Over 20 years, Si has been investigated as a promising alternative to conventional graphite because of its high specific capacity and proper working voltage. As numerous strategies have demonstrated ...their improved electrochemical properties by addressing the intrinsic challenges of Si anode, the practical investigation with a full cell has been regarded as an important task to verify their feasibilities. In this Perspective, we discuss key issues in the practical implementation of the Si anode in the high-energy full cell. With the target of improvement in the volumetric energy density, the comprehensive overview of an electrochemical cell design for Si anodes is presented with its influence on electrochemical properties. Moreover, we highlight the electrode swelling issues and the capacity fading of the Si anode, which is pronounced in the full cell rather than in the half cell. Finally, we offer insights regarding the potential future directions in the development of the Si anode for high-energy lithium-ion batteries.
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To satisfy ever-increasing energy demands, improving the energy density of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) has been regarded as one of the most important agendas in the battery field. In the past few decades, silicon (Si) as the high-capacity anode has been intensively explored to substitute the conventional carbonaceous anode. As many efforts have succeeded in understanding the mechanism of the Si anode and in overcoming its intrinsic challenges, feasibility study of its practical implementation in the full cell has been highly desirable in taking a step toward high-energy LIBs.
This Perspective systematically addresses the critical issues of Si anodes based on the conventional electrochemical cell design. With the flow chart of the electrochemical cell design, several parameters that affect the electrochemical properties of Si anodes are briefly introduced. In addition, the dependence of volumetric energy density on electrode swelling is highlighted, and the difference in capacity fading mechanisms between the half cell and the full cell is discussed in terms of the electrochemical cell. Overall, this Perspective gives an insight into the potential future direction for the development of the Si anode and the evaluation of new Si anodes to ensure the enhancement of volumetric energy density and cycle life in the full cell.
While the silicon anode has been vigorously studied for the high-energy lithium-ion battery (LIB), the practical application of the silicon anode still seems tardy. To stimulate the implementation of Si anodes in high-energy LIB, we discuss practical issues of Si anodes with the conventional electrochemical cell design. This Perspective reminds the reader about the major aim of developing the Si anode, i.e., improving the volumetric energy density, and what should be considered for its practical application.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide, despite medical and technological advancements. The RhoBTB family consists of three isoforms: RhoBTB1, RhoBTB2, and ...RhoBTB3. RhoBTB1 and RhoBTB2 have been proposed as tumor suppressors in breast cancer. However, the roles of RhoBTB3 proteins are unknown in breast cancer. Bioinformatics analysis, including Oncomine, cBioportal, was used to evaluate the potential functions and prognostic values of RhoBTB3 and Col1a1 in breast cancer. qRT-PCR analysis and immunoblotting assay were performed to investigate relevant expression. Functional experiments including proliferation assay, invasion assay, and flow cytometry assay were conducted to determine the role of RhoBTB3 and Col1a1 in breast cancer cells. RhoBTB3 mRNA levels were significantly up-regulated in breast cancer tissues as compared to in adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, RhoBTB3 expression was found to be associated with Col1a1 expression. Decreasing RhoBTB3 expression may lead to decreases in the proliferative and invasive properties of breast cancer cells. Further, Col1a1 knockdown in breast cancer cells limited the proliferative and invasive ability of cancer cells. Knockdown of RhoBTB3 may exert inhibit the proliferation, migration, and metastasis of breast cancer cells by repressing the expression of Col1a1, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for treating breast cancer.
RATIONALE:Microvascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction secondary to unchecked activation of endothelium play a critical role in the pathophysiology of sepsis and organ failure. The ...intrinsic signaling mechanisms responsible for dampening excessive activation of endothelial cells are not completely understood.
OBJECTIVE:To determine the central role of YAP (Yes-associated protein), the major transcriptional coactivator of the Hippo pathway, in modulating the strength and magnitude of endothelial activation and vascular inflammation.
METHODS AND RESULTS:Endothelial-specific YAP knockout mice showed increased basal expression of E-selectin and ICAM (intercellular adhesion molecule)-1 in endothelial cells, a greater number of adherent neutrophils in postcapillary venules and increased neutrophil counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Lipopolysaccharide challenge of these mice augmented NF-κB (nuclear factor-κB) activation, expression of endothelial adhesion proteins, neutrophil and monocyte adhesion to cremaster muscle venules, transendothelial neutrophil migration, and lung inflammatory injury. Deletion of YAP in endothelial cells also markedly augmented the inflammatory response and cardiovascular dysfunction in a polymicrobial sepsis model induced by cecal ligation and puncture. YAP functioned by interacting with the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase TLR (Toll-like receptor) signaling adaptor TRAF6 (tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6) to ubiquitinate TRAF6, and thus promoted TRAF6 degradation and modification resulting in inhibition of NF-κB activation. TRAF6 depletion in endothelial cells rescued the augmented inflammatory phenotype in mice with endothelial cell–specific deletion of YAP.
CONCLUSIONS:YAP modulates the activation of endothelial cells and suppresses vascular inflammation through preventing TRAF6-mediated NF-κB activation and is hence essential for limiting the severity of sepsis-induced inflammation and organ failure.
Transfer service level is developed and applied boarding and alighting facilities facility at multiple transfer centers in this paper. Development and Application of Transfer Service Level for Layout ...Criteria are location issues between a main mode and access modes in terms of the boarding and alighting facilities facility one another. The total distance between them has been suggested to be minimized. In the distance calculation stairs are considered to be more difficult than open space. On the other hand, an escalator and an elevator are treated as easier than open space. Considering the number of people between boarding and alighting facilities, the weighted average distance is suggested to be a M.O.E(Measure of effectiveness) for layout criteria at multiple transfer centers. The layout criteria of an access mode’s boarding and alighting facilities is the concept of placing access mode that is frequently used by passengers closest to each other. Finally, Development and Application of Transfer Service Level for layout criteria are applied to the existing Gimpo airport terminal and some improvement ideas are suggested.
Platelet-leukocyte interactions on activated endothelial cells play an important role during microvascular occlusion under oxidative stress conditions. However, it remains poorly understood how ...neutrophil-platelet interactions are regulated during vascular inflammation. By using intravital microscopy with mice lacking nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 (NOX2) and their bone marrow chimera, we demonstrated that NOX2 from both hematopoietic and endothelial cells is crucial for neutrophil-platelet interactions during tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced venular inflammation. Platelet NOX2-produced reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulated P-selectin exposure upon agonist stimulation and the ligand-binding function of glycoprotein Ibα. Furthermore, neutrophil NOX2-generated ROS enhanced the activation and ligand-binding activity of αMβ2 integrin following N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl phenylalanine stimulation. Studies with isolated cells and a mouse model of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury revealed that NOX2 from both platelets and neutrophils is required for cell-cell interactions, which contribute to the pathology of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury. Platelet NOX2 modulated intracellular Ca2+ release but not store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE), whereas neutrophil NOX2 was crucial for SOCE but not intracellular Ca2+ release. Different regulation of Ca2+ signaling by platelet and neutrophil NOX2 correlated with differences in the phosphorylation of AKT, ERK, and p38MAPK. Our results indicate that platelet and neutrophil NOX2-produced ROS are critical for the function of surface receptors essential for neutrophil-platelet interactions during vascular inflammation.
•NOX2-generated ROS regulate the function of surface receptors required for platelet-neutrophil interactions during vascular inflammation.
•Ultrasound assisted electrochemical degradation of ibuprofen.•The degradation step followed pseudo first order reaction.•IBP degraded at 30V, 1000kHz, 100WL−1 and 298K in 1h.•In 1h, 89.32% ...degradation was achieved using NaOH.
A hybrid advanced oxidation process combining sonochemistry (US) and electrochemistry (EC) for the batch scale degradation of ibuprofen was developed. The performance of this hybrid reactor system was evaluated by quantifying on the degradation of ibuprofen under the variation in electrolytes, frequency, applied voltage, ultrasonic power density and temperature in aqueous solutions with a platinum electrode. Among the methods examined (US, EC and US/EC), the hybrid method US/EC resulted 89.32%, 81.85% and 88.7% degradations while using NaOH, H2SO4 and deionized water (DI), respectively, with a constant electrical voltages of 30V, an ultrasound frequency of 1000kHz, and a power density of 100WL−1 at 298K in 1h. The degradation was established to follow pseudo first order kinetics. In addition, energy consumption and energy efficiencies were also calculated. The probable mechanism for the anodic oxidation of ibuprofen at a platinum electrode was also postulated.
Graphene dots precisely controlled in size are interesting in nanoelectronics due to their quantum optical and electrical properties. However, most graphene quantum dot (GQD) research so far has been ...performed based on flake-type graphene reduced from graphene oxides. Consequently, it is extremely difficult to isolate the size effect of GQDs from the measured optical properties. Here, we report the size-controlled fabrication of uniform GQDs using self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) as an etch mask on graphene films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Electron microscope images show that as-prepared GQDs are composed of mono- or bilayer graphene with diameters of 10 and 20 nm, corresponding to the size of BCP nanospheres. In the measured photoluminescence (PL) spectra, the emission peak of the GQDs on the SiO2 substrate is shown to be at ∼395 nm. The fabrication of GQDs was supported by the analysis of the Raman spectra and the observation of PL spectra after each fabrication step. Additionally, oxygen content in the GQDs is rationally controlled by additional air plasma treatment, which reveals the effect of oxygen content to the PL property.
Tiny machine learning (TinyML) has become an emerging field according to the rapid growth in the area of the internet of things (IoT). However, most deep learning algorithms are too complex, require ...a lot of memory to store data, and consume an enormous amount of energy for calculation/data movement; therefore, the algorithms are not suitable for IoT devices such as various sensors and imaging systems. Furthermore, typical hardware accelerators cannot be embedded in these resource-constrained edge devices, and they are difficult to drive real-time inference processing as well. To perform the real-time processing on these battery-operated devices, deep learning models should be compact and hardware-optimized, and hardware accelerator designs also have to be lightweight and consume extremely low energy. Therefore, we present an optimized network model through model simplification and compression for the hardware to be implemented, and propose a hardware architecture for a lightweight and energy-efficient deep learning accelerator. The experimental results demonstrate that our optimized model successfully performs object detection, and the proposed hardware design achieves 1.25× and 4.27× smaller logic and BRAM size, respectively, and its energy consumption is approximately 10.37× lower than previous similar works with 43.95 fps as a real-time process under an operating frequency of 100 MHz on a Xilinx ZC702 FPGA.
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)–bacterial succinoglycan (SG) biodegradable films were developed through a solvent-casting method. Effects of the PVA/SG ratio on the thickness, transmittance, water holding ...capacity, and structural and mechanical properties were investigated by various analytical methods. All the prepared films were transparent and uniform, and XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed that PVA was successfully incorporated into SG. The films also showed excellent UV-blocking ability: up to close to 80% with increasing SG concentration. The formation of effective intermolecular interactions between these polymers was evidenced by their high tensile strength and moisture transport capacity. By measuring the biodegradation rate, it was confirmed that films with high SG content showed the fastest biodegradation rate over 5 days. These results confirm that PVA/SG films are eco-friendly, with both excellent biodegradability and effective UV-blocking ability, suggesting the possibility of industrial applications as a packaging material in various fields in the future.
We fabricated new hydrogels using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and succinoglycan (SG) directly isolated and obtained from
Rm 1021 via the freeze-thaw method. Both the composition of the hydrogels and the ...freeze-thaw cycles were optimized to maximize the swelling ratio for the preparation of the PVA/SG hydrogels. During the optimization process, the morphology and conformational change in the hydrogel were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, rheological measurements, and compressive tests. An optimized hydrogel with a maximum swelling ratio of 17.28 g/g was obtained when the composition of PVA to SG was 50:50 (PVA/SG 50/50) and the total number of freeze-thaw cycles was five. The PVA/SG 50/50 hydrogel had the largest pore with 51.24% porosity and the highest cross-over point (28.17%) between the storage modulus (G') and the loss modulus (G″). The PVA/SG 50/50 hydrogel showed improved thermal stability owing to its interaction with thermally stable SG chains. The improvement in the thermal stability was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, the PVA/SG 50/50 hydrogel showed differential drug release according to the corresponding pH under acidic conditions of pH 1.2 and slightly basic conditions of pH 7.4. Furthermore, the cell viability test on the HEK-293 cell line for that hydrogel demonstrated that the PVA/SG 50/50 hydrogel was non-toxic and biocompatible. Therefore, this hydrogel could be a potential scaffold capable of pH-responsive drug delivery for chronic wound dressing applications.
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