Massive Expansion Research Articles

Deconstructing the AI Myth: Fallacies and Harms of Algorithmification

We are experiencing a massive and volatile expansion of AI-based products and services. The current intermeshing of digital technologies, people, and society is shaping how we live and bringing algorithms to the forefront of decision making. The algorithmification of society and the narratives used to make it appear inevitable serve specific interests, mostly profitable for and controlled by few actors. It is not AI in itself, but the utilitarian sophistication of optimisation mechanisms and the power structures behind them that profit from controlling all that we do, when and how we do it, our behaviours, and even ourselves. In education, this is of serious concern as academia is gradually moving to uncertain dependencies on corporate interests. This paper calls for radical changes in dealing with the AI narratives that have monopolised recent public debates and discussions. It sheds light on the key terminology surrounding today’s AI algorithms and the technological background that makes them possible. It shows examples of the negative impacts and the implications of not addressing or ignoring certain issues, especially in education. This paper also suggests good practices through consistent advocacy, grounded materials, and critical work on digital literacy, particularly AI literacy.

MdSVWC1, a new pattern recognition receptor triggers multiple defense mechanisms against invading bacteria in Musca domestica

BackgroundSingle-domain von Willebrand factor type C (SVWC) constitute a protein family predominantly identified in arthropods, characterized by a SVWC domain and involved in diverse physiological processes such as host defense, stress resistance, and nutrient metabolism. Nevertheless, the physiological mechanisms underlying these functions remain inadequately comprehended.ResultsA massive expansion of the SVWC gene family in Musca domestica (MdSVWC) was discovered, with a count of 35. MdSVWC1 was selected as the representative of the SVWC family for functional analysis, which led to the identification of the immune function of MdSVWC1 as a novel pattern recognition receptor. MdSVWC1 is highly expressed in both the fat body and intestines and displays acute induction upon bacterial infection. Recombinant MdSVWC1 binds to surfaces of both bacteria and yeast through the recognition of multiple pathogen-associated molecular patterns and exhibits Ca2+-dependent agglutination activity. MdSVWC1 mutant flies exhibited elevated mortality and hindered bacterial elimination following bacterial infection as a result of reduced hemocyte phagocytic capability and weakened expression of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes. In contrast, administration of recombinant MdSVWC1 provided protection to flies from bacterial challenges by promoting phagocytosis and AMP genes expression, thereby preventing bacterial colonization. MdSPN16, a serine protease inhibitor, was identified as a target protein of MdSVWC1. It was postulated that the interaction of MdSVWC1 with MdSPN16 would result in the activation of an extracellular proteolytic cascade, which would then initiate the Toll signaling pathway and facilitate the expression of AMP genes.ConclusionsMdSVWC1 displays activity as a soluble pattern recognition receptor that regulates cellular and humoral immunity by recognizing microbial components and facilitating host defense.

Copyist or Creative? The Emergence of the Woman Fashion Artist in Britain, 1880–1920

Abstract The period between 1880 and 1914 was a critical time for the redefinition of high fashion as a form of art, with couture garments displayed at international exhibitions and couturiers like Paul Poiret claiming the legal protection applied to artworks for his fashion designs. At the same time, a massive expansion in illustrated journals and catalogs selling mass-produced garments offered new possibilities for graphic artists, including women trained in the applied arts by public and private colleges. These trends intersected in the figure of the female “fashion artist,” who conceived new designs or presented them to the public—but did not stitch them. In some cases, this person was a designer working for a dressmaking firm or sample house, while others were copyists of existing garments. This article will analyze surviving documents produced by British women fashion artists; examine the life cycle of fashion artists, as revealed in census data; analyze the pathways for training and career development; and consider the ways in which fashion artists were discussed in women’s magazines, both as role models for employment and as fashion mediators.

Evolution and functional divergence of glycosyltransferase genes shaped the quality and cold tolerance of tea plants.

Plant glycosyltransferases (UGTs) play a key role in plant growth and metabolism. Here, we examined the evolutionary landscape among UGTs in 28 fully sequenced species from early algae to angiosperms. Our findings revealed a distinctive expansion and contraction of UGTs in the G and H groups in tea (Camellia sinensis), respectively. Whole-genome duplication and tandem duplication events jointly drove the massive expansion of UGTs, and the interplay of natural and artificial selection has resulted in marked functional divergence within the G group of the sinensis-type tea population. In Cluster II of group G, differences in substrate selection (e.g., Abscisic Acid) of the enzymes encoded by UGT genes led to their functional diversification, and these genes influence tolerance to abiotic stresses such as low temperature and drought via different modes of positive and negative regulation, respectively. UGTs in Cluster III of the G group have diverse aroma substrate preferences, which contributes a diverse aroma spectrum of the sinensis-type tea population. All Cluster III genes respond to low-temperature stress, whereas UGTs within Cluster III-1, shaped by artificial selection, are unresponsive to drought. This suggests that artificial selection of tea plants focused on improving quality and cold tolerance as primary targets.

Life cycle assessment of electricity from wind, photovoltaic and biogas from maize in combination with area-specific energy yields – a case study for Germany

Abstract Due to the massive expansion of renewable energy-based production capacity, the benefits and drawbacks of wind turbines, ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) and biogas plants are currently being discussed in Germany and elsewhere. The expansion of renewable energy-based plants is competing with other uses for land area. In addition to area-specific energy yields, the environmental impact of renewables is increasingly gaining awareness. Existing research on the area-specific energy yields and environmental impact for wind, PV and biogas lacks comparability due to factors including time, location, and scale. This study addresses this research gap by combining life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare potential environmental impacts with an area-specific energy yield assessment of wind, ground-mounted PV and biogas from maize in Germany. The LCA includes an assessment of eleven midpoint and three endpoint impact indicators, while the area-specific energy yield is assessed on the basis of both gross and net area-specific energy yield. The LCA results indicate the lowest impact for wind, followed by PV and biogas. This ranking is consistent across all three endpoint and nine out of eleven midpoint categories. The same ranking also applies to the area-specific energy yield, with wind producing the most and biogas the least gross and net energy per area. These results indicate that the current political support in Germany for biogas from maize for electricity generation should be thoroughly re-evaluated in view of the more favourable alternatives, wind and PV. The findings also provide relevant insights for other regions with similar boundary conditions.

Identifying opportunities and risks from green hydrogen: a framework and insights from a developing region in Brazil

ABSTRACT Green hydrogen is often considered as an opportunity for developing countries to advance their economies while contributing to the global goal of climate change mitigation. Many international cooperation initiatives are being established to promote green hydrogen projects in developing countries. However, the extent to which the benefits would be localized in developing countries remains uncertain. Additionally, the risks of a massive expansion of a green hydrogen industry, including potential trade-offs with other societal goals, have been largely overlooked. To address these gaps, this study proposes an analytical framework to assess the risks, opportunities, synergies and trade-offs from international initiatives, both regarding goals and across geographical scales. The study then applies the framework to an empirical case study of the green hydrogen hub in the Brazilian state of Ceará, where a green corridor is being created with Europe. The analysis is based on triangulation of data collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews, field work, industry reports, as well as official documents and communications. This framework shows that opportunities and risks, including global distributional impacts, will depend on the interplay between technology-, project-, and context-specific factors that span multiple geographical scales. Findings suggest that a global green hydrogen economy could bring negative distributive effects and trade-offs, especially in the short-term. Benefits like decarbonization of end-use sectors and increased industrial output would be primarily mobilized by developed countries who import the green hydrogen and export the technologies, while risks regarding delaying the local energy transition and increased external dependency would be borne by developing countries. Longer-term opportunities related to learning and diversification are both more uncertain and more challenging to realize in places with lower capabilities due to path-dependencies in economic and technological trajectories. Promoting both economic development and sustainability transitions would require local governments to implement strategic policy approaches, international cooperation to build local capabilities and help establish governance mechanisms, and developed country importers of green hydrogen to more systematically address such risks in their own policy making and investment strategies.

Want to Build a Death Camp? Call in the Lawyers: Obtaining Legal Title to the Land for the Killing Camp at Auschwitz

Abstract The massive expansion of the Auschwitz extermination camp in 1943 involved a panoply of German lawyers and public officials, who laboured diligently at the legal clearance of title to lands belonging to multiple Polish owners so that the German Reich would have complete, legal, and unchallengeable ownership of the death camp site. These bureaucratic actions in pursuit of unspeakable ends, presented here in a historical-political inquiry, reveal fundamental – and much contested – issues of justice and legality, law versus non-law.

Cyber intelligence and international security. Breaking the legal and diplomatic silence?

ABSTRACT In cyberspace intelligence agencies, rather than militaries, are the most prominent security actors. However, many cyber operations conducted by intelligence agencies are not ‘classic’ espionage activities, but may be best described as digital covert action (sabotage, subversion, information operations). Given the fact that international law and diplomacy traditionally do not address espionage, cyber operations conducted by intelligence agencies have developed in a legal grey zone that gets stretched by the behaviour of the intelligence agencies of the most brazen cyber powers. The digital age has significantly transformed the capabilities and the role of intelligence agencies, which raises the question if the traditional international consensus that ‘intelligence is not discussed’ is still useful in state-to-state relations. The theoretically underdefined role and activities of intelligence agencies are affected by four big changes in the digital age: increase in scale of their activities and effects, heightened ambiguity, massive expansion of the attack surface and trickle-down insecurity, which point to a need to rethink how cyber intelligence agencies should operate. Some states will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in cyberspace, unless other states break with the legal and diplomatic silence to discuss ‘guardrails’ to cyber intelligence activities.

Systematic Study on Swelling/Delamination of Layered Metal Oxides with Quaternary Ammonium Ions: Production of Well-Shaped/Oversized Unilamellar Nanosheets.

Enormous swelling of layered host compounds in an aqueous solution of various amines has been investigated as an important step in the synthesis of molecularly thin 2D nanosheets. However, a complete understanding of the reaction process has not been attained, which is the barrier for producing high-quality unilamellar nanosheets. Here, the swelling and delamination behaviors of platelet single crystals of protonated layered metal oxides are systematically examined with a series of tetraalkylammonium (TAA) hydroxide solutions. Upon contact with the solutions, the crystals immediately underwent massive expansion by several tens to hundreds of times. The swollen crystals can be delaminated into elementary layers by the application of external shear force. The exfoliation behavior is dependent on TAA ions, especially in terms of yield and lateral size/shape of the delaminated nanosheets. The swollen crystals with TAA ions with longer alkyl chains are delaminated almost completely, but irregular and fractured small sheets are yielded. Such long alkyl chains become entangled on the oxide layer and resulting hydrophobic interactions may be responsible for the lateral fragmentation. It is found that replacement of aqueous solutions with organic solvents to suppress the hydrophobic interactions is effective to produce oversized nanosheets in rectangular shape with sharp edges.

A Detecting Fake News Using Machine Learning: A Comparative Study of Techniques

Many people get their news via the Internet and social media platforms, and given the rapid growth of these platforms, fake news may now spread easily and quickly. False information that aims to mislead and harm society and the individual is known as fake news. By deliberately spreading false information, the media distort public opinion and threaten the social order by leading people to believe things that are not true. With the massive expansion of social media networks, the spread of fake news has increased dramatically. Although interesting, it poses some difficulties due to limited resources (such as datasets and published research). This paper presents diverse machine-learning techniques to identify fabricated news by analyzing the textual content. Several techniques were used, including SVM, RF, logistic regression, Naive Bayes, Gradient Boosting, AdaBoost, KNN, DT, and XGBoost. Based on comparing the results, who got the best result with an accuracy rate of 0.9967 and the lowest loss of 0.003 The study includes a variety of methodologies, such as natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and data mining, which have been found to improve the efficiency of text processing to increase accuracy and can save time and effort by automatically identifying fake news, especially in light of the massive amount from materials available on the Internet.

Massive expansion of the pig gut virome based on global metagenomic mining

The pig gut virome plays a vital role in the gut microbial ecosystem of pigs. However, a comprehensive understanding of their diversity and a reference database for the virome are currently lacking. To address this gap, we established a Pig Virome Database (PVD) that comprised of 5,566,804 viral contig sequences from 4650 publicly available gut metagenomic samples using a pipeline designated “metav”. By clustering sequences, we identified 48,299 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs) genomes of at least medium quality, of which 92.83% of which were not found in existing major databases. The majority of vOTUs were identified as Caudoviricetes (72.21%). The PVD database contained a total of 2,362,631 protein-coding genes across the above medium-quality vOTUs genomes that can be used to explore the functional potential of the pig gut virome. These findings highlight the extensive diversity of viruses in the pig gut and provide a pivotal reference dataset for forthcoming research concerning the pig gut virome.

Phosphorus inactivation mitigates the effect of warm winters in a temperate shallow lake (Mielenko Lake, Poland)

Direct and indirect anthropopressure on water ecosystems is the serious problem throughout the world.. In the Northern Hemisphere, an increase in average air temperatures is observed, which implies the occurrence of a shorter period of snow and ice cover during the winter season. The winter 2019/2020 was unusual, because that was the first time in the record, that a complete lack of permanent ice cover was observed on numerous lakes in Poland. Such unusual conditions could influence lake functioning. Hence we analyzed the chemistry of the water–sediment interface (near-bottom and interstitial water and sediment) in the shallow, eutrophic Mielenko Lake (area 7.9 ha, max depth 1.9 m) in 2013 and 2019–2022 period to assess the influence of prolonged water circulation on the bottom zone. Mielenko Lake was subjected to a phosphorus inactivation procedure using Al and Fe salts (PAX 18, PIX 111) in 2020 and 2021. Our research revealed that unusually prolonged winter circulation caused a significant decrease in organic matter content in bottom sediment in 2020, as well as a decrease in NaOH-nrP fraction and TP amounts. That effect was short-term and it did not significantly influence the NaOH-rP fraction amounts. The released P was probably built in macrophytes biomass during vegetation season, because P inactivation has been limiting phytoplankton proliferation, and it favored shifting to a clearwater state with macrophytes domination. This was confirmed by decreasing in phytoplankton biomass, and a massive expansion of the macrophytes range noted in the second year of restoration. Our study shows, that P inactivation could mitigate the negative effects of warm winters in shallow lakes.

Ultrasound-guided laparoscopy for conservative management of a massive degenerated uterine fibroid during pregnancy: A case report

ObjectiveTo outline the key steps in the management of a massive, degenerated fibroid during pregnancy. DesignA video article demonstrating diagnostic imaging, laparoscopic anatomy, and innovative surgical technique. SettingThis video demonstrates an unusual presentation of a uterine fibroid in pregnancy. Uterine fibroids are common, with an incidence of 40%–60% by the age of 35 with a possibility of growing in pregnancy and impacting the developing fetus. InterventionsThis case summarizes an innovative, safe, and efficient minimally invasive surgery approach to a patient with a 30-cm degenerated fibroid at 16 weeks gestational age of pregnancy, permitting ongoing development of the viable fetus. Review of imaging revealed a solid-cystic uterine mass, suspicious for degenerated fibroid, compressing the gestation into the right upper quadrant. The patient did not have a reported history of a uterine mass prior to pregnancy. Interdisciplinary care with maternal-fetal medicine and gynecologic oncology ensured thorough counselling and various treatment possibilities. The MIGS team performed ultrasound-guided laparoscopy involving drainage, biopsy, and insertion of a transient drain to prevent re-accumulation of fluid throughout the pregnancy. Pathology revealed fibroid degeneration with infarct-type necrosis. The patient continued successfully in pregnancy until undergoing a Cesarean section at 33 weeks after developing an abscess within the fibroid. Neonatal outcome was excellent. ConclusionOur case demonstrates degeneration with massive expansion of a fibroid, compromising the potential of the fetus. A solution was devised and implemented, allowing for pregnancy continuation until the third trimester.

The genomes of all lungfish inform on genome expansion and tetrapod evolution.

The genomes of living lungfishes can inform on the molecular-developmental basis of the Devonian sarcopterygian fish-tetrapod transition. We de novo sequenced the genomes of the African (Protopterus annectens) and South American lungfishes (Lepidosiren paradoxa). The Lepidosiren genome (about 91 Gb, roughly 30 times the human genome) is the largest animal genome sequenced so far and more than twice the size of the Australian (Neoceratodus forsteri)1 and African2 lungfishes owing to enlarged intergenic regions and introns with high repeat content (about 90%). All lungfish genomes continue to expand as some transposable elements (TEs) are still active today. In particular, Lepidosiren's genome grew extremely fast during the past 100 million years (Myr), adding the equivalent of one human genome every 10 Myr. This massive genome expansion seems to be related to a reduction of PIWI-interacting RNAs and C2H2 zinc-finger and Krüppel-associated box (KRAB)-domain protein genes that suppress TE expansions. Although TE abundance facilitates chromosomal rearrangements, lungfish chromosomes still conservatively reflect the ur-tetrapod karyotype. Neoceratodus' limb-like fins still resemble those of their extinct relatives and remained phenotypically static for about 100 Myr. We show that the secondary loss of limb-like appendages in the Lepidosiren-Protopterus ancestor was probably due to loss of sonic hedgehog limb-specific enhancers.

Abstract We046: Building Mass or Strength: Stage-specific Effects of Insulin and Wnt on Cell Fate Decisions in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Background: Reactivation of the so-called fetal gene programs and pathways have been reported in failing hearts, however, it remains unclear whether this phenomenon is beneficial or detrimental to the remaining functional myocardium. During cardiac development, the orchestration of these embryonic growth pathways, facilitate temporal and stage-specific cell fate decisions such as required for specification and growth of the various myocardial compartments. Previously, we demonstrated that molecular activation of the Wnt pathway resulted in massive expansion of immature human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). Yet, it is unknown what exact cues guide the cell fate decisions of immature hiPSC-CMs to either proliferate or terminally differentiate into more mature cardiomyocytes. Purpose: This work uncovers the embryonic growth pathways that control the cues for proliferation versus terminal differentiation in functional immature hiPSC-CMs. Methods: We utilised spontaneously beating hiPSC-CMs at day 11 of differentiation and performed a combinatory screen for various dosages of CHIR99021/Wnt and Insulin/Akt pathway. Proliferation was determined by quantification of cell number and the proportion of Ki67 positive hiPSC-CMs. Terminal differentiation was evaluated by presence of more mature sarcomere markers and cell cycle exit. Results: Our combinatory screen for Insulin/Akt and CHIR99021/Wnt demonstrates synergistic effects on proliferation of immature hiPSC-CMs, whereas the absence of these pathway activators leads to rapid cell cycle exit and terminal differentiation of hiPSC-CMs. Detailed characterization reveals that CHIR99021/Wnt also importantly regulates sarcomere homeostasis and architecture in hiPSC-CMs. Moreover, we identify a novel temporal interplay between CHIR99021/Wnt via TCF and Insulin/Akt via FOXO as regulators of cell-fate decision in immature hiPSC-CMs. Conclusions: Molecular targeting of the embryonic growth pathways in acute and chronic forms of heart failure requires a detailed understanding of the specific effects on cardiomyocyte function and sarcomere architecture. This work provides a starting point to develop future strategies to target acute and chronic forms of heart failure via modulation of embryonic growth pathways.

Oil Palm Plantation Expansion and Population Problems: An Explanatory Factor for Deforestation in Indonesia

Deforestation in Indonesia remains a significant issue due to various factors. This article reveals the impact of demographic variables on deforestation, using oil palm plantation expansion as a case study. The study applies Hunter's model, considering population dynamics and intermediate variables, namely science and technology, institutions, policies, and culture. Through traditional literature review methods, demographic data and field research results from 2010 to 2020 were elaborated, focusing on Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. The findings underline that Indonesian rapid population growth drives high consumption rates. Additionally, the development of oil palm plantations is faced with high demand for CPO, policies that attach too much importance to investment, and agrarian deregulation. All these intermediate variables are visible through the agricultural expansion as a pattern of agricultural development. The massive expansion by private companies resulted in a change in the socio-ecological landscape. In addition, there are dilemmas in the villager's livelihood system, such as shifting traditional livelihood bases, livelihood dualism, the emergence of new vulnerabilities, and land grabs. In order to realize sustainable palm oil development, we suggest governance reforms at the global, national, and local levels.

Insight into the fate of bioplastic and similar plant-based material debris in aquatic environments via continuous monitoring of their leachate composition – Release of carbon, metals, and additives

Currently, the environmental problems associated with plastic production and waste, such as the consequences of worldwide pollution of natural waters with microplastics, have led to the seeking of alternative materials that can at least partially replace conventional petroleum-based plastics. Substitute materials include bioplastics and similar plant-based materials or their composites. However, their fate when disposed of in unintended environments (e.g., water bodies) remains largely unknown, while such information is highly desirable prior to massive expansion of exploiting such materials. This study aims to contribute filling this knowledge gap. Specifically, 19 different types of bioplastic and similar plant-based material debris (corresponding to the size of microplastics) were kept in long-term contact with water to mimic their behaviour as water pollutants, and the leachates were continuously analysed. Eighteen of the 19 investigated materials released significant amounts of dissolved organic carbon—up to 34.0 mg per g of debris after 12 weeks of leaching. Each leachate also contained one or more of the following elements: Al, B, Ba, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, P, Si, Ti, and Zn. Non-targeted analysis aimed at providing more specific insight into the leachate composition tentatively revealed 91 individual chemicals, mostly fatty acids and other carboxylic acids, phthalates, terephthalates, adipates, phenols, amides, alcohols, or organophosphates. Based on the compound characteristics, they might be additives, non-intentionally added substances, as well as their degradation products. In general, the current results imply that bioplastics and similar plant-based materials should be considered complex materials that undergo industrial processing and comprise additives rather than harmless natural matter. Additionally, various compounds can release from the bioplastic and similar plant-based material debris when deposited in water. It might have consequences on the fluxes of carbon, metals and specific organic contaminants, and it resembles some properties of conventional petroleum-based microplastics.

Placing "Rights and Liberties In Pawn Until The Defeat of Hitlerism": Canadian Intelligence Gathering In The Second World War

Williams examines RCMP intelligence Bulletins drafted during World War Two that have been declassified under the Access to Information Act. Williams’ Analysis of the Bulletins suggests that the Canadian intelligence gathering apparatus underwent a massive expansion during the war. The RCMP began investigating people and organizations based upon their race, religion, political affiliation or nationalist beliefs. Ultimately, Williams suggests that contemporary tactics mobilized against perceived terrorist threats parallel tactics used during the Second World War

Development of Dehydrogenation System for Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier with Enhanced Reaction Rate

Owing to the massive expansion and intermittent nature of renewable power, green hydrogen production, storage, and transportation technologies with improved economic returns need to be developed. Moreover, the slowness of the dehydrogenation reaction is a primary barrier to the commercialization of liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology. The present study focused on increasing the speed of dehydrogenation, resulting in the proposal of a triple-loop dehydrogenation system comprising reaction, heating, and chilling loops. The reactor has a rotating cage containing a packed bed of catalyst pellets, which is designed to enhance both heat and mass transfer by helping to detach precipitated hydrogen bubbles from the catalyst surface. In addition, the centrifugal force aids in isolating the gas phase from the LOHC liquid. A dehydrogenation experiment was conducted using the reaction and chilling loops, which revealed that the average hydrogen production rate during the first hour was 52.6 LPM (liter per minute) from 26.3 L of perhydro-dibenzyl-toluene with 1.5 kg of 0.5 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. This was approximately 48% more than the value predicted with the reaction kinetics measured with a small-scale plug flow dehydrogenation reactor with less than 1.0 g of 5.0 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The concept, construction methods, and results of the preliminary gas infiltration, flow visualization, and reactor pumping experiments are also described in this paper.

Practical Alloy-Based Negative Electrodes for Na-ion Batteries

The volumetric capacity of typical Na-ion battery (NIB) negative electrodes like hard carbon is limited to less than 450 mAh cm−3. Alloy-based negative electrodes such as phosphorus (P), tin (Sn), and lead (Pb) more than double the volumetric capacity of hard carbon, all having a theoretical volumetric capacity above 1,000 mAh cm−3 in the fully sodiated state. These alloy materials have massive volume expansion, with P expanding by almost 300% and both Sn and Pb expanding to about 400% of their initial volumes when fully sodiated. This work shows that despite this large volume change, Sn and Pb have excellent half-cell cycling performance, including high Coulombic efficiency. A blended P-hard carbon cell shows promising initial performance despite P having far lower electronic conductivity than either Sn or Pb. Overall, it is expected that these Na-alloying elements will be needed to increase the volumetric energy density of NIBs to compete with low-cost lithium iron phosphate-based cells. In fact, one company, UNIGRID, has recently demonstrated cylindrical Na-ion cells that use a pure tin negative electrode, dramatically increasing the volumetric energy density of Na-ion technology.