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Research on pouch-type or flexible batteries is currently being conducted with the increasing interest in flexible devices. However, lithium-ion batteries using liquid electrolytes, which are currently the most widely used, have limitations in terms of lithium reserves and the use of flammable organic electrolytes. To solve this problem, research is being actively conducted on Al-ion batteries (AIBs) that are highly safe and capable of fast charge/discharge. In this study, gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) were developed by in-situ polymerization of ethyl acrylates in AlCl3/[EMIm]Cl ionic liquids. AIBs with GPEs as a solid-state electrolyte medium can solve the crucial problems in current liquid AIB systems, including electrolyte leakage, anode corrosion, and moisture sensitivity. AIBs with GPEs exhibit a reasonable energy storage capacity of 90 mAh g−1 even at a high current density of 200 mA g−1 with a high coulombic efficiency of 95%. Additionally, they exhibit a high long-term stability over 500 cycles without capacity reduction. Furthermore, AIBs demonstrate exceptional operational stability and safety under harsh operating conditions, such as folding, bending, and cutting. These results suggest that new solid-state AIBs based on GPEs provide a promising strategy for the development of high-performance solid-state flexible rechargeable battery systems.

Identifying individuals at risk of developing dementia may be aided by early detection of functional impairments. The aims of the present study were to examine differences in informant-reported and performance-based measures of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and to assess whether a performance-based IADL measure contributes additional unique variance over informant reports in predicting incident dementia over 4 years.Prospective cohort study (Sydney Memory and Ageing Study).Eastern Suburbs, Sydney, Australia.307 community-dwelling individuals (60.6% female) aged between 76 and 96 years with normal cognition (NC; n = 190) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 117).IADL ability was assessed with the performance-based Sydney Test of Activities of Daily Living in Memory Disorders (STAM) and the Bayer-Activities of Daily Living (B-ADL) informant report, at baseline and 4-year follow-up. Covariates included age, sex, education, Mini-Mental State Examination and Geriatric Depression Scale scores, arthritis, vision impairment, cardiovascular risk, and number of medications. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine the longitudinal association between the 2 types of IADL measures and incident dementia.Logistic regressions showed that performance-based IADL impairment at baseline [odds ratio (OR) = 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77, 0.90; P.001] and decline in performance-based IADL function (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.73, 0.91; P.001) were associated with incident dementia over 4 years, with the association provided by the STAM being statistically significant over and above the B-ADL.Performance-based measures of IADL can predict progression to dementia over 4 years beyond that provided by an informant report of IADL. Performance-based IADL measures are promising tools for clinical practice to identify individuals at greater risk of developing dementia.

In the study, at first, batch tests were performed to investigate the effect of alkali-shock on H2 production from food waste (FW). After alkali-pretreatment of FW at pH 9.0-13.0, the FW was cultivated under mesophilic condition at pH 6.0 for 30 h without external inoculum addition. The amount of H2 production from FW pretreated at pH 11.0 and 12.0 was higher than that achieved in other pretreatment pH. The main metabolite was butyrate, and Clostridium were dominant at pH 11.0 and 12.0. Meanwhile, lactate was the main metabolite with Enterococcus and Streptococcus being the dominant genus at other pretreatment pH. When the batch process was switched to a continuous mode, H2 production was significantly dropped due to the increased activity of H2-consumers. The reliability of alkali-pretreatment at pH 11.0 was proven by repeating the scale-up batch process, recording 1.57±0.11 mol H2/mol hexose(added) (17±2LH2/kg FW) and 4.39±0.32LH2/L/d.

This work presents the effect of acid-pretreatment on H2 fermentation of food waste with detailed microbial information by next generation sequencing. The pretreated food waste at pH 1.0–4.0 was cultivated under mesophilic conditions without external inoculum addition. From the food waste acid-pretreated at pH 1–3, H2 yields in the range of 1.37–1.74 mol H2/mol hexoseadded were achieved, attaining the highest value at pH 2. Clostridium sp. such as Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 and Clostridium perfringens occupied more than 70% of total number of sequences at pH 1–3. On the other hand, in the control (no pretreatment) and at pH 4, lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Streptococcus were found to be the dominant genus (>90% of total number of sequences), resulting in a low H2 yield. In addition, the effect of substrate concentration on H2 fermentation was investigated, and the maximum H2 productivity was estimated to be 27.2 L H2/L/d by Andrew's model.

This paper presents a novel theoretical framework of how members of multicultural teams leverage their diverse knowledge to produce creative outcomes. I develop and test a model of cultural brokerage, which I define as the act of facilitating interactions between actors across cultural boundaries. I find that team members with multicultural backgrounds engage in cultural brokerage on behalf of monocultural team members. Among multiculturals, “cultural insiders” (those whose cultural background overlaps with other team members’) brokered by integrating knowledge from different cultures, whereas “cultural outsiders” (those whose cultural background has no overlap with any other team members’) brokered by eliciting knowledge from different cultures. Both integrating and eliciting significantly enhanced creative performance at the team level. These findings advance our understanding of the process of creativity in culturally diverse teams.