Nurs Older People
January 2025
A virtual ward can provide hospital-level care for older people in their usual place of residence during an episode of acute illness. Care on a virtual ward may be delivered through a mix of in-person home visits, telephone or video calls and remote monitoring. This model of care can prevent unnecessary inpatient admissions, which in turn can prevent the development of associated complications in this patient population, such as deconditioning, delirium and hospital-acquired infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe antibiotic-resistant bacteria-associated infections are a major global healthcare threat. New classes of antimicrobial compounds are urgently needed as the frequency of infections caused by multidrug-resistant microbes continues to rise. Recent metagenomic data have demonstrated that there is still biosynthetic potential encoded in but transcriptionally silent in cultivatable bacterial genomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in applications ranging from electric vehicles to wearable devices. Before the invention of secondary LIBs, the primary lithium-thionyl chloride (Li-SOCl) battery was developed in the 1970s using SOCl as the catholyte, lithium metal as the anode and amorphous carbon as the cathode. This battery discharges by lithium oxidation and catholyte reduction to sulfur, sulfur dioxide and lithium chloride, is well known for its high energy density and is widely used in real-world applications; however, it has not been made rechargeable since its invention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
November 2020
Potassium secondary batteries are contenders of next-generation energy storage devices owing to the much higher abundance of potassium than lithium. However, safety issues and poor cycle life of K metal battery have been key bottlenecks. Here we report an ionic liquid electrolyte comprising 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride/AlCl/KCl/potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide for safe and high-performance batteries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRechargeable sodium metal batteries with high energy density could be important to a wide range of energy applications in modern society. The pursuit of higher energy density should ideally come with high safety, a goal difficult for electrolytes based on organic solvents. Here we report a chloroaluminate ionic liquid electrolyte comprised of aluminium chloride/1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride/sodium chloride ionic liquid spiked with two important additives, ethylaluminum dichloride and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRoom temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are solvent-free liquids comprised of densely packed cations and anions. The low vapor pressure and low flammability make ILs interesting for electrolytes in batteries. In this work, a new class of ionic liquids were formed for rechargeable aluminum/graphite battery electrolytes by mixing 1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium chloride (Py13Cl) with various ratios of aluminum chloride (AlCl) (AlCl/Py13Cl molar ratio = 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated rechargeable aluminum (Al) batteries composed of an Al negative electrode, a graphite positive electrode, and an ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte at temperatures down to -40 °C. The reversible battery discharge capacity at low temperatures could be superior to that at room temperature. In situ/operando electrochemical and synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments combined with theoretical modeling revealed stable AlCl/graphite intercalation up to stage 3 at low temperatures, whereas intercalation was reversible up to stage 4 at room temperature (RT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, interest in aluminium ion batteries with aluminium anodes, graphite cathodes and ionic liquid electrolytes has increased; however, much remains to be done to increase the cathode capacity and to understand details of the anion-graphite intercalation mechanism. Here, an aluminium ion battery cell made using pristine natural graphite flakes achieves a specific capacity of ∼110 mAh g with Coulombic efficiency ∼98%, at a current density of 99 mA g (0.9 C) with clear discharge voltage plateaus (2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2017
In recent years, impressive advances in harvesting renewable energy have led to a pressing demand for the complimentary energy storage technology. Here, a high Coulombic efficiency (∼99.7%) Al battery is developed using earth-abundant aluminum as the anode, graphite as the cathode, and a cheap ionic liquid analog electrolyte made from a mixture of AlCl and urea in a 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 3D graphitic foam vertically aligned graphitic structure and a low density of defects is derived through chloroaluminate anion intercalation of graphite followed by thermal expansion and electrochemical hydrogen evolution. Such aligned graphitic structure affords excellent Al-ion battery characteristics with a discharge capacity of ≈60 mA h g under a high charge and discharge current density of 12 000 mA g over ≈4000 cycles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndividuals with significant intellectual disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) often fail to acquire large vocabularies. To maximize the functionality of a small vocabulary, AAC users' initial vocabulary typically consists of words that can be used frequently across contexts and functions (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and identify their self-reported support needs. We conducted in-person semi-structured interviews with 12 siblings aged 7 to 15 of children aged 6 to 15 with ASDs. Employing a qualitative collective case study research method, we conducted cross-case analyses to address our research questions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to describe a single case of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) implementation. Case study methodology was used to describe the perspectives of educational team members regarding AAC implementation for Joey, a high school junior with athetoid cerebral palsy. Benefits included greater intelligibility for Joey and subsequent comfort of the staff.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLang Speech Hear Serv Sch
October 2008
Purpose: Although provision of dysphagia services is within the scope of practice of speech-language pathologists (SLPs), little is known about the perspectives of school-based SLPs in relation to these services. The purpose of this study was to examine SLPs' perspectives related to school-based management of students with dysphagia.
Method: Focus group interviews were conducted with 33 SLPs who were employed by a large school district in the Midwest before development of district-supported policies and protocols related to dysphagia management.