Mathematical model for combined effect of SEI formation and gas evolution in Li-ion batteries

In this study, a mathematical model to investigate the combined effect of SEI film formation and gas evolution over the degradation of Li-ion cells is developed. A Li-ion cell is simulated for three discharge/charge rates until 80% of the rated capacity is irreversibly lost in side reactions. The model shows that the thickness of SEI film and volume of gases evolved is between 0.03–0.22 μm and 1.6–10.6%, respectively. It is shown that, in addition to greater diffusion limitations, capacity degradation at higher cycling rates is faster due to reduction in cyclable lithium caused by its accumulation in the negative electrode

Structural analysis of long arm excavator boom for optimization performance under maximum breakout condition

Long Arm Excavators are widely used in the construction site for excavating deep holes or trenches. However, due to the often-severe work conditions, such as large lifting loads, poor ground conditions to sustain the machine’s self-weight, Long Arm Excavator parts are subjected to constant wear and tear, incurring downtime losses and safety issues. The boom is considered the most critically affected part of the machine in these work conditions, where the high forces and unpredictable elements at the worksite could severely affect the machine’s overall performance. A potential solution is the reinforcement of the boom to improve its robustness. As an industrial collaborative project, the present study examines the performance of an existing machine with simulated improvement of the boom with such an approach, i.e. incorporation of stiffener reinforcement. Simulation works were carried out with Ansys Workbench 19.2 to assess the boom’s performance in terms of resulting stress, strain and deformation under a series of improved conditions, which include varying the dimensions and positions of the stiffeners on the boom. The improved conditions were Improvement I: stiffeners thickness reduction to 10mm, Improvement II: a combination of different stiffeners thickness reduction which 10mm and 8mm at critical and non-critical part of the boom, Improvement III: removal of half intermediate stiffeners thickness 12mm and Improvement IV: removal of half intermediate stiffeners thickness 8mm. Structural analysis was conducted based on the maximum breakout condition in which the excavator generates maximum digging force. From the analysis, it was found that the maximum equivalent stress of the boom decreased with the number of stiffeners. The combination of different stiffeners thickness could also increase the boom’s strength while decreasing the maximum equivalent stress. The lowest maximum equivalent stress of the boom was achieved via Improvement II with a reduction of 26.1% maximum equivalent stress. Removal of non-critical part stiffeners also kept stress values under the designated stress limits against fatigue failure, i.e. 44.49 MPa and 42.47 MPa (Improvement III and IV). In summary, the optimal design could be obtained with improvement II. This would effectively save on the manufacturing costs while maximizing the machine’s performance on-site, simultaneously reducing downtime and hence operating costs and time

Long scarf injuries

Long scarf (Dopatta) traditionally worn by females in South-East Asia have been described to make the females prone to sustain specific injuries when they ride pillion on the cycle powered rickshaw or motor bike. Two cases of females have been described

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Cited Articles on Hepatic Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The purpose of this study is to guide the readers to the impact of the articles published on hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We searched Scopus using 10 different search terms for hepatic MRI. The selected studies were thoroughly reviewed by two independent authors and any disagreement was sorted out by mutual consensus. The list of articles and journals was downloaded into an excel spreadsheet. Only the top 100 cited articles were selected by mutual consensus among all the authors. These articles were further read in the full-text form and were further categorized into subgroups. Three authors independently reviewed the top 100 selected articles, and subsequently data was extracted from them and analyzed. Our study showed that the highest number of top 100 cited articles on hepatic MRI were from Radiology (30 articles) followed by European Radiology (14 articles). The American Journal of Roentgenology, Radiographics, and Journal of Magnetic Resonance had seven articles each. The United States had the highest number of articles by region. Nineteen other journals contributed only one article each to the list of top 100 cited articles. The contribution of authors to the top 100 cited articles was reviewed; all the authors contributing with more than two articles to the highly cited articles are given in Table 3 in the supplementary material. The maximum number of articles were published during 2009 (14 articles), and for a five-year period, the maximum contribution was made during 2008-2013 (44 articles). Our analysis gives an insight on the frequency of citations of top articles on hepatic MRI, categorizes the subtopics, the timeline of the publications, and contributions from different geographic distributions

Substantial decline in hospital admissions for heart failure accompanied by increased community mortality during COVID-19 pandemic

Aims We hypothesized that a decline in admissions with heart failure during COVID-19 pandemic would lead to a reciprocal rise in mortality for patients with heart failure in the community.Methods and results We used National Heart Failure Audit data to identify 36 974 adults who had a hospital admission with a primary diagnosis of heart failure between February and May in either 2018, 2019, or 2020. Hospital admissions for heart failure in 2018/19 averaged 160/day but were much lower in 2020, reaching a nadir of 64/day on 27 March 2020 [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.38-0.42]. The proportion discharged on guideline-recommended pharmacotherapies was similar in 2018/19 compared to the same period in 2020. Between 1 February-2020 and 31 May 2020, there was a 29% decrease in hospital deaths related to heart failure (IRR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.67-0.75; estimated decline of 448 deaths), a 31% increase in heart failure deaths at home (IRR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.24-1.39; estimated excess 539), and a 28% increase in heart failure deaths in care homes and hospices (IRR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.18-1.40; estimated excess 189). All-cause, inpatient death was similar in the COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 periods [odds ratio (OR): 1.02, 95% CI: 0.94-1.10]. After hospital discharge, 30-day mortality was higher in 2020 compared to 2018/19 (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.38-1.78).Conclusion Compared with the rolling daily average in 2018/19, there was a substantial decline in admissions for heart failure but an increase in deaths from heart failure in the community. Despite similar rates of prescription of guideline-recommended therapy, mortality 30 days from discharge was higher during the COVID-19 pandemic period

Characterization of the Inlet Port Flow under Steady-State Conditions Using PIV and POD

The current study demonstrates an experimental investigation of the tumble flow structures using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) under steady-state conditions considering the central vertical tumble plane. The experiments were carried out on a four-valve, pent-roof Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine head at different valve lifts and with a pressure difference of 150 mmH2O across the intake valves. Furthermore, the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) analytical technique was applied to PIV-measured velocity vector maps to characterize the flow structures at various valve lifts, and hence the different rig tumble values. The results show that at low valve lifts (1 to 5 mm), 48.9 to 46.6% of the flow energy is concentrated in the large (mode 1) eddies with only 8.4 to 11.46% in mode 2 and 7.2 to 7.5 in mode 3. At high valve lifts, it can be clearly seen that some of the energy in the large eddies of mode 1 is transferred to the smaller flow structures of modes 2 and 3. This can be clearly seen at valve lift 10 mm where the values of the flow energy were 40.6%, 17.3%, and 8.0% for modes 1, 2, and 3, respectively

Effect of exogenous application of nicotinic acid on morpho-physiological characteristics of Hordeum vulgare L. under water stress

Abiotic stresses, such as high temperature and drought conditions, greatly influence the development of plants and the quality and quantity of products. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) crop production is largely impacted by drought, affecting growth, yield, and ultimately the productivity of the crop in hot arid/semi-arid conditions. The current pot experiment was directed to observe the outcome of nicotinic acid (NA) treatments on barley’s physiological, biochemical, and production attributes at two capacity levels, i.e., 100% normal range and withholding water stress. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used during the experimentation with the two-factor factorial arrangement. NA was applied exogenously by two different methods, i.e., foliar and soil application (fertigation). NA solution contained various application levels, such as T1 = control, foliar applications (T2 = 0.7368 gL−1, T3 = 1.477 gL−1, T4 = 2.2159 gL−1), and soil applications (T5 = 0.4924 gL−1, T6 = 0.9848 gL−1, and T7 = 1.4773 gL−1). Results depicted that, overall, foliar treatments showed better effects than control and soil treatments. Plant growth was preeminent under T4 treatment, such as plant height (71.07 cm), relative water content (84.0%), leaf water potential (39.73-MPa), leaf area index (36.53 cm2), biological yield (15.10 kgha−1), grain yield (14.40 kgha−1), harvest index (57.70%), catalase (1.54 mmolg−1FW−1), peroxidase (1.90 g−1FWmin−1), and superoxide dismutase (52.60 µgFW−1) were superior under T4 treatment. Soil plant analysis development (54.13 µgcm−2) value was also higher under T4 treatment and lowest under T7 treatment. In conclusion, NA-treated plants were more successful in maintaining growth attributes than non-treated plants; therefore, the NA foliar treatment at the rate of 2.2159 gL−1 is suggested to find economical crop yield under drought conditions. The present study would contribute significantly to improving the drought tolerance potential of barley through exogenous NA supply in water deficit areas

Efficiency of Treated Domestic Wastewater to Irrigate Two Rice Cultivars, PK 386 and Basmati 515, under a Hydroponic Culture System

The increasing human population continues to exert pressure on the freshwater scarcity. The availability of freshwater for crop irrigation has become challenging. The present study aimed to use domestic wastewater (DWW) for the irrigation of two rice cultivars (CVs) after treatment with the bacterial strain Alcaligenes faecalis MT477813 under a hydroponic culture system. The first part of this study focused on the bioremediation and analysis of the physicochemical parameters of DWW to compare pollutants before and after treatment. The biotreatment of DWW with the bacterial isolate showed more than 90% decolourisation, along with a reduction in contaminants. The next part of the study evaluated the impacts of treated and untreated DWW on the growth of two rice cultivars, i.e., PK 386 and Basmati 515, under a hydroponic culture system which provided nutrients and water to plants with equal and higher yields compared to soil. Growth parameters such as the shoot and root length and the wet and dry weights of the rice plants grown in the treated DWW were considerably higher than those for the plants grown in untreated DWW. Therefore, enhanced growth of both rice cultivars grown in biotreated DWW was observed. These results demonstrate the bioremediation efficiency of the bacterial isolate and the utility of the DWW for rice crop irrigation subsequent to biotreatment

Design of multi-valued quaternary based analog-to-digital converter

Problem statement: The design of multi-valued quaternary based Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) circuit was presented. The ADC generates multi-valued logic outputs rather than the conventional binary output system to overall reduction in circuit complexity and size. Approach: Design was implemented using pipeline ADC architecture and was simulated using model parameters based on standard 0.13 µm CMOS process. Results: Performance analysis of the design showed desirable performance parameters in terms of response, low power consumption, and a sampling rate of 10 MHz at a supply voltage of 1.3V was achieved. Conclusion/Recommendations: The ADC design was suitable for the needs of mixed-signal integrated circuit design and can be implemented as a conversion circuit for systems based on multiple-valued logic design

Consumers' perspective towards Malaysian traditional food: sambal belacan (chilli shrimp paste), a preliminary investigation.

Sambal belacan or chilli shrimp paste is a condiment that is widely consumed by Malaysians. With the aim to gather information concerning the elaborated definition of the term “sambal belacan”, four focus group sessions were conducted. Three key themes to convey the definition were presented from the analyses of the transcripts. These were ingredients, techniques and sensory attributes of Malaysian sambal belacan. The results suggest that the basic ingredients for sambal belacan are fresh chillies, belacan and salt. The mixture, when pounded in a mortar with a pestle, produces a desirable texture. There were 38 varieties of additional ingredients reported. Most participants stated that it enhances appetite for enjoying meals. The participants also stated unfavourable characteristics of sambal belacan due to the presence of chilli seeds, watery texture and strong aroma of belacan. Research on product development of sambal belacan is recommended as it is crucial to explore consumers’ demands for new varieties of sambal belacan and market it as one of Malaysia’s food identity