Sepiolite as a novel polysulfide trapper for energy applications: an electrochemical, X-ray spectroscopic and DFT study.

Capacity retention is a critical property to enhance in electrochemical storage systems applied to renewable energy. In lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, the capacity fade resulting from the shuttle effect of polysulfides is a major obstacle to their practical application. Sepiolite, an eco-friendly earth-abundant clay with suitable surface chemistry for anchoring and retaining various molecules and structures, was studied as a cathode additive to mitigate the shuttle effect using experimental and theoretical approaches.

Li 1s core exciton in LiH studied by x-ray Raman scattering spectroscopy.

The Li 1s core excitation spectra in LiH was studied by means of x-ray Raman scattering (XRS) spectroscopy in a wide range of momentum transfers q. The analysis of the near-edge region of the measured spectra in combination with q-dependent ab initio calculations of XRS spectra based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) reveals that the prominent peak at the excitation onset arises from two main contributions, namely a pre-edge peak associated to a p-type core exciton and strong transitions to empty states near the bottom of the conduction band, which is in contrast to previous experimental studies that attributed that feature to a single excitonic peak. The p-like angular symmetry of the core exciton is supported by BSE calculations of the relative contributions to the XRS spectra from monopole and dipole transitions and by the observed decrease of its normalised intensity for increasing momentum transfers.

Effects of dietary omega-3 PUFAs on growth and development: Somatic, neurobiological and reproductive functions in a murine model.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) are relevant to fetal and infant growth and development. Objective: to assess whether long-term exposure to dietary ω-3 PUFA imbalance alters pre- and/or postnatal pups' development and reproductive function later in life. Mice dams were fed with ω-3 PUFA Control (soybean oil, 7%), Deficient (sunflower oil, 7%) or Excess (blend oil; 4.

Reproductive performance of male mice after hypothalamic ghrelin administration.

It has been demonstrated that food intake and reproductive physiology are both simultaneously modulated to optimize reproductive success under fluctuating metabolic conditions. Ghrelin (GHRL) is an orexigenic peptide identified as the endogenous ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor that is being investigated for its potential role on reproduction. Considering that data available so far are still limited and characterization of GHRL action mechanism on the reproductive system has not been fully elucidated, we studied the participation of hypothalamus in GHRL effects on sperm functional activity, plasma levels of gonadotropins and histological morphology in mice testes after hypothalamic infusion of 0.

Maternal and postnatal high-fat diets with high ω6 : ω3 ratios affect the reproductive performance of male offspring in the mouse.

High-fat diets (HFDs) are an acknowledged risk factor for male subfertility, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study we compared the effects of two HFDs with different ω6:ω3 ratios, one enriched with soy oil (SOD; ω6:ω3=9.62) and another enriched with sunflower oil (SFOD; ω6:ω3=51.