Continuous Hydrothermal Synthesis of Metal Germanates (M₂GeO₄ ; M = Co, Mn, Zn) for High Capacity Negative Electrodes in Li‐ion Batteries

Nanosized metal germanates (M2GeO4; M = Co, Mn, Zn) were synthesised using a continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis process for the first time. Phase‐pure rhombohedral Zn2GeO4 nanorods, cubic spinel Co2GeO4 nanoparticles, and orthorhombic Mn2GeO4 nanotubes/nanoparticles were obtained. The electrochemical properties of all samples as active materials for negative electrodes in Li‐ion half cells was explored. The galvanostatic and potentiodynamic testing was conducted in the potential range 3.00 to 0.05 V vs. Li/Li+. The results suggest that both alloying and conversion reactions associated with Ge contributed to the stored charge capacity; Zn2GeO4 showed a high specific capacity of 600 mAh g-1 (10 cycles at 0.1 A g -1) due to alloying and conversion reactions for both Ge and Zn. Mn2GeO4 was studied for the first time as a potential negative electrode material in a Li‐ion half‐cell; an excellent specific charge capacity of 510 mAh g-1 (10 cycles / 0.1 A g-1) was obtained with a significant contribution to charge arising from the conversion reaction of Mn to MnO upon delithiation. In contrast, Co2GeO4 only showed a specific capacity of 240 mAh g-1, after 10 cycles at the same current rate, which suggested that cobalt had little or no benefit for enhancing stored charge in the germanate

TiO2/MoO2 nanocomposite as anode materials for high power Li-ion batteries with exceptional capacity

Nanoparticles of molybdenum(IV) oxide (MoO 2 ) and a TiO 2 /MoO 2 nanocomposite were synthesised via a continuous hydrothermal synthesis process. Both powders were analysed using XRD, XPS, TEM, and BET and evaluated as active materials in anodes for Li-ion half-cells. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements were carried out in the potential window of 0.1 to 3.0 V vs. Li/Li+. Specific capacities of ca. 350 mAh g -1 were obtained for both materials at low specific currents (0.1 A g -1 ); TiO 2 /MoO 2 composite electrodes showed superior rate behaviour & stability under cycling (compared to MoO 2 ), with stable specific capacities of ca. 265 mAh g -1 at a specific current of 0.5 A g -1 and ca. 150 mAh g -1 after 350 cycles at a specific current of 2.5 A g -1 . The improved performance of the composite material, compared to MoO 2 , was attributed to a smaller particle size, improved stability to volume changes (during cycling), and lower charge transfer resistance during cycling. Li-ion hybrid electrochemical capacitors using TiO 2 /MoO 2 composite anodes and activated carbon (AC) cathodes were evaluated and showed excellent performance with an energy density of 44 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 600 W kg -1

Sur la p-dimension des corps

Let A be an excellent integral henselian local noetherian ring, k its residue field of characteristic p>0 and K its fraction field. Using an algebraization technique introduced by the first named author, and the one-dimension case already proved by Kazuya KATO, we prove the following formula: cd_p(K) = dim(A) + p-rank(k), if k is separably closed and K of characteristic zero. A similar statement is valid without those assumptions on k and K

Hemin Treatment Abrogates Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension

Treatment of rats with monocrotaline (MCT), a pyrrolizidine alkaloid plant toxin, is known to cause pulmonary hypertension (PH), and it has been used as a useful experimental model of PH. Recent findings suggested that pulmonary inflammation may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of MCT-induced PH. We also demonstrated that, following MCT administration to rats, there was a significant and sustained increase in the pulmonary expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which is known to be induced by various oxidative stresses, including inflammation and free heme, and is thought to be essential in the protection against oxidative tissue injuries. In this study, we administered hemin (ferriprotoporphyrin chloride, 30 mol/kg b.w., subcutaneously), a potent inducer of HO-1, every 3 days to rats following subcutaneous administration of MCT (60 mg/kg) and examined its effect on MCT-induced PH and pulmonary inflammation. MCT administration caused pulmonary arterial wall thickening with marked elevation of right ventricular pressure, in association with prominent pulmonary inflammation as revealed by the increase in gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and the number of infiltrated neutrophils in the lung. In contrast, hemin treatment of MCT-administered animals, which led to a further increase in pulmonary HO-1 mRNA expression, significantly ameliorated MCT-induced PH as well as tissue inflammation. These findings suggest that hemin treatment ameliorates MCT-induced PH possibly mediated through induction of pulmonary HO-1 which leads to the attenuation of pulmonary inflammation

HIV-1 Envelope Subregion Length Variation during Disease Progression

The V3 loop of the HIV-1 Env protein is the primary determinant of viral coreceptor usage, whereas the V1V2 loop region is thought to influence coreceptor binding and participate in shielding of neutralization-sensitive regions of the Env glycoprotein gp120 from antibody responses. The functional properties and antigenicity of V1V2 are influenced by changes in amino acid sequence, sequence length and patterns of N-linked glycosylation. However, how these polymorphisms relate to HIV pathogenesis is not fully understood. We examined 5185 HIV-1 gp120 nucleotide sequence fragments and clinical data from 154 individuals (152 were infected with HIV-1 Subtype B). Sequences were aligned, translated, manually edited and separated into V1V2, C2, V3, C3, V4, C4 and V5 subregions. V1-V5 and subregion lengths were calculated, and potential N-linked glycosylation sites (PNLGS) counted. Loop lengths and PNLGS were examined as a function of time since infection, CD4 count, viral load, and calendar year in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. V1V2 length and PNLGS increased significantly through chronic infection before declining in late-stage infection. In cross-sectional analyses, V1V2 length also increased by calendar year between 1984 and 2004 in subjects with early and mid-stage illness. Our observations suggest that there is little selection for loop length at the time of transmission; following infection, HIV-1 adapts to host immune responses through increased V1V2 length and/or addition of carbohydrate moieties at N-linked glycosylation sites. V1V2 shortening during early and late-stage infection may reflect ineffective host immunity. Transmission from donors with chronic illness may have caused the modest increase in V1V2 length observed during the course of the pandemic