Role of Short-Range Order on Diffusion Coefficients in the Li-Mg Alloy.

Li-Mg alloys are important because of their beneficial role in fostering uniform plating and stripping of lithium in all-solid-state batteries. The alloy forms a solid solution on the BCC crystal structure when the lithium content is greater than ≈ 0.3.

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Properties of the Lithium-Silver System.

A carbon-silver anode has recently been shown to suppress dendrite formation in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The role that silver plays in enabling the reversible deposition and stripping of lithium remains unknown. Furthermore, very little is known about the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of Li Ag alloys.

Fundamental Thermodynamic, Kinetic, and Mechanical Properties of Lithium and Its Alloys.

Lithium alloying reactions are beneficial in promoting uniform plating and stripping of lithium metal in all-solid-state batteries. First-principles calculations are performed to predict thermodynamic, kinetic, and mechanical properties of lithium and several important Li-M alloys (M = Mg, Ag, Zn, Al, Ga, In, Sn, Sb, and Bi). While the Li-Mg binary system forms a solid solution, most other lithium-metal alloys prefer stoichiometric intermetallic compounds with common local motifs that enable fast Li diffusion.

Effect of boron fertilization on productivity and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping system in Tarai region, North-West India.

Extensive global dependency on rice and wheat crops has necessitated the adoption of intensive cultivation practices, thereby compelling to closely monitor the potential yield-limiting factors, among which, boron (B) deficiency stands out to be a prime concern. The present study explores the effects of B fertilization strategies within the Rice-Wheat Cropping System (RWCS) in the Tarai region of North-West India. A comprehensive six-year field experiment was conducted (2013-2019) at G.

Single-Crystal P2-NaMnNiO Cathode Material with Improved Cycling Stability for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Layered oxides constitute one of the most promising cathode materials classes for large-scale sodium-ion batteries because of their high specific capacity, scalable synthesis, and low cost. However, their practical use is limited by their low energy density, physicochemical instability, and poor cycling stability. Aiming to mitigate these shortcomings, in this work, we synthesized polycrystalline (PC) and single-crystal (SC) P2-type NaMnNiO (NMNO) cathode materials through a solid-state route and evaluated their physicochemical and electrochemical performance.

DeePNAP: A Deep Learning Method to Predict Protein-Nucleic Acid Binding Affinity from Their Sequences.

Predicting the protein-nucleic acid (PNA) binding affinity solely from their sequences is of paramount importance for the experimental design and analysis of PNA interactions (PNAIs). A large number of currently developed models for binding affinity prediction are limited to specific PNAIs while also relying on the sequence and structural information of the PNA complexes for both training and testing, and also as inputs. As the PNA complex structures available are scarce, this significantly limits the diversity and generalizability due to the small training data set.

Reinvestigation of NaGdSiO: A Potentially Better Solid Electrolyte than Sodium β Alumina for Solid-State Sodium Batteries.

Developing high-performing solid electrolytes that could replace flammable organic liquid electrolytes is vital in designing safer solid-state batteries. Among the sodium-ion (Na) conducting solid electrolytes, Na-β″-alumina (BASE) is highly regarded for its employment in solid-state battery applications due to its high ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability. BASE has long been employed in commercial Na-NiCl and Na-S batteries.

Greener, Safer and Better Performing Aqueous Binder for Positive Electrode Manufacturing of Sodium Ion Batteries.

P2-type cobalt-free MnNi-based layered oxides are promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high reversible capacity and well chemical stability. However, the phase transformations during repeated (dis)charge steps lead to rapid capacity decay and deteriorated Na diffusion kinetics. Moreover, the electrode manufacturing based on polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) binder system has been reported with severely defluorination issue as well as the energy intensive and expensive process due to the use of toxic and volatile N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent.

Redox Mechanisms, Structural Changes, and Electrochemistry of the Wadsley-Roth LiTiNbO Electrode Material.

The TiNbO Wadsley-Roth phase is a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries, enabling fast cycling and high capacities. While already used in commercial batteries, many fundamental electronic and thermodynamic properties of LiTiNbO remain poorly understood. We report on an in-depth first-principles study of the redox mechanisms, structural changes, and electrochemical properties of LiTiNbO as a function of Li concentration.

CFD-DEM investigation of the effects of aperture size for a capsule-based dry powder inhaler.

Capsule based dry powder inhalers (DPIs) often require piercing of the capsule before inhalation, and the characteristics of the apertures (punctured holes) affect air flow and the release of powders from the capsule. This work develops a numerical model based on the two-way coupling of computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method (CFD-DEM) to investigate the effect of aperture size on powder dispersion in the Aerolizer® device loaded with only carrier particles (lactose). Powders (carrier particles) in the size range 60-140 μm (d: 90 μm and span: 0.

Micron-sized single-crystal cathodes for sodium-ion batteries.

Confining the particle-electrolyte interactions to the particle surface in electrode materials is vital to develop sustainable and safe batteries. Micron-sized single-crystal particles offer such opportunities. Owing to the reduced surface area and grain boundary-free core, particle-electrolyte interactions in micron-sized single-crystal particles will be confined to the particle surface.

Enhanced photo-fenton and photoelectrochemical activities in nitrogen doped brownmillerite KBiFeO.

Visible-light-driven photo-fenton-like catalytic activity and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of nitrogen-doped brownmillerite KBiFeO (KBFO) are investigated. The effective optical bandgap of KBFO reduces from 1.67 to 1.

A cross-sectional descriptive study of clinical and serological prevalence of syphilis infection in people living with HIV and its effect on CD4+ T cells.

Context: The natural history of syphilis could be altered in the presence of HIV. It has been documented that syphilis infection increases the risk of HIV transmission by at least 3-fold.

Aims: The aim of the study was (1) to study clinical presentation of syphilis in HIV individuals, (2) to estimate seroprevalence of syphilis in HIV individuals, and (3) to study the effect of syphilis infection on CD4+ T cells.

In silico analysis of differential gene expressions in biliary stricture and hepatic carcinoma.

In-silico attempt was made to identify the key hub genes which get differentially expressed in biliary stricture and hepatic carcinoma. Gene expression data, GSE34166, was downloaded from the GEO database, which contains 10 biliary stricture samples (4 benign control and 6 malignant carcinoma), for screening of key hub genes associated with the disease. R packages scripts were identified 85 differentially expressed genes.

Efficient Nose-to-Lung (N2L) Aerosol Delivery with a Dry Powder Inhaler.

Purpose: Delivering aerosols to the lungs through the nasal route has a number of advantages, but its use has been limited by high depositional loss in the extrathoracic airways. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nose-to-lung (N2L) delivery of excipient enhanced growth (EEG) formulation aerosols generated with a new inline dry powder inhaler (DPI). The device was also adapted to enable aerosol delivery to a patient simultaneously receiving respiratory support from high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy.

Development of high efficiency ventilation bag actuated dry powder inhalers.

New active dry powder inhaler systems were developed and tested to efficiently aerosolize a carrier-free formulation. To assess inhaler performance, a challenging case study of aerosol lung delivery during high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy was selected. The active delivery system consisted of a ventilation bag for actuating the device, the DPI containing a flow control orifice and 3D rod array, and streamlined nasal cannula with separate inlets for the aerosol and HFNC therapy gas.

Development and comparison of new high-efficiency dry powder inhalers for carrier-free formulations.

High-efficiency dry powder inhalers (DPIs) were developed and tested for use with carrier-free formulations across a range of different inhalation flow rates. Performance of a previously reported DPI was compared with two new designs in terms of emitted dose (ED) and aerosolization characteristics using in vitro experiments. The two new designs oriented the capsule chamber (CC) at different angles to the main flow passage, which contained a three-dimensional (3D) rod array for aerosol deaggregation.

Development of a high efficiency dry powder inhaler: effects of capsule chamber design and inhaler surface modifications.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore the performance of a high efficiency dry powder inhaler (DPI) intended for excipient enhanced growth (EEG) aerosol delivery based on changes to the capsule orientation and surface modifications of the capsule and device.

Methods: DPIs were constructed by combining newly designed capsule chambers (CC) with a previously developed three-dimensional (3D) rod array for particle deagglomeration and a previously optimized EEG formulation. The new CCs oriented the capsule perpendicular to the incoming airflow and were analyzed for different air inlets at a constant pressure drop across the device.

Powder strength distributions for understanding de-agglomeration of lactose powders.

Purpose: The purpose was to calculate distributions of powder strength of a cohesive bed to explain the de-agglomeration of lactose.

Methods: De-agglomeration profiles of Lactohale 300(®) (L300) and micronized lactose (ML) were constructed by particle sizing aerosolised plumes dispersed at air flow rates of 30-180 l/min. The work of cohesion distribution was determined by inverse gas chromatography.

Insight into pressure drop dependent efficiencies of dry powder inhalers.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of three commercial capsule-based dry powder passive inhalers [Rotahaler® (RH), Monodose Inhaler® (MI) and Handihaler® (HH)] in de-agglomerating salbutamol sulphate (SS) and micronized lactose (LH300) powders and their sensitivity to air flow rate changes and air flow resistance.

Methods: Aerosolisation was assessed in real-time using a laser diffraction method: this approach was possible as only single-component formulations were tested. Volume percent of the aerosolised particles with diameter less than 5.

The kinetics of cohesive powder de-agglomeration from three inhaler devices.

Purpose: The purpose of the current investigation is to understand the kinetics of de-agglomeration (k(d)) of micronised salbutamol sulphate (SS) and lactohale 300 (LH300) under varying air flow rates (30-180l min(-1)) from three dry powder inhaler devices (DPIs), Rotahaler (RH), Monodose Inhaler (MI) and Handihaler (HH).

Results: Cumulative fine particle mass vs. time profiles were obtained from the powder concentration, emitted mass and volume percent <5.

Structural influence of cohesive mixtures of salbutamol sulphate and lactose on aerosolisation and de-agglomeration behaviour under dynamic conditions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the behaviour of cohesive powder mixtures of salbutamol sulphate (SS) and micronized lactose (LH300) at ratios of SS:LH300 of 1:1, 1:2, 1:4 and 1:8 under varying air flow conditions.

Methods: Aerosolisation of particles less than 5.4μm at air flow rates from 30 to 180 l min(-1) was investigated by determining particle size distributions of the aerosolised particles using laser diffraction and fine particle fractions of SS using the twin stage impinger modified for different air flow rates using a Rotahaler(®).