Anode Properties of CrxV1-xSi2/Si Composite Electrodes for LithiumIon Batteries

We have reported the effects of substituting a transition metal in silicide on the electrochemical performance of the silicide/Si composite anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs); the Cr0.5V0.5Si2/Si electrode exhibited much better cyclability compared with CrSi2/Si and VSi2/Si electrodes. Herein, we investigated the electrochemical performance of a CrxV1–xSi2/Si slurry electrode for its application in LIBs, and the results obtained were compared to those of a gas deposition (GD) electrode, which was comprised of only active materials. The slurry electrode exhibited a superior cycling life as with the GD electrode. After charge–discharge cycles, the expansion of the electrode thickness of CrSi2/Si and Cr0.5V0.5Si2/Si was smaller than that of VSi2/Si, and VSi2 was significantly pulverized compared with the other silicides. It is considered that VSi2 deformed easily by the stress from Si expansion and pulverized because the hardness of VSi2 was the smallest among the silicides used in this study. These results reveal that Cr0.5V0.5Si2/Si has great potential as an anode material for next-generation LIBs and hardness is an important property for compositing silicide with Si

Anode Properties of Ru-Coated Si Thick Film Electrodes Prepared by Gas-Deposition

Thick film electrodes consisting of Ru and Ru-coated Si particles were fabricated by a gas-deposition method and evaluated their electrochemical properties of anodes for Li rechargeable battery. The discharge capacity of the Ru electrode at 1000th cycle is approximately 400 mAh g-1. The result showed that the electrode reaction is based on the redox reaction of RuO2 which was formed on the Ru surface during the charge-discharge processes. By coating Si particles with Ru using an electroless deposition technique, we obtained an electrode with remarkable discharge capacity of 570 mAh g-1 at 1000th cycle. The reason for the improvement in the electrode performance appears to result from the fact that the Ru electrode exhibits excellent cycleability itself and the Ru coated on Si reduces the stress generated by the immense volumetric changes occurring in the Si particles

In-Orbit Demonstration of Propellant-Less Formation Flight with Momentum Exchange of Jointed Multiple CubeSats in the MAGNARO Mission

Recently, small satellites such as CubeSats have been applied to a variety of missions such as scientific observations and remote sensing. One of attractive applications that can be relatively easily achieved by small satellites are multi-satellite missions such as formation flight and constellation. As a new method to realize these multi-satellite missions, we propose a method to separate jointed multiple satellite magnetically to generate ΔV without thrusters. To demonstrate the proposed method, we are developing a 3U sized CubeSat called MAGNARO (MAGnetically separating NAnosatellite with Rotation for Orbit control)

Diagnosing metabolic acidosis in chronic kidney disease: importance of blood pH and serum anion gap

Metabolic acidosis is one of the most common complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is associated with the progression of CKD, and many other functional impairments. Until recently, only serum bicarbonate levels have been used to evaluate acid-base changes in patients with reduced kidney function. However, recent emerging evidence suggests that nephrologists should reevaluate the clinical approach for diagnosing metabolic acidosis in patients with CKD based on two perspectives; pH and anion gap. Biochemistry and physiology textbooks clearly indicate that blood pH is the most important acid-base parameter for cellular function. Therefore, it is important to determine if the prognostic impact of hypobicarbonatemia varies according to pH level. A recent cohort study of CKD patients showed that venous pH modified the association between a low bicarbonate level and the progression of CKD. Furthermore, acidosis with a high anion gap has recently been recognized as an important prognostic factor, because veverimer, a nonabsorbable hydrochloride-binding polymer, has been shown to improve kidney function and decrease the anion gap. Acidosis with high anion gap frequently develops in later stages of CKD. Therefore, the anion gap is a time-varying factor and renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate) is a time-dependent confounder for the anion gap and renal outcomes. Recent analyses using marginal structural models showed that acidosis with a high anion gap was associated with a high risk of CKD. Based on these observations, reconsideration of the clinical approach to diagnosing and treating metabolic acidosis in CKD may be warranted

Rosmarinic acid is a novel inhibitor for Hepatitis B virus replication targeting viral epsilon RNA-polymerase interaction

Current therapeutics for hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients such as nucleoside analogs (NAs) are effective; however, new antiviral drugs against HBV are still desired. Since the interaction between the epsilon (c) sequence of HBV pregenomic RNA and viral polymerase (Pot) is a key step in the HBV replication cycle, we aimed to identify small compounds for its inhibition, and established a pull-down assay system for the detection of c-RNA-binding-Pol. Screening showed that 5 out of 3,965 compounds inhibited c-Pol binding, and we identified rosmarinic acid, which exhibited specificity, as a potential antiviral agent. In order to examine the anti-HBV effects of rosmarinic acid, HBV-infected primary human hepatocytes from a humanized mouse liver were treated with rosmarinic acid. The rosmarinic acid treatment decreased HBV components including the amounts of extracellular HBV DNA with negligible cytotoxicity. We also investigated the combined effects of rosmarinic acid and the NA, lamivudine. rosmarinic acid slightly enhanced the anti-HBV activity of lamivudine, suggesting that the HBV replication step targeted by rosmarinic acid is distinct from that of NA. We analyzed an additional 25 rosmarinic acid derivatives, and found that 5 also inhibited c-Pol. Structural comparisons between these derivatives implied that the "two phenolic hydroxyl groups at both ends" and the "caffeic acid-like structure" of rosmarinic acid are critical for the inhibition of c-Pol binding. Collectively, our results demonstrate that rosmarinic acid inhibits HBV replication in HBV-infected cells by specifically targeting c-Pol binding

Lithiation and Delithiation Properties of Silicide/Si Composite Alloy Electrodes Prepared by Rapid Quenching Method

Rapid quenching is one of the methods for preparing silicide/Si composite alloy as an active material for negative electrode in lithium-ion batteries. In this study, we focused on the method’s control over the positional relation between the Si and silicide phase by changing the additive elements. Various Si-alloys and the relationship between their lithiation and delithiation properties and their arrangement was investigated