Effect of Silicon Crystallite Size on Its Electrochemical Performance for Lithium-Ion Batteries

It is reported that silicon (Si) anodes with a smaller crystallite size show better electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs); Si particles with different diameters are also used. However, it is yet to be clarified whether the better performance is attributed to crystallite size or particle diameter. The effect of Si crystallite size on its anode performance using Si particles having the same diameter and different crystallite sizes is investigated. Longer cycle life is obtained for smaller crystallite size, due to the small amount of the amorphous Li-rich Li—Si phase formed during charging. The phase is likely to form in a greater amount in Si particles with larger crystallite size, leading to degradation of the Si electrode at an early stage. Furthermore, Si electrodes with larger crystallite size show superior rate performance because of the high Li diffusion rate into the broader grain boundary; on the other hand, Si with smaller crystallite size should limit Li diffusion due to the narrower grain boundary. Therefore, smaller crystallite size helps improve the cycle life but deteriorates the rate performance of LIBs

Morbillivirus Receptors and Tropism: Multiple Pathways for Infection

Morbilliviruses, which include measles virus (MeV), canine distemper virus, and rinderpest virus, are among the most important pathogens in their respective hosts and cause severe syndromes. Morbilliviruses are enveloped viruses with two envelope proteins, one of which is hemagglutinin (H) protein, which plays a role in binding to cellular receptors. During morbillivirus infection, the virus initially targets lymphoid cells and replicates efficiently in the lymph nodes. The principal cellular receptor for morbillivirus is signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM, also called CD150), which is exclusively expressed on immune cells. This feature reflects the strong lymphoid cell tropism and viral spread in the infected body. Morbillivirus infection, however, affects various tissues in the body, including the lung, kidney, gastrointestinal tract, vascular endothelium, and brain. Thus, other receptors for morbilliviruses in addition to SLAM might exist. Recently, nectin-4 has been identified as a novel epithelial cell receptor for MeV. The expression of nectin-4 is localized to polarized epithelial cells, and this localization supports the notion of cell tropism since MeV also grows well in the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract. Although two major receptors for lymphoid and epithelial cells in natural infection have been identified, morbillivirus can still infect many other types of cells with low infectivity, suggesting the existence of inefficient but ubiquitously expressed receptors. We have identified other molecules that are implicated in morbillivirus infection of SLAM-negative cells by alternative mechanisms. These findings indicate that morbillivirus utilizes multiple pathways for establishment of infection. These studies will advance our understanding of morbillivirus tropism and pathogenesis

Accurate Peak Detection for Optical Sensing with Reduced Sampling Rate and Calculation Complexity

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are widely applied in optical sensing systems due to their advantages including being simple to use, high sensitivity, and having great potential for integration into optical communication systems. A common method used for FBG sensing systems is wavelength interrogation. The performance of interrogation based sensing systems is significantly determined by the accuracy of the wavelength peak detection processing. Direct maximum value readout (DMVR) is the simplest peak detection method. However, the detection accuracy of DMVR is sensitive to noise and the sampling resolution. Many modified peak detection methods, such as filtering and curve fitting schemes, have been studied in recent decades. Though these methods are less sensitive to noise and have better sensing accuracy at lower sampling resolutions, they also confer increased processing complexity. As massive sensors may be deployed for applications such as the Internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), lower levels of processing complexity are required. In this paper, an efficient scheme applying a three-point peak detection estimator is proposed and studied, which shows a performance that is close to the curve fitting methods along with reduced complexity. A proof-of-concept experiment for temperature sensing is performed. 34% accuracy improvement compared to the DMVR is demonstrated

Reaction Behavior of a Silicide Electrode with Lithium in an Ionic-Liquid Electrolyte

Silicides are attractive novel active materials for use in the negative-electrodes of next-generation lithium-ion batteries that use certain ionic-liquid electrolytes; however, the reaction mechanism of the above combination is yet to be clarified. Possible reactions at the silicide electrode are as follows: deposition and dissolution of Li metal on the electrode, lithiation and delithiation of Si, which would result from the phase separation of the silicide, and alloying and dealloying of the silicide with Li. Herein, we examined these possibilities using various analysis methods. The results revealed that the lithiation and delithiation of silicide occurred

Emotion-reacting fashion design: intelligent garment and accessory recognizing facial expressions

Although mental disorders have emerged as serious social challenges, social stigma, including prejudice and misunderstanding, hinder suitable treatment for the patients. It is crucial to monitor our internal psychological and emotional states to avoid the unconscious progression of mental disorders. This research aims to achieve emotion-reacting garments and accessories, based on a passive and continuous emotion recognition system in real time. First, this study proposes a systematic design for emotion-reacting garments and accessories, which employs emotion estimation based on facial expressions. Next, emotion-reacting fashion design is discussed for intelligent garments and accessories that interact with our bodies and mind. To achieve this system, a functionally extended collar made of transparent polycarbonate material is designed for integration with the digital camera modules. In addition, this study discusses how to create a physical stimulus on emotion-reacting garments and accessories. The intelligent garments and accessories using RGB-LEDs create visual effects that reflect emotions. In terms of audio effects, emotion-related keywords are employed to select the music played in intelligent garments. Finally, prototypes reacting to emotions are show

Selective Translation of the Measles Virus Nucleocapsid mRNA by La Protein

Measles, caused by measles virus (MeV) infection, is the leading cause of death in children because of secondary infections attributable to MeV-induced immune suppression. Recently, we have shown that wild-type MeVs induce the suppression of protein synthesis in host cells (referred to as “shutoff”) and that viral mRNAs are preferentially translated under shutoff conditions in infected cells. To determine the mechanism behind the preferential translation of viral mRNA, we focused on the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of nucleocapsid (N) mRNA. The La/SSB autoantigen (La) was found to specifically bind to an N-5′UTR probe. Recombinant La enhanced the translation of luciferase mRNA containing the N-5′UTR (N-fLuc), and RNA interference of La suppressed N-fLuc translation. Furthermore, recombinant MeV lacking the La-binding motif in the N-5′UTR displayed delayed viral protein synthesis and growth kinetics at an early phase of infection. These results suggest that La induced predominant translation of N mRNA via binding to its 5′UTR under shutoff conditions. This is the first report on a cellular factor that specifically regulates paramyxovirus mRNA translation

Host range and receptor utilization of canine distemper virus analyzed by recombinant viruses: Involvement of heparin-like molecule in CDV infection

AbstractWe constructed recombinant viruses expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or firefly luciferase from cDNA clones of the canine distemper virus (CDV) (a Japanese field isolate, Yanaka strain). Using these viruses, we examined susceptibilities of different cell lines to CDV infection. The results revealed that the recombinant CDVs can infect a broad range of cell lines. Infectivity inhibition assay using a monoclonal antibody specific to the human SLAM molecule indicated that the infection of B95a cells with these recombinant CDVs is mainly mediated by SLAM but the infection of 293 cell lines with CDV is not, implying the presence of one or more alternative receptors for CDV in non-lymphoid tissue. Infection of 293 cells with the recombinant CDV was inhibited by soluble heparin, and the recombinant virus bound to immobilized heparin. Both F and H proteins of CDV could bind to immobilized heparin. These results suggest that heparin-like molecules are involved in CDV infection