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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder associated with striatal dopaminergic neuronal loss in the Substantia nigra. Oxidative stress plays a significant role in several neurodegenerative diseases. Paraquat (PQ) is considered a potential neurotoxin that affects the brain leading to the death of dopaminergic neurons mimicking the PD phenotype. Various scientific reports have proven that cryptotanshinone possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We hypothesized that cryptotanshinone could extend its neuroprotective activity by exerting antioxidant effects. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of cryptotanshinone in both cellular and animal models of PQ-induced PD. Annexin V-PI double staining and immunoblotting were used to detect apoptosis and oxidative stress proteins, respectively. Reactive oxygen species kits were used to evaluate oxidative stress in cells. For in vivo studies, 18 B6 mice were divided into three groups. The rotarod data revealed the motor function and immunostaining showed the survival of TH+ neurons in SNpc region. Our study showed that cryptotanshinone attenuated paraquat-induced oxidative stress by upregulating anti-oxidant markers in vitro, and restored behavioral deficits and survival of dopaminergic neurons in vivo, demonstrating its therapeutic potential.

Diabetes-induced cardiovascular complications are mainly associated with high morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. Insulin-like growth factor II receptor α (IGF-IIRα) is a cardiac risk factor. In this study, we hypothesized IGF-IIRα could also deteriorate diabetic heart injury. The results presented that both in vivo transgenic Sprague-Dawley rat model with specific IGF-IIRα overexpression in the heart and in vitro myocardium H9c2 cells were used to investigate the negative function of IGF-IIRα in diabetic hearts. The results showed that IGF-IIRα overexpression aided hyperglycemia in creating more myocardial injury. Pro-inflammatory factors, such as Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Interleukin-6, Cyclooxygenase-2, Inducible nitric oxide synthase, and Nuclear factor-kappaB inflammatory cascade, are enhanced in the diabetic myocardium with cardiac-specific IGF-IIRα overexpression. Correspondingly, IGF-IIRα overexpression in the diabetic myocardium also reduced the PI3K-AKT survival axis and activated mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis. Finally, both ejection fraction and fractional shortening were be significantly decrease in diabetic rats with cardiac-specific IGF-IIRα overexpression. Overall, all results provid clear evidence that IGF-IIRα can enhance cardiac damage and is a harmful factor to the heart under high-blood glucose conditions. However, the pathophysiology of IGF-IIRα under different stresses and its downstream regulation in the heart still require further research.

All-solid-state Li-ion batteries (ASSLIBs), also known as next-generation batteries, have attracted much attention due to their high energy density and safety. The best advantage of ASSLIBs is the Li-metal anodes that could be used without safety issues. In this study, a highly conductive garnet solid electrolyte (Li6.75La3Zr1.75Ta0.25O12, LLZTO) was used in the ASSLIB, and a Pt film was used to modify the surface of LLZTO to prove the solution of the Li-metal anode for LLZTO. Li-Pt alloy was synthesized to improve the wettability and contact of the interface. The interfacial resistance was reduced by 21 times, at only 9 Ω cm2. The symmetric cell could stably cycle over 3500 h at a current density of 0.1 mA cm-2. The full cell of Li|Li-Pt|LLZTO|LiFePO4 and Li|Li-Pt|LLZTO|LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 achieved high stability in terms of battery performance. Point-to-point contact transformed into homogeneous surface contact made the Li-ion flux faster and more stable. This surface modification method could provide researchers with a new choice for fixing interface issues and promoting the application of high-performance ASSLIBs in the future.

Renewable energy is produced using renewable natural resources, including wind power. The Taiwan government aims to have renewable energy account for 20% of its total power supply by 2025, in which offshore wind power plays an important role. This paper explores the application of index insurance to renewable energy for offshore wind power in Taiwan. We employ autoregressive integrated moving average models to forecast power generation on a monthly and annual basis for the Changhua Demonstration Offshore Wind Farm. These predictions are based on an analysis of 39 years of hourly wind speed data (1980–2018) from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2, of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The data analysis and forecasting models describe the methodology used to design the insurance contract and its index for predicting offshore wind power generation. We apply our forecasting results to insurance contract pricing.

Science texts use various text features and multiple representations to communicate meaning to their readers. English science texts are challenging for elementary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in Taiwan because they are familiar with reading language-controlled texts from textbooks. Teaching students to make use of various text features and visual representations will help them achieve a more successful science text reading experience. In this study, 27 Grade 6 Taiwanese students were instructed in science text reading strategies that included understanding text features, creating imagery, and using visual representations. Before and after the instruction, they took an English reading and writing test. Their eye movements during science text reading were recorded before and after the instruction to more fully understand their visual attention while reading English science texts. Eye movement performances such as number of fixations, mean fixation duration, and saccade size were examined. The findings showed that although the participants’ English reading and writing performance improved in the post-test, they focussed more on the written language than the visuals in both tests. More visual representation reading strategies should therefore be taught to help young EFL students read and learn from science texts.

Clinical studies have shown that hyperglycemia can induce early-stage diabetic nephropathy (DN). Furthermore, oxidative stress, tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition and extracellular matrix accumulation promote the progression of DN to chronic kidney disease and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. It is necessary to initiate treatment at the early stages of DN or even during the early stages of diabetes. In this work, rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mellitus (DM) presented early DN symptoms within 45 days, and collagen accumulation in the glomerulus of the rats was primarily mediated through the RhoA/ROCK pathway instead of the TGF-β signaling pathway. Resveratrol (15 mg/kg/day) and ramipril (10 mg/kg/day) co-treatment of STZ-induced DN rats showed that glomerulosclerosis in early-stage DN was reversible (P < .05 compared with that in STZ-induced DM rats). The results of this study support early intervention in diabetes or DN as a more efficient therapeutic strategy.

Background: Approaches to admission into medical schools in Taiwan are diverse but primarily involve the Multi-Star Project (MSP), General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), and Advanced Subject Tests (ASTs). This study aimed to investigate the differences in time management ability between students admitted into medical schools through different approaches. Methods: The Time Management Disposition Inventory was employed in a questionnaire survey on 390 students from the 1st to 4th years of the School of Medicine at China Medical University to investigate their time management ability. Results: The valid response rate was 100%. According to factor analysis results, the items in the original questionnaire were divided into 3 factors. The total eigenvalue was 14.15; the total variance of the 3 factors was 90.1% and the Cronbach’s α = 0.934. According to the between-group comparison results, the MSP (adjusted mean = 3.924), GSAT (adjusted mean = 3.729), and AST (adjusted mean = 3.802) groups differed significantly only in their sense of time efficacy. Conclusions: Approaches of admission into universities profoundly affect medical students’ time management ability. Admission through MSP requires exceptional academic performance in 3-year high schools; therefore, the MSP group exhibited the highest sense of time efficacy out of all 3 groups. This enabled those students to effectively plan their short- and long-term learning and perform self-learning at all times. Admission through the GSAT or ASTs solely emphasizes one-time college entrance examination scores. Therefore, those students exhibited a relatively high sense of time value, which enabled them to achieve satisfactory performance in college entrance examinations.

Aside from sketching with naked eyes, Augmented Reality (AR) allows users to sketch a wide variety of items in an innovative approach. And this research aims to explore how this technology helps users learn better with higher intrinsic motivation. In order to investigate how this type of apps help users learn and practice sketching, we chose Da Vinci Eye as our tool in this research. We recruited 16 participants whose ages are between 20 and 25 as our participants. 8 of them never had the intensive training on sketching; and the others had majored in art-related professions. Results showed that tracing the virtual silhouette increased the motivation of beginners to practice sketching; on the other hand, this assistance didn't help too much for those who had several years of sketching experience. Our findings provided initial confirmation that AR application has the potential to improve novices' motivation and performance in sketching.

The marriage between a Li metal anode and the solid-state electrolyte is expected to limit the safety risk of secondary batteries. However, dendrites and interfacial stability hinder the combination of Li metal anode and solid-state electrolyte. Herein, a plastic crystal electrolyte (PCE) and three-dimensional (3D) host structure played the role of a matchmaker in combining the solid-state electrolyte and Li metal anode. Succinonitrile cooperated with Li salt and Li

Lithium-ion (Li+) batteries suffer from problems caused by the chemical instability of their organic electrolytes. Solid-state electrolytes that exhibit high ionic conductivities and are stable to lithium metal are potential replacements for flammable organic electrolytes. Garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 is a promising solid-state electrolyte for next-generation solid-state Li batteries. In this study, we prepared mono-, dual-, and ternary-doped lithium (Li) garnets by doping tantalum (Ta), tantalum–barium (Ta–Ba), and tantalum–barium–gallium (Ta–Ba–Ga) ions, along with an undoped Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) cubic garnet electrolyte, using a conventional solid-state reaction method. The effect of multi-ion doping on the Li+ dynamics in the garnet-type LLZO was studied by combining joint Rietveld refinement against X-ray diffraction and high-resolution neutron powder diffraction analyses with the results of Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and multinuclear magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance. Our results revealed that Li+ occupancy in the tetrahedrally coordinated site (24d) increased with increased multi-ion doping in LLZO, whereas Li+ occupancy in the octahedrally coordinated site (96h) remained constant. Among the investigated compounds, the ternary-doped garnet structure Li6.65Ga0.05La2.95Ba0.05Zr1.75Ta0.25O12 (LGLBZTO) exhibited the highest total ionic conductivity of 0.72 and 1.24 mS cm−1 at room temperature and 60 °C, respectively. Overall, our findings revealed that the dense microstructure and increased Li+ occupancy in the tetrahedral-24dLi1 site played a key role in achieving the maximum room-temperature Li-ion conductivity in the ternary-doped LGLBZTO garnet, and that the prepared ternary-doped LGLBZTO was a potential solid electrolyte for Li-ion batteries without polymer adhesion.

Lithium-rich metal oxides Li1+zMO2 (M = Ni, Co Mn, etc.) are promising positive electrode materials for high-energy lithium-ion batteries, with capacities of 250–300 mAh·g–1 that closely approach theoretical intercalation limits. Unfortunately, these materials suffer severe capacity fade on cycling, among other performance issues. While ion substitution can improve the performance of many of these materials, the underlying mechanisms of property modification are not completely understood. In this work we show enhanced performance of the Li1+zMO2 electrode, consisting of Li2MnO3 (with C2/m space group) and LiMO2 (with R3m space group) phases, and establish the effects of cationic and anionic substitution on the phase and structure evolution underpinning performance changes. While the undoped material has a high capacity of ∼270 mAh·g–1, only 79% of this remains after 200 cycles. Including ∼2% Cr in the material, likely at the R3m metal (3a) site, improved cycle performance by ∼13%, and including ∼5% F in...

The ordered LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 spinel exhibits great promise as a potential high-energy positive electrode for lithium-ion batteries due to its exceptionally high working potential of 4.7 V (vs. Li) and energy density of 640 Wh kg–1. The commercial application of this material at such voltages is unfortunately prevented by reaction phenomena including hydrofluoric acid attack and manganese dissolution, as well as the two-phase mechanism of Li insertion and extraction, with these limiting Li diffusivity and cycling stability. In this work, we demonstrate the improved performance of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 achieved by encapsulating the material in a thin layer of silica (SiO2) or polyimide using a simple wet-chemical method and organic solvents. The pristine and coated ordered LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 spinel are both confirmed to have P4332 symmetry, with only a minor difference in their lattice parameter. The SiO2 coating is found to reduce capacity fade of ordered LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 by 45 and 65% at 25 and 55 °C, respectively, with...

Ethnopharmacological relevance The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) has been increasing worldwide. Despite significant improvements in therapeutics and on-going developments of novel targeted-treatment regimens, cardiac diseases lack effective preventive and curative therapies with minimal side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify and propagate alternative and complementary therapies against cardiovascular diseases. Some traditional Chinese medicines can contribute to the prevention and treatment of CVDs and other chronic diseases, with few side effects. Hirudo, a medicinal leech, has been acclaimed for improving blood circulation and overcoming blood stagnation; however, the precise molecular mechanisms of leech extract treatment against pathological cardiac remodeling remain elusive. In this study, we aimed to delineate the molecular mechanisms of medicinal leech extract in the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, using both in vitro and in vivo assessments. Materials and methods We conducted in vitro and in vivo animal experiments, including cell-viability assays, fluorescence microscopy, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and Masson’s trichrome staining. Results Pre-treatment with leech extract conferred a survival benefit to spontaneously-hypertensive rats (SHRs) and significantly reduced angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. ANG II-stimulated cardiac hypertrophy markers were attenuated by leech extract treatment, versus controls. Translational expression of stress-associated mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was also repressed. In vivo, leech extract treatment significantly ameliorated the cardiac hypertrophy phenotype in SHRs and diminished interstitial fibrosis, accompanied with reduced fibrosis markers. Conclusion Leech extract treatment under a hypertensive condition exerted significant cardio-protective benefits by reducing the expression of cardiac hypertrophy-related transcription factors, stress-associated MAPKs, and fibrosis mediators. Our findings imply that medicinal leach extract may be effective against hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis.

Background: In clinical education, the resident learning environment has shifted from classrooms to hospitals, where residents must engage with patients and cultivate the ability to care for and treat patients. Residents transitioning to this new work environment face new challenges and establish new learning methods. Methods: To explore the challenges, learning methods, and response strategies that Chinese residents face as they interact with various environmental factors during the learning process. The participants were interviewed in depth. The interview outline covered four major themes: clinical learning experience and reflection on learning, experience interacting with patients, experience working with other medical staff, and future learning direction. 29 residents participated in the study. Findings: In the early stage of clinical education, residents are challenged by patients’ distrust in them due to their identity, medical skills, and communication skills. Residents have a higher level of motivation to learn clinical-related contents. Residents learn more effectively when their teachers have excellent teaching skills and the use of a balanced direction. A balanced direction indicates that teachers allow students to gain hands-on experience in clinical operations and provide them with assistance and guidance when required. Residents learn from not only senior physicians but also other health professionals in the work environment. Formal curriculum guides resident learning, and other events that occur during residency training, such as clinical skills competition, also improve resident learning performance. In residency training, residents experience burnout because of heavy workload and poor doctor–patient relations, with some residents even opting for a career change after their residency training. Interpretation: Residents’ learning performance is not based solely on the curriculum but also on the interactive effects of different elements related to them and their learning environment, such as patients, physicians, other health professionals, the workplace, and residents’ perception of self-identity. Funding Statement: This study was funded by the Higher Education Reform Project of Guangdong Province, China (Project No. 2017465). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Qingyuan People’s Hospital in Guangdong, China (IRB: QPH-IRB-A0141).

The New World Kirkpatrick (NWKM) four-level model is a new vision of the Kirkpatrick Model. NWKM adds new elements to recognize the complication of the educational program background and to evaluate the effectiveness of continuing education. This study used data collected from subjects, distributed to 393 participants enrolled in an acupuncture training program in Taiwan from 2010 to 2017, to explore the implication of NWKM for evaluating the effectiveness of continuing medical education and to discuss the connection and transition among the four levels of NWKM. Exploratory factor analysis was used to address that the items in the survey were grouped in different categories and mapped onto the four levels of the NWKM. Path analysis was used to describe the directed dependencies among the levels of NWKM. The results of path analysis showed that a positive relationship exists between any two levels, but direct effects can be observed only between two consecutive levels. It means that L4 outcomes can only be directly predicted by L3, but neither L1 nor L2. L4 is the ultimate outcome of evaluating the effectiveness of continuing education, but it is hard to achieve. This research concluded that L3 is the key to evaluate continuing medical education.

This research attempts to introduce a new way for users to interact with their devices in gaming session. Using interactive mouthguard as a new method of input, the new user interface system will be able to react to the user without them physically tapping the screen, adapt to the user, reduce the amount of direct hand control, making the control more intuitive and streamline the whole user experience.

The electrochemical performance of spinel LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 cathode combined with different binders at elevated temperature is firstly investigated. The water soluble binder, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and sodium alginate (SA), is compared with the polyvinylidene difluoride (PVdF) binder used in non-aqueous process. The aqueous process can meet the need of Li-ion battery industry due to environmental-friendly and cost effectiveness by replacing toxic organic solvent, such as N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP). In this study, a significantly improved high temperature cycling performance is successfully obtained as compared to the traditional PVdF binder. The aqueous binder can serve as a protective film which inhibits the serious Ni and Mn dissolution especially at elevated temperature. Our result demonstrates a facile approach to solve the problem of capacity fading for high voltage spinel cathodes.

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) and estrogen receptor β (ERβ) play important roles in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. Recently, these estrogen receptors were reconsidered as an important treatment target of obesity leading to CVD. In this study, 17β-estradiol (17β-E) replacement therapy applied to high-fat diet-induced obese C57B male mice and ovariectomized (OVX) rats were evaluated, and the protective effects against high-fat diet-induced obesity were assessed in C57B mouse hearts. The results showed that 17β-E treatment activated both ERα and ERβ, and ERβ levels increased in a dose-dependent manner in high-fat diet C57B mouse cardiomyocytes following 17β-E treatment. Notably, an almost 16% reduction in body weight was observed in the 17β-E-treated (12 μg/kg/day for 60 days) high-fat diet-induced obese C57B male mice. These results suggested that 17β-E supplements may reduce CVD risk due to obesity.

Spherical LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 (LNMO) cathode material gradient-doped with Mg is successfully synthesized via a co-precipitation method. The average Mg doping concentration in the LNMO is 2 mol% with 10 mol% on the particle surface and a gradual reduction to 0% in the core. The Mg gradient-doped (GD) LNMO shows an improved electrochemical performance with discharge capacities of 121.5 and 91.4 mAh g −1 at discharging rates of 0.1 and 4.0 C, respectively. The corresponding values for a pristine LNMO sample are 125.7 and 80.8 mAh g −1 . After 80 charge/discharge cycles at room temperature, the Mg(GD)-LNMO retains 92% of the initial capacity, compared with a retention rate of 80% for the pristine LNMO. A high-temperature (55 °C) cycling test shows that the Mg(GD)-LNMO has a lower loss of capacity (8%) compared with the pristine LNMO (24%) after 20 cycles. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) reveals that the Mg-rich surface of Mg(GD)-LNMO suppresses the reaction of the electrolyte with the LNMO and decreases the total resistance. In addition, gradient-doping LNMO with Mg can also improve Li ion diffusion based on results of the potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT). Finally, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis shows that the exothermic peak of the Mg(GD)-LNMO is shifted at higher temperatures and that the amount of heat is decreased by comparison with the values for pristine LNMO.

The highly responsive gas sensor based on a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) configuration which is conformally coated with iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles is hereby designed, fabricated, and systematically characterized for this study. The iron oxide nanoparticles are prepared by mixing altogether the respective amounts of FeCl2-4H2O, FeCl3-6H2O, and NaOH in terms of different molar ratios. The iron oxide overcoated gas sensor thus fabricated has been electronically probed in an ecnclosed chamber under a high temperature condition during which the different gases are fed in individually and selectively. The presence of a perticular gas is duly sensed by monitoring the changing magnitude of the current extracted from the sensor. The enhanced sensitivity of the MOS-based sensor overlaid with the Fe2O3 nanoparticles is attributed to a large surface area typically associated with nanoscale particles. The fabrication of MOS-based sensor is entirely CMOS compatible and can be summarized as follows. First, the 400μm-thick silicon wafer is first RCA cleaned and then both sides of the wafer are coated with 800nm-thick oxide layer using high pressure oxidation furnace. Next, a series of photolithographic steps followed by electron-beam-evaporated titanium lift-off is implemented to realize the heater pattern. Afterward, the resultant heater pattern is overcoated with a 400nm-thick oxide layer using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). In order to open up an area for the subsequent deposition of iron oxide nanoparticles-embedded material while leaving the titanium heater protected by the same oxide layer, necessary photolithographic and buffered oxide etching (BOE) steps are performed. Finally, the interdigitated electrodes are deposited followed by injecting the viscous Fe2O3 nanoparticles-embedded solution over the electrodes. Once the sensor is successfully fabricated, the very sensor is placed on a temperature-controlled sample platform maintained at a desired temperature within an enclosed chamber. The entire sensor characterization is performed at a temperature of 300 degree Celsius. The operating mechanism of the sensor is intimately dependent on the oxidation-reduction reaction between the injected gas and Fe2O3 nanoparticles-embedded sensing film. As can be shown in the follwoing figure, the ethanol (C2H5OH) gas vapor is functioned as a reducing agent, while nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas, on the other hand, is behaved as a oxidizing agent instead. As ethanol gas vapor is injected, the oxygen ions of the ethanol produced at high temperature is converted back to the neutral oxygen atom while releasing the captured electrons back to to the iron oxide sensing film, thereby causing the detected current to go up. On the other hand, nitrogen dioxide is behaved as an oxidizing agent instead by oxidizing the Fe2O3 film and grabbing the electrons away, thereby causing the detected current to drop in response to the presence of the NO2 gas vapor. Consequently, the reversing current-versus-time patterns associated with C2H5OH and NO2, as shown in the follwing figure, are thus detected, which verify the different oxidation-reduction mechanisms associated with these two different gases. The optimization in the design of the iron oxide nanoparticles coated sensor in order to enhance the sensitivity and the response time in the detection of the different gases is currently being pursued and the subsequent experimental results obtained will be reported in the upcoming 235th ECS conference. Figure 1

This work will present the results of studies aimed at understanding the chemistry− and structure−function relation of the lithium-rich layered metal oxide material Li1.2Ni0.23Co0.12Mn0.5O2 doped with F and Cr [1]. The electrode material is found to consist of a mixture of R m and C2/m space-group symmetry components in a weight ration of approximately 4:1. Doping with ~ 2% Cr and 5% F was successful in the main layered phase with R m space-group, with Cr residing at the 3a transition-metal site and F residing at the 6c oxygen site, as supported by neutron and X-ray powder diffraction as well as electron microscopy. The electrochemical performance of the doped and undoped materials were compared in coin cells against lithium metal, allowing the comparison of capacity and rate performance, as well as lithium ion diffusion constants within the material as derived from cyclic voltammetry. These differences in measured electrochemical performance were reconciled with the results of structural studies of the electrode powders, as well as differences in the change of these structures that occurred during operation in full 18650 cells against Li4Ti5O12, as measured using in operando neutron powder diffraction. [1] W.K. Pang, H.F. Lin, V.K. Peterson, C.Z. Lu, C.E. Liu, S.C. Liao, J.M. Chen “Effects of fluorine and chromium doping on the performance of lithium-rich Li1+ xMO2 (M= Ni, Mn, Co) positive electrodes” Chem. Mater. 2017.

In this study, we synthesized and characterized Li4Ti5O12 (LTO)-coated graphite as an anode material for Li-batteries. The surface of graphite powders was uniformly coated by the LTO nanoparticles to form a core–shelled structure via a sol–gel process, followed by calcination. The average size of graphite core was 20 μm while the thickness of LTO shell was 60 nm to 100 nm. We found that LTO-coated graphite has better rate-capability and cycle life at RT and 55 °C, compared with the pristine graphite. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results of the cell with LTO-coated graphite anode showed a significant suppression of the impedance rise after 60 cycles. In addition, the Raman spectrum showed that after 60 charge–discharge cycles at 55 °C, the ID/IG ratio of the LTO-coated graphite electrode increased slightly, while that of the pristine graphite electrode increased significantly. The batteries with LTO-coated graphite anode exhibited excellent cyclic ability and high temperature performance.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology consisting of periodically repeated series of self-limited surface reactions is a CVD technique for the well-controlled deposition of inorganic layers with thickness in the nanometer scale which has been widely used in the semiconductor industry. In this study, a novel process to fabricate TiO 2 nano-layer with high uniformity by ALD on the graphite negative electrode of lithium battery is reported. We found that under accurate thickness control, a TiO 2 plated graphite electrode shows better performance in cycle life, compared with the pristine graphite. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that after 60 cycles, the cell resistance of the TiO 2 plated electrode decreased, while that of normal graphite electrode increased significantly. The enhanced performance of the electrode may be attributed to the TiO 2 plating, which suppressed the increase of resistance during the prolonged cycle.

High-voltage spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) is considered a potential high-power-density positive electrode for lithium-ion batteries, however, it suffers from capacity decay after extended charge-discharge cycling, severely hindering commercial application. Capacity fade is thought to occur through the significant volume change of the LNMO electrode occurring on cycling, and in this work we use operando neutron powder diffraction to compare the structural evolution of the LNMO electrode in an as-assembled 18650-type battery containing a Li4Ti5O12 negative electrode with that in an identical battery following 1000 cycles at high-current. We reveal that the capacity reduction in the battery post cycling is directly proportional to the reduction in the maximum change of the LNMO lattice parameter during its evolution. This is correlated to a corresponding reduction in the MnO6 octahedral distortion in the spinel structure in the cycled battery. Further, we find that the rate of lattice evolution, which reflects the rate of lithium insertion and removal, is ∼9 and ∼10% slower in the cycled than in the as-assembled battery during the Ni(2+)/Ni(3+) and Ni(3+)/Ni(4+) transitions, respectively.

In this study, we have synthesized and characterized Li4Ti5O12 (LTO)-coated meso-carbon micro beads (MCMB) as an anode material for Li-batteries. The surface of MCMB powders was uniformly coated by the LTO nanoparticles to form a core-shell structure via a sol-gel process, followed by calcination. The average size of MCMB core was 15 μm while the thickness of LTO shell was 80 to 120 nm. We found that LTO-coated MCMB had better rate-capability and cycle life, compared with the pristine MCMB. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that after 40 cycles, the cell resistance of the LTO-coated MCMB electrode increased slightly, while that of the pristine MCMB electrode increased significantly. The enhanced performance of the LTO-coated MCMB electrode is attributed to the LTO coating, which suppresses the increase in the charge-transfer resistance during prolonged cycle.

In this study, we have synthesized and characterized Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 (LTO)-coated meso-carbon micro beads (MCMB) as an anode material for Li-batteries. The surface of MCMB powders was uniformly coated by the LTO nanoparticles to form a core–shell structure via a sol–gel process, followed by calcination. The average size of MCMB core was 20 μm while the thickness of LTO shell was 80–120 nm. We found that LTO-coated MCMB has better rate-capability and cycle life, compared with the pristine MCMB. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that after 40 cycles, the cell resistance of the LTO-coated MCMB electrode increased slightly, while that of the pristine MCMB electrode increased significantly. The enhanced performance of the LTO-coated MCMB electrode is attributed to the LTO coating, which suppresses the increase in the charge-transfer resistance during prolonged cycle.

Introduction: Over the years, performance assessment (PA) has been widely employed in medical education, Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) being an excellent example. Typically, performance assessment involves multiple raters, and therefore, consistency among the scores provided by the auditors is a precondition to ensure the accuracy of the assessment. Inter-rater agreement and inter-rater reliability are two indices that are used to ensure such scoring consistency. This research primarily examined the relationship between inter-rater agreement and inter-rater reliability. Materials and Methods: This study used 3 sets of simulated data that was based on raters’ evaluation of student performance to examine the relationship between inter-rater agreement and inter-rater reliability. Results: Data set 1 had high inter-rater agreement but low inter-rater reliability, data set 2 had high inter-rater reliability but low inter-rater agreement, and data set 3 had high inter-rater agreement and high inter-rater reliability. Conclusion: Inter-rater agreement and inter-rater reliability can but do not necessarily coexist. The presence of one does not guarantee that of the other. Inter-rater agreement and inter-rater reliability are both important for PA. The former shows stability of scores a student receives from different raters, while the latter shows the consistence of scores across different students from different raters. Key words: Consistency, Multiple-rater, Psychometrics

Myocardial apoptosis and fibrosis represent important contributing factors for development of hypertension-induced heart failure. The present study aims to investigate the potential effects of Eriobotrya japonica leaf extract (EJLE) against hypertension-induced cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Twelve-week-old male rats were randomly divided into four different groups, control Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, hypertensive SHR rats, SHR rats treated with a low dose (100 mg/kg body weight) of EJLE and SHR rats treated with a high dose (300 mg/kg body weight) of EJLE. Animals were acclimatized for 4 weeks and thereafter were gastric fed for 8 weeks with two doses of EJLE per week. The rats were then euthanized following cardiac functional analysis by echocardiography. The cardiac tissue sections were examined by Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase-Mediated Deoxyuridine Triphosphate (dUTP) Nick End-Labeling (TUNEL) assay, histological staining and Western blotting to assess the cardio-protective effects of EJ in SHR animals. Echocardiographic measurements provided convincing evidence to support the ability of EJ to ameliorate crucial cardiac functional characteristics. Furthermore, our results reveal that supplementation of EJLE effectively attenuated cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis and also enhanced cell survival in hypertensive SHR hearts. Thus, the present study concludes that EJLE potentially provides cardio-protective effects against hypertension-induced cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis in SHR animals.

In this research, we used the DC thermal plasma technique to produce well-crystallized zinc stannate (Zn 2 SnO 4 ) nanopowders from commercial Zn–Sn alloy wire. The as-synthesized Zn 2 SnO 4 consisted of spherical, rhombohedral and hexagonal shapes with an average size of about 35 nm. The room-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy of the Zn 2 SnO 4 showed a UV emission at 390 nm and visible emissions at 577, 651 and 671 nm. The UV emission was assigned to the near band-edge emission while the visible emissions were believed to be attributed by the residual strain, the crystal defects, the oxygen vacancies and the interstitial Zn during the growth process of ZTO2. According to UV–vis spectrum, the absorption edge of Zn 2 SnO 4 is 367 ± 5 nm, which corresponds to the band gap energy of 3.36 ± 0.06 eV.

The feasibility of fabricating the tetrapod-like zinc oxide (TZ) nanoparticles with a DC thermal plasma reactor was demonstrated in the present study. Advantages of this process include the low cost and high yield rate (0.8–1.0 kg/h) in producing high TZ content mixtures (with small portion of rod-like zinc oxide (RZ) and plate-like zinc oxide (PZ) nanoparticles) from commercial metal zinc powders. ZnO nanopowders with high TZ content could be employed as the starting material for photocatalytic filters. The ratio of TZ to RZ and PZ in the products was observed to be strongly influenced by the plasma power and the plasma gas flow rate. The optical spectrum, photostability and anti-microbial property of the as-grown and annealed TZ mixtures were examined and compared in this study.

Porous (P-) and dense (D-) lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) powders as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries have been synthesized by spray drying followed by solid-state calcination. Electrochemical testing results showed that the discharge capacities of P-Li4Ti5O12 are 144 mAh/g, 128 mAh/g and 73 mAh/g at the discharging rate of 2C, 5C and 20C, respectively (cut-off voltages: 0.5–2.5 V). The corresponding values for D-Li4Ti5O12 are 108 mAh/g, 25 mAh/g and 17 mAh/g. The higher capacity of the P-Li4Ti5O12 at high charge/discharge rates was attributed to the shorter transport path of Li ions and higher electronic conductivity in the P-Li4Ti5O12 as a result of its smaller primary particle size and higher surface area compared with those of the D-Li4Ti5O12.