Investigating the critical characteristics of thermal runaway process for LiFePO4/graphite batteries by a ceased segmented method

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used as the energy carrier in our daily life. However, the higher energy density of LIBs results in poor safety performance. Thermal runaway (TR) is the critical problem which hinders the further application of LIBs. Clarifying the mechanism of TR evolution is beneficial to safer cell design and safety management. In this paper, liquid nitrogen spray is proved to be an effective way to stop the violent reaction of LIBs during the TR process. Based on extended-volume accelerating rate calorimetry, the liquid nitrogen ceasing combined with non-atmospheric exposure analysis is used to investigate the TR evolution about LiFePO4/graphite batteries at critical temperature. Specifically, the geometrical shape, voltage, and impedance change are monitored during the TR process on the cell level. The morphologies/constitution of electrodes and separators are presented on the component level. Utilizing the gas analysis, the failure mechanism of the prismatic LiFePO4/graphite battery is studied comprehensively

Communication Resources Constrained Hierarchical Federated Learning for End-to-End Autonomous Driving

While federated learning (FL) improves the generalization of end-to-end autonomous driving by model aggregation, the conventional single-hop FL (SFL) suffers from slow convergence rate due to long-range communications among vehicles and cloud server. Hierarchical federated learning (HFL) overcomes such drawbacks via introduction of mid-point edge servers. However, the orchestration between constrained communication resources and HFL performance becomes an urgent problem. This paper proposes an optimization-based Communication Resource Constrained Hierarchical Federated Learning (CRCHFL) framework to minimize the generalization error of the autonomous driving model using hybrid data and model aggregation. The effectiveness of the proposed CRCHFL is evaluated in the Car Learning to Act (CARLA) simulation platform. Results show that the proposed CRCHFL both accelerates the convergence rate and enhances the generalization of federated learning autonomous driving model. Moreover, under the same communication resource budget, it outperforms the HFL by 10.33% and the SFL by 12.44%

Percutaneous cryoablation of subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective study of 57 cases

PURPOSEThis study aims to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the percutaneous cryoablation for subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).METHODSA total of 57 patients with subcapsular (<1 cm form the liver edge) HCCs (68 lesions), who were treated with CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation in the Department of Interventional Radiology of our hospital between July 1, 2016 and September 1, 2018, were retrospectively included. Complete ablation rate, local tumor progression (LTP) and treatment-related complications were evaluated. Furthermore, the degree of intraoperative and postoperative pain was measured with the visual analog scale (VAS), and laboratory findings were compared before and after the procedure.RESULTSAll patients successfully completed the treatment. The mean follow-up period was 12.8 months (range, 3–27 months), and the complete ablation rate was 97% (66/68). Local tumor progression occurred in 11 lesions (16.2%), and the 6-, 12- and 18-month cumulative LTP rates were 4.0%, 8.2% and 20.5%, respectively. Two patients (3.5%, 2/57) developed major complications, and 12 patients had minor complications (22.8%, 12/57). The mean VAS score during the operation was 1.65 points (range, 1–3 points). Postoperative pain worsened in 3 patients, and the VAS scores reached 4–5. Transient changes in biochemical and hematologic markers were observed.CONCLUSIONPercutaneous cryoablation for subcapsular HCC is safe and effective, the procedure is simple and the patients suffer less pain

Anthropogenic Noise Aggravates the Toxicity of Cadmium on Some Physiological Characteristics of the Blood Clam Tegillarca granosa

Widespread applications of cadmium (Cd) in various products have caused Cd contamination in marine ecosystems. Meanwhile, human activities in the ocean have also generated an increasing amount of noise in recent decades. Although anthropogenic noise and Cd contaminants could be present simultaneously in marine environments, the physiological responses of marine bivalve mollusks upon coexposure to anthropogenic noise and toxic metal contaminants, including Cd remain unclear. Therefore, the combined effects of anthropogenic noise and Cd on the physiological characteristics of the blood clam Tegillarca granosa were investigated in this study. The results showed that 10 days of coexposure to anthropogenic noise and Cd can enhance adverse impacts on metabolic processes, as indicated by the clearance rate, respiration rate, ammonium excretion rate, and O:N ratio of T. granosa. In addition, both the ATP content, ATP synthase activity and genes encoding important enzymes in ATP synthesis significantly declined after coexposures to anthropogenic noise and Cd, which have resulted from reduced feeding activity and respiration. Furthermore, the expressions of neurotransmitter-related genes (MAO, AChE, and mAChR3) were all significantly down-regulated after coexposure to anthropogenic noise and Cd, which suggests an enhanced neurotoxicity under coexposure. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that anthropogenic noise and Cd would have synergetic effects on the feeding activity, metabolism, and ATP synthesis of T. granosa, which may be due to the add-on of stress responses and neurotransmitter disturbances

Ocean Acidification Impairs Foraging Behavior by Interfering With Olfactory Neural Signal Transduction in Black Sea Bream, Acanthopagrus schlegelii

In recent years, ocean acidification (OA) caused by oceanic absorption of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) has drawn worldwide concern over its physiological and ecological effects on marine organisms. However, the behavioral impacts of OA and especially the underlying physiological mechanisms causing these impacts are still poorly understood in marine species. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of elevated pCO2 on foraging behavior, in vivo contents of two important neurotransmitters, and the expression of genes encoding key modulatory enzymes from the olfactory transduction pathway were investigated in the larval black sea bream. The results showed that larval sea breams (length of 4.71 ± 0.45 cm) reared in pCO2 acidified seawater (pH at 7.8 and 7.4) for 15 days tend to stall longer at their acclimated zone and swim with a significant slower velocity in a more zigzag manner toward food source, thereby taking twice the amount of time than control (pH at 8.1) to reach the food source. These findings indicate that the foraging behavior of the sea bream was significantly impaired by ocean acidification. In addition, compared to a control, significant reductions in the in vivo contents of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and Acetylcholine (ACh) were detected in ocean acidification-treated sea breams. Furthermore, in the acidified experiment groups, the expression of genes encoding positive regulators, the olfaction-specific G protein (Golf) and the G-protein signaling 2 (RGS2) and negative regulators, the G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) and arrestin in the olfactory transduction pathway were found to be significantly suppressed and up-regulated, respectively. Changes in neurotransmitter content and expression of olfactory transduction related genes indicate a significant disruptive effect caused by OA on olfactory neural signal transduction, which might reveal the underlying cause of the hampered foraging behavior

Fabrication of TiO 2

The TiO2 photoelectrodes fabricated on the substrate of Ti foils by Ti ions implantation and subsequent annealing at different temperatures were applied for water splitting. The size of TiO2 nanoparticles increased with annealing temperatures, and the GIXRD patterns and Raman spectra demonstrate that the phase of TiO2 turns to rutile at high temperature. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra of the valence band demonstrate that the samples annealed at 400 and 500°C show the n-type property. The sample annealed at 600°C shows the weak p-type TiO2 property. For the sample annealed at 700°C, the negative photocurrent is main, which mainly performs the p-type property of TiO2. The IPCE values indicate that the absorption edges are red shifted with the increase of annealing temperatures

Molecular prevalence and subtype distribution of Blastocystis spp. among children who have diarrheia or are asymptomatic in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

Blastocystis sp., a significant zoonotic parasite with a global distribution, was the focus of this study, which aimed to investigate its prevalence and genetic diversity among diarrheic and asymptomatic children in Wenzhou, China. We collected 1,032 fecal samples from Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou, China, comprising 684 from children with diarrhea and 348 from asymptomatic children. Genomic DNA extracted from these samples was used to detect Blastocystis spp. by PCR, targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. Subsequently, a phylogenetic tree was constructed, applying the maximum likelihood method. Blastocystis spp. were detected in 67 (6.5%) of the fecal samples. The prevalence rate of Blastocystis spp. in diarrheic children (8.8%; 60/684) was significantly higher than that in asymptomatic children (2.0%; 7/348) (χ 2 = 17.3, p < 0.001). Sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene identified five known Blastocystis spp. subtypes, ST1 (n = 12), ST2 (n = 5), ST3 (n = 35), ST4 (n = 12), and ST7 (n = 3). ST1 and ST3 were present in both diarrheic and asymptomatic children, while ST2, ST4, and ST7 were exclusive to diarrheic children. Intra-subtype genetic polymorphisms were identified, comprising four variations in ST1 (ST1-1 to ST1-4), five in ST3 (ST3-1 to ST3-5), two in ST4 (ST4-1 and ST4-2), and two in ST7 (ST7-1 and ST7-2). Notably, ST1-2 to ST1-4, ST3-3 to ST3-5, and ST7-1 and ST7-2 represent newly identified variations. The composition and genetic characteristics of subtypes among children in this region suggest various sources of infection, including human-to-human and animal-to-human transmission

Enhanced photocatalysis by coupling of anatase TiO2 film to triangular Ag nanoparticle island

In order to overcome the low utilization ratio of solar light and high electron-hole pair recombination rate of TiO(2), the triangular Ag nanoparticle island is covered on the surface of the TiO(2) thin film. Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of the Ag/TiO(2) nanocomposite system is observed. The increase of electron-hole pair generation is caused by the enhanced near-field amplitudes of localized surface plasmon of the Ag nanoparticles. The efficiently suppressed recombination of electron-hole pair caused by the metal-semiconductor contact can also enhance the photocatalytic activity of the TiO(2) film