Cyclist deaths in London: implications from a safe systems perspective

Cyclist deaths in London: implications from a safe systems perspectiv

Pedal cyclist fatalities in London: analysis of police collision files (2007-2011)

The objective of this research report is to support the development of the forthcoming Cycle Safety Action Plan being prepared by Transport for London to be published in 2014. TfL wished to improve the understanding of the factors which lead to collisions involving fatally injured cyclists and those with life-changing injuries. The research focussed on an in-depth analysis of collisions that occurred between 2007 – 2011 when there were 79 fatal and life threatening collisions involving cyclists of which 53 were available for analysis

Electropolishing Valve Metals with a Sulfuric Acid-Methanol Electrolyte at Low Temperature

This study reports the electropolishing Ti and Nb metals using a fluoride-free electrolyte of sulfuric acid and methanol at low temperature (-70°C) without prior treatment. A fluoride-free electrolyte provides a less hazardous and more environmentally friendly option for electropolishing procedure. Experimental studies are presented on electropolishing with sulfuric acid electrolyte, which provides high quality macro- and micro-smoothing of the metal surfaces. Optimal conditions yielded leveling and brightening of the surface of Ti and Nb metals beyond that of the currently utilized electropolishing procedures with fluoride-containing electrolytes. The root mean squared roughness (Rq) from atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis was 1.64 and 0.49 nm for Ti and Nb, respectively. Lower temperature experiments led to noticeable kinetic effects, indicated by a dramatic drop in current densities and the expansion of the steady-state current density plateau in anodic polarization curves. In addition, the voltage range of the current plateau expanded with increasing acid concentration. Surface characterization of Ti and Nb metals after polishing provided evidence of salt film formation. In addition, these metals were used as substrates in the formation of nanostructured metal oxides. The overall quality of the polishing led to a dramatic improvement in the uniformity of the nanostructures

A Comparison of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation and Evolution on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic and Disordered Graphite Negative Electrodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries

The presence and stability of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on graphitic electrodes is vital to the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the formation and evolution of SEI remain the least understood area in LIBs due to its dynamic nature, complexity in chemical composition, heterogeneity in morphology, as well as lack of reliable in situ/operando techniques for accurate characterization. In addition, chemical composition and morphology of SEI are not only affected by the choice of electrolyte, but also by the nature of the electrode surface. While introduction of defects into graphitic electrodes has promoted their electrochemical properties, how such structural defects influence SEI formation and evolution remains an open question. Here, utilizing nondestructive operando electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EChem-AFM) the dynamic SEI formation and evolution on a pair of representative graphitic materials with and without defects, namely, highly oriented pyrolytic and disordered graphite electrodes, are systematically monitored and compared. Complementary to the characterization of SEI topographical and mechanical changes during electrochemical cycling by EChem-AFM, chemical analysis and theoretical calculations are conducted to provide mechanistic insights underlying SEI formation and evolution. The results provide guidance to engineer functional SEIs through design of carbon materials with defects for LIBs and beyond

Fully Inkjet-Printed Multilayered Graphene-Based Flexible Electrodes for Repeatable Electrochemical Response

Graphene has proven to be useful in biosensing applications. However, one of the main hurdles with printed graphene-based electrodes is achieving repeatable electrochemical performance from one printed electrode to another. We have developed a consistent fabrication process to control the sheet resistance of inkjet-printed graphene electrodes, thereby accomplishing repeatable electrochemical performance. Herein, we investigated the electrochemical properties of multilayered graphene (MLG) electrodes fully inkjet-printed (IJP) on flexible Kapton substrates. The electrodes were fabricated by inkjet printing three materials – (1) a conductive silver ink for electrical contact, (2) an insulating dielectric ink, and (3) MLG ink as the sensing material. The selected materials and fabrication methods provided great control over the ink rheology and material deposition, which enabled stable and repeatable electrochemical response: bending tests revealed the electrochemical behavior of these sensors remained consistent over 1000 bend cycles. Due to the abundance of structural defects (e.g., edge defects) present in the exfoliated graphene platelets, cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the graphene electrodes showed good electron transfer (k = 1.125 × 10−2 cm s−1) with a detection limit (0.01 mM) for the ferric/ferrocyanide redox couple, [Fe(CN)6]−3/−4, which is comparable or superior to modified graphene or graphene oxide-based sensors. Additionally, the potentiometric response of the electrodes displayed good sensitivity over the pH range of 4–10. Moreover, a fully IJP three-electrode device (MLG, platinum, and Ag/AgCl) also showed quasi-reversibility compared to a single IJP MLG electrode device. These findings demonstrate significant promise for scalable fabrication of a flexible, low cost, and fully-IJP wearable sensor system needed for space, military, and commercial biosensing applications

How do we best synergise climate mitigation actions to co-benefit biodiversity?

Acknowledgements We thank Yuka Otsuki Estrada for help in designing and producing the table, and all other authors of the IPBES-IPCC report on the scientific outcome of the IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop on biodiversity and climate change (Pörtner et al., 2021) for cross-cutting discussions during preparation of this analysis. Although this paper is based on the report of the IPBES-IPCC co882 sponsored workshop, the views expressed here represent the individual views of the authors. We would also like to thank the scientific steering committee of the IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop, review editors, the IPCC and IPBES Secretariat, especially Anne Larigauderie, and Technical Support Units. In memory of our friend and co-author, Bob Scholes, who sadly died during the preparation of this synthesis, and who will be sorely missed by all.Peer reviewedPostprin

Electrochemically Induced Amorphous-to-Rock-Salt Phase Transformation in Niobium Oxide Electrode for Li-Ion Batteries

Intercalation-type metal oxides are promising negative electrode materials for safe rechargeable lithium-ion batteries due to the reduced risk of Li plating at low voltages. Nevertheless, their lower energy and power density along with cycling instability remain bottlenecks for their implementation, especially for fast-charging applications. Here, we report a nanostructured rock-salt Nb2O5 electrode formed through an amorphous-to-crystalline transformation during repeated electrochemical cycling with Li+. This electrode can reversibly cycle three lithiums per Nb2O5, corresponding to a capacity of 269 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1, and retains a capacity of 191 mAh g−1 at a high rate of 1 A g−1. It exhibits superb cycling stability with a capacity of 225 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 for 400 cycles, and a Coulombic efficiency of 99.93%. We attribute the enhanced performance to the cubic rock-salt framework, which promotes low-energy migration paths. Our work suggests that inducing crystallization of amorphous nanomaterials through electrochemical cycling is a promising avenue for creating unconventional high-performance metal oxide electrode materials

A scenario-based approach to emissions reduction targets in Scottish agriculture

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 sets the ambitious net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets by 2045. This report provides an updated assessment of the emission reduction potential of the most effective mitigation measures in Scotland. The research team assessed 25 distinct farm technologies (in total 39, when considered for different livestock types) and practices which can reduce GHG emissions in Scotland by 2050. The measures were derived via a systematic process taking forward the most suitable options for Scotland for quantitative modelling