Synthesis and Characterization of Nickel-doped Manganese Dioxide Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors

Nickel-doped manganese dioxide (Ni-MnO2) synthesized by sol-gel method has been used as an electrode material for supercapacitors. The structure and electrochemical properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS). Results showed that the nickel-doped manganese dioxide sample exhibited irregular particles with the diameter of about 500 nm. The crystallographic structure of MnO2 was the poorly crystallized γ-MnO2. The doping ratio had a great influence on the electrochemical properties of the materials. When the molar ratio of Ni/Mn was 3/100, the specific capacitance of Ni-MnO2 achieved to 252.61 F/g. After 2000 charge/discharge cycles, the specific capacitance of Ni-MnO2 was still maintained at 74.36%, which was attributed to its excellent cycling stability

Synthesis and Characterization of Nickel-doped Manganese Dioxide Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors

Nickel-doped manganese dioxide (Ni-MnO2) synthesized by sol-gel method has been used as an electrode material for supercapacitors. The structure and electrochemical properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS). Results showed that the nickel-doped manganese dioxide sample exhibited irregular particles with the diameter of about 500 nm. The crystallographic structure of MnO2 was the poorly crystallized γ-MnO2. The doping ratio had a great influence on the electrochemical properties of the materials. When the molar ratio of Ni/Mn was 3/100, the specific capacitance of Ni-MnO2 achieved to 252.61 F/g. After 2000 charge/discharge cycles, the specific capacitance of Ni-MnO2 was still maintained at 74.36%, which was attributed to its excellent cycling stability

Profiling of N⁶-Methyladenosine (m⁶A) Modification Landscape in Response to Drought Stress in Apple (<i>Malus prunifolia</i> (Willd.) Borkh)

Drought stress is a significant environmental factor limiting crop growth worldwide. Malus prunifolia is an important apple species endemic to China and is used for apple cultivars and rootstocks with great drought tolerance. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a common epigenetic modification on messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in eukaryotes which is critical for various biological processes. However, there are no reports on m6A methylation in apple response to drought stress. Here, we assessed the m6A landscape of M. prunifolia seedlings in response to drought and analyzed the association between m6A modification and transcript expression. In total, we found 19,783 and 19,609 significant m6A peaks in the control and drought treatment groups, respectively, and discovered a UGUAH (H: A/U/C) motif. In M. prunifolia, under both control and drought conditions, peaks were highly enriched in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) and coding sequence (CDS). Among 4204 significant differential m6A peaks in drought-treated M. prunifolia compared to control-treated M. prunifolia, 4158 genes with m6A modification were identified. Interestingly, a large number of hypermethylated peaks (4069) were stimulated by drought treatment compared to hypomethylation. Among the hypermethylated peak-related genes, 972 and 1238 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were up- and down-regulated in response to drought, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) analyses of differential m6A-modified genes revealed that GO slims related to RNA processing, epigenetic regulation, and stress tolerance were significantly enriched. The m6A modification landscape depicted in this study sheds light on the epigenetic regulation of M. prunifolia in response to drought stress and indicates new directions for the breeding of drought-tolerant apple trees

Carbon Footprint Assessment of Four Normal Size Hydropower Stations in China

The emission of Greenhouse gases (GHG) during the life cycle of four hydropower stations with installed capacity from 95 MW to 500 MW are assessed by the integrated GHG reservoir tool developed by International Hydropower Association. Model inputs are extracted from multi-source geographic datasets and construction planning documents. Three main conclusions are summarized: (1) In pre- and post-impoundment stages, areal GHG emission balance in reservoir area depends on the climate background, humid subtropical regions are more active than arid temperate regions. In the construction stage, emissions from fill, concrete and equipment account for more than 70% of the total. (2) GHG intensity falls rapidly when lifetime increases from 10 to 40 years and then drops slightly when lifetime becomes longer, which is 13.60 tCO2e/GWh for 50 years and 8.13 tCO2e/GWh for 100 years on average. The emission rates of hydropower stations with lower installed capacity are obviously large if they work for less than 30 years and differ less with stations possessing a higher installed capacity when their lifetime approaches 100 years. (3) Comparing with electricity generated by coal in China whose GHG intensity is 822 tCO2e/GWh, hydroelectricity is almost 100 times more efficient and clean. Thus, hydropower station plays an important role in dealing with the global warming issue as a substitution for a fossil fuel power source

A One-Pot Tandem Strategy in Catalytic Asymmetric Vinylogous Aldol Reaction of Homoallylic Alcohols

Reported is a rationally-designed one-pot sequential strategy that allows homoallylic alcohols to be employed in a catalytic, asymmetric, direct vinylogous aldol reaction with a series of activated acyclic ketones, including trifluoromethyl ketones, γ-ketoesters, and α-keto phosphonates, in high yields (up to 95%) with excellent regio- and enantio-selectivity (up to 99% ee). This modular combination, including Jones oxidation and asymmetric organocatalysis, has satisfactory compatibility and reliability even at a 20 mmol scale, albeit without intermediary purification