Geometric characteristics of 3D reconstructed anode electrodes of lithium ion batteries

The realistic 3D microstructure of lithium ion battery electrodes plays a key role in studying the effects of inhomogeneous microstructures on the performance of LIBs. However, the complexity of realistic microstructures implements significant computational cost on numerical simulation of large size samples. In this work, we used tomographic data obtained for a commercial lithium ion battery graphite electrode to evaluate the geometric characteristics of the reconstructed electrode microstructure. Based on the analysis of geometric properties, such as porosity, specific surface area, tortuosity, and pore size distribution, a representative volume element that retains the geometric characteristics of the electrode material was obtained for further numerical studies. In this work, X-ray micro-CT with 0.56 μm resolution was employed to capture the inhomogeneous porous microstructures of lithium ion battery anode electrodes. The Sigmoid transform function was employed to convert the initial raw tomographic images to binary images. Moreover, geometric characteristics of an anode electrode after 2400 1 C charge/discharge cycles were compared with those of a new anode electrode to investigate morphological change of the electrode. In general, the cycled electrode shows larger porosity, smaller tortuosity, and similar specific surface area compared to the new electrode

3D Simulation of diffusion induced stress in realistic LiCoO2 electrode particles of lithium ion battery generated by nano-CT

Diffusion induces stresses in the electrode during charge and discharge processes of lithium ion batteries, which can cause deformation and even fracture, further result in the fade of capacity and duration. The 3D model coupling diffusion and induced stress is applied to the reconstructed LiCoO2 electrode particles determined by X-ray nanocomputed tomography technology, of which the nonuniform electrochemical intercalation reaction takes place on the surface. A code is developed to simulate the fully coupled diffusion and induced stress in the LiCoO2 electrode particles at different discharge rates. The simulations demonstrate the variable distribution such as concentration, reaction rate, hydrostatic stress, Von-Mises stress, and so on. The influence of the geometric characteristics of LiCoO2 electrode particle and material properties on the variables is revealed. The investigation can help to improve lithium ion battery design and manufacture through understanding the relationship between electrode morphology and mechanical endurance

Bi-objective optimization for low-carbon product family design

[EN] Consumers, industry, and government entities are becoming increasingly concerned about the issue of global warming. With this in mind, manufacturers have begun to develop products with consideration of low-carbon. In recent years, many companies are utilizing product families to satisfy various customer needs with lower costs. However, little research has been conducted on the development of a product family that considers environmental factors. In this paper, a low-carbon product family design that integrates environmental concerns is proposed. To this end, a new method of platform planning is investigated with considerations of cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of a product family simultaneously. In this research, a lowcarbon product family design problem is described at first, and then a GHG emission model of product family is established. Furthermore, to support lowcarbon product family design, an optimization method is applied to make a significant trade-off between cost and GHG emission to implement a feasible platform planning. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated through a case study. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This research was carried out as a part of the CASES project which is supported by a Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme under the Grant agreement no. 294931. This research was also supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51175262, 51575264); and Jiangsu Province Science Foundation for Excellent Youths under Grant BK2012032.Wang, Q.; Dunbing, T.; Yin, L.; Salido, MA.; Giret Boggino, AS.; Xu, Y. (2016). Bi-objective optimization for low-carbon product family design. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. 41:53-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcim.2016.02.001S53654

Exploratory Factor Analysis for Validating Traditional Chinese Syndrome Patterns of Chronic Atrophic Gastritis

Background. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been used to treat chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the TCM syndrome characteristics of CAG and its core pathogenesis so as to promote optimization of treatment strategies. Methods. This study was based on a participant survey conducted in 4 hospitals in China. Patients diagnosed with CAG were recruited by simple random sampling. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on syndrome extraction. Results. Common factors extracted were assigned to six syndrome patterns: qi deficiency, qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm turbidity, heat, and yang deficiency. Distribution frequency of all syndrome patterns showed that qi deficiency, qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm turbidity, and heat excess were higher (76.7%–84.2%) compared with yang deficiency (42.5%). Distribution of main syndrome patterns showed that frequencies of qi deficiency, qi stagnation, phlegm turbidity, heat, and yang deficiency were higher (15.8%–20.8%) compared with blood stasis (8.3%). Conclusions. The core pathogenesis of CAG is combination of qi deficiency, qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm turbidity, heat, and yang deficiency. Therefore, treatment strategy of herbal prescriptions for CAG should include herbs that regulate qi, activate blood, resolve turbidity, clear heat, remove toxin, and warm yang

Seabuckthorn Paste Protects Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice through Attenuation of Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress is one of the major mechanisms implicated in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury. Seabuckthorn paste (SP), a traditional Tibetan medicine with high content of polyphenols and remarkable antioxidant activity, is commonly used in treating pulmonary diseases. In the present study, the protective effects and possible underlying mechanisms of SP on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced acute lung injury in mice were investigated. It was found that body weight loss, lung tissue microstructure lesions, transvascular leakage increase, malondialdehyde augmentation, and the reduction of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels caused by LPS challenge were all consistently relieved by SP treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, accumulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in lung nuclei caused by SP treatment was observed. Our study demonstrated that SP can provide significant protection against LPS-induced acute lung injury through maintaining redox homeostasis, and its mechanism involves Nrf2 nuclear translocation and activation

Ketogenic Diet as a Treatment for Super-Refractory Status Epilepticus in Febrile Infection-Related Epilepsy Syndrome

Background: Febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES) is a fatal epileptic encephalopathy associated with super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE). Several treatment strategies have been proposed for this condition although the clinical outcomes are poor. Huge efforts from neurointensivists have been focused on identifying the characteristics of FIRES and treatment to reduce the mortality associated with this condition. However, the role of ketogenic diet (KD) in FIRES is not fully understood.Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients who met the diagnostic criteria of FIRES, SRSE, and were treated with KD between 2015 and 2018 at the Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. The following data were recorded: demographic features, clinical presentation, anticonvulsant treatment, timing and duration of KD and follow-up information. Electroencephalography recordings were reviewed and analyzed.Results: Seven patients with FIRES were put on KD (5 via enteral route, and 2 via intravenous line) for SRSE in the PICU. The median age was 8. Four patients were male and 3 were female. Although patients underwent treatment with a median of 4 antiepileptic drugs and 2 anesthetic agents, the status epilepticus (SE) persisted for 7–31 days before KD initiation. After KD initiation, all patients achieved ketosis and SE disappeared within an average of 5 days (IQR 3.5), although there were minor side effects. In 6 patients, a unique pattern was identified in the EEG recording at the peak period. After initiation of KD, the number of seizures reduced, the duration of seizure shortened, the background recovered and sleep architecture normalized in the EEG recordings. The early initiation of KD (at the onset of SE) in the acute phase of patients decreased the mRS score in the subsequent period (p = 0.012, r = 0.866).Conclusions: The characteristic EEG pattern in the acute phase promoted timely diagnosis of FIRES. Our data suggest that KD may be a safe and promising therapy for FIRES with SRSE, and that early initiation of KD produces a favorable prognosis. Therefore, KD should be applied earlier in the course of FIRES. Intravenous KD can be an effective alternative route of administration for patients who may not take KD enterally

Several Critical Cell Types, Tissues, and Pathways Are Implicated in Genome-Wide Association Studies for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

We aimed to elucidate the cell types, tissues, and pathways influenced by common variants in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We applied a nonparameter enrichment statistical approach, termed SNPsea, in 181 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that have been identified to be associated with the risk of SLE through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Eastern Asian and Caucasian populations, to manipulate the critical cell types, tissues, and pathways. In the two most significant cells’ findings (B lymphocytes and CD14+ monocytes), we subjected the GWAS association evidence in the Han Chinese population to an enrichment test of expression quantitative trait locus (QTL) sites and DNase I hypersensitivity, respectively. In both Eastern Asian and Caucasian populations, we observed that the expression level of SLE GWAS implicated genes was significantly elevated in xeroderma pigentosum B cells (P ≤ 1.00 × 10−6), CD14+ monocytes (P ≤ 2.74 × 10−4) and CD19+ B cells (P ≤ 2.00 × 10−6), and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) (P ≤ 9.00 × 10−6). We revealed that the SLE GWAS-associated variants were more likely to reside in expression QTL in B lymphocytes (q1/q0 = 2.15, P = 1.23 × 10−44) and DNase I hypersensitivity sites (DHSs) in CD14+ monocytes (q1/q0 = 1.41, P = 0.08). We observed the common variants affected the risk of SLE mostly through by regulating multiple immune system processes and immune response signaling. This study sheds light on several immune cells and responses, as well as the regulatory effect of common variants in the pathogenesis of SLE