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Dual Co/Li slabs anchoring and surface nano-passivation:toward a stable 4.6 V operation of LiCoO<sub>2</sub> cathode with enhanced lattice structure
Get PDFLithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2, LCO) is a widely used cathode material for lithium-ion batteries in portable electronic devices. However, its application at high voltages of 4.6 V is severely restricted due to crystal lattice collapse and uncontrollable interface reactions. To address these challenges, an innovative design of LCO combined with Co/Li dual slab regulation and nanostructured Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) surface passivation, termed as 0.4 %LTO@LMCLO, has been proposed to achieve a high-energy/power-density and structurally stable cathode material. The incorporation of La and Mg elements respectively into the Co and Li slabs expands the (0 0 3) crystal planes via controlling the pre-sintering temperature, thereby reinforcing the layered crystal lattice of LCO. This enhancement enables the material to support more cycles and faster charge/discharge capabilities within the 3.0–4.6 V range. Notably, the lattice oxygen in 0.4 %LTO@LMCLO is effectively restrained through both internal and external integration, significantly inhibiting the escape of O2. Moreover, the nanostructured LTO creates a stable microenvironment interface for the electrolyte due to its lower lithiation potential, thereby reducing the release of CO2 caused by solvent redox reactions. As a result, the designed 0.4 %LTO@LMCLO cathode exhibits a high specific capacity of 213 mAh g−1 at 0.1C and 189 mAh g−1 at 5C. It also demonstrates excellent cycle stability, with 89 % capacity retention after 100 cycles at a high operating voltage of 4.6 V and 1C. These findings provide valuable insights for the construction of stable layered cathode material structures.</p
Cardiovascular and venous thromboembolic events in systemic sclerosis:Epidemiological analysis of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink
Get PDFObjectives Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We investigated the association between SSc and the occurrence of both cardiovascular and thromboembolic events using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Methods A validated case-ascertainment strategy identified SSc patients in the CPRD. A cohort study design examined rates of coronary arterial disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease (PAD) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in SSc patients matched to non-SSc comparators by age, sex and location in a 1:6 ratio. Prevalent and incident cases of SSc were analysed separately. Cox regression analysis was used to determine hazard ratios for event occurrence, adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Results We identified 877 eligible incident cases of SSc who were matched to 5262 patients without SSc (83.7% female), with a mean follow-up of 8 years. We identified a higher background prevalence of CAD, PAD and VTE at baseline (pre-dating diagnosis) in the SSc cohort. There was a significantly increased risk of CAD, PAD, peripheral venous thromboses and pulmonary embolism during follow-up in SSc compared with the non-SSc group (adjusted hazard ratios between 1.84-3.01), particularly amongst males. There was no increased risk of cerebrovascular disease. Conclusions We have identified an increased risk of cardiovascular events and VTE, both prior to a diagnosis of SSc and within 8 years of SSc diagnosis. Work is needed to establish the mechanism of arterial/venous thrombotic events in SSc. This insight will facilitate more targeted and effective preventative strategies and improve outcomes in SSc.</p
No time like the future?:Towards a generative, prospective and possibilities‐focussed ‘futures social psychology’
Get PDFAnticipating, considering and incorporating possible futures are central components of human social life. Our social actions, beliefs, values and interactions are all oriented towards, or away from, variousfuture outcomes. Yet despite this, social psychology is yet to harness its unique contribution to our un-derstanding of the future, not addressing the challenges that many other disciplines are confronting inthis emerging discipline. In this editorial, we introduce our special issue on ‘futures social psychology’,and in doing so, we provide a starting point for scholars interested in furthering research in this area. We outline previous important discipline-specific and methodological contributions, connecting socialpsychological perspectives to the wider academic and practitioner landscape. We outline how our elevenspecial issue contributions advance discussion, theorizing and research methodology on topics such assustainability, collective group continuity, prefigurative politics, AI sentience and degrowth policies.Finally, we encourage social psychologists of all topic and methodological persuasions to adopt a genera-tive, prospective and possibilities-focussed approach to their work, to ensure that social psychology as adiscipline can effectively meet the challenges of the future and maximize its impact
Decision-making and acute behavioural disturbance (ABD):a qualitative thematic analysis of perspectives on decision-making by UK ambulance paramedics
Get PDFBackgroundIncidents involving severe agitation are complex emergencies which occur infrequently in the community but have high stakes for patients and responders. Acute behavioural disturbance (ABD), an umbrella term used to describe severe agitation, sometimes known as excited delirium, affects patients who typically present to police and ambulance paramedics and may require restraint. However, little is known about how paramedics make these restraint decisions. This research aimed to explore the decisions made by paramedics when managing restraint in the context of ABD in the UK ambulance setting.MethodsTen semi-structured interviews and one focus group were undertaken with one newly qualified and 12 experienced paramedics employed by a large metropolitan ambulance service. The resulting data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, informed by critical realism.ResultsWe identified three interrelated themes from the data: working in the context of fear, navigating complexity without consistent and adequate formal subject-specific training, and the nature of professional roles and relationships at incident scenes. These restraint decisions are a source of concern, with paramedics fearing patients coming to harm and the potential for detrimental professional repercussions. Decision-making was complicated by mismatched levels of education specific to restraint and the management of ABD patients, and the requirements of ‘real world’ clinical practice. The social relationships between paramedics and others at incident scenes were also important, with paramedics situating ABD incidents as healthcare rather than law enforcement encounters key to influencing restraint decisions.ConclusionsOur results indicated that paramedics would benefit from further education which is specific to identifying and managing the complex social interactions which occur at ABD scenes. High-fidelity simulation training delivered jointly with other agencies may be a helpful intervention in achieving this
Numerical evaluation of the Kirchhoff--Helmholtz integral outside a sphere
Get PDFA method is presented for the fast evaluation of the transient acoustic field generated outside a spherical surface using surface data on the sphere. The method employs Lebedev quadratures, which are optimal integration on the sphere, and Lagrange interpolation and differentiation in an advanced time algorithm for the evaluation of the transient field. Numerical testing demonstrates that the approach gives near machine-precision accuracy and a speed-up in evaluation time, which depends on the order of quadrature rule employed but breaks even with direct evaluation at a number of field points about 1.15 times the number of surface quadrature nodes, thus making the method an efficient means of evaluating the field generated by a large number of sources.</p
Effect of eliminating the sale of duty-free tobacco products:A natural experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, 2020-2023
Get PDFIntroduction: Amidst the global effort to curb cross-border transmission of COVID-19, numerous nations enforced international travel restrictions. One example is Taiwan, which witnessed an 85%-90% reduction in international travel during 2020-2022 compared with the preceding decade's average. Consequently, sales of duty-free cigarettes plummeted by approximately 90%. Objectives: This study leverages the virtual elimination of duty-free cigarette sales during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan as a natural experiment to scrutinise the impact of banning such sales on cigarette consumption. The focus is on whether the drastic reduction in duty-free sales was compensated by an increase in taxed cigarette sales. Methods: We analysed trends in sales of both duty-free and taxed cigarettes, using data from Taiwan Ministry of Finance and Customs Administration between 2010 and 2023. We used quadratic regression models to fit historical taxed and duty-free sales data from 2010 to 2019. Subsequently, we projected total sales between 2020 and 2023 under a business-as-usual scenario where no travel ban occurred and duty-free sales were not disrupted. Results: The virtual eradication of duty-free cigarette sales was only partially offset by an upturn in taxed cigarette sales. The sales projected under the business-as-usual scenario consistently exceed the actual observations, with real data falling below the lower bound of the 95% CI in both 2021 and 2022. Conclusions: Duty-free tobacco sales associated with international travel should be abolished for the benefit of both public health and government tax revenue.</p
The Recyclability of Wind Turbine Blade Material, Manufacturing Process, and Recycling Technology
Get PDFAs wind energy continues to be deployed at a significantly increasing rate, the number of decommissioned wind turbines is expected to increase accordingly. To improve material efficiency, a large amount of waste requires appropriate identification and recycling, particularly the composite materials used in wind turbine blades (WTB). This study focuses on two life cycle stages, manufacturing and the decommissioning stage, which contribute most to the waste generation of WTB. This study investigates the material efficiency factors in WTB and organises fragmental information in manufacturing waste management, focusing on the recycling factor and quantifying the recyclability of wind turbine blade material regarding the different recycling technologies. This study fills the gap in existing research by evaluating recycling methods for specified carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) and glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRPs) using a revised recyclability index. Additionally, innovative sustainable materials and recent composite recycling studies have also been incorporated into the quantification and evaluation to update the current progress. The current source of WTB post-production waste, the corresponding disposal method, and opportunities were also reviewed and identified. The findings quantified recyclability and revealed that the recyclability of WTB materials varies significantly depending on the specific composite type and the recycling method employed. Furthermore, the calculated recyclability, combined with other factors such as global warming potential (GWP), cost, and technology readiness level (TRL), is discussed, along with the potential for improving material efficiency by selecting future material recycling technology and effective manufacturing waste management
A bifunctional fluorescent probe for simultaneous imaging of myelin integrity and β-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease progression
Get PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline and memory impairment. While β-amyloid (Aβ) plaque deposition in the grey matter is a hallmark of AD, growing evidence suggests that substantial white matter abnormalities, particularly myelin degradation and axonal damage, also contribute to disease pathogenesis. However, the mechanistic interplay between Aβ aggregation and myelin disruption remains poorly understood, largely due to the lack of molecular tools capable of concurrently mapping both pathological features with high spatial resolution. Here, we report NQPI6, a novel bifunctional, dual-emission fluorescent probe that enables simultaneous and selective imaging of myelin integrity and Aβ plaques in brain tissues. NQPI6 emits a strong green fluorescence in lipid-rich myelin sheaths (λex, 488 nm; λem 530–565 nm), allowing high-contrast, three-dimensional visualization of white matter structures. Concurrently, the probe exhibits intense red fluorescence upon binding to aggregated Aβ species (λex, 561 nm; λem, 690–730 nm), enabling the precise delineation of plaque distribution. Utilizing NQPI6 in transgenic AD model mice, we achieved co-localized imaging of Aβ plaques and varying degrees of demyelination across distinct brain regions and disease stages. These spatial correlations uncovered a dynamic relationship between plaque accumulation and local myelin damage during AD progression. This work presents a powerful chemical imaging platform for investigating the spatiotemporal crosstalk between Aβ deposition and myelin degeneration, offering new insights into AD pathogenesis and facilitating future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.</p
How do older patients with advanced kidney disease, and their family members, understand kidney function and failure? A qualitative study.
Get PDFBackgroundPatients approaching kidney failure are increasingly older, and living with multiple long-term conditions. The benefits of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) are uncertain for many in this group. Supporting decisions between treatment options requires consideration of how people perceive chronic kidney disease and its treatments. This qualitative study aimed to explore how older patients and family members understand kidney function and failure, and how this impacts treatment decision-making.MethodsBetween September 2018 and July 2019, semi-structured interviews were conducted with older patients and family members recruited from three United Kingdom kidney units. Eligible patients had estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 15 ml/min/1.73m2, no previous KRT and were age ≥ 80 years, or ≥ 65 years with significant comorbidity. Interviews used a topic guide developed with patient input. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and constant comparative techniques.ResultsFifteen patients and 12 family members were interviewed. Three themes were identified: (i) Critical blood-cleaning organs, where kidney function was considered vital for survival; (ii) Unwitnessed function and failure, where kidney disease was experienced invisibly; and (iii) Quantifying and predicting kidney function, including conceptualisation of kidney function using numbers and graphs. Unwitnessed, intangible experiences of kidney failure appeared to accentuate reliance on clinicians for disease information. Numerical and graphical depictions of kidney function were central to formation of disease understanding. Concepts of treatment ‘thresholds’ appeared to affirm misperceptions of a binary choice between dialysis and death.ConclusionsUnintended misunderstandings, including eGFR thresholds for dialysis initiation, arise from common clinical communication approaches and appear to impact upon informed decision-making. This is especially important for older patients with multiple conditions, for whom the benefits of dialysis are uncertain. Improved consultation approaches which enhance patient understanding are needed. Revising misleading terminology and shifting focus away from numerical disease metrics may help patients and families making individualised choices between treatments
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