Structure-Induced Reversible Anionic Redox Activity in Na Layered Oxide Cathode

Anionic redox reaction (ARR) in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries is under hot discussion, mainly regarding how oxygen anion participates and to what extent oxygen can be reversibly oxidized and reduced. Here, a P3-type Na0.6[Li0.2Mn0.8]O2 with reversible capacity from pure ARR was studied. The interlayer O-O distance (peroxo-like O-O dimer, 2.506(3) Å), associated with oxidization of oxygen anions, was directly detected by using a neutron total scattering technique. Different from Li2RuO3 or Li2IrO3 with strong metal-oxygen (M-O) bonding, for P3-type Na0.6[Li0.2Mn0.8]O2 with relatively weak Mn-O covalent bonding, crystal structure factors might play an even more important role in stabilizing the oxidized species, as both Li and Mn ions are immobile in the structure and thus may inhibit the irreversible transformation of the oxidized species to O2 gas. Utilization of anionic redox reaction (ARR) on oxygen has been considered as an effective way to promote the charge-discharge capacity of the layered oxide cathodes for lithium- or sodium-ion batteries. The detailed mechanism of ARR, in particular how crystal structure affects and coordinates with the ARR, is not yet well understood. In the present work, a combination of X-ray and neutron total scattering measurements has been performed to study the structure of the prototype P3-type layered Na0.6[Li0.2Mn0.8]O2 with pure ARR. Unique structural characteristics, rather than prevailing knowledge of covalency of metal-oxygen, enable the stabilization of the crystal structure of Na0.6[Li0.2Mn0.8]O2 along with the ARR. This work suggests that reversible ARR can be manipulated by proper structure designs, thus to achieve high lithium or sodium storage in layered oxide cathodes. For P3-type Na0.6[Li0.2Mn0.8]O2 with relatively weak Mn-O covalent bonding, crystal structure factors play an important role in stabilizing the oxidized species, inhibiting the irreversible transformation of the oxidized species to O2 gas. The finding is important for better design of layered oxide positive materials with higher reversible capacity via the introduction of a reversible anionic redox reaction

Differentiation of cultured epithelial cells: response to toxic agents.

Cell culture systems are instrumental in elucidating regulation of normal function and mechanisms of its perturbation by toxic substances. To this end, three applications of epithelial cells cultured with 3T3 feeder layer support are described. First, treatment of the premalignant human epidermal keratinocyte line SCC-12F2 with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate suppressed cell growth and differentiation. This agent produced a biphasic growth response greatly inhibiting cell growth at 1 to 10 nM, but much less above 100 nM. Expression of the differentiated functions involucrin and transglutaminase was found to be inhibited markedly at concentrations above 10 nM. Second, 3-methylcholanthrene toxicity was surveyed in a variety of rat epithelial cell types. The two most sensitive to growth inhibition were epidermal and mammary epithelial cells, while those from bladder, prostate, thyroid, and endometrium were insensitive to growth inhibition. Great differences were evident even among those cells derived from stratified squamous epithelia (epidermal, esophageal, vaginal, forestomach) despite their expression of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activities to similar degrees. Finally, expression of estrogen receptors in rat endometrial cells was shown to be stimulated by the cAMP-elevating agent forskolin. Maximal stimulation of 3- to 6-fold occurred in 6 hr, compatible with a requirement for protein synthesis. Although expressing keratinocyte character (transglutaminase activity and envelope forming ability), the cells thus retain some hormonal character that may be modulated by cAMP-dependent kinase activity. Pursuit of such results will aid in understanding differences in response among cell types and species, in elucidating mechanisms of action of known toxic substances and, ultimately, in predicting toxicity of less well understood agents

Magnetic configurations of the tilted current sheets in magnetotail

In this research, the geometrical structures of tilted current sheet and tail flapping waves have been analysed based on multiple spacecraft measurements and some features of the tilted current sheets have been made clear for the first time. The geometrical features of the tilted current sheet revealed in this investigation are as follows: (1) The magnetic field lines (MFLs) in the tilted current sheet are generally plane curves and the osculating planes in which the MFLs lie are about vertical to the equatorial plane, while the normal of the tilted current sheet leans severely to the dawn or dusk side. (2) The tilted current sheet may become very thin, the half thickness of its neutral sheet is generally much less than the minimum radius of the curvature of the MFLs. (3) In the neutral sheet, the field-aligned current density becomes very large and has a maximum value at the center of the current sheet. (4) In some cases, the current density is a bifurcated one, and the two humps of the current density often superpose two peaks in the gradient of magnetic strength, indicating that the magnetic gradient drift current is possibly responsible for the formation of the two humps of the current density in some tilted current sheets. Tilted current sheets often appear along with tail current sheet flapping waves. It is found that, in the tail flapping current sheets, the minimum curvature radius of the MFLs in the current sheet is rather large with values around 1 <I>R<sub>E</sub></I>, while the neutral sheet may be very thin, with its half thickness being several tenths of <I>R<sub>E</sub></I>. During the flapping waves, the current sheet is tilted substantially, and the maximum tilt angle is generally larger than 45°. The phase velocities of these flapping waves are several tens km/s, while their periods and wavelengths are several tens of minutes, and several earth radii, respectively. These tail flapping events generally last several hours and occur during quiet periods or periods of weak magnetospheric activity

A modified membrane-inspired algorithm based on particle swarm optimization for mobile robot path planning

YesTo solve the multi-objective mobile robot path planning in a dangerous environment with dynamic obstacles, this paper proposes a modified membraneinspired algorithm based on particle swarm optimization (mMPSO), which combines membrane systems with particle swarm optimization. In mMPSO, a dynamic double one-level membrane structure is introduced to arrange the particles with various dimensions and perform the communications between particles in different membranes; a point repair algorithm is presented to change an infeasible path into a feasible path; a smoothness algorithm is proposed to remove the redundant information of a feasible path; inspired by the idea of tightening the fishing line, a moving direction adjustment for each node of a path is introduced to enhance the algorithm performance. Extensive experiments conducted in different environments with three kinds of grid models and five kinds of obstacles show the effectiveness and practicality of mMPSO.National Natural Science Foundation of China (61170016, 61373047), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-11-0715) and SWJTU supported project (SWJTU12CX008); grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCSUEFISCDI, project number PN-II-ID-PCE- 2011-3-0688

The first non-mammalian CXCR5 in a teleost fish: molecular cloning and expression analysis in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemokines, a group of small and structurally related proteins, mediate chemotaxis of various cell types via chemokine receptors. In mammals, seven different CXC chemokine receptors denoted as CXCR1 to CXCR7 have been reported. However, the chemokine receptor CXCR5 has not been reported in other vertebrates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study, the genomic sequence of CXCR5 was isolated from the grass carp <it>Ctenopharyngodon idella</it>. The cDNA sequence of grass carp CXCR5 (gcCXCR5) consists of 1518 bp with a 43 bp 5' untranslated region (UTR) and a 332 bp 3' UTR, with an open reading frame of 1143 bp encoding 381 amino acids which are predicted to have seven transmembrane helices. The characteristic residues (DRYLAIVHA) and conserved cysteine residues are located in the extracellular regions and in the third to seventh transmembrane domains. The deduced amino acid sequence shows 37.6-66.6% identities with CXCR5 of mammals, avian and other fish species. The grass carp gene consists of two exons, with one intervening intron, spaced over 2081 bp of genomic sequence. Phylogenetic analysis clearly demonstrated that the gcCXCR5 is clustered with those in other teleost fish and then in chicken and mammals. Real-time PCR analysis showed that gcCXCR5 was expressed in all tested organs/tissues and its expression level was the highest in trunk kidney, followed by in the spleen. The expression of gcCXCR5 was significantly modulated by immunostimulants such as peptidoglycan (PGN), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid sodium salt (Poly I:C) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The cDNA and genomic sequences of CXCR5 have been successfully characterized in a teleost fish, the grass carp. The CXCR5 has in general a constitutive expression in organs/tissues examined, whereas its expression was significantly up-regulated in immune organs and down-regulated in brain, indicating its potential role in immune response and central nervous system.</p

Type synthesis of non-overconstrained and overconstrained two rotation and three translation (2R3T) parallel mechanisms with three branched chains

In this paper, a new synthesis method of 2R3T (R denotes rotation and T denotes translation) overconstrained and non-overconstrained parallel mechanisms (PMs) with three branched chains based on the displacement sub-manifold method is presented. Firstly, the displacement sub-manifolds of mechanisms were determined based on 2R3T motions. Subsequently, the displacement sub-manifolds of the branched chains were derived using the displacement sub-manifold theory, and their corresponding motion diagrams were provided. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of non-overconstrained 2R3T PMs with a single-constraint branched chain was conducted, and the type synthesis of overconstrained 2R3T PMs with two or three identical constraints was also performed, accompanied by the presentation of partial mechanism diagrams. Finally, the number of DOF (degrees of freedom) of the mechanism was calculated using the modified Kutzbach–Grübler equation for a new PMs,and the screw theory was used to verify the kinematic characteristics, proving this new method's correctness.</p

New Spinor Field Realizations of the Non-Critical W3W_{3} String

We investigate the new spinor field realizations of the $W_{3}$ algebra, making use of the fact that the $W_{3}$ algebra can be linearized by the addition of a spin-1 current. We then use these new realizations to build the nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora--Tyutin (BRST) charges of the spinor non-critical $W_{3}$ string.Comment: 8 pages, no figures, revtex4 style, accepted by Chin. Phys. Let