Rapid wet-chemical oxidative activation of graphite felt electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries.

To boost the performance of vanadium redox flow batteries, modification of the classically used felt electrodes is required to enable higher cycling performance and longer life cycles. Alternative approaches to the standard thermal oxidation procedure such as wet chemical oxidation are promising to reduce the thermal budget and thus the cost of the activation procedure. In this work we report a rapid 1 hour activation procedure in an acidified KMnO4 solution. We show that the reported modification process of the felt electrodes results in an increase in surface area, density of oxygenated surface functionalities as well as electrolyte wettability, as demonstrated by N2-physisorption, XPS, Raman spectroscopy as well as contact angle measurements. The activation process enables battery cycling at remarkably high current densities up to 400 mA cm-2. Stable cycling at 400 mA cm-2 over 30 cycles confirms promising stability of the reported activation procedure.

Performance and stability comparison of Aemion™ and Aemion+™ membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries.

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have shown a significant rise in performance and durability within recent years for applications such as electrolysis and fuel cells. However, in vanadium redox-flow batteries, their use is of particular interest to lower costs and self-discharge rates compared to conventional perfluorinated sulfonic acid-based ionomers such as Nafion. In this work we evaluate the properties of two commercial AEMs, Aemion™ and Aemion+™, based on ex situ characterizations, an accelerated stress test degradation study (>1000 hours storage in highly oxidizing VO2 + electrolyte at 35 °C) and electrochemical battery cycle tests. All membranes feature low ionic resistances of below 320 mΩ cm2, enabling battery cycling at 100 mA cm-2. Aemion shows considerable VO2+ formation within a VO2 + stress test, whereas Aemion+ remains almost unaffected in the 1058 h stress test. Evaluating self-discharge data, cycling performance and durability data, Aemion+™ (50 µm thickness) features the best properties for vanadium redox-flow battery operation.

Web-based education for postpartum depression: conceptual development and impact.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major public health problem that occurs in one of every seven women in the first 3 months after birth. Left untreated, PPD can persist for months to years and lead to adverse consequences for both mother and child. Primary care providers have the most medical contact with postpartum women and are well positioned to screen for and identify PPD. However, PPD recognition and treatment is generally not included in physician training, and few continuing education programs on PPD are available. Developed with support from NIMH SBIR contract (# HHSN278200554096C), the Web site MedEdPPD was designed to provide professionals with the tools to successfully engage, screen, diagnose, treat, and refer women with PPD. Resources on the site include CME/CE modules; interactive case studies; classic papers and current literature; provider tools; a comprehensive slide library; events calendar; and resources. MedEdPPD also contains materials for women with PPD, their friends and family members. As of March 2008, the site had over 17,000 visitors who represented both consumers and a broad distribution of health care professional disciplines. The nine CME/CE learning modules on MedEdPPD have been particularly heavily utilized by nurses. The number of repeat and new visitors has increased steadily since the site's launch. User feedback has been consistently positive. Based upon theories of adult education, MedEdPPD offers diverse strategies to facilitate learning. The site promotes education and training in PPD treatment that is flexible, cost-effective, and meets the needs of health care professionals.

Evidence on postpartum depression: 10 publications to guide nursing practice.

Nursing care of patients with postpartum depression should be guided by the available evidence. Evidence is available on the impact of postpartum depression, screening, diagnosis, and effective treatments. The purpose of this manuscript is to recommend a core list of critical readings that provide the highest level of evidence to date in the following content areas: knowledge of disorder, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. We have chosen ten articles so that the number of recommend readings can be a manageable size for busy clinicians. These ten articles can serve as a "tool kit" in assisting clinicians to provide evidence based practice to post partum women.

Raising the awareness of primary care providers about postpartum depression.

About 13% of women experience depression in the first year after childbirth. Postpartum depression has deleterious effects on the woman's relationships, her functional status, and her ability to care for her infant. Primary care providers have the most contact with postpartum women, but may be unable or unwilling to screen, treat, and/or refer the women. Thus, many women with postpartum depression are not receiving mental health services. The purpose of this article is to describe methods to raise the awareness of primary care providers about postpartum depression, thereby eliminating a major barrier to mental health treatments of postpartum women.