Calcium vanadate sub-microfibers as highly reversible host cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

For the first time, CaV6O16·3H2O (CVO), synthesized via a highly efficient and fast microwave reaction, is used as a cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Ex situ X-ray diffraction confirms the structure of this material to be stable upon reversible Zn2+ intercalation, due to its large interlayer distance (8.08 Å).

Relevance of ion clusters for Li transport at elevated salt concentrations in [Pyr][FTFSI] ionic liquid-based electrolytes.

In binary ionic liquid/Li salt mixtures with the novel asymmetric anion FTFSI, electrophoretic mobility μi values of all ion species were determined using electrophoretic NMR. Li was determined to migrate in negatively charged Li-anion clusters towards the anode. This vehicular transport mechanism was shown to have decreasing relevance at elevated salt concentrations.

Connection between Lithium Coordination and Lithium Diffusion in [Pyr ][FTFSI] Ionic Liquid Electrolytes.

The use of highly concentrated ionic liquid-based electrolytes results in improved rate capability and capacity retention at 20 °C compared to Li -dilute systems in Li-metal and Li-ion cells. This work explores the connection between the bulk electrolyte properties and the molecular organization to provide insight into the concentration dependence of the Li transport mechanisms. Below 30 mol %, the Li -containing species are primarily smaller complexes (one Li cation) and the Li ion transport is mostly derived from the vehicular transport.

A combined theoretical and experimental study of the influence of different anion ratios on lithium ion dynamics in ionic liquids.

In this paper, we investigate via experimental and simulation techniques the transport properties, in terms of total ionic conductivity and ion diffusion coefficients, of ionic liquids doped with lithium salts. They are composed of two anions, bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI) and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI), and two cations, N-ethyl-N-methylimidazolium (emim) and lithium ions. The comparison of the experimental results with the simulations shows very good agreement over a wide temperature range and a broad range of compositions.

Reduced insulin-induced phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase activation in peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes from patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The epidemiological finding of an increased risk of dementia in patients with diabetes mellitus has raised the hypothesis that a dysfunction of the insulin receptors plays a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A possible link is suggested by the evidence that the insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3-K)/phospho-Akt pathway negatively controls the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta. The activation of this enzyme mediates the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein, a relevant step in the formation of the neurofibrillary tangles associated with AD.

Endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients without clinical macrovascular complications.

Aims: To evaluate the relationship between oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction (ED) in diabetic patients without clinical macrovascular complications.

Methods: In 27 type 1, 56 type 2 diabetic patients and 35 healthy controls the redox state (GSH, GSSG; enzymatic method), endothelin-1 (ET-1; ELISA) and von Willebrand factor (vWF; ELISA) plasma levels, urinary vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; ELISA) were measured.

Results: Decreased GSH levels (p<0.

Insulin decreases intracellular oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Patients affected by diabetes mellitus have oxidative stress with an impaired glutathione (GSH) redox state. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of insulin on oxidative stress, defined as a reduced intracellular GSH/GSH disulfide (GSSG) ratio and lipid peroxidation by plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Two experimental interventions were used: (1) measurement of GSH/GSSG ratio after insulin incubation in erythrocytes from 10 type 2 diabetic patients, and (2) measurement of intraerythrocytic GSH/GSSG ratio and plasma TBARS in 14 type 2 diabetic patients during an in vivo hyperinsulinemic condition obtained from a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp study.