Reduction Mechanism of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation on Lithium Metal Anode: Fluorine-Rich Electrolyte

Metallic lithium is considered a promising anode that can significantly increase the energy density of rechargeable lithium-based batteries, but problems like uncontrollable growth of lithium dendrites and formation of dead lithium impede its application. Recently, a low-concentration single-salt two-solvent electrolyte, 1M LiTFSI/FDMA/FEC, has attracted attention because a high coulombic efficiency can be achieved even after many cycles owing to the formation of a robust solid electrolyte interface (SEI). However, the reaction mechanism and SEI structure remain unclear, posing significant challenges for further improvement. Here, a hybrid ab initio and reactive force field (HAIR) method revealed the underlying reaction mechanisms and detailed formation pathway. 1 ns HAIR simulation provides critical information on the initial reduction mechanism of solvent (FDMA and FEC) and salt (LiTFSI). FDMA and FEC quickly decompose to provide F- that builds LiF as the major component of the inner layer of inorganic SEI, which has been demonstrated to protect Li anode. Decomposition of FDMA also leads to a significant nitrogen-containing composition, producing Li-N-C, LixN, and other organic components that increase the conductivity of SEI to increase performance. XPS analysis confirms evolution of SEI morphology consistent with available experiments. These results provide atomic insight into SEI formation, which should be beneficial for the rational design of advanced electrolytes

Rare cause of chronic abdominal pain: left paraduodenal hernia and its surgical management

A 30-year-old man presented with colicky abdominal pain for 2 months, associated with occasional episodes of bilious vomiting. He had a history of similar complaints at the age of 16 and 26 years. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography abdomen was consistent with a diagnosis of left paraduodenal hernia. On laparoscopy a 3 × 3 cm hernial defect was identified in the left paraduodenal fossa (fossa of Landzert). Contents were jejunal, and proximal ileal loops which were dilated and edematous. Anterior border of the sac was formed by the inferior mesenteric vein and left branch of the left colic artery. Initial reduction of contents was easy. However, complete reduction proved to be difficult due to adhesions with the sac opening, the hernial sac instead laid open by dividing the Inferior Mesentric Vein (IMV) (anterior border of defect) using a vascular stapler. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 3 in a stable condition. On follow-up the patient is doing well.

Guidance for management of free-roaming community cats: a bioeconomic analysis

Objectives This study used computer simulation modeling to estimate and compare costs of different free-roaming cat (FRC) management options (lethal and non-lethal removal, trap–neuter–return, combinations of these options and no action) and their ability to reduce FRC population abundance in open demographic settings. The findings provide a resource for selecting management approaches that are well matched for specific communities, goals and timelines, and they represent use of best available science to address FRC issues. Methods Multiple FRC management approaches were simulated at varying intensities using a stochastic individual-based model in the software package Vortex. Itemized costs were obtained from published literature and expert feedback. Metrics generated to evaluate and compare management scenarios included final population size, total cost and a cost efficiency index, which was the ratio between total cost and population size reduction. Results Simulations suggested that cost-effective reduction of FRC numbers required sufficient management intensity, regardless of management approach, and greatly improved when cat abandonment was minimized. Removal yielded the fastest initial reduction in cat abundance, but trap–neuter–return was a viable and potentially more cost-effective approach if performed at higher intensities over a sufficient duration. Of five management scenarios that reduced the final population size by approximately 45%, the three scenarios that relied exclusively on removal were considerably more expensive than the two scenarios that relied exclusively or primarily on sterilization. Conclusions and relevance FRCs present a challenge in many municipalities, and stakeholders representing different perspectives may promote varying and sometimes incompatible population management policies and strategies. Although scientific research is often used to identify FRC impacts, its use to identify viable, cost-effective management solutions has been inadequate. The data provided by simulating different interventions, combined with community-specific goals, priorities and ethics, provide a framework for better-informed FRC policy and management outcomes.

Pedestrian Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID pandemic provides a natural experiment examining how a 50–60% reduction in pedestrian activity might lead to a reduction in pedestrian deaths. We assessed whether the reduction in pedestrian deaths was proportional to a one-to-one matching presumed in statistics correlating mobility with fatality. The primary analysis examined New York (largest city in US), and the validation analysis examined Toronto (largest city in Canada). We identified pedestrian activity in each location from the Apple Mobility database, normalized to the baseline in January 2020. We calculated monthly pedestrian deaths from the Vision Zero database in each city with baseline data from 3 prior years. We found a large initial reduction in pedestrian deaths during the lockdown in New York that was transient and not statistically significant during the summer and autumn despite sustained reductions in pedestrian activity. Similarly, we found a large initial reduction in pedestrian deaths during the lockdown in Toronto that was transient and not sustained. Together, these data suggest the substantial reductions in pedestrian activity during the COVID pandemic have no simple correlation with pedestrian fatality counts in the same locations. An awareness of this finding emphasizes the role of unmeasured modifiable individual factors beyond pedestrian infrastructure or other structural contributors.

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Adapt to Chronic Tendon Disease Environment with an Initial Reduction in Matrix Remodeling

Tendon lesions are common sporting injuries in humans and horses alike. The healing process of acute tendon lesions frequently results in fibrosis and chronic disease. In horses, local mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) injection is an accepted therapeutic strategy with positive influence on acute lesions. Concerning the use of MSCs in chronic tendon disease, data are scarce but suggest less therapeutic benefit. However, it has been shown that MSCs can have a positive effect on fibrotic tissue. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the interplay of MSCs and healthy or chronically diseased tendon matrix. Equine MSCs were cultured either as cell aggregates or on scaffolds from healthy or diseased equine tendons. Higher expression of tendon-related matrix genes and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) was found in aggregate cultures. However, the tenogenic transcription factor scleraxis was upregulated on healthy and diseased tendon scaffolds. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) expression and activity were highest in healthy scaffold cultures but showed a strong transient decrease in diseased scaffold cultures. The release of glycosaminoglycan and collagen was also higher in scaffold cultures, even more so in those with tendon disease. This study points to an early suppression of MSC matrix remodeling activity by diseased tendon matrix, while tenogenic differentiation remained unaffected.

Plant Extracts for the Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Meat Products

The antimicrobial activity of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.) plant active extracts was determined against Listeria monocytogenes in two meat products. Samples of sausages “cacciatore” and cooked ham in vacuum-packaged slices were artificially contaminated, and the presence of Listeria was evaluated during the sausages ripening and throughout the shelf-life of the cooked ham. The test carried out on sausages did not show differences among treated and untreated samples. The antagonistic activity of the plant extracts against the pathogen was probably hidden by the competition from the sausages microbial flora and the pH and the water activity (aw) decrease. On the other hand, the plant extracts determined an initial reduction of about 1.00 log cfu/g of the L. monocytogenes viable count in the cooked ham slices contaminated with 103 cfu/g, but the best result was obtained with the contamination of 102 cfu/g of L. monocytogenes. In addition to the pathogen’s initial decrease, we observed an extension of the lag phase and a reduction of the Listeria growth rate. Considering that the presence of L. monocytogenes during the slicing phase of the cooked ham does not exceed 10 cfu/g, the use of plant extracts can lead to complete pathogen elimination.

Propagation of International Supply-Chain Disruptions between Firms in a Country

This study shows how import and export shocks propagate through domestic supply chains using actual Japanese supply-chain data and a world input-output table (WIOT) based on firm-level agent-based simulations. We propose three different models with which to connect the domestic firms to a WIOT. Then, we estimate the value-added losses of Japanese firms caused by shocks of different magnitudes and durations originating in China, in the EU and the US, and globally. The volume and rates at which losses increase are very different across the connection models, which indicates that the assignment of international connections to firms matters greatly. The losses increase sublinearly as the duration expands, which indicates that the shock propagation ultimately saturates the economy. Rates of saturation differ substantially depending on the assignment of international connections. The losses increase superlinearly as the initial reduction rate increases. This occurs because there is a greater probability of one supplier being replaced by other suppliers if the reduction is smaller.

Pandemic of Paradoxes: The Indirect Global Health Impacts of COVID-19

The indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several public health issues will be examined in the context of its impacts on multiple nations around the world. Not all possible health aspects of COVID-19 that are indirectly related to the disease will be examined. The ones chosen are: I. influenza, II. suicide, III. alcohol consumption, IV. fatal automobile accidents and V. birth rates. In each of these cases COVID-19 has had a paradoxical impact. Although COVID-19 is a dangerous respiratory virus, there has not been a synergism with the influenza virus as initially feared by some public health experts. In fact, there has been a global nonappearance of seasonal flu; a good, though indirect, paradoxical consequence of COVID-19. But most other paradoxical health consequences of COVID-19 have been largely negative, these include an increase in suicide but unexpectedly an initial reduction and changes in suicide patterns in many countries, an increase in alcohol consumption but paradoxically a reduction in beer consumption, some evidence of an increase in fatal automobile accidents (at least on a per mile driven basis) and of monumental long term global consequence, a significant decline in births in many major nations.

Recovery of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes and Valorization of Spent Mushroom Substrate

Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) comprises sugarcane bagasse, coconut coir, chicken manure, and paddy straw; inoculated with and farmed for Agaricus bisporus. At present, the waste generation at a mushroom cultivation plant in Goa is 40 tons/day (15,000 tons annually). Valorization of this waste has been explored in terms of extracting lignocellulolytic enzymes and briquette production. SMS was screened for the presence of lignocellulolytic enzymes and then was used to make briquettes. The enzymes found in SMS were cellulase and laccase, which were further concentrated via tangential flow filtration (TFF). Enzyme activity for Cellulase increased by four-fold (from 255.34±1.30 U/mL increased to 1022.21±4.84 U/mL) and Laccase increased by three-fold (from 4.83±0.02 U/mL to 13.21±0.05 U/mL). The concentrated enzyme cocktail was used to decolorize congo red dye. After only eight hours of enzymatic treatment at pH 4.8 on congo red, approx. 40-49% decolorization was accomplished. The color removal was due to the presence of the laccase enzyme. After enzyme extraction, all the residual SMS was utilized to generate briquettes with an initial reduction in its moisture content from 50% to 10%. The resulting briquette gave a Gross Calorific Value of 4,143 Kcal/kg with 12.60% ash content. Thus, SMS proves to be a valuable source for recovering enzymes and a cost-effective material for briquette production rather than going into landfills.

Effect of Carbon Addition on Direct Reduction Behavior of Low Quality Magnetite Ore by Reducing Gas Atmosphere

Recently, direct reduced iron (DRI) has been highlighted as a promising iron source for electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking. The two typical production methods for DRI are gas-based reduction and reduction using carbon composite pellets. While the gas-based reduction is strongly dependent on the reliable supply of hydrocarbon fuel, reduction using ore-coal composite pellets has relatively low productivity due to solid–solid reactions. To overcome the limitations of the above two processes, and to achieve a more efficient direct reduction process of iron ore, the possibility of combining these two methods was investigated. The experiments focused on performing an initial direct reduction using ore-coal composite pellets followed by a second stage gas reduction. It was assumed that the initial reduction of the carbon composite pellets would enhance the efficiency of the subsequent reduction by gas and the total reduction efficiency. The porosity, as well as the carbon efficiency for direct reduction, were measured to determine the optimal conditions for the initial reduction, such as the size ratio of ore and coal particles. Thereafter, further reduction by the reducing gas was carried out to verify the effect of the preliminary reduction. The reduction kinetics of the reducing gas was also discussed.