High temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells: progress in advanced materials and key technologies.

High temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) are one type of promising energy device with the advantages of fast reaction kinetics (high energy efficiency), high tolerance to fuel/air impurities, simple plate design, and better heat and water management. They have been expected to be the next generation of PEMFCs specifically for application in hydrogen-fueled automobile vehicles and combined heat and power (CHP) systems. However, their high-cost and low durability interposed by the insufficient performance of key materials such as electrocatalysts and membranes at high temperature operation are still the challenges hindering the technology's practical applications. To develop high performance HT-PEMFCs, worldwide researchers have been focusing on exploring new materials and the related technologies by developing novel synthesis methods and innovative assembly techniques, understanding degradation mechanisms, and creating mitigation strategies with special emphasis on catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction, proton exchange membranes and bipolar plates. In this paper, the state-of-the-art development of HT-PEMFC key materials, components and device assembly along with degradation mechanisms, mitigation strategies, and HT-PEMFC based CHP systems is comprehensively reviewed. In order to facilitate further research and development of HT-PEMFCs toward practical applications, the existing challenges are also discussed and several future research directions are proposed in this paper.

Comparison of effectiveness of muscle energy technique with Mulligan mobilization in patients with non-specific neck pain.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of muscle energy technique with Mulligan mobilisation in patients having non-specific neck pain. METHODS: The quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Physiotherapy Department of Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from March to September 2017, and comprised patients of either gender having non-specific neck pain who ere divided into two groups. In group 1 patients, muscle energy technique was used, while group 2 patients had Mulligan mobilisation. Pain intensity, functional status of neck and cervical range of motion were measured before and after treatment. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 56 patients, 28(50%) were in each of the two groups. The overall mean age was 36.89±9.28 years. Pain intensity, functional status and neck extension range of motion improved significantly more in group 2 (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mulligan mobilisation was found to be a better option in managing patients with non-specific neck pain.

Comparison of conservative exercise therapy with and without Maitland Thoracic Manipulative therapy in patients with subacromial pain: Clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of conservative exercise therapy with and without Maitland thoracic manipulation in patients with subacromial pain. METHODS: The randomised controlled trial study was conducted at the Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from June 2015 to February 2016, and comprised patients with subacromial pain (group 1) and controls (group 2).Pre-assessment was done by using numeric pain rating scale and shoulder pain and disability index as subjective measurements, while range of motion was taken as objective measurement. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 40 participants, there were 20(50%) in each group. The baseline pain intensity on numeric pain rating scale for group 1 was 5.05±1.538 and for group 2 was 5.35±1.137; the values later changed to 0.70±0.923 and 2.30±0.979, respectively. The baseline functional status score according to shoulder pain and disability index for group 1 and 2 was 40.25±12.354 and 43.15±7.343 that changed to 12.30±4.714 and 22.55±5.577, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Maitland thoracic spinal manipulation with conservative exercise therapy was more effective than conservative exercise therapy alone.

Emerging transition metal and carbon nanomaterial hybrids as electrocatalysts for water splitting: a brief review.

Electrocatalytic water splitting has appeared to be a sustainable green technology for hydrogen and oxygen production, and noble metal-based electrocatalysts, like Pt for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and RuO2/IrO2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have been proved to be state-of-the-art in water electrolyzers. However, high cost and scarcity of noble metals hinder large-scale applications of these electrocatalysts in practical commercial water electrolyzers. As an alternative, transition metal based electrocatalysts have attracted great attention because of the exciting catalytic performance, cost-effectiveness and abundant availability. However, their long-term stability in water splitting devices is unsatisfactory because of agglomeration and dissolution in the harsh operating environment. A possible solution to this issue is encapsulating transition metal (TM) based materials in stable and highly conductive carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) to make a hybrid of TM/CNMs, and the performance of TM/CNMs could be further enhanced by heteroatom (N-, B-, and dual N,B-) doping to carbon network in CNMs to break the carbon electroneutrality due to the different electronegativity, modulate the electronic structure to facilitate the adsorption of reaction intermediates, and promotion of efficient electron transfer to enhance the number of catalytically active sites for water splitting operation. In this review article, the recent progress of TM-based materials hybridizing with CNMs, N-CNMs, B-CNMs, and N,B-CNMs as electrocatalysts towards HER, OER as well as overall water splitting have been summarized, and the challenges and future prospects are also discussed.

Contaminants from a former Croatian coal sludge dictate the structure of microbiota in the estuarine (Rasa Bay) sediment and soil.

Introduction: Croatian superhigh-organic-sulfur Rasa coal had been mined for nearly 400 years. The release of hazardous trace elements (HTEs) and toxic organic pollutants (TOPs) into the local environment by coal mining, preparation, and combustion activities has resulted in pollution. Methods: In this study, the diversity and composition of microbial communities in estuarine sediment and soil samples as well as community function responses to the pollutants were investigated. Results: The results showed that PAH degradation does occur following 60 years of natural attenuation, the location is still heavily polluted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and HTEs. Microbial analyses have shown that high concentrations of PAHs have reduced the diversity and abundance of microbial communities. The pollution exerted an adverse, long-term impact on the microbial community structure and function in the brackish aquatic ecosystem. Microorganisms associated with the degradation of PAHs and sulfur-containing compounds have been enriched although the diversity and abundance of the microbial community have reduced. Fungi which are believed to be the main PAH degrader may play an important role initially, but the activity remains lower thereafter. It is the high concentrations of coal-derived PAHs, rather than HTEs, that have reduced the diversity and abundance of microbial communities and shaped the structure of the local microbiota. Discussion: This study could provide a basis for the monitoring and restoration of ecosystems impacted by coal mining activities considering the expected decommission of a large number of coal plants on a global scale in the coming years due to growing global climate change concerns.

Corrigendum: Contaminants from a former Croatian coal sludge dictate the structure of microbiota in the estuarine (Rasa Bay) sediment and soil.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1126612.].

Teaching paediatric critical care medicine to paediatric residents.

Critical care training during paediatric residency provides an ideal opportunity to learn and refine the skills needed in the early recognition and prompt treatment of the acutely ill paediatric patients. Paediatric critical care medicine is a relatively young sub-specialty in Pakistan. The aim of this study is to describe our experience of teaching paediatric residents in paediatric critical care medicine during paediatric intensive care unit rotation. Our paediatric critical care teaching curriculum for residents is based on the spectrum of our common critical care problems along with basic principal of critical care. The clinical rotation in our paediatric intensive care unit is very dynamic, thrilling, enjoyable and provides a lot of learning opportunities. During the rotation, the residents were exposed to all major critical care illnesses in infants and children. We use four traditional models of learning in our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU): bedside rounds, direct patient care, didactic learning and self-study. Our curriculum enhances the resident's educational and clinical experience of paediatric intensive care medicine.