Search

Introduction: Globally, nine million people are injured due to fire, heat and hot substances every year with a mortality rate of 1.34%. Research shows conflicting reports regarding sex as a risk factor for mortality in patient with burns. We analysed whether sex is a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with burns in urban India. Methods: A subgroup analysis of patients with burns as mechanism of injury was done from a multi-centre prospective observational study ‘Towards Improved Trauma Care Outcomes (TITCO)’ in India conducted in October 2013 to December 2015. Results: 1209 patients were identified as having suffered burns from the TITCO study. The mean age was 23 years with 58.9% females. The overall 30 day in-hospital mortality was 574 (48.5%). Among patients who succumbed, 72% were females and 27% were males. We conducted a multivariable logistic regression and found that females were at a significantly higher odds of death compared with males (OR = 1.73 95%CI = 1.06–2.80, p value = 0.02). After performing a sex and age stratified analysis, females in the age group of 15–44 years had a significantly higher number of deaths compared to males in that group. Conclusion: In this multi-center study from urban Indian university hospitals, sex was identified as an independent risk factor of mortality in patients admitted with burns. Females have an increased odds of mortality from burns.

Blue-color-emitting organic semiconductors are of significance for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this study, through Suzuki coupling polymerization, three 1,4-naphthalene-based copolymers—namely, PNP(1,4)-PT, PNP(1,4)-TF, and PNP(1,4)-ANT—were designed and synthesized. The variation of comonomers, phenothiazine (PT), triphenylamine substituted fluorene (TF), and anthanthrene (ANT), effectively tuned the emitting color and device performance of poly(9-vinyl carbazole) (PVK)-based OLEDs. Especially, the polymer PNP(1,4)-TF, bearing perpendicular aryl side groups, showed a most twisted structural geometry, which enabled an ultra-high thermal stability and a best performance with blue emitting in PVK-host-based OLEDs. Overall, in this work, we demonstrate a promising blue-color-emitting polymer through structural geometry manipulation.

Effects of substitutions of rare earth (RE) elements (Y, La, Ce, and Nd) to the Zr-based AB2 multi-phase metal hydride (MH) alloys on the structure, gaseous phase hydrogen storage (H-storage), and electrochemical properties were studied and compared. Solubilities of the RE atoms in the main Laves phases (C14 and C15) are very low, and therefore the main contributions of the RE additives are through the formation of the RENi phase and change in TiNi phase abundance. Both the RENi and TiNi phases are found to facilitate the bulk diffusion of hydrogen but impede the surface reaction. The former is very effective in improving the activation behaviors. −40 °C performances of the Ce-doped alloys are slightly better than the Nd-doped alloys but not as good as those of the La-doped alloys, which gained the improvement through a different mechanism. While the improvement in ultra-low-temperature performance of the Ce-containing alloys can be associated with a larger amount of metallic Ni-clusters embedded in the surface oxide, the improvement in the La-containing alloys originates from the clean alloy/oxide interface as shown in an earlier transmission electron microscopy study. Overall, the substitution of 1 at% Ce to partially replace Zr gives the best electrochemical performances (capacity, rate, and activation) and is recommended for all the AB2 MH alloys for electrochemical applications.

The Japanese Patent Applications filed on the topic of nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) batteries have been reviewed. Patent applications filed by the top nine battery manufacturers (Matsushita, Sanyo, Hitachi Maxell, Yuasa, Toshiba, FDK, Furukawa, Japan Storage, and Shin-kobe), five component suppliers (Tanaka, Mitsui, Santoku, Japan Metals & Chemicals Co. (JMC), and Shin-Etsu), and three research institutes (Industrial Research Institute (ISI), Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and Toyota R & D) were chosen as the main subjects for this review, based on their production volume and contribution to the field. By reviewing these patent applications, we can have a clear picture of the technology development in the Japanese battery industry. These patent applications also provide insights, know-how, and future directions for engineers and scientists working in the rechargeable battery field.