A Heterogeneous Oxide Enables Reversible Calcium Electrodeposition for a Calcium Battery

Multivalent rechargeable metal batteries offer a safer, more sustainable, and higher energy density alternative to lithium-ion batteries, though several challenges remain. Recent demonstrations of room-temperature reversible electrodeposition and dissolution of Ca metal indicate that it is possible to stabilize metallic Ca anodes with spontaneously formed solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs). However, further progress toward the goal of an energy-efficient, long cycle-life Ca anode requires correlating interphase identity with electrode performance. In this work, we demonstrate that the SEI formed from calcium borohydride solvated in tetrahydrofuran, an electrolyte that supports reversible Ca deposition, is a compositionally and structurally heterogeneous oxide, sufficiently thin to support Ca2+ cation transmission while stabilizing Ca from corrosive loss during long-term electrolyte contact. The significant advance demonstrated here is that ionically nonconductive materials, like calcium oxide, can form cation-transmissive interphases in which conductivity can be tailored through control of heterogeneity, providing an approach for stabilizing reactive metal electrodes

Evaluation of different pre-slaughter light intensities and fasting duration in broilers

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different levels of light intensity (0, 5 or 20 lx) and different pre-slaughter feed fasting duration (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 hours) on the parameters body weight loss, carcass yield, commercial cuts yield, water carcass retention, bacterial counts and breast meat pH. A number of 72 broiler chickens at 45 days of age (Cobb 500 strain) was distributed in three chambers, in a total of 24 broilers per chamber. The results showed that feed fasting significantly influenced (p<0.05) body weight losswhen broilers were submitted to 9 hours of fasting. Broilers kept in the chamber with 0 lx presented higher body weight loss compared with other light intensities. The results showed an increase in carcass yield (p<0.05) as pre-slaughter feed fasting duration increased, but it did not affect commercial cuts yield or breast meat pH (p>0.05). The presence of feed in the crop and gizzard did not depend on light intensity, but was affected by pre-slaughter feed fasting duration. Bacterial counts decreased with feed fasting duration (p<0.05)

Adaptation of rice to flooded soils

This paper and its companion (Colmer et al., 2014) review research on the adaptation of rice (Oryza sativa L.) to the wide range of semi-aquatic environments in which it grows. The paper considers well-regulated flooding to 5-20 cm depth; the companion considers deeper flooding in rainfed conditions. Flooded environments are dominated by the very slow diffusion of gases in water and the resulting changes in soil chemical and biological conditions. Adaptations to these potentially toxic conditions hinge on an optimum ventilation network in the plant, providing O₂ to the roots and rhizosphere, both being critical for favourable nutrition and tolerance of reduced-soil toxins. Rice has become a model for studying adaptation to flooded soils and flood-prone environments because of its relatively simple genome and large genetic diversity, and its extreme tolerance of flooded soils compared with other crop species.39 page(s