DialectGram: Detecting Dialectal Variation at Multiple Geographic Resolutions

Several computational models have been developed to detect and analyze dialect variation in recent years. Most of these models assume a predefined set of geographical regions over which they detect and analyze dialectal variation. However, dialect variation occurs at multiple levels of geographic resolution ranging from cities within a state, states within a country, and between countries across continents. In this work, we propose a model that enables detection of dialectal variation at multiple levels of geographic resolution obviating the need for a-priori definition of the resolution level. Our method DialectGram, learns dialect-sensitive word embeddings while being agnostic of the geographic resolution. Specifically it only requires one-time training and enables analysis of dialectal variation at a chosen resolution post-hoc -- a significant departure from prior models which need to be re-trained whenever the pre-defined set of regions changes. Furthermore, DialectGram explicitly models senses thus enabling one to estimate the proportion of each sense usage in any given region. Finally, we quantitatively evaluate our model against other baselines on a new evaluation dataset DialectSim (in English) and show that DialectGram can effectively model linguistic variation

An ultrafast rechargeable lithium metal battery

Rechargeable lithium metal batteries have been regarded as one of the most attractive high-energy-density batteries due to their large specific capacity and the lowest reduction potential of metallic lithium. However, the uncontrollable Li dendrite growth and the resulting unstable interfaces during repeated Li plating/stripping lead to severe safety issues and a short cycle life, which are aggravated especially at a high current density. Herein, we present an organic/inorganic composite protective layer via pretreating the lithium metal in an Mn(NO3)2-containing carbonate electrolyte, not only enabling stable lithium deposition and formation with a prolonged cycle life, but also providing a record high rate of 20 mA cm−2 with a minimized overpotential of 60 mV in a symmetric lithium cell. Results indicate that such an artificial protective film could effectively prolong the cycle life of Li|Cu cells, and greatly improve the comprehensive electrochemical performance of Li|LiMn2O4 cells. The pretreated-Li|LiMn2O4 cells show an outstanding cycling performance with 83% capacity retention over 200 cycles at a high rate of 2C and a high temperature of 55 °C, and exhibit robust recovery capabilities with a high capacity and coulombic efficiency after the cycles at 10C. These findings highlight the significance of a protective layer in stabilizing a Li metal anode and pave a new way for designing high-energy batteries for practical utilization

Amorphous P₂S₅/C Composite as High-Performance Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries

We show a general method for achieving high-performance sodium storage materials via transforming crystalline P₂S₅ to amorphous P₂S₅ adhered to carbon matrix. The amorphous P₂S₅/C composite shows unique structural characteristics differing from the crystalline, which is identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and so on. The amorphous P₂S₅/C composite exhibits a safe average potential of 0.82 V, a reversible capacity of 400 mA h g^–1, a remarkable capacity retention of 89.4% over 4000 cycles as well as good rate capability. Our findings open up opportunities to design of advanced anodes for room-temperature sodium-ion batteries

Unraveling the main chain effects of fused thiophene conjugated polymers in electrochromism

The influence of increasing fused thiophene rings for the corresponding conjugated polymers [polythiophene (PT), poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PTT) and poly(dithieno[3,2-b:2’,3’-d]thiophene) (PDTT)] on their photophysical and electrochemical properties, morphology and electrochromic performance are investigated in detail in this study. PDTT is the easiest of the three polymers to prepare and has the lowest onset oxidation potential of 1.17 V because of its increased donor ability, lower than those of PTT (1.41 V) and PT (1.82 V). PDTT also exhibits the best electrochemical and thermal stability because of its extended conjugated skeleton. The PT, PTT and PDTT polymers present poor, good and moderate electrochromic properties, respectively, with increasing fused thiophene rings. PTT displays the highest ΔT of 35% in 700 nm, the fastest response time of 1.0 s and the maximum colouration efficiency (CE) of 94 cm2 C-1, which is attributed to its enhanced morphology, since the PTT film is conducive to the promotion of ions to dope and dedope. Flexible electrochromic devices are fabricated and PTT exhibits the highest ΔT (60% in 480 nm and 16% in 660 nm), as well as excellent stability with less than a 5% ΔT reduction after successive cycling of 1000 s. All these findings indicate that the precise regulation of the fused thiophene is crucial in achieving high performance in electrochromism, which provides insight for the design of electrochromic conjugated polymers and flexible electrochromic devices

Compound 49b displayed limited effects on 5-LOX in Müller cells in high glucose.

<p>Müller cells were grown in in normal glucose (NG), normal glucose+Compound 49b (NG+49b), high glucose (HG) or high glucose treated with Compound 49b (HG+49b). Panels A–C illustrate Western blots for 5-LOX, 15-LOX-1 and 15-LOX-2, respectively. *P<0.05 vs. NG, ^#P<0.05 vs. HG. N = 4 for each treatment.</p

Lipoxygenase enzymes were differentially expressed in REC cells grown in high glucose and after Compound 49b treatment.

<p>5-LOX (A), 15-LOX-1 (B) and 15-LOX-2 (C) in REC cells grown in normal glucose (NG), normal glucose+Compound 49b (NG+49b), high glucose (HG) or high glucose treated with Compound 49b (HG+49b). *P<0.05 vs. NG, ^#P<0.05 vs. HG. N = 4 for each treatment.</p

Increased RvD1 levels after Compound 49b treatment in REC were β-adrenergic receptor pathway specific.

<p>REC were exposed to normal glucose (NG), normal glucose+Compound 49b (NG+49b), normal glucose+Compound 49b+propranolol or PKA siRNA(NG+49b+propranolol/siPKA), high glucose (HG), high glucose treated with Compound 49b (HG+49b) and high glucose+Compound 49b+propranolol/PKA siRNA (HG+49b+propranolol/siPKA). ELISA results are shown for RvD1 levels after treatment with propranolol (A) and PKA siRNA (B). *P<0.05 vs. NG, ^#P<0.05 vs. HG. N = 4 for each treatment.</p

Compound 49b had no effect on lipoxygenase levels in PMN exposed to high glucose.

<p>Mouse PMN cells were exposed to normal glucose (NG), normal glucose+Compound 49b (NG+49b), high glucose (HG) or high glucose treated with Compound 49b (HG+49b). Western blots results are shown for 5-LOX (A), 15-LOX-1 (B) and 15-LOX-2 (C) expression. *P<0.05 vs. NG, ^#P<0.05 vs. HG. N = 4 for each treatment.</p