Review-Electrode Kinetics and Electrolyte Stability in Vanadium Flow Batteries

Two aspects of vanadium flow batteries are reviewed: electrochemical kinetics on carbon electrodes and positive electrolyte stability. There is poor agreement between reported values of kinetic parameters; however, most authors report that kinetic rates are faster for VIV/VV than for VII/VIII. Cycling the electrode potential increases the rates of both reactions initially due to roughening but when no further roughening is observed, the VII/VIII and VIV/VV reactions are affected oppositely by the pretreatment potential. Anodic pretreatment activates the electrode for the VII/VIII reaction, and deactivates it for VIV/VV. Three states of the carbon surface are suggested: reduced and oxidized states R and O, respectively, both with low electrocatalytic activity, and an intermediate state M with higher activity. The role of surface functional groups and the mechanisms of electron transfer for the VII/VIII and VIV/VV reactions are still not well understood. The induction time for precipitation of V2O5 from positive electrolytes decreases with temperature, showing an Arrhenius-type dependence with an activation energy of 1.79 eV in agreement with DFT calculations based on a VO(OH)3 intermediate. It also decreases exponentially with increasing VV concentration and increases exponentially with increasing sulphate concentration. Both arsenate and phosphate are effective additives for improving thermal stability

Development of integrated supply chain system in manufacturing industry

This paper presents the model of integrated halal supply chain in food manufacturing industries. There is global increase in the demand for halal products by Islamic countries as well as by non-Islamic countries. Halal food consumers are presently more alert and concern about the integrity of Halal status. Furthermore, they also curious about all the activities involved along the supply chain whether the products that they purchased were truly halal from the beginning to the end. The need of halal supply chain is crucial in ensuring that the concept of halal is not only applicable for the food itself but also for the whole supply chain starting from the farm to the customer. This project attempts to develop an integrated halal supply chain system that can be used by food manufacturers that are developing halal products for better productivity and quality. The identified supply chain components are human resources, process, environment, accreditations, logistics and traceability

From gut dysbiosis to altered brain function and mental illness: mechanisms and pathways

The human body hosts an enormous abundance and diversity of microbes, which perform a range of essential and beneficial functions. Our appreciation of the importance of these microbial communities to many aspects of human physiology has grown dramatically in recent years. We know, for example, that animals raised in a germ-free environment exhibit substantially altered immune and metabolic function, while the disruption of commensal microbiota in humans is associated with the development of a growing number of diseases. Evidence is now emerging that, through interactions with the gut-brain axis, the bidirectional communication system between the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiome can also influence neural development, cognition and behaviour, with recent evidence that changes in behaviour alter gut microbiota composition, while modifications of the microbiome can induce depressive-like behaviours. Although an association between enteropathy and certain psychiatric conditions has long been recognized, it now appears that gut microbes represent direct mediators of psychopathology. Here, we examine roles of gut microbiome in shaping brain development and neurological function, and the mechanisms by which it can contribute to mental illness. Further, we discuss how the insight provided by this new and exciting field of research can inform care and provide a basis for the design of novel, microbiota-targeted, therapies.GB Rogers, DJ Keating, RL Young, M-L Wong, J Licinio, and S Wesseling

Effect of material modifier and vibration on mechanical and microstructure properties of aluminium LM6 composite casting

Advances in materials such as Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) are rapidly developed due to demands and applications. Reinforced particles of silicon carbide with Al-matrix composites are expected to have many applications in automotive, aircraft, aerospace, and electronics industries due to their enhancement of mechanical properties. Improvement of strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance still need to be explored in material research activities. Therefore, in this project, the effect of different wt % of Sr on mechanical and microstructure properties of Al-SiC composite + LM6 and the use of copper as corrosion resistance were investigated. For microstructure analysis, the effect strontium was observed, and all samples were characterized on surface morphology by means of SEM equipped with EDS. In addition, the fabrication and identifying the characterizations of aluminium alloy with copper also have been carried out. The amount of copper additions was varied from 0%wt with the intervals of 3%wt for every alloying process. In the process of casting, there were two common types of moulding process; static moulding and vibrating moulding have been carried out. The results showed that the more Sr added, the greater number of alpha dendrites was present and it can clearly be seen. Same as EDS analysis where it also showed that addition of Sr increased the value of Si and Al chemical composition. Next, to fabricate Al-SiC composite, 10 wt % silicon carbide and different percentages (0.02, 0.5) wt % of Al-10Sr was added to LM6 and the particles were mixed by using sand casting vortex method. The addition of different values of Al-10Sr (0.01, 0.02, 0.5) wt % of mechanical properties of Al was also examined. Meanwhile, the analysis results found that UTS for Al increased by adding wt % of Sr and the highest value was 110.23 MPa for Al-0.5 wt % Sr. It was observed that the tensile for the composite did not dramatically increase for each sample. It can be concluded that the weak interface between particles and matrix leads to decreasing UTS value. Strong interface between particles in the matrix showed high strength and stiffness but typically a low resistance to fracture. Moreover, from the analysis of the hardness test on every sample obtained the highest value of Rockwell number was for Al-SiC + 0.5 wt % Sr which was 73.52. This showed that by adding particulate reinforcement of SiC and Sr addition improved the LM6 microstructure and boosted the mechanical properties for better industrial applications especially in automotive and aircraft applications. The fabrication of LM6 alloy with various amounts of copper and using the mechanical vibrations moulding and without vibration moulding was successfully accomplished and the characterizations and mechanical properties of the Al-Si-Cu composite was determined. It was found that the optimum and the best percentage of copper composition in casted LM6 was found to be the 9%wt of copper