas of high disease burden and low life expectancy.

Progress Towards the Development and Understanding of Energy Dense Rechargeable Batteries Utilizing Zn and Cu

Batteries are easy to use, remotely monitorable, not fuel dependent, easily permitted and installed, and start automatically and reliably during an electrical outage. This makes them optimal for stationary storage and power assurance applications. Within battery-based grid storage, as of mid-2017, lithium-ion, sodium-ion, and lead-acid systems are the leaders, comprising 59% (~1.1 GW), 8% (0.15 GW), and 3% (0.06 GW) of global operational electrochemical storage, respectively.However, these batteries suffer from low energy density, high cost, poor safety, environmental concerns, and/or cycle life. Existing battery options on the market also do not meet the required market needs for long-duration backup power. For example, lead-acid batteries require too much space, are heavy, and contain toxic materials. Lithium-ion batteries, while compact and capable of excellent cycle life, are too expensive to serve long outages and have notable flammability and environmental risks.Alkaline Zn batteries are a strong candidate for electrical grid storage applications due to Zn’s high capacity (820 mAh/g), established materials supply chain and low cost. To realize the highest energy dense batteries, Zn needs to be coupled with a similarly low cost, abundant and high-capacity cathode. CuO (674 mAh/g) is an intriguing high-capacity cathode when paired with Zn in alkaline electrolyte, a battery that until recently has been relegated to the history books as a primary system. In 2021 Schorr et al. reported a rechargeable Zn/CuO battery that utilized a Bi additive to help facilitate the electrochemical reversibility of the Cu conversion electrode. Bi2O3, a species with comparable redox potentials to Cu2O, promoted reversibility and minimized passivation in the historically non-reversible system. The battery cycled without any observable Cu and Bi mixed oxide phases, cycling between metallic Cu and Bi and Cu2O/Cu(OH)2 and Bi2O3, respectively. Although the Bi additive did not eliminate capacity fade completely, limiting the cells to a 30% depth of discharge (relative to CuO) enabled 250 cycles at > 124 Wh/L. Alternatively, compensating for capacity loss with additional Cu metal provided for very high areal capacities (∼40 mA h/cm2) and energy densities (∼260 W h/L), despite only 65% active material cathode loadings and ∼10% Zn anode utilization; preliminary tests indicated these batteries were prone to shorting.Seeking to improve performance and minimize the spatial segregation of Cu- and Bi-phases observed upon cycling in the prior system, D. Arnot et al. prepared nanoscale carbon coated (Cu/Bi) particles, where the coating partially minimized dissolution and diffusion of soluble cuprate and bismuthate complexes, where ~ 200 cycles at 300 mAh/g was demonstrated (@ ~ 100 Wh/L). CuBi2O4 and CuO phases were formed upon oxidation, indicating carbon coatings can affect the battery cycling mechanism and may have future roles increasing performance. Data collected from a variety of experimental techniques, including cyclic voltammetry, rotating ring-disk electrode voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, operando energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements, battery cycling along with recent DFT modeling will be presented to help elucidate the role of additives, carbon coatings, and ion selective polymers in enabling reversible Zn/Cu based batteries. In addition, the general challenges of achieving a highly reversible energy dense battery based on two conversion electrodes operating in highly alkaline environment will be discussed.The goal is to demonstrate a Zn/CuO battery with long lifetime, at appreciable energy densities (> 200 Wh/L), with excellent safety, lower toxicity and sufficiently low cost to be manufactured and installed on the grid. While the laboratory scale Zn/CuO battery builds have very promising characteristics to date they have not been optimized or adapted for consumer or market-based needs in terms of power performance, energy density, cycle life or stability in terms of shelf life and the ability to tolerate partial state of charge. Progress towards these goals may also be discussed.N. B. Schorr et al. Rechargeable Alkaline Zinc/Copper Oxide Batteries. ACS Applied Energy Mater. 2021, 4, 7, 7073–7082. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c01133.D. J. Arnot et al. Rechargeable Alkaline Zn-Cu Batteries Enabled by Carbon Coated Cu/Bi Particles. J. Power Sources 2022, 529, 231168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.231168.This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity, and the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.

Low-Tortuous and Dense Electrode for High-Energy Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries feature a high theoretical capacity of 1675 mAh/g and hence is considered as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries. However, deployment of Li-S batteries has been hindered by the low practical energy and limited cycle life.1, 2 Reducing cathode porosity is essential to balancing the electrolyte distribution in Li-S cell, conserving more pore-filling electrolyte to extend cell cycle life.3-5 However, low-porosity electrodes built with nanosized sulfur/carbon (S/C) materials suffer from high tortuosity that significantly deteriorates electrode wetting and hence sulfur utilization. Enabling operation of high-loading sulfur electrodes under both low-porosity and lean-electrolyte conditions is still a challenge and is seldom discussed. In this study,6 we demonstrated a novel and facile strategy for constructing low-tortuosity through-pores across both vertical and planar directions of electrodes by casting large particles into single-particle-layer electrodes. Through multi-scale characterizations and simulations, correlations between material/electrode structures, electrolyte permeability, polysulfide migration, and sulfur reactions were elucidated. The high-loading and dense sulfur cathode fabricated by this method delivers a high specific capacity (>1000 mAh g-1) at a very low electrolyte/sulfur (E/S) ratio of 4 μL mg-1. This study provides a novel approach to reducing the tortuosity of dense sulfur electrodes by manipulating the porosity distribution, which would be also applicable to improving the rate capability of other high-energy electrodes. More details of the progress will be discussed at the meeting.Reference. Dörfler, S.; Althues, H.; Härtel, P.; Abendroth, T.; Schumm, B.; Kaskel, S., Challenges and Key Parameters of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries on Pouch Cell Level. Joule 2020, 4 (3), 539-554.Xue, W.; Miao, L.; Qie, L.; Wang, C.; Li, S.; Wang, J.; Li, J., Gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of lithium-sulfur batteries. Current Opinion in Electrochemistry 2017, 6 (1), 92-99.Lu, D.; Li, Q.; Liu, J.; Zheng, J.; Wang, Y.; Ferrara, S.; Xiao, J.; Zhang, J. G.; Liu, J., Enabling High-Energy-Density Cathode for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2018, 10 (27), 23094-23102.Kang, N.; Lin, Y.; Yang, L.; Lu, D.; Xiao, J.; Qi, Y.; Cai, M., Cathode porosity is a missing key parameter to optimize lithium-sulfur battery energy density. Nat Commun 2019, 10 (1), 4597.Feng, S.; Liu, J.; Zhang, X.; Shi, L.; Anderson, C.; Lin, Y.; Song, M.-K.; Liu, J.; Xiao, J.; Lu, D., Rationalizing nitrogen-doped secondary carbon particles for practical lithium-sulfur batteries. Nano Energy 2022, 103.Feng, S.; Singh, R. K.; Fu, Y.; Li, Z.; Wang, Y.; Bao, J.; Xu, Z.; Li, G.; Anderson, C.; Shi, L.; Lin, Y.; Khalifah, P. G.; Wang, W.; Liu, J.; Xiao, J.; Lu, D., Low-tortuous and dense single-particle-layer electrode for high-energy lithium-sulfur batteries. Energy & Environ. Sci. 2022.

High‐Performance Neutral Zinc‐Air Batteries Based on Hybrid Zinc/Carbon Nanotube Fiber Anodes

AbstractNeutral zinc‐air batteries are considered potential wearable energy storage devices due to their high theoretical energy density, superior safety, and low cost. However, the current performance of neutral zinc‐air batteries is severely influenced by the zinc anodes. The pure zinc anode can be comminuted during charge and discharge cycles due to its unstable electrode structure, resulting in the failure of electrical contact. As a result, the battery exhibits low capacity and short cycle life. In addition, the pure zinc anodes show slow reaction kinetics in neutral electrolytes, which causes the battery to perform low power density and poor energy efficiency. Besides, pure zinc anodes own high bending stiffness, which cannot meet the demands for powering flexible electronics. Herein, a new kind of hybrid zinc/carbon nanotube fiber anode with a stable electrode structure, high reaction activity, as well as high flexibility is proposed to produce high‐performance neutral zinc‐air batteries. The fabricated fiber battery showed a high specific capacity and maximum power density of 645.3 mAh g−1 and 615.8 mW g−1, respectively. Furthermore, a high energy efficiency of 71% is achieved, the highest among the reported neutral zinc‐air batteries. The entire fiber battery is highly flexible, highlighting its potential for wearable energy storage applications.

Understanding on Kinetics Change of Li-S Battery with Fluorinated Additives Using in-Situ/Operando Raman and X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Li-S battery concept is promising for the next generation energy storage due to its distinct advantage of high theoretical capacity (1675 mA/g) and energy density (2600 Wh/gm). Yet the formation of polysulfides as intermediate discharge products (Li2Sn, 4<n<8) and their dissolution result in the loss of active material and ultimate deposition at the anode. This shuttle phenomenon gives rise to irreversible loss of active material, rapid capacity fading, low coulombic efficiency and short cycle life with an ambiguity of its mechanism. To our best knowledge, we will be the first to employ the in-situ characterization techniques including Raman spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to investigate the kinetics evolution with various electrolyte systems. This work presented the formation change of polysulfides intermediates at various fluorinated additives environment with different formula and composition based on in-situ/operando Raman spectroscopy. The Raman results clearly revealed the long-chain polysulfide conversion (400 cm-1) was pushed forward and an increasing concentration of short-chain polysulfide (453 cm-1) was appeared when fluorinated carboxylate ester-based electrolyte was used at its optimized formula compared to the baseline. Cyclic voltammetry results correspond to the chemistry evolution proposed by Raman. In-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy was also conducted on sulfur K-edge to monitor the polysulfide intermediates formation. X-ray fluorescence mapping (XRF) on cathode and anode also confirmed that the sulfur shuttle phenomenon was significantly suppressed in fluorinated carboxylate ester-based electrolyte by changing the sluggish kinetics. Figure 1

Bifunctional additive: Lead dioxide nanoparticle-doped graphene oxide composites for the preparation and performance study of positive electrodes in lead-carbon batteries

Lead-carbon batteries (LCBs) possess the dual functions of supercapacitors and lead-acid batteries (LABs), which can meet the demand for renewable energy and in mild hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) for energy storage and short-term high-rate charging and discharging. With the cycle of high-rate partial state-of-charge (HRPSoC), irreversible sulfation of the positive electrode becomes increasingly prominent and serious, resulting in low discharge capacity and short cycle life. In this study, to reduce the sulfation of the positive plate and improve the battery capacity and cycle life, a lead dioxide nanoparticle-doped graphene oxide (nano-PbO2/GO) composite material with dual functions of conducting and nucleating was prepared by a hydrothermal method as a positive electrode additive. The results show that the addition of nano-PbO2/GO promotes the formation of a three-dimensional short rod-like structure of PbO2 nanoparticles in a dendritic arrangement, accelerates the generation of new phases and inhibits the growth of bulk PbSO4. Moreover, the positive plate with nano-PbO2/GO exhibits good electrochemical activity to maintain the stability and reversibility of the electrode redox reaction. Finally, the initial discharge specific capacity of the LCBs with nano-PbO2/GO is increased to 153.85 mAh/g, and the HRPSoC cycle life is up to 15658 cycles at a 2 C discharge rate. Overall, the dual functions of nano-PbO2/GO greatly alleviate battery sulfation and provide a reference for improving the performance of LCBs by modifying the electrode structure.

Stretchable and Self-Healable Fiber-Shaped Conductors Suitable for Harsh Environments.

Fiber-shaped conductors with high electrical conductivity, stretchability, and durability have attracted increasing attention due to their potential for integration into arbitrary wearable forms. However, these fiber conductors still suffer from low reliability and short life span, particularly in harsh environments. Herein, a conductive, environment-tolerant, stretchable, and healable fiber conductor (CESH), which consists of a self-healable and stretchable organohydrogel fiber core, a conductive and buckled silver nanowire coating, and a self-healable and waterproof protective sheath, is reported. Such a multilayer core-sheath design not only offers high stretchability (≈2400%), high electrical conductivity (1.0 × 106 S m-1 ), outstanding self-healing ability and durability, but also possesses unprecedented tolerance in harsh environments including wide working temperature (-60-20 °C), arid (≈10 % RH (RH: room humidity)), and underwater conditions. As proof-of-concept demonstrations, CESHs are integrated into various wearable formats as interconnectors to steadily perform the electric function under different mechanical deformations and harsh conditions. Such a new type of multifunctional fiber conductors can bridge the gap in stretchable and self-healing fiber technologies by providing ultrastable electrical conductance and excellent environmental tolerance, which can greatly expand the range of applications for fiber conductors.

Youth focused life skills training and counselling services program-An inter-sectoral initiative in India: Program development and preliminary analysis of factors affecting life skills.

This paper describes the methodology of developing and implementation of a youth focused life skills training and counselling services programme (LSTCP) and assessment of factors associated with life skills of participants pre-training. Development of all aspects of LSTCP (modules, methods and evaluation) was through a consultative process. Experiential learning based facilitation was decided as the approach for training participants. A quasi-experimental design with pre, post and follow-up assessment post-training was finalised. Data collection was done using specifically developed semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression with life skills as outcome and various exposure variables was performed. About 2/3rd of participants had high level of life skills (68%). Increased score of extraversion (AOR = 1.57,95% CI = 1.32-1.85), agreeableness (AOR = 1.42,95% CI = 1.16-1.73), conscientiousness (AOR = 1.9,95% CI = 1.55-2.33), physical (AOR = 1.03,95% CI = 1.01-1.04), environmental (AOR = 1.02,95% CI = 1.004-1.03) and social quality of life (AOR = 1.01,95% CI = 1.006-1.02) were associated with high life skills score. Higher score of neuroticism (AOR = 0.66,95% CI = 0.53-0.79) was associated with low life skills score. The results presented provide an opportunity to understand the evolution of factors affecting life skills during the follow-up of this study. This study throws light on development of LSTCP for apparently healthy population in a setting like India and its states.

An Assessment of Human Capital Development: Nigeria’s Experience

The study undertook an assessment of human capital development in Nigeria. Content analysis was adopted to achieve the objective of the study, which was to evaluate Nigeria's current state in terms of human capital development. The study adopted secondary data on government spending on education as a percentage of GDP, government spending on health as a percentage of GDP, life expectancy, literacy rate and per capita income with data sourced from the World Development Indicators. The study employed trend analysis to reveal the data pattern for all the variables considered in this study. Descriptive statistics was also employed using tables to display the data for all the variables, while bar charts were employed to show the position of each of the countries reviewed for each of the variables with the view of comparing the input and output variables in the study. The study concludes that Nigeria's human capital development still lags behind in Africa despite the huge human and material resources it possesses. Low literacy and life expectancy rates indicate that the level of investment in the education and health sectors of the economy is inadequate. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria should dedicate more resources to the development of the education and health sectors of the economy and ensure judicious use of resources allocated to these sectors. It further recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health, and other relevant agencies of government, should invest in and encourage Health Insurance in Nigeria to increase access to healthcare and reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure in Nigeria.

The modeling and cascade sliding mode control of a moving mass-actuated coaxial dual-rotor UAV

In this study, an attitude control scheme based on a three-track moving mass control mechanism is proposed to address the problems of the overcomplicated rotor components, low service life, and low reliability of coaxial dual-rotor unmanned air vehicles (UAV). The motion and aerodynamic models of a moving mass-actuated ducted coaxial dual-rotor UAV are derived. The rotational dynamic characteristics of a moving mass-actuated UAV (MAUAV) with different slider positions and mass ratios are analyzed. An attitude controller based on backstepping sliding mode control is designed to address the nonlinearity and uncertainty of the MAUAV rotation. Based on this, we developed a position controller using cascade sliding mode control. The simulation results demonstrate that the designed attitude controller can achieve a settling time of 1.438 s in the unit-step response and a steady-state error of less than 5% in the sinusoidal attitude-tracking experiment. Additionally, the designed position controller exhibited a better trajectory-tracking effect under different levels of gust disturbance than that of a linear quadratic regulator control-based position controller.

Automatic Ringing Door Bell: Review and Fabrication

This study focused to compile earlier works dedicated on the development of automatic ringing door bell that have low cost and efficient life spam. Now a day’s the augmentation of such systems, among our society is high due to protection form virus like COVID-19. The contamination of surface through infected person leads to spread of virus. So, numerous of automatic systems are develop in order to protect the object from physical contact like automatic lightening systems, ringing bells, automatic closing and opening of doors, touch less water draining systems, touch free ceiling fans and many more. Among said systems, automatic ringing door bell have huge demand in every house hold due to awareness and prevention form spreading of virus. The automatic door bell beneficial to get information about the person arrived at home and without pressing the switch it will ring. The systems are based on image processing technique, machine learning approach or Internet of things for efficient functioning. Hence, in this review article, a numerous of articles are reviewed to give a conclusive remarks towards fabrication of cheap and efficient automatic ringing door bell. After discloser of efficient system gathered from earlier research work, an attempt has been made to develop a prototype of automatic ringing systems. Study reveals that the waves signals based sensor that automatically rings the bell is efficient one. Furthermore, the systems requires a PIR sensor to detect the waves signals of a person which is further transfer to activate the ESP32 cam for capturing the photo, consequently ring the buzzer. If the person is detected, the door bell is automatically turned ON and rings the bell.

High-temperature fatigue behavior of TC17 titanium alloy and influence of surface oxidation

The fatigue of TC17 titanium alloy at high temperature could present fatigue failure mode or mixed failure mode with ductile cracks and local regions of fatigue cracks. For the former, the surface crack initiation tends to occur for low fatigue life, a competition between surface and internal crack initiation presents for medium fatigue life, and the internal crack initiation tends to occur for long fatigue life. The oxidation has a negative effect for the fatigue life under high stress amplitudes. For the latter, the fatigue life is generally low and the oxidation has no harmful influence on fatigue life.

Study on ultra low cycle fatigue fracture behavior of Q690D high-strength steel after fire exposure

In order to investigate the fracture behavior of Q690D steel high-strength steel after exposure to elevated temperature due to the fire, standard coupon specimen, notched coupon specimen and pure shear specimen representing various stress states were tested under monotonic loading and ultra low cycle fatigue loading. For air cooling condition, the tensile test results of Q690D steel show that when exposed to the temperature above 500 °C (up to 800 °C), the strength decreases while the elongation increases. These variation trends are basically the same under different stress states, and the predictive equations are proposed to determine the residual strength and ductility after exposure to high temperature. The effect of exposed temperature on the ductility under monotonic loading is significantly greater than that on the ultra low cycle fatigue life. In addition, as compared with air cooling, water cooling can significantly reduce the deformation capacity and fatigue life of the specimens, and even lead to a failure mode close to brittle fracture. The Lode parameter enhanced cyclic void growth model (LCVGM) parameters of Q690D steel after being exposed to various temperatures and air cooling were calibrated based on the fracture failure test results, and the post-fire LCVGM of Q690D high-strength steel was established to facilitate the fracture evaluation. Finally, the LCVGM was employed to predict the post-fire ultra low cycle fatigue life of Q690D steel notched plane strain specimen, and its estimation accuracy was verified by the comparison between tests and simulations. This fracture prediction model LCVGM can be recommended to evaluate the post-fire seismic performance of Q690 high-strength steel members.

Drying Kinetics, Effective Moisture Diffusivity, and Activation Energy of Osmotic Pretreated Hot-Air-Dried Paneer Cubes

Paneer is a heat-acid-coagulated dairy product, and it has a very low shelf life due to its higher moisture content of about more than 50% (w.b). Drying is the best option to reduce moisture, but it takes time and affects the nature of the product. Here, osmotic dehydration (OD) is applied as pretreatment prior to drying to preserve the color and textural changes and reduce the drying time. Commercial NaCl was chosen as osmotic agent. The paneer samples were taken as ( 2 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm ) cubes and pretreated with NaCl, viz., 6%, 12%, 22% w / v , and surface treatment. The pretreated paneer was dried at 50, 55, and 60°C in a hot-air dryer with constant air velocity of 0.25 m/s. The equilibrium moisture content level was higher in osmotic treated samples compared to the control sample with range between 12.46 and 16.64% (w.b). The osmotic pretreated sample had shortened drying time compared to the control sample. Effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy were calculated, and the osmotic pretreatment impacted positively on it. The drying parameters were fitted with models and found that the Midilli model was ( R 2 &gt; 0.99 ) best fit. The osmotic pretreated samples at 50°C drying temperature show ( P ≤ 0.01 ) better results in color, texture, and sensory profile of dried paneer, while pretreatment is not effective at 55 and 60°C drying temperatures. Except for the carbohydrate content, osmotic pretreated samples retain more fat and protein after the drying process. As a result, it can be concluded that osmotic pretreatment reduces the drying time and retains color, texture, and nutritional characteristics of dried paneer, especially at 50°C drying temperature.

Gender differences in the association between physical frailty and life satisfaction among older adults in India.

One of the sustainable development goals' (SDGs) primary goals (Goal 3) is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for persons of all ages. While extensive literature documents the link between physical frailty and low life satisfaction (LLS) among older adults, research of this nature is limited within low and middle-income countries including India. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between physical frailty and life satisfaction among community-dwelling older men and women in India. Data come from the 2017-18 wave 1 of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), with a sample of 30 390 individuals aged 60 and above (14 559 men and 15 831 women). Physical frailty was assessed using an adapted version of the frailty phenotype developed by Fried and colleagues. Ordered logistic regression models are employed to examine the association between physical frailty and life satisfaction. The prevalence of frailty was higher in older women than men (32.2% vs. 27.5%). Nearly 30.4% of men and 33.8% of women reported having LLS. However, after adjusting for the selected confounders, women were less likely (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.92; CI: 0.87-0.97) to report LLS compared to men. The physically frail older adults were more likely (aOR: 1.40; CI: 1.27-1.55) to report LLS relative to their physically stronger counterparts. Moreover, we found that frail older men had higher odds of reporting LLS than non-frail older men (aOR: 1.25; CI: 1.09-1.43). Also, non-frail older women had lower odds of reporting LLS than non-frail older men (aOR: 0.80; CI: 0.67-0.95). Findings of our study suggest that policies and programs to address later life well-being need to consider gender differences. Doing so would not only help identify older adults most at risk of LLS, but gender differentiated policies would help streamline health expenditures and costs typically relegated to assist all older adults without proper focus on the uniqueness of their social location.

MOF-based quasi-solid-state electrolyte for long-life Al-Se battery

Aluminum-selenium (Al-Se) batteries, which possess a high theoretical specific capacity of 1357 mA h g−1, represent a promising energy storage technology. However, they suffer from significant attenuation of capacity and low cycle life due to the shuttle effect. To mitigate the shuttle effect induced by soluble selenium chloroaluminate compound that tends to migrate towards the negative electrode, a quasi-solid-state Al-Se battery was fabricated through the synthesis of a multi-aperture structure quasi-solid-state electrolyte (MOF@GPE) based on metal–organic framework (MOF) material and gel-polymer electrolyte (GPE). The high ionic conductivity (1.13 × 10−3 S cm−1) of MOF@GPE at room temperature, coupled with its wide electrochemical stability window (2.45 V), can facilitate ion transport kinetics and enhance the electrochemical performance of Al-Se batteries. The MOF@GPE-based quasi-solid-state Al-Se batteries exhibit outstanding long-life cycling stability, delivering a high specific discharge capacity of 548 mA h g−1 with a maintained discharge specific capacity of 345 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g−1. The stable ion transmission and high ion transport kinetics in MOF@GPE can be attributed to the stable structure and permeable channel of MOF, which effectively captures the soluble selenium chloroaluminate compound and further restrains the shuttle effect, resulting in improved cycling performance.

Influence of MXene-assisted multifunctional interface on zinc deposition toward highly reversible dendrite-free zinc anodes

The ever-growing demand for safe and renewable energy storage systems has driven the renaissance of aqueous zinc (Zn)-metal batteries (ZMBs). Zn metal has the characteristics of high specific capacity, low cost, environmental friendliness, and intrinsic safety, but severe side reactions and Zn dendrite growth lead to low Coulombic efficiency and short cycle life of Zn metal anode, which restricts the commercial development of rechargeable aqueous ZMBs. Herein, a Ti3C2Tx MXene-derived ZnF2-rich multifunctional interfacial layer is prepared. In this architecture, the as-formed ZnF2-rich layer can redistribute Zn-ion flux on the electrode/electrolyte surface and suppress side reactions. Meanwhile, the results indicate that the ZnF2 can lower the desolvation energy barrier of Zn ions and enhance the Zn-ion transfer kinetics. Accordingly, the Zn@MXene anode delivers a long cycle life over 800 h at the current density of 5.0 mA cm−2 with a capacity of 5.0 mAh cm−2. Surprisingly, the Zn@MXene anode can still achieve dendrite-free Zn deposition for more than 320 h even at the current density of 10.0 mA cm−2 with a capacity of 10.0 mAh cm−2. Additionally, the assembled Zn@MXene//VO2 full-cell exhibits better cycling stability and more excellent rate performance compared to the pristine Zn//VO2 full-cell, implying the potential of this idea to develop high-power rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

Decoding the Mechanisms of Reversibility Loss in Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.

Attaining high reversibility of the electrodes and electrolyte is essential for the longevity of secondary batteries. Rechargeable zinc-air batteries (RZABs), however, encounter drastic irreversible changes in the zinc anodes and air cathodes during cycling. To uncover the mechanisms of reversibility loss in RZABs, we investigate the evolution of the zinc anode, alkaline electrolyte, and air electrode through experiments and first-principles calculations. Morphology diagrams of zinc anodes under versatile operating conditions reveal that the nanosized mossy zinc dominates the later cycling stage. Such anodic change is induced by the increased zincate concentration due to hydrogen evolution, which is catalyzed by the mossy structure and results in oxide passivation on electrodes and eventually leads to low true Coulombic efficiencies and short life spans of batteries. Inspired by these findings, we finally present a novel overcharge-cycling protocol to compensate for the Coulombic efficiency loss caused by hydrogen evolution and significantly extend the battery life.

Study of vibration frequency-fatigue strength action of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy during fillet welding

The research mainly focuses on the fatigue strength characteristics of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy fillet welds under different vibration frequencies. Firstly, by introducing Stress Life Curve (S-N Curve) and Probability Stress Life Curve (P-S-N Curve), the external vibration stress effects of the main load-bearing points in the stress environment of welded joints are analyzed. Subsequently, a vibration test control system is designed to analyze the relationship between vibration frequency and fatigue strength through nominal stress analysis and hot spot stress analysis. The research findings revealed that under the nominal stress analysis method, the P-S-N fitting curve showed a declining trend with an increase in fatigue life for stress variation curves with survival rates of 50 %, 95 %, and 97.7 % at vibration frequencies of 57.5 Hz, 67.5 Hz, and 77.5 Hz. At the same survival rate stress conditions, the fatigue life variation formed by resonance frequency was smaller, and the fatigue life in the resonance state was relatively lower. There is a certain correlation between vibration frequency and fatigue strength, with resonance frequency corresponding to relatively low fatigue life. This research result helps to reveal the fatigue behavior of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy fillet welds under different vibration stresses, providing a reference for the structural safety design of aluminum alloy components.

High intake of sweet foods and low life satisfaction can act as risk factors for acute coronary syndrome through synergistic interaction.

Dietary and psychological status contributes to the development of coronary artery disease. However, these lifestyle factors may vary depending on ethnic and environmental background, and secondary prevention programs dealing with these factors in a specific population are not well-established. We aimed to assess dietary and psychological characteristics in Korean patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and analyze their interactions as independent risk factors for ACS. Ninety-two patients with ACS (29 acute myocardial infarction and 63 unstable angina) and 69 controls were subjected to dietary and psychological analyses. Dietary intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. Psychological depression and perceived stress were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Perceived Stress Scale, respectively. Eight domains of life satisfaction (marital/love relationship, leisure, standard of living, job, health, family life, sex life, and self) were assessed using the Domain Satisfaction Questionnaire (DSQ). The ACS group had a higher consumption of sweets and fish/seafood, as well as higher levels of depressive symptoms. Additionally, they had lower DSQ scores in total, and all eight individual domains compared with the control group. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, sweet intake (OR 4.57, 95% CI: 1.94-11.40) and total DSQ scores (OR 0.34, 95% CI: 0.14-0.81) were identified as independent risk factors for ACS. Furthermore, these factors, which displayed a significant inverse correlation (ρ = -0.23, p = 0.01), were determined as having a synergistic contribution to the development of ACS. High sweet food intake and low life satisfaction can act as risk factors for ACS through a synergistic interaction, which emphasizes a demand for a more comprehensive approach to secondary prevention of ACS. In addition, these data highlight the role of positive psychological wellbeing factors in cardiovascular health.