CO2 capture technologies are essential to achieve the global goal of carbon neutral and carbon negative. Membrane separations are energy-efficient compared to the adsorption/absorption processes with ...sorbents/solvents. However, little attention has been given to CO2 separation from air (direct air capture: DAC) or cabin air by membranes. In this study, a thin film composite type of facilitated transport membrane (FTM) with a functionalized ionic liquid (IL) carrier is developed. The selective layer is an IL-rich gel nanoconfined within the graphene oxide nanosheet framework. High performance of CO2 carrier-facilitated transport at conditions relevant to DAC (3090 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity of 1180) and cabin air (620 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity of 250) was demonstrated at 295 K and 40% RH (1 GPU = 3.348 × 10-10 mol m-2 s-1 Pa−1). The coupled permeation and selectivity represent the best performing FTM known under DAC conditions and promise potential for CO2 separation from air.
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•A composite membrane with ionic liquid carrier is developed for CO2/N2 separation.•CO2 permeance of 3090 GPU is achieved at 295 K, 40% RH with 410 ppm of CO2 feed.•A record breaking CO2/N2 selectivity of 1180 is demonstrated.•The inclusion of graphene oxide and poly(ionic liquid) enhanced membrane stability.•Membrane operates consistently over a 2-week long continuous separation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Understanding the oxidative and thermal degradation of CO2 sorbents is essential for assessing long‐term sorbent stability in direct air capture (DAC). The potential degradation pathway of ...imidazolium cyanopyrrolide, an ionic liquid (IL) functionalized for superior CO2 capacity and selectivity, is evaluated under accelerated degradation conditions to elucidate the secondary reactions that can occur during repetitive absorption‐desorption thermal‐swing cycles. The combined analysis from various spectroscopic, chromatographic, and thermal gravimetric measurements indicated that radical and SN2 mechanisms in degradation are encouraged by the nucleophilicity of the anion. Thickening of the liquid and gas evolution are accompanied by 50 % reduction in CO2 capacity after a 7‐day exposure to O2 under 80 °C. To prevent long exposure to conventional thermal heating, microwave (MW) regeneration of the CO2‐reactive IL is used, where dielectric heating at 80 and 100 °C rapidly desorbs CO2 and regenerates the IL without any measurable degradation.
What's the catch? Thermal and oxidative stability of a functionalized ionic liquid was examined to elucidate the regeneration stability for direct air capture of CO2. After a week‐long exposure to oxygen at 80 °C, radical and SN2 side reactions degrade the sorbent to lose 50 % of its CO2 capacity. As an alternative to conventional energy transfer by thermal heating, microwave‐assisted rapid desorption of CO2 was demonstrated in an ionic liquid without measurable degradation.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This study analyzed the association between depressive symptoms and employment type, by considering both socioeconomic status and job stress factors.
We analyzed 27,369 participants (13,134 men and ...14,235 women) using data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey. The participants were divided into regular and precarious workers. Depressive symptoms were defined using the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between depressive symptoms and employment type.
Of the participants, 71.53% (N = 19578) were regular workers and 28.47% (N = 7791) were precarious workers. The weighted frequencies of participants with depressive symptoms (42.50%) were significantly higher than those of precarious workers (32.54%, p < 0.001). In the univariate and multivariate analyses, precarious workers had a significantly higher risk of depressive symptoms than regular workers (odds ratio OR 1.53, 95% confidence interval CI 1.42-1.64; OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07-1.26, respectively). The significant association between depressive symptoms and precarious workers has also been reflected in propensity score matched participants through crude and multivariate analysis (OR 1.54 95% CI 1.43-1.66 and OR 1.15 95% CI 1.04-1.26, respectively).
The findings suggest that precarious workers may have a higher risk of depressive symptoms than regular workers. However, this is only a cross-sectional study. Therefore, further study is required to investigate the relevance association between depressive symptoms and employment types.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A mixture of n-methyl-n-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, PYR13TFSI and n-propyl-n-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, PYR13FSI ionic liquids (ILs) is ...investigated for lithium–metal batteries. Specifically, the relation among conductivity, solvation structure, and Li+ mobility is investigated in a Li/IL/IL type ternary mixture. Li+ anion coordination numbers with both TFSI and FSI in the ternary mixtures are derived from Raman analysis. The Li+ transference number was measured by a combination of potentiostatic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The electrochemical stability and transport property of the developed ternary mixture were confirmed with Li–Li symmetrical and Li–LiFePO4 cells. The ternary system exhibited improved rate capability compared to binary parent electrolytes as well as the state-of-the art carbonate-based electrolyte at −20 °C, and slightly better cycling stability at 25 °C. This study demonstrates the flexibility in tailoring physical properties and the Li+ solvation environment by ternary Li/IL/IL mixtures for enhanced battery performance.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Increasing bodies of epidemiological evidence indicate potential associations between dysphagia and the risk of frailty in older adults. We hypothesized that older adults with symptoms of dysphagia ...might have a higher prevalence of frailty or prefrailty than those without dysphagia.
We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for relevant studies published through 20 April 2022. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that examined the associations between dysphagia and the existence of frailty or prefrailty in community-dwelling, facility-dwelling, or hospitalized adults aged 50 years or older were synthesized. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate study quality.
The meta-analysis comprised 12 cohorts, including 5,503,543 non-frailty participants and 735,303 cases of frailty or prefrailty. Random-effect meta-analysis demonstrated a significant association between dysphagia and the risk of frailty and prefrailty (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 2.51-4.20). In addition, we observed consistent results across the subgroups and heterogeneity assessments.
We propose including dysphagia assessment as a critical factor in the cumulative deficit model for identifying frailty in older adults. Understanding dysphagia and the potential role of nutritional supplements in older adults may lead to improved strategies for preventing, delaying, or mitigating frailty.
Evidence for the association between high sodium intake and the onset of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is insufficient. This study examined the sex-specific association between sodium ...intake and the risk of NAFLD. This study included 2582 adults (aged 40-69 years; 1011 males and 1571 females). The total sodium excreted over 24 h was estimated from spot urine specimens using Tanaka's equation. Based on these estimates, participants were categorized into three groups according to their 24-h urinary sodium excretion levels: lowest (T1), middle (T2), and highest (T3). In addition, the participants were divided into non-NAFLD (≤36) and NAFLD (>36) groups based on the hepatic steatosis index. During the follow-up period (14 years), NAFLD was observed in 551 participants. The estimated 24-h urinary sodium excretion levels were positively associated with the incidence of NAFLD in all subjects. Upon sex stratification, females in the T2 and T3 groups exhibited adjusted hazard ratios of 1.35 and 1.51, respectively, compared with the T1 group. However, a significant relationship was not observed in males. High intake of sodium, especially among females, may be an important factor contributing to the development of NAFLD. Individuals with high sodium intake should be appropriately counselled and monitored for the risk of NAFLD.
Purpose
Crowdfunding can be an effective fundraising vehicle to independent restaurants to overcome fundraising limitations due to its small-size and high risk. A few studies have identified contents ...of communication for successful crowdfunding, yet missing is on how to say. The purpose of this paper is to investigate linguistics styles that are effective in pitches in restaurant crowdfunding.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzed 500 restaurant crowdfunding projects listed on Kickstarter.com that is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms with sizable restaurant projects. By text analysis, this study identifies four linguistic categories – concrete, precise, interactive and language with low psychological distancing – from the project descriptions. A binominal linear regression analysis identified effective language styles that increases success of restaurant crowdfunding.
Findings
Drawing on the language expectancy theory and uncertainty reduction theory, this study found that project descriptions that are concrete and delivering stories with fewer usage of first person pronouns are likely to succeed in restaurant fundraising. Interactive style was counter-effective while preciseness of language did not affect funding success significantly. Findings further reveal the roles of non-linguistic attributes shown in the project pitches.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the increasing practice of restaurant crowdfunding and good matches with small- and medium-sized restaurants’ needs, scant research has been conducted. Notably absent from the research is work on linguistic styles that are effective in restaurant crowdfunding. This study extends the prior literature by investigating how restaurant entrepreneurs should communicate with potential crowdfunders to make crowdfunding successful in the restaurant context. Simply knowing what are important does not provide holistic help to restaurant entrepreneurs; they also should know how to communicate well.
Practical implications
The findings of this study are important for restaurant entrepreneurs who need to present their projects and communicate effectively with potential investors online. Based on the study’s findings, crowdfunding platforms could enhance their project posting systems by developing algorithm that automatically measures language cues embedded in a project description and providing suggestions to improve persuasiveness of languages to maximize funding success for restaurant projects.
Originality/value
Scant research has been conducted in the restaurant crowdfunding; prior crowdfunding literature has focused on the projects other than restaurants such as technology, design and film. This study is the first that uncovers the role of the linguistic styles for the specific context of restaurant crowdfunding. This study sheds the light on the critical communication strategies used by small-sized restaurant entrepreneurs on crowdfunding platform.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can integrate into the human genome, contributing to genomic instability and hepatocarcinogenesis. Here by conducting high-throughput viral integration detection and RNA ...sequencing, we identify 4,225 HBV integration events in tumour and adjacent non-tumour samples from 426 patients with HCC. We show that HBV is prone to integrate into rare fragile sites and functional genomic regions including CpG islands. We observe a distinct pattern in the preferential sites of HBV integration between tumour and non-tumour tissues. HBV insertional sites are significantly enriched in the proximity of telomeres in tumours. Recurrent HBV target genes are identified with few that overlap. The overall HBV integration frequency is much higher in tumour genomes of males than in females, with a significant enrichment of integration into chromosome 17. Furthermore, a cirrhosis-dependent HBV integration pattern is observed, affecting distinct targeted genes. Our data suggest that HBV integration has a high potential to drive oncogenic transformation.
Gel polymer electrolyte (GPE), possessing a polymer matrix and embedded liquid electrolyte, is a critical component of lithium-ion batteries. To enhance GPE performance, in this work a ...self-crosslinkable poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVdF) graft copolymer possessing Meldrum's acid (MA) groups as reactive sites has been prepared with atom transfer radical polymerization and utilized as a polymer matrix for GPEs. Compared to neat PVdF based GPEs, incorporation of MA groups to PVdF chains simultaneously brings crosslinking characteristic and high polarity to PVdF chains so as to enhance the thermal stability, mechanical strength, and polymer matrix-electrolyte affinity of the corresponding GPEs. The prepared GPE has an ionic conductivity of about 1.48 mS cm−1, which is higher than the value of 0.98 mS cm−1 measured on commercial Celgard 2325® separator. Moreover, good Li-ion battery performance, including high discharge capacity (136 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C) and high capacity retention at high C-rates (66% at 10 C and 50% at 15 C), has been recorded with the prepared GPE based LIBs, demonstrating the application potential of the developed GPE for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries.
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•Crosslinkable PVdF is prepared with atom transfer radical polymerization.•Crosslinked PVdF based fiber mat is obtained as a matrix of gel polymer electrolytes.•The matrix shows attractive thermal stability and electrolyte compatibility.•The battery employing the gel polymer electrolyte retains 50% capacity at high charge rate (15C).
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
CO2 separations from cabin air and the atmospheric air are challenged by the very low partial pressures of CO2. In this study, a facilitated transport membrane (FTM) is developed to separate CO2 from ...air using functionalized ionic liquid (IL) and poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) carriers. A highly permeable bicontinuous structured poly(ethersulfone)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (bPES/PET) substrate is used to support the PIL–IL impregnated graphene oxide thin film. The CO2 separation performance was tested under a mixture feed of CO2/N2/O2/H2O. Under 410 ppm of CO2 at 1 atm feed gas, CO2 permanence of 3923 GPU, and CO2/N2 and CO2/O2 selectivities of 1200 and 300, respectively, are achieved with helium sweeping on the permeate side. For increased transmembrane pressure (>0 atm), a thicker PIL–IL/GO layer was shown to provide mechanical strength and prevent leaching of the mobile carrier. CO2 binding to the carriers, ion diffusivities, and the glass transition temperature of the PIL–IL gels were examined to determine the membrane composition and rationalize the superior separation performance obtained. This report represents the first FTM study with PIL–IL carriers for CO2 separation from air.
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