Sodium Biphenyl as Anolyte for Sodium-Seawater Batteries

Sodium-based battery systems have recently attracted increasing research interest due to the abundant resources employed. Among various material candidates for the negative electrode, sodium metal provides the highest capacity of theoretically 1165 mAh g(-1) and a very low redox potential of -2.71 versus the standard hydrogen electrode. However, the high reactivity of sodium metal toward the commonly used electrolytes results in severe side reactions, including the evolution of gaseous decomposition products, and, in addition, the risk of dendritic sodium growth, potentially causing a disastrous short circuit of the cell. Herein, the use of sodium biphenyl (Na-BP) as anolyte for the Na-seawater batteries (Na-SWB) is investigated. The catholyte for the open-structured positive electrode is natural seawater with sodium cations dissolved therein. Remarkably, the significant electronic and ionic conductivities of the Na-BP anolyte enable a low overpotential for the sodium deposition upon charge, allowing for high capacity and excellent capacity retention for 80 cycles in full Na-SWB. Additionally, the Na-BP anolyte suppresses gas evolution and dendrite growth by forming a homogeneous surface layer on the metallic negative electrode

Effects of the energy spread of secondary electrons in a dc-biased single-surface multipactor

The effects of the energy spread of secondary electrons are theoretically investigated for a dc-biased single-surface multipactor. In our previous publication [S. G. Jeon et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 073101 (2009)], we obtained the conditions for the phase lock of an electron bunch, assuming zero velocity spread of the secondary electrons. In this work, we extended our previous theory to derive a quadratic map, by which the stability and bifurcation of the electron bunch can be systematically investigated. For the study of the energy spread of the secondary electrons, a randomized term was added to this map. The modified map then showed significant smearing-out of the bifurcated branches. The theoretical results were verified by particle-in-cell simulations, which showed good agreement in wide parameter ranges for both cases of monoenergetic and energy-spread secondary electrons.open4

Treadmill Exercise Alleviates Aging-induced Apoptosis in Rat Cardiac Myocytes

SummaryBackgroundThe incidence and prevalence of heart failure increases with age. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis contributes to the pathogenesis of heart failure. In the end-stage of human heart failure, increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis is observed. Exercise training is one of the nonpharmacological treatments for chronic heart failure.MethodsIn the present study, we investigated the effect of treadmill exercise on the aging-induced apoptosis within cardiac myocytes in relation to the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) using rats. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and Western blotting for the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, HSP70, and phosphorylated p38 (p-p38) in the cardiac myocardium were conducted.ResultsAging induced apoptosis in the myocardium, which was confirmed by increased TUNEL-positive cells and the enhancement of Bax. Expression of HSP70 was suppressed and p-p38 expression was enhanced by aging. Treadmill exercise alleviated aging-induced apoptosis with enhancing HSP70 expression and suppressing p-p38 expression in the cardiac myocytes.ConclusionBased on the present results, it can be inferred that treadmill exercise can provide a cardioprotective effect on aging-induced apoptosis through the enhancement of HSP70 expression in the heart. Thus, regular exercise may be a useful strategy for preventing heart problems in the elderly

Electron bunching from a dc-biased, single-surface multipactor with realistically broad energy spectrum and emission angle of secondary electrons

We studied the influences of wide energy spectrum and emission angle of secondary electrons on electron bunching from a dc-biased single surface multipactor. In our previous study of the same system, an ideally narrow energy spread of secondary electrons without emission angle was used in the analysis of the electron trajectory [M. S. Hur, J.-I. Kim, G.-J. Kim, and S.-G. Jeon, Phys. Plasmas 18, 033103 (2011) and S.-G. Jeon, J.-I. Kim, S.-T. Han, S.-S. Jung, and J. U. Kim, Phys. Plasmas 16, 073101 (2009)]. In this paper, we investigated the cases with realistic energy spectrum, which is featured by a wide energy spread and significant emission angle. To theoretically approach the matter of emission angle, we employed a concept of effective longitudinal velocity distribution. The theoretical results are verified by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. We also studied the electron bunching from a copper by PIC simulations, where we observed stable electron bunches with bunch width of approximately 80 mu m.open3

Successful management of heterotopic cornual pregnancy with laparoscopic cornual resection

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the feasibility of laparoscopic cornual resection for the treatment of heterotopic cornual pregnancy.Study designWomen who underwent laparoscopic cornual resection for heterotopic cornual pregnancy at our hospital between January 2003 and March 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. We evaluated significant parameters such as operative complications and postoperative pregnancy outcomes of concomitant pregnancy.ResultsThirteen patients with heterotopic cornual pregnancy were included in the study. All were pregnant through assisted reproductive technology, and the diagnosis was made at a median of 6+6 weeks (range 5+4–10+0). They were successfully treated with laparoscopic cornual resection and admitted for a median of 4 days (range, 2–7) postoperatively. The median operative time was 65min (range, 35–145min) and estimated blood loss was 200mL (range, 10–3000mL). There was a spontaneous abortion at 7+6 gestational weeks in a patient who received bilateral cornual resection. Seven patients delivered babies at term and 3 at preterm. All 10 women delivered without any maternal or neonatal complications. Two were lost to follow-up.ConclusionsLaparoscopic cornual resection is a feasible primary approach for the management of heterotopic cornual pregnancy

The first Irish genome and ways of improving sequence accuracy

Whole-genome sequencing of an Irish person reveals hundreds of thousands of novel genomic variants. Imputation using previous known information improves the accuracy of low-read-depth sequencing