New method for the deposition of nickel oxide in porous scaffolds for electrodes in solid oxide fuel cells and electrolyzers

A simple chemical bath deposition is used to coat a complex porous ceramic scaffold with a conformal nickel layer. The resulting composite is used as a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell electrode and its electrochemical response is measured in humidified hydrogen. X-Ray tomography is used to determine microstructural parameters of the uncoated and Ni-coated porous structure, among other, the surface area to total volume, the radial pore size and size of the necks between pores

Reducing The Impact Of Adaptive Optics Lag On Optical And Quantum Communications Rates From Rapidly Moving Sources

Wavefront of light passing through turbulent atmosphere gets distorted. This causes signal loss in free-space optical communication as the light beam spreads and wanders at the receiving end. Frequency and/or time division multiplexing adaptive optics (AO) techniques have been used to conjugate this kind of wavefront distortion. However, if the signal beam moves relative to the atmosphere, the AO system performance degrades due to high temporal anisoplanatism. Here we solve this problem by adding a pioneer beacon that is spatially separated from the signal beam with time delay between spatially separated pulses. More importantly, our protocol works irrespective of the signal beam intensity and hence is also applicable to secret quantum communication. In particular, using semi-empirical atmospheric turbulence calculation, we show that for low earth orbit satellite-to-ground decoy state quantum key distribution with the satellite at zenith angle $< 30^\circ$, our method increases the key rate by at least $215\%$ and $40\%$ for satellite altitude $400$~km and $800$~km, respectively. Finally, we propose a modification of existing wavelength division multiplexing systems as an effective alternative solution to this problem.Comment: title changed to better reflect what we have done, to appear in AIP Advances; 14 pages, 12 figure

Combinatorial Synthesis of Structurally Diverse Triazole-Bridged Flavonoid Dimers and Trimers

Flavonoids are a large family of compounds associated with a broad range of biologically useful properties. In recent years, synthetic compounds that contain two flavonoid units linked together have attracted attention in drug discovery and development projects. Numerous flavonoid dimer systems, incorporating a range of monomers attached via different linkers, have been reported to exhibit interesting bioactivities. From a medicinal chemistry perspective, the 1,2,3-triazole ring system has been identified as a particularly attractive linker moiety in dimeric derivatives (owing to several favourable attributes including proven biological relevance and metabolic stability) and triazole-bridged flavonoid dimers possessing anticancer and antimalarial activities have recently been reported. However, there are relatively few examples of libraries of triazole-bridged flavonoid dimers and the diversity of flavonoid subunits present within these is typically limited. Thus, this compound type arguably remains underexplored within drug discovery. Herein, we report a modular strategy for the synthesis of novel and biologically interesting triazole-bridged flavonoid heterodimers and also very rare heterotrimers from readily available starting materials. Application of this strategy has enabled step-efficient and systematic access to a library of structurally diverse compounds of this sort, with a variety of monomer units belonging to six different structural subclasses of flavonoid successfully incorporated.Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ERC grant agreement No. [279337/DOS], AstraZeneca, European Union, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trus

Essential cohomology for elementary abelian p-groups

For an odd prime p the cohomology ring of an elementary abelian p-group is polynomial tensor exterior. We show that the ideal of essential classes is the Steenrod closure of the class generating the top exterior power. As a module over the polynomial algebra, the essential ideal is free on the set of Mui invariants.Comment: 10 page

Governmentalizing Gramsci:Topologies of power and passive revolution in Cambodia’s garment production network

This article takes a fresh look at the multiple power relations between state, capital and labor in global production networks. Moving beyond debates about public vs. private governance, it brings together Antonio Gramsci’s concepts of hegemony and the integral state with Michel Foucault’s concepts of governmentality and the “dipositive” in order to analyze the power topologies that permeate global production networks. Using the Cambodian garment production network as example, we scrutinize the discourse of “decent work” and “ethical manufacturing,” exemplified by the Better Factories Cambodia program, and discuss the implications for labor agency, power and political contestation. The article concludes with reflections on “governmentalizing Gramsci,” thinking power topologically and the value of a cultural political economy in the analysis of global production networks

Exploitation and resistance: a comparative analysis of the Chinese cheap labour electronics and high-value added IT sectors.

This article compares the electronics sector in the area of Shenzhen, based on cheap labour assembling goods for export, with the IT sector in the area of Shanghai, relying on a more skilled workforce manufacturing high-value added goods. It is asked in what way these rather different locations within the global political economy condition the form and contents of resistance in these two sectors. The article concludes that industrial relations are more confrontational in the electronics sector with informal labour NGOs supporting workers in getting their individual and collective rights. The IT sector, in contrast, is characterised by consensual relationships. Informal labour NGOs concentrate on organising cultural activities for workers’ free time, performing a mediating role between employers and employees, supported by the government

Involving Children and Teenagers With Bilateral Cochlear Implants in the Design of the BEARS (Both EARS) Virtual Reality Training Suite Improves Personalization

Older children and teenagers with bilateral cochlear implants often have poor spatial hearing because they cannot fuse sounds from the two ears. This deficit jeopardizes speech and language development, education, and social well-being. The lack of protocols for fitting bilateral cochlear implants and resources for spatial-hearing training contribute to these difficulties. Spatial hearing develops with bilateral experience. A large body of research demonstrates that sound localisation can improve with training, underpinned by plasticity-driven changes in the auditory pathways. Generalizing training to non-trained auditory skills is best achieved by using a multi-modal (audio-visual) implementation and multi-domain training tasks (localisation, speech-in-noise, and spatial music). The goal of this work was to develop a package of virtual-reality games (BEARS, Both EARS) to train spatial hearing in young people (8–16 years) with bilateral cochlear implants using an action-research protocol. The action research protocol used formalized cycles for participants to trial aspects of the BEARS suite, reflect on their experiences, and in turn inform changes in the game implementations. This participatory design used the stakeholder participants as co-creators. The cycles for each of the three domains (localisation, spatial speech-in-noise, and spatial music) were customized to focus on the elements that the stakeholder participants considered important. The participants agreed that the final games were appropriate and ready to be used by patients. The main areas of modification were: the variety of immersive scenarios to cover age range and interests, the number of levels of complexity to ensure small improvements were measurable, feedback, and reward schemes to ensure positive reinforcement, and an additional implementation on an iPad for those who had difficulties with the headsets due to age or balance issues. The effectiveness of the BEARS training suite will be evaluated in a large-scale clinical trial to determine if using the games lead to improvements in speech-in-noise, quality of life, perceived benefit, and cost utility. Such interventions allow patients to take control of their own management reducing the reliance on outpatient-based rehabilitation. For young people, a virtual-reality implementation is more engaging than traditional rehabilitation methods, and the participatory design used here has ensured that the BEARS games are relevant

CuInSe2 thin films produced by rf sputtering in Ar/H2 atmospheres

Structural, compositional, optical, and electrical properties of CuInSe2thin filmsgrown by rf reactive sputtering from a Se excess target in Ar/H2 atmospheres are presented. The addition of H2 to the sputtering atmospheres allows the control of stoichiometry of films giving rise to remarkable changes in the film properties. Variation of substrate temperature causes changes in film composition because of the variation of hydrogen reactivity at the substrate. Measurements of resistivity at variable temperatures indicate a hopping conduction mechanism through gap states for films grown at low temperature (100–250 °C), the existence of three acceptor levels at about 0.046, 0.098, and 0.144 eV above valence band for films grown at intermediate temperature (250–350 °C), and a pseudometallic behavior for film grown at high temperatures (350–450 °C). Chalcopyrite polycrystalline thin films of CuInSe2 with an average grain size of 1 μm, an optical gap of 1.01 eV, and resistivities from 10− 1 to 103 Ω cm can be obtained by adding 1.5% of H2 to the sputtering atmosphere and by varying the substrate temperature from 300 to 400 °C