Carbon Nanotube Network Induces Porous Deposited MnO2 for High-Areal Capacity Zn/Mn Batteries.

Mn2+/MnO2 aqueous battery is a promising candidate for large-scale energy storage owing to its feature of low-cost and abundant crustal reserves. However, the inherent MnO2 shedding issue results in a limited areal capacity and poor cycling life, which prohibits its further commercialization. In this manuscript, it is revealed that the cause of shedding is the cracking of MnO2 layer due to stress. To circumvent this challenge, carbon nanotubes framework is introduced on pristine carbon felt, which provides more deposition sites and induces the formation of a porous deposition layer. Compared to the dense deposition layer on pristine carbon felt, the porous structure can effectively avoid cracking and subsequent shedding issue. Moreover, the porous deposited layer is conducive to proton diffusion and rich in defects, which facilitates the subsequent dissolution reaction. As results, the assembled Zn/Mn battery demonstrates more than 200 cycles with the areal capacity of 15 mAh cm-2 at 40 mA cm-2. Even with a high areal capacity of 40 mAh cm-2, it can still run for more than 60 cycles. This breakthrough paves a way toward practical manganese-based batteries, bringing us closer to achieve cost-effective batteries.

Bromine Assisted MnO2 Dissolution Chemistry: Toward a Hybrid Flow Battery with Energy Density of over 300†Wh L-1.

Mn2+ /Mn3+ redox pair has been considered as a promising cathode for high energy density batteries, due to its attractive features of high redox potential, solubility and outstanding kinetics. However, the disproportionation side reaction of Mn3+ , which results in accumulation of "dead" MnO2 limits its reversibility and further energy density. Herein, a novel catholyte based on mixture of Mn2+ and Br- was proposed for flow batteries with high energy density and long cycle life. In the design, the "dead" MnO2 can be fully discharged via Br- by a chemical-electrochemical reaction. Coupled with Cd/Cd2+ as anode, the assembled Bromine-Manganese flow battery (BMFB) demonstrates a high energy efficiency of 76 % at 80 mA cm-2 with energy density of 360 Wh L-1 . The battery assembled with silicotungstic acid as anode could continuously run for over 2000 cycles at 80 mA cm-2 . With high power density, energy density and durability, the BMFB shows great potential for large-scale energy storage.

A Long Cycle Life, Self-Healing Zinc-Iodine Flow Battery with High Power Density.

A zinc-iodine flow battery (ZIFB) with long cycle life, high energy, high power density, and self-healing behavior is prepared. The long cycle life was achieved by employing a low-cost porous polyolefin membrane and stable electrolytes. The pores in the membrane can be filled with a solution containing I3- that can react with zinc dendrite. Therefore, by consuming zinc dendrite, the battery can self-recover from micro-short-circuiting resulting from overcharging. By using KI, ZnBr2 , and KCl as electrolytes and a high ion-conductivity porous membrane, a very high power density can be achieved. As a result, a ZIFB exhibits an energy efficiency (EE) of 82 % at 80 mA cm-2 , which is 8 times higher than the currently reported ZIFBs. Furthermore, a stack with an output of 700 W was assembled and continuously run for more than 300 cycles. We believe this ZIFB can lead the way to development of new-generation, high-performance flow batteries.

A Low-Cost Neutral Zinc-Iron Flow Battery with High Energy Density for Stationary Energy Storage.

Flow batteries (FBs) are one of the most promising stationary energy-storage devices for storing renewable energy. However, commercial progress of FBs is limited by their high cost and low energy density. A neutral zinc-iron FB with very low cost and high energy density is presented. By using highly soluble FeCl2 /ZnBr2 species, a charge energy density of 56.30 Wh L-1 can be achieved. DFT calculations demonstrated that glycine can combine with iron to suppress hydrolysis and crossover of Fe3+ /Fe2+ . The results indicated that an energy efficiency of 86.66 % can be obtained at 40 mA cm-2 and the battery can run stably for more than 100 cycles. Furthermore, a low-cost porous membrane was employed to lower the capital cost to less than $ 50 per kWh, which was the lowest value that has ever been reported. Combining the features of low cost, high energy density and high energy efficiency, the neutral zinc-iron FB is a promising candidate for stationary energy-storage applications.

Characterization of Chinese giant salamander iridovirus tissue tropism and inflammatory response after infection.

The Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (GSIV), belonging to the genus Ranavirus in the family Iridoviridae, causes severe hemorrhagic lesions and nearly 100% mortality in naturally infected Chinese giant salamanders Andrias davidiamus. However, the replication and distribution of the virus has not been well characterized in vivo. Using in situ hybridization, the expression of the GSIV major capsid protein (MCP) was detected in the cytoplasm of cells of the spleen, kidney, liver and gut tissues. MCP expression in the spleen and kidney appeared to fluctuate significantly during the acute phase of infection. Using an immunofluorescence assay, GSIV antigens were abundant in the spleen and kidney tissues but appeared to be at relatively low levels in the liver and gut. Additionally, there were significant changes in the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) in different tissues in response to infection with GSIV. The expression of MIF, TNF-α and IL-1ß had significantly increased in the spleen at 3 d post-infection; this correlated with a decrease in virus replication in the spleen. These results suggest that the spleen and kidney are the major target tissues of GSIV, and the increased expression of MIF, TNF­α and IL-1ß may contribute to a reduction of virus replication in the spleen.

Copper acute toxicity tests with Schizothorax o'connori Lloyd and Schizothorax waltoni Regan: a biomonitor of heavy metal pollution in a high altitude area?

Fingerlings of two different Schizothorax species, S. o'connori Lloyd and S. waltoni Regan, were exposed to copper for 264 h in a series of static toxicity tests. The mortality rates of these two species increased as the exposure concentrations increased and the exposure time was prolonged. Estimated 96 h median lethal concentration (LC50) values were 0.31 and 0.28 mg/L for the two species, respectively. These findings indicated that fingerlings of these species were sensitive to copper, and that both species may be suitable for use as local biomonitors of copper pollution in the high altitude environment. However, S. waltoni may be more useful in indicating the safe concentrations of copper used in aquaculture for therapeutic purposes. Further quantitative studies with measured concentrations of copper are required to verify the results observed in the present study.

Dietary available phosphorus affected growth performance, body composition, and hepatic antioxidant property of juvenile yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco.

An 8-week feeding trial was carried out with juvenile yellow catfish to study the effects of dietary available phosphorus (P) on growth performance, body composition, and hepatic antioxidant property. Six pellet diets were formulated to contain graded available P levels at 0.33, 0.56, 0.81, 1.15, 1.31, and 1.57% of dry matter, respectively. Triplicate tanks with each tank containing 60 juveniles (3.09 ± 0.03 g) were fed one of the six experimental diets for 8 weeks. Specific growth rate, feeding rate, and protein efficiency ratio were significantly higher at 0.81% dietary available P. Efficiency of P utilization distinctly decreased with increasing P level. Body lipid content significantly decreased while body ash and feces P content significantly increased with increasing P level. Quadratic regression analysis indicated that vertebrae P content was maximized at 1.21% dietary available P. Fish fed 1.57% dietary available P had highest activity of hepatic superoxide dismutase and catalase and malonaldehyde content. In conclusion, decreasing dietary available P increased P utilization efficiency and body lipid content while decreased vertebrae P content. Juvenile yellow catfish were subjected to oxidative damage under the condition of high dietary P content (1.57%), and the damage could not be eradicated by their own antioxidant defense system.

Effect of stocking density on growth and serum concentrations of thyroid hormones and cortisol in Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii.

This study investigated the effects of different stocking densities on growth and serum concentrations of thyroid hormones and cortisol in Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii. Fish were reared at low, medium, and high stocking densities (initial experimental densities were 0.30, 0.75, and 1.78 kg m(-2), respectively) for 70 days. The results showed that high stocking density had negative effects on growth and feeding efficiency, and altered serum levels of thyroid hormones and cortisol in Amur sturgeon. A significant decrease in specific growth rate was observed as stocking density was increased. The feeding rate decreased significantly in the medium and high density groups, indicating that high stocking density reduced the food consumption of sturgeon. Food conversion ratio increased with increasing stocking density, suggesting that high stocking density might inhibit fish growth through decreasing food conversion efficiency. Serum concentrations of total triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, and free triiodothyronine were inversely related to stocking densities, whereas serum total thyroxine level of sturgeon stocked at different densities remained stable. Also, higher stocking density resulted in an elevation of serum cortisol level, indicating that the sturgeon stocked at the higher density experienced density-dependent physiological stress. These results suggest growth suppression caused by high stocking density might be related to both crowding stress and the declines in peripheral circulating levels of thyroid hormones, as well as associated with the reductions in both food consumption and food conversion efficiency.

Haematological and blood biochemical characteristics of Glyptosternum maculatum (Siluriformes: Sisoridae) in Xizang (Tibet).

This study investigated the haematological and blood biochemical characteristics of Glyptosternum maculatum. The haematological and biochemical parameters were measured in 30 adult fish collected from Nyingchi Reach of Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet. The red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), haematocrit (Hct), erythrocyte osmotic fragility (maxEof and minEof), the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean cell volume (MCV), mean cellular haemoglobin content (MCH), and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were determined. Compared with other Siluriformes fishes, G. maculatum showed similar mean values for Hct, Hb, MCH, and MCHC and had slightly lower RBC and higher MCV. The biochemical parameters were assayed including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, total protein, albumin, globulin, albumin/globulin ratio, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, urea, creatinine, glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride. The result showed that the value of AST in G. maculatum was obviously higher than that in Rhamdia quelen as well as in Silurus merdionalis.

Low-Cost Titanium-Bromine Flow Battery with Ultrahigh Cycle Stability for Grid-Scale Energy Storage.

Flow batteries are one of the most promising large-scale energy-storage systems. However, the currently used flow batteries have low operation-cost-effectiveness and exhibit low energy density, which limits their commercialization. Herein, a titanium-bromine flow battery (TBFB) featuring very low operation cost and outstanding stability is reported. In this battery, a novel complexing agent, 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, is employed to stabilize bromine/polybromides and suppress Br diffusion. The results reveal that the complexing agent effectively inhibits Br crossover and reduces Br-induced corrosivity, which in turn significantly improves the reliability of the TBFB system. The novel TBFB demonstrates 95% coulombic efficiency and 83% energy efficiency at 40 mA cm-2 current density. Moreover, it can run smoothly for more than 1000 cycles without any capacity decay. Furthermore, an assembled 300 W TBFB stack can be continuously operated for more than 500 cycles, thereby confirming the practical applicability of the proposed TBFB. Because the TBFB utilizes an ultralow-cost electrolyte (41.29 $ kWh-1 ) and porous polyolefin membranes, it serves as a reliable and low-cost energy-storage device. Therefore, considering its ultrahigh stability and low cost, the TBFB can be used as a large-scale energy-storage device.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of Triplophysa yarkandensis in response to salinity and alkalinity stress.

Triplophysa yarkandensis, a fish belonging to the family Nemacheilidae, is distributed in the Tarim River, China, immediately north of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Due to increasing salinity and alkalinity in the Tarim River, the habitats of T. yarkandensis have been seriously altered. To identify the genes and pathways that are important for responding to salinity and alkalinity stress, the gill transcriptomes of fish living under different salinity and alkalinity conditions were obtained using RNA sequencing. A total of 1,123,448,964 clean reads were obtained and assembled into 177,271 unigenes, with an average length of 1703 bp. Around 13,526 unigenes showed differential expression when comparing different salinity concentrations with the controls, 6967 of which were upregulated and 6559 were downregulated. When comparing different alkalinity concentrations with the controls, there were 17,475 unigenes that showed differential expression, of which 10,457 were upregulated and 7018 were downregulated. Only 146 unigenes were both differentially expressed in salinity and alkalinity groups compared to the control. The results of KEGG enrichment showed that there were five upregulated and 12 downregulated pathways in fish subject to salinity treatment. For fish exposed to alkalinity treatment, 15 pathways were upregulated and 13 downregulated. There were four upregulated and four downregulated pathways that were shared by fish subject to salinity and alkalinity treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the T. yarkandensis transcriptome; the information presented here will provide further understanding of the fish's response to salinity and alkalinity stress, as well as further insight into the T. yarkandensis genome.

Osmoregulation in juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray) during brackish water adaptation.

The osmoregulation capabilities of 7-month-old juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray) (128.8 +/- 15 g) transferred directly from fresh water (0 per thousand, 46 mOsmol kg(-1)) to brackish water (10 per thousand, 273 mOsmol kg(-1)) were studied over a 20-day period. Changes in serum osmolarity, chloride (Cl(-)), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca2+) ion concentrations, as well as gill and spiral valve Na+,K+-ATPase activities were measured at 3, 12, 24, 72, 216 and 480 h after transfer to BW. The serum osmolarity and ion concentrations (Na+, Cl(-) and Ca2+) increased immediately after the transference to BW, reaching maximum at 24 h and returned to a new steady state at 216 h, while the FW control group maintained basal levels which showed lower (P < 0.05) than the BW group. Gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity of BW group exhibited an abrupt decrease in the first 3 h after transfer, but began to increase at 3 h, reaching a peak value at 24 h, and returned to a new steady state at 216 h. The differences between gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity of BW and FW fish were significant (P < 0.05) after 12 h. In contrast, Na+,K+-ATPase activity of the spiral valve showed transient increase after transference from FW to BW, and then decreased rapidly at 3 h, reaching the lowest at 24 h after transference. At 216 h after exposure to BW, Na+,K+-ATPase activities of the spiral valve increased slowly to the levels of FW control. The results of our study indicate the existence of hyposmoregulatory adaptive mechanisms in 7-month-old juvenile Chinese sturgeon which enable this fish to acclimate itself successfully to brackish water.

Advanced Materials for Zinc-Based Flow Battery: Development and Challenge.

Zinc-based flow batteries (ZFBs) are well suitable for stationary energy storage applications because of their high energy density and low-cost advantages. Nevertheless, their wide application is still confronted with challenges, which are mainly from advanced materials. Therefore, research on advanced materials for ZFBs in terms of electrodes, membranes, and electrolytes as well as their chemistries are of the utmost importance. Herein, the focus is on the scientific understandings of the fundamental design of these advanced materials and their chemistries in relation to the battery performance. The principles of using different materials in different ZFB technologies, the functions and structure of the materials, and further material improvements are discussed in detail. Finally, the challenges and prospects of ZFBs are summarized as well. This review provides valuable instruction on how to design and develop new materials as well as new chemistries for ZFBs.

A highly stable neutral viologen/bromine aqueous flow battery with high energy and power density.

An ultra-high voltage viologen/Br2 flow battery was designed based on a novel two-electron viologen derivative, a highly-conductive and low-cost porous polyolefin membrane, and an effective complexing agent, making the battery one of the most stable two-electron viologen-based flow batteries with superior energy and power density at the same time.

Simultaneous detection of three fish rhabdoviruses using multiplex real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay.

Spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV), infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) are three important fish rhabdoviruses, causing serious Office International des Epizooties (OIE) classified diseases in wild and farmed fish. Here, a new multiplex real-time quantitative RT-PCR (mqRT-PCR) assay was developed for simultaneous detection, identification and quantification of these three rhabdoviruses. The sets of primers and probes were targeted to conserved regions of glycoprotein (G) gene of SVCV, nucleoprotein (N) gene of IHNV and G gene of VHSV and used to amplify. The sensitivity, specificity and interference test of mqRT-PCR assay was analyzed. It was shown that the detection levels of 100 copies of SVCV, 220 copies of IHNV and 140 copies of VHSV were achieved, and there was no non-specific amplification and cross-reactivity using RNA of pike fry rhabdovirus (PFRV), infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) and grass carp reovirus (GCRV). A total of 80 clinical fish samples were tested using the mqRT-PCR assay and the results were confirmed by antigen-capture ELISA and cell culture assay. This assay has the potential to be used for both research applications and diagnosis.

Inhibition of Zinc Dendrite Growth in Zinc-Based Batteries.

Zinc deposition and dissolution is a significant process in zinc-based batteries. During this process, the formation of zinc dendrites is pervasive, which leads to the loss of efficiency and capacity of batteries. The continually growing dendrites will finally pierce the separator and cause the batteries to short circuit. Thus, employing effective methods to inhibit the formation and growth of zinc dendrites is vital for the practical application of zinc-based batteries. This Minireview first clarifies the formation and growth principles of zinc dendrites. Then, the research and development of methods to solve the problem of zinc dendrites are reviewed, including ways to suppress the further formation and growth of dendrites as far as possible, to minimize the adverse effects of dendrites, along with ways to produce dendrite-free deposition processes. The mechanisms, advantages, drawbacks, and perspectives of these methods are illustrated. Thus, this overview of these methods will aid understanding of the formation process of zinc dendrites and provide an extensive, comprehensive, and professional reference to resolve the problem of zinc dendrites completely.

A multi-electron transfer ferrocene derivative positive redox moiety with improved solubility and potential.

Rational molecular structure modification towards high performance redox couples attracts great concern. A ferrocene derivative N-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)-1-(2-(diphenylphosphino) ferrocenyl) ethanamine (FeCp2PPh2RCN) with improved solubility and potential as well as multi-electron transfer behavior is designed and fabricated. Benefitting from the high operating current density and capacity of the battery, FeCp2PPh2RCN demonstrates promising prospects as a positive redox moiety.

A membrane-free interfacial battery with high energy density.

A new concept of the membrane-free interfacial battery based on a biphasic system was proposed for the first time. An aqueous ZnBr2 solution was used as a negative electrolyte, while Br2 in CCl4 served as a positive electrolyte. This interfacial Zn/Br2 battery demonstrated a very impressive performance with a CE of 96% and an EE of 81% at a current density of 15 mA cm-2.

Effects of resource availability and hydrological regime on autochthonous and allochthonous carbon in the food web of a large cross-border river (China).

Resource availability and flooding disturbance restrict the amount of energy available to the upper trophic level consumers and thus determine the trophic structure and energy mobilization in river food webs. In this study, we evaluated the availability of primary and secondary food resources, food web structure (determined by δ13C and δ15N) and relative contributions of autochthonous and allochthonous particulate carbon to aquatic consumers in the Irtysh River, which spans from northwest China to Kazakhstan and suffers from a long frozen period. Despite higher density and biomass, epilithic algae did not make large contributions to aquatic consumers due to the restriction of flow velocity, water depth and turbidity. Aquatic invertebrates specialized in utilization of terrestrial carbon sources, whereas fish varied from aquatic to riparian plants. Different resource use of aquatic consumers across the three reaches in the Irtysh River was ascribed to the spatial distribution of species and resource availability determined by flooding, flood scouring and dam construction. The trophic positions and food chain length at the upper reach were higher than those at the middle and lower reaches. These findings suggest that allochthonous carbon had an advantage over autochthonous carbon in supporting aquatic food webs of the Irtysh River. Higher availability of allochthonous particulate carbon might be relevant to intensive forest cover and high energy flood events in the Irtysh River.