Lithium-ion battery structure that self-heats at low temperatures.

Lithium-ion batteries suffer severe power loss at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, limiting their use in applications such as electric cars in cold climates and high-altitude drones. The practical consequences of such power loss are the need for larger, more expensive battery packs to perform engine cold cranking, slow charging in cold weather, restricted regenerative braking, and reduction of vehicle cruise range by as much as 40 per cent. Previous attempts to improve the low-temperature performance of lithium-ion batteries have focused on developing additives to improve the low-temperature behaviour of electrolytes, and on externally heating and insulating the cells. Here we report a lithium-ion battery structure, the 'all-climate battery' cell, that heats itself up from below zero degrees Celsius without requiring external heating devices or electrolyte additives. The self-heating mechanism creates an electrochemical interface that is favourable for high discharge/charge power. We show that the internal warm-up of such a cell to zero degrees Celsius occurs within 20 seconds at minus 20 degrees Celsius and within 30 seconds at minus 30 degrees Celsius, consuming only 3.8 per cent and 5.5 per cent of cell capacity, respectively. The self-heated all-climate battery cell yields a discharge/regeneration power of 1,061/1,425 watts per kilogram at a 50 per cent state of charge and at minus 30 degrees Celsius, delivering 6.4-12.3 times the power of state-of-the-art lithium-ion cells. We expect the all-climate battery to enable engine stop-start technology capable of saving 5-10 per cent of the fuel for 80 million new vehicles manufactured every year. Given that only a small fraction of the battery energy is used for self-heating, we envisage that the all-climate battery cell may also prove useful for plug-in electric vehicles, robotics and space exploration applications.

Fast charging of lithium-ion batteries at all temperatures.

Fast charging is a key enabler of mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). None of today's EVs can withstand fast charging in cold or even cool temperatures due to the risk of lithium plating. Efforts to enable fast charging are hampered by the trade-off nature of a lithium-ion battery: Improving low-temperature fast charging capability usually comes with sacrificing cell durability. Here, we present a controllable cell structure to break this trade-off and enable lithium plating-free (LPF) fast charging. Further, the LPF cell gives rise to a unified charging practice independent of ambient temperature, offering a platform for the development of battery materials without temperature restrictions. We demonstrate a 9.5 Ah 170 Wh/kg LPF cell that can be charged to 80% state of charge in 15 min even at -50 °C (beyond cell operation limit). Further, the LPF cell sustains 4,500 cycles of 3.5-C charging in 0 °C with <20% capacity loss, which is a 90× boost of life compared with a baseline conventional cell, and equivalent to >12 y and >280,000 miles of EV lifetime under this extreme usage condition, i.e., 3.5-C or 15-min fast charging at freezing temperatures.

Impact of rainfall on the occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution, and partition trend of micropollutants in Taihu Lake, China: Bisphenol A and 4-nonylphenol as examples.

Very limited studies have evaluated the impact of rainfall on the fate of endocrine-disrupting micropollutants in lacustrine systems. This yearlong study investigated monthly fluctuation of bisphenol A (BPA) and 4-nonylphenol (NP) concentrations in both water and sediment samples from Taihu Lake and evaluated the impact of rainfall on their spatiotemporal distribution and partition trends. Results showed that BPA concentration in water was negatively correlated to rainfall while NP concentrations in both phases were positively related to rainfall. The spatial distribution of NP in the lake water was season specific with the lakeshore area higher than the central area during the wet season and a reversed pattern during the dry season. The spatial distributions of sediment-associated NP and BPA in both phases were not significantly different among seasons. Contrary partition tendencies were observed for BPA and NP that BPA tended to desorb from sediment and NP tended to be adsorbed during the wet season while the trends were reversed during the dry season. This study suggests that rainfall could affect the occurrence, distribution and environmental fate of micropollutants and should be considered in the monitoring program and risk assessment.

Evaluation of the Removal of Potassium Cyanide and its Toxicity in Green Algae (Chlorella vulgaris).

To evaluate the removal of potassium cyanide (KCN) and its toxicity in algae, an initial comprehensive analysis was performed with Chlorella vulgaris. The algae showed potential removal capability for KCN, with the maximal removal rate of 61%. Moreover, effects of KCN on growth, cellular morphology and antioxidant defense system of C. vulgaris were evaluated. Cell number and chlorophyll a content decreased in most cases, with the maximal inhibition rates of 48% and 99%, respectively. The 100 mg L- 1 KCN seriously damaged the algal cell membrane. Additionally, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was promoted by KCN exposure among 0.1-50 mg L- 1 and inhibited by 100 mg L- 1 KCN, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content gradually decreased in C. vulgaris with increasing exposure concentration compared to the control. The present study reveals that C. vulgaris is useful in bio-treatment of cyanide-contaminated aquatic ecosystem, except in high concentrations which would cause overwhelming effects.

A study on the promotion effect of government guidance on the construction of a national unified market logistics channel.

Logistics channel is the lifeblood to ensure that logistics serves the circulation inside and outside the region, and to realize regional economic integration, it greatly contributes to the implementation of the national unified market strategy. As the government plays an important role in the construction of logistics channels, this paper further clarifies the effect of government participation and support policies by defining the role and functions of the government in the construction of logistics channels. Based on the evolutionary game theory, the paper reveals the equilibrium conditions of logistics channel construction under the market mechanism and government guidance under the assumption of bounded rationality. We construct an evolutionary game model among participating stakeholders, then study the evolutionary stability strategy of logistics channel participation behavior using the stability theorem for the model's differential equations. In order to explore the dynamic evolution process of both parties' choices under the two modes, we investigates the influence of the initial intention, cooperative income, cost proportion, penalty coefficient and construction cost of participating enterprises on both parties' strategic decisions under the market mechanism and government guidance modes through numerical simulation. We find that: (1) under the market mechanism and government guidance modes, there is a game equilibrium in the participation behavior of logistics enterprises in the national unified market, and that the conditions for realizing the equilibrium of cooperation among stakeholders under the guidance of the government are easier to meet; (2) The initial intentions of the two players in the game along the logistics channel influence each other, and government participation can change the effects of cooperative income, the penalty coefficient and construction cost on the system game strategy, which has a positive effect on the channel construction; (3) At the same time the simulation shows that the government's promotion effect has certain limitations, and the government should provide reasonable guidance to prevent enterprises from hindering the healthy development of logistics channels. This study provides a theoretical reference for the government and logistics enterprises, especially relying on logistics channels to support the regional coordination of national unified market development.

Low Dielectric Constant Photocurable Fluorinated Poly (Phthalazinone Ether) Ink with Excellent Mechanical Properties and Heat Resistance.

The photosensitive resins for 3D printing technology have been widely applied throughout the advanced communication field due to their merits of high molding accuracy and fast processing speed. Regardless, they, in particular, should have better mechanical properties, heat resistance, and dielectric properties. Herein, photocurable fluorinated poly (phthalazinone ether) (FSt-FPPE) was utilized as a prepolymer to improve the performance of photosensitive resin. A series of UV-curable inks named FST/DPGs were prepared with FSt-FPPE and acrylic diluents of different mass fractions. The FST/DPGs were cured into films by UV curing and post-treatment. After curing, their properties were characterized in detail. In terms of heat resistance, glass transition temperature (Tg) could reach 233 °C and the 5% thermal decomposition temperature (Td5%) was 371 °C. The tensile strength surprisingly reached 61.5 MPa, and the dielectric constant (Dk) could be significantly reduced to 2.75. Additionally, FST/DPGs were successfully employed in UV-assisted direct writing (DIW) to print 3D objects that benefited from their commendable fluidity and rapid curing speed. A stiff cylinder sample with a smooth surface and distinct pattern was ultimately obtained, indicating their remarkable 3D printing adaptation. Such photosensitive resin for UV-assisted DIW exhibits tremendous potential in the electronic industry.

Microbial community and metabolic responses to electrical field intensity for alleviation of ammonia inhibition in an integrated bioelectrochemical system (BES).

Bioelectrochemical system (BES) is a promising solution for mitigation of ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digestion (AD) process. However, the effect of electric field intensity on microbial community changes and metabolic function prediction during the alleviation of ammonia inhibition are still missing. The results of the current study represented that the improvement of ammonia removal (20.6%) and methane production (14.6%) could both be achieved at 0.2 V while higher voltages led to reductions of methane production (more than 48.9%) compared with the control. Moreover, hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobacterium) seemed to be more robust to high voltages compared with aceticlastic methanogens (Methanosaeta). Additionally, bacteria for hydrolysis and acidogenesis (Rikenellaceae and Soehngenia) were found vulnerable to external electric field intensity. Furthermore, abundances changes of metabolic pathways demonstrated that the degradation of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins during all steps (hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis) of AD process could be affected by different applied voltages.

[Determination of eight organic residues in ion exchange resins by headspace gas chromatography].

An analytical method based on headspace gas chromatography was developed for the determination of eight organic residues in ion exchange resins, methyl isopropyl ketone, methyl butyrate, 3-pentanone, 1,3-diethyl benzene, 1,4-diethyl benzene, dichloroethane, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, and methyl methacrylate. The organic residues in different types of resins were studied to provide a basis for the safe use of ion-exchange resins in food and medicine. The main factors (chromatographic column, equilibrium temperature, equilibrium time, flow rate, etc.) that affect the accuracy and sensitivity of the eight organic residues were investigated during instrument analysis. The extraction solvent and chromatographic conditions for the samples were optimized. According to the extraction efficiencies of methyl benzene, methyl alcohol and dimethyl sulfoxide, 2.0 g of the sample was extracted with dimethyl sulfoxide under ultrasonic conditions at 20 ℃. A DB-23 chromatographic column (60 m×0.32 mm×0.25 µm) and hydrogen flame ionization detector (FID) were selected for the GC method, and good separation and quantitative results were obtained for the eight organic residues. The process and conditions are summarized as follows. The equilibration time of the headspace sampler was 30 min, and the equilibrium temperature was 80 ℃. The temperature of the sampler was 240 ℃, while that of the FID detector was 300 ℃, with nitrogen being used as the carrier gas. The programmed temperature of the column was maintained at 60 ℃ for 16 min, then increased to 200 ℃ at a heating rate of 20 ℃/min, and maintained at this level for 2 min. The flow rate was 1.2 mL/min for detection. The external standard method was utilized for quantitative analysis. Good linear relationships were observed for the eight organic residues, and the correlation coefficients (R2) were all above 0.999 in the mass concentration range of 0.02-200 mg/L. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.0050-0.0375 ng/g. The average recoveries for the eight organic residues were in the range of 82.3% to 109.2% at three spiked levels, and the relative standard deviation (RSD, n=6) was 1.06% to 4.16%. Eleven types of resin samples were detected by this method, and a certain amount of organic compounds were observed in the resin samples. The methyl methacrylate content in the methacrylate resin XAD761 was 414.4 µg/g, while that in the styrene resin LX-69B was as high as 470.8 µg/g. As opposed to traditional analytical methods, the present method has high sensitivity, good accuracy, and precision, with simple operation without derivatization or the need for acid-base treatment of the sample to reduce contamination. This method can be used to simultaneously detect a variety of organic residues in ion-exchange resins, so that the detection efficiency is significantly improved.

Simultaneous nitrogen removal and methane production from Taihu blue algae against ammonia inhibition using integrated bioelectrochemical system (BES).

Simultaneous nitrogen removal and methane production using an integrated bioelectrochemical system (BES) during the anaerobic digestion (AD) process of Taihu blue algae were investigated. Upon an applied voltage of 0.4 V and total solids (TS) ratio of blue algae to anaerobic sludge as 1:1, the highest methanogenesis potential as 69.12 mL/g VS could be obtained, attaining 18.7 times of the TS ratio group of 3:1. Moreover, methane production of the integrated BES group reached 3.18 times of the AD group using conical flask, even with the same TS ratio (1:1) and initial ammonia nitrogen concentration (1000 mg NH4+-N/L). Apart from the bettered electrochemical performance, bio-augmented microbial genus responsible for acetoclastic methanogenesis, power generation, resisting to hostile circumstance, co-existence with hydrogenotrophic methanogens could all be enriched. Therefore, integrated BES with appropriate TS ratio under applied voltage might help offset both the ammonia and electrical stress, thereby to maintain enhanced biomethanation performance.

Interactive effects of microplastics and selected pharmaceuticals on red tilapia: Role of microplastic aging.

The present study used red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticusas) as the model fish to compare the interactive effects between aged and virgin microplastics (MPs) with the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and the ß-blocker propranolol (PRP). To this end, the ultraviolet irradiation was used to simulate the MP aging in the environment. The accumulations of MPs and pharmaceuticals, and changes in enzyme activities and genes expressions in tilapia were also evaluated. Some physical properties of MPs changed during the aging process, reflected by 0.27- and 0.16-fold increases in the specific surface area and average pore volume, respectively. And more carbonyl formation was observed on the surface of aged MPs. Compared to the 14-d coexposure with virgin MPs, the MP aging increased the accumulation of PRP by 82.3% in the brain, whereas decreased the concentration of SMX by 46.1% in the gills. The stress on tilapia caused by the MPs and PRP was alleviated by the aging process, largely related to the lower neurotoxicity and reduced lipid peroxidation damages. However, the coexposure to aged MPs and SMX would result in higher inhibitions of cytochrome P450 enzymes activities. The results of the transcriptomics showed that the MP aging mainly influenced the expression of genes related to the metabolic process, immune system process, and the genetic information process in tilapia under the coexposure to MPs and pharmaceuticals. Collectively, our results suggest that the MP aging could induce complex changes in the interactive effects between MPs and pharmaceuticals on aquatic organisms.

A novel STAT3 inhibitor attenuates angiotensin II-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm progression in mice through modulating vascular inflammation and autophagy.

Abdominal Aortic aneurysm (AAA) is associated with chronic inflammation, cells apoptosis, and impairment of autophagy. BP-1-102, a novel potent STAT3 inhibitor, has been recently reported to significantly block inflammation-related signaling pathways of JAK2/STAT3 and NF-κB, as well as regulate autophagy. However, its role in vascular inflammation and AAA progression remains to be elucidated. In the present study, the effect and potential mechanisms of BP-1-102 on angiotensin II (AngII) induced AAA in ApoE-/- mice were investigated. AAA was induced in ApoE-/- mice with infusion of AngII for 28 days. BP-1-102 was administrated orally to mice every other day. Mice were sacrificed on day 7, day 14, and day 28 to evaluate the treatment effects. BP-1-102 markedly decreased AAA incidence and aortic diameter, maintained elastin structure and volume, reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and MMPs, and inhibited inflammatory cells infiltration. Moreover, BP-1-102 dramatically reduced the expression of JAK2, p-STAT3, p-NF-κB, and Bcl-xL but maintained the expression of LC3B and Beclin in AAA tissues. In vitro, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were treated with AngII and/or BP-1-102 at indicated time and concentration. BP-1-102 inhibited AngII-induced JAK2/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling activation and maintained autophagy-related proteins expression in VSMCs. Taken together, our findings suggest that BP-1-102 inhibits vascular inflammation and AAA progression through decreasing JAK2/STAT3 and NF-κB activation and maintaining autophagy.

The Effect of Health on Labour Supply of Rural Elderly People in China-An Empirical Analysis Using CHARLS Data.

In China, due to decades of the 'one-child policy' and continuous rural-urban labour migration, real population aging in rural areas is increasing more quickly than in urban areas, and the labour inputs in agricultural production are becoming ever more dependent on the elderly. Using CHARLS data, we examine the effect of health on the labour supply of rural elderly people. We construct a latent health stock index (LHSI) to eliminate measurement bias and then use this one-period lagged LHSI and the Heckman two-stage and the Bourguignon-Fournier-Gurand two-stage method to deal with the simultaneous causality of health and labour decisions and sample selectivity in model estimation. The results show that, in the overall level, the labour force participation and work time of rural elderly people increase significantly with the improvement of health. These effects on the males are sharply greater than on the females and are enhanced with age. In the subdivided agricultural and non-agricultural labour supply, health improvement is positively related with labour force participation of rural elderly and brings an employment allocation from agricultural section to non-agricultural section, especially on the males. However, as the work time, these relations are insignificant and invariant with gender and age.

Reactivation and pilot-scale application of long-term storage denitrification biofilm based on flow cytometry.

The work provides a method on the basis of flow cytometry to evaluate the performance of denitrification biofilm during the preservation, reactivation and pilot-scale operation process. The viable cell ratio of denitrification biofilm significantly reduced and further led to the decrease of denitrification capacity after long-term preservation for 5 months. Protein component in tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances (TB-EPS) could serve to enhance microbial adhesion and promote denitrification biofilm formation. With the significant correlation of viable cell ratio and microbial characteristics, 4 °C was more appropriate for preserving denitrification biofilm and conducive to maintain the relatively high denitrification capacity. A maximum denitrification rate of 5.80 gNO3--N/m2·d was obtained in pilot-scale anoxic-oxic (AO) process and Dechloromonas became greater prevalence in denitrification suspended carriers. Furthermore, the enrichment of Pseudomonas, Parcubacteria, Acidovorax, Aquabacterium and Unclassified_Flavobacteriaceae enhanced biofilm formation and nutrient conservation. The significantly positive correlation between viable cell ratio and the ratio of nitrate reduction to COD consumption was discovered, and the indices of Chao, ACE, Shannon and Simpson of denitrification biofilm were positively correlated with viable cell ratio, meaning that flow cytometry analysis was reasonable and suitable to evaluate the performances of denitrification biofilm.

Depressive Symptoms of Chinese Children: Prevalence and Correlated Factors among Subgroups.

Economic growth and socioeconomic changes have transformed nearly every aspect of childhood in China, and many are worried by the increasing prevalence of mental health issues among children, particularly depression. To provide insight into the distribution of depressive symptoms among children in China and identify vulnerable groups, we use data from the 2012 China Family Panel Survey (CFPS), a survey that collected data from a large, nationally representative sample of the Chinese population. Using the CFPS data, we construct a sample of 2679 children aged 10-15 years old from 25 provinces in China. According to our results, the incidence of depression varies by geographic area. Specifically, we find that rates of depressive symptoms are significantly lower in urban areas (14% of sample children) than in rural areas (23% of sample children). Our results also show that children from ethnic minorities, from poorer families, and whose parents are depressed are more likely to be depressed than other children. In contrast, we find that depressive symptoms do not vary by gender.

Enhanced nitrogen removal from electroplating tail wastewater through two-staged anoxic-oxic (A/O) process.

Consisted of anaerobic (ANA), anoxic-1 (AN1), aerobic-1 (AE1), anoxic-2 (AN2), aerobic-2 (AE2) reactors and sediment tank, the two-staged A/O process was applied for depth treatment of electroplating tail wastewater with high electrical conductivity and large amounts of ammonia nitrogen. It was found that the NH4+-N and COD removal efficiencies reached 97.11% and 83.00%, respectively. Besides, the short-term salinity shock of the control, AE1 and AE2 indicated that AE1 and AE2 have better resistance to high salinity when the concentration of NaCl ranged from 1 to 10g/L. Meanwhile, it was found through high-throughput sequencing that bacteria genus Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira and Thauera, which are capable of nitrogen removal, were enriched in the two-staged A/O process. Moreover, both salt-tolerant bacteria and halophili bacteria were also found in the combined process. Therefore, microbial community within the two-staged A/O process could be acclimated to high electrical conductivity, and adapted for electroplating tail wastewater treatment.

Parental Migration and Left-Behind Children's Depressive Symptoms: Estimation Based on a Nationally-Representative Panel Dataset.

China's rapid urbanization in the past several decades have been accompanied by rural labor migration. An important question that has emerged is whether rural labor migration has a positive or negative impact on the depressive symptoms of children left behind in the countryside by their migrating parents. This paper uses a nationally representative panel dataset to investigate whether parental migration impacts the prevalence of depressive symptoms among left-behind children in China. Using DID and PSM-DID methods, our results show that parental migration significantly increases the depression scores of 10 and 11-year-old children by 2 points using the CES-D depression scale. Furthermore, we also find that the negative effect of decreased parental care is stronger than the positive effect of increased income in terms of determining the depressive symptoms status of children in rural China.

[Operational Performance and Microbial Community Structure in a Completely Mixed Aeration System].

A completely mixed aeration system was introduced in domestic sewage treatment, and the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process and microbial community structure were further investigated. The pilot-scale experimental results showed that the operation of the system was stable and the average chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH4+-N and total nitrogen (TN) removal were 93.2%, 96.9% and 75.2%, respectively. The effluent COD, NH4+-N and TN were better than the standard of level A stipulated by Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918-2002) in the absence of external carbon source. The sludge derived from the system showed a significant denitrification capacity and the denitrification rate was 2.86 times higher than that in the wastewater treatment plant. In addition, the existence of aerobic denitrifying bacteria in the system was confirmed by the PCR amplification of genes encoding perplasmic nitrate reductases. The high-throughput sequencing results revealed that Zoogloea, Thauera and Dechloromonas were dominant in the completely mixed aeration system.

[Studies on the nephrotoxicity of chromium compounds].

The toxicity of chromium in different valent are quite different. Cr (III) is a necessary trace element of human body, but excessive intake of Cr (III) may bring about health lesion. Cr (VI) is generally considered 1,000 times more toxic than Cr (III). Renal damge may happen when people contact or intake excessive chromium compounds. The renal function and the concentration of enzyme and protein may be changed. Kidney necrosis can happen in heavy cases. The metaboly of chromium compounds and its nephrotoxicity were reviewed in this paper.

Reaction temperature sensing (RTS)-based control for Li-ion battery safety.

We report reaction temperature sensing (RTS)-based control to fundamentally enhance Li-ion battery safety. RTS placed at the electrochemical interface inside a Li-ion cell is shown to detect temperature rise much faster and more accurately than external measurement of cell surface temperature. We demonstrate, for the first time, that RTS-based control shuts down a dangerous short-circuit event 3 times earlier than surface temperature- based control and prevents cell overheating by 50 °C and the resultant cell damage.

[Reductive degradation of chloramphenicol in bioelectrochemical system].

In this study, we investigated reductive degradation of nitroaromatic antibiotic chloramphenicol to non-effective antibacterial amine product in fed-batch biocatalyzed electrolysis systems (BES) (applied voltage was 0.5 V) under low temperature (12 +/- 2 degrees C). The ohm resistance of the whole BES reactor increased when the phosphate buffer solution concentrations decreased. Efficiencies (ErCAP) of chloramphenicol reduction with biocathode (PBS, 25 mmol/L) in presence of glucose was (86.3 +/- 1.69)% within 24 h and sludge fermentation liquor was (74.1 +/-1.44)% within 24 h. While the ErCAP of abiotic cathode under the same condition was only (57.9 +/- 1.94)% within 24 h. It suggested that biocathode could be a promising technology for reductive biodegradation of nitroaromatic antibiotics-containing wastewater in areas with relatively low annual mean temperature.