MoO3 nanoparticle coatings on high-voltage 5 V LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 cathode materials for improving lithium-ion battery performance

To reduce surface contamination and increase battery life, MoO3 nanoparticles were coated with a high-voltage (5 V) LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 cathode material by in-situ method during the high-temperature annealing process. To avoid charging by more than 5 V, we also developed a system based on anode-limited full-cell with a negative/positive electrode (N/P) ratio of 0.9. The pristine LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 was initially prepared by high-energy ball-mill with a solid-state reaction, followed by a precipitation reaction with a molybdenum precursor for the MoO3 coating. The typical structural and electrochemical behaviors of the materials were clearly investigated and reported. The results revealed that a sample of 2 wt.% MoO3-coated LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 electrode exhibited an optimal electrochemical activity, indicating that the MoO3 nanoparticle coating layers considerably enhanced the high-rate charge–discharge profiles and cycle life performance of LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 with a negligible capacity decay. The 2 wt.% MoO3-coated LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 electrode could achieve high specific discharge capacities of 131 and 124 mAh g−1 at the rates of 1 and 10 C, respectively. In particular, the 2 wt.% MoO3-coated LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 electrode retained its specific capacity (87 mAh g−1) of 80.1% after 500 cycles at a rate of 10 C. The Li4 Ti5 O12 /LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 full cell based on the electrochemical-cell (EL-cell) configuration was successfully assembled and tested, exhibiting excellent cycling retention of 93.4% at a 1 C rate for 100 cycles. The results suggest that the MoO3 nano-coating layer could effectively reduce side reactions at the interface of the LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 cathode and the electrolyte, thus improving the electrochemical performance of the battery system

The effectiveness of adjunct mindfulness-based intervention in treatment of bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been increasingly used as an adjunctive treatment to pharmacotherapy for a few psychiatric disorders. However, few studies have investigated the efficacy of MBIs in bipolar disorder (BD). METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of MBIs as an adjunctive treatment in BD. Major electronic databases were independently searched by two authors for controlled and uncontrolled studies which examined the effects of MBIs on psychiatric symptoms in subjects with BD. Data from original studies were synthesized by using a random effects model. RESULTS: Twelve trials were eligible for inclusion into current meta-analysis, including three controlled studies (n=132) and nine uncontrolled studies (n=142). In within-group analysis, MBIs significantly reduced depressive (7 studies, n=100, Hedges' g=0.58, p<0.001) and anxiety (4 studies, n=68, Hedges' g=0.34, p=0.043) symptoms, but not manic symptoms (6 studies, n=89, Hedges' g=0.09, p=0.488) and cognition (3 studies, n=43, Hedges' g=0.35, p=0.171), compared to baseline. In between-group analysis (intervention group versus waiting list group, all patients with BD), MBIs did not reduce depressive (3 studies, n=132, Hedges' g=0.46, p=0.315) or anxiety (3 studies, n=132, Hedges' g=0.33, p=0.578) symptoms. LIMITATIONS: Only three controlled trials compared MBIs to control conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis showed significantly beneficial effects on depressive and anxiety symptoms of BD patients in within-group analysis. However, this significance was not observed in comparison with the control groups. Further clinical trials are warranted to investigate the differences in the benefits of MBIs between treatment and control subjects

A delta-doped quantum well system with additional modulation doping

A delta-doped quantum well with additional modulation doping may have potential applications. Utilizing such a hybrid system, it is possible to experimentally realize an extremely high two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density without suffering inter-electronic-subband scattering. In this article, the authors report on transport measurements on a delta-doped quantum well system with extra modulation doping. We have observed a 0-10 direct insulator-quantum Hall (I-QH) transition where the numbers 0 and 10 correspond to the insulator and Landau level filling factor ν = 10 QH state, respectively. In situ titled-magnetic field measurements reveal that the observed direct I-QH transition depends on the magnetic component perpendicular to the quantum well, and the electron system within this structure is 2D in nature. Furthermore, transport measurements on the 2DEG of this study show that carrier density, resistance and mobility are approximately temperature (T)-independent over a wide range of T. Such results could be an advantage for applications in T-insensitive devices

Enabling Lambertian-Like Warm White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with a Yellow Phosphor Embedded Flexible Film

We demonstrate in this report a new constructive method of fabricating white organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) with a flexible plastic film embedded with yellow phosphor. The flexible film is composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and fabricated by using spin coating followed by peeling technology. From the results, the resultant electroluminescent spectrum shows the white OLED to have chromatic coordinates of 0.38 and 0.54 and correlated color temperature of 4200 K. The warm white OLED exhibits the yield of 10.3 cd/A and the luminous power efficiency of 5.4 lm/W at a luminance of 1000 cd/m2. A desirable Lambertian-like far-field pattern is detected from the white OLEDs with the yellow phosphor containing PDMS film. This method is simple, reproducible, and cost-effective, proving to be a highly feasible approach to realize white OLED

Functional characterization of cellulases identified from the cow rumen fungus Neocallimastix patriciarum W5 by transcriptomic and secretomic analyses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Neocallimastix patriciarum</it> is one of the common anaerobic fungi in the digestive tracts of ruminants that can actively digest cellulosic materials, and its cellulases have great potential for hydrolyzing cellulosic feedstocks. Due to the difficulty in culture and lack of a genome database, it is not easy to gain a global understanding of the glycosyl hydrolases (<it>GHs</it>) produced by this anaerobic fungus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed an efficient platform that uses a combination of transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to <it>N. patriciarum </it>to accelerate gene identification, enzyme classification and application in rice straw degradation. By conducting complementary studies of transcriptome (Roche 454 GS and Illumina GA IIx) and secretome (ESI-Trap LC-MS/MS), we identified 219 putative <it>GH </it>contigs and classified them into 25 <it>GH</it> families. The secretome analysis identified four major enzymes involved in rice straw degradation: β-glucosidase, endo-1,4-β-xylanase, xylanase B and Cel48A exoglucanase. From the sequences of assembled contigs, we cloned 19 putative cellulase genes, including the <it>GH1</it>, <it>GH3</it>, <it>GH5</it>, <it>GH6</it>, <it>GH9</it>, <it>GH18</it>, <it>GH43 </it>and <it>GH48 </it>gene families, which were highly expressed in <it>N. patriciarum </it>cultures grown on different feedstocks.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These <it>GH </it>genes were expressed in Pichia pastoris and/or Saccharomyces cerevisiae for functional characterization. At least five novel cellulases displayed cellulytic activity for glucose production. One β-glucosidase (W5-16143) and one exocellulase (W5-CAT26) showed strong activities and could potentially be developed into commercial enzymes.</p

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities