Studies of the Electrochemical Behavior of LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 Electrodes Coated with LiAlO2

In this paper, we studied the influence of LiAlO2 coatings of 0.5, 1 and 2 nm thickness prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition onto LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 electrodes, on their electrochemical behavior at 30 and 60 degrees C. It was demonstrated that upon cycling, 2 nm LiAlO2 coated electrodes displayed similar to 3 times lower capacity fading and lower voltage hysteresis comparing to bare electrodes. We established a correlation among the thickness of the LiAlO2 coating and parameters of the self-discharge processes at 30 and 60 degrees C. Significant results on the elevated temperature cycling and aging of bare and LiAlO2 coated electrodes at 4.3 V were obtained and analyzed for the first time. By analyzing of X-ray diffraction patterns of bare and 2 nm coated LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 electrodes after cycling, we concluded that cycled materials preserved their original structure described by R-3m space group and no additional phases were detected. (c) The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Ethereum: state of knowledge and research perspectives

Ethereum is a decentralized application platform that allows users to write, deploy, and interact with smart contracts -- programs that encode financial agreements. A peer-to-peer network of mutually distrusting nodes maintains a common view of the state of all accounts and executes smart contracts' code upon request. The global state is stored in a blockchain secured by a proof-of-work consensus mechanism similar to that in Bitcoin. The core value proposition of Ethereum is a Turing-complete programming language that enables implementing complex logic in smart contracts. Decentralized applications without a trusted third party are appealing in many areas, such as financial services, crowdfunding, and gambling. Smart contracts as a research topic contains many unsolved challenges and spans over areas ranging from cryptography, consensus algorithms, and programming languages to governance, ethical, and legal issues. This paper is the first to summarize the state of knowledge in this field. We provide a technical overview of Ethereum and outline open challenges along with proposed solutions. We also mention alternative blockchains with Turing complete programming capabilities

モンゴル ニオケル インシン ホトクト ノ シャビ ナル ノ ボクチ ニツイテ

Bats vocalizing in the daytime sleeping cluster. Wide-view footage from a distant corner of the cage

Hominin reactions to herbivore distribution in the Lower Palaeolithic of the Southern Levant

We explore the relationship between the edaphic potential of soils and the mineral properties of the underlying geology as a means of mapping the differential productivity of different areas of the Pleistocene landscape for large herbivores. These factors strongly control the health of grazing animals irrespective of the particular types of vegetation growing on them, but they have generally been neglected in palaeoanthropological studies in favour of a more general emphasis on water and vegetation, which provide an incomplete picture. Taking the Carmel-Galilee-Golan region as an example, we show how an understanding of edaphic potential provides insight into how animals might have exploited the environment. In order to simplify the analysis, we concentrate on the Lower Palaeolithic period and the very large animals that dominate the archaeofaunal assemblages of this period. Topography and the ability of soils to retain water also contribute to the differential productivity and accessibility of different regions and to patterns of seasonal movements of the animals, which are essential to ensure a supply of healthy fodder throughout the year, especially for large animals such as elephants, which require substantial regions of good grazing and browsing. Other animals migrating in groups have similar needs. The complex topography of the Southern Levant with frequent sudden and severe changes in gradient, and a wide variety of landforms including rocky outcrops, cliffs, gorges, and ridges, places major limits on these patterns of seasonal movements. We develop methods of mapping these variables, based on the geology and our substantial field experience, in order to create a framework of landscape variation that can be compared with the locations and contents of archaeological sites to suggest ways in which early hominins used the variable features of the landscape to target animal prey, and we extend the analysis to the consideration of smaller mammals that were exploited more intensively after the disappearance of the elephants. We consider some of the ways in which this regional-scale approach can be further tested and refined, and advocate the development of such studies as an essential contribution to understanding the wider pattern of hominin dispersal

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection