Proton Conducting gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are taking much attention compared to liquid electrolytes for supercapacitor applications because of their physical properties, electrochemical ...stability and operation over broader temperature window. Among different GPEs PVA/acid blend electrolytes such as PVA/H2SO4, has drawn great attention in recent years. In this study, PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE was introduced for electric-double layer capacitor (EDLCs) application, in which electrospun free-standing carbon nanofibers are used as electrodes. Introduced PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE serves as both separator and the electrolyte in the supercapacitor. Symmetric Swagelok cells including GPEs were assembled via using two electrode arrangements and the electrochemical properties were searched. Electrochemical performance studies demonstrated that PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 GPE had a maximum specific capacitance (Cs) of 134 F g−1 and showed great capacitance retention (%100) after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. Furthermore, PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3GPE yielded an energy density of 67 Wh kg−1 with a corresponding power density of 1000 W kg−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1.
•PVA-H2SO4-H3BO3 gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) was produced.•A novel ultracapacitor based on PCNF/GPE/PCNF was constructed.•The H3BO3 doped GPE exhibited a specific capacitance of 134 F g−1.
Identification and quantification of stress and stress inducing factors are important components of animal welfare assessment and essential parts of poultry management. Measurement of the autonomic ...nervous system's influence on cardiac function using heart rate and heart rate variability (HR/HRV) indices can provide a non-invasive assessment of the welfare status of an animal. This paper presents a preliminary study showing the feasibility of continuous long-term measurement of HR/HRV indices in freely moving chicken. We developed and evaluated an electrocardiography (ECG) based HR/HRV recording system that can be used as a poultry wearable backpack for research studies. The backpack system was first validated against a commercial ECG amplifier, and the corresponding estimations of HR values matched well with each other. Then, an in vivo proof-of-concept experiment was conducted on floor-reared chickens to collect ECG data for 2 weeks. The extracted HR/HRV values show strong alignment with circadian patterns and well-defined sleep cycles. Wearable devices, like the backpack ECG system used in this study, may be best suited for application in freely moving poultry to get an insight into circadian abnormalities and sleep quality for stress and welfare management.
Purpose: To evaluate the effect of different surface treatments, ferrule heights, and luting agents on the pull-out bond strength (PBS) of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) ...monolithic endocrowns.Methods: After endodontic treatment and preparation for two endocrown designs (ferrule height 0 mm or 2 mm), CAD-CAM monolithic zirconia endocrowns were fabricated for 80 mandibular molars. Each endocrown design group was then divided on the basis of surface treatment into two groups: half were air-abraded and half were air-abraded/laser-irradiated. Then, all treated groups were further divided into two subgroups (n = 10) and cemented to teeth with either a 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP)–containing resin luting agent (Panavia SA) or a combination of MDP-containing primer and MDP-free resin luting agent (Monobond Plus/Multilink Automix). PBS was measured with a universal test machine after simulated chewing and thermocycling. Three-way ANOVA and the post-hoc Bonferroni test were used for statistical analysis.Results: PBS was significantly associated with type of surface treatment, type of luting agent, and ferrule height. Air-abraded/laser-irradiated endocrowns with a 2-mm ferrule that were cemented with Monobond Plus/Multilink Automix had the highest PBS (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Surface treatment with air abrasion/laser irradiation, presence of a ferrule, and priming with an MDP-containing primer increased the PBS of monolithic zirconia endocrowns.
Rhamnetin is a flavonoid which contained in especially clove, such as apple, tea, and onion plant. Rhamnetin has been used in cancer research due to its antitumor and antioxidant properties. In this ...study, effects of rhamnetin administration at different doses on ascites and solid tumors were investigated in Balb/C mice bearing EAT model that originating from rat breast adenocarcinoma. Experimental procedure: Overall, 92 Balb-c mice were used in this study. EAT cells (1 × 10
6
cells) that harvested from stock animals were injected to all rats via intraperitoneal and subcutaneous route. Rhamnetin (100 µg/kg–200 µg/kg) were given intraperitoneally and subcutaneously during 10 and 15 days to the animals bearing ascites tumor and solid tumor, respectively. Throughout experiments, weight changes were recorded in all groups. The maximum weight increase was observed in the control group among all groups (ascites and solid tumor groups). In the treatment groups, the least weight increase were determined in 200-µg/kg rhamnetin applied. The lowest increase in tumor volume was observed in the group that received 200-µg/kg rhamnetin (2.84) when compared to tumor control group (3.67). Result and conclusion: We determined that the number of live and dead cells in the treatment groups administered with the mean rhamnetin dose (2.5 µg/ml) was found in the count made in the EAT cell line after the incubation periods. We observed that rhamnetin plays an important role against cancer formation. We have obtained important results in our study, but detailed studies on the relationship between rhamnetin and cancer are needed.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the pull-out bond strength (PBS) of endodontically treated anterior teeth that had been restored with monolithic zirconia endocrowns using different ...extension depths (EDs) and post-and-core crowns after chewing simulation.Methods: Thirty-six maxillary central teeth were used (n = 12). Group I: Glass fiber post-and-core crown, Group II: Endocrown with 3-mm EDs, Group III: Endocrown with 5-mm EDs. Restorations were fabricated from monolithic zirconia blocks using a CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) device. For cementation, conventional resin luting agent (Multilink N) was used. All samples were aged with a chewing simulator and PBS tests were conducted at a speed of 1 mm/min using an electromechanical servo universal testing machine. The values were recorded in MPa by dividing the failure load by the bonding area. One-way ANOVA and the post-hoc Tukey test were used for statistical analysis (P = 0.05).Results: Group III demonstrated significantly greater PBS values than Groups I and II (P = 0.001). No significant difference was found between Groups I and II (P = 0.072).Conclusion: Increasing the ED of an endocrown influences the PBS of endodontically treated anterior teeth restored with monolithic zirconia endocrowns.
In this work, the synthesis of tungsten oxide/reduced graphene oxide (WO3-rGO) nanocomposite, using a simple method of pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL) is reported. The pulsed laser beam of ...355 nm wavelength carries out two simultaneous processes: the reduction of graphene oxide and at the same time the anchoring of nanostructured WO3 on reduced graphene oxide. In the photo-catalytic application, WO3-rGO shows much better visible light absorption and less photo-generated charge recombination than pure WO3, as indicated by optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra. These improved features in WO3-rGO significantly enhanced the photo-catalytic decontamination of methylene blue (MB) dye in the water, compared to the use of pure WO3 as a photocatalyst. A Poly 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (PAMPS) based electrolyte together with the high electrical conductance and porosity of rGO which were produced after anchoring WO3 on the graphene oxide, were harnessed for the energy storage application using this material for a supercapacitor. The specific capacitance for WO3-rGO based device is achieved to be 577 F g−1 measured by the galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) method. Also, at a power density of 1000 W kg−1, the as-synthesized WO3-rGO demonstrated a large energy density value of 76.3 Wh Kg−1 that is much larger than obtained, using WO3 alone. Besides these photocatalytic and energy storage performance evaluation of WO3-rGO, the optical, morphological and elemental characteristics of synthesized WO3-rGO were also investigated to study the improved performance of the nanocomposite in these two applications.
Microwave assisted combustion method was used to synthesize nanocrystalline Zn
x
Ni
1−
x
Fe
2O
4 from a stoichiometric mixture of corresponding metal nitrates and urea powders. The structural, ...chemical and magnetic properties of Ni–Zn ferrite was determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and DC conductivity measurements. Results showed that the material was spinel structure with a high purity with an estimated crystallite size of ∼20
nm by X-ray line profile fitting. TEM analysis showed necked near-spherical particles with an average size of ∼20
nm, reflecting highly crystalline nature of these nanoparticles. Magnetic properties showed anomalities as the Zn doping level increased. This has been explained and attributed to the relative positions of Ni, Zn, and Fe ions in the crystal lattice.
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The nanocomposites of tungsten oxide and cadmium sulfide (WO3-nCdS) with different mass ratios (n = 0 %, 5 %, 15 %, 30 % and 100 %) of CdS in WO3 were synthesized by pulsed laser ...ablation in liquid (PLAL). Anchoring of CdS on WO3 brought about attractive material characteristics like, enhanced visible light absorption and reduced electron-hole recombination through the z-scheme charge transfer between WO3 and CdS, which were experimentally confirmed by the absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra respectively. These new features in the material resulted in the enhancement of photo catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light; particularly WO3-30 %CdS nanocomposite achieved complete dye degradation in 230 min. Also, when the same nanocomposite is used as an electrode material in the supercapacitor, the areal capacitance (Ca) shows an enhancement in general and reached a level as high as 68.1 m F cm−2 equivalent to 121.2 F g−1 (from charge-discharge analysis), which can be attributed to the increased surface area in the WO3-nCdS nanocomposite. The fabricated device exhibited sufficiently large energy density of 7.7 μWh cm-2 corresponding to high power density of 254 μW cm−2.
Abstract An increasing number of biomaterial nerve guides has been developed that await direct comparative testing with the ‘gold-standard’ autologous nerve graft in functional repair of peripheral ...nerve defects. In the present study, 20 mm rat sciatic nerve defects were bridged with either a collagen-based micro-structured nerve guide (Perimaix) or an autologous nerve graft. Axons regenerated well into the Perimaix scaffold and, the majority of these axons grew across the 20 mm defect into the distal nerve segment. In fact, both the total axon number and the number of retrogradely traced somatosensory and motor neurons extending their axons across the implant was similar between Perimaix and autologous nerve graft groups. Implantation of Schwann cell-seeded Perimaix scaffolds provided only a beneficial effect on myelination within the scaffold. Functional recovery supported by the implanted, non-seeded Perimaix scaffold was as good as that observed after the autologous nerve graft, despite the presence of thinner myelin sheaths in the Perimaix implanted nerves. These findings support the potential of the Perimaix collagen scaffold as a future off-the-shelf device for clinical applications in selected cases of traumatic peripheral nerve injury.
This study aimed to measure the serum endocan level of patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) and to investigate the possible association between the Endothelial-specific molecule-1 (Endocan) level ...and ED. Twenty healthy and sixty-four male patients included in the study were divided into four groups: severe ED (19 patients), moderate ED (24 patients), mild ED (21 patients) and control group (20 healthy men). The erectile function of all the patients was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) questionnaire. The body mass index (BMI) of each participant was determined, together with levels of fasting blood glucose, total testosterone, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and endocan in serum samples. No significant difference was found between the three ED groups and the control group in terms of the mean age, BMI and the levels of cholesterol and fasting blood glucose (P>0.05). The mean serum endocan level was found to 1.076±0.5, 0.674±0.40 and 0.671±0.3 ng ml
in the severe, moderate and mild ED groups, respectively. This indicated that the highest value was obtained from the severe ED group, and the difference between the severe ED group and the other groups was statistically significant. In the control group, the serum endocan level was 0.73±0.46 ng ml
, which was significantly higher compared to the moderate and mild ED groups (P<0.05). The significant difference between the control and ED groups in terms of the serum endocan level can assist in the evaluation of endothelial pathologies in the etiology ED.
