Density Functional Theory based Electrolyte Design Formulation for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are commonly used in portable electronics such as cellphones and laptops. Most Li-ion batteries operate on intercalation principle with typical theoretical specific energy of 400-600 (Wh/Kg). There is great scientific interest in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries as a possible successor of traditional Li-ion batteries because Li-S holds the potential of being a very powerful (1550 Wh/kg theoretical specific energy) yet very cost-efficient battery (due the abundance and inexpensiveness of sulfur). However, one major problem in Li-S battery research is the polysulfide “shuttle phenomenon”, which is the shuttling of polysulfide species due to the dissolution of sulfide from the cathode. This is a parasitic reaction upon the anode and results in corrosion and ultimate inactivity of the battery. To overcome this challenge we have studied the electrolyte design formulation to gain further insight of possible solvent types which can inhibit the dissolution of sulfides. Computational modeling based on density functional theory (DFT) is used in the bonding energy analysis of sulfide solvate structures. The solvate structures studied in this research are Li2Sx (x=4,6,8) interacting with dimethoxyethane (DME), 1,3-dioxolane (DOL), and a mixture of both. Li-S battery performance can be subsequently improved by rational electrolyte design from understanding of solvate structure

Jackery Power Station: Stockton Shelter for the Homeless

The community group, San Joaquin County Mobile Clinic, aims to improve the health outcomes of vulnerable populations by providing low-cost preventative healthcare and treatment options. This includes wound care, vaccinations, and assistance with accessing medical appointments and health insurance. However, research has shown that those without housing do not have adequate access to stable power sources to charge mobile devices to aid healthcare needs and access resources. The Jackery Power Station, which falls under the category of consumer access, priorities, and benefits over the lifespan, will attempt to address this barrier. An estimated 2,631 individuals in San Joaquin county are currently experiencing homelessness. Difficulty accessing consistent power sources to charge their phones or other devices limits opportunities for resource access needed for health management. The Jackery Power Station will allow individuals to charge their mobile devices and be able to more readily access phone features. They can then be used for tasks such as note-taking or entering medication reminders to improve health outcomes. This will assist with chronic condition management, preventative care, and health maintenance. Occupational therapists will introduce the Jackery Power Station to the providers and show them how to set it up and educate them about product maintenance to ensure proper function and longevity

Decision-Making and Depressive Symptomatology

Difficulty making decisions is a core symptom of depressive illness, but the nature of these difficulties has not been well characterized. The two studies presented herein use the same hypothetical scenarios that call for a decision. In Study 1, participants were asked to make and explain their decisions in a free-response format, as well as to describe their prior experiences with similar situations. The results suggest that those with more depressive symptoms make decisions that are less likely to further their interests. We also identified several interesting associations between features of decision-making and the presence of depressive symptoms. In Study 2, participants were guided through their decisions with simple decision tools to investigate whether the association between depressive symptoms and poor decisions is better accounted for by failure to use of good decision-making strategies, or by other factors, such as differences in priorities or goals. With this minimal intervention the quality of decisions no longer declined significantly as a function of depressive symptom severity. Moreover, few associations between depressive symptom severity and decision-related goals and priorities were evident, suggesting that the previously-exposed difficulties of depressed individuals with decision-making were largely the result of their failure to use effective decision-making techniques

The Grizzly, April 14, 1998

The Poetry of an Outlaw • Ursinus Grad Makes it Big • Opinion: Change Ursinus, Change Yourself • Letter to the Editor • Coontz Lectures at Ursinus • Ursinus Gets Involved with Habitat for Humanity • Not Too Late to Sign-Up for Spring Service Day • The Class of \u2799 Hosts Third Annual Wingbowl • And the Winner of Mr. Ursinus 1998 Is... • The End of Lollapalooza? • Diversity Week at Ursinus • UC Women\u27s Lacrosse Team Battles for Second Place in Conference • UC Softball Sweeps Washington • Ursinus Golf Suffers 1st Defeat in Three Years • Women\u27s Tennis Team Heads in Positive Direction • UC Baseball Remains Tied for Second • Track Runs Strong Against Tough Competitionhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1419/thumbnail.jp

Viral escape from HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies drives increased plasma neutralization breadth through sequential recognition of multiple epitopes and immunotypes.

Identifying the targets of broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV-1 and understanding how these antibodies develop remain important goals in the quest to rationally develop an HIV-1 vaccine. We previously identified a participant in the CAPRISA Acute Infection Cohort (CAP257) whose plasma neutralized 84% of heterologous viruses. In this study we showed that breadth in CAP257 was largely due to the sequential, transient ppearance of three distinct broadly neutralizing antibody specificities spanning the first 4.5 years of infection. The first specificity targeted an epitope in the V2 region of gp120 that was also recognized by strain-specific antibodies 7 weeks earlier. Specificity for the autologous virus was determined largely by a rare N167 antigenic variant of V2, with viral escape to the more common D167 immunotype coinciding with the development of the first wave of broadly neutralizing antibodies. Escape from these broadly neutralizing V2 antibodies through deletion of the glycan at N160 was associated with exposure of an epitope in the CD4 binding site that became the target for a second wave of broadly neutralizing antibodies. Neutralization by these CD4 binding site antibodies was almost entirely dependent on the glycan at position N276. Early viral escape mutations in the CD4 binding site drove an increase in wave two neutralization breadth, as this second wave of heterologous neutralization matured to recognize multiple immunotypes within this site. The third wave targeted a quaternary epitope that did not overlap any of the four known sites of vulnerability on the HIV-1 envelope and remains undefined. Altogether this study showed that the human immune system is capable of generating multiple broadly neutralizing antibodies in response to a constantly evolving viral population that exposes new targets as a consequence of escape from earlier neutralizing antibodies

Jackery Power Station: Stockton Shelter for the Homeless

The community group, San Joaquin County Mobile Clinic, aims to improve the health outcomes of vulnerable populations by providing low-cost preventative healthcare and treatment options. This includes wound care, vaccinations, and assistance with accessing medical appointments and health insurance. However, research has shown that those without housing do not have adequate access to stable power sources to charge mobile devices to aid healthcare needs and access resources. The Jackery Power Station, which falls under the category of consumer access, priorities, and benefits over the lifespan, will attempt to address this barrier. An estimated 2,631 individuals in San Joaquin county are currently experiencing homelessness. Difficulty accessing consistent power sources to charge their phones or other devices limits opportunities for resource access needed for health management. The Jackery Power Station will allow individuals to charge their mobile devices and be able to more readily access phone features. They can then be used for tasks such as note-taking or entering medication reminders to improve health outcomes. This will assist with chronic condition management, preventative care, and health maintenance. Occupational therapists will introduce the Jackery Power Station to the providers and show them how to set it up and educate them about product maintenance to ensure proper function and longevity

Parental mental health before and during pregnancy and offspring birth outcomes:a 20-year preconception cohort of maternal and paternal exposure

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) and small for gestational age (SGA) are increasingly prevalent, with major consequences for health and development into later life. There is emerging evidence that some risk processes begin before pregnancy. We report on associations between maternal and paternal common mental disorders (CMD) before and during pregnancy and offspring PTB and SGA. Methods: 398 women with 609 infants and 267 men with 421 infants were assessed repeatedly for CMD symptoms before pregnancy between age 14 and 29 and during pregnancy. Associations between preconception and antenatal CMD symptoms and offspring gestational age/PTB and size for gestational age/SGA were estimated using linear and Poisson regression. Findings: In men, persistent preconception CMD across adolescence and young adulthood predicted offspring PTB after adjustment for ethnicity, education, BMI and adolescent substance use (adjusted RR 7·0, 95% CI 1·8,26·8), corresponding to a population attributable fraction of 31% of preterm births. In women, antenatal CMD symptoms predicted offspring PTB (adjusted RR 4·4, 95% CI 1·4,14·1). There was little evidence of associations with SGA. Interpretation: This first report of an association between paternal preconception mental health and offspring gestational age, while requiring replication in larger samples, complements earlier work on stress in animals, and further strengthens the case for expanding preconception mental health care to both men and women. Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Australian Rotary Health, Colonial Foundation, Perpetual Trustees, Financial Markets Foundation for Children (Australia), Royal Children's Hospital Foundation, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australian Research Council

Improved inherited peripheral neuropathy genetic diagnosis by whole-exome sequencing

Inherited peripheral neuropathies (IPNs) are a group of related diseases primarily affecting the peripheral motor and sensory neurons. They include the hereditary sensory neuropathies (HSN), hereditary motor neuropathies (HMN), and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). Using whole-exome sequencing (WES) to achieve a genetic diagnosis is particularly suited to IPNs, where over 80 genes are involved with weak genotype–phenotype correlations beyond the most common genes. We performed WES for 110 index patients with IPN where the genetic cause was undetermined after previous screening for mutations in common genes selected by phenotype and mode of inheritance. We identified 41 missense sequence variants in the known IPN genes in our cohort of 110 index patients. Nine variants (8%), identified in the genes MFN2, GJB1, BSCL2, and SETX, are previously reported mutations and considered to be pathogenic in these families. Twelve novel variants (11%) in the genes NEFL, TRPV4, KIF1B, BICD2, and SETX are implicated in the disease but require further evidence of pathogenicity. The remaining 20 variants were confirmed as polymorphisms (not causing the disease) and are detailed here to help interpret sequence variants identified in other family studies. Validation using segregation, normal controls, and bioinformatics tools was valuable as supporting evidence for sequence variants implicated in disease. In addition, we identified one SETX sequence variant (c.7640T>C), previously reported as a putative mutation, which we have confirmed as a nonpathogenic rare polymorphism. This study highlights the advantage of using WES for genetic diagnosis in highly heterogeneous diseases such as IPNs and has been particularly powerful in this cohort where genetic diagnosis could not be achieved due to phenotype and mode of inheritance not being previously obvious. However, first tier testing for common genes in clinically well-defined cases remains important and will account for most positive results.12 page(s