Polymer‐based solid electrolytes (PSEs) have attracted tremendous interests for the next‐generation lithium batteries in terms of high safety and energy density along with good flexibility. ...Remarkable performances have been demonstrated in PSEs, which endowed PSEs with the potential to replace liquid electrolytes to meet the market demands. In this review, polymer matrices, different polymer architectures, and functional filler materials used in PSEs are discussed to explore the design concepts, methodologies, working mechanisms, and pros and cons of various PSEs. In addition, their recent notable applications in all‐solid‐state lithium ion batteries, lithium–sulfur batteries, suppression of lithium dendrites, and flexible lithium batteries are also introduced. Finally, the challenges and future prospects are sketched to provide strategies to explore novel PSEs for high‐performance all‐solid‐state lithium batteries.
Polymer‐based solid electrolytes (PSEs) have the potential to replace liquid electrolytes to realize all‐solid‐state lithium batteries with high safety. This review summarizes some recent prominent advancements in PSEs with regards to polymer matrix selection, architectural engineering of polymers, and properties of different fillers. Application of PSEs in lithium batteries, suppression of lithium dendrites, and flexible batteries are also highlighted.
Ultracold atoms confined to periodic potentials have proven to be a powerful tool for quantum simulation of complex many-body systems. We confine fermions to one dimension to realize the ...Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid model, which describes the highly collective nature of their low-energy excitations. We use Bragg spectroscopy to directly excite either the spin or charge waves for various strengths of repulsive interaction. We observe that the velocity of the spin and charge excitations shift in opposite directions with increasing interaction, a hallmark of spin-charge separation. The excitation spectra are in quantitative agreement with the exact solution of the Yang-Gaudin model and the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid theory. Furthermore, we identify effects of nonlinear corrections to this theory that arise from band curvature and back-scattering.
Separating spin and charge
In one-dimensional fermionic systems, spin and charge excitations can decouple from each other. This so-called spin-charge separation has been detected in solids and cold-atom systems held in optical lattices. Senaratne
et al
. observed spin-charge separation in one-dimensional Fermi gases of lithium atoms in the absence of a lattice structure within the gas. The researchers were able to excite the spin and charge excitation modes independently from each other and measure their velocities as a function of the strength of the atomic interactions. —JS
Bragg spectroscopy is used to measure the velocities of spin and charge excitations in a one-dimensional Fermi gas of atomic lithium.
A high-temperature proton exchange membrane is a key component of high-temperature proton exchange fuel cells. However, its development has been impeded by problems such as mechanical stability ...issues and free phosphoric acid leaching. Here, phosphonated phenol-formaldehyde is first introduced into polybenzimidazole as a high-temperature proton exchange membrane, which synchronously has sufficient intrinsic protonic conductors and long-range proton transport channels. We propose replacing free phosphoric acid with immobilized phosphoric acid based on phosphonated phenol-formaldehyde, thus balancing the relationship between electrochemical performance and mechanical stability in a phosphoric-acid-doped membrane. Phosphonated phenol-formaldehyde with immobilized phosphoric acid can not only achieve anhydrous proton conductivity at high temperatures, but it can also mitigate the adverse impact of phosphoric acid on the swelling of the membrane. A composite 50PPF/PBI membrane with a low acid uptake level reached a peak power density of 607 mW cm
−2
at 160 °C under fully anhydrous conditions. A single cell based on 50PPF/PBI MEA has a low attenuation rate over a period of 50 hours due to the eminent PA retention properties of the membrane. This result indicates a pathway to using phosphonated polymers as immobilized phosphoric acids in the field of high-temperature proton exchange membranes.
Phosphonated phenol-formaldehyde was first introduced into polybenzimidazole to obtain a high-temperature proton exchange membrane which synchronously has sufficient intrinsic protonic conductors and long-range proton transport channels.
LiDAR point cloud object recognition is widely adopted in 3D perception applications and plays an important role in remote sensing, autonomous driving, robotics and other fields. We propose a novel ...point cloud object recognition method based on histograms of dual deviation angle feature, which we call the HDDAF. First, we use the normal alignment radial feature to sample feature points. Second, we construct the local reference frame (LRF) for the point cloud. Third, we calculate the connecting line between the barycentre and LRF origin, and calculate the deviation angle between connecting line and the LRF and deviation angle between connecting line and point cloud normal vectors. Fourth, we construct feature histograms of the two kinds of deviation angle. Finally, we construct a model library using the HDDAF algorithm to transform the point cloud data into a feature histogram, and we transform the point cloud of unknown objects into a feature histogram in the same way. We match the histogram of unknown objects with the model library histogram to recognize the unknown object. We rigorously test the proposed method on B3R and ModelNet40 standard datasets and real scenes, and compare with those of 10 other methods. For standard, noise and real scene data, the precisionrecall curve of the proposed method is superior to that of the comparison methods. The average computation times of the proposed method on the two datasets and real scenes are 0.221, 0.051 and 0.448 seconds, which are shorter than those of the comparison methods. The results show that the proposed method is highly descriptive, robust and computationally efficient.
Postpartum osteoporosis (PO) is a rare condition characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and an increased risk of vertebral fragility fracture. We encountered a 34-year-old woman who ...developed back pain 1 week after delivery. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine revealed three vertebral compression fractures. Pretreatment BMD evaluation by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry revealed a low T-score and Z-score (−2.0 and −2.0, respectively; BMD, 0.876 g/cm2) in the affected region of the spine. The patient was diagnosed with PO and treated with subcutaneous injection of denosumab 60 mg (Prolia; Amgen, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) every 6 months. After two treatments, the BMD had significantly increased and the back pain was improved; the patient therefore decided to terminate the treatment. Two months later, her back pain worsened and BMD decreased as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry examination of the lumbar spine. Therefore, the patient resumed treatment with denosumab, and the BMD of the lumbar spine increased after another two treatments. Therefore, we consider denosumab to be promising in the management of PO with respect to increased BMD and decreased pain.
Aggressive vertebral hemangiomas (AVHs) destroy continuous vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs and resulting in spinal kyphosis is extremely rare. The very aggressive behavior was attributable ...to its significant vascular component and contained no adipose tissue.
We report a case of thoracic spine kyphosis of AVHs with multiple vertebral bodies and intervertebral disc destruction in a 45-year-old woman.
Based on the imaging studies, the patient underwent surgical removal of this lesion and spinal reconstruction. Histopathology consistent with vertebral hemangioma and contained no adipose.
The patient underwent surgical removal of the lesion and spinal reconstruction. After subperiosteal dissection of the paraspinal muscles and exposure of the laminae, the laminae of the T5-7 vertebrae were removed and exposing the lesion. The lesion was soft and showed cystic changes, completely curetted and autogenous bone was implanted. Vertebroplasty was performed through T3-T9 pedicles bilaterally. Pedicle screw fixation was performed for segmental fixation and fusion.
After 9 days of operation, the incision healed cleanly and free of pain. She was discharged in good general condition. The patient remained asymptomatic after follow-up 6 months of postoperative.
AVHs destroy multiple vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs and resulting in spinal kyphosis is extremely rare.
The colour of water-jet rewritable paper (WJRP) is difficult to be expanded via single hydrochromic molecule, especially black. Here, inspired by the amazing phenomenon of bound-water in cells ...enabling various biological transformations via facilitating synergistic inter-/intra-molecular proton transfer, we present a simple strategy toward WJRP based on binary systems containing less-sensitive acidochromic dyes and mild proton donors (or developers). With such a binary system containing commercial black dye as the colouring agent, benzyl 4-hydroxybenzoate as the developer, and biomimetic bound-water as proton-transferring medium, we successfully achieve the long-awaited black WJRP. Printed images on such WJRP have excellent performances and long retaining time (>1 month). In addition, the robustness, durability and reversibility of WJRP could be increased distinctly by using polyethylene terephthalate as substrate. This strategy significantly expands hydrochromic colours to entire visible range in an eco-friendly way, which opens an avenue of smart materials for practical needs and industrialization.
This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and mechanism of autophagy on podocyte apoptosis under high glucose (HG) conditions and further explore the effect of berberine on podocyte ...autophagy, apoptosis and the potential mechanism.
The levels of LC3II/I in podocytes stimulated with HG were detected at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36 and 48 h by western blotting. CCK-8 was used to detect the viability of podocytes. The level of autophagy was detected by western blotting, transmission electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. Podocyte apoptosis was analysed by using Hoechst staining, western blotting, annexin V/propidium iodide dual staining, and confocal microscopy. Then, podocytes were transfected with siRNA to silence mTOR, and the expression levels of proteins and mRNA involved in the mTOR/P70S6K/4EBP1 pathway were further investigated by western blotting and qRT-PCR.
In this study, we found significantly reduced LC3II/LC3I and increased p62 in podocytes stimulated with HG for 24 h, and the level of autophagy reached a minimum at 24 h. Berberine restored podocyte viability and significantly attenuated HG-mediated inhibition of autophagy, as evidenced by the increased expression of LC3II/LC3I, the number of autophagosomes and the inhibition of p62. Moreover, berberine counteracted HG-induced podocyte apoptosis and injury, which was negatively correlated with the autophagy effect. Notably, silencing mTOR with siRNA augmented the inhibition of P70S6k and 4EBP1 phosphorylation, which was similar to the effect of berberine.
Berberine activates podocyte autophagy by inhibiting the mTOR/P70S6K/4EBP1 signaling pathway, thereby alleviating podocyte apoptosis.
Organic solar cells (OSCs) have been developed using aluminum-doped bathocuproine (BCP:Al) as cathode-modifying layer. Although BCP:Al thin film shows decreased electron mobility than neat BCP thin ...film, the former is advantageous over the latter in the following two aspects. Firstly, BCP:Al has more gap states, offering more efficient electron injection and extraction at the interface with electron acceptor, thereby contributing to the increase in fill factor. Secondly, BCP:Al increases the optical absorption of device, contributing to the increase in short-circuit current density. As a result, the OSC based on BCP:Al shows improved power conversion efficiency than that based on neat BCP. Moreover, the former device presents increased thermal stability than the latter, mostly because doped Al clusters can inhibit the aggregation tendency of BCP molecules. We provide a novel insight to fabricate cost-effective cathode-modifying layers, useful for pushing forward the commercialization of OSCs.
The days of rewritable paper are coming, printers of the future will use water-jet paper. Although several kinds of rewritable paper have been reported, practical usage of them is rare. Herein, a new ...rewritable paper for ink-free printing is proposed and demonstrated successfully by using water as the sole trigger to switch hydrochromic dyes on solid media. Water-jet prints with various colours are achieved with a commercial desktop printer based on these hydrochromic rewritable papers. The prints can be erased and rewritten dozens of times with no significant loss in colour quality. This rewritable paper is promising in that it can serve an eco-friendly information display to meet the increasing global needs for environmental protection.
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