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Li-CO2 batteries (LCBs) have emerged as promising solutions for energy storage, with the added benefit of contributing to carbon neutrality by capturing and utilizing CO2 during operation. In this study, a high-performance LCB was developed using a Ge-doped LiAlGeTi (PO4)3 (LAGTP) solid electrolyte, which was synthesized via a solution-based method by doping Ge into NASICON-type LATP. The ionic conductivity of the LAGTP pellets was measured as 1.04 × 10−3 S/cm at 25 °C. The LCB utilizing LAGTP and an MWCNT/Ru cathode maintained a stable cycling performance over 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mA/g, with a cut-off capacity of 500 mAh/g. Post-cycle analysis confirmed the reversible electrochemical reactions at the cathode. The integration of LAGTP as a solid electrolyte effectively enhanced the ionic conductivity and improved the cycle life and performance of the LCB. This study highlights the potential of Ge-doped NASICON-type solid electrolytes for advanced energy-storage technologies and offers a pathway for developing sustainable and high-performance LCBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li–S batteries are promising large-scale energy storage systems but currently suffer from performance issues; a major reason is the dissolution of polysulfides in electrolytes. To this end, we report a high-energy-density Lithium–Sulfur (Li–S) battery that combines a catholyte and a sulfur-free carbon nanofiber (CNF) cathode. The cathode was synthesized by carbonizing binder-free polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, affording a high surface area. In the catholyte, added polysulfides acted as both conductive Li salts and active materials. Investigating the electrochemical performance of this concept in both Swagelok- and pouch-type cells afforded energy densities exceeding 3 mAh cm−2 at a discharge rate of 0.1 C. This combination could also be utilized in high-capacity pouch cells with capacities of up to 250 mAh g−1. Both cell types exhibited good cycle performance. Adding LiNO3 to the electrolyte suppressed the redox shuttle reactions. Moreover, the cathode being binder-free increased the energy density and simplified cathode fabrication. Characterizing the cathode before and after cycling revealed that deposition was reversible, and that cell reactions at least partially formed sulfur as the end product, resulting in high sulfur amounts in the cell. We expect our concept to greatly aid in the development of practically applicable Li–S cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the concept of energy justice emerged, studies have conceptually, but rarely empirically, explored energy justice. In addition, studies on energy justice have mainly focused on anthropocentric values toward energy justice. This study aims to categorize Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries' energy justice using synthetic energy justice via two aspects: eco-centrism and anthropocentrism. Each aspect of energy justice is sub-divided into distributive, substantive, and procedural justices. Using a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis methodology via a statistical program, we suggest typologies of 35 OECD countries for each aspect. Eight types of energy justice for each aspect are extracted, and four types of synthetic energy justice groups are identified among OECD countries. Austria, Iceland, and Luxembourg show the best performance in synthetic energy justice, but do not reach a complete contestable status from an eco-centric perspective. This study provides practical policy implications for OECD countries to self-evaluate each country's macroscopic policy direction in the energy sector, and to ultimately pursue synthetic energy justice with a balanced perspective for our environment and us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed an automated microregistration method that enables repeated in vivo skin microscopy imaging of the same tissue microlocation and specific cells over a long period of days and weeks with unprecedented precision. Applying this method in conjunction with an in vivo multimodality multiphoton microscope, the behavior of human skin cells such as cell proliferation, melanin upward migration, blood flow dynamics, and epidermal thickness adaptation can be recorded over time, facilitating quantitative cellular dynamics analysis. We demonstrated the usefulness of this method in a skin biology study by successfully monitoring skin cellular responses for a period of two weeks following an acute exposure to ultraviolet light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed an analytic solution for spatially resolved diffuse reflectance within the deltaP1 approximation to the radiative transport equation for a semi-infinite homogeneous turbid medium. We evaluate the performance of this solution by comparing its predictions with those provided by Monte Carlo simulations and the standard diffusion approximation. We demonstrate that the delta-P1 approximation provides accurate estimates for spatially resolved diffuse reflectance in both low and high scattering media. We also develop a multi-stage nonlinear optimization algorithm in which the radiative transport estimates provided by the delta-P1 approximation are used to recover the optical absorption (microa), reduced scattering (micros'), and single-scattering asymmetry coefficients (g1) of liquid and solid phantoms from experimental measurements of spatially resolved diffuse reflectance. Specifically, the delta-P1 approximation can be used to recover microa, micros', and g1 with errors within +/- 22%, +/- 18%, and +/- 17%, respectively, for both intralipid-based and siloxane-based tissue phantoms. These phantoms span the optical property range 4 < (micros' /microa) < 117. Using these same measurements, application of the standard diffusion approximation resulted in the recovery of microa and micros' with errors o f +/- 29% and +/- 25%, respectively. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the delta-P1 approximation provides accurate radiative transport estimates that can be used to determine accurately the optical properties of biological tissues, particularly in spectral regions where tissue may display moderate/low ratios of reduced scattering to absorption (micros'/microa).

We have developed an analytic solution for spatially resolved diffuse reflectance within the deltaP1 approximation to the radiative transport equation for a semi-infinite homogeneous turbid medium. We evaluate the performance of this solution by comparing its predictions with those provided by Monte Carlo simulations and the standard diffusion approximation. We demonstrate that the delta-P1 approximation provides accurate estimates for spatially resolved diffuse reflectance in both low and high scattering media. We also develop a multi-stage nonlinear optimization algorithm in which the radiative transport estimates provided by the delta-P1 approximation are used to recover the optical absorption (microa), reduced scattering (micros'), and single-scattering asymmetry coefficients (g1) of liquid and solid phantoms from experimental measurements of spatially resolved diffuse reflectance. Specifically, the delta-P1 approximation can be used to recover microa, micros', and g1 with errors within +/- 22%, +/- 18%, and +/- 17%, respectively, for both intralipid-based and siloxane-based tissue phantoms. These phantoms span the optical property range 4 < (micros' /microa) < 117. Using these same measurements, application of the standard diffusion approximation resulted in the recovery of microa and micros' with errors o f +/- 29% and +/- 25%, respectively. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the delta-P1 approximation provides accurate radiative transport estimates that can be used to determine accurately the optical properties of biological tissues, particularly in spectral regions where tissue may display moderate/low ratios of reduced scattering to absorption (micros'/microa).

The use of perturbation and differential Monte Carlo (pMC/dMC) methods in conjunction with nonlinear optimization algorithms were proposed recently as a means to solve inverse photon migration problems in regionwise heterogeneous turbid media. We demonstrate the application of pMC/dMC methods for the recovery of optical properties in a two-layer extended epithelial tissue model from experimental measurements of spatially resolved diffuse reflectance. The results demonstrate that pMC/dMC methods provide a rapid and accurate approach to solve two-region inverse photon migration problems in the transport regime, that is, on spatial scales smaller than a transport mean free path and in media where optical scattering need not dominate absorption. The pMC/dMC approach is found to be effective over a broad range of absorption (50 to 400%) and scattering (70 to 130%) perturbations. The recovery of optical properties from spatially resolved diffuse reflectance measurements is examined for different sets of source-detector separation. These results provide some guidance for the design of compact fiber-based probes to determine and isolate optical properties from both epithelial and stromal layers of superficial tissues.

This study examines the effect of state-centered childcare policies on women's labor market participation. It applies the fuzzy-set qualitative method to OECD member countries and classifies countries into seven types based on the mix of childcare policy tools in terms of the state's directness of funding, directness of service creation, and coerciveness of service quality regulation. This helped identify an effective combination of childcare policy tools for increasing women's labor market participation. Thus, providing childcare services that policy consumers can trust by increasing the government's enforcement of qualitative regulations on childcare services is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]